Remember, This Is ALLEGED

However, it still scares me.

Marvin Harrison has been connected to a shooting outside of "Playmakers", his bar, in Philadelphia. A man came to the club at 5 PM and caused a disturbance. On his way out, the future Hall of Fame receiver followed him, and gunfire broke out. The man had his hand grazed by a bullet, and a bystander was hit by shattered glass.

The police determined that it was Harrison's gun which fired the bullets found at the scene of the crime. It was found at his car wash.

No one has been charged with a crime, and the one witness did not identify a shooter. However, there is another witness that is stepping forward to comment. Marvin has been interviewed by the Philadelphia police, and there are no current subjects.

Of course, the fan reception is over the top. On ESPN's boards, which are notorious for being the gathering grounds of the world's biggest idiots, the grammar-deprived posters have compared him to Michael Vick, a dog-killer, and said he murdered someone. If you ever feel like a moron, just go on those boards to read some of the posts.

Now, this is way over the top. Marvin will be charged with a misdemeanor for sure because of gun laws in Philly. As the shooting goes, I would not convict him yet. If it was Marvin, I would think that multiple witnesses would have stepped up. This was in a public place. Marvin isn't Pacman Jones, and he isn't Tank Johnson. Let's calm down on the accusations. There is still a lot of information that is still out there.

What I expect is the more information that comes out, the less likely Marvin was a shooter in this incident.

Looking Forward to 2008: Special Teams

In 2007, special teams was one of the biggest problems for the Colts. It cost the Colts the first Chargers games, and it wasn't helpful in the 2007 Playoffs Super Bowl run. The Colts haven't had a great returner since Brad Pyatt, who had his career ended by injury. The kickoff coverage is mediocre outside of Darrell Reid. The punt coverage is better than the kickoff coverage because of the team speed, but it still is not where it should be. Well, this is a whole new year, and the Colts have drafted and signed players who could completely revamp the coverage and return games. The Colts may have been anemic in the return game and incompetent in coverage last year, but next year will be different.





Kickoff Coverage





The Colts had a bunch of stupid mistakes last year covering kickoffs. There were multiple offsides penalties and missed tackles. However, the Colts have made some moves with personnel that will make this team one of the premier coverage squads in the NFL.





This offseason, the Colts kept their current special teams stars and then drafted and signed some players with potential to be stars. Darrell Reid, the man who almost killed Chris Henry, and Matt Giordano resigned with the Colts. With those two, the Colts have a great cornerstone for a strong special teams. However, the other 7 coverage men all were subpar. Here is the lineup I would use.





Michael Coe and Matt Giordano are the gunners. These are two of the fastest players on the team, and they should be able to keep the returner from making it to the outside.





Darrell Reid is the wedge breaker. He is big and normally one of the first defenders down the field. He is a Pro Bowl-caliber special teamer.





The other two players on the outside are Jamie Silva and Roy Hall. I would like to keep Hall away from special teams after his shoulder injury, but he is too fast and too big to be on the sidelines on kickoffs.





The five other defenders that I would send out would be Philip Wheeler, Colin Farrell, Brandon Archer, Curtis Johnson, and Ramon Guzman.



With this setup, this is how the kickoff formation would look like:



MC JS PW BA CF AV DR CJ RG RH MG



With this lineup, the Colts will have two of the fastest players in the league in Coe and Giordano being able to shut down the outside. Darrell Reid could very easily be another Colts Pro Bowler this upcoming year. The big defenders are also giants, and the linebackers are solid tacklers.



Kickoff Returns



Since Brad Pyatt's neck injury, there hasn't been a dynamic Colts returner in ages. In the sixth round, a Division III player became the next Colts returner.



Pierre Garcon is the ideal returner for this team. First, he will not play a big role on Sundays when Peyton is on the field. At most he will be a fourth receiver if Marvin is suspended or still injured. Secondly, he is one of the most explosive returners I have seen highlights of. Most would think Joshua Cribbs got put in a Mount Union jersey and starting returning kicks on Pop Warner teams. That's how good he has looked. I don't think there is a question who will be returning punts this year.



However, we have seen returners come and go. Brad Pyatt hurt his neck. Terrence Wilkins became too old. TJ Rushing is now expendable. To be safe in case of a freak injury, the Colts have backup returners. Sam Giguere is a probable practice squad player who could be a quality returner some day. Rudy Burgess and Charles Dillon both were returners in college, and they could be signed to the 53 man roster if Garcon and Giguere would be injured. Speed is never a concern for the Colts.



