Well, the season is over, and yes it ended in the way that has been expected this season--with a loss, 13-19 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. >insert sigh<

After the last couple weeks there was reason to think that something different may happen. The team had looked good. The offense was still rather anemic, but it did enough that the defense could do their jobs well the entire game.

On Sunday, that just wasn't the case. I think we get a reminder on why Dan Orlovsky did not have a job when the Colts called him following the injury to Kerry Collins (please retire and stay retired this time Kerry). Good ole' Dano just doesn't have what it takes to be a full-time QB. I hope the best for the guy and his future in the NFL, but whoever starts him at QB I think I'll pick up the opposing defense in my fantasy league.

That being said, I do think the Colts will stick with him over Curtis Painter as the back up. Personally, I don't think Painter got a fair shake. The play calling was horrendous during his last few starts, and it was Painter that got the blame. I hope someone gives him a shot as a 3rd string or practice squad QB next year because with actual coaching he could be a serviceable back-up (at least).

But I digress....the game.

There really isn't a whole lot that needs to be said about it. It was basically the MJD (Maurice Jones-Drew) Show. Blaine Gabbert looked like he has all season, but MJD made sure that he abused the Colts defense as much as possible and secured the season rushing title.

MLD was not enough to put the Colts away though. Dano did enough on offense to keep the Colts in the game; the only problem is he kept the Jags in the game too. Both interceptions could have been killers, but thanks to a stellar defensive effort they ended up just being a pair of field goals.

Wait a minute...that was the difference in the game...so I guess they were killers. Oh, well.

On a good note, the Colts locked up the first pick of the draft so they will be able to take whichever QB they think is the best in the draft, be it the expected future Golden Boy, Andrew Luck, or someone else.

On yet another good note, it appears that Jim Irsay has gotten his act together and has ditched the father son duo of Bill and Chris Polian. The news came down today that the team vice-chairman and general manager are being relieved of their duties (it's about time).

The question that remains to be answered at this time is whether Jim Caldwell will be retained or not. I would like to see him for one more season myself. I do believe that he did what he could with what he had. Peyton Manning has been covering up the holes on this team for years; holes that would not have existed if the Polians were doing their jobs.

It will be interesting to see how things develop in the days and weeks to come. Whatever does happen, we can rest assured about one thing--we can only do better next year.

Some folks need to be ashamed of themselves. The amount of talk I have heard from fans and even some analysts that actually think the Colts should not try real hard on Sunday so they can stand a better chance of locking up the No 1 pick in the draft is ridiculous! You play the game to win--always! What are we? The freaking 'Black Sox' of the NFL?

Yes, I know I am comparing a World Series scandal to a football game between two teams with more holes than a block of swiss cheese. If you have any respect for the game and/or the guys that will take the field on Sunday you'll chastise yourself for even thinking that the Colts should lose.

Go on. Chastise away.

Okay. Now with that whole mess out of the way we can move on to the business at hand. Can the Colts win their third game in a row?

Not only do I think they can, I believe I can say that they will and I won't have to stretch the truth all that much!

A few weeks ago when these guys met the Jacksonville Jaguars controlled the game pretty well en route to a 17-3 win. Things are a little different for both teams now. Jacksonville is working with an interim coach and a staff that doesn't know if the new owner plans on keeping any of them once this season ends.

While there is plenty of reason for the Jaguars to be floundering at this time of year, they aren't doing half bad. The defense is ranked No 5 in the league still. Offensively they have done better in recent weeks when they finally started having Blaine Gabbert pass the ball to Maurice Jones-Drew more. MJD is shaping up to be the season rushing champ as well.

On the Colts side of the game the biggest change personnel-wise of course is Dan Orlovsky. If you just look at his stats (minus the New England game), you'd think that these guys must still suck pretty bad. However, they have managed to gain something else these last couple weeks; something vital to the efforts of every athlete in every sport at every competitive level in creation:

Confidence.

These guys finally believe they can win. What makes it even crazier is that they are playing like it for a complete game now.

The offense is still sputtering along, but Orlovsky and his roommate, Donald Brown, have done enough to keep the offense on the field more (giving the defense some much-needed rest) not to mention actually scoring.

