SB Nation - Tyjuan Hagler

Armaggedon 2009 (or, the War of 18 and 12) : Just how evenly matched are the Patriots and Colts

BigBlueShoe — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:16:43 -0000

about 1 month ago: Indianapolis Colts linebacker Clint Session runs the ball after intercepting a pass from Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. The Colts won 20-17. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

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For all the hoopla the New Orleans Saints are getting (and rightly so) for their 8-0 start, the reality is that, statistically, the Patriots and the Colts are more impressive. And while it is no en vogue for people like Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris to proclaim "Statistics are for losers," the reality is stats tell us an awful lot about how good a team will likely be moving forward.

Small side note: Anyone else find it both pathetically and ironically funny that Morris, who is 1-7 as a head coach, would proclaim that "statistics are for losers." Speaking of losers, Morris will be lucky if he keeps his job at the end of this season.

The Saints sport the league's best offense, averaging nearly 38 points per game, which is, of course, INSANE! However, their defense is surrendering 21 points per game, ranking them 19th in the league. But while the Saints appear free-wheelin' and high-flyin', the Patriots and Colts seem much more balanced as football teams and, therefore, much more dangerous.

New England sports the #2 scoring defense in football, surrendering 14 points a game. Their offense scores 28 points per game (#3 in the league). Indy trots out the #1 scoring defense, giving up just 13 points per game, and an offense that scores 27 points per game (#6 in the league).

If we Colts fans know anything it's that great offense with mediocre-to-bad defense can only take you so far in this league. Eventually, you will run into a team that will stall your offense. When that happens, your defense must have the talent and the coaching to win the game for your team. For the Pats and Colts, they seem to have the kind of defensive talent to stop opposing teams, which is incredible considering the Pats are without Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison, and Richard Seymour this year. Meanwhile, the Colts are without Bob Sanders, Marlin Jackson, Ed Johnson, and Tyjuan Hagler. Yet, they still shut people down.

Again, balance on offense and defense can make a football team dangerous, and this Sunday two very dangerous teams will face off in what hopefully will be a great game.

For more, check out Marima's FanShot.

Colts Hobbled? Old Foe Indianapolis has a full infirmary

JohnHannahRules — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:49 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

This way to the hospital! Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders is among the several Colts suffering with injury as Indy heads into the meat of its schedule. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

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Back in early October, New England squeaked out a home win over the Ravens when a Joe Flacco pass bounced harmlessly to the turf off the chest of his receiver. Looks like the Colts had their Baltimore.

This past Sunday in Indianapolis, Texans' kicker Kris Brown missed a field goal as time wound down. The miss preserved a Colts' home victory in which Peyton Manning had to engineer yet another late-game scoring drive to overcome a furious Houston rally. After taking a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter, Indy surredered 17 unanswered points and the lead. Manning engineered an 8-play 60-yard drive midway through the fourth to go ahead and they survived with Brown's miss to keep their record pure.

Just as New England has hit the serious part of the year, so has Indy -- or what passes for it. Their early season schedule ranks as the easiest in the AFC and the Colts have treated it accordingly in racking up the wins. Nevertheless, losses have been suffered. Indianapolis will play host to New England with many of its most important players holding down the fort in the infirmary.

Veteran cornerback Kelvin Hayden is expected to miss the next 2 - 3 weeks with a sprained knee.

Cornerback Marlin Jackson is now on injured reserve after re-injuring his ACL last week in practice.

Defensive mainspring Bob Sanders has been placed on injured reserve with a torn biceps from the 49ers game.

Receiver Anthony Gonzales had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. A return date has not been specified, but it won't be next week.

These are the recent additions. Other denizens of the IR list include DB Nick Graham; OLB Tyjuan Hagler; DB Travis Key; backup TE Jamie Petrowski. Indy has been trotting out Matt Stover to kick as Vinatieri has undergone knee surgery and his return date is unknown.

WR Austin Collie left Sunday's game against the Texans with an injury.

No one playing in week 10 is at 100%, but it's worth noting that linebacker Gary Brackett and pass-rushing great Dwight Freeney have both struggled with actual hurts this year and are perhaps less fit than most other week-10 NFLers.

Of course, the obvious big hit is Sanders. Bob is an interesting conversation piece for connoisseurs of safety-play. You hear "for a player his size" a lot in those conversations, but it is undeniable that the Colts are a defense of a different character when he is on the field. Like Harrison used to do for the Patriots and like Belichick evidently hopes Seau will do now, Sanders has an electrifying effect on the Colts. Without him they are notably less dynamic.

None of this should in any way be thought to imply that the game will be easier. Peyton has his starting line intact and is making much hay with his recieving corps -- notably old friend Reggie Wayne and new toys Collie and Pierre Garcon. Oh yeah -- Dallas Clark still plays for Indianapolis, meaning Brandon McGowan has another peach of an assignment this week.

It is nice not to be the team with everyone hurt, however. A win at the Oilcan is always a slippery proposition.

Report: Peyton Manning quits on season, tells team it is OK to "coast" until technology allows us to clone non-brittle Bob Sanders

BigBlueShoe — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:31:35 -0000

Hi. I'm BigBlueShoe, and this is your

Friday Night Open Thread!!!

