It has been a long two weeks, but we finally have Colts football returning after an early bye week that seemed to come at the best time possible. For the first time in nearly two friggin years, the Colts are starting to look healthy. Thanks to the injury reports posted by shake n bake, we have a better picture of who is healthy and playing. Injuries are a reason why Indy has limped out of the gate at 1-2. They are not an excuse to lose, but no other professional sport is so drastically affected by injuries than pro football. When your key players are not healthy, it will affect your win-loss column. If their health didn't matter, then they wouldn't be "key players" and they shouldn't be getting big contracts.

Not having Jeff Saturday and a healthy Peyton Manning cost Indy the Chicago game, and nearly the Minnesota one. A lack of healthy bodies on the d-line hurt them big against the Jaguars. But separate from all of these injuries is the fact that certain players who ARE healthy just have not produced. Guys like Freddie Keiaho, Clint Session, and Antoine Bethea have struggled. Yes, the DT position has been rocked by silliness and bad luck, but that does not account for the whiffed tackles and blown assignments we have been subjected to by Session, Bethea, and Keiaho. Obviously, they will improve. Bethea is proven, and Freddie K and Clint have shown flashes of brilliance in the past. The bye week was about getting people healthy and getting everyone on the same page.

This week, we see if it worked. Here are the keys:

• The Texans are totally and completely desperate for a win. They will literally do anything to get this win. Fake punts, fake FGs, flea flickers, reverses, HB throwing the ball, circus clowns, blow torches, you name it. They are 0-3 and staring "bust season" in the face. This team had a lot of high hopes for 2008, and for good reason. They are a solid team. However, as I talked about with Stephanie Stradley earlier this week,  the Texans have just had rotten luck Weeks 1-4. For the Colts to overcome the wave of emotion the Texans players and fans will throw at them, concentration, execution, and playing fast are big keys. Contrary to popular (aka ignorant) belief, football is not a game of emotion. This doesn't mean you don't play with passion, but playing like a wild man will get you destroyed because football is really a game of execution. The team who plays better often wins. For the Colts, they must execute their game plan better than the Texans, despite all the emotion surrounding them.
• Run defense will continue to be a key until the Colts display some. Playing for the first time is DT Daniel Muir, who was signed after pre-season. Muir will fill the NT spot, with LaJuan Ramsey rotating in on certain downs. Eric Foster will play more at the other DT spot, and Raheem Brock will play both DT and DE. The Texans have an excellent back in Steve Slaton, and their offense (like Denver's) is built around the running game. Stop the run and it makes the Texans one dimensional. This turns Freeney and Mathis loose against Texans QB Matt Schaub, who had a strong game last week against the Jags.
  
• Run. The. Ball. I'm sick of seeing Peyton Manning throwing the ball 50 times. Run. The. Ball. If the Texans stack the line ala the Bears and Vikings, then I want to see the Colts actually spread the defense out. Don't bunch up in 2 TE when the linebackers are practically standing on the line of scrimmage along with the d-line. Bust out 3 or 4 WRs (with Addai as one of those WRs) and dare the Texans to blitz. If they do, Peyton should torch them with short passes or long throws. If they don't blitz, run the damn ball. The Colts only had 16 runs in their last game even though they averaged 6 yards a carry. For the love of God, run the ball!
  

As always, Tim is blogging up some Texans fun over at Battle Red Blog. He and his co-writers have answered your questions here while shake n bake and I have answered questions there. Don't forget to check out Steph's blog as well. Though the Colts have utterly owned the Texans since their creation in 2002, they have always, always, ALWAYS respected them. This will be yet another tough game for Indy, but unlike the previous three I think they are better equipped to take on this tough Texans team. Records mean nothing here. This is AFC South football. Expect a rumble (but please, no injuries for either team).

Go Colts!

#99 LaJuan Ramsey (not Ed Johnson)
Photo: Colts.com

It has been a little tough to get any kind of legit scouting report on DT LaJuan Ramsey, Indy's replacement DT for Ed Johnson. Google searches actually take me to SB Nation's 49ers blog (Niners Nation) for the only tangible report on Ramsey. Here is the ESPN scouting report, via Fooch at NN:

Possesses good initial burst, reads keys fairly well and gets into position quickly . . . good upper body strength and flashes the ability to shed blocks quickly . . . adequate lower body strength and flashes the ability to anchor when teams run at him . . . adequate closing speed and flashes a variety of pass rush moves.,

So, those are Ramsey's positives. What is it that he sucks at?

