2012 Colts Draft Preview

            It has been a mind-numbing period since the Peyton Manning departure in March. Once that decision was made by the Colts’ front-office, there was nearly a constant stream of Colts players leaving the organization. Name after name, for almost a week, of players that were released sent fans into frenzy. All of a sudden, the team we had grown to know and love for the past decade was almost unrecognizable. More importantly, all of our jerseys were suddenly outdated.

Here is the list of players that were released since the end of the 2011 season:

Peyton Manning (QB), Dan Orlovsky (QB), Curtis Painter (QB), Joseph Addai (RB), Pierre Garcon (WR), Anthony Gonzalez (WR), Blair White (WR), Dallas Clark (TE), Jacob Tamme (TE), Ryan Diem (OT), Jeff Saturday (C), Mike Pollack (OG), Jamaal Anderson (DE), Eric Foster (DT), Ernie Sims (LB), Gary Brackett (LB), Jacob Lacey (CB), Melvin Bullitt (SS)

            
            When was the last time a team went through such an overhaul just a year after making the playoffs? All those guys were key in the Colts winning games and winning the AFC South in 2010. Now they will join other teams.

Am I surprised to see any of these players getting cut? No. Am I happy to see them gone? Yes, actually I am (sans Peyton Manning). Addai has never, and will never, be an elite running back. Garcon was quick but he never had consistency in catching the ball. Gonzalez could be great but he was always injured. White was ok but he can be replaced easily. Diem was good but aging. Tamme was good but can be replaced. Saturday, Clark, and Brackett are guys that I will miss. They were great leaders, on and off the field. Not only do you have to find replacements that have the same talent as them, but also the same character. That will be a challenge.

The new Indianapolis Colts era begins tonight at the 2012 NFL Draft. All winter long, we went through the “Andrew Luck vs. Robert Griffin” contest, even though we all knew Luck would be the first pick. Well, as it turns out, Luck will be the first pick. The new Colts’ General Manager, Ryan Grigson, announced earlier this week that the Indianapolis Colts will select the Stanford quarterback with the number one overall pick.

For those that have been living under a rock for the last year, Luck has been hyped as the greatest college quarterback since Peyton Manning. He’s actually been more hyped than that, because everybody thought Peyton was the second-best quarterback in his 1998 draft class. How fitting, or ironic, is it then, that the team that picked Peyton is also the team that will pick Luck? Luck is a 6’-4”, 235 lb., and 23 year-old graduate of Stanford University. In his three years of playing as the starting quarterback, Luck amassed 9,430 yards, 82 touchdowns, and just 22 interceptions. Luck never put up gaudy numbers like Cam Newton or Robert Griffin III, but it’s the way he plays that has NFL scouts drooling. While at Stanford, the offensive system he was a part of was very similar to the type he will run in Indianapolis. Luck isn’t a guy that runs around the field looking to make plays with his feet. He drops back, scans the field, waits for receivers to get open, and then launches the ball downfield. He makes plays with his arms and brain. His play resembles that of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Eli Manning.

I was never overly impressed with Luck when I watched his games. However, I believe, with the right people around him, he can win a Super Bowl with the Colts. How can he not succeed? He already has the arm strength of many passers in the NFL and has a desire to be one of the best quarterbacks ever. 
            Other needs for the Colts are running back, tight end, linebacker, cornerback, and safety. It also wouldn’t hurt to pick up an offensive linemen or defensive linemen. In other words, every position is a need. We have 10 picks in this draft and it will be vital that they are used on quality players that will remain on the team while we rebuild. There isn’t much room for error for picks to be used on guys that may or not be huge superstars.

Many projections have the Colts selecting Stanford tight end, Coby Fleener, with the 34^th pick. That would be a great pickup because Luck would definitely be comfortable throwing to his former teammate. Fleener is also big enough to offer extra protection on the offensive line. Not to mention, great tight ends are hard to find.

