Colts Preview 2013

SEPTEMBER 2013

2013 COLTS SEASON PREVIEW

WHY NOT?

New regime sets sights on NFL’s ultimate prize | p. 12 “DRIVEN TO BE THE BEST”

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Colts Season Preview Section | September 2013

Possibilities are endless for new-look Colts

C

onsider the possibilities for the Indianapolis Colts. Division title contention. A return to the playoffs. Long-term relevancy among the AFC powers that be.

Gee, wasn’t it only this time last year that everyone in horseshoes was trying to forget going 2-14?

Yes. But fortune can change direction in the NFL faster than kickoff returners. There is a verrryyy different feel in Lucas Oil Stadium from September 2012. And so, 16 questions for a 16-game season.

1. Are the football gods still wearing Colts jerseys?

It was a truly blessed 2012, when the team beat 11 opponents and the head coach beat leukemia. The plucky Colts earned what they got, but they also were helped by so many timely breaks and good bounces, you wondered if the quarterback’s name was really Andrew Goodluck.

Indianapolis won nine games by seven points or less. Beware this NFL

bylaw: Karma can giveth, and karma can taketh away.

2. Will the O in the O-line not stand for oh-oh this season?

The 41 sacks allowed last season were alarming so the Colts reached for their checkbook to get free agents Gosder Cherilus and Donald Thomas and beef up the blocking.

Someone better protect the pocket.

That’s the franchise being knocked down back there.

3. Will the dreaded phrase “sophomore slump” ever appear in the same paragraph with Andrew Luck?

No reason to think so, after a remarkable rookie season. The Colts would prefer he follow the career path of their last No. 1 draft pick quarterback. In Peyton Manning’s second year, his passing rating went from 71.2 to 90.7. Luck was at 76.5 last year. Imagine the sleepless nights he’ll cause defensive coordinators if his number jumps 19 points.

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Mike Lopresti 4. When will Luck win his first playoff game?

The faithful can only hope he doesn’t match Manning in that.

For all Manning’s magic, he didn’t manage a postseason victory until his sixth season. Did pretty well after that, though.

5. Is the early schedule as cooperative as it looks?

Back-to-back home games with Oakland and Miami seem to be a nice, comfortable start. Anything less than 2-0 would be a disappointment, given what comes after that.

6. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Colts had a more reliable running game?

Oh, yes.

7. Will they?

We can definitely, absolutely say ... maybe.

8. Will the ticket scalpers of Indianapolis declare Oct. 20 a state holiday?

They should. That’s the night Peyton Manning comes to town. Not much danger of a TV blackout.

9. How will the Colts endure the gauntlet portion of their schedule?

Starting Oct. 6, they go Seattle, at San Diego, Denver (the hype will be a mile high, just like Denver), at Houston. It’s sink or swim time, fellas.

10. Will new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and Luck form the best duet since Sonny and Cher?

That was the general idea in hiring Hamilton.

They made beautiful music together at Stanford. Of course, Washington State is not on the Colts’ schedule.

11. Will the crowd at Lucas Oil be able to chant dee-fense and keep a straight face?

The Colts were 29th in the league against the rush

last season.

New faces have been added, and maybe now everyone is more used to the 3-4 defense. Anyway, it can’t happen again. For one thing, that allows teams to devour the clock and keep the Indianapolis offense off the field.

Andrew Luck can do many things, but none of them from the bench.

12. Will Reggie Wayne ever act his age?

The Colts certainly hope not. Wayne turns 35 this season, which means he must have lost a step. But so far, savvy, work ethic and a sense of purpose have kept him a premier weapon.

13. Same question for Adam Vinatieri?

Same answer, since he’s 40. A team with a habit of winning so many close games will be in the soup in a hurry if the kicker goes south.

14. Will this year’s firstround draft choice have the same impact as last year’s?

Uh, no. But then, nobody expects Bjoern Werner to

be another franchise-reviving Luck. What the Colts would like him to be is a force at linebacker, but the preseason suggested he has much work to do.

15. Any folk heroes on the horizon?

Second-year wide receiver Griff Whalen is healthy after a foot injury sidelined him for all of 2012. Luck’s college roommate entered Stanford as a safety, switched first to running back and didn’t start catching passes until his junior year. In addition to providing offensive depth, the kid’s moonlighting as the backup holder.

