Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Post-draft Comments

While the net is abuzz with the Colts’ so-called failure to grab a top left tackle prospect in the draft, I’m actually in agreement with those Colts fans and commentators who point out that there were no great prospects available when they picked and were better off going with what they had.

I have a persistent thought that tells me they would prefer to open the season with free-agent acquisition Adam Terry at left tackle unless reluctant dragon Tony Ugoh can reclaim the spot with conviction. If either of those scenarios were to happen, it would allow Charlie Johnson to move inside and reclaim his natural left guard spot, and still allow him to kick back outside should Terry get injured again and/or Ugoh fail again.

Don’t laugh at the Terry scenario. On those occasions he started for the Ravens, he was more than competent. When it comes to overall talent, he is by far the Colts’ best option at the position, but he has to show that he can stay healthy.

If Charlie Johnson is inside, it solidifies one guard spot, which is crucial. Then the options at right guard would include incumbent Kyle DeVan, former starter Mike Pollak, free-agent signee Andy Alleman, rookie Jacques McLendon and holdovers Jaimie Thomas and Jamey Richard. It’s a lot easier to see one starter arise from that group than two.

If I had to look into my crystal ball, I’d say the opening day starters from left to right will be Terry-Johnson-Saturday-DeVan-Diem; they cut Pollak, Thomas and Ugoh, keep Alleman, McClendon and Richard as inside reserves and one of the rookie tackles Jeff Linkenbach or Andrew Tyshovnytsky outside, although Johnson would actually be the top reserve at both tackle positions with Alleman filling in at left guard if necessary.

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Lots of people are drinking the Polian Kool-Aid when it comes to Pat Angerer being strictly Gary Brackett’s backup and heir apparent and not a challenger to Phillip Wheeler’s strongside position. Here are a few points to keep in mind:

• Brackett just signed a five-year contract
• Brackett is not old for the position, and is playing at a high level
• Wheeler twice lost his starting spot last year to since-departed Tyjuan Hagler, and was clearly the weakest link in the Colts’ LB corps last season
• Angerer is as NFL-ready as he’ll ever be and has limited upside
• Angerer’s best spot in the Larry Coyer defense is probably the strongside
• As a fifth-year senior last year, Angerer is not a young prospect
• Fili Moala notwithstanding, Polian doesn’t draft guys in the second round expecting them to sit
• Polian lies

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I already said I liked the Jerry Hughes pick and I still do very much. Remember when the Giants went to the Super Bowl with a four-man, all end rushline they used on third downs? I could see the Colts starting Mathis-Mookie-Muir-Freeney, then going Mathis-Foster-Freeney-Hughes on third down. I’ve seen Freeney slide inside a few times in preseason, but not often in the regular season. Could be scary.

***

As interesting as all the other positional battles will be, they pale next to the return specialist. I’ve said this before, that returning kicks and returning punts are two very different tasks that are best suited to different kinds of players (look at it this way, Eric Dickerson would be my perfect idea of a kick returner, while Barry Sanders would be the prototype punt returner). But, alas, the Colts don’t usually think that way and would rather have one guy (make that one roster spot) handle both jobs. Fine, let’s look at the primary candidates' college stats:

Ray Fisher 18-650-2 (36.11) KR/6-59-0 (9.83) PR
Brandon James 112-2,718-1 (24.27) KR/117-1,371-4 (11.72) PR
Devin Moore 61-1,246-1 (20.43) KR/0-0-0 (--) PR

Personally, I like James for the job and I also like his (almost) Percy Harvin-like abilities on offense. Fisher’s KR average is gaudy, but remember, all but one of his returns came in one year. He has some ability as a tackler, but it’s more likely they would come in handy on special teams than on defense. It’d be great if they could keep both Fisher for kicks and James for punts, but I think the final decision will come down to who holds onto the ball best in camp and preseason.

***

Speaking of precious, precious roster spots, it looks like Drew Willy and Tim Hiller will fight for the No. 3 quarterback spot, but it may be moot as the Colts look like they’ll keep just two quarterbacks.

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