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Philip Rivers Delivers Against Aaron Rodgers and the Pack in 34-31 OT Win

(By Joel E. Erickson)

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...in/6341760002/

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The defense delivered. 4 turnovers against an Aaron Rodgers offense is huge.

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The defense was outstanding in the 2nd half, and in Overtime.

Rivers was very good throughout the entire game. I'm a little concerned about if and how his toe injury will affect his play in their next game against the Titans.

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(vs. PACKERS, 11/23)


Philip Rivers completed passes to 11 different receivers in the game.



Jonathan Taylor lll),,,,,,, (4)

Michael Pittman, Jr. lll),, (3)

Zach Pascal lllllllllllllllllll), (3)

T.Y. Hilton llllllllllllllllllllll,, (3)

Nyheim Hines llllllllllllllll,, (3)

Trey Burton lllllllllllllllllllll, (2)

Mo Alie-Cox lllllllllllllllllllll, (2)

Jordan Wilkins lllllllllllllll,, (1)

Marcus Johnson llllllllllllll, (1)

Jack Doyle lllllllllllllllllllllll) (1)

DeMichael Harris lllllllllll,, (1)

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Massive QB movement is expected around the league in the offseason. The two most intriguing names in the process in my opinion are Matthew Stafford (Age 33 season in 2021) and Matt Ryan (Age 36 season in 2021). Both the Lions and Falcons appear headed for a rebuild with aging QBs who won't survive it, so it makes sense for those teams to trade or release them. For the Colts, this would represent a bandaid solution at the QB position, but one that would allow this otherwise loaded roster to compete for the next half decade without having to make a desperate move for a QB. Because of their ages, I have a tough time distinguishing between the two. Ryan has over the years been the better performer in general, but he's also three years older and more likely to suffer age based decline over that timeframe. Thoughts?

I prefer Stafford, but don't think either will happen.

It’s time for a QB on a rookie deal

What QB? The Colts MAY have a chance at Kyle Trask or Mac Jones, and there's Eason on the roster. I'd rather not waste the prime of most of the talent on this roster. If you draft Castanzo's replacement and sign or trade for a Ryan or Stafford, you're a far more serious threat for a title run than drafting Trask or Jones.

How about Darnold? If the Jets end up with the first pick in the draft, I assume they'll be looking to move him, but I don't think Darnold deserves to go the way of Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston just yet . And the guy is only 23. And we have a good trading relationship with the Jets.

Are you sure that it is a good relationship? Seems kind of one-sided to me.

Hopefully the jets continue to lose and Darnold continues to struggle. Then, I think he can be gotten on the cheap. With the right guidance, I believe Darnold could be a quality QB. He's young, had shit coaching, shit line, shit receivers and is playing in the hardest city to fail in.

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(vs. TEXANS, 12/06)


Rivers was really good today.

And while he was sacked 3 times in the 2nd half, he didn't make it worse by fumbling or forcing the ball into tight coverage.

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And he is playing on a foot that is needing an operation...going to have surgery in the off-season...we may not see him back.

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I hope that he gets the surgery performed 3 days after the Super Bowl.

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Why wait that long after the end of our season?

I love the Colts but let's be real.

There is zero chance we are beating KC in Arrowhead or PIT at Heinz field with our offense this season. Our defense may.....may be up to the task of slowing those guys down but there is zero chance our offense will be able to score enough on them to win.

At best, we are one and done in the playoffs. Heck, we needed a fricking miracle fumble yesterday to beat the Texans.

While I tend to agree with Ironshaft on this one, improbable, lucky, even last minute wins are a hallmark of 'great' teams. If this defense is playing well you never know. Especially if they ever figure out how to run the football consistently, and they appear to be falling into that if we open up our eyes and let the rookie just play.

You and WaynesWorld87 oughta go out for drinks together. Maybe fill up those empty glasses.;)

Look, I want the Colts to win every game and every season's Super Bowl.

But, while the phrase is "any given Sunday," the reality is that the better football team wins the vast majority of game played.

And in this case, both KC and PIT, this season, are the better football teams.

If that is glass half full, well okay then.

I prefer to call it reality.

I have a good friend who is a notorious gambler. He would call me the day before a Colts game and ask me what I thought of the Colts chances and as a fan, I would say they're gonna kick ass. Regardless of the opponent. If they lost, my friend would call me and cuss me out. I learned to keep my optimism close to the vest when interacting with the reality based gambler.

When you chose to dress down an optimistic fan who made a hopeful comment about the Colts going to the Super Bowl, you said they had zero chance of that happening. While in all probability it won't happen, there's always better than a zero chance until there isn't. There's nothing wrong with your reality POV, I just didn't see the need to dress down the fan for his optimism.

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As I pointed out yesterday, the Colts' defense outscored the Texans' offense in the 2nd half yesterday by a score of 2-0. They also sacked DeShaun Watson 5 times, including the one for the safety. While they were fortunate that the Texans coughed the ball up in the final 2 minutes of the game, they were excellent overall, especially considering the fact that the extremely elusive DeSahun Watson was on the other side of the ball ...... the Colts' defense made their own luck in the 2nd half yesterday a lot more than they were lucky.

