Countdown to Colts Training Camp 2010: Fighting for roster spots- Andy Alleman
by Brad Wells on Jul 7, 2010 2:22 PM EDT
in Countdown to Colts Training Camp 2010
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PrintWe were all a bit shocked when the Colts released their best interior offensive lineman in March, Ryan Lilja.
Since 2003, Lilja has been the stalwart at the guard spot, and the team's unquestioned best at that spot. He was also a classic Howard Mudd-type player: Sub-300 pounder, quick feet, technically proficient, and tough-minded. But, with Mudd now retired, it seems reasonably certain that Lilja did not fit in with the plans new offensive line coach Pete Metzelaars has in store for the Colts in 2010.
I mean, you don't just cut good linemen for no damn good reason whatsoever unless they either clash with the coach or don't fit a new philosophy.
Almost immediately after Lilja was cut, he was scooped up by the Kansas City Chiefs, the team he initially played for prior to joining the Colts in 2003. The story goes that back in Tony Dungy's second season with the Colts as head coach, then-Chiefs President Carl Peterson accidentally cut Lilja following training camp. The move really pissed off Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil, or so the story goes. The Colts made a claim for Lilja, picked him up, and he started almost immediately.
It's worth noting that the Colts beat the Chiefs that season in the playoffs due in large part to their offensive line dominating the Chiefs d-line. I'm sure that pissed of Coach Vermeil too.
Today, Andy Alleman is Ryan Lilja's replacement, for all intents and purposes. Alleman was a member of the before-mentioned Kansas City Chiefs last year, but when the 2009 season concluded the team opted not to tender the 6'4, 302 pound guard. The Chiefs had traded with the Miami Dolphins to pick up Alleman. Prior to the Dolphins, he was a third round pick of the New Orleans Saints. The Colts represent Alleman's fourth team in four years. Right now, he is at a crossroads in his career, and he knows it.
The bottom line is Alleman must win a spot on this Colts roster or his professional football career as a player could be over.
The good news for Alleman is that he is on a team that promoted open competition for starting roster spots. They also just so happen to have two HUGE, GLARING HOLES at the offensive guard spots. On the roster right now are nine players who can play the position, including former starting left tackle Tony Ugoh (who the Colts starting using at guard during OTAs).
In order for Alleman to stand out from this very crowded group of interior lineman, he must show a "nasty side" as a blocker, especially on running downs.
Despite strong emphasis on the run last year, and three very good running backs (including two first round picks), the Colts were awful running the ball. I made all kinds of excuses last season for this, focusing mostly on the running backs because that was the area everyone seemed to think the problem was coming from. The truth was the line blocking was awful. The Colts were second-to-last in football with a 3.5 yards-per-run average and dead last with an 81 yards a game average.
With a passing offense that features a four-time MVP quarterback and the best WR corps in football, an inability to run the ball more than 4 yards a carry is simply not acceptable. Thus, all the changes on the o-line this year.
The problem Alleman faces is that he doesn't seem to be all that good opening holes along the d-line. While he has not played in Indy's system before, while with the Chiefs he ranked -5.1 as a run blocker, according to Pro Football Focus. His only good game last year seemed to be against the Browns, where he played all 73 offensive snaps and did a solid job in run blocking. Chiefs back Jamal Charles ran for 154 yards on 25 carries that day. Not bad.
Of course, the Chiefs defense surrendered over 286 yards and 3 TDs to Browns runningback Jerome Harrison, but that's obviously not Alleman's fault. If you watch the highlights of the game, you see some pretty good blocking by Alleman, especially on the long TD run by Charles.
It's a very crowded field for the two starting guard spots, and in that field are recent draft picks Mike Pollak, Jacques McClendon, and Jaimie Thomas. There's also last year's starter, Kyle DeVan, who likely has no intention for going back to Arena II football after starting in Super Bowl 44. If Alleman wants to beat out these guys for a starting spot, which he likely needs to do in order to stay on this team, he's got to destroy blockers at the point of attack during camp and pre-season.