My job this fun-filled Friday is to inject a little humor into the news cycle, especially in light of all the WONDERFUL injury news we've gotten today. In case you've been living under a rock, or are too lazy to scroll down the blog frontpage, here is a quick recap of the wounded:

Tyjuan Hagler, done for the year; biceps
Marlin Jackson, done for the year; knee
Bob Sanders, ~~likely~~ done for the year; biceps
Anthony Gonzalez, out until December; knee
Kelvin Hayden, out until December; knee

All these injuries were reported to us in less than 24 hours. As a result, Peyton Manning, Dwight Freeney, and Jim Caldwell have declared that it is OK to quit on the season. All players, fans, and bandwagoners can officially stop thinking about football and focus on Thanksgiving travel plans, Christmas shopping, and whether or not an animated Jim Carrey "playing" Ebenezer Scrooge on the big screen is worth a $10 investment.

Season over. Quit now. We'll see you next year for our pre-draft coverage. Pack it up. Bye-bye season. Bye-bye happiness. Hello off-season loneliness. I think the 2009 season's gonna die.

Or...............................

We can look at the team depth chart, take a breath, and look at this logically and intellectually.

Bob Sanders and Marlin Jackson barely played a lick this season, and the Colts still had the #1 scoring defense without them.
Anthony Gonzalez's injury is not season-ending, and like Brandon Stokley in 2004, Gonzo could come back and make a big late-season difference. His injury also hastened the development of Pierre Garçon and Austin Collie, which was a big positive.
Tyjuan Hagler was playing well, but the Colts have Philip Wheeler waiting in the wings. If Wheeler isn't ready, then that's on him and the Colts will simply plug into another backer.
Kelvin Hayden is expected back.

So, before you slice a razor blade across the throat of the Colts 2009 NFL season, know that the Colts have sustained injuries that are on par with injuries other teams have had to deal with.

The Bears lost Brian Urlacher in Week One. Half of the Packers offensive line is gone. Injuries to the Vikings secondary have made their defense swiss cheese. The Texans lost Owen Daniels. The Giants lost their safety as well. The Chargers lost Jamal Williams, the best player on their defense. The Steelers lost Aaron Smith.

Welcome to the NFL, fellow football fans! Injuries are as much a part of the game as the pigskin ball, the field goal bars, and stupid pontificating from idiot TV announcers. Before you give up, take a look around the NFL and look at the injury reports for other teams. Shockingly, I bet you'll see their situations are the same as ours.

Go Colts!

Click after the jump to see the text from Bullard47's open thread, which I have combined with this thread to make your disco-tastic Friday night as injury-free as possible.

From Bullard47's thread, which was combined with this one:

For a week leading up to a game against a common opponent that nearly everyone expects us to beat, this one has been just about as stressful as you can ask for. Let's recap the stupidity first:

Tyjuan Hagler somehow ruptures his bicep(again), out for the season

Marlin Jackson hurts his other kneee, out for the season

Bob Sanders hurts his elbow, out for the season

Anthony Gonzalez goes under the knife, out for at least 3 more weeks

Hayden aggravates a previous injury, out for about a month

Jackson's injury happens in a practice that according to the Colts, he didn't participate in

So, with that out of the way, there was some good news. Let's take a second to recap that:

Donald Brown practiced, looks healthy

We have great cornerback and safety depth

Hank Baskett has yet to get acclimated to the offense, and could shine as the year moves on

Kyle DeVan is more than likely going to get more playing time

The Star wrote a really great story on the awesomeness of our O-Line

The media thinks we are done for

With all of that said, I think that should be a lot to talk about. This might even be a majority-on-topic open thread, but the usual open thread shenanigans are welcome. I will be running a few errands for a bit, but should be full on into the conversation later tonight.

WAAAHHHH!!!

I can hardly concentrate at work today – not good. But ultimately, we’ve really only lost 1 player who had been contributing, and 2 who hadn’t made it back to contribute significantly (yes, I know, what about Bob’s INT? that was a tipped ball that he happened to catch).

Just hoping that Gonzo and Hayden can complete the journey back and that the only reason their return is meaningless is because we’ve already got the #1 seed locked up.

NEXT MAN UP!

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on Nov 6, 2009 4:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

To open this on a lighter note

Captain O’Hagan: I swear to God I’m going to pistol whip the next guy who says, " Shenanigans."
Mac: Hey Farva what’s the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?
Farva: You mean Shenanigans?
Mac: OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Thorny: OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
[as they hand the Captain their pistols]

I also wish I had time and motivation to blog at Speed Blue Nation

by Bullard47 on Nov 6, 2009 4:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Their next movie's due out in early Dec. I can't wait.

by vintagephoenix on Nov 6, 2009 4:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

They're making another one?!?!?!?!?!?

Freakin sweet!

