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It is FINALLY here – the start of the 2008 regular season gets underway tonight with the NFL Kickoff Game featuring the reigning Super Bowl Champion NY Giants hosting their divisional rival Washington Redskins. But let’s not kid ourselves, it is all just eye candy until the REAL season gets underway late Sunday evening, when the Chicago Bears make the short trip south to Indianapolis, where they will open the 2008 season against our beloved COLTS. The game will be played before a national television audience where much of the hype will revolve around the debut of Lucas Oil Stadium to the rest of the NFL, but the game itself is what this team, and this city, has been waiting for since the unexpected early exit at the end of last season. There were so many story lines last year – most of them involving an injury of some kind – only to see a similar trend continue through the offseason and into training camp.
While the team will open the season with still some key people not being ready to go, the present health of this team is as good as it has been for some time. Not having Jeff Saturday or Ryan Lilja will present a challenge, but as is always the case with this organization, someone will step up and fill the void.
We will FINALLY get to see the offense that most of us anticipated last year before loosing Marvin for a big part of the season – Marvin and Reggie split wide, Gonzo in the slot, Dallas releasing off the line and Joseph coming out of the backfield! WOW!!!
From what I saw in camp, Marvin is back and will prevent teams from double teaming Reggie like they often did last year. I also believe Marvin is going to be on a mission to silence all the critics that had little to no good things to say about him this past year. He was constantly under attack and because he chose not to discuss his issues with the press, it just escalated from there. It was wonderful to see the positive remarks and support shown to Marvin within this Network!
Coach keeps saying that the most players see the biggest improvement between years one and two – that is a scary proposition for Anthony Gonzalez! Gonzo was still getting his feet wet prior to Marvin’s injury last year, but once he did, the results were great. And consider he was REALLY playing out of position once Marv went down.
Dallas also benefits by moving back to his normal position – I still believe HE is the X-factor for this team since he presents perhaps the biggest match-up problem in all of the NFL. The combination of his size, speed and great hands, cannot be practiced against, nor easily defended when you have two Pro Bowl receivers sitting on the outside. And as soon as teams try to take Dallas away, then we revert back to Gonzo open running across the middle.
That brings us to the running back position, and I believe it is as good as it has EVER been - from top to bottom. We get the elusiveness that Joseph Addai brings to the field, the speed and savvy that Dominic Rhodes has to offer, and the hard-nosed physical running style that Mike Hart will offer in specific situations. I also like what I saw in camp with TE Gijon Robinson playing the role of H-back, as well as a particular play that the Colts ran over and over and over, with a very unsuspecting player catching some passes out of the backfield – if they use it during a game, you will ALL think back and understand exactly what play (and player) I am talking about!
They say that early in an NFL season, the DEFENSE is always a little bit ahead of the OFFENSE – I offer to you, and history would back it up, that the Colts work just the opposite. Quick starts over the last 4-5 years can be attributed to being able to score points EARLY in the season, while other teams struggle to do so. Due to the extensive number of injuries on the defensives side of the ball, I believe it will be imperative for our offense to be able to put points on the board while we continue to get a little bit healthier (players have missed a lot of time during camp).
The answers to everyone’s questions are just a few days away – it has been a very LONG offseason, following the magical ride we were on following the Super Bowl victory the year before!
NOW is time to start cranking up the energy!
NOW is the time to start warming up the vocal chords,
And NOW is the time to remind the rest of the NFL that the HARDEST place to play STILL resides in Indianapolis!
NO FORCE LIKE THE HORSE!!!!
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