Indianapolis Colts: Are They in Danger of Becoming the NFL's Worst Team?

Colts fans have a lot to be disappointed about right about now.

The team has been essentially shown to be the one-trick pony that they've been for so long. With Manning gone, the team seems to have no answer, no way to score points, no way to keep teams off the field. Even now, fans are starting to lose hope in finishing anywhere above .500 for the season.

I cannot blame them.

For years, I have been a fierce Colts fan. Fierce, but not dumb. I know that Manning is the only reason the team manages to stay in the playoffs year after year. I know that the offensive line only seems good because Manning gets the ball out so quickly, and that the wide receivers look amazing because they have arguably one of the best quarterbacks of all time feeding them the ball. I know that Manning essentially IS the team.

Without Manning, there is close to nothing that opponents need to be worried about.

I do not want to take anything away from the Texans. They looked amazing today, and they look like a team that deserves to win their division. The O-Line is strong. Schaub's delivery is crisp (barring his two interceptions), all the wide receivers are in perfect position to make their catches and are running great routes. The running backs are doing great too, with Derrick Ward and Ben Tate making sure the Texans don't miss Arian Foster, who is sitting with a hamstring injury, one bit. But at the same time, let's take a look at the Colts.

Kerry Collins: 16/31, 196 yards, 1 touchdown, two lost fumbles

Joseph Addai: 2 catches, 13 yards. 8 rushes, 39 yards. Altogether, the Colts rushed for 64 yards.

Reggie Wayne: 7 receptions, 106 yards, 1 touchdown. He was possibly the only receiver not affected by the absence of Manning.

Dallas Clark: 4 receptions, 39 yards.

Colts Defense: Allowed 26 first downs, 167 yards rushing, and 137 yards returning. Horrid statistics.

Those types of number just do not happen when Manning is present. And the thought of this possibly continuing the entire season could very well end up with Indianapolis having the first pick in the draft.

Peyton Manning is, in my opinion, the best to ever play the position. The workload that this man has had to pull since coming to Indianapolis is almost unheard of in the NFL, ever. This may be a glimpse of a not-too-far off future, where the Colts are Manning-less, and the L's start coming as often as the W's did when Peyton was there.

And make no mistake: Manning will be back, possibly within the season, and the Colts will be able to get back to their winning ways. But if it is within the season, he'll be rusty. And a rusty Manning doesn't bring a lot of promise to saving this season.

There are other teams in the league that are in the same boat. The Panthers may be horrid, depending on how well Newton comes along. The Bengals, on paper, are possibly the worst team in the league, although they had a solid win over the Browns today. The entire NFC West can generally be lumped into this category (particularly the Seahawks and the 49ers). But the fact is, the Colts came out today and showed how truly bad they are without Manning.

In the end, the Colts' dependency on Manning may end up being their downfall. Peyton has received a lot of flack over the years for only having one Super Bowl ring, but it is truly the organization's fault for not developing a team that can function outside of him. New England managed to do it when Brady went down. Green Bay did it once they got rid of Favre.  

If Indianapolis ends up taking Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in the draft, the blame solely lies on the management and their inability to evolve the team outside of just one man. Now, the Colts having the first pick may seem preposterous, but after today's performance, I'm not sure how you can argue against it.

All I know is, it's a hard time to be a fan right now.