Dungy stoic through another disappointment
Colts devastated, but it's nothing compared to coach losing his son
Andy Lyons / Getty ImagesColts coach Tony Dungy's expression rarely changed during Indianapolis' 21-18 upset loss to the Steelers on Sunday. This loss was not as tragic as a more personal one for Dungy last month, writes Associated Press columnist Jim Litke.
This was a half-hour after the game. Across the aisle, Vanderjagt sat in front of his locker still wearing his uniform. He was staring straight ahead, as though by force of will he could made that final kick bend to the left, just inside the upright.
“I have no idea why it went where it went,” Vanderjagt said. “As far as I was concerned, I hit it right.”
Everyone in town had their own least favorite playoff memory before this one.
The 41-0 pounding by the Jets on the road in Dungy’s first year. Or 1999, when Indianapolis had a bye and the home field, only to have the Tennessee Titans come in hanging by their fingernails a week after the “Music City Miracle” and still have enough left to beat the Colts. Or the last two seasons, when Indianapolis had the NFL’s most potent offense only to run smack into the Patriots and Bill Belichick’s defensive spider web in New England.
Now, there’s no argument.
These Colts showed early in the season they could win games relying on their defense, that they could win shootouts late on Manning’s arm, and hang on in close ones by relying on Edgerrin James’ legs to grind down the clock.
Now all those wins, 14 in all, seemed like increasingly distant memories. The residue was less anger than sadness.
“A loss is a loss, they’re all the same,” Colts president Bill Polian said finally, and he should know. Before taking the Colts job, he was the architect of the Buffalo Bills teams that went to four straight Super Bowls and returned each time empty-handed.
“They’re all awful, and the finality of it is the worst. A great season ends on a sour note and that’s how it’s going to be remembered.
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“But,” he added, “we’ve had a lot worse things happen around here lately.”
Polian was already thinking ahead to next season. But a long look down the hallway sparked one more memory.
“It shows you how sometimes the ball bounces. We get a break and a guy with two bad legs scoops up the fumble. If that was Bob Sanders,” he said, “who knows where we are?”
The Colts now know only where they won’t be going — to the Super Bowl. When that still seemed likely, James Dungy, who often spent Sunday afternoons on the Colts sideline, asked his father whether he could arrange a pass in Detroit.
Not long ago, Tony Dungy remembered answering that would be the easy part. The hard part, he always told his son, would be getting there.
What's the catch?
On first-and-10 from the Indianapolis 44 with 5:33 left, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw to tight end Bryan Fletcher near midfield. Troy Polamalu stepped in front, caught the ball, tumbled with it in his hands and lost it when got up to run. The Colts challenged the play, which was reversed by referee Pete Morelli even though it appeared Polamalu had possession. Manning then drove the Colts for a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to make it 21-18. Morelli said: “I had the defender catching the ball. Before he got up, he hit it with his leg with his other leg still on the ground. Therefore, he did not complete the catch. And then he lost the ball. It came out, and so we made the play an incomplete pass.” Might as well jump
On fourth-and-inches from the Pittsburgh 48, two Colts defensive lineman ran across the line of scrimmage, pointing at the Steelers as if one of the linemen moved. The officials stopped the game, but called no penalty. Replays appeared to show Alan Faneca barely flinched. But Steelers coach Bill Cowher argued the Colts made contact with the linemen, which would have forced an offside call and a first down. Instead, Ben Roethlisberger ran a quarterback sneak for a first down, which allowed Pittsburgh to use another 5:02 before punting. Run the interference
On third-and-2 from the Pittsburgh 28 with 25 seconds left, Manning threw to Reggie Wayne in the corner of the end zone, but the play was broken up by rookie Bryant McFadden. Wayne tried going over McFadden for the catch, and Manning was hoping for pass interference — but no penalty was called. The Colts tried a 46-yard field goal, which Mike Vanderjagt missed wide right. |
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