Colts Gab

Chris Brown scored a touchdown and Rob Bironas booted three field goals to boost the Titans into the playoffs with a 16-10 win over the Colts at the RCA Dome.  Kerry Collins replaced injured quarterback Vince Young and led three field goal drives for Tennessee, which won its final three games to finish 10-and-6 and beat out Cleveland for the final AFC wild card berth.  The Titans will take on the Chargers in San Diego next Sunday.  Young was 14-of-18 for 157 yards, but hobbled off with a leg injury in the third quarter.  Collins came on to complete 10-of-13 passes for 106 yards in the win.  Peyton Manning finished 14-of-16 for 95 yards before being pulled in the second quarter for Indianapolis.  Manning set a record by eclipsing 4,000 yards passing for the eighth time in his career.  The Colts, who had already earned a first-round bye, finished the season 13-and-3 and are the second seed in the AFC.

It isn’t often that a All-Star team is put together for a team that is making the transition to move from one football stadium to another; in the Indianapolis Colts’ case, they will be relocating up the street from the RCA Dome to the brand-new Lucas Oil Stadium next year.  With that in mind, here is a compilation of Indianapolis Colts All-Stars for the time span of 1984 to this season.  No Baltimore Colts were harmed in the compilation of this team:

Quarterback:  Peyton Manning (1998-present)

A slam-dunk choice – easiest choice to make here. A 2-time NFL MVP, and Super Bowl XLI MVP.  By the time he is finished, he will hold all of the Colts’ passing records and have a stranglehold on many of the NFL’s all-time passing records.

Running backs: Edgerrin James (1999-2005), Eric Dickerson (1987-1991)

You know that Edge was a big part of the team’s succes when team owner Jim Irsay gives James a Super Bowl ring, even though he left the team a year earlier.  James was one of the building blocks for what was a mediocre team and turning it into one of the league’s better ones.  Picking Dickerson over Marshall Faulk was hard; Colts fans saw Eric at the end of his great career, while they saw Faulk at the early stages of his career before getting traded to the St. Louis Rams.

Tight end: Dallas Clark (2003-present), Ken Dilger (1995-2001)

Anyone who has been following or are fans of the Colts know that Clark is having a career year, having broken 2 of the franchise’s receiving marks for tight ends.  Dilger was the ideal tight end for Manning back then: good size, pretty good hands, and he could run and block – an earlier version of Clark.  The way he was let go sucked, but he is still popular around Indy.

Wide receivers: Marvin Harrison (1996-present), Reggie Wayne (2001-present), Bill Brooks (1986-1992)

Picking Harrison and Wayne was easy.  Harrison is easily the best WR the Colt shave had since the move from Baltimore.  Excellent hands, outstanding route-runner and his speed enabled him to make big plays often.  Wayne, once known as the best #2 WR in the NFL, has established himself into a pretty decent #1 option for Manning.  The scary part is that his best is still ahead of him.  Brooks, on the other hand, was consistent as can be; good hands and was capable at any time to make the big play.

Offensive tackle: Tarik Glenn (1997-2006), Chris Hinton (1983-1989)

Glenn was pretty easy.  The Colts, year-in and year-out, gave up the fewest sacks during a season and yes, Glenn was a big part of that.  Hinton happened to play for some mediocre Colts teams, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that even though he finished his career with Atlanta, he was still one of the better OT’s in the league at that time.

Guards: Ron Solt (1984-1988, 1992), Randy Dixon (1987-1995)

This was one of the hardest to pick from as by and large, guards’ overall body of work tend to be overlooked.  They unfortunately played for some pretty bad Colts’ teams, save for Dixon’s last year with the Colts – the year when the team nearly made it to the Super Bowl to face the Dallas Cowboys (Let-er rip ring a bell?).

Center: Jeff Saturday (1999-present)

This one was kinda-sorta easy; but Ray Donaldson wasn’t chopped liver, either.  Saturday is the prototypical Colts O-lineman: small in size, but smart and a team player.

