Jim Harbaugh is known for being the San Francisco 49ers head coach.  But, in 1995, he was known as Captain Comeback in Indianapolis when he went to his only Pro Bowl.  Harbaugh played in 15 games (12 starts) for the Colts in 1995 and he completed 200 of 314 passes (63.7%) for 2,575 yards with 17 TD passes and 5 INTs (100.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 52 times for 235 yards (4.5 ypc) with 2 TD carries in 1995.  Harbaugh went to to lead the Colts to two playoff wins that year to set up a showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.  The Colts were a huge underdog, and they came a Hail Mary short of beating the Steelers as they lost 20-16.  Harbaugh completed 21 of 33 passes for 267 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (98.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 6 times for 29 yards (4.8 ypc) in the AFC Championship Game.  Harbaugh played in 53 games (46 starts) in his four years with the Colts and he completed 746 of 1,230 (60.7%) with 8,705 yards with 49 TD passes and 26 INTs (86.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 175 times for 856 yards (4.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs with the Colts.  Harbaugh was 20-26 (43.5%) as the Colts’ starting QB.  Harbaugh is #6 in Colts’ history in passing yards (8,705) and he’s also #4 in TD passes (49).

The Colts can really use help almost everywhere on the field except DE.  With that in mind, I look for the Colts to take the best available player whenever their pick comes up in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Here is who I saw the Colts drafting in my mock 2012 NFL Draft found on bloglockers.com:

1. (1) Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

2. (34) Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford

3. (64) Trumaine Johnson, CB, Montana

4. (97) Rishard Matthews, WR, Nevada

5. (136) Ryan Miller, OG, Colorado

5. (170) Terrance Ganaway, RB, Baylor

6. (206) Marcel Jones, OT, Nebraska

7. (208) Cyhl Quarles, SS, Wake Forest

7. (214) Mike Daniels, DT, Iowa

7. (253) Cody Johnson, FB, Texas

The Colts have waived 25-year old WR Blair White.  White played in 7 games for the Colts last year and he returned 7 punts for 22 yards (3.1 avg) but he didn’t catch any passes.  White played in 20 games in his two years with the Colts and he caught 36 passes for 355 yards (9.9 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He also returned 17 punts for 102 yards (6.0 avg) with the Colts.  This is not much of a loss and White showed nothing last year for the Colts.

The new motto for Colts’ new head coach Chuck Pagano must be, “Out with the Old and in with the New”, as he has given a lot of veterans their walking papers.  That is not a bad thing though if you watched the Colts play last year.  He wants to make the Colts a more physical team on both sides of the football in 2012.  Here is a look at what he has done so far:

Offensively:  The Colts want to make sure that rookie QB Andrew Luck (or Robert Griffin III) is well protected in 2012.  They have signed center Samson Satele, G/T Mike McGlynn and they have dealt for OT Winston Justice (he played with the Eagles last year).  I like those moves, as those are tough guys.  The Colts were also smart to re-sign WR Reggie Wayne and to sign WR Donnie Avery, to give the new QB a couple of nice players to throw the ball to.  The Colts also dealt for QB Drew Stanton to backup whichever rookie they pick with the #1 overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Defensively:  The first order of business for the Colts on defense was re-signing DE Robert Mathis.  They also have brought in three ex-Ravens that know coach Pagano’s defensive system.  Those guys are DE/DT Corey Redding, DT Brandon McKinney and safety Tom Zbikowski.  The Colts have also re-signed safety Mike Newton.

GRADE FOR THE OFF-SEASON SO FAR:  B

The Colts have signed 28-year old DT Brandon McKinney to a 2-year deal.  McKinney played in 12 games for the Ravens last year and he had 14 tackles and 1 forced fumble.  He has now played in 61 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 60 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  This was a good move for the Colts as McKinney knows the defensive system that new head coach Chuck Pagano is likely to install, due to their time together with the Ravens.

The Colts have acquired 27-year old QB Drew Stanton and a 7th round pick in 2012 from the Jets for a 6th round pick in 2012.  Stanton didn’t get into any games for the Lions last year.  He has played in 13 games (4 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has completed 104 of 187 passes (55.6%) for 1,158 yards with 5 TD passes and 9 INTs (63.1 QB Rating).  Stanton has also carried the ball 30 times for 166 yards (5.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Stanton is 2-2 (50%) as a starting QB in the NFL so far in his career.  Stanton will likely back up Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III (depending on who the Colts take with the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft) for the Colts in 2012.  The price was right, so I like this deal for the Colts.

The Colts have signed 27-year old WR Donnie Avery.  Avery played in 8 games for the Titans last year and he caught 3 passes for 45 yards (15.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 39 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has caught 103 passes for 1,308 yards (12.7 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Avery has also carried the ball 14 times for 99 yards (7.1 ypc) with 1 TD run so far in his career.  This was a good low risk/high reward move for the Colts as Avery has been a solid WR when healthy so far in his career.

32-year old G/T Ryan Diem has decided to retire from the NFL.  Diem played in 11 games (all starts) for the Colts last year.  He played in 157 games (150 starts) in his 11 years with the Colts.  Diem likely wasn’t in the Colts’ plans for 2012, so it made sense for him to walk away playing his entire career as a Colt.  He will be missed as he was a solid player over his career with the Colts.

The Colts have signed 27-year old center Samson Satele.  Satele played in 15 games (all starts) for the Raiders last year.  He has now played in 78 games (74 starts) in his first five years in the NFL.  Satele is a much stronger run blocker than Jeff Saturday was, and that played a big part in this signing.  The Colts want to change from a finesse team to a power oriented team on both sides of the football, so this signing makes perfect sense.

The Colts have signed 26-year old safety Tom Zbikowski to a 3-year deal.  He played in 14 games for the Ravens last year and he had 23 tackles and 1 sack.  He has now played in 53 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 88 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 interceptions and 4 passes defensed.  This is not much of a surprise as Zbikowski played under Colts’ new head coach Chuck Pagano in Baltimore.