The Colts have re-signed 31-year old DE Robert Mathis.  Mathis played in all 16 games for the Colts last year and he had 43 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 135 games in his first nine years in the NFL and he has 395 tackles, 83.5 sacks, 29 tackles for a loss, 39 forced fumbles, 14 fumble recoveries and 12 passes defensed.  It was smart of the Colts to keep Robert Mathis for the next few years as he is one of the best playmaking and pass rushing DEs in the entire NFL.

The Colts have re-signed 24-year old safety Mike Newton.  Newton missed the whole 2011 season due to a neck injury.  Newton played in 12 games as a rookie in 2010 for the Colts and he had 6 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.  The Colts need all the help that they can get on D, so it was smart of them to bring back Newton for 2012.

The Colts have waived 26-year old LB Zac Diles, 25-year old OG Jaimie Thomas and 23-year old OT James Williams.  Diles played in 4 games for the Colts last year and he had 2 tackles.  Diles has now played in 61 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 226 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Jaimie Thomas spent all of the 2011 season on the Injured Reserve List.  He played in 8 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Colts in 2010.  James Williams spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List.  The Colts won’t miss any of these guys moving forward.

The Colts have hired 51-year old Chuck Pagano as their next head coach.  He has coached 10 years as an assistant in the NFL.  He was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2011 and the numbers of his unit were very impressive.  The Ravens allowed 92.6 yards rushing (3.5 ypc), 196.3 yards passing (68.8 QB Rating) and 16.6 points per game (#3 in the NFL) last year.  The Colts are likely in for a culture shock as they aren’t likely to be the high flying offensive team of the past.  Look for Pagano to try to rebuild the offense right away in the NFL Draft.

The Colts have fired 57-year old head coach Jim Caldwell.  This shouldn’t come as too much of a shock based on how poorly the Colts played in 2011.  The Colts were 2-14 on the season.  In Caldwell’s defense, he didn’t have Peyton Manning in 2011 due to a neck injury.  The Colts averaged only 15.2 points per game last year while giving up 26.9 points per game.  They often looked ill prepared, especially offensively.  Caldwell was the Colts’ head coach for three years and he compiled a 26-22 record (54.2%) during the regular season and he was 2-2 during the post-season.  The Colts will certainly be able to find a better coach than Jim Caldwell for 2012 and beyond.

The Colts had to get all five of their rookies on the field last year and that bodes well for their futures in the NFL.  Here is a look at how well the rookies played in 2011 for the Colts:

In the first round of the NFL Draft, the Colts took 23-year old OT Blake Castonzo.  Castonzo played in 12 games (all starts) for the Colts last year and he played pretty decent.  He did miss four games due to an ankle injury.  He is going to be a starter for the Colts for a long, long time.

22-year old OG Ben Ijalana was a 2nd round pick last April by the Colts.  He played in 4 games (0 starts) before missing the rest of the season due to knee surgery.  He could develop into a starter down the road for the Colts.

22-year old DT Drake Nevis was a 3rd round pick last April by the Colts.  He played in 5 games for the Colts last year and he had 19 tackles and defensed one pass.  Nevis looked good before being placed on the Injured Reserve List due to a back injury.  He has a nice upside.

24-year old RB Delone Carter was a 4th round pick of the Colts.  He played in all 16 games for the Colts last year and he carried the ball 101 times for 377 yards (3.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Carter also caught 5 passes for 18 yards (3.6 avg) last year.  Carter did a decent job for the Colts last year and they expect him to get better in the future.

23-year old CB Chris Rucker was a 6th round pick last April.  He played in 15 games for the Colts last year and he had 36 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Rucker was not overwhelmed when pressed into action, so the Colts might have something here.

GRADE FOR 2011:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

The Colts never have had a good backup for Peyton Manning.  Well he couldn’t play this year and it ruined the Colts’ season.  The Colts panicked and signed 39-year old Kerry Collins to take over for Manning.  He only last three games (0-3), before his season was over due to a nasty concussion.  Collins played in 3 games (all starts) for the Colts last year and he completed 48 of 98 passes (49%) for 481 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT (65.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 2 times for -1 yard (-0.5 ypc) last year.  Collins has now played in 197 games (180 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 3,487 of 6,261 passes (55.7%) for 40,922 yards with 208 TD passes and 196 INTs (73.8 QB Rating).  Collins has also carried the ball 374 times for 686 yards (1.8 ypc) with 10 TD runs so far in his career.  Collins is 81-99 (45%) as a starting QB during the regular season in his NFL career.  Collins will likely retire in the off-season and stay that way.

