The setting was more than ideal.
Bright sunshine with early fall like temperatures and a rather vocal crowd that could’ve blown the roof off the place had it not already been opened as an obvious tribute to an owner that had given them both great joy as well as major disappointment throughout his storied tenure.
It doesn’t take a true historian to detail the futility this team has routinely demonstrated on opening day contests, but clearly there was hope eternal with all the aforementioned and the pass happy Miami Dolphins in town.
Could the home team muster up the effort and execute in a manner that would send the Dolphins back to South Florida without knowing what hit them?
That might be a bit too optimistic considering the all the upheaval in this franchise since the curtain fell last year on quite a rather lackluster season in which their final record of eight wins and nine losses really didn’t begin to illustrate just how poorly they performed throughout the year.
Despite that, the home crowd came out in massive numbers and they were hoping the outcome of this season opener would be different, and they’d have something to be crowing about as they head back to work on Monday, looking toward to game two of the season when the much improved Denver Broncos come a calling next Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Colts led by their new Quarterback Daniel Jones came out swinging and pounced on the Miami quickly and never looked back, posting a 33 to 8 victory in which they clearly dominated the contest in every possible way a team could and in the process impressively destroyed all the ghosts of opening days past.
Jones was remarkably efficient commandeering the offense throwing for a touchdown and running for two more, while receiving plenty of help from a Colts defense that controlled both the line of scrimmage and the middle of the playing field, stifling the Miami offense and their attempt to establish any aspect of throwing the ball.
In essence this game was over at halftime but don’t attempt to tell that to the capacity crowd that reveled in the outcome and for the most part remained in both awe and in attendance until time expired. To call it a great start to the season would be clearly be an egregious understatement as yours truly actually thought Miami would have success through the air and win a close game. Enjoy my miscalculation Colts fans and keep both your enthusiasm and passion in check. Your team will certaily need that next week and beyond.
Notes: Colts first round draft pick Tyler Warren quickly showed he has the chops to be a productive tight end in the National Football League by catching seven passes for seventy-six yards.
Jones was virtually precision personified throwing the football as he completed 22 of 29 passes for 272 total yards and a score to
Michael Pittman Jr who hauled in an additional five passes for a total of eighty receiving yards.
Jonathan Taylor led the Colts with 71 of their 156 rushing yards with rookie DJ Giddens adding 41 yards in his pro debut.
The Colts defense swarmed all over the Dolphins throughout the game holding them to just 211 yards of total offensive production. Credit Colts Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo for having his troops ready with multiple schemes.
Jim Irsay was posthumously inducted to the Colts Ring Of Honor at halftime in a ceremony that was both emotional and rather superbly coordinated.
Peyton Manning spoke in a poignant fashion about Irsay always doing everything he could to make the team better and Tony Dungy spoke via a video tribute. Carlie Irsay-Gordon completed the ceremony with her remarks about her father.
The Colts next game will be September 14 when they entertain the Denver Broncos in the friendly confines of Lucas Oil Stadium. If you can’t attend the contest you can catch it on CBS with a scheduled 4:05 pm kickoff or go old school and tune in to 107.5 FM with Matt Taylor and Rick Venturi on the call.
Danny Bridges, who was wrong when he picked Miami to defeat your Colts earlier in the week on the radio, can be reached at (317) 370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
Danny Bridges is an award-winning journalist and a longtime sports columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. He covers college, professional sports and especially all things IndyCar racing. He can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
