We’ve got our first practice squad player, and he is a familiar face?  He’s a quarterback who has been on the practice squad for years now.  Josh Betts has been signed to the practice squad.  This will be his third year on the practice squad, so this will probably be the last time he will be with the Colts since 3 years is the maximum for being on the practice squad.  Savor this year because we will never have a practice squad QB for as long as we have had him.

In other news, Colts.com has posted a new depth chart.  Here are some observations I have seen.

~Ryan Lilja and Tyjuan Hagler are both on the PUP list since they are not listed here.

~Since Lilja isn’t playing, Dan Federkeil is the starting left guard.

~Gijon Robinson is ahead of Jacob Tamme on the tight end depth chart, sitting at number 2.

~Contrary to what Mike Chappell wrote in the Indy Star a few days ago, Dwight Freeney is starting, and Robert Mathis is the pass rush specialist.

~Philip Wheeler is listed as a strongside linebacker, and Buster Davis is a middle linebacker.

~Keiwan Ratliff is the number 4 corner on the roster, ahead of Dante Hughes.  That is very surprising.  Hughes is by far the superior player.

~Courtney Roby is the kick returner, and Pierre Garcon is the punt returner.

We know two players that were recently cut that will not be on the practice squad.  Wide receiver Devin Aromashodu has signed with the Washington Redskins, and safety Brannon Condren has signed with the St. Louis Rams.  I will miss Condren.  He had some great potential.

QB
Peyton Manning
Jim Sorgi

RB
Joseph Addai
Dominic Rhodes
Mike Hart

H-B
Gijon Robinson
Tom Santi

WR
Reggie Wayne
Marvin Harrison
Anthony Gonzalez
Roy Hall
Pierre Garcon
Courtney Roby

OT
Tony Ugoh
Ryan Diem
Corey Hilliard
Dan Federkeil

OG
Jamey Richard
Ryan Lilja (PUP)
Mike Pollak
Charlie Johnson

C
Steve Justice
Jeff Saturday

DE
Robert Mathis
Raheem Brock
Dwight Freeney
Curtis Johnson
Marcus Howard
Josh Thomas

DT
Eric Foster
Ed Johnson
Keyunta Dawson
Darrell Reid

OLB
Freddie Keiaho
Tyjuan Hagler (PUP)
Clint Session
Ramon Guzman
Jordan Senn

MLB
Gary Brackett
Philip Wheeler

CB
Kelvin Hayden
Marlin Jackson
Tim Jennings
Dante Hughes
Keiwan Ratliff

S
Bob Sanders
Antoine Bethea
Jamie Silva
Melvin Bullitt

Special Teams
Adam Vinatieri
Hunter Smith
Justin Snow

My Reaction: I am very mad that they cut Colin Ferrell and Brannon Condren.  That makes no sense to me at all.  When the Colts say they don’t take the preseason seriously, they mean it.  These two were some of the best players in the preseason, and that can’t even save their job.  Melvin Bullitt and Keiwan Ratliff should not have made the roster.  Period.

Devin Aromashodu was also cut, but even though I thought he would make the roster, it isn’t too disappointing.  Courtney Roby took his place, and we don’t need 7 WRs.  6 is a good number.  The other players cut were Quinn Gray, Jared Lorenzen, Kenton Keith, Chad Simpson, Sam Giguere, Onrea Jones, Tala Esera, Darren Marquez, Michael Toudouze, Tyrice Thompson, Ben Ishola, Jeff Charleston, Dan Davis, Joe Bradley, Kyle Shotwell, Victor Worsley, and Brandon Foster.

So with the cuts finally made, here is my practice squad prediction:

QB Adam Tafralis
RB Chad Simpson
WR Sam Giguere (confirmed by Giguere in Candian newspaper)
OL Tala Esera
DL Ben Ishola
DL Colin Ferrell
LB Kyle Shotwell
DB Brannon Condren

This team is destined to make a run for the Super Bowl, and who knows?  Maybe Ferrell and Condren could improve by being on the practice squad.

I can’t even do a best player rundown.  This game was that bad.  The only notables were Devin Aromashodu with his one catch that went 94 yards for a score and Eric Foster, who had 5 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.

Quinn Gray was terrible.  I still think that he can play in this league, but he won’t make this team.

Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes both played okay, but Addai’s fumble was one of the dumbest plays I’ve seen.

Mike Hart can block.  He proved that.  What a steal he was.

Dallas Clark dropped an untold amount of passes.  He needs to wear gloves.

Courtney Roby is a very good returner.  He broke a lot of tackles on his 66 yard return.

Ben Ishola was a nice surprise.  If he was only a little faster, he would have had multiple sacks.

Bob Sanders played great.  He was hitting as hard as ever.

Freeney was held so many times.  Either that or putting someone in a chokehold is legal now.  The left tackle did not know how to stop the spin move, so when Freeney would spin, he would stick out his arm and wrap it around his neck.

I like Adam Crossett.  It’s nice to have someone to sign if Hunter Smith or Adam Vinatieri were to get hurt.

Projected Roster

QB
Peyton Manning
Jim Sorgi

RB
Joseph Addai
Dominic Rhodes
Mike Hart

H-B
Gijon Robinson

WR
Reggie Wayne
Marvin Harrison
Anthony Gonzalez
Roy Hall
Pierre Garcon
Devin Aromashodu

TE
Dallas Clark
Jacob Tamme
Tom Santi

LT
Tony Ugoh
Dan Federkiel

LG
Ryan Lilja
Jamey Richard

C
Jeff Saturday
Steve Justice

RG
Charlie Johnson
Mike Pollak

RT
Ryan Diem
Michael Toudouze

LE
Raheem Brock
Robert Mathis

RE
Dwight Freeney
Marcus Howard
Curtis Johnson

NT
Ed Johnson
Darrell Reid
Colin Ferrell

UT
Keyunta Dawson
Eric Foster

SAM
Clint Session
Tyjuan Hagler

MIKE
Gary Brackett
Philip Wheeler

WILL
Freddie Keiaho
Jordan Senn

CB
Marlin Jackson
Kelvin Hayden
Dante Hughes
Tim Jennings
TJ Rushing

FS
Antoine Bethea
Brannon Condren

SS
Bob Sanders
Matt Giordano

K
Adam Vinatieri

P
Hunter Smith

LS
Justin Snow

Practice Squad
RB Chad Simpson
WR Onrea Jones
OL Corey Hilliard
DL Ben Ishola
DL Joe Bradley
LB Kyle Shotwell
DB Jamie Silva
DB Brandon Foster