ESPN: Top-25 Teams of the Past 25 Years

[ChaosTheory]

Football purgatory thread. Bill Barnwell wrote the article. Interesting read if you're bored. Not that I agree with everything, but at least it's a guy that doesn't default to the Super Bowl winner as the best team of a season (2004 Patriots and 2004 Steelers both made the list, for example).

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...agles-seahawks

Colts get the #12 spot with the 2007 team, and Honorable Mention with the 2006 team, and are referenced many times in other teams' entries. That includes 2009 Saints which mentions that the 2009 Colts narrowly missed the list.

2005 Colts are not mentioned, which is silly. I think that team edges out the 2007 team, but they were the best two. After that, 2006 gets the bronze. 2004 vs. 2009 is interesting and I could lean either way.

Without analyzing the entire list, I think the Colts should've made top-10 at least because '05, '06, and '07 were better than the 2002 Bucs and the 2010 Packers.

[YDFL Commish]

I read the article and believe, like you, that the 2005 Colts were superior to the 2007 team.

Had the Colts gotten past the Steelers they would have easily won the Super Bowl that season. But...But...But...Nick Harper, Mike Doss and Vandy ruined that dream.

Yes, the O-Line had protection problems, and we didn't run Edge enough. I'm not convinced that's the reason we lost that game though.

[ChaosTheory]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

I read the article and believe, like you, that the 2005 Colts were superior to the 2007 team.

Had the Colts gotten past the Steelers they would have easily won the Super Bowl that season. But...But...But...Nick Harper, Mike Doss and Vandy ruined that dream.

Yes, the O-Line had protection problems, and we didn't run Edge enough. I'm not convinced that's the reason we lost that game though.

And what were they, like three weeks removed from Dungy's tragedy? Obviously that's beyond football-important. Can't help but wonder about the effect.

Also, bonus points to this guy for pointing out that the '06 Ravens defense was better than the '00 Ravens and '02 Bucs. That defense was ridiculous.

[IndyNorm]

I just scanned through the article to see who he had listed. Fully agree that the '05 Colts are the best Colts team from the past 25 years and the best Indy Colts team, and it's ridiculous that they weren't on his list.

The '07 team was really good early in the season, but by the time the playoffs rolled around we had so many injuries that we were a complete shell compared to earlier on.

You guys are forgetting the '03 team, which was 12-4 and went to the AFCC game. 2 of those losses were to the 2 teams that were in the SB: Carolina in OT and the Willie McGinest fake injury game vs. the Cheats. And unlike some other years we weren't embarrassed in our playoff loss despite the refs allowing the Cheats DBs to hold every single play for the entire game.

Anyway, for me it's '05 1st, '06 2nd by default (since they're the only Colts team that actually got the job done), then pretty much a toss up between '03, '04, '07, and '09.

[ChaosTheory]

Originally Posted by IndyNorm

You guys are forgetting the '03 team, which was 12-4 and went to the AFCC game. 2 of those losses were to the 2 teams that were in the SB: Carolina in OT and the Willie McGinest fake injury game vs. the Cheats. And unlike some other years we weren't embarrassed in our playoff loss despite the refs allowing the Cheats DBs to hold every single play for the entire game.

Yeah, that whole run of '03 through '09 were top teams in each of their respective seasons.

'03 was a fun playoff run, too. Second only to '06. They just had the baby versions on Wayne, Freeney, Mathis, Clark, etc... and Sanders wasn't around yet.

Later teams had stronger versions of those players, along with other improved units... so if I stacked them side-to-side, they're better versions of '03.

Still a great team and some of my favorite moments ever (Saints on SNF, Bucs comeback, Titans in wk 14), don't get me wrong.

[IndyNorm]

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory

Yeah, that whole run of '03 through '09 were top teams in each of their respective seasons.

'03 was a fun playoff run, too. Second only to '06. They just had the baby versions on Wayne, Freeney, Mathis, Clark, etc... and Sanders wasn't around yet.

Later teams had stronger versions of those players, along with other improved units... so if I stacked them side-to-side, they're better versions of '03.

Still a great team and some of my favorite moments ever (Saints on SNF, Bucs comeback, Titans in wk 14), don't get me wrong.

Maybe on paper the later teams were better, but I still think you're shortchanging the '03 team by not including them in the convo. Also they are one of only 3 teams from the Manning years that didn't completely shit the bed in the playoffs, so that should count for something.

[CletusPyle]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

I read the article and believe, like you, that the 2005 Colts were superior to the 2007 team.

Had the Colts gotten past the Steelers they would have easily won the Super Bowl that season. But...But...But...Nick Harper, Mike Doss and Vandy ruined that dream.

Yes, the O-Line had protection problems, and we didn't run Edge enough. I'm not convinced that's the reason we lost that game though.

We lost because of Daniell Harper...also known as "The Hamilton County Butcher"!

[YDFL Commish]

Originally Posted by CletusPyle

We lost because of Daniell Harper...also known as "The Hamilton County Butcher"!

Yep, Harper may have been the slowest DB on the roster that day. Not only did he get stabbed in the leg the night before, but Mike Doss knocked him out of the game for a few series by injuring one of his legs with a helmet to his leg.

Doss also gave up the big gain to start the game to Heath Miller as well as the TD to either Miller or Randle El.

[apballin]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

Yep, Harper may have been the slowest DB on the roster that day. Not only did he get stabbed in the leg the night before, but Mike Doss knocked him out of the game for a few series by injuring one of his legs with a helmet to his leg.

Doss also gave up the big gain to start the game to Heath Miller as well as the TD to either Miller or Randle El.

Still pisses me off he didn’t pitch it to Bob Sanders

[Colts And Orioles]

o


If Nick Harper had simply kept running straight instead of cutting back to the inside portion of the field ...... Ben Roethlisberger said that there is no way that he would have been able to get his hand on Harper's ankle to trip him up if he had kept running straight, and not cut back inside.

That said, I don't blame Harper for making what turned out to be the wrong move ...... he went with his instinct to cut inside to avoid the possibility of getting pushed out of bounds in case somebody was right behind him, and it was the wrong move. It was a quick, split-second decision, and sometimes those decisions work, and sometimes they don't ...... he was also right there to grab the loose ball and start sprinting the other way in the first place, which at least gave the Colts a chance to win what looked like an unwinnable game only one play earlier.

o