The only definite way to the postseason and to a lucrative postseason home game is to win your division. To figure out who has the inside track in the AFC South for 2012, we are going to rank each of the position groups from best to worst. With ...
Some thoughts on things that unfolded while I spent some time away from the blog last week. We may circle back to a few. Houston Texans The Texans intend to use James Casey as both their fullback and tight end. They tout his versatility and his ...
Fans miss football in the offseason and breathlessly await any update about their favorite team.Unfortunately, this desire for information often leads to fans fixating on story lines that are ultimately irrelevant and gleaning hope from reports of ...
Source: Yahoo! Sports
Ignoring criticism of their recent special teams' transactions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to terms on Thursday, May 17, with place kicker Connor Barth on a 4 year, $13.2 million contract.
Source: Bounce It Off Phil B. by Phillip B. Wilson
Greg Beck, now Fan Force United crew chief on the No. 64 car driven by Jean Alesi, was owner of Beck Motorsports in 2001 when Billy Boat was on the bubble for a dramatic Bump Day. (Phillip B. Wilson / The Star)
When we woke up today, we knew with nine drivers for nine open spots that nobody would get bumped for the 96th Indianapolis 500.
That reality reduces what in recent years had been an exciting qualifying conclusion to more of a bump-in-the-road kind of day. In other words, let’s just get it over with because there’s no drama.
It made me think back to a bump day I will never forget. The year was 2001. Billy Boat was on the bubble. In the process of making rounds at Gasoline Alley, I had befriended Boat’s car owner, Greg Beck.
Beck allowed me behind the curtain, so to speak. I knew what making the 500 field meant for his small-budget team: Everything. Boat makes the field and the money earned pays to run races the rest of the season. Get bounced and closing up shop has more finality to it, as in, better luck next year.
Beck let me hang with him along pit road. Each time a driver went out, the owner would clock them on his stopwatch.
Challenge after challenge, Beck would exhale. It seemed as if the stress was zapping years from the man’s body.
In the end, it came down to fractions of seconds. It always does.
Beck knew his car was in trouble. Another was ahead of Boat with one lap to go. When that car passed Beck and then the start/finish line, the owner clicked that watch.
I will never forget seeing his head sink and his shoulders sag. It must be over. There wasn’t enough time to get Boat back in line. The season was kaput.
Billy Boat was on the bubble on Indy 500 Bump Day in both 2000 and 2001. (Indianapolis Motor Speedway photo)
Journalistic instinct tells you to give your subjects space at these times. Before I could tell Beck how sorry I was, Tom Carnegie’s voice boomed over the public-address system. Boat didn’t get bounced after all.
Beck had clicked that stopwatch too quickly. And about gave himself a heart attack.
He turned and smiled, then shook his head about what an itchy stopwatch finger did to him.
Boat made the race, the second consecutive year he survived the bubble, although in 2001 he withstood a dozen challenges. Then he finished in ninth place, which earned the team $337,325.
There’s nothing more righteous about bucks than when they are so desperately needed. That money allowed Beck Motorsports and Boat to run nine more races that season and finish fourth in the points.
But I will always remember just how quickly fortunes can change on Bump Day.
Source: Yahoo! Sports
The Denver Broncos are looking to sign starting left tackle Ryan Clady to a long-term contract extension. Negotiations have just begun, and I would expect Clady to ultimately get paid like a top-10 left tackle. I believe he's worth it, and the Broncos need him to protect Peyton Manning's blind side for the next few years (and hopefully more).
Source: Stampede Blue by Brad Wells
Here's a special treat for everyone on this fine Sunday morning. SB Nation's Dan Rubenstein, Joel Thorman, and Amy K. Nelson are in Los Angeles this weekend to cover the NFLPA's Rookie Premiere. At this event are new Colts QB Andrew Luck, TE Coby Fleener, and TE Dwanye Allen. SB Nation was able to get a few minutes with Allen, who was described by my friend Joel as "probably our best interview. Impressive."
