Indianapolis Colts Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jim Irsay couldn’t have been any more clear. He made his point on the day for the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and he made it again when speaking with Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star during the 2009 mandatory minicamp this past weekend:
The running game has to improve. Now.
And most specifically, Irsay said the offensive line must improve:
We’ve got to get the offensive line fixed.
Colts C Jeff Saturday discussed the issue at length during the team’s minicamp this past weekend, and reiterated what he has said throughout the offseason, that the performance of the running game was embarrassing. This is clearly something that has become a major offseason storyline, and as I see it, it’s the biggest issue facing the Colts this season. The Colts’ offense doesn’t go as the running game does, but the Colts’ offense can not be among the league’s elite with a a subpar running game, and while there were many reasons for last season’s struggles, the offensive line was a big one.
Said Saturday:
We’ve got to be better. There’s definitely unfinished business.
The Colts, after ranking in the Top 19 in the NFL in rushing in all but one season since 1998, ranked No. 31 last season. Their 3.4-yards-per-carry was the fifth-lowest in franchise history, Chappell reported.
Chappell also correctly noted that the problem went well beyond running back Joseph Addai, who has received much criticism after his first non-1,000-yard rushing season. Addai struggled with hamstring, shoulder and knee issues. The Colts also started six offensive line combinations, with OG Ryan Lilja missing the entire season and Saturday missing four games.
Said Irsay:
Our ability to rush the football was completely unacceptable last year. It was more of a miracle that we were able to disguise the problem so much and go so far and do so much with it being such a problem.
Said Saturday:
You can fall in love watching 18 (Manning) throw it around and think you can win the world that way. But the bottom line is we’ve got to run the football if we’re going to win. It’s going to be better.
Irsay also said specified the need for LT Tony Ugoh to be “more consistent:”
We gave up a lot for him to play left tackle. He’s got to be focused. He’s got to be ready to go.’
The Colts traded a first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft for the right to select Ugoh in the second round in 2007.
IFR Analysis:This isn’t a huge step forward in this story, but as the offseason goes on it just becomes more and more evident that beyond the offensive assistants and beyond the change at head coach and beyond anything else, the offensive line — and its ability to help the running game improve — is the pressing issue facing the Colts. If OG Ryan Lilja can return to full health and the form he showed before missing last season with a knee injury, that’s huge plus. And from hearing Irsay tell it, Ugoh obviously is entering a very important season in which he must show he’s a franchise-level offensive left tackle. Considering the focus and motivation the Colts’ offensive lineman have shown throughout the offseason, I can’t see the Colts not being improved up front. The guess here is that last season’s slip was more of an aberration than a trend. Saturday’s return will help, and if Lilja is back to form, history indicates that there’s little reason to think the Colts can’t get back to the form they showed during the decade leading to last season.
Couldn’t agree more John. I was hoping that the Colts would do more to address the OL in the draft but evidently they think the solutions are already on the roster. I guess we’ll see and they are probably right in terms of the interior lineman, but we really don’t have a backup plan if Ugoh doesn’t pan out. Charlie Johnson is a decent backup at Tackle but he’s proven he’s not the long term answer there. Diem is on the downside of his career and played his first (and likely last) injury free season last year. With our lack of depth at OT I’m afraid we could see some of the same problem on the Oline that we did last year even if the interior is improved. I’m optimistic that the Colts will overcome as they usually do but OT is the one weak point I see on this team. I agree with your assessment all other areas of the team are at least improved if not more solid than they’ve ever been. You can’t really say the same for the OT position…
Yet Polian used the first round to pick a RB, not an O-lineman. In fact, he didn’t address the O-line until the LAST round of the draft….puting it BEHIND a new QB. Aside from that there were two O-linemen he picked up from the minor arean football AF2 leauge and two guys in FA who came from what looks like Div II schools.
Where did Polian put the greater emphesis. This is another example of “I’ll believe what I see, not what they say” from the Colts front office. For all the “values” talk honesty doesn’t seem to be one of the values that they believe in.
There is no depth behind those tackles except for C Johnson. He’s better suited to guard than tackle IMO, and is no long-term OT solution.
Not going here in the draft was a big surprise (Powers better be a solid CB, because that was the spot to look to reinforce the O-line). I agree about Diem– can you count on him for 16 games plus playoffs? Ugoh has been consistently banged up with stingers and other bumps and bruises.
Manning will adjust and get through it if necessary– but we are not going to beat teams like SD, Pittsburgh and NE in January without being able to run when we want. (see the 3rd and 2)
Good cohesion has a lot to do with offensive line play. It’s virtually impossible to have good cohesion when you have so many new faces in new positions. Two new guards last year teamed with Saturday and Ugoh injuries made for an almost impossible scenario. I think the 2nd year guys will take a nice leap forward this year.