Colts Gab

The sudden retirement of offensive tackle Tarik Glenn has all of a sudden accelerated the growth of rookie OT Tony Ugoh.  But fortunately, Ugoh is coming along quite nicely, considering the circumstances involved.  As reported by Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star, the best endorsement of Ugoh and his progress so far has come from Colts offensive line coach Howard Mudd. 

Mudd told the Star, “I think he’s done quite well.  Is he a finished product?  No, not by a long ways.  But some of the other people who have played for a long time aren’t finished (products) either.  I’m OK with where he is. He’s acceptable as it is.”  After nearly a month of practices and three preseason games, Mudd was convinced that Ugoh should start at offensive tackle.  But that doesn’t come without its little problems. 

A good example was against the Detroit Lions last Saturday.  Ugoh was fooled into one of quarterback Peyton Manning’s play changes, Manning changing what was originally a run play into a pass play.  The end result was Manning getting sacked for a 13-yard loss.  But I would expect that Ugoh will learn from that error and improve upon that.

Yes, Ugoh is an unfinished product, so to speak, but at this rate of progress, he should man the OT position just fine.  Nothing that a little fine-tuning and lots of game experience wouldn’t cure.  And mark my words – he will for all intents and purposes pick up where Glenn left off, which for the Colts, is a very good thing.

The Colts will do whatever they can to make sure that their franchise player on defense – Dwight Freeney, is healthy come opening day, which is why he’ll likely sit in the Colts final preseason game Friday at Cincinnati. Freeney on Saturday night vs the Lions at the RCA Dome bruised his right thigh in the teams huge 37-10 win. Tony Dungy stated that the injury does not appear to be serious, and that if it was a regular season game this weekend that Dwight would likely play. The best thing to do is make sure that Freeney is ready to go for the opener September 6th, and simply make him a spectator for this meaningless game on Friday at Cincy.

The Colts got some much needed good news on the injury front Wednesday, as former Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders made it on the field for the first time since having offseason surgery on his left shoulder.  Sanders was a huge reason why the Colts had a sudden turnaround in the playoffs last season on defense, and was a difference maker so much that the team was panicking that he might not be ready to go this season come opening day.  He had been on the PUP list since the Colts opened training camp and was doing only conditioning work.

“I feel strong, I feel fast, and I’m ready to go,” Sanders said before the practice.  The Colts are hoping that Sanders will be healthy enough to stay on the field a lot longer this season, as last year he played in just four games before he was able to get back for the playoffs.  He is the teams biggest hitter and you can bet the entire D will get a lift just from him being back on the field.  Not to mention his strong play in the secondary, especially when it comes to stopping the run.  “He brings an energy and a physicality that we really like,” coach Tony Dungy said. “He probably will be on a play count, but I don’t know what that is yet. We’ll see how he gets through practice this week, but it’s probably not going to be 35 or 40 plays.”

Sweet revenge might be a little strong, but the Bears enjoyed a 27-24 road win over the Colts in a preseason matchup of last year’s Super Bowl teams yesterday.  The Bears earned the win despite Rex Grossman, who fumbled three times, twice on snaps, and threw an interception.  Brian Griese completed 10 of his 13 passes for 131 yards with a touchdown.  The Bears have their first home preseason game when the 49ers visit Soldier Field on Saturday.

Things are already getting interesting over in Terre Haute, IN as there’s a spirited battle going on over the coveted backup role behind Colts running back Joseph Addai.  The players in question:  second-year pro DeDe Dorsey, Harvard rookie Clifton Dawson and former CFL RB Kenton Keith.  So far this preseason, the results have been mixed. 

Last Thursday against Dallas, Dorsey carried the ball six times for 15 yards.  Dawson didn’t do much better, gaining 8 yards on 4 carries.  Keith didn’t play due to an injury to his ankle (bone spur).  Which makes this RB battle all the more interesting.  What we have here are 3 RB’s who have a grand total of ZERO carries in the NFL to date.  While that may or may not mean a heck of a lot right now, one of them will have to step it up a notch to nab the #2 spot behind Addai.

If no one stands out, this will make deciding who the #2 RB behind Addai all that more difficult, not to mention that it will more than likely put even more pressure on quarterback Peyton Manning (like he has enough on him already).  Assuming that things sort themselves out, the Colts will probably keep 3 RB’s.  My best guess will be that they keep Addai, Dorsey, and Dawson.  Dawson was on special teams for the most part last season, so that alone gives him a slight advantage.  But Keith has a couple weeks to make some noise, so you never know.  But as of right now until things change, I think the aforementioned three RB’s will stick with the Colts.

