Colts Gab

While it is true that the Indianapolis Colts are dangerous as it is at 9-0 without wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez in their lineup, imagine how much more dangerous they will be when he eventually returns. Nonetheless, Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star is reporting that according to Gonzalez, he is on track to rejoining the team after going arthroscopic surgery on his right knee earlier this month.

Gonzalez adds:

“I felt like I was close the last time. So in that sense, it’s a little hard to say. I do feel the ’scope I had helped a lot. Now it’s just a matter of getting a little flexibility back and all my strength back. But I think I’m close.”

The wide receiver from Ohio State did, however, stop short of specifying a return date. While I personally will be glad when he returns to the fold, the “close to returning” mantra has been a recurring theme. For once, some specifics would be helpful as to his return to the playing field. Stay tuned to Colts Gab when more developments arise.

National Football Post reports that Bob Sanders has an elbow injury:

Colts safety Bob Sanders has a new injury to add to his growing collection. Sanders, who underwent offseason knee surgery and made his first appearance of the year against the San Francisco 49ers, was sidelined at practice today due to an elbow injury. Also missing time today: defensive end Dwight Freeney (non-injury related, wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez (knee), cornerback Kelvin Hayden (knee), kicker Adam Vinatieri (knee) and cornerback Marlin Jackson (knee).

If ever there was a time for the Indianapolis Colts to have their bye week, perhaps Week 6 would be the ideal time. Peruse the defensive part of the team roster and then you will see why I submit this week as optimal for the team’s health.

The list of the walking wounded is not of the short variety either: cornerback Kelvin Hayden, offensive tackle Charles Johnson, safety Bob Sanders, CB Marlin Jackson and wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez. The Colts haven’t really suffered offensively with A-Gon’s absence; however, the Colts secondary will be vastly improved with the inevitable return of Sanders and Hayden.

Speaking of inevitable returns, both Hayden and Johnson have assured people that they will be ready for next Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams. Assuming that is the case, it would be welcome news as the Colts’ run defense has on a weekly basis gotten better while Hayden’s presence will also prove beneficial to the secondary.

As for Sanders, it is still not clear when his return will be although there have been whisperings about a possible return on September 25; injured for nearly half of his 85-game professional career, Sanders has had a limited practice schedule for the past two weeks. Team head coach Jim Caldwell seems to be a bit optimistic about Sanders’ return soon:

“He is hungry, there’s no question about that. I think he’s been preparing diligently. He looks good out there. He’s moving around. He looks like Bob. So we’re all anxious. When he gets comfortable with where he is and what he’s doing, we’ll get him in there at some point in time.”

In the meantime while the aforementioned players rest and heal, the Colts secondary will need to continue their inspired play. Key contributions by safety Melvin Bullitt and rookie CB’s Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey will need to continue in order for the Colts to continue winning games.

Johnson’s return is crucial as his fill-in, second-year OT Tony Ugoh, has struggled as of late in protecting Peyton Manning’s blind side – as evidenced from last week when the Tennessee Titans’ Kyle Vanden Bosch had his way against Ugoh.

When Gonzalez returns, what is already a dangerous offense will be even more so; big contributions by Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have been a major reason for the team’s undefeated start. That doesn’t minimalize what Reggie Wayne has done at all; however, since Reggie is double-teamed, having the safety valves (Garcon and Collie) have made Manning’s job that much easier. Although to be fair, tight end Dallas Clark has made opposing teams’ linebackers and secondaries’ lives miserable, too.

Bottom line here? When the secondary returns reasonably healthy, that is when you will see a Colts’ team that is truly dangerous, week-in, week-out. The offense cannot do it alone, nor should they have to.

Photo: Adam Good, Indianapolis Colts

The Indy Star says WR Anthony Gonzalez is out for about a month:

Anthony Gonzalez will not require surgery to repair a sprained ligament in his right knee and could return after the team’s bye week in mid-October, according to a source close to the Indianapolis Colts veteran receiver. Gonzalez sprained the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee late in the first quarter of Sunday’s opener against Jacksonville. A person close to Gonzalez said the 2007 first-round draft pick hopes to be back after the Oct. 18 bye, which would mean he would miss four games.

