Colts complain to league about scheduling

[DBZFan2K 0]

Indianapolis general manager Bill Polian and the Colts are complaining, again. This time, it’s about a schedule that has them playing a road game this Sunday at Carolina on a short week following a road Monday night game in Jacksonville. After the Panthers, of course, the Colts return home for Armageddon Day against the Patriots on Nov. 4.

 

Research conducted by the Indianapolis Star showed that over the past decade, 24 teams have played road games on a short week following a road Monday night game. Those teams are 12-12 in the second game and have lost seven of the past 10. The Colts are further chafed because the Panthers are coming off a bye. The Star pointed out that that scenario has presented itself just three times since 1997.

 

Coach Tony Dungy said the team lodged a complaint with the league. Shocker!

 

“It’s harder, it definitely is,” said Dungy.

 

Of course, fans in New England are well aware of this routine by now. They’ve seen Polian go to the league over injury timeouts (Willie McGinest in 2003), illegal contact in the secondary (2003 AFC title game) and poor field conditions (divisional round in 2004). Just add another log to the fire.

 

Meanwhile, the Patriots are no stranger to the above schedule quirk. The Pats were asked to do it in 2004, playing Monday night at Miami on Dec. 20 (a 29-28 loss) and then traveling to the division rival Jets six days later (a 23-7 win).

 

The Pats had a similar case last year where the schedule had them on the road for a Monday night game on Oct. 30 (a blowout win at Minnesota) and then returning home to face the toughest team on their schedule six days later, the Colts. The Colts ran over the Pats in that game, 27-20.

 

If the Patriots publicly complained about any of those instances, there’s no record of it.

 

 

http://bostonherald.com/sports/football/pa...amp;format=text

 

Let's see how many people sweep this under the rug since I'm a Pats fan posting this

[Blue Barbarian 0]

Must be a slow news day in Cheaterville when the Herald runs this"story" which is between the Colts and the NFL concerning games with Carolina and Jacksonville.

[Mephisto 15]

As an Eagles fan, I have no sympathy after the debacle (a year or two ago) that saw the Phleagles play 3 straight divisional games on the road.

 

Prior to that and since then, I'm not sure it had happened in the modern era of football, let alone its entire history.

[DBZFan2K 0]

As an Eagles fan, I have no sympathy after the debacle (a year or two ago) that saw the Phleagles play 3 straight divisional games on the road.

 

Prior to that and since then, I'm not sure it had happened in the modern era of football, let alone its entire history.

 

Holy crap, you're right...

 

Looked at the Eagles' 2006 schedule. They had to face the Redskins, Cowboys, and Giants in consecutive weeks, all on the road, all in the final month of the season. Thankfully for them they flipped the bird (no pun intended) to the schedulers by winning all 3 of those games.

[DBZFan2K 0]

Must be a slow news day in Cheaterville when the Herald runs this"story" which is between the Colts and the NFL concerning games with Carolina and Jacksonville.

 

The Colts are the Patriots' top competition for HFA in the AFC, and also happen to be the Patriots' opponent for next Sunday, but God forbid someone makes mention of them in a column or it's a slow news day.

 

Truth hurts. Feel free to offer a legit rebuttal, like say, a link that shows the Patriots whining to the league about their scheduling, then maybe I'll shut up.

[StayFlyTilAddai 0]

The Colts are the Patriots' top competition for HFA in the AFC, and also happen to be the Patriots' opponent for next Sunday, but God forbid someone makes mention of them in a column or it's a slow news day.

 

Truth hurts. Feel free to offer a legit rebuttal, like say, a link that shows the Patriots whining to the league about their scheduling, then maybe I'll shut up.

 

You gotta love the boston media for being a bunch of douche bags that drum up controversy for no apparent reason. You wouldn't see the indy star pulling this kind of sh!t....focking mass-holes. Michael Felger is clearly a biased idiot.

 

Why don't you get back to watching dragonball z episodes DBZFan2K instead of of being a turd and filling up the board with sh1t.

