SB Nation - Roy Hall

Colts cut Dante Hughes, Steve Justice, and Nick Graham

BigBlueShoe — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:32:03 -0000

Dante Hughes, right, never lived up to expectations after a stellar career at Cal. He was cut today as the Colts trim their roster down to 53 active players. Photo: cache.daylife.com

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Special thanks to jumunjis for posting the link to Mike Chappell's Indy Star report. The first cuts towards the 53-man roster have been made, and on the chopping block are 2007 third round pick Dante Hughes, 2008 sixth round pick Steve Justice, and Nick Graham. As jumunjis astutely points out, Hughes is yet another victim of the curse of the third round pick. Former Colts tackle Quinn Pitcock was the other third rounder the Colts took in 2007. Now, both he and Hughes are former-Colts after just two years.

When you look back at the 2007 draft for the Colts, it had so much promise. I even called it "one of the best drafts Bill Polian has ever presided over in Indianapolis." Shows you how much I know.

From that 2007 draft class, only Anthony Gonzalez, Clint Session, and Keyunta Dawson remain (and Dawson is in danger of cutting cut himself). Dante Hughes, Brandon Condren, Michael Coe, and Roy Hall were all drafted by Indy that year, and all of them were cut this off-season. DT Quinn Pitcock quit football last year prior to training camp. That's five picks from just two years ago that are gone. And to top it all off, Indy's second round pick in 2007, Tony Ugoh, was just recently benched. Indy traded a first rounder in 2008 for Ugoh, and now it looks like he is going the way of all the other trash drafted in 2007.

Yikes!

The 2008 Draft for Indy isn't shaping up to be much better. Mike Pollak, a center out of Arizona State who Indy has converted into a guard, isn't setting the world on fire, or anything. Jamey Richard, who played center at Buffalo, is a quality back-up, but that's about all we can ever really expect from Richard. And now, Steve Justice, the third center the Colts drafted last year, has been cut.

Now, before people freak out, it's important to know that many of the players we were hoping Indy would draft from previous years have also recently been cut. The Broncos cut Kory Lichtensteiger and Carlton Powell today, two players we thought the Colts should have drafted in 2008. Kevin O'Connell was also cut recently; another player we wanted Indy to take in 2008.

The draft isn't an exact science, folks. And even future Hall of Fame personnel people, like Bill Polian, are not perfect.

Still, Polian was able to find quality starters like Anthony Gonzalez and Clint Session in 2007, and players like Jacob Tamme and Marcus Howard offer a lot of promise from the 2008 draft. Also, in 2007, Polian found and signed Melvin Bullitt as a rookie free agent. So, it's not like 2007 didn't give the team anything. It just didn't give the team the kind of talent we are used to seeing.

The cutting of Steve Justice likely means free agent Kyle DeVan will remain on the active roster, but we'll see.

Colts roster moves: Three players injured-waived, TE Colin Cloherty cut

BigBlueShoe — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:37:12 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Indianapolis Colts receiver John Matthews was (shockingly) not cut today (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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Tomorrow, the Colts must trim their roster down to 75 players. Today, they took the first steps to doing so, placing Michael Coe, Curtis Johnson, and Rudolph Hardie on the injured-waived list. This is the same list the Colts placed Roy Hall on. Basically, when the players clear waivers, another team can pick them up. If a team doesn't, the Colts will then place them on the Injured Reserve (IR) list, effectively ending their season.

Again, just like with Roy Hall, it seems Coe, Hardie, and Johnson will not play for the Colts in 2009.

Indianapolis also cut Colin Cloherty. By my count, they need to make one more roster move to get to 75. One possibility is cutting kicker Shane Andrus and bringing Adam Vinatieri off the PUP list.

Cutting Coe was something many of us saw coming. I don't think he's played in a single pre-season game. Likely, he is still recovering from last season's knee injury during training camp, which is very unfortunate. Hardie was injured in the Lions pre-season game on Saturday, and apparently that injury was serious enough to get him waived-injured. Curtis Johnson is a bit of a shocker. Some of us (aka me!) thought he'd make the final roster. Not sure what his injury is.

