Jump to content
Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts Fan Forum

Caleb3502

Senior Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,169

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Caleb3502

  1. Caleb3502
    The Colts have the 3rd easiest schedule in the NFL in 2013, but that might not mean a thing. Even if it isn't easy, the Colts can find ways to win tough games. So, what do you think their record will be? I think they will be able to get at least 10 wins but I expect them to get around 11 to 13 win. With improved defense and enhanced offense, how far can this team go?
  2. Caleb3502
    This is probably way too early on in his career to debate if he is Marvin Harrison caliber. But, I think T.Y. definitely has that potential. T.Y. is a lot smaller than Marvin. Hilton is 5' 9'' 178lb while Harrison was 6 feet 185lb. Hilton will probably catch up to him in weight but he will not grow three inches. I know T.Y. had a lot of drops last year and was tied for worst in the league with Avery for drop rate. But if he can minimize his drops, we got a talented receiver. Even with the drops last year, Hilton made some great plays and some great catches. Hilton has a good chance to become the next Marvin when Reggie eventually retires. Reggie is already 34 years old. He can't be the only receiver catching all of Luck's passes. It's time for T.Y. to step up and put up big numbers. Here is how he faired against the rookie receivers last year:
    Hilton - 50 rec 861 yards 7 TD 17.2 rec yard Avg
    Blackmon - 64 rec 865 yards 5 TD 13.5 rec yard Avg
    Gordon - 50 rec 805 yards 5 TD 16.1 rec yard Avg
    Wright - 65 rec 626 yards 4 TD 9.6 rec yard Avg
    Floyd - 45 rec 562 yards 2 TD 12.5 rec yard Avg
    Jenkins 0 rec 0 yards 0 TD 0.0 rec yard Avg (Healthy all year)
    Hilton was not the leader in every category for rookie receivers but led in touchdown passes with seven and led in reception Avg with 17.2. Blackmon beat Hilton in receiving yards because he played in all 16 games and started 14. Hilton played in 15 games and started one. Blackmon was one of the only receivers on that team besides Cecil Shorts. Luck threw the ball to Fleener, Allen, Avery, and Wayne as well as Hilton so he couldn't have gotten as many receptions and came within 4 yards of Blackmon for receiving. So let's now compare him to Marvin's numbers:
    Hilton - 50 rec 861 yards 7 TD 17.2 rec yard Avg
    Harrison - 64 rec 836 yards 8 TD 13.1 rec yard Avg
    Now, one could argue that Blackmon is more like Harrison due to the number of receptions and closeness in the yardage and reception avg. But Hilton is similar in the touchdown category, only one less than Harrison. But, if you add Hilton's punt return touchdown they have the same number of touchdowns. Now, Blackmon is taller than T.Y. by four inches and is closer to Marvin in size but Hilton has not had off the field issues like Blackmon. Blackmon has been sued by the league for four games for substance abuse and has gotten into arguments with teammates and arrested for DUI. Now, Marvin has his off the field issue but that was outside of his playing career. Even though Blackmon put up more similar numbers, his off the field issues mat prevent him from putting up Marvin's career numbers.
    I think Luck and Hilton could have something special here. Hilton is going to have to compete with DHB for a starting role opposite Wayne but Hilton is clearly winning the battle so far. Maybe Luck and Hilton can become the next Manning and Harrison. Consistency will play a key factor here. If Hilton can keep putting up numbers like his rookie year and more, we should see something great. If he were to average the numbers he put up in his rookie year for 13 years, he would have 11, 193 receiving yards, 650 catches, and 91 receiving touchdowns. If he can put up more receptions and more yards he could get up to Marvin's career numbers, and I am sure he is capable of doing that with one of the best quarterbacks in the league by then, Andrew Luck.
  4. Caleb3502
    A lot of analysts have talked about the teams in the NFL with the best roster. They mentioned the Broncos, Seahawks, Texans, and 49ers but I think the Colts should be in the discussion. I know a lot of our players are not proven but we still have a good roster that is overlooked:
    Quarterback - Andrew Luck*, Matt Hasselbeck, Chandler Harnish
    A future NFL legend starting at QB with a veteran backup who has over 30,000 passing yards and made it to the Super Bowl and Chandler Harnish which I'll admit has done much but he made a half court shot
    Running back - Ahmad Bradshaw*, Vick Ballard,* Donald Brown, Kerwynn Williams (KR), Delone Carter
    Ahmad Bradshaw has proven he can get the job done with two 1,000-yard seasons the past 3 years. Vick Ballard came out later on in the season and rushed for over 800 yards. He would've gotten to 1,000 if he started all season. Kerwynn Williams is a good receiving running back and is very elusive when running. Williams will most likely end up as the kick returner and will show his ability to return kicks, something the Colts have not exceled at for years. Ignore Brown and Carter for now because they probably won't make the roster.
    Fullback - Stanley Havili*, Dan Moore
    The Colts have something special on this roster unlike many other Colts' rosters, fullbacks. Stanley Havili is a well rounded fullback who seems to be learning the system quite well which he needs to for a successful Pep Hamilton offense. Havili stands at 6 feet 245 lb. Moore stands at 5'11'' 240 lb. So Havili has the size factor on his side but Moore is a powerful runningback/fullback who the Colts may keep on the 53 man roster pending how he plays in preseason. I've heard a lot of good things about Dan Moore and I am eager to see how he plays in preseason. Who knows, maybe we have another Mike Alstott on our hands.
    Wide Receiver - Reggie Wayne*, DHB*, T.Y. Hilton (PR)*, Griff Whalen, LaVon Brazil
    The three starters on the team aren't exactly Thomas, Decker, & Welker but they are very good. You have a HOF player in Reggie Wayne, two very fast receivers in DHB and Hilton who are working hard on their dropped catches. If they stop dropping passes, they are better than Thomas, Decker, & Welker. Hilton is also a versatile punt returner who averages a good return on every one. Griff Whalen has his college coach back and is eager to play after spending last year on IR but before that he was doing very well. If LaVon Brazil gets his suspension out of the way and prevent it from happening again he is also a good option at wide receiver. They have a better receiving core than the 49ers right now, most of their receivers are injured or might get injured again (Collie).
    Tight End - Coby Fleener*, Dwayne Allen*, Justice Cunningham
    Coby Fleener is going to have a breakout year back from injury and reunited with Pep Hamilton. Dwayne Allen has worked over the offseason to get even better. Justice Cunningham could also make the team if he can block well. The Colts have two emerging stars at tight end and can become the next Hernandez & Gronk without the off the field issues.
    Offensive Tackle - Anthony Castonzo*, Gosder Cherilus*, Jeff Linkenbach
    Other than the last player there are two good offensive tackles that have proven they can play. Cherilus was one of the most efficient pass blockers last year and Castonzo is looking to improve.
    Offensive Guard - Donald Thomas*, Mike MyGlynn*, Hugh Thornton
    This is the only weak spot on the Colts. Donald Thomas plays decently at guard but let's not even mention the second one. Hugh Thornton could excel this year if they start him or he is not injured but for now it is the second one starting.
    Center - Samson Satele*, Khaled Holmes
    I actually like Satele and think he can make a decent starter. Holmes can play decent as well as was considered one of the top interior lineman in the draft.
    NT - Aubrayo Franklin, Josh Chapman*, Montori Hughes
    Franklin is an experienced veteran who can excel at stopping the run in which the Colts were in need of. Chapman is also a good option at nose tackle and is also one of the strongest one the team. I'm excited for Chapman to come back from injury, plus he can bench over 400lbs. Montori Hughes was a good selection in the draft and can be good as a situational DL.
    DE - Cory Redding*, Ricky Jean-Francois*, Drake Nevis, Fili Moala
    Cory Redding played very well last year for the Colts and does not get enough recognition. RJF has only started five games his entire four year career but as shown potential to become a starter. Nevis and Moala will battle for a spot on the roster after battling injuries last year.
    OLB - Robert Mathis*, Björn Werner*, Erik Walden, Lawrence Sidbury
    Mathis could also be a HOF if he continues his level of play. Björn Werner has not had experience as a 3-4 OLB but is learning from a master and he too in a few years will become a sack master like Mathis, I was overjoyed when they selected him. Sidbury has potential to become a situational pass rusher and Walden can even earn a starting role on the team.
    ILB - Jerrell Freeman*, Pat Angerer*, Kavell Conner, Kelvin Sheppard, Josh McNary
    Freeman is just a beast at ILB and has always been a strong tackler and should've been a Pro Bowler. Angerer is coming off an injury plagued 2012 season but has shown he can rack up tackles like Freeman. Conner also has been a starter and has shown he is a decent tackler. Sheppard has 150 tackles in two seasons and was a starter last year for the Bills. McNary has played football for a few years due to serving our country but was a great when he played at Army where he had 28 sacks, 195 tackles, and five forced fumbles.
    CB - Vontae Davis*, Greg Toler*, Darius Butler, Cassius Vaughn, Teddy Williams
    Davis was coming on late in the year after being injured the middle of the season. Toler was injured last year and in 2011 but when he played a healthy season he did not allow catches. In 90 targets thrown at him, only 50 were caught, which is extremely well if you can stop 40 passes being caught. Darius Butler was signed during the season by the Colts and showed that he was not a draft bust. Butler led the team in interceptions with 4 and had two returned for touchdowns. Butler is show great progress as a nickleback and will continue his success into the 2013 season.
    S - Bethea*, Landry*, Boyett, Lefeged
    Bethea has been making plays for the Colts since coming out of Howard in 2006. Landry has been injured two out of the last three years of his career but came back in 2012 with a Pro Bow selection. So you have two Pro Bowl safeties who can become the NFL's best duo. Thomas and Chancellor in Seattle are probably the NFL's best duo but after the 2013 season they may not be anymore. John Boyett played very well at Oregon but fell in the draft due to an injury that might keep him out this year, but when he does come back to play he will make an impact. Other than the gun charges, Lefeged earned the role as our Special Teams Captain with McAfee and if the Colts keep him he will make an impact on special teams.
    K - Adam Vinatieri*
    You got a future HOF inductee in Vinatieri for all the clutch kicks he has made over his career. I know he is 40 years old and the NFL's oldest player but he still can get the job done. Look at last year against the Vikings where he nailed a 53-yard field goal to win the game. Vinatieri's accuracy may be declining, but he will still be making clutch kicks for us in 2013.
    P - Pat McAfee*
    I'm glad I have his autograph. McAfee has grown to one of the best punters in the NFL and has become a very good kickoff specialist. McAfee is always booming punts towards the other teams for 60+ yards at times and will continue his success in 2013.
    LS - Matt Overton*
    When I saw that they cut him over Snow I was really surprised. Coming out of Arena Football, Overton did a great job being our long snapper last year and only had one blocked punt all of last year. He has really impressed me and will continue to impress in 2013.
    *= starter (Ballard and Bradshaw are both starters because they will switch out every few carries, Allen and Fleener are both listed as starters because the Colts will run 2 TE sets most of the time with them.)
    If you look at the starters on the team you can see that we got some really good to really great players starting for us. Plus, we have quality backup for the most part (OL is only place with not so great depth at backup) but some of the talent is not proven. After this year, though, people will be talking about the Colts' players a little more and might be thrown into the discussion for best roster.
  5. Caleb3502
    The Colts have been this force to be reckoned with after the loss to the Dolphins and the slight win over the Raiders. We nearly came away with a win against the Dolphins but we weren't in sync that game as a team. Week 3 we beat the NFC Champion 49ers and held them to 7 points. The 49ers steamrolled the Texans on Sunday Night Football. Week 4 we beat the Jaguars 37-3 but that is not a challenging thing to do. Week 5 was a really interesting game that kept me standing up pretty much the entire second half, but we still came away with a 34-28 win. Last year I don't think the Colts really had a lot of scoring and would win games like 21-14. We scored 30 points or more I think only twice all of last year. We beat the Packers 30-27 and beat the Lions 35-33. This year through 5 games we have done that twice. The scores from the other team have diminished thanks to a revamped defense that is missing key players like LaRon Landry and Ricky Jean Francois but players like Fili Moala and Delano Howell really have stepped up.
    Bleacher Report has a ranked at #3http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1801139-nfl-power-rankings-standings-and-outlook-for-each-team-after-sundays-action and NFL.com had us ranked at #6 last week and we will move up this week. I will get the link when they list the power rankings which is after the Monday Night Football game. The Bengals will move up because they beat the Patriots but not Top 5 since they also lost to the Browns. Sometimes they are good and sometimes they aren't. The Chiefs may be or may not be ahead of us, probably won't even though they are undefeated, they have beaten teams like the Titans without Locker, the Giants (enough said), Jaguars, Cowboys (who have been off and on), and Eagles. The only team they have beaten with a winning record is the Titans at 3-2. We have beaten the Seahawks who were undefeated but now 4-1 and the 49ers who are now 3-2.
    I think we are the second best team in the AFC and the Top 5 Team in the NFL. The Saints and Broncos right now are better than us. In my opinion, the first half of our schedule up to the bye week was the hardest part. We had the risk of going 3-4, but now sitting at 4-1, we have a good shot at 5-2 going into the bye week. We have had trouble in the past with the Chargers but this isn't the same Colts that were apart of those losses. Vinatieri, Wayne, Bethea, and Mathis were the only ones really apart of those losses. We can go there on Monday Night and get the win and go play Peyton in Lucas Oil (The fans are going to be louder than ever). If we were to beat Manning and the Broncos we would be the #1 team in the NFL and unstoppable. We have a manageable schedule after the bye: at Texans (SNL), Rams, at Titans (TNF), Cardinals, Titans, at Bengals, Texans, at Chiefs, Jaguars. We could win 7-8 of those games and finish with a 12-4 or 13-3 record with the AFC South Division Crown.
  6. Caleb3502
    2013 Indianapolis Colts 53 Man Roster