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" . . .he's got to destroy people at the point of attack"
Hard for a leopard to change his spots. If three previous teams found him lacking in the nasty department, I don’t believe it’s in his DNA. My money is on Ugoh and Pollack to start at guard, primarily because they both have the talent and some nastiness, and Pete will bring out their best. God bless Howard Mudd, but he is very old school, and it’s time to turn the page on the staff.
Just Personal Opinion.....
But I think DeVan solidifies his hold on the RG slot, and McClendon takes the LG slot solidly. We keep Alleman as backup guard, along with Thomas, and Richard is our technical backup center as he started in place of Saturday a few years ago now, but is still here. Ugoh won’t compete for the Guard spot I think (he will fight for it, but really probably has his heart set on the LT position), and so long as Terry stays healthy, we keep Terry as our backup RT. Hopefully we can get Ugoh competitive enough we can transition off Diem finally. I think Pollak may be done. We turn over a significant portion of the Roster, and with the amount of face time Pollak has had, he has just dissapointed me, and besides, of the 8 people competing for guard spots, 7 of them all have center experience, so its not like we are in desperate need of a Saturday replacement. Anyway, that gives us CJ and Ugoh at LT, McClendon and Thomas at LG, Saturday and Richard at C, DeVan and Alleman at RG, and Diem and Terry at RT. We may keep one extra if they show real potential though.
"I shall not fear. Fear is the Mind killer. Fear is the little death that leads to total obliteration. I will face my fear and let it pass through me. When the fear is gone, there shall be nothing. Only I shall remain."
-Frank Herbert "Dune" (1965)
Wow, can I change my bet?
Jamkel, you make a very compelling case. Whoever the starters end up being, competition in training camp should raise the level of play substantially. And perhaps one shall prove to be the Kwizatz Haderach!! :-)
One more reason to cut a player
BBS, you posit you don’t cut a good lineman unless they clash with the coach or don’t fit the philosophy. I think there’s one more good reason: money. Lilja’s cap number was over $4M in ‘10. Part of that was the roster bonus the Colts paid him on the way out, but surely he would be more expensive that Alleman (whose ’10 number isn’t on Coltscap.com yet). When #18 is getting the biggest contract ever and Bethea and Brackett got healthy increases, I suspect they feel they had to cut where they could. If Lilja was a Mudd-type player, not a Metzelaars type (whatever that turns out to be) then perhaps that in combination with the money explains Ryan’s new address.
The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in the stars, but in ourselves.
Doubtful about Alleman and Terry
I’m in the “if Alleman was so great, why do teams keep giving up on him” camp. I am really hopeful that McClendon is going to win a starting spot in TC. But I also think that Pollack can put things together this year. By all reports, he’s kept working hard despite his disappointing career so far. Plus, I do see a lot of value of having an intelligent vet with three years in the system around to be an emergency center (if Saturday should go down). If I had to guess, I’d say Pollack starts at LG and McClendon starts at RG. I think a self-made man like DeVan should be back-up RG, and Alleman and Thomas should battle it out for back-up LG. I’d have my money on Thomas because he’s under contract for longer than Alleman’s one year.
As far as Terry goes, I think it’s tricky to cast him as back-up RT. The problem is: I believe Ugoh and CJ are both on the final year of their contracts. Diem is signed through 2011, but he’s scheduled to make around $6MM next year. Terry is on a one-year contract. If you keep those four, only Diem would be signed past this year, and his salary will be prohibitive. I’m sure Polian would much rather see someone like Cadogan or Tyshovnytsky get that 4th OT spot, so he could have someone who’s guaranteed to return. Plus, Ugoh is a very capable back-up, so there’s pretty darned good depth there. Next year you’d probably have to resign CJ and draft someone to compete for the RT spot…but that’s a better scenario that having all 4 OTs be basically FAs.
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