When will Jeff Saturday return? Photo: Reuters

It's hard to get jazzed about an upcoming season when players are dropping like flies left and right. And it seems every year we get yet another article bemoaning the state of preseason. I personally take a different approach to preseason. I do think 4 games are fine. It's that 5th game (the Hall of Fame game) that's just not needed. But 4 are needed because, despite what fans think or know, coaches need those games to evaluate talent. And if a marquee player gets hurt in preseason, then oh well. He could have just as easily been hurt on the first play of the first regular season game. He could get hurt in a mid-season game at San Diego, damaging your chances to repeat as World Champions. He can get hurt anytime, anywhere, for any dumb ass reason imaginable.

Injuries happen. They suck, but they are part of the package deal. Next man up, and move on.

One of the reasons I don't like to focus too much on injuries is because if one does, they will go crazy. We could sit here right now and tear our hair out over losing T.J. Rushing for the season and possibly losing Jeff Saturday for an extended period of time. Or, we could just ease our minds with the fact that the Colts are a very deep, very talented team that is well coached. They are fine. And here's why:

• Indy has 3 or 4 players who can step in and play center if Saturday is gone for an extended period of time. Right now, Steve Justice is the back-up center, but rookies Mike Pollak and Jamey Richard also played center at college. In addition, Ryan Lilja has practiced some at center. Though Pollak likely won't play center for Indy this year, I did find some interesting info on him from an Arizona State fan. SB Nation started a new blog a month ago (and like a jackass, I forgot to welcome him when he started). House of Sparky is our new Arizona State Sun Devils blog, run by ASUBoyd. I asked ASYBoyd about Mike Pollak, who played his college ball at AZ State. This was AZBoyd's answer:

  It is interesting he has been moved to guard, because at 6’4, ~300 he seems like he would be a tad undersized against some of the AFC’s DTs (Jacksonville comes to mind…) You guys seem to run a zone blocking scheme if I remember though, and that would be something he could excel in. He is a very smart player and even graduated early. He also has impressive strength and a great first pop, and was always sound with his technique. He never gives up on blocks, but has difficulty sustaining them against quicker players. He played Center here, obviously, so he was never very adept at pulling or roaming to pick up a linebacker.

  Pollak was definitely the lone bright spot on a historically bad 2007 ASU offensive line. We gave up 55 sacks, and the only player who remained static along the line was Pollak.

  Overall, he is a very solid player and will definitely be missed on an extremely young ASU line this fall. Good pickup for the Colts!

  That's just a little reminder that the Colts has some very solid depth on the o-line, and that if some guys happen to go down, this area is as deep and talented as it has ever been.
• Dallas Clark is Dallas Clark, and Jacob Tamme has wowed some fans with some impressive preseason games catching the football. But it looks like second year man Gijon Robinson is now the #2 TE. Without question, he is the H-Back or FB the Colts use on their offense, but there is a very specific reason why Gijon is starting. From the ever-knowledgeable Rick Gosselin at the Dallas Morning News:

  The Indianapolis Colts love what TE Dallas Clark brings to the table in the passing game. They've been pleasantly surprised this summer by what former practice squad player Gijon Robinson has brought to the table in the running game. "He's is the best blocking tight end we've had the whole time I've been here," Colts coach Tony Dungy said.

  Straight from Dungy; Gijon can block like no other. We've also seen him make some nice grabs over the middle. TE depth this year is as deep as it has ever been. More the merrier.
• T.J. Rushing looked like he was poised for a breakout year, but a knee injury against the Bills last Sunday ended his 2008 season. However, the Colts have had a nice stable of KRs and PRs in camp and at practice. Guys like Courtney Roby (who some Colts folks at camp told me they were high on) and Pierre Garcon have both looked good in preseason returning kicks and punts. Though Garcon has shown an annoying tendency to muff punts, Dungy has said that it because Garcon gets too excited when he's returning kicks. He needs to just calm down, and he'll be fine. Dungy seems to rave about Garcon whenever he talks about the return game. This is good, because it was a reason Garcon was drafted in the first place.

