Position Analysis: Outside Linebackers

55 Clint Session
Participation: 11 games, 11 starts, 642 snaps: 281 run (43.8 percent), 31 rush (4.8 percent), 330 cover (51.4 percent)
Pass rushing: 1 sack, 4 QB hits, 4 pressures
Tackling: 64 tackles, 6 assists, 2 tackles for loss, 9 missed tackles (12.3 percent), 35 defeats, 0 forced fumbles, 0 fumble recoveries
Pass defense: 45 targets, 37 catches allowed, 262 yards allowed, 0 TDs allowed, 2-35-1 interceptions, 1 pass defensed, 72.4 opp QB rating
Special teams: 2 tackles, 0 assists, 0 missed tackles
Contract status: signed through 2012
Triangle numbers: 5110/236/4.52c
Summary: A surprise fourth-round pick in 2007, Session has gradually developed into the Colts’ best outside linebacker. Of course, best is a relative term. Session makes a lot of great plays, and sometimes he makes some boneheaded ones. Session has gotten much better of late, especially when it comes to coverage. Future: Session will be a starting outside linebacker for the Colts as long as he’s under contract.

56 Tyjuan Hagler
Participation: 7 games, 7 starts, 232 snaps: 138 run (59.5 percent), 1 rush (0.4 percent), 93 cover (40.1 percent)
Pass rushing: 0 sacks, 0 QB hits, 0 pressuresTackling: 20 tackles, 11 assists, 1 tackles for loss, 5 missed tackles (20.0 percent), 13 defeats, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Pass defense: 13 targets, 10 catches allowed, 47 yards allowed, 0 TDs allowed, 0-0 interception, 3 passes defensed, 81.2 opp QB rating
Special teams: 0 tackles, 1 assist, 0 missed tackles
Contract status: Set to become a free agent after 2009 season
Triangle numbers: 5115/236/4.62c
Summary: Ah, Hagler. He’s a great guy, plays all three linebacker positions at a decent starter level, is somewhat better against the run than the pass (but good at both), and he’ll help out on specials too. What’s not to like? Well, at the end of this season (he went on IR after Game 7) he’ll have played in 28 out of a possible 80 regular-season games since he was drafted in the fifth round in 2005. That makes Bob Sanders look like Cal Ripken. Hagler doesn’t just get hurt, he gets hurt lifting weights, buying groceries, patting puppies ... Future: Every offseason I always expect the Colts to dump Hagler. It’s not that I don’t like him, I really do. I just always think that they be silly enough won’t take another chance on his health. This year they kept him because of worries about Wheeler’s ability to start. To be honest, Hagler outplayed Wheeler so far this year, but his injury history is more than a bit troubling. But it will be for other teams as well. Look for the Colts to re-sign Hagler to a risk-free, bonus-free contract.

50 Philip Wheeler
Participation: 10 games, 2 starts, 148 snaps: 73 run (49.1 percent), 10 rush (6.8 percent), 65 cover (44.1 percent)
Pass rushing: 1 sack, 0 QB hits, 0 pressures
Tackling: 12 tackles, 6 assists, 1 tackles for loss, 1 missed tackles (7.7 percent), 9 defeats, 1 forced fumble, 0 fumble recoveries
Pass defense: 13 targets, 12 catches allowed, 83 yards allowed, 1 TD allowed, 0-0 interceptions, 0 passes defensed, 118.9 opp QB rating
Special teams: 4 tackles, 0 assists, 3 missed tackles
Contract status: Signed through 2011 season
Triangle numbers: 6017/248/4.76c4.66pd
Summary: There was a mixture of elation and confusion when the Colts picked Wheeler in the third round of the 2008 draft. Everyone knew their turnover at linebacker was annual, so any reinforcements were welcome. And Wheeler had a distinguished career at Georgia Tech. But he didn’t match the Colts OLB prototype. He was big, and his best quality was his blitz ability. He seemed somewhat out of place in Indy where tiny coverage ’backers were the order of the day. But Wheeler was thrown onto the Colts’ OLB assembly line and spent his rookie season on special teams and learning the defense as countless other have before him. When the Colts let Freddie Keiaho leave as a free agent, it looked as though Wheeler had been given a starting spot, and things looked even better for him because new defensive coordinator Larry Coyer and head coach Jim Caldwell seemed much less allergic to blitzing than the previous regime. But one thing got in the way of Wheeler’s ascension – he didn’t earn the starting job. In summer camp and the preseason, he looked raw and unready. Just before the first regular-season game of 2009, the Colts announced that the less gifted, but more productive Hagler had won the spot. Wheeler played very sparingly at LB the first couple of games, and then the Colts started putting him at DE late in games. They switched him back to linebacker, still appearing only in fourth quarters. He did little to distinguish himself other than a sort-of sack against Alex Smith of the 49ers. But after Hagler was hurt against the Patriots, Wheeler was thrust into a starting position. The results have been inconclusive thus far. He looked great against the Pats, pretty good against Baltimore and mediocre against Houston. Notably in the Houston game, he lost quite a few fourth-quarter snaps to Keiaho and also showed up a couple of times back at defensive end. Most young linebackers go through growing pains, and Wheeler is having some ups and downs. The next few games will indicate if he deserves a starting spot. If he doesn’t earn one, his career in Indy could be in jeopardy because he has been less than adequate on special teams, recording almost as many penalties (three) and missed tackles (three) as tackles (four). Future: With five games left to go in the season, we should have a pretty good idea of whether Wheeler is part of the team’s future plans. Neither Hagler nor Keiaho appear to be long-term solutions at the position, so Wheeler will get every opportunity to prove he belongs.

