NFL: COLTS: HIGH ENERGY, HIGH EMOTIONS
Colts Begin Preparations for Emotional Divisional Playoff Game INDIANAPOLIS – Six days out, Tony Dungy didn’t know everything on Monday about the Colts-Pittsburgh Steelers playoff game at the RCA Dome Sunday.
But the Colts’ head coach said he does know a few things.
He does know it will be loud.
He does know it will be emotional.
And he certainly does know that despite having beaten the Steelers in a similar environment less than two months ago, the Colts must handle the circumstances of the moment better on Sunday if they expect to advance in the playoffs.
Because now it’s playoff time.
And Dungy said that means playing more intelligently than they did in late November.
“Obviously, there is going to be high energy and high emotions,” Dungy said Monday as the AFC South champion Colts (14-2) began preparing to play the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-5) in an AFC Divisional Playoff at the RCA Dome Sunday at 1 p.m.
“We were disappointed in ourselves,” Dungy added, referring to several unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against Indianapolis in a 26-7 victory over the Steelers on November 28.
“That was one of the things we did poorly in the first game. We didn’t keep our emotions in check. We’re going to have to have that energy and feed off that energy that’s in the building, but play smart and play under control.
“Hopefully, we learn from the first game.”
The Steelers advanced to the divisional playoff with a 31-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, and after that game, several Steelers players said they had problems during the first meeting with the Colts with the crowd noise in the RCA Dome.
That meeting was an emotional game in which several players on each side were called for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties early in the game. Sunday’s game, Dungy said, will be equally intense.
It’s the Colts’ handling of that emotion in a more-intense playoff atmosphere that Dungy said he wants improved.
“The playoffs are all the same,” Dungy said Monday. “You have the same pressure you impose on yourself every time you go in. You know it’s win or go home. We’ve been kind of facing that all year. When you’re 17-point favorites and 14-point favorites, when you’re playing a good team and you’re a seven- or eight-point favorite, you say, ‘This doesn’t even seem like the NFL.’
“We learned through that process that you have to focus on yourself and focus on your job and not worry about what other people think.’’
That was the Colts’ situation through much of the season, often playing games as heavy favorites. They won their first 13 games of the season, the last several of which were played amid rampant speculation about their chances to go undefeated.
The Colts clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs on December 11, and a week later, they lost to San Diego in the RCA Dome.
Since then, they have played two games – a loss to Seattle and a victory over Arizona – in which their starters and front-line players played sparingly, then last week, they practiced twice before taking their bye weekend off.
That means the Colts haven’t played a game important to the standings or their playoff seeding, a situation that has prompted some observers and analysts to speculate about momentum entering the post-season.
Will the Colts be ready?
Will they have their edge?
Dungy said it won’t be a problem, and several hours before the team went through a half-hour, late-afternoon practice session, he said the team was sharp during the bye week.
“You’re always looking for that in practice – how you go about things,” Dungy said. “If the ball’s not on the ground very much, that’s obviously a good thing. If we’re hitting our gaps properly, and if we don’t have a lot of repeats, that’s obviously good. I know our tempo’s going to be good.
“I thought Wednesday and Thursday might have been the two best practices we’ve had in a long, long time. We were 15 minutes ahead of schedule on Thursday.
“I know guys had planes to catch, but we didn’t have any repeats. We had very good tempo and energy. I think we’ll be sharp that way. If we have our focus, if we’re not offsides and we’re not bringing people back because of mistakes, I’ll be pretty happy with things.”
The last few weeks of the season were an emotional time for the Colts, and particularly for Dungy. Several days after the loss to San Diego, his oldest son, James, died in Florida. Dungy left the team for a week and delivered the eulogy at James’ funeral.
Two days later, he returned to the Colts, and while the story had a national scope, Dungy said on Monday he hopes the playoff run – and not his handling of his son’s passing – will be the focus for not only observers, but Colts players, in the coming weeks.
“With my son’s situation, it puts it all in perspective,” Dungy said. “I always thought that – that the playoffs are great, and the Super Bowl’s great. It’s not the most important thing in the world and it’s certainly not in the top of what’s going to make the world tick, but by the same token, every year is special and I certainly don’t take it for granted, even though we’ve been there a number of times.
“For our team, it’s going to be our opportunity to do something special and cap a year that was really a good year for us. That’s the way our guys are going to look at it and it’s the way I want them to look at it – to win one for the City of Indianapolis, and our organization and (Colts Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jim) Irsay – that’s what it’s all about.