So, as you can see, there is still a lot of depth on this team. Injuries happen and we deal, but the key is having someone who can step up and do the job. Don't let the bitterness of last season cloud your enthusiasm. Last year, Bill Polian did not do a good job shoring up depth at pass rusher for the Colts, and it cost them. I'm sorry, but any team that cannot rush the passer might as well not even dress for the game. It's that important.

This year, with Dwight Freeney healthy and rookies like Marcus Howard and Curtis Johnson in the mix, the Colts will be able to rush the passer. They also should be fine filling spots at other areas due to injury. I don't think this is like last year. Bill Polian rarely makes the same mistake twice.

Have a little faith, friends.

Some wonderfully welcome good news:

Safety Bob Sanders and defensive end Dwight Freeney will make their first appearance of the preseason Sunday evening when the Indianapolis Colts meet the Buffalo Bills in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Each began practicing earlier this week after missing all of training camp while recovering from surgery. Sanders had a procedure on his right shoulder, while Freeney had surgery on his left foot.

I know it's a pre-season game, but with the new stadium and the return of these two guys... I'm gettin' PUMPED!

Do not attempt to cramp Dwight's style.

First off, small editorial note: JakeTheSnake just started university, which means his schedule for late-August, early September will be a little out of whack. So, you might see his weekly "Know Your Colts History" column appearing on Saturdays for a few weeks. Eventually, Jake will get his stuff together and get back on his regular schedule. But for now, please rest assured he is still around and looking for more things to make fun of.

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm tired of talking about Peyton Manning's knee. The word bursa sac is starting to become a four letter word. So, let's put that aside today and talk about some positive things surrounding the team, because lost in all the talk about sacs, swelling, rumors, and rehab was the fact that Dwight Freeney and Bob Sanders returned to practice this week. In fact, both men seem to be on a mission to have the Colts defense make a mark on the NFL. Some nice articles here and here give us some insight into how these guys have worked through injuries and are looking to make big strides in 2008.

For Freeney, the road back has been long. His foot injury at San Diego last November was the death knell for the Colts' Super Bowl chances. When he went down (and Robert Mathis hurt his knee), the Colts lost their pass rush. No pass rush = no playoff wins. For the first time since November of 2007, Freeney practiced this week:

He said he still experiences pain occasionally in the foot but added he is getting close to 100 percent.

Yet it's been apparent during the preseason that the Colts are prepared to ease Freeney back into the mix. They moved Raheem Brock, a starting tackle the past two seasons, to left end and flipped starting left end Robert Mathis to Freeney's spot at right end. For now, Freeney is listed as Mathis' backup.

For those still wondering why Brock was switched to DE on 1st and 2nd down, this is another reason why. For the first month of the season, we should expect to see Freeney used as a situational pass rusher. They'll bring him in on passing downs, and mix him with Mathis and Marcus Howard to create a consistent rush. After about a month, they'll ease him back into starting and playing every down. He's going to experience pain in his foot all year. It's just part of the deal. The best way to deal with that pain is to limit snaps early so he is fresh and strong late. The last few years, Freeney has gotten worn down a bit. The Tasmanian Devil can only spin so many times.

For Bob Sanders, last year was his coming out party. We've always known Bob is one of the best defensive players in the NFL. The league saw it, somewhat, in 2006 and saw it in full force in 2007. Bob is one of only two safeties to win Defensive Player of the Year. The last one was Ronnie Lott, arguably the best safety ever. That's impressive company, and like Lott, other players around the NFL are speaking highly of Bob:

"He's the heart and soul of that defense," Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor "He's relentless. He runs all over the place. They know that. He roams and roams. You have to put a hat on him. You have to account for him."

Bob is ready to explode!

What people always like to bring up with Bob Sanders are his injuries. Personally, I don't think Bob has been any more or less injured than many other marquis NFL safeties. Bob missed part of his rookie season with a foot injury sustained in college. It's a reason why he was a 2nd round pick. He then played all of 2005, and then missed much of 2006 before coming back for the playoffs and winning a Super Bowl. He played all but one game last season.

