The Colts didn’t look that bad for much of Sunday’s loss. They ran the ball well; they stopped the run. You could argue the Colts looked like the better team against Cleveland for most of the day.
They slowed down the Browns offense, but Indy struggled on special teams as always. The biggest difference was that the Colts couldn’t convert in the red zone and Colt McCoy outplayed Kerry Collins by a lot.
Indianapolis is staring at 0-3 unless they can upset the Steelers this week. That has led to some wacky reaction in Indy.
Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star, one of my favorite columnists in the country, asks the Colts to call Brett Favre to see what he’s up to. Failing that, Kravitz wants Curtis Painter to play.
Seriously, why bother? Will that lead to a playoff spot? There’s no reason to think Favre would do any better with a leaky offensive line in front of him. Painter’s total inability to move the ball when given the chance is why the Colts gave Collins $4 million in the first place.
Collins played very poorly, but there’s no reason to think Painter (or Favre) would be any better. It may be hard to accept, but there is no gray-haired bullet out there that can save the Colts.
The Colts’ only chance, and it’s a longshot, is that Collins steadily improves while the team around him plays much better.