Part 3 – The Manning Era begins in Indianapolis.

Finishing 1997 with a 3-13 record enabled the Colts to draft QB Peyton Manning with the first overall draft pick. The Colts would institute Manning as their starter right away, as he had an impressive rookie season passing for 3,739 yards. However despite the stellar numbers from Manning the Colts struggled to their 2nd straight 3-13 season in 1998.

In 1999, the Colts would make a change at running back trading Marshall Faulk to the St. Louis Rams, and drafting Edgerrin James in the 1st round. The Colts offense would click right away with James who earned the Offensive Rookie of the Year with 2,159 all-purpose yards and 17 touchdowns. Peyton Manning racked up 4,135 passing yards as the Colts won the AFC East with an impressive 13-3 record. In the Divisional Playoffs the Colts hosted the Tennessee Titans in the first ever playoff game at the RCA Dome. However, the young Colts struggled in their first playoff game and were shutout in the 2nd half on the way to a heartbreaking 19-16 loss.

The Colts offense was explosive in 2000 but the defense struggle and was prone to giving up big plays at crucial times throughout the season. The Colts went 10-6 and qualified for the playoffs as a wild card. In the Wild Card round at Miami, the Colts led the Dolphins by 14 in the 3rd quarter. However, the Dolphins would comeback and force overtime where they stunned the Colts on a Lamar Smith TD run to pull out a 23-17 win, keeping Jim Mora winless in the playoffs.

2001 was a disaster for the Colts as they finished 6-10. James went down with a season ending knee injury in Kansas City in week 6 and so did the Colts playoff hopes. Head coach Mora was fired after criticizing Manning for throwing to many interception. The feud went public and the only way Mora could have saved his job was to fire all his defensive assistants. He refused and was canned on the spot. The Colts would hire ex-Tampa Bay and defensive specialist, Tony Dungy, as their new head coach.

The Tony Dungy Era got of to a 10-6 start in Indianapolis. The Colts finished 2nd in the newly formed AFC South (behind Tennessee). The Colts qualified for the playoffs as a wild card team. Along the way WR Marvin Harrison set a NFL single season record with 143 receptions for 1,722 yards.  However, the Colts playoffs appearance would be short and forgettable as they were mauled on the road by the New York Jets 41-0.

The 2003 and 04 seasons were almost identical. The Colts won the AFC South both years with a 12-4 record. Manning won consecutive MVP honors, sharing the award with Titans QB Steve McNair in 2003. Manning won his first playoff game, 41-10, against Denver at the RCA Dome in 2003. Both seasons ended in disappointment in Foxborough as the Patriots beat the Colts, 24-14, on a snowy day in the AFC Championship game in 2003. The Colts once again would crush Denver in the playoffs (49-24). New England once again put to rest Indy’s Super Bowl dreams in 2004 with a convincing 20-3 over the high powered Colts in the divisional round. 

The Colts rolled to a 13-0 start in 2005 and everything was going Indianapolis’ way. The thoughts of an unbeaten season came to a screeching halt as San Diego dumped the Colts at the RCA Dome, 26-17, handing Indianapolis their first loss of the season. A few days later the Colts would shaken personally as Coach Tony Dungy’s son committed suicide. The Colts played their starters sparingly over the last two games and finished with a 14-2 record. The rust showed in the playoffs as the top seeded Colts were totally outplayed by the sixth seeded Steelers, as Pittsburgh came to Indianapolis and beat the Colts 21-18 at the RCA Dome, sending Manning home again for the season ringless.

The Colts started 9-0 in 2006 before losing to Dallas 21-14 the week before Thanksgiving. The Colts stumbled down the stretch losing 4 of their last 7 games. The Colts won the AFC South for the fourth consecutive season with a 12-4 record but they were given no chance by the experts of doing any damage in the playoffs as they had the worst run defense in the league. The Colts got their defensive leader Bob Sanders back for the playoffs and the defense suddenly looked a whole lot different. The Colts beat the Chiefs and Ravens to set up another showdown with the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. It looked like once again the Colts would fold against the Patriots as they trailed 21-6 at halftime. The Colts rallied in the second half, behind a pumped up RCA Dome crowd, to beat the Patriots 38-34 sending the Colts to the Super Bowl for the first time since they moved to Indianapolis in 1984. Manning would get his ring along with MVP honors as the Colts won Super Bowl XLI, 29-17, over the Chicago Bears.

Bob Sanders being named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year on Monday completed my 30 year journey of being a Colts fan.

About the only thing I haven’t witness from the Colts is an undefeated season which is very rare in the NFL. I have seen just about everything you can imagine watching an NFL team for 30 years and most of it wasn’t pretty.

The Colts gave us an MVP quarterback getting hurt in his prime (Bert Jones), a  winless season (0-8-1 in 1982 ), getting snubbed by the number 1 overall pick in the 1983 draft (John Elway), the midnight ride out of Baltimore on the Mayflower (1984), Mel Kiper’s and Colts GM Bill Tobin’s feud during the 1994 draft when the Colts selected LB Trev Alberts (Nebraska) with the fifth pick instead of QB Trent Dilfer (Fresno State), Captain Comeback’s Hail Mary pass that almost send the Colts to the Super Bowl in 1995, the trade of Marshall Faulk to the Rams in 1999 opening the door for rookie Edgerrin James (Miami), Jim Mora’s tirades in front of the cameras (PLAYOFFS, PLAYOFFS), each year hearing Manning can’t win the big one, Nick Harper getting stabbed the night before by his wife getting tackled by clumsy QB Ben Roethlisberger in the open field at the RCA Dome in the playoffs (2005) as the top seeded Colts fell to the sixth seeded Steelers, the Colts finally winning a championship with Manning, 29-17, over the Bears in 2006, and finally having a Colts player be named defensive player year (2007- Sanders).

I never thought I would ever see the day a Colts defender would be voted the top defensive player in the league. The Colts defense from 1977 to 2006 had more holes in it than a block of old, smelling Lindberg cheese. Sander’s honor might put the finishing touches on a possible dynasty in Indianapolis. I always said if the Colts got a defense they would be the cream of the crop each year. Only time will tell.

Finally my favorite moment of being a Colts fan was in 1994 when the Colts drafted RB Marshall Faulk with the second pick of the draft. With the Colts on the clock and me on my hands and knees praying they would take QB Trent Dilfer (Fresno State) with the fifth pick, the Colts shocked the world and took LB Trev Alberts (Nebraska). I was so pissed off after they announced that pick, that I took my TV and launched it out of my second story apartement into the middle of Division Street.

I then found the nearest local pub and drowned my sorrows like the rest of the diehard Colts fans that day!!