Before I get into the main topic, John Clayton (through a Rotoworld link) is reporting that Buffalo may cut John McCargo after all even though he practiced yesterday. If he is cut, clears waives, and the Colts end up signing him, there is absolutely nothing wrong, sketchy, or shady about that. Right now (if there was no trade deadline), Buffalo couldn't trade John McCargo for a stack of nudie mags and some bubble gum. He is as close to worthless as a player can get. And though his back injury doesn't seem to prevent hm for practicing in Buffalo, you'd have to be an utter buffoon (or Al Davis) to trade a 4th round pick (or any pick) for a guy whose injury could go from bad to worse at the drop of a hat. This doesn't affect Buffalo much because he is riding their bench. But to the other team potentially acquiring McCargo, it would be like paying top dollar for a brand new car only to find out that there is no engine under the hood.

So, if the Colts get McCargo for peanuts, I am a-okay with that. He failed a routine physical. It was not the physical that diminished his value. His injury did that. All the physical did was reveal the injury. The Colts dodged a bullet with Buffalo on this. In any case, if McCargo is cut and clears I doubt Indy will sign him. The Colts do not sign players that fail routine physicals. It seems they will add another DT sometime soon, according to ESPN reports. As for McCargo, maybe Tennessee will pick him up if he is cut. All you have to do to pass one of their joke physicals is breath.

Now, to the topic at hand: Lovin' some Dom.

Dominic Rhodes is not a perfect guy. He has made some dumb decisions in the past, but despite his mistakes I have never felt that Dom's heart is in the wrong place. Dom loves football. He loves running, catching, and blocking for his QB. He does everything the coaches ask, and he is always one of the most popular guys in any locker room. If you really step back and look at Dom's career, it is truly remarkable. Undrafted out of a very small Texas school, Dom has carved out a strong career as both a reserve and starting RB in this league. He had an MVP-like performance in Super Bowl 41, and he pummeled the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional rond of the playoffs in 2006.

Dom is just one of those special, unsung guys all championship caliber teams need to have. Like New England's Kevin Faulk or the New York Giants' Amani Toomer, Dom does all the little things a team needs to win. This week, he will start at RB for the first time in two years because of a hamstring injury to Joseph Addai and a season-ending injury to rookie Mike Hart. It is because of games like this that re-signing Dom this past off-season was a coup. Was it a headline grabber? No. But could it be the difference between winning and losing for the Colts? Looks that way.

Last week, Dom was the only healthy RB the Colts had in the second half against Baltimore. He ran very well against a stout Ravens defense, and was especially good at blitz pick-up in the passing game. The team fed off his contagious energy, and if Dom gets a strong start this weekend at Green Bay, the entire Colts team will respond. With the offensive line gelling (and getting healthy), and with Green Bay's problems stopping the run this year (surrendering 5 yards a carry and more yards than even the Colts defense) Dominc Rhodes should have a strong day running; we hope.

Backing up Dom are newly re-signed backs Clifton Dawson and Chad Simpson. Both were in training camp, with Simpson signed off the practice squad. Dawson is a solid back who would have made the team if not for Mike Hart. He was Indy's third back last season. Simpson can field kick-offs in a pinch if needed.

So, despite Addai and Hart getting hurt, the backs are still solid right now, and a big reason for that is the solid play of Dom Rhodes, a real NFL success story.

It's really not from a lack of hard work. Really, it isn't. Every training camp, the Colts dedicate about three entire afternoon practices a week just to special teams play. This means punt and kick coverage, field goals, on-side kicks, situational work (muffed punts, kicks), hook-and-laterals, you name it. They drill and drill and drill until it starts looking like the units actually know what they're doing.

Then the regular season hits, and it's one mistake after another.

We've long been proponents of the FIRE RUSS PURNELL NOW! club for the simple reason that despite a lot of talent on the roster the last view years, Indy's special teams coverage units have just plain sucked. Last year, the suckage spiled over into the kicking game, with money-man Adam Vinatieri getting kicks blocked and missing gimme FGs. The regular season game at San Diego was the culmination of a total special teams screw job.

