Peyton Manning started last season slowly as he was recovering from major knee surgery, but, he finished strongly and appeared to be at full strength the 2nd half of the season.  Manning has never missed a start in his NFL career even playing with a broken jaw.  The offensive line is pretty solid for the Colts which helps keep Manning upright despite his lack of mobility.  The Colts will be without Marvin Harrison this season but they expect Anthony Gonzalez to step up and the offense not to miss a beat.  Still, Manning is not happy with the new coaches to this point and they must gain his trust soon.  Manning has a very quick release and he can still rifle spirals all over the football field.  The main reason that Brett Favre wants to keep playing is to make it hard for Manning to catch his all-time records.  Jim Sorgi will be the #2 QB this season for the Colts but the team would be in trouble if he were forced into action.  Despite having solid career stats backing up Peyton Manning most of his success is because of the supporting cast of the Colts.  Rookie Curtis Painter could battle Sorgi for the backup job this season.  More than likely the Colts will bring him along slowly.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  A+

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 went into last season with a bunch of question marks behind Joseph Addai but that’s not the case this season as Dominic Rhodes, Kenton Keith and rookie Mike Hart are now behind him.  Joseph Addai stepped up last season and it made the offense even more potent than when Edgerrin James was the main back because of his speed.  Addai can score from anywhere on the field and he’s tough enough to run between the tackles.  He also has soft hands and is a solid receiver out of the backfield.  Addai played in 15 games (all starts) last season for the Colts and he carried the ball 261 times for 1,072 yards (4.1 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He also caught 41 passes for 364 yards (8.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Look for Addai to even have better numbers in 2008 for the Colts.  Addai has now played in 31 games (15 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 487 times for 2,153 yards (4.4 ypc) with 19 TD runs.  He has also caught 81 passes for 689 yards (8.5 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

Dominic Rhodes is returning to the Colts after signing on as a free agent.  He still runs the ball hard and he should be fresh as he was in the Raiders’ Dog House last season.  He played in 10 games (2 starts) for the Raiders last season and he carried the ball 75 times for 302 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 11 passes for 70 yards (6.4 avg).  Look for Rhodes to get more action than that this season unless Kenton Keith steals some of his playing time away.  Rhodes has now played in 81 games (29 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 625 times for 2,576 yards (4.1 ypc) with 20 TD runs.  He also has caught 101 passes for 719 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.

Kenton Keith came out of nowhere last season and he played well for the Colts as Joseph Addai’s caddy.  Keith will have to battle Dominic Rhodes to get his job back as the #2 RB on the Colts in 2008.  Keith played in 16 games (1 start) for the Colts last season and he carried the ball 121 times for 533 yards (4.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 13 passes for 77 yards (5.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.

Rookie Mike Hart was a big time player at Michigan but he slipped into the 6th round for some reason.  He could challenge Keith for the #3 job at running back.  He averaged 1,260 yards rushing and 10.3 rushing TDs per year in 4 seasons with the Michigan Wolverines.  Hart has a nice upside.

Clifton Dawson will have a hard time making the roster this season despite being the #3 RB last year for the Colts.  Dawson played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Colts last season and he carried the ball 30 times for 64 yards (2.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg).  Don’t look for him to make the team unless the Colts suffer injuries ahead of him on the depth chart.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A-