Colts Gab

Website Amarillo.com today has thrown up their 10 NFL questions as camps open, and their number 3 question has to do with the Colts:

3.Who will replace Marvin Harrison in Indianapolis? Harrison made eight Pro Bowls and caught 1,102 passes in his 13-year career for 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns. Reggie Wayne has been Peyton Manning’s go-to receiver the past two seasons. Anthony Gonzalez, who has 94 catches in his two seasons, and tight end Dallas Clark will be the other main options for Manning.

But it’s an open competition for the slot job, with second-year veteran Pierre Garcon the leading candidate after a solid off-season. Austin Collie, a fourth-round pick, and third-year veteran Roy Hall also will get chances to contribute.

Marvin Harrison might not be a Colt anymore, but fans are still interested in what happens to the all-time great Colts WR. The NY Daily News reports today that the man who sued Harrison claiming he shot him, was himself shot 7 times in Philly:

The man who sued Marvin Harrison, contending that the former Colts wide receiver had shot him last year, was in critical condition Tuesday after being shot seven times in Philadelphia. Dwight Dixon, 33, told officers that he believed that Harrison was behind the latest shooting, according to a Philadelphia police source.

According to the source, authorities are investigating whether Harrison, currently a free agent, is linked. “Mr. Dixon told officers on scene that he had a dispute with Marvin Harrison,” the source said of yesterday’s shooting. “And Marvin Harrison probably hired someone to do this.”

Crazy stuff, and we’ll see if this somehow comes back to Harrison in anyway.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King is reporting that former Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison is planning on retiring. The report stated that Harrison’s injured knee as well as his inability to get it healthy is the reason for walking away.

Here was a quote from King: “I’ve been told reliably that Marvin Harrison’s not playing any more. Knee hurts. Can’t get healthy like the old Marvin.”

It’s been a tough offseason for Harrison, who was released February 25th by the Colts after he didn’t take a pay cut. Since then he has been really unable to find any team that has a legit interest in him. Injuries, including the knee, have limited him to 20 games total since 2007.

It’ll probably come down to seeing if a team is even going to need Harrison if a player gets hurt during the remaining minicamps or training camp. Other than that, it appears that the ship has sailed on Harrison, and he’s no longer really a player any teams wants to deal with.

With the Colts not re-signing Freddie Keihao and Tyjaun Hagler, should they start bringing in new ones in the draft?

Absolutely not!

Why bring James Laurenitis, like the NFL Network suggested in their mock draft, when they can bring back this important linebacker: Cato June?

Now that Reggie Wayne might be the number one target, it will be hard running the offense because everyone will be ganging up on him. Manning has to throw to Roy Hall, Pierre Garcon, or Anthony Gonzalez (see Breaking Down the Colts Pt. 3). Still, it will be tough for them to get the ball because they really aren’t masters of the playbook like Harrison and Wayne.

And speaking of Harrison…why can’t we bring him back? This guy is a legend to the Colts, and no one is interested in the soon-to-be 37-year-old wide receiver who still has something left in the tank.

The last year when Joseph Addai struggled, Dominic Rhodes helped out big time. Rhodes is in free agency, and only a few teams have expressed interest in him.

But he hasn’t been signed by those teams, has he? No way. We should bring Rhodes back. Rhodes is a great player. If you don’t believe me, take a look for yourself.

And Bryan Brackney. I am sorry, but I highly disagree with those of you who say that if Rhodes gets signed by the Colts, Mike Hart can easily beat him out for the second string back in the depth chart. Rhodes is the X-Factor to the team. He has been very good with the Colts, and every year he gets better and better.

Now that I have covered Rhodes, what about the other two Colts’ amazing players?

Marvin Harrison…does that ring a bell, anybody? Of course.

Marvin’s lowest totals were in 2007 and 2008. 2007 wasn’t really that bad because Harrison missed much of the season. But 2008 was the fall of the Marvin Harrison era. And it looked like it. After Harrison declined the deal the Colts offered him, Harrison thought he could have an easy path in free agency?

So, how’s that going for him? Not that good, is it?

