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24-year old defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock has decided to retire from the NFL. He played in 9 games (1 start) as a rookie for the Colts last season and he made 18 tackles and had 1.5 sacks. The Colts will miss Pitcock in that he gave them some depth on the interior of the defense, but, he can be replaced.
The Colts did not get what they expected out of kicker Adam Vinatieri in 2007 and they hope he rebounds in 2008. The 35-year old Vinatieri is starting to look his age for the Colts. Vinatieri played in all 16 games for the Colts last season and he made 23 of 29 field goals (79.3%). He also made 49 of 51 extra points for the Colts last season. Vinatieri is a borderline Hall of Famer as he has been one of the best clutch kickers of all time but he needs a couple of more good years just to make sure. I think he will rebound in 2008 for the Colts. Vinatieri has now played in 189 games in his NFL career and he has connected on 311 of 378 field goals (82.3%). He has also nailed 454 of 463 extra points (98.1%) in his career.
PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A-
The Colts don’t use a fullback much in their offense preferring to go with 2-TE sets when they want to run the ball. The Colts will have a new look at TE behind Dallas Clark who should be the primary receiver of the bunch. Clark has the speed to get down the field and he was Manning’s go-to receiver near the goal line as he led the Colts in TD receptions in 2007. Clark played in 15 games for the Colts last season and he caught 58 passes for 616 yards (10.6 avg) with 11 TD grabs. He also carried the ball 2 times for 29 yards (14.5 ypc) last year. Look for Clark to catch even more passes this season as long as he can remain in one piece. Clark has now played in 67 games in his NFL career and he has caught 179 passes for 2,234 yards (12.5 avg) with 25 TD grabs. He also has carried the ball 2 times for 29 yards (14.5 ypc) in his career.
Rookies Jacob Tamme and Tom Santi will battle for the #2 TE job for the Colts this season. Tamme might have the edge in passing downs. He is a converted receiver who is on the small side at 6’3″, 234 pounds but he has great hands. Tamme played in 13 games (12 starts) last season at Kentucky and he caught 56 passes for 619 yards (11.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs. Look for Tamme to catch more passes than Santi this season for the Colts. Tamme played in 48 games (35 starts) at Kentucky and he caught 133 passes for 1,417 yards (10.7 avg) with 11 TD grabs.
Tom Santi is a big TE at 6’5″, 250 pounds and he has a mean streak in the running game. Santi doesn’t really have many weaknesses in his game so he should get on the field a lot for the Colts this season. He played in 12 games (8 starts) for Virginia last season and he caught 36 passes for 418 yards (11.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs. Santi finished up his career at Virginia having played in 47 games (28 starts) in which he caught 97 passes for 1,184 yards (12.2 avg) with 6 TD grabs.
PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B
The Colts are essentially only three deep at WR and one of them (Marvin Harrison) has a bad wheel. Reggie Wayne emerged as Peyton Manning’s go to receiver last season after Marvin Harrison went down to injury. The 29-year old Wayne has great hands and he can scoot down the field. Wayne played in all 16 games for the Colts last season and he caught 104 passes for 1,510 yards (14.5 avg) with 10 TD grabs. Look for Wayne to be the Colts’ main target again this season in the passing game as Marvin Harrison can’t be counted on. Wayne has now played in 109 games in his NFL career and he has caught 494 passes for 6,984 yards (14.1 avg) with 47 TD grabs. Wayne should have a huge 2008 season for the Colts.
35-year old Marvin Harrison got banged up for the first time in his career missing 11 games. He also has had some off field issues that could cause him problems later on. Harrison has made a career of making good catches and avoiding big hits and that will be more important than ever with him coming off knee surgery. Harrison played in only 5 games for the Colts last season and he caught 20 passes for 247 yards (12.4 avg) with 1 TD grab. Harrison is a first ballot Hall of Famer as anything he does now is just gravy, but, for the Colts’ offense to purr like in the past they need him healthy and productive. Harrison has now played in 175 games in his NFL career and he has caught 1,042 career passes for 13,944 yards (13.4 avg) with 123 TD grabs.
#3 WR Anthony Gonzalez will be a very important player this season for the Colts. He will likely be more involved in the passing game as the Colts try to lessen the load on Marvin Harrison. Gonzalez has big time speed and he has the courage to roam over the middle of the field. He played in 13 games as a rookie for the Colts last season and he caught 37 passes for 576 yards (15.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs. Look for Gonzalez to possibly double his numbers from his rookie season in 2008 for the Colts.
Roy Hall appears to be the #4 WR as it stands right now for the Colts. He has good size at 6’3″, 240 pounds but he didn’t do too much as a rookie last season for the Colts. He played in 3 games and didn’t catch any passes and had 2 tackles on special teams. He could either help the Colts offense this year or be out of the league…..it can go either way.
25-year old Courtney Roby is looking to get his career back on the right path. He is likely in a battle with Roy Hall for a roster spot. He did not play last season due to injury. He has now played in 25 games in his NFL career and he has caught 23 passes for 317 yards (13.8 avg) with 1 TD grab. He has also carried the ball 3 times for 19 yards (6.3 ypc) in his career.
PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B
The Colts have claimed 24-year old center Doug Datish off waivers from the Falcons. The Colts have been collecting interior offensive linemen this off season so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Colts’ have claimed Datish. Datish missed his rookie season due to injury but he has the size at 6’4″, 302 pounds that the Colts’ like. This was a nice low risk/decent reward move for the Colts.
The Indianapolis Colts have signed QBs Quinn Gray and Jared Lorenzen to provide depth at the position. This just proves that the Colts are not sold on Jim Sorgi and that they might be a tad worried about Peyton Manning’s knee. The 29-year old Gray is a big guy at 6’3″, 246 pounds and he’s a talented player despite getting cut by the Texans in the off season. Gray played in 8 games for the Jaguars last season and he completed 80 of 144 passes (55.6%) for 986 yards with 10 TD passes and 5 interceptions (85.6 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 19 times for 57 yards (3.0 ypc) last season. Gray is a better quarterback than Sorgi so it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him be the #2 QB this season for the Colts. Gray has now played in 11 games in his NFL career and he has completed 101 of 180 passes (56.1%) for 1,252 yards with 12 TD passes and 5 interceptions (88.5 QB Rating). He also has carried the ball 24 times for 84 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.
The Colts also signed the “hefty lefty” Jared Lorenzen to battle for a QB spot this season and he will also be a threat to Jim Sorgi. The “Pillsbury Throwboy” played in 2 games for the Giants last season and he completed 4 of 8 passes (50%) for 50 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 interceptions (58.3 QB Rating). Lorenzen also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards. It will be interesting to see how Lorenzen works out with the Colts because he played in a throw first offense at Kentucky. Lorenzen has now played in 4 games in his NFL career and he has completed 4 of 8 passes (50%) for 28 yards. He has also carried the football 2 times for 4 yards (2.0 ypc).
Look for Gray to make the Colts’ final roster as long as he plays well in the pre-season. Don’t think for a minute that the Colts’ won’t use Gray’s knowledge of the Jaguars’ offense against them at some point this season. Personally, I think the Colts will keep three QBs with Sorgi being #3.
Peyton Manning will miss the next 4-6 weeks due to knee surgery. He should be ready for the opening week of the season so Colts’ fans shouldn’t worry too much about him. Manning’s injury will give the Colts a really good chance to see what Jim Sorgi and Josh Betts can do in the pre-season. Chances are it won’t be too pretty as neither of those guys appear able to run an offense for a long period of time at the NFL level.