The Colts dominated their game against the undermanned Detroit Lions over the weekend. Peyton Manning was awesome as he completed 23 of 27 passes for 233 yards with 3 TD passes. Jim Sorgi replaced Manning in the game and he was also incredible. Sorgi completed 16 of 23 passes for 171 yards with 2 TD passes. Joseph Addai got his work in with 5 carries for 18 yards (3.6 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 48 yards (9.6 avg). Reggie Wayne (6 rec, 70 yards, TD), Craphonso Thorpe (5 rec, 68 yards, TD) and TE Dallas Clark (6 rec, 47 yards, TD) also were awesome against the Lions. WRs Marvin Harrison and Aaron Moorehead both also scored TDs. The Colts only rushed for 48 yards on 19 carries (2.5 ypc) but they completed 39 of 50 passes for 360 yards.

The defense looked pretty good against the Lions. The Lions only rushed for 32 yards on 14 carries (2.3 ypc) on Saturday Night. The Lions did completed 24 of 34 passes for 225 yards but the Colts picked off two passes.

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This was a pretty good showing by the Colts due to the fact that they are not a deep football team. That’s why the pre-season makes the Colts often look bad. Peyton Manning made a brief appearance as he completed 5 of 8 passes for 61 yards. Jim Sorgi replaced Manning and he looked o.k. completing 11 of 18 passes for 107 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception. Josh Betts looked a little shaky in completing 12 of 20 passes for 125 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions as he was often throwing the football up for grabs. Joseph Addai got his work in with 7 carries for 24 yards (3.4 ypc) with a TD. de de Dorsey had a rough time running the football as he carried it 5 times for 8 yards (1.6 ypc) but he did good as a receiver snatching 4 passes for 42 yards (10.5 avg). Undrafted rookie from Harvard Clifton Dawson looked pretty good as he carried the football 5 times for 27 yards (5.4 ypc) and Kenton Keith was also solid with 2 carries for 18 yards (9.0 ypc). Undrafted rookie WR Trent Shelton was sharp with 5 grabs for 49 yards (9.8 avg) and so was Aaron Moorehead who grabbed 4 passes for 52 yards (13.0 avg) with a TD. The Colts finished up with 75 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.9 ypc) and they completed 28 of 46 passes for 280 yards.

The Colts defense looked solid against the run holding the Bears to 68 yards rushing on 32 carries (2.1 ypc). But, the Bears threw the football well as they completed 22 of 31 passes for 211 yards.

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None of the three tight ends of the Colts put up big numbers individually but a closer look as the numbers provides insight as to how much they mean to the Colts’ offense. Last year the Colts’ main three TEs caught 85 passes between them for 946 yards (11.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs. Dallas Clark missed some time to injury during the regular season but he was a force in the Colts’ Super Bowl run and win. Clark played in 12 games (all starts) last season and he caught 30 passes for 367 yards (12.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs. Look for his numbers to improve this season as long as he stays healthy. He has now played in 52 games in his career (49 starts) and he has caught 121 passes for 1,618 yards (13.4 avg) with 14 TD grabs.

Ben Utecht came out of nowhere last season and was productive for the Colts. He played in 15 games (all starts) last season for the Colts and he caught 37 passes for 377 yards (10.2 avg). Look for Utecht to have another decent season in 2007.  He has now played in 27 games (17 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 40 passes for 436 yards (10.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

Bryan Fletcher also played decent for the Colts and he made some huge catches in the playoffs. He played in 15 games (3 starts) last season for the Colts and he caught 18 passes for 202 yards (11.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Look for him to post similar numbers as he did last season because he’s #3 on the depth chart. Fletcher has now played in 31 games (15 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 36 passes for 404 yards (11.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.

The Colts decided to add more firepower to their offense during the draft instead of focusing on their below average defense. The Colts drafted two rookies from Ohio State to help attack the middle of the football field and take advantage of nickel and dime backs around the NFL. Marvin Harrison though remains the main go-to man for the Indianapolis Colts. Despite his advancing age he has shown no signs of slowing down and that’s because he doesn’t take a lot of big hits. He played in 16 games (all starts) last season for the Colts and he caught 95 passes for 1,366 yards (14.4 avg) with 12 TD grabs. Look for him to have another season just like the one in 2006 as long as he stays healthy. He has now played in 170 games (168 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 1,022 passes for 13,697 yards (13.4 avg) with 122 grabs and he also has carried the football 10 times for 28 yards (2.8 ypc).

Reggie Wayne is the starter opposite of Marvin Harrison and he also is an outstanding player. He played in 16 games (all starts) last season and he caught 86 passes for 1,310 yards (15.2 avg) with 9 TD grabs. Look for Wayne’s numbers to improve this season because teams will have to worry about Anthony Gonzalez which will loosen the coverage on him.  Wayne has now played in 93 games (80 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 390 passes for 5,474 yards (14.0 avg) with 37 TD grabs.

Anthony Gonzalez and Roy Hall of Ohio State will battle Aaron Moorehead for the #3 and #4 WR slots on the Colts. Gonzalez will likely win the #3 role because he has the best combo of speed, hands and toughness. Gonzalez is fearless over the middle of the football field and he will likely draw a #3 or #4 CB from the defense and that will be a huge mis-match in the Colts favor. Hall will be more of a possession type but he has nice size which gives the WRs a little different look in Indy.

Aaron Moorehead will likely be bumped down to the #4 or #5 WR on the Colts. He was forced into play due to injuries in the playoffs and he made some big catches. Still, the Colts don’t have confidence in him keeping that level of play up for an entire season. He played in 12 games (0 starts) last season for the Colts and he caught 8 passes for 82 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab. For his career now, Moorehead has played in 28 games (0 starts) and he has caught 23 passes for 265 yards (11.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.

The Indianapolis Colts always seem to have trouble in the pre-season because they never seem to have a lot of quality depth and that showed last night. Peyton Manning just made a brief appearance as he was 3 for 5 for 37 yards.  Jim Sorgi replaced Manning and he did not play too well. He completed 6 of 13 passes for 52 yards with 1 interception. Josh Betts was the lone bright spot on the Colts’ offense as he completed 9 of 14 passes for 77 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception. Betts was also the Colts’ leading rusher with 22 yards on two carries. Joseph Addai also didn’t play much as he carried the ball 2 times for 5 yards. De de Dorsey who is trying to win the backup job to Addai carried the ball 6 times for 15 yards (2.5 ypc). All in all it was an awful display of offense but it’s just the first game of the pre-season so it doesn’t matter. The Colts ran the ball 15 times for 49 yards (3.3 ypc) and they completed 18 of 32 passes for 155 yards.

The Colts defense couldn’t get off of the field as the Cowboys held onto the football for 37:06 of the football game. They ran the ball 39 times for 133 yards (3.4 ypc) and they completed 20 of 24 passes for 166 yards.Â

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