Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian: Improvement needed in the offseason

Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian (right) and Head Coach Jim Caldwell
(David J. Phillip/AP Photo)

The Indianapolis Colts have to get better.

Bill Polian, whose 12^th season as the Colts' president ended with the Super Bowl XLIV loss to the New Orleans Saints, said that task will begin immediately.

And the task could include changes.

“We have high standards here,” Polian said Tuesday on his weekly radio show on Hank 97.1 FM in Indianapolis. “One of the reasons we've been able to meet those high standards – establish them and meet them every year – is because we demand a lot of our players. We demand a lot of ourselves as an organization. We make changes when it's necessary, when people don't measure up. That's what we'll go about deciding this offseason.”

Polain said that's how the Colts approach each offseason.

“It won't be any different than any other offseason,” he said. “It won't have to do with names, household names, or how people perceive things. It will have to do with strictly performance and how we feel we can make our football team better. I'm certain we will be better, because we'll be a lot healthier than we were a year ago. We have to improve in some areas that we were able to overcome during the regular season, but when you get into the ultimate game against the team from the other conference that's the best team, sometime those weaknesses can pop up.

“Some of that occurred the other night.”

Polian on Tuesday also addressed:

* The first-half, momentum-altering drop by WR Pierre Garcon: “His vision was impeded by a linebacker crossing underneath. They got pretty good pressure on (QB) Peyton (Manning), too. The ball had to come out a little earlier, I think, than he wanted it, too, but his vision – if you look from the end zone – was clearly impeded. The ball got on him very fast. It could have been a big gainer.”

*The low turnout for the Colts' arrival Monday: “The weather wasn't very good. The route that had been chosen for us to depart and return from was not the one we normally use. The security precautions for the Super Bowl were very different than that which are used during the regular season. That was pretty evident all week. No one needs to apologize for anything along those lines. The players were very subdued, heartbroken. It's difficult to deal with a loss like that. It always is. When you put it in perspective, it's a football game, albeit a terribly important one. But it is in the end a football game and there are far worse things in life than losing it. But they're subdued, upset.”

* Danger of Indianapolis' 2012 Super Bowl not being played: “The question presumes lots of things happening, some of which is a long shot. First of all, it's the hope of everyone in the National Football League – players and management alike – that we can reach an agreement before a lockout ever occurred. However, if a lockout occurred, it would occur at the beginning of the league year, which is around the first of March. Then, you would have a long time to negotiate before you even hit training camp, which is roughly August 1. Beyond that, you would have training camp and then you would have the regular season. For a lockout to extend long enough to wipe out the Super Bowl would be an absolute first in the history of the National Football League. We've never had that happen. In 1987, we had the replacement games. That was over by the fifth week of the season. I think we came back and played with the regular teams by the sixth week of the season. We had a Super Bowl that year. In the case of the Colts, fortunately the replacement games counted. There were plenty of people, myself included – I was in Buffalo at the time – who were unhappy about that, but they did. You had a normal Super Bowl, which the (Washington) Redskins won. So, the thought that the Super Bowl could be wiped out when we're essentially 24 months from it is not in anybody's mind. What's in everyone's mind is, 'Let's see if we can use the time we have leading into this league year and even through this uncapped year if that be the case to get an agreement that's fair to everyone.”

MORE COLTS NEWS

Caldwell: Nothing to be ashamed of. Here.

Saints 31, Colts 17. Here.

Reviewing the Polian show . . .

* Part One: "We just didn't execute." Here.

* Part Two: Improvement needed. Here.

* Part Three: Dwight Freeney expected to play all along. Here.

* Part Four: MLB Gary Brackett wanted back. Here.