Also, Kelvin Hayden, Matt Giordano, Raheem Brock, and Jacob Lacey returned to practice today, according to IFR. Held out of practice were Mike Hart, Mike Pollak, Sam Giguere, Clint Session, and Tom Santi. The Colts seem to be listing Santi's injury from the Lions game as an ankle injury, and, as Phil B of the Indy Star fears, it could be serious.

Come back to us Tom Pestock; Get the hell outta here Corey Hilliard!

BigBlueShoe — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:43:58 -0000

With Roy Hall clearing waivers and getting placed on IR... again... for the third year in a row, the Colts decided to bring back OT Tom Pestock, says Mike Chappell of the Indy Star. Pestock was waived last week prior to the Minnesota Vikings pre-season game. In re-signing Pestock, the Colts decided to take the opportunity to jettison everyone's favorite whipping boy the last five days: reserve RT Corey Hilliard.

In all seriousness, Hilliard is lucky he wasn't fired at halftime of last week's pre-season game. Hilliard was given a chance to start at RT for the Colts (a pretty big deal!) and Corey responded with not one, not two, but three sacks allowed on Peyton Manning in just five plays.

We wish Corey all the best, and hopefully next time he gets a big assignment he will not screw it up as royally as he did with the Colts.

2009 Colts Training Camp: Colts break camp, ready for Eagles

BigBlueShoe — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:44:47 -0000

Another year, another training camp done. Though, I must say, this camp obviously seemed much more special due to the fact that the Colts have a new head coach for the first time in seven years. While many elements of old camps remained the same, the camp did have a different vibe, or frequency, to it. It had new energy, and I'm kind of sad to see camp break.

Last night's practice at Cook Field (a very nice way to close out camp for the fans!) was the last for this year's trip to Rose Hulman. Today, the Colts pack up their gear and head back to West 56th Street in Indianapolis.

While many are bemoaning the state of certain players and injuries, if you all step back and look at the camp, as a whole, it really seems as if it was one of the more successful camps in recent memory. From an injury standpoint, camp did not cause anything that would make you slam your head on your desk. Kelvin Hayden has a strained hamstring. Antoine Bethea and Raheem Brock have hand injuries. Dallas Clark had a minor concussion. Bob Sanders is getting his legs stronger after off-season knee surgery.

These are a far cry from James Mungro's and Rocky Calmus' ACL tears (2006), Booger McFarland's knee injury (2007), and Peyton Manning's bursa sac fiasco (2008). We haven't lost any players for the season (knock on wood) save Roy Hall (who was looking more and more like a wasted roster spot), and we haven't had any players quit for weird reasons that initially don't make sense (Quinn Pitcock). I mean, when you really look at it, the only eventful thing that happened at camp was Tony Ugoh getting benched for Charlie Johnson, and none of us are really certain this was a permanent move. What camp did provide for us is some answers to several questions we'd been mulling since Tony Dungy retired.

What kind of team will we have?

Is Peyton healthy, unlike last year?

Who will play slot receiver?

What kind of defense do we have?

Will the offensive line improve?

Who is playing DT?

We have answers and some last day comments after the jump as the Indianapolis Colts break training camp at the Rose Hulman Institute for the 2009 season. Next up, the Philadelphia Eagles.

The question of what kind of team we have was not answered for the Colts after their first pre-season game against the Vikings. Hell, it wasn't answered for them either, and they won the meaningless game! What it did do was shine some light on the basic framework of the team, the strategy the group will use to win football games. Thankfully, it is not much different from the strategy that has made Indy (arguably) the best NFL franchise the last ten years.

The Colts still run Tampa-2 on defense. They still run a base 2 TE, sometimes 3 WR offense that is no-huddle. They are built on speed, not power. Their strategy is to score, get the lead, and then turn loose their pass rushers on the opponent's QB. They still have the talent for a top 5 offense, top 5 defense, and their should be improved on special teams.

If you've seen Peyton in camp, you know he is healthy and determined. I mean, more determined even for Peyton. He was very much annoyed by his injury last season. This season, he wants to start strong. Considering he was the MVP last year despite playing half the season on one leg, an angry and determined (and healthy) Peyton Manning spells doom for many teams thinking they have a shot at the Colts.