Defensive ends: Dwight Freeney (2002-present), Tony Bennett (1994-1997)

Freeney was a no-brainer, really.  Forget the foot injury he is suffering from.  Only a 5-year man, he is already the team’s all-time sack leader.  He was perfect for the artificial turf in the Dome, not to mention his quickness off the snap of the ball and his overall strength.  Bennett, oddly enough,  started out as an outside linebacker who just so happened to make a successful transition to DE.  He was what you’d call an “athlete” – quick and could get a great jump off the snap.

Defensive tackles: Tony Siragusa (1990-1996), Ellis Johnson (1995-2001)

Siragusa is what he is: a huge (in size) pure run-stuffer.  Unfortunately for us, Tony went to get a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Ravens.  Johnson, on the other hand, was smaller and quicker than “Goose”, but no less effective.  Johnson left Indy, under the mistaken impression that head coach Tony Dungy didn’t have him in their future plans.  Not likely as Dungy values speed over size.

Linebackers: Jeff Herrod (1988-1996, 1998), Duane Bickett (1985-1993), Cato June (2003-2006) 

Without a doubt, linebacker is the weak link to the Colts historically.  Both Herrod and Bickett were hard-nosed players at their position and would fit in well in today’s version of the Colts’ linebacking scheme.  June, on the other hand, is a Pro-Bowler who had very good pass-coverage skills.  The Colts made the mistake of letting him go; June now is a Buccaneer.

Cornerbacks: Ray Buchanan (1993-1996), Eugene Daniel (1984-1996)

Buchanan and Daniel combined to provide the Colts with one of the best tandems of CB’s in the league during the early-to-mid 90’s.  Fortunately for us, we have Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden, a pair of pretty fair ballhawks in their own right.

Safeties: Bob Sanders (2004-present), Mike Prior (1987-1992)

I think we know already why Sanders is here: a hard hitter, a leading candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year – pure and simple, one of the best safeties in the league today.  Prior, while no Sanders, was a decent ballhawk and hitter in his own right; he just happened to play for some mediocre Colts teams back in the day.

Punter: Rohn Stark (1982-1994)

Stark had one of the strongest legs in the league and was one of the NFL’s best during the mid-to-late 80’s and early 90’s.

Placekicker: Mike Vanderjagt (1998-2005) 

You have to consider Vanderjagt over Adam Vinatieri and even Dean Biasucci (for the older Colts fans).  Vanderjagt still holds the league record for field-goal kicking percentage; Vinatieri’s body of work was mostly with New England.  But most people will remember Vanderjagt for badly missing a field goal against Pittsburgh in as playoff game back in 2005.

Bloomington, Ill., Nov. 20, 2007 – On November 22, Thanksgiving Day, State Farm is officially debuting the “Your Game | Your Call” Ultimate Pro Bowl Giveaway where fans can win one of five trips to the 2008 Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Fans can enter the promotion daily through January 6 at www.statefarm.com/NFL2  for their chance to win a trip to Hawaii or one of 35 other great prizes. The 2008 Pro Bowl will be played on February 10 and televised by FOX. The grand prize package includes:

• Round trip air transportation for four to Honolulu Hawaii
• Four tickets to the 2008 NFL Pro Bowl presented by State Farm
• First class hotel accommodations in Honolulu (five days/four nights)
• Meet-and-greet with NFL Hall of Famer, Howie Long
• A $1,000 State Farm Visa Gift Card

In addition to the five grand prizes, fans have the opportunity to win one of ten first place prizes consisting of an autographed Howie Long football and a $250 nflshop.com gift card. Twenty-five $100 nflshop.com gift cards will also be awarded to second prize winners.

State Farm’s integrated marketing campaign will be kicked off with the airing of a new 15-second spot featuring Howie Long. The new spot will air on FOX during the Packers/Lions game on Thanksgiving Day (12:30 p.m. EST).

“NFL fans are some of the best and most loyal in sports today, and State Farm wants to give them the chance to hang with the best in Hawaii,” said Mark Gibson, assistant vice president – advertising for State Farm. “This promotion allows State Farm to reach a fan base of over 50 million fans and become top of mind with this very loyal and passionate audience”.

State Farm continues to be a leader in the sports marketing arena. By teaming with the NFL, the number one sport in the U.S., State Farm will extend its brand to new audiences and connect further with existing customers.