Now, compare that with Pittsburgh's Troy Polomalu, who missed three games in 2006 and was injured pretty much all of last season, missing 5 starts and posting career lows in tackles and grabbing 0 INTs. Philly's Brian Dawkins has done a tremendous job dominating from the safety position throughout his career, which has spanned 13 years. But look at the first 4-5 seasons of his career and you'll see they are riddled with him missing games here and there with various injuries.

Safety is a high collision, high contact position. If your starting safety can start 15 regular season games for you, that's gold. Even the great ones rarely get 13-14 starts.

That said, Bob knows that injuries are part of the game, and taking a measured approach to them is all one can do, and that one should never try to be something they aren't:

"What I do with my body it's hard to not get injured," Sanders said. "But who's to say if I was 6-3, 235 pounds that I wouldn't have those type of injuries. With my body, and the way I play, you have to expect some things are going to come up. You pray and hope that they won't happen, but they sometimes do. I can't change the way I play. People expect me to be Bob Sanders. I can't just slow down. The crazy thing is it is noticed when you try to change. People love you, but they know when you're trying to protect yourself. I go to Pro Bowls and become the Defensive Player of the Year because of the way I play."

With Robert Mathis also healthy and with Freddie Keiaho fully recovered from a nagging elbow injury he dealt with all last season, This Colts defense looks poised to do some special things in 2008. Already, I think it is the best defense in the AFC South, especially when you consider it ranked 2nd in points allowed in 2007 and is returning all of their starters. Several of those starters were rookies in 2007, like Ed Johnson and Keyunta Dawson.

Later today, the Colts will hold their final practice as they get ready for their "dress rehearsal" pre-season game against the Buffalo Bills. After that practice, we'll have a good idea as to whether or not Bob and Dwight will play a little in Saturday's game at The Lube.

I enjoyed my first Fantasy Football draft this weekend with a bunch of my friends from college.  Well, enjoyed is a relative term.  I had a rough go of it:

• It is a 16 team league, which is too big for a football league, but I'll grin and bear it.
• I had the 13th pick, which is just awful.  As I learned throughout the draft, reaches were too much of a reach, and every player I wanted got snatched up just before I picked him.
• It was a draft with Individual Defensive players, and an FYI for anyone using Yahoo (you shouldn't, as FanHouse looks much better), their defensive player rankings are awful.  I did get Bob "S'ova" Sanders and Freeney, counting on the fact they are both healthy.
• I left before the draft was over, and they did not draft me a kicker.  Oh well.

Then comes to my adventure with the QB position.  I'm really high on Eli this season, and he was still sitting around in Round 7.  However, this was at the beginning of the round, and he didn't last to #13.  I basically had my team set, minus the QB, but nobody was worthy of a QB pick at this point.

In round 8, however, I couldn't wait any longer.  12 of the other teams already had a QB, so I had to take one before my next pick (which was 24 players later).  I was looking at who was left, and my gut told me I had to take one guy.  I was already frustrated, and needed to take a flyer on a feast or famine guy.  I made this comment to my buddies right before I picked:

"I hate this pick with every bone in my body, but I need to take a chance"

I took Vince Young.

This is, of course, merely hours after he looked absolutely horrible against the Raiders.  However, I did not have internet access until the draft, so I had no idea about it.  I only read BBS gushing over Young, which was enough for me to take a chance on the guy.

I'm counting on Young improving at least to 1:1 on his TD:INT ratio, plus the fact that they are going to let him run near the red zone, getting me TDs.  I did take Jeff Garcia and Matt Leinart, also hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. 

I feel dirty, and need a shower now.  Luckily Young will be "throwing" to Reggie Wayne.

Lots of fans turned out for the last day of camp yesterday. And after Tony Dungy blew the whistle ending the morning practice, the team exited the field to this:

According to Rose-Hulman officials, 22,308 fans attended practice the last three-and-a-half weeks, the second-highest total in the 10 seasons the Colts have held camp at the school. On Friday’s final day, the fans in attendance gave the team a standing ovation.

“That’s a little unusual, but it was fun,” Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy said. “I thought we had a good camp, this part of it. Now, we’re into Phase 2, which is to see if we can play a little bit better in the games and go back and get ourselves geared up in Indianapolis.

“But I thought this part of it was very successful.”

