Colts Gab

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.

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 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.

The Colts inked free agent-to-be cornerback Kelvin Hayden to a five-year deal worth $43 million. The move was the first by the team to make sure they don’t lose him or some of their other bigger name players in free agency, which starts in eight days.

The team had been thinking about putting the franchise tag on Hayden, but instead of having to do that, he gets the new five-year deal that will pay him about $8.6 mil per season. If they would have put the tag on him, it would have cost the team about $9.9 million.

Hayden intercepted three passes each of the past two seasons. The team is still looking at options for center Jeff Saturday – a thee-time Pro Bowler, running back Dominic Rhodes, linebacker Tyjuan Hagler and punter Hunter Smith.

Needing a win in the worst of ways Sunday night against the Pats, the Colts may get a lift with the possible return of last year’s defensive player of the year Bob Sanders and leading rusher Joseph Addai. “I expect that they will all be out there (Wednesday), and if all goes well, I expect them to play Sunday,” coach Tony Dungy said before practice today.

Corner Kelvin Hayden also practiced today, and also could play on Sunday as well. Pro Bowl WR Reggie Wayne and CB Marlin Jackson both sat out the session with knee injuries, but both should play on Sunday night vs New England.

Dungy said today that he wants to see how Sanders, Addai and Hayden each responds when they return to the team complex Thursday morning, and even then the Colts may limit their playing time.

The big bit of news out of Indianapolis Colts training camp comes from Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star as he is reporting that quarterback Peyton Manning is on schedule regarding his rehabilitation to his left knee; that is the word from team head coach Tony Dungy.  Manning has missed the entire training camp (25 workouts) and he has not talked to any media outlets nor been available while continues his recovery from surgery to his left knee to remove an infected bursa sac.  The indication is that Manning is on track to possibly be cleared to practice around August 25.  In other Colts news…

• Manning is one of 6 Colts currently on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list; the team expects defensive end Dwight Freeney, safety Bob Sanders and maybe rookie tight end Tom Santi to begin practicing next week.  Guard Ryan Lilja may need an additional week to fully recover from off-season knee surgery; linebacker Tyjuan Hagler is expected to remain out until at least October.
• Offensive tackle Tony Ugoh returned to practice Thursday morning after missing Wednesday’s practice with a bruised knee.  Offensive tackle Ryan Diem has missed 3 consecutive practices and will not play Saturday night when the Colts face the Atlanta Falcons due to a minor shoulder injury.  Cornerback Kelvin Hayden suffered a bruised heel during Thursday’s practice, but it isn’t believed to be a serious injury.
• A limited number of tickets for the Colts’ two home preseason games – August 24 against the Buffalo Bills and August 28 against the Cincinnati Bengals – are available; they can be purchased right here.