Here's Dwayne Allen:
On Colts picking him:
Source: Yahoo! Sports
Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why. (For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator). In this segment, former Chiefs coach Todd Haley breaks down the offseason moves of the team that fired him at the end of last season. We have a bad feeling about this. TODD HALEY: Wash your windshield, mister? I don't scrub windshields for the money. I have a coaching job now as offensive coordinator for the Steelers. I carry this slop bucket because I like it. It's comforting to wash windows while the mad clown stares at me with his dead, gray eyes, whispering razor truths mortals dare not speak aloud, truths that pierce flesh and cut an inky scarlet line against the throat of the he-goat … Sorry, my thoughts meander sometimes. The Chiefs had a productive offseason. At the skill positions, they added Peyton Hillis to a running back committee that already includes Dexter McCluster and Jamaal Charles, who is ahead of schedule rehabbing his knee injury. Kevin Boss joins Tony Moeaki, also on schedule to return from a knee injury, to give the Chiefs two tight ends who can block and catch. Two rookie wide receivers, Devon Wylie and Junior Hemingway, will provide extra depth behind Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston, and last year's top pick Jonathan Baldwin, who started to come on late in the season. Matt Cassel, yet another player who missed much of last season with injuries, won't have to worry about throwing to the likes of Keary Colbert or Anthony Becht. That's right, everyone gets to come back to Kansas City but me, the guy who got blamed for not being able to build an offense around Tyler Palko and Terrance Copper, while the dead-eyed clown stares back at me from the mirror and cackles. "You ever played cornhole with the devil, son?" he asks, his raspy voice a rusty hypodermic needle scraping gutter concrete. "He don't use no beanbags, boy." And that he-goat just brays and brays like he sees the end coming and don't know whether to fight it or welcome it. Moving on to the defense, Dontari Poe was one of the most physically gifted specimens in this year's draft class. The Chiefs have a bad habit of striking out with big defensive tackles, from Ryan Sims to Glenn Dorsey, so my former assistant Romeo Crennel will have to be careful about Poe's development and role if he doesn't want Poe to become an overpriced space-eater the greasepaint smears and the sharpened steel glints in the pickup truck headlights behind the barnyard. The loss of Brandon Carr is going to hurt at cornerback, because Stanford Routt is an adequate #2 corner behind Brandon Flowers. But the defense will be better if it is not on the field as often, and when the muffled brays fade to pitch-black silence, vengeful darkness sated all-too-briefly by the still-quivering sacrifice .Source: Stampede Blue by Brad Wells
Colts G.M. Ryan Grigson continues to stockpile former Eagles offensive linemen during his first offseason in Indianapolis. In March, he signed OG Mike McGlynn as a free agent, and then traded with Philly for RT Winston Justice.
Yesterday, Colts owner Jim Irsay tweeted out that the team had claimed OG Zane Taylor off waivers. Taylor, like McGlynn and Justice, is a former
Source: Bounce It Off Phil B. by Phillip B. Wilson
It’s not like Ryan Briscoe can’t drive a race car. He’s employed by Roger Penske. If Mr. 15-time Indianapolis 500 winner sees something in a driver, that means something.
But on a team with three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves and points leader Will Power, it’s easy to overlook the other Aussie. No, not Power, you almost have to say. The other guy, yeah, him.
Briscoe, 30, has won six races in the Izod IndyCar Series, the last one at Texas in 2010. But I can remember just last year how Mr. Penske had a long chat with him after finishing 27th at Indy. He was 24th at the Brickyard the year before that, 15th in 2009 and 23rd in 2008.
Yeah, he hasn’t run well here. But so what. There’s always the next race. And he’s on Penske’s team, which means he always has a chance.
Many fans will recall he’s the guy who had Danica Patrick stomping down pit road in 2008. Remember how Patrick was going to confront Briscoe about a late-race incident on pit road that took the series media darling out of the 500?
Perhaps winning the pole can supplant Patrick’s pit-lane stomping for Briscoe’s most enduring moment at the Speedway.
It’s the 13th pole of Briscoe’s IndyCar career. He adds his name to a long list of Team Penske pole winners at Indy, 11 drivers qualifying first a record 17 times.
It’s also the closest margin between the top two qualifiers in 500 history. Briscoe edged Andretti Autosport’s James Hinchcliffe by .0023 of a second.
The two cars have history. Hinchcliffe is driving Danica’s old neon green car. The Canadian qualified better than she ever did at Indy.
Source: Yahoo! Sports
Rod Smith was exactly the kind of NFL player that I love. A fierce competitor, a hard worker. He just got elected to the Denver Broncos Ring Of Fame, and many around the city have been debating whether or not Smith could get elected to the NFL Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, I don't think he has a chance of even being a finalist in the selection process.Source: Bounce It Off Phil B. by Phillip B. Wilson
It was encouraging to see a line of cars rolling into Indianapolis Motor Speedway today for Indy 500 Pole Day.
By 10 a.m., fans were crowding pockets of the infield as well as sections of the grandstands. The walk to the media center meant stopping now and then for cars, for packs of people walking at a quicker pace.
No, it’s not like what it once was, traditionalists will always remind. But this isn’t about dwelling on the past. Considering sparse turnouts for practices this past week, it’s worth noting there was more buzz today at the track.
It’s a positive, however modest. And racing needs any thumbs up it can get.
