Stampede Blue
For years, many Sundays in Colts country could be rather sleepy. Of course there were monster games on the schedule and huge showdowns in prime time, but when Peyton Manning and company went to work in the one p.m. time-slot, it could be a real snoozer. Don’t get me wrong, beating the snot out of the opponent and running up the score was fantastic, but it left drama off at the curb outside the stadium. What we witnessed the Indianapolis Colts do in their dismantling of the Raiders was similar to so many Sundays of the past.
After the Raiders took an early 3-0 lead, the Colts did something like this: touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, and touchdown. Did I miss any? That is a lot of consecutive touchdowns. It was reminiscent of Manning throwing lights out in Detroit on Thanksgiving. It was the kind of beat down that almost leaves you feeling bad for the opponent. Daniel Jones picked the defense apart, courtesy of some short fields on defensive turnovers and a blocked punt, and Jonathan Taylor was in the endzone every time you turned around.
When Aston Dulin’s early kick return touchdown was called back due to a holding call, you felt a sense of, dang, that would have been nice. Nice but not needed at all. Starters were pulled in the fourth as Shane Steichen is continuing to show he knows what buttons to press on offense to get the most out of Jones. Oh, and let’s not forget about Tyler Warren: tight end, fullback, and now, quarterback…? This man can do it all and is showing Chris Ballard made a home run selection in this year’s draft. If you aren’t a mega fan of Warren at this point and what he is showing on the field, you don’t like football. His skills and development are moving this offense into the next tier of terrifying for opposing defenses.
For so many years, a good number of Sundays were sleepy; guaranteed wins. Unfortunately, fans have witnessed more sleepy Sundays, but those were a result of the Colts being on the other side of lopsided losses and lost seasons. This was a good type of sleepy Sunday. It was a happy, relaxing Sunday that left everyone ready for more football across the league to get their fill of drama and intrigue. The Colts didn’t provide any of that on Sunday, and that is alright with me.
