Posts tagged Kelvin Hayden
The Colts Mold: Free Agent Cornerback Market Values
Jul 1st
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Any defense that runs a base Cover-2 scheme requires a strong secondary to succeed. The Indianapolis Colts strategy has always been to over-power opponents with a dynamic passing game, while the defense stifles the opponent’s passing game by refusing to give up big plays.
When Tony Dungy and Ron Meeks oversaw Indy’s defense the players needed were — in many ways — interchangeable because cover corners were not necessary. A strict zone discipline was instilled and the scheme itself “did the work.” Under defensive coordinator Larry Coyer that is starting to change, and a greater emphasis on man coverage has developed to support a more aggressive defensive style that includes blitz packages.
With players like Jerraud Powers and Justin Tryon already showing real potential, things could be coming together in Indianapolis. Heading into 2011 there are two primary questions. The first is, should the Colts retain Kelvin Hayden at his $9 million salary cap level? The second is how talented is Indy going to be behind these players? More >
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The Colts Mold: Free Agent Defensive Tackle Market Values
Jun 29th
One of most actively evolving positions for the Indianapolis Colts is defensive tackle. While major trade or free agent acquisitions are atypical for the Colts front office, two of the team’s biggest acquisitions in last six years were defensive tackles.
In 2005, Indianapolis signed Corey Simon, formerly with the Philadelphia Eagles. Simon’s contract was for $30 million over five years. Unfortunately, Simon would never fulfill the terms of the contract on the field as he developed polyarthritis, which forced him into an early retirement.
Mid-season 2006, the Colts traded a second round pick to acquire Booger McFarland from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McFarland’s contract included a $6.6 million salary cap hit. Like Simon before him, McFarland’s career would end prematurely — this time due to a catastrophic knee injury.
Since that time, Indianapolis has been attempting to put together a group of defensive tackles primarily through rookie free agency, second round draft picks, late round picks, and by acquiring players from other teams early in the year. When three of those players enter free agency at one time, the likelihood that new acquisitions occur increases significantly. More >
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The Colts Mold: Free Agent Safety Market Values
Jun 28th
Yesterday, we discussed the proposed salary cap increase and how it will affect the Indianapolis Colts as they enter the free agent signing frenzy that will likely begin in early July. Although official salary numbers are hard to determine, we loosely projected that the Colts should be able to retain most of their own priority free agents — even if Peyton Manning plays at the $23 million franchise tag level in 2011.
With so many players set to enter unrestricted free agency though, there is a possibility that teams like the Colts will sign an uncharacteristically high number of outsiders. The best way to determine who Indianapolis is likely to take a close look at is to determine which players fit the team’s greatest areas of need, which players are most likely to fit in the Colts scheme, and which players are within the team’s budget. More >
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Implications of New Salary Cap on 2011 Colts Roster
Jun 27th
ESPN recently reported that the players and owners may agree on a proposal to increase the NFL salary cap to around $120 million. If this is the case, it is important to know exactly how far under the cap Indianapolis sits, as it has also been released that the tenders issued by the Colts to players who were formerly restricted free agents are no longer valid. Coltzilla just added a salary cap feature in order to help readers identify where the team stands financially.
Although Peyton Manning is currently on the books under an exclusive franchise tag, and is slated to make $23 million in 2011, Coltzilla predicts that Indianapolis will reach a permanent long-term contract with Manning shortly after the new collective bargaining agreement has been finalized. If no long-term agreement is reached, Indianapolis is set to have $14.5 million in cap space. If he does sign a new deal, the cap may increase by approximately $7-9 million — based upon the approximate $14.7 million yearly average of his 2004 deal (leaving $21.5-23.5 million in cap space). More >
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Assessing Positional Value for the Colts 2011 NFL Draft: Cornerback
Apr 21st
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Earlier in the off-season, Coltzilla wrote about how well Colts Vice Chairman Bill Polian has handled turnover at the cornerback position. Exiting training camp, the 2010 team had only Kelvin Hayden, Jerraud Powers, and Jacob Lacey with experience in the Colts defense on the roster. The position was widely considered one of the team’s weakest and most susceptible to injuries.
Entering the draft this year, the situation has changed drastically. While it is widely accepted that Hayden is not playing up to his contract and has annual struggles to stay healthy, he is a legitimate NFL cornerback and would likely start for a lot of teams. The question is – will he start for the Colts in 2011? Polian traded a seventh round pick to the Washington Redskins for Justin Tryon before Week 1. Tryon had a considerable impact on defense and improved in the Colts system throughout the year. He may be good enough to push Hayden for his starting spot across from Powers. More >
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Lack of Respect for Bill Polian and Colts Roster Unreasonable
Mar 27th
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With so little going on in the NFL world, the analysts at ESPN are left only to speculate about each of the league’s 32 teams’ needs prior to the 2011 NFL Draft. In the segment discussing the Colts, Mel Kiper, Trent Dilfer, Chris Mortensen, and Mike Tirico dropped a bomb on the Indianapolis fan base when they collectively agreed that without quarterback Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colts would be cellar dwellers as one of the league’s worst franchises. Such words suggest that the talent on the Colts roster starts and ends with Peyton Manning.
Unfortunately, some fans and team analysts have bought into the claims. They have used the claims as ammunition to attack Vice Chairman Bill Polian as leaving the team high and dry if not for the 1998 Draft. Dilfer suggested that the team needs a philosophical adjustment to larger, stronger players, and that without it the team will continue to struggle. This analysis is popular, and even shared by a big portion of the Colts fan base but it does not tell the whole story. More >
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Addressing the Colts Cornerback Roster in 2011
Jan 27th
Kelvin Hayden ponders the Colts struggles in a 36-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers. (Darron Cummings | AP Photo)
Entering the 2010 season, the Indianapolis Colts faced uncertainty at cornerback.
-2010 third round draft pick Kevin Thomas suffered a season-ending knee-injury during rookie camp.
-Veteran Tim Jennings departed the team and ended up in Chicago.
-The only options behind starters Kelvin Hayden and Jerraud Powers were aging veteran DeShea Townsend (first year in the Colts system), second-year veteran Jacob Lacey, and undrafted free agents Brandon King, Jordan Hemby, and Thad Turner.
As soon as preseason ended, Colts President Bill Polian traded a draft pick to the Washington Redskins for young veteran Justin Tryon. Tryon ended up starting Week 1, and filled in as the most reliable backup corner on the Colts roster for the remainder of the season. 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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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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