This title is so uncreative, that it circles all the way back to creative again.  The uniformed reader might guess that this was a poorly named post about the movie Up in the Air. An informed reader would figure that it was a post about the uncertainty surrounding the offseason or the NFL's collective bargaining agreement.

The uniformed reader would be right.  Ah, irony...

Seriously, I don't want to think about football right now.  The offseason here at 18to88 is an eclectic mish-mash of topics.  I wish we could talk more hoops, but that's just depressing.  Instead, you'll get a heavy dose of football, but also baseball, auto racing, and general nonsense.  Over the next few weeks, I'll be updating a lot of our preseason articles and working heavily on my book about Colts history.  Fortunately, it wasn't a book about just the 2009 season, so I'm pretty confident that come August people will be excited about it.  We are all still smarting from the loss on Sunday, but this season was a great one, a successful one, and the team is still stacked for next year, so there's a lot feel good about in the long run.  I can promise you this, we'll talk about everything worth talking about, but we won't just talk for the sake of talking.  I hate blather and that's all the offseason is.

None of that matters today, however.  Today, I'm going to talk about the movie I saw.  Jason Reitman's Up in the Air is a major player for many of the plumb cinema awards with good reason.  Honestly, the first trailer I saw for the movie made it look like a mess, but the good buzz (and utter lack of anything else to see in Argentina right now) persuaded me otherwise.  Plot wise, the movie is simple.  It follows a stereotypical lone wolf/sharky businessman played by George Clooney.  Actually, I should have just said it follows George Clooney playing George Clooney.  He works for a company that does corporate downsizing.  He's a professional 'fire-er', a sort of corporate hitman who kills careers instead of people.  He live an isolated life of constant travel and likes it that way.  Over the course of the movie, he encounters characters who force him to reevaluate his life and his values.

That's what happens in the movie, but the film itself is much more nuanced and subtle than my ham-handed attempt to summarize it.  The movie begins and ends with Clooney.  Reitman smartly uses the audience's familiarity with Clooney to establish a sense of identity for the character.  You know immediately what kind of person the movie is about.  Clooney does a masterful job, however, in drawing you in and making his portrayal of 'Ryan Bingham' human with real depth and a hidden kind of pain that lesser actors would have failed to draw out or simply over played all together.  Bingham starts as an archetype, but Clooney makes him human.  This is the key to the whole movie.  Against the odds, you begin to feel for the guy, take an interest in him and long to see him grow up and mature and find happiness in life.

His interactions center around two woman.  Alex, his love interest played by Vera Farmiga, is the feminine version of Bingham.  The two engage in a love affair that is, ahem, narcissistic (to use a pg word) because each person is basically just making love with him and herself through the other person.  Farmiga is wonderful in the role, and because the relationship ends in a predictable way, she deserves all the praise she has gotten because she makes you care about the character, even though you know who and what she is.

The second woman, Natalie Keener played by Ana Kendrick, is a young lady attempting to overhaul the way Bingham's already heartless business is run.  Surprisingly, she is seeking to make it even more inhuman than it already is.  She has to travel the country with Bingham, learning the ropes of firing people, so she can do it more cost effectively.  Her personal crisis helps Bingham establish his humanity.  He is a person who has chosen solitude not because he's a sociopath, but because of real pain in his life that the movie mercifully doesn't explore or name.

Up in the Air is funnier, more poignant, and better written than I expected. The dialogue was scintillating.  The direction was pitch perfect, and the performances from the actors were stellar.  The movie is sad and empty in a subtle kind of way that makes its point with gentleness and allows you to take in the existential crisis of Clooney's Bingham without leaving the theater ready to throw yourself off a bridge.  Because of my affinity for The Big Lebowski, I always appreciate any movie when Sam Elliot shows up wearing an unusual costume and serves as a proxy for God.

I appriciated, respected, and enjoyed Up in the Air.  It probably isn't the best picture of 2009 (I'm still going with Inglorious Bastards), but unlike Avatar, it certainly deserves to be in the conversation.

Well, that was a tough way to end the season.  I doubt you'll find too many Colts' fans jumping off bridges.  The Saints were a good team with a great coach and a great QB.  The game could have easily swung the other way if a few balls had bounced differently, but in the end I think the end result is fitting.  Getting off to an early lead was clearly the worst thing that could have happened to Coach Caldwell.  It put him him 'conserve' mode, and he tried 'not to lose' the game.  The key call that fans will forever hold against him was the terrible decision to kick a 51 yard field goal on fourth and 11.  In the end, the Colts lost to an excellent Saints team that was among the best all season.  There's no shame in that.  2009 was a great season for the Colts and a successful one.  It didn't end the way we wanted, but this was still the second best team in Indianapolis history.  I wish it could have ended differently, and but for a few bounces, maybe it would have.  Still, life goes on and there is another season next year.