“Our team is very, very close. These guys are close to me. We shared some special moments, but that’s not what the playoffs is all about.”
source : noticias.info
But the Colts’ head coach said he does know a few things.
He does know it will be loud.
He does know it will be emotional.
And he certainly does know that despite having beaten the Steelers in a similar environment less than two months ago, the Colts must handle the circumstances of the moment better on Sunday if they expect to advance in the playoffs.
Because now it’s playoff time.
And Dungy said that means playing more intelligently than they did in late November.
“Obviously, there is going to be high energy and high emotions,” Dungy said Monday as the AFC South champion Colts (14-2) began preparing to play the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-5) in an AFC Divisional Playoff at the RCA Dome Sunday at 1 p.m.
“We were disappointed in ourselves,” Dungy added, referring to several unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against Indianapolis in a 26-7 victory over the Steelers on November 28.
“That was one of the things we did poorly in the first game. We didn’t keep our emotions in check. We’re going to have to have that energy and feed off that energy that’s in the building, but play smart and play under control.
“Hopefully, we learn from the first game.”
The Steelers advanced to the divisional playoff with a 31-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, and after that game, several Steelers players said they had problems during the first meeting with the Colts with the crowd noise in the RCA Dome.
That meeting was an emotional game in which several players on each side were called for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties early in the game. Sunday’s game, Dungy said, will be equally intense.
It’s the Colts’ handling of that emotion in a more-intense playoff atmosphere that Dungy said he wants improved.
“The playoffs are all the same,” Dungy said Monday. “You have the same pressure you impose on yourself every time you go in. You know it’s win or go home. We’ve been kind of facing that all year. When you’re 17-point favorites and 14-point favorites, when you’re playing a good team and you’re a seven- or eight-point favorite, you say, ‘This doesn’t even seem like the NFL.’
“We learned through that process that you have to focus on yourself and focus on your job and not worry about what other people think.’’
That was the Colts’ situation through much of the season, often playing games as heavy favorites. They won their first 13 games of the season, the last several of which were played amid rampant speculation about their chances to go undefeated.
The Colts clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs on December 11, and a week later, they lost to San Diego in the RCA Dome.
Since then, they have played two games – a loss to Seattle and a victory over Arizona – in which their starters and front-line players played sparingly, then last week, they practiced twice before taking their bye weekend off.
That means the Colts haven’t played a game important to the standings or their playoff seeding, a situation that has prompted some observers and analysts to speculate about momentum entering the post-season.
Will the Colts be ready?
Will they have their edge?
Dungy said it won’t be a problem, and several hours before the team went through a half-hour, late-afternoon practice session, he said the team was sharp during the bye week.
“You’re always looking for that in practice – how you go about things,” Dungy said. “If the ball’s not on the ground very much, that’s obviously a good thing. If we’re hitting our gaps properly, and if we don’t have a lot of repeats, that’s obviously good. I know our tempo’s going to be good.
“I thought Wednesday and Thursday might have been the two best practices we’ve had in a long, long time. We were 15 minutes ahead of schedule on Thursday.
“I know guys had planes to catch, but we didn’t have any repeats. We had very good tempo and energy. I think we’ll be sharp that way. If we have our focus, if we’re not offsides and we’re not bringing people back because of mistakes, I’ll be pretty happy with things.”
The last few weeks of the season were an emotional time for the Colts, and particularly for Dungy. Several days after the loss to San Diego, his oldest son, James, died in Florida. Dungy left the team for a week and delivered the eulogy at James’ funeral.
Two days later, he returned to the Colts, and while the story had a national scope, Dungy said on Monday he hopes the playoff run – and not his handling of his son’s passing – will be the focus for not only observers, but Colts players, in the coming weeks.
“With my son’s situation, it puts it all in perspective,” Dungy said. “I always thought that – that the playoffs are great, and the Super Bowl’s great. It’s not the most important thing in the world and it’s certainly not in the top of what’s going to make the world tick, but by the same token, every year is special and I certainly don’t take it for granted, even though we’ve been there a number of times.
“For our team, it’s going to be our opportunity to do something special and cap a year that was really a good year for us. That’s the way our guys are going to look at it and it’s the way I want them to look at it – to win one for the City of Indianapolis, and our organization and (Colts Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jim) Irsay – that’s what it’s all about.
“Our team is very, very close. These guys are close to me. We shared some special moments, but that’s not what the playoffs is all about.”
source : noticias.info
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