Weaknesses: Ramsey doesn't have elite size and he is inconsistent. Doesn't have great bulk, plays too high and has problems splitting double teams. Doesn't always use hands well and needs to continue to work on ability to shed blocks. Plays out of control and gets caught out of position. Though has good range for size doesn't give the same effort on every snap and isn't relentless in pursuit. Missed two games with a shoulder injury in 2003, underwent hernia surgery during the 2004 off-season and missed two games with an ankle injury in 2005.

Now, much of this information is general, and some of the negatives don't strike me as too bad. The inconsistency is a problem, but the gist of it all is Ramsey is a big, athletic guy who moves well but is lacking in technique. John Teerlick is as good as it gets when it comes to teaching d-line technique. So, Ramsey has a good teacher.

The best scouting report on Ramsey that I read comes from a message board. Granted, I take message boards with a big grain of salt about the size of the state of Rhode Island. But, this report was very detailed, and worth sharing:

LaJuan Ramsey actually outperformed Brenson Bunkley during their rookie year [in Philadelphia]. For whatever reason Ramsey didn't receive playing time over the second half of the season. With the way he played early during his rookie year I was excited to see LaJuan play but once I saw him play I became critical. He's big but he's lazy. He does two things you never want your lineman to do he doesn't use his hands and he stops his feet once he's engaged. I always doubt that you can change a guy's demeanor when they reach the NFL I hope a light flashes on for him. He has the attributes to be good, but not the demeanor.

This is his scouting report from the scouts notebook:

LaJuan Ramsey – DT - USC - 6'2, 293

Very quick off the ball. 3-technique DT. Can be very disruptive. Will pursue. Really hustles. Reminds you of a Paul Grasmanis type DT. Doesn’t play strong. More of a speed/quickness guy. Uses his hands to battle OL. Fights to get off blocks. Excellent motor. Good awareness. Sees the ball and gets to it. Almost made an impressive play in the Rose Bowl. Shot off the ball. Stayed pretty low and got under the OL. Got into the backfield and got his arms on the RB, but could not bring him down. Great effort on the play. Could have made the tackle if he’d been able to square up on the RB. Instead, he hit him from the side.

Summary: Has a legitimate shot to make the team if he is active and disruptive in Training Camp. Never was able to break out in college, but could be a solid backup DT in the NFL.

So, it seems work ethic and technique are LaJuan's achilles heels. This opportunity now is his best chance to latch on to an NFL team and make a difference. As the second report says, he is ideal to play DT in a Tampa 2 scheme. Can he play NT though? We shall see.

Week three has come and gone, and we still have not seen the real Indianapolis Colts. We've seen a pale reflection, a shadow of a team we know is much, much better than a 1-2 start. And with the way this pale shadow of a team has played, a 1-2 start is enough to have me doing back flips. Consider this lovely, oh-so-beautiful stat that should have all of you saying the famous Yogi Bera quote, "It is like deja vu all over again." The Colts have surrendered an astonishing 598 rushing yards and 3 TDs in just 3 games.

I don't care who you are, folks. If you surrender that many rushing yards, you are going to lose 2 out of every 3 games.

We can point the finger at the one person whose job it is to make sure the Colts have the players necessary to stop the run: Bill Polian. We can bash him if we want. We can scream and curse his name. Bottom line with all this is with DT Ed Johnson playing now, the Colts likely would be 2-1. The media will say it is the loss of Bob Sanders. They're dumb and don't know the team. We saw this defense stone teams from running the ball last year without Bob. This run defense was stout last season with Ed Johnson at NT, and right now it is shredded wheat without him. I don't want to hear Tony Dungy's blah blah blah mantra about how we have the right guys now to do the job.

598 yards, Tony. You don't have the right guys. If you did, you wouldn't be surrendering nearly 200 rushing yards a game to teams with a combined record of 3-6.

