Friday, August 24, 2007

NFL Preview: Colts

Indianapolis Colts:

Cheers: They’re the defending Super Bowl champs. They have probably the best offense in the league with future Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, as well as the very skilled Reggie Wayne, Joseph Addai and Dallas Clark and a very good Offensive Line. These guys can put up so many points in so many ways, it’s almost unfair to line up a defense against them.

Jeers: Their run defense is still awful, and losing Cato June isn’t going to help. It didn’t stop them last year, but I don’t know if lightning is going to strike twice. They have to do something to play consistently against the run and actually stop a team or two if they want to repeat as champs.

On second thought… they’re still the top dog in an average division. Peyton’s going to score his points and the Colts will almost certainly have 11 or 12 wins. The difference between playing on Wild Card Weekend and getting a bye rests in the hands of Tony Dungy and what he can do to improve the bad defense.

New guy who won’t meet expectations: Rick DeMulling. This one’s tough because I like all of their offseason acquisitions, but DeMulling won’t be the same player he was in his last stint with the team. After being a late round pick by the Colts, he blossomed into being a pretty good guard. He struggled a bit in Detroit and came back, but he has to compete for a job and I’m not sure he’ll win it.

New guy who will meet expectations: Daymeion Hughes. He was another guy who fell because of his 40 yard dash time, which is a shame because he was one of the best corners in the country in his Cal career. He’s an aggressive playmaker who could bring a spark to Indy’s pass defense and make some big plays.

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