Polian may be right, but the Colts are primed to do something that hasn’t been done since 2005: Make back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.

The reason the Colts stand a great chance at making another Super Bowl run this season is because of the incredible amount of depth on the roster, and the talent they developed last season because of injuries.

All of a sudden rookie players became full time starters, and played well beyond anyone’s expectations.

A big factor in the Colts ability to make another run is due to the uncapped year. It is going to be a huge advantage for the Colts since their idea of free agency is to re-sign their own players. Ironically, given this fact, the rule for the final four will have no impact on them.

The Colts only have two unrestricted free agents: 1) Gary Brackett and 2) Matt Stover. Bill Polian has made it quite clear that re-signing Brackett is a priority. In fact, don’t be surprised if a deal is not worked out before the start of free agency. Whether Stover is back will depend on the health of Vinatieri, and whether the Colts are considering drafting a kicker.

The Colts also have a lot of restricted free agents to re-sign, and owner Jim Irsay’s intent to extend Manning’s contract and make him the highest paid QB in the league; however, given the rule changes the Colts could set themselves up in a great position for years to come.

By paying Manning a lot of his money this year, whether it’s in salary or a signing bonus, it would allow them to pay him less in future years when the CAP comes back. This would free up money to keep the core players together for years to come.

An uncapped year will also allow the Colts to keep all of the restricted free agents that they want to keep. This means that players like Antoine Bethea will be back next season.

When the Colts get to the draft they can finish what they started last year which is continuing Larry Coyer’s plan of getting the front seven bigger on defense. The Colts will probably pick up a couple of linebackers in the draft. Also, given Polian’s recent attack on the offensive line, and the retirement of offensive line coach Howared Mudd, the Colts will probably draft some bigger offensive lineman. This is almost a foregone conclusion when you factor in the ages of Jeff Saturday (35), and Ryan Diem (31).

With the expected return of Marlin Jackson, Anthony Gonzalez, Tyjuan Hagler, and Bob Sanders—if the Colts decide to keep him—this team will have some big-time playmakers returning, and probably the best receiving corps that Manning has had since he was drafted.

With an ever improving defense, an incredible set of targets for Manning to throw to, two very good running backs in the backfield, and a revamped offensive line, the Colts are in a strong position to be the first team to go to back-to-back Super Bowls since the Patriots did it in ’04 and ’05.

Hopefully Bill Polian is right, and the Colts don’t repeat what the Bills did in the early 90’s: Lose four Super Bowls in a row.

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The arguments against Manning’s greatness are coming down to, “Well, he threw 16 interceptions this season.”

That’s not a joke; it’s a comment I received from one of my readers this week. 

Manning’s play in the ’09 season covered up a lot of the Colts' weaknesses. Granted, the problems with the Colts haven’t been because of a lack of talent or bad coaching.

They boiled down to two issues: injuries, and figuring out the right guys to play on the offensive line.

With Charlie Johnson firmly ensconced at left tackle and Kyle Devan replacing Mike Pollack at right guard (who, much like Tony Ugoh, turned out to be a bust), problem No. 2 has been resolved to a great extent.

As the team heads into the playoffs, issue No. 1 is much more troubling—a lot of the struggles the Colts faced in 2009 all stemmed from the myriad injuries that plagued the team.

It showed up in the games, and it showed up in their poor statistical rankings. It’s why the Colts weren’t able to dominate any team, and those same injuries are a large contributor to why Manning won his fourth MVP title.

The question is: Will the consequences that come from having a banged-up football team cause the Colts’ amazing year to end all too soon in the postseason?

The Colts do have a lot of good things going for them. They were smart enough to pull their players and rest them instead of going for the perfect season.

I know the team and the fans wanted to go for 16-0, but Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell wisely knew that they couldn’t afford any more injuries. To give everyone an indication of how bad the injury situation was, in the last two games they had to pull guys off of the practice squad to field a full team.

16-0, be damned.

It’s the playoffs that count, not some silly record that the Colts would only be matching, not breaking.

If you’re still not convinced, look no further than Wes Welker: That’s what 16-0 might have gotten the Colts.

By next week, the players will have had time to—if not completely—at least heal enough to be able to play effectively in the playoffs.

Here are the things the Colts are going to need if they are going to go all the way: They are going to need a healthy-enough defense to keep opponents' running games to 100 yards or less and to play better in the passing game.

Yes, a lot of the success in the playoffs is going to depend on the Colts' defense slowing teams down and getting them off the field on third down.

All the Colts’ consummate four-time MVP needs is more snaps every game. Manning can’t be sitting on the bench for 20 minutes between plays.

