Colts Notes: Tuesday, January 7, 2014

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

INJURY UPDATE:

• Chuck Pagano described the injury situation as the "status quo."  Pagano said that there's not much to update on the injury front, but that Darrius Heyward-Bey, who is recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in Saturday's game, will probably not be available for this weekend's game.  MY TAKE: That has a much bigger impact on special teams than it does on offense, but the Colts signed Deion Branch and promoted Josh Lenz from the practice squad to likely make up for the loss of DHB.

OTHER NOTES:

• Pagano talked extensively about both the Patriots' offense and defense.  Here's what he had to say about the Patriots' offense (and Tom Brady) adjusting to injuries: "They've done it for a long time. That system has been in place for a long time. Obviously got a first-ballot hall-of-famer in Tom Brady that is under center running that whole thing. Their personnel department does a great job and they bring in guys that can adapt and adjust and certainly the quarterback, again, makes that whole thing go. I think it's the quality of the guys, much like our situation. We've got guys that are athletic and guys that can make plays. They've got guys that are athletic and can make plays. They've done a good job of bringing guys in and plugging them in. That system has been in place. They make adjustments here and there. But he's done a great job with adjusting to life without (Rob) Gronk (Gronkowski), life without some of the other guys. It's going to be a huge challenge."
• Here's what Pagano said about the Patriots defense: "They do such a great job. They're multiple. They've got playmakers at all three levels. They've lost some guys to injury. They put some really good football players on IR like we have. But again they're multiple. There will be something that we haven't seen. There always is. We'll have to adjust accordingly. Really good edge rusher in Chandler Jones. He's got 11.5 sacks. He can become a game-wrecker if you will. (Rob) Ninkovich on the other side does a nice job. They're steady inside with (Sealver) Silia and Chris Jones is playing well for a young guy, kid out of Bowling Green. I think he's got six sacks for a rookie. He's doing a nice job. Got guys in the back end. (Aqib) Talib has done a nice job for them. Made the Pro Bowl. Got four picks. Rookie d-back has got five picks. (Devin) McCourty back there at safety. (Steve) Gregory is a vet guy. So they've got players all over the place. Again, the biggest challenge will be the unknown. We see a lot on tape. But there will be something that we'll have to make adjustments for. There always is."
• Talking about the rivalry between the Colts and the Patriots and if it really is even a rivalry to them now, Pagano said that, "It really isn't, to be honest with you. I think obviously we know them, they know us from an organizational standpoint. They've got what they've seen on tape from this year. There's been so much turnover. In today's NFL, that's kind of how it is. I don't see how much effect it's going to have on this ball game."  MY TAKE: The rivalry always seemed to be much more Brady vs. Manning than Patriots vs. Colts anyway.  It's no surprise that without Manning the rivalry has lost a lot of it's luster.
• Asked about last season's big loss to the Patriots in New England, Pagano joked that there's "Not a lot of good. We tried to look for it. I think they burned it to be honest with you. Now technology is so good you've got it on iPads now so it's hard to throw away the iPad. They cost too much to replace. I obviously watched it from afar last year and then again. Obviously you're going to look at it and see what they did. You've got to cover all your bases."

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