Tony Dungy, the coach of the undefeated Indianapolis Colts, has been having a disturbing recurring dream this week. In the dream, Warren Sapp unexpectedly bursts out of Dungy’s birthday cake and proceeds to smear icing all over Peyton Manning’s face and uniform. Manning bursts into tears. Sapp manages a few bites of the cake, then smashes it in disgust and storms out of the party – but not before breaking Dominick Rhodes’ leg, and taking a bite out of Mike Vanderjagt’s cheek.
Dungy will celebrate his 48th birthday Monday night in Raymond James stadium as the Colts take on his former team – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dungy coached the Buccaneers for six successful seasons, transforming the once hapless franchise from a gut-busting league punch line to a perennial contender. Vertigo will likely descend on Dungy as Sapp and his teammates work the crowd to a fevered pitch dismantling the up-to-now potent Colts offense. Getting mangled at the hands of the rabid wildebeests comprising the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense is probably not the way former Bucs coach Tony Dungy imagined celebrating his 48th birthday, but the NFL scheduling gods obviously had other plans. The typical celebratory trappings of an NFL birthday bash (strippers, champagne, and copious amounts of Peruvian cocaine) will be decidedly absent, as jungle savages John Lynch, Warren Sapp, Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, and Simeon Rice, dance and stomp on the unexpecting and soon to be 4-1 Colts.
Dungy has the Colts off to a great start. They are 4-0, and their revitalized defense is allowing just under 12 points per game. The offense, led by the laconic, and sometimes moribund-seeming Peyton Manning has all piston firing – that is besides a reliable running game. In the Colts’ four victories – coming over the mediocre Cleveland Browns, the woeful New Orleans Saints, the sally-pants Jacksonville Jaguars, and the slow-starting Tennessee Titans – the Colts have mounted only a moderately successful running attack. They have scored their 30 points a game largely through the air, and the Buccaneers bloodhound pass rush has an uncanny ability of disrupting even the most efficient passing attacks. The Buccaneers also flourish on Monday Night. Sapp and his cohorts love the spotlight, and there is nothing they would rather do then dispel the myth that the Colts are a top-notch team, with a potent offense. There is no better stage to eviscerate a rumor than Monday Night Football, with the nation watching.
This game will be close, at least for two or three quarters. Dungy has the Colts defense looking respectable, and they should be able to hold the Buccaneers average offense in check. Tampa Bay, coming off a bye-week, will certainly have their defense ready, and the Colts should get nowhere near 30 points. So far, the Bucs are giving up just over seven points a game, and have looked truly savage in wins over the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons. In their lone loss, to the Carolina Panthers, their defense was good but showed an apparent weakness to a strong up the gut power running game. Edgerrin James, the Colts star running back, is expected to play but the Colts, unable to run against Cleveland, Jacksonville, and New Orleans, won’t have much luck on the ground against Tampa. That will leave Peyton Manning to mitigate the savage Tampa pass rush – it could get ugly. At home on Monday Night it’s hard to pick against the Buccaneers. The Colts do look better and should make the playoffs this year. As for winning in Tampa without a good running game – don’t count on it. Look for Derrick Brooks or Warren Sapp (especially if Sapp makes a big catch) on the horse-trailer, and an early defensive touchdown by Tampa to set the tone for the game. The Colts go to 4-1, and the Buccaneers remind everyone that good defense will almost always dominate good offense.
Craig Giammona can be contacted at [email protected].