Posts tagged Kavell Conner
Colts Off-Season: A Time for Change and Hope
Feb 9th
Will the Colts make a move for free agent running back DeAngelo Williams? (Chris Keane | Reuters)
The Indianapolis Colts are known for their ability to put together teams that are young and competitive on the field with a chance to win the Super Bowl every year. The team has accomplished this by finding jewels in the draft that other teams simply overlook. As a Colts fan I have nothing but respect and admiration for the front office of the Colts and thank them for the product they consistently put on the field for Colts fans to cheer. It’s time for the next step, and at this point in Peyton Manning’s career it’s now or never for the Indy. Unlike many of the experts out there, I do not believe that Peyton is anywhere close to the end of his career. I do believe that he is at the point where the team can’t just wait for young talent to develop around him.
Starting with the offensive line, Ryan Diem has been rode hard this year for the false starts and his mental mistakes, but I’m one who believes that a lot of his issues were because of having to play through injuries all year long with a lack of depth behind him. The same could be said for left tackle Charlie Johnson. The hope in the franchise should be that Ryan Diem will work with the front office on restructuring his $5.4 million deal that would allow the team to pay him on incentives as opposed to cutting him as cap casualty.
Regardless what happens with Diem, the best answer for the Colts is to not miss out on a chance to get an anchor left tackle early in the draft such as Anthony Castonzo, Boston College, Nate Solder, Colorado, Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin, or Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State. There is also the option of landing a couple solid free agents with both Tyson Clabo of Atlanta and Matt Light being available, Clabo being ideal because of his youth. At guard the best answer without question is to find a way to sign Logan Mankins out of New England. Adding an all pro will allow you to let Jamey Richard and Mike Pollak fight for the starting spot next to Mankins with the loser backing up both the center and guard spots.
Ideal line: LT-Tyson Clabo, LG- Logan Mankins, C- Jeff Saturday, RG- Mike Pollak, and RT- Gabe Carimi. More >
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Foreshadowing the Colts 2011 Linebacker Corps
Jan 30th
Kavell Conner tackles Steve Smith in an early season meeting with the Giants at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2010. (AJ Mast | AP Photo)
Linebacker has been a position of weakness for the Colts for many years. Other than Gary Brackett, the last time the Colts had a linebacker worthy of NFL recognition was when former 2002 fourth round draft pick David Thornton left the team following the 2005 season — he signed a lucrative five-year deal with the Tennessee Titans.
In many ways, the fact that the linebackers have not been a major strength is expected with the Colts’ history of refusing to pay veterans at the position after their rookie contracts expire — they did the same with Marcus Washington following the 2003 season, who went on to a Pro Bowl in 2004 and two alternate bids in 2005 and 2006. With a speed-focused defensive philosophy, however, it is reasonable to keep costs low because Colts linebackers are typically not high-profile players to other teams — they are generally too short and too light for other defensive schemes.
These facts and this history makes the Colts current depth chart at linebacker an albatross. While only Gary Brackett has a resume deserving of Pro Bowl consideration over the last three years, the young talent, potential, and depth at each of the linebacker positions is unfamiliar. More >
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Did Injuries Affect the 2010 Colts?
Jan 19th
Colts fans are stuck in limbo. The Super Bowl is still two weeks away, so talking about the off-season seems premature. Before fans get to that point, it is worthwhile to take a look back at 2010 to gauge where the Colts franchise will be when the draft and summer activities roll around.
One of the biggest impacts on Indianapolis in 2010 was the unprecedented number of injuries the team had to play through. The Colts placed 18 players on Injured Reserve, and two others on the injured/waived list — including Taj Smith, who rejoined the Colts. This number does not include injured players who missed multiple games throughout the year, but still managed to hold onto a roster spot.
Below are three ways to examine Indy’s injuries in 2010.
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Jets v. Colts: After Review (Wild Card Weekend)
Jan 10th
Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri celebrates after he hits a would-be game winning 50-yard field goal. (Andy Lyons | Getty Images)
After a painful sixteen game regular season — rife with injuries, frustrating slumps, and a lack of identity — the Colts 2010 effort officially ended Saturday night after a last minute drive that was capped by a Jets field goal. What makes the loss difficult to take — even though most fans realized the team’s playoff berth was an admirable accomplishment in its own right — is that the Colts should have won.
The initial fan reaction to the game has been all over the board, with fingers pointing in different directions. Some argue that the defense is responsible for the loss because they allowed the Jets to keep the ball for a vast majority of the second half, and yielded over 150 yards on the ground.