Here are the areas the Colts need to worry about:

• Running the ball.
• Timing and rhythm in the passing game.
• Slowing down the run.
• Playing better in pass defense—this means not giving up the big play.

The Colts are going to need a healthy Jerraud Powers, Kelvin Hayden, Jacob Lacey, and Phillip Wheeler to give Manning what he needs on offense.

The Colts’ defense showed in the last two regular-season games they can’t do it without those guys.  

With those four healthy though, the Colts will be fielding a defense that is underrated. Don’t be fooled, this group is scary good:

• The interior of the line is big, athletic, and fast.
• Clint Session is a beast at the linebacker position. Not only can he stop the run when play flow goes weak side, but also he can cover in the passing game, stop the run from behind when it goes the other way, and blitz the passer when called upon.
• Gary Brackett makes up what he lacks in size with great speed and tackling ability in the running game, and is highly underrated as a defender in the passing game.
• Antoine Bethea is one of the best free safeties in the game today, and Melvin Bullitt has shown that the Colts don’t need Bob Sanders.
• The last key is Larry Coyer: With those four key guys healthy and his lack of timidity to blitz from all directions (something his predecessor was scared or incapable of doing), the defense will give teams a harder time than most pundits think.

The offensive issues, with Manning running the practices, will be solved come game day. The Colts already showed by the end of the season that they can run the ball when they feel like it or when they need too.

That’s something they couldn’t do last year going into the playoffs. But this year, don’t worry about the Colts running game ranking 32nd in the league.

The Colts backfield is loaded with running backs for different situations who can all get it done, including much-maligned (unfairly in my opinion) Joseph Addai, who has a nose for the end zone, and explosive runs and catches when the Colts need it.

The passing game has looked off a little this season. Guys have dropped balls, run the wrong routes, and mishandled the ball when it did hit them. Most of Mannings’ 16 interceptions were due to those problems.

But with Manning having four weeks to work with the two rookie receivers and the two veterans, trust me when I say this will not be a problem come playoff time.

Those guys will be ready to play, and the timing issues will be resolved. Manning will see to that.

That leaves us with the one unknown: Peyton Manning.

How will he fare in the postseason? We all know that he has struggled at times in the playoffs, and the way Manning has gone, so has the team. When Manning played poorly, the team lost.

This year is different: For one, Manning finally has a defense and a defensive coordinator who knows how to combine a Tampa 2 scheme with a zone-blitz/man blitz scheme.

Second, Manning has a fire in his belly this year that I haven't seen in all the years he has played.  He exudes the “no quit” attitude, which spreads to every player on the team. Manning has the will to win, and so does the team.

That’s not something the pundits or laymen can quantify in their predictions. It’s also something that every team that faces them should worry about, because it can’t be game-planned around.

That’s why, even with their so called “deficiencies,” the Colts are the scariest team in the playoffs.

I’m not sure any team can stop Manning from reaching his goal of another Super Bowl championship this year!

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All week long I have had to listen to commentators and fans bemoan the fact that the Colts organization pulled the starters in the third quarter of last week’s game.

Why is everyone so irate? It’s as if Jim Caldwell and Bill Polian committed some egregious atrocity.

 The answer is because Colts fans feel cheated out of a meaningless win, in a meaningless game, in an attempt to match, not set, a meaningless record.

Apparently, what the Colts organization did was so bad that some people are cancelling their season tickets.

So let me get this straight: fans are going to punish the organization by cancelling season tickets, which will be easily re-sold, and miss out on watching one of the best teams in the NFL over the last decade, playing with the best quarterback to ever step on the field. That’s how they’re going to punish the Colts?

I guess I should have paid more attention in my logic class in college, then maybe this would make sense to me, but I digress.

First off, the organization made it very clear (as early as October) that 16-0 was not important to them. Why all the outrage now. Did everyone think Bill Polian was kidding? If so, then you don’t know Bill Polian.

The second thing about all this tumult, and unnecessary drama, is that people are ignoring the fact that besides from having a season beyond any ones expectations, the Colts actually set two records this season: 1) The 2009 Colts achieved the most wins in a decade. 2) The Colts also set a record of 23 regular season wins.

The point here is the Colts set, not matched a record already set by the Patriots, two records that will probably stand for a very long time.

Colts fans need to look at the big picture here. Part of the big picture is looking at the two records that were set, and taking the time to marvel at how amazing, given all the injuries and fourth quarter comebacks, that those records were achieved in the first place. It’s a testament to the heart with which this team has played all year.

The Colts may not be the most talented team in the league right now if  all you look at is statistics, but they have that inexplicable ability to win no matter what. That’s not something that fans of any team see very often.