    QB: Andrew Luck, Matt Hassellbeck, Chandler Harnish
    RB: Ahmad Bradshaw, Vick Ballard, Kerwynn Williams (KR)
    FB: Stanley Havili
    WR: Reggie Wayne, Darrius Heyward-Bey, T.Y. Hilton (PR) , Griff Whalen, LaVon Brazil (Suspended 4 games), Nathan Palmer (First 4 games)
    TE: Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen, Justice Cunningham
    OT: Anthony Costanzo, Gosder Cherilus, Jeff Linkenbach, Emmett Cleary
    OG: Hugh Thornton, Donald Thomas, Mike McGlynn,
    OC: Samson Satele, Khaled Holmes
    NT: Josh Chapman, Montori Hughes, Aubrayo Franklin
    DE: Ricky Jean Francois, Cory Redding, Fili Moala, Lawrence Guy, Drake Nevis
    OLB: Robert Mathis, Erik Walden, Björn Werner, Lawrence Sidbury
    ILB: Jerrell Freeman, Pat Angerer, Kavell Conner, Kelvin Sheppard, Josh McNary
    CB: Vontae Davis, Greg Toler, Darius Butler, Cassius Vaughn, Teddy Williams
    S: Antoine Bethea, LaRon Landry, Joe Lefeged, John Boyett
    K: Adam Vinatieri
    P: Pat McAfee
    LS: Matt Overton
    Practice Squad
    OLB Daniel Adongo WR Jabin Sambrano
    OLB Caesar Rayford ILB C.O. Prime
    S/CB Daxton Swanson RB Davin Meggett
    FB Dan Moore P/K Brandon McManus
    Notes:
    LaVon Brazil is suspended for the first four games so Nathan Palmer will take his spot on the roster for those four weeks
    Josh McNary makes the 53 man roster but may not stay there for long
    The Colts keep Brandon McManus on the Practice Squad for now but he could eventually be Vinatieri's replacement
    John Boyett may start the season on PUP or be placed on IR. Daxton Swanson takes his place if that happens
    I expect the Colts to give Justin Anderson a chance after being placed on IR last year as a late draft pick
    Donald Brown is finally gone
    Delone Carter is also most likely gone, the best he could do is Practice Squad but I don't see them keeping him there either.
    Caesar Rayford is too tall to not keep him at all. He should be good for the Practice Squad.
    Lawrence Guy didn't perform to badly last year in the absence of Nevis and Moala so I think they keep him as a backup
    Dan Moore makes Practice Squad and could fill in if Havili is injured
    I have Montori Hughes listed as NT because I'm not sure if he is a DE or NT in a 3-4 defense