Peyton has also been more chatty his off-season. He's signing more autographs and talking to more reporters in a candid way. Normally, Peyton is very guarded. He's not aloof or anything, but he knows he is the NFL's Michael Jordan. He knows he is the superstar in a league designed to de-emphasize superstars, and because of this he has been guarded. Not so much this year. One of the things Big P candidly discussed recently with a rather well-known reporter recently was the slot receiver position:

I'm gonna kind of whisper this because I don't like rookies to read anything I say. But I think [third-round BYU receiver] Austin Collie's got a chance. He can run. He can really run. He is working the slot only. We haven't had anyone since Brandon Stokley to work the slot only. That's all he practiced. He doesn't have to worry about anything but the slot.

The whole brew-ha-ha over "Who will play third receiver?" is more specifically a question over who will play slot receiver. Right now, as camp breaks, Austin Collie is the slot receiver. When Indy goes three wide, or "Kings" as the coaches say, Austin Collie will be there with Reggie Wayne and Anthony Gonzalez. This doesn't mean second year player Pierre Garcon sucks or anything. Indeed, Peyton has compared him to a young Marvin Harrison. That's pretty damn big praise! But Garcon is not a slot receiver in the NFL; nor is Anthony Gonzalez. These two are more effective on the outside. The only time we will likely see Garcon is if the Colts put Reggie in the slot in case people are doubling him.

Switching to defense, we know are defensive line is indeed stronger. Even after watching the Minnesota pre-season game, it's obvious. This is a much better d-line. Ed Johnson is playing under tackle, Keyunta Dawson has moved to DE, and Dwight Freeney (in some situations) is getting used as a stand-up pass rusher, like an outside LBer in a 3-4. The NT position, so decimated with injury last season, is anchored by a very strong group of players. The Colts should shave roughly 30 yards a game off last season's average per opponent rush.

Speaking of rushing, one of the biggest questions his past off-season was answered in camp: Ryan Lilja. He is healthy, and that is gigantic news! Lilja missed the entire 2008 season, which saw the Colts rank 31st in the league running the ball. He is back. He is healthy. He is motivated to pancake. Also looking good are Mike Pollak and Jeff Saturday. The status of Tony Ugoh is still in question, but as we have stated again and again, and as Ugoh has proven again and again, the best left tackle on this team is Tony Ugoh. Hopefully, he will improve enough to the point where Jim Caldwell will come to his senses and start him again.

Other questions lingering about this team are the health of Adam Vinatieri, the consistency of rookie punter Pat McAfee, the impact of rookie RB Donald Brown, and (of course) what kind of game manager will new coach Jim Caldwell be? However, when you look at these and compare them to the struggles of other teams, you will notice that the Colts actually do not have that many unanswered questions. Talent-wise, this is one of the more talented we've seen. They have great coaches. They have a strong front office. They have the MVP at QB. They have playmakers and difference makers at multiple positions.

This team will do special things in 2009. I know I feel that. What about you? Go Colts!

Colts essentially cut WR Roy Hall, sign several new players

BigBlueShoe — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:58:58 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Roy Hall makes a catch during the NFL football team's minicamp in Indianapolis, Friday, June 5, 2009. Hall was placed on the injured-waived list today. His career in Indy is likely over. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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As the discussion in the FanPost comments suggests, this move was a bit of a surprise for some folks. Roy Hall, a prospect at WR since the Colts drafted him in 2007, has been placed on the injured-waved list. This means that Roy can sign with another team. If he can't sign, he's then placed on the Injured Reserve (IR) list. Either way, his career with the Colts is over. This is now the third straight year Hall's season with the Colts was cut short because of injury. Hell, we still don't even know what his current injury is.

Roy developed as a player, but could never stay healthy to showcase any talent on the field. We wish him the best and hope he can get healthy enough to make a difference in this league. Also released was OG Tom Pestock.

After the roster spots for Hall and Pestock were cleared, the Colts re-activated Samuel Giguere from the PUP list and signed two additional players: Walter Mendenhall (a rookie out of Illinois State and older brother of Steelers back Rashard Mendenhall) and Rudolph Hardie, a DE drafted two years ago from Howard University.

You might remember Rudolph Hardie from our draft profile of him in 2008. We thought the Colts would draft or potentially sign Hardie because he seemed to fit the kind of player the Colts love. We wrote:

Despite these weakness, there is a reason Hardie keeps popping up on people's sleeper draft pick lists: He has the tools to become a very good pass rusher, and team looking for DE depth could find a gem in Hardie. Look for a Cover-2 style team, such as the Colts, Vikes, or Bucs, to draft Hardie.

