SB Nation - James Mungro

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.

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!

2009 Colts Training Camp: Third Running Back

BigBlueShoe — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:23:36 -0000

More photos » by Tom Strattman - AP

Who will play behind Joseph Addai and rookie Donald Brown (pictured above)? (AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

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We established the key training camp battles for 2009. Now, with nearly 30 days left until camp, we'll tackle two camp battle evaluations a week, giving insight and analysis on who is competing for the job, what they offer, and our estimation as to who will win.

As we always say around here, camp competition is one of the building blocks of making a championship caliber team. Regardless of contracts, singing bonuses, and all that garbage, players earn their starting spot in camp. If not, if they are just handed the job because they were drafted high or signed some kind of big contract, then you are cheating your football team. This is especially true if another player is better in camp, as was the case in 2006 when a ~~7th~~ 6th round rookie (Antoine Bethea) was better in camp than an established veteran that was well paid (Mike Doss). Bethea beat out Doss for one of the starting safety positions, and was a big part of the Colts winning the Super Bowl that year.

Yes, broken record on this point, I agree. But, it's what we believe in as bloggers, and it is a tried and true way to building a great team. Today, we focus on the players competing for the third running back spot on the roster.

Running backs currently on roster: Joseph Addai, Donald Brown, Mike Hart, Lance Ball, Chad Simpson

Running back competing for third and final RB spot: Mike Hart, Lance Ball, Chad Simpson

Traditionally, the Colts carry three running backs on their active roster and keep another back on the practice squad. Last year's active roster RBs heading into Week One of the 2008 season were Joseph Addai, Dominic Rhodes, and then-rookie Mike Hart. But, injuries to Addai and Hart forced Indy to juggle several backs on and off the active roster. Two of those backs were practice squad players Chad Simpson and Lance Ball.

For 2009, veteran Joseph Addai and 2009 first round pick Donald Brown are locked into the #1 and #2 running back spots. In the past, the #3 back has been what Bill Polian has described as a James Mungro-type player, referencing former Colts back James Mungro, whose career was cut short after a knee injury in 2006's training camp. Back #3 is often a short yardage and goal line back who will also play heavily on special teams either as a gunner or a returner. The Colts value cutback runners due to their offensive scheme, and the ability to pass block and catch the football are also important.

Necessary attributes: Goal line and short yardage running; good pass blocking, strong receiving skills, special teams contributor (gunner or returner)

Mike Hart

Image: blog.syracuse.com

At A Glance
Position 1: RB	Height: 5-9
Position 2: Gunner	Weight: 206
Year: 2nd	Age: 23
Number: 32	Note: Recovering from injury

Analysis: The third running back spot is Mike Hart's unless he is unable to return 100% healthy from major knee surgery last year. Hart injured his knee during the October 13th clash with the Baltimore Ravens, ending his promising rookie season. Hart was drafted by the Colts in Round 6 after a legendary collegiate career at Michigan. Hart's 40 time at the Combine in 2008 was not that good (4.65), but as a rookie Hart showed good burst when running.

In pre-season last year, Hart looked very good, displaying strong cutback runs and good blocking technique on passing downs. He played in 5 games in the 2008 regular season, mostly on special teams as a gunner. In October of last year, the Colts started using Hart more in the regular offense, especially on short yardage. However, after just his second NFL carry, he hurt his knee and was done for '09.

The key for Hart in 2009 is proving he is healthy. According to Bill Polian, Hart will start training camp on the PUP, which could be problematic for Hart is players like Lance Ball look good in camp.

Lance Ball

Image: Colts.com

At A Glance
Position 1: RB	Height: 5-9
Position 2: Gunner	Weight: 232
Year: 2nd	Age: 23
Number: 27	Note: Recently re-signed with Colts

Analysis: I like Mike Hart and I have a ton of respect for him. However, there is just something about Lance Ball that makes you root for him. An undrafted kid out of Maryland, Ball landed with the St. Louis Rams early in 2008 only to eventually get picked up by the Colts. Not long after signing Ball, the Colts had him playing in the running back rotation. His biggest controbution came in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans, where Ball ran for 83 yards on 13 carries (6.4 a carry). He showed a comination of toughness and size (232 pounds!) that Colts fans have rarely seen. Ball showed impressive burst when the Colts ran off tackle out of an offset I formation.

It remains to be seen whether Ball can block well enough at the NFL level, or is he can offer much as a special teams gunner. His size and power make him an ideal short yardage runner, and if he can excel at this in camp and pre-season then he could push Mike Hart off Indy's active roster.

Chad Simpson

Image: cache.daylife.com

At A Glance
Position 1: RB	Height: 5-9
Position 2: Returner	Weight: 216
Year: 2nd	Age: 23
Number: 35	Note:

Analysis: Of all the candidates for the third back spot, 2nd year player Chad Simpson has seen the most extensive playing time. Simpson, a practice squad player elevated to the active roster, played in 11 games in 2008 as both a running back and a special teams returner on kick-offs. As a back, Simpson had 45 yards on 15 carries (3 yards a carry) and scored 1 TD. As a returner, he had 15 returns for 344 yards. His longest was for 46 yards.

To put it bluntly, Simpson's numbers are awful.

No one game exemplified his poor running skills than the Detroit Lions game last year. Against the Lions, who had a horrible rush defense, Simpson ran for only 17 yards on 7 carries. He also fumbled once.

In red zone situations, Simpson averages 1.4 yards a carry. Even though he is bigger than Mike Hart, Simpson does not seem to run with any power or burst. As a returner, he doesn't turn the ball over, but that is kind of expected when you evaluate kick returners. He doesn't have much break away speed, and is not skilled at making people miss.

Thoughts Prior to Camp: If Mike Hart is healthy, he gets the job. If he isn't, and Lance Ball continues to build on his strong showing last year, Hart is done as a Colt. I think it will take a miracle for Chad Simpson to make this team again in 2009. He's just not that good at anything. I would not be surprised seeing two of the three players profiled here cut by September with the Colts signing a rookie free agent to the practice squad after the final roster cut downs.

Right now, I think the money is on Lance Ball. Hart opening camp on the PUP is not good. Ball is making progress this off-season and should look good in pre-season if he stays healthy. If he looks good and Hart is still PUPed, Ball will win the job.