More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney (93) (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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When Dwight Freeney is not feasting on quarterbacks every Sunday (seven straight games with a sack!), or using his super human healing powers to recover from a strained quad, he's likely driving someone's kid to school in a limo.

In all seriousness, this is one of those stories that makes you respect Dwight Freeney, the man.

Defensive end Dwight Freeney spent Tuesday morning working with students at Indianapolis Public School No. 63, in the 1100 block of North Belmont Avenue, on the city's west side.

Jareal Smith was the local winner of NFL Take a Player to School day, a contest sponsored by the league and JCPenney.

Freeney went to Smith's home to pick the boy up for a limousine ride to school.

And no, this post was not sponsored by JC Penny, the NFL's Take a Player to School Day contest, or anything like that. This post was sponsored by the Dwight Freeney Is One Cool Dude Fan Club. We're currently open to new members.

This is your open thread for tonight's Stampede Blue Radio, which you can hear live NOW (or later on) over at Blog Talk Radio. use this open thread to chat during the podcast, ask me questions, or to make fun of me while I am trying to concentrate on not sounding like a douche.

Yeah, figured that title would get your interest (freak!).

Stampede Blue Radio once again kicks back into gear with host BigBlueShoe (aka, the dude who runs this site you frequent more than you should). Tonight, we will talk about the Colts dominant win over the Seahawks this past Sunday, recap Indy's impressive 4-0 start, and look ahead to the Sunday night match-up with the Titans.

Stampede Blue Radio

Tuesday, October 6th

9pm Eastern

Go Colts!

ESPN's SportsNation polled over 30,000 people on ESPN.com asking the question, All things being equal, which would you rather have: Great offense, or great defense?

The map of the country below lets everyone know what side of the fence Indiana sits on:

I also very much enjoy that great offense is represented by the color blue.

Tip to Indy Lori.

I mentioned Comcast Redzone yesterday in the Luke Links so I could gauge how many of you Colts fans had Comcast. I also wanted to know whether those of you with Comcast purchased and liked their Redzone add-on. For many of the responders, Comcast seems to provide a good service, especially with them adding NFL Network for free to subscribers. Coltsfan58 offered a good (and funny) evaluation:

I have the Comcast digital package and sports package, so it’s Channel 271 for me. In fact, I’ll probably never watch the NFL Network except for actual games or NFL Films footage again, now that my ADD-addled mind can flit through red zone possessions in 6-9 ongoing games. That way, I can avoid hearing the NFL Network’s crappy announcers and only be exposed to hacks on Fox and CBS in small doses.

I found the last sentence of this review especially humorous.

I'm glad many of you have good experiences (for the most part) with Comcast because they are sponsoring Stampede Blue for the season. Comcast approached SB Nation because they were looking to get the word out about Comcast Redzone. Comcast knew the best way to reach hardcore NFL fans was through SB Nation blogs, which (when you really think about it) is very flattering. We've come a long way from where we were three years ago, when I was one of six NFL bloggers in this entire network.

Since Indianapolis is one of Comcast's subscription areas, it seemed a no-brainer to have them sponsor our blog for the year.

As many of you longtime readers know, I work very hard not to bombard you with insane, distracting advertising. You're here to read football, not sales pitches. While ads are a part of Internet life (because we all gotta make a living), there is a fine line between sponsorship and what I call "Infomercial-style blogging." So, just because Comcast is sponsoring us does not mean I will be bombarding you with marketing messages every day. But, I will remind you every once in a while about some of the great sports features available from Comcast, like Redzone. And with the reminders, I'll tie them into something pertaining to the team, such as stats and trends for the Colts redzone defense, which is a big point of emphasis for Colts defensive coordinator Larry Coyer.

Also, I've got a special note: This weekend on Sunday, October 4th, Comcast is offering a free preview of NFL Red Zone this Sunday for the 1pm games. So, if you are curious about this add-on, this weekend is a good time to try it.

Plus, Comcast has stuff like On Demand content from the NFL Network including game recaps of every game, every week; draft profiles, player profiles, etc. So, if the NFL Network announcers don't annoy you as much as they annoy Coltsfan58, this extra bit of content is up your alley.

Special thanks to Comcast for sponsoring Stampede Blue and 18 other SB Nation NFL blogs. And, thanks to many of you for your honest reviews of Comcast in the Luke Links article yesterday.

A few other things Comcast has going on after the jump...

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More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

4 months ago: Denver Broncos linebacker Darrell Reid, left, talks with head coach Josh McDaniels before drills during the team's football minicamp at the Broncos headquarters in Englewood, Colo., on Sunday, June 14, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Once again, the power of Twitter connects fans with players, players with other players, and others players with fans. It also connects former-Colts with current Colts, and makes for some very humorous banter, especially around this time of year.

Take, for example, this recent conversation (quoted below). Footz95 is former-Colts defensive tackle (now Broncos linebacker) Darrell Reid. Current Colts DT Raheem Brock tweeted Reid from training camp in Terre Haute. Here's the chit-chat:

RaheemBrock @Footz95 Yo son, ki said take it easy on him when we play yall...lol we got money on whos gonna drop first

Footz95 @RaheemBrock H@h@... tell him they know better then 2 let me down 2 the wedge without a double. Especially wit the new wedge rules...