It's always kind of cool to see a player you thought the team would be interested in eventually sign. We saw the Colts do this with Buster Davis and Rufus Alexander recently. We stated (waaaaay back in the day) that Alexander and Davis were good fits for the Colts. Hopefully, Hardie will find a way to stick around on the Colts roster, unlike Davis and Alexander.

Like Hardie in 2008, Walter Mendenhall is viewed by some as a possible "sleeper" player that went undrafted because he played at a small school:

Older brother to Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashad Mendenhall, the Illinois State product is just as big and strong carrying the ball. His game film is outstanding as Walter shows power on the inside, speed in the open field and the ability to slip tackles then create yardage.

Mike Hart has been ruled out for tomorrow night's pre-season game against the Vikings. with Joseph Addai likely not to see much action, and with Donald Brown being a high priced rookie, signing Mendenhall feels more like a "warm body" roster move. However, as we have seen in the past, if you show you can play, the Colts will keep you.

2009 Colts Training Camp: News and notes from 8/12/09 morning practice

BigBlueShoe — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:27:37 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Indianapolis Colts receiver Reggie Wayne goes up for a catch during the NFL team's football training camp in Terre Haute, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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This morning the Colts were in shorts and helmets again, performing a glorified walk-through. As always, the immortal Eric Hartz is tweeting a storm from Rose Hulman. Here are some notes from his tweets:

Ed Johnson and Antonio Johnson are the starting DTs.
Ryan Diem ~~was not at practice~~ was there but did not practice. Charlie Johnson played LT, Tony Ugoh played RT.
Diem did not have a brace or wrap on his back.
Roy Hall sat out the walk through as did Dallas Clark (again) and Tom Santi.
Team worked on blitz pick-up.

More after the jump...

Reggie Wayne and Austin Collie alternated reps at the slot receiver position.
Pierre Garcon played many reps at right receiver position. The Colts are not using Garcon as a slot receiver.
Colts experimented with having Fili Moala at DE. Eric says that it seems more "scout team"-like than anything else (meaning Moala is emulating what the Vikings like to do on do line).
Antoine Bethea also sat out the walk through. Matt Giordano replaced him.

There is an afternoon practice scheduled as well today. We'll have news and notes from that practice as well.

First Depth Chart Released: Here's Some Analysis

Colts Homer — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:43:01 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

4 months ago: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning makes a throw during the NFL team's football training camp in Terre Haute, Ind., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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Tip to Aerostar and his hilarious avatar for first posting this.

The first depth chart of the year is released. Yes, we all know about Charlie Johnson being the starting left tackle over Ugoh, but I found other tidbits just as astounding and surprising. I need to remember that this isn't the final roster, but it does show Caldwell's impressions. We have been looking at tweets and reports and even first-hand accounts, but Caldwell is the man who makes the final decisions, and this gives us a peek into his thought process. This is also very telling of who will be cut and who will make the roster. Note that the PUP list players are listed at the bottom, so like Aerostar said, don't grab your pitchforks and torches and head out for Caldwell when you see Sanders listed as the #3 strong safety.

My position-by-position analysis is after the jump.

Quarterbacks
Peyton Manning
Jim Sorgi
Curtis Painter
Chris Crane

No surprises there.

Running Back
Joseph Addai
Donald Brown
Mike Hart
Chad Simpson
Lance Ball

Coming into training camp, people would have said you were crazy if you had Chad Simpson, who was just plain bad last year over the promising Lance Ball, but now Simpson is above Ball. Everything I've heard out of training camp has Simpson being a phenomenal player. Ball does have practice squad eligibility left, so there is that. Last year Lance Ball dominated in preseason for the Rams much like Mike Hart did for the Colts and ended up not making the roster, so it is hard to say that if Ball has a great preseason he will make the roster.

H-Back
Gijon Robinson
Jacob Tamme

Again, we are seeing Tamme listed as an H-back while his skill sets fit more of the tight end/slot receiver role that Dallas Clark plays. That confused me.