54 Freddie Keiaho
Participation: 4 games, 0 starts, 21 snaps: 7 run (33.3 percent), 2 rush (9.5 percent), 12 cover (57.2 percent)
Pass rushing: 0 sacks, 1 QB hit, 0 pressures
Tackling: 1 tackle, 0 assists, 0 tackles for loss, 0 missed tackles (0.0 percent), 0 defeats, 0 forced fumbles, 0 fumble recoveries
Pass defense: 1 target, 1 catch allowed, 7 yards allowed, 0 TDs allowed, 0-0 interceptions, 0 passes defensed, 95.8 opp QB rating
Special teams: 4 tackles, 0 assist, 0 missed tackles
Contract status: Set to become a free agent after 2009 season
Triangle numbers: 5112/224/4.68pd
Summary: When he arrived as a third-round pick in 2006, Colts fans loved Keiaho’s aggressiveness and non-stop motor. A couple of years of missed tackles and bitten-upon play fakes later, they were much less enthusiastic. Keiaho became an unrestricted free agent before the 2009 season because the Colts did not tender him an offer. No other team came close to resigning him, and he returned to Indy for a one-year $585,000 contract. He began the season as the team’s backup middle linebacker (he had started on the outside in the past), and was not in the running when Hagler replaced Wheeler, or again when Wheeler replaced Hagler. But he has shown up on the outside a few times since the Hagler injury. I’ll discuss his abilities inside in a later post. In his few outing at OLB, Keiaho has played fairly well and looked much more disciplined than he had in the past. And he has been something of a bright spot on the kickoff coverage unit. Future: I don’t think the Colts believe Keiaho is the answer either inside or out, but he is a capable reserve at all three LB positions and an asset on special teams. If they can get him back at a bargain price, expect them to.

59 Ramon Humber
Participation: 1 game, 0 starts, 3 snaps: 2 run (66.7 percent), 0 rush (0.0 percent), 1 cover (33.3 percent)
Pass rushing: 0 sacks, 0 QB hits, 0 pressures
Tackling: 1 tackle, 0 assists, 0 tackles for loss, 0 missed tackles (0.0 percent), 0 defeats, 0 forced fumbles, 0 fumble recoveries
Pass defense: 0 targets, 0 catches allowed, 0 yards allowed, 0 TDs allowed, 0-0 interceptions, 0 passes defensed, 0.0 opp QB rating
Special teams: 11 tackles, 0 assists, 0 missed tackles
Contract status: Signed through 2011 season
Triangle numbers: 5106/224/4.56pd
Summary: Every year the Colts have at least one undrafted free agent find, and this year’s crop brought something of a gem in Humber. After solid play in the preseason both inside and out, Humber made the team as an extra linebacker. Humber hasn’t appeared much on defense, but when he has played, he’s looked like he belonged (although he was much better inside than out). While it’s far too early to tell if Humber will ever make a serious impact on defense, we do know that he is already the Colts’ best weapon on kick and punt coverage units. He will be worth watching as the season progresses. Future: Humber will be welcomed back with open arms, and will be given every chance to prove that he can contribute on defense. But even if he’s never any more than a reserve at linebacker, he certainly earns his pay on special teams.