This was a tough camp, folks. No Dwight Freeney. No Bob Sanders. No Peyton Manning. Not having Manning at any of the practices was the biggest difference between this year's camp and caps of the past. We take him for granted, and we damn well shouldn't.

But not having these ace players around helped many of the reserves get valuable practice and development time. It's helped forge some chemistry, push players to their limit, and create a better football team. This is one of the deepest, most talented Colts teams I've seen in recent memory. We'll see how they look in the real games, but the promise of great things is definitely there.

Pre-season game #3 is tonight. Look for the open thread at 7:15 pm Eastern.

You know, it's kind of funny sometimes.  We devote all sorts of time to talking about the special teams, the linebackers, and everything else.  While they're all important, when all is said and done, it all comes back to #18. 

Sure, Peyton's had some games where he hasn't been at his best and still gotten the W at the end of the day, and there's been other times where he's put on dazzling performances only to have it negated by poor play from the rest of his team.  But many more times than not, if Peyton is successful, so is the rest of the team.  As much as I love guys like Bob Sanders, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Marlin Jackson, Joseph Addai, Gary Brackett, no one has a greater impact week in and week out on whether this team wins or loses than Peyton Manning.

Maybe the previous paragraph is the most "well, duh" paragraph in the history of Stampede Blue, but I think it's important to remind ourselves from time to time that we have (arguably) one of the 5 greatest players of all-time playing for us this season.  With all of that said, this is going to be all I'm space I'm going to devote to Peyton in this preview, because we all know that we're going to get another spectacular season out of him like we do every season.  The start of the season might be a little more sluggish than what we've been used to, but Peyton is way too good to let a bursa sac keep him from playing at an elite level.

Now, as for my predictions and thoughts for what we can expect from everyone else...

Continue reading this post »

For the last few months, we all have made lists of questions we hoped would get answered by the time Kickoff Weekend rolls around. We looked for answers to these questions in the draft, mini-camps, free agency, and now training camp. After attending camp and getting "insider" info from people in the know within the team and fans still attending camp, I've got a pretty good idea of how this roster is shaping up. Mind you, I'm providing these insights with big, blue-tinted glasses. I could be dead wrong about everything, but in years past I've been pretty much on the money when it comes to evaluating talent. Just ask Bears fans. Also keep in mind that much of my opinion is formulated from information I trust, and I very much trust my own two eyes.

So, all that crap said, here's a few answers to some of your burning questions (this is a monster post, which I needed to place on the flip):

Continue reading this post »

The Colts return to camp today, and when they do they'll likely see a smile on the face of their head coach. Why? Because despite the final score of the Hall of Fame game Sunday, Tony Dungy was very, very pleased with the performance of his team. So pleased in fact that he thinks that was the best job his team has ever done in pre-season:

“It’s probably the best first game we’ve played since I’ve been here. It’s a shame the score ended up the way it did, but we got a number of things done. Some of the young guys we hoped would play well really did step up and play well. It was really encouraging in a lot of areas.”

Now obviously, pre-season wins will get you a nice big pile of Jack Squat. But, it does mean something when your coach of seven years thinks last Sunday's game was the best played pre-season game of his tenure. It reinforces what I saw at camp, and what many of you have said as well.

This is a very, very deep team that could do some special things this season.

Dungy singled out some players, many of them obvious from the game. He praised Mike Hart for his hard running and blocking. He also talked warmly about Roy Hall, Pierre Garcon, and Devin Aromashodu. But where Dungy seemed damn near ecstatic was when he talked about the performance of his o-line:

Dungy said veteran reserve linemen Corey Hilliard and Michael Toudouze played well, but the draft selections were particularly notable.

“It was predominantly them on the inside – Mike, Steve and Jamey playing in those three inside spots,” Dungy said. “It was just a matter of everyone out there doing a good job.

“They played a lot. We wanted to see them, and they did a good job.”

Remember in year's past when the back-up offensive line would get the back-up QB killed? Not this year. After watching Jamey Richard in a game, I think this guy is a keeper as well. Dude has a serious mean streak. I also think Pollak is going to win that starting OG spot. I know Charlie Johnson started, but I didn't hear praise for Charlie after last Sunday's game.

