The Colts have taken it easy this week, with only a light 30 minute workout on Tuesday morning and special teams practice in the afternoon. Yesterday, they got back to their normal camp routine, but are still running around in shorts. While at camp last week, I asked a few people "in the know" as to why the Colts were not practicing in pads. On person responded with this interesting nugget (paraphrased): Look what happened to Washington. They started their camp in full pads and lost 4 guys for the season. Both Washington and Indy play 5 pre-season games. At this point, you are just trying to keep people healthy, not get them killed in meaningless games.

Looking at it that way, Indy's approach makes sense. I say this knocking on just about anything made of wood, but Indy has not really had any major injuries in camp. Now, morons like Chris Mortenson will still go on ESPN and spew that he's spoken with "people" who think the Colts will not be as good this year. Per usual, Mortenson is clueless when it comes to analyzing rosters, and since he hasn't actually been to camp (or spoken to his colleagues like Cris Carter, you raved about the Colts), it's fair to say Mort is not clued in.

One person who is clued in is Phil B, who has slowly but surely brought the Indy Star's sports coverage back to relevance. His camp blogging is a welcome treat from the Indy Star. You'd think Mike Chappell might get the hint and start realizing the beat writer is pretty much irrelevant now. Chappell is a fine writer and knows football, but why read his stuff a day late when I can read Phil's blog (or this blog) same day? Anyway, some observations from camp via Phil B:

* Defensive end/tackle Raheem Brock was in the backfield so fast on one play, he leaped and came within finger tips of an interception on a screen pass to Joseph Addai. And, yes, for anyone wondering about Addai after Sunday's smack in the head, the running back looks just fine.

...

* Rookie Eric Foster practically swallowed Dominic Rhodes on another screen that didn't materialize too effectively.

...

* Colts coach Tony Dungy didn't like what he saw and blew his whistle four times before snaps. That's obviously sloppy. I don't remember hearing him blow the whistle that many times in any of his previous camp practices.

Practices have been a but sloppy of late, but that's a result of Manning not being there and several young (or new) players getting used to things. Despite some sloppiness, Phil is starting to see (and recognize) what many of us have talked about since camp opened.

This team is good. Maybe scary good.

I know it's early yet. I know some of these guys may not make the team. But one game in, if I'm the Colts, I like what I see. Each year, teams change. And with the Colts, typically one of the younger teams, the question is always the same: Can any of the new guys make a difference or contribute? I get the sense this time, more than in past years, the Colts will get more production from this rookie class. I'm taking an early guess that this class could be special. I'm not predicting Hall of Fame inductions and Pro Bowls because that doesn't make sense at such an early juncture, but the Colts, president Bill Polian and his staff, have added some interesting pieces to the mix.

For the last few months, we all have made lists of questions we hoped would get answered by the time Kickoff Weekend rolls around. We looked for answers to these questions in the draft, mini-camps, free agency, and now training camp. After attending camp and getting "insider" info from people in the know within the team and fans still attending camp, I've got a pretty good idea of how this roster is shaping up. Mind you, I'm providing these insights with big, blue-tinted glasses. I could be dead wrong about everything, but in years past I've been pretty much on the money when it comes to evaluating talent. Just ask Bears fans. Also keep in mind that much of my opinion is formulated from information I trust, and I very much trust my own two eyes.

So, all that crap said, here's a few answers to some of your burning questions (this is a monster post, which I needed to place on the flip):

Continue reading this post »

Hiya! I'm BigBlueShoe, the head writer over at SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts site: Stampede Blue. Indy's first pick in the draft this year was Arizona State's Mike Pollak. Just wanted to know what Sun Devils fans thought of Mike.

So far, in camp, Mike has been competing with Charlie Johnson for the starting OG spot (Indy moved Mike to guard). He looked damned impressive in the HoF game recently, but I wanted to know what you guys thought of him when he anchored your offensive line.

Thanks, and welcome to SB Nation.

The Colts return to camp today, and when they do they'll likely see a smile on the face of their head coach. Why? Because despite the final score of the Hall of Fame game Sunday, Tony Dungy was very, very pleased with the performance of his team. So pleased in fact that he thinks that was the best job his team has ever done in pre-season:

“It’s probably the best first game we’ve played since I’ve been here. It’s a shame the score ended up the way it did, but we got a number of things done. Some of the young guys we hoped would play well really did step up and play well. It was really encouraging in a lot of areas.”

Now obviously, pre-season wins will get you a nice big pile of Jack Squat. But, it does mean something when your coach of seven years thinks last Sunday's game was the best played pre-season game of his tenure. It reinforces what I saw at camp, and what many of you have said as well.

