Well, I'm starting to get caught up on all the Colts news. Many thanks to MadTownColtsFan for posting the info on Adam Vinatieri's injury. Shane Andrus was cut, which means Vinatieri is ready for the game against the NY Giants. I got many emails and I'm pretty much done fishing through them, answering the critical ones. Here's the skinny on the cuts:
- I'm surprised they cut Sweat Pea Burns, but they did re-sign him to the practice squad. Also to the practice squad are OL Matt Ulrich, Joey Hawkins, QB Josh Betts, and Federkeil.
- I was also surpised QB Shaun King was cut, though Dungy seemed to indicate King will get re-signed later this week. The Colts might have cut him only to re-sign him at a lower price. If King bolts to another team, then Josh Betts would get moved from the PS to the active roster. I do not believe or a minute that the Colts will enter the season with only Manning and Sorgi at QB. Sorgi has a bum shoulder, and should not be playing at all. Shaun King clearly outplayed him in the pre-season.
- The Colts signed LB Rocky Boiman, DE Bo Schobel, and DT Dan Klecko to the active roster. Klecko is yet another former Patriot crossing over from the dark side to the light. I really liked the Boiman signing. I've always been a fan of his. These guys are big additions to the special teams, which did not play well in the pre-season.
- Well, despite my hoopla over the signings, the Colts cut Jonathan Wells and Marc Boerigter. To replace Wells, the Colts signed DeDe Dosey, a RB cut by the Bengals. I know nothing about Dorsey, but I assume he plays good ST. Here's Kirkendall's thoughts on Dorsey:
Dorsey had an impressive start this pre-season, but his productivity dropped off against Green Bay and Indy -- only eight carries. The thing with Dorsey was that his impressive stint was against junior varsity defenses -- he got no opportunities to play against varsity defenses. The biggest hurdle for DeDe was Quincy Wilson and Kenny Watson. Dorsey finished the pre-season second on the team with 149 rushing yards.
All in all, the cuts weren't as dramatic as they first appeared. Dexter Reid getting cut means his injury is pretty severe. Reid might be done for the year. The Colts really liked him and he was a spcial teams ace. The current roster, as it stands, has 6 WRs, 2 QBs, and, most importantly, no dumb kickoff specialists.
Dungy and Polian made moves to shore up the special teams and add depth to the defense. These cuts are a little different than my predicted cuts. I'm shocked Ben Hartstock is still employed. What has this guy done to earn a roster spot?
There'll be a few more roster changes between now and the end of the week. Most importantly, the Colts got through pre-season reasonably healthy. Though Corey Simon might not play in the opener against the Giants, all the other projected defensive starters will, and rookie Antoine Bethea might be one of those starters; at least he should be.