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Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles
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This discussion about benching Wentz and/or not necessarily fielding their best team should the Colts be in the tank late in this 2021 season is mildly reminiscent of what happened late in the 2011 season. With Peyton Manning out for the entire year with a neck injury, the Colts started the season at 0-13. They seemed well on their way to getting the #1 overall pick (the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes) when they won 2 games in a row, and went right down to the wire in the final game of the season ........ a game in which it would have cost them that 1st overall pick had they won it, as the St. Louis Rams also went 2-14 that season. In that final game against the Jaguars I remember the Colts scoring a touchdown late in the 4th quarter to cut the deficit to 19-13, and then calling timeouts on defense to try to get the ball back when the Jaguars were trying to run out the clock.
It's not the same exact situation as the one being discussed now, but there is an element of "Are you we playing for now, or are we playing for the future?" element to both of them.
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Originally Posted by CletusPyle
The great Curtis Painter was a huge part of the 2011 season ....... but it was Orlovsky that blew the last game, and secured the first pick !!!
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In my rat's ass of an opinion, that 2011 season illustrated just how valuable Peyton Manning was to a team (any team that he plays/played for, not just the Colts.)
Larry Bird almost single-handedly took the 2nd-worst team in the NBA (the 1978-79 Boston Celtics) and led them to the best record in the NBA (61-21) in his rookie season in 1979-80 ...... and when Bird missed almost the entire 1988-89 season, the Celtics went from being a perennial juggernaut to being just an average team with a record of 42-40.
True greatness is not necessarily measured by how many championships a player's teams have won, but more so what happens to the team without that player (see LeBron James for another quintessential example of what happens to a team/franchise when that player leaves.)
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