Another key position where the Colts have to improve is at running back. Addai had a couple of good seasons but has never been the kind of running back that made defenses worry about somebody other than Peyton Manning. A talented running back could take a lot of pressure off of Luck. It’s unfortunate the Colts won’t be able to get Alabama running back, Trent Richardson, because he is going to be a future Pro Bowler.

On defense, there are holes to fill everywhere, especially at linebacker. New head coach, Chuck Pagano, is instituting a 3-4 defense, rather than a traditional 4-3 defense. This means there will be three defensive linemen and four linebackers (this is the system the Ravens and Steelers use) on the field. The Colts currently have 12 linebackers and 7 defensive linemen on the roster. Six of those 12 linebackers are actually defensive ends, including Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis! I don’t if those two will end up playing at that position during the season, but that would be incredible to watch. The current defensive linemen are pretty good and a draft pick shouldn’t be wasted on that position. The real room for improvement is on the linebacker unit. We need to acquire actual outside linebackers and quality middle linebackers. Fortunately for us, there is a plethora of linebackers that have a lot of potential in this year’s draft.

The first round of the 2012 Draft is on tonight. The second and third rounds are tomorrow night. The final four rounds will be Saturday. Every round will be aired on ESPN. Expect more coverage than any normal human being actually needs.

Pacers Gearing Up For Playoffs

            The Indiana Pacers are currently the best team in the NBA. I’ll let that soak in. In the month of April, the Pacers have amassed a 10-1 record.  Although only four of those wins have come against winning teams, it is still an impressive feat. Even better is that right now is when you want to be playing your best basketball. The Playoffs begin in just a couple weeks, on April 28^th. You don’t want to start the playoffs without any momentum or success to build off of.

                So, how about those Playoffs? Indiana is currently is control of the #3 seed and will most likely end up there. In my last post about the Pacers, I mentioned it was possible for us to get the #2 seed from the Miami Heat. That opportunity is no longer possible, but honestly, nobody really wants that to happen because whoever ends up as the #2 will likely have to play the suddenly fantastic New York Knicks. On the flip side, the #3 seed will most likely play the Dwight Howard-less Orlando Magic. All the Pacers have to do is win two more games and they will clinch the #2 spot. One win and the best the Celtics or Hawks can do is tie us. We hold the tiebreaker against the Hawks, but we tied with the Celtics 2-2 in the season series. I’m not sure what breaks that tie.

When the season first started, Lance Stephenson was the backup shooting guard behind Paul George. Before the All-Star Break, Stephenson was averaging 11 minutes and 2.4 points per game. Post All-Star Break, he is averaging 6.5 minutes and .4 points per game. That drop-off in playing time is because of the signing of Leandro Barbosa. This has not dampened Stephenson’s enthusiasm though. In every game, you can always see Stephenson giving players high-fives and jumping off the bench after one of his teammates makes a big shot. It’s great to see guys like him who can still support the team even when he isn’t getting the playing time he probably wants.

Remaining schedule:

4/19: vs. Milwaukee Bucks (29-32)

4/21: vs. Philadelphia 76ers (32-30)

4/23: vs. Detroit Pistons (23-39)

4/25: vs. Chicago Bulls (47-15)

The Pacers handled the Bucks and 76ers last week, and both games were on the road. We should take care of business this week, especially at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Even though those teams are desperately trying to secure their playoff spots, the Pacers are trying to secure their #3 seed. If we do win those games, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the starters get plenty of bench time against Detroit. Then the regular season concludes against Chicago. This game seemed like a blockbuster at the beginning of the season. Now it seems like it could be a snoozer. There’s a good chance both teams will be resting their starters, especially Chicago, who has been battling health issues all year.

Sprint Cup Series In Full Swing

Note: I meant to post this story BEFORE the Texas race last Saturday. Fortunately, not much happened at that race so most of what you read would have been the same even if I had included Texas in this.

            This past Easter weekend was the first time since mid-February that NASCAR drivers got some time to rest up and prepare for the remaining season. The week off also allows us fans to reflect on the first six weeks of the season and to look forward at the next 30 races.