This is a very, very deep team that could do some special things this season.

Dungy singled out some players, many of them obvious from the game. He praised Mike Hart for his hard running and blocking. He also talked warmly about Roy Hall, Pierre Garcon, and Devin Aromashodu. But where Dungy seemed damn near ecstatic was when he talked about the performance of his o-line:

Dungy said veteran reserve linemen Corey Hilliard and Michael Toudouze played well, but the draft selections were particularly notable.

“It was predominantly them on the inside – Mike, Steve and Jamey playing in those three inside spots,” Dungy said. “It was just a matter of everyone out there doing a good job.

“They played a lot. We wanted to see them, and they did a good job.”

Remember in year's past when the back-up offensive line would get the back-up QB killed? Not this year. After watching Jamey Richard in a game, I think this guy is a keeper as well. Dude has a serious mean streak. I also think Pollak is going to win that starting OG spot. I know Charlie Johnson started, but I didn't hear praise for Charlie after last Sunday's game.

We also got word that Peyton Manning's risk for infection in his knee is now gone, and he's 100% into rehab now. And after watching them on the practice field first hand, I can tell you that Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney are ready. The Colts aren't playing them because they don't want them to get hurt. Same is true for Marvin Harrison. He's fine. He's healthy. All three players look primed to do what they do: Dominate.

Seeing camp first hand really put my mind at ease on some very key questions. This is a deep team. The stars who were hurt last year are healthy. The offense has some serious weapons. Heck, I think the special teams units might actually look decent this year. But hey, one thing at a time.

You'll find that much of this recap borrows from bamock's excellent recap diary. Despite losing the game because the 3rd and 4th string defense made Colt Brennan look like Joe Montana, I actually turned off the tube feeling very, very good about the roster so far. Many things MasterRWayne and I saw at camp were implemented in this game, such as the onside kick to start. Like all pre-season games, you must take things with a grain of salt because, in the end, the games don't mean anything. What you can learn is how much do certain players want to succeed, and how deep is the talent pool. For the Colts, it seems this is a much deeper team than last year's squad, and there are some solid rookies who might unseat some established vets on this team. Here's what we saw:

• Let's get this out of the way: Jared Lorenzen sucked at camp and he sucked in the game. His "shot put" throwing motion causes the ball to come out late. He also seemed to deliberately trying to showcase himself rather than manage the game. Tom Moore was all over him after several throws. However, on the flipside...
  
• Quinn Gray looked impressive; more so than Jim Sorgi who went 7-10 on the opening drive. The difference between Sorgi and Gray is Gray can get the ball down the field and buy time with his feet. Sorgi's arm strength just isn't there, and while he was more accurate than I saw him in camp, he's not trying to drive the ball downfield. Most of his throws were dump offs or sideline throws. He did have one impressive 15-yarder to TE Gijon Robinson, who impressed.
• Most of you saw what I saw regarding the o-line. Remember year's past when back-up QBs would get hammered because the reserve o-linemen sucked hard. Last night, reserve linemen like Mike Pollak, Jamey Richard, Steve Justice, Michael Toudouze, and Dan Federkeil proved the Colts have a lot of excellent depth along the o-line. Polian wanted to boost up this area in the draft, and boy did he ever! Colts QBs had all day to throw, and the RBs can multiple holes to pick their way through.
• Mike Hart impressed me the most of any player. The kid ran like a man on fire. He lived up to his billing fighting for extra yardage AFTER someone ripped his helmet off. He displayed skill picking up the blitz, but what impressed the most was his burst. Hart took the hand-off, found his lane, and shot through like a bullet. He doesn't have breakaway speed, but he has a good burst through the line. He reminded me of Edgerrin James, especially since he is wearing #32. Hart is living up to his Michigan billing, and I can see why Dungy loves him.

It's still cool to watch Dom Rhodes run, even in pre-season

Photo: AP Photo, Mark Duncan

• Depth at WR is sick! Samuel Giguere didn't even play, yet I found myself worrying over who they will keep. Roy Hall, Devin Aromashodu, Onrea Jones, and Pierre Garcon all impressed. Garcon and Hall in particular made some excellent grabs.
  
• Though Washington QBs threw all over them, the defense in general played solid. Guys like starting MLB Victor Worsley won't make the practice squad. So, don't freak out by the gawdy Redskins QB numbers.
  
