Colts Gab

An injured quadriceps muscle could very well keep Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney out for a bit, according to an ESPN report, with the initial prognosis being issued by an unnamed source.

According to team spokesman Craig Kelley, the team would not provide a more detailed injury report on Freeney until Wednesday (today); Freeney’s agent, Gary Wichard, did not respond to any emails sent his way. The injury occurred during the third quarter of Indianapolis’ win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday night; Freeney walked off the field under his own power, and according to team president Bill Polian, Freeney said that:

“if he could walk, he could play.”

I can only speak for myself here when I say that assuming that the quad injury is what it appears to be, Freeney should sit out a week or two until the quad is vastly recovered. The team will need his presence for the long haul of the balance of this regular season and beyond, so trying to be a hero will not achieve neither Freeney’s or the Colts’ overall goals.

The Colt defense that showed up to play on Sunday night looked much more like the one that opened the season, than the one that made the trip to Miami just a week ago.

The Colts dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and harassed Cardinal quarterback Kurt Warner all night long, recording 4 sacks, 13 hits and 5 additional knockdowns. The limited the Arizona’s passing game to an average of just 6.4 yards per reception, while completely shutting down the rushing attack, giving up just 24 yards on 12 carries. They also recorded two interceptions and a fumble recovery – the Cardinals are now 1-15 under Ken Whisenhunt, in games where they lose the turnover battle.

Offensively, after three consecutive three-and-out possessions to start the game, Peyton finally got things going and never looked backed. Earlier in the week he was selected to the All Decade team and on Sunday he showed why, completing 24 of 35 passes for 379 yards, 4 touchdowns to four different receivers, and a lone interception (hit while releasing). He averaged 10.8 yards per and racked up a passer rating of 130.5.

Peyton completed passes to six different receivers – a minimum of three to five of them. Donald Brown only recorded one reception, but it was good for 72 yards before getting tripped up inside the ten yard line. Reggie Wayne led the charge with 7 receptions for 126 yards and Pierre Garcon had his second straight game with a TD reception of 40+ yards (53yds).

The Colts had 505 yards of total offense as the running game finally got going with 31 carries for 126 yards (4.1 per carry). Not bad for an offense that lost its most prolific receiver in team history (Harrison), his projected backup (Gonzales) to injury, and had serious questions about the Offensive line heading into the season. Is it possible that this offense could be better without Marvin? Imagine the possibilities when Gonzo is healthy enough to return, (albeit it may now be at the slot position).

The Colts once again go undefeated for the month of September, and will now look to keep the momentum going. They find themselves with a minimum 2 game lead on everyone in the division, as the Texans and Titans both lose again. They now get a little reprieve as they return home next Sunday for a game with the Seahawks, before going back on the road for two more games (along with the Bye week).

GO HORSE!

Well, so much for the pre-game hype. Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner the focus of this much anticpated matchup between one of the better AFC teams in the Indianapolis Colts and the Super Bowl runner-up Arizona Cardinals.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals faithful, Manning – as he tends to do with regularity – exploited the Cardinals’ secondary as Indianapolis manhandled Arizona in Glendale, AZ 31-10. Again, so much for the pre-game hype.

How dominant was Manning in his debut in Glendale? Consider the fact that he threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter alone. And as per custom, the Colts’ pass rush was in Warner’s face all game – or so it seemed. Things were slow initially for the Colts and Manning; the Cardinals drew first blood as kicker Neil Rackers converted a 38-yard field goal, giving Arizona an early 3-0 lead late in the first quarter.

But then Manning would warm up to the occasion as he threw a trio of touchdown passes, a 20-yard strike to wide receiver Reggie Wayne, a 10-yard scring pass to tight end Dallas Clark and a 53-yarder to WR Pierre Garcon. By the time the Cardinals got the license number to the Mack truck that was the Colts, Indianapolis was up 21-3 going into halftime.

Although Warner would toss a 10-yard TD pass to WR Anquan Boldin with 10:50 left in the third quarter, Manning would match Warner with a TD pass of his own, this time a 3-yard pass to RB Joseph Addai, boosting Indianapolis’ cushion to 28-10, more than enough to help the Colts coast to the easy victory.

Manning had a typical night – at least for him – as he went 24-of-35 for 379 yards with 4 TD’s and an interception while Warner did alright himself, going 30-of-52 for 332 yards with a TD and 2 INT’s. Neither team ran very well as Addai led all Colts rushers 63 yards on 13 carries while Indianapolis’ run defense performed a stellar job, holding the Cardinals’ Tim Hightower to 22 rushing yards, although to Hightower’s credit, he also caught 5 passes for 39 yards.