We also got word that Peyton Manning's risk for infection in his knee is now gone, and he's 100% into rehab now. And after watching them on the practice field first hand, I can tell you that Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney are ready. The Colts aren't playing them because they don't want them to get hurt. Same is true for Marvin Harrison. He's fine. He's healthy. All three players look primed to do what they do: Dominate.

Seeing camp first hand really put my mind at ease on some very key questions. This is a deep team. The stars who were hurt last year are healthy. The offense has some serious weapons. Heck, I think the special teams units might actually look decent this year. But hey, one thing at a time.

You'll find that much of this recap borrows from bamock's excellent recap diary. Despite losing the game because the 3rd and 4th string defense made Colt Brennan look like Joe Montana, I actually turned off the tube feeling very, very good about the roster so far. Many things MasterRWayne and I saw at camp were implemented in this game, such as the onside kick to start. Like all pre-season games, you must take things with a grain of salt because, in the end, the games don't mean anything. What you can learn is how much do certain players want to succeed, and how deep is the talent pool. For the Colts, it seems this is a much deeper team than last year's squad, and there are some solid rookies who might unseat some established vets on this team. Here's what we saw:

• Let's get this out of the way: Jared Lorenzen sucked at camp and he sucked in the game. His "shot put" throwing motion causes the ball to come out late. He also seemed to deliberately trying to showcase himself rather than manage the game. Tom Moore was all over him after several throws. However, on the flipside...
  
• Quinn Gray looked impressive; more so than Jim Sorgi who went 7-10 on the opening drive. The difference between Sorgi and Gray is Gray can get the ball down the field and buy time with his feet. Sorgi's arm strength just isn't there, and while he was more accurate than I saw him in camp, he's not trying to drive the ball downfield. Most of his throws were dump offs or sideline throws. He did have one impressive 15-yarder to TE Gijon Robinson, who impressed.
• Most of you saw what I saw regarding the o-line. Remember year's past when back-up QBs would get hammered because the reserve o-linemen sucked hard. Last night, reserve linemen like Mike Pollak, Jamey Richard, Steve Justice, Michael Toudouze, and Dan Federkeil proved the Colts have a lot of excellent depth along the o-line. Polian wanted to boost up this area in the draft, and boy did he ever! Colts QBs had all day to throw, and the RBs can multiple holes to pick their way through.
• Mike Hart impressed me the most of any player. The kid ran like a man on fire. He lived up to his billing fighting for extra yardage AFTER someone ripped his helmet off. He displayed skill picking up the blitz, but what impressed the most was his burst. Hart took the hand-off, found his lane, and shot through like a bullet. He doesn't have breakaway speed, but he has a good burst through the line. He reminded me of Edgerrin James, especially since he is wearing #32. Hart is living up to his Michigan billing, and I can see why Dungy loves him.

It's still cool to watch Dom Rhodes run, even in pre-season

Photo: AP Photo, Mark Duncan

• Depth at WR is sick! Samuel Giguere didn't even play, yet I found myself worrying over who they will keep. Roy Hall, Devin Aromashodu, Onrea Jones, and Pierre Garcon all impressed. Garcon and Hall in particular made some excellent grabs.
  
• Though Washington QBs threw all over them, the defense in general played solid. Guys like starting MLB Victor Worsley won't make the practice squad. So, don't freak out by the gawdy Redskins QB numbers.
  
• Marcus Howard is a keeper. Dude is scary quick off the line with Freeney-like spin moves and a nose for the QB. He has 1.5 sacks in limited play. Same holds true for Curtis Johnson. Both are fast, fast, FAST speed rushers, and they are making me feel better about Indy's pass rushing depth.
• Special teams coverages looked solid all night. Other than the botched onside kick, I was pleased. Garcon's return looked good, especially since he looked so bad in camp this week.
• It was so cool to see Dom Rhodes out there. He spin move for extra yardage is still fun to watch.
• Jacob Tamme did some nice things, especially considering The Pillsbury Throwboy was launching the ball at him. Gijon Robinson has good hands, but is struggling to block. Dallas Clark is Dallas Clark: Arguably the best TE in football, along with Jason Witten.

