In what had to be one of the biggest coaching blunders in NFL history, first year Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell cost his team the Super Bowl.  Call me crazy, but I am a firm believer in a winning culture and that is exactly what the Indianapolis Colts had going as they were off to an astounding 14-0 record with no sign of slowing down.

That all ended in their 15th game when Caldwell decided to sit quarterback Peyton Manning amongst a few other key players in the third quarter with the Colts leading the Jets by 5 points.  Without Manning in the lineup, the Colts offence sputtered and they lost the game, their perfect season and the feeling of invincibility all in one fell swoop. The next week they rested more starters and lost to the hapless Buffalo Bills.  All of this was supposed to protect their marquee players from injury and have them ready for the playoffs. 

It is this aforementioned logic that I have trouble with.  These athletes are professionals who are paid large amounts of money to play each week and perform at their best.  These guys thrive on winning each time they step on the field.  To deprive the players of that opportunity can only have an adverse effect.  That is exactly what Caldwell did by being over protective. 

Don’t kid yourself, records and statistics matter to these players.  The Colts players would like nothing more than to be the second team to post a perfect season and win the Super Bowl .  Instead they came away with neither.  All because their coach wanted to make his mark on the team by proving that a perfect season meant nothing!  Instead he deprived the fans who pay hundreds of dollars the right to see their full squad in action and more importantly his team a chance to conquer something that had only been accomplished one time before. 

Some may argue that the New England Patriots played all out through a perfect regular season only to lose in the Super Bowl, however the difference was  the Pats were perfect all year until the last two minutes.  The fact that they chose not to rest their starters in the latter part of the season had no effect on the outcome of the Super Bowl.  A one in a million  fourth down catch on the helmet by then Giants receiver David Tyree had more to do with the outcome of that game than anything else. The Colts on the other hand were man handled in this year’s final by a hungrier energetic New Orleans Saints football team.

Too many times, and especially in the National Football League we see coaches sacrifice records and achievements for the “good of the team.”  The New England Patriots of 08/09 will always be remembered as the franchise that went 16-0 in the regular season, a team that put it all on the line for their fans and fans of the game all around the world. The 09/10 Indianapolis Colts will be remembered for nothing.  Just another 14-2 team that fell short in the Super Bowl.  Nice work coach Caldwell, you’re a genius.

Agree or disagree, I’m off the goalpost.

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