Colts owner Jim Irsay has never been one to mince words, if he thinks something he'll say it and if he thinks something else, he'll say that instead. Take the Peyton Manning-era for instance, Irsay was happy to see the team succeed, but he called it 'really disappointing' that Indianapolis only won one Super Bowl while Manning was quarterback.
"I think that the disappointment of not winning more than one [Super Bowl] with some of the things we did -- out of 11 [playoff] chances, seven times out after the first playoff game -- that’s really disappointing and we had some great teams," Irsay said, via the Associated Press.
In those 11 playoff appearances, the Colts only made the Super Bowl twice: a Super Bowl XLI win over Chicago and a Super Bowl XLIV loss to New Orleans.
With Manning out of the picture and Andrew Luck now running the show, Irsay's goal is to win more Super Bowls with Luck than he did with Manning.
"My goal going into this new era was to have the opportunity to win more than one," Irsay said. "We love the excitement of offense, we love the 49 touchdown passes [that Manning threw in 2004] and those sorts of things, but in the end, what we love most is Lombardi trophies."
To win more Lombardi Trophies, Irsay is trying to give Luck something Manning never really had: a solid run game and a strong defense.
"There was a conscious effort to make sure we had more balance and tighten the special teams up," Irsay said. "It was really a strong theme that I thought was important as Andrew came in and as we started this new era. When we can add that component [a tough ground game and a tough defense] to the Andrew Lucks of the world, I think you really have a chance to win more than one."
The irony for Irsay is that the road to the Super Bowl goes through Denver -- at least according to Vegas and at least as long as Manning's healthy. At 5-to-1, the Broncos are currently the favorite to win Super Bowl XLVIII.
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