I got the sense, reading comments from the open thread, that many of you had similar feelings about the game. This game, and much of what I've seen at camp, has helped me formulate answers to many of the questions you have about certain players (Is Roy Hall improved? Is Eric Foster legit? Do the Colts have depth at DE? Can they rush the passer? Etc.). I'm thinking that the answers to these and other questions are rounding out into good answers. This team seems very talented, and very deep. Offensively, it might get scary when Peyton gets back with the weapons they have. They might have given the best QB in football the best (and deepest) WR corps in football. Add to this the o-line depth and the emerging play of the RBs, and this offense looks primed to do some special things. With the injuries to the LBers on defense, it's hard to tell how that unit is rounding out. They key for them is still the health of Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney. But, all in all, the defense looks deeper and faster than last year.

I'll blog more about this game later today and this week. As always, for fun Redskins banter, check out Hogs Haven for their recap. Colts still have a ton of work to do, but they seem to be on their way to forming a very formidable roster.

Based on camp reporters from TheMatic and Aerostar193; articles posted on the Tribune Star and Indy Star websites, ESPN's own "blog"; and camp reports posted on ColtFreaks.com, I'll do my best to piece together early observations of players many of you have questions about. I'll cite the sources at the end of article:

• Philip Wheeler hurt is knee yesterday. After practice he was seen on the sideline with an ice wrap around his knee. This is a somewhat positive  sign that the injury is not too bad because if it was a pulled or torn tendon or ligament, he likely would not have been on the practice field sideline with ice on the knee. Apparently, the knee is "sore." Dungy elaborated on the injury (somewhat):

  "Wheeler has just irritation in the knee and [it’s] a condition he’s had that flared up. We’re hoping that it’s not too serious. Melvin Bullitt did have a little sprained thumb that they’re going to have to work on. He’s probably going to miss a few days, but nothing that should hold him out more than a week," the Colts coach said, adding that he doesn’t know how long Wheeler may be sidelined.

  
  
• Day 2 saw the running backs stand out as the players put the pads on for the first time in weeks. The backs working with the starting unit are Addai, Rhodes, and Mike Hart. Noticeably absent from working with the starting unit: Kenton Keith. They are using Hart the way the used James Mungro from 2002-2005. Hart is small, but hits the gaps in the line hard and with explosion. He is essentially a hybrid short yardage back, fullback.
  


• Mike Hart got his bell rung by Freddie Keiaho on one play. Fans in the stands cheered "Welcome to the NFL, rookie!"
  


• Most have said Roy Hall has looked impressive. The only person I've read who was not impressed with Hall is Aerostar193, which is not to say Aerostar193 is wrong in his assessment. Everyone else though has raved about Hall.
  


• Equally impressive has been Pierre Garcon. His routes are very crisp and his movement fluid. He is drawing comparisons to a young Marvin Harrison in terms of body type and route running.
  


• Speaking of Marvin Harrison, the early assessment of his work at camp is that the old Marvin is back and the league better "watch out." Roy Hall and Pierre Garcon, two young players, were amazed at how fast and well conditioned Harrison has looked:
  

  "Marvin looked excellent," Hall said. "He didn’t miss a beat. He looked extremely healthy. His knees looked fine. He’s running faster than ever. He looks good. I was excited to see him back out there and happy to see him out there. Marv was just out there being Marv, catching the ball and making big plays. He’ll continue to do that throughout the season."

  "I don’t see anything wrong with him," Garcon noted. "He’s quick and fast, extremely fast."

  Both Dominic Rhodes and Jeff Saturday, who have played with Marvin Harrison for over 7 years, say Harrison has a big chip on his shoulder because people have written him off because of his age.


• Eric Foster has drawn a ton of praise from both offensive and defensive coaches. He is especially stout against the run. More and more, Foster looks like a keeper and another undrafted rookie gem for Polian.
  


• Rookie DE Marcus Howard and second year LT Tony Ugoh have gone at it the last two days. During drills, the two are battling against each other extremely hard. Ugoh has had trouble dealing with Howard's great speed and Howard has had problems getting past Ugoh's arms. Howard's speed has been the eye-popping "wow" many at camp have noticed. He seems unblockable unless you have someone fast enough to match him.
  