Here is a Pierre Garcon kick return highlight for those who don't believe how good this kid can be.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvzTkNIVEj0


Convinced? I think most Colts fans are, and more importantly, Bill Polian is.


Punt Coverage


The punt coverage and kickoff coverage teams should look similar. Matt Giordano and Michael Coe will be gunners. Coe is not as solid of a tackler as one may want for gunner, but he is as fast as any player on this team. Giordano combines speed and tackling to make an unstoppable gunner. I would like to see the players I listed on my kickoff coverage being on there as well. Philip Wheeler, Curtis Johnson, and Brandon Archer are all solid tacklers who would not let big plays happen.

Punt Return

I think we all know that Garcon will be the returner, but who will be on the line? Last year, Michael Coe made a great block in the Baltimore game. I think he and Giordano should be on the outside to go for the blocks. On the inside, I would like to see big bodies like Quinn Pitcock, Ed Johnson, and Josh Thomas in the middle. Also, an offensive lineman like Jamey Richard wouldn't hurt either for blocking. To drop back and block, linebackers like Tyjuan Hagler and Philip Wheeler would help. With this, they could get some good returns. However, I think we do not have the best blockers for returns, which is why we have had minimal success returning punts.

This is my preseason overview of the special teams. It's mostly guesses, because we don't even know the roster yet. But this is what I think it will look like.

Meet Your Undrafted Free Agents

The Colts this week signed 13 undrafted free agents, and surprisingly Rudolph Hardie and Bernard Morris were missing from the list. However, the Colts did bring in some of the most highly touted UDFAs left. Here are the players that could be the next Dominic Rhodes or Gary Brackett.

Rudy Burgess/WR/Arizona State-Burgess is a small wide receiver who was recruited by Arizona State to play cornerback. He runs a 4.49 40, and he is listed as a specialist by Colts.com. Burgess caught 34 passes for 467 yards and led the Sun Devils with a 23.1 average on kickoff returns. Chance of Making 53 man roster: I'd give him a 20% chance, mostly because of his returning ability. However, Pierre Garcon was already drafted for that position. I wouldn't count on seeing number 3 in blue in September.

Dan Davis/DT/Connecticut-Davis was a defensive end/defensive tackle hybrid at Connecticut, and it looks like he will play tackle in training camp for the Colts. His stats aren't amazing (36 tackles, 1 sack). Chance of Making 53 man roster: I say 0%. Keyunta Dawson and UDFA Eric Foster are better equipped for the pass rushing UT than Davis.

Charles Dillon/WR/Washington State-Like Burgess, Dillon is a returner as well as a wide receiver. Dillon ran a faster 40 time than Burgess (4.96), but Dillon averaged almost 3 yards less returning than Burgess. Dillon had similar stats to Burgess, getting 37 passes for 407 yards. Chance of Making 53 man roster: I say a 19.5% chance. I prefer the versatility of Burgess over Dillon.

Colin Ferrell/DT/Kent State-Ferrell is my dark horse candidate for defensive tackle. He ran a 4.8 40 at his Pro Day. He's 293 pounds! He isn't just a Combine player either. He had 15 tackles for loss and 5 sacks last year. His downside is he is very overrated as an actor. Chance of Making 53 man roster: I give him a 60% chance of making the roster. With no defensive tackle drafted, he has a good chance of replacing Dan Klecko.

Brandon Foster/CB/Texas-Foster is a very small corner (5-7) similar to Jason David and Tim Jennings. Foster is extremely fast (4.28), and he set the Texas record for defensive touchdowns last year with 3. Chance of Making 53 man roster: 25%. He could be a great nickel back in the Cover 2.

Eric Foster/DT/Rutgers-Eric Foster is very small for a defensive tackle (265 pounds), so he may need to bulk up about ten pounds. However, he had 7 sacks last year playing in the offensive-oriented Big East. He will contend for the under tackle position. Chance of Making 53 man roster: 40% chance. If he could get up to 275 pounds and not lose his speed, he would be a 95% chance.

Samuel Giguere/WR/Sherbrooke (Canada)-Giguere is an unknown prospect because of his Canadian roots, but he has everything you want in a receiver. Giguere ran a 4.35 40, and he has a 40 inch vertical. He was second in Canada's NCAA called CIS in receiving. Competition is obviously the biggest issue with him, but a 4.35 40 and a 40 inch vertical is great for a giant wide receiver like him. Chance of Making 53 man roster: 15% chance. His competition level will hurt his chances, but if he can perform well on special teams, he could easily make the team.