Maybe it’s time to stop the whining about 16-0, and realize you may never see a team like this again.

The other part of the big picture is twofold. First, has it ever occurred to anyone to look at the toll it took on the Patriots to go undefeated? I remember that season, and as it went on the margins of victory became smaller. By the time the Patriots made it to the playoffs they looked worn out.

 Go back and watch the film of the post-season. The Patriots started to struggle; they didn’t give off that sense of invincibility anymore. In fact they had their problems against the Jaguars and Chargers, regardless of the final scores.

By the time they got to the Super Bowl they didn’t look like the same team that started the season. They looked tired and beat up. There is no doubt in my mind that the energy it took to go 18-0 had finally caught up with them.

Is that what the Colts fans want for their team? A team that is already worn out by a brutal regular season schedule that had them play five prime time games, four of which were on the road.

Maybe fans don’t understand, but when a team plays a primetime away game, that means the team doesn’t get home until four, five, or six in the morning. Then most of them still have to go to the facility on their “day off” for treatment of injuries and other duties.

Last Sunday I saw a team that looked beat. Sure, they could have beat the Jets, but at what cost? Gijon Robinson got injured in that game helping block on the weakside of the line (because the only thing Tony Ugoh can block is the lunch line).

What if Peyton was in the game, and because Robinson wasn’t in there to help block, he got hit on one of Rex Ryan’s exotic blitzes. What if that hit caused him to tear his anterior cruciate ligament, and his medial collateral ligament, like Wes Welker did today?

Is matching a record that somebody already set worth that?

Ask the Colts if they rather start the new decade off as world champs, or go 16-0, risk more injuries, maybe lose their quarterback, and end up with nothing in the end.

That’s why Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell made the right decision, regardless of what the fans think. They know better than anyone else that they have a banged up team, that’s nursing injuries, and needs its rest.

Remember, their job is to do what is best for the team, so that they can win a championship, not placate the fans.

 If Colts fans want to see the team go all the way, then stop complaining over a stupid number, and let management get them healthy, so that come playoff time they field a team that is ready for one hell of a fight.

The Colts are going to need everyone they’ve got if they are to be hoisting the Lombardy Trophy on February 7, 2010, and that’s why 16-0 is superfluous, and the bitching and moaning needs to stop.

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In typical Colts fashion, little was released about the severity of Harrison’s injury or when he would return. One week after another the fans were told it would be soon, that he’s coming along, we expect him to start practicing any day, then it was we’ll see how many days of practice he can get through, then it was we think he's going to play, and finally, we decided to hold him out.

In other words, the typical stuff Colts fans hear every time a player is hurt.

I remember during this time talking to Pat Kirwan on N.F.L. radio about Harrison, with Pat reassuring me that Marv, as the guys in the locker room liked to call him, would be ready come playoff time.

 Pat tried to allay my concerns about Harrisons lack of playing time heading into the playoffs. I said to him, “Wouldn’t it be better if he could get out and play the last game of the season to get some of the rust off before the playoffs?” He retorted back that Marv wasn’t going to forget how to play football.

 To his credit Pat was right: Harrison didn’t forget how to play football, he just forgot how to hold onto the ball.

In that playoff game, Marv caught a pass from Manning, took a hit, fumbled the ball, and the Chargers recovered it. The Colts looked like they were about to go up 14-0, and put the Chargers in a real hole when it happened. Instead, it can be argued that playing Harrison that day cost the Colts the game.

In this age of parity, I feel confident making that statement. The new reality in the N.F.L. is that often games just come down to one play now: just go ask Bill Belichick.

The Colts seemed to have learned a lesson from how they handled the Marvin Harrison situation. Mind you the lesson learned wasn’t, “Let’s tell the fans what’s really going on with injured players.”

 The subterfuge about injuries continues to this day, with most Colts fans having to check Adam Schefter’s Twitter updates to find out the truth about the status of players.

No, the lesson learned here is it was better to put Anthony Gonzalez on injured reserve than what the Colts did with Marvin Harrison two years ago.
It was clear from watching that playoff game in 2008 that Marvin Harrison shouldn’t have been within 50 miles of a football field. However, the Colts played him anyway, even though he hadn’t played in a single game since the end of September and clearly was not 100% healthy.

Bill Polian learned from that disaster. This year, instead of trying to force it, the Colts organization did the right thing. It must have been obvious to Bill Polian that when Gonzalez practiced on Monday, that there was no way they were going to be able to get him on the field in the next two weeks.

The Colts understood that without Gonzalez getting significant playing time in actual games in the regular season that he was going to be useless in the playoffs. The Marvin Harrison incident proved that all the practice in the world doesn’t make up for playing in a real game, not even for a 12 year vet.