Wide Receiver
Reggie Wayne
Pierre Garcon
Roy Hall
Austin Collie
John Matthews

Anthony Gonzalez
Brett McDermott
Taj Smith
Sam Giguere

A lot of things to note here. First, Austin Collie behind Pierre Garcon and Roy Hall? That surprised me. Collie has been practicing as the slot receiver while Garcon has been the fourth and Hall hasn't really been heard from. Second, who's this Brett McDermott? Taj Smith has supposedly been very impressive, but he is listed behind McDermott. That shocked me. Giguere is obviously listed last because he is on the PUP list.

Tight End
Dallas Clark
Gijon Robinson
Jacob Tamme
Tom Santi
Jamie Petrowski

So Santi is fourth. That disappoints me since I am such a Santi fan. Gijon Robinson holds onto the second receiver job for now. This could seriously change this preseason. Santi was out for training camp and preseason last year and has battled injuries for his career, so he could surprise the coaches who have seen very little from him so far.

Left Tackle
Charlie Johnson
Tony Ugoh
Michael Toudouze

These are some names that have been around for a while, but usually Ugoh would be above Johnson. That continues to shock me. The Colts gave up a first round pick for Ugoh in the most deep running back class I can remember. Some players that were left when the Niner picked were receivers Donny Avery and Eddie Royal, tight ends Dustin Keller and John Carlson, and running backs Matt Forte, Ray Rice and Kevin Smith. Keep that in mind when deciding whether Ugoh was a bust or not.

Left Guard
Ryan Lilja
Jamey Richard
Jaimie Thomas

It's nice to see Lilja in a depth chart again. That is the biggest addition of the offseason. They are getting back an outstanding offensive guard that will have a chip on his shoulder. I expect left guard to be the strongest position on the line other than center with Jamey Richard being the backup. Richard is going to be one of Polian's diamonds in the rough picks. It isn't looking great for Thomas to make the roster right now, but training camp could change that.

Center
Jeff Saturday
Steve Justice
Kyle DeVan

No surprise with Saturday at the top. Justice really needs to step it up because he was awful last season in both the preseason and regular season. The DeVan signing keeps looking weirder now that he isn't making any impact.

Right Guard
Mike Pollak
Dan Federkeil
Brandon Barnes

Pollak is another young offensive lineman who needs to step it up. This really is a huge question mark. Pollak was not good last year, but at least he will have a training camp to get ready for the season. Federkeil, straight outta Medicine Hat, has been a long time Colt and has played well when given the opportunity. Barnes was another weird signing who hasn't panned out.

Right Tackle
Ryan Diem
Corey Hilliard
Tom Pestock

Diem was the only healthy lineman last year, but he wasn't great. I would not be surprised to see Ugoh starting on the right side one day. Hilliard played well at the training camp I went to and he could make the roster. Pestock is in the same boat as Barnes and DeVan. All three will be in the UFL soon enough.

Left Defensive End
Robert Mathis
Keyunta Dawson
Marcus Howard

This surprised me a lot. Not only is Robert Mathis starting, but Raheem Brock isn't even listed as a left defensive end. Dawson's move to defensive end must be going well now that he is listed above Howard, someone who I think could make a huge impact. I do not want to see Mathis starting. He isn't great against the run, and he is much more effective as a pass rush specialist.

Nose Tackle
Anthony Johnson
Daniel Muir
Terrance Taylor
Adrian Grady

This shocked me to be honest. I thought Mookie was in trouble with his injury, but now he is a starter. He earned it after last season, but with the way Muir has been playing and the drafting of Taylor I thought he may have been the odd man out. Besides AJ, nothing surprises me. Muir has almost guaranteed himself a roster spot now, and things aren't looking good for Grady.

Under Tackle
Ed Johnson
Fili Moala
Eric Foster

I don't know how Ed Johnson is an under tackle. He's a huge man. This doesn't seem right. I think the defense will be a little different next year, which is a good thing. There will be better run defense and hopefully the Johnsons could even get pressure on the QB. Fili Moala isn't starting, but he isn't a wasted pick. Let's see how he does with the preseason. Foster better make the roster.

Right Defensive End
Dwight Freeney
Raheem Brock
Curtis Johnson

Things aren't looking good for Johnson. He could very easily not make the roster after minimal playing time last year. He is a good pass rusher, but there are much better lineman, and I think he is the odd man out. Nothing surprising at RDE.

