Three rookies have now signed.  One of them is undrafted.

Sam Giguere, the French-Canadian wide receiver, signed a two year contract with an option for a third.  Here is the original article for all of you French scholars, and here is the poorly translated version via Babel Fish.

Also, Jacob Tamme and Mike Pollak have signed.  Both of them will contend for starting jobs, so their arrivals at the beginning of camp would have been vital.

UPDATE: Mike Hart, Steve Justice, and Marcus Howard have also signed.  Here is the link about the signing frenzy.

ESPN.com is now saying Peyton Manning might be ready in the preseason.  ESPN Radio in Chicago reported that days ago.  ESPN.com isn’t the best place for breaking news.

Marvin has been cleared to practice and will participate at training camp.  That means Peyton, Bob Sanders, Dwight Freeney, Tom Santi, Tyjuan Hagler, and Ryan Lilja will be the only players on the PUP list for training camp.  Santi has a bursa sac infection.  I say at the draft we remove all of our players’ bursa sacs.  Those things cause nothing but trouble.  The skin needs to touch the bones more anyways.

Pierre Garcon is the first rookie to sign.

Players report on Thursday, so this is one of the last days to do a roster prediction.  It feels like now is the best time for one, so here it goes.  53 players make it on the roster, 8 on the practice squad, and I will put 10 that should keep in touch if injuries take their toll.

53 Man Roster

QB
#18 Peyton Manning-I bet I caught you off guard with this one.
#12 Jim Sorgi-Sorgi will get a chance to prove himself this upcoming year.  He better not blow it.  Adam Tafralis and Josh Betts are creeping up on him.

RB
#29 Joseph Addai-Another shocker.
#33 Dominic Rhodes-Rhodes will be a change of pace back who should get somewhere between 100 to 150 carries per game.  He should prosper without all the pressure on him.
#32 Mike Hart-I consider Hart a running back, although it seems like he will be used as a fullback/short yardage back.

FB
#47 Gijon Robinson-Robinson is a fantastic blocker, and he will also be able to catch the ball, as he is “officially” a tight end.  Look for him in the goal line.

WR
#87 Reggie Wayne-As long as he doesn’t hurt himself in a meaningless basketball game, he will be Peyton’s number one target, at least until Manning and Harrison get their connection back.
#88 Marvin Harrison-Hopefully he can recover quickly and maybe get a few plays in a preseason game so he isn’t too rusty.
#11 Anthony Gonzalez-Gonzalez could have a breakout year.  Or at least I hope so.  He’s on my fantasy team.
#83 Roy Hall-Hall will be a surprise player and will be a major difference maker this year.  Mark that down.
#14 Sam Giguere-Giguere could never make an impact in the NFL.  He could also be the biggest star wide receiver we’ve seen in a long time.  We know he has the talent, but can he produce on the field?  Let’s give him a shot.

TE
#44 Dallas Clark-Clark should still be a redzone target even with the Rhodes signing and Marvin’s injury recovery.
#84 Jacob Tamme-Tamme is an athletic tight end who should help the passing game become even more prolific.
#86 Tom Santi-It’s all about blocking here.  Someone needs to take Utecht’s place.

LT
#67 Tony Ugoh-If Ugoh would have stayed healthy last year, Joe Thomas may not have been named the unanimous best rookie lineman in the league.  Ugoh replaced a Pro Bowler, and most people would not have noticed Tarik Glenn left.
#75 Michael Toudouze-We need some fillers on the offensive line after last year.  Toudouze is a fair lineman when called upon, but he shouldn’t start.

LG
#65 Ryan Lilja-Kansas City made a bad move by waiving Lilja.  He’s an unheralded star on this team who is versatile and tough at the same time.
#61 Jamey Richard-Not much should be expected out of a seventh round pick.  Richard will see some action in the rotation, but he won’t be a difference maker this year.

C
#63 Jeff Saturday-I hope we can find some legal medicine that can make him play forever.  He’s the leader of the offensive line.
#53 Steve Justice-In Polian We Trust.  I’m sure he had a plan when he took so many interior linemen.

RG
#78 Mike Pollak-I’ll give him the nod right now, but maybe Charlie Johnson can be a better guard than a tackle (which shouldn’t be TOO hard).
#74 Charlie Johnson-I was disappointed in his play last year.  We won in spite of him.  He was hapless as a tackle.  Let’s see if he can improve as a guard.

RT
#71 Ryan Diem-Diem needs to stay healthy so Addai and the rest of the backs can get positive yards.
#76 Dan Federkiel-Like Toudouze, Federkiel is an insurance lineman.