The reality is that, even if a player is let’s say 90% healthy, to be a contributor to the Manning offense you need to be out there on Sundays, in game conditions, scrapping the rust off, running perfect routes, and rebuilding the timing and trust that Manning demands from his wide receivers.

I have no doubt that “Gonzo” could play come playoff time, but the Colts wisely knew that for the team, and the player it was better to put him on injured reserve then have a repeat of 2008.

I.R. is a good thing for Anthony Gonzalez. It will really give him time to heal from his injury. He’s going to need it too, because he is going to have one hell of a battle in training camp next year winning back the number two receiver position from Garcon.  The sad reality for Gonzalez is it’s unlikely to happen

Garcon is putting up numbers in his first season as a starter that are better than Reggie Waynes numbers in his first full season starting; he has also shown that he is a much better as the flanker than Gonzalez ever was.

He has better speed, size, strength, and blocking ability than Gonzalez, on top of that he doesn’t appear to be made of glass like “Gonzo.”

In reality, Gonzalez will be cheap to keep around. His projected salary for next year is $1,396,250.

For a team that has implemented the spread offense more this year than any other season that I can remember, Gonzalez has a place with the Colts. Unfortunately, for him, it’s probably as the fourth receiver. 

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For the most part, that team has been the San Diego Chargers.

Compelling arguments abound, with greater alacrity then Washington’s deficit spending, why the Colts should be afraid of the Chargers, how the Chargers are the last team that the Colts want to see in the playoffs, etc.

But the facts belie the rhetoric.

So let’s lay waste to all this hot air, by looking at who the Chargers have played in this winning streak of theirs, that the Vic Caruccis of the world seem to think is the most astounding thing to happen since the first time he tasted Cheese Whiz.

Over the last nine games, the Chargers have played five teams with winning records. Of those teams with a winning record, they dominated only one of them: the Denver Broncos.

This is in no way a knock against the Chargers. They are one of the premier teams in the NFL, talented on both sides of the ball, and a win is a win. Nor would it be a shocker if they went to the Super Bowl this year; once the playoffs start, anything can happen.

No, the point of bringing up whom they have played, and the lack of dominance in their wins, is to counter the absurdity that the Chargers are to be feared because they are some uber- juggernaut of a team that beats their opponents into the ground until the players on the other team run off the field crying, “No coach I’m not going back out there. I’m scared!”

What is even more comical about this whole storyline about the Chargers, and how they are to be “feared”, is that the first thing cited is that they are on a nine game winning streak.

But there is no talk of the Colts in this whole conversation, or their 14-game winning streak, all while having to overcome tremendous adversity.

Sure the Chargers have injuries at some key positions, but if you include the tumultous offseason the Colts had, what the Chargers have had to battle through can't compare to what the Colts have gone through, and overcome this season.

There seems to be this weird disconnect this year between what the Colts have accomplished and how the media perceives them.

There doesn’t seem to be the profound recognition of the phenomenon of going 14-0, with what little the Colts have had to play with this year.

It’s rather perplexing and the only analysis of why this is occurring is that everyone has become spoiled by the Colts being so good for so long, that this season is being taken for granted.

In a way, it’s understandable. The Colts haven’t had a down year since 2001, which is the only year since 1999 that they haven’t made the playoffs.

Since 2002, the fewest games they’ve won in the regular season is ten. As a franchise, in the era of free agency, the extraordinary Colts have become the ordinary for too many people.

Yet the reality is the 2009 Indianapolis Colts have a new coach and all the change that comes along with that, have been decimated with injuries that have taken some of their star players at key positions off the field for the entire season. They have been replaced with guys that are either rookies or haven’t played much in their time in the NFL.

On top of that they have had a very tough schedule in terms of the teams they have had to play (only three teams have records under .500), and the fact that they had five road games in a row after week one.

Yet here the Colts are at 14-0, a franchise record, and now a member of a small, elite group of teams to accomplish this feat.

The magnitude of what the Colts have accomplished this season is beyond the amount of superlatives in the English language to do them justice. The best to be said is that there are few teams that could have gone through what the Colts did this season and have that kind of record.  

Here is what truly makes this team scary, and it’s not the fact that the team or their quarterback seem to be tying or breaking some record every week.

No, it’s this  slight modification of a line from the move Gladiator, “a team should know when they are conquered.” But that’s the problem for other teams facing the Colts: they don’t know when they’ve been conquered. It’s not part of their vocabulary.

Half of the Colts’ wins this season have been fourth quarter comebacks. That's because there is no quit in this team. They’re like the serial killer in the horror movies who keeps getting back up no matter how many times you’ve killed him.