For more information about the State Farm “Your Game | Your Call” Ultimate Pro Bowl Giveaway and for official rules, please visit the website at: www.statefarm.com/NFL2. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

In what has to be absolutely good news for Indianapolis Colts fans, wide receiver Marvin Harrison, after practicing for a second consecutive day, will start on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans in returning from a knee injury that had kept him out for most of the regular season. 

Although he had originally been listed as questionable on the team’s injury chart after Friday’s practice, Colts head coach Tony Dungy had said that Harrison would start; hoever, he would not say how many plays Harrison would be involved in.  Earlier this week – and it makes perfect sense – Dungy had said that if Harrison played that he may keep Manning out on the field longer in order to get their timing down.

Backup QB Jim Sorgi will get plenty of playing time Sunday vs the Titans when the Colts take the field for the final regular season game ever at the RCA Dome. Colts coach Tony Dungy says that Peyton Manning will start the game, but many are already thinking that it would be a shock to see Manning play much more than that. Dungy said that Sorgi will play at least a half, but no one would be surprised to see him play earlier than that.

The game means everything to the Titans, who if they beat the Colts will move on to the postseason and a wild card game the following weekend vs either the Chargers or Steelers. A loss to Indy, and the Cleveland Browns will get the 6th and final seed in the AFC.

Indianapolis Colts learned from a previous mistake not to rest their starters too early.  to wit, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning played a hair over 3 quarters, while running back Joseph Addai played sporadically.  But despite that, the Colts once again do what they do best – execute flawlessly and use the clock to their advantage.  Indianapolis scored on six of their first 8 possessions as they completely dominated the Houston Texans 38-15 Sunday at Indianapolis.

Manning led his team on first-half drives of 54, 92, 92 and 26 yards in setting up a short field goal, running back Joseph Addai’s 2-yard touchdown run and 2 TD receptions by Colts tight end Dallas Clark. Those drives made the score 24-7 Indianapolis. But the Colts win wasn’t without a price to pay, however. Indianapolis lost Addai allegedly to shoulder and back injuries. But Colts head coach Tony Dungy disputed that version. In addition, the Colts lost TE Ben Utecht with a shoulder injury, wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez due to a bruised foot and cornerback Tim Jennings to an undisclosed injury.

In addition to the 2 TD receptions, Indianapolis’ Clark set a franchise reception mark for tight ends in a single season, eclipsing a record held by John Mackey. Clark now has 57 receptions and 11 touchdowns, while Mackey has 55 and 9. The Colts’ offense, while outstanding, wasn’t alone in their dominance of the Texans. Their defense stepped it up, as well; safeties Bob Sanders, Matt Giordano and reserve safety Melvin Bullitt intercepted passes thrown by Houston QB Sage Rosenfels. The Colts’ defense allowed Houston to penetrate the Indianapolis 40-yard line once in three quarters of play. Only a late TD pass in the 4th quarter from Rosenfels to WR Andre Johnson would change that statistic.

Manning had a decent game, despite playing only 3 1/2 quarters, going 28-of-35 for 311 yards with 3 touchdowns. RB Kenton Keith led all Colts rushers with 60 yards; Addai and Clifton Dawson, while not gaining good yardage, scored a touchdown apiece.  Reggie Wayne led the Colts receivers with 10 receptions for 143 yards and a score, while Clark – as was previously mentioned – had 6 catches for 60 yards and 2 TD’s.

Houston’s Rosenfels had a decent outing, going 22-of-36 for 233 yards; Darius Walker led all Texans rushers with 66 yards on 19 carries. Andre Johnson led all hosuton receivers with 7 receptions for 74 yards and a TD, while Ken Walter caught 4 passes for 69 yards and a score. Indianapolis (13-2) finish their regular season as they remain home to host the Tennessee Titans next Sunday night, while Houston (7-8) hope to end their season at the .500 mark by hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars – also on Sunday.

The Texans will travel to Indianapolis this Sunday to take on the battered Colts at the RCA Dome.  The Texans have won two in-a-row to climb to 7-and-7 but have been eliminated from playoff contention.  Mario Williams recorded three-and-a-half sacks in Houston’s 31-13 win over the Denver Broncos in Week 15.  Williams has a franchise-record 13 sacks on the season.  The Texans have just two wins away from home this season.  The Colts are 12-and-2 and have already locked up the AFC South and a first round bye.  Indianapolis is riding its second five-game winning streak of the season after beating the Oakland Raiders 21-14 last Sunday.  Colts receiver Marvin Harrison is expected to miss his ninth straight game with a knee injury.  Indianapolis won the first meeting between the division rivals 30-24 in Week Three.

