not a fan of brad wells, but...........

[unitaswestand]

A word if I could about Mandarich.

Recognizing that you folks followed his career much more closely than I did -- he was, after all, a Colt for several years...

But, while noting that over all his career was mostly a bust, I think he's viewed by outside observers (meaning football people) as having had some decent years when he played guard and not tackle. Think he played guard for the Colts. I'm not saying he was All-Pro or Pro Bowl, but I don't think he was a liability in what he was asked to do. Think he was pretty decent.

Put another way, if his name wasn't Tony Mandarich, and it was something else -- almost anyone else -- I think many would say Mandarich was a decent player and perhaps the equal of Mike McGlynn...

Just thinking out loud..... I could be wrong on this.... and I'm sure someone will step up and say so if need be....

Tony Mandarich was very good with the Colts. In fact, his last year I predicted to a friend he would make the Pro Bowl as a guard. But then he got hurt. But to give you an idea of how much better he got with the Colts versus the Packers, there is a game in like 1997 where Mandarich played right tackle and lined up against Reggie White. If you remember, White is the one who threw him around when he was with the Packers. Mandarich absolutely nullified him in that game. He was a very good player with the Colts and I was bummed when the shoulder injury forced him out.