Indianapolis Colts

Owner: Jim Irsay
Founded: 1944
Stadium: Lucas Oil Stadium
2010 record: 10-6
Last playoff appearance: 2010, 10-6, AFC South Champs, L17-16 NYJ
General Manager: Bill Polian, Chris Polian
Head Coach: Jim Caldwell (2009 – current, 24-8)
Offensive Coordinator: Tom Moore (Sr Off Asst), Clyde Christensen (Off Coord)
Defensive Coordinator: Larry Coyer
Defensive alignment: 4-3
2010 NFL Rankings:
OFF: 27.2 PTS (4th)          380.8 YDS (4th)                  288.1 PASS (1st)                92.7 RUSH (29th)
DEF: 24.2 PTS (23rd)        341.6 YDS (20th)               214.6 PASS (13th)             127.0 RUSH (25th)
Pro Bowlers: Peyton Manning QB, Reggie Wayne WR, Jeff Saturday C, Dwight Freeney DE, Robert Mathis DE
2011 schedule:
  1 Sep 11 at Texans 1:00 PM Tickets
2 Sep 18 vs. Browns 1:00 PM Tickets
3 Sep 25 vs. Steelers 8:20 PM Tickets
4 Oct 03 at Buccaneers 8:30 PM Tickets
5 Oct 09 vs. Chiefs 1:00 PM Tickets
6 Oct 16 at Bengals 1:00 PM Tickets
7 Oct 23 at Saints 8:20 PM Tickets
8 Oct 30 at Titans 1:00 PM Tickets
9 Nov 06 vs. Falcons 1:00 PM Tickets
10 Nov 13 vs. Jaguars 1:00 PM Tickets
11 Bye
12 Nov 27 vs. Panthers 1:00 PM Tickets
13 Dec 04 at Patriots 8:20 PM Tickets
14 Dec 11 at Ravens 1:00 PM Tickets
15 Dec 18 vs. Titans 1:00 PM Tickets
16 Dec 22 vs. Texans 8:20 PM Tickets
17 Jan 01 at Jaguars 1:00 PM Tickets

TEAM NEEDS: re-sign Manning

Potential Free Agents:
Peyton Manning QB – re-signed – 5 yrs, 90 million
Joseph Addai RB – re-signed -
Dominic Rhodes RB
Keyunta Dawson DE
Antonio Johnson DT – re-signed
Tyjuan Hagler OLB
Ken Hamlin FS
Melvin Bullitt SS – re-signed – 3 yrs
Aaron Francisco SS
Adam Vinatieri K – re-signed – 3 yrs

Free agent acquisitions:
Jamaal Anderson DE (Falcons) – 1 yr, 1.3 million
Tommie Harris DT (Bears)
Ernie Sims LB (Eagles)

Free agent losses:
Charlie Johnson OT – signed with Vikings
Daniel Muir DT – signed by Rams
Clint Session OLB – Signed by Jaguars
Kelvin Hayden CB
Bob Sanders S – signed by Chargers

Picks in 2011 NFL Draft: (overall draft grade: A+): Wow. Is it just me or did the Colts do an amazing job of finding value and players of need in their 2011 NFL draft class? What a tremendous draft they had in getting two offensive linemen, which was most definitely their biggest need. I had Anthony Castonzo as the draft’s second best offensive tackle behind Tyron Smith. I can really see this draft class making a huge impact on the Colts’ future, which is fortunate for them since their roster was starting to slide. Joseph Addai may not be back, so Delone Carter is another excellent selection. He’ll provide some power on the ground. Defensive tackle has been a need for quite a while, so it was a relief for Colts fans to see Drake Nevis taken.

(! Indicates draft pick who was interviewed, had a private workout, etc. prior to the draft according to my compiled list):
Rd 1, Pick 22 (22) Anthony Castonzo OT, Boston College – Great news for Peyton Manning. He gets a legit blindside protector. Castonzo only needed to get stronger and a little better in the run game, but the Colts didn’t take him for those reasons. He’s ready to pass protect and I expect him to be the starting left tackle on the Colts in the fall.
Grade: A+           Rated: 13

Rd 2, Pick 17 (49) Ben Ijalana OL, Villanova – Ben Ijalana OG, Villanova – More upgrades to the line for the Colts. Manning could be lethal behind this new, better line.
Grade: A              Rated: 44

