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 Indianapolis Colts Fans
If you are an Indianapolis Colts fan that wanted to go undefeated and win it all, you probably will never forgive Colts GM Bill Polian for ordering that Peyton Manning and many other big name starters be pulled in week 15 of the NFL season. The Polian had to walk off his own radio show leaving dead air the day after the game against the Jets and literally couldn't go out in public for fear if his safety!
However, if you are Indianapolis Colts fan that has a more rational perspective on it you are probably saying, "Ok the strategy of sitting the players worked, they are all healthy and now we play the Jets for real."
Unless Peyton Manning gets quadruple compound fracture's, the only time Curtis Painter will get to cross into the playing filed boundaries is during pre-game warm-ups, during warms before the second half, and walking on the field at the conclusion of the game.
New York Jets Fans
If you are an exuberant NY Jets fan, and you were one of those who called WFAN or wrote in to us here that "We would have beat Peyton and the Colts even if all the players stayed in the game" you have to either be licking your chops, eager to show the world that you were right, or scared stiff because you never thought you would be back here one month later and are now afraid that both you and your team will look like fools claiming that you "got not respect" the first time.
There are two ways to look at this:
Peyton and the Colts put up 15 points in 2 quarters + one drive and would have put up 30+ if they stayed in the game; and the Jets Offense did nothing against the Colts first defense with their only TD while the starters were still in coming on a kickoff return.
or
The Jets were only down 5 point with Peyton in the game. Their mantra is to keep it close into the 4th quarter where their running game will wear on you and eventually break one (a recipe that worked exactly as planned in the AFC Divisional game against San Diego). There is no reason the Jets couldn't have won that game.
 The Rodney Dangerfield of Football
The Jets have gotten no respect from fans around the country since this run began. The universal view across the land is that they got some lucky scheduling breaks and that's the only reason that they are in the playoffs to begin with.
Here's the thing though; the Jets were 50-1 to win the Super Bowl just two weeks ago. If you placed $100 on them you have to be licking your chops. They have now beat both the Bengals and the Chargers on the road and no matter what you thought of them previously can no longer be taken lightly.
The Chargers were predicted by most experts to be the AFC Super Bowl representative as they were forecasted to be road favorites (-1 on the road against the Colts) in the game that everyone thought would happen; a Chargers vs. Colts AFC Championship game. In some online houses, there were even lines on it before the kickoff of the Jets vs. Charges game!
Rex Ryan has repeatedly stated that his team was dangerous and that no one in the NFL wanted to play them. The majority of us laughed at him calling his daily "we have the best team in the league" comments a joke and that he was a clown; Neither the Bengals or the Chargers are laughing.
It doesn't matter now what any of the players, coaches or fans say. The clock is ticking to kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium at 3pm on Sunday and all the pregame talk will be history.
The AFC Championship Game
The Colts opened as an +8.5 favorite (much lower than they would have been just one month ago if Manning and the starters were projected to play the entire game) and the line is already down to +7.5. This is very similar to what happened against the Chargers. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised to see the game open at +6.5.
Peyton Manning already has everyone's respect, and the Jets because of what they have done (not because of what they have said) are steadily starting to gain some.
 This game should be very similar to the game that each team has just played. The Jets are once again playing a team with a high powered offense just like they did last week and will look to play defense, run the ball with Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene and control the clock. Will Mark Sanchez have to make a play or two? Sure he will, but he needed to do that against the Chargers too and was able to do it. An interesting over looked fact is that a few weeks ago the interception he threw would have led to two or three more turnovers. This time, he shrugged it off and made the plays where he had to. That's maturity.
And how about those young kids; Shonn Greene and March Sanchez and Dustin Keller - Anyone that killed Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum for the Vernon Gholston first round pick is going to have to give him credit for those. I can't remember a time where three young players have had such an impact on NFL playoff football.
As for the Colts their opponent is very similar to their last opponent as well. The Jets play it much like the Ravens, run and play defense and the Colts seem to understand how to deal with that style of play. More than anything, I find it amazing how the Colts have been able to stop the run during playoff games lately after not being particularly stout during the regular seasons. In their last Super Bowl run they were just awful in the regular season and then unbelievably shut down when the playoffs came.
The Colts were once again bad against the run this year; they were 24th in the league giving up 126.5 yards against the run, so it will be interesting to see how they fare if the Jets can keep it close and keep pounding for four quarters. Obviously the Colts antidote to that is to put up points and get out in front by a few scores where the Jets will have to abandon the running game and rely on Sanchez throwing the ball.
I'll be there taking pictures. I can't wait......- David Fry
David is an independent sports photographer currently covering MLB and the NFL. David will be reporting on observations as he sees them in stadiums throughout the year
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