The Colts refuse to lose, regardless of what obstacles they have to overcome to win. Now that’s something to be feared.

Here is the problem every team facing the Colts in the playoffs is going to have to contend with: to beat the Colts you have to play a perfect game for 60 minutes, nothing less; not even 59 minutes and 59 seconds. That’s not good enough; you must play a perfect game, a game where you do not make a single mistake for the 60 minutes.

On top of that, you’re playing a team that can survive making multiple mistakes.

They can sit on the bench for 46 minutes of the game, Peyton Manning can throw three interceptions, the defense can give up big plays, or let the other team run all over them, and yet it doesn’t affect the outcome, because when it matters the most, somebody steps up for the Colts and makes a big time play.

It may be a superstar like Reggie Wayne, or it could be some guy that you never heard of before, but there will be somebody and they will make a play. Then the other team's 17-point lead just vanishes within a couple of minutes.

Name a team going into the playoffs that can play a mistake free game for sixty minutes.

If you're a fan of the NFL instead a fan of your own team, you can’t name one with a straight face.

That is the fact that all the pundits are missing. That is why the Colts are the scariest team in the playoffs right now.

Does all this guarantee that they’re headed to the Super Bowl? No, of course not, but it is why the media should be talking about the Colts as the last team that anyone wants to face in the playoffs.

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On one play, the defense played fantastic, and the next they'd look like they couldn’t stop an 80-year-old man in a wheelchair.

The offense fared no better. Manning and company came out on fire, and then looked like the St. Louis Rams for the majority of the game. However, when it looked like they might lose, the switch went on for Manning and the offense, and they won the game.

Colts fans have undergone an excruciating experience this year. Every game has been like this. Each contest has been has been a heart-stopping mixture of mediocrity and brilliance, all jam-packed into 60 minutes.

The Colts are nowhere near a dominant team, and the stats back it up.

Other than a passing game that ranks second in the league, there’s nothing special about this team. Just looking at the stats, you might think them a .500 club; definitely not a team that is 13-0, the No. 1 seed in the AFC, and the holders of an NFL-record 22nd regular season wins in a row.
 
Yet each week the Colts show us they’ve got the proverbial “will to win”. Week in and week out, no matter how dire the situation, guys come up with big plays when it matters most.

If Manning throws three interceptions in one game, it doesn’t matter because he’ll put together enough 75-yard drives to win the game. The defense will do their part, and get the big stops, the big interceptions, the big sacks, and the big fumbles that the team needs to win.

Colts’ fans have learned to expect the unexpected, maybe to even embrace it. Or maybe they have just resigned themselves to it. They don’t know when the big plays are coming, they just know they will; and somehow the team will just keep winning.

The question is, can this injury-riddled team, made up of a hodgepodge of vets and rookies who seem to revel in winning by the seat of their pants, make it to the Super Bowl and win?

Oddly enough and against all logic, the answer is a resounding yes.

The Colts have something special going on this year, more so than any other year in the Manning Era (including the year they won the Super Bowl). From Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell to the coaching staff to the guys throwing blocks on kickoffs, this is the most unified team in football this season.

The Colts are made up of 53 guys, and while each individual may not be the greatest at his position, when they come together they play as one. They exemplify what it truly means to be a “team”.

As a team, they have three goals each and every week: play for 60 minutes, play hard, and win.

The rest doesn’t matter: if a guy misses a tackle or if Peyton throws three interceptions, all are superfluous. As long as the team has won the game, the stats, the analysis, and all the rest are meaningless.

You never hear players bitching and moaning on this team. You never see guys with big egos making silly touchdown celebrations. You just see a team.

When you face guys like this, that have no quit and don’t even know the meaning of the word, guys that know they will win every game they play...how do you defeat them?

Well there is one way, and one way alone. It’s not by having more talent than they do, or having a better game plan than they do. Or any other conventional answer to the question.

The answer to beating the Colts is simple: you must have the same psychology that they do. "We are a team, we believe in each other, and we believe that we will find a way to win".

Well that, and a future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback.

Looking over the NFL landscape this season, there is no team like the Colts. There are plenty of other teams that look better on paper than they do. But that’s why you can’t use conventional thinking when analyzing them.

There are plenty of teams with better stats, ones that you could argue are superior to the Colts. There’s only one problem with that: the Colts are undefeated, and are setting records every week.

Even though the Saints haven’t lost a game, they have not had to overcome the adversity that the Colts have.

So as you listen in the coming weeks to former players and the professional media, regarding all of the Colts’ flaws, and why such and such a team is going to beat them in the playoffs, just ask yourself this one simple question:

Can Indy’s opponents play the perfect game?