As long as we have Peyton we will always have a chance to win.

by skywalker on Nov 6, 2009 4:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Overcoming the "bump": How great teams keep winning despite setbacks

BigBlueShoe — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:09:06 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2009, file photo, Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell, left, will have to focus his team and not allow injuries to be an excuse. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

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Every NFL teams experiences a point in their season where something happens to disrupt their flow. Things are going well. The team is winning. Players are happy, flying around, looking to make plays, etc. Coaches are jovial in press conferences. Media are anointing the club, calling them "the best ever." Yippee-yippee-yay-yay!

Then, something happens.

Usually, it comes in the form of an injury. Or, sometimes, it's a team tragedy or some kind of disaster. Last season, we all saw the Houston Texans' "bump" come in the form of a hurricane that damaged their stadium, their facilities, and (for many players) their homes. The Texans never recovered from that "bump," and missed the playoffs because of a bad start.

In 2007, the our own, beloved Colts looked like they would repeat as world champions. They were 7-1 and flying high. Then, they lost Dwight Freeney for the season. They limped along for the rest of 2007, managed to finish the season 6-1 after the Freeney injury, but lost in the playoffs to the Chargers due in large part because of a lack of pass rush. In 2008, Peyton Manning's knee problems, coupled with the disasters at the defensive tackle spot, provided Indy with their "bump" very early in the NFL campaign. The team fumbled and bumbled their way through a 3-4 start. Though Indy managed to close the season on a 7-0 run, they lost in the playoffs again to the Chargers due in large part because of problems they had as a result of their "bump" early in the season (poor DT play).

Bumps for teams can sometimes be too much to handle. They can throw an entire season off track. However, it is the truly great teams that incur these bumps and, somehow, manage to win games in spite of them.

For my money, no championship team in recent memory was as injured as the 2006 Colts. They lost Brandon Stokley, Mike Doss, Corey Simon, James Mungro, and Montae Reagor for the season. Their secondary was a list of walking wounded. Bob Sanders missed virtually all the 2006 regular season (shocking, I know). Yet, despite the injuries, they persevered and won the Super Bowl.

Last season, we saw the Pittsburgh Steelers lose both their first and second round picks in the 2008 draft (Rashard Mendenhall and Limas Sweed, respectively). They also played games in 2008 without Willie Parker, using castoff Mewelde Moore as their feature back. They lost Casey Hampton and Heath Miller for long stretches of time. Starting offensive guard Kendall Simmons was lost for the season with an Achilles injury. Steelers starters missed over 31 games in 2008 due to injuries. In Week Sixteen, they were dominated by the Tennessee Titans, and many wondered if the Steelers were as good as others said they were.

Yet, I distinctly remember seeing the Steelers hoist the Lombardi trophy this past February.

Obviously, too many injuries, or one devastating injury, can kill your football team. But just because you loose a few starters, or because some other players are down for a while, does not mean that is an excuse to lose. The great teams win despite injuries, and even though the 2009 Colts have lost some players this week, this roster is still good enough to win it all.

More importantly, with this current roster, I expect them to win it all.

I love players like Marlin Jackson and Tyjuan Hagler. But this is the NFL. Injuries happen. For eight weeks, this team has been able to get by without having a serious injury smack them upside the head. Now, they have two. We'll see how tough they are overcoming this "bump" in the coming weeks. Personally, I think they will be fine.

Marlin Jackson done for the year, again

BigBlueShoe — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:11:28 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Indianapolis Colts defensive back Marlin Jackson (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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I'm waiting for my ride last night. So, I take out my handheld (Sprint Palm Pre, but I still hold love for the iPhone), go to Stampede Blue, and see ctnyc's FanPost that Marlin Jackson tore his ACL in practice on Thursday and that he is done for the year. For Marlin, this is the second year in a row he has done this, and it comes at an unfortunate time for him. After this season, Marlin will either become a free agent (if 2010 has a salary cap) or he will become a restricted free agent is there is no cap in 2010. What this also does is give Marlin two major ACL injuries in only one year's time. Surgeries and rehab today are much, much better than they were even five years ago, but it is very tough for a starting cornerback to recovery fully from two ACL injuries. Marlin had seemed to not fully recovered yet from last year's ACL injury, which might have been why he lost his starting job to Jerraud Powers. The Star's PhilB elaborates:

Jackson had told me after the bye week that his most recent injury was to his left knee, that favoring his right knee put more strain on his left. That evidently led to this tear. Media member or fan, it's an understatement to say you just hate to see this.

So, from Marlin's own lips, last year's right knee injury directly contributed to this year's left knee injury. Both kness. Both with ACL tears in only one calendar year. That's not good for Marlin.

The other disturbing thing about this is Marlin was listed on the Thursday injury report, which is the official report sent to the league office, as NOT practicing. Yet, we see Marlin was hurt while practicing.

Aside from losing another great guy who had worked so hard to come back and contribute to this team -- starting SLB Tyjuan Hagler was lost for the season to a torn biceps this week -- it will be interesting to see the Colts' explanation on Jackson's injury. He got hurt in practice, or so he says. Yet the injury report listed Jackson as "Did not participate."
The Colts could say he was working out on the side, that his injury happened outside the framework of practice, I guess. But the way this was reported, first by ESPN and now confirmed by The Indy Star, certainly suggests the injury report was inaccurate.

