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Colts Pulse
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Colts 2014 Preview |
The Colts enter 2014 looking to win the AFC South for a third straight year, and make a run deep into the playoffs. With Drew Brees announcing that he was likely to retire after this season, the pressure is on to make a run now. If they do so, it will be against increasingly tough competition in the division. Last season was one of unfulfilled promise as the defense finally gelled and finished near the top in almost all categories, but the offense struggled, despite trades that brought in veteran talent. This season saw a definite youth movement on offense. It remains to be seen if the youngsters can bring something that the veterans couldn't last season.
QB:
Brees returns to lead the team, with another new feature back, and a younger reworked receiving corps. Last season was a down year for Brees, as he only passed for 2600 yards with 21 TDs and 13 INTs. He looks to go out a winner though, and return to his pro bowl form of 2012 when he broke 4000 yards and had 33 TDs. Backing him up once again is former starter Nate Longshore. Quickly reaching the end of his career, he should still be able to step in in case of injury and keep the team competitive.
HB/FB:
After the failed experiment that was Chris Johnson last season, (He averaged under 3 yards a carry, and did not provide any of the big plays the team was hoping for) the team picked up former Saint Donald Brown in the off-season and traded to get former starter Kevin Smith from the Chargers. Brown has never had more than 61 carries in a season, but shows promise. Smith is familiar with the system and should be able to step in if Brown falters or is injured. This is the 4th straight season with a new HB for the Colts, and the team is hoping that this will be the last change for a while. The team's new FB is last year's 6th round pick, Marquez Branson. A bigger player than former starter, Brian Leonard, Branson tests out better across the board in most aspects, including blocking. He spent his rookie season in Canada learning the trade and trying to adjust from his position as a college TE. He looks ready to go this season and should step into the position seamlessly.
WR:
The Colts will be going back to the lineup that worked well at the beginning of last season with Mike Wallace as the top WR, and Roddy White starting opposite him. Last season Wallace started hot, but the trade for Deion Branch moved him to the slot, where he was able to only show flashes of his ability. All of the receivers had down years last season, with White failing to break 1000 yards for only the second time in his career, and only collecting 5 TDs, though he did still account for ovr 1400 all purpose yards. Wallace was near the top of the league in receptions with 24 when the team made the trade for Branch last season after four games. He only managed 16 catches the rest of the year, though he did have one breakout game against the Titans in the slot. The new addition this season will be Jacoby Ford out of Clemson. A track star, and one of the fastest players available in the draft, the Colts were happy to see him available at the end of the first with their second pick. Ford is a smaller receiver at 5'9" 186 lbs, but has blazing speed and can return kicks. The Colts are going to try to move to more 3 WR sets to take advantage of their speed advantage over opposing defenses with White and Ford on the field.
TE:
Another position changing for the second straight season. Two years ago, Brent Celek was coming off one of the best seasons for a Colts TE ever. He was lost in FA, and the team brought in Jermichael Finley. Unlike the Branch move, this one could hardly be called a bust as Finley nearly equaled Celeks numbers from the previous season, even in a down year for the passing game. This season, the Colts quickly snatched up TE Dorin Dickerson out of Pitt with their first pick in the draft. A supremely gifted athlete as a TE, the 22 year old should be able to thrive in the Colts TE-friendly offense. A surprisingly good blocker for his size, Dickerson should be able to step into the starting TE role with little or no dropoff. Backing him up is the always bridesmaid Tom Santi. Santi is still young, and would be a solid starter on quite a few teams, Santi has provided a reliable second TE for the Colts for a long time, and is ready to step up anytime needed.
OL:
The line from lat season remains intact for the most part, the only change being the departure of last year's rookie LG T.J. Lang. Lang performed exceptionally well for a rookie in a tough spot, but should have an adequate replacement in former 4th round pick Cedric Dockery. Dockery was in a training camp battle with Lang last season which coaches admitted was a dead heat. Lang won the position on the basis of his younger age, but Dockery improved all season, and now gets his shot to hold the position down. The remainder of the front will remain the same, though perhaps only for one more season. Three of the Colts starters are in the final year of their deals, including LT Max Starks, RT D'Brickshaw Ferguson, and RG Brandyn Dombrowski. The Colts are currently trying to lock them all up to long term deals, but negotiations will probably continue through the season.