If you’re honest with yourself you already know the answer to that question.

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In the NFL, the past is no true gauge of the future.   If it were, then right now the Falcons, Ravens, and Titans would all have winning records, and Tom Brady would be on his way to another 50-touchdown season. 

Having said that, it is important to understand that, even though the Chargers and Colts have met seven times during the Manning era, and the Colts have won only three of those meetings, the losses were in no way blowouts (which, by the way, refutes this silly notion that the Chargers have the “Colts’ “number”).   

Of all the times the Colts and Chargers have met, the December 26, 2004 game is the best example of how, in the blink of an eye, Peyton Manning can win a game and make history, and it’s the best object lesson on why the media and Chargers’ fans should not be so confident about the Chargers’ chances against the Colts in any playoffs games this season. 

December 26, 2004:

This game has to go down as an all-time classic in the matchups between the Colts and the Chargers.

The Colts came into this game on a seven-game winning streak, and Manning only needed two touchdowns to break Dan Marino’s 20-year-old record of 48 touchdowns in one season. 

However, this game didn’t go like most of the games had gone for the Colts that season.   In the majority of that season’s games, the Colts were an offensive juggernaut that completely dominated their opponents.

On this day, though, the Chargers had no intention of having Manning break Marino’s record against them. On this day, the Chargers’ meant to keep points at a premium for Manning and the Colts.

To their credit, the Chargers almost succeeded; for three and a half quarters the Chargers defense confused Manning, bringing blitzes, extra defensive backs, jamming the receivers, and disrupting their routes.  Manning was shaken, out-of-sync, off-target, and just plain confused-looking.  

The Chargers’ defense sacked Manning four times, intercepted the ball, and caused two forced fumbles.   On that day, you would never have believed that Manning was playing with three receivers who were all to have over 1,000 receiving yards and at least ten touchdowns apiece that season.

Instead, on that day, for the majority of the game, the Colts could do little more than score field goals.

Meanwhile, while Indy’s offense was sputtering, the Chargers’ offense was on a roll, scoring touchdowns and putting up points.   By the middle of the third quarter, the Chargers had scored 24 points, dwarfing the Colts’ measly nine points.

It looked like the tide might be starting to turn for the Colts when the offense went  on a 72-yard drive which culminated in a touchdown pass from Manning to James Mungro; this was Manning’s first TD of the day, and his 48th of the season (tying Dan Marino’s record).  Suddenly the Colts were only down by eight points.

However, the Chargers immediately regained their point cushion by starting the fourth quarter with a 16-yard TD run from L.T., making the score 31-16.

But the Colts weren’t done yet.  In fact, they had just started for the day.

First, Dominic Rhodes had an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.   With that score, the Colts edged ever closer to the Chargers.   Suddenly, the score was 31-23.

Still, the game seemed under control for the Chargers.  With only 4:47 left on the clock, having held Manning to only one touchdown for the day, and pretty much dominating the Colts, things still looked good for the Chargers.

Against a normal team, with a normal quarterback who, admittedly. was having a bad day, most fans would feel pretty good about their teams’ chances of winning the game; but this was no normal team, and this certainly was not a typical quarterback.

At 4:47, Manning was facing a fourth and four from his own 25-yard line.   Most coaches in this situation would call in the punting unit, and hope their defense could get the ball back; however, this wasn’t most teams and this certainly wasn’t most quarterbacks.

Manning, well known for his moxie, waved off the punting unit, and hooked up with Reggie Wayne for a 19-yard completion down the field.   Next came back-to-back completions to Clark and Harrison, and then the record breaking catch by Brandon Stokley in the end zone for Manning’s 49th touchdown of the season.  

After all that was a run by the “Edge” for the two-point conversion.   In what seemed like a matter of moments, Manning had driven the Colts 75 yards and tied the game at 31-31.

The game went into overtime and, after another 61-yard drive by Manning, Vanderjagt (affectionately dubbed "our drunk idiot kicker " by Manning) kicked the winning field goal.

Most Colts fans, so preoccupied with the Colts-Patriots rivalry, don’t realize what a great rivalry there is between the Chargers and the Colts.   Most of the games between the two teams this decade have been this thrilling.  However, none are as special for Colts fans as this one, and that is why it is deserving of particular attention as we look back on Manning’s brilliant career.

The Colts may very well play the Chargers in the playoffs this year, and all those in the media who are saying that this is the team that the Colts don’t want to see in the playoffs would do well to pause a second and remember that 2004 game.

Next, they might want to consider that Manning has actually gotten better since then.