• Clint Session was not at Day 2 practice because of a personal issue. Because Tyjuan Hagler, Philip Wheeler, and now Session were unavailable, the Colts used Ramon Guzman at SAM. Guzman played special teams and DE last season. No details on how he looked.
  


• Jacob Tamme has been practicing his long-snapping for special teams. Tamme has also looked good blocking. Some have even questioned why blocking was a knock on him in college. He has looked solid blocking in drills and scrimmages. Seems the #2 spot is now Tamme's to lose.


• Mike Pollak worked at OG for the starting unit on Friday, but so did Charlie Johnson. PhilB at the Indy Star still think Pollak will win the job. Pollak did not practice Saturday, and Johnson took most of the snaps at OG.
  


• Most media have praised Jim Sorgi and how well he's looked in camp. PhilB still thinks Sorgi holds onto the ball to long, which has always been Sorgi's problem. Still, most have said Sorgi is leaps and bounds better than Gray and Lorenzen, but much of that has to do with Sorgi having known the offense for 4 years.
  


• Tim Jennings has looked good. Damn good, in fact. He appears more comfortable as a Cover 2 corner, making quick reads and reacting fast. The entire Colts secondary has impressed, with Dante Hughes, Michael Coe, Brandon Condren, and TJ Rushing also standing out. The Colts seem to have an excellent secondary this season. Condren had an INT in morning practice on Saturday.
  


• Raheem Brock will move back to DE, and only play DT on passing situations. The Colts are worried that starting Brock at DT every down will indeed wear him down. Expect to see more of Brock starting at DE against teams that like to establish the run first. Robert Mathis will start at DE if teams like to throw early. Keyunta Dawson is now starting at DT along with Big Ed Johnson.


• Dungy is concerned that players are not used to practicing in pads:

  "I told the team afterwards [that] we have to learn how to practice in pads," the Colts coach said. "What we’re trying to do, you know, we’ve gone three months now and then the first two [training camp] practices [in jerseys and shorts]. So we’ve got to learn how to hit, deal with the contact and get done what we need to do without blowing each other up. So that’s something you always have to learn."



• RB Clifton Dawson made several excellent plays during Day 2 practice.  He had two 15 yard sweeps for TDs, and broke several long runs in the morning practice. Joseph Addai and Dom Rhodes also had some excellent long runs in afternoon practice.


• Not a peep about Kenton Keith. Not one single, solitary bit of news about how well (or poorly) he practiced. That's not good for Kenton, especially with the other RBs looking so good.


• Samuel Giguere caught a 45 yard TD from Jared Lorenzen. Giguere has noticeably been working hard.


• Freeney and Sanders have rehabbed while the rest of the team has done drills. Both are running fast. Freeney has been spinning and making moves. Between the two, Sanders looks the most ready to return.


• Rookie TE Tom Santi had the exact same operation on his knee Peyton Manning did, only two weeks earlier. Santi has been seen at camp walking with a limp and a back of some kind on his knee. If Santi is the measuring point, we will likely not see Peyton Manning practice until the week of August 18th. Manning is still not at camp.


• People have raved over Indy's receiving corps. Hall and Garcon were mentioned above, but Devin Aromashodu has also impressed. With so many receivers looking good, the Colts might carry 5 or 6 WRs into the regular season, with two of them (Hall and Giguere, perhaps) possibly playing special teams as gunners.


• No information as yet as to who is returning punts and kicks.

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Whew! Folks, this is the most information I've ever received about any stretch of training camp. Now, more than ever, people have a vested interest in what is going on at Terre Haute, and their desire to report that info back to fans is unrelenting. Special thanks to people like Aerostar193 and TheMatic for giving us first hand accounts just for Stampede Blue readers. Sources for all information bulleted are below. Click the links and read more:

ColtFreaks.com

IndyStar Blog

Tribune Star Article #1

Tribune Star Article #2

Colts.com

Areostar193's Fan Post

TheMatic's Twitter Fan Post