DL:
The Colts will continue to run a 3-4 defense, with Jamaal Anderson and Dre Moore manning the DE spots. Anderson continued his superior play last season with 17 sacks, which would be a great season for a 4-3 DE, much less a 3-4 end. Dre Moore continued his solid play on the other side and collected 4 sacks and got solid penetration, despite drawing a lot of extra help from the blockers. The DT position will fall to 3rd year player Kade Weston who should bring more pass rushing ability to the position. If he cannot hold the point, then the Colts can turn to Kory Robinson, who doesn't possess the good footwork of Weston, but provides the team with an incredibly strong player.
LBs:
No changes to the LB corps this season. Last year, Geno Hayes and Will Witherspoon were the stars, with Hayes collecting 17 sacks and 12 tackles for loss, and Witherspoon working for 91 tackles, 17 behind the line, and also nearly doubling his career INT total with 8 picks. Because of Witherspoon's play, MLB Cody Brown will remain in Canada for at least one more season. Rory Johnson and Patrick Willis both had solid seasons, but lost numbers due to the play of their fellow LBs. This is the strength of the team, and is equally good against the run and the pass. Provided Witherspoon doesn't begin to show his age, they should continue to anchor one of the best defenses in the league again this season.
CBs:
Only one change here from last season. The starters remain the same with Dejuan Tribble and his 26 career INTs in five seasons manning one side, and in season acquisition Kelly Jennings manning the other after collecting 7 picks himself. Gone is long time nickleback Jason David, who had manned the nickle spot for the past 4 years, and had been a career Colt. Into his spot comes Michael Ray Garvin, a speedster out of Florida State who will get first crack at replacing the fan favorite. The CBs for the Colts are all good tacklers and tend to take chances, so they do get burned on occasion, but the big plays they create usually make up for the occasional big play the other way.
S:
No changes this season at either safety position. Thomas Decoud, who suffered through an injury riddled season last year after his breakout in 2012, returns to man the SS spot. He hopes to return to the form that got him 9 INTs and nearly 90 tackles two seasons ago. Jamarca Sanford has been a very consistent player for the team since taking over for Bob Sanders. Not a ballhawk, he follows his predecessor as a big hitter and solid tackler who can get after both receivers and ballcarriers.
Special Teams:
No changes to either player here. Michael Hughes returns for his 5th year as the Colts Punter, and has established himself as one of the best in the league after being voted to his third straight pro bowl for the AFC. Kai Forbath finally showed why the Colts drafted him in the second round four years ago by hitting 34 of 36 FGs last season, and should continue to play well this season. In the preseason he seemed to have lost a few yards off of his kicks, quite unlike the booming kickoffs and long range FGs the team had come to expect out of him. It remains to be seen if this is a cause for concern for the team or simply because he was not yet in football shape. The team has quietly been scouting some FA kickers in case his struggles continue.
Roddy White will finally be replaced on kick and punt returns this year, after being forced into the duty for most of his career due to lack of better options. As mentioned, Jacoby Ford will handle most of the duties, with Michael Ray Garvin also returning kicks and backing up Ford on punt returns. Both have plenty of speed, and should be able to pick up right where Roddy left off with his 2 punt return TDs last season. |
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Forum Discussion
(by Colts on 07/14/2010)
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Replies - 0 :: Views - 18 |
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Colts Midseason Report |
Fans went into the 2013 season expecting good things from this Colts team, who were 11-5 last season and were edged by a FG in the divisional round by eventual AFC Superbowl representative San Diego. And at the season's midway point, the team is living up to expectations at 7-1 despite some struggles.
The season started with a game against a tough Dolphins team, who were more consistent throughout the game, scoring a TD in each quarter, while the Colts only turned it on at the end of each half, with 10 points in the 2nd and 16 points in the 4th quarter to fall just short at 28-26. There were plenty of positives in the game, with Drew Brees being efficient, Chris Johnson running hard in his first shot at a starting job, and some young players doing particularly well. Rookie G TJ Lang out of Eastern Michigan collected 3 pancakes and did not allow a sack, 2nd year WR Mike Wallace out of Ole Miss hauled in 6 reception for 78 yards and a TD, in addition to returning kicks and punts. New addition Will Witherspoon made an impact immediately shoring up the middle of the defense with 6 tackles, including two for a loss. Despite their efforts, the Colts began the season in the hole at 0-1.