DE
#93 Dwight Freeney-Freeney should recover well from his foot surgery and be drawing the usual double and triple teams play in and play out.
#91 Josh Thomas-I’m not a big fan, but he can stop the run.  His pass rush is very weak, however.

UT
#79 Raheem Brock-Brock is unnoticed when he plays, but you know he’s missing when you see mediocre backs running up through the middle and QBs having all day in the pocket.  Hopefully he can stay healthy.
#96 Keyunta Dawson-Dawson is another 2nd year player who should make a big impact at defensive tackle.  He is now listed as a defensive tackle on Colts.com, so there is no doubt on where he will line up next year.
#68 Eric Foster-Last year it was Ed Johnson.  This year it will be Eric Foster.  Foster was made for the Tampa 2.

NT
#99 Ed Johnson-Big Eddy was a magnificent signing by Polian last year.  Sexual assault, schmexual schmassault.  Ed Johnson can stop the run.
#97 Quinn Pitcock-The young players run the nose tackle position.  Pitcock is ridiculously strong, and he played well last season when the offensive line was plagued with injuries.
#95 Darrell Reid-This man was the last thing Chris Henry saw before his life flashed before his eyes.

DE
#98 Robert Mathis-With Freeney back, Mathis should return to his double-digit sack season shortly.
#92 Marcus Howard-No he is not a linebacker.  And if he does well, no he is not a surprise.  I expect him to do great along with many other Colts fans.

SLB
#55 Clint Session-I was stuck between Keiaho and Session here, but Session is bigger and could be a better run stopper.  We’ve all seen what he can do in the passing game.
#56 Tyjuan Hagler-He’s hurt, but it won’t cost him a roster spot.

MLB
#58 Gary Brackett-Brackett was up there with the Pro Bowl snubs last year.  He was the leader of a top-5 defense, and he will only get better.
#50 Philip Wheeler-Wheeler can play anywhere at linebacker.  I expect him to be a starter in 2009.  It depends on how Session and Keiaho do this upcoming season.

WLB
#54 Freddy Keiaho-To be perfectly honest, I have no idea how anyone can pass on us this year.  The linebackers are all ballhawkers, and the secondary is one of the best in the league.  Keiaho is a great example of a prototypical Tampa 2 linebacker.
#52 Ramon Guzman-He’s here for special teams and special teams only.

CB
#28 Marlin Jackson-Like all Tampa 2 corners, Jackson is way underrated.  He can shut the passing lane for any QB on any team.
#34 TJ Rushing-Rushing will not be a returner, but he is good enough to be a dime cornerback.

FS
#41 Antoine Bethea-Bethea is a breakout player who will contend for another Pro Bowl spot this upcoming year.
#40 Jamie Silva-The team of dark horses and surprise players strike again with Silva.  Boston College has some good players in the pros.

SS
#21 Bob Sanders-70% of the Earth is covered by water.  The rest is covered by Bob Sanders.
#43 Matt Giordano-After Giordano lacerated Bo Scaife’s liver, John Madden had a funny quip.  “[Giordano] just knocked all of his [own] hair off!”

CB
#26 Kelvin Hayden-He’s the same corner as Marlin Jackson.  I would love to see him get a long-term contract.
#20 Dante Hughes-Hughes is expected to be a standout at nickel back.  Also, it’s Dante, not Daymeion.
#25 Michael Coe-Fitting that one of the fastest players on the team shares the same number as Rocket Ismail, my favorite football player of all-time.

K
#4 Adam Vinatieri-His leg will be better, and his accuracy will be as well.

P
#17 Hunter Smith-Not a big surprise he’s over Adam Crossett right now.

LS
#48 Justin Snow-Longsnappers normally do not get any attention.  For obvious reasons.

RS
#35 Chad Simpson-Simpson is just the kind of player the Colts need at returner.  Someone who is extremely fast and may take a chance and not call a fair catch.

Practice Squad
QB Adam Tafralis
RB Clifton Dawson
WR Devin Aromashodu
OL Corey Hilliard
DL Colin Ferrell
DL Curtis Johnson
LB Jordan Senn
DB Brannon Condren

10 Who Should Keep In Touch
RB Kenton Keith
WR Courtney Roby
WR Pierre Garcon
OL Mike Elgin
OL Darren Marquez
DL Jeff Charleston
LB Victor Worsley
DB Tim Jennings
DB Brandon Foster
RS Rudy Burgess

On the “Waddle and Silvy Show” on ESPN Radio in Chicago, Coach Tony Dungy had a few comments (which you can hear here) that can make a Colts fan day.

