Lenny from Indy

Stop bitching.  The first string Colts played for 2 quarters and change, and only put up 15 points.  It’s not like they never saw the field.  They had time to play.

Would you rather change places with the fans of these teams?

1. St. Louis Rams – 60 more minutes and they have the first drat pick.

2. Washington Redskins – All the money spend on all of those players and  they sit at the bottom of the NFC East.

3. Chicago Bears – The interception riddled QB with no one to throw the ball to?

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The sharp decline this team has felt since 2002 is comical.

5. Buffalo Bills – Been a joke since the music  city miracle.

6. New York Giants – Just played themselves out of the playoffs.

7. Seattle  Seahawks – Mora Jr is the coach.  We’ve seen that movie here with Mora Senior.

8. Cleveland Browns – Nothing good comes from or out of Cleveland.

9. Oakland Raiders – Commitment to Excellence.  Just Win Baby. Buzz phrases + bad drafting = failure.

10. Detroit Lions – Fail. Abort. Restart. Repeating that cycle since 1997.

The Colts are first place in the AFC South, number 1 seed in the AFC, and the road to the Super Bowl comes through Indy.  Take a breath you spoiled brats.

The Colts continue to roll.  Today was the suddenly surging Titans.  We all know the Titans story at this point.  13-3 last year, this year they started 0-6.  Kerry Collins gets benched and Vince Young returns!  They Titans go on to win the next 5 games.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…  The Titans are a really good team.  They are a hell of a lot better than the 5-6 record going into today’s game.  We know this.  We get it.  However, today they were to meet division foes, the Indianapolis Colts!

Now I wasn’t there to here him say anything, but Peyton seemed to have a wild look in his eye when he took to the field.  You knew he was thinking of a particular type of beat down he wanted to hand the Titans today.

This wild eyed look does not bode well for the Titans when Peyton is ready to spank a team.

Joseph Addai understood the message and ran for 79 yards on 21 attempts.  he scored 2 touchdowns.  Here is Joseph posing after touchdown number one in the end zone.

Joseph looks like he on a new weight training program.  Looking good Joe!

At this point, the Titans realized that winning this game was futile.  They simply lined up for a spanking.  They presented bum…

When Titans bum presented itself, the Colts obliged and placed the Titans in the position.

At one point in the second quarter it looked like the Titans were starting to enjoy the beating they were taking.  Spanking then commenced.

This looks painful.  Then the Colts defense stopped the mighty Lendale White at the goal line.

Lendale looks like he is enjoying this.  You know not to digress from this riveting game, but I drafted Lendale in the second round of my fantasy league.  Talk about a bust this year.  I had to drop him in week 5.  Anyway, no one cares about my fantasy team.  Back to the game!

Mercilessly the half ended and the Colts up 24-10.  Game plan for the second half was pretty simple.  Run the ball and let the defense do what it does best, shut it down.

Scoring-wise it was pretty uneventful.  What was great to see was the Colts defense looking playoff ready.  This makes Coach Caldwell very happy.  Check out the look on his face during the second half.

He is positively giddy with how great this defense has been playing.

The Colts defeated the Titans 27-17.

After the game, the Colts went to a local club to do some dancing to celebrate the win.  They look really happy.

Poor Jeff Fisher stayed in his hotel room wondering what it was like to feel like a winner…

Next week the Colts take on the Denver Broncos which should prove to be a better game than this one.

Our beloved Colts had a wild one in Houston yesterday as they suited up to play the Texans.  Both teams had a lot to play for yesterday.  If the Colts win, it would mean they wrap up the AFC South!  A win for the douche baggy Texans would mean they stay in the hunt for a wild card berth as they make a push for the playoffs.

Quarterback Matt Schaub in any other division would be a feared opponent.  In the AFC South however, he sits at the altar of Manning and asks the same question he has asked since 2007, “Why him and not me?”  Matt has played games against the Colts and has gotten the Texans close to winning but, they never never finish for the win.  It has to be frustrating for Matt.  Check out this picture of Matt before the game started…

Look at the intensity on Matt’s face.  On Sunday, Matt will not be denied!  Matt has one of the more feared offensive lines in all of football. Here is the Texans front O line before the game…

The Colts defense most definitely has it’s work cut out for them.  Look at these men!

Jeff Saturday, the coolest center in the business looked relaxed and ready to go…

My goodness…I love Jeff Saturday!

Peyton Manning had a rough first half as he threw for 2 interceptions…

Peyton looked a bit frazzled in the first half.  With that being said look at how hot Peyton is looking these days.  He must of changed conditioner or something.  Man I wanna hook up with him… Wait… What?