The Colts have some explaining to do, and if they did try to fudge the injury report, or hide the fact that Marlin was hurt in practice, I hope Roger Goodell fines them. I just spent the first few days of this week blasting Mike Singletary for cheating, and falsifying an injury report (if indeed the Colts did that) would be in the same boat as players faking injuries during games.

So, if the Colts did fake that report, they cheated, and we fans should hold their feet to the fire on that. Bill Polian loves to lecture fans and press during his radio show about "the integrity of the game." Well, if they just got caught falsifying an injury report, Bill Polian and the Colts are hypocrites.

We will see in the next couple of days if anything comes out of it.

Moving forward, Marlin was in and out of the lineup all year, and yet the Colts have still managed to have a great pass defense. Jacob Lacey and Jerraud Powers have come on, and Tim Jennings (despite his haters) is still a quality player. Like with the Tyjuan Hagler injury, it hurts to lose such a great person and tough-minded player, but the depth on the team is good enough to move forward.

Tyjuan Hagler done for the year

BigBlueShoe — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:41:37 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Indianapolis Colts linebacker Tyjuan Hagler (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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Thanks to tenyardfight for posting about this earlier.

John Oehser is reporting that Tyjuan Hagler tore a biceps muscle during the 49ers game Sunday and that his 2009 season is over. Philip Wheeler, the man who had the starting job in pre-season before Hagler wrestled it away from him, is once again the starting SAM backer. Ramon Humber will also compete, and Cody Glenn was promoted from the practice squad.

For Hagler, this injury (which sound similar to the injury he had in 2008) is another set back. He'd signed a one year deal to return to the Colts in hopes of competing for his starting job again, which he'd lost last season ( presumably because of the injury) to Clint Session. Hagler fought back and was playing significant snaps in 2008 at WILL. After an off-season of little interest from other teams, Hagler returned to Indy, signed that one-year deal, and had to (once again) earn a starting job, which he did.

Now, this.

It's very sad for Hagler, but he can fight back again. He's the kind of tough-minded scrapper that the Colts really like, which is likely why they re-signed him this past off-season. Maybe they'll do so again.

For now, Philip Wheeler should do a good job. He played much of the 49ers game, and seemed to do OK (forced a sack on Alex Smith). Humber and Glenn are solid depth behind Wheeler, and Session has some experience at SAM as well.

Colts v. Cardinals Game Review: Putting the Pieces Together

Colts Homer — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:09:14 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

2 months ago: After making a catch, Indianapolis Colts' Pierre Garcon, left, tangles with Arizona Cardinals' Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009 in Glendale, Ariz. Both received penalties on the play. The Colts defeated the Cardinals 31-10. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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This was a fun game. My favorite games are the ones when you know that your team is going to win throughout the entire game, and it makes it even better since I didn't think that the Colts would be able to beat the Cardinals with all of the things stacked up against them (No Brackett, Hayden, Gonzalez or Sanders, short week, tired defense, etc.). The Colts had a lot of adversity for this game. They even made the Colts underdogs. That's unbelievable. Obviously, the Vegas people aren't going to make that mistake again. Right now the Colts are probably going to be favored by double digits for the Seahawks game. I'm very happy that they're back playing on Sunday afternoons. I know that it is better for the Colts fans outside of the Midwest, but I'm a greedy person and I enjoy sleeping. The analysis is below.

QBs-Peyton Manning is unbelievable. He has lost two of his top three receivers from 2008, and he is better than ever. Besides Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, his other top receivers are a second-year player out of D3 Mount Union and a rookie out of BYU. Most QBs wouldn't be able to make that work. Peyton does. The Brady v. Manning debate is on hold. We are seeing what Peyton does with only two top targets and a bad right side of the line. Peyton is second in the league in passing touchdowns and passing yards. If we are going to be making early predictions, I'll say that number 4 is not out of the stretch of the imagination. After the Saints start to look human, Manning will emerge past the Brees hoopla. Bursa sacs were holding Manning back.

The rest is after the jump.

RBs-This was a huge concern of us all after the Chargers loss. It was clear that Addai-Rhodes was not going to cut it. Rhodes was a decent back but nothing special and Addai was always banged up. Fast forward 8 and a half months, and the running attack is lethal. Addai is amazingly consistent. On first down he seems to always get 5 or 6 yards at least. Joseph Addai has come back with a vengeance. He is proving haters wrong and he is looking like the Addai of old. And then there's Donald. Donald Brown looks like a future star. There is no questioning this draft pick now. Brown is very explosive when he gets in the open field. That 70 yard reception was brilliant! He breaks tackles which honestly surprised me as I thought that wasn't going to be a part of his game. For people wondering why he isn't starting right now, look at the differences pre-snap with him in the game. On multiple occasions Sunday night Brown had to be moved around by Peyton to get into position. Once Brown gets a hold of the playbook he will be the main back.

