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Magnificent Seven VIII: On Indianapolis Colts WR Reggie Wayne, DE Dwight Freeney, QB Peyton Manning
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Indianapolis Colts WR Reggie Wayne (AJ Mast/AP Photo)
Each week on Examiner.com, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser offers seven thoughts on all things Indianapolis Colts. Without further delay, the Magnificent Seven for the fourth week of the 2009 regular season, in which the Colts will play host to the Seattle Seahawks at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday afternoon . . .
7) Broken Record, Dept. Several times already this year in the Magnificent Seven I have tried unsuccessfuly to not write about WR Reggie Wayne. Consider this another failed effort. I knew how good he was before, and so did Colts fans. To be fair, a lot of fans nationally knew he was good, and enough peers, coaches and fans knew enough to vote him to the Pro Bowl the last three seasons. But maybe a lot of people didn't know he was this good. When Colts President Bill Polian started talking on his Monday radio show about Wayne's remarkable catch against Arizona Sunday, it took me a while to realize he was talking about a one-handed, sideline-teetering catch down the right sideline and not the snatch-with-one-hand-shift-to-the-other-knee-barely-down-just-inside-the-pylon touchdown in the first quarter to give the Colts the lead. The point of this much-too-hyphenated entry is this: Yeah, Marvin Harrison was great for a long time, but Wayne has gone beyond proving he's a No. 1 receiver (as if he's really needed to prove that in the last three years). There always have been a lot of ways I thought Wayne was as good if not better than Harrison -- who many believe is a lock for the Hall of Fame -- and with each year, there are a lot more.
6) Wire to wire? Let's get one thing clear quickly: No one around 56th Street is talking about this topic, and rightfully so. No one around a team should be talking division title after three games, and to take it a step further, the Colts long have been a team that prides itself on focusing on the week at hand. As hard as it is to believe, that's even more true under first-year Head Coach Jim Caldwell. Former Head Coach Tony Dungy broke the season into quarters, but Caldwell said he's such a focus-on-the-now guy that he doesn't allow himself to look even that far ahead. But we can and the reality is that since the inception of the AFC South, the Colts like QB Peyton Manning's good friend, Tiger Woods, have been very good with a lead. They began the 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons 3-0 and never in those four seasons did they ever trail the division en route to South titles. This season, after three weeks, the Colts lead Jacksonville and Houston by two games and Tennessee by three games. You get a feeling that if the Colts don't lose on their trip to Nashville in two weeks, it will be very, very tough to catch them.
5) Changing of the guard? No one's perfect, particularly not your Indianapolis Colts Examiner, and I admit I didn't see this one coming. But it's apparent in recent days that first-year veteran Kyle DeVan is making a serious push at right guard. Second-year veteran Mike Pollak was a second-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft and DeVan was signed from AFL2, but DeVan rotated in at times against Arizona and Colts and Caldwell said that won't likely change.
4) Good timing. OK, there's never a good time for Colts DE Dwight Freeney to be out. Aside from Manning and possibly Wayne, there's no player on team more critical than Freeney. That's how good he is, how consistent he is and how much the defense depends on his pass rush to harass opposing passers. How good is Freeney? Did you see Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner Sunday night? This is a veteran, experienced guy and he was so harassed by Freeney that you got the idea he was still looking for him in the fourth quarter -- after Freeney left with a quadriceps injury. Although Freeney said this week he's taking the injury day to day, the diagnosis of 2-to-3 weeks likely is more accurate. Indianapolis has the Seahawks -- probably without Matt Hasselbeck -- this week, then a key game against Tennessee the week after. The guess is they can handle Seattle Freeney or no Freeney. As for Tennessee, something is wrong there -- a team that talented and experienced doesn't start 3-0 even with the absence of DT Albert Haynesworth. Tennessee is perfectly capable of beating the Colts, of course, but it may be that Freeney's powerful pass rush is a touch less critical against Tennessee, which often prefers to grind and run.
3) With or without him. It's funny. The more the season goes on, the less fans seem concerned about S Bob Sanders. That makes sense, because the Colts are 3-0. What has been interesting this season is as much as any season of Sanders' career, Indianapolis' players seem less worried about his return. That's not to say the team doesn't want him back and not say they don't need him back. They want him and need him because they're without question a better defense with him. He makes plays above the Xs and Os and the defense plays with an energy level with him in the lineup that's hard to reach when he's not playing. That said, S Melvin Bullitt has played so much in Sanders' place in recent seasons -- and S Antoine Bethea is so consistent at the other safety -- that watching the Colts' defense in the first three weeks there hasn't been an overwhelming feeling that you were watching a defense waiting for a player to return. The overriding feeling is that the Colts have become accustomed in recent seasons to playing without Sanders. If he returns, it's a huge bonus, but unlike some past seasons -- i.e., 2006 and 2007 -- you don't get the idea they're ineffective without him.
