What an interesting year this is turning out to be. The Indianapolis Colts are 2-2 and could very, very easily be 0-4. And what’s more is that if the Jacksonville Jaguars don’t get a terrible pass interference call last week, the Colts are sitting at 3-1.

Pretty wild stuff.

I’ll tell you one thing, though. I stopped caring how you get a W as long as you get one, because in this league, they’re extremely hard to come by. If today doesn’t prove that (cough Houston), I don’t know what does.

No, it wasn’t pretty. And its not always going to be. A lot of Colts fans have it backwards. We’re spoiled in the regular season and we just keep getting disappointed in the regular season. Yes, I know, we won a Super Bowl two years ago. But the Colts and the New England Patriots have been heads and shoulders above every other team in this league. The Patriots have four rings to show four it. Get my drift?

Look, all I’m saying is that this team is simply better when they are extreme underdogs. Except for the Super Bowl, I can’t think of the last time we played well in the playoffs when we were the favorites. We won 12 games again last year, making history in the process, and then lost to backups at home in the playoffs.

Oh, by the way…that team that beat us…with their backups…they got off to a 1-3 start and ended up one-game short of the Super Bowl. Which reminds me of the Colts when they won. Don’t you remember hitting rock bottom? Giving up 700 billion rushing yards to the Jags? Well we got hot at the right time, we won some tough games on the road, and we were the best team when it mattered most.

That’s the key, its when you get hot. The Texans were hot all day, except for the last three minutes. You don’t give the Colts three minutes. But these days, you can’t give anything to anybody in the playoffs.

Bob Sanders? You gotta figure he’s going to get hurt at some point every year. With the way that guy plays, he’s not looking down the barrel at too many 16-game seasons in his career. Yes, we miss him terribly. But he’ll come back, full strength, and we’ll get on a roll. Meanwhile, our depth improves at the rising Melvin Bullitt sees more and more of the field.

Like I said before…a win is a win and you just don’t get picky about it. I predict the Colts will hobble to a 10-6, maybe 11-5 finish which may or may be good enough to win the division. But the schedule doesn’t get too much easier with Tennessee circled on our calendars for week 8 after hosting Baltimore and traveling to Lambeau.

There’s a good chance that whatever is wrong with the Colts, we’ll have a clear understanding of what that is after today’s game against the host Minnesota Vikings. This is a young Vikings team that should make a very tough game for the Colts, but if the Colts impose their style of football on this team (something they were never able to do against the Chicago Bears in week one) they should win the game.

This is a very big if.

This is no slap in the face to the Vikings.  All I’m saying is that the Vikings are a very young team going up against a team with personnel that essentially won the Super Bowl two years ago.  Now I realize that some may have forgotten that, seeing as how last week was certainly no Super Bowl replay. But again, as good as the Vikings are, and I think they’re pretty good despite the question mark at quarterback, if the Colts can get up early on the Vikings, contain Adrian Peterson, and turn them into a pass-first team then they should have no problem winning this game.

If the Colts fail to show up on defense for third downs, or if the offense keeps getting punted off the field and turning the ball over, or if our play-calling is as unprepared as last week...etc. we are in for a long Sunday afternoon.

I should explain that I’m still on the wagon that thinks the Colts will win today and will do well throughout the rest of the season. But I think there is still one more question that deserves serious consideration and could also very well be answered today: can the Colts run the football anymore?

First off, I’m not one of those guys who thinks a good running game is a must-have to win in this league, especially when you have Manning at quarterback. Clearly, though, a good running game does some favors for you like eating the clock and giving your defense a good chance to rest while at the same time punishing the other team’s defense.

Dating back to last year, the Colts have gone nine straight games without a 100-yard rusher (10 if you include the playoff loss to San Diego) and in most of those games the Colts failed to rush for 100 yards as a team as well.  In those games, the Colts have gone 6-4 including the playoffs. The last time the Colts had a 100-yard rusher, it was Joseph Addai against the Patriots last November.

If the Colts can’t keep Peterson off the field today and fail to establish the run, we could be in trouble again. While I do expect the Colts to win today, it doesn’t get any easier week three against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Could 0-1 turn into 0-2? And could 0-2 turn into 0-3?

No, these Colts, as always, will bounce back…right?

