With the Indianapolis Colts' 2010 organized team activities at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center now over -- and with training camp fast approaching --Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser this week will take a look at what to like and what to worry about with the Colts as the 2010 NFL regular season approaches . . .
Five reasons areas of concern for the Colts' offense . . .
With Indianapolis Colts 2010 organized team activities now officially behind us, we continue to look to the future, and now look to five reasons to be concerned about the offense.
It's admittedly a bit tougher than finding five reasons to like.
That's because the reality is that with QB Peyton Manning, WR Reggie Wayne,TE Dallas Clark and RB Joseph Addai – along with a deep group of skill players beyond the aforementioned and a motivated offensive line – it's hard to imagine the Colts not finding some way to be effective offensively.
So, really, the areas of concern are probably best termed uncertainties, with the answers that play out over the season likely determining whether the Colts are good offensively or really, really good.
We'll start with coaching staff change, because that's the major area of change and as Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell said late in OTAs, any time you change coaches, there's going to be an adjustment.
1. How will Clyde Christensen fare as offensive coordinator? The reality with this question is while it's certainly a prominent off-season storyline, there won't likely be major change offensively despite the transition from long-time OC Tom Moore to Christensen. Moore spent the last 12 years calling plays for the Colts and is the only coordinator with whom QB Peyton Manning ever has worked in the NFL, and he is still on the staff so he will still have some influence. However, for the first time, there will be someone else in Manning's ear during games. That someone is Christensen, who spent the last eight seasons as the Colts' wide receivers coach. He very much had the support of Manning when promoted and he has worked with Caldwell, Manning and Moore for the last eight seasons, so it's not as if there are huge philosophical uncertainties. The guess here is while there may be some tweaks, there's such an understanding of what the offense does effectively that the ascension of Christensen won't cause many noticeable changes.
2. How will Pete Metzelaars fare as offensive line coach? New question, similar answer. One of the benefits of the Colts' philosophy to promote from within whenever possible is that sometimes a period of transition feels less like a period of transition and more like a bit of tweaking. That was how it was with the transition from Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy to Caldwell last season, and that's what Caldwell said recently he expects from the transition from longtime line coach Howard Mudd to Metzelaars. The latter worked with Mudd since 2004 and the offensive linemen know him well. As importantly, Metzelaars knows the linemen and seems to have their respect. Caldwell said recently he expect the transition involving Christensen to be smooth, and he said he expects the same to be true of Metzelaars. The line may be a bit bigger in spots, Caldwell said, but overall he said the philosophy won't change much.
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