2006 outlook

[Indys_time]

Hey this is just starting a Small Colts 2006 outlook posts. I will just put some thoughts on players stats and the Colts overall 2006 year. Everyone else can do the same.

P.Manning=The Best QB(During the Regular Season, hasn't proved his playoff consistency). Should go back to his 4000yds years and at least 30tds.

RB=At first I was really low on Addai. He never got the starting job untill his teamate went down. But now as I see his talents and some of his stats, he should do fine. Rhodes when he first played had a first quick step. Now he has halfway lost it and seems to bulldoze his way into the line. Addai is more shifty and should get at least 1200 total yds and 8-10tds. Rhodes could get 500rush yds and 4tds.

WR/TE=Not many ?s about the Colts here. Marvin still hasn't hit his old timer years. He should still produce 1250yds and at least 12tds. Reggie is young, has great hands, and should get near the same stats as Marvin if not a little less. Bradon Stokley IMO is a excellent slot reciever its just that every team had at least 7-8 in the secondary and not much of an option for the Colts other than to pound the rock a lot of the time. So Stokley should get near 1000yds and hopefully at least 6tds. Dallas Clark is a great speed TE, he should do fine with 650yds and 5tds.

OL= Man I was as disapointed as P.Manning was near the end of the year. Peyton was starting to look more like D.Bledsoe than himself near the end of the year. Teams started blitzing and I started saying "why don't the colts just sign some 6'8" 350lb lineman." But the breakdown of the line was only for 1-2games. This year the colts line though average in height, and maybe shorter should still do a good job and hopefully for all 16 games.

DST=The Special teams is always been average, solid returns and some subpar kicking. Wouldn't it be great for a kickoff ball to go past the endzone!?!?! The defense will hopefully be top 10, not just fantasy wise, but yards wise. Loss of Thorton hurts since he was a good LB. We should do good with more experience, but with the loss of Thorton everything should balance out. Can you guys imagine if we could have kept some of our former LBs. The LB crew would consist of M.Washington(pro bowl), M.Peterson(Pro bowl), and Cato June(pro bowl). Dang thats a price the Colts will have to pay for offense. The secondary should get better with more years under there belt, and lets hope Harper either finds another wife or at least makes sure she gets some anger management.

Overall The Colts are a great team. They will not go 13-0 again, but anywhere from 11-5 to 13-3 is a very likely possibility. I think that the Colts will get either the #1 or #2 spot in the AFC and win their first playoff game in the Dome. And in the AFC Championship game, it will all be decided on if Peyton can come and play like Peyton.

[Dr. Duran Duran]

Nice analysis. Personally, I like Manning's abilities, but really can't quite figure out why he's lacking in the playoffs. There were so many instances where the Colts could have run a screen to Edgerrin while all the Steelers defenders were blitzing. I'm certain the play would have netted serious yardage considering all the defenders were upfield. Not once did they run the play, and Manning's usually very solid when it comes to calling plays like that at the line. I'm hoping he learned a lot from last season and keeps it together more in crunch time.

As for the RB's, it's really going to be interesting to see how they work out the duo in the backfield. Addai never really impressed me too much at LSU, but I didn't really dislike him either. He's a complete back, but lacks experience. Keeping him fresh for the stretch run will be a task, but Rhodes should be able to contribute enough to make that happen. I will say this for Addai, I like his pass blocking skills far more than I like Dom's, so Addai should be seeing the field a bit more thanks to his blocking. I expect Mungro will also play a role in short yardage or near the goalline. In any case, they have the players to make up for Edge, I just don't know how the chemistry will work out and how quickly Addai will adapt to the NFL.

Wideouts are excellent as always, but I do hope to see more of Brandon Stokley out there. As much as I like the Colts using the 2-TE set, Stokley's talents were vastly underused last season. He went from being the most explosive slot receiver in football, to being nearly an afterthought. One thing that I think worked out for the Colts utilitzing the 2-TE set more was seeing Bryan Fletcher in action more, along with Ben Utecht. Fletcher rather impressed me on a few occassions, but I still would rather see Harrison, Wayne, Stokley and Clark than Harrison, Wayne, Clark and Fletcher.

O-Line wasn't bad, but Tarik Glenn needs to be more consistent. I swear he false-started more times than I could count last year. Really irked me, but when he's on, he's really a top notch OT. Saturday's presence in the middle is undeniably impressive. Glad to see he's developed into a Pro Bowl Center. The rest of the crew is fairly young and one would hope the experiences of last season will only help them gel more this year.

The defense took a huge step forward and should only continue to get better. Health is always a concern of mine, especially with Bob Sanders. He's so ultra-physical, but his size leaves me worried that he'll get banged up. We need his presence out there and his explosiveness is catching. When he's on, the rest of the crew responds. Doss needs to step it up. I see him make some strong plays and then disappear on others. Harper also lacks consistency, but he's a solid playmaker. Linebacking core is still mostly intact, but I'll be interested to see how they replace David Thornton. June and Brackett played very well last season and Rob Morris adds solid depth. Obviously the defensive line isn't anything to worry about. I'd like to see Corey Simon lose some weight and get more involved. Reports out of Indy are that Simon is in far better shape, so here's hoping! As for special teams, when you lose Vanderjagt and gain Vinatieri, can you really complain? That's a great addition. Hunter Smith is solid as always. He should be a Pro Bowler at some point. I'm a bit concerned about the return game. Gone are Troy Walters and Brad Pyatt, and Rhodes needs to be a RB and not a KR, now that Edge is gone. Someone will need to step up here.

All in all, the pieces are there again for a big run. It's just a matter of mentally gettting over the hump in the playoffs. That's a big hump to get over, but there's no denying the talent is there to make it happen.

[Indys_time]

That line about Tarik is very true. I think he just gets tired and then is real anxious to get out of his stance, which IMO is pretty uncomfortable.