Colts Gab

Personally, I expected it to happen. And those who follow the Indianapolis Colts probably did – or at least hope he did – expect it to happen.

What I am referring to is Reggie Wayne and the rumor that he was going to skip training camp.

Well folks, you can rest easy as Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star reports that the wide receiver, on his website, indicated that he will, in fact, arrive in anderson in time for training camp.

According to Wayne, there has steady rain down in South Florida which necessitated the change of scenery. I would venture to say that it has more to do with his contract progressing along as opposed to the weather in Florida, although Wayne has two years left on his current contract and the Colts have indicated that they will not address his deal right now.

Because Reggie is Peyton Manning’s go-to guy, it is imperative that he shows up. My guess is that team owner Jim Irsay will look into Wayne’s contract and ensure that he spends the rest of his career in Indianapolis. Wayne and Robert Mathis tried to pull the “I want more money” stunt back in June, with no appreciable results for either player.

Let’s face it – Reggie is hardly “underpaid”. He and Mathis will have to do what other Colts players in similar circumstances will have to do: take a number and have a seat.

Reggie Wayne wants a bigger and better deal, but that is not going to stop him from playing the 2010 season or holding out:

Colts WR Reggie Wayne is dissatisfied with his contract, a six-year, $39 million deal that has two years to run with base salaries of $5.47 million this season and $5.95 million in 2011. He did not participate in the club’s offseason voluntary organized team activities or mandatory minicamp. That doesn’t mean he won’t play this season — even if he doesn’t get a new contract. “I play football. That’s what I do,” he said. “I love the game. It goes deeper than contract talks; I like doing this. I ain’t getting any younger and football is my passion.”

According to an affidavit for probable cause, Reggie Wayne’s ex-girlfriend Natasha McKenzie and her friends and family were charging thousands of dollars on Wayne’s credit card. McKenzie told police that Wayne knew what she was up to. Wayne told police McKenzie never had his go ahead.

Three Colts, all Pro Bowlers last season—are skipping another round of voluntary workouts. Receiver Reggie Wayne does not traditionally show up until the mandatory offseason workouts. Indianapolis police are investigating credit card charges after Wayne told them an ex-girlfriend may have used his credit card number to make more than $93,000 in online purchases.

Defensive end Robert Mathis reportedly wants to renegotiate his contract and did not attend any team workouts in May. Safety Antoine Bethea has not signed his one-year tender with the Colts.

Coach Jim Caldwell says he isn’t sure if any of the players will attend this weekend’s mandatory three-day mini-camp but that he hopes they’ll participate.

I recently just got this news from Bekah Lockner, via email:

From 12-2 pm on May 1, Reggie Wayne will be at the GNC at 622 Lincoln Rd location in Miami, Florida to help kick off Gatorade’s new G Series Pro products, which will be available exclusively at GNC on May 1.

During the G Series Pro launch on May 1, consumers will be able to:

·         Have a professional photographer take your picture with Reggie

·         Receive an autographed photo (while supplies last)

·         First access to sample the new G Series Pro products

At all GNC locations on May 1, consumers will also be invited to sign a contract to “Go Pro.”  In doing so, they will receive an entry to the “Train Like a Pro” sweepstakes for a chance to win an opportunity to train with a trainer at a world class facility as well as nutrition assessment and performance testing from GSSI. Also on May 1, you will receive exclusive access to the beta version of Pro Training System, the new online training system for elite athlete that has sports-specific training information, tools, and resources. May 1st will be consumers’ only opportunity to get in.

For more information about the G Series Pro product line, please visit http://www.gatorade.com/.

For the second consecutive week, the Indianapolis Colts have been disincentivized as they have locked up home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs; thus, they have been using their reserves for the bulk of the last two games, including Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium in what can be accurately described as whiteout conditions on the field.

While Peyton Manning and Co. spent most of the game sitting on heated seats, the Bills’ regular unit took advantage as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for three touchdowns, allowing Buffalo to make short work of Indianapolis 30-7.