SAM
Philip Wheeler
Tyjuan Hagler

No surprises here.

MIKE
Gary Brackett
Adam Seward
Freddy Keiaho
Mike Tauiliili

This shocked me. Keiaho is listed as a middle linebacker, and he's third on the depth chart? He may not even make the roster. Special teams may save him. Besides that, no surprises.

WILL
Clint Session
Jordan Senn

Senn is the backup WILL right now. He was a special teams stud, so maybe he will make the roster. The 2008 UDFAs were a very special group. Maybe he will continue to be a part of it.

CB
Kelvin Hayden
Dante Hughes
TJ Rushing
Jacob Lacey

Marlin Jackson
Tim Jennings
Jerraud Powers
Michael Coe
Nick Graham

To me, this looks like Hughes may be winning the nickelback job, something that would please me. Hughes was built for the Tampa-2, and if he can stay healthy, he can be a very good player. He was another third round pick that was starting to look like a bust, but maybe he can end up breaking the curse. Rushing and Coe may be the odd men out when it comes to making the roster. Losing Rushing would disappoint me, and Coe could have been a great special teams player, but when a team has great depth, good players end up getting cut.

SS
Melvin Bullitt
Jamie Silva
Bob Sanders

This may be the most talented group on the team. Bullitt was an absolute stud filling in for Sanders last year, and Silva is a great special teams player. Sanders is obviously an amazing player, but he has to stay healthy. I'm not sure if I can take more of his injuries.

FS
Antoine Bethea
Matt Giordano
Travis Key

Bethea is in his contract year, so I expect him to really step it up. Giordano is a great gunner who has found his place on the roster. Key is a training camp player and nothing more. No surprises here.

P
Pat McAfee

Obviously.

K
Shane Andrus
Adam Vinatieri

PUP players are listed last, so that's why Andrus is the team's kicker. Vinatieri should be healthy by the Jaguars game, so this is what I expected. Keep Vinatieri off the field and let him rehab.

Holder
Pat McAfee
Jim Sorgi

How can you hold the ball AND the clipboard at the same time? Obviously Sorgi isn't going to win this job.

PR
TJ Rushing
Pierre Garcon
Jerraud Powers

This may be the way Rushing makes the roster. He is a great punt returner. I did not know that Powers was a returner, so that surprised me. Garcon is not a good returner so hopefully Rushing makes the roster or Powers beats him out for the job.

KR
Chad Simpson
TJ Rushing
Austin Collie

Simpson being named the starter shows how bad the kick return game is. Hopefully they draft someone like Perrish Cox next year so this isn't a problem anymore.

Long Snapper
Justin Snow
Jacob Tamme

Good old Justin Snow. He's been around forever, and I couldn't be happier. He has a great job.

I do not expect all of these to stand. Obviously Ed Johnson isn't starting Week One because of suspension, but there is no way AJ is going to be a regular starter. I also expect Ugoh to start Week One as well. Overall, this was a shocking depth chart. I can't wait to see these guys play on Friday.

2009 Colts Training Camp: Notes from 8/7/09 Afternoon Practice

BigBlueShoe — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:47:57 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

4 months ago: Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Larry Coyer talks with the defensive players during the NFL team's football training camp in Terre Haute, Ind., Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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Our very own AceOfSpades gives us a review of yesterday's afternoon practice:

- at the start of practice there McAfee and Masthay were punting and it is clear that McAfee has a stronger leg, kicks the ball much higher and is much more consistent. they later had to punt against a "rush" of about 5 guys but it was pretty casual and mostly uneventful

- Foster continued to work with the offense on goal line formations and did well as a lead blocker for Addai on a couple plays

- Muir looked really good out there and he and Ed Johnson took most plays on the first team DL along with Dawson and Brock

- some O line vs. D front 7 drills which seemed to mostly go the the way of the offense. these were running plays and I think Coyer was getting a little aggravated because the defense (both 1st and 2nd group) was having issues with maintaining gaps correctly. There was some over pursuing which led to open backside holes. In some cases there was no one to help seal the backside and the RB had an open side of the field.

- my zest for Terrance Taylor has diminished slightly. I didn’t see much out of him today other than just being there. Of course I was watching from the sidelines so I probably missed a bit of the action

- during scrimmage action later in practice, the D seemed very similar to last year in that there was not as much movement or any blitzing that I thought I would see. It was probably just part of the drill that they wanted to line up and play with no extra action, but just an observation.

