It is not very often that a franchise gets to have to legendary names at the quarterback position lead the team to Super Bowl victories. Then again most teams are no the Colts. In Baltimore, Johnny Unitas was the original Golden Arm-ed quarterback. He spent the majority of his career with the Colts and was able to bring three NFL Championships to the franchise and one Super Bowl. That Super Bowl in 1970 redeemed his loss to Broadway Joe and the Jets in 1968. The Colts shutout the Bengals in the first round of the playoffs after an 11-2-1 season in the first season of the AFL-NFL merger. He continued to lead the club over the Raiders and then over the Cowboys in Super Bowl V. The tradition of excellence at quarterback was picked up by Peyton Manning a few decades later. Manning’s rookie season in 1998 began a run of seasons with Colts playoff tickets that the franchise had not seen since the ‘60s and ‘70s. His career with the Colts would lead to another Super Bowl victory in 2005 for the club.
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This season at the new Lucas Oil Stadium the Colts hope to add another championship to their resume. Manning is still the Pro Bowl quarterback and his offense has many of the same weapons from the 2005 squad. Joseph Addai is the running back who has to be respected for his ability to carry the ball and to catch the ball out of the backfield. Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison are the two main wide outs, but this time Wayne is the first option and Harrison is the second. Anthony Gonzalez has taken over Wayne’s old role as the slot receiver. Dwight Clark is the tight end every defense has to watch when the Colts get in the red zone. The season schedule will give Indianapolis fans plenty of chances to see the team exploit its match ups before the playoff tickets are printed.
The team will have to play pretty good defense in the AFC South, a division recognized as one of the toughest in the NFL by the experts. The Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars are all quality teams that could spoil the postseason fun. Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney are the leaders on the field that pressure the quarterback and clean the clocks of running backs and any receivers taking a pass over the middle. The rest of the defensive unit, Robert Mathis, Gary Brackett and company feed off the incredible skill on display every play by the Pro Bowl players. Indianapolis is sure to be printing playoff tickets this season for Colt fans and is the early favorite to go to the Super Bowl after the week one injuries cut the Patriots and the Chargers pretty deep.