With the Indianapolis Colts’ 2010 organized team activities sessions ongong at the team’s practice facility, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a daily look at the team’s most-pressing issues.

With 2010 organized team activities coming to an end this week, let’s take today to again address a misunderstood aspect of the Colts’ off-season.

Specifically, that’s the absence of WR Reggie Wayne and DE Robert Mathis.

We’re addressed this already, but considering the reaction of readers and fans to the issue, it seemed worth addressing again, with most important thing to realize with this situation is it’s very unlikely that it will be something anyone’s worrying much about in seven weeks.

Seven weeks is when the Colts are scheduled to open training camp at Anderson University, and it would be a major surprise if either isn’t there come August 1.

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With the Indianapolis Colts’ 2010 organized team activities sessions ongong at the team’s practice facility, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a daily look at the team’s most-pressing issues .

What’s noticeable about what may be the biggest story of Colts 2010 off-season, the return to health of S Bob Sanders, is how little people have seemed to pay much attention.

Or perhaps more accurately, how few people have seemed willing to believe.

Sanders, a seventh-year safety and one of the NFL’s most-dominant, most-dynamic defensive players when healthy, practiced throughout this past weekend’s mini-camp, and from all reports, he has practiced throughout 2010 organized team activities.

This is very, very big news for the Colts.

And good news, too.

It certainly has more potential to make a huge on-field impact than the other “big” stories of the weekend – the absences of WR Reggie Wayne, DE Robert Mathis or S Antoine Bethea, or even C Jeff Saturday speaking about the potential 2011 NFL lockout.

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With the Indianapolis Colts’ 2010 mini-camp ending Sunday, the Colts have the beginnings of some early impressions about the regular season.

So, let’s take a quick look around the team as mini-camp ends.

1. QB Peyton Manning has the same look and feel as always. This may be a bit from the dog-bites-man category, but Manning – the NFL’s Most Valuable Player the past two seasons and four times in his career – looks as he always does: very prepared and very much like the driving force of the franchise. If that’s not exactly news, it was interesting what several people around the Colts, particularly Head Coach Jim Caldwell, had to say this weekend when the subject turned to how long Manning could continued improving each off-season and playing at a high level. The question was posed to Caldwell that at some point, didn’t Manning – entering his 13^th NFL season – have to start trending down each off-season rather than up? Caldwell said he didn’t think so, and that Manning shows no signs of dropoff, and in fact, Caldwell said he expects the opposite to be true. “He has been fantastic, but every year he has improved and I don’t think this year will be any different,” Caldwell said.

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Each week during the regular season on Examiner.com, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser offers seven thoughts on all things Indianapolis Colts. Without further delay, here’s the pre-minicamp version of the Magnificent Seven for the 2010 offseason, with training camp suddenly less than two months out.

7. No Reggie. On Thursday, Colts WR Reggie Wayne made the rather unusual announcement that he will not be attending the Colts’ mandatory minicamp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center this weekend. This is unusual on a couple of fronts. One, is that while Wayne rarely has attended the Colts’ off-season conditioning and organized team activities sessions, he never before has missed mandatory off-season work. Two, is that while the Colts certainly have had players not thrilled with their contracts in recent seasons, few situations come to mind where any players — particularly one as high-profile as Wayne. Either way, Wayne’s unlikely to get much traction this off-season. He has two years remaining on his contract, and as is the case with DE Robert Mathis — also unhappy with his contract – there are a couple of factors working against a new deal. One is that the Colts rarely negotiate with players two years from end of their deals. Regular readers will know how much value Indy Football Report believes Wayne has to the offense. He isn’t as far from being as important as Marvin Harrison was in his prime as people might believe. But with the Colts rarely re-negotiating this early – in addition to the first factor, their desire to get a new deal done with QB Peyton Manning – it’s just hard to believe much will get done on Wayne’s contract before next season.

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So, on Tuesday afternoon, after weeks of rumors, the news came that the Indianapolis Colts aren’t going back to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for training camp this season.

The Colts, after 11 seasons training in Terre Haute, Ind., will move camp to Anderson University in Anderson, Ind., the Indianapolis Star is reporting.

