With training camp a little more than two weeks away, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser will spend the final weeks of the off-season examining 21 questions about the Indianapolis Colts entering 2010 . . .
No. 7: Will the Colts' linebackers be the best in memory?
We move today to the seventh part of this series examining 21 questions around the 2010 Indianapolis Colts, this one addressing what has become an intriguing possibility as the regular season has approached: will the linebacking corps be the Colts' best in memory?
The answer is that it could be.
Experience is a huge reason that's true.
That started to be a real possibility early this off-season when the Colts made their most major move since Super Bowl XLIV by re-signing middle linebacker Gary Brackett.
It wasn't necessarily an unprecedented move for the Colts. They had, after all, re-signed Brackett to a long-term deal early this decade.
But it was a move that gave the Colts something they haven't always had at the linebacker position:
Continuity.
The Colts, aside from the two times they have re-signed Brackett this decade, have had a consistent policy of not re-signing linebackers in recent seasons. The team approaches the position, particularly the outside linebackers, very much with a draft-and-develop philosophy. The theory is that in the Colts' four-three, Tampa 2-based defense a linebacker selected with a non-premium draft choice can be developed to play the outside backer positions and can be developed into a player capable of playing at least adequately for two or three seasons before being allowed to pursue free agency elsewhere.
The team has taken the approach with Marcus Washington, Mike Peterson, David Thornton and Cato June – to name the most notable examples – and it has been a largely successful approach. The Colts have had transition periods at the position, and several departed players have had success with their new teams. Colts President Bill Polian expressed particular regret with not re-signing Thornton following the 2007 season, but while the departed players were missed, the moves made sense given the Colts' salary structure and the team has remained one of the NFL's best, most-consistent franchises.
This year, the Colts appear likely to again for the AFC South title, but this season is different on at least one front. This season, instead of uncertainty at the linebacker position, there is consistency, with not only Brackett returning, but outside backers Clint Session and Philip Wheeler, too.
Each player ended last season as a starter, Brackett in the middle, Session on the weak side and Wheeler on the strong side.
If each starts, and there's little reason to think they won't, it will be the first time since 2002 – Tony Dungy's first season as the Colts' head coach and the first year of the current defensive philosophy – the team has entered a season with the same three linebackers starting who started the majority of the previous season.
“Our returning group, we have a year under our belt,” Brackett said. “We played together. We kind of know everything. I'm excited about seeing us mesh together and getting to go out there and play.”
Comments
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Bruce Anderson
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