INDIANAPOLIS COLTS News and Notes for 2008/2009

[The General]

To Tony Dungy, the move was important.

Josh Thomas, a fifth-year veteran defensive end, has re-signed with the Colts, the team announced on Wednesday morning. He became the fourth player the Colts have re-signed in recent months, joining safety Bob Sanders, guard Ryan Lilja and tight end Dallas Clark.

The aforementioned players are starters.

Thomas, who joined the Colts as an undrafted free agent rookie in 2004, started seven games this past season, but ordinarily – i.e., when ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney are healthy – he has been Freeney’s top backup, starting nine of 52 career games.

Which Dungy said doesn’t diminish his importance at all.

“He’s been a big part of what we’ve done,” Dungy said Wednesday. “Having guys who know what you’re doing and how you do it and play hard, that’s important. It was very good for us.”

Thomas, who started seven of 15 games this past season, moved into a starting position when three-time Pro Bowl selection Dwight Freeney sustained a season-ending injury against the San Diego Chargers on November 11.

After starting the San Diego game in place of left defensive end Robert Mathis, Thomas started in place of Freeney at right end for two games, moved back to left end for three games, then returned to the right side for the Colts’ playoff loss to San Diego.

That is the sort of versatility Thomas has shown throughout his four seasons, Dungy said.

“He’s a different type of guy than Robert and Dwight,” Dungy said of Thomas, who at

6-feet-5, 271 pounds is the Colts’ biggest defensive end. “That’s kind of how we’ve alternated him in there. In certain games, and certain times in the game, he’s able to play left and right side, and play against bigger people – in running situations, especially. That definitely has helped us.

“He has been good for us. He’s probably our best player playing over a tight end. He’s been a very, very solid run defender.”

Thomas this past season registered a career-high 55 tackles, 33 solos, with a sack, three passes defensed and a forced fumble. He finished the season with 14 quarterback pressures, third on the team behind Mathis (17) and Freeney (19).

In four seasons, he has 137 tackles, 92 solos, with six sacks, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

“I think he’s just gotten smarter and more experienced over the years,” Dungy said. “He understands our defense and what we’re trying to do. He’s just a very solid player. He’s never going to be a spectacular guy like Robert and Dwight, but he’s going to be one of those guys who goes in and plays his 30 plays and gets the job very effectively.

“He probably is underrated. He never has put up the big sack numbers, but most of the time, he’s not in there. In those situations, Robert and Dwight are the guys who are in there in a lot of the third-down and two-minute situations, so he’s probably never going to put up big numbers, but he has been good and he has gotten some key sacks for us at the right time.

“He has played a very important role for us and we’re very glad to have him back.”

[The General]

They have been keys to the Colts' defense for a half decade or more - dynamic, speedy players capable of disrupting opposing offenses.

They are the Colts' defensive ends, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.

One, Freeney, is a three-time Pro Bowl selection who is entering his seventh NFL season. The other, Mathis, has led the team in sacks each of the last three seasons and is entering his sixth NFL season.

In the Colts' one-gap style of defensive line play, Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy said the tandem’s ability to pressure quarterbacks and make them uneasy in the pocket is critical. And Dungy said Freeney and Mathis are among the NFL’s best, but he said something became apparent late this past season.

The tandem needs help, too.

“We need to have that and we kind of addressed that last year,” Dungy said recently in an interview with Colts.com for this story on the team’s defensive ends, the seventh of a position-by-position series that will run throughout this month.

“We got some young guys in the mix and I think we have to do that. The last couple of years, it has been Dwight, Robert and Josh Thomas. We’ve rotated some different guys through. We have possibly Raheem Brock doing some things out there, but we need to bring another guy into the mix.”

Dungy said that need became apparent late in the season, with Freeney out the last seven games of the season with a foot injury and with Mathis also hampered with an injury.

The Colts, who ranked No. 3 in the NFL in total defense this past season, continued to play solid defense in the final weeks, Dungy said, but he said a lack of consistent pressure on the quarterback hurt late, particularly in a 28-24 playoff loss to San Diego.

The Colts, after registering 16 sacks in the first nine games of the season - games in which Freeney and Mathis each started - recorded 12 thereafter. In the final four games of the season, the final three games of the regular season and the postseason loss, Indianapolis’ lone sack came in the regular-season finale, a loss to Tennessee.