3) Marvin Harrison | Indianapolis Colts | 6-foot, 185 Pounds | 12th Year

REWARDS: Harrison remains a very reliable weapon in the Colts’ passing game. Harrison enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance season in 2006 as his 1,366 receiving yards and 14.4 yards per reception were his highest totals since 2002. In addition to his prowess as a route runner, Harrison is a touchdown-scoring machine. He has posted eight consecutive campaigns with at least 10 touchdowns. Harrison continues to have great chemistry with All-Pro quarterback Peyton Manning. Harrison was utilized in over 14 percent of his team’s overall offensive plays in 2006, most amongst the team’s receivers.

RISKS: Harrison will be 35 years of age when the season starts, and you would expect him to hit the wall at some point. Despite scoring 12 touchdowns in 2006, Harrison was held without a score in nine of 16 games.

BOTTOM LINE: Despite the age factor, Harrison’s consistent production throughout his career warrants him a No. 1 spot on your fantasy team. Expect the Colts’ offense to remain pass-happy in 2007, particularly with the loss of running back Dominic Rhodes to the Oakland Raiders in the offseason.

Keith Davis returned an interception 41-yards for a touchdown and Martin Gramatica kicked two field goals as the Dallas Cowboys started the 2007 preseason on a good note, beating the Indianapolis Colts 23-10 at Texas Stadium last night.  Tony Romo completed 10 of 11 passes for 93-yards, while Colts QB Peyton Manning went 3-for-5 for 37-yards.  The Colts next preseason game is August 20th in a Super Bowl rematch vs the Chicago Bears at the RCA Dome.

The Colts are going to take a hard look at who may be out there as far as defensive tackles are concerned now that Anthony McFarland is out.  Head coach Tony Dungy said on Monday that McFarland’s injury is “long-term” and that the team is going to have to have “some other guys that have to pick up the slack.”  While there is no one on the current roster that can simply fill the role of McFarland, there are some players out there that can come in and do the job.

According to the Indy Star, there are two names that may be able to fill the void – Oakland’s Warren Sapp and former Bears DE Tank Johnson.  The 34-year-old Sapp may be on his way out in Oakland, as there has been talk of the Raiders, with new coach Lane Kiffin, wanting to get younger, and that may mean the end of Sapp in silver and black.  As for Johnson, if he can get his personal life and head on straight, there is no doubt that he can still be a force on the D-line.

The agent for Johnson, Bill Heck, said that as of Monday afternoon the Colts had not made contact with Tank.  Dungy Monday didn’t give any hints of going outside the current roster for help, and said that “for the most part, guys who are here are the guys we’re counting on.”  Those guys include Raheem Brock, third-round pick Quinn Pitcock, and seventh-round draft choice Keyunta Dawson.  Pitcock, who played at Ohio State, says that he is looking forward at the shot at filling in.  “From the beginning I wanted to get in and play as much as I could,” he said. “I was going to step up no matter what.”

The Colts have released QB John Navarre. The Michigan QB was attempting to make the Colts as a third-string QB behind Peyton Manning and Jim Sorgi. He has made just one Pro start, and that was with the Cardinals back in the 2004 season.  He has not thrown a pass in a regular season game since 2005.  With Navarre gone, Josh Betts should now have the spot of the third-string QB spot.  One thing to remember though is the Colts usually only keep two QB’s so Betts should not get too comfortable or buy a house in Indy anytime soon.

Reports are surfacing that the Colts have lost defensive tackle Anthony McFarland for the season after suffering a knee injury.  McFarland suffered a torn ACL according to reports, while the Indy Star says he injured his patella tendon.  The report says that either injury would spell an end to McFarland’s season.  The team is running tests on the big tackle.  Tony Dungy said Saturday that McFarland was one of a few players who underwent a MRI in Indianapolis.

The 29-year-old enters his 9th season, his second with the Colts after coming over in a deal with the Bucs.  The injury took place one day after the team terminated the contract of DT Corey Simon.  Last season McFarland played in all 16 games, making 41 tackles, and 2.5 sacks.  The Colts allowed 173 yards per game on the ground, 5.3 yards per carry.  They did shore up in the playoffs, as the defense got better as the postseason went along, and by the Super Bowl were a force in stopping the Bears running game.

Reserves at the DT position include Darrell Reid, Dan Klecko, Quinn Pitcock and Keyunta Dawson.  Only Reid and Klecko have ever started a game, and just four between them.  Pitcock was a third-round pick, and Dawson a 7th-round pick.