Colts Gab

KFFL.com, a premiere fantasy site, says that Colts back Joseph Addai should cross the goal-line 11 to 13 times in 2010, but increased carries for Donald Brown could be a major concern:

Pros: Addai is entering the final year of his contract, so motivation for a banner year isn’t hard to find. Even though a committee approach will be deployed, he remains the team’s first option and can contribute both on the ground and through the air, where he is coming off a career-high 51 receptions. A better receiver than Donald Brown, Addai should get first crack at most third-down opportunities. He has a nose for the end zone, scoring 15 rushing touchdowns in the past two years to go a long with five receiving scores.

Cons: Addai hasn’t hit 1,000 yards rushing or 4.0 per-carry average in either of the past two seasons. The Colts may want to find out what Brown is capable of, so increased carries could hurt Addai’s touches. The Colts, who averaged a league-worst 80.9 rushing yards per game last season, don’t run a lot – they were 31st in rushing attempts per game (22.9) last year – so there aren’t a lot of touches to go around.

Fantasy tip: On average, Addai’s name is being called during the early fifth round in fantasy football drafts. Provided Brown doesn’t chip into his production too much, Addai remains an uninspiring, yet reliable, No. 2 fantasy back. Addai doesn’t pile up a lot of rushing yardage, but his combined touches make him ideal in point-per-reception scoring. In 12 of 16 games last year, he had at least 80 combined yards and nine games of at least three receptions. Handcuff Brown to him whenever possible.

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Some R&R seems to be in order for some members of the Indianapolis Colts as they have locked up home field adfvantage through the AFC playoffs. More on this and more from Phil Richards of the Indianapolis Star:

* It was a much-appreciated late-season departure from the norm for Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kelvin Hayden. He didn’t spend his weekend in zone coverage.

“Spent it on the couch,” Hayden said.

The upside of having so little rest and preparation time for a Thursday game at Jacksonville last week was having three days to recuperate before the New York Jets visit Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. The weekend felt like a mini-bye week.

“It helps out a lot. You’re always banged up this time of year,” linebacker Gary Brackett said Monday.

Linebacker Clint Session said it’s a bigger boon mentally than physically. Left tackle Charlie Johnson agreed.

“You just get away, mentally get away from football, get away from the grind,” Johnson said. “You come back on Monday and you feel refreshed; you feel ready to finish the last two weeks and however long you play.”

Colts coach Jim Caldwell said that for some players, playing Sunday and again Thursday might have compounded injury issues. So the coaches and medical staff will evaluate those cases individually this week, but Caldwell echoed his players.

“Did we need those three days? You’d better believe it,” he said. “I think they’ll help us in the long run.”

* The Colts went 6-0 in what might be the best division in the NFL, top to bottom.

The AFC South is 23-9 in interdivisional games and 11-4 against the NFC. The league’s next best interdivisional record is 21-15, compiled by the NFC East, which has gone 7-7 against the AFC.

“I think the whole division might wind up above .500,” Brackett said. “That’s pretty competitive football.”

The Colts are 14-0, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston all 7-7. Philadelphia leads the NFC East at 10-4, followed by Dallas at 9-5. The New York Giants were 7-6 going into a Monday night game at Washington (4-9).

* WR Anthony Gonzalez and RB Donald Brown practiced Monday, when Colts president Bill Polian said on his radio show that the club hopes Gonzalez can be ready to play against the Jets. Polian added that K Adam Vinatieri will do some kicking later this week to see if he might be ready to go. Gonzalez has been out with a right knee injury since the season opener. Vinatieri has missed the past nine games while recovering from a knee injury and Brown has been out three games with a chest injury. CB Jerraud Powers (hamstring) missed Sunday’s game and will be out this week and probably next week. . . . Peyton Manning threw four touchdown passes during the Colts’ 35-31 victory at Jacksonville to run his season total to 33 and become the only QB in NFL history other than Brett Favre with five seasons of 30 or more. Favre has done it eight times and has 27 this season. . . . Caldwell said Friday that he wouldn’t be surprised if the NFL weighed in on Chad Simpson’s post-touchdown run up the tunnel behind the end zone at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. Simpson kept going to celebrate his 93-yard kickoff return. So far, so good, he said Monday. Colts cornerback Jacob Lacey was fined $10,000 for celebrating a 35-yard interception return touchdown by sliding into the end zone at St. Louis on Oct. 25. Lacey appealed the fine and it was rescinded.