With Anthony Gonzalez having suffered a knee injury on Sunday, the Colts will need to find someone to step up opposite Reggie Wayne as a primary target for Peyton Manning. But Colts GM Bill Polian does not plan on contacting old friend Marvin Harrison, who was cut in the spring 13 season with the club. Polian told NBC’s Peter King that he will not sign Harrison, a free agent who’s second all-time in receptions.

The Colts had a great season last year.

Not just great. It was amazing.

They started out the season with a painful loss to the Chicago Bears, 29-13. That was the first time they lost their first game of the season since 2004 when they lost to the Patriots.

The Colts started out with a 3-4 record that year. That was just not how the Colts play.

After that, the Colts shined. After beating the Patriots, 18-15, that was the start of the nine-game win streak. They made it towards a 12-4 record and made the playoffs.

One of the anchors on CBS said that the Colts were the hottest team coming into the playoffs. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like it. They lost to the Chargers, 23-17, in overtime while the Colts didn’t even have a chance to touch the ball.

After that painful loss, Tony Dungy said that it was over for him in football. After that, he retired from the Colts and wrote a book called, Uncommon.

The Colts were looking for a new coach. Gladly, they found Jim Caldwell, a man who has been with the staff for quite some time.

What can Caldwell do? Is he the man for the job? Can the Colts show the world they have a running game and they can be Super Bowl contenders?

Let’s see what happens.

Today we will be talking about the wide receivers in part of the roster of the Indianapolis Colts. I am going to break them down. I hope NFL and Colts fans enjoy this article.

Reggie Wayne: 82 catches. 1,145 receiving yards. 14.0 average. Six touchdowns.

Now that the legend receiver, Marvin Harrison, is gone, Reggie Wayne has to step up to the stage and perform great like never before. Reggie Wayne was always accompanied with Marvin Harrison on his back. Now Wayne needs to step up to his own mic and sing it away.

Wayne did pretty good this year. He earned another spot in the Pro Bowl. His best game was probably in the 24-20 win over Ben Roethlishberger and the Steelers. Wayne had six catches for 114 yards, including a very lucky 65-yard tipped-touchdown pass from Peyton Manning.

Wayne is here to change the game, to the Colts that is. With Harrison gone, Anthony Gonzalez is probably going to be the second receiver and probably Roy Hall, Pierre Garcon, some rookie receiver a Colts might draft, or a free agent will be the slot receiver.

But besides talking about that, we need to get back to the point of Reggie Wayne. Wayne started the year with 10 catches for 86 yards, including one touchdown. Wayne’s next game came with five catches for 93 yards and another touchdown. It was a pretty good average yards per catch, with 18.6. That 32-yard-catch made a huge difference there.

Wayne stroked back again with three catches for 74 yards. That mostly game from that 40-yard-catch. Pretty good, huh? Probably.

Reggie Wayne had pretty good totals for his last three games: 18 catches, 253 yards, 17.3 average, and two touchdowns. Wayne can become a huge threat next year. Why? Wayne was pretty much a number one receiver in the 2007 and 2008 season, due to the injury of Harrison in 2007 and the aging of him striking in 2008.

With a Super Bowl ring, he looks to bring another. Wayne will be the number one receiver next year and could possibly have way better stats. You could see a record-breaker of the 143 catches set my Marvin Harrison. Wayne could probably get 243 if he tried.

Colts should probably re-sign Harrison, though. It helps Wayne better. Anthony Gonzalez will need to step up. And speaking of Anthony Gonzalez….

Anthony Gonzalez: 57 catches. 664 receiving yards. 11.6 average. Four touchdowns.

Even though Gonzalez has career NFL stats of what probably Randy Moss or Terrell Ownes can have in one year (94 catches for 1,240 yards and seven touchdowns), Gonzalez is still considered a big key to the Colts’ passing game.

Gonzalez’s best game came against the Patriots as Gonzalez had two touchdowns that day. He started out the season with decent numbers for a receiver in the slot position: five catches for 48 yards. The next game was spectacular in the Colts’ 18-15 win over the Vikings: nine catches for 137 yards and a 58-yard catch.