16. Where will the Colts finish in the regular season?

In Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 29, against Jacksonville. OK, you probably meant something else. So many things went right for that 11-5 record last season. The Colts should be a better team, but in the fickle cauldron of the NFL, that doesn’t guarantee a better record. Put me down for 10-6.

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Colts Season Preview Section | September 2013

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By George Bremer The Herald Bulletin

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s easy to forget how young Andreew Luck is.

He won’t turn n 24 until four days after Sunday y’s season opener against the O Oakland Raiders.

When thee Indianapolis Colts made theirr most recent Super Bowl aappearance in 2009, he had h just finished a se eason in which he became the first b ffreshman quarterback to win the starting job at Stanfo ord in 13 years.

Yet, after just one year in thee NFL, he’s already being looked at as the ccenterpiece that will one day get the franchisse back to the championship game.

Great expectations aare nothing new to Luck.

His father, Oliver, re emains a legend in West Virginia — wheree he is now the university’s athletic direcctor. He spent his

college career being compared to — and shattering the records set by — former Stanford great John Elway.

And now he’s slowly taking over as the face of the franchise once ruled by Peyton Manning.

Some young players might look at the four-time league MVP’s legacy as an unfair burden to live up to at the start of an NFL career. Luck responded by leading his team to 11 victories — including seven on game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime — and passing for more yards (4,374) than any rookie in history.

“I didn’t look at it as replacing Peyton in any fashion, any perspective,” he said this summer during training camp at Anderson University. “For me, it was a chance to play football. It just so happened that the quarterback before here was one of the greatest of all time.”

Yeah, it’s easy to forget how young Luck is.

That extends onto the field as well. The tremendous showings by three first-year quarterbacks — with Washington’s Robert Griffin III and Seattle’s Russell Wilson joining Luck — caused obsessive scrutiny of See LUCK K/4

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Colts Season Preview Section | September 2013

LUCK Continued from Page 3 their statistics in an effort to separate them.

Much was made of Luck’s low completion percentage (54.1) and high interception (18) numbers. Ignored were his rookie-record 627 pass attempts operating a high-risk offense with no exceptions made for his age or inexperience.

Griffin played in a readoption system tailor-made to his skill set and was seldom asked to throw the ball deep downfield. Wilson, meanwhile, was brought along slowly — adding more responsibilities each week — and had the benefit of playing with the game’s third-leading rusher, Marshawn Lynch.

Luck was playing behind an offensive line that began the season with just one returning starter, and the team around him included four fellow rookies — tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and running back Vick Ballard — in key roles.

The switch from Bruce Arians’ vertical passing game to new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s quick-passing attack should improve Luck’s completion percentage and limit his interceptions. And a year of NFL experience could make his second season an even better barometer for his future than his first.

“Certainly in our case because you had so many new elements: new people, new offense, new staff, new everything,” quarterbacks

Indian anap apo olis Col oltss quarterback Annd A drrew ew Lucck (1 (122) 2) scrambles away aw ay fro rom m Ne New Yo York rk Gia iant iant nts nts deefe fennsiv nsivee tack tacckkle ta l Cul ulle lenn Je le Jenk nkin nk inss in (999) (9 9) dur uriing ing th the he fifirs rstt ha h lff of an an NFL preseason game on Aug. 18 in East Ruttherforrd, d N.J.J (AP (A AP ph phot oto) oto) ot o) coach Clyde Christensen said. “So I think certainly this will be a better year to judge him. Although, he made a pretty darn good first impression.”

The encore is off to a good start.

He completed 65.9 percent of his preseason passes and threw just one interception. He’s taking shorter See LUCK K/5

“You want to win. You want to keep going. It’s a silver lining with playoff experience. We won some games, and most importantly Coach Pagano was back. That was definitely the most important thing. We’ll take the experience and hopefully improve on it this year.”

Andrew Luck

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Colts Season Preview Section | September 2013

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LUCK Continued from Page 4 dropbacks and getting the ball out of his hand more quickly. He’s also spreading the football around — completing passes to six different receivers during the Week 3 win against Cleveland when he played into the third quarter.

Luck looks confident playing in Hamilton’s system, the same one he used to record-breaking effect during his final season at Stanford.

“He just seems so com-

fortable out there even though we changed systems and terminology,” head coach Chuck Pagano said. “Obviously, with Pep coming and being familiar and the guy doesn’t forget anything. He’s got a photographic memory so it didn’t take him probably but two days to remember the whole playbook. He just seems really comfortable.

He’s got great command of that huddle and great command of the offense.”