Week two took the Colts to Kansas City, who were already struggling mightily out of the gate. The Colts simply dominated this game. Brees connected on nearly 80% of his passes, Johnson picked up 118 yards rushing, and Mike Wallace added another 6 catches for 83 yards. In two instances that would become a theme this season, Geno Hayes collected 2 sacks, and Witherspoon picked off his first pass of the season, one of three on the day for the Colts. The Chiefs would jump out to an early 7-0 lead, but the Colts would rule the last three quarters, pulling away for a 37-14 win.
Next the Colts traveled to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals, and the team began to see a pattern that has emerged over the first part of the season. Namely, that the offense would struggle mightily to consistently move the ball and score, while the defense would bail the offense out with timely turnovers or a short field. Brees was on target again, hitting 65% of his throws, unfortunately, 3 of those were to the Bengals defenders, setting up Bengals scores. Receivers really stepped up in this one, with Wallace dominating again catching 9 for 96 yards, and Roddy White made his first splash of the season with 6 catches for 92 yards and 2 TDs. This game showed one particularly glaring weakness on the Colts defense. Ty Warren, acquired from the Bears in a deal that sent fan favorite Dre Moore out of town, was simply overwhelmed by Charles Spencer. It was at this point that the team got serious about finding a way to reacquire Moore. In the end, the Colts would score just enough to hold off a Bengals comeback and take the win 21-17.
For a team that leads the league in scoring, the offense has definitely not been up to par, and there are few more glaring examples than the Colts next game. In a game where the Colts took the win 33-3, the team barely cracked 300 yards of total offense, the QB had a 47.4 rating, and the HB barely averaged 3 yards a carry. The only offensive standout in this game was TE Jermichael Finley, who had 6 receptions for 114 yards. Kicker Kai Forbath, who had raised his FG% by 17% in his sophomore season from 64 to 81.5% continued his streak of perfection with a 4-4 day. The defense was the star of this game, holding Eagles QB Mark Sanchez to a 9-23, 68 yard, 2 INT day. Hayes collected another sack, Witherspoon got another pick, and the defense would dominate from the opening gun while the offense stumbled along, looking for some kind of consistency.
The trend would not improve in week 5 against the Texans. Once again, the offense was relatively helpless despite the addition of 2nd leading receiver (Behind teammate Roddy White) Deion Branch from the Seahawks, in a large deal that also brought back Dre Moore and new CB Kelly Jennings. The defense was simply stifling, holding Texans QB Jordan Palmer to 103 yards passing, and HB Antone Smith to 29 yards rushing. Early on, the Colts found a glaring weakness on the right side of the Texans offensive line and exploited it ruthlessly with Jamaal Anderson collecting 3 sacks and Geno Hayes getting 4 more for himself. It was often simply a race to see who would get to punish Palmer first as Robert Gallery and Brannan Southerland were turnstiled all day. Offensively, Brees was held to a 9-25 day, fortunately, 2 of his 9 completions were TDs. Johnson was barely able to crack 2 yards a carry on nearly 30 carries. In all an ugly, ugly day that left the home fans booing the offense whenever they took the field, despite the 21-0 final score.
With a week 6 bye, the team tried to work on their offensive consistency, but the efforts did not show in their week 7 game against the Jaguars for the most part. While Chris Johnson had one of his best days in a Colts uniform, with 113 yards on 26 carries, the team again had issues moving the ball down the field. Again, it was the defense coming to the rescue, this time more directly, as CBs Dejuan Tribble and Kelly Jennings both had INT returns for TDs as the Jaguars tried to make up the deficit on the scoreboard. Witherspoon got another interception, and Jamaal Anderson got to Drew Stanton 3 times, while Hayes was held to a single sack. Dre Moore also got a sack in his second game back with the Colts. The game came down to a final drive with time running out tied at 27. For once, the Colts were able to convert for the 34-27 victory and a 5-1 record.
