First In Our Hearts, But Are They First In Our Minds?
By Staff
Yahoo! Sports NFL writers Jason Cole and Charles Robinson have released their pre-season rankings with the Colts ranked 3rd and 4th respectively. They both cite reasons for the defensive gaps, with our cornerbacks gone and Ole June, the trusty linebacker, hitting the road, too.
I’m not too sure what to make of their picks as the Bolts being a better team or even the Pats. Both dynamic and intimidating squads, no doubt, but c’mon! Both of those teams have gone through as many changes in the off-season. Brady‘s got Moss and Stallworth – two outstanding receivers, without a doubt – but their “chemistry” as Robinson puts it, well, I’d be scared if I were Brady. These are two receivers who deserve the ball in their hands, but the problem is that they both know it. It could get ugly at Foxboro this fall.
And the Chargers, well, they have a whole new head coach! This seems to be a pattern in the league this year, what with Cowher leaving the Steelers, for example, but a new head coach anywhere could very easily sway either way. The Bolts could retain their starting lineup, but if their coaching staff is flawed then so is their season.
Just ask the Panthers.
So, I’d like to reneg on my preseason rankings earlier in the blog…with all the changes that has come about recently I think it’s safe to say that the first five ranks are at a dead-even tie until training camps are done. The Pats and Bolts and Saints and Colts are tied for the first four, the fifth being a very close Bears team (should Grossman work out his early-career kinks in the offseason), but we can chalk a metric tonage of the votes for the Bears contingent on their special teams and defense squads remaining intact. Otherwise, as was quite evident during the Super Bowl, teams like the first four ranks would destroy them…again. (Hehe.)
But, c’mon…our Colts are the Super Bowl-friggin-Champions! They’ve got the best coaching staff in the league, along with killer leadership and the greatest quarterback in history (I know, “arguably”). Also, were the Colts even ranked number one last season? By playoffs?