• Here's what the Colts have to do to improve in 2010:

1.  Get a real kicker. It's hard to overly fault Polian for the Stover signing, and I certainly don't blame him for missing a kick I would never have let him attempt in the first place.  Still, the Colts need a kicker who can convert a 50+ yard kick.  You can't win in the NFL without one.  Perhaps a made field goal and a decent kickoff change everything else that happened in that fourth quarter.  Certainly a punt would have made it interesting.  Vinateri can't be trusted to come back healthy. It's time for a kicker with some leg.

2. Get depth for the defensive ends.  It's been a problem since 2007.  Raheem Brock is a valued Colts, but he isn't a serviceable back up DE.  Freeney clearly wasn't good to go in the second half.  He missed the Saints whole first TD drive.  Brees struggled early, as the Colts had good push.  When the rush died, he took over.  We didn't realize it at the time (though we all feared it), but when Freeney stepped on Sanchez's ankle, the Colts season went up in smoke.  There isn't another Dwight Freeney just sitting out there, but something has to be done to help the team compensate.

3.  Get new offensive tackles.  Right, I realize that the Colts only gave up 10 or so sacks, but there was precious little room to run on the edges.  Anyone watching tonight could see that Addai has moves to spare, but Colts runners are hit in the backfield too often.  It didn't really cost the Colts in the Super Bowl, but better run blocking would go a long way.  I thought Diem and CJ were both substandard in run blocking all year and should be replaced.

• Three more things should happen naturally:

1.  The WR corps will improve.  The young guys played better and better as the season went on, though Garcon never fully got over the dropsies, putting key third downs on the ground against both the Ravens and Saints.  On the key third down in the fourth quarter, Collie tried to get a pass interference call instead of just going up to make the catch.

2.  Caldwell has to coach more aggressively.  If he didn't learn his lesson tonight, he never will.  To his credit, he made the right call on a key fourth down, but screwed the end of half and fourth quarter scenarios.

3.  The secondary will improve.  Losing Sanders, Jackson, and Powers for long stretches hurt.  All three healthy would probably have made a huge difference against the Saints.  I expect the 2010 Colts' to have an even better defensive backfield.

• Some myths were pretty well shattered tonight:

1.  Larry Coyer is a genius at bringing pressure. Nope. It's Freeney and Mathis.  Anything else is still just caused by them.  Take them away, and the Colts' D rots.

2. The special teams are better because of a new coach.  They sucked tonight.  They kind of have all year. They always will. This team can't return punts, kicks, or kick field goals.  The key to good special teams is a good kicker and a punter.  We have one and we need the other.

3.  Jim Caldwell is a better coach than Tony Dungy.  He had a great year.  I still believe in him.  He got worked tonight.

Finally, this is not innate of anything, but the NFL HAS to fix the possession to the ground rule on a catch.  I never have ANY idea what is a catch any more.  I was stunned they overturned the 2 pt conversion call of incomplete.  Now, I feel the the play WAS a completed pass according to 'reality', but according to my understanding of the rule, I see no way that what Lance Moore did constituted possession. The problem is that the rule creates a weird judgement zone where the official has to determine how long a guy has possession for.  It was designed to take that element OUT of the game, but I don't see that it's working. The rule should be two feet with possession=good catch.  Forget this "maintain possession to the ground" crap.  It doesn't work.

DRIVE ONE:  12 plays, FG

DRIVE TWO: 11 plays, TD

DRIVE THREE:  3 plays, punt.  Garcon drops sure first down on third down.

DRIVE FOUR: 3 plays punt.  Three stupid run plays to end the half.

DRIVE FIVE:  10 plays, TD

DRIVE SIX:  11 plays, missed FG

DRIVE SEVEN:  8 plays, INT

DRIVE EIGHT:  10 plays, turnover on downs

When you only get eight possessions in a game, you can't afford to piss one away with crappy runs at the end of the half.  You also can't afford to let one end with lame unmakeable field goal attempt.  I'm sure Manning will take all the blame for this game, but personally, I felt like the coaching, the wide receivers (Wayne and Garcon), and the lack of a second half pass rush did the Colts in more than one bad throw.  The pick six sucked, but it should never have come to that.  I guess I don't feel bad about it, because it felt like the game was already over.  A TD there, and the Saints still get the ball last.  There was no way they weren't going to score.

