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Release of DT Ed Johnson "directly related to weight," Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian says
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Former Indianapolis Colts DT Ed Johnson pressures Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner last month.
Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser examines what Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian had to say on his weekly radio show Monday evening following the 2009 bye weekend. (PART One OF TWO PARTS/PART ONE HERE) . . ..
The Indianapolis Colts last Wednesday released DT Ed Johnson, a move that surprised not only Colts fans, but his teammates as well.
On Monday night, Colts President Bill Polian addressed the move.
Speaking on his weekly radio show on 97.1 Hank FM in Indianapolis, Polian spoke in detail on Johnson, saying that “sadly for him,” the third-year defensive tackle's “effort” and “production . . . had really fallen off almost since Week 1.”
Added Polian, “It's directly related to his weight.”
Johnson, who originally signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2007, started 16 games that season, but the Colts released him last September following a marijuana-related arrest. Johnson re-signed with the Colts shortly after last April's NFL Draft, and after serving a one-game suspension in Week 1, he started the last four games.
But Polian said Monday throughout the last month, he and Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell each spoke to Johnson about his weight. Johnson is listed at 6-feet-2, 296 pounds, but Polian said he was about 15-to-20 pounds over that and “couldn't really take it off.”
“Jim Caldwell about three weeks ago called him in and essentially said to him, 'Ed, you have to pick it up – the production, the hustle, the effort and the ability to lose the weight has to be improved,''' Polian said Monday, adding that Caldwell told Johnson, “Otherwise, we're going to have to make a change.'''
Polian said he spoke to Johnson “a couple of weeks later."
“I called him in,” Polian said, “and said, 'Ed, I'm really concerned about the weight. I don't see the kind of movement in the weight that we think is important. That's hurting you in terms of pursuit and the kind of sustained effort over a long period of time that it takes to win in our defense.'”
Polian said Johnson told him he would try to lose the weight “but he hadn't had much success with it.”
“To his credit, he tried a little bit with extra running and things of that nature, but after the Tennessee game when we had our Monday morning staff meeting the defensive coaches were very adamant about the fact that Ed had not measured up to the standard of performance they require and that they wanted to make a change,” Polian said. “We had a lengthy meeting about it. Both Jim Caldwell and I discussed it with them at length and went into it in great detail and in the end, Jim Caldwell decided it was the right thing to do. He already had put Ed on notice about it. So, we made the change.”
Polian said the inability to give maximum effort was what stood out in the Johnson decision.
“To quote Jim Caldwell, 'In all the years we've been here we never have sacrificed effort,''' Polian said. “We have never, ever allowed the standard of performance to go below that that we require in the effort department no matter what the extraneous circumstances. That's the decision we made and we think it's the right one. Ed happens to be a very popular player and he's a popular guy in the locker room, to tell you the truth. It came as somewhat of a shock to his teammates. But I think that in the end, we made the right decision.
“Most importantly, we're sticking with the standard of performance that (end) Robert Mathis has set, that (end) Dwight Freeney has set, that (safety) Bob Sanders has set, that (cornerback) Kelvin Hayden has set, that (cornerback) Marlin Jackson has set, that (linebacker) Gary Brackett has set. We're not going to lower that simply because we feel like a player has the potential to be better. And Ed does. Ed has the potential to be a good player.
“As I told him when he left, I hope he looks upon this as a positive and takes it upon himself to really get in great shape and stay there and have a good career for himself in the National Football League. But it wasn't working to our satisfaction and we didn't feel he was meeting our standard of performance. That's not something we're going to compromise.”
Also on Monday, Polian addressed:
* What's next for the Colts after the bye week: “Health is always the major concern. We battled through that in the defensive backfield and it looks as though we're getting a little bit better there. That's the No. 1 concern. No. 2 is we have to continue to protect the football the way we have. We've been very good in the turnover margin and we have been particularly good on offense there, so we have to continue that. We haven't given the opposition too many gifts. If you do, that's a recipe for disaster. We have to continue to play the good defense we've been playing, particularly in the scoring area, where we're one of the tops in the league. If we do that, then we have a chance. But I emphasize again, with both fingers of both hands crossed, health is the key thing. All of the predictions and all of the analysis that you do means absolutely nothing if your team is banged up.”
* Post-bye-week momentum: “I've never worried about that. I think that's very overrated. You only lose momentum if you don't practice and we will practice. We practiced Monday a little longer than we normally do on Monday. (Colts Head Coach) Jim (Caldwell) wanted to do that, because he wanted to get the tempo set for the week. He mentioned that to the team, that, 'We went longer and we did it at a higher tempo than we normally do on Monday, because we want to get you back into the swing of things.' As long as you have three good days of practice you're not going to lose any momentum or any tempo based on something like a bye week.”
*On the team's reported interest in Cleveland Browns punt returner Josh Cribbs: "We're always looking to upgrade our team in every area. I can assure you I've had no discussions with anyone from the Cleveland Browns about Josh Cribbs. It sounds to me like one of those trades you make over a lager or two and they sound great, but it's not something either team is involved in. I'm not sure the Browns have made any overtures to anyone about Josh Cribbs. They certainly haven't to us and I don't know what you would give for him if he were available. Besides which I'm probably skirting the tampering rules now anyway, but the bottom line is that this is an internet rumor and has no real basis in fact. We'd like to get the return game better. That's obvious. It looks like barring someone good coming on the open market we'd have to do it from within."
ED JOHNSON COVERAGE
* Ed Johnson release performance-based, Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell says. Here.
* Ed Johnson officially waived. Here.
* The ramifications of releasing Ed Johnson. Here.
* Ed Johnson reportedly released. Here.
MORE COLTS NEWS . . .
* K Matt Stover calls kicking for Colts "awesome" opportunity. Here.
* QB Peyton Manning says knee was fine after Wednesday practice. Here.
*** A REVIEW OF COLTS PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW POST-COLTS/TITANS. PART ONE. HERE.
*** A REVIEW OF COLTS PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW POST-COLTS-TITANS. PART ONE. HERE.
*** 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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