It’s easy to forget how young Luck is.

But the expectations others place on him never will

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exceed his own.

The Colts enjoyed a fairy tale season in 2012, improving from 2-14 to 11-5 and earning a surprise berth in the AFC playoffs.

Along the way, they bonded in solidarity behind Pagano — who spent 12 game weeks fighting leukemia first in a hospital bed and later at his home.

Pagano’s return before a Week 17 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium that cost the Houston Texans homefield advantage throughout the postseason was undoubtedly one of the season’s high points.

But a 24-9 loss in an AFC wild card game at Baltimore

the next weekend brought everything to a halt.

Despite his youth and lack of experience, or perhaps because of it, Luck expected to win that contest. And the memory of it drives him as he prepares for 2013.

“When I walked away from that loss, it was disappointing,” he said. “You want to win. You want to keep going. It’s a silver lining with playoff experience.

We won some games, and most importantly Coach Pagano was back. That was definitely the most important thing. We’ll take the experience and hopefully improve on it this year.”

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Colts Season Preview Section | September 2013 2013 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS SCHEDULE

Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Oct. 6 Oct. 14 Oct. 20 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 14 Nov. 24 Dec. 1 Dec. 8 Dec. 15 Dec. 22 Dec. 29

OAKLAND RAIDERS MIAMI DOLPHINS at San Francisco at Jacksonville Jaguars SEATTLE SEAHAWKS at San Diego Chargers DENVER BRONCOS Bye Week at Houston Texans ST. LOUIS RAMS at Tennessee Titans at Arizona Cardinals TENNESSEE TITANS at Cincinnati Bengals HOUSTON TEXANS at Kansas City Chiefs JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

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2013 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS ROSTER No. 83 51 33 41 44 31 38 20 74 96 78 53 23 84 80 97 50 27 54 8 39 81 13 62 26 94 99 59 46 30 35 72 12 91 98 1 75 95 45 90 85 76 64 52 66 69 28 32 4 93 87 92 17

Name Dwayne Allen Pat Angerer Vick Ballard Antoine Bethea Ahmad Bradshaw Donald Brown Sergio Brown Darius Butler Anthony Castonzo Josh Chapman Gosder Cherilus Kavell Conner Vontae Davis Jack Doyle Coby Fleener Aubrayo Franklin Jerrell Freeman Josh Gordy Mario Harvey Matt Hasselbeck Stanley Havili Darrius Heyward-Bey T.Y. Hilton Khaled Holmes Delano Howell Montori Hughes Ricky Jean Francois Cam Johnson Dominique Jones LaRon Landry Joe Lefeged Jeff Linkenbach Andrew Luck Ricardo Matthews Robert Mathis Pat McAfee Mike McGlynn Fili Moala Matt Overton Cory Redding David Reed Joe Reitz Samson Satele Kelvin Sheppard Donald Thomas Hugh Thornton Greg Toler Cassius Vaughn Adam Vinatieri Erik Walden Reggie Wayne Bjoern Werner Griff Whalen

Pos. TE ILB RB S RB RB FS CB OT NT OT ILB CB TE TE NT ILB CB ILB QB FB WR WR C/G S DT DT OLB TE S S OT QB DT OLB P G/C DE LS DE WR OG C LB OG OG CB CB K OLB WR OLB WR

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School Clemson Iowa Mississippi State Howard Marshall Connecticut Notre Dame Connecticut Boston College Alabama Boston College Clemson Illinois Western Kentucky Stanford Tennessee Mary Hardin-Baylor Central Michigan Marshall Boston College USC Maryland Florida International USC Stanford Tennessee-Martin LSU Virginia Shepherd LSU Rutgers Cincinnati Stanford Cincinnati Alabama A&M West Virginia Pittsburgh USC Western Washington Texas Utah Western Michigan Hawaii LSU Connecticut Illinois St. Paul’s (Va.) Mississippi South Dakota State Middle Tennessee State Miami (Fla.) Florida State Stanford

Injured reserve 79 Justin Anderson 55 Justin Hickman 56 Scott Lutrus 48 Dan Moore 56 Lawrence Sidbury 58 Quinton Spears

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Practice Squad 49 Daniel Adongo 65 Thomas Austin 86 Justice Cunningham 5 Chandler Harnish 57 Josh McNary 40 Sheldon Price 16 Da’Rick Rogers 37 Kerwynn Williams

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Colts Season Preview Section | September 2013

Running down a dream Colts hoping to top last year’s fairy tale with another season for the ages

By George Bremer The Herald Bulletin

INDIANAPOLIS — Why not?