[Gepetto 988]

How does this affect fantasy football?

[DBZFan2K 0]

You gotta love the boston media for being a bunch of douche bags that drum up controversy for no apparent reason. You wouldn't see the indy star pulling this kind of sh!t....focking mass-holes. Michael Felger is clearly a biased idiot.

 

Felger is a douche, I agree (he was talking up how Moss will be a distraction and might not make the team heading into the season). But he didn't state anything in that portion of his column that was false.

 

Here is Bill Polian's words straight from the Colts website:

 

Q: And the short week doesn’t make it easier . . .

 

A: The schedule maker really didn’t do us any favors here – probably by design. To have to go on the road after a Monday Night game is tough enough, but to have to do it after a divisional road game as we did is very difficult. We’re one of only two teams that had to do it multiple times in the last five years. Frankly, it’s a hardship. But you shrug your shoulders and move on. We have to concentrate. We have to get ready. We have to go out and do our best against a very physical football team.

 

Probably by design? As in he feels the NFL purposely gave the Colts the shaft? Please get over yourself, Mr. Polian. The Colts are a great team, but the NFL is a business and doesn't revolve around the Colts.

 

How does this affect fantasy football?

 

About as much as many of the other non-fantasy-related threads that often get posted in this forum.

[StayFlyTilAddai 0]

Felger is a douche, I agree (he was talking up how Moss will be a distraction and might not make the team heading into the season). But he didn't state anything in that portion of his column that was false.

 

Here is Bill Polian's words straight from the Colts website:

Probably by design? As in he feels the NFL purposely gave the Colts the shaft? Please get over yourself, Mr. Polian. The Colts are a great team, but the NFL is a business and doesn't revolve around the Colts.

About as much as many of the other non-fantasy-related threads that often get posted in this forum.

 

Yeah, it's much better to hear the patriots whine about 'not getting enough respect'. Polian probably thought about saying the colts didn't 'get any respect' with regards to the schedule, but he knew the patriots would sue him because they have a copyright on that phrase.

[DBZFan2K 0]

Yeah, it's much better to hear the patriots whine about 'not getting enough respect'. Polian probably thought about saying the colts didn't 'get any respect' with regards to the schedule, but he knew the patriots would sue him because they have a copyright on that phrase.

 

Well, you can always count on two things every year: 1) the Patriots players playing the disrespect card, and 2) Polian whining to the league about something in the weeks leading up to a game against New England. It's the same guy that attacked a Jets worker because he felt the speakers were too close to the field, and called for the Colts to "break Flutie's leg". The guy's a brilliant GM but also a Grade A a$$hole.

[Reality 2,710]

How bored does somebody have to be to post this sh!t?

[IndyTom 0]

Coming from a fan of a team that has been officially busted for cheating. Amazing.

 

Posting this screams more about you than the Colts.

[redtodd 7]

What? The Colts whine? NO!!

[DBZFan2K 0]

Let's see how many people sweep this under the rug since I'm a Pats fan posting this

 

 

Coming from a fan of a team that has been officially busted for cheating. Amazing.

 

Posting this screams more about you than the Colts.

 

...like that!

 

When in doubt, shoot the messenger.

[IndyTom 0]

...like that!

 

"What else is new?" = your take on it, not the Herald.

 

I am not "sweeping anything under the rug". I just find it really amusing that a Pats fan would have the audacity to point out any GM issues of another team.

 

My brain hurts from trying to give you the benefit of the doubt that you are simply ignorant rather than dumb. Good job!

[DBZFan2K 0]

I am not "sweeping anything under the rug". I just find it really amusing that a Pats fan would have the audacity to point out any GM issues of another team.

 

My brain hurts from trying to give you the benefit of the doubt that you are simply ignorant rather than dumb. Good job!

 

What difference does it make whether a Pats fan posts it or a fan of any other team? It doesn't make what was posted any less true. Like I said, when in doubt, shoot the messenger.

 

Here's some more audacity, courtesy of Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

 

EASTERBROOK OFF THE MARK

 

As the ESPN hype machine continues to ramp up for the greatest . . . game . . . ever, Gregg Easterbrook of ESPN.com's TMQ has tried to graft a good-and-evil-style theme onto the upcoming regular-season showdown between the Colts and the Patriots.

 

Easterbrook makes the case for the Colts being the good, and for the Pats being the ungood.

 

Though we like Easterbrook and his work, his hypothesis about the looming Week Nine contest has all the makings of a square peg being rammed through a square hole.

 

Every NFL team has things to like, and things to hate. Whether we as fans/media/Internet hacks focus on the good or the bad is a matter of perspective. And Easterbook's item suggests that, for whatever reason(s), he's inclined to like the Colts and dislike the Pats.

 

Our guess is that his perspective was honed by his conclusions regarding the Patriots' cheating scandal, exacerbated by the public tail-twisting he took from the ESPN.com ombudslady earlier this month. But even though Easterbook is now inclined (consciously or not) to diss the Pats and praise the Colts (or, possibly, anyone who is playing the Pats), we think that he needs to be able to retain some semblance of objectivity, even when editorializing.

 

As to the Colts, Easterbook ignores plenty of things that undermine the notion that the franchise "carr[ies] the banner of that which is beneficent: Sportsmanship, honesty, modesty, devotion to community, embrace of traditional small-town life, belief in higher power, even love of laughter."

 

Quarterback Peyton Manning might be revered by Colts fans and superficially respected by sock puppets who are afraid that Manning might use his bully pulpit to give them the Tony Kornheiser treatment. But plenty of pro football fans think that Peyton is a money-grubbing, me-first, whiny, pissy, finger-pointing jerk with a huge head and the pecs of a grade-schooler. As the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt -- and the endless stream of commercials and praise has given the fans of the other 31 franchises in the NFL good reason to believe that Peyton is Darth Vader in a white helmet.

 

There also are several reasons for those who wear that same white helmet to quietly resent Manning. He seemed to fault his blockers for failing to protect the slow-footed passer after a January 2006 playoff loss to the Steelers, Sal Paolantonio points out in his new book that Manning blamed Dallas Clark for an interception in Super Bowl XLI that was actually Manning's fault, and our report regarding the special treatment that Manning apparently received in connection with the team's Super Bowl ring ceremony (including an invitation for his father, Archie, to attend) was met with an irrational overreaction from the team, which prompted us (and others) to conclude that there was fire at the bottom of all of the smoke.

 

Then there's G.M. Bill Polian. He has a reputation in league circles of bullying others to get his way. Per past reports, he openly roots for the Colts in the press box, he criticizes officials without consequence, and he reportedly threw a pint-sized employee of the Jets against a wall last season.

 

And what about those claims that the Colts have done a little cheating of their own, by piping in fake noise to disrupt opposing offenses?

 

So the Colts are no choir boys, unless you're inclined to ignore a few warts on their naked butt and rectum.

 

As to the Patriots, Easterbrook has plenty of low-hanging fruit with which to work. Does coach Bill Belichick come off at times (or most of the time) as a complete jerk? Yep. Does he care? Nope. Is he able to get the 53 men who put on the pads every Sunday to perform at an incredibly high level? Hell, yes.

 

Did he cheat? Yes. Do others cheat? Apparently. As FOX's Jimmy Johnson has said, Colts offensive line coach Howard Mudd is the best signal-stealer in the league. (Also, some league insiders thinks that morbidly portly Colts defensive line coach John Teerlinck teaches his players to dive at the knees of quarterbacks.) And let's not forget that recent report from John Czarnecki of FOX that the NFL shredded and burned the box of cheating evidence surrendered by the Pats because it also included proof of cheating by other teams.