After trading touchdowns in the first quarter, the Bills went ahead for good when Fitzpatrick hit Lee Evans for a 21-yard score. Lee Evans caught the ball at the 1, then slid backward into the end zone, leaving a 2-yard skid mark in the snow. Two and one-half minutes later, Fitzpatrick hooked up with Terrell Owens on a 41-yard TD pass, giving the Bills an insurmountable 21-7 lead late in the third period.

Fitzpatrick went 16-of-25 for 155 yards and 3 TD’s. Manning, in limited action, went 14-of-18 for 95 yards and an interception while reserve QB Curtis Painter went 4-of-17 for 39 yards and an INT. Fred Jackson ran roughshod over the Colts’ offensive line, rushing 33 times for 212 yards with a receiving TD while Mike Hart rushed 10 times for 28 yards and a score.

Owens led the Bills receivers with 4 catches for 65 yards and a TD while Evans caught 4 for 49 yards and a score; Dallas Clark led the Colts with 7 receptions for 52 yards while Reggie Wayne caught 5 passes for 21 yards. Indianapolis (14-2) will get a two-week rest and await who becomes the AFC’s #6 seed while Buffalo ends their season 6-10.

“It’s déjà vu all over again”. Yogi Berra

The Indianapolis Colts never cease to amaze me; although to be fair, when you have been a Colts fan for as long as I have (39 years and counting), what they seem to do on a weekly basis seems eerily commonplace. When the Colts went to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday night, I didn’t expect a high-scoring event as most weeks the Jaguars are lucky to eclipse 20 points a game.

In any case, both teams hooked up at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium and the game had the feel of a track meet, so to speak. Defense was definitely an afterthought and interestingly enough, Jacksonville held the ball for 11 minutes longer than Indianapolis. Both teams seemed to score at will (did I mention that not much defense was played?), but as has been the custom this season, Peyton Manning tossed a late touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with 5:23 in the fourth quarter, enabling Indianapolis to remain perfect as they got past Jacksonville 35-31.

Manning was perfect in the first half, going 12-of-12 for 116 yards and had TD passes to Austin Collie and Dallas Clark; Clark made an improbable sliding catch in the end zone which put the Colts up 7-3 early in the second quarter. Collie’s 23-yard catch put Indianapolis ahead 21-17 withy 35 seconds left in the half; the Jaguars got ot within field goal range but kicker Josh Scobee came up short on a 57-yard FG attempt.

The Jaguars would take the lead at 24-21 with a 16-yard David Garrard TD pass to Mike Sims-Walker but Manning would again hook up with Clark on a 27-yard TD strike, putting the Colts ahead again 28-24; a 13-yard Garrard-to-Mike Thomas TD pass put Jacksonville up at 31-28 with 47 seconds. But Manning would lead the Colts down the field and with 5:23 left in the game, he connected with Reggie Wayne on a 65-yard bomb which put Indianapolis up for good 35-31.

Manning had good numbers, going 23-of-30 for 308 yards with 4 TD’s and an interception while Garrard went 23-of-40 for 223 yards with 3 TD’s and an INT. Joseph Addai led the Colts rushers with 16 carries for 59 yards while Maurice Jones-Drew rushed 27 times for 110 yards and a TD while catching 5 passes for 30 yards and a score. Wayne led all Colts receivers with 5 receptions for 132 yards and a TD while Clark caught 7 passes for 95 yards and 2 TD’s. Sims-Walker led the Jaguars receivers with 6 receptions for 64 yards and a score while Marcedes Lewis caught 4 passes for 53 yards.

Indianapolis (14-0) gets a long rest as they do not play again until Sunday, December 27 when they play their final game at Lucas Oil Stadium this season, hosting the New York Jets while Jacksonville (7-7) travels to Foxborough, MA to take on the New England Patriots, a week from Sunday.