  7. Caleb3502
    A lot of people have done these so I decided to do one. Withoutfurther delay,
    Week 1: Raiders at Colts Colts Win 31-14
    Week 2: Dolphins at Colts Colts Win 27-21
    Week 3: Colts at 49ers 49ers Win 28-17
    Week 4: Colts at Jaguars Colts Win 38-20
    Week 5: Seahawks at Colts Seahawks Win 31-24
    Week 6: Colts at Chargers MNF Colts Win 28-17
    Week 7: Broncos at Colts SNF Broncos Win 42-31
    Week 8: Bye
    Week 9: Colts at Texans SNF Texans Win 27-17
    Week 10: Rams at Colts Colts Win 31-20
    Week 11: Colts at Titans TNF Colts Win 24-14
    Week 12: Colts at Cardinals Colts Win 28-17
    Week 13: Titans at Colts Colts Win 21-14
    Week 14: Colts at Bengals Colts Win 28-24
    Week 15: Texans at Colts Colts Win 27-20
    Week 16: Colts at Chiefs Colts Win 20-14
    Week 17: Jaguars at Colts Colts Win 28-14
    Colts Record: 12-4
    Wildcard Round: Texans at Colts Colts Win 27-24
    Divisional Round: Colts at Broncos Broncos Win 37-28
    Colts win one more game than last year and are able to advance to the Divisional Round after a Wildcard Round win. It will take them one more year for them to be projected to be in the AFC Championship Game. In a few more years they will be Super Bowl contenders.
  8. Caleb3502
    So now we beat Denver and the so-called "unstoppable Manning and Broncos offense, which we stopped really well for most of the game and did not allow them to take the lead after they held a 14-10 lead in the 2nd quarter. The Colts do not have the best record in the NFL, but have beaten teams with the best records in the NFL. Denver was undefeated and now 6-1. Seattle was undefeated and now 6-1. San Francisco is back and is now 5-2. The only team with more wins than us that we haven't already beaten is the Chiefs, who currently sit at 7-0, and we play them this year. So, considering how well we have done against the NFL elite, I think we can be the best and Super Bowl contenders. I know we loss Reggie for the year but Grigson will find away to keep the receiving corps growing.
    Games Won Against Teams
    In this category I will break down the wins of teams in the NFL against the record of the team they beat. For example, we beat Denver that is 6-1.
    Indianapolis 5-2 record / 19-15 combined record of defeated opponents (7 of those losses come from the Jaguars)
    Kansas City 7-0 record / 14-33 combined record of defeated opponents (Cowboys only team beat with a current winning record)
    Denver 6-1 record / 12-28 combined record of defeated opponents (Cowboys once again only team with current winning record)
    Seattle 6-1 record / 16-25 combined record of defeated opponents (49ers only team with current winning record)
    New England 5-2 record / 14-18 combined record of defeated opponents (Saints and Jets teams with current winning record)
    New Orleans 5-1 record / 12-20 combined record of defeated opponents (Bears only team with winning record)
    Cincinnati 5-2 record / 18-15 combined record of defeated opponents (Patriots, Packers, and Lions teams with current winning record)
    Cincinnati is closest to us as fair as win-loss total of defeated opponents goes.
    Players on Team
    A lot of people don't realize how many good players or even great players are on our roster. I'll name a few but there are many more:
    QB Andrew Luck
    Not much too say that people do not know. Luck has 10 TD passes on the year with only 3 INTs. Not a lot of passing yards with 1,574 but is making good throws and leading this team to scoring drives. He also has 28 carries for 183 yards and three rushing touchdowns, not to mention how hard he is to bring down in the pocket and running. Future of the NFL and will continue his greatness for years to come.
    WR T.Y. Hilton
    We lost Reggie Wayne. It's unfortunate, but we still have a playmaker who will see a lot more receptions. Hilton has great speed and big play ability. He has struggled with drops like last year but has improved and does not miss to many catchable passes. DHB I think is getting closer to becoming what we wanted and looked better vs Denver other than the ball that was just thrown past him. He did have a nice 30-yard run and good fake on the touchdown. He and Hilton add 4.3 speed to our offense.
    ILB Jerrell Freeman
    Freeman is an outstanding linebacker who displays good pass coverage, which can lead to a sack when he blitzes like Sunday. He punishing tackler like LaRon and rarely ever misses a tackle. Such good speed and awareness that keeps the line backing corps together.
    OLB Robert Mathis
    Mathis is playing his best season of his career with 11.5 sacks already through 7 games, which leads the NFL. Mathis is making a strong case for DPOY. He might even break the single season sack record, which he is on pace to do.
    CB Vontae Davis
    Davis was unstoppable against Denver. Did not allow anything caught his way, going up against a great WR in Demariyus Thomas. Davis was thrown at 8 times and only allowed 2 completions for 4 yards. He is our top shutdown corner which helps eliminate that side of the field.
    K Adam Vinatieri and P Pat McAfee
    Vinatieri continues to get it done as the oldest player in the NFL at age 40. He made clutch field goals in the game that preserved the win. McAfee had a few bad punts but had some really good ones, not to mention his hit on Trindon Holliday.
    We have players on our roster that show we can be the best. As I said in a post months ago, we might have the best roster in the NFL.
    Remaining Schedule
    We have a bye this week to get injuries rested and heeled and they we have an easier schedule then the first half, which was the hardest part.
    Week 8: Bye
    Week 9: at Texans (Sunday Night Football) Foster was hurt yesterday and Case Keenum will most likely get the start.
    Week 10: vs Rams / They don't have Sam Bradford anymore, he is done for the season.
    Week 11: at Titans (Thursday Night Football)
    Week 12: at Cardinals / Carson Palmer is always throwing an interception
    Week 13: vs Titans
    Week 14: at Bengals / Going to be a possibly tough game. Depends on which team shows up. The team that lost to Cleveland or beat the Packers.
    Week 15: vs Texans / Never lost at home vs Texans ever
    Week 16: at Chiefs / Possibly tough team. They are 7-0 for a reason but have not defeated teams with really good records.
    Week 17: vs Jaguars / I think we know how likely this is going to end.
    The Colts have a possible shot at going 9-0 the rest of the year, but every team has a bad game and it might come against the Chiefs or Bengals. I don't think they will lose more than 2 games, only if the team can stay healthy, which has been a big issue. We can go 12-4 and take back our AFC South crown. If we do win the rest of our games, which we are capable of, we can be considered the best team in the NFL at 14-2. We did it without Chuck, we can do it without Reggie. I think we will be even more motivated now to win for Reggie.
  9. Caleb3502
    This might go down as one of the worst moves by Grigson. He doesn't make a lot of foolish moves so this is one of the worst. Grigson sent Rayford to the Cowboys for a conditional draft pick. Now let's say what all Rayford did for us when he was a Colt. Rayford had 11 tackles, 5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. I am also certain that the draft pick that we get will not perform as well as Rayford in preseason or have that incredible size. Maybe it will, and be even better, hopefully.
    Caesar Rayford is 6'7'', 245 lb. Rayford was not good enough the first time around when he came out of college (Washington) and signed with the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League. From 2009 to 2012 Rayford played in the Arena Football League for the Spokane Shock and Utah Blaze. In his career as an Arena player, he gathered 55 tackles, 26.5 sacks, 8 forced fumbles, 15 Passes Batted, and 2 interceptions. This was impressive enough for the Colts to take a shot at him by signing him on May 23, 2013. After an impressive preseason, he made the 53 man roster, but not for the Colts for very long.
    I really liked Rayford and thought he had potential to turn into a really good situational pass rusher. Lawrence Sidbury was suppose to handle that role but he landed on Injured Reserve. I thought Rayford was going to mold into the role but appently not for the Colts. I hope he has great success with the Cowboys, but will be a little angry when I see what the Colts could have had. All I know is the draft pick better be at least 6'7'' linebacker, or someone good. There is a positive thing though. We got a draft pick from an undrafted free agent who is 27 years old. Whatever happens, I trust Grigson still to put together the best team possible.
  10. Caleb3502
    The Colts made a surprising move. The Colts waived WR Griff Whalen. Whalen had only played three games this year after being on Injured Reserve all of last year. Whalen had caught two passes for 28 yards this season. I thought Whalen was going to be in the mix since Luck and him know the playbook well like Fleener because all three of them played at Stanford, and now running the Stanford Offense under Pep Hamilton. Whalen will most likely clear waivers and the Colts will sign him to the practice squad.
    To take his roster spot, the Colts signed FB Robert Hughes, who played in five games last year for the Colts. I don't know why you would sign him since you have a well-rounded fullback in Stanley Havili and a decent backup with TE Dominique Jones. Also, WR LaVon Brazill is officially done with his four-game suspension. Depending how well he plays during practice, will indicate if he will be active for Week 5 vs. the Seahawks. The Colts will have 53 players on the roster without Brazill so someone will have to be waived/released. If he is not activated or not taken off the reserve list, I don't think he would have to come back on the roster right now. If he has to be placed back on the roster, a player will have to be removed.
  11. Caleb3502
    A lot of Colts fans are upset with our performance on Monday Night Football and I was furious. But, it was just one other game and we just so happened to be outplayed with injuries that plagued the defense. The Colts have a completely different mindset going into Week 7, when they will have Manning come home on Sunday Night Football. Every Colts fan will be watching the game and most would be happy for whoever wins (All Colts fans hope for the Colts to win, but most should might be happy if Manning wins). The Colts may look bad after Monday, but even the Broncos are having a slight decline. A lot of people will disagree, but here is why this game:
    The Broncos have a very high powered offense, but our defense will be better this Sunday. The Broncos will get Von Miller back, but he is just one part to that defense. If we can keep Miller from Luck and the ball carrier and try to not be as conservative and let Luck throw the ball, Luck can pick apart their defense and hopefully get some touchdowns on the board. Their offense is obviously fantastic and Manning is having the best season of his career, but we know Manning and might be able to hold him on drives. As been mentioned before, Manning has struggled in the past with a 3-4 defense. Manning only knows Indy for their 4-3 defense, which he practiced hundreds of times against. But now, we have a completely different defense with only two players that Manning was teammates with on the Colts in the Super Bowl. I'm sure Robert Mathis is waiting to finally hit Peyton.
    The Colts have been good on offense for really every game except Monday Night but that was in large part to the drops and the lack of time of possession. I'm not saying we should completely go away from the offense we ran on Monday Night. Can Richardson going, with a carry or two on the first drive. If he is able to get 4-5 yards, feed him the ball. If he has two carries on the drive for 3 yards, give the ball to Luck and let him pass. He has Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton, so I think he should be able to pass the ball. Work with Fleener and DHB on receiving during practice for 6 hours a day. We are going to need everyone if we want to one. When I say everyone, I now want to get into the topic of the defense. LaRon Landry has been hurt too long and needs to come back this week. I'm not sure on the situation with Freeman and how mad his concussion was, but we will need him too. Kavell Conner would be also nice to have back this week. Greg Toler was having trouble Monday Night and who knows who he will cover this week. Probably Decker or Welker, depending if they put Welker in the slot. Then it would be Butler covering Welker, which is a good matchup for our secondary.
    Every analyst is going to be picking the Broncos over the Colts and they are going to annihilate the Colts 48-14. Denver has struggled the last two weeks and going back to the Oakland game where they won 37-21. Big margin of win, but it was not 52-20. They nearly lost the game vs the Cowboys, winning by a field goal in a 51-48 score, and allowing Romo to throw 503 yards and 5 touchdowns. Last week, they beat the Jaguars 35-19. When the Colts played the Jaguars, we won 37-3. Manning has also throw back-to-back games with an interception after starting the first four games without one. Manning is stoppable and has shown that in the past. This will be a very emotional game, but don't influence who will win the game based off our performance on Monday Night.
  12. Caleb3502
