Posts tagged Offensive Line
2011 Draft Profiles: OT – Joseph Barksdale
Mar 1st
Joseph Barksdale
Joseph Barksdale
College: LSU
Age: 22 years old
Experience: Senior (4 years)
Starts at LT: 13 games
Starts at RT: 26 games
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Height: 6 feet 5 inches
Weight: 325 lbs.
Arm Length: 36 inches
Hand Width: 10 inches
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Projection: Right Tackle
Projected Round: 3rd – 5th round
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2011 Draft Profiles: OT – Anthony Castonzo
Feb 28th
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Anthony Castonzo
College: Boston College
Age: 22 years old
Experience: Senior (4 years)
Starts at LT: 39 games
Starts at RT: 14 games
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Height: 6 feet 7 inches
Weight: 311 lbs.
Arm Length: 34.5 inches
Hand Width: 10.63 inches
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Projection: Left Tackle
Projected Round: 1st Round
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Colts List of Combine Invitees to Watch
Feb 25th
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For anyone wishing to keep track of the prospects making an appearance, NFL.com will offer live streaming of the trials starting at 9:00 am on Saturday morning. As riveting as watching varying degrees of athletic guys run the 40 yard dash is, it will be interesting to keep track of the results of some of our favorite prospects. Some things like the weigh in for offensive linemen will be particularly interesting and could dictate to a big degree where they end up falling out. For other prospects, their combine results will mean very little, but it will give us something to talk about. For now, here is a list of some of the main prospects that we here at Coltzilla are keeping an eye on (at least for right now)…
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Looking Ahead: Colts Running Backs in 2011
Feb 14th
Donald Brown breaks downfield for a 49-yard gain against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2010. (Michael Conroy | AP Photo)
2010 was about as rough on Colts running backs as it was on the team’s safeties.
The opening depth chart included fourth string rusher and kick returner Devin Moore, who went down for the year with a shoulder injury in the Week 4 match-up with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Second-string back, and 2009 First Round pick, Donald Brown missed weeks 4-6 with a hamstring injury. Third-string back, Mike Hart missed weeks 9-12 and 13-17 with an ankle injury. Starter, Joseph Addai missed eight weeks with a shoulder injury.
Fifth-string back, Javarris James played a significant role in four of the Colts 2010 games — which included six rushing touchdowns. Even Dominic Rhodes, former starter behind Edgerrin James, made his way back onto the roster following a full season with the Florida Tuskers of the UFL — he shattered the UFL records for rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and all purpose yards. Rhodes played significantly in weeks 15-17.
In total, the Colts had six different rushers and tallied 32 missed games between the four who started the season on the depth chart. More >
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Colts Off-Season: A Time for Change and Hope
Feb 9th
Will the Colts make a move for free agent running back DeAngelo Williams? (Chris Keane | Reuters)
The Indianapolis Colts are known for their ability to put together teams that are young and competitive on the field with a chance to win the Super Bowl every year. The team has accomplished this by finding jewels in the draft that other teams simply overlook. As a Colts fan I have nothing but respect and admiration for the front office of the Colts and thank them for the product they consistently put on the field for Colts fans to cheer. It’s time for the next step, and at this point in Peyton Manning’s career it’s now or never for the Indy. Unlike many of the experts out there, I do not believe that Peyton is anywhere close to the end of his career. I do believe that he is at the point where the team can’t just wait for young talent to develop around him.
Starting with the offensive line, Ryan Diem has been rode hard this year for the false starts and his mental mistakes, but I’m one who believes that a lot of his issues were because of having to play through injuries all year long with a lack of depth behind him. The same could be said for left tackle Charlie Johnson. The hope in the franchise should be that Ryan Diem will work with the front office on restructuring his $5.4 million deal that would allow the team to pay him on incentives as opposed to cutting him as cap casualty.
Regardless what happens with Diem, the best answer for the Colts is to not miss out on a chance to get an anchor left tackle early in the draft such as Anthony Castonzo, Boston College, Nate Solder, Colorado, Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin, or Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State. There is also the option of landing a couple solid free agents with both Tyson Clabo of Atlanta and Matt Light being available, Clabo being ideal because of his youth. At guard the best answer without question is to find a way to sign Logan Mankins out of New England. Adding an all pro will allow you to let Jamey Richard and Mike Pollak fight for the starting spot next to Mankins with the loser backing up both the center and guard spots.