I think that Sunday was a testament to the “Any Given Sunday” rule of the National Football League which stipulates in article 1, section 1 “Any given team, with any given record, may defeat any given opponent with any given record on any given Sunday (or Thursday, Saturday, or Monday). I think for maybe the first time in a while, the Colts showed up and thought that the Chicago Bears would just lay down and give us the game.

And certainly, the Colts played that way, too.

On the big run by Chicago running back Matt Forte to give the Bears their lead for good, it was a third and five or six.  The Colts just knew the Bears would pass the ball.

Wrong.

On the safety, the Colts line up running back Joseph Addai five or six yards deep in our own end-zone knowing full well we’ll just be able to run it out of there.

Wrong.

And on the third down conversion where Bears quarterback Kyle “I’m Married Now” Orton passed to a wide-open Desmond Clark who was then tackled inside the five yardline. And the fourth and one that the Colts went for with 10 minutes left in the game.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Unlike the Super Bowl two years ago, the Colts got out-coached.

Listen, I’m the biggest Tony Dungy fan around.  The respect that the man garners from his players and fans, the classiness he brings to the organization and the game of football itself, and his uncanny ability to get no-name guys to play at such high levels is amazing.  I haven’t even mentioned his defensive prowess yet.

But let’s be honest here.  Regular season wise, the Colts have had the best record over the last five years. We have only one Super Bowl to show for it.  We aren’t a young team anymore. And the fact of the matter is that the Colts’ success is measured against one team – the New England Patriots.  Besides the Super Bowl last year, which they still would have won without that unworldly throw and catch, they don’t make mistakes.

Why go for it there on fourth? There’s ten minutes left in the game. I thought we were supposed to have a superior defense? Why couldn’t we keep them off the field? And why the hell didn’t we block better? And what was Dungy looking at when he decided to challenge Marvin Harrison’s fumble and burn another timeout?

Speaking of Harrison, he looked rustier than the Tin Man in Hurricane Ike.  Harrison, right now, is not the same player and I’m not sure if he can get back to the dominance he once had.  Did you see him putting one hand out to catch that ball which was right on the money?

So no, it’s not the end of the world. Look at the rash of injuries around the league. With Tom Brady being knocked out for the season, and now with Shawne Merriman going under the knife as well, the Colts might as well be the luckiest team in football.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Colts next week as they will take on the Minnesota Petersons…I mean Vikings.  I think losing a couple of games more than normal this year can actually help Indianapolis. Remember the last time the Colts were down and out? It was after we gave up a light-year of rushing to the Jags, ya know…just a few weeks before we won a Super Bowl.

Perhaps the Colts got just a bit ahead of themselves.

After defeating the Tennessee Titans 17-6 at home in the Wildcard, the San Diego Chargers took all of the air, and the noise, out of the RCA Dome's last hoorah in the Divisional playoffs by beating the Colts 28-24 despite their own glaring ailments.

So where does that leave the Colts this year? And what does a Colts fan make of the glaring injuries to the well-oiled machine that is the Colts offense?

I’m thinking of a name…that starts with a ‘P’…can you guess it?

Peyton Manning

Quarterback Peyton Manning is back and, purportedly, healthy. Now, the only reason I don’t sound too assured about the latter part there is because barring hurricanes hitting Indianapolis soon, I don’t think there was ever a chance that Manning wasn’t going to start this game and continue his streak, let alone miss the first NFL game at the new (and gorgeous, I’ve been there) Lucas Oil Stadium.  This leaves us with two significantly more important questions: will Manning stay healthy? and will he be productive?

And wouldn’t you know it…both of these questions will be answered by this new, young offensive line which leads us to...

Jeff Saturday

With the knee injury to Pro-Bowl Center Jeff Saturday, the Colts will again need someone to step up and fill in protecting Indy’s centerpiece much like Tony Ugoh did last year at left tackle after Tarik Glenn’s sudden retirement.  Given what Saturday has done for this team and this city, I hate to just run over his injury like that but he is in the last year of a contract and from what I’ve read, the team is not expected to re-sign him after this year.  The fact that the Colts drafted three offensive lineman, which included using their first overall pick on draft Mike Pollak in the second round, makes Bill Polian look that much smarter.