    Ok, so I am really bored and I have to wait until Sunday to watch the Colts so I decided to make up my list of the top players in the league by position: QB, HB, FB, WR, TE, OT, OG, OC, DE, DT, OLB, MLB, CB, S, K, P, RS, LS. I know many people have already done lists like this but I'm bored so I thought I make my own lists up. I will list it numbers 1-40 of the starters at each position from every team. So every team gets listed but some teams may have more than one player listed but every team gets a spot. I will publish each blog based on position in the order in which I listed them in the paragraph. So with out any more delay here are the top quarterbacks in the NFL:
    1. Aaron Rodgers
    The obvious choice for number one. Rodgers gets it done year after year in the regular season but has had postseason struggle except the year he won the Super Bowl. Rodgers has a high number of passing yards, touchdown passes, and a passer rating of over 100 nearly every year.
    2. Drew Brees
    I really didn't want to put him here for what he did to us in Super Bowl XLIV (or what Hank Baskett did to us) but Brees leads the league in passing second year in a row and has a lot of 40+ TD pass seasons, but had led the league in interceptions with 19 (tied with Romo & Stafford). Drew Brees is a great choice for a franchise quarterback.
    3. Peyton Manning
    He gets it done year after year and would be number one if he had playoff success. He had a top passer rating, a lot of touchdown passes and passing yards but Tebow still has more playoff wins as a Broncos quarterback.
    4. Tom Brady
    Another quarterback I didn't want to put this high up because of what he's done to the Colts but had to due to playoff success and regular season stats. He will still have success this year even with the leading receiver that is healthy right now from last year is Shane Vereen.
    5. Matt Ryan
    Matt Ryan has the most wins by a quarterback in their first five seasons in the NFL. He came one game away from the Super Bowl last year and put up great numbers. With Steven Jackson back there, they might get further in the playoffs this year.
    6. Eli Manning
    Eli Manning missed the playoffs with a 9-7 record last year but started the season with a 6-2 record. He put up a decent numbers in touchdown passes but had a high number of interceptions. He will back next year with a better record because that is what Eli does.
    7. Ben Roethlisberger
    He had an injury last year and his team had an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs. He still had a great passer rating and had a good number of passing touchdowns so that is why he is in the top 10.
    8. Andrew Luck
    It's not because I'm a Colts fan that I put him high up. Luck played like a veteran last year and put up great numbers minus the interceptions and completion percentage (which was not entirely his fault). Luck will come back in 2013 with even better stats.
    9. Tony Romo
    Romo has put up great numbers minus the interceptions but blew games. Luck led game-winning drives but Romo has a tendency to choke in big games. That is why he is listed behind Luck.
    10. Matt Schaub
    Schaub has done a good job as starter of the Texans for the past two seasons and put up good numbers and led them to the playoffs. Last year it was T.J. Yates that led them in the playoffs but Schaub led them in the playoff but could not get past Tom Brady. He still put up very good numbers in a good offensive scheme. That is why he is ahead of the person at #11.
    11. Robert Griffin III
    It's not because I am pro-Luck and like him more, it's the offense that RGIII runs, the option offense. It's a college offense that will eventually get figured out or will put his career in jeopardy. If he put up his numbers in an offense like Schaub, he would be at #10. Plus he also has one of the league's best running backs who ran for over 1,600 yards.
    12. Russell Wilson
    He also runs the option offense but not as much as RGIII. I like Wilson because he is a small quarterback that proved he play quarterback in the NFL. He also has the league's top 5 defense and Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch, but still is a pretty good quarterback.
    13. Joe Flacco
    Flacco had decent regular season numbers but had great post season numbers that led to a Super Bowl championship. Flacco will be back this year with a new look defense and former Colts Stokely and Clark.
    14. Andy Dalton
    The Bengals have been to the playoffs every year under Dalton and he also has great receivers like A.J. Green, Jermaine Gresham, Tyler Eifert, and Mohammed Sanu. The Bengals have gotten better every year and may take another step in the post season this year.
    15. Cam Newton
    Another quarterback that runs the option offense but has decent stats as a regular quarterback. If he wants to stay in the top 15 he needs to raise the touchdowns and lower the interceptions.
    16. Colin Kaeperknick
    Yet another quarterback who utilizes the option offense but has a strong arm that he can use outside the option offense. Kaeperknick has some banged up receivers but still has his runningbacks, Vernon Davis, and Anquan Boldin so he should be fine. Not to mention he has pro bowlers all over his defense.
    17. Matthew Stafford
    Stafford put up nearly 5,000 yards passing and 28 TD passes but had 19 interceptions. He also didn't have a running game last year but with the addition of Reggie Rush this offense can become better and more balanced.
    18. Alex Smith
    He was doing a great job with the 49ers until he sustained the concussion. He's back this year and can easily get a winning record out of the worst team in the NFL due to them having five pro bowlers last year on a two-win team.
    19. Sam Bradford
    After being selected as the number one overall pick, he has not wowed anyone since his rookie season when he led the Rams to a 7-9 record and almost a playoff berth. He has not gotten more than seven wins in a season before but that may change this year with the addition of Jared Cook and Tavon Austin.
    20. Philip Rivers
    Rivers actually puts up decent passing numbers but has failed to produced a good winning season the past few years. Floyd and Alexander are injured with Alexander being out for season so he will have to rely on Antonio Gates, Robert Meachem, Keenan Allen, and Eddie Royal for receivers.
    21. Ryan Tannehill
    The Dolphins went out and bought tons of players, including new weapons for Tannehill in Wallace, Gibson, and Keller. Lamar Miller is also expected to break out. So with a good running game and great receiving options, Tannehill might find himself inside the Top 15 by the end of the 2013 season.
    22. Jay Cutler
    Cutler had only 19 TD passes to 14 interceptions last year. Cutler only had one good receiving option in Brandon Marshall last year but this year he should be better. He's got a new offense, a new TE in Martellus Bennett, Jeffrey is back from injury, and got new lineman in Jermon Bushrod and Kyle Long.
    23. Josh Freeman
    Freeman needs to really step up or he could lose his starting role. He had decent numbers last year but needs the team's record to improve. He has Vincent Jackson, Mike Williams, and a top 10 back in Doug Martin.
    24. Carson Palmer
    Palmer put 4,000 yards and 22 TDs with the Raiders but could not win games which was not entirely his fault. Now with the Cardinals, he has Larry Fitzgerald, which makes him automatically better.
    25. Michael Vick
    After an injury plagued 2012 season, he now has to battle Nick Foles, Dennis Dixon, and Matt Barkley for a starting job. Chip Kelly likes to run the option offense and even though I dislike this offensive scheme, Vick will do better than the other three in this role.
    26. E.J. Manuel
    He torched our Colts but not until the backups came on. He did not do too well with the starters on but got into his groove with the backups on the field. He is an improvement over Fitzpatrick in Buffalo and will help them tremendously.
    27. Matt Flynn
    After being a great job as a backup to Aaron Rodgers the Seahawks picked him up as their starting quarterback but he lost that role to Wilson. Now with the Raiders he is the obvious starter and has a chance to prove himself.
    28. Brandon Weeden
    Weeden is predicted to take a huge step forward in 2013. He has a great runningback in Trent Richardson, Jordan Cameron at TE, and Greg Little, Josh Gordon, and Davone Bess at WR. I don't think he will have a winning record but he could improve his stats a lot this year.
    29. Christian Ponder
    He technically quarterbacked the Vikings to the playoffs, but Peterson led the team to the playoffs off of his 2, 097 yards. Ponder has a ton of options to throw to, Patterson, Simpson, and Jennings at WR and Kyle Rudolph at TE.
    30. Jake Locker
    Locker is a athletic quarterback but hasn't used his talents to win games in the NFL. He needs to make better decisions and lead this team with 1,000-yard rushers in Johnson and Green, Delanie Walker at TE, and Britt, Washington, Hunter, and Wright at WR.
    31. Mark Sanchez/Geno Smith
    Sanchez led the league in turnovers the past two years and Geno Smith is a 2nd round pick who is unproven at quarterback. These two land second-to-last on the chart for one unforgettable play for Jets fans, the "Butt Fumble".
    32. Blaine Gabbert/Chad Henne
    Obviously the worst quarterback competition in the NFL because neither of them deserve a starting job. If Gabbert wants to be their supposed "franchise quarterback" he needs to step up, win the starting job, and actually get more than six wins.
  13. Caleb3502
    Okay, that was not a good showing by our Colts, or at least the far backup Colts. The first half was not entirely bad for the Colts EXCEPT for the 107-yard kickoff return touchdown by Goodwin. Special teams needs major improvement. The starters played well which is what is the most important. No devastating injuries. The starters were winning the game until the third string and further came in. We had some good stops in the red zone early on but midway through the second quarter the team full of third string and beyond began to collapse to a 44-20 loss. Let's break down each category for the Colts:
    Quarterback
    The Colts were outplayed entirely in this category. Luck did not play much but was 4 of 6 for 51 yards and had a drive ended thanks to a Fleener fumble. Hasselbeck then came into the game after a fumble recovery by the Colts. Hasselbeck was 4 of 8 for 75 yards with one touchdown but also was picked on a tipped pass. Harnish came in for the rest of the game and was a horrible 14 of 33 for 109 yards and was picked for a touchdown. Manuel played longer but was unstoppable. He was running wild over the defense and also was 16 of 21 for 107 yards and a touchdown on passing. Jeff Tuel who I honestly never heard was 19 of 23 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. It's preseason though and the bad statistics will most likely not see playing time during the regular season.
    Runningback
    Ballard had three carries and 18 yards on the ground. Spiller opened up the game on two straight carries for 35 yards but only had one more yard on two carries. Brown actually looked good with three carries for 10 yards but had a 22 yard catch. Kerwynn Williams led the team in rushing with four carries and 21 yards. So the Bills beat the Colts in this category too.
    Receiving
    What we learned from this game is that T.Y. Hilton is a beast and has definitely helped his drops. The catch he made looked like the catch Marvin Harrison made which was almost ten years ago. We got somebody special in Hilton and he is the receiver taken from that draft. Griff Whalen had three catches for 26 yards, Fleener had two catches for 37 yards but had a fumble, and Mr. Irrelevant Justice Cunningham had a 17 yard grab. Though, the Bills outplayed them here too. The Bills actually outplayed the Colts in pretty much every statistical category, or at least the backups did. The starters outplayed the Bills' starters.
    Defense
    A Colts player actually led in a statistical category, tackles. Delano Howell had six tackles in the game. Caesar Rayford a sack-fumble which Daxton Swanson picked up for a 72-yard touchdown. The early defense had some good stops but the second half defense was pitiful to watch. The starting defense did not even allow any points and recovered a fumble. We also didn't have Landry, Freeman, Angerer, McNary, and Werner playing. The Bills intercepted two passes and had one more sack than the Colts.
    Special Teams
    Kicking and punting was excellent but coverage on kickoff has a lot to be desired. Goodwin had over 160 yards on two kick returns. That needs to be fixed if they want to win games. Pat McAfee was good averaging 43.6 yards per punt and Vinatieri drilled a 44-yard field goal and a 25-yard field goal. Kick returning was another issue. Kerwynn Williams starting out well with a long return on his first returns but had two returns returned not past the ten yard line. If you want efficient returning, you need to get past the 20 yard line.
    There's always next week. Let's put this game behind and win the important games during the regular season. Every winning season we had for the most part we had a losing record in the preseason. The Lions went 4-0 in the preseason and then lost every game in the regular season. So, if we have a losing record in the preseason but a winning record in the regular season, and I speak for pretty much everyone, we're happy. Besides, it's not the players in the regular season that lose games, it's the 4th string players that lose games in preseason that end up not making the team.
  14. Caleb3502