Week 8 brought the third straight divisional game with the Tennessee Titans coming to Indy. The Titans had started quickly with a 4-0 record, but had stubled the previous two weeks and entered at 4-2, but a win in this one would give them a share of the AFC South lead. They came out swinging, determined to get back on track. and raced out to a 10-0 lead with help from the Colts offense who's first drive netted -16 yards on three consecutive sacks, Johnson would also fumble two of his first three carries, and only a long 52 yard FG kept the shell shocked Colts from being shut out in the first quarter. After receiving an impressive tongue lashing between quarters, the team came out in the second quarter and completely turned things around. The offensive line would struggle all day, and it became a race to see what would happen first, a Titans sack or a big play for the offense. Rookie TJ Lang got schooled and gave up 4 sacks on the day. Brees, despite running for his life all day and being pounded for 9 sacks, had the game of his life hitting on 18-27 for 275 yards and 5 TDs. Mike Wallace, moved to the 3rd WR position after the acquisition of Branch, had his first career 100 yard game with 105 yards on only 4 receptions as the offense ran off 41 consecutive points before the Titans got back on the board. After the game began to get ugly, the opportunistic Colts defense came up with 3 more interceptions, including Dejuan Tribble's 51 yard return that capped the scoring as the Colts took this important game 48-17 to take a three game lead in the division with the rematches against the divisional teams coming in the final three weeks of the season.
After their big win, the team could not afford a letdown against the Raiders, who were 3-5, but had been playing tough. The team was similar to the Colts with a strong defense and middling offense. Expecting a tough defensive battle, the game turned into exactly that. The Colts would score first on an early drive on a pass from Brees to Jermichael Finley. Poor punt coverage gave the Raiders a short field on their next two drives, which they converted with FGs to pull within a point. The Raiders then took the lead on a solid drive before the half on a pass from Cullen Harper to Early Doucet to go in at the break up 13-7. Early in the second half, the Colts finally managed to flip the field position by pushing the Raiders back on their opening drive with sacks by Ty Warren, in for the injured Jamaal Anderson and Amobi Akoye. They were unable to immediately take advantage of the improvement, but were able to keep the Raiders from getting the advantage back. Early in the 4th quarter, the Colts finally recaptured the lead on a pass from Brees to Deion Branch after an interception of Harper by Rory Johnson. On the Raiders next drive, Harper again threw it to the wrong team, this time it was Witherspoon collecting his 5th pick of the year. After being unable to convert a first down, Kai Forbath came out and kicked a 50 yard FG to push the lead to 17-13. The Colts had a chance to put the game away late with a 4th and inches on the Raiders 36. Rather than trying the long FG to get a TD lead, the coach decided to go for the first down, but Johnson was stuffed in the backfield. More sacks, this time from Hayes prevented the Raiders from taking advantage, and the Colts were able to hold on to preserve the 17-13 win and a 7-1 record.
Most teams that get out to a start like this, by all rights should be ecstatic. The Colts have plenty of issues to fix in the second half though. The offense has had very few games where they were able to get on track, despite leading the league in scoring at nearly 30 points a game. Drew Brees is having a good year with his TD-INT ratio, which is currently at 15-6, but is averaging less than 200 yards a game passing. Chris Johnson has yet to break any long runs, which should be his forte, and is averaging just over 3 yards a carry, which is about average for a Colts offense. He has also shown a bad tendency to put the ball on the ground with 6 fumbles so far. A couple of pleasant surprises are the Colts top two receivers. Jermichael Finley has proved to be a plenty adequate replacement for Brent Celek, with 41 receptions for 486 yards and 5 TDs. Mike Wallace, last season's first round pick, is second on the team with 29 receptions for 424 yards. He has proven to be adept both in the number one spot and since moving to the slot when Deion Branch arrived. The offensive line is improving, though the guard play has been rather hit or miss, though with the two youngsters manning those spots, struggles are to be expected.
Kai Forbath is exceeding all expectations after hearing the boos since taking over for one of the best of all time in Adam Vinitiari, and is justifying his selection in the second round. He is 14-14 this season and has hit all 27 XPs, while still getting touchbacks on a third of his kickoffs. He's not had it easy either, as about half of his kicks have been from more than 45 yards. Michael Hughes continues to be one of the best punters in the league. The average is down a bit this season at 43.8 yards, but it is still near the top of the league.