Wayne led all Colts receivers with 7 receptions for 139 yards and a score while RB Donald Brown caught one for 72 yards; Garcon caught 3 balls for 64 yards and a TD while Clark caught 7 for 62 yards and a score. Steve Breaston led the Cards’ receivers with 7 catches for 94 yards while Boldin caught six for 83 yards and a TD; Larry Fitzgerald caught seven passes for 76 yards. Indianapolis (3-0) returns home to host the Seattle Seahawks while Arizona (1-2) returns home and will have their bye week; they do not play again until October 11 when they host the Houston Texans.

Following an extremely improbable road victory in Miami just six days earlier, the Colts will try for a repeat on Sunday as they head to Arizona for a game against the defending NFC Champions. While temperatures are expected to exceed 100 degrees, the Cardinals are not expected to announce whether the stadium roof will be opened or closed, until 90 minutes before kickoff. One would think that the Cardinals organization would not want to expose their own players to those kinds of conditions, but what an advantage that would have to be for the Cardinals (who practice outdoors on most occasions) against a Colts defense that played the kind of minutes they did on Monday night.

It will be interesting to see how the Colts defense responds following their performance against the Dolphins. The Cardinals do not possess the kind of rushing game that Miami did, but have shown signs early this season of improving in that area with the addition of Beanie Wells into the backfield. Neither team places an emphasis on the rushing game, but would like to be able to establish at least the threat of one, in order to open up the passing game. The Cardinals rank 24th in the league in rushing attempts per game (22.5) while the Colts come in at 28th at only 21 attempts per game. The play-action pass is a key component in the success of both teams passing attack.

The biggest threat will come in the passing game, with Kurt Warner throwing the ball to arguably the best receiving corps in all of the NFL. Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston will be a tough matchup for the Colts secondary, especially with the injury situation at that position. Jarrard Powers is expected back to be back in the starting lineup, but Kelvin Hayden is still nursing the hamstring (expected to play) and Marlin Jackson is still only playing limited time as he works his way back into NFL shape. Expect Tim Jennings and Jacob Lacey to get plenty of playing time as the Colts try to slow down this potent Cardinals aerial attack.

One of the keys to doing so will stem from how successful the Colts are at getting pressure on Kurt Warner, while NOT giving up any big plays in the running game. This one could easily turn into a shootout as the Colts rank 3rd in passing yards per game (294.5), while the Cardinals rank 7th ( 262.0). They are ranked 4th (69.7) and 5th (68.9) in completion percentage with Warner edging out Peyton by less than one percentage point. Peyton is however, number one in the league at passing yardage per attempt at 9.9yds per, impacted greatly by his performance on Monday night.

From a career standpoint, Peyton Manning is 2nd all time in career QB rating at 94.9, while Kurt Warner is 3rd with a 93.8 rating. Warner is the career leader in passing yards per game (262.4) while Peyton is second on that list averaging 259.7 per contest. They are 2nd and 3rd on the career completion percentage list with Warner also holding the advantage at 65.5 versus 64.5 for Peyton.

It will be only the second time that the two future Hall of Fame QBs have competed against each other – Warner won first contest 42-17 (December ’01) on his way to his second Super Bowl with the Rams.

If you like offense – this should be a fun one to watch.

COLTS 31 – Cardinals 24

GO HORSE!

Warner is the NFL career leader in yards passing per game (262.4). Manning is second (259.7). Manning is second in career quarterback rating (94.9) – behind only Steve Young (96.8) – and Warner is No. 3 (93.8). They are second (Warner 65.5) and third (Manning 64.5) in NFL career completion percentage.

The Indianapolis Colts took a hit within their linebacking corps and secondary as it looks like linebacker Gary Brackett and cornerback Kelvin Hayden will not play in Sunday’s contest against the Arizona Cardinals.

Brackett injured his knee in last Sunday’s win over the Miami Dolphins while Hayden injured his hamstring – also against Miami. Look for Freddy Keiaho to replace Brackett at LB while it is still unclear who will replace Hayden – more than likely a game-time decision.