Freeney, the Colts’ first-round selection in the 2002 NFL Draft, has 60 sacks in six NFL seasons, registering double-digit sacks in each of his first four NFL seasons – 13 in 2002, 11 in 2003, 16 in 2004 and 11 in 2005. He recorded three and a half sacks during the first nine games in 2007, consistently getting pressure despite double teams and extra attention from tight ends and running backs.

He finished the season with 34 tackles, 29 solos, and despite missing the last seven games of the season, led the Colts with 19 quarterback pressures.

He also forced four fumbles, and had a momentum-turning sack for safety in the Colts’ 29-7 victory at Jacksonville on October 22.

“He’s obviously a big part of our defense,” Dungy said. “We’re hoping he comes back and doesn’t miss a beat. That would be the best-case scenario for us, because he is such a factor. He’s very much like (Colts safety and 2007 NFL

Defensive Player of the Year) Bob Sanders, dictating the tempo for our defense and the way people have to block and attack us, so we need him.

“Our hope is he’s going to be fine. All indications are that way right now.”

Mathis, a fifth-round selection in 2003, has 42 sacks in five seasons, and led the team in the category in 2005 (11.5 sacks), 2006 (10.5) and 2007. He also has forced 25 fumbles in five seasons, not including the three he forced during the team’s run to the Super Bowl following the 2006 season.

This past season, he started 13 regular-season games, finishing with 63 tackles, 45 solos, along with seven sacks, four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He missed the last three games of the season with a knee injury.

“Robert’s one of the most productive guys on our team, play in and play out,” Dungy said. “For the amount of plays he plays, he does it very quietly and he’s probably not as flashy as Dwight, but he’s very productive – against the odds, at his size.

“People find it hard to say, 'Well this guys is 240 pounds and he’s special,’ but he is.’’

Thomas, who joined the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2004, moved into the starting lineup when Freeney was injured, and started a career-high seven games. He finished the season with a sack, three passes defensed and a forced fumble.

Thomas became an unrestricted free agent following this past season and and re-signed with the team Wednesday.

Jeff Charleston, a second-year veteran who joined the Colts as a free agent before last season, also played extensively late in the season, starting three games and registering 42 tackles, 22 solos. He finished the season with a sack, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.

Brock, a starting defensive tackle the past two seasons, played defensive end for the Colts from 2002-2005, starting every game there in 2003, 2004 and 2005. He had 13 sacks in 2003-2004, and Dungy said he could play a role at end next season.

The other defensive end currently on the Colts’ roster is Ben Ishola, who played collegiately at Indiana University. He spent last season with the organization as a developmental player after the Colts received his rights via the NFL International Development Practice Squad Program in July 2007.

But Dungy said no matter who gets the rush – Freeney, Mathis, a reserve on the team or a player not yet signed – getting it and getting it from the end position is critical to the Colts’ success. The Colts have had it in years past, finishing among the Top 10 in the NFL in sacks in 2004 and 2005. Among the goals entering 2008, Dungy said, is maintaining the pressure.

“The defense played better” in 2007, Dungy said. “A lot of it was our young tackles (Quinn Pitcock, Ed Johnson and Keyunta Dawson) came on and grew as we got into the season, but it starts for us up front, and the ends for the last six years have been the guys delivering the majority of that rush.

“That’s where it starts. We need those guys to come back and play that way. If they do, we’re going to be in great shape.”

COLTS.COM

[The General]

For two seasons, Ben Utecht started at tight end for the Colts, contributing to a team that won division a title each season.

On Saturday, Utecht officially joined the Cincinnati Bengals.

Utecht, a five-year veteran who became a restricted free agent February 29 – the start of the new league year – became a member of the Bengals Friday because Indianapolis opted to not match the offer sheet Cincinnati made him on Friday, March 14. The Colts had a week to match the offer and prevent Utecht from leaving.

The move was confirmed on the Bengals’ website on Saturday morning.

The Colts will receive no compensation for the loss of Utecht, who originally signed with Indianapolis as a rookie free agent in 2004.

Utecht, who played collegiately at the University of Minnesota, missing his rookie season in 2004 with a sports hernia injury, then started two of 12 games in 2005, when he caught three passes for 59 yards and two touchdowns.