These last two games are proof that a little confidence can go along way. Against Houston they may have not faced the offensive juggernaut that the Texans have been, but there was nothing wrong with their defense. That fourth quarter drive against the No 2 defense in the country to win the game was a thing of beauty.

Jacksonville's defense is nowhere near as good as Houston's. I know it; you know it; the Colts know it. When they go into Sunday's game Dan and Donald are not going to be sweating the No 5 defense in the league; they are going to be thinking about how they are going to celebrate their third straight win.

On defense, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are going to have a field day putting pressure on Gabbert. Pat Angerer (coolest football name ever) is going to get to show why he should have been voted into the Pro Bowl as well.

And it all comes from the confidence they have developed over the last couple weeks and the pride that they have as hard-working professionals.

For much of this season I've had to get a little creative to justify some scenarios in which the Colts could actually beat someone. This week is different. These guys don't suck, but the Jaguars--well...

If you heard that Curtis Painter was taking the snaps with the first team at practice today and began to wonder what was going on rest assured that the Colts aren't doing anything crazy in the final game of the 2011 season.

Dan Orlovsky was not at practice Wednesday; he was busy welcoming the biggest challenge of his life into the world. No, I'm not talking about a defense made of clones of Ndamukong Suh, Ray Lewis, and Dick "Night Train" Lane. His wife had triplets.

Yep. Triplets.

Since he's been living with Donald Brown and the Colts mentioned they expected him back in town today and ready for practice Thursday, I think it is safe to assume that his wife Tiffany did not deliver at the hospital that bears another Indianapolis Colts QB's name.

There must be something in the water the Colts are giving their QBs. In his time off the field this season Peyton has had the pleasure of dealing with the rush that his twins put on dear ole' dad.

Just in case, ladies, you might want to steer clear of Curtis Painter just in case it is the water. Then again, if your biological clock is ticking...

I tried to write this last night after the game, but I think I was in shock that it actually happened. The Colts actually won a second game this season!

The guys did exactly what they needed to do to get the job done. The offense played well enough to give the defense a rest. The defense was able to play hard enough throughout the whole game that the Houston Texans were never able to get on track. In the end--just like last week--the Texans defense looked more like the one they had in 2010, not the 2011-Wade Phillips led version that was once the No 1 defense in the league.

For those of you that missed the game I suggest you find a friend that has the NFL Network; they'll be replaying this one. It was pretty entertaining from beginning to end.

Dan Orlovsky is making people wonder right about now how bad/not so bad the team could have been had he been the man instead of Kerry Collins or Curtis Painter. Lighting up the Patriots defense was nothing special; every one has. Getting spanked by the Ravens brought expectations down to earth since they are one of the top defenses in the league.

Now that they have beaten one of the top defenses and a top ten offense the question has to be asked-- what could have been?

What if the defense had not had to play most of the first half and were too exhausted to stop a pee wee team in the second half?

What if the Colts had some semblance of an offense all season long?

What if the team did not have to suck?

Well, we will never know of course. We do know that the team has found a few play makers on defense. Pat Angerer (yep, coolest name in football), Jacob Lacey--they will be great additions to the defense when Gary Brackett and Melvin Bullitt come back next year.

Offensively, Donald Brown may be the answer. Personally, I am still not sold on the guy, but I will say that there is hope for him with some better coaching and more practice with the first team (get rid of Joseph Addai). We still need some offensive linemen though.

Mostly what the team needed was to simply believe that they could win. The first few games this season they were in it, no matter who was at QB. The breaking point seemed to be New Orleans game when they got lit up real bad real fast. For the next few games they appeared to just say *uck it.

As much as I like Curtis Painter the turning point was benching him. I hope he gets on with someone next year; now I'd be shocked if they bring him back.

The win last night will probably save Jim Caldwell's job. With depleted forces they managed to beat the division champs at home. It still won't shock me if he is canned, but he could potentially lock up the job for one more year if they beat the Jaguars next week.

It's been a crazy season folks, but at least we have the chance to end it on a high note.