It seems like these days that as certain as there is a sunrise and a sunset, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning will usually provide a good effort – week in, week out. During Sunday’s game agaisnt the St. Louis Rams, it would prove to be no different as Manning threw 3 touchdown passes, allowing Indianapolis to remain undefeated in routing St. Louis 42-6 at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Colts, as they typically do, got an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter as Manning conected with wide receiver Reggie Wayne on a 6-yard TD pass with 8:50 left in the opening period; the Rams would get on the scoreboard nesrly 3 and one-half minutes later as kicker Josh Brown converted on a 30-yard field goal. Indianapolis would score at the 3:31 mark of the quarter on a 27-yard Manning-to-tight end Dallas Clark TD pass, increasing their lead to 14-3 going into the second quarter.

The second period was much quieter, although the Colts would score yet again on a 6-yard TD run by running back Joseph Addai, further extending their lead to 21-3 which they would take to their locker room at halftime.

The Panthers would begin the scoring at the beginning of the third quarter as Brown booted a 45-yard FG with 5:07 left in the quarter, reducing their deficit to 15, but then the route was on for Indianapolis. The Colts’ defesne would get involved in the scoring as cornerback Jacob Lacey would take an interception by Rams QB Marc Bulger 35 yards for a score, padding the Colts advantage to 28-6.

The fourth quarter was all Colts as they would score twice in the period – once on a TD pass from Manning to Austin Collie and a 31-yard TD run by reserve RB Chad Simpson.

Manning, predictably, had another good game as he went 23-of-34 for 235 yards and 3 TD’s while Bulger went 14-of-26 for 140 yards and 2 INT’s. Both teams did well in the rushing department; the Colts, led by Joseph Addai’s 64 yards and a score along with Donald Brown’s 58 yards on only 2 rushes, rushed for 156 yards while the Rams were led by Steven Jackson who ran for 134 yards on 23 carries.

Wayne led all Colts receivers with 7 receptions for 83 yards and a score while Clark caught 3 for 44 and a TD. WR Donnie Avery led the Rams receivers with 2 receptions for 58 yards. Indianapolis (6-0) look to extend their winning streak into next week as they welcome the San Francisco 49ers to Lucas Oil Stadium while St. Louis (0-7) look for their first win of the season when they travel to Detroit to take on the Lions – also next Sunday.

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.

Just in time for camp, the Colts today inked first-round RB Donald Brown.

Team president Bill Polian made the announcement Sunday afternoon as the team reported to training camp in Terre Haute, Ind. He did not disclose details of the contract, which is expected to be signed before the Colts open practice Monday.

Brown, a running back from Connecticut, is the last unsigned rookie of the Colts eight draft picks. Indianapolis announced last week that it had signed all of its other draft picks.

As pointed out in today’s Indy Star, rookie RB Donald Brown is on his way to being a camp holdout if nothing gets done:

It’s possible Brown, who led the nation in rushing last season at Connecticut, will have his contract finalized in time for him to report with his teammates by this afternoon’s 2 p.m. deadline.

The parameters for his contract are in place in the NFL’s so-called “slotting system” for draft picks. Linebacker Clay Matthews, selected in the No. 26 slot by Green Bay, and center Eric Wood, taken 28th overall by Buffalo, already have signed. Matthews reportedly signed a five-year contract that could be worth as much as $13.2 million, while Wood’s five-year deal could top out at $13 million.