He then moved into the starting lineup before the 2006 season, when he caught a career-high 37 passes for 377 yards and no touchdown. He also caught five passes for 41 yards in the playoffs

following the 2006 season.

This past season, he caught 31 passes for 364 yards and a diving touchdown catch against the Atlanta Falcons.

Utecht, who has 71 receptions for 800 yards and three touchdowns in four seasons, started 28 of 29 games the past two seasons in a Colts offense that often features two tight ends.

Utecht became the third Colts player to leave as a free agent since the start of the league year. Starting offensive guard Jake Scott signed with the Tennessee Titans on March 10, and reserve defensive tackle Dan Klecko signed as a fullback with the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday.

Six Colts players became unrestricted free agents at the start of the new league year: Scott, Klecko, defensive end Josh Thomas, linebacker Rocky Boiman, wide receiver Aaron Moorehead and tight end Mike Seidman. Thomas re-signed with the Colts Wednesday.

Before the start of the league year, the Colts re-signed three potential unrestricted free agents by re-signing them to long-term contracts: safety Bob Sanders, tight end Dallas Clark and offensive guard Ryan Lilja.

The team also released defensive tackle Anthony “Booger” McFarland and linebacker Rob Morris shortly before the start of the league year.


The Official Website of the Indianapolis Colts

[The General]

Rocky Boiman spent the last two seasons with the Colts, playing a key role on special teams and providing veteran experience at outside linebacker.

On Monday, he joined the Philadelphia Eagles.

Boiman, a seven-year NFL veteran who joined the Colts shortly before the 2006 season, visited the Eagles on Monday and signed with the team while in Philadelphia, the Eagles’ website reported Monday afternoon.

Boiman, 28, played in all 32 regular-season games for the Colts the past two seasons, solidifying the team’s special teams and starting seven games this past season after injuries to the Colts’ outside linebacker corps.

He finished the 2007 season with 64 tackles, 24 solos, and also had a pass defensed, a fumble recovery and two interceptions.

In two seasons with the Colts, Boiman had 81 tackles, 29 solos, and three interceptions along with a forced fumble.

Boiman, originally a fourth-round selection in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans, played collegiately at Notre Dame. He also was one of the Colts’ top special teams players the past two seasons, finishing second on the team with 15 special teams tackles this past season.

He was third on the team with 17 special teams tackles in 2006.

Boiman signed with the Colts after his release from Dallas shortly after the 2006 preseason. He spent his

first four seasons with the Titans before signing with the Cowboys in the offseason following the 2005 season.

Boiman was one of six Colts players to become unrestricted free agents at the start of the league year on February 29. The others were defensive end Josh Thomas, defensive tackle Dan Klecko, offensive tackle Jake Scott, wide receiver Aaron Moorehead and tight end Mike Seidman.

Scott signed as a free agent with the Tennessee Titans on March 10, and Klecko signed with the Eagles on March 17. Tight end Ben Utecht, a restricted free agent, became a member of the Cincinnati Bengals when the Colts opted not to match the Bengals’ offer.

Before the start of the league year, the Colts re-signed three potential unrestricted free agents by re-signing them to long-term contracts: safety Bob Sanders, tight end Dallas Clark and offensive guard Ryan Lilja.

The team also released defensive tackle Anthony “Booger” McFarland and linebacker Rob Morris shortly before the start of the league year.

The Colts currently have seven linebackers on the roster: middle linebacker Gary Brackett (16 starts in 2007), second-year veteran outside backer Ramon Guzman, fourth-year veteran outside backer Tyjuan Hagler (seven starts), third-year veteran outside backer Freddy Keiaho (11 starts), second-year veteran outside backer Clint Session and first-year veteran Kyle Shotwell and second-year veteran Victor Worsley.


The Official Website of the Indianapolis Colts

[The General]

Our special teams sucked anyhow we need change.

[The General]

To Josh Thomas, the move made perfect sense.

Thomas, a fifth-year veteran defensive end who became an unrestricted free agent following this past season, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Colts. He was used to the team’s scheme, accustomed to his role and comfortable with each.

So, when the Colts offered a chance to re-sign last week, he did so.

And he said he couldn’t have been happier with the decision.

“Everything made sense to come back,” Thomas said Tuesday as he prepared for the Colts’ off-season conditioning program, which is scheduled to begin next week.