“Marvin’s doing great and should be ready to go when training camp opens,” said coach Dungy, “He was running pretty well at our offseason workouts and really smiling and feeling good I think for the first time in a while.”

I was really surprised to here this about Marvin.  Of course, the Colts were the ones who said he would play in the Tennessee Titans game in Week 17, so you never know.  However, most people, like me, did think that Marvin would miss all of training camp and the preseason.  Marvin needs training camp and the preseason to get back into playing form.  This is great news.

But wait!  There’s more.

“Peyton’s [knee surgery] was really a minor procedure.  We kind of toyed with the idea of trying to make it through the whole season, and I think he probably could have.  But timing is going to be good for us.  Jim Sorgi will get a lot of work at the first part of training camp, and then I think Peyton will be ready by midway through then we will roll like we always have.”

Dungy goes onto say that even if Peyton would miss 5 weeks, he would still have 3 weeks of preseason to get ready.  The dried-out Marvin shooting incident was brought up, and Dungy reiterated that Marvin is not a suspect, and the Philly police has confirmed that with the organization.

If Peyton and Marvin can get even one preseason game in, it should be enough to blow by the Bears in Week 1 and be able to take care of the Vikings and Jags before the bye week.  Dungy makes all of the “experts” who said that Peyton could miss the first week look like the idiots they are.

They didn’t understand that 8 (the weeks left until the season starts) minus 6 (the maximum number of weeks Peyton would miss) equals 2, which is a positive number.  That means that he would not miss the first game.  Morons.

This coupled with the news that Freeney will definitely be 100% by Week 1, and the injury problems that were looming are all but gone.  Since the injuries are the only thing that the “experts” have said as a negative for the Colts, I think this report should make us the favorites in the AFC.  Of course Mike Florio and some of the idiots at ESPN will manipulate Dungy’s comments to make it seem like he said Peyton lost his left leg and Marvin was guilty of the shooting.  Ah well.  They can be surprised when the season comes.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Mike Vanderjagt says he is enjoying playing in the CFL.  He is 6 for 9 on field goal attempts, so he hasn’t been having the best of luck.  Hopefully he can turn this around so he can be an NFL team’s liquored-up idiot kicker again.

Not every seat at Lucas Oil Stadium is perfect.

The Colts have the most two-a-day practices in the AFC South.  Hopefully that will lead to better conditioning so we don’t lose so many players.

Some of the scariest news a Colts fan can have came up today.  According to WTHR-NBC, Peyton Manning had an infected bursa sac in his left knee, which was removed in a routine surgery Monday afternoon.  He will be out 4 to 6 weeks.

Okay.  Today is the 14th.  So sometime between August 11th and August 25th should be Peyton’s return to the practice field.  Luckily, that is long before the season starts.  However, it is never good to have a future Hall of Famer and soon-to-be greatest QB in the history of the game go down with an injury.

One thing to remember is that Peyton has never had injury problems before.  A broken jaw in his rookie year is the worst that has happened.  He missed one play because of it.  Peyton is not known for his mobility, so this shouldn’t have a lasting effect.  However, the first teams we play are Chicago, Minnesota, and Jacksonville.  All of those teams were top 10 in sacks last year, and Minnesota added Jared Allen.  The line has to protect Manning.

To sum it up, this is the most frightening thing non-spider related I can imagine.  Jim Sorgi is our backup.  I will repeat that.  Jim Sorgi.  If Peyton is not healthy, we are screwed.  Hopefully, Peyton will recover on time, and him, Sanders, Freeney, and Marvin can all make their return against the Bears and beat the living daylights out of them.

Since there is nothing going on with the Colts, lets see about whats going on with our 2008 opponents.

The Jags may be having a change of owners.

The Bears are getting excited about their rookie running back, a player who I wanted to be a Colt.

Packers fans are going through some Favre rumors.

The Bengals have a lot going on, unlike the Colts.

The Ravens remember Trent Dilfer.

The Vikings want the current Packers starting QB, not the former.

July 4th to July 23rd is a tough time.  There is nothing going on.  Besides the stupid Brett Favre rumors, the NFL is inactive all over.  So when I was searching through the blogosphere to see if there was any breaking news on the Colts, I found a fantasy football site that predicted the rushing stats for the Colts.  Fantasy Football Views made some bold predictions, and some of them were very bold.  However, there are some mistakes I have found.  Here are their predictions:

No way Addai gets 16 touchdowns.  After the injury problems he had last year, there is no way he will be used in goal line situations as much.  That is what Mike Hart is for.  Hart will be used as a fullback-like back, similar to how James Mungro was used.  Hart will be used in the goal line and short yardage situations.

