2001 Indianapolis Colts season

2001 Indianapolis Colts season
Owner	Jim Irsay
General manager	Bill Polian
Head coach	Jim Mora
Home stadium	RCA Dome
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Marvin Harrison TE Ken Dilger
←  2000 Colts seasons 2002  →

The 2001 Indianapolis Colts season was the 49th season for the team in the National Football League and 18th in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 2001 season with a record of 6 wins and 10 losses, and finished fourth in the AFC East division. In the process the Colts allowed 486 points in sixteen games, an average of 30 points per match and the franchise worst since the 1981 Colts who allowed 533. At the time only the aforementioned Colts, the 1980 Saints and the 1966 Giants (in a 14-game schedule) had ever allowed more points. ^[1] This would be the last time the Colts would miss the playoffs until 2011 and the only time in the 2000s decade in which they didn't qualify.

This was the Colts' final season as a member of the AFC East, as they would move to the newly formed AFC South in the 2002 league re-alignment. It was also the final season Mark Rypien would play in the NFL.

Offseason

Additions	Subtractions
DT Christian Peter (Giants)	QB Kelly Holcomb (Browns)

NFL draft

Main article: 2001 NFL Draft

2001 Indianapolis Colts draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	30	Reggie Wayne  *	WR	Miami (FL)	from NY Giants
2	37	Idrees Bashir	FS	Memphis	from Dallas
3	91	Cory Bird	SS	Virginia Tech	from NY Giants
4	118	Ryan Diem	OT	Northern Illinois
5	152	Raymond Walls	CB	Southern Mississippi
6	193	Jason Doering	FS	Wisconsin	from NY Giants
7	220	Rick DeMulling	OG	Idaho
Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

2001 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Nick Harper	Cornerback	Fort Valley State
Aaron Jones	Wide receiver	Utah State
Dave Meyer	Quarterback	Virginia Tech
Dominic Rhodes	Running Back	Midwestern State
Dwayne Wilmot	Wide receiver	Maine

Personnel

Staff

2001 Indianapolis Colts staff

Front office Owner and chief executive officer – Jim Irsay President – Bill Polian Director of football operations – Dom Anile Director of pro player personnel – Clyde Powers Assistant director of football operations – Chris Polian Director of player development – Steve Champlin Coordinator of player personnel – John Becker Director of college scouting – Mike Butler Head coaches Head coach – Jim E. Mora Assistant head coach/defensive backs – George Catavolos Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Tom Moore Quarterbacks – John Hufnagel Running backs – Gene Huey Receivers – Jay Norvell Tight ends – Tony Marciano Offensive line – Howard Mudd

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Vic Fangio Defensive line – Todd Grantham Linebackers – Mike Murphy Defensive assistant – John Pagano Special teams coaches Special teams – Kevin Spencer Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jon Torine Assistant strength and conditioning – Richard Howell

