SB Nation - Shane Andrus

Former Colts Edgerrin James and Shane Andrus cut; Jason David finds a new home

BigBlueShoe — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:03:26 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2009, file photo, Seattle Seahawks running back Edgerrin James is tackled by Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Ed Johnson during an NFL football game in Indianapolis. Johnson was released from the Colts, for a second time, in October while the struggling Seahawks cut ties with James on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, releasing the backup running back. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

Browse more photos »

We shift this morning from the current team to some old-time Colts who have made the news of late.

Apparently, the Seahawks feel their 2-5 start might have something to do with Edgerrin James being on their roster. They cut the 11 year pro yesterday, just two days after he passed Marcus Allen for 10th all-time on the NFL rushing list. It seems kind of silly for Seattle to sign Edge after training camp, have him cram to learn a brand new offense, barely play him, and then cut him. But, then again, it is the Seahawks, and there is a reason their team is 2-5.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also cut a former Colt, letting Shane Andrus go. He attempted one FG in three games with Tampa Bay, missing it. Buc'Em suggests that Andrus was erractic at practice. Funny, but Andrus was nothing short of brilliant during practices and games here in Indy. Maybe the combustable atmosphere in Tampa Bay had something to do with Andrus' consistency. A coach who has lost control of his team, an incompetent defensive coordinator, a clueless general manager, and cheap owners make for an 0-7 start. This was the team, and the franchise, Tony Dungy built. Now, look at it. Since 2003, the year after Jon Gurden won a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy's team, the Bucs have gone 45-58 and have won zero playoff games.

Finally, Jason David has signed with the Detroit Lions. David has taken some shots of late from fans after his disastrous tenure with the New Orleans Saints. The "genius" that was Saints management in 2007 decided to sign a Cover-2 corner (David), asked him to play man, and then were shocked he couldn't do it. I remind all of the haters that Jason David was the starting CB on the Super Bowl Championship Colts team in 2006. He played very well that season both in coverage and in run support. So, again, if David could start and play well on a championship team, that says more (in my eyes) about the lackluster defensive coaching in New Orleans than it does JD.

By the way, those defensive coaches in New Orleans were fired this past off-season. Gregg Williams now runs their defense, and the team is 7-0.

They run a lot of Cover-2 in Detroit under head coach Jim Schwartz. JD should do fine.

Forget Tebow, when does Sturgis come out?

Niko Houllis — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:00:14 -0000

Strugis would have Bucs fans forgetting all about Nugent, and Bryant (and Gramatica too).

View full size photo »

The answer of course is he is a sophomore, and will be available no earlier than 2011 draft.

Caleb is 14 out of 17 at the time of this writing, and just hammered home a 56 yard field goal for the Florida Gators. Its not all uncommon for a kicker to go high in the draft... just ask the school a little bit north of where Sturgis attends. Sebatian Janikoski was the Oakland Raiders 1st round pick in the 2000 NFL draft, and is still with the team, and probably will be for life. He was taken at #17, and though unlikely Sturgis would go that high, he does still have another year to go to beef up his already impressive resume.

Tampa Bay picked up a placekicker as early as the 3rd round; with the 80th pick in the 1999 draft, the Bucs selected Martin Gramatica who kicked them all the way to the Superbowl before erratic kicking ended the kickers career with Tampa Bay in 2004.

Tampa Bay likely will give current kicker Shane Andrus a chance this year; while he has virtually no official stats, he was impressive kicking in the preseason for the Indianapolis Colts when their famous kicker Adam Vinatieri required time off for injury.

Although there is a very good chance placekicker may not be on their list then, Tampa Bay could do worse than not consider the highly talented Strugis from Gainesville.

Colts working out Matt Stover, possible concerns over Adam Vinatieri's knee

BigBlueShoe — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:38:30 -0000

All kinds of speculation are swirling around the Colts complex at West 56th Street today concerning Adam Vinatieri. We saw Adam Shefter on the Monday Night Football pre-game show last night say the Colts are having Vinatieri's knee re-examined after Indy's 31-9 victory over the Tennessee Titans. I can't find any link to this story on ESPN.com, and Shefter's Twitter page seems to make no mention of this.

What does seem fairly certain is the Colts are bringing in veteran kicker Matt Stover for a workout today.

The Stover workout could possibly corroborate the concerns about Vinatieri, or it could be a "back-up" plan due to the fact that Shane Andrus, Indy's kicker during pre-season while Vinatieri healed up from off-season knee and hip surgery, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week.

