If Tony Dungy’s announced return for next season is any indication, then the Indianapolis Colts still have a lot of unfinished business to take care of. The New England Patriots and New York Giants will square off in two weeks for the right to hold Vince Lombardi’s cheese, but if there’s one team that could have been there, it’s the Colts.

Some might argue that the best team not in the Super Bowl is Dallas or maybe even Green Bay. You might even find a few folks out in Southern California who would argue that LaDanian Tomlinson and Phillip Rivers should have had their Chargers in the big game on Super Sunday. In the end, it was Peyton and the boys who wasted the best opportunity to shine in Glendale.

Why were the Colts the best team that didn’t make it to the Super Bowl? There isn’t one factor that you can point to in order to make this assertion. Instead, a combination of things combine to make them the top loser left in the National Football League. Peyton Manning might not have played his best football against the Chargers in the divisional playoff round, but he’s still arguably the top signal caller in the NFL. He led his team to the championship last season, and his numbers speak for themselves. If you were to name the top five quarterbacks of all time in the NFL, you would be hard pressed to find a hand full that have been better over the course of their career than Peyton.

On top of that, the Colts still have one of the best coaches in the league. Tony Dungy has proven himself at every stop as one of the top defensive minds in the world and one of the best motivators of men. When speculation surrounded his job status last week, the Colts’ players rallied around their coach in hopes of persuading him to return. That alone is a good indication of the prowess that he possesses.

Then there is Bob Sanders, the reigning NFL player of the year. He might not inspire awe with his size, but his ability to lay the big hit has made him one of the league’s most feared safties. When Bob Sanders got injured during the playoffs, the Colt defense struggled to play at the level that it played all season. Simply put, they missed him more than any team has missed any player in a long time.

In another season, with different circumstances, the Indianapolis Colts might have found themselves in the Super Bowl. If Marvin Harrison and Bob Sanders had been completely healthy, they might have had a chance to take down a second consecutive title. Without that possibility, the 2007 Indianapolis Colts will have to go down as just a very disappointing team that is the best one not playing in this year’s Super Bowl. Still, with Tony Dungy set to return in 2008 and a whole new list of television commercials for Peyton Manning, don’t be surprised if this team is once again in the spotlight next season.

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