To me, the NFC has gotten much stronger with the Saints, Vikings, Packers and the NFC East always knocking on the door. The question is not if the Colts will make it to another SB, the question is if we will win it all beating a strong NFC team. I expect the Colts to be back in the big dance one of the next 2 years for sure.

Hey, as a tidbit for draft junkies, here is a list I put together:

Here is a list of players the Colts have expressed interest in, the Pro Days attended so far and the sources (this list will be augmented with poster contributions if I miss any):

Pro Days attended
Fordham (March 9, [url]www.kffl.com[/url]) – candidates from Fordham that I found were John Skelton, QB, 6’5", 245 (could this be Sorgi’s replacement and does that mean they do not like Painter’s progress?)

WR/KR
Donald Jones (Youngstown – March 16, [url]www.kffl.com[/url]),
Armanti Edwards (Appalachian State – March 17, [url]www.kffl.com[/url]),
Freddie Barnes (Bowling Green – March 17, [url]www.kffl.com[/url])

OL
OT – Jeff Linkenbach (Cincinnati – March 17, [url]www.kffl.com[/url])

LB
Vuna Tuihalamaka (Univ. of Arizona – March 17, [url]www.kffl.com[/url])

CB
Devin McCourty (Rutgers – March 16, [url]www.kffl.com[/url])

Reggie’s knee wasn’t 100%. He ran 730+ routes during the season. 137 of them in the playoffs. If you pass so much, you need to rotate 4 guys, at least.

We’ve been playing the blame game for more than a month now. Personally, I’m over it. Baskett’s gone. Polian and co. are getting bigger on the line so hopefully Mike Hart or whomever can run 1 frickin yard, and maybe Caldwell has learned his lesson about coaching not to lose in the biggest game of the season.

Let’s face it, Reggie ran a less than stellar route on a play that Porter himself has admitted that he was prepared to jump, and Manning telegraphed it all the way. It was just one of those plays where everything that can go wrong for one team does, and everything that can go right for the other team does. If Manning and Reggie had that one back I’m sure they would have keyed in on Porter and gone with a Sluggo to take advantage of his aggressiveness, or maybe Peyton would have looked to Collie running underneath, or Dallas wide open up the seam.

That’s all to say, as much as I was devastated by the loss, if any team is ready to be back in that position next year and better prepared for it, it’s the Colts. And I’m glad that Wayne and Brackett are already carrying that mentality with them.

Now, let’s see our Special Teams finally work on preparing for those random onsides kicks. Between Fisher and Sean Payton, I’ve seen enough of that crap.

However, when that #1 guy leaves, very rarely, if EVER, does that #2 guy ascend and become a comparable #1 guy.

Off the top of my head, I’d say TO going from #2 behind Rice to All Pro, and Torry Holt going from #2 behind Bruce to the probowl both qualify. There are probably a few others in recent times as well.

Back to the receivers, one key sub-plot of camp in 2010 is will Garçon retain his starting job? From a talent standpoint, he has more ability than Gonzo. In addition, Collie is a better slot receiver than Gonzo. This sort of makes the former first round pick out of Ohio State a bit of an odd duck on the roster. He is getting paid more than Garçon and Collie, yet right now I cannot see how he starts over either one of them.

From my perspective Gonzo looked better in both positions. He ran better routes than either guy, he has better hands than either guy, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he was faster than either guy (his 40 times are comparble to Garcons and faster than Collies, for what its worth).

Garcon maybe a better blocker, but he loses some of that due to occasional boneheaded-ness.

I’ll buy that Gonzo may be rusty, or that his injury could have done long term damage that will make him lose the starting spot, but prior to his injury he was better than both Garcon and Collie, in either WR position.

Gonzo is probably the second best receiver at everything. Garcon’s probably faster, Collie probably has better hands, Wayne probably runs better routs. But in my opinion, Gonzo is the second best at all of those things, except maybe tied with Wayne for best hands. To me that sounds like a pretty good overall package, as opposed to having to say “Oh well hes a good slot receiver”, like we do with PG and AC, you can’[t typecast him or Reggie into a single WR role.

And while Reggie Wayne did run a bad route on the Tracy Porter pick, it’s not like the route was Randy Moss-like. It just wasn’t “perfect,” and Porter was smart enough to make the right read at the right time in the right conditions. If Wayne runs a better route and Porter does the exact same thing, we’re talking a ten yard Colts gain and an eventual TD to tie the game.

Look, that pick was in the process of happening before Reggie even made the cut. Porter himself said that he knew what the route was from the formation. He read the play, not the route. Why does no-one writing sports articles these days seem to grasp that?

Use this footage, and start it at the 0:16 mark. Reggie is starting the route, and Porter should be in a hard backpedal. But he isn’t, and before Reggie even makes the cut, Porter is shuffling inside. Why does the route look so weird if Reggie didn’t run it incorrectly? Well, he’s looking at Porter, right in front of him, doing something that a corner shouldn’t be doing, namely jumping his route. The route was over and done with by the time Porter started moving to the inside, and when Reggie plants that first foot in the ground, he’s just playing defense at that point. The best he could have done at that point was somehow make a tackle.