A lot of people say that Harrison will re-join his teammate from Syracuse, Donovan McNabb. I thought it would be a perfect fit. Then I saw an article on Bleacher Report, can’t remember what it was called, but he was saying that Harrison can be on the PATRIOTS, and if they nabbed him, the Pats Super Bowl chances would be a no-brainer.

I agree.

But nothing has happened.

I think we should bring Harrison back. Just ask Ryan Michael. His article pretty much explained it, for sure. I would love to see Harrison back. When I was watching NFL Network’s Top 10: Passing Combinations or whatever it was called, the number one was another no-brainer: Manning to Harrison.

One dude said, “This passing trend will be here for a long time.” Well, it’s gone, but not really.

Then he said that “everyone is going to miss this one. People will be talking about this trend for a long time.”

I hope people still are. The Colts should really consider bringing back Harrison.

There is no point wasting their first round draft pick on Hakeem Nicks or something like that. The Colts should do that in probably the third or fourth round.

What receiver is good in the third or fourth round? Ramses Barden. I explained it well in another article, but we should draft Barden with Harrison still on the team.

Harrison has been a legend. If he can stay for about one or three more years, I think it would be great. He could be very close close to breaking Jerry Rice’s records. I would really love to see that happen.

We need Harrison back. Let’s see what happens. You never know, he could retire, but let’s hope he doesn’t.

But there is another person who surely won’t retire now. He was a great player to the Colts D. Ladies and gentleman, please applause for the Colts’ next contestant….CATO JUNE!

Cato June has been amazing with the Colts. After being a solid linebacker for the Buccaneers, he is in free agency. According to the Colts Corner, the Texans have spread huge interest in June. But why should the Colts let June fall into the Texans’ hands? The Colts have got to steal it away.

June can be a decent linebacker for the Colts now that he’s aged a bit. But this is a tough decision. The Colts still have Clint Session and Gary Brackett. They might use Phillip Wheeler as the next starting linebacker, but it could be a huge risk.

I think June should come back. Why? Well, with Hagler and Keihao possibly going to the Texans, and no chance of the Colts bringing them back, they should bring June back. He could fill in for Hagler’s shoes. June can become a great player.

June has lost some of his potential, though. His highest number of tackles with the Bucs was 69! But according to the stats, he only started 14 games in both of those years. His last 100 tackle season was in 2006 with the Colts! And it was 142 tackles, his career-high.

Besides his rookie year, all of his other years with the Colts have been 100 tackle seasons. With pretty much 500 total tackles, he can bring it up. He’s only 29 and probably has at least seven to eight years left in him.

Should the Colts take this risk?

Fans, you decide. Should we bring back Dominic Rhodes, Marvin Harrison, and Cato June? Comment below and let’s hear your opinion. Bring them out! Don’t be afraid to share you thoughts. It looks good to hear them.

Decide now!

It was a tough day as a Colts fan, or a fan of one of the most prolific passing combos in the history of the game. Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison is no more. The greatest receiver in Colts history is now looking for work.

The Colts today made the release of Harrison official, as the eight-time Pro Bowler was shown the door after speculation that he would not take a pay cut to stay with the team that saw him make so many huge plays over the course of his career.

Reports say that the Colts tried a last ditch effort to keep Harrison, but could not come to an agreement with Harrison’s agent, Tom Condon, on a restructured contract. Condon said Monday the Colts agreed to release his client after the two sides could not agree on a restructured contract. But Colts owner Jim Irsay was hopeful a deal could be struck Tuesday.

Alas, there was no agreement and Harrison, the franchise’s touchdown leader (127), is without a job.

“You know this day is coming, but it’s not a day you look forward to,” Irsay said. “It’s very seldom that retirement lines up with the team and a player goes out at the same time. I wanted to make sure I had a chance to talk to Marvin one last time this afternoon and really thoroughly go through a lot of things together. I know he wishes to go forward and pursue opportunities in the National Football League still, something we are doing in our granting his release.”

Harrison set the single-season receptions mark with 143 in 2002. With that though, Harrison’s best years are behind him, and the 36-year-old is scheduled to make $9 million in 2009, clearly too much money for a team with Reggie Wayne and Anthony Gonzalez.

Cutting Harrison saves Indianapolis nearly $7 million. Irsay did say that given the salary cap, Harrison’s release is something that has become status quo this time of year.