WRs/TEs-This is why Polian is a future Hall of Famer. Somehow he found Pierre Garcon out of Mount Union. Mount Union plays in a nearly century old football stadium that seats 5,000. Mount Union is a dynasty, but the fact that Polian found this diamond in the rough just shows his genius. Garcon is emerging as a great third receiver. He's very explosive, and to say he is a big play threat is an understatement. My guess is that once Anthony Gonzalez returns they will continue to give Garcon playing time on the outside with Gonzalez in the slot. That's why he didn't take Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt. Austin Collie has become a nice receiver. He's not the Stokley big play threat yet, but he has good hands and can get the first down. On third down, going to Collie is a great idea. He plays smart and he knows where the first down line is. Garcon is the better receiver right now, but Collie definitely has a future on this team. Reggie Wayne is also pretty good I've heard. He's leading the league in receiving yards right now and he makes the most ridiculous plays. He's working his way onto the All-Pro team. Speaking of All-Pros, Dallas Clark is the best tight end in the league. He's left John Carlson, Jason Witten, Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez in the dust. Clark is reaching his prime, and I would not be surprised to see a nice 1,000 yard, 10 touchdown season out of him. Once Gonzalez gets back, Clark is going to be even tougher to guard. Peyton has the weapons to win yet another MVP.

OL-Left side good, right side bad. That's the best way to describe this line. You could use better grammar, but that is as simple as it gets. Charlie Johnson has been a pleasant surprise and has proven doubters like me wrong. He's a good run blocker and so far he hasn't given up a sack this season. Ryan Lilja is reminding us on why he got that contract instead of Jake Scott. Lilja is a great run blocker. Running to the left side is better than ever with Lilja back. He's a sleeper for the Pro Bowl this year. Saturday is Saturday. He's been great this year and he did well last night. No one is doubting him. The right side is getting ugly. Whenever a former 2nd round pick is rotating with a former center that most recently was seen with the Boise Burn of af2, it's a bad sign for that former first day pick. When that former 2nd round pick is in his second year, it's embarrassing. Kyle DeVan is a good player and there is a reason why he is still with the team, but Pollak was a second round pick. He's not good at all. His play resulted in the interception, and he is clueless on the stretch play. Pollak is a liability, and Diem isn't much better. Running to the right is a death sentence for the drive. There is absolutely no blocking at all. This is the biggest need going into the 2010 draft. I'm perfectly content with Charlie Johnson starting at left tackle down the line, but I do not want Ryan Diem. I would support them moving Ugoh to the right tackle position and grooming him into a future starting job.

DL-Talk about a nice recovery. Against Miami the defensive line was pretty bad. Obviously Dwight Freeney played well in Miami, but no one else really did. Ed Johnson looked lost (and high), and Antonio Johnson was always getting pushed off the line. On Sunday night, I was almost sure that Big Ed was starting in the backfield. How a man that big can get off the line that fast is beyond me. Eric Foster is also becoming a nice rotation player. He played some defensive end as well as defensive tackle last night, and he did great at both positions. He is probably the best at batting down balls on the defensive line, and of course he is great at stopping the run. Antonio Johnson was not as impressive as Foster or Ed, but he didn't do anything to hurt the Colts, which is better than what we could say about the defensive tackles from 2007 and 2008. Without Dwight Freeney for the next two to three weeks, the defensive end position will be very different. As we saw Sunday night, Freeney is superhuman. On almost all 51 passes he hit Warner. He embarrassed Mike Gandy out there. With Freeney out, we will see more of Raheem Brock. Robert Mathis will take over for Freeney in the "Embarrassing Offensive Tackles" department, but there will have to be a rotation. Philip Wheeler played some defensive end Sunday night, and I have always thought that he would be a nice fit at defensive end. Throw in Keyunta Dawson and I can go two games without Freeney.

LBs-Freddy Keiaho didn't suck last night? I know, surprising. He didn't do anything terrible. I am still stunned. Everything I've seen from him would suggest that Kurt Warner would have torn him apart. Keiaho still should not be playing, but it does make Gary Brackett's injury less scary. On the outside, I am very content with Tyjuan Hagler and Clint Session. There is a reason why Hagler is starting over Wheeler, and Session has continued to play well. They are doing very well in stopping the running game. Obviously right now they are no David Thornton or Marcus Washington, but I feel fine with them back there. Jordan Senn did not impress me at all last night. If they have to play a backup linebacker, I would prefer to see Ramon Humber.

DBs-Once Kelvin Hayden and Bob Sanders get back, this will be the best secondary in the league. Jerraud Powers didn't play as well last night as he did against Jacksonville, but he is still the future of the cornerback position along with Hayden. Marlin Jackson did well as the nickelback last night. Is he worth re-signing? I'm not sure. Without a salary cap next year, I say go ahead. It pains me to say this, but Jennings did not suck last night. I still do not want him out on the field since we've all seen what happens when he is sucking. With Hayden hopefully coming back, it won't be a problem. Jacob Lacey is becoming one of my favorite rookies. He was very clutch Sunday night. His stop at the one yard line was HUGE. The next play was the Bethea interception. If Lacey can keep it up, he will work his way into the 4th spot above Tim Jennings. At safety, Antoine Bethea has played well this year. He still isn't the Pro Bowler from his second season, but he is a very good player and a quality starter. Melvin Bullitt has always played well in place of Bobzilla, but he isn't Bob Sanders. Once this team gets Sanders back, it will be even better in pass and run defense. Hopefully Bob will practice this week.