Footz95 @RaheemBrock How's Camp Anyway? Tell All The Boys That I'm Cool Wit I Said What Up 3 Times. Free, Rob, Weezie, Gonz, Dallas, AV, Ty, Clint

Footz95 @RaheemBrock Kel, Jack, Bob, Freddie, TJ, Coe, Hart, Ty From Jerz, Ugoh, Charlie, Sorj, Joe Joe, Wally, Bone, Erin, B, T, Frog, Dougie Fresh

RaheemBrock @Footz95 No doubt..camp is straight tho...what they got you playn? LB?


Just like the rest of us, Brock seems a little perplexed that Denver's new Bill Belichick wannabe (head coach Josh McDaniels) has moved a pretty serviceable DT to linebacker in Denver's new defense. But, then again, this is the coaching genius who thought replacing Jay Cutler with Kyle Orton (or Matt Cassel) was a step up.

The fun thing to come out of this conversation is the nicknames Reid applies to current Colts players or coaches. Some are obvious (AV= Adam Vinatieri, Free= Dwight Freeney, etc.). Some aren't. And while we can pick a ton of players out of this group, Peyton Manning's name is not an obvious one, unless he's one of the more colorful nicknames.

Is Peyton "Frog?" "Bone?" "Weezie?" "Dougie Fresh?"

Or, was Peyton just not all that buddy-buddy to Reid during his tenure? It is neat to see players like back-up QB Jim Aorgi, kicker Adam Vinatieri, and WR Anthony Gonzalez all mentioned as people Reid misses. It gives us insight into how close this organization is with both current and former players, regardless of whether they play defense, special teams, or offense. Just recently, former-Colts DB Joseph Jefferson (remember him?) was at Colts training camp. He's retired from football after battled numerous injuries during his short career, and is now a coaching intern with the Colts, working with defensive backs.

It's cool that so many old faces still have such strong connections to the team. It makes the Colts organization that much more special.

You know the deal folks, I'm out to describe every player on the Colts roster using the same number of characters as their jersey number.  This week we wrap up our series by focusing on players 67-99.

#67 Tony Ugoh - Some say that he's a softie but I wouldn't try to mess with him

#68 Eric Foster - Still won't allow anyone into Pitt endzone, not even the mowers.

#69 Tom Pestock - Pays tribute to his dad by wearing a ring on a chain around his neck.

#71 Ryan Diem - Hates when people group him Lilja because they have the same name.

#72 Corey Hilliard - Practice squad guy he was waived and re-signed in a 3 day period in 2008

#73 Jamie Thomas - Should be good friend with Lance Ball from time at University of Maryland

#74 Charlie Johnson - His performance in SBXLI subbing for Tarik Glenn should never be forgotten His performance in SB XLI subbing for Ryan Diem should never be forgotten.

#75 Michael Touduze - If you transferred the hair on his chin to his head, he'd have a nice afro.

#76 Dan Federkeil - Making Canadians proud about something other than hockey and Shania Twain...

#78 Mike Pollak - Not the flashiest pick that Polian ever made, but he'll pay dividends quickly.

#79 Raheem Brock - The underrated glue guy that keeps the Colts stellar pass rush attacking the QB

#80 Jamie Petrowski - Went to Indiana St. like Larry Bird, but he probably won't have the same legacy.

#81 Roy Hall - By far the most intriguing guy on the roster, hopefully he stays healthy this yr.

#83 John Matthews - Played at U. of San Diego, which means he was coached by Jim Harbaugh at one point.

#84 Jacob Tamme - His late TD catch against the Texans saved the season more than most people realize. Gets very easily confused with fellow tight end Tom Santi. Kinda like Dallas Clark..

#85 Pierre Garcon - If he blows up, the jokes about his French-sounding name will never ever cease, sadly

#86 Tom Santi - Went to the University of Virginia, so I'm going to guess that he enjoys riding yachts

#87 Reggie Wayne - What you get when you combine Reggie Jackson and Bruce Wayne together to make a wideout

#90 Daniel Muir - Faces an uphill but not impossible battle this yr against newly acquired defensive tackles

#92 Marcus Howard - His position should be changed from defensive end to "havoc wreaker". It's much more apropos

#93 Dwight Freeney - His hate list includes: 1. Quarterbacks 2. Gold Diggers 3. Other people who get too much $$$.

#94 Curtis Johnson - You don't see too many NFL players come from Clark Atlanta University. Good scouting by Polian

#95 Fili Moala - Shouldn't take long for this guy to endear himself to the Colts' fanbase everyone loves big DTs

#96 Keyunta Dawson - He's a bit undersized, but he holds his own out there. Should still be part of the DT rotation..

#97 Pat Kuntz - That name + Going to Notre Dame = Won't be an easy transition to the pros. Let's hope he manages.

#98 Robert Mathis - Has extra large letters stitched on his jersey so opponents know who is going past as he sacks QB.

#99 Antonio Johnson - You probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and Curtis Johnson. That's alright