Some people still think it’s fun to come to IMS and watch race cars. There’s still electricity about what car will win the pole. Will it be a driver from the “Big Three” teams reminding us that Penske, Ganassi and Andretti are where the pecking order starts? Or will we see another Alex Tagliani run like last year to remind us that the smaller teams always have a chance?
The shootout should make for some drama at the end of the day. Teams and drivers must decide if they want to push the limit and go for the pole or a front-row spot or sit on their four-lap qualifying runs and be content that they made it in the top nine.
One thing about the qualifying format being different than years ago, nine teams make it this first day and everybody else has to sweat it out until Sunday. And anything can happen on Bump Day. Well, we should call this the Practice Formerly Known As Bump Day.
There are 33 drivers. If everyone keeps their cars off the walls, we’ll have a full field. If there are problems, it’s not so much a question of cars — there are 64 on the entry list — it’s more who could step in and drive at the last minute?
Does the tradition of 33 cars in the field mean something? Sure.
Let’s hope it’s a tradition that doesn’t need saved on Sunday. Seriously. It’s a great story if someone jumps in a car, shakes it down and sticks it in the field. We’ve seen it done before. But there’s risk in racing. It isn’t as easy as just jumping in and going flat. And these cars are new, so a driver might be experienced in the old stuff, not this.
We’ll worry about that Sunday. For Saturday, let’s hope the Speedway puts on an entertaining show.
Source: AFC South Blog
Houston Texans Matt Schaub isn't in the elite Tom Brady-Peyton Manning class of NFL quarterbacks, but with the talent Houston has assembled around him on both sides of the ball, he's good enough to take the Texans to a Super Bowl. That, anyway, is the contention of SB Nation's Brian McDonald, taking issue with fans' grumbling about Schaub. Indianapolis Colts The NFL Network confirmed a Boston Globe report that former Colts tight end Dallas Clark worked out this week for the New England Patriots.
Source: The Colts Authority
For the past week, we've been running a contest here at Colts Authority.
The best Colts themed Haiku will win a football autographed by Andrew Luck courtesy of Quaker Oats.
The Quaker Oats Company is the official hot cereal sponsor of the National Football League, and throughout the relationship, Quaker and the NFL will team up in an effort to help families live healthier lifestyles through nourishing foods and physical activity, complementing the goals of NFL PLAY 60. Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck makes it a priority to eat a hearty breakfast, like Quaker oatmeal, as part of his morning routine to fuel up for the day and recently collaborated with Quaker at the NFL PLAY 60 Youth Football Festival to help motivate young athletes to be active and choose wholesome foods.
We encouraged readers to go to Facebook and give Quaker Oats a 'like', then come back here to enter a haiku in the comments.
We had more than 200 total poems entered, and most of them were outstanding.
Source: NFL.com by Sessler, Marc
While Andrew Luck completes his degree at Stanford, the rookie's absence has not gone unnoticed in Indianapolis, where coach Chuck Pagano is doing what he can without his QB.Source: Yahoo! Sports
The Colts have signed their third former Eagles offensive guard, claiming Zane Taylor off waivers from Philadelphia on Friday.Source: Naptown's Finest by Catie Staszak
The buzz surrounding the Colts is – for the first time in a very long time (circa 1998, perhaps?) – … [visit site to read more]
#HorseBytes: Rookie Premier - Naptown's Finest - Naptown's Finest - An Indianapolis Colts Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
Source: Yahoo! Sports
The Green Bay Packers will wait at least another season to hold a ceremony to retire Brett Favre's No. 4.Source: Yahoo! Sports
The Indianapolis Colts claimed offensive guard Zane Taylor off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles and waived offensive guard Matt Murphy on Friday.
Source: Scout.com
Hot News for DB Chuck PaganoSource: Yahoo! Sports
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indianapolis Colts are making a change at guard.Source: Bounce It Off Phil B. by Phillip B. Wilson
Source: Bounce It Off Phil B. by Phillip B. Wilson
Wade Cunningham puts down his cat, Tigger, in his motorhome during some down time after a recent Indy 500 practice. (Phillip B. Wilson / The Star)
His name is Tigger, and he kind of acts like it.
There’s the stripes, curiosity of a cat and boundless energy for hopping up into sinks and tables. Your average feline doesn’t weigh 22 pounds and still jump. Or swim. In sinks. And flushing toilets. It won’t hesitate to join Wade Cunningham in the shower.
“He’s got so much energy,” Cunningham said, “it’s a nightmare.”
Tigger is an F2 Savannah, a cross between an African serval and domestic cat. F2s are typically the largest because the African serval is the stronger genetic influence. That means Cunningham has a cat that sometimes acts like it’s still in the wild.
“A serval is a completely wild animal,” said Cunningham, driver of the No. 41 A.J. Foyt Racing car.
Is Tigger wild?
“Sometimes,” he said.