“I’m about to get married and my fiancé and I are looking forward to being here in Indy.”

Thomas, who joined the Colts as a rookie free agent in 2004 from Syracuse University, developed into one of the team’s top reserves in recent seasons, playing in 52 games the past four seasons and starting nine games.

He started seven of 15 games last season, moving into a starting position when three-time Pro Bowl selection Dwight Freeney sustained a season-ending injury against the San Diego Chargers on November 11.

“Obviously being familiar with the scheme, with all the coaches, with how you fit into the scheme – there’s not going to be any surprises,” Thomas said. “It’s just about being comfortable and when you’re comfortable, you play better. I’m not going to have to work on learning a new playbook or any of that.

“I just have to tighten up my game a little bit. I think that’s why we’re excited to come back here, because it wasn’t going to be any type of transition.”

Thomas, who started the San Diego regular-season game in place of left defensive end Robert Mathis, started in place of Freeney at right end for two games, moved back to left end for three games, then returned to the right side for

the Colts’ playoff loss to San Diego.

Until this season, he played mostly as a reserve, starting two games in 2005, but playing extensively on a defensive line that routinely rotates players.

“Our philosophy as a D-line is to be as fresh as possible all the way until the end of the game,” Thomas said. “That enables me to get in there for 30 plays a game, so that’s what you do. That’s the role. When you accept that role and try to play your best inside that role, that’s when good things happen. You can call me a backup, a starter, it doesn’t matter.

“When you’re out there playing, you’re still getting those same reps.”

Thomas in 2007 registered a career-high 55 tackles, 33 solos, with a sack, three passes defensed and a forced fumble. He finished the season with 14 quarterback pressures, third on the team behind Mathis (17) and Freeney (19).

In four seasons, he has 137 tackles, 92 solos, with six sacks, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Thomas was one of six Colts players to become unrestricted free agents at the start of the league year on February 29. The others were defensive tackle Dan Klecko, offensive guard Jake Scott, linebacker Rocky Boiman, wide receiver Aaron Moorehead and tight end Mike Seidman.

Scott signed as a free agent with the Tennessee Titans on March 10, and Klecko signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as a fullback on March 17. Boiman signed with the Eagles and the team also released defensive tackle Anthony “Booger” McFarland and linebacker Rob Morris shortly before the start of the league year.

“The way they (the Colts) work, is they have the guys they want and it’s nice to kind of be a part of that group,” Thomas said. “We kind of tested the free-agency market and we said, ‘It makes the most sense to come back here with the Colts.’ It was exciting to be able to work it out and be back here.”

The Official Website of the Indianapolis Colts

[The General]

As far as Tony Dungy was concerned, perception didn't match reality when it came to the Colts' linebackers this past season.

Which to Dungy was a very good thing.

Gary Brackett. Tyjuan Hagler.

Freddy Keiaho.

None may have been thought of as “prototype” National Football League linebackers, and when they entered the NFL, none were projected by most observers to be big-time players. As a result, Dungy - entering his seventh season as the Colts' head coach - said the perception was that the Colts’ linebackers likely would struggle this past season.

Perception was wrong, Dungy said, and despite a season marked by personnel changes at the position, he said the group had a solid season.

“Whoever was up that week got the job done,” Dungy said recently in an interview with Colts.com for this story on the team’s linebackers, the eighth of a position-by-position series that will run throughout this month.

The Colts dealt with personnel changes at linebacker not only during the season, but before it, too.

Shortly after the Colts won Super Bowl XLI in February of 2007, linebacker Cato June - a starter in the Super Bowl and a Pro Bowl selection in 2005 – became an unrestricted free agent. A few weeks later, he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

That left the Colts’ linebackers as follows entering training camp: second-year veteran Freddy Keiaho at weak side, five-year veteran Gary Brackett in the middle and eight-year veteran Rob Morris – a first-round selection in 2000 – at strong side.

The lineup wasn’t together long.

Morris, a starter in the middle from 2001-2004 who moved into the starting lineup on the strong side late in 2006, missed two games in September with injuries, then in a 38-20 victory over the Denver Broncos in Week 4, he sustained a season-ending knee injury.