The defense has been the best Colts fans have seen in years. The middle manned by ageless Will Witherspoon (49 TAK, 7 TFL, 2 FR, 5 INT) and Patrick WIllis (43 TAK, 12 TFL) is the heart and soul of the defense. This season has been a true breakout year for Geno Hayes (29 TAK, 7TFL, 12 Sacks) who's previous season high was 8 sacks. Jamaal Anderson (15 TAK, 10 Sacks, 2 FF), though now hurt, continues to do what he does best, which is put pressure on opposing QBs. Dejuan Tribble (30 TAK, 3 TFL, 4 INT, 2TD) has been solid his whole career, and continues to find ways to get to the endzone. His two INT returns this season give him 8 already in this, his 5th season. Kelly Jennings (35 TAK, 4TFL, 3INT, 1TD) has been a pleasant surprise since being run out of Seattle. He's shown tight coverage and good ball skills, and helped to solidify the secondary hurt by the trade of CB Justin King in the offseason.
Until the offense finds their rhythm, the defense will continue to have to carry the load. It's a formula that's worked so far, and Colts fans hope it continues working in the second half of the season. |
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Forum Discussion
(by Colts on 03/04/2010)
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Replies - 0 :: Views - 10 |
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Colts draft class |
Round 1 – Pick 27 - LOLB Cody Brown
A bit of a surprise being taken this high, the Colts have Brown projected to move inside to take over Corey McKeon's place if the team is unable to resign him. Not the best LB athlete in the draft, he is one of the steadiest and a solid tackler. A safe, if uninspired pick to fill a need, the Colts are banking on potential with the 22 year old.
Round 2 - Pick 35 - RG T.J. Lang
Another 22 year old player, Lang is a big, strong prospect at the position. With good feet, strength, and speed, he will immediately compete with last year's pick out of Texas, Cedric Dockery to take over as the starter at LG.
Round 2 - Pick 59 - TE John Phillips
With Brent Celek opting to test the waters in free agency, the Colts needed more depth behind Tom Santi at the TE position. The team was praying that Jermaine Gresham would fall to them in the first round, when the Ravens picked him, the Colts knew they could wait a while to get their backup plan. Not a highly rated TE, Phillips fits perfectly into the Colts plans. Big and fast, with good hands, he will provide a nice option in the middle of the field. Not a great blocker, better in the run game than the passing game.
Round 3 - Pick 91 - CB Michael Ray Garvin
One of the more controversial picks for the team, the selection of Garvin was greeted with many questions by draft experts, who pointed out the number of better quality CBs still on the board at this point. It appears to be a pick for his return ability, since the Colts don't have much need at the CB position. As a special teams pick, it's solid, since Garvin has game-breaking speed and acceleration. The Colts have been looking for someone to take the returning duties off of Roddy White's hands for a while now, and are hoping Garvin can finally do that.
Round 4 - Pick 123 - LT Lydon Murtha
One of the most athletic linemen in this year's draft, Murtha has superb feet and has no issues staying in front of pass rushers. He's a very raw player though, and has a tendency to be overpowered by stronger pass rushers. Needs work getting his pads lower in the run game and driving defenders back, but with some developmental time, he should be able to at least provide solid depth in any position on the offensive line.
Round 5 - Pick 155 - ROLB Ashlee Palmer
Palmer will join former college teammate Rory Johnson in the Indianapolis linebacking corps. Palmer started his college career as a safety before dropping down to his outside linebacker spot. He retained a good bit of his speed while bulking up. Not the quickest player, he is a player who gets by on effort more than pure talent.
Round 6 - Pick 187 - FB Marquez Branson
The Colts picked Branson with the intent of moving him from his college position of TE to FB. The colts began using the FB more in the passing game last year when Tom Santi was forced to fill in after Brian Leonard went down last year. Leonard is back, but is in the last year of his deal, so this pick is for development. Branson can take a year to learn his new position and try to take advantage of his good athleticism to become a solid lead blocker.