I don’t know if there is an actual dictionary out there that defines what a “best NFL athlete” is; chances are there isn’t one. But nonetheless, The Sporting News has their own definition. And they used it to declare Indianapolis Colts quarterback as the publication’s NFL Athlete of the Decade. They chose him over fellow QB Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. According to TSN:

We say…
The numbers are there, of course: three league MVPs; season passing averages of 4,195 yards and 31 touchdowns; six consecutive years (and counting) of at least 12 wins; and, perhaps most impressive of all, zero missed starts. But Manning will forever be known best for his uncanny, unflappable, unsurpassed field generalship. As iconic quarterbacks go, the palpably bookish Manning has made nerdiness cool. You want to make it in the NFL? Prepare like Peyton Manning.

The numbers say…
Manning: 102-43 record, 38,055 passing yards, 282 TDs, 123 INTs, three MVPs, one Super Bowl
Brady: 88-25 record, 27,040 passing yards, 199 TDs, 88 INTs, one MVP, three Super Bowls

You say…
SportingNews.com voting
Brady 60%
Manning 40%

They say…Former Colts coach Tony Dungy’s case for Manning: “The best example (of Manning’s preparation) is when we had two weeks between the AFC championship game and Super Bowl 41. He watched all 16 regular-season games the Bears played and their two playoff games. He had (backup quarterback) Jim Sorgi watch their four preseason games, just in case they did something in the preseason they didn’t show in the regular season, and report back to him. So he basically had 22 games of theirs that he watched in two weeks so that there would be no defense he was going to see that took him by surprise. That’s extreme, and that’s for a Super Bowl, but that’s how he goes about everything.”

Manning says…Our pick’s memory of the decade: “We made Indy a football city. The Super Bowl was the culmination of that, and I hope we’re not done with that. But over the decade, it’s been something special being a part of that. When I first got here we sold out the first game (against Miami), but I think the fact Dan Marino was playing had a lot to do with that. Now, you’ve got a waiting list for season tickets, and many of the quarterbacks that I’ve talked to—whether it’s Tom Brady or Drew Brees or Donovan McNabb—tell me this is the loudest place they’ve played. That in itself is a powerful statement. And just look at the jerseys (in the stands). Everybody’s got numbers now, and they’re ours. People are talking about the Colts all the time.”

In the game of football, statistics are kept on just about anything you can possibly think of. Week in and week out, analyst will sit around and talk about the ODDs of a team doing this, or their chances of doing that, leaning heavily on these statistics for the formation of their opinions. It must be a nightmare trying to analyze this Colts football team, primarily because of the guy behind center, wearing #18. Ponder these numbers if you will;

Miami Colts
Time of Possession: 45:07 14:53
First Downs 27 14
Net Yards Rushing 239 61
Third Down Efficiency 71% 41%
Plays From Scrimmage 84 35

You look at these numbers and have to believe the Dolphins ran the Colts complete out of the stadium on Monday night, winning by a double digits or more – RIGHT? Here are the only numbers that really mattered though;

Miami Colts
Average Yards/Play 4.8 10.2
FINAL SCORE 23 27

While all the questions about the Colts defense are still unanswered, they once again did everything that was necessary to give Peyton and the offense a chance to win the game. After the offense secured the lead with just over three minutes left to play, they provided just enough stops to allow them to sneak out of Land Shark Stadium with the most unlikely of wins. You can question the talent on this side of the ball all you want, but the heart cannot be brought into the debate.

Several of the young Colts played very big in this one. Pat McAfee added the kickoff duties to his repertoire and did so very impressively – three of his five kickoffs went into the end zone, with one not coming out. Donald Brown only carried the ball 4 times for 26 yards (6.5yd avg), but scored his fist NFL touchdown on a fifteen yard run to tie the game at 20-20. Pierre Garcon would also score his first NFL touchdown, at the 3:18 mark of the 4th quarter, on a 48 yard screen pass from Peyton Manning that would provide the Colts with all the points they would need to secure the victory.

Dallas Clark had the best receiving game of his career (fourth best in NFL history by a tight end) with 7 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown. It only took 12 seconds for him and Peyton Manning to hook up for the first score of the game, on an 80 yard pass play down the middle of the field. He would add other catches of 17, 20 and 49 yards at several key times throughout the game.

With Tiger Woods on the sidelines offering his support, Peyton Manning was absolutely brilliant. He would lead the Colts on scoring drives that lasted only :12, :32 and :43 seconds, as well as two others that lasted all of 3:17 and 4:03. He showed a national television audience exactly why he is the league MVP, and after just two games into this season, the NFL might want to start engraving his name on a record setting fourth trophy.