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A key question about the Colts offense is what type of impact rookie RB Donald Brown will have this season. The back was the topic of a question during a chat with NFL.com’s Gil Brandt on Tuesday, and Brandt thinks that Brown will get his share of chances to have time running the ball with Joseph Addai this year:

Donald Brown had a fantastic senior year at Connecticut, not only as a runner but as a receiver out of the backfield. I don’t know if he’ll start ahead of Joseph Addai, but I do think he’ll see significant playing time. One thing to remember: RB is the easiest position to come in and learn the system and contribute as a rookie.

“With the 27th pick of the NFL Draft…”—I was hoping for Evander Hood, a defensive tackle the Colts need deeply—”…the Indianapolis Colts select Donald Brown, running back from Connecticut.”

Yes! This was actually better than Evander Hood. But I never even thought of Donald Brown, the kid who led the college football world in rushing last year, going to the Colts! Thought they would get some running back like Chris Wells. But I know why they didn’t select “Beanie” Wells.

On Isaac Barrow’s Live Draft Blog on The Sports Guys, I was commenting that Donald Brown was a good pick. Then he replied, “Well the draft is about taking the best player available. They should have just taken Chris Wells.”

Then I thought…

No way! Remember when Joseph Addai was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2006 NFL Draft? There were so many better running backs available than him. But he fit with the Colts scheme. And guess what? He led all the rookies running backs in rushing yards, with 1,081. Now I won’t say Brown would have the same thing, but he will be close. Probably about 500 to 700 rushing yards at the least.

And that is why the Colts will have a very fearful rushing attack in 2009. Why? That is where I was just getting to, thank you very much.

The Colts had one of the best rushing attacks of Edgerrin James and Dominic Rhodes. It went on for a while, until after the 2005 NFL season, when James left to play for the Cardinals. Then it was just Dominic Rhodes and James Mungro, all by themselves. Rhodes can’t possibly do it by himself, although he did in 2001 when he filled in for Edgerrin James’ injury and ran for 1,000 rushing yards.

But who will help him? James Mungro? Hell no! They needed a much better one-two punch, and they selected Joseph Addai in the 2006 NFL Draft. Addai ran for 1,081 rushing yards, accompanied by Dominic Rhodes with his 641.

But then Rhodes was released in after the Colts Super Bowl win over the Bears. Why? Rhodes was arrested for DUI, two weeks after the Super Bowl. Now what were they going to do? Mungro retired with career-ending injury. All they had was…well, nobody.

Then the Colts acquired Kenton Keith, a stat from the Canadian Football League (otherwise known as the CFL), that year and he and Addai became a very good one-two punch. It went on greatly and the Colts finished with a record of 13-3 and was ranked 15th in rushing.

The Colts eventually lost to the Chargers in the playoffs, 28-24, with the solid trio of Darren Sproles and LaDainian Tomlinson. In the 2008 season, Keith went back to the CFL. He is currently the star running back for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Meanwhile, Rhodes returned with a new number: 38.

The Colts became horrible in rushing, ranked the second-worst in the NFL. Thank God the Cardinals were dead last because of their three thousand-yard receivers. The Colts ended the season with a 12-4 record and lost to the Chargers again, getting pined by the trio of LT and Sproles.

Now we are here. It is Joseph Addai, Lance Ball, Chad Simpson, and Mike Hart. Now we have selected Donald Brown, the tremendous running back from Connecticut. He may be short, but his burst and pounding makes it infectious.

Now the Colts can have a dominant run force: Joseph Addai, Donald Brown, Mike Hart, Chad Simpson, and Lance Ball. Now how will we use this handy-dandy trio? There will be a lot of “hoopla” but hey, it will be a fun thing to watch. They will have a dominant run force. Has their rushing attack finally formed. Yes!

How? Facts, do the job.

Joseph Addai

Everyone knows that Addai will be the leading man for the Colts in the rushing attack. He will mentor all of the four running backs that are behind him in the depth chart, most importantly, though, Donald Brown.