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Yesterday the biggest play of the game was made by the Texans center, and Walker for being in the right place at the right time.

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Yesterday's game was not played in a vacuum of one play, or even one series of plays. No game is.

If the Colts' defense had not held the Texans scoreless in the 2nd half prior to that fateful fumble, that fateful fumble would have been a moot point.

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Colts Teammates See Philip Rivers' Toughness

(By Joel E. Erickson)

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...ry/3852625001/

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As far as I'm concerned 2 punt return TD's called back were the biggest turning points in the game

They weren't TD, but they would've given the Colts a high probability of scoring if not called back on ticky tack at best calls.

Exactly, I feel bad for Hines.

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In hindsight, I think that this may wind up being a good thing for the Colts going forward ........ good teams often win games in spite of bad breaks and/or bad calls by the referees. I think that the Colts did this against both the Packers and the Texans. That is one reason why I am hopeful that the Colts might actually be bonafide contenders. I think that it is still too early to say for sure, because they have also showed that they are capable of shitting the bed. But all in all, I am very pleased to see them sitting at 8-4 overall with a win over the Packers and a split with the Titans.

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Pass it to Taylor.

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This article was written prior to this afternoon's game ......



Jon Gruden: I Just Don’t See any Change in Philip Rivers

(By Myles Simmons)

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...philip-rivers/



"Philip Rivers will finish ya. This guy will go 60 minutes,” Gruden said. “And he’s so good at rallying young players, which is hard to do when you’re close to 40 years-old.”

“He doesn’t miss many things. He reads your mail before the ball is snapped,” Gruden said. “That’s when he does a lot of his best work.”

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(3 WEEKS LATER)


That was an expensive block.

Fortunately he has been able to play well through the foot injury that he sustained on this play, an injury which will eventually need surgery in the off-season.

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For normally being a statue, he actually moved around pretty well on Sunday. It didn't seem like it was bothering him as much as the previous week.

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13 games into the season, these two guys' predictions are looking pretty good ...... Ayello even had the Colts beating the Packers, although he also had them losing to the Raiders.

Erickson is currently right on target at 9-4, while Ayello had them being 8-5 heading into the rematch against the Texans.



Can Philip Rivers Lead the Colts Back to Playoffs? Insiders Predict Outcome of All 16 Games

(By Jim Ayello, and Joel A. Erickson)

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...ns/5740055002/

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(DECEMBER 20th)


In Rivers last 6 games combined, he as 12 TD's and only 2 INT's ...... and the Colts are 5-1 in that 6-game span.

Rivers has not thrown a single INT since the loss to the Titans last month.




(vs. TITANS) lllllllllllll 1 TD, 0 INT


(vs. PACKERS) lll.....l 3 TD, 1 INT


(vs. TITANS) lll),,,,,,, 2 TD, 1 INT


(vs. TEXANS) lll),,,,,l) 2 TD, 0 INT


(vs. RAIDERS) lll),lllll 2 TD, 0 INT


(vs. TEXANS) lllll,,,,,)l 2 TD, 0 INT

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Frank Reich Talks About Philip Rivers Playing in 2021

(By Kevin Bowen)

https://www.1075thefan.com/kevins-sp...aying-in-2021/




Peter King asked: } “Do you expect Philip Rivers to be a Colt next year? Do you think he still wants to play football?”

Reich’s Answer: ) “Well, I’ll tell you what. Yeah, I mean, I don’t know the answer to that question. We are so focused on this year. But I do know this ...... if Philip Rivers wants to play football, he can play football. I think that he has multiple years left in him. I think that he’s playing some of the best football of his career right now. I mean, right now he’s playing so good, and I love working with him. You know what his contract situation is ...... he’s got a 1-year contract, so there will be a time and a place to talk about all of that, and all of the other dynamics that go into being a 39-year-old quarterback. I know this, my love and respect for Philip Rivers has done nothing but increase working with him again ...... respecting what he’s done for our team and organization, the way he’s come in and handled himself as a leader. It’s been nothing but the very best.”

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Sure, bring him back and keep delaying getting the inevitable, getting the QB of the future !! Reich sounds like he has a girlie man crush on Rivers.

Constantly let’s his emotion cloud his judgement on what’s best for the team same with Burton

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(4 WEEKS LATER)


It's the Colts or bust for Philip Rivers in 2021 ......



Philip Rivers Will Return to Colts or Retire in 2021; Carson Wentz Could Be Option if Veteran Leaves

(By Kevin Patra)

https://www.nfl.com/news/philip-rive...could-be-optio

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If they bring Rivers back, then Ballard better get rid of Briskett because I'm tired of a one dimensional offense when they put him in.

I could see Reich bringing in Wentz and Ertz.

I say no thank you to both.

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Mission accomplished in regard to leading the Colts to the playoffs ...... now, we'll see what Philip Rivers and company can do now that they are there.

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