While the Colts have had a lot of success against the Ravens, it’s other ghosts of playoffs past that have their fans worried. Back in 2005, the Colts were similarly undefeated late in the season, dropped a few games towards the end, and after the bye got upset by the #6-seed Steelers in a crazy playoff game. But this 2009 Colts team is not the same, as Stampede Blue points out after receiving a tip in a Raheem Brock tweet that basically says the team got rid of bad players from that 2005 defense.
Stampede Blue: 2009 Colts Not The 2005 Colts
Since 2005, gone are Colts starters Mike Doss, Nick Harper, Corey Simon, Cato June, David Thornton, Jason David, and Montae Reagor. The current starters for these players respective positions are Antoine Bethea, Antonio Johnson, Clint Session, Philip Wheeler, Jerraud Powers, and Daniel Muir. Like in 2005, the 2009 Colts clinched their playoff seed early and rested starters down the stretch. Unlike 2005, the horrible distraction of James Dungy’s suicide is not hovering over the 2009 team, though it is understandable is players like Pierre Garcon have their minds on family and friends in Haiti.
Not only are there similarities in Colts teams, but the guys at Stampede Blue find similarities between the 2005 Steelers and the 2009 Ravens.
In addition, this 2009 Ravens team bare a scary resemblance to the 2005 Steelers team that entered the the playoffs as the #6 seed and defeated the #1 seeded Colts at the RCA Dome in a game that featured a famous Jerome Bettis fumble, a Ben Roethlisberger tackle, and a Mike Vanderjagt missed field goal. To this day, that playoff loss stings more than any other even though the opponent was obviously worthy enough to beat the Colts that year (the 2005 Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl).
Video: Highlights from the Colts-Steelers playoff game back in 2005.
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