Historically, the Colts have had no problems filling in and interchanging the offensive line since o-line coach Howard Mudd has held the reigns.  This tells me that, much like our linebacker situation in the cover-2, the Colts operate on a system where anyone can fill in and perform their job at an above-average level.

Here’s what worries the crap out of me in more ways than one: Manning’s injury.  Manning, who usually hangs around practice like Kirstie Alley at a buffet, missed invaluable time with his young, inexperienced offensive line.  What separates Manning from virtually all other quarterbacks in the league is his ability to read a defense before the snap. Ya know all that pointing and hollering he does on the line? He’s telling his line who is coming and who to pick up.  If, God forbid, the line suffers just one lapse at the wrong time allowing someone to bust through untouched and he gets a  good hit on that tender knee, you might see people actually rooting for the Indiana Pacers this year.

Marvin Harrison

Much depends on veteran wide-receiver Marvin Harrison this year.  As one of the most competitive receivers in the league, you can bet that Harrison will do all he can to prove that he’s not yet relinquishing his no. 1 spot to Indy’s “New Reggie” who, in Harrison’s stead, led the league in reception yardage last season.  I’m not going to sit here and say that Harrison is in his prime or even close, but the guy has made a career staying healthy and running perfect routes.  If his health is back, there’s no reason to believe he won’t be as effective as he’s been his entire career. With a healthy Harrison, an improved Wayne, and Anthony Gonzalez as a hybrid Brandon Stokley in the slot along with an arsenal of tight ends, this offense is looking more and more like the one with which Manning threw 49 touchdown passes back in 2004.

Dwight Freeney and Bob Sanders

Freeney’s injury really scares me and we should be able to tell fairly early if I’m justified in that belief or not.  After becoming the highest-paid defensive player in history, Freeney suffered a Lisfranc injury to the foot that is most important to his money-maker: his spin move.  If Freeney is not able to utilize that move along with his other invaluable – his speed – then the front-4 is in some trouble.

As far as Sanders, look…I just think Bob is always going to be a little banged up.  The guy is like a pinball out there.  He plays the cover-2 the way its supposed to be played which is fast and hard-hitting.  Judging by his size and the amount of injuries he’s had so far, I won’t expect Sanders to be playing a full season any time soon.  But as for his toughness?  I won’t expect him to be missing any whole seasons either.

Learning about the Colts' new players is a pleasure.

But in a way, it's also sad.

Let's face it, despite the Colts' track record with finding diamonds in the rough, most of these guys are not going to make the team. There are draft picks the Colts have invested in. Realistically, there just aren't that many open roster spots. I think we all realize this: just because the Colts signed a guy, doesn't mean that player will be around for long once training camp begins.

But when you read about guys like Rudy Burgess, you just want him to make the team. Now, unlike the case of Eric Foster (resident YouTube star among The Undrafteds), Burgess doesn't have any big videos that I've seen. However, I did find this little gem, last year's opening video for Arizona State football. Long live Sparky.

Anyway, onto the topic at hand, one Mr. Rudy Burgess.

It looks like his coaches did just about everything they could to get Burgess on the field. In his time at ASU, Burgess played running back, wide receiver, defensive back, and punt/kick returner. The kid can do it all. In fact, you'll find one much-ballyhooed stat about Rudy Burgess almost everywhere you look: he's only one of 14 players in FBS history (let's just call it what it really is, Division I Football) to record over 1,000 rushing, receiving and return yards. In addition, he even threw a touchdown pass during the 2005 season.

But that production didn't come without a few setbacks. Most notably, Burgess missed five games because of several injuries (including a concussion and injuries to his neck and ankle) and was limited in two others during the 2006 season. He bounced back for a solid senior campaign.

What's really exciting about him? Well, I think he could inject some much-needed life into the Colts' anemic punt/kick return game. He excelled in that role at ASU.

A couple of interesting statistics also stick out. He averaged 9.8 yards per touch for his college career. He also averaged about 97.3 all-purpose yards per game.

Purdue Boilermakers fans will likely cringe during this next part. Burgess completely deflated the whole "Boiler Up!" concept during the 2004 Sun Bowl. Arizona State's website proclaims he had an "MVP-like performance." That's not hyperbole either: Mr. Versatility had 20 rushes for 125 yards and reeled in three catches for 64 yards. He also had two touchdowns, including the game-winning grab with under a minute left to play.