This season, as he breaks a record in practically every game he plays and is headed for a historical fourth league MVP, I doubt that he fears playing the Chargers.

Manning now has 40 fourth quarter comebacks (only seven away from the great John Elway), and has proven that he only needs 14 minutes and 53 seconds to win a game.

As a team, the Colts have shown that, in every game they played this year, “quit” is not in their vocabulary.   They are fearless and no team scares them.   They just go out and play 60 minutes of Colts football and they WIN.

This team, with all its flaws, has that intangible quality that only winners have.  No one can name it, but you know it when you see it.  Maybe, as I said before, we should just say, “They Have The Will To Win!”

Instead, maybe the media should be asking if this is the one team that the Chargers don’t want to see in the playoffs.

If it’s the Colts and the Chargers in the playoffs, and it’s fourth and two, on the 25-yard line, with the Colts down by 17 and three minutes to go, and Manning waves off the punting unit, just remember: this isn’t the Patriots you’re playing, and Manning and the Colts are right where they shine the brightest.

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There are plenty of accolades to go around amongst this group, but there is one player in particular who doesn’t get spoken of a lot but who, in my opinion, is a rising star for the Colts.

Jerraud Powers.

Powers decided to take a risk by leaving Auburn a year early and entering the 2009 draft.

Most projections had him being drafted late in the fourth or fifth round and playing in the nickelback/dimeback role and on special teams.

The general draft analysis of Powers that was reported in many publications was the following: "Does not have the ideal height or bulk that you look for...Isn't very strong...Not a great tackler...Struggles to get off blocks...Won't offer much in run support...Takes too many chances...Durability concerns."

The above analysis is the perfect reason that there are sports commentators and then there's Bill Polian. As is usual, more often than not, Bill sees what the rest of us do not.

He is an excellent judge of talent, and not only has Powers proved the commentators wrong, he has also broken Bill's third round curse: namely, that a lot of his third round picks have been busts.

It's funny how much circumstance and luck can give a young rookie an opportunity in the NFL; it's a shame that so many squander that opportunity. Instead, consciously or unconsciously, Powers has used his chance to prove the critics wrong.

Jerraud Powers has been a starter since Week One and has only missed one game. So how has he done? Let’s look first at his individual stats and where they rank him statistically with the rest of the Colts defense:

In the 11 games that Powers has played, he has recorded 54 solo tackles and 8 assists. He has ten passes defended, one interception, and one forced fumble.

Not too shabby for a guy who "can't get off his blocks" and was considered a poor tackler.

So where does he rank when compared with the rest of the Colts defense? Oh, nothing special. He just comes in at fifth.

The players who are ahead of him, well there's really no one special on that list either:

1. Clint Session

2. Antione Bethea

3. Gary Brackett

4. Melvin Bullitt

One of those players just happens to be a Pro-Bowler, and one should be (Gary Brackett).

Let's look at something else: How does Powers' first season as a starter compare to the Colts' two starting corners (though after this season I doubt that Marlin Jackson will win his job back from Powers) first seasons as starters?

Kelvin Hayden averaged 5.18 total tackles per game, had 10 passes defended, and three interceptions.

Marlin Jackson averaged 5.43 total tackles per game, had four passes defended, and one interception.

Currently, Powers is averaging 5.63 total tackles per game, and as stated earlier, has 10 passes defended, one interception, and one forced fumble.

At 5.63 tackles per game, Powers is on pace to have roughly 84 tackles by the end of the season.

Powers' numbers are remarkable when you consider that both Hayden and Jackson, at that point in their careers, were two-year vets and had played in a Super Bowl.

Most coaches around the league agree that Powers plays beyond his years. This young man, who had a lot of knocks going against him coming into the draft, has become a very important part of why the Colts are 12-0.

It's about time that people in the mainstream media start taking notice of him. When it playoff time comes and Kelvin Hayden is completely healthy, teams are going to be facing, in my humble opinion, one of the best cornerback tandems the Colts have ever had.

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Obviously, Jason didn’t read the Mike Chappell piece from the INDYSTAR written on the same day. Had he read that piece, he might not have been so quick to do any reporting that day.

Here is what “Gonzo” had to say about his status: "I felt like I was close the last time," Gonzalez said. "So in that sense, it's a little hard to say. I do feel the 'scope I had helped a lot. Now it's just a matter of getting a little flexibility back and all my strength back. But I think I'm close."

Jim Caldwell, on the Sirius Blitz this morning, further backed up what Chappell reported. When asked about “Gonzalez,” he said the same thing he’s been saying for weeks. Caldwell is seeing improvement and thinks he’s “close” to returning, but he can’t give a date.

