Peyton Manning is the Horseshoe Hero this week just for being able to watch the entirety of Sunday night's debacle in New Orleans. (photo by the Associated Press)

It was downright painful to watch the Colts be embarrassed by the Saints Sunday night on primetime television. In what was without question their worst performance of the year, and quite possibly their worst performance in franchise history, the once dominant Colts fell by a staggering deficit of 55 points in New Orleans. From start to finish, the Colts were never in the game, and they only managed to score once.

The Horseshoe Hero of Sunday’s game has been the hero all along. It’s the 6’5″, 230 lb quarterback with the laser-rocket arm. It’s the only 4-time MVP in NFL history. It’s the leader, who, in his sophomore season, turned the Colts from a 3-13 team to a 13-3 team.

In my opinion, he’s never been more deserving of an MVP award. The only person deserving of accolades this week, and therefore receiving Horseshoe Hero honors, is #18 himself: Peyton Manning.

As the Colts continue to lose, it’s becoming more and more apparent how much the team has been built around Manning. From the no-huddle offense, to the chemistry with receivers, to keeping the defense well rested and off the field, Peyton Manning controlled virtually everything. Without him, Colts players are like a series of cable wires without a headend: completely disconnected. This was illustrated to a tee in Sunday night’s game when Joe Reitz miscued Jeff Saturday’s snap in the no-huddle, and the football hit an oblivious Curtus Painter directly in the chest, causing a fumble and a consequent turnover.

No other NFL team in history has been so greatly affected by the loss of one player. When Tom Brady missed virtually the entire 2008 season with a left knee injury, the Patriots finished the year with an 11-5 record. When Joe Montana missed the entire 1991 season due to an elbow injury, the 49ers, with two different starting quarterbacks, ended up with a 10-6 record. Going into Week 8, the Colts have already lost more games than both of those teams did the entire season without their star quarterbacks. Whoever said Brady does more with less needs to pay close attention to the 2011 Colts.

Although the Saints are looking like one of the premier teams in the league right now, the Colts have a lot of work to do if they want to beat any team this season and avoid the fate of the 2008 Detroit Lions, who went the entire year without winning a single game. The Colts are learning the hard way that it’s not smart to build a team so much around one player, no matter how special that player is. Sadly, injuries do happen, and even the Peyton Manning Ironman streak can come to an end.

Let’s just hope that Manning can start the streak back up again ASAP!

Drew Brees's preferred vacation spot.

In a rematch of Super Bowl XLIV, the Indianapolis Colts …    Aw, forget it.    These Colts would be lucky to compete with LSU, let alone a real NFL team like the Saints.

The Zippy

• Delone Carter had a nice game, but Indy was already down 31-0 when he busted his big run.    The Saints didn’t really care by that point, in other words.
• Donald Brown looked decent again.
• Jamaal Anderson got a sack.  Yay.
• Tyler Brayton got a sack.  Yay.

The Chippy

• Curtis Painter fumbled the ball and Dan Orlovsky got five reps.   Curtis Painter was chippy.  He looked like Curtis Painter.
• Do you remember that old 1970s show, “Hello, Larry.”   If not, then you’re really missing something, and you’re probably too young to be trusted.   Anyway, the Colts have their own version in the works.   It’ll be called “Goodbye, Coyer.”   Expect to see it soon at a news conference near you.
• Joseph Addai just can’t seem to shake his hamstring injury.
• Peyton Manning needs to work that magic of his and find a way to Miyagi his own neck.   I mean, #18 is seriously slacking this year.
• Similarly, did you know that Curtis Dickey has yet to score a touchdown this season?

After this Big Queasy (Colts lost 62-7), though, no one can convince ME that the Colts aren’t worthy of the number one pick come next April.  Who else could allow the most points by an opponent since the NFL-AFL merger in 1492?   Well, there have been a few, but not THIS season!    The Colts got smoked in every area of play against the Saints, though, so even if they get Number 1, they may not get Luck.  Maybe they could nab Doc Oc to pick up a few extra pairs of hands, because holding onto the football has become an issues.

But then, so has everything else, like passing, running, catching, hurting and coaching.   At least this stinker delivered a few trite quotes.

“We just didn’t play near well enough,”  illuminated Curtis Painter.    Joe Tiller must be proud to have produced such an articulate young man.

So, you see, the Colts really can drive home a point.  It’s just that, sometimes, their emPHAsis is on the wrong sylLABle.