Is the window closed?

Perhaps, but I very much doubt it considering that Polian hasn't been shy about spending huge money on wide receivers, etc. I think Polian is just one of those guys who believes that RBs flame out quickly and would rather dump one too early than too late.

Sure, especially Sanders, but I don't recall anyone talking about them as potential champs even after those two came back. They lost three of their last five, including that Jacksonville rout, and barely beat Miami in the season ender.

For most of the game, yes, but even the commentators were talking about how Brady failed to come through at the end of the game and was inaccurate when the passes mattered most, and how unlike him that was.

No, but I don't think that the Colts were the best team in January either. They dodged San Diego, New England had an uncharacteristically bad game, and they faced the weakest NFC champion since, well, I honestly don't know when.

 

The Colts biggest weakness last year was run defense. They played the Chiefs who had one of the best rushing attacks last year. The next biggest perceived weakness was being a finese team but they beat a very physical Ravens. The next knock was that they could not beat the Pats and that they had Peyton's number. They beat them fairly. I do not discount that accomplishment by saying it was a fluke. They did have a weak opponent in the superbowl but the AFC has been pretty dominant in that area for a while.

Really beating the Pats made them more legit as champions than beating San Diego would have in my book. That is the team that had been holding them down for so many years.

 

The Pats were a flawed team that didn't play nearly as well against the Colts as they did against San Diego. I just don't think the '06 Colts were even as good as their '05 or '04 teams, and I think they were lucky to win.

 

The best team does not always win and all champions have some luck involved. The Pats do not win their first ring if the highly questionable call on Gannon's fumble/incompletion does not go their way. They may not win their second if Kasay does not kick the ball out of bounds, they had certainly lost the momentum prior to that. The Steelers certainly had some luck beating the Colts two years ago. They had luck again on some calls that went against the Seahawks.

 

Obviously you dont know what luck is, none of those things were luck

 

Sure, but the Colts are the only example I can think of where I didn't believe that the eventual champs were one of the top 3 teams in the league. Their scoring differential (427 points - 360 points allowed = 67 points) was also the second lowest for any Super Bowl champion in history. Only the 1980 Raiders were worse (58), with only three other winners even below 100 ('01 Pats at 99, '88 49ers at 75, and '87 Skins at 94). Most champions are above 150 and quite a few were over 200.

 

Those things are just as lucky as not having to play the Chargers or finding a way to dramatically improve your run defense come playoff time.

 

Fletcher: Your honor, I object!
Judge: Why?
Fletcher: Because it's devastating to my case!
Judge: Overruled.
Fletcher: Good call!

 

I will concede that they have had better teams in recent history than the one that won it last year. The biggest thing that was different last year though was that they found a way to beat the Pats. They probably would have won at least one more ring by now if not for the Pats knocking them out of the playoffs so many times. Last year they did not give up when they got down.

 

I'm not sure the window is closed. I think we have some serious issues on the O-line this offseason. What do we do with Wharton and Gross? Should we keep Wahle, who's play has steadily been in decline? Bridges got a new contract but he isn't anything special. We could stand to upgrade at both gaurd positions. We've invested pretty heavily in the O-line and just haven't seen the dividends