    Interesting stats

    By Caleb3502,

    Since it is the bye week I want to gather something interesting statistics that people might have not known or is a very important statistic.
    Offense
    Andrew Luck is 1st in the NFL for fewest interceptions thrown (QBs that started every game, Matt Ryan threw 4 INTs and Manning threw 3 INTs in Week 8, they previously both had three each)
    Andrew Luck has been sacked 15 times this year, sacked 7 times in the first 2 games. Sacked 18 times through 7 games last year.
    12th in the NFL in Total Yardage with 2,413 yards
    8th in the NFL in Rushing Yards per Game with 129.3
    5 in the NFL in Points Scored with 187
    Tied for 6th in the NFL in Yards per Carry Average
    3rd in the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns with 8
    Tied for 28th in the NFL in Fumbles

    Defense
    Jerrell Freeman is tied for 9th in the NFL in Tackles with 60
    Robert Mathis is tied for 2nd in the NFL in Forced Fumbles and 1st in the NFL in Sacks with 11.5
    6th in the NFL in sacks with 21
    4th in the AFC in interceptions with 8
    Tied for 4th in the NFL in Forced Fumbles with 10
    Tied for 4th in the NFL in Touchdown Passes Allowed with 8
    8th in the NFL in Passer Rating Allowed with 78.3
    12 in the NFL in Passing Yards per Game Allowed with 228

    Special Teams
    Adam Vinatieri is tied for 4th in the NFL in Field Goals made
    Vinatieri is tied for 1st in the NFL in 50+ yards field goals made
    McAfee is 12th in the NFL in Punt Yard Avg with 46.3
    Tied for 6th in the NFL in Punts Inside the 20
    David Reed is 11th in the NFL in KR Avg with 25.1
    T.Y. Hilton is tied for 15th in the NFL in PR Avg

    Conversion/ TO Difference
    6th in the NFL in 3rd Down Conversion % with 42.7
    2nd in the NFL in Fewest Penalties
    2nd in the NFL in Penalty Yards with 227
    Tied for 9th in the NFL in First Downs
    6th in the NFL in 1st Downs by Run
    2nd in the NFL in Turnover Differential
    7th in the NFL in 3rd Down Conversion % Allowed with 34.8%

  15. Caleb3502
    According the football ''experts'' everywhere, the Colts do not stand a chance against the 49ers.
    This is what NFL.com picks:
    Sunday 4:25 PM ET CBS 13 29
    The San Francisco 49ers will bounce back in a major way, thwarting an Indianapolis Colts offense that will need to run the football but will have a hard time doing so, even with Trent Richardson. Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 116 yards the last time he played at the 'Stick, but that was last year, and that was for the New York Giants. Richardson, meanwhile, is too new to be expected to get his playbook, learn the offense and rack up 100 yards on the 49ers' defense. On the passing front, Indy must protect Andrew Luck by leaving a tight end in sometimes; don't forget that Dwayne Allen is out for the year. The key for Indy might be the matchup between Reggie Wayne and Niners cornerback Carlos Rogers when the veteran Colts receiver plays out of the slot. As far as the Niners' offense is concerned, we can expect Frank Gore to get 20-25 touches following a rough night in Seattle (nine carries for 16 yards) last Sunday. I don't expect San Francisco's offensive line to have trouble with Indianapolis' defensive front.
    This is what ESPN predicts (All 49ers): http://espn.go.com/nfl/picks
    This is what USA Today predicts: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/09/19/staff-picks-week-3-predictions/2836643/
    This is what Sports Illustrated Picks:
    4:25 p.m. ET (CBS) Indianapolis Colts (1-1) at San Francisco 49ers (1-1)
    Don't ever remember seeing Jim Harbaugh wear glasses on the sideline like he did last Sunday night in Seattle. It was almost as if the 49ers' head coach couldn't believe his eyes, given the whipping the bad-butt Seahawks were administering to his talented and well-balanced team. San Francisco was probably in a foul mood this week with wounded pride, and that means the Colts could suffer the consequences. Welcome back to the Bay Area, Andrew Luck. Now kindly prepare for defeat, signed, the 49ers.
    33
    24
    After searching and searching I found a pick from SB Nation that believes in us:
    Indianapolis Colts vs. San Francisco 49ers (-10)
    Jim Harbaugh reunited with his former quarterback at Stanford. Somehow I suspect Harbaugh in hyper-focused coach mode has as much sentimentality about the reunion as the rest of the world does. After all, it's not like he had much time or interest in a reunion with Richard Sherman last week, another one of his former players. On the Colts' side, it doesn't sound like Trent Richardson will be ready for a full-time role this week. This is another one of those giant spreads, which I've been warning you about. The 49ers should win this one outright, but I'm picking the Colts to cover.
    The pick: Indianapolis
    Then I went to CBS.com to see what they picked:
    IND at SF Sep 22, 4:25 PM ET -10.5
    SF
    So what does all these picks really mean, nothing, but it is interesting on how people feel about the Colts. Only five people are in favor of the Colts versus all of the people that are in favor of the 49ers. This will be a tough game and the majority is probably right, but they don't give the Colts much of a chance do they. We beat the Packers after coming off a loss from the Jaguars. Who's to say we won't beat the 49ers coming off a loss to the Dolphins.
  16. Caleb3502
    The Colts will most likely will not have the entire backfield make the Hall of Fame like the 1950's 49ers (QB Y.A. Tittle, RB Hugh McElhenny, FB Joe Perry, and FB John Henry Johnson), but could have one of the league's top backfields. Before I hear that our backfield is unproven, just let me say what I have to say. Our starting backfield currently consists of Andrew Luck, Ahmad Bradshaw, Trent Richardson, and Stanley Havili. Next year I would substitute Havili out of the Million Dollar Backfield and just say Vick Ballard or have them both. I'm not going to include Donald Brown because unless he produces something this year its the door for him.
    QB - Andrew Luck
    This is the centerpiece of the backfield. Andrew Luck is one of the future stars of the NFL and could eventually become the best quarterback in the NFL. So there's the first piece to the "Million Dollar Backfield".
    RB - Trent Richardson
    Still a very shocking trade by the Browns. Richardson is very young at 23 years old and had a productive yardage season last year gaining 950 yards. He may have a career 3.5 yards per carry, but he had 11 rushing touchdowns. The last season the Colts had a RB with at least 10 rushing touchdowns was Joseph Addai (10) in 2009. Richardson is also a very good receiving back and caught 51 passes last year for 367 yards. He will be a good power runningback and good receiving back for Luck to check it down to. Richardson is on pace for 864 yards but I think he should be able to break the 1,000-yard mark.
    RB - Ahmad Bradshaw
    Bradshaw had a 1,000-yard season last year despite being injured. He also had 6 rushing touchdowns last year. He is very good at pass blocking which the Colts are in need of. Bradshaw is also a tough runningback to bring down and should be a good 1-2 punch with Richardson. He is on pace this year for 728 yards. Not bad for the second string runningback this year.
    FB - Stanley Havili
    He is something the Colts haven't had in awhile, a fullback. Havili is a decent run blocker and is a good receiving fullback if Luck needs to dump it off to him for a 6-yard gain. The Colts rushing offense will have a lot of fun with the addition of a true fullback. The Colts are actually 5th in the league in rushing offense this year averaging about 130 yards per game.
    (Next Year) RB Vick Ballard
    Ballard is gone for the year with an ACL tear. But, if he can get back to form next year and produce again, this might be the best trio of runningbacks in the NFL, or at least the AFC. The 49ers and Seahawks both have a good trio of runningbacks. The Seahawks have Lynch, Turbin, and Michael and the 49ers have Gore, James, and Hunter this year and should have Marcus Lattimore next year. Ballard had a decent year last year with over 800 yards and did not start until later in the season.
    I know there will be criticism for this but take a look at the NFL rosters and see if you see a better combination of a quarterback and at least two good runningbacks. THe Redskins have a good quarterback and have a good runningback but no one comes to mind for runningbacks after Alfred Morris. There is something special about our running game this year.
  17. Caleb3502
    2013 Indianapolis Colts Roster

    QB: Andrew Luck, Matt Hasselbeck
    HB: Ahmad Bradshaw, Vick Ballard, Donald Brown, Kerwynn Williams (KR)**
    FB: Stanley Havili
    WR: Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton (PR) , Darrius Heyward-Bey, Griff Whalen, LaVon Brazil*, David Reed (KR)**
    TE: Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen, Justice Cunningham
    T: Gosder Cherilus, Anthony Castonzo, Jeff Linkenbach, Emmett Cleary
    G: Donald Thomas, Hugh Thornton, Mike McGlynn, Joe Reitz
    C: Samson Satele, Khaled Holmes
    DE: Cory Redding, Ricky Jean-Francois, Drake Nevis, Fili Moala
    NT: Josh Chapman, Aubrayo Franklin, Montori Hughes
    OLB: Robert Mathis, Björn Werner, Erik Walden, Caesar Rayford
    ILB: Jerrell Freeman, Pat Angerer, Kavell Conner, Kelvin Sheppard, Mario Harvey*
    CB: Vontae Davis, Greg Toler, Darius Butler, Cassius Vaughn, Marshay Green
    S: LaRon Landry, Antoine Bethea, Joe Lefeged, Delano Howell
    K: Adam Vinatieri
    P: Pat McAfee
    LS: Matt Overton
    *Mario Harvey takes Brazil's roster spot for the first four weeks
    **Reed and Williams will rotate as kick returner


    Practice Squad

    QB Chandler Harnish
    OLB Daniel Adongo
    WR Jabin Sambrano
    CB/S Daxton Swanson
    ILB Josh McNary
    WR Jeremy Kelley
    TE/FB Dominique Jones
    S Larry Asante


    Injured Reserve

    S John Boyett
    OLB Lawrence Sidbury
    ILB Scott Lutrus
    OLB Quinton Spears
    FB Dan Moore
    OLB Justin Hickman
    G Justin Anderson
    Josh McNary will make practice squad even though he has not played in preseason
    John Boyett will be placed on IR
    Dominique Jones could be called up from practice squad if Allen or Fleener is still hurt
    Marshay Green makes the roster after having strong performances last two games
    Harnish is put on PS to not waste a roster spot
    Delano Howell makes roster as a backup
    Lefeged makes roster if healthy. If he is placed on PUP, then Swanson will take his place
    David Reed makes team as returner
    Ben Ijalana is released in favor of Emmett Cleary