Veteran Rocky Boiman replaced him, but Hagler – a fifth-round selection in 2005 – moved into the lineup soon thereafter, and the Colts’ most common linebacker lineup the rest of the season was Keiaho, Brackett and Hagler.

The Colts, a season after ranking 32nd in the NFL in run defense, improved dramatically in the area last season. After allowing 173 yards per game rushing in 2006, the Colts allowed 106.9 per game in 2007, finishing the season ranked 15th against the run.

“The fact that we lost Cato and then Rob got hurt a couple of games into the season, I think everybody would have said, 'Well, they were a poor run defensive unit at the beginning of the year the year before – there’s no way they can be even as good,’’’ Dungy said. “Again, it was a case of Tyjuan Hagler, Rocky Boiman, Clint Session, Freddy Keiaho . . . whoever was up that week, got the job done.

“That’s a great credit to (linebackers coach) Mike Murphy, because other than Gary, we weren’t dealing with a lot of experienced guys. They were ready to play. They were very physical.

“They moved around with great suddenness and sharpness and quickness. They played well.”

That was particularly true, Dungy said, of Brackett, who – in his third season as a starter and his second season as the team’s captain – emerged as one of the NFL’s top players at his position.

Brackett, originally acquired as a rookie free agent in 2003, moved into the starting lineup on a permanent basis in 2005. He was elected team captain in 2006, and in 2007, he led the team

with 149 tackles, 79 solos, and tied for the team lead with four interceptions.

He also had a half a sack, two quarterback pressures and six passes defensed. He forced two fumbles and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in the team’s 23-21 loss at San Diego.

“He’s a special guy from that standpoint,” Dungy said of Brackett, who – at 5-feet-11, 235 pounds – is smaller than most NFL linebackers. “He’s probably not going to ever be as big, quick, physical and fast as everybody, but he understands the game and how we play. He’s very smart. He’s in position. He has a great deal of desire. I think that’s the only way you can look at it. Our whole linebacker corps other than maybe Rocky and Tyjuan would maybe fall into that same category.

“When he (Brackett) is out walking around town and somebody asks what you do, nobody would say, 'Well, that’s an NFL middle linebacker.’’’

Brackett’s season, Dungy said, may have been his best in three seasons as a starter, a performance that came at a critical time for the Colts, who were young at several positions on defense and who sustained injuries at several others in 2007.

Defensive end Dwight Freeney, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, missed the last seven games of the season and defensive tackle Anthony “Booger” McFarland missed the entire season with a knee injury. Morris missed all but two games, defensive tackle Raheem Brock missed five games and defensive end Robert Mathis missed the last three games.

On the line, rookie tackles Quinn Pitcock, Keyunta Dawson and Ed Johnson each played more than originally expected, Dungy said, with Johnson – a rookie free agent – the lone player on the line to start all 16 regular-season games. In the secondary, fourth-year safety Bob Sanders was the most experienced player, with safety Antoine Bethea in his second season as a starter and cornerbacks Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden in their first seasons as starters.

Brackett started all 16 regular-season games, one of just two players on the Colts’ front seven – and the only veteran – to do so.

“For him to do it that way, to have a great individual year with all the changing that was going on around him – the young defensive tackles, the new linebackers – he’s getting them kind of acclimated and in position, then still having to play his game, that was impressive,” Dungy said.

Keiaho, a third-round selection in the 2006 NFL Draft, replaced June at weakside linebacker, starting 11 games and registering 101 tackles, 58 solos. He also had a half a sack, an interception and two passes defensed.

“Freddy played real well for us,” Dungy said. “He had an elbow that was sore all year. I think the guy we saw the first couple of weeks – you add that experience and get him back 100 percent healthy, he has a chance to have a dynamite year.”

Hagler, who began the season as a reserve, finished as the starter on the strong side. He started seven of 12 games, three on the weakside and four on the strong, finishing the season 60 tackles, 34 solos, and a sack with a forced fumbled and a fumble recovery.

Clint Session, a fourth-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, started one of 13 games, finishing the season with 23 tackles, 16 solos. He had two interceptions, each of which came in his lone start – at San Diego on November 11. He also forced a fumble.

Ramon Guzman, a free agent rookie, played all 16 games, registering five tackles and playing extensively on special teams.


The Official Website of the Indianapolis Colts

[The General]

The experience is one Ryan Lilja said he won’t soon forget. Jeff Charleston said he won’t, either.

