In an interview on Jim Rome’s radio show earlier today, Colts president Bill Polian addressed whether he feels any better about the team’s offensive line than he did after Indy’s Super Bowl loss to the Saints.
“Well, I don’t know until we get some real action under our belt,” Polian said. “I think we have some players there who are capable of playing pretty well.”
Polian also explained that the team struggled with the running game in short yardage and goal-line, pointing to the failure to convert a third-and-one play late in the second quarter as a “glaring weakness” in the Super Bowl.
Polian also said that the Colts “didn’t pass protect as well, particularly in the second half, as we are used to seeing.” He said it’s something that can be corrected by technique and personnel.
In response, we’ve got a couple of comments. (What? Did you think we’d simply end it there?)
First of all, Polian’s decision to talk to Rome about the things that went wrong in the Super Bowl makes Polian’s “past is prologue” monologue from his final 2009 press conference seem even more, well, goofy. He’s talking now about the Super Bowl, and there’s even less of a reason to discuss it than there was back in early February, in the days after the game was played.
Second, multiple members of the offensive line previously have expressed disagreement with Polian’s criticism. Thus, his comments to Rome will serve only to rile them up. An old-school football guy, which Polian is, would be inclined to say, “Good. Be pissed off at me. Maybe you’ll play better next time.” Still, it’s not necessarily a good thing to have center Jeff Saturday and right tackle Ryan Diem and left tackle Charlie Johnson miffed at the boss.
So while many assume that the 2010 Colts will simply pick up where they left off last season, dominating the AFC South and pushing their way into another Super Bowl, there could be some lingering issues that may prevent them from getting back — and from winning it if they do.