• Marcus Howard is a keeper. Dude is scary quick off the line with Freeney-like spin moves and a nose for the QB. He has 1.5 sacks in limited play. Same holds true for Curtis Johnson. Both are fast, fast, FAST speed rushers, and they are making me feel better about Indy's pass rushing depth.
• Special teams coverages looked solid all night. Other than the botched onside kick, I was pleased. Garcon's return looked good, especially since he looked so bad in camp this week.
• It was so cool to see Dom Rhodes out there. He spin move for extra yardage is still fun to watch.
• Jacob Tamme did some nice things, especially considering The Pillsbury Throwboy was launching the ball at him. Gijon Robinson has good hands, but is struggling to block. Dallas Clark is Dallas Clark: Arguably the best TE in football, along with Jason Witten.

I got the sense, reading comments from the open thread, that many of you had similar feelings about the game. This game, and much of what I've seen at camp, has helped me formulate answers to many of the questions you have about certain players (Is Roy Hall improved? Is Eric Foster legit? Do the Colts have depth at DE? Can they rush the passer? Etc.). I'm thinking that the answers to these and other questions are rounding out into good answers. This team seems very talented, and very deep. Offensively, it might get scary when Peyton gets back with the weapons they have. They might have given the best QB in football the best (and deepest) WR corps in football. Add to this the o-line depth and the emerging play of the RBs, and this offense looks primed to do some special things. With the injuries to the LBers on defense, it's hard to tell how that unit is rounding out. They key for them is still the health of Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney. But, all in all, the defense looks deeper and faster than last year.

I'll blog more about this game later today and this week. As always, for fun Redskins banter, check out Hogs Haven for their recap. Colts still have a ton of work to do, but they seem to be on their way to forming a very formidable roster.

Pre-season is underway with the Hall of Fame game in the books. I agree with John Madden (who is normally a buffoon): This was actually a well played game by both teams. Tip your hat to Jim Zorn and to Tony Dungy. I'll do a more formal write-up later, but off the top of my head I was very impressed with Redskins rookie Colt Brennan and Colts rookie Mike Hart.

Be sure to check out Hogs Haven for Redskins fans' reactions. In general, I'm impressed with Indy's depth, and I feel good at Quinn Gray as a possible back-up QB. Jim Sorgi even looked fine, but I have to see more. More chatter tomorrow.

This morning, the Colts are walking through their game plan for the Redskins, the team they will face in Sunday's Hall of Fame game.  It's funny, but whenever I see "walk through" related to an NFL team, I still think of that bogus Patriots allegation. I know they didn't do it, but it is still something I associate with them based on other blatant rules violations. But enough on them. If you want to read how their camp is going, check out MaPatsFan at Pats Pulpit. Unlike previous seasons, we have some very fun ideas getting tossed around between Pats Pulpit and Stampede Blue for the 2008 season. Ironically, I think I get along better with Pats fans there than I do Bears fans.

Today's walk through will focus on specific things the coaches will look for in the game. What we do know is Jim Sorgi will see more time than if Peyton Manning were playing, and that's a good thing. After watching Sorgi look mediocre (and sometimes downright bad) in practice, he needs to prove he is a legit NFL QB.

We are going to start with our first groups. I think our first offense may play a little bit more than our first defense," Dungy said. "Then midway through the first quarter, we’re going to start to get a look at some of our younger guys and guys we want to see. I would say it’s probably likely that the offense will play a bit more than the defense."

Dungy added that total number of plays, rather than clock time, will most likely dictate how much work everybody gets.

"It probably will be plays. I haven’t really decided [how many] yet, but it will definitely be by plays and we will discuss that [prior to today’s practice]," he said. "Jim [Sorgi] will play a little bit more than Peyton [Manning] normally would have played. We won’t necessarily have all the first [offensive] group in with him all the time. He will get his share of work."

The Colts also made a somewhat significant roster move, dumping WR Charles Dillon and bringing back LB Brandon Archer. Archer was signed by Denver in the offseason, and then released in this past June. With the Colts losing LBers left and right, signing Archer was a big deal. Archer is also a good special teamer.

I'm going back over my notes and collecting thoughts in order to piece together my overall opinions of camp thus far. I also got some good info from folks who work for the Colts and from fans who have been watching camp from Day 1. Some of the info is stuff we already knew (Eric Foster is the guy who the Colts are big on to replace Quinn Pitcock). Other info, like Mike Hart maybe making THE PRACTICE SQUAD was certainly news to me.

I will relay the general feeling I have, which was confirmed by many people in the know and those who have watched from Camp Day 1: This team is very, very, VERY deep. There will be some tough decisions when they need to cut down to 53, and some good players might get shown the door because there isn't enough room on this talented roster.