Sean Payton essentially stole two Indianapolis possessions.  By going for it on fourth down at the end of the first half, he baited the Colts into wasting their prime two minute drive.  He lost nothing and got the Colts to punt without Manning ever throwing.  Then he stole another with the onsides kick.  At a moment when Indy could easily have stretched the lead to 20 or 24-6, his coaching turned it into at 13-10 game.  That's just brilliant.

Take notes Caldwell.  Aggressive wins. Passive loses.  It's the way it works in the modern NFL.

There's not much to say about this game.  The Colts had the chance to put a hammer lock on this game, but failed to do so.

The Saints had the better team.  The Colts played and coached far too conservatively to win.

Wayne had an awful game, and Peyton made one bad throw.

In the end, the Colts were done in by all the problems they've had all year.

Caldwell coached too conservatively.

Garcon dropped a key pass.

They don't have a kicker.

They were good enough to beat 30 other teams with those liabilities.

The Saints were too good to beat that way.

There just isn't much to say.  I'm sure everyone will blame Manning.  Some how, I think that if we had hit the kick and been down 23-20 (Saints would have kicked the XP), that game ends very differently.  I don't blame him for the pick six, as much as the deep ball to Collie on third and 11 on the missed FG drive.  Indy needed to play that series of downs for four downs, play for the field goal with a short pass, or punt.  Throwing deep and trying a 50+ yard field goal made no sense at all.

Good game, Saints.  You earned that one.  New Orleans went out and won that game.

So, yeah, I can live with the loss.  It sucks, but I can live with it.

PREGAME:

Hey everyone, I'll be checking in at the end of every quarter.  I am reading and keeping up on all the comments as well.

Yell.

Scream.

GO HORSE!

Here are your inactives:

The Colts: K Adam Vinatieri, WR Sam Giguere, TE Colin Cloherty, DT John Gill, OT Michael Toudouze, G Mike Pollak, DE Erwin Baldwin, DT Fili Moala.

The Saints: Southlake Carroll's own Chase Daniel is the third QB, RB Lynell Hamilton, LB Anthony Waters, G Jamar Nesbit, TE Darnell Dinkins, TE Tory Humphrey, WR Adrian Arrington, DE Paul Spicer.

FIRST QUARTER:

The Colts dominate the first quarter of play, forcing two punts on defense.  The line, including Freeney is pushing the pocket back in Brees's face, making it hard for him to complete passes. The Colts convert an opening drive into a field goal, and then go 96 yards for a touchdown, capped off by a sweet TD pass to Frenchy on third down.  Indy is running the ball at will up the middle on the Saints.  This is the key drive for the Colts.  A stop for the defense, and the blowout could be on.  10-0 Colts. So far, so good.

SECOND QUARTER:

The second quarter was a grind it out session.  Dwight Freeney came up with a brilliant sack to hold the Saints to a field goal. The Colts offense had a chance to put the game away, but Garcon dropped a critical third down pass. It looked like he had room to run, and the ball would have been out near midfield.  Instead, the Saints drove down to the goal line, but failed on third and fourth down runs.  Brilliant coaching by Sean Payton left the Colts on the goal line with two minutes to play.  The Colts played too conservative, running a terrible play on third and one.  The Saints got the ball back and drove in position for the long field goal.  The game is 10-6, and the Colts are still in control, with the game being played to their liking.  The Saints have yet to really stop the Colts, so there's every reason to hope for a score to open the second half.  Brees is feeling some heat, and the Colts defense looks fast.  Ultimately, if the Colts lose this game, they'll have to point to the dropped pass on third down as the real turning point, as well as the over conservative play calling to end the half.  A 'drive' where Peyton Manning doesn't throw is not a drive at all.

THIRD QUARTER:

The third quarter was back and forth.  Great coaching by Sean Payton led to an onside kick.  With Freeney on the bench, the Saints easily marched for a touchdown to take their first lead.  Manning responded with a brilliant drive capped by a Joe Addai touchdown. The Saints answered with another long field goal, to cut the lead to 17-16. The Colts need to keep putting up points to match the Saints. This game feels like it will come down to a key fourth down call.

So here it is.  15 minutes to play.  1 point lead.  Colts ball.  Hold on to your hats.

FOURTH QUARTER:

Caldwell coaches the Colts into a corner with an unforgivable decision to kick a long field goal. The defense gives up points on the final four Saints possessions.

Down 7 with 3 to play, Manning throws a pick six, and that's the game.

I've been thinking lately about what winning this Super Bowl would mean to me as a Colts fan.  Tonight a flood of ideas hit me out of nowhere.

