Why The 2009 Colts Abandoned The Perfect Season 

Yeaaaaa that's crazy bro! Lol. Planning on doing something to show my appreciation

I know right?!

The Vikings were 12-1 at one point too crazy season

I can’t believe they were able to beat the Skins to go 13-0. Was so pissed

@@ItsJOHNMayneThey lost to the Cowboys

@@TJB270 an beat the Skins the week before

You can take losses towards the end of the year, it’s just how you fight. The saints loss close games towards the end and face their controversy. The Colts’ starting line up never experienced that until that onside kick.

@@user-kq4hf8se5b No they didn’t. Their first loss was to the Cowboys on a Saturday night. Then they lost to Tampa in OT. Their last game of that season was a loss to Carolina and that’s where the starters were all benched.

@@gatienlaurol5793 what they meant is that we lost games we were trying to win, meaning we faced real adversity. There was a slight risk of us losing the 2 seed to Minnesota until they lost in Chicago. The Colts won every close game that season they tried in; I can believe that meant they figured it would automatically happen again. Then Tracy Porter happened.

Interesting because it was a horrible ill-timed time out by Caldwell in Manning's last game ever in the playoffs, vs the Jets, that caused the Jets to get the win. Even Manning had a look like WTF when Caldwell called the time out and the announcers even questioned it. I never felt like 2009 mattered as much who was the head coach at least on offense, Manning would have done what he did with anyone - and to prove that Manning took 4 different head coaches to the Super Bowl. The Colt's defense just kept doing what it did that year too.

@@HamburgerHelperDeath Every good head coach with multiple years has those moments, even Belichick. And there are so many variables unknown to fans that play into those decisions. If not for Malcom Butler's INT the worst clock management decision in sports history would be attached to Belichick for not calling time out to give the real GOAT plenty of time for a game winning drive. Manning had 3 TDs and 7 INTs in the playoffs for his first Super Bowl run. He was carried by his team and Dungy in the playoffs, who would have multiple SBs if not for Manning choking and Caldwell would have one if not for an 80-yard horrible pick 6 to lose to the Saints that gave Sean Payton his one ring. Manning is the Karl Malone of QBs. An all-time great talent who is an all-time great choke artist. He may be the funniest QB in history, and maybe an even more entertaining pitch man than Shaq, so he is epically great in some ways.

@@wingman4356 I've always considered Rivers to be the biggest choke artist. He was the master of losing games with a late turnover.

@@wingman4356Very weird to dislike Peyton Manning that much, he is retired 💀

​@@NeverSober8008 no hate at all. Just objective analysis of part of his game, and to balance a narrative I still hear fans repeat with conviction about Caldwell. Mostly working on my talking points for the fall when hanging out with my new Colts fan friend. ha. Thanks for letting me know the tone can come off as weird hate over the internet. That's the kind of feedback I wanted.

I agree they deserved to lose the Superbowl

Running game stacked, qb the sheriff, wideouts hofers, defensive linemen freeny a god, safety bob goated with the sauce sanders tight end Clark top tier, kicker vinateri hall of famer like the team was ridiculous talented

@@ContentVintageTypewriter-ut1vl Many people may not want to believe this, but there’s a considerable amount of luck that goes into whether a good team can win the Super Bowl or not. Unfortunately, the Colts seemed to get hit with a lot of bad luck at the worst possible time. Bob Sanders could have been one of the NFL’s best safeties, he was a difference maker when he was on the field, but he just could not stay healthy in the final three or four years of his career and had to retire very young. Teams could always move the ball and score points against the Indianapolis defense in the mid to late 2000s. Peyton had the misfortune of peaking at the same time that Brady was coming of age and the Patriots becoming a force to be reckoned with, along with the Steelers once again becoming a contender in the AFC. Manning was not always flawless in the postseason, he made his fair share of mistakes but when you talk about bad luck, I remember watching the Colts losing to the Chargers in back to back playoff games at the end of the 2007 and 2008 seasons. As good as those Colts receivers were, in both of those games, they dropped passes at crucial moments, on 3rd and 4th down. 2007 was an especially tough pill to swallow for Colts fans, as they were the only team who could’ve possibly stopped the undefeated Patriots from going to Super Bowl 42. At the end of that game, the Colts defense let backup quarterback BILLY VOLEK drive 78 yards down the field for the go ahead touchdown! Rivers doing that is one thing, but not being able to stop Billy F***ing Volek is inexcusable. Compare the bad luck of Peyton and Rodgers to Tom Brady, who unquestionably is one of the greatest ever but Tom ALWAYS seemed to have things go in his favor during the most critical moments of a playoff game. Love it or hate it, that’s just how football is.

@@ContentVintageTypewriter-ut1vl Many people may not want to believe this, but there’s a considerable amount of luck that goes into whether a good team can win the Super Bowl or not. Unfortunately, the Colts seemed to get hit with a lot of bad luck at the worst possible time. Bob Sanders could have been one of the NFL’s best safeties, he was a difference maker when he was on the field, but he just could not stay healthy in the final three or four years of his career and had to retire very young. Teams could always move the ball and score points against the Indianapolis defense in the mid to late 2000s. Peyton had the misfortune of peaking at the same time that Brady was coming of age and the Patriots becoming a force to be reckoned with, along with the Steelers once again becoming a contender in the AFC. Manning was not always flawless in the postseason, he made his fair share of mistakes but when you talk about bad luck, I remember watching the Colts losing to the Chargers in back to back playoff games at the end of the 2007 and 2008 seasons. As good as those Colts receivers were, in both of those games, they dropped passes at crucial moments, on 3rd and 4th down. 2007 was an especially tough pill to swallow for Colts fans, as they were the only team who could’ve possibly stopped the undefeated Patriots from going to Super Bowl 42. At the end of that game, the Colts defense let backup quarterback BILLY VOLEK drive 78 yards down the field for the go ahead touchdown! Rivers doing that is one thing, but not being able to stop Billy F***ing Volek is inexcusable. Compare the bad luck of Peyton and Rodgers to Tom Brady, who unquestionably is one of the greatest ever but Tom ALWAYS seemed to have things go in his favor during the most critical moments of a playoff game. Love it or hate it, that’s just how football is.

