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INDIANAPOLIS – In turning 60 years old earlier in 2019, Jim Irsay believes a belated birthday present of a Super Bowl Championship is possible from this year’s Colts.
Irsay was at Grand Park on Saturday afternoon, taking in the Colts’ first full-padded practice of Training Camp.
Below are some of the highlights from Irsay’s comments to the media?
-On his general thoughts about the upcoming season: “Don’t let the good be the enemy of the great, because that’s what we are looking to be. It’s not a commitment to excellence. Excellence, by Webster’s Dictionary, means ‘very good.’ What we want is a commitment to greatness, which means you distinguish yourself as the single team standing. And I can attest, 2009, we won 14 in a row, had it all set up. What a season. What a season. Right? I’ll tell you one of the most bitter, disappointments we ever faced because that’s the way it is when you don’t win the last game. We know, most of the time, you don’t win the last game. But the years you do, White House and parade, and on and on it goes.”
-On Chris Ballard and Frank Reich: “It’s just an outstanding team, with those two men, leading us. It surely makes my job a lot easier, from some days gone by, which were many…You have to have unity at the top. You have to have harmony at the top. You have to have two people that are communicating and not only have the same goals, but also going about it in a way that they are together on the process and disciplined.”
-On the goal for this season: ”What I would like to see us do, and it’s certainly not essential, but it would be helpful, is to see this team get homefield advantage, two games away from the Super Bowl, and hopefully they are both home games. But that is a huge advantage, a big advantage. You guys know we got it multiple times (in the 2000s) but didn’t always take advantage of it, but that’s what you want to do…that’s a tall order. Most people say you’ve got to win 12 games and that’s very difficult…this team is one of the best teams that I’ve had the privilege to bring to our fans, with a general manager and a head coach, and have a situation that honestly matches some of the days, of Peyton, Edgerrin, Reggie, some of those guys. Those guys are special and we had the bookend rushers and all that stuff. We need to have some of these young guys emerge for us to really become great.”
-On Andrew Luck: “Andrew is happy, married and waiting on the baby…everyone here knows, if Andrew stays healthy and has a great year, we are going to have a great year. It’s also impossible imagining us not having a great year, if Andrew has a great year….Andrew is in that sweet spot era for him in age wise.”