Gene Huey, the Colts running backs coach, will take a big part with all of these running backs. With all of his running backs he has coached, they have all ran for 1,000 rushing yards: Edgerrin James, Dominic Rhodes, Joseph Addai, and some others.

Addai will be the mentor, even though he will be turning 26 years old. He has rushed for 1,000 yards, twice (2006: 1,081, 2007: 1,072)! Although, he did have a disappointing year last year (544 rushing yards and a 3.5 yards per carry average), Addai will be much stronger because the o-line will get better and Addai has four backs behind his back.

Addai, you are the man.

Donald Brown

Ah, Donald Brown, the first ever player out of the University of Connecticut to ever be selected in the first round of the draft that is in the league called the National Football League, where dreams can really come true to an athlete.

A lot of Colts fans, like me, are in joy with the pick. Just ask Ryan Michael, his Bleacher Report account’s profile picture shows a picture of the fellow named Donald Brown.

Brown led the league in rushing, not the NFL but College Football, with his 2,083 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. Dazzling!

He left for the NFL Draft with 3,800 career rushing yards and 33 touchdowns. And don’t forget the 5.4 yards per carry average! Brown looks to be the Dominic Rhodes of 2006. Brown will be able to rush from 200-800 rushing yards this year.

Joseph Addai will mentor him the most and Brown will contribute to the running game. You’ll be seeing a lot of stuff from Donald Brown. Brown will be sharing carries with Joseph Addai. Addai having 1,000 yards and Brown probably having 600.

Isaac Barrow predicts 500-550 rushing yards. We’ll see as time passes by. Right now, the one-two punch has been built. But there is a key player in the mix.

Mike Hart

To me, Hart will be the key to the Colts rushing attack success. Why? I heard some rumors of him being the third-down and goal-line running game.

Here’s my perspective: he will only be a goal-line running back. This kid is exceptionally tough. He is a pound-for-pound running back that changes the whole course of the game when he scores.

He had an injury last year and he just has to battle those injuries if he wants to be a successful football player. And you never know, sometime in his career, he has to be an all-down running back. If the Colts are down at the one-yard-line, you know where to go.

Chad Simpson and Lance Ball

These two guys will be another key to the rushing attack in the pre-season and at the end of the season.

Remember who Chad Simpson did when Addai was out. He and Dominic Rhodes pounded out the Lions in the 31-21 victory.

But that was just the Lions, and overall, they sucked that year. Probably this year they are better with the additions of Matthew Stafford and Brandon Pettigrew. But skip that!

Simpson has been pretty dominant. Just a few more years and he can be a solid backup or a starter with a future team. I see him as fourth-string or third-string running back. He probably is the guy who will be getting the most carries at the end of the season.

Now to Lance Ball. This kid was just great. In College, he averaged 82 rushing yards per game. He was third in his conference in rushing. And by playing for Maryland, he played with the speedy Darrius Heyward-Bey, who, surprisingly, got drafted by the Oakland Raiders as the seventh overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Lance Ball only started one game last year with the Colts: the 23-0 flop over the Tennessee Titans. Ball had 83 rushing yards, including a stellar 6.4 yards per carry average. Ball might make the practice squad at best. Or, like Chad Simpson, he will be getting the carries at the end of the season.

Conclusion

Five running backs isn’t so bad. But one of these guys will be lost, and I really think it might be Chad Simpson. I think Lance Ball will perform well, do his thing, and can make it. Just wait and see. Just you wait and see.

But without Chad Simpson, the Colts rushing attack will still be rolling. So it wouldn’t really matter, not at all!

Here is your rushing attack:

Joseph Addai: The Mentor
Donald Brown: The Quickness
Mike Hart: The Pound-for-Pound
Chad Simpson: The End-of-the-Year Boost
Lance Ball: The Small But Mighty
Now Peyton Manning is like, “Finally, a rest!”

And that’s the best!