The Colts didn't show up and center Jeff Saturday, as cogent and level-headed a guy as there is in the league, suggested they were out-coached.
Once it got around a 40-burger, the Saints weren't even trying anymore and still the Colts stunk, allowing another 20-odd points. And last I checked, Peyton Manning didn't have many tackles on his NFL resume.
You don't get beat that badly in this league without asking for it, and the Colts have the ability to be horribly non-competitive. That's on them.
Ultimately, it very likely will end up costing Jim Caldwell his job, as well as much of the staff.
When a QB is as great as Drew Brees was on Sunday (31 of 35, 325 yards, 5 TDs), there is not much a team will be able to do to stop him or his super-talented offense. Yes, it's easy to assess blame and say the Colts are simply ill-equipped to stop a team like the Saints, but we've seen the Colts play other teams tougher this year. Let's give the credit to the victors, and step back and admire the masterpiece Brees and his teammates painted Sunday night.
Trust me, you have to be pretty good to be able to score 62 points, but this is more about the Colts than the Saints. On the field, the Colts' issues go well beyond the loss of Peyton Manning, but they are definitely missing his leadership in the locker room and on the practice field. If you talk to anyone familiar with the Colts organization, it is Manning that sets the tone in practice and in film study. Without him, there seems to be a lack of accountability. When a team loses its star player, one specific individual can't step in and fill the void. Instead, it takes an entire team to come together and collectively fill in the gaps. In the case of the Colts, that has yet to happen. If anything, they have done the exact opposite.
The Colts have finally realized that giving great effort during the absence of Peyton Manning just isn't going to be enough to win games. This really was the first game where they looked lost and unable to compete against an elite team. The Saints were coming off a loss to the Bucs and were playing at home, where they really are tough to beat. I have talked to enough Saints players to know they are trying to keep pace and catch the Packers, in order to get Green Bay at home in a championship game, and there is zero room for error if they want to achieve that goal. The Colts were embarrassed against the Saints, and injuries have taken a toll on this once-proud franchise. The No. 1 pick in the draft is starting to look like a real possibility.
