2012 Colts a Rerun of the 1982 Cincinnati Reds?

I once heard Jerry Glanville say the NFL means "Not for Long."

The Colts' unceremonious dumping of Brackett, Clark, Addai, Bullett, and (ahem), Painter proved Freeney true.  

Are Jeff Saturday and Adam Vinatieri next? 

I sometimes compare the run of the Colts of 2000-2010 with the Big Red Machine of the 1970s. 1981 was a weird year. The season was split by a strike with the Reds being effectively voted out of the playoffs won by the Fernando (Valenzuela) Mania Dodgers over the Yankees. Tom Seaver was 14-3 and Johnny Bench hit .300 for the only time in his career. Rose, Morgan and Perez were already gone.

After the season, general manager Dick Wagner effectively nuked what was left of the team trading George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr. away for nobody building around guys like Gary Redus, Paul Householder, Charlie Puleo and Alex Trevino. He at least had the sense to keep Mario Soto. They went 61-101. Seaver couldn't get anybody out, and Bench retired after 1983.

After the tearful farewell to Manning, and his subsequent feeding to the piranhas, came the unceremonious jettisons of three Super Bowl starters like Marvin Harrison after '08 and Edgerrin James three years earlier. The '07 Super Bowl featured first-draft choices in every draft—save James since 1996:

1996: Harrison

1997: Tarik Glenn (who may have had the right idea when he walked away after the Super Bowl)

1998: Manning

1999: James dumped.

2000: Ron Morris decent, but not great

2001: Reggie Wayne (thanks for the memories)

2002: Dwight Freeney (will he be traded?) called a reach when drafted; will end up in Canton.

2003: Clark, who seemed to be going through the motions last year. Will Manning, Wayne and Clark become a football version of James/Wade/Bosh in south Florida?

2004: Bob Sanders couldn't stay healthy.

2005: Marlin Jackson, got the game sealing interception on Brady in the Conference Championship game after being down 18 points.

2006: Addai as a rookie made James departure palatable.

Since then, it has, with the exception of second-rounder Pat Angerer, pretty much stunk. 

Like the Big Red Machine, which won without great pitching, the Colts won without a run defense. 

It took three bad seasons for the Reds to become competitive, finding their feet in 1985 and winning it all in 1990 in the most improbable manner:

• Their manager was disgraced and is still in Purgatory.

• The only year they opened on the road

• They won their first nine games.

• Were in first place the whole season

• Won a tough LCS from the once proud Pittsburgh Pirates

• Swept the heavily favored Oakland A's.

The Colts spending the last decade in first place, from day one, was pretty much the rule. Now, more than ever, they shouldn't have punted a perfect season which may never come again and certainly not any time soon.

They spent $700,000,000 on a stadium, so season ticket holders will have to watch a rebuilding project, while we working poor pay one percent every time we buy a Big Mac or El Rodeo burrito and may end up stuck watching the Bears 16 times a year. 

So whatever happened to Paul Householder? 

Twenty years from now, some may make the same muse about Curtis Painter.