I digress…  At the half the Texans were up 20 to 7.  Now for most teams in the league this game is over.  Hell if this was Eli… nuff said.

Halftime for both teams was fraught with adjustments.  Check out Houston during the half in the locker room….

Look at these guys.  Laughing telling jokes.  Acting like this game is over.  Now in the Colts locker room…

Look at them.  All huddled around and going over plays for the second half.  The attention to detail is amazing by the Colts.  My my they are so hot… Anyhoooooo…. The Colts went marching onto the field and sang a different tune…

So bubbly after a 20 minute break.

Peyton passed a 4 yard pass to Reggie Wayne to close the gap 20-14…

Reggie Wayne showing the ref than he indeed caught the football.

Then in the forth quarter, like they have done 5 times this season, the Colts mounted a comeback that will be remember for at least 12 hours.

Manning to Dallas Clark….

LOOK AT DALLAS RUN INTO THE END ZONE!  I LOVE HIM!

Matt Schaub took to the field but any attempt at answering was thwarted by the bend but don’t break Colts defense….

Clint Session intercepts Matt Schaub!!!!!  Amazing!!!!

Even Chad Simpson got in on the forth quarter scoring with a 35 yard touchdown run!  Really…. Chad Simpson…. I know… I forgot he was on the roster as well!

Chad Simpson fixing his hair after spiking the football in the fourth quarter.

A sad sight after the Chad Simpson touchdown.  The Texans were on the field looking beaten, broken and scarred…

Another quick Texans start but not enough in the tank to finish.  A great game as the Colts beat the Texans 35 to 27.

Later that night….

The Colts dressed up as Princess Leia in the slave girl outfit from Return of the jedi and had a pillow fight in Peyton’s room to celebrate clinching the AFC South and the teams 11-0 perfect record.

And Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak was in the same hotel.  Only he was in the hotel bar wondering what the hell happened to his 17-0 lead.

The END!

I reckon the “firing the coach thing” didn’t rally the troops to circle the wagons and get the win?

Hmmm.  This leaves me perplexed.

Now what Mr. Wilson?

In my own tiny opinion I believe that Ralph Wilson not only fired the wrong guy, he missed a few people.  This misfire exposes some other major glaring flaws within the team’s infrastructure.

Basic statement #1:  You are only as good as the players that you acquire through the draft and free agency.

Basic statement #2:  Proper coaching and a solid organized game plan is essential to at the very least being competitive in the NFL.

The Bills are so far behind the curve they make the Cleveland Browns look like Super Bowl Champions.  In case you didn’t know, Cleveland beat Buffalo in week 5 by the score of 6 to 3.  I’m not kidding with the score.  9 points all game.  This wasn’t a defensive battle type of game.  This has been referred to by some as, “The Game No One Wanted To Win”.  I think of that game as the game that set the NFL back 20 years.  Regardless of how it is remembered, it might be time for the Buffalo Bills to get back to basics.

It’s always odd when you look at the inner workings of a football team and see how they become accustomed to not only doing business, but how they are structured.

For instance… let’s take the current general manager Russ Brandon.  Russ, while involved in sports isn’t what you would call a “football general manager”.    Let’s look over Russ’ resume shall we…

Russ Brandon’s Resume

Class of 1989, St. John Fisher College

- Four-year letter winner as a wide receiver.

- .367 batting average on the baseball team.

- Inducted into the Fisher Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.

Work Experience

Rochester Red Wings, Triple-A team – Started as a intern and by the time he left in 1993 he was the co-general manager along with Dan Mason, who is currently is still the Red Wings’ GM.

New York Yankees – Was apart of the Sports Advertising Network division.

Florida Marlins – Start at the spring training facility, then the Director of Corporate Sales in Miami two years later.

Buffalo Bills – Nov. 1, 1997 – Executive Director of Business Development and Marketing.

13 months later – promoted to the Vice President of Business Development and Marketing.  In 1999, as part of a way to expand the Bills’ market area, Brandon helped bring the Bills training camp from SUNY Fredonia to his Alma mater St. John Fisher College.

Jan. 12, 2007, after spending two years as the Executive Vice President of Business Operations, Brandon was named the new Bills COO (Chief Operating Officer) and took control over both business and football operations.  That’s quite a jump for anyone in any business.

Here is what you are telling me when I see this resume.  A marketing/sales guy is now involved in the draft, free agency, and everything in-between???

This is a catastrophic error on the part of Ralph Wilson.  This team has been in disarray for a decade.  There hasn’t been any improvement on this team, no team chemistry and poor decisions made at every level.

