Colts cut last fullback, sign George Foster

Regular readers of ColtPlay will remember how delighted we were when new GM Ryan Grigson announced the team was going to use the fullback position more this season. I liked it because Donald Brown has historically run far more effectively behind a fullback, and Andrew Luck, as a rookie quarterback behind a suspect line, could probably use more protection and an easy dump-off target. Besides, he always played with a fullback at Stanford and new offensive coordinator Bruce Arians used a fullback on about a quarter of all offensive snaps with Pittsburgh last season.

Well, he lied. Of the three fullbacks the Colts used last year, one left in free agency, one was traded for a cornerback/kick returner and now the last one, Ryan Mahaffy, has been cut to make room for an offensive lineman who is just about the longest of shots to make the team. They didn’t draft a fullback, nor did they sign any free agents.

Nobody likes being lied to, but the lack of fullbacks may be actually be a good thing. According to recently signed WR Donnie Avery, the Colts’ offense in OTAs frequently features four- and even five-receiver sets. I’m sure he’s counting the rookie tight end duo of Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen (perhaps split wide or in motion) as their value is too great to keep on the bench and there’s not all that much talent at wideout to force them to sit.

So if that comes to pass in the regular season (and they’re not just practising passing plays early because they are much harder to get good at), the Colts would field a wild-and-woolly pass-happy offense that should be hard to defend and pile up yardage. But it will also be one all the major players will have to master in a short period, and it will also have the same problems those throw-first attacks always have: Exposed quarterbacks, streakiness and an inability to convert on short yardage.

Oh, and the offensive lineman they signed was George Foster (6053/338/5.23c in 2003). You may remember him as a Broncos’ first rounder about the time most of the current Colts were born. After a pretty good rookie season, injuries, conditioning problems and poor technique caught up with him. He was traded to the Lions, cut, signed and cut by the Browns and wound up playing for Omaha of the UFL. He hasn’t seen the field with an NFL team since 2007, so if he makes the Colts it would be both a huge surprise and a biting indictment of the other players vying for roster spots at the position.