That explains why Cunningham took Tigger to his buddy’s pool for a swimming lesson. The cat was always jumping into sinks with running water, flushing toilets and the shower, so why not?
“He can swim just fine,” Cunningham said. (Meet Tigger and see him swim!)
That Tigger does, paddling around as if it’s perfectly natural.
Wade Cunningham has his cat, Tigger, put on buttons. (Phillip B. Wilson / The Star)
At their Indianapolis apartment, it’s wise to stay away from the food bowl at feeding time. Cunningham’s roommate, Kristy McLochlin, has a 6-year-old white domestic cat, Bruce. He learned not to mess with 18-month-old Tigger.
“He bullies Bruce. He gets territorial over his food, which is probably a bit more wild than a regular domestic,” Cunningham said. “He’ll yell for his dinner if you don’t feed him. He loves raw chicken, raw beef. He likes St. Elmo’s steak. He’s had a couple of those. But what’s funny is he doesn’t like seafood.”
It’s not what one would expect from Cunningham, a 27-year-old Izod IndyCar Series rookie who grew up a dog lover on a farm in New Zealand. His mother breeds German Shepherds.
“But I had to get something that fit our lifestyles,” Cunningham said. “I couldn’t get a dog. My roommate is a cat person.”
He looked at the exotic cats and liked the hybrids.
“Tigger has some interesting tendencies,” he said.
Tigger actually isn’t as accomplished a jumper as the breed’s reputation.
“He’s really lazy in that regard, kind of bottom heavy,” he said.
Tigger stretches out at home in Wade Cunningham's Indianapolis apartment. (Submitted photo by Cunningham)
But on a visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tigger didn’t hesitate to hop up on the motorhome table. The cat was friendly and engaging, seemingly encouraging of the visitors’ desires to pet him.
“He purrs constantly,” Cunningham said. “And he’s quite nocturnal.”
Tigger’s toys must be hid on a top shelf of a closet. If a ladder is left next to that closet, yep, Tigger climbs up and pulls all the toys to the floor. If his master isn’t in the mood to play, Tigger will sit and stare a hole through Cunningham.
“I think it’s made me a more tolerant person actually, having a cat as a pet,” he said. “Humans can control their dogs, but you can’t control your pet cat.”
Isn’t that something? Tigger probably prepared Cunningham to drive for Foyt, who tries the patience of others on his bad days.
“He’s my bud,” Cunningham said.
Source: Yahoo! Sports
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) A Southern California woman has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in the shooting death of her millionaire live-in boyfriend.Source: Scout.com
Hot News for DB Chuck PaganoSource: Yahoo! Sports
Veteran tight end still job hunting after release by Colts.Source: Scout.com
Hot News for TE Brody EldridgeSource: Stampede Blue by Brad Wells
Based on tweets from what appears to be his official Twitter account, new Colts center Samson Satele lost his grandfather recently. Condolences to him and his family if true.
For those that know next to nothing about the man who is replacing likely Hall of Fame center Jeff Saturday as the anchor of the Colts offensive line, Satele is one of the more underrated players in the NFL. Offensive line players rarely get publicity, especially guys
Source: Stampede Blue by Brad Wells
Jason Lisk of The Big Lead has an article up ranking the Top 15 owners in the NFL. Lisk made his judgements based on these criteria:
I like to do things objectively, so I went through and found each ownership group, the date they took over, and then tried to measure by the bottom line. In the NFL, the bottom line is winning. So I found the winning percentage for each owner, the percentage of seasons in which they have been in the final eight teams in the league in the playoffs, and the number of Super Bowl appearances and wins.
Based on that, it's tough to argue where Lisk has Colts owner Jim
Source: Bleacher Report
I love advanced football statistics.
Often fans and analysts use "the eye test" as a way of justifying their own unfounded biases. Stats don't replace a solid understanding of the game, but they tend to root out falsehoods.
This week's advanced stat is among the more controversial I'll cover. DVOA is the primary stat of the FootballOutsiders. It stands for Defense Adjusted Value Over Average. It creates a per-play percentage of how much better or worse a player or team is than average. The stat is expressed as a percentile with zero percent serving as a baseline: a player over zero on offense is more valuable than average; a player with a negative DVOA number is worse than average.
DVOA can apply to teams, units or players. It is an efficiency stat, not a volume stat. It indicates how well a team or player performed, rather than how much they performed. There are other numbers that better indicate volume.
There are objections to DVOA. It's complicated. It's a "black box" stat, which means that no one can calculate it thanks to the Outsiders' use of a proprietary formula. It also relies on game-charting data, which can be inconsistent.