3) Getting it done. A thing I'm not sure is fair is the constant piling on of CB Tim Jennings. It has happened a lot during his four seasons, and it's happening again this season. There is a constant critcism of Jennings regarding what fans see as his tendency to give too much cushion. Funny thing about Jennings is he started 12 games last season when the Colts set an NFL record by allowing just six touchdown passes. The team has allowed just one this season and Jennings has played extensively, starting twice and not allowing a touchdown pass. I don't know how good Jennings is, but he has three pass breakups this season -- high on the Colts -- and his deflection led to a key interception late in the first half against Arizona.
1) As good as he ever was. Odd as it sounds, Manning might be better right now than at any time in his 12-year career. It's too early to start talking about a fourth Most Valuable Player award, but Manning played perhaps the best football of his career in the last nine games of last season en route to his third MVP award. He started last season limited after offseason knee surgery, having missed training camp and the preseason, and he has started this season looking very much like a player taking ready to take advantage of being able to start the season healthy.
*** COLTS QB PEYTON MANNING ON THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF FORMER COLTS RB EDGERRIN JAMES HERE
*** WR PIERRE GARCON AMONG FIVE KEY EARLY-SEASON DEVELOPMENTS FOR 3-0 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS HERE ***
*** REVIEWING COLTS PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW HERE. PART ONE
*** REVIEWING COLTS PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW HERE. PART TWO
*** IFR EDITOR JOHN OEHSER'S COLTS-CARDINALS GAME STORY HERE
*** COFFEE WITH THE COLTS: IFR EDITOR JOHN OEHSER'S NEXT MORNING LOOK AT COLTS-CARDINALS HERE
*** PEYTON MANNING'S TOP 10 COMEBACK VICTORIES HERE.
*** HIS TOP 10 UNDERRATED MOMENTS HERE
*** WHAT DO THE COLTS HAVE TO DO TO WIN THE AFC SOUTH? READ IFR EDITOR JOHN OEHSER'S FIVE KEYS HERE
*** COLTS HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL SAYS MORE TO LATE-GAME COMEBACKS THAN JUST QB PEYTON MANNING HERE
DWIGHT FREENEY NEWS
* Colts quiet on status of DE Dwight Freeney
* DE Dwight Freeney out 2-to-3 weeks
* Freeney not ready to accept 2-to-3 week diagnosis
MAGNIFICENT SEVENS: WEEKLY COLTS THOUGHTS . . .
Magnificent Seven I: Seven training camp thoughts and observations
Magnificent Seven II: On the Colts' defensive tackle position and WR Reggie Wayne
Magnificent Seven III: On the Colts' running backs and offensive line
Magnificent Seven IV: On the Colts' offense, OG Ryan Lilja and WR Anthony Gonzalez
Magnificent Seven V: On S Melvin Bullitt and QB Peyton Manning
Magnificent Seven VI: On RB Donald Brown and the start of the season . . . at last
Magnificent Seven VII: On WR Reggie Wayne, the OL and blitzing
EXAMINER SERIES: TWENTY PRE-TRAINING CAMP QUESTIONS WITH THE COLTS . . .
1) Will Jim Sorgi be the backup quarterback?
2) Will Special Teams be Special?
3) Who will be the Colts' breakout player in 2009?
4) Will loss of former Head Coach Tony Dungy hurt in 2009?
5) What will defense look like in 2009?
6) Will DT Ed Johnson impact the defense in 2009?
7) How important is the return of OG Ryan Lilja in 2009?
8) Will K Adam Vinatieri be ready in 2009?
9) Will WRs be improved in 2009?
11) Will S Bob Sanders be healthy in 2009?
12) Will secondary be one of NFL's best in 2009?
13) Who will start at RB in 2009?
14) What roles will Tom Moore and Howard Mudd play in 2009?
15) Can QB Peyton Manning improve again in 2009?
16) Will the Colts be OK at LB in 2009?
17) Will CB Kelvin Hayden make the Pro Bowl in 2009?
18) Can TE Dallas Clark make the Pro Bowl in 2009?
19) Can OT Tony Ugoh develop into franchise-level LT?
20) Can the Colts win the Super Bowl in 2009?
THE POSITION-BY-POSITION PRE-TRAINING CAMP SERIES:
- The QUARTERBACKS
- The RUNNING BACKS
- The TIGHT ENDS
- The WIDE RECEIVERS
- The OFFENSIVE TACKLES
- The OFFENSIVE GUARDS
- The CENTERS
- The DEFENSIVE ENDS
- The DEFENSIVE TACKLES
- The LINEBACKERS
- The CORNERBACKS
- The SAFETIES
OTHER EXAMINER COLTS TOPICS . . .
- Colts QB Peyton Manning on Steve McNair
- Steve McNair's career often intertwined with the Colts
- QB Peyton Manning omitted from ESPN.com's All-Decade team
- The best of the Indianapolis Colts blogosphere . . .
- Manning: Influence of Tony Dungy still felt around Colts
- Mudd, Moore return inevitable, happy end to long story
- Colts to allow sponsors on practice uniforms
- Why Colts QB Peyton Manning is primed for another big season
- Re-signing DT Ed Johnson makes DT situation even better
- SERIES: Peyton Manning Top 10 underrated moments.
- Breaking Down the 2009 Colts Schedule
- A recap of the Colts' 2009 NFL Draft
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