With the 27th Pick in the 2009 Stampede Blue Community Mock Draft, Indianapolis selects...

#1. Our O wasn’t built around a pass first idea. It was built around Peyton Manning’s decision making and Edgerrin James amazing abilities.

#2. Whats wrong with Joseph Addai? He is a less talented version of Edgerrin James. Edge said it himself a few years back I cant find the interview now but he said it. Here’s my case for JA.

Edgerrin James, in his rookie year ran the ball 369 times compared to JA’s 226. If JA runs the ball 369 times and averages 4.8 he runs for 1,771 thats better than Edge’s best year. Granted Edge was more healthy his back up was (and everyone should know this…) Keith Elias. Elias took 18 carries that year, Edge took the rest.

If you take away 171 of Dominic Rhodes carries and give them (and even dom’s YPC over those 171) to JA, JA’s stat line would have looked like this:
397 Carries 1662 Yards 4.2 YPC and an estimated 13 TD’s. Not too shabby.
No JA wouldn’t have held up, no doubt. But thats why Dom was there. Talent wise JA is good. He does need a capable guy to step in and take some carries just so he stays fresh. He was playing hurt this year. He isn’t bad just frail.

#3. Edge caught alot of balls no doubt, but Peytons other options were no where near the level that they are now. Even still in 2004 (our best year offensively, ever) Running Backs caught 60 passes, the next year 2005 the running backs caught 60 passes, I even went so far back as 2001 (the backs did catch more balls then because our WR’s and TE’s weren’t what they are now) and when Edge went down pass catching from the RB position did not.

Since Edge left in 2005 The Colts RB’s have averaged 70 catches a year, compared to the three years before that when the backs put up 67 catches a year. (thats actually an improvement.)

When we had Edge most of you probably considered him a good pass catching RB (I would too). However most of you probably wouldn’t consider Dom a great pass catching RB, but when paired with JA they have been great together. Better than the Duo of Edge and Dom. (PS Dom didn’t even play for us in 2007 KKeith did and JA Carried 2005’s RB Rec #s).

My point is this, if we pair a guy with decent hands (ala Dom) our RB’s will catch as many if not more balls than they did during the later Edge in Indy years (you know the ones that we had more than just 88). We dont need a bWest out there catching balls.

With that being said JA is our guy, he can catch, he doesn’t suck, but he does break some what easy, meaning that we need a #2 (a 1.5 if you will). And I seriously feel that we have needs bigger than RB as our #1 but Beanie Wells would work fine. As long as he can concentrate long enough to catch a pass (something KKeith could not do) he’ll be fine. He can pound the rock in short yardage and goal line situations he’s big enough to block everyone but Super Mario and as I’ve said our RB Catch production has not/ will not drop off as long as JA and someone not terrible is there.

So after I’ve written all of this I’m sure I will be argued and thats fine. I know without a doubt that stats dont lie and I’m right but hey, you guys can fight about it all day for all I care. Its not like any of us get paid to actually evaluate any of this anyway.