4. Indianapolis Colts
In the old days an offensive line would stay together for
five years, maybe longer. Free agency has ended that.
Linemen move around now if they're young and skilled, going
wherever they can earn big bucks. Or they become salary-cap
casualties when even
bigger bucks go to the
so\!called skill-position
players.
An unsettled line, manned by
marginal and hopeful players, can cause an offense to be
torn apart, especially a quarterback. Just ask the Colts'
Jim Harbaugh. Last season the Patriots broke his nose in
one game and wrenched his knee in another. The
Bills bruised and battered him with six sacks. In the AFC
wild-card game, a 42-14 loss to Pittsburgh, he suffered a
chipped tooth, a deep gash in his mouth
and a pinched nerve in his
neck.
Harbaugh says that the punishment he
absorbed in '96, when he was sacked
36 times, was even worse than what he suffered in his final
season with the Bears in '93, when he was sacked 43 times.
"And you know what? I dodged a lot of bullets last
year," he says. "There could have been some
season-ending things in
there."
The offensive line will be marginal again this year, with a
group of players who are promising at best. How could
Indianapolis have let this drag on so
long?
Give the Colts this much credit: They went for linemen with
their first two picks in the draft. The team's top choice,
tackle Tarik Glenn from Cal,
didn't sign until midway through the
preseason--and if there's one position at which you want a
young
player working and learning as soon as possible, it's the
offensive line, which depends on coordination and timing.
Second-round choice Adam
Meadows, from Georgia, got considerable practice time while Glenn
was holding out, and he could even be a starter at guard or
tackle on the side opposite Glenn. (Center Kirk Lowdermilk
has retired, so
positions on the line will be shuffled.) Still, there are
no cornerstones here, no serious free-agent pickups. Coach
Lindy
Infante admits the line is an "area of concern,"
and he keeps mentioning guys who must "step up."
But, hey, they can't all step
up.
O.K., we'll stop griping. It's nice to hear that running
backs Marshall Faulk and Zack Crockett are healthy again,
and Indianapolis is expecting even bigger things from
wideout Marvin Harrison after a fine rookie year. At tight
end Ken Dilger is an
emerging
force.
On defense the three top performers are gone: tackle Tony
Siragusa to the Ravens and cornerback Ray Buchanan to the
Falcons by way of free agency, and middle linebacker Jeff
Herrod was cut in June to clear room under the salary cap.
Three free agents
arrived: end Al
Fontenot from Chicago and defensive backs Carlton Gray and
Robert Blackmon, both from a Seattle defense that ranked
24th in the NFL. In short, even with consistent players
like end Tony Bennett, tackle Tony McCoy and free safety
Jason
Belser, the defense has not
improved.
But here's the thing about the Colts, and it's probably as
good a reason as any why when no one gave them much of a
chance in the playoffs, they came one play away from the
Super Bowl two years ago; and why when they were banged up and
struggling, they made the playoffs again last year: They
play hard, relentless football. They win games they
shouldn't. Who can forget the Thursday-nighter last
December when the Colts had five
defensive starters out and played like wild men, running the
Eagles out of the
RCA Dome 37-10? Or how about the September game in Dallas, when
they had seven starters out and upset the heavily favored
Cowboys
25-24?
These guys are well coached. They'll win their
share—somehow, someway—but they'll face a lot of exotic
zone blitzes and a lot of pressure. I don't envy Jim
Harbaugh.
—Paul Zimmerman
SCHEDULE
SKINNY
Once notoriously slow starters, the Colts opened with four
straight wins in 1996, a streak that propelled them to the
playoffs. This season their opponents before their bye in
Week 5 are formidable: Miami on the road, New England and
Seattle at home, and Buffalo
away.
STRENGTH OF
SCHEDULE
NFL rank: 16 (tie)
Opponents' 1996 winning percentage:
.492
Games against playoff teams:
7
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