See? Coming out Ohio State isn’t a bad thing. Sorry Troy Smith, but you still have a chance. Gonzalez will look to be a second receiver like Reggie Wayne was last year. Gonzalez will have to stand the change, though.

He will be in plays way more often. He’s going to have to work hard against a better cornerback. But Gonzalez can be the next Reggie Wayne. It will be a new pattern, actually. It will be like Marvin Harrison helping out Wayne but now it is Wayne helping out Gonzalez.

Gonzalez can fit nicely and can make his first Pro Bowl in a couple of years. If he can make the stats like he did in those games last year, he can be a possible threat. Why? Take a look at Brandon Stokley and see what he did. Why not Harrison? He started out as not big of a receiver but now shined.

Reggie Wayne anyone? He started out as a nobody, too. Then after watching how Harrison did it, Wayne snapped quickly. It may take time for Anthony to adjust, but trust me, he will get it sometime soon. By learning from Reggie Wayne, there will be another big one-two punch like the old Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne one-two punch.

But what about that one-three punch that the Colts had when it was Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Brandon Stokley? Or Harrison, Wayne, and Gonzalez? That is when Roy Hall comes into the picture.

Roy Hall: One Catch. Nine receiving yards. Nine average. Zero touchdowns.

About to be positioned as a split end, Roy Hall actually was considered as a wide receiver. He had a blazing time at the 40-yard-dash with 4.35 seconds. Nice! Then came his 19 reps. He is amazing, I say.

Then what makes it better as that he can run routes. But I’m not done! Take a look at his size: 6′3″ and 239 pounds! Pretty big guy. He probably is a good friend of Anthony Gonzalez because they are both from OSU.

Even though the stats don’t look like much, Hall can be a threat. He was listed as a fourth-string receiver, so you couldn’t really see much out of him. His pre-season stats were good, for two games. Despite the fact he only played two games in the pre-season, the stats are average or under average, just saying the truth here: six catches for 51 yards.

Not that much, but I really think Hall can be a good receiver. The size helps a lot. He is pretty much the tallest receiver for the team. Hall can leap over defenders and can be just truly amazing. So if you see Hall as a slot receiver, don’t be surprised, he can be a threat.

He can be a Kevin Walter to the Colts. Just the type of guy that helps out big when you need it. I really would like to see how Hall plays. After putting up big numbers in his Pro Day in like one or two years ago, Hall can flourish.

What if Hall can’t do it? Or what if we cut him? What if he gets injured? Hey, Pierre Garcon, where are you? You can be the man!

Pierre Garcon: Four catches. 23 receiving yards. 5.8 average. Zero touchdowns.

After having 47 career touchdowns at Mount Union and being a scary returner on special teams, it’s no wonder why the Colts drafted this small-school player. I’ve seen Garcon have some playing time with the team this year. One time I saw him in the 24-20 over the Steelers and Garcon had one catch for two yards.

Then I saw him doing kick and punt returns for the team. He did have 22 returns for 475 yards on kick returns this year. His longest return was for 39 yards. He averaged about 22 yards per return. He only had one punt return last year, for five yards.

Then I saw him having some playing time in the last game of the season with three catches for 21 yards. His stats in the pre-season were seven catches for 74 yards and a 32-yard catch.

It is going to be a big battle between Roy Hall, Garcon himself, and probably a draft pick or free agent to make the team and be the slot receiver. It looks to be a good fight. Garcon could possibly be the kick returner this year.

He looks to be great. With his amazing punt returns and kick returns in college, I hope he passes on those great skills in the NFL. Garcon looks to be a pretty decent receiver. He probably can beat Hall. Even though Hall has a better size advantage, Garcon can beat him out.

Well those are the wide receivers. I am sorry couldn’t break down the tight ends. That will come next time. I just don’t have enough room. If I did put tight ends, you will probably reading a six-to-11-paged article. But please check out next time when you see tight ends. Then after tight ends, I will break down the o-line.

Hope you enjoyed this article and peace out!