One of Joseph Addai's two TDs against the Jags? Why didn't Indy run the ball more?
Photo: Yahoo.com

We can make points about dropped balls, clock management, or why the Colts did not run the ball more even though they were averaging 6 yards a rush. All that is My Little Pony stuff when your defense surrenders 200 yards rushing. But like it or not, the Colts have a code. They have a system of player conduct and they enforce it, no matter what. Yes, Ed Johnson was the best DT this team had. Cutting him has cost this team a win. But I'll give Indy credit for sticking with their principles. Handing injuries, different story. Botching Peyton Manning's knee surgery, allowing it to happen in July when it should have happened in May, also cost this team a win. That's two games this team should have won, but didn't. It is indeed maddening.

This is why the bye week cannot come soon enough, and Bill Polian has his work cut out for him. Either Daniel Muir or LaJuan Ramsey can play DT for this team, or Bill Polian needs to trade for a DT who can. If not, this season is over. It is literally THAT simple. Peyton Manning is not healthy. He is having all kinds of problems throwing. Yet, in two games, he's led two of the greatest 4th quarter comebacks of his career. However, in those two games, the Colts are 1-1, and the reason the team is 1-2 is horrible defensive play. Today, the offense was 100% in the red zone (3 for 3). But two Manning INTs were a big reason the Jags won this game, and at least one of those INTs was a result of Manning's knee.

The comparisons to 2006 are scary, but unlike 2006 (which saw Indy start 3-0), this season's squad is limping out of the gate. It is almost comical how guys seem to get hurt literally EVERY DAY. I mean, is it too much to ask to have people on this roster who can play and not get hurt? I don't think it is toughness or softness or anything like that. We've seen this team play tough football many, many times. 

Shockingly, the one bright spot has been special teams. THEY'VE BEEN GREAT! Who is this alien dopleganger and what has he done with special teams coach Russ Purnell? Kick and punt coverages look good. Adam Vinatieri is rejuvenated. Justin Forsett making strides as a returner, signed only a few weeks ago. Coming into the season, the special teams was the weakness.

Now, it is the best unit the Colts have.

So as mad and pissed off as many of you are right now, know that it probably should be worse. This has been about as bad a first 3 weeks I've seen for this franchise since 1997, when they started 0-3, and eventually went on to 3-13. Yet, here they are at 1-2 with a chance to get healthy, get focused, and start playing Colts friggin' football. 

Many thanks to Chris at Big Cat Country for some nice cross-blogging. His Jags stay alive and, like our Colts, are limping. We, however, have the bye week to heal up while they get a 0-2 Houston Texans team next week. This bye week will allow us, as a community, to sit back and see if Bill Polian and Tony Dungy can fix this mess. If they do nothing, then they rsults post Week 4 better be different, or else the fan riots at Lucas Oil Stadium will bring new meaning to the phrase Make It Personal.

It is rare one gets a "must win" game in September, but that is the way it is looking for the Jacksonville Jaguars. It is a big game for the Colts as well. All division games are big. But, for the Jags, this is do or (perhaps) die. Starting 0-3, losing two division games in the process, is a pretty deep hole to climb out of. That is why we should expect a very determined, very "anything goes" attack from the Jaguars this week.

Week Three: Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium- Indianapolis, IN
Kick-off Time: 4:15pm Eastern
Broadcast: CBS

Like the Colts, the Jags are very beat-up, in particular along the offensive line. Their starting center, Brad Meester, tore his bicep. He’s just now coming back to practice. Their reserve tackle, Richard Collier, was tragically wounded in a targeted shooting. Collier is still recovering, and we wish him well in his recovery. OT Todd Wade has also been hurt. The spotted kitties are also missing their prized free agent signing, WR Jerry Porter. Porter tore his hamstring in training camp, and a torn hamstring is not something that heals in just a few months. With all these offensive line problems and the absence of anyone at the WR position who can do anything, the Jags offense has really struggled. David Garrard threw 3 INTs all of last year. He has 3 in his first two games this year. But it is not the Jaguars offense that has been the most puzzling. It’s their defense. Here is something from Chris on their loss to Buffalo last week:

Trent Edwards was 20-25 for 239 and completed his first ten passes. Mathis hasn't been close to his 06 form and like most recent losses, every defensive series can best be summed up with stuffing the run and giving a QB all the time he needs.

