Colts offseason: The best of times, the worst of times

By Os Davis  |   Sunday, May 11, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Indianapolis Colts
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You won’t see the Indianapolis Colts anywhere near the ubiquitous online Top 10 lists for either “Best Offseason 2008” or “Worst Offseason 2008,” but the two major personnel moves team president Bill Polian has made in building this year’s squad could have been placed at either extreme.

In the minus column is the departure of Jake Scott. Indy’s Super Bowl-winning 2006 season confirmed what those in the know already knew: Those Colts boasted one Hall of Fame-level offensive line, one of the greats in NFL history. The protection afforded Peyton Manning behind the line that head coach Tony Dungy OL coach Howard Mudd built has been simply steadily awesome throughout the decade. Check out some of Manning’s stats since Dungy took over.

2002: The Colts allow 23 sacks in 591 attempts for a 96.5 percent protection rate (determined by ratio of pass plays to sacks, and why some deodorant firm doesn’t pick up this stat to award the Top Offensive Line In The NFL a la the Rolaids-created “saves” stat for baseball is beyond me) while Manning throws for an 88.8 quarterback rating.

2003: Manning registers 566 attempts while sacked 18 times for 97.1 percent protection and runs up a 99.0 QB rating. Some 619 pass plays out of 1,041 snaps on offense (just under 60 percent) are called by the Colts that season, attributable in part to Edgerrin James missing three contests.

2004: A scanty 13 sacks recorded against 497 attempts for a 97.2 percent protection rate and a QB rating of 121.1.

2005: In 453 attempts, 17 sacks recorded for 96.5 percent protection; 104.1 QB rating.

2006: Against a whopping 557 attempts, 14 sacks recorded for an incredible 97.6 protection rate; 101.0 QB rating. Incidentally, 2006 marked the fifth straight season the Colts allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL.

2007: In 515 attempts, 21 sacks against for a 96.2 rate and a 98.0 QB rating.

Unfortunately, the secret to recent Colts success was broken up with Scott’s decision to take up with the Tennessee Titans on a multiyear deal, a move that could prove to inflict gobs more harm on meal ticket Manning in 2008.

Though the Colts went with three offensive linemen in the draft – Mike Pollak of Arizona State, Steven Justice of Wake Forest, Jamey Richard of Buffalo – and Polian has assured the faithful that “it’s important to always keep [the OL] green and growing” while all the Colts brain trust has to do is “give [Mudd] 14 guys and he’s going to come out with the right eight in the right positions,” the truth is that the core group on the Indy OL has rarely been green.

Tarik Glenn (now retired) and Jeff Saturday were around from 1999 through 2006. Together with Scott, Ryan Lilja, and Ryan Diem, this nucleus provided enviable stability from 2004. Sure, young Tony Ugoh slipped nearly seamlessly into the starting corps in place of Glenn last season, but three guys who primarily played center at their universities might not quell today’s fears immediately, particularly as Pollak is considered the only potential blue-chipper of the lot. Additionally, the Colts perhaps overcompensated for the loss of Scott by using seven of their nine picks – including blocking TEs Jacob Tamme of Kentucky and Tom Santi of Virginia – on the offensive side at the expense of the team’s weaker half.

Against the negative development on the line this offseason, the Colts made the finest under-the-radar signing yet with the reacquisition of Dominic Rhodes. (What was that about overcompensation? Never mind…)

Those who were dismayed with the snubbing of Rhodes and Joseph Addai as co-MVPs in Super Bowl XLI surely were equally as perplexed when Indy decided to drop the now-vogue 1-2 halfback attack the 2006 Colts helped foster by opting not to re-sign Rhodes.

Rhodes instead went to the Oakland Raiders, to the detriment of all three parties. After a DWI violation got him a four-game suspension, Rhodes toted the rock just 75 times in 10 games for Oakland. Not only was Oakland's disappointment with the Super Bowl hero palpable, the team was forced to release him and take an ultimately unfortunate financial hit. Meanwhile, the Colts’ rushing attack ran in place, shedding 62 yards for the season with the implementation of Kenton Keith as backup and staying below NFL average, ranking 18th in rushing yards for the second straight year.

If Indy’s problem with Rhodes was attitudinal, well, a year with a hapless club may have straightened out any locker-room and/or ego issues; certainly Polian & Co. appear to believe so; and since the drunken driving incident, Rhodes’ record with law enforcement has been clean. Maybe Rhodes’ best days are behind him, but the 29-year-old surely still has some fuel in the tank. All in all, this reacquisition could prove to be of the sort that has fans of the other 15 AFC franchises – OK, maybe not the Patriots’ – crying foul.

Tell you what: One way or another, the 2008 Indianapolis Colts should prove to be … interesting.

Seeing both sides of every offseason throughout the year at RealFootball365.com.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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