Rd 3, Pick 23 (87) Drake Nevis DT, LSU – this is a very good pick for the Colts. They needed improvement at defensive tackle. Nevis is coming off a strong senior season.
Grade: A              Rated: 50

Rd 4, Pick 22 (119) Delone Carter RB, Syracuse – The Colts running game struggled again, not that it matters though. I like this pick. Carter should have been a top 100 pick.
Grade: A              Rated: 99

Rd 6, Pick 23 (188) Chris Rucker DB, Michigan State – character concerns with guy, but this is good value because I had him down on my board due to those concerns. He’s a big corner that has speed and physicality and could be a surprise.
Grade: A              Rated: 151

2010 Colts Draft review:
Polian said in his pre-draft press conference, that they were going to take the best player available, regardless of position. He said they were more willing to move down rather than move up (stating a lack of ammunition, or picks, in order to move up). Polian didn’t say how many players were on his board, but said that it usually ranges from 115-135 draftable guys. Houston’s Rick Smith, Baltimore’s Ozzie Newsome, Rich McKay, Matt Millen, and Bill Polian were on the competition committee when the Commissioner queried them about a three day draft. There’s never any uncertainty or emotion in the draft room. You have to have plans, even if you just go best available player. Pre-draft radio spot: Polian has been in the business for so long that his network of people that he knows is massive. That network is important for finding out about prospects’ character, heart, toughness, etc. Polian’s thoughts prior to the draft were that the offensive line class was weak (perhaps they missed on the evaluation of Indiana’s Roger Saffold). Tom Telesco and Chris Polian helped set up the draft board. Post First Round press conference: Jerry Hughes filled the role of the third rusher that they’d been searching for for years. Hughes was the last of the first round rated players on their board. Post-draft press conference: Polian compared Pat Angerer to Gary Brackett and Kavell Conner to Clint Session.

Rd 1, Pick 31 (31)              Jerry Hughes DE, TCU – 12 games, 6 TCK

Rd 2, Pick 31 (63)              Pat Angerer LB, Iowa – 16 games, 11 starts, 88 TCK, 1 SCK, 2 PD, 1 FF

Rd 3, Pick 30 (94)              Kevin Thomas CB, USC – IR

Rd 4, Pick 31 (129)            Jacques McClendon OG, Tennessee – 4 games

Rd 5, Pick 31 (162)            Brody Eldridge TE, Oklahoma – 14 games, 8 starts, 5 REC, 39 YDS, 7.8 AVG, 10 LNG

Rd 7, Pick 31 (238)            Ricardo Mathews DT, Cincinnati – 8 games, 1 TCK

Rd 7, Pick 33 (240)            Kavell Conner OLB, Clemson – 12 games, 9 starts, 57 TCK, 1 FF

Rd 7, Pick 39 (246)            Ray Fisher DB, Indiana – waived in final cuts, now with CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos

Looking back at my grades for the 2010 Colts draft class: I poked fun at Bill Polian for blaming the offensive line and special teams only for the Super Bowl loss in my evaluation of their draft, but only because no blame went to Peyton when clearly, he and nobody were willing to admit that he had a hand in the loss. Anyways, I gave the class a B- grade. Jerry Hughes (A) was great value, but Polian has said during the 2010 season that he regretted not taking offensive tackle Roger Saffold instead. Saffold became the starter at left tackle for the Rams. I had Angerer (C) as a fifth round pick, McClendon (D), and Eldridge (D+) as free agent players. If not for Hughes and a three solid final picks with Matthews (B), Conner (A), and Fisher (B), the draft would’ve been given a C grade. We saw that Angerer definitely deserves a B+ grade, but other than him, there’s no other changes needed. The B- grade remains.

First Rounders From Last Five Years: Jerry Hughes DE, Donald Brown RB, Anthony Gonzalez WR, Joseph Addai RB

2010 Stat Leaders
Peyton Manning  450-679  66.3%  4700 YDS  6.9 YPA  33 TD  17 INT  91.9 RTG

Donald Brown 129 ATT  497 YDS  3.9 YPA  49 LNG  2 TD

Reggie Wayne  111 REC  1355 YDS  12.2 YPC  50 LNG  6 TD

Adam Vinatieri  26-28  92.9%  48 LNG

Antoine Bethea  106 TCK

Robert Mathis 11 SCK

Kelvin Hayden, Jerraud Powers, Aaron Francisco  2 INT

Out of Season Storylines (Because there is no offseason)