AFC South Champion Colts Prepare for New York Jets Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium
INDIANAPOLIS – To Jim Caldwell's way of thinking, there's a time and a scenario in which to use the word 'playoffs.'
As of Monday, Caldwell said that time is now.
Caldwell, now in his second post-season as the Colts' head coach, said while there may have been times in the last four weeks when those observing the team wanted to talk about the post-season and about how the month felt like the playoffs, there was a reason for his reluctance.
The post-season is different. The post-season is special.
And now, he said, the post-season is here.
At last.
"You probably noticed, I'm always reluctant to use that term," Caldwell said early Monday afternoon as the AFC South champion Colts (10-6) prepared to play the New York Jets (11-5) in an AFC Wild Card game at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis Saturday at 8 p.m.
"I never use that term, playoff, before this week. You've got to earn your right to play in the playoffs. You may refer to a certain mindset, but this is the playoffs. This is what you work for, and it's certainly the beginning of a second season.
"Now, you feel everything kind of kicks or a notch or two."
The Colts, after starting the season 6-6 and slipping to second-place in the AFC South, won their final four games of the regular season to clinch the AFC South title for the seventh time in eight seasons. Indianapolis also on Sunday clinched an NFL-record tying ninth consecutive post-season appearance.
The 1975-83 Dallas Cowboys also made nine consecutive playoff appearances.
"It shows the great commitment and resolve that our men had going out on the field in certainly some adverse situations and being able to overcome it," Caldwell, speaking Monday at his next-day press conference at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, said of the late-season run.
"We were at a point there where we were 6-6, but the great thing about it is that we really had control of our own destiny," Caldwell added. "They took the challenge and said, 'Hey, let's do something about it. We're going to string four together. That's what we have to do. We're going to get it done.' And they did so.
"I think you have to attribute a lot of that success or some of that success, I should say, not only to the players that play the game, but also the guys that coach them, get them ready to go, making certain we had clarity in what we were trying to teach."
The Colts, after beating the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders in Weeks 14, 15 and 16, beat the Tennessee Titans Sunday, 23-20, when kicker Adam Vinatieri kicked a 43-yard field goal as time expired in the regular-season finale at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The run began four days after a 38-35 loss to Dallas at Lucas Oil Stadium moved the Colts into second- place in the AFC South in December for just the third time since 2002. The message following that game, Caldwell said, was "really just to do the things we were doing, but do them a little bit better.
"Nothing more than that – just kind of focus in on the things we were having difficulties with at that particular point in time when we hit that lull," Caldwell added. "We'd turned the ball over quite a bit. We'd been a team that always had the fewest penalties in the league or top-five fewest penalties. We had a few more penalties than we'd like, and we weren't doing the basic things. We weren't running the ball nearly as well as we'd like, and we weren't stopping the run.
"That was kind of our challenge to see if we could get things turned around. I think the guys did a good job in that regard."
Caldwell also said the front office did "a great job" during a regular-season that featured season-ending injuries to key personnel such as tight end Dallas Clark, cornerback Jerraud Powers, wide receivers Austin Collie and Anthony Gonzalez and safeties Melvin Bullitt and Bob Sanders.
"We had to do a little juggling from week-to-week dealing with personnel," Caldwell said. "All-in-all, I'm very, very proud of what these guys accomplished. It wasn't easy, but the great thing about it now is that is behind us and it's a brand new season.
"We can start all over again."
The victory Sunday, in which the Colts held Titans running back Chris Johnson to 39 yards on 20 carries, gave the Colts the No. 3 seed in the AFC Playoffs.
It also set up Saturday's game, which the Colts will play the team they beat last season in the AFC Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
"They are a very talented team," Caldwell said. "We had to kind of look ahead and prepare a little bit. We didn't necessarily delve into it much, but with a short week, you'd better get some work done prior, which we did. Looking at them, obviously, they are a talented group that runs the ball extremely well."
And Caldwell said Monday while the time for looking ahead and talking playoffs is now, the regular-season that ended Sunday was one in which the Colts accomplished something special, and something imant. But Caldwell said while the Colts savored the moment Sunday, he said around the Colts celebrations "don't last very long."
"I do know for a fact there was one guy over here watching film already last night after the game was over with getting ready for the next opponent," he said. "That's typically how it works around here. They celebrate rather quickly and then focus in on the next challenge, and we have a big one ahead of us this weekend."