Tonight the Colts play the Houston Texans and will hope to avoid getting swept by the AFC South champs for the first time since the Texans entered the league.

They'll have to do so tonight without their usual guy behind center, Peyton Manning, much like every other game this season. After a recent story was published that had Joseph Addai commenting on the strength of Manning's arm, it is almost surprising that there hasn't been any talk about him playing:

"He's not throwing deep-level passes, but the short stuff is really good enough to play," running back Joseph Addai said.

So what if the team said he's done for the rest of the season? We can't let the Texans sweep us! A short throwing Peyton Manning is better than Dan Orlovsky (just kidding here folks; I know the man is not healthy enough to get hit yet).

Speaking of Dan Orlovsky, I got to say congratulations to the man once again for notching the first win of his NFL career as a starter. It's tough enough making it to the pros, but the succeed is even tougher.

It's good that he has a pretty understanding landlord to help him out along the way this season.

What?!?! An NFL player that can't get his own place? Even scout team guys make enough money to do that!

In all fairness, you have to remember where Orlovsky is coming from. He was cut by the team once already. Even though he was called back, when you're an injury replacement you never know when your going to get cut so there is no sense in laying down roots.

Luckily he was able to make friends with running back Donald Brown when he was last with the team! Brown has been letting ole Danno live with him rent free since he rejoined the team.

Hmmm...that could explain his willingness to put himself on the line and thrown a key block that helped his landlord break away for an 80 yard touchdown run that sealed the win last week.

My only question now was who was in charge of paying for the celebration? The guy that scored the winning touchdown in such dramatic fashion (and owns the place) or the guy that won his first game as a starter (and doesn't pay rent).

Either way I'm sure it was an early Christmas in the Brown/Orlovsky house. Now hopefully there will be reason for celebration when the Colts are done playing the Texans tonight!

Well, Sports Fans, we will not go down as the second 0-16 team in the history of the NFL. Now the question becomes whether we will be just another 1-15 team or is there a chance we could be just another 2-14 team. Either way, most football fans will not care, but loyal lovers of the Blue would much rather have a pair of wins than just a single.

For most of the football season I would have said that a win just wasn't going to come this week against the Houston Texans. They've been the number one defense in the league for much of the season, but are currently in second by one yard. The offense is currently No 10 in the league (No 2 rushing)--good, but not great.

The Texans are not invulnerable though. Last week against Carolina they looked like crap. T.J. Yates looked like a rookie picked late in the draft; the defense could not stop the Panthers rushing attack though and allowed Carolina to run over 11 minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter for the win.

With the Colts you have a team coming off a big, emotional win over another division rival. The offense showed signs of life at times, but overall was not very good still. The defense got enough help from the offense in the second half that they were able to continue kicking butt and take home a win.

What does all that mean for Thursday night's game on the NFL Network?

I have no idea.

Conventional wisdom would say absolutely nothing. The luster was bound to come off the Texans like it does every good team (Green Bay and Pittsburgh last week as well). Houston still has one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL with Arian Foster and Ben Tate. The Colts have one of the worst rush defenses in the league (No 28).

In Week One the Texans ripped the Colts for 167 yards, but without Arian Foster in the line up. Last season Foster tallied 231 yards in Week One against the Colts; he only got 102 in Week Eight but then he only carried it 15 times relative to 33 in Week One.

Houston is going to try to emulate that Week One contest from last season. It is going to be all Arian Foster, all the time (except when it's Ben Tate). Can the Colts stop them? It's going to be tough; they are going to have to play inspired ball like they did last week.

The problem is that I don't see them getting the help they need out of the offense. Houston's defense is going to come out mad and looking to prove that they are the best in the land this season. They are simply going to be too much for Dan Orlovsky to handle. I don't see Donald Brown breaking too many big runs through that front seven.

To win, they will need to do it on defense. T.J. Yates showed last week that he is fallible and will throw interceptions. If the defense can snag at least one for a score and then cause a couple of others in the red zone, that could be the difference between winning and losing Thursday night.

Anyone can win on any given Sunday; I guess we'll find out if that applies to Thursdays here too.