Ideal line: LT-Tyson Clabo, LG- Logan Mankins, C- Jeff Saturday, RG- Mike Pollak, and RT- Gabe Carimi. More >
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Former Colts Offensive Line Coach Howard Mudd Joins Eagles
Feb 2nd
Howard Mudd overlooks the Saints offense with head coach Sean Payton. (Bill Haber | AP Photo)
After long-time offensive line coach Howard Mudd chose to retire following the 2009 season, Indianapolis went into a state of transition. There is little argument amongst those in the know around the NFL that Mudd is one of the greatest offensive line coaches in the history of the NFL. With the Colts he oversaw offensive lines that made a yearly tradition of having the least sacked quarterback in the league. While those numbers were certainly aided by having the most pocket-aware quarterback the NFL has ever seen, Mudd did the most with very little during his career in Indy.
The first shocking piece of news after Mudd left the team was his brief stint in New Orleans as a special assistant, helping the team that just defeated the Colts in the Super Bowl get their offensive line squared away. There is no doubt that a sting went through the Colts fan base with this news.
Now, after spending the year off of NFL coaching staffs, that Howard Mudd will replace recently promoted Juan Castillo as the Eagles offensive line coach. More >
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Forecasting the Colts 2011 Defensive Tackles
Feb 1st
Antonio "Mookie" Johnson tackles Titans running back Chris Johnson. (Andy Lyons | Getty Images)
The Indianapolis Colts have historically had difficulty putting together a group of defensive tackles that are capable of fulfilling their responsibilities in the Tampa-2 defensive scheme. In this scheme, the nose tackle — 1-technique tackle — is asked to be a space-filling, line holding run stuffer. The under tackle — 3-technique tackle — is asked to penetrate the offensive line to disrupt running lanes on the way to the quarterback. For many years the biggest weakness amongst Indy’s interior defensive linemen has been a lack of size. This resulted in opponents running the ball relentlessly off of their centers and guards, right through the middle of the Colts defensive line.
A lot has changed. Now Antonio Johnson, Daniel Muir, and Fili Moala all surpass the 300-pound mark. Only Johnson is well-suited to play nose tackle, while Muir and Moala are reasonably sized 3-technique tackles in a 4-3 defensive front — Muir had great success in 2009 and Moala showed marked improvement in 2010. Ricardo Mathews and Eric Foster are used situationally on passing downs and are better suited for the under tackle role. Foster moves outside to defensive end in run packages — Mathews may do the same in 2011. More >
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Previewing the Colts 2011 Safeties
Jan 31st
Melvin Bullitt running with the football against the Houston Texans during the Colts Week 1 game in Houston. (Ronald Martinez | Getty Images)
No position more closely resembled a MASH unit for the Indianapolis Colts than safety. Consider that undrafted free agent rookie David Caldwell suffered a shoulder injury that landed him on injured reserve before having the chance to play in a preseason game. Veteran backup Jamie Silva went down for the season with a torn ACL in the Colts first preseason game — against the San Francisco 49ers. Undrafted rookie free agent Donye’ McCleskey was waived/injured following the same game. After Bob Sanders traversed all of training camp and the preseason completely healthy, he went down with his second torn biceps in an many years in Week 1 against the Houston Texans.
Dependable backup strong safety Melvin Bullitt lasted until Week 4 in Jacksonville where his season ended to a shoulder injury of his own. Undrafted rookie cornerback Brandon King moved to safety to fill-in for the injury depleted unit. His stay lasted only two weeks before a hamstring injury prematurely ended his rookie season. If that list isn’t long enough, the Colts brought in Chip Vaughn, formerly with the New Orleans Saints, hoping to stop the bleeding. After three weeks on the team, along with one tackle, Vaughn’s year ended due to a foot injury. More >
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Colts Offensive Line: Changing of the Guard?
Jan 29th
Logan Mankins, Pro Bowl guard with the New England Patriots, unlikely to remain a Patriot. (Matt Sullivan | Getty Images)
As the draft approaches and sports fanatics search the internet for the next best mock draft, there is little question Colts fans will read about how terrible the offensive line is, and the work that must be done in the off-season to correct the problem. In the words of my favorite underachieving Indiana football coach, “Not so fast my friend!”
When asked who has the top ranked offensive line in football many would not hesitate to guess Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Philly, or maybe even Oakland, all who rushed for more yards than the Colts. Few would guess the Indianapolis Colts would be in Ludacris’ #1 spot according to the NFL rankings system.
Indianapolis racked up 13 rushing touchdowns — ranking them 12th in the league. The 1,483 rushing yards ranks 29th in the league, but that is also on only 393 attempts which would be the 4th fewest attempts by any team in the league. It must also be noted that the Colts handed the ball to Donald Brown, Javarris James, and Mike Hart — whom have proven absolutely nothing in the NFL — for 210 of those carries, and 37 more of those went to Dominic Rhodes who is on the wrong side of 30. (Colts Nation still loves you though Dominic!) More >
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