Curtis Johnson/DE/Clark Atlanta-Johnson is an undersized (239 pound) defensive end-outside linebacker hybrid who terrorized quarterbacks in the Southern conference. In 21 games for Clark, he got 18.5 tackles and 182 tackles. He was one of the best undrafted players, and he was one of the Colts first signings. Chance of Making 53 man roster: 60% chance. This guy is a freak of nature. He is extremely fast and has been compared to Joey Porter. He will be a steal.

Darren Marquez/OT/Southern Illinois-Marquez is a big offensive tackle who helped the Salukis become one of the best teams in Division 1-AA. He is known as a pass protector and would likely play left tackle. Chance of Making 53 man roster: 30%. I like him, but with three offensive linemen drafted, he may end up being the oddman out.

Jordan Senn/LB/Portland State-Senn is a small but quick linebacker who was 10th in tackles in Division 1-AA. He was a star track runner in high school, so he definitely has a good burst of speed. He played safety during his sophomore year. Chance of Making 53 man roster: 25% chance. It's too bad linebacker isn't a need. Senn could help a team out. Other Cover 2 teams should try to sign him if injuries occur.

Jamie Silva/S/Boston College-As Mike Hart was the sexy pick during the draft, Silva was the sexy signing. Silva was the leader of the Boston College defense, and he was highly touted going into the draft. He had 8 interceptions last year, and he had some success returning punts. Out of all of the undrafted free agents, he is the most likely to make the team. Chance of Making 53 man roster: 75%. Bob Sanders needs a backup.

Chad Simpson/RB/Morgan State-Simpson is the 4th leading runner in Morgan State history, but he only played 2 years there. His freshman and sophomore years were spent as a kick returner at South Florida. He ended up being a letterman in track at Morgan State as well. Chance of Making 53 man roster: 22.5%. He could be the returner the Colts are looking for.

Adam Tafralis/QB/San Jose State-Tafralis is a somewhat fast quarterback with a 40 time under 4.7, but he threw a lot of interceptions (11) last year playing against weaker competition. Chance of Making 53 man roster: .5%. I highly doubt he will beat out Jim Sorgi.

With the adding of the UDFAs, here is my projected roster for the Colts.

53 man roster
QB
Peyton Manning
Jim Sorgi

RB
Joseph Addai
Mike Hart
Kenton Keith

WR
Marvin Harrison
Reggie Wayne
Anthony Gonzalez
Roy Hall
Pierre Garcon

TE
Dallas Clark
Tom Santi
Jacob Tamme

LT
Tony Ugoh
Michael Toudouze

LG
Ryan Lilja
Jamey Richards

C
Jeff Saturday
Steve Justice

RG
Mike Pollack
Dylan Gandy

RT
Ryan Diem
Charlie Johnson

DE
Dwight Freeney
Robert Mathis
Josh Thomas
Marcus Howard
Curtis Johnson

DT
Ed Johnson
Raheem Brock
Quinn Pitcock
Darrell Reid
Keyunta Dawson
Colin Ferrell

OLB
Tyjuan Hagler
Freddy Keiaho
Clint Session
Ramon Guzman

MLB
Gary Brackett
Phillip Wheeler

FS
Antoine Bethea
Matt Giordano
Brandon Condren

SS
Bob Sanders
Jamie Silva

CB
Marlin Jackson
Kelvin Hayden
Tim Jennings
Michael Coe
Dante Hughes

K
Adam Vinatieri

P
Hunter Smith

LS
Justin Snow

Practice Squad
QB Josh Betts
WR Sam Giguere
OT Dan Federkiel
OT Darren Marquez
DT Eric Foster
LB Brandon Archer
CB Brandon Foster
TE Bryan Fletcher

Not Under Contract, But Will Be Signed If Injuries Occur
RB Luke Lawton
CB Melvin Bullitt
WR Devin Aromashodu
RB Clift Dawson
WR Sam Burgess

Breaking Down the Draft

The Colts, again, had great draft. They always say Bill Polian does what no one suspects. This year, everyone thought that linebacker and guard were positions that, even though they lost players there, they wouldn't cover early. Well, the first two picks were Mike Pollack and Phillip Wheeler. The Colts covered all of the needs, and there are still some fantastic undrafted free agents that the Colts could and probably will sign. Here is the breakdown of the draft.