Round 7 - Pick 219 - QB Jason Boltus
With their last pick, the Colts draft their 7th QB in the past 5 years. Not that they have all been busts, just that the Colts have tended to draft young passers and then use them as trade bait to get other players or picks. Boltus has the arm to play in the league, but definitely needs work on his accuracy. The team will most likely stash him in Canada to develop while Jarrett Brown and Nate Longshore fight for the spot behind Drew Brees |
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Forum Discussion
(by Colts on 12/05/2009)
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Replies - 0 :: Views - 19 |
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Colts Bottle Up Chiefs to Advance |
For a team with an offense near the top of the league and a defense ranked near the bottom of the league, you would expect any Colts playoff game to be a high scoring shootout. But in their first round playoff game against the Chiefs, roles were reversed and it was the defense who won the game. They held the Chiefs to 139 total yards, most of which came on the Chiefs final 80 yard TD drive, and just 6 points, and the offense did just enough, clawing out 16 points against a tough Chiefs defense.
The defense was able to hold the Chiefs to just 4 first downs and they were 1 of 10 on third down. Larry Johnson managed only 30 yards on 18 carries, and Brandon Cox was 9 for 16 with 118 yards.
Offensively, the Colts finally got FB Brian Leonard back from a knee injury, and the Colts were able to get a bit more of a running game going with Kevin Smith having his first 100 yard day since week 10 with an even 100 yards on 30 carries. He also scored the Colts lone TD in the second quarter. Drew Brees was able to keep the ball moving with a 25-41 232 yard performace, marred by 2 INTs. They had no trouble moving the ball up and down the field, as evidenced by the 21 first downs and over 32 minutes of time of possession.
Coach's comments:
Pretty solid game for everybody out there, especially considering how for most of our young players, this is the first time they've been exposed to anything like a playoff atmosphere. We had faced the Chiefs earlier and it was another defensive battle. But we've gotten better since then, and we showed it. It's always nice to shot down a team like that so completely. The defense was really upset about giving up that TD there at the end of the game, they wanted the shutout, and considering that up until that time, we'd held them to about 60 yards up until that drive, it was definitely possible. They were able to hit some big passes though and get down the field. Dre Moore stepped his game up with the two sacks, those were drive killers with the problems KC was having problems getting chunks of yards.
The offense was solid, but not good enough yet, obviously. As well as we were moving the ball, we couldn't get it into the endzone often enough. FGs won't cut it as we move further along. The offensive line did a pretty good job, the run blocking was better than it has been in a while, which was important, since it let us keep the ball moving. Drew didn't have the best day of his life, but was on target most of the day. He spread the ball around really well, hit 6 different receivers, had drops by two others.
Now we'll move on to face another AFC west team. The Chargers are going to be tough. They have a solid run game, and a good passing game. Defensively, they're very solid against the run, about average against the pass, so we should have our chances in the passing game. We've got to slow down McFadden, if they can get the run game working, we'll be in trouble. We get a day or two to enjoy this win, then it's back to work to get ready for next week. Looking forward to it, it's been quite a while since this team went anywhere in the playoffs. |
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Forum Discussion
(by Colts on 11/04/2009)
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Replies - 0 :: Views - 16 |
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Colts season report |
With the regular season over, and the Colts preparing to host the Kansas City Chiefs in the opening round of the playoffs, here's a look back at what's happened this season along the way.
QB Drew Brees was acquired after week 4 and didn't do much but end up with one of the best seasons by a QB in Colts history with this stat line:
| : | | 292-515 4078 yds 33 TD 22 INT 85.9 RTG |
The yardage total is second in Colts history, the TDs are tops. He also ranked at the top of the list for INTs and sacks, but considering the results, the Colts will take it.
Hard to believe considering how low the running game ranked this season, but with his 1,082 yards, Kevin Smith's season ranked as the 4th best season by a Colts runner. His 15 TDs put him in second place behind Joseph Addai's 16 in 2008, and his 68 yard run in Week 10 vs the Jets set a team record.
Lee Evans had one of the best seasons ever by a Colts WR, ranking at the top in yards and TDs, and second in yards after the catch. His 96 yard reception in Week 13 against the Pats is the longest in team history.
Roddy White's season might have been average for him, but still came in ranked #4 all time in yards, #2 in receptions, and #5 in yards after the catch.
Brent Celek simply smashed every TE record on the team. There was no stat that this season didn't dominate by a large margin. He had a huge contract year, and should be in line for a large pay increase.
The only offensive lineman to make the Colts recordbooks was Ben Grubbs, who tied Ryan Lilja for most sacks given up in a season with 15. His Colts tenure will end after one year.
