Colts, Colts, And More Colts!
Several great articles on the Colts popped up over the holiday weekend that you Colts fans won’t want to miss.
Included among them is a great article on Colts star Dwight Freeney by LA Times pro football writer Sam Farmer, a pair of nice articles on Colts safety Melvin Bullitt by the National Football Post’s Aaron Wilson and Colts.com’s John Oehser, and Colts GM Bill Polian’s remarks to Boston’s WEEI on the issues involved in the Manning and Brady contract talks.
Be sure to check out those articles in their entirety, Colts fans.
They’re great reads!
Don’t Worry Colts Fans, Be Happy
There’s a great article by Reggie Hayes in the Fort Wayne News Sentinel today about the Colts’ pending contract negotiations with star players Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and Robert Mathis.
As you can see, Reggie believes that Colts fans should have a “don’t worry, be happy” philosophy where the Colts and the pending contract negotiations with their three star players are concerned.
If it were another organization, a little nervousness and/or panic might be appropriate, but Colts owner Jim Irsay and Indianapolis general manager Bill Polian are the best in the NFL at handling contract issues, according to Hayes.
And Hayes doesn’t think you need to be worried about Reggie Wayne and Robert Mathis this year either, Colts fans.
“Reggie Wayne and Robert Mathis have two of the best work ethics on the team. They work out on their own. They maintain optimum fitness. They set their standards high. They’re pros,” Hayes writes.
“No matter what lies ahead, the Colts will back the Brinks truck up to Manning’s house. And then they’ll tell his contract-seeking teammates to be patient for now. And then everyone will go out this season and start winning again”, Hayes concludes.
That all sounds about right to me.
What do you think Colts fans?
Is Mathis The NFL’s Best Pass Rusher?
In their ongoing series of pass-rush profiles, Pro Football Focus and writer Ben Stockwell took a look at Colts defensive lineman Robert Mathis this week, and to no one’s surprise, they rate the Colts star as one of the NFL’s best pass-rushers.
In fact, Mathis just might be the best pass rusher in the entire league.
“No pass rusher got more pressure around the outside in 2009 than Mathis did. He recorded 42 total pressures (9 sacks, 7 hits, and 26 pressures) from the outside last season, 6 ahead of second-place Trent Cole (6 sacks, 12 hits, and 18 pressures) and 14 ahead of Colts teammate and third-place finisher Dwight Freeney (7 sacks, 5 hits, and 16 pressures). Mathis was also well ahead of the field in terms of his pressure per snap, beating a blocker once every 9.74 pass rushes, more frequent than both Freeney (once every 14.04 pass rushes) and Cole (once every 15.14 pass rushes).”
“Mathis simply applys more outside pressure than any other pass rusher in the league”, Stockwell concludes.
And one thing is for certain, Colts fans.
When Pro Football Focus is discussing the league’s best pass rushers and two of the top three play on the Colts’ defensive line, you know your Colts have a great pass rush!
A Colts/Cowboys Super Bowl?
Will we see a Colts/Cowboys Super Bowl matchup this season?
Well, Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News thinks so.
Gosselin, one of the country’s top pro football writers, has placed the Colts and Cowboys at the top of his preseason power rankings and picked them to meet in the Super Bowl.
“On paper, the Colts are a better team than the squad that finished 16-3 a year ago and took a lead into the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. That makes the Colts the favorite to win it all. So put Indianapolis atop the Dallas Morning News’ annual preseason rankings,” Rick writes.
“And Dallas, the defending NFC East champions, finished second in the NFL in offense last season and allowed the fewest points in the NFC on defense. So pencil in a Colts/Cowboys Super Bowl in February,” Gosselin concludes.
Rick Gosselin has a VERY strong track record as far as NFL related predictions go.
Let’s hope that Rick is right with this pick!
Writers Picking Colts To Win AFC South
In what has become a regular occurrence at this time of the year, pro football writers everywhere are picking the defending AFC champion Colts to repeat as AFC South champions.
As you can see, the latest to do so is Mark Gaughan, an outstanding football writer who covers the NFL, AFC, and Buffalo Bills for the Buffalo News.
Mark doesn’t think that the AFC South’s other teams (the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, and Tennessee Titans) have improved themselves enough over the offseason to overtake the Colts in the AFC South this year.
“The AFC South saw little free-agency movement this year, which leaves AFC champion Indianapolis as the favorite once again,” Mark writes.
I agree with that analysis, of course.
The Colts have won six AFC South titles in the last seven years, while winning twelve games or more in each of those seven seasons, and it’s likely that both trends will continue this season.
Life is definitely sweet for the Colts these days.
And the nation’s pro football writers know it!
