DATE: Sunday, November 1, 2009
SITE: Lucas Oil Stadium
KICKOFF: 1:00 p.m. (EST)/10:00 a.m. (PST)
CAPACITY: 63,000
SURFACE: FieldTurf
Opening a three-game home stand after not hosting an outing in nearly a month, the Indianapolis Colts, 6-0, face the San Francisco 49ers, 3-3, on Sunday, November 1. Kickoff in Lucas Oil Stadium, for the contest being telecast by FOX Sports, is 1:00 p.m. (EST)/10:00 a.m. (PST). Westwood One provides national radio coverage of the contest.
The Colts last appeared at home on October 4, and reach Sunday's outing with victories in a club-record 15 consecutive regular-season outings. The club extended its streak last Sunday with a 42-6 victory at St. Louis. The victory allowed the club to set a new team mark with eight consecutive road wins, dating back to last season. The victory at St. Louis extended the sixth 10 -game regular-season winning streak in franchise history (15, 2008-09; 13, 2005; 11, 1964; 11, 1975-76; 11, 1999; 10, 2005-06), the fourth since 1999. In extending its streak to 15 consecutive regular-season victories, the Colts became the 10th team to earn a streak of 15 consecutive regular-season victories (21, New England, 2006-08; 18, New England, 2003-04; 17, Chicago, 1933-34; 16, Chicago, 1941-42; 16, Miami, 1971-73; 16, Miami, 1983-84; 16, Pittsburgh, 2004-05; 15, LA/SD Chargers, 1960-61; 15, San Francisco, 1989-90). Last week's victory provided the Colts with their fourth 6-0 start in the past five seasons (13-0, 2005; 9-0, 2006; 7-0, 2007) and made Jim Caldwell the only Colts head coach to win his first six games. Caldwell joined Chuck Knox (LA Rams, 1973), Red Miller (Denver, 1977), Mike Martz (St. Louis, 2000) and Josh McDaniels (Denver, 2009) as the only head coaches in the Super Bowl era with a 6-0 career start. Caldwell and McDaniels are the only ones with a chance to earn a 7-0 career start. Indianapolis also looks to extend its NFL record as the only franchise to win seven or more consecutive regular-season games in six consecutive seasons (8, 2004; 13, 2005; 9, 2006; 7 and 6, 2007; 9, 2008). Indianapolis will be playing its final regular-season match with the NFC West. Indianapolis topped Arizona (31-10, 9/27), Seattle (34-17, 10/4) and St. Louis prior to hosting the 49ers. San Francisco dropped a 24-21 decision last Sunday at Houston. The clubs will be meeting for the first time since 2005, when Indianapolis posted a 28-3 victory at Candlestick Point.
The Colts are owners of the NFL's best regular-season record (120-46) since the start of the 1999 season, while being the only team to earn nine playoff appearances in the last 10 seasons, including a league-best seven consecutive post-season berths. Indianapolis has won 65 of its last 79 regular-season games. Indianapolis' winning ways include a 34-10 record in AFC South play, while the club has owned or shared the lead in 101 of 125 weeks of the division's existence. The Colts won five AFC South championships from 2003-07, the best divisional-title streak in club history. Indianapolis is the only NFL team to have double-digit victory totals and playoff appearances each season since the 2002 NFL Realignment. In 2008, Indianapolis produced its seventh consecutive 10 -victory season, tying the second-longest streak in NFL history (16, San Francisco, 1983-98; 7, Dallas, 1975-81).
PERSONNEL REPORT: WR-Anthony Gonzalez (knee), DB-Marlin Jackson (knee), K-Adam Vinatieri (knee) were out; DB-Tim Jennings (calf), LB-Freddy Keaiho (illness), OG-Jamey Richard (illness), RB-Chad Simpson (illness) were questionable for the last game. Last game's inactive players were: Gonzalez, Jackson, Vinatieri, Jennings, RB-Mike Hart, Richard, OT-Tony Ugoh and QB-Curtis Painter.
TELEVISION/RADIO: FOX Sports telecasts with Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan and Laura Okmin (field reporter). 1070-The Fan/HANK-FM, 97.1 broadcasts with Bob Lamey, Will Wolford and Kevin Lee (field reporter). Westwood One broadcasts nationally with Kevin Kugler and Mark Malone.
NEXT WEEK: Indianapolis hosts Houston on Sunday, November 8 at 1:00 p.m. (EST).
**WWW.COLTS.COM**: Please check the official website of the Indianapolis Colts for the latest in team information and merchandise.