One can analyze this game any way they want and still not be able to make sense of the outcome. It speaks to the hours of preparation that Peyton Manning puts in each week, making sure he gets the offense into the right play at the right time against the right defensive alignments. It speaks to the heart of the players on Defense, that regardless of how poorly they have played throughout a game, they continually find a way to reach down and find what is necessary to get the stop that is ultimately needed. And it speaks to the confidence the coaching staff has in the players on both sides of the ball, not to panic, but to stand by the players when the game is on the line.

New coaches. New players. Same results. COLTS WIN!

Below is the official press release from Colts.com:

DATE: Sunday, September 27, 2009
SITE: University of Phoenix Stadium
KICKOFF: 8:20 p.m. (EDT)/5:20 p.m. (MST)
CAPACITY: 65,000
SURFACE: Grass

Making a second consecutive road nationally-televised appearance early in the 2009 regular season, the Indianapolis Colts, 2-0, visit the Arizona Cardinals, 1-1, on Sunday, September 27. Kickoff in the University of Phoenix Stadium for the contest, telecast nationally by NBC Sports, is 8:20 p.m. (EDT)/5:20 p.m. (MST). Westwood One provides national radio coverage of the contest.

The Colts will be making their second-ever trip to Arizona to meet the Cardinals. Indianapolis dropped its only series meeting in Arizona in 1990. The teams have met three subsequent times in Indianapolis, with the Colts taking victories during the 1992, 1996 and 2005 regular seasons. The inactivity in visiting the Cardinals is the longest stretch for the Colts against any league opponent, and it is the second-longest current league streak (Pittsburgh at Washington, 1988). This week’s game follows last week’s Monday Night appearance by Indianapolis in Miami, where the Colts erased four deficits in earning a 27-23 comeback victory over the Dolphins. The Colts enter Sunday night’s battle with an eleven-game regular-season game winning streak. The victory at Miami extended the sixth 10+-game regular-season winning streak in franchise history (13, 2005; 11, 1964; 11, 1975-76; 11, 1999; 11, 2008-09; 10, 2005-06), the fourth since 1999. This is the first of four NFC West opponents for Indianapolis in 2009. The Colts host Seattle on October 4, before visiting St. Louis (October 25) and hosting San Francisco (November 1). This also is the first of three appearances by Indianapolis on NBC. The Colts visit Tennessee on October 11, and host New England on November 15. Arizona reaches this week’s battle after a 31-17 victory last Sunday at Jacksonville.

The Colts are owners of the NFL’s best regular-season record (116-46) 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 61 of its last 75 regular-season games. Indianapolis’ winning ways include a 33-10 record in AFC South play, while the club has owned or shared the lead in 97 of 121 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). Indianapolis extended it NFL record with a sixth consecutive season with 12+-victory season and became the only franchise to win seven or more consecutive regular-season games in five consecutive seasons (8, 2004; 13, 2005; 9, 2006; 7 and 6, 2007; 9, 2008).

PERSONNEL REPORT: DB-Bob Sanders (knee), TE-Tom Santi (ankle), OG-Jamey Richard (shoulder), WR-Anthony Gonzalez (knee) were out; DB-Jamie Silva (abdomen), OT-Charlie Johnson (back), DB-Jerraud Powers (groin), TE-Gijon Robinson (back) were questionable for the last game. Last game’s inactive players were: Sanders, Santi, Gonzalez, Richard, Silva, Powers, DT-Fili Moala and QB-Curtis Painter.

TELEVISION/RADIO: NBC Sports telecasts with Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Andrea Kremer (field reporter). 1070-The Fan/HANK-FM, 97.1 broadcasts with Bob Lamey, Will Wolford and Kevin Lee (field reporter). Westwood One provides national radio coverage with Howard David and James Lofton.

One would think that if your team’s offense has possession of the football for less than 15 minutes, you instantly think “I am so screwed”? If you thought that sentiment, then for once, you would be incorrect.

Yet that is exactly what happened to the Indianapolis Colts as they went to Land Shark Stadium (what a really weird corporate name for a sports facility) to take on the Miami Dolphins Monday night. To give you an idea how ball control can sometimes come to bite you in the rear, the Dolphins totally dominated the clock as they had the ball on offense for 45+ minutes. Yet something funny happened on the field at Land Shark.

Chalk it up to some big passing plays by Colts quarterback Peyton Manning along with some questionable time management by the coaches on the Dolphins’ side late in the fourth quarter. The end result? Indianapolis got a late touchdown pass from Manning to wide receiver Pierre Garcon, enabling the Colts to escape Land Shark Stadium with a narrow 27-23 win.