Firing the coach wasn’t the issue.  It might have been one of the issues.  A very minor issue compared to the inner workings of the Buffalo Bills front office.  Your structure of management and choice of people might be the issue.  This goes beyond “time to clean the house”.  You need to set off a nuke and start again.

Don’t waste your time finding the “big name coach”.  The “big name coach” in the current management structure is doomed to fail.

Talk about the battle of who cares less.  A mediocre Ohio State team is going to play a horrible Michigan team.  Do you remember a few years back when this was the battle of the number one and two teams in the country?

If you are even remotely interested in this game you fall under one of these categories:

#1)  You had the displeasure of being recruited by one of these colleges.  You have to play.

#2) You are one of those die hard Michigan fans who brag that they are the “winningest football of programs of all time”.  You are ignoring the fact that you had a 60 year head start on 95% of the teams playing today.  You have little in life that brings you joy.  You should look into finding multiple hobbies.

#3) You are on the coaching staff.  See #1’s reason.

#4) You are a Ohio State fan.  Let’s face it, you have very little going in this mortal coil outside rooting for this below average football team.  You also know that Michigan BLOWS HUGE HEARTY CHUNKS under Rich “Big Balls Rod” Rodriguez.  You smell blood in the water and could care less that in 3 years time your team as well could become the national embarrassment that Michigan is right now.

#5) You are related in some way to one of the kids playing in this game.  You have to watch.

#6) You work for a media company that is forcing you to cover this game.  That sucks for you but at least you are getting paid for your attendance to this Pop Warner level football game.

#7) You are a bookie in Vegas and you had the task of trying to figure out a line that would make you the most money.

#8) You are a member of the Dead Schembechlers.  A spectacular band that takes punked up R.E.M.-ish sounding songs and writes Michigan hate songs.  Oddly enough, if you fall under this reason why you are watching this game, you are having the best time during this debacle of a game.

#9) You are a proud member of these once “beloved” schools.  You call one of these two hell holes your alma mater.  You get to spend the afternoon talking about the old days.

#10) You are Sarah Santarelli, Cheerleader for Ohio State.  I looked online and saw both squads.  Sarah is hands down the hottest cheerleader of the two squads.  She’s a senior and her major is nursing.  Sarah… Email me… lenny (at) wnde.com.  Let’s go to Steak n’ Shake for dinner!

If this game goes like we all think it should, Michigan doesn’t stand a chance.  Ohio State wins this game.

If I’m wrong, I’ll check in later.  If not, I’ll have more stuff up tomorrow.

…Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady…

Getting ready for the big game on Sunday, here are highlights from the Colts 18-15 win over the Patriots from December 24, 2008.

Let’s start this Monday with a great Colts moment against the hated Patriots.

We’ll have more on the upcoming game all week.

Defeating last year’s World Champions, here are the highlights of Game six where the Yankees dismantle the Philadelphia Phillies to become the new World Champions of major league baseball.

The bandwagon in Philadelphia is now unloading.

I might of said this about Josh McDaniels before the season started.

I might of said this about Josh McDaniels after Week 1 of the season.

Man, I hate this guy.

I guess you would classify myself as a Josh McDaniels “hater”.  I cheered for Jay Culter as he escaped and rooted for Brandon Marshall to make a similar exit before the season started.  Not that I care for Culter at all, in fact F that guy, he’s a whiny little bitch who can’t win big games under pressure.  Brandon however, is on my fantasy team and the thought of keeping him with Kyle Orton as the quarterback brought great pain to my team.  I think it was Josh’s smug attitude that really threw me off of liking the guy.  Say what you will about Denver, Mike Shanahan was and still will be a top rated coach in the NFL.  That’s a big pair of shoes for Josh to fill.

Beating Cincinnati in a fluke win was ugly.  It really didn’t show much of the team in week one.  Then beating Cleveland, Oakland, and a bad Dallas team over the next three weeks really didn’t make me respect him or his team too much.

However, in the last two weeks a win over the Patriots and last night’s win over division rival Chargers brings us to this moment.

Josh, I wanted you to fail like no other coach who has ever been in the head coach position in the NFL.  At this point you have shown that you are a really good coach capable of great things.  While I disagree with your cheeky and abrasive coaching style, I do believe that Denver has most definitely improved at the head coach position.  Please accept my apology.

As of last night, the Josh McDaniels era Denver Broncos now stand undefeated at 6-0.  Next week the Broncos take on the douche bags better known as the Baltimore Ravens.  Best of luck to you Josh and your team.

