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Steeling The Dream Season

By Larry Kaplan, Section NFL
Posted on Mon Jan 16 2006 at 10:32 AM EST
More on: (all tags)

         There were a lot of reasons to be glued to your television on Sunday afternoon. This year's feel good, team to root for was finally playing it's first meaningful game in a month, and it's first such game since meaningful took on a whole new meaning for it's head coach. As they do every once awhile however, the sports gods reminded us that the game isn't played on paper, or even in the movie theater. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who were written off by just about everyone in the football world three weeks ago, steam rolled the Indianapolis Colts early, and as if we were the audience during a fall-laden figure skating routine, we watched in shock, unable to turn away.

      There was more. Perhaps the most reliable, though clearly not most clutch, kicker in NFL history missed a kick in the final that would have completed one of the most remarkable fourth quarter comebacks in NFL history, and in doing so seemed to rewrite the storybook ending we were all starting to believe would come true. And he missed it bad. So bad that you wondered whether he would miss the drop net behind it. This after the game's most loveable back fumbled- for the first time all year- to awaken the sleeping giant for one last gasp. This after football's pure bred quarterback was literally slammed back towards mortality for three quarters only to lead a remarkable comeback not with his passing skills or his knowledge of the playbook, but with the utter gritty determination that Indiana has longed to see-only to fall one kick short. You can't make this stuff up. This is why we are all fans. Perhaps one too many of us.

        Early in the fourth quarter, it seemed Tony Dungy was ready to hand in the towel, sending out the punting team on a critical fourth down while the Colts were still down 18 points. In a move that can only be described as an unprecedented overruling, Manning shooed the special team off the field, only to convert the first down, and few plays later, score a game- changing touchdown. From then on, Dungy was no longer the head coach- he became a spectator, and the folks at CBS wouldn't let you forget it, flashing to Tony on seemingly every play stoppage. Up until that last sailed wide right, Dungy looked like a scared boy who just found out Santa wasn't real. Although Peyton was right to want to let it ride on fourth down, it's a head coach's responsibility to lead that final drive to victory, just as much as it is the quarterback's.

     Given the terrible loss the Dungy family is going through, I know I shouldn't be hard on Dungy. In fact, he deserves all of the credit in the world for gutting it through the last part of the season and inspiring his team to fight for the coach, and the man that means so much to them. And there's no denying that Dungy is a great coach, one of the best, and certainly deserving of more slack than I am cutting him right now. There is no doubt that Manning can run his offense better than any of his peers, but he has his faults- and that's what coaches are for. Dungy may have rethought his decision when Peyton implored him to take a chance- which was the right move. But on a critical third down in the final drive to save the season, it is up to the coach to make sure his kicker has a little extra margin for error on the biggest field goal attempt of the season, and not let his quarterback get caught up in the moment and hurl a prayer towards the endzone.  Could it have been a Manning audible? Maybe. But if that is the case, maybe the Colt's gunslinger has a little too much to say about the X's and O's of the Colt's offense to begin with. After Dungy decides to put on that headset, it is up to him to be the fearless leader that rallies his team the way Bill Cowher so masterfully does.

     You can take nothing away from Tony Dungy's record, his character, his team's magical season, or the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers clearly outplayed the favorites in their own house, and deserved to win. Still, you couldn't help but feel all along that this had to be the Colt's year, that all the stars were aligned- and this game leaves us with the empty feeling that we were cheated- though not half as much as the Colt's must feel. Kickers miss field goals, the game isn't played on paper, and things happen. If nothing else, this game gave us an incredible thrill ride, with roller coaster spins and turns, and made us all remember why were fans. But the image of a defeated, timid Dungy is engrained in my head, and if he seized the moment, he wouldn't be joining our fan base this week, and the dream season would live on.