 

Easterbrook also throws a surprising haymaker at a player who rarely is criticized: "The team's star, Tom Brady, is a smirking celebrity-chaser who dates actresses and supermodels but whose public charity appearances are infrequent. That constant smirk on Brady's face reminds one of ###### Cheney; people who smirk are fairly broadcasting the message, 'I'm hiding something.'"

 

So "public charity appearances" are good? What if Brady has opted to follow the Biblical suggestion that alms be given discreetly? And what if Manning does his charity publicly simply to enhance his ability to be perceived as a "good guy"?

 

While we realize that the detection of smirks is subjective, Brady has never come off to us as a smirker. And while we likewise don't have a Tom Brady Fathead on the wall at official PFT headquarters, it's hard not to have respect for a guy who went from being an overlooked sixth-round pick to one of the best quarterbacks in the game, and who is on pace to have the greatest season of any quarterback in the history of the league.

 

Thus, the Pats have some good to counter the bad.

 

That's why Easterbrook's argument is such a stretch. And that's also why his editor would have done him a huge favor by pointing out to him the flaws in his reasoning. Pats fans understandably are up in arms over this one; though we know a thing or two about alienating every single fan of a given team, the reaction seems to be more intense where the opinion that causes the commotion simply doesn't seem to be rooted in a fair consideration of all of the facts.

 

Give that a read when you have the time. Or stick your head in the sand and pretend your team has no faults. Or do as Reality said and flame me for finding the time (all of 2 minutes) to post these things. I won't mind either way.

[IndyTom 0]

What difference does it make whether a Pats fan posts it or a fan of any other team? It doesn't make what was posted any less true. Like I said, when in doubt, shoot the messenger.

 

Here's some more audacity, courtesy of Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

Give that a read when you have the time. Or stick your head in the sand and pretend your team has no faults. Or do as Reality said and flame me for finding the time (all of 2 minutes) to post these things. I won't mind either way.

 

I have yet to defend the Colts for any of this. Again - I just think its freakin hilarious that a Pats fan would have the nerve to throw stones at other teams. It doesn't matter that you werent the one that authored it. By posting it, you endorse it.

 

Good luck with that.

[DBZFan2K 0]

I have yet to defend the Colts for any of this. Again - I just think its freakin hilarious that a Pats fan would have the nerve to throw stones at other teams. It doesn't matter that you werent the one that authored it. By posting it, you endorse it.

 

Good luck with that.

 

Looks like we're both laughing for different reasons then.

[49ER MAN 0]

Felger is a douche, I agree (he was talking up how Moss will be a distraction and might not make the team heading into the season). But he didn't state anything in that portion of his column that was false.

 

Here is Bill Polian's words straight from the Colts website:

Probably by design? As in he feels the NFL purposely gave the Colts the shaft? Please get over yourself, Mr. Polian. The Colts are a great team, but the NFL is a business and doesn't revolve around the Colts.

About as much as many of the other non-fantasy-related threads that often get posted in this forum.

 

It wouldn't surprise me to see the league make the schedule of the defending champs tougher by going on the road after a road Monday Night game. I remember the 1996 season where the Pack had not one but 2 3 game road trips. Talk about a joke.

 

Yeah, Polian may whine who gives a crap in the end?

[Manning146 0]

What difference does it make whether a Pats fan posts it or a fan of any other team? It doesn't make what was posted any less true. Like I said, when in doubt, shoot the messenger.

 

Here's some more audacity, courtesy of Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

Give that a read when you have the time. Or stick your head in the sand and pretend your team has no faults. Or do as Reality said and flame me for finding the time (all of 2 minutes) to post these things. I won't mind either way.

 

10 Things we learned from reading this column:

 

1. Unsubstantiated claims of cheating, no matter how improbable, are to be taken as true. (Ever been to the RCA Dome while all the fans scream their heads off the whole time the Colts are on defense? Ever been to Qwest Field, etc.?)

Conclusion: Claims that Patriots defenders have various types of illegal speakers in their helmets must also be true.

