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Former Indianapolis Colts OG Ryan Lilja (left)
John Raoux (AP Phto)
THE DAILY DIGEST | Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a look at what they're saying about and what's going on around the AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts . . .
The tone of the Indianapolis Colts 2010 offseason didn't change on Monday, exactly. There already had been more than a few hints and signs that things were changing on the offensive line.
But just as certainly, Monday took things out of the hints and signs stage.
What we have now is an obvious, unmistakable offeseason storyline of the full-blown variety.
And a major one, at that.
Ryan Lilja? Gone? Released?
I don't pretend to know everything about what the Colts are doing before they do it, and even being around the team for nearly a decade, there are moves each offseason that come as something of a surprise. Lilja fit that category.
And in fact, he's right up there with the biggest ones in recent memory.
Let's get the off-field, locker-room part of this move out of the way first:
Because off the field, and in the locker room, this move will be felt for a while. Not that the Colts won't move on. They have before, and they will this time. But Lilja certainly is one of the more popular players among his teammates, and one of the more “regular” guys in a locker room of regular guys.
We in the media don't like to root for players. We are, by nature, a cynical objective. But there weren't many in the media who knew Lilja who could honestly tell you they weren't pulling for him last season, when he returned from three knee surgeries that cost him the 2008 season.
One of my favorite Super Bowl week memories from last month is of standing in the interview area of the Colts' hotel. This was Wednesday or Thursday, and I was standing near a podium where Lilja sat. The room was brightly decorated, draped and decked in the obligatory Super Bowl colors. Lilja sat for an hour, talking to the media and recounting his story.
It was remarkable, watching him, to think that just eight or nine months before, he didn't know if he would ever play again.
And that day at the Super Bowl I remember thinking that here was a guy who realized even before the injury that he was one of the fortunate few to get to live the dream. After the injury, once he returned, he seemed to savor every moment even more.
Who knew that day that less than five weeks later, he would be released by the Colts, not in a salary-cap, or cost-cutting move but for a more basic, football-related reason?
It's that football-related reason that makes Monday's move bigger than just a single player release.
The Colts are in the beginnings of a major philosophical shift on the offensive line.
The first hints, in retrospect, came two days after the Super Bowl, when Colts President Bill Polian spoke of the New Orleans Saints' defensive line outplaying that of the Colts in the Super Bowl. The first official step came with the retirement after the season of Senior Offensive Line coach Howard Mudd.
Mudd, the Colts' line coach since 1998, long favored quick, agile linemen, and put a high priority on pass protection and a low priority on brawn and raw run-blocking, road-grater types.
The Colts have yet to officially name Mudd's replacement, although many are assuming longtime offensive line assistant Pete Metzelaars will assume the duties. The Colts also hired former Kansas State Head Coach Ron Prince to assist the line.
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