As I have said on more than one occasion in reference to the Indianapolis Colts, they find new and creative ways to win each and every week. Some weeks, it is Peyton Manning and his arm, some weeks it’s their secondary, while sometimes they come from behind. The Colts didn’t have to rely on a 300-yard game from Manning or a comeback attempt during Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium; instead, they more or less played “keepaway” with the ball, allowing Indianapolis to tie an NFL record with their 21st consecutive win, in this case a 27-17 decision over Tennessee.

The Colts started things by going on a 75-yard drive, capped by a 8-yard Joseph Addai touchdown run, taking a 7-0 lead; after a 20-yard foeld goal by kicker Rob Bironas, Indianapolis drove 77 yards down the field over nearly 4 minutes with Addai hitting paydirt on a 1-yard run, boosting the Colts’ advantage to 14-3. Although the Colts failed to cash in on the Titans’ first turnover, Manning would capitalize as he threw a 4-yard TD pass to Austin Collie, padding the Colts’ lead further at 21-3.

Tennessee finally got back in the game on a 6-yard Vince Young-to-Kenny Britt TD pass, narrowing their deficit to 21-10. With no time left in the third quarter, Matt Stover connected on a 43-yard FG, giving the Colts a 24-10 cushion; Stover would put the nail in the Titans’ coffin as he converted a 36-yard FG with 3:14 left in the game, icing the victory for Indianapolis.

Manning had a decent outing for the Colts, going 24-for-37 for 270 yards with a touchdown while Young went 24-of-43 for 241 yards with 2 TD’s and an INT. Addai led the Colts rushing attack with 79 yards on 21 carries and 2 TD’s while Chris Johnson led Tennessee with 27 carries for 113 yards.

Pierre Garcon led all Colts receivers with 6 receptions for 136 yards while Reggie Wayne caught 4 for 48 yards; Bo Scaife led the Titans receivers with 5 receptions for 56 yards and a TD while Britt caught 3 passes for 46 yards and a score. Indianapolis (12-0) goes for win number 13 and a NFL-record 22nd win when they host the Denver Broncos next Sunday while Tennessee (5-7) returns home to host the St. Louis Rams – also next Sunday.

Typically with the Indianapolis Colts, they usually rely on quarterback Peyton Manning to get the job done, which he does with alarming regularity. But as of late, it has been the defense that has saved the day for the Colts, as evidenced by their narrow win over the New England Patriots last Sunday. The Colts would have their hands full Sunday when they went up against a pesky Baltimore Ravens squad at M&T Stadium. Curiously enough, Indianapolis’ defense once again were the heroes as they intercepted a Joe Flacco pass, allowing Indianapolis to remain undefeated, edging Baltimore 17-15.

The Colts drew first blood, going 87 yards on seven plays, capped by a 3-yard TD pass from Manning to tight end Dallas Clark (one-handed, no less!), giving Indianapolis an early 7-0 lead. A pair of field goals by newly-signed kicker Billy Cundiff (46 and 44 yards, respectively) narrowed the Ravens’ deficit to 7-6; a pair of field goals by Cundiff (38 and 36 yards, respectively) sandwiched around a 5-yard TD run by the Colts’ Joseph Addai, allowed Indianapolis to take a narrow 14-12 edge going into halftime.

The third quarter was 15 minutes of ball control warfare, for the most part as no scoring took place. The fourth quarter would find Baltimore tacking on another field goal by Cundiif, giving the Ravens their first lead at 15-14; just over three minutes later, former Ravens kicker Matt Stover put Indianapolis ahead 17-15 with a 25-yard FG with 7:02 remaining in the game. The Colts would ice the win when the Ravens’ Ed Reed fumbled on a punt return with 17 seconds left.