“He’s an individual who most of you did not have a chance to see how hard he worked,” Irsay said. “His connection with Peyton Manning, how those guys hooked up in ’98 and began the journey and together, set records that will be talked about many many years from now.”

The Colts today reportedly made a tough decision, as they have decided to cut their all-time leading wide out, Marvin Harrison. Reports say that the agent for Harrison said that his client is being released after not taking a pay cut from the Colts. Tom Condon told the AP that the team has agreed to let go of Harrison, although an official announcement is not expected until tomorrow or Wednesday.

“Basically, we were not able to come to any kind of agreement, it was not contentious and the Colts have agreed to release him,” Condon said in a phone interview.

The Colts will save about $6 mil with the move, but they would still be charged for prorated bonuses from the $66 million deal he signed in December 2004. The 36-year-old is coming off a rather down season, one of, if not his worst, as in 15 games he caught just 60 passes for 636 yards with five touchdowns.

Harrison ranks second in NFL history with 1,102 receptions. He was the teams first pick of the 1996 draft, and combined with Peyton Manning for more completions, yardage and touchdowns than any duo in league history. He made eight Pro Bowls, won a Super Bowl ring, and his 14,550 yards rank fourth on the NFL’s career list. He is No. 5 all-time with 128 TD catches and holds all major single-season and career receiving marks for the Colts.

A report is out there stating that WR Marvin Harrison wants to be released from the Colts. Today’s Indy Star says that the team has not made up their minds for sure that they want to get rid of Harrison, and that they aer still talking about what to do about his large cap number:

Colts president Bill Polian said the team still is discussing whether it will bring back wide receiver Marvin Harrison for a 14th season. The team’s all-time leading receiver would count $13.4 million against the 2009 salary cap, and Indy is dealing with significant cap issues. The team might terminate Harrison’s contract if he does not agree to a pay cut, which would be unlikely on Harrison’s part. “Hopefully we can find a way to work through that, and we’re trying,” Polian said.

The talk about Marvin Harrison being let go by the Colts continues, and today AP wrote that a pay cut may be the reason why in the end, Harrison will be a Colt no more.

Marvin Harrison’s reluctance to take a pay cut could mark the end of his career in Indianapolis. Earlier Sunday, Colts president Bill Polian told reporters at the NFL’s annual scouting combine that the team was trying to rework Harrison’s deal to lower his salary cap number from approximately $13.4 million, the highest number of any receiver in the NFL. “I don’t want to characterize discussions in any other way other than to say we’re having discussions,” Polian said.

“We’re working on two fronts. On the one front, we are impacted by the salary cap for the first time in 11 years because of the new rules that come in this year as the last capped year. That is not something, quite honestly, that we planned for. So, we are impacted by that. As a result, that creates issues with any number of players. Marvin is one of them. Hopefully, we can find a way to work through that and we’re trying to.

I don’t have any answers beyond that other than we’re trying to work through it.” But a person familiar with the negotiations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team has not made an announcement, said Harrison “probably would not be interested in” taking a pay cut.

In a rather stunning move, a report says that the Colts are going to release all-time leading wide out Marvin Harrison before the start of free agency next Friday. The report came Thursday from NFL Network, which if true would end the more prolific passing combo in the history of the league with Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison being no more.

Manning and Harrison have the following NFL records together – most completions (971), yards (13,090) and touchdowns (110) of any quarterback-wide receiver duo. The 36-year-old’s release would save the Colts about $7 million against the cap in the 2009 season.

Harrison played in just five games in 2007 due to a knee injury. Last season, he caught 60 passes for a career-low 636 yards five touchdowns in 15 games. He was the Colts first-round pick in 1996, and has a career 1,102 catches for 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns in 190 games with the Colts.

New head coach Jim Caldwell said that even he was not sure what the future would hold for Harrison with the club. “We’re not quite certain what’s going to happen,” Caldwell said. “But we hope to have him back.”

From: Indy Star

Colts GM Bill Polian said the team’s main objective in the draft is finding a quality receiver. “Marvin Harrison’s not going to play forever,” Polian said. “We’ve got to be thinking about what’s the future at that critical position. How do you replace a Hall of Famer?”