Trav's Thoughts

Rats. I forgot the non-sports interludes in the last post. How about some lunch?



Minnesota gets another field goal in the opening drive of the 2nd half. Ordinarily I would say that you need touchdowns to beat Indy. But the Colts are just looking pathetic today.

Whether you want to blame it on Manning's lack of training camp and his wonky knee, or the injuries to C Jeff Saturday and TE Dallas Clark, the fact remains that the Colts have elite NFL talent on both sides of the ball and that talent is not performing.

The Vikings are dominating in all phases of the game.

Although I do feel compelled to report that Minnesota leads 15-0 on the strength of 5 field goals. The Colts are 2 touchdowns and a 2 point conversion from tying the game. Should Indy suddenly re-discover their inner championship caliber selves...

What? It could happen.

And it did! Wooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Manning hits WR Anthony Gonzales for 58 yards. Gonzales took a chance and flipped a lateral to WR Reggie Wayne, who took the ball nearly to the goal line. The play was initially called a TD, but upon challenge and review the ball was placed at the 1 yard line.

There's one of the big plays. It goes for a total of 75 yards, and after two QB sneaks the Colts finally punch the ball into the endzone with RB Joseph Addai. The play is upheld on replay, likely because it wasn't clear on replay whether the ball crossed the plane of the endzone. If it's inconclusive, the call on the field stands.

TD Colts!

Raider RB Darren McFadden is having a break out day. He has run for 110 yards on 14 carriers, with a 50 yard scamper as well as a 19 yard run for his first professional TD. The Raiders lead 13-0 over KC. YAY!

Of course, naturally I picked my Raiders to get beat this week. I'm so ashamed.

Can I get you a beer?



Woooooooooooooooooo!! And there's another big play as Colts DE Dwight Freeney forces Vikings QB Tavaris Jackson to fumble. Indy recovers at the Minnesota 28 yard line.

The Colts are unable to find the endzone due to tremendous defensive pressure from Minnesota's front line and excellent coverage int he secondary. And then kicker Adam Vinatieri missed the field goal try.

Rats.

So, after holding the Colts to a missed field goal the Vikings defense comes back and intercepts another Manning pass. The way Indy has played, any kind of score on this drive for Minnesota should put the game out of reach with about 8 minutes to play in the game.

The Vikings play it conservative with a running play on 3rd down, which the Colts are able to stop. But Ryan Longwell misses his 6th field goal try, and that keeps it a one score game.

I find it odd that a play action pass would work for Indy when they have only rushef for 11 yards all game. Why would the Vikings even fall for the play fake? But they did and three plays later Manning hits Wayne on a skinny post for 32 yards and a TD.

The 2 point conversion is good on a run from RB Dominic Rhodes, and just like that the game is tied at 15 a piece.

The Vikings got no pressure on Manning during that drive. And now the we see why you must score touchdowns against the Colts. No matter how poorly they play, there is always the big play possibility when Peyton Manning is in the game.

On Minnesota's next drive, it looks like the Colts got away with a couple of pass defenses that could have been called interference or illegal contact. The Vikings had to punt.

HA! The Colts last 3 running plays, including the 2pt conversion, have netted more yardage that they had to that point in the game. And now the offense is in rhythm and driving for a possible go ahead score.

The Vikings defense stands up and holds the Colts to force a punt. But Indy is able to down the ball at the 2 yard line. The replay officials review the play to make sure that the defender had not stepped on the goal line prior to downing the punt. The play is confirmed and the Vikings have a long way to go in 1:42 to get to field goal range.

Perhaps the first goal would be to get first downs and possess the ball and get first downs. You don't want to turn the ball over or punt deep in your own territory to give the Colts a short field to possibly win the game on a late field goal.

Indy's defense holds on two running plays, bringing up 3rd and 3. The pass play goes for a loss and the Vikings will have to punt from their own endzone.

Forcett gets a 25 yard return on the punt. But then Reed makes a bonehead play and gets flagged for a late hit. So Manning has 1:07 from the 50.

Inexplicably, with no time outs, the Colts try a running play that goes nowhere. And then there is a dropped pass in the flat.

There we go! Manning to Wayne for 20 yards. And now Manning takes the clock down to 8 seconds before spiking the ball. Vinatieri makes the 47 yard field goal and there are 3 seconds to play.

If you're a Viking fan, you have to be so disappointed. Your team dominated the Colts for most of the day. But they couldn't score touchdowns and they couldn't stop the Colts when it counted most.

Colts win 18-15.