STs-Adam Vinatieri may be losing it. He is very, very close to being 2-5 this year, and he doesn't even kick off anymore. I think that this is the last year for Vinatieri. Next year Andrus will be the kicker. Vinatieri has not looked good this year. In fact, the whole field goal unit has looked bad. The blocking is weak and Vinatieri has been weak. On the other hand, McAfee is still great. On 11 kickoffs, he has 3 touchbacks. McAfee is still punting well. He's averaging about 45 yards per kick and he has 2 kicks inside the 20 on 9 punts. The return game is as expected. Simpson cannot return kicks and Rushing is a decent punt returner.

Top 5 players from the Colts-Cardinals Game

5. Pierre Garcon: Garcon is definitely stepping up when he has to. With Marvin Harrison and Gonzalez gone, he needed to become an acceptable target for Peyton. He's gone above and beyond that. Garcon had his great touchdown where he burnt the corner, and he played well for the rest of the game too. Garcon will end up getting more targets as the year goes on.

4. Reggie Wayne: Wayne is leading the league in receiving yards at this point, and last night he made one of the best catches of his career for a touchdown. He is a big target, and he has shown that he can get it done without Marvin on the other side of the field.

3. Joseph Addai: On 13 carries he got 63 yards and he made two big catches. One was the touchdown screen and the other was when he had to extend his body to come down with a pass that easily could have been a pick. Addai is getting back into 2006 form.

2. Peyton Manning: Manning is the best QB in the league. He is a favorite for the MVP again this year, and he is on pace to throw over 35 touchdowns and 4900 yards. He's pretty good, and Sunday night was his best game so far. He is doing this without Anthony Gonzalez. WOW.

1. Dwight Freeney: Even though Peyton was phenomenal, holding a very good offense to 10 points is a great feat, and Freeney was the main reason. His constant pressure got Warner to make bad throws and it got some sacks too.

Next up, Seattle Seahawks.

Colts to possibly start Tyjuan Hagler and Jerraud Powers Sunday against the Jaguars

BigBlueShoe — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:17:31 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Indianapolis Colts cornerback Jerraud Powers (49) could start at CB this weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day Weekend.

Unlike (hopefully) many of you, it seems the Colts coaches were working over the weekend to fine tune and expand their roster. After days of watching the waiver wire, waiting to see who was cut and signed, the Colts have now thrown us fans another curve ball by subtly announcing via their website depth chart that Tyjuan Hagler is now the starting SAM linebacker.

Apparently, Tyjuan beat out second year backer Philip Wheeler, who had been working as the starter at that position all off-season. Tyjuan had this same job last season, but lost it when he tore a pectoral muscle lifting weights. Clint Session was able to win the job, and Tyjuan Hagler spent much of 2008 as a back-up. He was initially not re-signed when his contract expired this off-season, but eventually signed a one-year deal in the hopes of winning his old job back. Looks like he did.

The other big news is it seems Marlin Jackson is still not 100%. So, the Colts are turning back the clock, allowing Jackson to play as the nickel corner. Jackson played nickel in 2006, the year Indy won the Super Bowl. Replacing him in the starting lineup could be rookie Jerraud Powers, who had an amazing pre-season. From Indy Star's Mike Chappell:

Therein lies the possible opportunity for Powers to become the first rookie cornerback to start a season opener for the Colts since Ashley Ambrose in 1992. Powers could get the nod at Jackson's right-side spot over veteran Tim Jennings.

Lots of Tim Jennings haters out there are doing a little happy dance right now. However, I will point out that Jennings did have a great camp and (arguably) his best pre-season. Bob Lamey made a point of that on last week's Colts Friday Night. He's also seemingly got a pretty good attitude about the whole thing:

"Whatever they need me to come in at, I'll be ready for that," [Jennings] said.

The other little bit of roster news worth mentioning is that we are now five days away from the start of the 2009 regular season for the Indianapolis Colts, and they still have two field goal kickers on the active roster. Indy did not release Shane Andrus in their cutdown to 53. With Adam Vinatieri still recovering from knee and hip surgery, Andrus might be "hanging around" in case Adam cannot go. We already know from the Indy Star's PhilB that rookie punter Pat McAfee will handle kick-offs this year. How long McAfee will do the kick-offs has not been determined. What we can deduce is Vinatieri is still not 100%, and it is possible he will not kick on Sunday.

Also, quick deviation from the main topic of this article, but I feel the need to discuss "the elephant in the room." I'm sure like many of you, all the Phil Simms-James Brown glory painted the background and sides of our little blog is a bit overwhelming. As you can probably guess, Showtime paid SB Nation some cash to advertise the hell out of the new season of Inside the NFL. I know many of you feel as I do that ads like these are troublesome, annoying, and distracting from the reason you visit the site (the content). Unfortunately, these ads are what pay the bills. And, on the positive side, it's not like the ads are for Bud Lite or Viagra or anything like that. Inside the NFL is a good show, and it was stupid for HBO to dump it. So, while having Phil Simms leer at me while I try and read posts is a bit weird, I'm happy to pimp his show for the simple reason that it is good, and worth pimping.