And this experience had nothing to with football.

Lilja and Charleston, veteran offensive and defensive linemen for the Colts, respectively, were among the 114 NFL players who participated in the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program earlier this month at the Harvard Business School, Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University), Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

“It blew me away,” said Lilja, who attended the program at the Wharton School, which was held in two parts – one in late February and the second Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

“You have the top professors, not just at the school, but in the country, maybe the world. Most of these guys have done it on their own, been out in the real world and experienced all that stuff. They come back and they just want to teach. They have a passion about teaching, because they can.

“They’re not doing it for a paycheck.”

Lilja was among three Colts players attending the program at the Wharton School, with the others being defensive lineman Raheem Brock and cornerback Antonio Smith. Jake Scott, a Colts starting guard the past four seasons who recently signed with the Tennessee Titans as a free agent, also attended the Wharton School session.

Charleston attended the session at Stanford.

“It was a full day,” Charleston said. “They put us in at master’s level courses. We had master’s students who were helping us in our study session and they were like, ‘Yeah, we have the same study for homework.’ It was amazing. Each case study we had was actually a different area of business, a different startup. Usually, for most of them, the CEO would come in and talk to us and tell us where it went from there.

“The case study would examine the startup to their first kind of benchmark. They were able to fill us in on the decisions they made.”

According to the NFL, the program is part of an ongoing NFL-NFLPA initiative to assist players in preparing for their post-playing careers.

A year ago, 116 NFL players participated, with 112 taking part in 2006. In the program’s first season (2005), 66 players took part at Harvard Business School and the Wharton School.

The four

schools offered executive education activities in their respective areas of expertise. The Wharton School and Harvard Business School held programs February 24-27, with continued coursework this week and early next month.

The Stanford and Kellogg School of Management held three-day sessions from March 2-5.

Player enrollment criteria included level of education; professional business experience; interest in starting, owning, or managing a business; and leadership and community involvement. Under the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, players may be reimbursed for up to $15,000 this year for education expenses at an accredited institution of higher learning.

Lilja said the sessions covered areas such as negotiations, leadership, entrepreneurship, real estate development, analyzing investments, stock market analysis and philanthropy.

“I’m sure they dumb down a lot of the stuff,” Lilja said. “It’s, ‘Boom, boom, boom.’ It makes me want to go back and get my MBA when I’m done.”

Lilja and Charleston each said beyond what they learned in the sessions, the time was valuable for who they met.

“Every professor, every MBA student, gave you contact information and said, ‘Listen if you get an investment proposal and you’re not sure about it, shoot me an email, send it to me,’’’ Lilja said. “These guys can look it over and pick it apart. That’s what they do.

“They were all sincere about it. They all said, ‘Here’s my mobile. Call me anytime. Here’s my e-mail.’ They said if this course keeps you from making one bad business deal, it’s all worth it for us.’’’

Said Charleston, “The network you build out there is invaluable. Every guy, every CEO, said, ‘If you have a business plan and you want me to go over it, send me an email, I’ll help you out.’ In the real world, you’ve got to pay money for that and you’re probably not getting the best advice. This way, you have someone who has been successful at it.’’

Lilja, like Charleston, said the sessions were anything but a vacation.

“We thought we were going to go up and see a little bit of Philly,’’ he said, laughing. “They have a hotel on campus. You live there, eat there, and you go to your classes there. You work out there.

“It’s all the same building. We didn’t leave the building in three days. It’s great. It’s, ‘Bang, bang, bang.’ It’s efficient. It’s a great program. I told the guys, ‘You’re crazy if you don’t do this.’’’

The Official Website of the Indianapolis Colts

[The General]

As Tony Dungy sees it, Monday is a big day. MARCH 31st, 2008

Not because Dungy will be in Palm Beach, Fla., for the NFL Owners Meetings, but because of what’s going on at the Colts’ Practice Facility: the first day of the team’s voluntary off-season conditioning program.

That means for many players the short off-season is over.

They’ll work out.

They’ll meet with coaches.

They’ll begin preparing with an eye on next season.

It’s not the official start of the 2008 NFL season, but Dungy – in his seventh season as the Colts’ head coach – said it’s the unofficial beginning, and more importantly, it’s the beginning of what he considers a critically important phase of preparation.