                        
            The Daytona 500, NASCAR’s annual start to the season, introduced a return to “pack racing”. Gone was the tandem racing that has dominated the restrictor plate races the last two seasons. Roush Racing dominated that event and Matt Kenseth won the race. Kenneth’s teammates, Greg Bifle and Carl Edwards, finished second and eighth, respectively. “Roushketeer” Greg Bifle finished third in the next two races and jumped to 1^st place in the 2012 Standings. Bifle is still currently the point’s leader, although he hasn’t finished in the Top 5 in any of the last three races.

            Tony Stewart has continued his success from last season as he already has two wins in 2012 and is third in the standings. Brad Keselowski is also showing that he is a force to be reckoned with. Brad had a great run at Bristol that finished with him in Victory Lane. The big surprise of the season so far is the success of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale is sitting 2^nd in the point’s standings. That’s as high as he has been in as long as I can remember. Jr. doesn’t have any wins, but he has really fast cars and has three Top 5’s. Jr. is also showing an emotion his fans have not seen in a long time, cheerfulness. He will get at least one win this season; guaranteed.

Here are the points standings through six races:

1: Greg Bifle                226     

2: Dale Earnhardt Jr.   -6*      

3: Tony Stewart           -12*

4: Matt Kenseth           -12

5: Kevin Harvick         -12*

6: Martin Truex Jr.       -12

7: Denny Hamlin         -16

8: Ryan Newman         -24

9: Clint Bowyer           -34

10: Jimmie Johnson    -37*

11: Carl Edwards         -47*

12: Brad Keselowski   -51*

13: Joey Logano          -59

14: Paul Menard          -60

15: Jeff Burton             -62

16: Kyle Busch            -75

17: Juan Pablo Montoya-80

18:  Regan Smith        -80*    

19: Aric Almirola        -82

20: A.J. Allmendinger -83*

*- drivers I picked before the season to watch for this year

            
            You’ve probably noticed there are some big name drivers that aren’t in the Top 20. Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne are two of those drivers. Both have put themselves in positions to win races but have had awful luck so far. In fact, Hendrick Motorsports hasn’t won a race since late last season. I wouldn’t worry yet, though. Johnson and Jr. are in great position to make the Chase and Gordon and Kahne are too talented to not run into some good luck.

            You may also notice that two of the drivers that I picked to have great seasons aren’t in the Top 20; one of those I’ve already mentioned, Kahne. The other is Regan Smith. Smith has not made much progress since his one victory last season. Hopefully he can get back on track and get some Top 10’s.

Next 8 races

4/14- Texas (Samsung 500)

4/22- Kansas (STP 400)

4/28- Richmond (Richmond 400)

5/6- Talladega (Aaron’s 499)

5/12- Darlington (Bojangles’ Southern 500

5/19- All-Star Race (non-points event)

5/27- Charlotte (Coca-Cola 600)

6/3- Dover (FedEx 400)

            A lot of exciting races to conclude Spring and head into the Summer tracks. Texas, Kansas, Charlotte are 1.5 mile, high-banked tracks. Talladega is a 2.66 mile beast that always produces great finishes. Darlington is 1.6 mile track that is considered NASCAR’s first superspeedway. It is also one of the hardest tracks to drive on and is one of my favorite races to watch. Dover, or the “Monster Mile”, is exciting, but 100 laps too long.

Great Start to April

            It was a nearly perfect start of April for the Indiana Pacers. Through their first six games they went 5-1. Most impressive was the way the entire team actually played as a team. The captain, Danny Granger, has averaged 23 points in the six games so far and has a stunningly high 52% field goal percentage. Besides Granger, five other players are averaging double-digit points per game and two are above .500 in field goal percentage. The Pacers also scored 100+ in every one of their five wins.

            The first game of April was a tough battle in Houston, where Indiana had to go to overtime to defeat the surging Rockets. Next was a home bout versus the New York Knicks, who had already beaten us twice this year. It looked like the Knicks would sweep the season series but the Pacers came from 17 points down in the third quarter to win by 8. Those two wins showed how much heart, tenacity, and strength this team really has. After the Knicks game, the Pacers traveled to Washington to face the Wizards. We kept the momentum going by winning that game handedly.