- First time seeing Mort in person. He is a genuine nerd and I wish I had his job. He just stood there talking to Chappell for a while and then some of the coaches. I wanted to jump over the line and give him a noogie for some reason….

- Vinatieri was helping McAfee with holding drills, throwing the ball underhand with spin to simulate a snap. McAfee seemed to do fine.

- McAfee was bombing some long FGs too. I know it’s just practice, but he was making it from 50+ with ease.

- Donald Brown sat out afternoon practice which was a bummer because I wanted to see him vs. Addai. Addai looked good though.

Big thanks to AceOfSpades for this write-up. A summary of Eric Hartz's Tweets are after the jump. Also, we have Coltsfanawalt's observations from camp, which were posted on 18to88.

Summary of Eric's Tweets:

For Eric, the Friday practices were some of the best so far.
Jim Sorgi was injured in a drills and carried off the field.
Tyjuan Hagler made a nice INT of rookie QB Curtis Painter.
Painter threw a nice pass to Jacob Tamme.
Dwight Freeney and Eric Foster were able to pressure the QB in drills.
Jerraud Powers, covering Reggie Wayne, did a great job breaking up a pass from Manning.
Wayne got his revenge later, catching a TD pass while Powers was covering him.
Some scrimmages involved first team o-line and second team receivers.
Austin Collie continues to get many snaps at slot receiver, but Roy Hall saw some action at slot as well.
Colin Cloherty (who?) made a nice catch.
The team has begun to work on kickoffs. Some starters are playing on kickoff coverage such as Antoine Bethea and Clint Session.
Adrian Grady stood out as he knifed through the line and hit Lance Ball for a loss.
Mike Hart is clearly the #3 running back right now.
Tony Ugoh, Donald Brown, and Mike Hart sat out practice.

Hope you enjoy these little summaries. Be sure to read all the Tweets on ColtPower's Twitter page. There's some really great stuff there.

We also have a quick bite from Coltsfanawalt's post at 18to88:

The defense was more complex than I have seen from the Colts. They ran a lot of plays with five linemen. They also kept mixing the personnel, so it was hard to get a good bead on everything. The DT that seemed to play the most was Ed Johnson. I saw a good amount of the other DTs, but Ed was nearly always in there. We were also treated to heavy doses of Adrian Grady. And plenty of Foster. By the way, Foster played a good amount of fullback. He even had two TD catches in goal line drills. He played nearly as much FB as he did DT today.

Curtis Johnson put in the most time at DE. Didn't notice much of Freeney until the last half of the afternoon practice. Brock and Mathis interchanged a lot. Dawson played DE. Saw a little Marcus Howard, but Curtis Johnson always seemed to be playing, like Ed Johnson did in the interior. The DEs lined further than usual off the DTs it seemed, especially on the left side. At one time it looked like Moala was playing LE for several plays, but after a while I realized that they were using Mathis as a fifth linemen and he was spaced a bit further than usual from the rest. This defense under Coyer has shown some intriguing looks so far.

Training Camp, Pre-preseason Roster Prediction

Colts Homer — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:05:28 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

4 months ago: Indianapolis Colts running back Mike Hart sits outside the misting tent during a water break at the NFL team's football training camp in Terre Haute, Ind., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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These have been tough to do for a while, but I don't think it has been any tougher than right now. This team is ridiculously deep. There is talent at every position and for most of them the backup has been a starter recently or could be a starter on a lot of teams. This will be great for special teams with the talented backups like Melvin Bullitt, Freddie Keiaho and Tyjuan Hagler. I think that this could be a very special team.

The predictions for the 53 man roster and practice squad are after the jump. Like always, it is in a depth chart order.

