By Mike Beas
In Indianapolis and New Orleans, there are lockers to be cleaned out. In Miami, celebratory confetti to be vacuumed. In the meantime, new head coaches in Buffalo, Washington, D.C. and Seattle are doing everything in their power to right ships gone off-course.
Whoever said the NFL’s postseason fails to carry flecks of glamour hit the nail on the head. Aside from the NFL Scouting Combine (Feb. 24-March 2) and the annual league draft (April 22-24), basically everything regarding the league’s 32 franchises promises to be done behind closed doors.
For the Indianapolis Colts, that means owner Jim Irsay, president Bill Polian and coach Jim Caldwell putting their noggins together and figuring out what puzzle pieces are essential in order to keep the team a viable Super Bowl challenger for years to come.
Irsay and Polian, in particular, have traveled this road many times before and are masters at pinpointing diamonds in the rough. High-character athletes more than willing to buy into the “Colts way.”
What’s remarkable is that Indy has owned a top-15 position on the draft board only one time since 2000, using the 11th overall pick on Dwight Freeney in 2002. In the other nine drafts, the Colts’ loftiest draft perch was — get this — 24th (Dallas Clark in 2003).
Such things occur when you win and win consistently. No such thing as a can’t-miss when your top selection always seems to be when the outset of Round 2 is only a few minutes away. But that’s the Colts. Pick late, pick intelligently and pick up where you left off.
Wholesale modifications are not required. Just because Indianapolis played sub-Colts football in losing to New Orleans in the Super Bowl is no reason to go scrambling for panic buttons. As long as Peyton Manning is in good physical shape, this franchise will field one of the NFL’s elite ballclubs for no less than the next four seasons.
I do wish Indy would, for once, exhaust one of its top two draft choices on a trustworthy backup quarterback so the thought of Manning getting injured ceases being more frightening than the current state of the economy.
Manning to No. 2 QB Jim Sorgi is a talent/experience plunge of skydiving proportions. Manning to third-stringer Curtis Painter is skydiving from Mars. Jimmy Clausen and Sam Bradford won’t be around by the time the Colts choose, but Tim Tebow will. Cincinnati’s Tony Pike is another who could be groomed to not only back up Manning, but in time succeed him once No. 18’s celebrated career comes to a close.
Since keeping Manning vertical is and always has been priority one, bringing in more offensive line talent is a strategy that never goes out of style. Also, after the Saints’ O-line dominated the Colts’ defense on Sunday, the draft day wish list should also include the best tackle available, someone to take pressure off of Pro Bowl ends Freeney and Robert Mathis. Two names thrown around are Lamarr Houston out of Texas and Northwestern’s Corey Wootton. (Polian loves Big Ten guys.)
And, please, for the love of Clarence Verdin, can we bring in a kick return specialist with a better 40 time than Jeff Saturday? Imagine how dangerous this team would be if Manning & Co. could begin the occasional offensive series near or past the midfield stripe. Either Jordan Shipley from Texas or Cincy’s Mardy Gilyard would look good in blue and white.
The Colts are and always have been a work in progress. New parts here, a little tinkering there. Whatever the formula, it works, which is why those three days in April are always so special.
• Mike Beas is a freelance writer/columnist and Kokomo native who resides in Carmel. He may be reached by e-mail at mbeas@att.net.
