With Angerer out, someone has to step up

The Colts say Pat Angerer is out for about six weeks with a fractured foot. That will take him into the regular season. In the same game, reserve inside linebacker Scott Lutrus tore his ACL and is out for the season. Earlier, the Colts also lost AJ Edds for season.

It would be impossible for the Colts to replace Angerer's talent and football-readiness in-house, but there are plenty of candidates to fill his shoes in the short-term.

Moise Fokou
The only candidate with NFL starting experience, Fokou has other good attributes including a quick first step and ability to diagnoses very quickly. The knocks against him are that he lacks bulk and strength, and that he's not instinctive in coverage.

Greg Lloyd
Lloyd's sort of the opposite of Fokou. He lacks his teammate's quickness and diagnositic ability, but he's bigger, strong and — to my eye at least — better in coverage. 

Jerrell Freeman
This former small-school strong safety went to the CFL, where he was all-everything. But he's much smaller than you'd like to see. He has lots of good qualities but I just don't think he can stand up to teh wrestling matches he'd see play after play in the NFL.

Mario HarveyUnlike the better-known options, Harvey is big, fast AND strong. But that's where his resume kind of peters out. He hasn't show much understanding or feel for the game, and seems like a special-teamer at this point.

Larry Lumpkin Lumpkin has some qualities that make him an interesting long-range prospect, but I think depending on this rawest of rookies for a major role, even temporarily, would be a huge mistake.

Some wags have been throwing around the idea of the Colts re-signing veteran Gary Brackett, but I don't see it. He'd be as new to the system as everyone else was months ago, and signing him would increase ties to the old Polian regime — something Grigson is loathe to do.

The Colts will, of course scan the waiver wires, but depth, not a starter. Until Angerer can come back, it looks like the job is Fokou's to lose unless someone like Freeman plays well enough to force him to the bench.