    Players That Will Be Cut

    CB Josh Gordy
    T Lee Ziemba
    FB Robert Hughes
    WR Lanear Sampson
    WR Nathan Palmer (he may head to IR)
    WR Maurice Williams (injured/waived Aug 25)
    OLB Monte Simmons
    ILB Shawn Loiseau
    C Thomas Austin
    T Ben Ijalana
    S Sergio Brown
    T Bradley Sowell
    CB Sheldon Price
    DE Lawrence Guy
    NT Martin Tevaseu
    DE Ricardo Matthews
    QB Chandler Harnish***
    WR Jabin Sambrano***
    WR Jeremy Kelley***
    TE/FB Dominique Jones***
    ILB Josh McNary***
    S Larry Asante***
    S Daxton Swanson***
    OLB Daniel Adongo***
    ***Practice Squad
  18. Caleb3502
    1. More Offensive Weapons
    Andrew Luck had WR Reggie Wayne to throw the ball to the entire year but did not have all of his other offensive weapons.Donnie Avery also played the entire year but had the worst drop rate among wide receivers with 16.67%, tied with T.Y. Hilton.T.Y. Hilton may have had a high drop rate, but finished the season strong out-performing Reggie Wayne over the final games of the season.T.Y. Hilton has made a commitment in training camp if he drops a pass he must run more laps than required.T.Y. Hilton was also kept out of the first game of the season with an injury.Avery has since left via free agency so the Colts brought in Darrius Heyward-Bey, who is also a fast, deep threat. Avery’s 40 time was 4.34 seconds while Heyward-Bey’s was 4.25 seconds.Heyward Bey’s drop rate was also improved since his rookie season, when it was at 35.7%.Since then, it went down to 8.6% in 2011 and 12.8% in 2012, better than Avery’s drop rate for 2012.Luck also has the league’s rising tight end tandem with Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener.Fleener did not play much last year due to injury but him and Griff Whalen, who was also hurt last year, will breakout this year with their Stanford Head Coach Pep Hamilton as Offensive Coordinator (See #2).With LaVon Brazill’s four game suspension, look for Griff Whalen to make an impact.Dwayne Allen was been doing yoga over the offseason and is looking to improve even more.Allen was underrated speed for his size and can be unstoppable in the open field. Ahmad Bradshaw and Stanley Havili are also good options coming out of the backfield and you might as well throw in Vick Ballard for having #1 play of the year.
    2 .Pep Hamilton as Offensive Coordinator
    Andrew Luck may have benefited more with the departure of Bruce Arians, who helped this team in the absence of Chuck Pagano.With Arians leaving to Arizona, Luck gets his Head Coach from Stanford, Pep Hamilton, as an Offensive Coordinator.All three Colts, Luck, Whalen, and Fleener, know Hamilton’s offensive scheme and should transfer their success with that offense in college to the NFL.Pep Hamilton’s offense is a version of the West Coast offense, which is different from last year’s deep passing offense.It depends on how the offensive line can protect in order for the offense to work due to the need of a good running game (See #3).Luck says that Hamilton is doing a great job with the offense during Training Camp and Luck is even correcting Hamilton on a few things.So I am pretty sure Luck understands this offense well and can have great success with it in 2013.
    3.Improved Running Game
    Russell Wilson and RGIII had something in the offensive that Luck didn’t have, a running game.Marshawn Lynch and Alfred Morris combined for a total of 3, 203 yards, 4.9 Yards per Carry Average, and 24 Rushing Touchdowns. The entire Colts team had 1,671 rushing yards, 3.8 Yards per Carry Average, and 11 Rushing Touchdowns.If Alfred Morris got 59 more yards in 2013, he would beat the Colts in every rushing category by himself, and that is without RGIII running for over 800 yards.What did the Colts do to help that?Vick Ballard ended the 2012 season on a high note with 94 yards against the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round.They went out and got veteran Ahmad Bradshaw who will most likely be available for Week 1.Bradshaw even had a decent 2012 season.He missed two games in 2012 but still had over 1,000 yards and a 4.6 Yards per Carry Average.But the most important addition is Stanley Havili.When was the last time the Colts had a real fullback.With the addition of the fullback and the additions to the offensive line, Gosder Cherilus, Donald Thomas, Hugh Thornton, Khaled Holmes, the Colts should have a decent running game.
    4. Improved Defense
    The Colts switched to a 3-4 defense last year.They still place in the bottom of the league in total defense.Both Jerrell Freeman and Antoine Bethea had a 100+ tackles season, but the next highest tackler was Cassius Vaughn.Colts fans are not excited whatsoever when they hear the name “Cassius Vaughn”.The Colts’ line backing core is better than it ever has.They have starting season by four middle linebackers on the team: Pat Angerer, Jerrell Freeman, Kavell Conner, and Kelvin Sheppard. They got competition at outside linebacker opposite Robert Mathis: Bjorn Werner, Erik Walden, and even Lawrence Sidbury.The defensive line has some good additions: Montori Hughes, Ricky Jean Francois, Aubrayo Franklin, and the return of Josh Chapman, Drake Nevis, and Fili Moala.
    The secondary is better than it has ever been with the additions of LaRon Landry, Greg Toler, and defensive backs fighting for a spot like Daxton Swanson and John Boyett.On paper, the Colts have at least a Top 15 Defense.
    5. The Schedule
    According to the 2012 records of teams the Seahawks face this year they have the 11th hardest schedule and the Redskins have the 18th hardest schedule while the Colts have the 30th hardest schedule.The Colts play at home to Oakland, Miami, Seattle, Denver, Houston, Jacksonville, Tennessee, and St. Louis.The Colts play on the road to San Francisco, Jacksonville, Houston, Tennessee, San Diego, Arizona, Cincinnati, and Kansas City.The toughest games the Colts face are: at 49ers, vs. Seahawks, vs. Broncos, at Bengals, at Houston, vs. Houston.Half of those games are home, where the Colts were 7-1 in 2012 except one fluke play than cost them the game against the Jaguars.The Seahawks and 49ers both lost keys players.The Seahawks lost Percy Harvin for most of the year and the 49ers lost Michael Crabtree for the year and CB Chris Culliver for the year.They also lost TE Delanie Walker via free agency who was their “Swiss army knife”.
    WR Mario Manningham and WR Kyle Williams are also still on the PUP list and may not be ready for the game against the Colts.So the Colts have a good chance against the tougher games on the schedule.I do not expect them to win every game but they should be able to manage between 11 to 13 wins.
    Note: For Colts fans that do not live near Indianapolis, the Colts will be on national television for MNF against the Chargers, SNF against the Broncos and Texans, and TNF for the Titans. They will be on television also for the preseason game against the Bills.
  19. Caleb3502
    The Colts signed TE/FB Dominique Jones to the 53-man roster and place TE Justice Cunningham on the Practice Squad. The Colts now have four tight ends (Fleener, Allen, Jones, Doyle) on the 53-man roster heading into the season opener. Dominique Jones was on the actice roster last year heading into the season opener against the Bears. Dominique Jones finished the 2012 Season on the Practice Squad. The Colts had three tight ends on the roster at the end of the season, Allen, Fleener, and Saunders. Weslye Saunders was released by the Colts on July 25, 2013 due to a eight-game suspension.
    Justice Cunningham was drafted by the Colts in the seventh round as Mr. Irrelvent. He initially made the 53-man roster but was waived and placed on the Practice Squad. Both Jones and Cunningham are similar in size. They are both 6'3''. Cunningham, though, weighs three more pounds than Jones. Jones is listed as 255 lb and Cunningham is listed as 258 lb. I expect Cunningham to come back at some point this season. Jones and Doyle may see some time against the Raiders in case Fleener and Allen aren't healthy enough.
    I like the idea of signing Dom Jones to the 53-man roster and I like that they kept Cunningham in some way. This is not a major move by the Colts, but wanted to say it in case anyone did see it yet.
  20. Caleb3502
    These injuries are really starting to bug me and affect the 2013 season. First we loose our leading rusher, HB Vick Ballard, then we losing our starting guard, Donald Thomas, who we signed this offseason. Now, which is really putting me over the limit. TE Dwayne Allen will be placed on season ending IR due to a needed hip surgery. This is hurts even more than it did when Ballard tore is ACL in practice. If we didn't have Coby Fleener, just think how bad this would be.
    Coby Fleener did pretty good against the Dolphins. He had a touchdown reception (should've had a second one) and a 40-yard reception. Fleener has great speed for a tight end and has great size, 6'6'' 252 lb. The major issue is that we don't have a great blocking tight end. Dwayne was a very good run-blocking tight end and also had great hands and total power. The one could take him down with only one hit. What does this mean for the second tight end spot, we either have Jack Doyle or Dominique Jones step up, or we could bring back up TE Justice Cunningham to the 53-man roster when Dwayne Allen is placed on IR. I'd like to see what Cunningham brings to the table and see how well of a blocker he is. As for receiving, we will probably be running a lot of 1 RB 1 TE 3 WR sets with Bradshaw, Fleener, Wayne, Heyward-Bey, and Hilton.
    The season isn't completely lost because we lost three offensive starters. Was it bad that they got hurt, yes. Will they be missed, you bet. But there is nothing we can do about so the "Next Man Up" will determine our season. Plus we have Luck. If Luck goes down, the season is over. Luck will work with what he has, plus Luck to Fleener and Luck to Whalen can be something great to hear this year them doing that at Stanford together.
  21. Caleb3502
    After Peyton Manning's outrageous performance over the Ravens, I began to question if I would rather have Luck put up over 400 yards passing and 7 touchdown passes, or have him throw for 300 yards, 3 TDs, and Ballard and Bradshaw combine for 150+ yards. I think I would rather have the second choice. I started to think about though how one dimensional the Broncos offense was in that game. The Broncos only had around 60 yards rushing. Against the Raiders, I hope the Colts can put around 150, unlikely so I'm shooting for 100 yards rushing. If NFL defenses actually figure out the Broncos passing attack, they could be in trouble. Montee Ball was a Heisman finalist two years ago but he is not yet ready to be an elite runningback, neither is Ronnie Hillman or Knowshon Moreno.
    So what do you think? Would you rather have Luck put up Manning's Week 1 numbers or have a balanced offensive attack?