Before we go any further, let’s pause, and reflect on what “close” means. Close doesn’t mean in game shape and ready to play.

Once “Gonzo” gets his strength back, he’s going to have to go out, make it through a week of practice, and practice well to even be considered close to playing in an actual game.

“Close” right now means close to returning to practice. Then, when he does return to practice, he’s going to have to develop timing and rhythm with Peyton all over again.

Ten weeks without playing is like years in pro-football. If Peyton doesn’t think Anthony is ready for gameday, then Anthony isn’t playing come gameday.

Another thing to factor into this whole discussion: Peyton only has so much time to devote each week to the wide receivers. How much time is Peyton going to spend with “Gonzo” when he knows that, even if he does play, it’s going to be very limited?

Don’t think for a minute that the majority of the time Peyton allocates to his receivers is going to go to the Colts’ two new emerging stars: Garcon and Collie. Sorry “Gonzo,” that’s just how it goes.

The reality is it’s going to take weeks once “Gonzo” returns to the practice field for him and Peyton to get on the same page again. It’s not like they have been playing together for years, like Reggie and Peyton have, and even between Reggie and Peyton, it still would take some hard work to re-establish the chemistry that they share.

The sad truth for Anthony Gonzalez is he got hurt in what was supposed to be his breakout year and got replaced by a guy who, frankly, is better.

If “Gonzo” can return this season, he’ll be backing up Garcon at best.

Garcon is bigger, stronger, and faster than Gonzalez. Going into the playoffs, teams may find themselves facing a receiving corps as deep as the 2008 New England Patriots, and Gonzo might find himself on the outside looking in.

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The only area of the team, which is almost beyond reproach, is the offenses' passing game; they are ranked No. 1, so it’s hard to knock them. Still, even No.18, who is on his way to another MVP season, has had mistake filled games.

When examining the performance of the team in other areas of play, they are either mediocre or flat out bad. What’s more disturbing, is that they don’t seem to be improving.

For example, in the past three weeks, the Colts have rushed for 67, 77 yards, and 84 yards respectively. What do you say about those numbers? You would be hard pressed to say that the running game is improving significantly, if at all.

Even with the replacement of Mike Pollack for Kyle Devan, which was a great move, the running game hasn’t improved that much.

The Colts run defense hasn’t been consistent either. If you look at the stats, they go up and down, week by week.

The pass defense hasn’t fared much better. In fairness, there are two rookie defensive backs playing, but the rest of the guys out there have been in the system for a while.

Larry Coyer was brought in to shore up the running game, get the defense off the field on third down, and not have the whole pass rush depend on the front four. To his credit, he has improved those three areas to some degree.

On the other hand, he is not as aggressive as he should be, they're not doing enough zone blitzing, and there is still way too much soft-zone coverage being played. The cornerbacks play too far off the receivers, giving them huge cushions, which are leading to easy completions for opposing quarterbacks.

Tackling is also still an issue. This is the second year in a row where the defenders miss tackles, which in turn, lead to big gains by the opposing offense.

Special teams are another area that has improved, but again, their performance changes week by week, and at best they are nothing to rave about.

There is one area the Colts have been consistent in. The red zone. They don’t allow many touchdowns. This, more than anything, has kept the Colts in a lot of games. Staying close allows Peyton to do his magic, which in turn has lead the team to a 10-0 record.

Reading this, you can’t help but ask an obvious question: how does this team keep winning every week?

There is only one answer—this whole team has the will to win. It’s not something you can teach, either players believe they are winners or they don’t. The Colts walk into every game knowing, not hoping, that they will win.

It starts with No. 18 and permeates every square inch of the locker room. There is no quit in Peyton and there is no quit in this team. Peyton Manning reminds me of Maximus from Gladiator. He leads by example, the team feeds off of that, and follow him into battle, never questioning whether they will succed or not. They love their general, and the thought of letting him down is worse than death to them.

You won’t see it in any statistic. It’s not something that can be quantified, categorized, or put into a little box. From the coaching staff to the undrafted rookies, this team plays for 60 minutes with the calm that comes from knowing that no matter what happens, they will find a way to walk away victorious.

Since they believe in their leader, in themselves, and the guys standing next to them, failure is not an option, and so, they succeed.

That’s exactly what has been happening over the past 10 weeks. Even though I think this team will lose a game or two, in the grand scheme of things it won’t matter. When it matters most, the will to win has become a part of their very being.

We may be witnessing something that will never happen again. One of the best quarterbacks in the past 30 years, leading, on paper, a team with so many issues that they should be competing for one of first five picks in next years draft, to what matters most:a championship in Super Bowl XLIV.

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