The most amazing thing? Burgess wasn't even supposed to start:

Burgess, who wasn't named a starter until Hakim Hill was kicked off the team earlier (that) week for breaking unspecified team rules, also had a career afternoon — 189 yards of total offense and two touchdown receptions.

"I'm going to share my MVP trophy with Rudy," (quarterback Sam) Keller said. "I just tossed the ball to him and he did the rest."

-USA Today, December 31, 2004

Will he make the roster? As always, we'll take the "wait and see" approach. It should be interesting to see what the Colts have in mind for him.

 I'll say this for Adam Trafalis: for a while, I didn't think he existed.

Search after search on Google, Yahoo, and the San Jose State football website turned up no results for a quarterback named Adam Trafalis. I was beginning to think this guy was imaginary. It was as if the Colts signed a college football player who never actually played college football.

Then, thank the Lord, I saw the error of my ways: Adam TRAFalis does not exist. But Adam TaFRALIS does. You'll find tons of information about the latter; virtually nothing about the former. I misspelled his name.

Over.

And over.

And over again.

I finally got it right! And, lo, what did I discover about Adam Tafralis, former quarterback for the mighty San Jose Spartans?

Well, for starters, San Jose's official website describes him as a record-setting quarterback. That's not a bad start. Oh, what record(s) did he break? He's the only passer in San Jose State history to complete 60% or more of his passes in more than one season. He also holds school records for total offense, passing yardage, and number of completions. Basically, he's about the best San Jose State has ever had at the position.

As a starting quarterback, Tafralis won 18 games. That's the most by any Spartan quarterback in 20 years, according to the team's website. He was also named team MVP last season.

Sure, it sounds like Adam Tafralis ruled San Jose State. The guy basically owned the place right?

Er...well...kind of.

In an amusingly worded article on San Jose State's website from August 2004, Tafralis is described as the "beginning starter" by then-coach Fitz Hill (he would resign at the end of the year). A fifth-year senior quarterback, Dale Rogers, was termed the "middle starter." I have no idea who coach Hill planned to bring out of the bullpen as the closer.

That season began a tumultuous career for the signal-caller. Every season, it seemed, the starting QB job was his to lose. Every season, it seemed, he managed to lose it. Let's put it this way:

(Coming into his junior season) he had played in 20 of SJSU's previous 22 games. Only five of those times did he stay in the game from start to finish. Every year he has been at SJSU a recruit has been brought in to unseat him.

-San Jose Mercury News, December 22, 2006

It got so bad at one point, Tafralis even offered to switch positions. No joke.

During the 2006 campaign, Trafalis led the team to its first bowl game in 16 years. The Spartans finished 8-4 in 2006. He got the starting nod after his top competition, junior Sean Flynn, injured his groin. Tafralis completed 65% of his passes and threw 21 TD passes.

Even during that terrific season, Tafralis had his struggles. He lost his poise during a loss to Nevada. That week in practice, he split time with his backup during first-team reps. During a late-season matchup against Hawaii, Tafralis found himself riding the pine after fumbling on consecutive plays.

But the 6'1" QB picked himself up. Even though the Spartans weren't great during Tafralis' senior season (SJSU finished 5-7), the quarterback himself had a very good year. He completed 62% of his passes and threw for more than 3,000 yards. You can also throw in 18 TD passes.

A late bloomer, Tafralis was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. Among quarterbacks, he had the second-best vertical leap (32") and the fourth-best 40 time (4.78). According to the scouting reports, he spent a lot of time in the shotgun formation while playing for the Spartans. That's probably one reason the Colts are interested; they use the shotgun frequently. In addition, scouts say he's got good pop on short and intermediate throws. They consider him to have a "marginal arm" when it comes to going deep, however.

One more interesting thing about Adam Tafralis: if he fails to make the Colts roster, he has a backup plan. His future may lie in the food service industry. In fact, he aspires to get into the restaurant business and has plenty of experience in the field. During his junior season, Tafralis worked at the Sonoma Chicken Coop. He lives to serve, even to fans:

"Every once in a while, someone will say, 'We go to every game, great season. Can I have my food now?'"

-San Jose Mercury News, December 22, 2006

The only thing that could possibly be more amusing: having Peyton Manning serve you at Denny's. I'll have the Grand Slam, sir.