Roster

Indianapolis Colts 2001 final roster
Quarterbacks 18 Peyton Manning 16 Mark Rypien Running backs 36 Jim Finn FB 43 Kevin McDougal 44 Wes Ours 33 Dominic Rhodes KR 30 Shyrone Stith Wide receivers 88 Marvin Harrison 83 Trevor Insley PR 12 Desmond Kitchings 15 Tony Simmons 87 Reggie Wayne 80 Terrence Wilkins KR/PR Tight ends 49 Joe Dean Davenport 85 Ken Dilger 81 Marcus Pollard		Offensive linemen 64 Rick DeMulling G 71 Ryan Diem G/T 78 Tarik Glenn T 74 Waverly Jackson G/T 76 Steve McKinney G 73 Adam Meadows T 50 Larry Moore C/G 63 Jeff Saturday C Defensive linemen 93 Lionel Barnes DE 92 Chad Bratzke DE 62 Ellis Johnson DT 91 Chukie Nwokorie DE 67 Hans Olsen DT 99 Brad Scioli DE 90 Mark Thomas DE 96 Josh Williams DT 95 Mike Wells DT		Linebackers 94 Rob Morris MLB 51 Mike Morton OLB 52 Mike Peterson OLB 56 Ryan Phillips OLB 98 Sam Sword MLB 54 Donnel Thompson MLB 53 Marcus Washington OLB Defensive backs 28 Idrees Bashir FS 41 Cory Bird SS 26 Rodregis Brooks CB 20 Jeff Burris CB 37 Chad Cota SS 31 Clifton Crosby CB 34 Jason Doering FS 25 Nick Harper CB 27 David Macklin CB 42 Raymond Walls CB Special teams 17 Hunter Smith P 48 Justin Snow LS 13 Mike Vanderjagt K		Reserve lists  2 Troy Albea WR (IR) 69 Ben Gilbert G (IR) 84 Drew Haddad WR (IR) 47 Jermaine Hampton CB (IR) 55 Sean Harris LB (IR) 32 Edgerrin James RB (IR) 86 Jerome Pathon WR (IR) 97 Christian Peter DT (IR) 72 Tim Ridder G (IR) Practice squad 10 Isaac Jones WR 61 Rob Murphy G 11 Cory Sauter QB rookies in italics 53 active, 9 inactive, 3 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 9	at New York Jets	W 45–24	1–0	Giants Stadium	78,606
2 [A]	September 23	Buffalo Bills	W 42–26	2–0	RCA Dome	56,135
3	September 30	at New England Patriots	L 13–44	2–1	Foxboro Stadium	60,292
4	Bye
5	October 14	Oakland Raiders	L 18–23	2–2	RCA Dome	56,972
6	October 21	New England Patriots	L 17–38	2–3	RCA Dome	56,022
7	October 25	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 35–28	3–3	Arrowhead Stadium	74,212
8	November 4	at Buffalo Bills	W 30–14	4–3	Ralph Wilson Stadium	63,786
9	November 11	Miami Dolphins	L 24–27	4–4	RCA Dome	57,127
10	November 18	at New Orleans Saints	L 20–34	4–5	Louisiana Superdome	70,020
11	November 25	San Francisco 49ers	L 21–40	4–6	RCA Dome	56,393
12	December 2	at Baltimore Ravens	L 27–39	4–7	PSINet Stadium	69,382
13	December 10	at Miami Dolphins	L 6–41	4–8	Pro Player Stadium	73,858
14	December 16	Atlanta Falcons	W 41–27	5–8	RCA Dome	55,603
15	December 23	New York Jets	L 28–29	5–9	RCA Dome	56,302
16	December 30	at St. Louis Rams	L 17–42	5–10	Trans World Dome	66,084
17 [A]	January 6	Denver Broncos	W 29–10	6–10	RCA Dome	56,192

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(2) New England Patriots	11	5	0	.688	371	272	W6
(4) Miami Dolphins	11	5	0	.688	344	290	W2
(6) New York Jets	10	6	0	.625	308	295	W1
Indianapolis Colts	6	10	0	.375	413	486	W1
Buffalo Bills	3	13	0	.188	265	420	L1

Season summary

The Colts suffered the second losing season of Peyton Manning's career. After opening with dominant wins over the Jets and Buffalo, the Colts were crushed twice in three games by the Patriots with a loss to Oakland in between. Two more wins followed to bring the Colts to 4–3, but they followed this up with two more losses heading into their matchup with the San Francisco 49ers at home on November 25. The 49ers entered the game having only lost twice to that point in the season, but had struggled to put up points and had barely beaten the Carolina Panthers, who would only record one win that season, the week before.

The Colts, needing the victory, instead turned the ball over five times. Manning threw four interceptions, two to Ahmed Plummer and two more to Zack Bronson including one that was returned for a touchdown. The 49ers scored 23 total points off of the five Indianapolis turnovers. Despite outgaining the 49ers, the Colts lost the game 40–21 and after the game, head coach Jim Mora sharply criticized his offense's effort, especially Manning's four interceptions.

During the press conference, a reporter asked Mora a question about the Colts' playoff chances now that the team was 4–6. Mora, who had not heard what was said, asked him to repeat the question. When the question was repeated, Mora responded by dismissing the suggestion that the Colts could make the postseason in the following manner:

What's that? Ah, *garbled*, playoffs?! Don't talk about — playoffs?! You kidding me?! Playoffs?! I just hope we can win a game! Another game!

A few days later, Manning spoke to reporters ahead of the Colts' next game with the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens and sharply criticized Mora's handling of the situation. He said that he did not appreciate being called out in public like he had been and that if Mora had a problem with him he should have spoken to him directly. This caused Mora to backtrack on his previous statements, but the damage was done. ^[2]

The Colts went on to finish 6–10 and Mora was fired after the season.

Manning threw 23 interceptions during the season, the highest number of his career following his rookie season. He was sacked a career-high 29 times.

See also

• Colts–Patriots rivalry
• History of the Indianapolis Colts
• Indianapolis Colts seasons

Notes

1. The Colts were originally scheduled to host the Denver Broncos during Week 2 of the original NFL schedule (September 16) at RCA Dome. However, due to the September 11 attacks, the game was rescheduled to Week 17.

References

1. Over 450 points allowed in regular season
2. "Manning airs out on Colts' Mora". The Baltimore Sun. November 28, 2001. Archived from the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2022.