2nd (59th)-Mike Pollak/C or G/Arizona State: At first glance, the Colts drafting a center is a little strange. Jeff Saturday is easily the best center in the NFL, and offensive line is definitely not a huge need. But then after really thinking about it, right guard is wide open for competition, and Jeff Saturday is not young as well. Pollak will be the leader for the right guard spot coming into training camp. Pollak's strength is his strong point, and his main weakness is his size, which allows him to be pushed around by nose tackles. Pollak will be a big contributor whether he is starting or giving Dylan Gandy or Charlie Johnson a break.

3rd (93)-Philip Wheeler/LB/Georgia Tech: Wheeler is one of the fastest linebackers in this draft. With the loss of Rocky Boiman and possibly Rob Morris, the Colts need a little depth at linebacker. Wheeler was recruited by Georgia Tech as a defensive end, so he could be moved in pass rushing situations. Wheeler is versatile enough to play oustide linebacker, middle linebacker, and defensive end. If injuries become a problem again, he could be a key player at multiple positions. Wheeler's strength is his speed, and his weakness is his size.

4th (127)-Jacob Tamme/TE/Kentucky: With the loss of Ben Utecht, Jacob Tamme could be a main target for Peyton Manning. Tamme played on the explosive Kentucky offense alongside Andre Woodson, Rafael Little, and Keenan Burton, so he is used to having great talent around him. It will be interesting to see his blocking ability, which could be helpful in short yardage situations, which the Colts struggled a bit in last year. Tamme's strength is his speed, and his weakness is his strength.

5th (161)-Marcus Howard/DE/Georgia: I have no idea how Marcus Howard fell this far. Howard has the potential to be one of the premier pass rusher in the entire league. Luckily for the Colts, Howard was available here, and we picked him up. Howard will be used as a pass rushing specialist on third downs. With Howard, quarterbacks like Billy Volek will not be able to pass on us. Howard's strength is his speed, and his weakness is his size.

6th (196)-Tom Santi/TE/Virginia: The Colts are definitely set at tight end for the future. They signed Dallas Clark long-term, and now they have 2 rookie tight ends. Santi will be used more as a blocking tight end, even though he can still catch. He led the Cavs in receiving yards and touchdowns per game. His strength is his blocking, and his weakness is his lack of speed.

6th (201)-Steve Justice/C or G/Wake Forest: Out of the centers the Colts took today, Justice is the most likely to actually stay at center. Saturday will be his mentor, and he is expected to take over for him in the near future. Justice's strength is his football IQ, and his weakness is his lack of experience in a pro style blocking system.

6th (202)-Mike Hart/RB/Michigan: This was the sexiest pick of the Colts draft. Hart is a superstar and former Heisman contender that fell in the draft because he is not a combine player. Hart will be a change of pace back for Addai and will help keep Addai healthy. Hart's strength is his aggressive running style, and his weakness is his durability.

6th (205)-Pierre Garcon/WR/Mount Union: I'd never heard of Garcon before today. He went to Division III Mount Union, and he was never projected to be drafted. Garcon's strength is his quickness, and his weakness is his lack of competition in college.

7th (236)-Jamey Richard/C or G/Buffalo: Richard is another interior lineman. Last year against San Diego, the Colts barely could field an offensive line because of injuries. Now, they have much better depth. Richard's strength is his footwork, and his weakness is his lack of athleticism.

With these picks, here is what the Colts pre-UDFA 53 man roster.

QB
Peyton Manning
Jim Sorgi

RB
Joseph Addai
Mike Hart
Kenton Keith

WR
Reggie Wayne
Marvin Harrison
Anthony Gonzalez
Roy Hall
Devin Aromashodu
Pierre Garcon

TE
Dallas Clark
Bryan Fletcher
Jacob Tamme
Tom Santi

LT
Tony Ugoh
Michael Toudouze

LG
Ryan Lilja
Jamey Richard

C
Jeff Saturday
Steve Justice

RG
Mike Pollak
Dylan Gandy

RT
Ryan Diem
Charlie Johnson

DE
Dwight Freeney
Robert Mathis
Marcus Howard
Josh Thomas
Keyunta Dawson

DT
Ed Johnson
Raheem Brock
Quinn Pitcock
Darrell Reid

SLB
Tyjuan Hagler
Ramon Guzman

MLB
Gary Brackett
Phillip Wheeler

WLB
Freddie Keiaho
Clint Session

CB
Marlin Jackson
Kelvin Hayden
Tim Jennings
Dante Hughes
Michael Coe
TJ Rushing

FS
Antoine Bethea
Brannon Condren

SS
Bob Sanders

K
Adam Vinatieri

P
Hunter Smith

LS
Justin Snow