Sitting at 4-0 in April, the Pacers looked to make everybody in the league realize they were for real when the Oklahoma City Thunder came to town. The Thunder are the best team in the West and arguably the best team in the NBA. Were the Pacers intimidated? Absolutely not. At one point in the game, the Pacers led by 19! Even though Kevin Durant scored a ridiculous 44 points in the game, the Pacers won 103-98.

            The lone dark spot in the last stretch of games is the loss to the Boston Celtics. It shouldn’t be used an excuse, but that game was their ninth game in thirteen days. Plus, it was the night after we beat the Thunder. It’s hard to beat one of the best teams one night, and then prepare for a weaker opponent the next day. Fortunately, the Pacers rebounded last night and beat the visiting Toronto Raptors.

           

I’ve been saying since about midway through the season that the Pacers’ bench had to improve if he had any real hope of making it past the first round of the playoffs. The signing of Leandro Barbosa was exactly what we needed. When the backup shooting guard scores more than 10 points, the Pacers are 6-0.  It used to be that the only scorers the bench had was George Hill and Tyler Hansbrough, and both of those guys are streaky. You couldn’t always count on them to put up enough points to keep the team in the game. Now that Barbosa is here, there are three guys on the court that cannot only create shots, but also make them.

            One of the other key bench players is Lou Amundson. I have spent quite a lot of time bashing this guy since the preseason. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the Pacers and Pacers’ fans, Lou has really improved his game since the beginning of the season. Since the All-Star Break, Lou is averaging 4.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Both of those numbers are twice the amount he had before the All-Star break. With Amundson and Hansbrough in the game at the same time, you’ve got two power forwards that play with tenacity and energy that not many other frontcourt duo’s can match.

Ok, so as of me posting this story, here are the Eastern Conference standings:

1- Chicago Bulls (43-14)

2- Miami Heat (40-15)

3- Indiana Pacers (35-22)

4- Boston Celtics (32-24)

5- Atlanta Hawks (34-23)

6- Orlando Magic (34-23)

7- New York Knicks (29-27)

8- Philadelphia 76ers (29-27)

           

            I don’t think there’s any way we can catch the Bulls. However, if the Heat continue to collapse before the playoffs, we could catch them. They have to play 11 games, two more than us. They also have to play five road games, also two more than us. Finally, they have two games against the Bulls and Celtics.

            Before we can daydream about moving up, we have to worry about moving down. The Magic and Hawks are more than capable of catching the Pacers. In fact, all they have to do it tie us and they will get the better seed. Fortunately for us, those two teams have tough schedules. The Magic have nine games remaining and six of them are on the road. The Hawks have nine games left to play as well, and six of them are against teams above .500.

            
            As for Indiana, we have nine games left. Three of them are on the road. Three of them are against winning teams. On top of all that, we only need three more wins to guarantee a playoff berth. Based on nothing but my opinion, I believe we will need to win five games to guarantee us the #3 seed.

Next five games:

4/11- at Cleveland Cavaliers (18-36)

4/13- vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (18-36)

4/14- at Milwaukee Bucks (28-29)

4/16- vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (25-33)

4/17- at Philadelphia 76ers (29-27)

            The final nine games of the 2012 season starts in Cleveland. The Cavs have struggled all season but apparently that’s because the only team they practice for is the Pacers. It took us overtime to defeat them back in December and they beat us by 11 in February. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Cavs beat us in their place. The Bucks game will be difficult because that is a team that is fighting for a playoff spot. A win for them will mean much more than to us. The Timberwolves have fallen out of the Western playoff race and we have beaten them once already. The 76ers are really struggling as they are on a four-game losing streak and show no signs of improvement. We should win that game and finish with at least three wins in the five-game stretch.