Patrick Willis Broke his own Colts record for tackles in a season with 101, he ranked second all time in tackles for a loss with 20 on the year. The only player with a higher number of TFL was teammate Geno Hayes, who came up with 22 this season.
Jamaal Anderson tied the Colts sack record with 20 on the season, only Dwight Freeney in 2008 had as many. Anderson now owns 3 of the top 5 places on the season sack list.
Thomas DeCoud enters the record books in his first season as a starter, as his 9 interceptions tied the seaon high which was set by Marlon Jackson in 2007.
DeJuan Tribble comes in at #2 all time with his 158 interception return yards, only Adrian WIlson's 166 from last season is above it. He also tied a team high with 3 defensive TDs
Justin King is now the owner of the top two spots on the pass deflection list. In the past two seasons, he's has 35 and 28 batted down, good for those top two spots.
Kai Forbath's improved season also earned him some spots in the Colts recordbooks. His 22/27 mark on FGs places him at 5th in team history in both categories, and 55/55 on extra points puts him at the top of both of those lists. He was second in kickoffs with 92, but first in touchbacks with 29.
Punter Michael Huges will soon own all the significant Colts punting marks. Another 3rd year player, his 79 punts for 3,519 yards were both new team records, while his 21 dropped inside the 20 was two behind the top spot, which he set last season. He also set a new record with a 70 yard punt this season.
Now after all the team records set this season, the Colts return to the playoffs. Their last trip resulted in a 37-34 loss to the Raiders, in a game where QB Nate Longshore threw 4 INTs in the first half. Despite a 17-23 236 yard performance by backup QB Blake Mitchell in the second half, the Colts could not pull out the win.
Their first game this season is against the Chiefs, who they played in Week 9. They lost that game 13-7 behind Larry Johnson's 37 carry 166 yard day, and despite 3 picks for the defense. Last time, the team was coming off the humiliating 48-28 loss to the Dolphins. This time around the offense is coming in on a roll with 132 points in the past 3 games, all wins. Defensively, the team has given up 112 yards in those 3 games combined on 56 carries for a 2 yard per carry average. The defense has been opportunistic, and can cause turnovers at any time, but they do tend to give up yards and points. The Colts are hoping that they can turn the game into an offensive shootout, because they simply can't rely on their defense in a low scoring game. |
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Forum Discussion
(by Colts on 10/29/2009)
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Replies - 0 :: Views - 11 |
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At A Glance
| COLTS FRONT OFFICE |
| GM |
Colts |
| Head Coach |
T.Dungy |
| Offensive Coordinator |
|
| Defensive Coordinator |
|
| Special Teams |
|
| Salary |
$108.91M |
| Cap Penalty |
$13.17M |
| Cap Room |
$6.3M |
| INJURY REPORT |
| PLAYER |
POS |
OVR |
LENGTH |
| AFC South |
| RNK |
TEAM |
W-L-T |
PCT |
DIV |
| #8 |
 Colts |
11-5-0 |
0.688 |
4-2 |
| #11 |
 Titans |
9-7-0 |
0.563 |
3-3 |
| #15 |
 Jaguars |
7-9-0 |
0.438 |
3-3 |
| #29 |
 Texans |
5-11-0 |
0.313 |
2-4 |
| COLTS SCHEDULE |
| WK |
DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME/RESULT |
| 1 |
Sun |
vs  Dolphins #10 |
|
| 2 |
Sun |
at  Chiefs #25 |
|
| 3 |
Sun |
at  Bengals #23 |
|
| 4 |
Mon |
at  Eagles #32 |
|
| 5 |
Sun |
vs Texans #29 |
|
| 7 |
Sun |
at Jaguars #15 |
|
| 8 |
Sun |
vs Titans #11 |
|
| 9 |
Sun |
at  Raiders #18 |
|
| 10 |
Sun |
at  Giants #22 |
|
| 11 |
Sun |
vs  Cowboys #30 |
|
| 12 |
Sun |
vs  Chargers #7 |
|
| 13 |
Sun |
vs  Redskins #9 |
|
| 14 |
Sun |
vs  Broncos #6 |
|
| 15 |
Sun |
at Titans #11 |
|
| 16 |
Sat |
vs Jaguars #15 |
|
| 17 |
Sun |
at Texans #29 |
|
|
