Quitting, choking, cowardly Colts can't go away fast enough | Opinion

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Nick Foles is lying on the field at MetLife Stadium, convulsing in pain. Next to him is New York Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux, who put Foles there. Thibodeaux is also lying there, so close he can touch Foles, making snow angels on the turf. Matter of fact, Thibodeaux’s hand grazes Foles’ leg as he makes another snow angel. It would almost look choreographed, if it weren’t so disgusting.

Thibodeaux’s teammates ignore him as he celebrates while the human being he injured writhes in pain inches away. That’s a lack of class, but whatever. That’s on the Giants.

Foles’ teammates ignore Thibodeaux, too. That’s a lack of … everything. No pride, no honor, no courage, no concern, no nothing.

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That play, that right there, is the 2022 Indianapolis Colts. They are nothing. They are going nowhere. They are one of the worst teams in the NFL – bad roster, bad coaching, bad interim coaching, bad scouting – and will go into the season finale with a 4-11-1 record after losing 38-10 to New York, their sixth consecutive loss.

We’d seen ugly before, obviously. We saw the Colts quit in Dallas, a close game getting away and then this prideless roster just giving up as Dallas outscored Indianapolis 33-0 in the fourth quarter. We saw them choke the next week, surrendering the biggest comeback in NFL history as a 33-0 lead became a 39-36 loss. We saw them roll over and play dead last week at home, losing 21-3 to Los Angeles. The Chargers clinched their spot in the 2022 NFL playoffs at Lucas Oil Stadium. At least somebody is.

Those were the three games leading to Sunday in New York.

Now we see the results of all this quitting, choking, losing: Their quarterback shivering in agony, left hand on his ribs as his right hand flails aimlessly in the air from sheer pain, while the player who put Foles there celebrates for an uncomfortably long time – Thibodeaux was making an army of snow angels – and is allowed to do it.

The 2022 Indianapolis Colts are revolting.

Jeff Saturday stuck knife in Frank Reich's career

Like, where was left guard Quenton Nelson?

He’s the tough guy who used to show up whenever a teammate was in danger. Remember when he was The Bodyguard? Not anymore. He’s not the player he used to be, either. Nelson was voted into the 2022 Pro Bowl as a reputation pick, not because he’s done anything this season to deserve it. A few snaps later, Nelson was beaten so badly by Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence – a legit Pro Bowler – that everyone went down in a pile together: Nelson, Lawrence and sacked Sam Ehlinger, the backup quarterback pressed into action by Foles’ injury.

Like, where was Bernhard Raimann? He’s the left tackle who allowed Thibodeaux to maul Foles on that awful play. Notice I didn’t say he let Thibodeaux “beat him” on the play. Thibodeaux didn’t beat Raimann, because Raimann ignored him. Raimann let him go, choosing instead to pick up blitzing safety Landon Collins, giving Thibodeaux – the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft – a free shot at his quarterback.

Like, where was Deon Jackson? He was the running back on the play, lined up to Foles’ left, behind Raimann. As Collins was blitzing and Thibodeaux was running free and a third New York defender – cornerback Nick McCloud – was blitzing free behind Thibodeaux, Jackson was running into the flat to catch a pass that was never, ever going to be thrown.

Who’s coaching these people, anyway? Jeff Saturday, the interim coach, is a former Pro Bowl center, a member of the Colts’ Ring of Ho-or, a word I refuse to spell out in the same sentence with “Colts.” Before agreeing to stick a knife in Frank Reich’s back after the ninth game – Irsay has said on the record that he fired Reich only because Saturday agreed to replace him: “If (Saturday) says no,” he said Nov. 8, “we’re not here today” – Saturday had been Jim Irsay’s paid consultant, giving Irsay expert analysis on the offensive line. Does he just not pay attention to the line anymore?

Pass-rushers have been running free into the Colts’ backfield all season; that free shot at the QB isn’t limited to Sunday. Hell, it wasn’t limited to that play. Literally three snaps after Raimann and Co. gave Thibodeaux a free shot at their quarterback, right tackle Braden Smith and Co. did it again. Now lined up over Smith, Thibodeaux took aim on Ehlinger as Smith looked for a defensive back to block. Ehlinger unloaded the pass before being buried, throwing it right into Thibodeaux’s chest, shocking him into dropping what would’ve been an easy pick-six.

The Colts have the highest-paid offensive line in the NFL – true story – and are 31^st in sacks allowed while creating less running room for defending NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor, who went from averaging 5.5 yards per carry last season to 4.5 this season. On a bad team with bad position groups almost across the board, on a staff that has already fired the head coach (Reich) and offensive coordinator (Marcus Brady), the coach of the worst unit on the team, OL coach Chris Strausser, still here.

Who’s advising Irsay now, anyway? Is it still Jeff Saturday? Is that why Irsay told ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown last week that Saturday (record: 1-6) “is an outstanding candidate” for the permanent position in 2023?

Meet your 2022 Colts:

One week after the Los Angeles Chargers clinched a playoff spot with a blowout of the Colts, the Giants clinched a playoff spot with a blowout of the Colts. The Colts aren't an NFL team. They're a homecoming opponent.

Colts infected (again) by losers

Remember when the Colts had that great culture? A bunch of classy, tough, good guys in the locker room. Professionals, you’d call them.

The culture is gone. The Colts remain classy in the community, which is nice, and they’re full of nice guys in the locker room, which doesn’t really matter. But tough? Study Nick Foles’ X-ray before you answer that question. And oh my to be a bug on the wall when Foles watches the replay of his brutal injury, and the celebration happening next to him, while his teammates ignore all of it.

Professionals? Not anymore. The Colts are back to that clueless bunch of 2017, a 4-12 team whose ongoing celebrations that season were so pointless, so out of touch with the reality on the scoreboard, that I devoted an entire game column to it after a 20-16 loss to Tennessee. Actual headline that day: Colts are infected by losers.

Acceptable headlines today: Colts are infected by quitters. Colts are infected by chokers. Colts are infected by cowards.

Or just run it back from 2017 – Colts are infected by losers – because this happened Sunday:

Late second quarter, Colts already trailing 21-3, New York quarterback Daniel Jones throws a pass out of the end zone on third down, willing to take a field goal on the next play. The nearest Colts defender to the pass, rookie cornerback Dallis Flowers, posed in the end zone, arms crossed, and stared into the crowd, like: I’m the man.

It’s not just rookies. First play of the third quarter, linebacker Bobby Okereke forces a fumble that 11-year veteran safety Rodney McLeod Jr. falls on. After the whistle McLeod rises and runs to the end zone, which is how everybody that is anybody celebrates a turnover these days in the NFL. The Colts trailed 24-3, but they sure celebrated that turnover, didn’t they?

Later, fourth quarter, Okereke is chasing down Jones, who sees him coming and slides in surrender. Okereke lowers his shoulder anyway, runs him over and finishes him off with a forearm to the helmet. Game officials threw a flag on that, but didn’t object when Giants guard Ben Bredeson came running over to shove Okereke for the dirty hit.

The officials understood: That’s how teammates stick up for each other.

The Colts don’t understand much. They’re good at losing, and because of that they’ve become exceptional these last two weeks at tanking, and now they’re one week from becoming the 2022 Indianapolis Colts of our dreams:

Gone.

Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at  www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis Colts quit, choked and were cowards. Good riddance.