1 punt returned for a TD against the Colts.

1 kickoff returned for a TD against the Colts.

1 missed gimme FG in the closing seconds that would have won the game despite giving up two returns for TDs.

It really is enough to make one vomit, especially when you know that without these special teams screw-ups, San Diego gets blown out at home and (possibly) doesn't make the playoffs. Part of the reason the Colts suffered so much last year on special teams was injuries, but I have always thought that a cheap excuse. This is not rocket science, folks.

Tackle. The. Friggin. Guy.

Ugh!

Photo via brian-oliver.com

Fortunately, this season, the Colts might finally have some veterans on special teams that can teach the young guys how to tackle. We all know and love Darrell Reid. He kind of sucks as a DT, but as a special teams gunner he is best described as Hurricane Darrell. I could post the video one more time of Darrell launching Chris Henry into orbit, but you've likely seen too much of it.

Oh, who am I kidding! Here it is you raskles:

Oh, how I love that play. This year, Reid is taking a more pro-active role as a leader on special teams. Maybe, just maybe, Darrell Reid might be the special teams ace the Colts have so desperately needed. In addition to Darrell, guys like Marcus Howard, Curtis Johnson, Dante Hughes, and Roy Hall will provide more speed and down-the-field ability than last year's group. Curtis Johnson's willingness to play special teams is a good sign that he will make the active roster as a situational pass rusher and a special teamer:

Johnson was on every special team unit in college at I-AA Clark, but concedes covering NFL kicks is more challenging.

"It's different having assignments instead of just running down and getting the ballcarrier," Johnson said.

...

Special teams coach Russ Purnell is encouraged by newcomers such as Johnson, an undrafted defensive end who cared enough about assignments that he asked for extra coaching after a recent practice.

"They're working hard and I hope they're learning; they seem to be," Purnell said. "Every day, they seem to get better at it."

Well, maybe this is a little harder than it seems, and it is encouraging to see players like Johnson working hard to get better at it. Based on what I saw in the Hall of Fame game, I am cautiously optimistic about the coverage units this year. They looked good in that game. If they impress against Carolina, I might start to soften on my FIRE RUSS PUNELL NOW! stance a little bit.

Since this Tuesday, the Colts have used several players in the role of kick and punt returner. T.J. Rushing is still the primary returner, but Tony Dungy is still searching for someone on the team that can make a difference as a returner.

The sixth-round draft pick Garcon had a strong showing lining up at wide receiver Sunday, and his return success could give the team an added boost as well. Rookie Defensive back Keiwan Ratliff, running back Clifton Dawson and wide receiver Devin Aromashodu also worked with the kickoff return teams Tuesday.

Coach Tony Dungy was pleased with the group of return men during Sunday’s game.

"I thought T.J. Rushing and Pierre each had an outstanding return," said Dungy. "That was good to see, our special teams get going the way they did."

In an interview on Colts.com, Dungy said Aromashodu will return more punts and kicks Saturday against Carolina. They also want to see Chad Simpson and Samuel Giguere return some kicks. All week, the Colts have worked these guys into the return game. I learned from last week not to judge too harshly when it comes to evaluating special teams in practice. Pierre Garcon was horrible in practice last week returning, but in the HoF game he looked very good.

One thing I'll give T.J. Rushing credit for: He isn't going to give up his job easily. Rushing has worked hard to improve his return game, even adopting some Manning-like qualities:

Rushing has done his homework to further improve his skills in the return game. While most fans picture Peyton Manning dissecting hours of film during the offseason, Rushing has done the same to improve.

"Look at a bunch of tape from last year, see where I made maybe one wrong cut, maybe should’ve went left and went right," Rushing said. "Try to make the game slow down. There’s just little intricate things you can do to make the game easier for everyone."

If T.J. manages to fight off Garcon and others to retain his job, that means T.J. has become an even more dangerous return threat. And if the Colts managed to gain such a threat, woe to the opponent. I will be focusing on this aspect of the game more closely as pre-season unfolds.

Rookies at the 2008 Colts Minicamp. Photos from Colts.com , and by Chris Hall.

WR Rudy Burgess

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