Developing…

So I predicted some games yesterday.  Let’s see how I did…. yesterday’s predictions are in the red text.

Upset of the week… Oklahoma beats Texas. – WRONG!  I BOTCHED THIS ONE BIG TIME.  MY BAD!

The obvious… Ohio State kills Purdue and I die a little on the inside. - WRONG!  I’M HAPPY I GOT THIS ONE WRONG.  IT HURT ME TO PREDICT THIS GAME THE WAY I DID.  F U OHIO STATE!  MY APOLOGIES TO THE GREAT PURDUE TEAM!

Expected… USC beats up on Notre Dame and the Catholic in me gets angry. – CORRECT!  SURE THE CATHOLIC IN ME WAS A TAD ANGRY BUT USC WON!  EPIC WIN!

More Expected… Florida rolls over Arkansas.  Tim Tebow after the game proclaims, “I don’t want to get drafted by Buffalo in the 2010 NFL Draft!  Can someone suck more than them this season please?” – CORRECT!  WELL I WOULDN’T SAY THEY ROLLED OVER ARKANSAS BUT THE TEBOW MACHINE KEEPS ON ROLLING.

2-2 for the day.  Meh.

Let’s start with a few quick facts on the Buffalo Bills in no order…

1. 9 seasons since the teams last playoff appearance.

2. Owner Ralph Wilson is a bit tight with the funds. Some would call him cheap.

3. A front office of novices.

4. The drafting skills of a you pick’em league at a elementary school yard football game.

5. The flashback uniform and logo is so much better than what is currently in place now.

6. New stadium deal not done in Buffalo.

7. No one in town is a big fan of head coach Dick Jauron.

8. A choice was made to play 8 games in Toronto, Canada over the next 5 years.

9. Fans deface players property when they make a bonehead play.

10. A failed Terrell Owens experiment can’t even be salvaged because why would another team want to waste money and picks on a guy that can walk to a new team in January.

11. You have the honor of playing the worst NFL game of the decade last week as you grappled with the Cleveland Browns, only to lose in the final seconds 6 to 3. You can’t even say that it was a defensive battle as the offenses on both teams generated so little heat that this was the most passive football has ever been.

12. It seems like when a player spends time in Buffalo and then moves to a new team, either through trade or free agency they seem to become better players.

13. A culture of losing is firmly in place.

14. An unemployed 18-year old has been collecting money through an internet campaign to buy a billboard that contains the message, “It’s time to clean house, Ralph.”

Make no mistake Buffalo, this is really sad.  I’d love to make a wise ass comment but these are facts.  This team is cooked.  The organization is rotten from top to bottom.

Many Bills fans talk of the past, the late 80’s and early 90’s had high flying teams and great players.  The end result was sadness.  It was sadness then and it is sadness now.

However, now you have a generation of fans that either do not remember or were too young to remember that you had a competitive team in Buffalo.

It doesn’t look like it’s lack of participation on the fans part would be a reason for moving the team away.  55,000 people have season tickets to Buffalo Bills games.  Kudos to the people for believing in the Bills.  Jeers on the ownership and management structure for engineering a monumental amount of sadness for paying fans to swallow.

Yeah I said moving.  It’s no secret that there is a group aggressively looking to bring one NFL team to California and Buffalo is on a short list of teams to try and woo with the dreams of a new stadium, new land, new fans, new outlook, and sunshine all year round.  But, I have to think that the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, and even the Jacksonville Jaguars are higher on the list of teams to steal away than the hapless Bills.

Jacksonville?  An expansion team quite possibly is desired more than the Buffalo Bills.

Do you feel the sting?

The sting of shame as it hits you in your mouth.

Feel the shame Buffalo.

I see you already do.  Courage.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In Buffalo T.O. was walking off the field last Sunday after the Bills lost to the Saints.

A fan dumped a bag of popcorn on his head.

Pathetic.  Buffalo’s fans as of late have been showing a very “no class” demeanor towards its players.  Leodis McKelvin’s lawn was defiled by two bottom feeder Buffalo Bills fans and now this “popcorn” incident.

I reckon it wasn’t only his streak of at least one reception a game that started in 1996 and ended last Sunday that put him in a poo mood when he faced the Buffalo press.

He seems angry.

This picture was taken on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.  Are the fans of Buffalo this crass that a message has to be spray painted on the wall?  Here is a good rule of thumb for NFL franchises.  If you have to paint this message on the walls of the bathroom, graffitti style, move your franchise.  The people of that city no longer deserve the team.

You know full well that when a drunk guy see that on the wall, he must achieve the unachievable.

Shame on you Buffalo.