If Adam is significantly hurt, we should hear something about it pretty soon, likely in the form of Adam getting placed on IR and Stover getting signed. It is entirely possible that Stover could be signed and Adam would just be inactive until he heals up. The Colts did that in 2006, using Martin Gramatica as the kicker for several early season games.

The key here is the health of Vinatieri. Regardless of what some of you think, the Colts need him healthy if they want to push deep into the playoffs. However, if Adam cannot go, Stover is a very solid replacement. With Pat McAfee booming kickoffs, the place kicker's job is to make big, clutch, money field goals. Like Vinatieri, Stover has shown that ability.

With game 5 coming up, a look at some Top 5's.....

Niko Houllis — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:00:19 -0000

game 5

View full size photo »

Some Top 5 things from our 5th game of the season, at the Linc in Philadelphia!

5 BEST PLAYERS ON THE FIELD FOR THE BUCS-

The new 2009 Cadillac Williams looks BETTER than the 2005 model!
Tanard Jackson returns to help out at safety. Is he just sticking his thumb in the dyke?
Chris Hovan is becoming a vocal leader on the defense.
Geno Hayes and Quincy Black are quickly catching up to Barrett Ruud. Linebackers are becoming best unit on the team.
Ronde Barber's body is in a state of temporal flux. His body is in his 30's, while Barber's legs are in his 20s.

5 PLAYERS STRUGGLING TO KEEP THEIR JOBS BASED ON PERFORMANCE-

Gaines Adams received a stay of execution from the govonor last week, but one quarter does not a season make. He may not get a chance this week with an injury bug.
After week one, Michael Clayton had Raheem Morris and Steve Duemig daring anyone to call and ask why the Bucs resigned him. Both signed up for unlisted numbers this week.
Kellen Winslow has 5 catches for 35 yards over the last two games. Young Quarterbacks best friend my BEEP!
Jeremy Trueblood is supposed to be part of the strongest unit on the Bucs. Instead he is becoming the weakest link with 4 false starts in 4 games. This after leading the Bucs in penalties last year.
Josh Johnson may not exactly deserve to be on this list as he only has one start for the team, but this team has already got a QB that it expects to have to deal with growing pains for. Johnson looked sharp on his first pass, but looked every bit the roll of the young first start QB afterwards. Going against the Eagles defense will not be J.J.s fault, but a very poor outing could bring Leftwich back up to 1 on the depth chart; at least until Faine returns and/or the bye week when we could see Josh Freeman. more after the jump...

5 WAYS THE BUCS CAN WIN THIS SUNDAY-

Eagles veterans get 2002 NFC Championship flashbacks and drive to the Veterans Stadium location instead of the Linc.
Matt Bryant releases the Matt Bryant Day Curse and new kicker Shane Andrus makes all his kicks.
Josh Johnson is able to find K2 and Jeremy Stevens 7-10 yards downfield consistantly.
Our fully restored 2005 Cadillac Williams is featured by Morris in the run & short passing game.
Bucs defense continues to show improvement and faith buying into Jim Bates' system.

5 REASONS TO WATCH THE ENTIRE GAME-

Your a Bucs fan, die hard, and you dont miss a single game.
Your a glutton for punishment.
You were the one screaming for J.J. to start this preseason, and here he is.
You enjoy watching the 2 guys who make the most money on the team get overpaid to not do their job.
Your part of the 10% that does NOT root for the underdog, and will scream "NO MERCY" in the 4th Quarter.

and last but not least...

5 THINGS WERE TIRED OF HEARING FROM THE FOX BROADCASTING TEAM

How the Bucs don't have Derrick Brooks on the team anymore.
The fact that fantasy football players pick every opponent vs the Bucs to win.
Our 28th or 31st rankings in either catagory.
That Monte Kiffin isnt on the team anymore. And finally...
Anything from Tony Siragusa!

K NUGENT RELEASED

Niko Houllis — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:20:57 -0000

More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

Going, Going, GONE

Browse more photos »

The Buccaneers announced today that they have signed K Shane Andrus. In addition, the team released CB Marcus Hamilton and K Mike Nugent.

Andrus entered the league as a free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in 2006. He played in one game for the Colts in 2009, handling kickoff duties in their season opener against Jacksonville. Andrus led Indianapolis with 19 points during the 2009 preseason, connecting on 5-of-6 field goal attempts and all four PATs.