I don’t see Kenton Keith makng the roster, so take him off.  With his history with the law and his dropped pass in the endzone against San Diego have cost him a spot on the team.

Dominic Rhodes will get more than 75 carries.  He will be a major part of the team, like Addai was in 2006.  I see Rhodes having around 125 carries this season.

With all that said, here are my projections for what the Colts do in the running game:

Joseph Addai: 272 carries, 1243 yards, 7 touchdowns
Dominic Rhodes: 125 carries, 487 yards, 3 touchdowns
Mike Hart: 72 carries, 273 yards, 9 touchdowns
Peyton Manning: 9 carries, 10 yards, 2 touchdowns

Addai will make the Pro Bowl again, Rhodes will be a good change of pace back, and Hart will be a fantasy sleeper with all of the touchdowns.

I loved Prisco’s top 50, but there were definite faults in it.  Even though he did a great job tackling the Brady v. Manning topic, some of his picks were, how do you say, questionable.  Here is my attempt at naming the top 50 players in the NFL.  With 1696 players on the active roster, cutting it down to 50 is tough, but here I go.

1. Tom Brady/QB/New England Patriots (Prisco Ranking-1): Ugh.  I hate this.  I hate putting Brady at number one.  50 touchdown passes does qualify him for this spot though.  This doesn’t feel right.  Do I have to put Patriots players on my list?

2. Peyton Manning/QB/Indianapolis Colts (Prisco-2): Ah, this feels better.  Manning in his downyear through for more than 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns, got his team a first-round bye while missing his top wide receiver for most of the year.  Scary to think of what he can do with the whole team in his “great” years.

3. Randy Moss/WR/New England Patriots (Prisco-4): When he’s not bumping traffic cops, he’s pushing off of cornerbacks and safeties to break the receiving touchdowns in a season record (although that title is complete bogus).  He should do well again this year, but not 20+ touchdowns.

4. LaDanian Tomlinson/RB/San Diego Chargers (Prisco-3): LDT is a Hall of Fame running back, but there are other backs in the league that are catching up to him.  Tomlinson can do it all: run, catch, and even pass.  He’s the definition of an all-around back.

5. Bob Sanders/S/Indianapolis Colts (Prisco-7): Sanders is definitely the best defender in the league.  No other defensive player changes a game in the way that Sanders does.  We’ve all seen what the Colts did on defense in 2007 as opposed to the Sanders-less 2006.

6. Jared Allen/DE/Minnesota Vikings (Prisco-12): Legal matters aside, Allen has moved into the category of a healthy Julius Peppers and Dwight Freeney as the game’s premier pass rushers.  He got 15.5 sacks in 14 games last year.  It is crazy to put him out of the top 10.

7. Antonio Cromartie/CB/San Diego Chargers (Prisco-NR): I have no idea how Antonio Cromartie was not ranked by Prisco.  Cromartie led the league in interceptions, returned a missed field goal for a touchdown, and he recovered 2 fumbles.  He was definitely the best corner in the league last year.

8. Adrian Peterson/RB/Minnesota Vikings (Prisco-15): Peterson exploded onto the scene last season, running for over 1300 yards, leading the league in rushing yards per game, and taking home the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

9. DeMarcus Ware/OLB/Dallas Cowboys (Prisco-9): Last season, Ware had the best season of his career.  He had career-highs in sacks and tackles, and he is only going to improve.

10. Walter Jones/OT/Seattle Seahawks (Prisco-16): Even though the Seahawks have no offensive weapons, the Seahawks have a top 10 offense.  How is it possible?  This man is the reason why.