  22. Caleb3502
    Another great preseason win by our Colts, who beat the Browns 27-6. It's not only offense that has been impressing recently, but our defense as well, even the backup defense. Our first team have been outplaying the other team's first team as well. Even against the Bills we held the lead and looked pretty good on defense when we had our starters out there. Our first teamers this week allowed no points at all and a turnover. Greg Toler is looking really good. He had an interception against the Giants and now a forced fumble this week against the Browns. I think our running game looked better this week. We had some nice gains but also had some negative yard rushes but in the end it was all positive yardage. Let's break down each category:
    Quarterback
    Andrew Luck looked really good against the Browns minus the interception off the hands of Havili. Luck was 16 of 25, 164 yard, 2 TD, and 1 INT with a passer rating of 92.8. Luck was accurate against the Browns with a completion percentage of 64%. Brandon Weeden was 12 of 25, 112 yards, 0 TD, and 0 INT with a passer rating of 60.8. Weeden's completion percentage was 48%. Luck outplayed Weeden in every statistical category except interceptions. For the backups, it was evenly played but Campbell had more attempts, yards, and completions but had a similar passer rating to Hasselbeck. Jason Campbell was 8 of 14 for 112 yards, 0 TD, and 0 INT with a passer rating of 83.1. Matt Hasselbeck was 5 of 9 for 59 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions and had a passer rating of 75.8. Harnish didn't really play at all. He was taking snaps but was only handing the ball off the Kerwynn Williams. Brian Hoyer of the Browns did not look good and was 2 of 4 for 11 yards and had 0 TD but 1 INT. I think Hoyer's passer rating was along the lines of a 0.0 rating. The Colts win this category due to the strong performance by Luck.
    Runningbacks
    The Colts actually handedly won this category. Vick Ballard had 10 carries for 33 yards. Donald Brown had 5 carries for 35 yards with a 22-yard run. Kerwynn Williams had 37 yards on 9 carries with a 27-yard run. Davin Meggett had 3 carries for 20 yards. If you want to include non-runningbacks, Andrew Luck had 4 carries for 20 yards and DHB had a 6-yard run on an end-around. The Colts totaled up 149 yards rushing and a team rushing average of 4.4. The Browns had 90 yards less rushing than the Colts. Trent Richardson had 7 carries for 31 yards. Chris Ogbonnaya had 1 carry for 4 yards. Brandon Jackson had 5 carries for 8 yards. Brandon Weeden also had 1 carry for 5 yards and Jamaine Cook had 2 carries for 11 yards. The Browns only had 49 yards rushing and a team rushing average of 3.7. The Browns did not run the ball much but the Colts did so that is why they had a lot more yards. Plus, when we ran the ball, we got more yards. The Colts win this category easily.
    Receiving
    The Colts receivers looked good catching passes but the Browns receivers did not. Reggie Wayne had 7 catches for 79 yards. Darrius Heyward-Bey had 3 catches for 33 yards. T.Y. Hilton had 2 catches for 19 yards and a touchdown. Stanley Havili had 2 catches for 18 yards and a touchdown. Griff Whalen had 4 catches for 57 yards and a 28-yard catch. Dominique Jones had 1 catch for 13 yards. Vick Ballard had 1 catch for 4 yards and Robert Hughes had 1 catch for 2 yards. The Browns had a lot of dropped passes. Cordell Robertson had 2 catches for 34 yards. Josh Gordon had 2 catches for 24 yards. Greg Little had 3 catches for 28 yards. Josh Cooper had 2 catches for 16 yards. Jordan Cameron had 2 catches for 7 yards. Trent Richardson had a 10 yard catch and Owen Merecic had a 15 yard catch but fell down catching it and gained most of the yards after getting up. There were a few other receivers that caught passes for the Browns but it is not necessary to name them. The Colts win this category with the productivity of there starting wide receivers.
    Offensive Line
    The Colts offensive line looked really decent. They opened up a lot of holes for the runningbacks on offense and did not allow a lot of sacks. Paul Kruger had the only sack for the Browns but they were credited with a team sack when Hasselbeck fumble it and landed on it. Andrew Luck looked comfortable in the pocket and was only hit a few times. The Browns offensive line allowed three sacks and did not open a lot of running holes for Trent Richardson and especially Brandon Jackson. Hugh Thornton looked good in his first NFL game and ever pancaked a Brown's player. I know they were playing the Browns, but the Cols offensive line looked good and actually won this category.
    Defense
    The Colts defense has not allowed 1 TD the past two games. The starters did not allow any points at all yesterday and forced a turnover. Weeden had a scoring drive on 5 of 6 drives this preseason. Against the Colts, he had six drives that resulted in no points. Greg Toler forced a fumble and then recovered it. LaRon Landry played his first game with the Colts and had three tackles. Pat Angerer came back from injury and also made three tackles. Mario Harvey led the team in tackles with 5 and had a sack. Caesar Rayford was unstoppable again with two sacks and a forced fumble. Rayford is pretty much a shoe-in for a roster spot. Larry Asante had a 48-yard interception for a touchdown. Asante might be able to add more depth at the safety position. Not much happened for the Browns defense. They allowed 20 points and allowed twice as many first downs than the Colts' defense. The Colts' defense allowed 13 first downs. The Browns' defense allowed 26 first downs. Paul Kruger had sack and Tashaun Gipson had an interception off the hands of Stanley Havili on the Browns' 2-yard line. The Colts defense is looking better and better every week and I would be surprised if the defense does not do better than last year. Obviously, the Colts win this category.
    Special Teams
    Kick returning looked good for the Colts. Kerwynn Williams had 1 return for 39 yards to start the game off and recently acquired WR David Reed had a 27-yard return. CB Johnson Badermosi of the Browns had 3 returns for 24 yards, which means he averaged 8 yards per return. So kickoff coverage was excellent this week. Marshay Green had a great punt return for the Colts. He caught the punt at the IND 15 and took it to the CLE 47 on a 38-yard punt return. The Browns did not have a punt return in the game. Adam Vinatieri was 2 for 2 on field goals and Shayne Graham was also 2 for 2 on field goals. Punting was really similar. Pat McAfee had 5 punts for a 36.2 yard average but had 3 inside the 20. Spencer Lanning for the Browns had 7 punts for a 39.6 average and had 2 inside the 20. Special Teams was pretty much even so I say this one ended in a tie.
    So, the Colts pretty much won every category and tied in one category. The Colts offense looked goo and so did the defense but they were also playing the Browns. Then again, they played similarly against the Giants but this week we were running the ball well. So the Colts are now 2-1 in preseason and will finish it up at Cincinnati in Week 4. The starters might play one drive but it will be almost entirely backups playing the whole game. A great win for the Colts and hopefully they carry this over into the regular season.
  23. Caleb3502
    Now I know a lot of people don't pay any attention to Bleacher Report due to their stupidity, but they struck again. Yesterday on Bleacher Report they were listing the "Off-Season Awards" such as "Best Off Season", "Best Free Agent", "Worst Free Agent", "Worst Off- Season, etc. So when the award for "Worst Off Season" came around it listed the Colts. How can they have the worst off season out of all 32 NFL Teams that still includes the Jaguars and Jets. They said that the Colts got poor free agents and did horrible in the draft. They said that the draft grade for the Colts is a C+ only because of Björn Werner, and they think we should use him as a 3-4 end. He is only 266 pounds. You need to be 300+ pounds to play a 3-4 lineman. Now I see where they are going with this but all of the free agent have a potential to help this team:
    Free Agents/Traded For
    S LaRon Landry
    They say that LaRon Landry is injured all the time and is inconsistent. The first three seasons of his career he played 47 out of the possible 48 games. He was a Pro Bowl caliber player until is injury in Week 10 of 2010 when he injured his Achilles tendon. He had already played a decent season through 9 games notching 85 tackles with 1 sack and 1 pick. He only played 8 games in 2011 because his Achilles tendon and a groin injury. So the Redskins released him after the two injury-plagued seasons. But, players can come back from these types of injury thanks to advanced medical surgeries. So the Jets decided to take a chance on him for a 1 year, 3.5 million dollar contract. What did they get in return, 100 tackles, four forced fumbles, two interceptions, eight passes deflected, and a Pro Bowl Selection all from LaRon Landry. He also played a full season last year showing he is still capable of it. They say the contract was outrageous considering his medical history. 4 years for 6 million dollars per year for a 28 year-old-player is not that bad if he doesn't become what happened to Bob Sanders.
    T Gosder Cherilus
    They say that Gosder Cherilus has injury issues and inconsistent. He has started 32 of the 32 possible games the last two years. He has played his whole career with the Lions. As far as pass blocking goes, he is one of the best. He was #20 in the league with a pass blocking efficiency of 95.5. He had 542 pass block snaps and had 31 total pressures allowed. Anthony Castonzo was 49th in the league with a pass blocking efficiency rating of 93.5. Winston Justice last year was 32nd in pass blocking efficiency and missed four games to injury. So Cherilus is an improvement over Justice plus Cherilus is tall at 6' 7'', an inch taller than Justice. Here is the performance by week of Justice and Cherilus last season: NO PROMOTIONAL POSTING ON THE SITE2013-articles/march/josh-boeke.html So even if the Colts paid him a big contract at 5 years 34.5 million, if he performs like last year, Andrew is going to see the ground a lot less.
    CB Greg Toler
    Greg Toler actually has been injured a lot. He missed the entire 2011 season due to a torn ACL and was injured last season. But, when healthy, he is very good. In his last healthy season when he started 13 games in 2010, he had 90 tackles, two picks, and allowed only 55 catches on 95 targets. Toler has good speed with a 4.45 40 time and does not allow a lot of receptions. Toler signed a three year, 15 million dollar contract, which is a little high for a player who was injured the last two years. But, if he plays like he did in 2010, the contract will be worth it and him in Davis should become a great cornerback tandem.