There are a litany of reasons to recite to back up the widely held belief this season will be a step backward for the Indianapolis Colts.

The team was 9-1 last season in games decided by seven points or less. Most teams finish somewhere around the .500 mark in such contests. This is a prime area for regression.

The Colts became the first team in league history to win 11 games while allowing more points than it scored, and the offense committed 12 more turnovers than the defense caused. It’s remarkable enough to have one winning season with stats like that.

Two might require devine intervention.

There are less tangible factors at work as well.

It’s hard to put a finger on the impact Chuck Pagano’s battle against leukemia had on last year’s team. Nobody argues against the fact it allowed a young team to galvanize quickly behind a common goal. Can the team play with the same purpose behind far less emotional motivation?

And what about the strength of schedule? Indianapolis feasted on a lastplace slate a year ago, and the competition level has risen along with the team’s place in the standings.

It’s an overstated factor in today’s NFL, where the majority of each team’s schedule is predetermined by a formula years in advance. But the docket does include high-profile See DREAM / 13

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Colts Season Preview Section | September 2013

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Photos by The Associated Press

Above: Defensive end Robert Mathis reacts after the Colts recovered a fumble against the Chicago Bears in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium in Miami on Feb. 4, 2007. Right: Kicker Adam Vinatieri (4) celebrates with Hunter Smith after kicking an extra point after a 56-yard interception return for a touchdown by Kelvin Hayden in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLI.

DREAM Continued from Page 13 words “Hoist it.”

Several players — such as offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo and outside linebacker Robert Mathis — have stated nothing less than a Super Bowl victory will be considered a success this season.

But the Colts understand there’s a long road ahead.

The easiest path to an NFL title begins with winning a division championship. The Texans have owned the AFC South for the past two years, and Pagano said reclaiming that crown is the first of Indianapolis’ goals.

A division title would lead to a home playoff game, and Allen could certainly set his sights on “other things” at that point.

The journey begins Sunday at home against the Raiders, and defensive end Cor y Redding said the team’s mindset hasn’t changed since the first day of training camp.

“Always want to take a step forward,” he said. “You never want to take a step back. We had a real good preseason. Guys got better.

All our veterans got better from Day 1. We just want to go out there and see what we’ve got.”

Some veterans such as Mathis and Wayne experienced a Super Bowl champi-

not about to lower their aim the second time around.

“That’s really the only reason we come to work every day and make the sacrifices that we all make,” Pagano said of Super Bowl expectations at the Colts’ annual kickoff luncheon.

“We want to build a program sustained for success. (General manager) Ryan (Grigson) and his staff do such a great job of bringing players in here, and Mr. Irsay gives us everything we need to be successful. We aren’t just doing this for a one-hit won-

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der. We want to go on a run.

We want to be great for another decade or two, win multiple championships and be able to hoist that Lombardi and dance under that confetti.”

It’s a vision that would have been unthinkable around these parts even a year ago.

But so much has changed after a single storybook season. Is it conceivable the sequel to such an unbelievable story could be even more successful?

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napolis. This is a franchise that has grown accustomed to winning.

After one down season, Luck and the new era he’s quickly becoming the face of, seem to have gotten things back on track.

But Pagano believes the franchise is just getting started.

Let outsiders point to statistics and history that suggest the Colts’ fairy tale of 2012 is about to get a heavy dose of reality. Pagano and his players overcame the odds a year ago, and they’re

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onship following the 2006 season. And kicker Adam Vinatieri has four world championship rings — one with the Colts and three with the New England Patriots.

But Redding is entering his 11th season in the league, and he’s never even played in the Big Game. Players with a history like that add a sense of urgency for their younger teammates.

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Colts Season Preview Section | September 2013

Will bigger, badder defense be better?

Indianapolis believes its added bulk will result in improved run containment

By George Bremer The Herald Bulletin

INDIANAPOLIS — It doesn’t take long to spot the change in the Indianapolis Colts’ defense this year.

One glance at the defensive line should do it.

Holdover defensive end Cory Redding still cuts an imposing figure at 6-foot-4 and 318 pounds. But he’s got plenty of muscle by his side with free-agent additions Aubrayo Franklin (6-1, 320) at nose tackle and Ricky Jean Francois (6-3, 297) at defensive tackle.