 

2. If an expert or analyst says something on any FOX channel, on any issue, it must be true and substantiated. Period. And their camera work is the stuff of legends. (Ok, so maybe I'm still a bit bitter about the trouble a few years back with games on FOX channels having a higher level of black-out inducing technical difficulties.)

 

3. "But plenty of pro football fans think that Peyton is a money-grubbing, me-first, whiny, pissy, finger-pointing jerk with a huge head and the pecs of a grade-schooler. As the saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt -- and the endless stream of commercials and praise has given the fans of the other 31 franchises in the NFL good reason to believe that Peyton is Darth Vader in a white helmet."

 

I'm not actually sure you can learn anything from this one. I'm sure that his head shape and pectoral development are reasons to dislike him. The fact that advertising agencies consider Manning a "safe bet" in terms of not Michael Vick-ing them and that the increased options advertisers are offered by the fact that Manning does not have to appear to be a hardass in a ocmmercial to agree to it are other reasons to dislike him, as is receivng praise in any form.

 

4. A quarterback should never reference any difficulties that lead a team to a loss that are not completley laid at the feet of the quarterback.

 

I wouldn't call Manning a "slow-footed passer". A terrible sprinter with a biomechanically challenged gait, sure, but his pocket ability is a strength. As for the interception, I guess a book by a football player shouldn't include much specifics regarding particular football plays, such as routes that receivers were suppose to run and routes they actually ran. If you listened to Manning recount that drive in the Super Bowl, he essentially said that they had told themselves that they were not going to go out there and make bad plays because of nerves, then they went out and the offensive line false-started, Clark completely ran the wrong route, and Manning threw an interception. He was clearly poking fun at all of them for that--you have to really twist it to come up with something else. As for the "fire" revealed after the special treatment Manning "apparently" received regarding the Super Bowl ring celebration, I haven't heard of that yet and as much as PFT is reaching on this one I'd prefer to get it from another source to consider it, since it's an obviously subjective topic.

 

5. Officials are faultless and should not be criticized, especially by concerned management of teams affected by them.

 

I don't even want to type anything. Claiming that it's a strike on someone's records to criticize NFL officials would seem to be a hallmark of someone who doesn't watch football.

 

6. If you're a "pint-sized" Jets employee don't mess with Polian.

 

Ok, so I haven't yet heard this either, but if it's true then that's definitely something that would constitute a legitimate claim against Polian. I'm not sure I put much stock in the claim against him as bullying others to get his way--I rattle off a list of issues he's complained about but not won on--and his influence is one that (I think) would come with any of the high-ups in the league who've gained influence through years in and success. But again, I'll reiterate that the report of physically bullying a small Jets employee definitely bothers me.

 

7. Once again see the comment about anything said by a FOX analyst. Ok, so maybe Jimmy Johnson's experience has earned him credibility. But looking across the field to try to decipher hand signals has been around as long as the hand signals themselves and hence a costs-benefits analysis must be made when designing them based on how quickly they can be done and players can learn them for the week vs. how easy they are to decode. If a QB says an a audible loudly enough that a defender can hear it and he's figured out what it means, there's nothing seen as immoral by him jumping the play. Now if he has special listening devices in his helmet to use technology to go well beyond his own natural human ability to hear said audibles, clearly violating league rules, after a memo was given specifically to every defender reminding him of the illegality of such an act...There's no legitimate comparison here.

If Belicheck has simply been accused of being an excellent signal-stealer those of us non-Pats fans would be pissed, but only because it would be another peice of his coaching genious to overcome, not a blatant and indescribably arrogant abrogation of the rules.

 

8. Anybody labeled as an "insider" by a subjective column aimed at as specific impression must truly be in the know, and if you have a few of them saying the same thing it must be true.

 

"(Also, some league insiders thinks that morbidly portly Colts defensive line coach John Teerlinck teaches his players to dive at the knees of quarterbacks.)"