The benefits, however, far outweigh the objections. What makes DVOA useful is the fact that it accounts for the strength of the opponent. In a short season, traditional statistics are often heavily influenced by the level of competition a team or player faces. DVOA attempts to account for that.
DVOA for units is also vastly superior to traditional NFL rankings based on yards. Yard-based rankings should never be used for serious analysis. They ignore context entirely. Teams that trail in games will typically post higher passing yard totals than teams that are winning. Good teams will face inflated pass totals and suppressed run totals. Yard-based rankings have no place or value in modern football.
For the Colts, there's lots of ways I could go. Peyton Manning has always been the DVOA king. His volume stats are gaudy, but for years he was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in football. We could also talk about offensive/defensive splits in the Colts era.
Instead, let's look at one of the biggest question marks for Indianapolis in 2012: Austin Collie.
Collie's play in 2009 helped the Colts to a Super Bowl, and in 2010 he was having a huge year before concussions ended his season. As the Colts struggled in 2011 without Manning, Collie's effectiveness dropped.
His catches didn't fall off much. His totals declined from 60 in his rookie year to 54 in 2011, but a six-catch difference isn't noticeable. His touchdown numbers fell off the table, but given how bad the offense was as a whole, it makes sense he wouldn't be getting many scoring chances.
DVOA can be helpful in this case to illustrate just how dominant Collie was in 2010, and how much his impact suffered in 2011. He was among the most effective wideouts in the game in 2010, posting a DVOA of more than 33 percent better than league average. In 2011, however, he was 11 percent below average.
What does that mean in practical terms? DVOA is affected by a player's catch rate for one. Collie's was insane 82 percent with Manning throwing him the ball. It's also affected by how useful the catches are. Collie was a first-down machine in 2010, making the kind of catches that extended drives and won games. In 2011, he was playing pitch and catch for six yards on 3rd-and-8.
What DVOA can't tell us is why Collie dropped off so sharply. Was it the lingering effects of concussions or the putrid quarterbacks he was playing with? Collie had 43 percent of his catches in the team's final five games, so it's possible he was finally coming around when the season ended.
If the problem was quarterbacking, Collie may rebound to be an impact player for the Colts. His volume totals may not tell the story, but DVOA will help show just effective he is with Andrew Luck under center.
Read more Indianapolis Colts news on BleacherReport.com
Source: AFC South Blog
Houston Texans The Texans became at least the fifth team to beg off of being the subject of HBO's "Hard Knocks" series, John McClain reported. The Texans join the Jets, Redskins, 49ers and Falcons as teams that have declined to be on the show. Indianapolis Colts The Colts signed Justin Anderson, the Georgia guard whom they selected in the draft's seventh round, and David Legree, an undrafted quarterback from Hampton University. Indianapolis also waived tight end Brody Eldridge.Source: Yahoo! Sports
Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why. (For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator). In this segment, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll breaks down his team's offseason moves. PETE CARROLL: What an awesome day! The sun is shining! The birds are chirping! Let me give a shout out to all the folks at The Circle Perk coffee shop for working so hard to keep all of us energized! And to all the crossing guards making sure kids get to school safely! And to the Seattle-area sewer workers: you guys are the thin line that separates good citizens from their own filth, and I cannot thank you enough! Fans really need to get amped about our three-way quarterback battle. The front-runner is Matt Flynn, who got America totally stoked in that awesome Packers-Lions game in Week 17. Next, there's rookie Russell Wilson, who is short but fiery. Isn't that right, Russell? RUSSELL WILSON: Grrrrrr... PETE CARROLL: I love this kid! He's like a feral cat! And finally, there's Tarvaris Jackson, the Taylor Hicks of NFL quarterbacks. You don't like him, you keep expecting him to lose, and then bang! He finds a way to win a starting job, if not many games. But enough about the offense. Let's talk defense!! We are going to have one of the best front sevens in the NFL!! Defensive tackle Jason Jones had a great, if quiet, season for the Titans last year. First-round pick Bruce Irvin may have seemed like a reach, but that is only because West Virginia had this crazy idea that a 245-pound speedster was a good fit at defensive end. I like my defensive ends Red Bryant-sized! When I am not being enthusiastic about everything, you can find me in my office drawing up creative defenses, and Irvin is going to be everywhere the offense doesn't expect him to be!!! Irvin and Wilson had awesome rookie camps. In fact, all of the rookies had awesome camps, as did our parking lot attendants and the people who work so hard to make sure the office wastebaskets are clean enough to guzzle energy drink out of!! Let me dedicate my Song of the Day to the rookies: "Dog Days are Over" by Florence + the Machine! That's right: I'm a 60-year old man who listens to Florence + the Machine!!! Nicky Minaj, too! And don't forget Ke$ha, who is tiny and has a nasty attitude, just like Russell Wilson!!! RUSSELL WILSON: Grrrr… PETE CARROLL: Excellent growling, buddy!!Source: Yahoo! Sports
Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why. (For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator). In this segment, Cardinals quarterback (at least for now) Kevin Kolb breaks down the Arizona Cardinals' offseason moves. KEVIN KOLB: Howdy folks. Don't mind me. I'm just tyin' a few flies, polishin' up the outboard motor, gettin' ready to hit the lake. Goin' fishin' right after we're done. It won't take long, 'cuz the Cardinals didn't do much this offseason. We didn't get a new quarterback for one thing. Sure, the team chased Peyton Manning, but that was one big river bass with a lot of fight in him. So the quarterback job is mine to lose. And don't you worry, I'm gonna lose it. It's not that John Skelton is any better than me: he may have led just as many fourth-quarter comebacks as Tim Tebow last year (four), but only city slickers and TV blowhards in fancy suits pay attention to those cow chips. I just have no idea what to do in the pocket. So the third or fourth time I roll to my right and get dragged down by Aldon Smith or somebody, Coach Whisenhunt's gonna decide it's time to cut some fresh bait. I know Larry Fitzgerald's happy about our new second receiver, Malcolm Floyd. Floyd liked to hit the honky-tonks in college, but he's a big guy, and when he wants to be, he can be as fast as a boar gettin' flushed by three hound dogs.Source: Bleacher Report
The AFC South has been around for 10 often-glorious years, and it's time to give the unappreciated division some love.
For the next few weeks, I'll be letting you vote on the all-time AFC South team. We'll be picking players and a coach based on their best single season from 2002 to 2011.
We started with the quarterbacks, moved on to the running backs and the wide receivers. Today, we move on to tight ends. You can vote through the end of next week.
The nominees are:
Marcedes Lewis 2010
Lewis had a breakout year in 2010, posting excellent receiving numbers and contributing outstanding blocking. The Jaguars had a surprising 8-8 record thanks in part to Lewis's play as he picked up 58 catches, 700 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also was an excellent blocker in the run game. He was rewarded for his efforts with a Pro Bowl nod.
Jared Cook 2011
Cook broke through in his third year as a big-play tight end. He didn't have many touchdowns, but piled up 759 receiving yards on 49 catches. His average of 15.5 yards a catch ranked second among tight ends, trailing only Jake Ballard of the Giants. He helped the Titans to a 9-7 record.
Owen Daniels 2008
Daniels made the Pro Bowl in 2008 compiling 70 catches, 862 yards and two scores. It was his second strong season in a row and helped the Texans finish .500. He was the fifth Texan to make a Pro Bowl.
Dallas Clark 2009
Clark had great years in 2008 and 2007, but his 2009 season was a revelation. He posted 100 catches, 1,106 yards and 10 scores. He made his only Pro Bowl, was named an All Pro and helped his team win 14 games and the AFC Title. It was easily the best tight end season in Colts franchise history and one of the most dominant in NFL history.
Read more Indianapolis Colts news on BleacherReport.com
Source: Yahoo! Sports
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indianapolis Colts have signed offensive lineman Justin Anderson, one of the team's three seventh-round draft picks.Source: Yahoo! Sports
Fans of the Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals - you can stop panicking. Your stellar rookie quarterbacks Cam Newton and Andy Dalton will not suffer from the dreaded "Sophomore Slump" in 2012. How do I know this? Well, there is one simple reason:Source: Stampede Blue by Brad Wells
The last 24 hours have seen the Colts lock up all their Day Three picks in the 2012 NFL Draft. Yesterday, the news broke that Vick Ballard, Chandler Harnish, LaVon Brazill, and Tim Fugger were signed. Today, Aaron Wilson of Scout.com reports that Indy has inked 5th round pick Josh
Source: Bounce It Off Phil B. by Phillip B. Wilson
Panther Racing's JR Hildebrand talks about last year's Indy 500, when he came within one final turn of winning. (Phillip B. Wilson / The Star)
One year late, I had the pleasure of meeting Panther Racing’s JR Hildebrand today.
Yeah, you remember him, the guy who crashed in the fourth and final turn of last year’s Indianapolis 500. The guy who came that close to winning the ultimate race … and then disaster.
This blog won’t be used to undercut what’s coming next week — he talks candidly about the race and what happened — but for now, until then, I just wanted to pass along some thoughts on the young driver.
If I’m that close to something so important in my life, I’ve worked so hard for a team and represented my Army National Guard sponsor with so much pride, then I don’t get it … I’d need therapy. Or maybe I’d jump off a bridge. That’s just too cruel.
Hildebrand stunned even some closest to him by how composed he was after that race. Even now, he proves he’s so much stronger than that. It’s not normal to be so mature at 24 years of age.