Dwight Freeney, who is a leader on the Colts D, is expected to be okay despite hurting his leg in the teams wild 31-27 win over the Texans Sunday. “He strained something in his leg on the first fumble, but he went back in for about five or six plays,” Dungy said of the Freeney. Another two players who were hurt in the win were WR Anthony Gonzalez and CB Kelvin Hayden. Gonzalez took a shot to the head, while Hayden had an MRI on his knee. “The field was not the greatest,” Hayden said. “It had a couple of holes and I stepped in one and my knee kind of buckled.” It does not appear that any of the three players would be out long-term for the club.

If you watched Sunday’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings, then you probably noticed like I did that it sure looked like the Vikings’ running attack and their defense was going to send the Colts away 0-2; but as I am sure you have heard more than once, appearances can be deceiving. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was harrassed most of the game, having been sacked twice while throwing 2 interceptions, yet he came up clutch when it mattered most as he led the Colts on a late 4th quarter drive which led to a game-winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri with 3 seconds remaining, leading Indianapolis to a narrow 18-15 victory over Minnesota at the Metrodome.

Somehow the Vikings wasted their time management and a very impressive rushing performance by running back Adrian Peterson in the first half, getting 5 field goals by placekicker Ryan Longwell and 3 punts – which seems to point the finger at their quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and his apparent lack of passing acumen. The Colts would come back in the second half with fireworks of their own around mid-third quarter, as Manning would hook up with wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez on a wide open 58-yard completion on 3rd-and-6, of which Gonzalez would lateral to WR Reggie Wayne as the ball was spotted at the Vikings’ 1-yard line. RB Joseph Addai would score from there, despite an unsuccessful challenge by Vikings head coach Brad Childress, narrowing Minnesota’s lead to 15-7.

The Colts in the fourth period would, with the help of Manning (no running game to speak of all game), drive down the field from their own 39 with passes of 17,12 and a 32-yard TD pass to Wayne; RB Dominic Rhodes would sneak in on a 2-point conversion, tying the contest at 15. In the final minute, Manning would on third-and-9 complete a pass to Wayne, which would set up the game-winning FG by Vinatieri. The Vikings would try to rally late, but a late pass attempt form Jackson to WR Bernard Berrian was overthrown as Berrian tripped in triple coverage.

Jackson had a mediocre effort once again, going 14-of-24 for 130 yards while Manning did markedly better, going 26-of-42 for 311 yards with a TD and 2 INT’s. Peterson had an excellent outing for the Vikings, rushing for 160 yards on 29 carries while catching 4 balls for 20 yards while Addai had only 20 yards on 15 carries for the Colts. Gonzalez led all Colts receivers with 9 receptions and a career-high 137 yards while Wayne added 5 catches for 93 yards and a TD. Bobby Wade caught 3 balls for 42 yards while Aundrae Allison added 37 yards on a pair of receptions. Indianapolis, now 1-1, hope to sustain some momentum as they return home to host the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 21 while Minnesota (0-2) will stay home and host the resurgent 2-0 Carolina Panthers – also on September 21.

While this time of the year is always chock full of rumors and speculation, one such rumor that is making the rounds is that the Colts may actually look at unloading all-time great wide out Marvin Harrison. The veteran will be 36 years old in August, and is coming off a tough season in which a left knee injury held him to just playing in a handful of games and the other 11 games he was on the bench. He also has a whopping contract right now, making $7.6 million per season for the next four years.

Harrison signed a $67 million dollar extension back in December of 2004, and with the injury he is trying to come back from, there is plenty of doubt that he won’t be the same player he was when he and Peyton Manning were putting up record numbers year after year around the league. Harrison has now taken a back seat to Manning’s real favorite target – Reggie Wayne, and possibly even to up and coming 2nd year wide out Anthony Gonzalez.

Pro Football Weekly says that even with Harrison possibly not ready to go for camp but likely on the field for the start of the season, the team will probably keep him around, but if they can get a wide out in the draft and groom him to be a fit in the offense, Harrison’s job in 2009 seems to be a lot more in doubt than it does in 08.