Sports Radio Interviews

Jim Caldwell and The Colts Are Taking It One Game at a Time

Jim Caldwell in his first year as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts although he has been with the team for eight seasons. He came over to Indy with Tony Dungy where he started as the quarterbacks coach. What a job that would be coaching Peyton Manning. I am not sure how much you would have to work considering Peyton is one of the greatest ever at his position. I do know that Caldwell has this team playing very well. They are one of two undefeated teams, the other being the New Orleans Saints, that have a tough road ahead. Anytime you are undefeated or are the reigning champions, a bullseye is placed upon your chest and each game teams bring their best to try and knock you off. That is what the New England Patriots are going to try and do this weekend against the Colts.

The Colts vs. Patriots, in my opinion, is one of the greatest rivalries in the NFL today. Last year, the rivalry wasn’t quite the same with Tom Brady out with a knee injury. This year, Brady and Manning are both healthy and are poised to make another run at the Super Bowl. The injuries are piling up for the Colts after both Bob Sanders and Marlin Jackson went down with season-ending injuries. The Colts have now been forced to count on a few rookies to step up into starting roles on defense. That doesn’t bode well for them as Brady and Randy Moss smell blood and are going for the kill.

Jim Caldwell joined 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh to talk about how great Peyton Manning is, whether he appreciates Peyton Manning a little bit more now than when he was a position coach, what it is like day to day in the locker room, and practice with all the veteran players on the team.

Whether when things get tough during a game, does he ever just think I have Peyton Manning:

“Well I think you kind of realize that going into the game.  This is my eighth season here and that is something that all of us have grown accustomed to understanding is that he is always going to give you a chance because of the fact that he has put up some prolific numbers over the years.  He will be the first to tell you that he has got a good supporting cast as well.  An offensive unit where the guys have been around him for a length of time and a solid defense and a kicking game is functioning well.”

Whether he appreciates Peyton Manning a little bit more now than when he was a position coach:

“It is tough to ignore.  Everybody in our entire organization and franchise and honestly our fan base as well I think certainly realize that but I can tell you this.  As a head coach I certainly do appreciate the veteran players, the veteran leadership.  Those things make a huge difference in terms of things operating smoothly around here.”

What it is like day to day in the locker room and practice with all the veteran players on the team:

“The interesting thing is that it has been a culture around here.  When we first arrived here when I came here with Tony Dungy from Tampa, one thing that we noticed right away was just how hard they practice.  Now our guys practice extremely at Tampa as well but Tony would always give credit to the guys that had been here previously.  Jim Mora, who had set a tone and a pace and culture for winning and it started with the way in which they practiced on the practice field.  When you watch these guys, in particular, Peyton in the offseason working with Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, those guys spend countless hours really honing in on their craft and perfecting it.  I am telling you every snap of the ball they are going 102 miles an hour.  I mean that is the way they function around here.  I mean from start to finish every practice is a quality practice.  We’ve not had a bad practice since I have been here simply because of the fact that these guys don’t stand for anything else.  You find that mostly with really good teams.  It starts inside the locker room.  There is a standard set as to what is to be expected and these guys enforce it.”

On what he is listening to and responding to in his headsets during a football game:

“Well the best I could describe it to you is like the air traffic controller.  We hear everything.  We have, at least in our case we have a toggle switch from offense to defense.  So whatever side is up, you switch it on back and forth.  If there is a situation where you are thinking about going for it, you not only tell the offensive coordinator: Hey listen we are going to go four downs in this particular area so get your next call ready.  I flip back over and tell the defense that we are going for it on fourth down here so get ready.  In case we don’t make it this is where we are going to be and so on and so forth.  You also filter all of the calls.  I mean it just depends on something.  You may get a sense of what is going on.  You may want to run it at a particular time.  You might not want to stunt or whatever it is.  Al of those things you are coordinating along the way.  And watching penalties and what decisions to make.  So on and so forth.  So it gets to be interesting.  It is a lot of fun actually.”

Jim Caldwell with the Insiders on 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh

Tags: AFC, Colts vs. Patriots, first year head coach, greatest quarterbacks, Indianapolis Colts, Indy Colts, Jim Caldwell, NFL, NFL rivalry, Peyton is one of the greatest, Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy