Did everyone hear Rivers' comments over the weekend?

Here is the quote:

"Those are two key guys on our offense," said Rivers of Jackson and McNeil.

“I don’t think there’s any way you can say we’re not better with them...But at the same time, can you still get it done without them? The answer is 'Yes'."

Before I weigh in on Rivers' statement, I feel compelled to comment on two things: I believe Phillip Rivers to be a top six quarterback, with an indefatigable spirit and self-confidence, which is contagious not only in the huddle, but in the locker room as well.

The other is that the Vincent Jackson storyline has overshadowed the Marcus McNeill’s holdout; the impact of the possible loss of a two time pro-bowl LT like McNeill could be devastating.

On to the question of whether Rivers was correct in what he said, and should he have said it publicly?

The answer is no and no.

Here’s why what Rivers said was ill-advised.

For those of you who haven't been to a Chargers game, and seen Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates, and Malcolm Floyd on the field at the same time, they are quite the formidable threesome.

While Floyd is the least talented of the three, his numbers were still respectable last year.

However, Jackson has become the real difference maker of that formidable troika; the kind of receiver who keeps opposing defensive coordinators up at night.

Not only does he create mis-matches all over the field, but he also creates a conundrum for opposing defenses.

If you roll the coverage to him, it put Gates, and to a lesser extent Floyd, in favorable matchup.

If you decide to play man coverage against him, he will out jump the defender for the ball.

If you play zone coverage, then you had better hope the pass rush gets to Rivers before Jackson finds a hole in the zone.

In a word, he is invaluable to the team.

In some ways, Marcus McNeill might be even more valuable than Jackson.

As I alluded to earlier, you can’t underestimate the importance of a pro-bowl left tackle.

Without a doubt, they play the most important role on the offensive line because they protect the quarterback’s blind side. If you don’t have a good one, then no matter how good the quarterback or the receivers, it’s hard to complete a pass when you’re lying face first in the grass because the left tackle couldn’t pick up his guy.

When you take into account the players lost in the offseason, and then add in the possible loss of two of the most integral parts of the offense, I find it very difficult to believe that the Chargers can “get it done” without them.

The other disturbing part of Phillip’s comments is he shouldn’t butt his nose into another player’s contractual negotiations (no player should).

First, it’s none of his business.

Second, if that player returns from a holdout, how do you think he is going to feel about the guy who “didn’t get his back” (especially in the press)?

It’s bone-headed statements like Rivers, which affect that little thing we refer to as team chemistry, and more often than not, “chemistry” can be the difference between “getting it done” and being one-and-done.

Rivers is a tremendous quarterback, but unfortunately, he needs to be more judicious about what comes out of his mouth.

He would be well served to observe how the greats like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning comport themselves off the field.

Even better, whatever A.J. Smith does, just do the opposite.

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Polian may be right, but the Colts are primed to do something that hasn’t been done since 2005: Make back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.

The reason the Colts stand a great chance at making another Super Bowl run this season is because of the incredible amount of depth on the roster, and the talent they developed last season because of injuries.

All of a sudden rookie players became full time starters, and played well beyond anyone’s expectations.

A big factor in the Colts ability to make another run is due to the uncapped year. It is going to be a huge advantage for the Colts since their idea of free agency is to re-sign their own players. Ironically, given this fact, the rule for the final four will have no impact on them.

The Colts only have two unrestricted free agents: 1) Gary Brackett and 2) Matt Stover. Bill Polian has made it quite clear that re-signing Brackett is a priority. In fact, don’t be surprised if a deal is not worked out before the start of free agency. Whether Stover is back will depend on the health of Vinatieri, and whether the Colts are considering drafting a kicker.

The Colts also have a lot of restricted free agents to re-sign, and owner Jim Irsay’s intent to extend Manning’s contract and make him the highest paid QB in the league; however, given the rule changes the Colts could set themselves up in a great position for years to come.

By paying Manning a lot of his money this year, whether it’s in salary or a signing bonus, it would allow them to pay him less in future years when the CAP comes back. This would free up money to keep the core players together for years to come.

An uncapped year will also allow the Colts to keep all of the restricted free agents that they want to keep. This means that players like Antoine Bethea will be back next season.

When the Colts get to the draft they can finish what they started last year which is continuing Larry Coyer’s plan of getting the front seven bigger on defense. The Colts will probably pick up a couple of linebackers in the draft. Also, given Polian’s recent attack on the offensive line, and the retirement of offensive line coach Howared Mudd, the Colts will probably draft some bigger offensive lineman. This is almost a foregone conclusion when you factor in the ages of Jeff Saturday (35), and Ryan Diem (31).

With the expected return of Marlin Jackson, Anthony Gonzalez, Tyjuan Hagler, and Bob Sanders—if the Colts decide to keep him—this team will have some big-time playmakers returning, and probably the best receiving corps that Manning has had since he was drafted.

With an ever improving defense, an incredible set of targets for Manning to throw to, two very good running backs in the backfield, and a revamped offensive line, the Colts are in a strong position to be the first team to go to back-to-back Super Bowls since the Patriots did it in ’04 and ’05.

Hopefully Bill Polian is right, and the Colts don’t repeat what the Bills did in the early 90’s: Lose four Super Bowls in a row.

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The arguments against Manning’s greatness are coming down to, “Well, he threw 16 interceptions this season.”

That’s not a joke; it’s a comment I received from one of my readers this week. 

Manning’s play in the ’09 season covered up a lot of the Colts' weaknesses. Granted, the problems with the Colts haven’t been because of a lack of talent or bad coaching.

They boiled down to two issues: injuries, and figuring out the right guys to play on the offensive line.

With Charlie Johnson firmly ensconced at left tackle and Kyle Devan replacing Mike Pollack at right guard (who, much like Tony Ugoh, turned out to be a bust), problem No. 2 has been resolved to a great extent.

As the team heads into the playoffs, issue No. 1 is much more troubling—a lot of the struggles the Colts faced in 2009 all stemmed from the myriad injuries that plagued the team.

It showed up in the games, and it showed up in their poor statistical rankings. It’s why the Colts weren’t able to dominate any team, and those same injuries are a large contributor to why Manning won his fourth MVP title.

The question is: Will the consequences that come from having a banged-up football team cause the Colts’ amazing year to end all too soon in the postseason?

The Colts do have a lot of good things going for them. They were smart enough to pull their players and rest them instead of going for the perfect season.

I know the team and the fans wanted to go for 16-0, but Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell wisely knew that they couldn’t afford any more injuries. To give everyone an indication of how bad the injury situation was, in the last two games they had to pull guys off of the practice squad to field a full team.

16-0, be damned.

It’s the playoffs that count, not some silly record that the Colts would only be matching, not breaking.

If you’re still not convinced, look no further than Wes Welker: That’s what 16-0 might have gotten the Colts.

By next week, the players will have had time to—if not completely—at least heal enough to be able to play effectively in the playoffs.

Here are the things the Colts are going to need if they are going to go all the way: They are going to need a healthy-enough defense to keep opponents' running games to 100 yards or less and to play better in the passing game.

Yes, a lot of the success in the playoffs is going to depend on the Colts' defense slowing teams down and getting them off the field on third down.

All the Colts’ consummate four-time MVP needs is more snaps every game. Manning can’t be sitting on the bench for 20 minutes between plays.

Here are the areas the Colts need to worry about:

• Running the ball.
• Timing and rhythm in the passing game.
• Slowing down the run.
• Playing better in pass defense—this means not giving up the big play.

The Colts are going to need a healthy Jerraud Powers, Kelvin Hayden, Jacob Lacey, and Phillip Wheeler to give Manning what he needs on offense.

The Colts’ defense showed in the last two regular-season games they can’t do it without those guys.  

With those four healthy though, the Colts will be fielding a defense that is underrated. Don’t be fooled, this group is scary good:

• The interior of the line is big, athletic, and fast.
• Clint Session is a beast at the linebacker position. Not only can he stop the run when play flow goes weak side, but also he can cover in the passing game, stop the run from behind when it goes the other way, and blitz the passer when called upon.
• Gary Brackett makes up what he lacks in size with great speed and tackling ability in the running game, and is highly underrated as a defender in the passing game.
• Antoine Bethea is one of the best free safeties in the game today, and Melvin Bullitt has shown that the Colts don’t need Bob Sanders.
• The last key is Larry Coyer: With those four key guys healthy and his lack of timidity to blitz from all directions (something his predecessor was scared or incapable of doing), the defense will give teams a harder time than most pundits think.

The offensive issues, with Manning running the practices, will be solved come game day. The Colts already showed by the end of the season that they can run the ball when they feel like it or when they need too.

That’s something they couldn’t do last year going into the playoffs. But this year, don’t worry about the Colts running game ranking 32nd in the league.

The Colts backfield is loaded with running backs for different situations who can all get it done, including much-maligned (unfairly in my opinion) Joseph Addai, who has a nose for the end zone, and explosive runs and catches when the Colts need it.

The passing game has looked off a little this season. Guys have dropped balls, run the wrong routes, and mishandled the ball when it did hit them. Most of Mannings’ 16 interceptions were due to those problems.

But with Manning having four weeks to work with the two rookie receivers and the two veterans, trust me when I say this will not be a problem come playoff time.

Those guys will be ready to play, and the timing issues will be resolved. Manning will see to that.

That leaves us with the one unknown: Peyton Manning.

How will he fare in the postseason? We all know that he has struggled at times in the playoffs, and the way Manning has gone, so has the team. When Manning played poorly, the team lost.

This year is different: For one, Manning finally has a defense and a defensive coordinator who knows how to combine a Tampa 2 scheme with a zone-blitz/man blitz scheme.

Second, Manning has a fire in his belly this year that I haven't seen in all the years he has played.  He exudes the “no quit” attitude, which spreads to every player on the team. Manning has the will to win, and so does the team.

That’s not something the pundits or laymen can quantify in their predictions. It’s also something that every team that faces them should worry about, because it can’t be game-planned around.

That’s why, even with their so called “deficiencies,” the Colts are the scariest team in the playoffs.

I’m not sure any team can stop Manning from reaching his goal of another Super Bowl championship this year!

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