To Bill Polian: 

Attaboy on Clark and Lilja - Cut Losses With Booger and Morris 

According to Colts.com, Dallas Clark will once again start in the blue and white this coming year.  Wednesday brought the announcement that the Colts will not only name him their franchise player, but have come to terms with the 4th year tight end.  With 618 yards on 58 passes, Clark showed everyone last year why he was such an integral part of the Colts offense.  With Harrison down last year, he became a steady go-to receiver for Manning during a time when Gonzalez was still getting over his jitters.  Another player assured of receiving a Colts paycheck next year is guard Ryan Lilja.  Lilja will be in his 5th year with the Colts.

More good news as well as the Colts say that Freeney and Harrison will both be ready to go next year.  This will bring relief, especially on defense, where the Colts struggled to get any kind of pass rush on the quarterback all year.  Two players they are still unsure of:  Linebacker Rob Morris and Defensive Lineman Anthony “Booger” McFarland.

One other tidbit of interest is that the city of Indianapolis is going to be putting their name in the hat to host the Super Bowl in 2012.  Mayor Greg Ballard and owner Jim Irsay announced the intention to bid on Tuesday of this week.   That just means more exposure for the city, and a healthy injection into the local economy.  All good news…

The Dogg’s take:

Dallas Clark, undoubtedly the best light tight end in the league.  And he’s back!  This is good news people!  Especially with the emergence of Anthony Gonzalez as a player ready for prime time, the Colts will once again have a threat of four play-making receivers on the field this season.  Trust me people, he’s worth the money that Irsay is going to pay.  Also, the Lilja thing is a great relief as well.  The offensive line needs that kind of solid leadership, especially with Tony Ugoh twitching what seemed like every play last year.  Listen, I understand that it’s hard to stay in stance with Peyton changing the play or whatnot, but that’s why you get paid what you do!  With Freeney back, maybe we’ll see Tom Brady on his back more often, or at the very least in Freeney’s paws instead of Michael Strahan’s.  By the way, Bill, I admire your skill, but seriously:  you need to go ahead and cut your losses with McFarland and probably with Morris too.  I mean McFarland didn’t even start at all last year, and he’s still uncertain going into the beginning of this year.  Also, what exactly did acquiring him accomplish?  Did he really plug the hole he was supposed to when the Colts signed him?  The Jaguars and nearly 400 yards rushing say plainly:  NO.  Time to cut the losses and free up the cap room.  As far as Morris is concerned, he was out most of last year with a serious injury, but I’m inclined to say I’d rather see him on special teams and see more of Freddy Keiaho in the defensive backfield this year.  But, that’s just my vote.

On the Super Bowl, listen, I’m just as happy as everyone else to see the Super Bowl come to Indy, but seriously, can’t we make it mandatory for the city to build more roads first?  I hate rush hour just as much as the next guy, but think about what Super Bowl week with an extra 30,000 - 40,000 people here in town will do to that.  But hey, go Indy, and welcome back Dallas!