Anyone who's had any experience in journalism knows a claim like this is about as credible a "a guy on the street said he thinks that..." Some league insiders are convinced of speaker/ microphone technology in the helmets of Patriots' defenders helmets. That doesn't mean it's true. Also, a date on those claims would be interesting, in order to see if it's from when Freeney and Mathis were terrorizing quarterbacks (read: actually recording sacks.)

 

9. Any public celebrity with a Hollywood lifestyle (and accompanying baggage) who's not had reports leak out about charitable works should be given the benefit of the doubt as doing his charity in the secret based on instructions given in the Bible.

 

Really I could have just put this phrase by itself as laughable as it is:

 

"So 'public charity appearances' are good? What if Brady has opted to follow the Biblical suggestion that alms be given discreetly? And what if Manning does his charity publicly simply to enhance his ability to be perceived as a "good guy"?"

 

Are we reaching far enough yet?

 

10. In the end, Easterbook made a stretch but the anecdotes of PFT were all "low-hanging fruit."

 

"That's why Easterbrook's argument is such a stretch. And that's also why his editor would have done him a huge favor by pointing out to him the flaws in his reasoning. "

 

 

A real piece of journalistic crap.

 

Here's another gem of theirs:

 

10. Carolina Panthers (4-2): Vinny Testaverde enjoys playing against Peyton Manning; it's the only time Vinny isn't the ugliest quarterback on the field.

 

Yeah, so I actually laughed at this, but it doesn't exactly reinforce their "objectivity."

 

 

As a final note, I"d also like to follow DBZ's standard of "when in doubt shoot the messenger."

[Nomad99 411]

I have yet to defend the Colts for any of this. Again - I just think its freakin hilarious that a Pats fan would have the nerve to throw stones at other teams. It doesn't matter that you werent the one that authored it. By posting it, you endorse it.

 

Good luck with that.

 

 

Bet your A$$ I'll throw stones

 

I am a Pat's fan who has taken ALL the crap thrown my way in regards to the Patriots behavior as an Organization, team & as individuals. I have been embarrassed by some of it, upset by some of it & defended some of it.

I know when I'm right & when I'm wrong & won't defend my team or their actions JUST because I'm a homer.

 

SO..........I have NO PROBLEM seeing stuff like this posted.

 

It affords me the luxury of seeing those WHO CAST STONES THEMSELVES, wallow in their attempts to downplay issues affecting their team by trying to act "ABOVE" those of us who root for the Patriots.

 

I commend all you HATRIOTS for your ability to dish it out

 

However, your record for being able to take it is shameful

[kpbuckeye 2]

colts fans>dog turds>pats fans

[Reality 2,710]

Bet your A$$ I'll throw stones

 

I am a Pat's fan who has taken ALL the crap thrown my way in regards to the Patriots behavior as an Organization, team & as individuals. I have been embarrassed by some of it, upset by some of it & defended some of it.

I know when I'm right & when I'm wrong & won't defend my team or their actions JUST because I'm a homer.

 

SO..........I have NO PROBLEM seeing stuff like this posted.

 

It affords me the luxury of seeing those WHO CAST STONES THEMSELVES, wallow in their attempts to downplay issues affecting their team by trying to act "ABOVE" those of us who root for the Patriots.

 

I commend all you HATRIOTS for your ability to dish it out

 

However, your record for being able to take it is shameful

 

 

Is there anything more annoying than Pat fans? Please do us all a favor and stfu..

 

They should implement some "China Rules" on the East Coast and only allow 1 baby per household..

 

Other than that, I love you guys..

[Walter34 3]

Another thread started by a Pats fan that cries out for validation. The complex is alive and well. Business as usual.

[Nomad99 411]

We are only suppose to highlight PATRIOTS issues....not the sniveling whining of other teams . The hate is alive and well. Business as usual.

 

[Da Baker 0]

Colts suck and are overrated, Manning is a crybaby and so is his owner. They are going to get crushed and then make every excuse there is for the lulz.

[Walter34 3]

 

Wrong, most people dont give a sh!t either way.

[IndyTom 0]

Colts suck and are overrated

 

Link?

[Justy2 0]