National Football League

Colts trying to dig out from demoralizing 1st half

Published Oct. 31, 2011 10:32 p.m. ET

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Indianapolis won't bother looking at this year's midterm report card. The Colts can recite the problems verbatim.

They are the NFL's only 0-8 team. Their streak of consecutive 10-win seasons is over, and their record-tying streak of nine straight playoff appearances will be the next to go. They are ranked 30th in offense and 31st in defense, and Peyton Manning is nowhere close to rescuing the Colts from their worst start since 1997.

It's been a dismal, demoralizing, dumbfounding season.

''The closest I've been to something like this was when we went 3-7 my senior year in high school,'' Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Mathis said Monday. ''It was pretty bad. Being young, immature, there were a lot of people firing shots. But at this level, it's even more tough, considering we've been the cream of the crop before.''

Colts fans who once dreamed of Indianapolis becoming the first team in league history to play the Super Bowl in its home stadium in February are becoming increasingly disillusioned with each loss. Last week, it was an embarrassing 62-7 shellacking at New Orleans on national television. On Sunday, a blocked punt and two interceptions helped Tennessee pull off its first win over the Colts since 2008.

Things have gotten so bad that some fans are openly debating whether the only thing worth winning now is the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes.

''No one is `Tanking the season'...that's absurd conspiracy theory mumblings...Suck4Luck doesn't exist n Indy,'' team owner Jim Irsay wrote on his Twitter account after Sunday's loss.

The biggest reason for Indy's drastic change is no surprise - Manning's absence.

With the four-time league MVP, Indianapolis spent the last decade winning an NFL record 115 games, going to two Super Bowls and emerging as one of the league's model franchises.

Without him, they've lost eight straight and an offense that once scored points by the dozens is averaging just 15.1 points per game, the third-lowest mark in the NFL.

Of course, nobody expected the Colts to be the same team after Manning had neck surgery Sept. 8, a procedure that was expected to keep him out all season. But few expected them to crash this hard, this fast.

Manning hasn't practiced with the team since the surgery, isn't expected back in uniform until at least December, and the Colts aren't saying whether they'd even consider playing him if he was healthy enough to return this season.

''I will discuss that when it becomes a reality and then kind of lay out all the options,'' coach Jim Caldwell said.

There's more to Indy's problem than missing Manning, though.

The Colts lost their two defensive captains, linebacker Gary Brackett and safety Melvin Bullitt, with season-ending shoulder injuries in the first two weeks. Running back Joseph Addai has been hobbled by a hamstring injury. An already young offensive line has been gutted by injuries. Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday is the only offensive linemen to start all eight games in the same spot.

Indy's defense hasn't even forced a turnover in five weeks.

''We've just got to keep trying and they'll come,'' Caldwell said.

Yet every week, the problem seems to change.

At Cincinnati, it was a late fumble that cost the Colts.

At New Orleans, it was horrendous defense.

At Tennessee, Curtis Painter had two deflected passes intercepted, leading to 14 points. The Colts also gave up a TD off the blocked punt and were sabotaged by 10 penalties.

''We're making mistakes when the game is on the line or in different phases,'' Saturday said. ''But when you lose a game, everything is magnified. That's the way of the game, the way of the NFL.''

Colts players insist they can get this fixed.

Wearing a brace over his surgically repaired right shoulder, Brackett said Monday his teammates would not ''quit'' or ''lay down,'' no matter what people say about playing for the No. 1 draft pick. Others talked about the team's propensity to produce long winning streaks. Caldwell called on his team to make improvements across the board.

The biggest problem, though, may be finding a little confidence after all that has gone wrong in these first eight weeks.

''We practice hard, we just can't get over the hump on Sundays,'' Mathis said.

All it might take is picking up that elusive victory.

''It would mean we're not 0-16,'' Mathis said. ''It (losing) is tough, it's taxing. We're all professionals in the NFL, but it makes you realize there's a very fine line in this league between winning and losing.''