Colts Gab

It was rumored that the Colts would tag one of their players and it would most likely be linebacker Gary Brackett, who has been very important to the team’s defense for the past few years. It turns out those rumors are false as Indy announced they will not franchise him.

President Bill Polian hopes to resign Brackett, though, according to AP:

Brackett can become an unrestricted free agent March 5. Colts president Bill Polian said Wednesday he still hopes to re-sign Indy’s defensive captain to a long-term deal before that date.

The Colts need Brackett back in my opinion. I hope they do in fact bring him back. If not, they would have to look into free agency or the draft.

From AP:

The Carolina Panthers signed Ed Johnson to a one-year deal on Wednesday, adding a needed, run-stopping defensive tackle while taking a chance on a player with a checkered past.

The 6-foot-2, 296-pound Johnson will be reunited with Carolina defensive coordinator Ron Meeks, who had the same job in Indianapolis in 2007 when Johnson started all 16 games and recorded 63 tackles as an undrafted rookie.

I can see another reason why Carolina signed is because of a possibility that Julius Peppers will not come back to Carolina.

Pro Football Talk.com has the latest on pending free agent Gary Brackett, who in 13 days will be free to any team should he choose:

The Colts have only two looming unrestricted free agents — linebacker Gary Brackett and kicker Matt Stover.

In 13 days, both will hit the open market.

And talks continue regarding the possibility of keeping Brackett in town.

“Gary has expressed his great desire to retire a Colt,” agent Brian Mackler told Phil Richards of the Indianapolis Star. “I’m going to do my best to honor his wishes and Bill [Polian] and I are going to continue to talk.”

Of course, by admitting that Brackett has a “great desire” to remain in Indy, Mackler necessarily has less leverage when dealing with an executive who’ll use every bit of it that he can. (Except when negotiating with Peyton Manning.)

In 2006, Brackett signed a four-year, $10.1 million deal. The contract included $3.5 million in bonuses.

A very nice thing Bullitt did with his father. According to Yahoo! Sports’ blog Shutdown Corner, safety Melvin Bullitt has given his AFC Championship ring to his dad:

[...] rather than dwell on a Super Bowl XLIV loss to New Orleans on Feb. 7, the third-year pro is giving the AFC ring to his father, Jerry.

“I decided that after we lost,” Bullitt said Wednesday, in reference to the 31-17 defeat in Miami. “It was really more about how I don’t want to accept the fact we didn’t reach our goal.

“Each day, it eats at me. Every day. It crosses my mind every day.”

I’ve helped make football trivia game called Red Zone for iPhone or iPod Touch!  It’s called Red Zone.  They are available in Apple’s AppStore (in 77 countries world-wide).  Just follow the links for the New Orleans Saints or Indianapolis Colts.  Please buy them and rate them 5 stars!  The game will be updated in a couple weeks with questions from this year’s Super Bowl.  Thanks!

Indianapolis Colts:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/red-zone-ind-colts-trivia/id352608362?mt=8
Saints:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/red-zone-no-saints-trivia/id352607341?mt=8

Mark Schlereth reacts to Bill Polian’s comments about the Super Bowl loss.

Colts president Bill Polian told the team’s official Web site Wednesday that the offensive line and special teams should shoulder much of the blame for the Super Bowl XLIV loss to the Saints. “Our offensive line, by our standards, did not have a good game,” Polian said of Sunday’s performance. “They were outplayed by the Saints’ defensive line. Our special teams, in terms of handing the ball, both in the return game and on the onside kick, were outplayed by the Saints. Therein lies the result. It had nothing to do with strategy or preparedness or toughness or effort.” This, of course, isn’t the first time the Colts’ offensive line has been criticized after a playoff loss. QB Peyton Manning said there were “problems in protection” following a loss to the Steelers in the 2005 AFC divisional round.

Yahoo Sports has a breakdown of what all 32 teams need in the upcoming NFL Draft in April. Below are the AFC South teams with a link to the whole article.

AFC SOUTH

COLTS

Needs: Not much, despite Super Bowl flop. Continued development of OL; another sturdy LB; decision on PKs Vinatieri and Stover.

Strengths: Peyton Manning-led offense, bolstered by young receivers; aggressive and deep secondary; excellent coaching staff.

TEXANS

Needs: Running back to complement Steve Slaton; inside pass rusher to help Mario Williams.

Strengths: DeMeco Ryans and Brian Cushing are developing into one of best linebacker combinations in league; passing game when Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson both are healthy.

TITANS

Needs: Restock talent on defense; do they keep DE Kyle Vanden Bosch and OLB Keith Bulluck?

Strengths: Running game thanks to Chris Johnson and offensive line that should return nearly intact.

JAGUARS

Needs: More pass rush after finishing with league-low 14 sacks.

Strengths: RB Maurice Jones-Drew and WR Mike Sims-Walker have given offense more big-play ability.

Sports Illustrated talks about how former coach Tony Dungy says today he’s surprised that the former team he coached lost in SB XLIV:

Former Colts coach Tony Dungy joined the Dan Patrick show to talk about the Super Bowl. Dungy had said last week that he would be “shocked” if Indy lost.”I just thought it would probably be New Orleans that made the big mistake … it ended up being the Colts that made the big mistake,” Dungy said. I expected the Colts to score touchdowns and put 30 points on the board. They only put up 17. I was pretty shocked.” Dungy also said that Pierre Garcon’s drop in the second quarter was the biggest play of the game, that allowed the Saints to stay in the game and eventually get back in it.