The Colts have been here before, 25 years ago to be exact.
Before this season, the only time Indianapolis had lost 13 games to start the regular season was in 1986. That team lost its first four games by an embarrassing total of 113-27. But it held together, upset Atlanta on the road in Week 14 and won its final three overall to close the season.
The 2011 Colts can match that feat next Sunday at Jacksonville with a win against the struggling Jaguars. But it would probably cost them the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.
For many fans, and nearly everyone it seems in the national media, that’s a price too high to pay.
I, however, can’t get the voice of former New York Jets head coach Herman Edwards out of my head.
“You play to win the game.”
It took Dan Orlovsky seven years to win his first game as a starting quarterback in the NFL. It took him just four days to earn his second, and he’s not about to apologize for either one.
“It feels great,” he told the media after Thursday’s 19-16 win against the Houston Texans. “It does. I don’t want to downplay it.”
There’s a lot riding on the end of this season for Orlovsky.
Much of the focus has been on Peyton Manning and what his reaction might be to seeing his replacement walk through the locker room doors in Luck. But a healthy Manning will be the starter in Indianapolis next season whether Luck is here or not.
Orlovsky, on the other hand, shares no such job security.
If Luck is selected, the Colts almost certainly will carry just two quarterbacks on the roster and Orlovsky will be on the NFL street looking for his next gig. But, if he and Indianapolis beat the Jaguars on New Year’s Day, there’s at least a chance Orlovsky will be retained as Manning’s backup in 2012.
Similar stakes exist all over the field where players such as running back Donald Brown and cornerback Jacob Lacey are hoping to prove they deserve to be part of the Colts’ immediate future.
Fans and media have the luxury of taking a big-picture view of things. Yes, drafting Luck might ensure the Colts have a valuable quarterback under center for the next 10 to 15 years.
But players only can be concerned with the task at hand. For most of us, the NFL is pleasure. For the Colts, it’s business.
Good business in the NFL means winning football games. No matter what the standings or calendar say.
There are those who will say winning the final three games of this season is “meaningless.”
To them, I offer this simple reminder.
That 1986 team that struggled mightily before an astonishing finish? It went on to win the franchise’s first division title since moving to Indianapolis in 1987.
Winning is always worth the effort.
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Contact George Bremer: 640-4831, george.bremer@heraldbulletin.com
Discussion
George Bremer: Winning never a negative
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