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Indianapolis Colts RB Joseph Addai (Nick Wass/AP Photo
Indianapolis Colts RB Joseph Addai was criticized throughout the offseason, and even at times this season.
As Colts President Bill Polian sees it, the critics couldn't be more wrong.
Addai, a four-year veteran, scored his 10th touchdown of the season in a 17-15 victory over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday, and rushed for a season-high 74 yards. Those aren't Pro Bowl numbers, and Addai may not be a Pro Bowl back, but Polian said to make no mistake:
Addai is playing a very valuable role for the Colts this season.
“The statistics aren't there, but he's having a terrific year,” Polian said Monday on his weekly radio show on Hank 97.1 FM in Indianapolis.
Polian said Addai's value to the Colts extends far beyond statistics, and into the intricacies of a complex offense.
“People say, 'Well, Joseph has slowed down,' or, 'Joseph isn't what he used to be,''' Polian said of Addai, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2006 and 2007 and made the Pro Bowl in the latter year. “Try picking up five blitzes a game on [Ravens MLB] Ray Lewis and see how much you have left in your legs. It's very difficult to do and that's a critical part of our offense.
“We block with the running back a lot of times. That's what allows [Colts quarterback] Peyton [Manning] to hit those big plays to the running backs and tight ends. Joseph does a magnificent job of it.”
But Polian said Addai's value isn't just in blitz pickup. Polian said while Addai has yet to have a 100-yard game this season, he is running well within the parameters of the Colts' offense.
“Joseph is running as well as he ever has run in some holes that are not very big,” Polian said. “When a linebacker has to take on a running back in a two-foot area, the advantage is to the linebacker. When he has to take on a running back in a six-foot area, the advantage is to the running back. Joseph has been running in a lot of two-foot areas. He has done a heck of a job banging in there, finishing runs. He really has done a remarkable job.
“He's averaging 3.5 yards per carry, which is not great, but his runs have been significant. They've resulted in touchdowns. He's running hard. He's moving the chains. . . . The bottom line is Joseph has been running great, as has [rookie running back] Donald Brown. Donald needs to get a few more carries as time goes by.”
Polan on Monday also discussed:
*The perception that Addai “hops” at the line of scrimmage too often: “First of all, it depends upon the play that's being run. We have a series of plays that are called zone plays where we zone blocks where he has to hop. He's taught that. It's called a jump cut. He has to wait and be patient and wait for the hole to open up. At the professional level, especially with our offensive line, you don't just come off the ball and blast people back like you might do at the high school and college level. He's waiting for the hole to open up. There are other plays where we run him north-south – and on the draw, too, many times when it opens right up – where has to go, go, go. There's absolutely no issue of the jump cut, but most of the time when we're running a zone play, the hop that you see is absolutely part of the play because he has to give the puller a chance to come through or he's trying to read the double team or things of that nature. The running game in pro ball is far more sophisticated than it is at the high school or college level. That's part of the drill.”
*If the Colts used the stretch play more Sunday than earlier this season: “It depends upon who you're playing and how they play you. It depends upon the front you're playing against. Baltimore's front was essentially a 30 front and occasionally they would give you a four-down look with nickel – five defensive backs. We would term it a 3-3-5. It's not exactly that, but the bottom line is, the play selection depends upon the front we're facing. We ran to the outside a good bit Sunday with the outside zone play.”
*Playing from behind in the second half: “There's really not anything you can do. Mike Murphy, our linebackers coach, is fond of saying, 'The guys on the other side of the line of scrimmage get paid, too.' In the National Football League, they're always very good. . . . Many times you have to fight from behind. . . . We had a lot of unforced errors Sunday – a lot of plays we should have made, but we didn't. That's going to happen. Everyone's injured at this point in time. New players are playing. Players are playing different positions. Players are playing hurt. That is why at this point in time in the National Football League you get lots of upsets. The Raiders Sunday beat the Cincinnati Bengals. No one can predict that. No one can predict the health of clubs. No one can predict the Raiders were going to change quarterbacks. The National Football League is awfully, awfully tough to win one game, much less 10. The fact that we've fallen behind is just business as usual. We're not good enough – and no team is good enough, really – to run away with things. It just doesn't happen that way.”
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