Things I've Learned Recently, 1-7-10

1. The Indianapolis Colts have conflicting motivations. - The way the Colts have played over the last two weeks makes no sense to me. Two weeks ago they decided 16-0 was not as important as the Super Bowl and that resting their starters was more important than beating the Jets. We all know what happened. They rested their starters after halftime, lost the game to the Jets, and in the process pulled out the wrapping paper and bows for the Bengals to finish giving the Jets a playoff berth. This shows that the Colts obviously didn't want their starters to get hurt.
Well, if that is the case, why did they, in the first quarter of their game against the Bills (in the snow mind you), throw screen passes to Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark on 10 of 11 consecutive plays? Why was Peyton Manning in the game (again, in the snow) throwing these passes? Because they wanted to get Wayne and Clark 100 receptions each for the season. Yup, 16-0 and going down in the history books is not important, but making sure Wayne and Clark hit some escalator clauses in their contracts was a goal they wanted to reach. What would have happened if Manning had gotten drilled on one of those throws? What if Wayne had blown out his knee (ahem, Wes Welker) on one of those catches? Truthfully, if one of those things had happened I would think the Colts got exactly what they deserved.

2. The Redskins might have gotten it right this time...might have. - It seems the Redskins read my earlier blog about how to run an NFL franchise. (If you need a refresher, have no fear, here it is.) Well, they read most of it anyway. They have hired Bruce Allen as their GM. Great move. They have given Mike Shanahan their head coaching job. Great move. Shanahan is an incredible coach, especially on offense. He is also bringing his son Kyle over from the Houston Texans to run the offense in Washington. Houston was no. 3 in the league in offense in 2008. This year they were no. 4 overall and no. 1 in passing offense. Great move. The only hiccup is giving Mike Shanahan the final say in personnel decisions. He has shown that he doesn't have the ability to do that, especially on defense. If Dan Snyder can stay out of Allen's and Shanahan's hair, and if Shananhan doesn't make defensive decisions, then I think the 'Skins might be on to something.

3. Los Angeles might be getting an NFL team. - And I think they should get one. There is a real estate group in L.A. that is trying to lure an NFL franchise to the city. (You can read the story at CBS Sports here.) Majestic Realty Co.'s top targets are the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars, and I think the Jags should really consider the move. They play in a small market and in a stadium they can't fill. They had multiple games blacked out this year. Obviously the fans in Jacksonville don't or can't support the team. L.A. is the second largest media market in the country. If nothing else, the team would generate a lot more revenue, which is never a bad thing.

4. Boom Roasted Sports may have been in the building for Gilbert Arenas' last home game as a Wizard. - The NBA suspended Arenas indefinitely today, a move that was a long time coming but probably accelerated because of his antics last night in Philadelphia. Jemele Hill wrote a great article on espn.com's Page 2 in which she said Arenas should be suspended and the Wizards should use the morals clause to void his contract. (That might not be so easy, but they should try.) I'm not going to really get into what happened because this story has been reported on ad nauseum, but I think Hill is right and it looks like the NBA and Wizards are headed that direction.