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Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian on CB Marlin Jackson and the Colts' running back rotation
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Indianapolis CB Marlin Jackson (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)
Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser examines what Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian had to say on his weekly radio show Monday evening in the wake of a 31-9 victory over the Tennessee Titans at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday (PART TWO OF TWO PARTS/PART ONE HERE) . . ..
With the Indianapolis Colts 5-0 for a fifth time in seven seasons, they now enter the bye week. As to just how healthy the team can get during the bye, Colts President Bill Polian addressed that topic on his weekly radio show on Monday evening. S Bob Sanders, OT Charlie Johnson, CB Marlin Jackson, WR Anthony Gonzalez and CB Kelvin Hayden all missed a 31-9 vicory over the Titans Sunday, and Polian said of that group, Hayden -- who missed the last three games with a hamstring injury -- is probably the best hope to return when the Colts visit St .Louis in Sunday, October 25. "I think the arrow is up on (safety) Bob (Sanders)," Polian said on his weekly show on Hamk 97.1 FM. "I don't want to put a timeframe on that, but he has been out taking some activity with the scout team. We'll see if we can ramp that up this coming week and perhaps into St. Louis week. Marlin, I think, is a little bit away still. We'll see where we are there. We came through the (TItans) game (Sunday) with little or no serious injuries for the first time in five weeks. That part of it was really positive. For St. Louis, we should have all hands on deck other than the defensive backs and that will be a catch-as-catch-can kind of situation. That's good and the way you'd like it to be entering a bye week. So, we feel pretty good about that and we'll just take it from here."
Other news and notes from Polian's Monday show:
* Polian on where the unbeaten Colts can improve: "There are lots of things we can improve. (Defensive line coach) John Teerlinck is fond of saying, 'Don't miss the layup.' When you get a layup interception, you have to take advantage of it. In two of those cases, the defensive rush created the interception and we should have had it. That clearly can be improved. In terms of blocking efficiency and run efficiency, we can improve that pretty dramatically. That has not been what it should be or can be or will be. Some areas of pass protection can be improved, particularly on on one. . . . We can improve that certainly. There are areas on defense we can improve, particularly in terms of all-out hustle all the time. We had some people like (defensive end) Keyunta Dawson that really stepped up and did a great job of that, but there are other people who can improve upon what they're doing. It's good enough, but it can improve. The message for our team this week is nobody stands still in the National Football League. You either get better or you get worse."
* Polian on a difficult early-season schedule that has included three prime-time road games in four weeks: "I will say this: '(Colts Head Coach) Jim Caldwell has done a heck of a job preparing our team and getting them rested through this very difficult stretch.' (Sports Illustrated NFL writer) Peter King in his column (Monday) said he can't remember anyone ever having three prime-time road games in his covering the National Football League where you get back at 3, 4, 5 o'clock in the morning three out of five weeks. We've overcome that. We've fought through it. Jim has done a wonderful job making sure our team is focused and able to handle that."
* On deciding who practices during the bye week this week: "It depends upon the player's individual situation. If a player would normally be held out of practice because of an injury, the bye week won't make any difference along those lines. If they're going to be out we'll hold them out. Gonzo probably won't practice. Bob (Sanders) probably will continue on the regimen he has been on. Kelvin is probably ready to do go and Marlin is not. That will be that. Whether or not (QB) Peyton (Manning) will take a lot of reps remains to be seen. Probably not. We'll give probably give (Curtis Painter) most of the reps I would think, because he doesn't get a lot during the regular week and this is a good time for him to get some throwing in and a good time for Peyton to go to the bullpen and relax."
* On how RBs Donald Brown and Joseph Addai should rotate: "People remember Joseph and Dominic (Rhodes) splitting the carries over the last fifth of the season and the Super Bowl run, the playoffs. They did not do that during the rest of the season. Joseph was getting the same amount of work that Donald (Brown) is getting right now – in fact, probably a little bit less. With a rookie, particularly a rookie running back, you want to be careful to husband his carries so you don't wear him out. They're not used to playing 16 games. Hopefully, we'll go more than 16, so you have to get them ready for that point in time and you have to be careful not to wear them out. So, I think the ratio we have right now is a good ratio. We have (reserve running back) Chad Simpson up and active if we needed him and we will as time goes by. The mix is pretty good right now."
* On what sort of shape Sanders is in: "Game shape is different than rehab shape. I would say right now he's in tip-top rehab shape. Everything has gone along very well there. Barring some unforeseen mishap, he's where he needs to be from a rehab standpoint. But he now must get to where he needs to be in terms of game condition and football condition and playing condition. That's what we're going to be working toward in the next little while. When he gets in that situation, he will be physically dealing with the subtle changes we've made in the defense, which he has dealt with very diligently from a mental standpoint from Day One. He has been at every practice, every meeting. He's into it. He's involved with the coaches and the other players at his position. He is clued in from a mental standpoint, but now he's going to have to get himself in a position where he feels comfortable doing the things we're going to ask him to do. That's the test over the next little while."
* On what players go through rehabbing: "There are lots of emotional ups and downs that you go through when you're injured. The first is that you don't feel as if you're contributing to the team. That can lead to a little bit of anxiety and some depression sometimes. Second, over time you worry about the length of your career. That's always a problem. Finally, you go through the ups and downs in Bob's case of rehabilitation for a third time in four years. That's really difficult. Anybody who has undergone orthopedic surgery in the last year or two will you that the rehabilitation part of it is the most difficult and the most time-consuming and the most frustrating. Bob has been through that a lot. In his case, it's hard and in any player's case, it's hard. Look at Marlin, for example. Marlin went through nine months of rehab – diligent, working day in and day out, and in many cases it's two steps forward and one step back. That one step back is really heartbreaking. It's tough to deal with and then you have to gear it up and do it again. He did a phenomenal job of it and lo and behold, boom, another setback. Fortunately, I don't think it's as difficult or as serious as the last one, so he'll be back. But it's really, really frustrating and you feel for players. Fortunately, in this market particularly and generally around the National Football League people have become much more cognizant of the difficulty players face in rehabbing from injury and much more tolerant of the fact they're going to have to do this. I remember a time when people were really intolerant: 'Why isn't he out there? Come on, get him out there. He's not doing everything he needs to do.' Fortunately, this information age has made it pretty clear that virtually every player does virtually everything he can do all the time to get himself ready to play. But in the end, there's a lady named Mother Nature who determines a lot of this. We can't control her. When they're ready, basically they're ready. But it's a hard go. I, for one, really, really have great empathy and really feel for players who are going through it. I have great respect for the guys who do it and come back – Marlin Jackson and Bob Sanders being two of the most prominent examples."
*** READ COFFEE WITH THE COLTS: INDY FOOBALL REPORT EDITOR JOHN OEHSER'S NEXT-MORNING LOOK AT COLTS-TITANS. HERE.
*** PRE-GAME PRIMER. INDY FOOTBALL REPORT EDITOR JOHN OEHSER PREVIEWS TITANS-COLTS. HERE.
*** THE TOP FIVE SEASONS OF COLTS QB PEYTON MANNING. HERE
*** WR PIERRE GARCON AMONG FIVE KEY EARLY-SEASON DEVELOPMENTS FOR 3-0 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS HERE ***
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
Magnificent Seven VIII: On WR Reggie Wayne, QB Peyton Manning and DE Dwight Freeney
Magnificent Seven IX: On DE Robert Mathis, S Bob Sanders and DE Dwight Freeney
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