Colts Notes: Friday, December 13, 2013

Taking a look at what Chuck Pagano said in his press conference today...

INJURY UPDATE:

• Chuck Pagano said that DT Ricky Jean Francois (foot), OL Jeff Linkenbach (quad), OL Samson Satele (elbow), CB Greg Toler (groin), and FB Stanley Havili (knee) are all OUT Sunday.  WR LaVon Brazill (foot) is QUESTIONABLE.  Everyone else is good to go.  MY TAKE: A lot of names on the injury report, but not a lot of surprises.  The only potential surprise is that Stanley Havili will be out, and that is big.  It might be the biggest injury of them all.  I wrote about it yesterday here, so all I will say about it now is that regardless of what you think about the Colts using a fullback, Havili has played well this year and he does play a big role in the offense.  Who will replace him Sunday?  Presumably one of the tight ends, and most likely Jack Doyle.

OTHER NOTES:

• Pagano said that LaVon Brazill did not practice today but is still questionable.  When asked about other moves - including possibly bringing up Griff Whalen from the practice squad - Pagano said that other moves are being discussed.  MY TAKE: Obviously, this move depends on Brazill's status for the game.  If he can't go, the Colts will not go into Sunday's game with just three healthy receivers, so expect Whalen to be called up as soon as the Colts make a decision.  Even then, I would think about calling Whalen up just in case Brazill does go but gets reinjured.
• Pagano said that Greg Toler is just not there yet and he is just not 100 percent.  Pagano doesn't want to throw him out there yet.  He said it doesn't make any sense to throw Toler out there if he's not one hundred percent.  Pagano said that he is optimistic Toler can get there before the end of the season.  MY TAKE: Optimistic?  Sure.  Realistic?  I have no idea.  He has missed six games and seven weeks with the groin injury that he is dealing with right now.  He was limited in practice on Wednesday but didn't practice the last two days.
• The offensive line on Sunday, minus Samson Satele and Jeff Linkenbach, will change once again.  Pagano said that Mike McGlynn will move to center, Hugh Thornton will play and will start at left guard, and Joe Reitz will start at right guard.  MY TAKE: This was expected, although it would be better to make a minor change that could end up making a major impact.  Joe Reitz is better at left guard.  I'd hope that Hugh Thornton is better at right guard, because he has been terrible at left guard this year.  I would have switched the guards.  Either way, it's important that the line gets through this game healthy, because there's not much depth left there at all right now.
• On Trent Richardson's involvement in the passing game, Pagano said "we'd certainly love to get him more touches."  Added that he has been practicing well in recent weeks and that it showed up in last week's game, and that Richardson's involvement in the passing game last week was both because the Colts want to get him more involved there and because the opportunity was there in terms of how the defense was playing them.  MY TAKE: The Colts can't just give up on Richardson, so getting him involved as much as possible is a very smart thing.  If he's not getting it done in the run game, get him some opportunities in the passing game.  I have been advocating this for quite a while now, and last Sunday Richardson was pretty involved.  They need to keep doing that, especially until Richardson starts running the ball well.

For more up to the minute information and analysis of all things Colts, follow Josh Wilson on twitter at @coltsfanwilson and Brad Wells on twitter @StampedeBlue.