Indianapolis Colts team owner Jim Irsay indirectly got into the construction business even before the first concrete was poured for the team’s new stadium currently under construction, Lucas Oil Stadium.  By way of explanation, what I meant by that statement was that Irsay laid the foundation for the successful Colts team that you see every weekend.  And it all began with Irsay.

Irsay hired Polian as club president back in 1998; he also advocated the selection of Peyton Manning as their number one pick that same year.  He also hired Tony Dungy as head coach in 2002.  So maybe now you see the pattern developing here?  The pattern of continuity.  Ever since those pillars were put into place, the Colts have played 5 seasons.  And along the way, they have showered the NFL landscape with milestones along the way:

• The 2006 world championship, a summit 16 of the league’s 32 teams have not ascended.
• Five consecutive AFC South titles.
• Five consecutive seasons of 12 or more victories, the first time that has been achieved in the NFL’s 88-year history.  For that matter, the Colts are the only team in league history to win 75 percent of its games five successive seasons. (Also bear in mind that schedules went from 12 to 14 games in 1961 and from 14 to 16 in 1978.)
• Sharing a place alongside the Green Bay Packers of 1929-31 as the only teams to start three consecutive seasons 7-0 or better: 13-0, 9-0 and 7-0, from 2005-07.
• The Colts are the only NFL team to keep its starting quarterback and its offensive coordinator and line coach, Tom Moore and Howard Mudd, together for the past 10 seasons.

The Colts, despite their achievements, go through the problems that other small-market teams go through.  And yet they achieve more than the Washington Redskins – who make a lot more revenue than the Colts; they also compete with the New England Patriots – the NFL’s second-most profitable franchise.  The Colts thrive even through this salary cap era, when teams sometimes make bad personnel decisions on good players.  Roster turnover exceeds 30% as a result.

As with all teams, players come and go; sustaining excellence is like a moving bull’s eye but is achieved through consistency.  Polian and his staff tend to stick to evaluation tools and systems that Polian has used in his 30+ years in the business.  He also has one of the largest scouting staffs in the NFL – and to stick to the continuity theme here – all 9 scouts have been with the Colts for at least 6 years. 

The coaching staff – except for perhaps Leslie Frazier – is pretty much unchanged.  The same can be said for the offensive, defensive and special teams schemes that they teach and execute.  Another issue that comes up on occasion: Why don’t the Colts spend money on free agents?  Short answer – they do.  The difference being is that they spend on their own free agents – while proven, it can also be costly.  Since 2002, the Colts have paid out more than $150 million in bonuses on long-term contracts – money paid to players that Irsay and Polian deem vital to the team’s long-term success.  Players such as Manning, Freeney, Brackett, Harrison and Wayne, Saturday, Mathis and Diem.

Those bonuses are spread out during the length of those contracts, hence they count against the salary cap.  The guaranted money is paid up front and also prorated over the term of the contracts.  But it is paid directly out of the owner’s pocket – which takes commitment (How many owners do you know who pay bonuses out-of-pocket?).  While the Colts have been consistent, they have also been exciting, offense-wise.  How so, you ask?

Well consider this: they have had a top-four offense each of the past 5 seasons; they have also played 5 of 14 games during primetime this season.  And anyone in the media knows that winning teams on network TV equals killer ratings.  Another factoid: the Colts are one of only 16 teams that have been able to back up their titles with .750 or better football the following season.  And they’ve done it this season playing in arguably the toughest division in the NFL.  And they have also done it with key players being injured along the way – Freeney (5 games and counting) and Harrison (9 and counting) automatically come to mind.

With the AFC South already won, the Colts have the luxury of resting the wounded, refining their game and getting ready for the long playoff run.  Sound familiar?  They’re only 2 games from a return visit to the Super Bowl (by virtue of a bye week and a game at the RCA Dome).  Assuming everything falls into place, the AFC Championship game will probably be held at Foxborough, MA (home of the Patriots).  This season could have even more meaning than last year’s Super Bowl season, so it bears watching. 

