Philip Wheeler returned to practice today playing SAM linebacker. From an update on Colts.com, we know that:

• Wheeler is back and SS Melvin Bullitt, who sprained his thumb, will be back soon too.
• Roy Hall made a sick grab in the morning practice:

  Hall, a second-year wide receiver who spent much of last season on injured reserve, ran a deep route down the right sideline and from around the offense’s 40-yard line, quarterback Quinn Gray threw a high, arching pass.

  Hall, at 6-feet-4, 240 pounds the Colts biggest wide receiver, leapt in the air, and caught the pass as he landed on his back inside the 10-yard line.

• Wheeler returned to camp and said HELLO to Clifton Dawson, popping him after an incompletion.
  
• Marvin Harrison continues to impress, and looks healthy.
• The team is very happy to have Dominic Rhodes back. Dungy is leaning on him as a leader. In an interview on Colts.com, Dungy said he asked Dom and Addai to focus on a few "specific details" in camp. This way, these details rub off on the younger backs.
  
• The Colts have some tough decisions to make at WR this year. With Hall making circus grabs and Devin Aromashodu coming on strong, this leaves Garcon, Giguere, and Courtney Roby (who has also looked good) out in the cold.
• Dungy elaborated on Quinn Pitcock's situation:

  "[Quinn is] going through some personal things and he’s going to let us know when he can be back," Dungy said. "That’s really all I can say at this point.

• Non-Colts related, but still NFL related, Deshawn Zombie summed up best my own personal feeling about this Brett Favre thing in Green Bay, and how stupid management is handling it:

  I swear, this is getting to be one of the most insane situations in history. The Pack is moving on? WHY???? TO WHAT? In five years, we may well look back on Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy as the biggest idiots in football history. Aaron Rodgers will be booed off the field unless he starts hot, and I mean blazing hot. I know they think they are doing this guy a favor by protecting his right to play, but the man has ZERO window with the fans. If they lose to Minnesota in week one...no check that...if he plays poorly in the PRESEASON, the fans will riot in Green Bay. Uuuuugly.

  Well said.
• And finally, a rumor is circulating message boards that Peyton Manning was seen in Terre Haute. He has not reported to camp, but he was seen arriving in Terre Haute. More info on this as we get it.

Day two of camp saw the Colts puts on the pads and hit each other. And, per usual for a Colts training camp, people started getting hurt:

Safety Melvin Bullitt and rookie linebacker Philip Wheeler were unable to finish this morning’s practice. Bullitt suffered a sprained thumb while Wheeler injured a knee. Dungy was unable to elaborate on the severity of either injury.

The Terre Haute's Tribune Star has their training camp preview up, and (shockingly) it is far more detailed, thoughtful, and interesting than any preview I've ever read at the Indianapolis Star. And unlike the horrid NFL.com camp preview we trashed last week, the TH preview seems to know what its talking about and validates many of off-season themes we've discussed since March.

Good God. Was March really just  months ago?

The preview's author, Tom James, starts off (after going through the usual who's hurt and why stuff) by naming the Players to Watch: Roy Hall, Mike Pollak, and Philip Wheeler. All three were impressive during the two minicamps and the off0season programs. We've written often about Pollak and Hall, so I found this nugget about Wheeler intriguing:

Slated to be the top reserve behind starter Gary Brackett at middle linebacker as a rookie, he may get a chance to prove what he can do as the team’s strong side linebacker.

Hagler’s pectoral injury could force a move to the outside for the hard-hitting linebacker from Georgia Tech. Wheeler might be in the mix as a replacement when the team reports for training camp. His ability to quickly diagnose a play, combined with his speed and quickness, should serve him well if given the opportunity.

Tyjuan Hagler better heal up quick, because I'm starting to think that Wheeler will win his job as strongside LBer when the pre-season closes.

Some other interesting notes are the possibility of second year player Clifton Dawson transitioning to a lead blocker on short yardage. This is the first I've heard of this, and definitely something I will look at when I get to camp. Other sleepers they mentioned for camp were WR Devin Aromashodu, WR Courtney Roby, WR Pierre Garcon, WR Sam Giguere, WR Charles Dillon, WR Rudy Burgess, TE Gijon Robinson, RB Chad Simpson, DE Ben Ishola, DE Curtis Johnson, DT Colin Ferrell, DT Eric Foster DT Joe Bradley, LB Jordan Senn, LB Kyle Shotwell, CB Brandon Foster, CB Antonio Smith, and SS Jamie Silva. James also says the free agent rookie Sam Giguere is a "Wes Welker clone."

Is Clifton Dawson Indy's new fullback?

via cache.viewimages.com

Tom James put emphasis on players like Eric Foster and Devin Aromashodu:

Aromashodu got the attention of his teammates last year as he filled in on a limited basis for Harrison.

...

Foster is a definitely possibility to earn a spot on the team at the end of training camp.

