The Redskins vs. the Colts

Watching the Colts-Jets game now. Just had a quick thought that was probably too long for Twitter, so I figured I'd throw it up here. The Colts right now are on the verge of clinching a Super Bowl berth on the back of two remarkable games by Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon. To me, that says two things. First, Peyton Manning can make anyone look like a great receiver. Second, as great as Manning is, he can't do it all, which means Collie and Garcon have to be fairly good on their own. And Indianapolis has the front office know-how and scouting set-up to draft two rookies out of virtually nowhere (Collie, a fourth rounder out of BYU, and Garcon, a sixth rounder out of D3 Mount Union College in Ohio).

I'm sure other teams had these guys on their radar -- at least Collie -- but without moving beyond the wide receiver position we've already pinpointed two big-time impact guys the Colts plucked from anonymity and inserted into the starting lineup. In the past five years or so, I can really only think of two 'Skins rookies who had a significant impact: Brian Orakpo, who was great but also a no-brainer first round pick, and Chris Horton, who was a genuine find but still has developing to do. The next couple months are huge for Bruce Allen. There's the saying that Washington always wins the offseason, free agent sweepstakes, but can they make the transition to sustainable development, a la building through the draft with shrewd picks like these? I'm not holding my breath.