Jerraud Powers injured a toe against the Miami Dolphins in week nine, and did not return to the field. A toe injury is particularly bothersome for a corner back, who spends much of his time and effort on speed, balance, and pivoting to cover opposing wide receivers. Powers had 45 tackles and one interception in eight games this season.

Drake Nevis (hand injury) ends his season on Injured Reserve for the second straight year. Nevis had 20 tackles and a sack over nine games (three starts) played this season for the Colts. With the injury to Nevis putting him on the shelf for the remainder of this year, rookie defensive tackle Josh Chapman has been activated from the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List. Chapman, a fifth round draft pick out of Alabama, has been getting healthy after suffering an ACL injury in October of last year. If he can stay healthy in his return to the field, Chapman could be a game changer on defense for the Colts. Champman, at 6ft and 316lbs, is now going to be given an opportunity to show his potential as a pro.

During Colts practice on Thursday, a few skirmishes broke out. One helmet-throwing scrap involved newly acquired offensive lineman Winston Justice and linebacker Jerry Hughes. Thursday marked only the second day where the Colts practiced in pads, and the 45th day this summer where the heat pushed over 90 degrees.

Andrew Luck continued to look promising during practice. Luck connected on 19 out of 24 of his passes during practice, but did throw one interception to corner back Jerraud Powers that was returned for a touchdown.

The Colts also waived injured offensive lineman Ben Ijalana, who went down for the season earlier this week with an ACL tear.

Nov 13, 2011; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts defensive back Jerraud Powers (25) runs with the ball after making an interception against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

Today in my final part of the 2012 Colts defense, I will look at the secondary. The Colts secondary in 2011, saw many players amount playing time, and like most of the Colts defense, they struggled all season. Here we look at the probable starters for 2012.

CB1- None other than four-year pro Jerraud Powers. He is a solid starter for the Colts at corner.

CB2- In my opinion the Colts secondary needs a reasonable amount of work. At corner, we not only don’t have a credible starter opposite Powers, we are worryingly thin in terms of depth too. Like most positions defensively the Colts need to get bigger and quite honestly, better. A decent starting corner opposite Powers would do just nicely. The Colts may come calling here with the first pick in the fifth round for a player such as Josh Norman. Norman, although from small school Coastal Carolina, has good size(6’0″, 195lbs) and plays both man and zone coverage well. He does however lack top-level speed(ran a 4.66 at the combine) which may become a problem when against speedy receivers. My ideal pick here would be Alfonzo Dennard(5’10”, 205lbs) out of Nebraska. If the Colts are unable to take Fleener with the 34^th pick Dennard could easily still be available if not, take a jump on Jamell Fleming (5’11”, 205lbs, Oklahoma). I like them both, a lot. Either would be a major upgrade on what we currently have. I would be incredibly surprised if the Colts did not attempt to address this position in the draft. Dennard or Fleming as a starter and Norman as a nickel back. Sound good?

FS- As much of a lock as any position on the defense. Antoine Bethea will start at free safety.

SS- New addition Tom Zbikowski will start at strong safety. NFL Network reported Zbikowski interpreted the new ‘build the monster’ motto as ‘beat the crap out of people’ which certainly shows some fire but maybe in light of the recent ‘bounty-gate’ scandal was not the finest choice of words.  Nevertheless his aggression excites me and he could also contribute on special teams in the return game which has been a huge Achilles heel for the Colts for what feels like forever.

There we have it. The Colts defense looks set to breathe a new lease of life this season. Coach Pagano along with new defensive coordinator Gene Manusky will be hoping they can provide Indianapolis Colts fans with something to cheer defensively this coming season. The transition towards a 3-4 won’t be all smooth with the current personnel, but with smart player evaluations the Colts should be able to pick up a couple of instant contributors in the draft. Wherever the Colts decide to go they should be satisfying a need. Here’s to hoping we truly can ‘build the monster’.