Tyjuan Hagler’s torn pectoral muscle will keep him out of action for at least two months and puts him in danger of missing the regular-season opener. While I would never wish ill on anyone — especially a fine young man like Hagler — it does give the team an opportunity to see what life after Tyjuan will be like.
Not convinced Hagler is going? Here’s the evidence:
• The Colts consider outside linebackers disposable. In the Polian era, the Colts have allowed outside linebackers Cato June, David Thornton, Mike Peterson and Marcus Washington to walk when they became free agents. Hagler will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2008 season and, although a competent starter, he’s not as good as any of those guys.
• Drafted in 2005, Hagler has played in just 21 of 48 possible regular-season games, missing the others due to injury. And he’s injured again.
• And, as they always do, the Colts have assembled a crew of potential replacements.
It’s those replacements we’ll see in the next two months. And they aren’t just fighting for the right to start the opener (if Hagler misses it), but also to be first in line for his spot when it empties for good in 2009.
The candidates are (in order):
• Clint Session (Numbers: 5111, 236, 4.57pd; 2007 stats: 16 tackles, 7 assists, 3 tackles for loss, 2-3-0 interceptions, 3 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble, 8 special-teams tackles, 2 special-teams assists with the Colts): A very gifted, surprisingly strong athlete who can lay a lick and keep up with all but the very fastest backs. Colts fans love this former fourth-round pick because of his two picks in his only start last year, but there are some issues that prevent him from being a shoo-in starter. Most of his strength is in his upper body and he can be ridden down too easily by blockers, and taken completely out of the play. Although he has speed and agility, Session is not polished in coverage and blows too many assignments. Worst of all, he has subpar play recognition. Not only does he get fooled by play-action and draws; but he also loses valuable steps making up his mind. Those are all things that he could improve upon — and Session is a pretty good player even considering his drawbacks — but I think Colts fans should think twice before anointing him starter.
• Phillip Wheeler (Numbers: 6017, 248, 4.76c/4.66pd; 46 tackles, 42 assists, 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 5 passes defensed, 2-4-0 fumble returns, 1 forced fumble, with Georgia Tech): A former defensive end who played both inside and outside linebacker in college, Wheeler looked much more comfortable in the middle. Still, he was very productive outside as well, showing great pursuit ability, a knack for creating turnovers and superb blitzing skills. Stronger and harder to block than Session, he’s not as fast but is just as quick and agile and is a more reliable tackler. He has much better instincts, but may take a while to adapt to the pro game because he’s not known as hard worker. Wheeler’s biggest liability is his relative stiffness in zone coverage. Despite that, I think Wheeler is a much better overall prospect than Session. But he’d be better off in the middle than on the strong side and his lack of polish and experience may keep him off the field, at least for now.
• Victor Worsley (Numbers: 6007, 234, 4.59pd; 2007 stats: 1 special-teams tackles, 2 special-teams assists with the Colts): Worsley, undrafted and twice cut, is the long shot, but shouldn’t be counted out. Another player who might be better off inside than out, Worsley has precious little strong side experience. But he probably has the best zone coverage skills of the trio and could emerge as a surprise starter (at least for the short term) if the other two guys fail.
Perhaps as interesting as the three names on the shortlist is one that isn’t on it. I think Jordan Senn and Kyle Shotwell are excused because they went to Portland State and Cal Poly-SLO and are thus probably too raw to be thrown into the fray. Senn’s safety-like size also works against him trying out for the strongside spot.
Conspicuous by his absence is Ramon Guzman. He’s a really good athlete who actually contributed a bit as a rookie (4 tackles, 1 assist, 1 fumble recovery, 8 special-teams tackles, 3 special-teams assists). You’d think he’d get a shot, but late last season, Guzman switched from outside linebacker to defensive end when injuries struck the line. It made sense. He’s got an awesome first step, has good pass-rush moves and is relentless in pursuit. He’s not that good in coverage and lacks real play recognition skills — he could well be better off as a third-down rusher than an outside linebacker. Polian even referred to him as an end in the offseason. But isn’t Guzman too small? He is small for an end by NFL standards (6021, 232, 4.60) but so is Robert Mathis and he makes an honest living. Sure, the Colt list Mathis as 6’2, 245, but I seem to remember him being 6’0, 227 (or some such) at his pro day. If he’s 235 on game days, I’d be truly surprised.
So does that mean Guzman is an end? Maybe. More likely, he’s a special-teamer (he’s good at that) who can fill in at either end or outside linebacker as necessary.
And this brings up another kettle of fish. Tony Dungy said that the Colts were going to bring pressure in ways they hadn’t before. Of course, the media jumped on it and assumed that meant Bob Sanders and his 4.35 forty would be blitzing more.
But maybe the Colts are thinking differently. Wasn’t Wheeler the best blitzing linebacker in the draft? Isn’t Guzman really nothing more than a bullet aimed at the quarterback’s chest?
Hmmm, makes ya think.
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