INDIANAPOLIS -- You expect the Colts to throw, and throw a lot, but even for Peyton Manning and his band of merry, pass-happy men this was a little bit nuts. Indy ran nine plays -- eight of them passes -- in the first two minutes of the game, averaging one every 14 seconds, completely disregarding the play clock and leaving their star offensive players more than a little bit tuckered out.
"I wouldn't call it fun," said tight end Dallas Clark, who caught 11 passes in the first half and 14 -- for 119 yards -- in the game. "When you run 60 plays in the first half, you're going to feel that on Wednesday and Thursday. But the win makes it feel a lot better."
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.
As Round 1 of our single-elimination fight tournament involving NFL coaches nears its end, let us recap the action we've seen so far. To view the entire bracket or learn what we're talking about, kindly click on the links below.
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.
NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.
Consider this hypothetical: what if two coaches met in a dark alley and threw down in a no-holds-barred brawl? Who would emerge victorious?
First, some background: back when I was in high school, when my friends and I were pretty creative in finding ways to avoid actually paying attention in class, we'd create brackets (think NCAA Tournament) where we'd pit our teachers against each other**. Whoever we thought would win in a fight advanced to the next round. It always ended with our offensive line coach against our wrestling coach in the finals and a huge argument as to who would come out on top.
Anyway, last week, the Back Porch staff somehow ended up discussing whether Rex Ryan or Tom Cable would win in a old school playground scrap. I passed along the above information, and shortly after that, an idea was born -- NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament.
So was emerging offensive star Pierre Garcon, the Colts' second-year receiver who caught three passes for 64 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown reception down the right sideline with 1:52 remaining before halftime in a game that proved totally one-sided after a tight opening quarter.
That play was the third of Manning's three second-quarter touchdown passes -- Reggie Wayne caught a 20-yard scoring pass and tight end Dallas Clark snared a 10-yard TD -- and all of them put this contest out of reach for the Cardinals (1-2), who are now 0-2 at University of Phoenix Stadium.
I've often wondered if Tiger Woods ever wears anything other than Nike-issued apparel. The answer, apparently, is no. Tiger was on the Colts sideline during the Monday Night Indy-Miami game and save a Stanford hat (Nike, no doubt), he looked like he just finished a tournament round. It certainly simplifies the "What am I going to wear today?" conversation.
It got so bad for Jake Delhomme Sunday that, even when he was good, he was bad.
Was he ever good in Carolina's 38-10 loss to the Eagles, in which he threw four interceptions and lost a fumble that was returned by a touchdown? Well, the Panthers took the opening kickoff and moved 70 yards for a score of their own to take a 7-0 lead on DeAngelo Williams' 11-yard run. But it was ugly -- two plays before the TD, the Panthers had a first down at the Eagles 1, but Ryan Kalil jumped on the first play and Jeff Otah on the second.
Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
For most franchises, 12 wins is a banner year; one they can hang their proverbial hats upon. For the Colts, 12 wins is a certainly. They have won at least 12 games in each of the last six seasons. They have also had Tony Dungy as their head coach for the past seven years, but now he's gone. In 2009, the Colts will look for some continuity. Can it be provided by the Jim Caldwell administration?
The plan was supposed to work something like this: the Indianapolis Colts would draft a left tackle, he would sit and learn behind Tarik Glenn, and when Glenn finally moved on, Indy would have Peyton Manning's blindside protector already on the roster ready to assume the role.
With that in mind, it made sense that the Colts used a 2007 second-round pick on Arkansas tackle Tony Ugoh. Even though it was costly -- Indy sent their 2008 first-rounder to the 49ers for the right to move up in the '07 draft -- team president Bill Polian's player-personnel development record is spotless. If he thought it was a deft move, chances are, it was.
INDIANAPOLIS -- You expect the Colts to throw, and throw a lot, but even for Peyton Manning and his band of merry, pass-happy men this was a little bit nuts. Indy ran nine plays -- eight of them passes -- in the first two minutes of the game, averaging one every 14 seconds, completely disregarding the play clock and leaving their star offensive players more than a little bit tuckered out.
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- 
I've often wondered if Tiger Woods ever wears anything other than Nike-issued apparel. The answer, apparently, is no. Tiger was on the Colts sideline during the Monday Night Indy-Miami game and save a Stanford hat (Nike, no doubt), he looked like he just finished a tournament round. It certainly simplifies the "What am I going to wear today?" conversation.
It got so bad for 
Training camps have wrapped up, the 
The plan was supposed to work something like this: the 