Others blame the Indianapolis special teams units for making costly mistakes and allowing long returns, specifically Antonio Cromartie’s long return on the final drive of the game that allowed the Jets to have a short field for a field goal try.
Still others insist that Coach Caldwell is primarily responsible for calling an ill-advised timeout with less than 30 seconds to go, which allowed the Jets offense to get their heads together for a back-breaking first down play that made shaky place kicker Nick Folk’s job much easier.
The reality is, all of these fans are right to a degree, but none of them — even taken together — completely explain how the Colts managed to let this game slip away. More >
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Navigating the Colts 2011 Off-Season
Jan 7th
Quarterback Peyton Manning watches as running back Joseph Addai carries the football in Denver. (Doug Pensinger | Getty Images)
Although the Colts are heading into the playoffs and will not have to worry about new contracts, free agency, and draft planning until after their playoff run ends, once it does things will start happening fast. With all of the players who have contracts ending this season, it will be important to make good choices in order to keep a very talented football team intact.
One thing about any off-season is the chance that difficult decisions will have to be made about players for whom fans have a great deal of loyalty. That is the unfortunate nature of the business of football and those kinds of decisions and observations will be included in what this writer believes is the best direction for the Colts leading up to the 2011 season.
The most important thing to do to start this process is to identify which players require new contracts in order to play football in 2011, and which players currently have contracts that are not reflective of their value to the team.
The players who will need new contracts in order to return to the Colts in 2011 are listed below, by position. More >
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A Fan Salute to the 2010 Indianapolis Colts
Jan 5th
A true Colts fan salute. (Andy Lyons | Getty Images)
With a win against the Titans, the Colts managed to overcome unprecedented team injuries and their worst five game series since 2002 for a NFL record (tie) ninth consecutive playoff berth, and their seventh AFC South Championship in the last eight years. Peyton Manning was able to get through his toughest stretch of games since his rookie year and somehow Indy has managed to enter January with the three seed in the AFC.
It is extremely important for Colts fans to step back and think about the gravity of this accomplishment. Frankly, this team had no business overcoming all of the adversity it has faced in a sixteen game season. More >
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Why the Colts have Struggled in 2010
Dec 12th
Peyton Manning looks ahead during the Colts Thursday night game in Tennesee. (AJ Mast | AP Photo)
Colts fans have watched in horror as a team that entered the season as one of the most talented groups Indianapolis has put together in quarterback Peyton Manning’s career has fallen into mediocrity and failed to continue an NFL record streak of consecutive 12-win seasons. Many expected the stretch of games against the Eagles, Patriots, Chargers, and Cowboys would be difficult, but dropping all four games is not something Colts teams have done in the past.
This uncharacteristic run of losses has understandably caused Colts fans to panic. The blame game is in full force, and fans are scrambling to find answers to resolve the issues in Indianapolis before the 2011 season begins. More >
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Game Stats: Cowboys v. Colts
Dec 9th
After the debacle against the Chargers, and the heart breaker against the Patriots, the Colts dropped another game. They gave the Cowboys 17 points to start the contest, and had the chance to pull out a last minute victory on three occasions. Unlike previous weeks, no single unit can carry all of the blame.
The Colts had multiple series where one good play after another would get completely erased by a horrible play or decision. Manning threw interceptions on the heels of key defensive stands, Eric Foster jumped on top of an opponent to negate an amazing goal line stand, and Wayne tallied his only drop to erase a chance for the offense to win after taking the kickoff in overtime. In the end the Colts fell to 6-6, one game behind Jacksonville, and head into a short week — at least three players left the game with injuries.
It makes more difficult to know that some guys had great games. Antoine Bethea was absolutely everywhere and tallied 15 tackles, Pierre Garcon caught EVERY SINGLE throw his way, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis both had a sack, Jeff Saturday returned to form, and even Manning was not terrible statistically.
On to the stats.
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After Review: Cowboys v. Colts
Dec 6th
Orlando Scandrick picks off Peyton Manning. (AJ Mast | AP Photo)
At this point, Peyton Manning has to be wondering if he has entered some kind of twilight zone. His records in the NFL are breathtaking and he was recently listed as eighth in the NFL Network’s list of the top 100 players of all time. That designation is not helping him. Right now, Manning is doing something he hasn’t regularly done since his rookie season – costing his team football games.
There is absolutely no doubt that the Colts have lost four of their last five games as a team. Better efforts on the part of the defense during periods of the game, better blocking by the offensive line, and more offensive balance could all play roles in helping the Colts overcome the worst five game series the franchise has had in a decade. Still, it is no secret that Manning is the man, the one people expect the most from, and rather than winning games for Indianapolis, the team has had to try to win games in spite of him. More >
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