Just another boring day in the life of the Indianapolis Colts

First appeared on December 11th, 2009
in The Lebanon Reporter

So the Colts won again. With a 27-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Indianapolis ran its record to 12-0 on the season. Yawn. They also tied an NFL record with their 21st consecutive regular season win. Yawn. They have now won 12 games in a season for an NFL record 7th time. Yawn. The win was their 113th of the decade tying them with the San Francisco 49ers of the 90’s as the most wins ever by a team in a 10 year span. Yawn.
This is the typical reaction of so many to the success of the Indianapolis Colts. No matter what they do, those in the national media remain apparently unimpressed. There was more discussion on the post game shows Sunday about Ochocinco’s Sombrero and the state of Tom Brady’s pinkie finger than there was about the perpetual success of the Indianapolis Colts.
Be it a “small market conspiracy” or the fact that the face of the Colts is about as controversial and outspoken as a Buddhist Monk who’s taken a vow of silence, Indianapolis remains the NFL’s Rodney Dangerfield. What the Colts are doing has never been done before. I’ll pause while you think about that. Those of us in Indiana are likely guilty of overlooking them too. We see 18 take the field Sunday after Sunday and simply expect the Men in Blue to win as a result.
But the success of the Colts runs far deeper than Manning’s “laser rocket arm”. You could pay $75 for a ticket, $9 for nachos, squeeze yourself into a seat between the guy with a Colt blue mohawk and some dude who says he rotates Peyton’s tires and not see the real reason behind the unprecedented run of the Colts.
The real reason behind the success of the Colts can likely be traced to three things: The hiring of Bill Polian, his hiring of Tony Dungy and the drafting of Manning. The Colts were 3-13 the season before Polian was hired. The next year he sealed the fate of the franchise by selecting Peyton Manning and NOT Ryan Leaf (who draft guru Mel Kiper claimed had an attitude that would benefit any NFL team).
While most GM’s are working the phones and scratching the backs of greedy agents trying to land monster off season signings, Polian is standing in the rain on a Thursday night watching Ball State play Central Michigan. The draft is where he has built the Colts. The Colt’s have reaped the benefits of Polian’s notorious eye for talent and uncanny knack for finding difference makers in the most unlikely of places (see Pierre Garcon).
Bringing Tony Dungy in was a brilliant move as well. It can be argued that Dungy’s work in building the perfect beast that is the Colts was done largely off the field. He did more than simply coach a team up, Tony Dungy created a culture. And, though he is now working for NBC, that culture endures. Polian’s job then has always been to find guys who not only have talent, but also fit Dungy’s system; the prerequisite of which is to accept the responsibility that comes with being a Colt.
Of course thirdly is Manning whose success has been well documented so we’ll spare you the time. It would seem for now however the Colts are destined to remain the NFL’s “elephant in the room”, but if you happen to be a member of the Detroit Lions front office and are looking to blueprint anything about this franchise; forget about #18- you’d be wise to start with the culture.