Forget the Miracles, Colts Are for Real

Time to get serious. Time to forget about all these miracle and team of destiny descriptions. Time to talk football.

Can the Indianapolis Colts really stage their third straight shocker, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers today in the AFC championship game, and get to their first Super Bowl in 25 years?

Most people say no. The oddsmakers have them as 11-point underdogs. Outside of Indianapolis, they still get little consideration as a legitimate title contender.

Still, they have gotten this far not through luck or on a fluke. The Colts are here because they have played solid, balanced ball the last three weeks.

“If you feel like nobody, you shouldn’t be here,” said Lamont Warren, who has been a real somebody in replacing star running back Marshall Faulk, out after knee surgery. “And if you are here, you should perform when called upon. I’m not surprised by this.”

“We don’t have all the answers why we’ve hit our stride,” quarterback Jim Harbaugh said. “I think we keep grinding and come back every day and play as a team. And we believe in ourselves.”

There hasn’t been much to believe in over the years since the Colts moved from Baltimore--where their only glory occurred--to Indianapolis in 1984. Nor was there a whole lot of faith placed in the Colts when they squeezed into the playoffs this season with a 9-7 record.

But after a win over New England in the season finale to clinch a wild-card berth, followed by road victories against the defending AFC champion Chargers and the team with the league’s best record in 1995, the 13-3 Chiefs, a close examination is necessary.

The Steelers have made that examination. Here’s what some of them see.

“They’ve got a veteran offensive line,” Pittsburgh defensive tackle Joel Steed said. “Their center, Kirk Lowdermilk, was a wrestler. He has great technique and great leverage.

“Harbaugh makes things happen and he doesn’t panic. When he gets time from the line, he can make the big plays. And when he gets outside, he’s a real threat.”

As for Indy’s defense, wide receiver Ernie Mills is impressed.

“They don’t let a lot of guys get open,” he said. “We watched films of them the week we were off, because we didn’t know who we would play. Their secondary has looked pretty good.”

Added running back Erric Pegram, who figures to see plenty of Indianapolis’ active linebackers Stephen Grant, Jeff Herrod and Quentin Coryatt, plus end-linebacker Tony Bennett: “We’re going to see if they can handle our game. If they can, it will be a hell of a fight.”

The Colts have displayed tons of fight for the last month. Most impressive has been the improvement in the secondary, which had 11 of the 13 regular-season interceptions and has five of the seven in the playoffs.

“We didn’t start out as well as I hoped this year, but we’ve improved,” defensive coordinator Vince Tobin said. “You can’t talk about being a good defensive unit until you play with teams you’ve read about or seen on TV. We have kind of proven that by being in every ballgame.”

Just as noteworthy as the work of the defensive backs has been the way the running backs performed with Faulk gone. Warren had two big games and rookie fullback Zack Crockett one.

“It’s no more just one person to focus on,” Steelers linebacker Chad Brown said. “They have two backs--Warren catches the ball out of the backfield and is a more agile guy; Crockett is an inside physical presence--and it gives them a changeup. It’s more of a challenge for our defense.”

Of course, the common perception is that all of the challenges are facing the Colts, not the Steelers. And that bothers Pittsburgh’s player as much as it does Indianapolis’.

“I know the Colts are considered this Cinderella team,” Brown said. “They’re not a Cinderella team. They have played good football down the stretch, when good football teams do. They’ve done what any team want to do this time of year.”