HEAD COACHES
JIM CALDWELL was named head coach of the Colts on January 13, 2009, and this marks his eighth season with Indianapolis. Caldwell joined the club in 2002 as quarterbacks coach before adding the title of assistant head coach prior to the 2005 season. Caldwell was promoted to associate head coach with the club prior to the 2008 season. The club's offense has produced levels prolific enough during Caldwell's tenure to allow the club to earn an NFL-best seven consecutive playoff appearances. The club has earned 10 victories in seven consecutive seasons, tying the second-longest NFL streak, and the club's six consecutive 12 -victory seasons set the NFL's all-time standard. From 2004-08, Indianapolis became the only NFL team to earn winning streaks of at least seven games in five consecutive seasons. Caldwell joined the Colts after serving as quarterbacks coach with Tampa Bay in 2001. Caldwell has more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience. He spent 1993-2000 as head coach at Wake Forest. He served as an assistant coach at Southern Illinois (1978-80), Northwestern (1981), Colorado (1982-84), Louisville (1985) and Penn State (1986-92). Caldwell has coached in six bowl games and won a national championship with Penn State in 1986. In addition to serving on Joe Paterno's title staff, Caldwell tutored under three other coaches who won collegiate crowns (Rey Dempsey, Southern Illinois; Bill McCartney, Colorado; Howard Schnellenberger, Louisville). Caldwell was a four-year starter at defensive back at Iowa and worked as a graduate assistant for Iowa in 1977. He holds a bachelor's degree from Iowa. Caldwell was born on January 16, 1955 in Beloit, Wis.
MIKE SINGLETARY was named the 16th head coach in San Francisco history on October 20, 2008. Singletary directed the 49ers to a 7-9 mark last season. Singletary served 2003-04 as inside linebacker coach with Baltimore. He served 2005-08 under Mike Nolan at San Francisco before assuming the position of field general. Singletary was a LB with Chicago from 1981-92. He was named to 10 consecutive Pro Bowls and earned eight All-Pro nominations before being inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Singletary was an All-America LB at Baylor. He is a native of Houston, Texas.
COLTS/49ERS SERIES NOTES
The Colts and 49ers will be meeting for the 42nd time this Sunday. The series originated in 1953 and the teams met twice annually through the 1969 season. Since then, the clubs met in 1972, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2005. The Colts lead the series, 23-18. The last meeting came on October 9, 2005. Producing five sacks and five turnovers, the Colts earned a 28-3 victory at San Francisco. With the win, Indianapolis earned its second 5-0 start in four seasons under Head Coach Tony Dungy. QB-Peyton Manning (23-31-255, 1 TD/2 ints.) and RB-Edgerrin James (21-105, 1 TD rushing/4-42 receiving) led the Colts offense, while DEs-Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney and LB-Cato June headlined the defense. June intercepted two passes and returned one 24 yards for a touchdown. Indianapolis never trailed in notching its first victory in San Francisco since 1968. San Francisco is returning to Indianapolis for the first time since November 25, 2001, when it earned a 40-21 victory. In that contest, five Colts turnovers led to 23 San Francisco points. The battle stood 21-20 in favor of the Colts late in the third quarter before the 49ers pulled away. Manning was 31-51-370, 1 TD/4 ints., while WR-Marvin Harrison was 8-128, 1 TD and rookie RB-Dominic Rhodes was 27-104, 2 TDs rushing. QB-Jeff Garcia was 14-22-179, 2 TDs/1 int., while WR-Terrell Owens was 6-103, 1 TD and RB-Garrison Hearst was 12-106, 2 TDs rushing. The Colts appeared in San Francisco on October 18, 1998, when the 49ers rallied from a 21-0 second-quarter deficit to take a 34-31 decision at 3Com Park. In that contest, K-Wade Richey's 24-yard FG with :05 left capped a frustrating loss for the Colts. The Colts built an early 21-0 lead behind RB-Marshall Faulk (17-103, 1 TD rushing; 65t), Manning (18-30-231, 3 TDs) and Harrison (6-98, 3 TDs; 4t, 6t, 61t). Faulk's burst and Harrison's initial two scores came in the game's first 19 minutes, but the 49ers cut the gap to 21-17 at halftime after two Colts end-zone interceptions were negated by defensive holding calls. QB-Steve Young (33-51-331, 2 TDs) guided the comeback with two scoring tosses and two TD rushes. K-Mike Vanderjagt was short on a 53-yard FG with 1:08 left to set the stage for the 49ers' final drive. The last Colts series win at home was on October 15, 1995. K-Cary Blanchard's 41-yard FG with 2:36 remaining handed the Colts an 18-17 decision over the defending Super Bowl champions. The game featured seven lead changes and was not decided until K-Doug Brien's 45-yard FG attempt was wide right with :46 left. Blanchard nailed four FGs, while the Colts defense sacked Young six times. Rookie TE-Ken Dilger was 7-125, 1 TD receiving.
BEST NFL RECORDS DURING 1999-2009 REGULAR SEASONS
COLTS ARE NFL'S WINNINGEST TEAM FROM 1999-2009: The Colts stand as the NFL's winningest team since the start of the 1999 season. The Colts own a 120-46 record during that span.