52 Cody Glenn
Participation: 0 games, 0 starts, 0 snaps: 0 run (0.0 percent), 0 rush (0.0 percent), 0 cover (0.0 percent)
Pass rushing: 0 sacks, 0 QB hits, 0 pressures
Tackling: 0 tackles, 0 assists, 0 tackles for loss, 0 missed tackles (0.0 percent), 0 defeats, 0 forced fumbles, 0 fumble recoveries
Pass defense: 0 targets, 0 catches allowed, 0 yards allowed, 0 TDs allowed, 0-0 interceptions, 0 passes defensed, 0.0 opp QB rating
Special teams: 3 tackles, 1 assist, 1 missed tackle
Contract status: Signed through 2012 season
Triangle numbers: 6000/244/4.67pd
Summary: Glenn came to Nebraska as a very highly rated halfback in 2005. He won the short-yardage job as a frosh and rushed 45-131-4. Despite the emergence of Brandon Jackson, Glenn saw an expanded role as a sophomore, running 71-370-8. Injuries derailed him as a junior, and he ran just 27-78-2 and caught 6-52-0. He was switched to defense and actually won a starting spot at weakside linebacker. He played well – better against the run and while blitzing than in coverage – for the first nine games, but was suspended for the rest of the season for selling game tickets. But don’t judge his character too harshly, he earned his degree and is well known as a charitable volunteer. He was a fifth-round pick by Washington, but was among their final cuts. Since becoming a Colt, he hasn’t played defense yet, so it’s hard to say how he is progressing. But notably, he has not been impressive on special teams. Interestingly, Glenn has seen one play on offense, serving as an extra runningback on a goal-line situation. Future: It’s hard to imagine a prospect more raw than Glenn. After an injury-plagued three college seasons as an extra halfback, he played nine games at linebacker and has yet to see the field as a defender in the NFL. He certainly has potential at linebacker, but if I may be silly for a moment, what if he turns out to be the fullback/short-yardage back that I have been begging Bill Polian for lo these many years?

Also saw significant time at outside linebacker with the Colts this year:

51 Jordan Senn
Participation: 2 games, 0 starts, 79 snaps: 11 run (13.9 percent), 7 rush (8.9 percent), 61 cover (77.2 percent)
Pass rushing: 0 sacks, 0 QB hits, 0 pressures
Tackling: 2 tackles, 2 assists, 0 tackles for loss, 0 missed tackles (0.0 percent), 1 defeats, 1 forced fumble, 0 fumble recoveries
Pass defense: 6 targets, 6 catches allowed, 53 yards allowed, 0 TDs allowed, 0-0 interceptions, 0 passes defensed, 103.5 opp QB rating
Special teams: 1 tackle, 0 assists, 0 missed tackles
Contract status: Is now with the Carolina Panthers
Triangle numbers: 5110/224/4.53pd
Summary: Senn was 2008’s Humber. Coming out of nowhere (actually, Portland State), Senn earned a spot and looked great on specials and promising on defense. But things didn’t go his way in 2009. He played a bit as a nickel linebacker and special teamer before the Colts cut him. He’s since signed with the Panthers, and has already become an important special-teams performer. Future: I think the Colts gave up on him too early.

Conclusion: In the Polian years, outside linebackers have been nothing less than disposable, with a starter leaving almost every year. We’ve seen Marcus Washington, Mike Peterson, David Thornton, Gilbert Gardner, Rob Morris, Cato June and Keiaho jettisoned. Of course, Keiaho came back and Gardner was utterly horrible, but the others were hard to part with.

This time around, the Colts have both starters – Session and Wheeler – under contract. Session’s solid, and not to be dislodged, but Wheeler hardly a sure thing. Both Hagler and Keiaho would likely accept any contract the team offered him, but neither is considered a solid bet as a starter. Humber has a great deal of upside, but to expect him to be a starter at this point is nothing short of foolhardy. Glenn? Well, he’s as likely to find a home on offense as he is on defense at this point.

So it will come as no surprise that I expect the Colts to draft an outside linebacker with starting potential. Right now, the guy I really like is Troy’s Cameron Sheffield. He’s fast, strong and productive. He’s more than a bit raw in coverage, but hey, who’s perfect?