Kindly bare with the ads as best you can while we move forward with the 2009 regular season. As always, we appreciate your support of Stampede Blue and SB Nation.

Notes and links for Ohio football; if you love Cincinnati-area football, we might have a job for you

Kirkendall — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:28:48 -0000

Even though we're a blog that specifically talks about the Cincinnati Bengals, we try our damnest to talk about other area football teams; especially the Ohio State Buckeyes and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. The truth of the matter is, when the Bengals were recording their worst season since 2002 (2-14), the University of Cincinnati was in the middle of their first BCS season since, well, the BCS started. It didn't just make the season the Bengals were having passable (if that phrase even exists); it was exciting as hell. As was the run the Buckeyes have, save for that one game during the third week of the season; I can't remember the result, or even who we played; in fact, I have no memory of September 13, 2008. If you're remotely a fan of the UC Bearcats, or have this uncontrollable instinct to simply cheer anything related to your hometown, then how are you not excited about the Bearcats? The Buckeyes. Well, we're extremely nervous. In truth, even with the Bengals and Browns, football in Ohio is the best football product in any state in the union; that includes Florida, Texas and California. I'm biased for Ohio football. I don't care. It's the best. So when we have time, or when we start feeling all Swine-Flu sick talking about the Bengals because their season turns into a wreck, we'll talk Ohio football. Now, I know readers might not care; they just want Bengals news and nothing else. I can respect that. So in our Ohio football that doesn't include the Browns posts, we'll keep it short, and anyone wanting to continue, can click on the jump.

(Note: if you have a love for Ohio football, especially the Bearcats and Cincinnati area football, drop me an email. I might have a job for you).

Now, onto links and notes.

Go Bearcats takes a look at the 12 former Bearcats on NFL rosters. They are Conner Barwin (Texans), John Bowie (Raiders), Brandon Underwood (Packers), Brent Celek (Eagles), Trent Coles (Eagles), Troy Evans (Saints), Andre Frazier (Steelers), Tyjuan Hagler (Colts), Haruki Nakamura (Ravens), Mike Wright (Patriots), Antonio Chatman (Bengals) and Kevin Huber (Bengals).

Seven former Bearcat players were released from NFL rosters this weekend: which includes Mike Mickens (Cowboys), Corey Smith (Chiefs), DeAngelo Smith (Cowboys) Digger Bujnoch (Saints), Adam Hoppel (Browns), Manalac (Bills) and Trevor Canfield (Cardinals)

However, Joe Reedy Tweets that DeAngelo Smith was claimed by the Browns.

The Bearcats season kicks Monday (Labor Day) at Rutgers at 4 PM. It will be broadcast on ESPN. Quarterback questions for Rutgers.

Brian Kelly doesn't like opening the season against a Big East team on the road.

Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard are great offensive players for the Bearcats and likely NFL prospects. However, the Bearcats also have Jeff Linkenbach, a 6'6", 311 pound left tackle.

"He had a great year last year," offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn said of Linkenbach. "Without him as our left tackle, who knows what could have been the outcome of the season?"

The Bearcats' newest defensive coordinator, Bob Diaco, is the complete opposite of Mike Zimmer. Aaron Webster, the team's free safety, says of Diaco. “He’s a real mellow person. You can tell not a lot gets to him. He’s not really flustered when there’s controversy or when adversity hits.”

UC joined IMG College and ISP Stadium Seating to provide Nippert stadium with 10,000 cushioned seats with backs.

"Over the past few seasons more and more fans have come up to us and asked if there was anything we could do about the uncomfortable red seats in Nippert. When we looking into this, the most economical and comfortable alternative was to partner with an outside vendor who could help us solve our fan's comfort issue, and do so at a reasonable price. We tested these types of seats over the last two years and decided to move forward with a mass installation for the 2009 season. ISP Stadium Seating has answered our charge and will serve our fans well this season and for many years to come."

Hopefully 2010 will be a season where seats aren't being used all that much. The seats, "black with a red c-claw on the backs", are being offered as part of a season ticket package for UCATS members.

We Will Always Have Tempe freaked out, as did we all, when the Buckeyes nearly let Navy beat them Saturday. Things don't look good for USC this Saturday.

Defensive back Anderson Russell gave up a long touchdown pass and "frequently misdiagnosed plays". However, Terrell Pryor, who wore eye black with the words "Vick", is a much improved passer over last year.

The Rivalry, Esq calls the Buckeyes performance a disappointing showing, especially when failing to establish the running game.

Navy recorded three 80-yard plus touchdown drives.

Elder, ranked fourth in the nation, beat Colerain, who is ranked 13th in the nation, 20-7. The game was sold out at the Pit, which holds over 10,000 and was broadcast live on ESPN.

The Mason Comets, my old stomping grounds, lost their first game of the season, to Centerville 14-34. That drops the Comets to 1-1. They play their first Greater Miami Conference game in two weeks.

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Colts v. Bengals Preseason Review: It's Over!

