History of the Indianapolis Colts
Despite the undoubted advantage of the metropolitan area's location at the junction of more major highways than any other metropolis, Indianapolis would be crossed off when the number of candidates was reduced from ten to four because it was clear the city had no remotely suitable stadium.
[11] Colts counsel Michael Chernoff later said of the eminent domain bill: "They not only threw down the gauntlet, but they put a gun to his head and cocked it and asked, 'Want to see if it's loaded?'
[13] After Irsay agreed to the deal, 15 trucks were dispatched to the team's Owings Mills, Maryland training complex at 2:00 am on March 29 because it was feared the franchise would be seized early the following morning.
Later John Moag Jr., chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, stated in sworn testimony before the U.S. Senate subcommittee responsible for the Fan Freedom and Community Protection Act: "It was the failure of our local [Baltimore] and state elected officials in Maryland to provide the Colts with a firm proposal for a new stadium that led Mr. Irsay to accept an offer from Indianapolis to play in a new dome in that city.
[16] Sportswriter Dave Anderson opined that, [b]y moving the Colts' franchise in such a murky manner, Robert Irsay almost makes Al Davis look like a silver and black knight.
[38] Polian was the general manager of the Buffalo Bills from 1986 to 1993 and helped guide the team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, winning the NFL Executive of the Year Award in 1988 and 1991.
[39] With the Colts having the first pick in the 1998 NFL draft, Polian and team administration worked towards deciding between Peyton Manning from Tennessee or Ryan Leaf from Washington State.
Under Mora and rookie quarterback Peyton Manning, the Colts posted an identical record to the previous season, 3–13, and finished fifth in the AFC East division.
Manning won his second consecutive NFL MVP award[48] and completed 49 touchdown passes for the season, beating Dan Marino’s record of 48.
The 2005 Colts, led by quarterback Peyton Manning and head coach Tony Dungy, began the season with a 13–0 record, which included a 40–21 victory over the Patriots in Foxborough.
During the season, Manning and Marvin Harrison broke Steve Young and Jerry Rice’s NFL record for most touchdowns by a quarterback-receiver tandem, reaching 86 in a Monday Night Football home game against the St. Louis Rams in week six.
The Colts lost running back Edgerrin James after the 2005 season when he signed with the Arizona Cardinals, and they acquired former Patriot kicker and free agent Adam Vinatieri to replace Mike Vanderjagt.
[54] But they were still able to capture their fourth consecutive AFC South championship by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football in week fifteen of the season with, ironically, a strong showing from their defense.
After overcoming a rocky start that saw the Bears Devin Hester return the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown and the Colts’ Peyton Manning throw an early interception, Indianapolis won the game 29–17.
Colts' running backs Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai combined for 190 rushing yards and a touchdown, while kicker Adam Vinatieri converted 3 of his 4 field goal attempts.
[65] The 2009 offseason saw many changes in the Colts organization, most notably being the fact the Jim Caldwell assumed the duties of head coach following Tony Dungy's retirement, with Clyde Christensen being promoted to offensive coordinator.
Running at full strength, Indianapolis handily defeated the Jets in the AFC Championship Game, 30–17, to make their second Super Bowl trip in three years.
The 2010 season began with a stunning upset defeat in Houston, where the Texans beat them 34–24 and poor offensive line performance caused Peyton Manning to take several hits.
The league was faced with a lockout from March to July that prevented Manning from using team training facilities to help recover, and when the preseason began he was left on the "Physically Unable to Perform" list.
After much media speculation they would equal the 2008 Lions’ ignominy of losing all sixteen games, the Colts finally won at home against the Titans and the Texans in Weeks 15 and 16, so that they finished with a 2–14 record, which was still the second-worst in the Indianapolis era.
Supplementing a strong performance by the defense, Luck threw for 159 yards and rushed for 24, including a 6-yard touchdown scamper late in the fourth quarter that put the Colts up 20–7.
The Colts stormed back with three third-quarter touchdowns and cut the Chiefs' lead to 41–38 early in the fourth period when Andrew Luck scooped up a Donald Brown fumble and lunged into the end zone from five yards out.
The Colts defense also turned in an impressive performance, holding the Bengals to 254 total yards and sacking quarterback Andy Dalton three times en route to a 26–10 win.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes, and running back LeGarrette Blount embarrassed the Colts defense in the playoffs for the second straight year by rushing for 148 yards and three scores.
The Colts’ three wins during the first half of the season had all come against divisional opponents, and two of them were engineered by 40-year-old backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who replaced Andrew Luck during a shoulder injury.
However, it was revealed after the game that Luck had suffered a lacerated kidney on a hard hit by Broncos Linebacker Danny Trevathan, sidelining him for the rest of the season.
Matthew Stafford took advantage of one last chance Sunday and Matt Prater redeemed himself with a 43-yard field goal with 8 seconds to give the Detroit Lions a 39–35 victory at Indianapolis.
[103] Reich had previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, following a past tenure as Indianapolis' wide receivers coach.
During the post-game press conference, Luck stated that he had not been planning to announce his retirement until the afternoon of August 25, but changed his mind when news broke during the game.
Second year players like runningback Jonathon Taylor and wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. led the way on offense, while the defense remained top 10 in points allowed.