The Jags have had a hard time the first two games pressuring the QB. In Week One, they let rookie phenom Chris Johnson run all over them. In Week Two, Trent Edwards looked like Jim Kelly. Knowing this, and knowing that the Colts are likely to have TE Dallas Clark and OC Jeff Saturday back for Sunday’s grudge match, here are the keys:

• Jacksonville has a new defensive coordinator (Gregg Williams) and a new defensive approach. They blitz more, have more complex coverages, and do many different things to disguise both. The last time the Colts played a Gregg Williams defense, they lit it up. But that was then. This time around, if the Jags follow the game plans of Chicago and Minnesota by crowding the line of scrimmage, the Colts must protect Peyton as he will likely go deep, looking for the big play. For two weeks, Colts WRs (in particular Reggie Wayne) have dropped several passes that would have gone for TDs or big yardage. In the second half against the Vikes, the Colts finally started to hit on those plays, and it cost the Vikings big time. Peyton is getting healthier, and if you blitz or crowd the line against a healthy Peyton, you will get burned. This might be (and I stress might, because the Jags are good) the week Peyton breaks out and lights someone up.
  
• Containing Fred Taylor is a must. Last year, the Colts swept the Jags in dominant fashion because Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew were neutralized. This year, the Colts run defense has reverted to 2006 form, and the last time that kind of defense played the Jags the result was nearly 300 yards rushing surrendered. Eric Foster proved he is a keeper at DT, but he is under-sized playing "nose tackle" in the Tampa 2 scheme. Bill Polian said that Lajuan Ramsey will see more snaps at DT this week as he gets more comfortable playing in this scheme. The Colts run defense found itself in the second half of last week’s game, limiting Adrian Peterson to 39 yards on 16 attempts. But, with SS Bob Sanders out for 6 weeks, the Colts will not be able to run the same Cover 3 defense they deploy against teams who run the ball on them. Melvin Bullitt is a good safety and will fill-in just fine for Bob. But what is key are the DTs, Freddie Keiaho, and Gary Brackett. They must bring the ball carrier down hard.
  
• Justin Forsett needs to get the Colts good field position. Special teams could be the equalizer this week. Coverage units have played well, for the most part, and Adam Vinatieri is booming kicks into the endzone. But it is KR Justin Forsett who needs t make something happen. He showed promise last week, and now he needs to deliver some.
  

As always, Chris at BCC is cross-blogging here and doing some great things at Big Cat. It has been a joy to see BCC’s community grow and prosper. Contrary to popular belief, the Jaguars do have a passionate fanbase. This game will likely turn those passionate fans into wild, rapid dogs. This is a big game. Both these teams are rivals with a lot of bad blood. It will be nerve racking, but entertaining. Not used to big games in September? Welcome to AFC South football.

I really can't recall the last time the Colts has this much crazy crap happen this early in the season. In the span of one week, they opened their new stadium, got their clocks cleaned by the Bears, cut one of their best young players on defense, cut their kick returner, signed a promising running back, and picked up a reject DT who couldn't make it onto the 49ers final roster. It feels like there was more roster activity this week than there was the final two weeks of pre-season. But, as I told Gonzo on Friday, I think many of these roster moves were made to send a signal to the team.

You're here to act like professionals, work hard, and produce. No exceptions.

Ed Johnson was considered by some to be a rising star on this defense, but the Colts had every right to kick him off the team. Big Ed's contract for 2008 is guaranteed. So, don't feel any simply for him. He's making 6 figures while sitting on his couch. Cutting him was the Colts way of telling their players that they will not tolerate any team violations. Courtney Roby was cut because he nearly fumbled twice on kick returns last week, and the quickest way to get cut from the Colts (other than smoking weed and getting arrested for it) is to fumble. Courtney is a local kid, and we rooted for him to make the roster.

Now, in the span of two weeks, the Colts have added DT Lujan Ramsey, RB Justin Forsett, DT Daniel Muir, and LBer Buster Davis. That's two overtackles, a special teams returner, and a back-up MLBer. All are young. All have promise.

The subject of cutting Big Ed was obviously very controversial here. We can debate the reasonings why things like marijuana are illegal until we are blue in the face. There are many things that are illegal that don't make sense to me, but that isn't the point here. After a big game that ended with a big thud, rather than hit the weight room, watch extra film, or talk with teammates on how best to bounce back, Ed Johnson responded to the Chicago loss by getting high and getting arrested. The Colts then cut him.

That was the message folks. We will see if the Colts respond to it. Rutgers rookie DT Eric Foster will replace Big Ed against the Vikings.