26-year old Curtis Painter was the next guy up.  He didn’t play too well as the Colts were 0-8 in his starts.  Painter played in 9 games (8 starts) for the Colts last year and he completed 132 of 243 passes (54.3%) for 1,541 yards with 6 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 17 times for 107 yards (6.3 ypc) last year.  Painter has now played in 11 games (8 starts) in his career with the Colts and he has completed 140 of 271 passes (51.7%) for 1,624 yards with 6 TD passes and 11 INTs (60.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 20 times for 111 yards (5.6 ypc) so far in his NFL career.  He is nothing more than a #3 QB in the NFL.

28-year old Dan Orlovsky started the last five games for the Colts at QB and they were 2-3 (40%) in those games.  Orlovsky played in 8 games (5 starts) for the Colts last year and he completed 122 of 193 passes (63.2%) for 1,201 yards with 6 TD passes and 4 INTs (82.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 6 times for 5 yards (0.8 ypc) last year.  Orlovsky has now played in 21 games (12 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 272 of 465 passes (58.5%) for 2,880 yards with 14 TD passes and 12 INTs (75.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 34 yards (2.6 ypc) so far in his career.  Orlovsky is now 2-10 (16.7%) as a starting QB in his NFL career.

The Colts gave it the old college try last Sunday in Jacksonville, but they fell just a tad short.  Dan Orlovsky completed 27 of 40 passes for 264 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 7 yards in this game.  Donald Brown led the way on the ground for the Colts with 24 yards rushing on 8 carries (3.0 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg).  Joseph Addai pitched in with 19 yards rushing on 8 carries (2.4 ypc).  WR Austin Collie led the way in the passing game for the Colts with 9 grabs for 96 yards (10.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Reggie Wayne (8 rec, 73 yards) and TE Dallas Clark (5 rec, 53 yards) also pitched in for the Colts inn this game.  The Colts finished up with 56 yards rushing on 22 carries (2.5 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 40 passes (67.5%) for 242 yards as they had possession of the ball for 29:12.

The Colts couldn’t stop Maurice Jones-Drew (169 yards rushing, 6.8 yards per carry) last Sunday and it was one of the big reasons for this loss.  LB Pat Angerer (11 tackles), safety Antoine Bethea (10 tackles) and LB Ernie Sims (7 tackles) led the way for the Colts on D in this game.  DE Robert Mathis pitched in with 2 tackles, 1 sack and a fumble recovery.  The Jaguars finished up with 190 yards rushing on 35 carries (5.4 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 19 passes (57.9%) for 71 yards.  The Colts finished the season with a 2-14 record in 2011, and they have earned the #1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft next April.

If the Colts lose this game, they will lock up the #1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft…..but the players aren’t throwing this game.  The Colts are playing their best football of the year with now as they have won two games in a row (over the Titans and Texans).  The Jaguars have lost five of their last six games and two in a row.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  I see the Colts coming out throwing the ball in this game.  The Jaguars’ secondary is in shambles and they don’t have a good pass rushing team.  WRs Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon are going to be free agents after this season is over, so they could be inspired to have big games against the Jaguars this Sunday.  Austin Collie and Jacob Tamme are solid underneath receivers, giving Orlovsky even more weapons to throw to.  Donald Brown and Joseph Addai will make the Jaguars pay if they put in too many DBs this weekend.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars are going to feed the ball to Maurice Jones-Drew.  The Colts are giving up 140.9 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry, so Jones-Drew is likely to have a big game.  The Colts will try to mount a good pass rush on rookie QB Blaine Gabbert in an effort to force him into making some big mistakes throwing the all.  The Jaguars don’t have any receivers that scare the Colts one bit.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 20, JAGUARS 17

The Colts have claimed 29-year old PR/KR Quan Cosby off waivers from the Broncos.  Cosby played in 10 games for the Broncos this year and he returned 27 punts for 269 yards (10.0 avg) and 17 kickoffs for 457 yards (26.9 avg).  Cosby has now played 3 years in the NFL and he has appeared in 42 games in which he has caught 6 passes for 71 yards (11.8 avg).  Cosby has also returned 97 punts for 968 yards (10.0 avg) and 33 kickoffs for 740 yards (22.4 avg) so far in his career.  He also has 13 tackles in his career.  Look for Cosby to return all punts and kickoffs for the Colts this weekend against the Jaguars.