4 Reasons Indianapolis Colts Are Playoff-Bound Despite Peyton Manning's Status

The rumors of the Colts demise are greatly exagerated. Today on ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning, Mike Golic predicted that the Colts would finish 9-7. Mike Greenberg had the Colts at 8-8. Neither thought that the Colts would get to the playoffs or win the AFC South.

I'd like to venture an alternative viewpoint to the doom and gloom from these national talk-show hosts. The following slideshow will present four compelling reasons why the Colts will continue their dominance of the AFC South. In addition, they will surpass the Dallas Cowboys for the most consecutive playoff appearances (ten in a row). Let's breakdown the reasons why.

Colts Defense Will Be Better in 2011

The sheer amount of injuries to the Colts secondary last year was appalling. With Melvin Bullitt, Bob Sanders and Jerraud Powers all missing significant time, that group never truly gelled. Middle linebacker Gary Brackett missed time as well.

Despite all these injuries, the Colts defense were still able to make big plays to keep them in games and to preserve victories.

In addition, the Colts look much better at defensive tackle. Free agent newcomer Tommie Harris won't play major minutes, but he should be a solid contributor when he's in there. Rookie second rounder Drake Nevis looks like an absolute beast and will be an upgrade in the rotation over Daniel Muir. Anthony Johnson will continue to be a slightly better-than-serviceable tackle.

Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are still in their primes at defensive end. Jamaal Anderson (another free agent pick-up) will be a good rotational guy and Jerry Hughes seems primed to step up his game after a disappointing rookie year in 2010.

With a better defense, the Colts should be able to win a few that they might not have won last year.

The Texans, Jaguars and Titans Aren't Ready to Supplant the Colts

The rest of the AFC South are still trying to catch up to the Colts. None of the other three teams seem likely to be significantly better than them this season.

The Jaguars and Titans are grooming young quarterbacks and have inconsistent veterans (David Garrard and Matt Hasselbeck, respectively) in front of them. While both teams might be a bit better this year, neither one has enough strength offensively to put a scare into the Colts.

Chris Johnson is an amazing running back, but he can't do it alone. The passing game just isn't developed enough to push the Titans in the upper echelon of the division. They also have some questions on defense. The defensive guys that helped them win the division in 2008 are either aging or are no longer on the team.

The Jaguars are a young, up-and-coming team. They performed well last year and pushed the Colts to the brink. However, they are perennial under-achievers, who seem to shrink in big moments. I thought the Jags should have jettisoned Jack Del Rio last year. They didn't, and they'll regret it in 2011.

The sexy pick to overtake the Colts this year is the Houston Texans. It's been that way for the past three years. They haven't done it yet, and they won't this year.

The Texans secondary will be better, but it still won't be able to stop the better offensive teams. Jonathan Joseph was a good pick-up. However, their safeties aren't up to par, and their nickel cornerbacks are borderline guys.

On offense, the Texans have a top-three squad. They perform like Pro Bowlers when it doesn't matter, and like regular guys when they're in high-pressure situations. I expect Gary Kubiak and Matt Schaub to stay true to form and continue their deplorable streak of mediocrity in 2011.

The Colts can hold off the likes of these.

Kerry Collins Is a Good Place-Holder If Manning Misses Time

While not a top-tier guy at QB anymore, Kerry Collins can still win games in the NFL. He makes good reads and can still throw with decent velocity and accuracy.

He doesn't have the pocket presence of Manning. But really, who does? Collins won't make lots of errors and he will find the right guys.

I also think that he'll be able to pick up the Colts offense in the next 18 days. He's a smart guy and he will have better receivers to throw to than he has in years. He'll probably throw lots of check-downs and Jacob Tamme and Dallas Clark will get plenty of targets, but that's not a bad thing.

The Colts will need to really focus on pushing the issue with the running game, but Joseph Addai and Donald Brown are up to that task.

The Colts are obviously a much better team with Manning at the helm. Collins is not a bad replacement, however. At any rate, he's much better than Curtis Painter!

Colts Pride and Heart Will Keep Them Competitive

The Colts are a consistently good team. Their record the past ten years speaks for itself. They don't often beat themselves and they minimize mental errors. They don't commit stupid penalties and they do the little things that help them to win games.

Even more than the astounding talent that they've amassed on the team, their grit and heart have set them apart from other teams in the NFL. Their consistent excellence can't only be attributed to Manning. Guys like Gary Brackett (an undrafted free agent), Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney and Antoine Bethea are part of the soul of this team. They are all great talents with an incredible passion to win.

I think the Colts will be motivated by the nay-sayers in the national press. They'll respond by becoming a tight-knit group that will galvanize together under the pressure of losing their unquestioned leader for a few games due to his nagging neck injury.

Manning will be back, though. When he does come back, I anticipate that his competitive drive will be even stronger than before. He'll want to not only win, but win big. He'll not only want to get to the playoffs, but he'll also want to get to the Super Bowl.

The Colts may be down now, but they're certainly not out.