And so ends an era of sorts.

We at Indy Football Report won’t insult intelligence by overemphasizing the change, or by waxing too poetic about the change in venue. The Colts will go on, of course, and there likely will be little visible difference on the field once the season begins.

Still, because the off-season is a bit of a slower news time and a time for reflection, let’s reflect a moment on the Colts’ time training in Terre Haute.

The Colts have trained there for 11 seasons, with those seasons not only 11 of the most successful seasons in franchise history, but an 11-year span successful on a level few NFL franchises have attained.

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Five quick questions at the midway point of Indianapolis Colts organized team activities . . .

We spent the first half of the Indianapolis Colts’ organized team activities addressing major, obvious issues, so as the second half begins, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a look at five off-season questions that might not be so obvious.

1. Is Curtis Painter entrenched as the backup quarterback? That apparently is the case, that despite concern from observers and fans over the situation. Painter, a sixth-round selection in the 2009 NFL Draft from Purdue University, played extensively in the final two regular-season games as a rookie. He struggled in those appearances, but played in tough situations, with the Colts having pulled most of their starters having clinched their post-season seeding. Painter at the time was playing because the Colts had placed then-backup Jim Sorgi on injured reserve, and after the Colts allowed Sorgi to sign with the New York Giants as a free agent, there was speculation that the Colts would sign a veteran to backup Peyton Manning. But the Colts typically develop young players as backups, and did so with Sorgi six seasons ago, and with OTAs halfway over, it would be something of a surprise if they deviated from that course.

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With the Indianapolis Colts’ 2010 organized team activities sessions ongoing at the team’s practice facility, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a daily look at the team’s most-pressing issues . . .

The relative quiet of the Indianapolis Colts’ 2010 organized team activities ended Wednesday with the somewhat surprising news that DE Robert Mathis has a reason beyond his recent college graduation for not attending.

The reason is this:

He wants to renegotiate his contract.

Mathis, an eight-year veteran and the Colts’ second all-time sacks leaders, graduated from Alabama A&M two Sundays ago. He didn’t attend OTAs the following week. He isn’t there this week, either, and the Indianapolis Star Wednesday reported his absence is because he wants to “enhance” his contract.

We say this is somewhat” surprising because while it’s uncharacteristic for Mathis to not to be involved in the Colts’ off-season program, it’s not a shock he would want a new deal.

He is scheduled to make a little more than $2 million each of the next seasons.

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With the Indianapolis Colts’ 2010 organized team activities sessions ongoing at the team’s practice facility, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a daily look at the team’s most-pressing issues . . .

The most unexpected storyline of the early part of Indianapolis Colts’ 2010 organized team activities is one no one – not even the team – could have expected.

Still, the reality is this:

The Colts aren’t as deep entering 2010 OTAs as they expected at cornerback. And an injury is the reason.

Kevin Thomas, a cornerback from the University of Southern California and the Colts’ third-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, sustained a serious knee injury on the final day of the team’s 2010 rookie mini-camp earlier this month.

The Colts announced shortly thereafter that the injury could force Thomas to miss the season.

We’ve written before here that the Colts announcing such specifics on the severity of the injury could be a strong indication that it indeed is season-ending (even before said season begins), and that the injury certainly further hurts a position already weakened by a series of necessary roster-reducing moves early this off-season.

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With the Indianapolis Colts’ 2010 organized team activities sessions ongoing at the team’s practice facility, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a daily look at the team’s most-pressing issues . . .

One of the most-anticipated story lines of the Indianapolis Colts’ 2010 Organized Team Activities is the return of WR Anthony Gonzalez.

With the return, comes questions that will shape the Colts’ offense next season.

Is Gonzalez healthy?

Will he be able to play at a high level next season?

Just where will he play?

Gonzalez, always one of the most thoughtful, insightful Colts players, answered the questions best he could during the first week of 2010 OTAs, and while he said he is feeling as healthy as possible and is practicing with the Colts, he’s not certain of the answer to the last question.

Just where will he play?

Gonzalez said he’s not certain, and that’s because it’s really too early to know.

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