1.)  Winning XLIV will make breaking every last passing record a lot less important.  Manning will spend the final years of his career hunting records that almost universally belong to Brett Favre.  After tomorrow it won't matter nearly as much.  We love stats and that will never change.  But we won't be forced to pull them out in anger nearly as often.

2.)  Winning would mean a lot of baseless digs at Colts not currently featured on this team.  We've already seen this begin during the past month.  People will rip Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, Tony Dungy, and Bob Sanders.  This will piss us off and likely start a few internet shouting matches.  (It is only fair to mention the downside of winning.)

3.)  Winning means the end of the Atlanta Braves comparison forever.  I can't tell you how much that possibility excites me.  I hated the Atlanta Braves dynasty.  There was just something trashy about those teams.  Whenever I think about them I think about their failures rather than their immense and sustained success.  It is grossly unfair, but people think of the Colts run of success in the same light.  A second Super Bowl championship would put an exclamation mark on more than a decade of dominance.

4.)  Winning would mean Tom Brady can feel Peyton's hot breath on the back of his neck.  Okay... that came out horribly wrong, but you get the idea.  We can start talking about how the Colts have won two of the last four titles.  But hey, the Pats have won three of the last nine!

5.)  Winning means I can add to my collection of bootleg highly questionable fully-stitched Colts Super Bowl jerseys from China parts unknown. I got a #88 and #29 from XLI.  DZ got a #21 and #18.  We paid a total of $125 for four jerseys.  Totally real looking.  Ebay rules.

6.)  Winning would make DZ's forthcoming book an absolute must read.

7.)  Winning would punch Bill Polian's ticket to Canton.  It would also greatly boost the Hall chances of Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark.

8.)  Winning would complete one of the most impressive seasons in NFL history.  Winning convincingly would start a debate that might last for years to come.  Where would you rank the 17-2* Indianapolis Colts?

9.)  Winning means another Peyton Manning appearance on SNL.  Huzzah!

10.)  Winning XLIV means fan nirvana.  The Colts never lost a game they tried to win?  Peyton won his fourth MVP?  There is life after Dungy?  Yup -- we are one win from fan nirvana.  I can't believe we are this close.

For two weeks now, we've hashed and rehashed this game.  There's nothing left to talk about it.  It's time to just play it.

Come Monday, you will all either be so happy that nothing I could do would add to it or so depressed that I won't be able to help you.

Today however, we're all nervous, excited, bored, worried, whatever.  I figured that maybe I can cheer you all up.

Yesterday, I introduced in the Daily Links one of my favorite games.

Today, I offer it up to all of you as a happy distraction.  Back when I worked at a video store, a buddy and I used to play a game where we re-wrote the endings to movies. Every movie had to end with the main characters saying the title of the movie and giving each other a high five. The movie would end with them in freeze frame.  Makes sure you click the link (and read the comments) for some very good examples.  Without further ado,

18 Movies Endings Greatly Improved By A High Five Freeze Frame

1.  The Usual Suspects-Kevin Spacey limps out of the police station and meets his lawyer.  Before getting into the car he says, "They never guessed that I was Kaiser Soze!  That's because I wasn't one of the Usual Suspects!".  They high five...freeze frame.

2.  Return of the King-Frodo looks at Sam and says, "I guess we showed Sauron who was the real Lord of the Rings!".  They high five...freeze frame. Disclaimer #1:  I know the movie isn't called Lord of the Rings.  Sue me.  Disclaimer #2:  This movie is almost disqualified, because in Fellowship of the Ring, they practically did this scene.  When Elrond proclaims "They shall be called, 'The Fellowship of the Ring!'", all that was missing was the high five.  Great movie...awful scene.

3.  Top Gun- Tom Cruise says to Ice, "I guess we showed those Russians who was Top Gun!".  Sexually ambiguous high five, freeze frame.  Alternate ending #2:  Tom Cruise tells Ice, "Would you like to see my Top Gun?".

4.  Return of the Jedi- Obi Wan, Yoda and Anakin appear to Luke as force ghosts.  Obi Wan turns to Anakin and says, "Now that's what I call a Return of the Jedi!".  Ghostly high Five...freeze frame.Disclaimer: This may actually get edited into the Blue Ray version.

5.  Chinatown- Walsh turns to Jake and says, "Hey, whatta you gonna do?  That's Chinatown!".  High five, freeze frame.  Disclaimer:  That's more or less what happened anyway?  Right?

6.  Platoon-Taylor says to the chopper pilot, "Man, that was one badass Platoon!"  High five, freeze frame.  Disclaimer:  If Charlie Sheen had written his own lines, that's what would have happened.

7.  Raging Bull-An old Jake La Motta greets patrons at the restaurant with the line, "When I was younger, I was a real Raging Bull!".  He high fives the customers...freeze frame.