He had a few seconds to make a decision in that fourth turn as he quickly closed on Charlie Kimball’s lapped car. Hildebrand went for the win. He thought if he slowed down, Dan Wheldon might catch him.
For reasons my story explores next week, Hildebrand failed to get past the lapped traffic of Charlie Kimball in that fourth turn. The right tires of his No. 4 car just barely crept into the marbles, and that was all it took. The car slid into the wall, he pedaled down the straight, the yellow light came on, but Wheldon zoomed past for a second 500 triumph.
The story is compelling on so many levels. Wheldon had finished second the previous two years for Panther Racing, which has now had four consecutive runner-up 500s. It would also prove to be the last highlight of Wheldon’s career as the people’s champion was killed in Las Vegas in October.
It’s easy to forget about Hildebrand, not just what happened to him but why.
Know this, he’s a stand-up guy who didn’t hide from accountability nor the spotlight after suffering such an ignominious end to last year’s Indy 500.
Character is often in short supply in the sports world. Take my word for it, this kid has got it.
Source: Bounce It Off Phil B. by Phillip B. Wilson
Second-year IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball, who handles the No. 83 Ganassi Racing car, explains how Indy 500 practice is all about drafting to come up with the fastest laps. (Phillip B. Wilson / The Star)
Source: Bounce It Off Phil B. by Phillip B. Wilson
Dr. Geoffrey Billows, Indianapolis Motor Speedway medical director, stands in the treatment area where Indy 500 drivers are brought at the IU Health Methodist Infield Care Center. (Phillip B. Wilson/ The Star)
Dr. Geoffrey Billows makes sure he gets a good night’s sleep the evening before the Indianapolis 500.
As Indianapolis Motor Speedway medical director, he knows race day will be a 10-hour test of endurance with as many as 200 patients visiting the IU Health Methodist Infield Care Center and potentially a 1,000 or more visiting 15 first-aid stations, six full-service ambulances and six golf-cart ambulances.
Just think of what can happen when 300,000 people get together for a sporting event. Somebody is going to get sick. Alcohol often plays a role for many of these spectators. Others fall and suffer bumps, bruises or even breaks. Numerous fans have problems with the heat.
Then there are the more serious emergencies — Billows says three fans suffered heart attacks last year. One year, someone suffered carbon monoxide poisoning in the camper area. Others have been hurt in infield motor-vehicle accidents.
Oh, there’s always the drivers in the Indy 500 to think about, too. There’s a separate side of the infield care center for them. But much of the room is used and devoted to spectators. There’s even an overflow tent area just outside the center.
IMS medical director Geoffrey Billows has been on staff at the infield care center in some capacity since 1995. (Phillip B. Wilson / The Star)
“Of the patients we see, I think last year we only sent about 25 people to the hospital Downtown,” Billows said. “Our philosophy is people pay a lot of money to come here to see the race. We don’t want to have to transport people off site to where they can’t enjoy their day at the race track. We want to treat minor illnesses and injuries here and get people back out to the scene so they can enjoy their day at the race track.”
The care is free, even ambulance rides.
“They don’t start getting charged,” he said, “until they hit the door at (Methodist) hospital.”
On race day, he has four physicians dedicated to spectator care. And there are four specialists who handle the drivers, starting with Billows, whose regular job is in the Methodist trauma center. There’s also an orthopedic surgeon, neurosurgeon and trauma surgeon.
As a 12-year-old boy with a paper route in Fairborn, Ohio, Billows threw his newspapers while listening to a transistor radio broadcast of the Indy 500. He was hooked at an early age, riveted to the stories being told about the legends, Foyt, Mears, Andretti, Rutherford.
Like for so many fans, Billows is jacked up for race day. He can’t wait to see the grid, the fans in the stands, the excitement come May 27th.
“There’s an electricity in the air here,” he said.
A small skeleton helps the cause by holding up a couple stethoscopes at the IMS infield care center. (Phillip B. Wilson / The Star)
And then it’s time to get to work, a different kind of adrenaline rush.
“Your mind-set does definitely change,” he said. “You’re more business and you’re prepared to see a lot.
“We always see a little bit of everything.”
Well, almost everything.
“The only thing we’ve never seen in the 103 years is there’s never been a birth on site,” he said. “We’ve never had to deliver a baby.
“Two years ago, three of the drivers’ wives were due in May. We thought we’d have one, but we didn’t. There might have been some conceptions here (at IMS), but not a birth.”