Hamilton was signed by Tampa Bay on September 23 and played in one game for the Buccaneers this season. Nugent, who signed with Tampa Bay on March 4, played in each of the first four games in 2009.

I decided to go over to BigBlueStampede and this is a comment I found about our new kicker...

"Andrus has been magnificent in camp and pre-season. If you are reading this and you are NOT a Colts fan (and your favorite team is desperate for a quality kicker), look no further than Shane Andrus. He hasn't missed a kick yet in pre-season, and his kick-offs have been consistently good."

Of course the Colts needed Andrus while Vinatieri was healing.

Life with Lawrence Tynes -- do the Giants have to keep living it?

Ed Valentine — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:00:34 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

New York Giants' Lawrence Tynes (9) reacts after hitting a 45-yard field goal as teammate Jeff Feagles (18) stands nearby during the fourth quarter against the Washington Redskins in an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. Unfortunately, with Tynes, we're never quite sure if the result will be good or bad.

Browse more photos »

"Kickers are like horse manure. They're all over the place."
-- Former Tampa Bay coach John McKay

"Football kickers are like taxi cabs. You can always go out and hire another one."
-- Former NFL coach Buddy Ryan (1986)

These terrific quotes about placekickers are appropriate today because we need to talk about Lawrence Tynes, the incredibly irritating and inconsistent kicker for our New York Giants.

The 21-yard field goal Tynes missed Sunday against Tampa Bay was the shortest miss by a Giants' kicker since Dec. 19, 1981, when Joe Danelo was unsuccessful from the same distance. It marks two weeks in a row Tynes has missed from inside 30 yards, and that is simply inexcusable in an age where top-flight NFL kickers are nearly automatic inside 40 yards.

Tom Coughlin flatly said "No" Monday when asked if the Giants would work out any potential replacement kickers this week in light of Tynes' recent struggles. He also said this about Tynes.

"I think sometimes what has to happen is as you practice then you have to carry it over into game day. Sometimes there is a little bit of an adjustment that – for whatever reason – is going on that you would like to just stick with what has been good for you and what you have practiced."

To be honest, I really don't know what Coughlin is talking about there. I think it's just a bunch of coach-speak' for 'this is a topic I really don't want to talk about.'

Fact is, though, Tynes' erratic right foot is something I think we -- and the Giants coaching staff -- need to talk about. As I write this (prior to the Monday Night game), 53 field goals have been attempted inside 30 yards thus far this season. Only two have been missed -- both by Tynes. Yikes!

When I think about Tynes I ... I ... I don't know what to think. I get a headache trying to figure him out.

He obviously does not lack for courage. His game-winning kick in Green Bay which sent the Giants to the Super Bowl two seasons ago tells you that. As does his game-winner in Dallas in Week 2, which he had to kick twice.

He has a good track record, having made 100-of-125 kicks (80%) in his six-year career. Inside 30 yards, by the way, this season's two misses give him just three (36-of-39) in his career.

His kickoffs are sometimes deep, booming ones. At other times, they are ugly bouncers. Sometimes, they are high, short ones that land at the 15.

A week ago I wrote this about Tynes. "Tynes is probably the perfect kicker for this team. An imperfect guy who drives you up the wall, but always seems to make the kick that counts."

Was I right? Was I nuts? Is Tynes a quality kicker just going through a bit of a rough stretch? Is he a terrible kicker the Giants are winning in spite of? I just don't know. He has, at times, made things more difficult for the Giants. He has never, that I can remember, gone all Jay Feely in Seattle and cost the Giants a game.

I guess the best question to ask would be, is there anyone else out there who is better?

Available Kickers

If you want to go the way the Giants did last season and try to find the second coming of John Carney, the best choice might be long-time Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover. An 18-year veteran, the 41-year-old Stover is out of work after kicking for the Ravens the past 13 seasons. He was 27-of-33 for Baltimore last season, including 23-of-24 inside 40 yards. I reached out to our friends at the Ravens blog 'Baltimore Beatdown,' for info on Stover. This is part of what I got from 'Beatdown.'

The problem I have w/ him is that outside of 40 yards he is far from accurate and has zero distance. ... Also Stover's issue is depth on kickoffs and carrying two kickers takes up a valuable roster spot that I'm not in favor of. I say keep Tynes over Stover.

So, unless you pretty much never want to make a field goal longer than 40 yards, and you want to see Carney-esque kickoffs, Stover might not be the best idea.