8.  The Matrix-Neo steps out of the phone booth, turns to Trinity and says, "It won't be long before we take down The Matrix!"  High five...freeze frame.  Disclaimer: This would have vastly improved The Matrix: Revolutions.

9.  A Beautiful Mind-The Nobel committee announces, "We'd like to give the Nobel prize to Russel Crowe because he has A Beautiful Mind!"  Norwegian high Five, freeze frame.

10. The Sound of Music-After escaping the Nazi's Mr. Von Trapp says to Julie Andrews, "Hey!  The hills really ARE alive with the Sound of Music!" Musical high five, freeze frame.

11.  Brokeback Mountain-Jack says to Alma Jr."You're getting married?  May I suggest a honeymoon on Brokeback Mountain".  Uncomfortable high five...freeze the frame.

12.  Inglorious Bastards-After carving a swastika in the head of Hans Landa, he screams, "You Inglorious Bastards!"  Aldo and Utivich high five, and freeze frame.  Tarantino would have done this had it occur ed to him.

13.  Pride and Prejudice-Elizabeth says to Darcy at the wedding, "I'm so happy we overcame our Pride and Prejudice!"  Darcy gives her repressed Victorian eyes which say, "Oh yeah, we are doing it tonight!".  High five, freeze frame.

14.  Star Trek II-Kirk turns to McCoy after watching Spock's body soar toward the planet below and says, "I never knew how much we'd feel The Wrath of Khan!"  Somber high five.  Freeze frame.

15.  There Will Be Blood-Plainview says to his butler who is shocked at the murder, "I told you all along that There Will Be Blood!" The butler shrugs, laughs, and they high five.  Freeze frame.

16.  Cider House Rules-Homer performs an abortion on a patient, who declares, "The Cider House Rules!".  Effeminate Toby Maguire high Five, freeze frame.

17.  Dead Poets Society-Instead of saying, "Oh Captain, my Captain!" Ethan Hawk stands on his desk and shouts, "Thanks, Robin Williams for helping us start the Dead Poets Society!".  Everyone stands up and cheers and the camera freezes on a group high five.  Way better if you ask me.

18.  Guess Who's Coming to Dinner-Spencer Tracy turns to Kate Hepburn and says, "I guess next time I won't have to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner!".  Classic actor high Five and freeze frame.

Feel free to add your own suggestions to the comments.

18 Things to Watch for During the Super Bowl

I'd think they'd be playing for something better, really.

Two weeks ago, the Colts punched their ticket for Miami.  Now it's finally here, and the media attention is through the roof.  I considered not doing an Eyes in the Backfield for this game, because I figured that no more digital trees should be cut down to feed the hype machine.  Then I realized that digital trees actually hurt the environment, and that I'd be doing the world a favor by adding my long winded opinions to the mix.  So for the Colts, the city of Indianapolis, and yes, the Earth itself, I offer you this column.  Here's what to watch for come Sunday...

1.  Watch for Wolverine.  Dwight Freeney is the big story, face it-the only story, this week.  I'm echoing the thoughts of others, but something is off.  My first clue was Jim Caldwell's rather thorough description of the injury on Sunday night.  When have the Colts EVER given that much information that specifically about an injury.  All this started when an anonymous source tipped off Adam Schefter that Freeney popped a ligament in his ankle.  Then, all week we see him walking around in flip flops.  What?  Flip flops hurt my feet on a good day.  Now Raheem Brock announces he'll play RDE if Freeney's out.  Huh?  Just a hunch, friends, but I'm thinking 93 plays and plays a lot.  Otherwise, the Colts have just been extra nice to the media on Super Bowl week.  Oh, did I mention that no one has seen Polian in forever?  Hmmmm...

2.  Watch Greer.  FO's numbers show that Saints corner Jabari Greer is significantly better than the other corners New Orleans has.  Granted, he's no Revis, but it could lead to another quiet night out of Reggie Wayne.  I know Wayne wants to have a huge day playing his home town team in the city where he went to college, but with a bevy of deadly receivers to choose from, Peyton could be content to let Reggie Wayne occupy the Saints best corner (and maybe a safety too), and throw to Collie, Garcon, and Clark.

For more, just click...

Can we PLEASE stop talking about how much better our coverage units are this year?  It's all about McAfee, not the coaching.

Based on FO measures, McAfee was the best kickoff man in the league this season. Take out squibs and onside kicks, and McAfee leads the league with 70.8 yards per kickoff. The problem is that the Colts were just average in net kickoff value because their coverage team gave almost all that value back by allowing long returns