The new guys each spent time with defensive coordinator Greg Manusky during his stint with the San Francisco 49ers, and like Redding they understand how the Colts’ hybrid 3-4 defense is supposed to work.

Defensive linemen aren’t designed to be stars in this system. Their job is to soak up as many blockers as possible, form an impenetrable wall at the line of scrimmage and allow the linebackers behind them to make plays.

It’s a defense designed to stop the run first and foremost, and the added bulk up front brings the scheme closer to Manusky’s and head coach Chuck Pagano’s ideal vision.

Nearly every move made during this offseason was aimed at improving the league’s 29th-ranked rush defense. In addition to the linemen, the Colts brought in outside linebacker Erik Walden to set the edge and hard-hitting strong safety LaRon Landry to slow down the quicker runners in the open field.

Fourth-year inside linebacker Pat Angerer, starting again alongside Jerrell Freeman after a year spent

Jeff Roberson / The Associated Press

Indianapolis Colts cornerback Greg Toler strips the ball away from Cleveland Browns wide receiver Greg Little during the first half of the teams’ preseason game in Indianapolis on Aug. 24. Toler recovered the fumble. playing through and then rehabbing a foot injury, likes what he sees.

“We got a lot of good players,” he said during training camp this summer. “Watching our front seven, it’s been tremendous. It’s going to be fun to play behind this D-line. We have a lot of good playmakers.”

Angerer and Landry did not make their preseason debuts until Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns, and

the 11 expected starters played together only for about 18 snaps in that game.

But the first unit played well as a whole.

There were problems against small, athletic running backs early — with Buffalo’s C.J. Spiller and the New York Giants’ David Wilson each shredding the defense for big first-quarter gains — but the starters didn’t allow a touchdown in the three exhibition games

in which the majority of them played.

In fact, nobody scored a touchdown against the defense at all in Weeks 2 and 3 as the Colts picked up wins against the Giants and the Browns. Cleveland’s first-team offense came into the game having scored on five of its six drives but gained just four first downs in a little more than a half against Indianapolis’ starters.

“They had played two really good football games,” Pagano said. “They were 2-0, and they looked impressive running the football.

(Quar terback) Brandon Weeden had done a nice job. I’ve got the utmost respect for Norv Turner as an offensive coordinator. I think we all do. So it’s a confidence builder, a big psychological boost for our guys to know that they had a club in here with that

roster, they’ve got good players.

“We talked about the offensive line that they have. It’s one of the best offensive lines that we played last year. The runner, quarterback and some wideouts that can make some plays. So (shutting them down was) very satisfying.”

Questions remain about See DEFENSE / 17

Colts Season Preview Section | September 2013

Kathy Willens / The Associated Press

Indianapolis Colts nose tackle Ricky Jean Francois rushes New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning during the first half of a preseason game Aug. 18 in East Rutherford, N.J.

Continued from Page 16 the team’s ability to rush the passer.

Veteran Robert Mathis is the only proven pass rusher on the Colts’ roster, and first-round rookie Bjoern Werner showed bursts of promise but also proved he still has a ways to go. He’s a native of Germany who didn’t begin playing football until age 14 and is switching to outside linebacker after starring as a defensive end at Florida State.

Walden and Jean Francois likely will need to provide pressure on opposing quarterbacks to help fill the gap. The Colts also hope to get production from second-year outside linebacker Cam Johnson, acquired in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers earlier this week.

If there’s good news, it’s that the pass rushers should have more time to reach the offensive backfield than they did a year ago. Landry forms a Pro-Bowl tandem with free safety Antoine Bethea at the top level of the defense, and cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Greg Toler have played well since practice began in the spring.

Toler has shown a knack for knocking footballs loose — recording an interception, forcing a fumble and recovering a fumble during preseason play — and Darius Butler seems like an ideal fit as a slot defender in the nickel package.

The result is a defense that enters the season with expectations as high as the offense for the first time in recent memory.

“They were a pain in the butt to go against in training camp, and it’s nice to see

Tom Uhlman / The Associated Press

Colts defensive end Cory Redding watches from the sidelines in the second half of a preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Aug. 29 in Cincinnati. them go up against someone else,” quarterback Andrew Luck said. “But, you know, I think the old adage is iron sharpens iron, and we’d like to think we’re both making each other better when we practice against each other. And then to get to watch them play is fun.”

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Colts Season Preview Section | September 2013