The article also suggests that kick returning duties will get shared between Dom Rhodes, Dillon, Burgess, Mike Hart, and Simpson. James does not mention TJ Rushing returning kicks, which is interesting to say the least. He did say this about Rushing:

Rushing was drafted to be the team’s kick and punt returner but has proved to be a pretty good cornerback when given the chance to play.

Perhaps Rushing's ability to play CB made him too much of a commodity to just throw out there as a returner. Again, we will pay close attention to see if Rushing is still returning kicks and punts in camp.

Finally, James names his up-and-coming players that could come out of camp and pre-season ready to make an immediate positive impact on the team during the regular season:

In addition to Hall, Pollak and Wheeler, other key players figure to be tight ends Jacob Tamme and Tom Santi; defensive end Marcus Howard; outside linebackers Clint Session and Ramon Guzman; cornerbacks Dante Hughes, Micheal Coe, and Tim Jennings; safeties Melvin Bullitt and Brannon Condren.

Indianapolis’ break out performers could very well be Tamme, Howard, Session, Hughes, Jennings and Bullitt.

This is what football previews are supposed to give you, boys and girls. This article has me fired up big time for training camp, which starts in just four days!

Hope everyone had a fun and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. I know I needed a break. I wish I could say I spent the time catching up on Colts news, but the truth is I spent most of the three-day weekend doing absolutely nothing... and it was GREAT!

And speaking of Colts news, we've got a healthy share for you today:

• Thanks to metal_militia for posting the story that the Colts brought former Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin in for a physical recently, and that he passed. I sounds like Dungy wants Colvin on the roster, and both Colvin and his agent are looking to either iron out details with Polian, or shop around a bit before finally "settling" on Indy. Regardless, if Colvin is on this roster, the Colts have stated he will be here as a pass rushing DE. This is ideal for Colvin, who is not an every down player.


• Speaking of DEs,  Pro Football Weekly has some interesting news regarding rookie Marcus Howard:

Word out of Indianapolis is that the Colts plan on undersized (6-0, 237) rookie DE Marcus Howard alleviating some of the pass-rushing burden from Dwight Freeney, who will make his return from a season-ending foot injury. Howard is incredibly raw, but we’re told the coaches will be looking for him to be nothing more than a pass rusher, a role in which the Georgia product could excel with his blistering speed. Strictly from a speed and quickness perspective, Howard may even be superior to Freeney.



• Pro Football Weekly (again, this is PFW, not PFT) also has some news on rookie TE Jacob Tamme:

  With the uncertainty surrounding Colts WR Marvin Harrison — both in terms of his rehabilitation from the knee injury that sidelined him for most of ’07 and his possible connection to a Philadelphia gunfire case — we’re hearing that the Colts are planning on expanding the already significant role of their tight ends in the passing game. Currently one of the most dangerous tight ends in the game today, Dallas Clark will continue to line up throughout the formation to exploit his size-speed gifts. But it won’t be just Clark who will be asked to shoulder a receiving load at the TE spot. Word out of Indianapolis is that the team has big plans for rookie Jacob Tamme. An intelligent, wiry player with great hands and poor blocking ability, Tamme won’t provide much help to the running game as Clark’s bookend in the twin-TE sets, but the coaches are scheming ways to utilize his natural receiving abilities. With a dearth of legitimate WR depth, look for Clark and Tamme to act as de facto wideouts in a good number of offensive sets.

  I can understand talking about Marvin's status in terms of his rehab, but this insistence on bringing up this Philadelphia thing when He. Is. Not. Even. A. Suspect. in the incident (let alone getting charged with anything illegal) is now beyond the point of stupid.


• One minute, AOL Fanhouse is bashing the city of Indianapolis for getting the Super Bowl in 2012. The next, they are praising Indy, and bashing those who bash the Hoosier capital. Here, The Sportz Assassin takes a shot at ESPN resident idiot Gene Wojciechowski:

  Boo-hoo. The Super Bowl won't be held in Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix, Houston or Southern California. Places that the surrounding madness of the game loves to go. Media guys and fans long for taking a vacation doing their job in the best possible weather and to hell with everyone else. Indianapolis, a beautiful city, can't have the game because the people covering it will miss out on the sunny games.
  
  Oh, and spare me the "experience of a lifetime" for fans blast. Real fans can't go to the Super Bowl. It's about you, the media guy and the business partners that populate Super Bowl cities like locusts.

  Curious how Sportz Assassin did not reference a writer in his own network (Ryan Wilson) who had bemoaned Indy getting a Super Bowl site bid.


• And finally, for those of you that care, Dominic Rhodes and Melvin Bullitt have switched numbers, at least according to Colts.com's roster chart. Dom has #33. Bullitt has #38. Melvin better have gotten some serious bread from Dominic for giving up that number.

Later today, look for me to take a few shots at our favorite punching bag in Tennessee, Vince Young. He said something recently that pretty much sums up why he is a total bust of a QB, and why the Titans need to cut his fat, sorry butt if they want any chance of winning a Super Bowl in the next 10 years.