“We were trying to find a happy medium,” Dungy said of the March 31 start date. “(We wanted a date) where we could get the guys in, but also give them some time off, that when they do come in, they want to really work and get that feeling of camaraderie again.

“We chose that first week of April. I think it’s good. I think the guys are anxious to come in and get with each other again and get on a formalized program. We do get a lot of work done.”

The Colts, winners of the last five AFC South titles and a playoff team the last six seasons, finished 13-3 last season, losing to the San Diego Chargers, 28-24, in an AFC Divisional Playoff game at the RCA Dome. They will begin play in state-of-the-art Lucas Oil Stadium next season.

The off-season program is scheduled to run from Monday through early July, a period that will include two mini-camps and up to 14 organized team activities – or “OTAs,” as they are commonly called around the league. The Colts are scheduled to report to training camp in late July, and will play the Washington Redskins in the Hall of Fame Game on Sunday, August 3, in Canton, Ohio.

“The off-season is just as important as the season,” Colts third-year linebacker Freddy Keaiho said. “The season is the product of what you put into the off-season, so it’s extremely important. The most progress is made in OTAs, going through camp, getting a feel for everybody, learning from mistakes in OTAs and just improving that way.

“It’s the first opportunity you have to improve. I would say it’s important time for everybody. It’s about refining your skills and just getting your timing back. It’s extremely important.”

Dungy long has believed

that players make their largest improvement between their first and second seasons, and the off-season is a critical part of that process.

“It’s a big part of what we do,” Dungy said. “You can get a lot of individualized work. You can make a lot of growth. I really think that’s why a lot of young guys improve so much between their first and second year and between their second and third year.

“(A player such as cornerback) Kelvin Hayden can come in and sit down with (secondary coach) Alan Williams all spring, talk through different things and see exactly how it’s supposed to be done, watch video, watch cutups and grow and learn. Then, he’s ready to blossom in training camp.”

The Colts’ approach during this off-season will be slightly different than past off-seasons, Dungy said. He said the idea will be to work more with individuals and not focus as much on team activities.

“Probably our biggest goal this year is to get our young guys as much work as they can and we’ll get to see that improvement from those second- and third-year guys,” Dungy said. “That’s going to be our focus, I think, this year – more individualized, not as much group stuff, not as much in classroom situations.

“We’re going to tailor it a lot to our younger guys. We have a good core group of guys and we haven’t changed a lot of what we’re going to do offensively and defensively. A lot of it will be working with and getting those young guys to learn the ins and outs of their position.”

The idea, Dungy said, is to get the young players prepared for the OTAs, in which most veterans participate. The OTAs sessions typically feature more team drills and will run the final two weeks of May and first two weeks of June.

“It’s kind of getting the young guys and the new guys we signed up to date on what we do, so we can go into summer school and function pretty smoothly,” Dungy said. “It’s kind of a part-whole type of thing, where they see how it works for them individually and then you put it together as a group in summer school and see how it would look. Summer school is where you really count on your veterans to relate to the guys how we do things.

“Many people overlook that part of it. When they say, ‘How is your team going to get better?,’ they think that means, ‘Who are you going to bring in who’s different?’ as opposed to, ‘How do you get the guys who are already here playing better?’ Our coaches are able to do that quite well.”

The Official Website of the Indianapolis Colts

[The General]

Colts to Open Lucas Oil Stadium, 2008 Season against Chicago Bears

PALM BEACH, Fla. - The regular-season opening of Lucas Oil Stadium will be a nationally-televised occasion.

It will be a prime-time occasion, too.

The Colts, who have been a regular on prime-time television in recent seasons, will open the NFL regular season on prime-time, national television for a fifth consecutive season, opening 2008 with a home game against the Chicago Bears.

The game will be televised nationally on NBC as part of the NFL's Kickoff Weekend, the scheduled for which was announced on

Monday at the 2008 League Meetings, being held at The Breakers this week.

That game will be the regular-season opener for Lucas Oil Stadium, the new state-of-the-art stadium in downtown Indianapolis.

Indianapolis opened the 2004 regular season at New England on a Thursday Night. They then opened 2005 and 2006 with victories at Baltimore and the New York Giants, respectively, before playing host to the 2007 Thursday Night opener. The Colts beat the New Orleans Saints in the 2007 opener.