Don’t look for next week’s game against the Houston Texans to be one of the second unit squad for the Indianapolis Colts.  Unlike in previous seasons when they clinched early and rested, players such as quarterback Peyton Manning and wide receiver Reggie Wayne to get their usual workouts in practice this week.  Players such as WR Marvin Harrison and defensive end Robert Mathis, on the other hand, will rest up and try to recover from their injuries.

Last Sunday’s win over the Oakland Raiders ensured the Colts of not only the AFC South division crown, but also the #2 seed in the playoffs and a first-round bye – much like last season.  But team head coach Tony Dungy has apparently learned from his mistake from the previous seasons and isn’t treating these last 2 games as meaningless.  Rewind to about 2 years ago – Indianapolis was 13-0 and had already clicnched the top seed in the AFC when they lost to San Diego in Week 14. 

After that loss, the Colts held out most of their starters, giving them about 4 weeks to rest until the playoffs began.  Those of you who remember that season also remember what the end result was: the Colts were rusty in its divisional-round game and lost to the eventual Super bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.  Dungy said on Monday that his approach to the next 2 games isn’t so much about philosophy as it is about necessity; Dungy also told SI.com, “With the home division games, you never want to lose those.  We want to be cautious with the guys we need to be cautious with.  I think we’ll determine who can play and who can’t, and the guys that play, we’ll play it like a regular game.”

The only true incentive for the Colts is to get their core players as healthy as possible.  Harrison has missed 8 straight games with a knee injury, and Dungy would love to have him back before the first playoff game on either January 12 or 13.  According to Dungy, Harrrison’s knee is healed and just needs the conditioning necessary to go out and play for 60 or so plays a game. 

Then you have the other walking wounded: offensive tackle Ryan Diem, who has been out for 4 straight games with a knee injury; tight end Ben Utecht, safety Antoine Bethea and defensive tackle Raheem Brock.  That’s not even counting the 3 players out for the season – DE Dwight Freeney, DT Anthony McFarland and LB Rob Morris.  If you can expect anything from these Colts, you can expect this: it will be business as usual, yet they will rest players who need it (read: injured players) the most. 

Nothing the Colts have done this season has been easy, and Sunday in Oakland the Raiders gave the Colts all they could handle.  But, like the champions they are, Indy had enough, and topped the Raiders 21-14 thanks to a late TD pass from Peyton Manning to Anthony Gonzalez.  The 20-yard score came with 4:49 left, and despite it being the first Colts TD of the day, it proved to be the game-winner.

The win is critical for the Colts, as it clinches the AFC South, and it also clinches a first-round bye in the AFC Playoffs as they look to force a possible AFC Title game rematch with the Patriots.  The Colts are now 12-2.  “Everybody was shooting for us,” coach Tony Dungy said. “People talk about the post-Super Bowl letdown and everything like that. We haven’t experienced that. Our guys have fought and worked and played as a unit, and today we got a lot of contributions from a lot of people. It’s really been gratifying the way we had to do it.”

The Raiders played inspired ball against the Champs, one week after getting blown out in Green Bay.  They took a lead after Justin Fargas went in from 2 yards out to make it 14-13 early in the fourth quarter.  The Colts though responded, with Manning hitting some big plays, including a key third down to Reggie Wayne.  All in all, Peyton hit all seven passes on the drive, and they went 91 yards to grab the lead.  They also got the two when Joseph Addai went in to make it 21-14.

Oakland drove to the Colts 16 as they tried to get the tying score, but on fourth-down a pass was broken up by Kelvin Hayden intended for Jerry Porter.  With ths loss, the Raiders fall to 4-10 on the season and now will have their fifth straight double-digit loss campaign.  “Play after play after play they were just making plays,” Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp said. “We just couldn’t get one. We couldn’t get them in a situation where we had them and needed to make a play and got it done.”

Manning ended 22-for-39 for 276 yards.  The Colts defense did a nice job, holding the Raiders to 253 yards overall.  The Colts didn’t do much on the ground, as the Raiders held their running game game in check to the tune of 58 yards on 20 carries for an average of 2.9 yards per carry.

Next week the Colts will take on the Texans at home.