Miami even bested Indianapolis in total offense (although to be fair, they did have the ball for 45 minutes) as the Wildcat offense worked to perfection and quarterback Chad Pennington was efficient. The weirdness began when Manning hooked up with tight end Dallas Clark with an 80-yard TD strike, giving Indianapolis a very early 7-0 lead.

Six minutes later, Miami got on the board, courtesy of a 14-yard TD run by running back Ronnie Brown, tying things at 7; the second quarter was a field goal-fest as Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri converted from 43 and 48 yards while Dolphins K Dan Carpenter made a pair from 45 and 44, which would knot things up at 13 at halftime.

The third quarter was basically a Miami period, ball control-wise, yet no scoring from either side; tied at 13 going into the fourth quarter, a pair of Browns ran for TD’s (Ronnie for Miami and Donald for Indianapolis) which tied things up at 20 at the 10-minute mark of the final frame. Carpenter would add a 45-yard FG with 3:50 left in the game, then Manning and Co. kicked it up a notch.

On their last series, Manning surgically slit apart the Dolphins’ secondary as he hit kep passes to WR Reggie Wayne and Clark. Then came the key TD pass from Manning to Garcon which went for 48 yards with 3:18 left to go.

The Dolphins, thanks to some very questionable time management, would run the ball when circumstances such as this would require Pennington to throw the ball, Yet they ran the ball, which ate up precious time off the game clock; when Pennington finally threw the ball with under a minute left, it was too little too late as his Hail Mary pass would dash Miami’s chances for the victory.

Manning put up good numbers in relation to the number of times he threw the ball, going 14-for-23 for 303 yards and 2 TD’s while Pennington went 22-for-32 for 183 yards and an interception (courtesy of the last-second, Hail-Mary pass). The Colts’ minimal running game was led by Joseph Addai as he ran for 32 yards on 6 carries while Brown added26 yards with a score. Meanwhile, the Dolphins’ running attack was led by Brown with 136 yards on 24 carries with a TD while Ricky Williams added 69 on 19 rushing attempts.

Clark led all Colts receivers with 7 receptions for 183 yards and a TD while Garcon caught only one pass, buit for 48 yards and the winning score. Ted Ginn, Jr. led the Dolphins receivers with 11 receptions for 108 yards.

Indianapolis (2-0), with this surreal victory, will now travel to Glendale, AZ to take on the Arizona Cardinals Sunday night while Miami (0-2) makes the long flight to Qualcomm Stadium to face the San Diego Chargers – also on Sunday.

Some news and notes prior to the Miami Dolphins game on Monday from Mike Chappell over at the Indianapolis Star:

As those of you who follow the Indianapolis Colts already know, ever since Marvin Harrison’s departure, wide receiver Reggie Wayne is pretty much the go-to-guy in quarterback Peyton Manning’s world (stating the obvious, but it is what it is). And without a doubt, the Dolphins are mindful of that fact and will tw3eak their defense to ensure that Wayne’s impact is minimal.

Wayne seems to be know this, adding:

“Yeah, you’d better. That’s kind of how it is. Pretty much every team in this league has got some form or fashion of a go-to guy. And I’m sure throughout the week the defensive coordinator is saying, ‘OK, we don’t want this guy to catch anything. If he does, very little. That’s the thought process you might want to take. If not, I’m lickin’ my chops.”

It seems pretty obvious as Wayne laid waste to the Jacksonvilloe Jaguars last Sunday, catching 10 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown; fortunately for Wayne, he will get the chance to school Dolphin rookie cornerbacks Sean Smith and Vontae Davis. But one thing is for certain: Wayne will need some support. In other words, WR’s Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon and newly-signed Hank Baskett will have to help him out some.

Which could possibly allow tight end Dallas Clark to have a breakout game. Wayne’s bottom line on Monday night’s clash?

“I need those young guys to step up and make some plays and take the pressure off me, then the offense can do what this offense has been doing for the past years. Just picking your poison.”

In other Colts news:

The Colts received a special distinction from the NFL; whether it is good news or not will always be up for discussion. According to the league, the Colts, by their definition, the lightest team in the league, averaging 239.11 pounds/player. Try as they might to get heavier players along their offensive and defensive lines, they, along with the Tennessee Titans tied for the fewest with only eight players each. The Colts are also tied with the Kansas City Chiefs as the youngest team in the AFC (25.89 years old – second youngest in the NFL) with the Green Bay Packers edging both teams at 25.7 years old.

Running back Mike Hart returned to the practice field last week after missing some time with a sprained ankle; even though he is on the practice squad, Hart hung around the scout offense to prep for the game against Miami Monday.