The Colts beat the Bears, 29-17, in Super Bowl XLI in Miami Gardens, Fla., in February 2006.

The Official Website of the Indianapolis Colts

[The General]

To Tony Dungy, most of the issues are wait-and-see deals.

Dungy, the Colts’ head coach, said he’s still considering the pros and cons of at least two of the key topics being discussed at the 2008 NFL Owners Meetings: reseeding the NFL playoffs, and a proposed rule to legislate how low a player’s hair may hang.

One issue Dungy, though, is very much decided upon:

The integrity of the game.

“The (NFL) commissioner (Roger Goodell) had a discussion about that this morning,” Dungy said Monday during a break at the 2008 League Meetings, which are being held through Wednesday at The Breakers resort in Palm Beach.

“I think he’s right. I think it’s very important for us. Whatever measures he feels like we have to take to safeguard that, I’m behind him.”

The integrity of the game has been a primary issue in the early days of this year’s League Meetings, with many coaches and team executives speaking in favor of a recent proposal by Goodell.

In a recent letter to the NFL’s Competition Committee, Goodell proposed strengthening enforcement procedures for violations. The committee took no specific action, but agreed in principle to the proposal, which included a "whistleblower" provision that would protect anyone reporting illegal activity.

“I’m 100 percent behind it – as is every member of the committee,” said Colts President Bill Polian, a member of the NFL’s prestigious Competition Committee.

Jim Irsay, the Colts’ Owner and Chief Executive Officer, said Goodell in nearly two years in office has taken solid steps to preserve such integrity.

This past season, Goodell penalized the New England Patriots and Head Coach Bill Belichick for videotaping defensive signals against the New York Jets in the 2008 regular-season opener, fining Belichick $500,000 and taking away from the Patriots a first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Irsay said of the Commissioner’s proposal. “I think you have to be proactive. Roger’s been that way in terms of addressing any issues that have come up.”

Said Dungy, “I think it’s important for our fans to have the assurance that everything is on a level playing field and above board. It would have been nice if it never came up and

never became an issue, but since it has, I think we need to address it.”

The NFL owners also this week are expected to vote on several other issues, including a proposal by the Kansas City Chiefs to regulate how long a player’s hair may extend down his back.

Dungy said he has yet to finalize his view on the matter.

“My initial feeling is it’s not something we should be involved in, but they are looking at it from the standpoint of uniform, so I’m rethinking the idea,” Dungy said.

Another major proposal expected to be voted upon would give a wild-card team a chance to play host to a first-round playoff game.

Under the current playoff system, the two division winners with the best record in each conference get a bye, with the other two division winners being seeded No. 3 and 4 and receiving a first-round home game. Under the existing system, the two wild-card teams get the No. 5 and 6 seeds and play on the road in the first round and – if they advance – in the second round, too.

Under the proposed system, the Nos. 3-6 seeds would be slotted by record, with the three and four seeds hosting first-round games regardless of placement within the division.

The division winners would have a tiebreaker edge over wild-card qualifiers, meaning a division-winning team with an 11-5 record would play host to a wild-card team with the same record.

“I like the idea, but I do think we have to really acknowledge the fact that the division championship means something,” Dungy said. “To me, if we’re going to seed just according to record, then we can slot the teams up both ways, but we shouldn’t talk about division championships. Just put the best teams with the best records in the playoff. I would be for one or the other, but I’m not for maintaining division and still having the division winners, but then saying it doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day.

Said Polian, “There are strong arguments on both sides and you have to respect the arguments on both sides. My personal take is that it’s an owners’ issue. It’s an owner’s issue and there are strong reasons both ways. There are people who believe very strongly that if you win the division you should have the home game. There are people who believe that the record is what ought to determine it.

“There are statistics and arguments you can make both ways.”

Colts.com

[The General]

[The General]

A GREAT FIT

By John Oehser - Colts.com

Clark Happy to Have Long-Term Deal with Colts

INDIANAPOLIS – He hoped it would work out, thought it would work out, and overall, he had a pretty strong feeling things would turn out for the best.

But Dallas Clark didn’t know for sure.

So, Clark – the Colts’ sixth-year tight end – never assumed in January and early February he would sign a long-term deal, and although he assumed he would be with the franchise next season, he never assumed the Colts would make him part of their core,