Colts Homer — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:54:51 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

3 months ago: Indianapolis Colts receiver Taj Smith celebrates after scoring against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first half of a preseason NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Browse more photos »

Finally! The long preseason is over. Very soon we will see who gets cut and who makes the roster. If anyone watched the embarrassment of this game, they know how hard it is to try and find something good from this game. Obviously it needs to be said that almost all of the players that played today are in no way expected to contribute this season, but it was still ugly. It gave us a grim glimpse of life without Manning (and Addai, Brown, Wayne, Saturday, Freeney, Mathis, etc...). Now we know how Lions fans feel in the regular season. Here is a position-by-position rundown of today's "game".

QBs

~I thought both of them played well. Sorgi played the first half and Painter played the second. Both showed good accuracy and didn't make any big mistakes passing. A Sorgi interception got called back but that was mostly Tamme's fault for dropping the pass. Sorgi did lose a fumble. This game didn't show us anything knew. Sorgi is the second best QB on the roster and Painter is the future Sorgi.

RBs

~Simpson and Ball both played well to be honest for their situations. The guards didn't play very well today, but Ball was able to get 3.4 yards per carry (which would have been average on the team last year) and Simpson had 16 yards on 4 carries. Walter Mendenhall had one big run but did nothing to show he deserves to be close to a roster spot. This will be one of the most highly anticipated cuts. Will Hart or Ball make it? Will both of them be on the 53 man roster? I would guess when cut day comes that will be headline here at Stampede Blue.

WRs/TEs

~Taj Smith was pretty awesome today. His touchdown catch was a thing of beauty when he got the ball in tight coverage. He had 5 catches for 59 yards and was targeted an amazing 11 times. Jacob Tamme also got a lot of looks and did decent. His dropped pass which resulted in an interception was ugly though. John Matthews still sucks.

~Kyle DeVan and Tony Ugoh were good. Jaimie Thomas and Jamey Richard were bad. Ugoh was playing great at left tackle and had to compensate for the surprisingly awful performance by Richard. Richard looked like he didn't care and was very slow. Another reason why preseason is too damn long. DeVan should have clinched a roster spot tonight but Steve Justice could somehow keep a roster spot.

DL

~The way they handle the D-line shows that the Colts couldn't care less about the preseason. Honestly, the only way they could show how little they cared to an even further extent would be to not show up at all. They play 4 DTs and no defensive ends because the defensive end position is locked up. Adrian Grady proved to be a complete monster and I don't think he will get cut. I have a gut feeling that Daniel Muir could be on his way out. It depends on how the team would feel about cutting someone who was looking like he could be starting in Week One.

~This is the most confusing unit on the team. One week Mike Tauiliili looks like a star and the next he is a non-factor. Jordan Senn didn't play all that well tonight and Freddy Keiaho showed his uselessness with missing easy tackles. I think that Ramon Humber has to make the roster. I mean, there is no way they can keep someone like Keiaho over him, can they?

~For the corners, Jacob Lacey played well except on the first drive. He is practice squad bound, but he looks like a future Colt. He's great in man coverage.

~Jamie Silva played great. He led the team in tackles and had a sack. He was a stud today and I think he locked up a roster spot.

Special Teams

~Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal and Pat McAfee had a punt blocked and may or may not have been injured. Someone would need to clarify that for me. From a kicking standpoint, it was an ugly game.

~Jamie Silva is not a punt returner unless 5 yards a return sounds acceptable to you. Simpson wasn't as bad as usual at returning kicks, but he isn't making the roster because of it. That's for sure.

Roster prediction after the jump.

QB
Peyton Manning
Jim Sorgi
Curtis Painter

RB
Joseph Addai
Donald Brown
Mike Hart
Lance Ball

H-B
Gijon Robinson
Tom Santi

WR
Reggie Wayne
Anthony Gonzalez
Austin Collie
Pierre Garcon

TE
Dallas Clark
Jacob Tamme

LT
Charlie Johnson
Tony Ugoh

LG
Ryan Lilja
Jamey Richard

C
Jeff Saturday
Kyle DeVan

RG
Mike Pollak
Dan Federkeil

RT
Ryan Diem

LE
Robert Mathis
Keyunta Dawson
Marcus Howard

UT
Ed Johnson
Fili Moala
Eric Foster

NT
Antonio Johnson
Terrance Taylor
Adrian Grady

RE
Dwight Freeney
Raheem Brock

WILL
Clint Session
Ramon Humber

MIKE
Gary Brackett
Jordan Senn

SAM
Philip Wheeler
Tyjuan Hagler

CB
Kelvin Hayden
Marlin Jackson
Jerraud Powers
TJ Rushing

FS
Antoine Bethea
Matt Giordano
Jamie Silva

SS
Bob Sanders
Melvin Bullitt

K
Adam Vinatieri

P
Pat McAfee

LS
Justin Snow

Practice Squad
RB Walter Mendenhall
WR Taj Smith
OL Jaimie Thomas
OL Tom Pestock
DL John Gill
LB Mike Tauiliili
DB Jacob Lacey

I like this roster and I really don't have very many problems with it. Usually I will be apprehensive about publishing a roster prediction because I just don't agree with all of it, but I like this one. Muir being booted is obviously the most controversial along with Jennings leaving, but if this team wants the 53 best players, this is probably the way to go.