Tom Brady.

@@ContentVintageTypewriter-ut1vl No D tackles to stuff the run.

Watch til the end, I address it

While he was important, that was not the reason they lost the Super Bowl. Colts were leading 16-17 at the beginning of the 4th quarter. Then they missed a FG, gave up a TD, and had a pick 6 all in a 4-minute span. It was a total meltdown by the Colts. Freeney is great and all but he wasn't worth a 15-point swing.

Challenge accepted 😎

🤣 my guy!

What happens when you rest your starters 🤷‍♂️

Yeah the saints actually tried

Right. The Saints never let off the gas. The colts did.

I totally agree!

The Colts weren't expecting to play the Jets in the playoffs. Nor were they worried about any other possible wild card being a threat. All that talk is just empty rhetoric filling the 24/7 news cycle. Patriots and Chargers were the threats that worried Indy , and they were eliminated in upsets. The Colts got past Baltimore and the Jets with two of the most robotic performances I've seen. When the Colts "laid"down for the Jets , all the emotion and passion was sucked out of the team. And Polian didn't help matters going on the local radio show with his weak arguments about playing it safe and how they set the record for most wins in a decade. then turn around in a snowy Buffalo game and let Peyton , Reggie,and Dallas play deep into the 2nd quarter just to make sure they got to 100 catches.

Though we were able to avenge that game the next yr and they didn't beat us again for over a decade. That 2010 win over them was so sweet. For me, it was payback regarding a couple of Colts fans I graduated HS with who trashed me over the Patriots.

The 2009 Colts achieved neither 😂

At the time , with Brady and Peyton rivalry going strong, I think that going for the perfect season would have been exactly what that team needed. Brady wins 3 SBs topping Indy twice en route- Peyton sets the TD record and beats NE in a great comeback to win his first SB - Brady breaks Peyton's record and almost pulls off the 19-0 perfecto. The look in Peyton's eyes after that Jets game says it all. You can't say we're going to play it safe , then turn around and run the stars back out in a meaningless snowy Buffalo game for nearly 2 quarters, just to chase contract incentives.

They still lost to the Saints.

@@KWCline91They were always going to lose to the Saints regardless of their regular season record. Peyton might have been the best individual player in 2009, but he’s just one player. From top to bottom, both the Saints and the Vikings were much better teams than the Colts were. When comparing them to Indianapolis in 2009, the Saints offense was a lot more high powered while their defense was excellent at forcing turnovers. The Vikings had a much better defense and were arguably the most perfectly balanced team in the NFL that season. No offense to the Colts, but I remember telling my dad that the 2009 NFC Championship was the true Super Bowl, whichever team won that game was going to win it all, and I was right.

@@johnselwitz5362nah the Vikings would of lost to the colts

@@thetf8142 Nope they wouldn’t have. Colts had Peyton Manning, Vikings had a better team

@@johnselwitz5362 that same logic could apply to a multitude of teams the colts beat that season 😂 The colts also beat the patriots that year, I’m pretty sure the Vikings wouldn’t of been as big of a challenge

Too bad you lost.

Not likely, being a playoff game. Most incentive clauses are regular season accomplishments, aren't they?

@@robertmurdock1848 I must’ve misunderstood. I thought he got hurt late in a regular season game. But what you said about incentives sounds correct although a team would probably rather see in the playoff games but any other time. I’m sure there’s nothing that prevent them from putting playoff incentives in the contracts. Still what you said makes sense.

@@r.williamcomm7693 Yeah , Freeney got hurt in the AFCC game against the Jets. Got treatment for the two weeks until the SB , played for some of the first half , before sitting out the second half of the SB.

Or Suckwell

Most unlikely Super Bowl team in 2009? I mean, that yr, we knew what the SB matchup was gonna be at the start of December.

Because you don't cower or run away when you face a challenge or adversity. If a player has a nagging injury that simple rest would alleviate, yeah let him sit it out. But , don't refuse to chase history, then go back out the next week in snowy Buffalo and play those same stars ,well into the 2Q , for them to earn contract incentives. If you really believe regular season accomplishments mean nothing and winning the SB is the only goal , you don't take that risk.

@@robertmurdock1848 nah u rest yo players they made the right decision

Caldwell was never HC material. In 2009, Peyton was the real HC of that team. He was the one that guided them to a near-perfect season and that SB run. Plus, you can argue it was Dungy's team (it was nearly all his guys). I knew that heading into 2010, we'd see the real Caldwell and we did. Then, we really saw him in 2011.

@@finchborat remember his time with The Lions?

@@PJ20091000 2014 was his only good season with them and the closest he came to a playoff win with the Lions. His 1st overall yr as a HC was ultimately his peak...and he was the HC in name-only.

I remember when lions fans were whining about the team firing jim because he was mid-consistent where they thought he was cookin but I wonder what they think about him now that dan campbell exists 😂

I was there for caldwell and then pagano. I'd have killed for caldwell during the luck era

One of the best offensive coaches ever Ravens 2012

That sucks