Manning put up un-Manning-like numbers as he went 22-of-31 for 299 yards with a TD and 2 interceptions while Joe Flacco went 23-of-35 for 256 with an INT. Addai rushed 19 times for 74 yards and a score while Ray Rice rushed 20 times for 71 yards while catching 7 passes for 64 yards. Pierre Garcon led all Colts receivers with 6 receptions for 108 yards while Reggie Wayne caught 7 passes for 89 yards; tight end Tom Santi caught 6 passes for 80 yards. Derrick Mason led the Ravens receiving corps with 9 receptions for 142 yards while the aforementioned Rice caught 7 for 64 yards.

Indianapolis (10-0) looks to extend their winning streak to 20 when they travel to Houston to take on the Texans next Sunday while Baltimore (5-5) remains at home to host the Pittsburgh Steelers – also next Sunday.

The Indianapolis Colts have gone from winning games with relative ease to escaping by the skin of their teeth, so to speak. As luck would have it, Indianapolis’ opponent Sunday was the New England Patriots, led by Tom Brady. But an interesting thing happened at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Patriots would seal their fate not by anything that Brady did, but by a bold – and questionable – move by head coach Bill Belichick. The screwup enabled Indianapolis to rally from 17 down to edge New England 35-34. But more on the Belichick gamble later.

The Colts drew first blood as Peyton Manning tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Addai, giving Indianapolis a 7-0 lead; the Patriots would strike back as Laurence Maroney would score on a 1-yard TD run, tying things up at 7-all. The second quarter would find New England racking up points in short order; after a 31-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, New England would score twice in a 4-minute span, the first being a 63-yard TD pass from Brady to Randy Moss at the 11:18 mark with the second being a 9-yard Brady to Julius Edelman TD pass, which gave the Patriots a comfortable 24-7 lead with 7:19 left in the half. But Indianapolis reduced New England’s lead to ten as Manning rifled a 20-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne at the 4:17 mark, making it 24-14 which would be the halftime score.

As opposed to the previous periods, the third quarter was a battle of attrition and was scoreless, as a result. The fourth quarter found New England striking early as Brady threw a 5-yard TD pass to Moss, increasing their lead to 31-14. Sounds like lights out? Not so fast – it gets better, especially if you’re a Colts fan. With 12:14 remaining in the game, Manning tossed a 29-yard TD pass to Pierre Garcon which narrowed the Patriots’ lead to 31-21; a 36-yard FG by Gostkowski pushed the Patriots’ advantage to 34-21.

Indianapolis would come storming back, with credit due to Manning and a little help from Belichick. Addai would score from a yard out, putting the Colts to within 34-28 with 2:23; then came the erroneous judgement by Belichick. New England had the ball but Belichick called two timeouts during the series, with the second TO setting up their foruth down play. Typically on a fourth and 2 agaisnt Indianapolis, you’d punt the ball and let Manning try and beat you. But Belichick opted to go for it on fourth down. The gamble failed, giving the Colts the ball at the New England 29-yard line with 1:57 left in the game – an eternity when Manning is in charge. Manning would run three plays before connecting with Wayne for the winning score, a 1-yard TD pass, with 13 ticks left on the game clock, icing the game for the Colts.

Manning had his usual good game, going 28-of-44 for 327 yards with 4 TD’s and 2 INT’s while Brady went 29-of-42 for 375 yards with 3 TD’s and an INT. Addai led the Colts’ rushers with 41 yards and a TD while catching 2 passes for 27 yards and a score; Chad Simpson added 36 yards on only 4 carries. Kevin Faulk led New England with 79 yards on 17 carries while Laurence Maroney added 31 yards on 13 carries.

Wayne led all Colts receivers with 10 receptions for 126 yards and 2 scores while Dallas Clark caught 4 passes for 65 yards; Garcon caught 3 balls for 50 yards and a TD while Austin Collie grabbed 6 for 45 yards. Moss led New England with 9 receptions for 179 yards and 2 TD’s while Wes Welker caught 9 passes for 94 yards; Ben Watson caught one pass for 36 yards. Indianapolis (9-0) plays again on Sunday when they face the Baltimore Ravens while New England (6-3) returns home to host the New York Jets – also on Sunday.