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| Thursday, August 31 By John Clayton Pro Football Weekly | ||||||||||||||||||||
All but one starter returns from last year's Colts team. Only a handful of veteran free agents has been added to the roster.
Quarterbacks: It's hard to believe that Manning has been an NFL quarterback for only two seasons. He has already made it to the Pro Bowl, evened his regular-season record at 16-16 and is considered among the elite young quarterbacks in the league, not just one of the elite young quarterbacks. Manning has started every game since becoming a Colt -- 33 straight, counting the Colts' playoff loss to Tennessee. The only snaps he has missed were in a blowout win over Philadelphia and a meaningless loss to Buffalo last season.
Grade: A+ Running backs: TAs long as James is on the field, the Colts have one of the best running backs in the league. The Colts were so confident in James' abilities that they traded away proven veteran Marshall Faulk, who led the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl last season. As a rookie, James was better than anyone could have hoped, running for a league-high 1,553 yards and 13 touchdowns along with 62 catches for 586 yards and four more touchdowns. The death of Fred Lane, who was acquired in a trade with Carolina before minicamp, shocked and disappointed the Colts, who had planned to use the talented Lane in the same backfield with James on occasion. The Colts will still be deeper at running back than last season. They signed Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar before training camp and have high hopes for former South Dakota speedster Jamel White and ex-Colorado State standout Kevin McDougal, both undrafted rookie free agents. Paul Shields is the team's little-used fullback. He can also play H-back in the Colts' scheme. Grade: A Wide receivers: Harrison is the team's other Pro Bowler. Last year he had 115 catches for 1,663 yards and 12 touchdowns, establishing himself as one of the league's elite after an injury-plagued '98. Problem is, Harrison was held out of the end zone the final six weeks of the season as teams began to key on him. Injuries to E.G. Green and Jerome Pathon forced rookie receiver Terrence Wilkins into the mix at the No. 2 wide receiver spot. Wilkins' efforts were admirable, but the diminutive speedster tired as the season wore on. The Colts want to find a way to get more production out of their second and third receivers, while freeing up Harrison. Manning says he would like to see more balance among the receivers' numbers. (James was second on the team in catches after Harrison.) James occasionally may line up in the slot this season as the Colts experiment with ways to take advantage of his big-play ability. Tight ends Marcus Pollard and Ken Dilger are both essentially starters. Pollard has always been a tremendous athlete, but he's had a very strong training camp and could be even more of a receiving threat this season. Dilger could be the best all-around tight end in the league, but his role as a receiver has been reduced the past couple of seasons, something Manning would like to change. Grade: A Offensive linemen: No Pro Bowl selections for the line that allowed the fewest sacks and helped produce the NFL's leading rusher -- but that is the story of this line, a group whose sum is greater than its parts. Jeff Saturday will be the starting center. Former starting C Larry Moore will move to right guard, while Waverly Jackson moves to the bench. Saturday will be Manning's third center in three seasons, but Saturday has had a strong preseason. Jackson will back up Moore at right guard and Adam Meadows at right tackle. After Jackson, none of the current backup linemen has taken an NFL snap. OLG Steve McKinney may be the best of the starters. Meadows and OLT Tarik Glenn, who probably deserved Pro Bowl mention for protecting Manning's blind side, are underrated as a duo. Grade: B Defense Defensive linemen: Without Chad Bratzke, this group might not warrant anything more than a "C." But the former Giant, who received big bucks as a free agent before last season, produced with 12 sacks and on-field leadership in '99. Bratzke is joined this year by former Giants teammate Bernard Holsey, who could end up as the starter opposite Bratzke at left end, where he would be spelled designated pass rusher Mark Thomas. Brad Scioli and Chukie Nwokorie, a pair of second-year players, have had solid camps and may have solidified their positions, as well as increasing their playing time. Ellis Johnson has been the anchor of the line, and he is joined inside by starter Bernard Whittington and backups Larry Chester and rookie fourth-round pick Josh Williams out of Michigan. Sixth-round pick Rob Renes, another Michigan product, is out for the season with a back fracture. Grade: B Linebackers: The key to this unit will be Cornelius Bennett. If he can return to the same form he demonstrated on the strong side in '99, the defense could take a huge step with its improved depth and athleticism. He is joined by second-year WLB Mike Peterson, a second-round pick acquired as part of the Faulk trade. Peterson has tremendous sideline-to-sideline ability and improved weekly after taking over as the starter early last season. Rob Morris, an All-American at Brigham Young with equal parts speed, strength and attitude, is the question in the middle. A holdout slowed his development, but he has made strides. Morris is expected to bring more to the table than Michael Barber, last year's starter who was released soon after the playoff loss to Tennessee. If Morris is not ready, veteran Dwight Hollier, a free-agent acquisition from the Dolphins, would be the starter. Second-round pick Marcus Washington, the heir apparent to Bennett, missed much of the preseason with a hamstring injury and had yet to play in a preseason game at presstime. His role will be limited in the early going. Grade: B Defensive backs: Jeff Burris and Tyrone Poole are the incumbents at corner, and their starting roles are secure. Poole was drafted by Polian in Carolina and came to the Colts via trade after Polian's arrival. Burris was a first-round pick of Polian's Bills in '94. Depth was improved with the acquisition of David Macklin, a third-round pick from Penn State, who, like Poole, is diminutive but is a solid cover corner. The team would like to improve upon its interception numbers over the past two seasons, and Macklin could help, as could Mustafah Muhammad. The aggressive Muhammad has had a strong preseason after overcoming personal tragedy and legal problems last season. Chad Cota and Jason Belser again team up as a pair of hard-hitting safeties who are adept at run support and pass defense. Tony Blevins will play more safety -- due mostly to Macklin's arrival -- and Billy Austin also returns as a backup. Paul Miranda and Rodregis Brooks are vying for a roster spot. The oft-injured Miranda was a fourth-round pick last year but has yet to establish himself. The Colts traded back into the 2000 draft to pick up Alabama-Birmingham's Brooks in the seventh round. Grade: B Special teams Kicker Mike Vanderjagt led the AFC in scoring last season, and his 53-yard field goal in Miami defeated the Dolphins and established him as one of the best in the league. Even so, strong-legged Danny Kight will handle the kickoffs. Kight, an NFL Europe refugee and former Division II soccer player at Augusta (Ga.) State, turned into quite a weapon for the Colts. After Kight signed in Week Five last season, Vanderjagt became a model of consistency and Colts opponents were routinely starting closer to their own endzone. Punter Hunter Smith had an erratic rookie season. His 30.6-yard net average was worst in the league, but he might have been the Colts' most improved player during training camp. The inconsistencies seem to have disappeared, and he is kicking with more confidence. Though Wilkins wore down at the end of the season, he was still a home-run threat on kickoff and punt returns. He will probably return to both roles this year, even though he could start the season as the team's No. 2 receiver. Grade: B+ 
Material from Pro Football Weekly.Visit their website at http://www.profootballweekly.com |
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