Source: Yahoo! Sports
Suspended New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma has sued NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for defamation, according to a ProFootballTalk report.Source: Scout.com
Hot News for DB Chuck PaganoSource: Yahoo! Sports
David Legree joined the Colts' cast of young quarterbacks, with Indianapolis signing the undrafted rookie out of Hampton University.Source: Stampede Blue by Brad Wells
You all might remember this little write-up after Ryan Grigson met with the media following the Colts Day Two selections of Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen. During that Day Two presser, he made this statement:
Colts G.M. Ryan Grigson: "It's nice to have two legit NFL tight ends on the roster now."
Source: Colts Gab by Matt Loede
The Colts have cut tight end Brody Eldridge and brought in another quarterback.
Eldridge played two seasons in Indy after the Colts took him in the fifth round of the 2010 draft. In 27 games, he caught 14 passes for 84 yards but was primarily a blocker.
Indy took two tight ends in April — Stanford’s Coby Fleener in the second round and Clemson’s Dwayne Allen in the third. Both are considered better receivers than blockers.
The Colts also signed David Legree, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound undrafted rookie quarterback from Hampton in Virginia. Legree is the third rookie quarterback on the roster, joining No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck and seventh-round pick Chandler Harnish.
Harnish missed Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury.
Source: Yahoo! Sports
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indianapolis Colts have cut tight end Brody Eldridge and brought in another quarterback.Source: The Colts Authority
The Colts have cut TE Brody Eldridge, a 2010 fifth round draft choice. Eldridge was largely a blocking tight end, catching only 14 receptions for 84 yards in 27 games. Nevertheless, it seemed like his role as a depth blocking tight end was fairly assured during the 2012 season.
Eldridge was replaced by QB David Legree, a free agent quarterback out of Hampton University.
This move is a little puzzling to me. Losing Eldridge is not a huge loss, and with the signing of Andre Smith earlier this week, the Colts were a little crowded at the tight end position. And, of course, the Colts could use another camp arm with Chandler Harnish being hurt. S
Still, Eldridge does have value as a blocking tight end, and while he would definitely be behind Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, he's actually played in games, unlike Smith, Kyle Miller, or Dominique Jones (all UDFAs or waiver pick ups). Apparently the coaches didn't see that him, however, or were possibly concerned about his injury history. Eldridge has had hand and rib injuries in the past, as well as knee surgery last summer, which Indy Star's Phil Wilson thinks he may never have fully recovered from.
The Colts are now carrying five tight ends, with a combined zero snaps of experience.
Source: AFC South Blog
Examining who faces the most challenging season for the Titans and why. Running back Chris Johnson could get away with one off season. He was a tentative runner in 2011 no matter what he or the team says about it. He got sick of early contact. He gave up too often. He went down too easily. The Titans have made some changes that should help. Whether Eugene Amano remains at center or is replaced, the pivot man will be next to veteran guard Steve Hutchinson.Source: The Colts Authority
It's been awhile.
I'd like to apologize to our readers for my lack of writing over the last two weeks, where school and work have kept me swamped. Fortunately, from here on out, I'll be able to provide consistent content all summer, with a focus on statistical and video analysis.
In preparation for the summer, I'd like to let you know the type of studies I'll be looking at over the summer, and ask you guys (and gals) for suggestions and requests.
First, I'll be doing some major statistical gathering, and plan on revamping the Colts Authority statistics page. The new page will include complete basic statistics for the 2009-2012 seasons, as well as tracking of advanced statistics such as DVOA, EPA, WPA, etc. from year to year (and week to week where possible). By gathering the team statistics in one place, we hope to make it easier for you, the reader and (presumably) Colts fan, to have accurate statistical information available to you.
Second, I'll be doing several statistically themed analysis studies throughout the summer. I will be continuing analysis on drafting, specifically by taking a few different numerical looks at the drafts. I'll also be looking at how different factors correlate to winning, how the 2011 Colts failed at that, and where the 2012 Colts appear to be headed for that category. I'm open and willing to study other topics this summer, and would love to have some reader suggestions or requests that I could tackle.
Third, I will be doing a film study on what looks to be key players for the 2012 Colts, attempting to nail down exactly what the players on the rosters do well and what they don't. This should give us some idea of how they should be utilized this season, and whether or not the new schemes, formations, and game plans will put them in a position to succeed. These likely won't include rookies, simply because it is so difficult to predict NFL productivity from college film. This list of players tentatively includes the following:
Pat Angerer and Kavell Conner
Brandon McKinney
Samson Satele
Winston Justice and Mike McGlynn
Austin Collie and Donnie Avery
Jerraud Powers
Kevin Thomas and Chris Rucker
Tom Zbikowski
I'm looking forward to a full summer, and can't wait to dive into it. If any of you have any ideas for other studies, analysis, or any other types of articles you'd like to see this summer, leave a comment or contact myself or any of the other CA writers.
My email is kyle@coltsauthority.com
Twitter: @kyle_coltsauth
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