Posts tagged Tyjuan Hagler
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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After Review: Colts v. Raiders
Dec 27th
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Colts offensive lineman Jeff Saturday's bloody fingers exemplify Indy's offensive line effort over the last two weeks. (Jed Jacobsohn | Getty Images)
The Indianapolis Colts took one step closer to the playoffs with a win in Oakland. The scoreboard does not accurately represent the difference between the talent level of the two teams who took the field on Sunday, as the Colts defense stifled Oakland’s offense and the Colts offense moved the ball easily for much of the game.
If not for a special teams touchdown to start the game, a play Colts fans are far too familiar with, the score would have gotten out of hand very early. Still, blow outs are not necessary to finish Indy’s task for a late-season push for the playoffs and leaves them still in the driver’s seat to put away a struggling Titans team at home to finish the job. More >
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Quick Reaction: Colts 34, Jags 24
Dec 19th
Donald Brown breaks an attempted glove tackle to rumble for a 49-yard gain
Highlights:
- The refs played a larger part in this game than anyone would appreciate… on both sides of the ball.
- RB Donald Brown showed what he can do when he has good blocking in front of him (14 carries for 129 yards and 1 touchdown)
- I am heartbroken for WR Austin Collie, who after returning in a big way at the beginning of the game (8 catches for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns), suffered yet another game-ending concussion. Inexplicably, the team allowed him to return to the sidelines late in the game where he moped in his street clothes.
- The Colts once again won the turnover battle, giving up zero, while the Jags committed two – a Garrard interception by Antoine Bethea, and a blocking-into-the-receiver penalty with the bounce-off-the-receiver-into-the-Colts-hands turnover on a punt.
- As usual, the game came down to some nail-biting moments when the Jags scored a touchdown with 1:59 left to close the gap to 3. Coach Caldwell made a great call taking a time out just before Scobee squibbed the kick straight ahead on what appeared to be an attempt to catch the Colts’ line off guard.
- On the ensuing attempt, on-again off-again Colts’ LB Tyjuan Hagler grabbed the short squib kick by Scobee and ran it 41 yards for a touchdown to ice the game.
- The Colts are now first in the AFC South (on tie-breakers) and continue their playoff hunt next week in Oaktown (where I will be reporting live!)
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Colts 30 Titans 28 – Quick Reaction
Dec 9th
One of Pierre Garcon's two touchdowns against the Titans. (Joe Howell | AP Photo)
Reaction highlights:
- Manning kept the pace slow and steady, able to eschew the no-huddle, hurry-up offense because the Colts held the lead.
- The slower pace and more frequent huddles contributed to the rookies’ ability to keep up.
- The Colts ran more than in the prior 3 games, in part because they had the luxury to do so because they had the lead, but even with a smaller lead the Colts kept at it.
- Forced into the LT position when Charlie Johnson injured his shoulder, Jeff Linkenbach put in a good performance… might we see him more at that position going forward?
- The defense was not very good tonight, allowing Tennessee, who had been held to 13 touchdown-less quarters, to score 4 touchdowns in the game. But frankly, on a short week, against a familiar opponent, and in the NFL… you can hope for a shut-out, but don’t expect one. 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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Quick Posts: Colts Inactives – DAL @ IND
Dec 5th
The following players have had a determination concerning their availability for this weeks match-up of the Dallas Cowboys at Lucas Oil Stadium. More >
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Why the Colts Future is not in Doubt
Dec 2nd
15 comments
Peyton Manning speaking gealic to his offense in Super Bowl XLI. (Jed Jacobsohn | Getty Images)
With Indianapolis struggling recently, a lot of fans are questioning the team’s future. Many complain about recent drafts and believe the young talent will be incapable of replacing the perennial Pro Bowl and future Hall of Fame talent that is starting to age.
This negative perspective is premature. As long as Peyton Manning is healthy and playing at a very high level in the NFL, the Colts future is safe. With that in mind, it makes sense to focus on the players who represent the team’s future, consider their talent level, and where that talent can take the Colts moving forward. More >
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After Review: Chargers 36, Colts 14
Nov 29th
Peyton Manning punches the ground after a play in which he was knocked down in the third quarter. (Brent Smith | Reuters)
Wow. The San Diego Chargers absolutely dominated the Indianapolis Colts. Home field? Irrelevant. Fast field? Helped the Chargers as much as it did the Colts. Crowd? Had little chance to have an impact due to turnovers creating a big gap on the scoreboard.
Just about everything that could go wrong did in this game. The Colts offensive line was battered and bullied by San Diego. The running game was dead before the first hand-off. The best receivers on the team right now? Blair White and Jacob Tamme.
This Indianapolis team is not the same as it was when the year started, the injuries are hurting badly, and the offensive line is a mess. The only unit who played a pretty good game was the defense, though a lot of people will not be able to believe that if they look at the score. More >
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After Review: Bengals v. Colts
Nov 15th
2 comments
Dhani Jones: Oh look, something I can grab onto. (Brent Smith | Reuters)
It was a frustrating game for Colts fans, who saw their defense force five turnovers and never had the luxury of feeling like the game was completely in hand. When the Colts led early by 17, conventional wisdom would have said that Indianapolis would win the game for sure, based upon the theory that down two scores to the Colts at any point in the game is a losing proposition for any team.
There is a problem with that theory right now, and that problem is that the Colts today are not the Colts when they were healthy and with all of their starters on the field. Add into this that the Colts played very conservative with key players throughout much of the game, including limiting Freeney and Mathis’ snaps throughout much of the second and third quarters, and the Bengals were given an opportunity to keep the game close. More >
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