Pacers Finish a Rough March

            It was a rough March for the Indiana Pacers. After last night’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs the team finished with an 8-9 record during the month and have a combined 30-21 record on the season. Looking back on the 17 games, the Pacers had a month that seemed like a roller coaster ride comprised of ups and downs. Early in March, the team went on a four-game losing streak that happened to be against teams that will most likely make the playoffs. Those games really showed just how much more work the Pacers had to do before becoming true contenders. Then we got a solid win over the Philadelphia 76ers, but that was nullified by back-to-back blowout losses to the New York Knicks. Indiana then got back on track with wins over the Clippers, Bucks, and the dreaded Miami Heat. However, the month ended with a 1-2 record and blowout losses to the Nets and Spurs.

            
            Now, the Pacers are entering the final month of the season. They are in 5^th place in the Eastern Conference Standings, but they could easily fall to 6^th or 7^th if they don’t start winning more consistently. If they do keep winning, they could just as easily jump up to 3^rd or 4^th in the standings.

Here’s some numbers for the April schedule:

• 15 games altogether
• 10 games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
• 8 games against teams with winning records
• 3 back-to-back sets of games

   It’s not inconceivable to believe that Indiana will win at least 10 of their games in the final month of the regular season. That would give us a final record of 40-26 and hopefully a 3-5 seed in the playoffs.

         The biggest problem the Pacers face in the playoff race is that every Division winner is guaranteed a Top 4 seed. There is no way we can catch the Chicago Bulls who are 10 games ahead of us in the Central Division. There is also little reason to believe anybody will catch the Miami Heat, who have a six game lead in the Southeast Division. Those two teams will undoubtedly take the 1 and 2 seeds, and that leaves spots 3-8 up for grabs. I don’t think Indiana will fall as low as 6, 7, or 8, but you never know.

   The other teams that are in contention for the middle seeds are the Celtics, Magic, 76ers, and Hawks. The Celtics have an absolutely brutal April, as 11 of their 15 games are against teams with winning records. They also have to play the Heat three times and the Chicago Bulls once. Plus, eight of their last games are on the road. The Magic play 14 games and 9 of them are against winning teams. The 76ers have 14 games and have just six games against teams with winning records, including two against Indiana. The Hawks have, by far, the easiest closing schedule of all these teams. They play just 12 times and only 4 of those are road games.

         Before I get any farther, I want to thank former Pacer Jeff Foster for his 13 years of service to the Indiana Pacers organization. Foster announced a few weeks ago that he was being forced to retire because of prolonging back injuries. He has spent his entire career with the Pacers and he was always a player you could count on to play 100% every night. He played with tenacity and heart that you rarely see these days. He was never the kind of player that would rack up 20 points a night but he was the kind of player you have to have on your roster.

   Foster’s sudden retirement led to the signing of Kyrylo Fesenko. I don’t know to pronounce his name either so don’t feel bad. The 7’1”, 280 lb. Fesenko is a fourth-year player that has averaged 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. He was signed by the Pacers on March 23^rd but has yet to play at all, or even be in uniform on the bench. I am not sure how much longer he will have to sit out but we could really use an adequate backup for Roy Hibbert.

            Upcoming games:

4/1- at Houston Rockets (27-25) [W 104-102 OT]

4/3- vs. New York Knicks (27-26) [W 112-104]

4/4- at Washington Wizards (12-39) [W 109-96]

4/6- vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (39-12) [W103-98]

4/7- vs. Boston Celtics (29-22)

4/9- vs. Toronto Raptors (17-35)

-results in brackets

            It’s a tough game to start April. The Rockets are coming off a win and are in a similar playoff race to the Pacers. The Knicks dominated us in back-to-back games in March. The Heat beat us in the same fashion three times in a row before we got the best of them. Maybe the same will happen with the Knicks. Plus, they’ll be missing Jeremy Lin because of an injury. We had a tough time knocking off the Wizards last week. Now we have to go to their house where they may get the best of us. I seriously doubt we’ll beat the Thunder, but it’ll be a nice chance to watch Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. We have a 2-1 record against Boston so far and we could really use the win in case we tie with them in the standings. Toronto should be an easy win.