Indianapolis, Ind -
Based on last regular season's results, the 2009 Indianapolis Colts schedule was ranked 13th most difficult in the National Football League. But just because the list of opponents isn't considered hard to beat, it doesn't make the schedule easy to handle.
The Colts began this season with a 14-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 13th. In between that home opener (in the middle of September) until the month November, the Colts have only one other game scheduled at home. That lone home game is this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
The road games sandwiched in between Jacksonville and Seattle at Lucas Oil Stadium were both in prime time, both in short weeks and neither was located in close proximity to the city of Indianapolis.
Read: Manning Throws 4 TD Passes as Colts Roll Past Cardinals, 31-10
Also: Colts Beat Miami 27-23 Behind 2 Manning TD Passes
In 9 calendar days, the Colts traveled close to 6,000 miles. According to mapquest.com, the roundtrip distance of the Miami and Phoenix (or, Glendale) games totaled 5,806 miles. And the returning flights for both were during the early morning hours.
Compare the Miami and Glendale trips to the other two scheduled stretches of road games this season and the bulk of "flying the friendly skies" is now behind the 2009 Colts. Following this Sunday's game with the Seahawks, Indianapolis travels to Tennessee and then to St. Louis (separated with a bye week). That stretch will cover 1,066 miles roundtrip. The other back-to-back road games left are in late November when the Colts travel to Baltimore and then to Houston. Those roundtrips will total 3,131 miles.
More: Colts and NFL News
Potential fatigue from the past two road games is something that Colts head coach Jim Caldwell is well aware of going into this week. Especially with a defense that spent over 45 minutes on the field against the Dolphins and then another 28:18 on Sunday night against the Cardinals. But the first-year NFL coach isn't seeing a depleted squad just yet.
"I think in both cases over the last couple of weeks I would not say it has been an undue amount of stress and strain on them because they looked fresh at the end of the game last week," said Caldwell.
And despite some injuries, Caldwell likes what he sees from his team in terms of stamina.
"We've been in pretty good shape and I credit that to our strength and conditioning staff."
The Colts need not look far this Sunday to see how wary road miles can make an NFL team. Based in the upper northwest of the country, the Seattle Seahawks are typically the most traveled team in the league. This year, the Seahawks will travel 29,054 miles for away games, once again, the most in the NFL. The Colts rank 30th out of 32 teams.
Kickoff for this Sunday's Colts and Seahawks game at Lucas Oil Stadium is at 1:00 PM.
The Colts began this season with a 14-12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 13th. In between that home opener (in the middle of September) until the month November, the Colts have only one other game scheduled at home. That lone home game is this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
The road games sandwiched in between Jacksonville and Seattle at Lucas Oil Stadium were both in prime time, both in short weeks and neither was located in close proximity to the city of Indianapolis.
Read: Manning Throws 4 TD Passes as Colts Roll Past Cardinals, 31-10
Also: Colts Beat Miami 27-23 Behind 2 Manning TD Passes
In 9 calendar days, the Colts traveled close to 6,000 miles. According to mapquest.com, the roundtrip distance of the Miami and Phoenix (or, Glendale) games totaled 5,806 miles. And the returning flights for both were during the early morning hours.
Compare the Miami and Glendale trips to the other two scheduled stretches of road games this season and the bulk of "flying the friendly skies" is now behind the 2009 Colts. Following this Sunday's game with the Seahawks, Indianapolis travels to Tennessee and then to St. Louis (separated with a bye week). That stretch will cover 1,066 miles roundtrip. The other back-to-back road games left are in late November when the Colts travel to Baltimore and then to Houston. Those roundtrips will total 3,131 miles.
More: Colts and NFL News
Potential fatigue from the past two road games is something that Colts head coach Jim Caldwell is well aware of going into this week. Especially with a defense that spent over 45 minutes on the field against the Dolphins and then another 28:18 on Sunday night against the Cardinals. But the first-year NFL coach isn't seeing a depleted squad just yet.
"I think in both cases over the last couple of weeks I would not say it has been an undue amount of stress and strain on them because they looked fresh at the end of the game last week," said Caldwell.
And despite some injuries, Caldwell likes what he sees from his team in terms of stamina.
"We've been in pretty good shape and I credit that to our strength and conditioning staff."
The Colts need not look far this Sunday to see how wary road miles can make an NFL team. Based in the upper northwest of the country, the Seattle Seahawks are typically the most traveled team in the league. This year, the Seahawks will travel 29,054 miles for away games, once again, the most in the NFL. The Colts rank 30th out of 32 teams.
Kickoff for this Sunday's Colts and Seahawks game at Lucas Oil Stadium is at 1:00 PM.