11. Nnamdi Asomugha/CB/Oakland Raiders (Prisco-29)

12. Brian Westbrook/RB/Philadelphia Eagles (Prisco-20)

13. Reggie Wayne/WR/Indianapolis Colts (Prisco-22)

14. Steve Hutchinson/OG/Minnesota Vikings (Prisco-19)

15. Albert Haynesworth/DT/Tennessee Titans (Prisco-14)

16. Terrell Owens/WR/Dallas Cowboys (Prisco-13)

17. Jeff Saturday/C/Indianapolis Colts (Prisco-NR)

18. Champ Bailey/CB/Denver Broncos (Prisco-5)

19. Shawne Merriman/OLB/San Diego Chargers (Prisco-11)

20. Kevin Williams/DT/Minnesota Vikings (Prisco-10)

21. Dwight Freeney/DE/Indianapolis Colts (Prisco-25)

22. Ed Reed/S/Baltimore Ravens (Prisco-23)

23. Jason Peters/OT/Buffalo Bills (Prisco-27)

24. Richard Seymour/DE/New England Patriots (Prisco-30)

25. Braylon Edwards/WR/Cleveland Browns (Prisco-34)

26. Devin Hester/RS/Chicago Bears (Prisco-50)

27. Andre Johnson/WR/Houston Texans (Prisco-26)

28. Chad Johnson/WR/Cincinnati Bengals (Prisco-28)

29. Asante Samuel/CB/Philadelphia Eagles (Prisco-37)

30. Patrick Willis/MLB/San Francisco 49ers (Prisco-43)

31. Antonio Gates/TE/San Diego Chargers (Prisco-24)

32. Osi Umenyiora/DE/New York Giants (Prisco-42)

33. Tony Romo/QB/Dallas Cowboys (Prisco-NR)

34. Tony Gonzalez/TE/Kansas City Chiefs (Prisco-46)

35. Steven Jackson/RB/St. Louis Rams (Prisco-33)

36. Patrick Kerney/DE/Seattle Seahawks (Prisco-NR)

37. Mario Williams/DE/Houston Texans (Prisco-6)

38. Ernie Sims/OLB/Detroit Lions (Prisco-39)

39. Larry Fitzgerald/WR/Arizona Cardinals (Prisco-31)

40. Ben Roethlisberger/QB/Pittsburgh Steelers (Prisco-17)

41. Lofa Tatupa/MLB/Seattle Seahawks (Prisco-40)

42. Adrian Wilson/S/Arizona Cardinals (Prisco-NR)

43. Shawn Andrews/OG/Philadelphia Eagles (Prisco-38)

44. Tommie Harris/DT/Chicago Bears (Prisco-36)

45. Pat Williams/DT/Minnesota Vikings (Prisco-NR)

46. Aaron Kampman/DE/Green Bay Packers (Prisco-45)

47. Drew Brees/QB/New Orleans Saints (Prisco-35)

48. Brian Urlacher/MLB/Chicago Bears (Prisco-32)

49. Larry Johnson/RB/Kansas City Chiefs (Prisco-NR)

50. Plaxico Burress/WR/New York Giants (Prisco-NR)

Unranked Players On My List That Are On Prisco’s List:

Carson Palmer (8)
Charles Woodson (18)
Steve Smith (21)
Vince Wilfork (41)
Kellen Winslow (44)
Marcus Trufant (47)
Wes Welker (48)
Fred Taylor (49)

Last year, almost every starter missed some time.  Well, the injury bug is getting off on an early start as another starter is expected to miss training camp and maybe some time in the regular season.

According to NFL.com, Tyjuan Hagler tore his pectoral muscle lifting weights last week.  Tyjuan Hagler missed 4 games last season after he received the starting job when Rob Morris went down.  Hagler had 54 tackles last season, including a 10 tackle game against the Panthers.

Even though it is never good to lose a linebacker, but the Colts will not lose a step because of it. Clint Session and Philip Wheeler will be the contenders for the job.  In the infamous San Diego game, Clint Session had two interceptions and 3 tackles in his only start.  Session played in 13 games overall and had 26 tackles.

Wheeler was the Colts’ third round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft.  Wheeler was selected to the All-ACC team last season, and he led Georgia Tech in tackles (89) while also getting 6 sacks.  Georgia Tech played a blitz style under former defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta.  He played middle linebacker, but with the Tampa-2 style, the transition to outside linebacker should be simple.  He fell in the draft because he was undersized just like every other Colts linebacker.  He has great potential, especially in the Tampa-2.

I would say that Clint Session is the favorite because of the experience, but Philip Wheeler is definitely in good position to take the starting job.

3 interior linemen drafted apparently didn’t cover the need.  According to Colts Power, the Colts signed Doug Datish, a second year center who recently got waived by the Falcons.  Of course I can’t read the article since Colts Power is an “insider” blog, so we who don’t pay are unworthy of the information they put out.  Charging someone to read something on the Internet is plain stupid.

The Sporting News speaks the obvious truth: The Colts are not done.

In case some of you haven’t been paying attention, Michael Coe, Ryan Lilja, Bob Sanders, Marvin Harrison, and Dwight Freeney won’t be doing much at training camp.

That’s it.  Wow, the offseason is boring.  Training camp starts in 25 days.