Matt Bryant? The ex-Giant was 33-of-38 for Tampa Bay last season with his only misses coming from outside 40 yards. He is just 33. Bryant, though, was the Giants' kicker in the infamous 'Trey Junkin Game' in 2003, and I just am not sure I could stomach having to think about that game every time the Giants line up for a field goal.

I also reached out to the other SB Nation football bloggers for names of young kickers who impressed them during camp before being released. I heard names like Graham Gano (Ravens), Dave Rayner (Redskins) and Shane Andrus (Colts).

None of these guys has enough of a track record that you can be sure they are any more trustworthy than Tynes.

Maybe the best thing we can do is hope Tynes gets his head straight and stops missing easy kicks that make everyone's lives that much harder -- and shorter.

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)

Browse more photos »

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.

Adam Vinatieri activated from PUP list

BigBlueShoe — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:08:53 -0000

Adam Vinatieri has returned to kick ass, chew bubble gum, and make clutch kicks. Photo: images.teamsugar.com

View full size photo »

Aaron Wilson at National Football Post gives us the scope:

Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri passed his physical today and was activated from the physically unable to perform list after undergoing offseason surgeries on his right hip and right knee.

Interesting to note that Vinatieri was NOT listed as one of seven players who are NOT traveling with the team to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals for the fourth and final pre-season game for 2009. Bob Sanders, who is still on PUP, will stay in Indy while the Colts close out pre-season.

Having Adam back is a big boost. Hopefully, he'll get some time in against the Bengals, working with rookie punter and FG holder Pat McAfee. ~~Adam's activation means the Colts must cut another player, and that player is likely kicker Shane Andrus~~. Andrus has been magnificent in camp and pre-season. If you are reading this and you are NOT a Colts fan (and your favorite team is desperate for a quality kicker), look no further than Shane Andrus. He hasn't missed a kick yet in pre-season, and his kick-offs have been consistently good.

[UPDATE]: Good point made in the comments by reddogfred; players on the PUP do count against the 75 man roster limit. Therefore, the Colts do NOT have to cut anyone as a consequence of activating Vinatieri. And yes, I used this update as another excuse to place the word NOT in CAPS again.

The cutdown to 75 complete, now on to 53

BigBlueShoe — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:05:42 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

3 months ago: Indianapolis Colts cornerback Jerraud Powers (49) intercepts a pass intended for Detroit Lions wide receiver Bryant Johnson (80) during the second quarter of an exhibition NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Browse more photos »

The Colts cut Marcus Paschal today to get their roster down to 75. After Thursday's pre-season finale against the Bengals, the Colts will have until Saturday to trim their roster to 53 active players. Without considering who will likely get re-signed to the practice squad, I've compiled a list of who will likely get cut on Saturday. Please note that I will cut more than the Colts need to as it is likely they will cut extra players so they can sign some people cut from other teams.

After the jump, you can check out the list. Keep in mind, the Colts have a lot of very good talent on this current 75 man roster. Several good, quality players will get let go. Some may even be high drafts picks from years past.

John Matthews (duh)

Ramon Humbler

The big cuts are Muir, Jennings, Hughes, Foster, and Ball. Based on Muir's poor showing last week against Detroit, and the impressive praise Caldwell has given to Adrian Grady, I think the Colts will want to keep Grady, work Terrance Taylor into the nose tackle rotation, and keep someone like Raheem Brock in reserve at under tackle in case of an injury. Foster falls in the same boat as Muir. Antonio Johnson, Ed Johnson, and Terrance Taylor can all play nose tackle. This makes Muir expendable. Ed Johnson, Adrian Grady, Raheem Brock, and Fili Moala can all play under tackle. This makes Foster expendable. Thus, both Foster and Muir are (sadly) cut.

Jerraud Powers has flat outplayed Tim Jennings and Dante Hughes. Caldwell has also been very pleased by the play of Jacob Lacey. T.J. Rushing is a decent corner who is vital to the return game. Thus, Hughes and Jennings are gone.

Finally, there is Lance Ball, who has (in my humble opinion) outplayed the injury-prone Mike Hart. But, I don't think the Colts are ready to give up on Hart just yet. Since they cannot PUP him, and since the Colts will probably keep three QBs, I think Lance will get cut.

Again, I'm likely wrong with these projected cuts, and we don't know what the injury situation will be until after the Cincy game. But, for right now, this is how I think it will shake out. Thoughts?

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)

Browse more photos »

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.