Sunday’s was a life-draining loss.
The Baltimore Ravens quickly jumped out to a 10-0 lead and rarely let the Indianapolis Colts up for air in a 24-10 decision.
In a season filled with disappointment, this one still stood out for its mind-numbing lack of competition.
The Ravens are a particularly bad matchup for the Colts. With a stifling defense and a dominant power running game, Baltimore’s strengths directly match Indianapolis’ greatest flaws.
The final score was not remotely indicative of the dominance Baltimore displayed.
Dan Orlovsky was unable to conjure the magic he performed in the fourth quarter last week at New England. That was due in no small part to the efforts of the NFL’s third-ranked defense.
The Ravens kept the Colts out of the end zone until the game’s final play and hassled Orlovsky into a 17-for-37 passing day with 136 yards. Indianapolis managed just 167 yards of total offense.
None of this came as a particular surprise.
Baltimore is part of a tight battle for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. Indianapolis is in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft.
The Colts have a commanding two-game lead with three weeks left in the regular season.
The question, really the only intrigue remaining for Indianapolis this year, is what the team intends to do with that pick.
Owner Jim Irsay has hinted since October that Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck could be in the team’s plans. And it’s believed the Colts would prefer to draft Luck or another young quarterback to groom behind a -- hopefully -- returning Peyton Manning.
But Manning’s father, Archie, suggested early this week that Luck and his son might not be a good match on the same roster. He backtracked on those comments days later, but it still was the first public statement in opposition to the potential move.
Luck, meanwhile, was in Baltimore on Friday to collect the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award. He steadfastly has avoided comment on the draft, saying his focus is solely on the Cardinal’s Fiesta Bowl matchup against Oklahoma State.
But he wore a Colts No. 19 jersey to honor Unitas during his visit, and he later told the Baltimore Sun he believes sitting behind a veteran NFL quarterback could be “a positive.”
Luck also mentioned Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, the likely MVP who sat for three seasons behind Brett Favre to start his career.
Rodgers, Luck said, “sat down for awhile and now (is) arguably playing better than anybody. Every situation is different.”
The question remains whether Indianapolis would be better off securing its future by selecting Luck or looking for more immediate help by trading the pick.
Luck finished second to Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III for the
Heisman Trophy in voting that was announced Saturday. Griffin is among a handful of signal-callers -- along with USC’s Matt Barkley, Oklahoma’s Landy Jones, Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden and Boise State’s Kellen Moore -- who could be available to the Colts later in the draft.
It’s a mystery we’ll have to wait until April to learn the answer to.
On days like Sunday, however, it’s almost impossible to ignore.
Contact George Bremer: 640-4831, george.bremer@heraldbulletin.com
Colts Columns
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THB photo/John P. Cleary 10/22/08 New employee George Bremer.
Discussion
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