    NT Aubrayo Franklin
    The Colts signed the 10-year veteran to add depth at nose tackle and to help stop the run, which is what Franklin is good at. The 32-year-old played for the Chargers last year and notched 20 tackles. Played in 12 games last year for the Chargers while starting 9. Franklin, if anything, can teach Josh Chapman how to play the position and make him into a successful nose tackle.
    DE Ricky Jean-Francois
    Another interesting free agency addition to the defensive line. RJF has played in all 48 games the last three seasons with the 49ers, but has only started five. The 26-year-old fifth year player is looking for a established starting role. The Colts need another DE opposite Cory Redding, so they signed RJF to a 4 year, 22 million dollar contract. This may seem like a lot for a player who was never an established starter but has the potential to anchor this Colts' defensive line. I like the addition of RJF but I wish they could have gotten him for a little cheaper price. This was one of the things Bleacher Report pointed out but RJF will prove them wrong and earn that contract.
    QB Matt Hasselbeck
    Hasselbeck will probably never play a regular season game for the Colts, but that wasn't why he was brought in. The 37-year-old 15th year player was brought in to mentor Luck. Hasselbeck has the experience and knowledge, he was been through tough seasons, he has been to the Super Bowl, and has been through stupid mistakes. Hasselbeck can teach Luck how to avoid the errors he made in his career and help Luck go to the Super Bowl and actually win it, which Hasselbeck has never done. The Colts signed him for 2 years, 8 million dollars. This may sound like too much money for a backup, but it is the price we will pay for another championship brought to Indianapolis.
    OLB Erik Walden
    Erik Walden is not the most exciting free agent signing, but could be a good player with Werner. He has played 31 out of 32 possible games the last two years. Good size for a linebacker at 6'2'' 250 pounds. His 40 time was 4.72 seconds. Dwight Freeney was clocked at 4.48 seconds but that was 11 years ago, so he has slowed down since then. Walden has 106 tackles his last two years and 6 sacks. Not the most impressive stat line but if he rotates with Werner the two of them can be good. Walden signed a four year, 16 million dollar contract, which is a little high but he has the potential to earn that contract. If he doesn't work we have Björn Werner and Lawrence Sidbury, which leads to my next review.
    OLB Lawrence Sidbury
    This was an interesting signing, mainly the signing was for potential. Sidbury has only 17 career tackles and 5 career sacks. But, 2011 was when he had four of the five sacks but only had one tackle of all of last year and no sacks. So why would we sign him. Well, it was only a 1 year, $780,000 contract. Grigson wanted to see if Sidbury can excel as a situational pass rusher but not as a starter. This is not a bad signing if you just want him to be a situational guy. If he was replacing Freeney, then this might have been a bad idea.
    ILB Kelvin Sheppard
    Sheppard came to the Colts via trade with the Bills that finally ended the Jerry Hughes era. The Colts got the better end of the deal. In two seasons with the Bills, Sheppard had 150 tackles and two sacks. He is coming off a 2012 season where he had 80 tackles, 2 sacks, played in all 16 games and started 15 games. There is not much to say about Jerry Hughes. All Colts' fans are well aware of him. In 3 seasons with the Colts, Hughes had 5 sacks and 62 tackles. It was hard for him playing behind Hall of Famers Freeney & Mathis, but he was not fit for the 4-3 defense as a DE. He was meant to be a 3-4 OLB. Even though he was surprisingly able to get four sacks in 2012, it wasn't enough for the Colts to keep him. Sheppard now joins a Colts' Line backing Core that is stronger and more depth than ever.
    G Donald Thomas
    The Colts brought in Donald Thomas with the never ending pursuit for better blocking from the offensive line. Thomas can make a decent starter or even add depth at backup. Donald Thomas played in all 16 games last year for the Patriots and started 7 games. Thomas will most likely play Left Guard with a 4 year, 14 million dollar contract. Any player is better than the lineman we had last year.
    FB Stanley Havili
    Havili was brought here via trade by Grigson, who has done well with trades. Havili was traded to the Colts for DE Clifton Geathers, who the Colts did not need with the depth in the defensive line. Havili is someone who the Colts need and haven't had in a while, a fullback. Havili is a well rounded fullback at 6 feet, 245 lb. Havili is much needed in the new offensive scheme run by offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton which is a version of the West Coast Offense. In the West Coast Offense, running is a key element. The Colts did a lot of improvement with pass protection, now they got improvement with run blocking, which the Colts have lacked since Addai's back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2006 and 2007. Havili will be a key component in the development in this offense and was a good pickup via trade.
    WR Darrius Heyward-Bey
    A lot of Raiders' fans would say he is our issue now, but Colts' fans will be saying he is our deep threat now. Heyward-Bey has had problems catching passes. In his rookie year, his drop rate was 35.7%. But, the past two years it has been reduced tremendously. It went down to 8.6% in 2011 and 12.8% in 2012, which is better than Donnie Avery's drop rate. Plus, Heyward-Bey is even faster than Avery. Avery ran a 4.34 40 time at his Pro Day. Heyward-Bey ran a 4.25 40 time at the NFL Combine. The last two years he was 105 catches, 1,581 yards, and 9 touchdowns. Heyward-Bey signed a 1 year, 2.5 million dollar contract. If Heyward-Bey can meet expectations and have a great season like he did in 2011, he will get resigned and the contract will pay off.
    HB Ahmad Bradshaw
    This is probably my favorite signing of the off season. Bradshaw got released coming off a 1,000-yard season due to the emergence of 1st round pick David Wilson. The only problem was his foot injury he sustained last year and is keeping him on the PUP list. Bradshaw will most likely get taken off the list by Week 1. He does not to play in preseason so that will give him a month to let his foot heal even more. Bradshaw brings something to the Colts that they were in desperate need of, pass protection. Bradshaw is a very good pass protector and a very good all around running back who will have an immediate impact on the Colts. The Colts signed him to a 1 year, 2 million dollar contract and can become the feature back if he does well this year. The worst he can do is 1,000 yards IMO.
    Note: Part 2 will talk about how the Colts' draft class in 2013 will not be a C+ grade but a B+ or higher. And once again, Bleacher Report is always wrong about our Colts.
  24. Caleb3502
    Offense Stats
    Passing
    Andrew Luck 588 Att 390 Comp 4, 680 Yards 31 TD 12 INT 66% Completion Percentage
    Rushing
    Ahmad Bradshaw 255 Carries 1071 Yards 4.2 Yards per Carry Avg 7 TD
    Vick Ballard 188 Carries 827 Yards 4.4 Yards per Carry Avg 5 TD
    Kerwynn Williams 45 Carries 180 Yards 4 Yards per Carry Avg 1 TD
    Andrew Luck 32 Carries 170 Yards 5.3 Yards per Carry Avg 3 TD
    Stanley Havili 27 Carries 90 Yards 3.3 Yards per Carry Avg 2 TD
    Receiving
    Reggie Wayne 95 Catches 1,185 Yards 12.5 Yards per Rec 9 TD
    Darrius Heyward-Bey 70 Catches 935 Yards 13.4 Yards per Rec 7 TD
    T.Y. Hilton 60 Catches 917 Yards 15.3 Yards per Rec 6 TD
    Coby Fleener 46 Catches 738 Yards 16 Yards per Rec 3 TD
    Dwayne Allen 42 Catches 532 Yards 12.7 Yards per Rec 3 TD
    Griff Whalen 35 Catches 427 Yards 12.2 Yards per Rec 1 TD
    LaVon Brazil 20 Catches 340 Yards 17 Yards per Rec 1 TD
    Ahmad Bradshaw 15 Catches 170 Yards 11.3 Yards per Rec 1 TD
    Vick Ballard 6 Catches 63 Yards 10.5 Yards per Rec 0 TD
  25. Caleb3502
    There is one major question we need to be answered. Who is the season starter: Bradshaw or Richardson. Bradshaw will most likely start the next game but moving forward who will start the first series of the game or tried to be featured more. We gave the Browns a 1st round pick for Trent Richardson and you would assume that be would become the starter but Bradshaw makes a very good argument for how he has been running this season, especially against the 49ers. Let's break down the two backs:
    Ahmad Bradshaw
    Bradshaw was running "angry" at the 49ers defense and was a hard force to bring down. Bradshaw had 19 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers. He had more yards against the 49ers than he had through the first two games (91 yards, 1 TD). So Bradshaw so far this year has 186 yards rushing, 2 TDs, and a 4.5 yards per carry average. Bradshaw is also a very good pass-blocking runningback and has looked good when Luck throws the ball to him. Bradshaw is a power runningback at 5'10 214 lb. but can be elusive and breaks tackles in the open field.
    Trent Richardson
    Richardson scored on his first carry as an Indianapolis Colt on a 1-yard run. He had 13 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers. He might have had a measly 2.7 yards per carry average, but most of his runs were punishing and only got a few yards because of how the defense played against the lineman. But, what I saw from that was he was powering through the defense for a few yards and tired them. When, Bradshaw came on, they were too tired to stop him easily. Trent Richardson can tire a defense at 5'9'' 225 lb. and help set up the pass and even more runs.
    I think Bradshaw will be the starter for now. Richardson is going to probably be the franchise back even though Ballard should be back next year. Bradshaw has the momentum right now and has the most to prove. I know our team will be using a 1-2 punch this year with Richardson and Bradshaw but Bradshaw will get more touches. I know Richardson wasn't exactly prepared and well-rested going into the game which is why he saw limited carries. Even so, Bradshaw is probably going to get the more touches because he was here longer and has the upper edge.
    Another interesting thing is the use of Donald Brown. We will never be the starter this year unless they are injured but he adds a nice element to the run game. Bradshaw and Richardson are power backs, but Brown is more of an elusive back who does not rely on powering through defenders but trying to run around. Brown did a decent job yesterday with 3 carries for 27 yards. If he can occasionally come in and run past the defense after they were worn out by Bradshaw and Richardson, our running game will be even better. Luck is going to have fun throwing over a defense that is too tired after the effects of the running game.
×
×
  • Create New...