Indianapolis Colts 2010 offseason primer: The Offensive Tackles

Indianapolis Colts LT Charlie Johnson (74) || Michael Conroy/AP Photo

In the fifth of a series, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser continues to break down the Colts' roster entering the 2010 offseason . . .

PART FIVE: THE OFFENSIVE TACKLES . . .

In the position-by-position look at the Indianapolis Colts' offseason, we come to the offensive tackle position.

At last, perhaps, something to analyze.

Because the tackle position is the first in the series on the offensive line, and while there seems to be little likelihood for much offseason movement or even speculation at the Colts' skill positions, the same likely is not true on the offensive line.

This is an area where there may be some adjustments.

Certainly, there will be chatter and buzz about the line in the media/blogosphere.

And some of that chatter/buzz will focus on tackle.

Make no mistake:

The tackle position was not a weakness in 2009. Far from it.

In fact, it was a case study in what has made the Colts one of the premier franchises in the NFL over the last 10-to-12 seasons. The Colts at their tackle spots started a pair of players – RT Ryan Diem and LT Charlie Johnson – drafted in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively – one of whom essentially had been a backup/spot starter in his first three NFL seasons, and that duo combined to start 27 games and anchor a line that helped the franchise to a second Super Bowl appearance in four seasons.

That line allowed QB Peyton Manning to be sacked just 10 times, and allowed a league-low 13 sacks overall.

It also helped the Colts improve a bit as a rushing offense. The Colts talked throughout last offseason of needing to run the ball better than their 31^st-place NFL finish in 2008, and one of the ironies of the season was while the team in fact finished 32^nd in the NFL in rushing, there was little question the Colts had improved from the season before.

Colts RB Joseph Addai was markedly improved, particularly in the second half of the season, and Indianapolis at many times achieved its primary running-game objective of being effective late in the game and often enough early to create play-action passing opportunities.

But as Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell also said at the Super Bowl, improvement in the running game obviously is still needed.

What's uncertain is what will be done to make those improvements, and if any offseason moves will involved the tackle position.

Diem, a fourth-round selection in the 2001 NFL Draft, will enter his 10^th NFL season next season. He has played solidly and has been durable the past two seasons, and seems likely to remain the starter next season. He's not a Pro Bowl-level guy, perhaps, but he has started on one of the NFL's best lines since 2002, the last seven seasons at right tackle. He's certainly closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but there doesn't seem much impetus for change here.

Johnson is a trickier situation.

A sixth-round selection in the 2006 NFL Draft, he was a backup and a spot starter in 2007 and 2008, then moved in the starting lineup last offseason ahead of Tony Ugoh, a second-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft who started 2007-2008.

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