QB
18 Peyton Manning
12 Jim Sorgi

RB
29 Joseph Addai
31 Donald Brown
32 Mike Hart
27 Lance Ball

H-B
86 Tom Santi
47 Gijon Robinson

WR
87 Reggie Wayne
11 Anthony Gonzalez
85 Pierre Garcon
17 Austin Collie

TE
44 Dallas Clark
84 Jacob Tamme

LT
67 Tony Ugoh
74 Charlie Johnson

LG
65 Ryan Lilja
61 Jamey Richard

C
63 Jeff Saturday
53 Steve Justice

RG
78 Mike Pollak
76 Dan Federkeil

RT
71 Ryan Diem

LE
79 Raheem Brock
98 Robert Mathis
92 Marcus Howard

UT
95 Fili Moala
68 Eric Foster
64 Adrian Grady

NT
91 Ed Johnson
99 Antonio Johnson
62 Terrance Taylor

RE
93 Dwight Freeney
96 Keyunta Dawson

SAM
50 Philip Wheeler
56 Tyjuan Hagler

MIKE
58 Gary Brackett
52 Adam Seward

WILL
55 Clint Session
54 Freddy Keiaho

CB
26 Kelvin Hayden
28 Marlin Jackson
34 T.J. Rushing
23 Tim Jennings
49 Jerraud Powers
20 Dante Hughes

FS
41 Antoine Bethea
33 Melvin Bullitt

SS
21 Bob Sanders
43 Matt Giordano

K
4 Adam Vinatieri

P
1 Pat McAfee

LS
48 Justin Snow

Practice Squad
QB Curtis Painter
WR Sam Giguere
WR Taj Smith
OL Jaimie Thomas
OL Brandon Barnes
LB Mike Tauiliili
LB Ramon Humber
DB Travis Key

UFL-Bound
DT Daniel Muir
S Jamie Silva
WR Roy Hall
DE Curtis Johnson
RB Chad Simpson
CB Michael Coe

Thoughts: The defensive tackle position was the hardest. I was debating between Daniel Muir and Antonio Johnson with AJ barely necking it out. If Muir continues to make progress, he will have a chance. Jamie Silva was also very close to making the roster but he could very easily be a midseason signing because of injury. The same goes with Muir. Curtis Johnson could make a huge impact on this league, but Marcus Howard is the faster version of him from a bigger program (Georgia>Clark Atlanta). This was hard to make. I am excited for the regular season.

2009 Colts Training Camp: Early Thoughts

BigBlueShoe — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:32:45 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

4 months ago: Indianapolis Colts linebacker Clint Session runs a drill during the NFL team's football training camp in Terre Haute, Ind., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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We've got three practices in the books. As we wait for the fourth practice to conclude, I've looked through some emails folks have sent, blogs, and Twitter updates to come up with these quick thoughts about the first few practices. Now, obviously, after three practices, we still have no idea who will start, what the team's tendencies will be, etc. These are just quick notes I've jotted down as I've watched, read, and listened to many camp reports:

The first string defensive line is Dwight Freeney (RDE), Daniel Muir (NT), Ed Johnson (DT), and Raheem Brock (LDE). It looks as if Ed is playing at the undertackle spot.
The first string linebackers are Philip Wheeler (SAM), Gary Brackett (MIKE), and Clint Session (WILL).
Jim Caldwell loves his talent at running back. He praised Lance Ball for learning the playbook very quickly and was impressed with how Mike Hart is progressing after last year's ACL injury.
The Colts a very big on Daniel Muir. I've seen Polian praise him twice and Caldwell has praised him multiple times as well. Antonio Johnson better get off PUP, and quick!
Blitzing will mostly come from the linebackers, making Indy's Tampa-2 not much different than the Chicago Bears.
Donald Brown is a complete stud. He has the ability to break long runs for big plays. He is also an accomplished receiver and is putting in a lot of time on pass blocking.
Lots of WR run blocking drills. WRs coach Clyde Christensen seems to be emphasizing this in camp.
Starting offensive line is Tony Ugoh (LT), Mike Pollak (RG), Jeff Saturday (OC), Ryan Lilja (LG), and Ryan Diem (RT).
Both Peyton Manning and Caldwell have stated that the third WR battle is very heated. Pierre Garcon is in the lead. Taj Smith and Austin Collie have also impressed. Roy Hall has impressed blocking out of the slot.
Austin Collie might return punts.
Curtis Painter can fling the football. Strong arm. He is indecisive delivering the ball, and he pats the ball when he is making his reads (big no-no). However, these traits are typical of rookie QBs.
The Colts will likely carry 3 QBs heading into the season. This means one less DB will make the team.
The team is very deep. Some good football players are going to be cut when this team has to chop down to 53.