How could things get worse for the Colts, you say? Just two weeks ago, the optimism was building to a crescendo. Sure, the Patriots had upgraded many of their weaknesses, but other than the departure of a few replaceable defensive starters, the Colts losses were minimal. Then, the sky cracked and began to tumble. Tarik Glenn retired. Tony Ugoh, a rookie, became the guardian of Peyton Manning's blindside. Next, Corey Simon was cut, ending any thoughts of his acquistion actually fortifying our defensive interior.
And yesterday the sky landed on Colts fans heads: Booger McFarland may miss the entire season with a patella tendon tear. We had just returned from seeing The Bourne Ultimatum last night (phenomenal, BTW) when we turned on the NFL Network and this sentence scrolled across the bottom of the screen: A. McFarland out for season.
Shit. We're not going to say McFarland was a Pro Bowl-caliber player, by any means, but he was a capable run stuffer at the DT position. Those are a rarity for the Colts. His play in the playoffs was a big reason for the defense's sudden turnaround. Losing him for the entire season is, if not a death blow, as close as it gets. Our DT depth was shaky to begin with; those in line to replace McFarland have only a handful of NFL tackles combined. We're not prepared to concede this season or hand the AFC Championship to the Chargers or Patriots, but we're not blind. The Colts are starting the season behind the 8-ball.
We're going to be written off. Analysts will begin to say we'll be lucky to win 10 games, or simply return to the playoffs. Maybe they're right. But we still believe. At this point, when everything seems to be going wrong, what else can you do?
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