Football Stars of the Week

Future IU QB Tre Roberson clinched Indiana Mr Football this weekend when Avon visited for a Regionals matchup @ Lawrence Central. Down 15 points late in the game, he racked up half of his 500 all-purpose yards in a 29-point 4th quarter. LC travels south to Bloomington North this Friday for a chance to play Fishers or Valpo for State next Saturday at da Luc'.
Irish's 11-game winless streak vs ranked opponents was snapped as Tommy Rees led the way in his first career start at Notre Dame. Wisconsin RB Monte Bell's first start contributed to an 83-point outburst against the Hoosier defense. I actually rejoice in this loss, signaling the unofficial end of the Bill Lynch era. The Hoosiers basketball team got off to a hot shooting start in their season-opener vs FL Gulf Coast. The crowd (of 15k) at one point chanted "Yo-gi Fer-rell" as he was in attendance, and today he Tweeted his top 6. They play again Sunday and Tuesday. If all goes well, IU could be 6-0 heading to Boston College December 1st.
Colts beat T.Ocho and the Bengals earlier today; that moves them into sole possession of first place in the AFC South Division - even though Indy's without Joe Addai, Gary Bracket, Bob Sanders, Dallas Clark, Melvin Bullit, Clint Sessions, Anthony Gonzales, Blair White, Mike Hart, Justin Tryon, Brodie Eldrige and Austin Collie... to name a few.

10 Year Anniversary of Bill Polian & Colts

Ten years ago we were a franchise with a lone AFC title run in 15 years of embarrassment. Marvin Harrison wore #8 and Tarik Glenn was an undersized 23-yr-old starter. Through drafts alone Polian has built a potent offense via the SEC and da U: Peyton Manning, Edge (now Joe Addai), and Reggie Wayne. After adding Hall of Famers Tony Dungy and Dwight Freeney, the Colts focused on the BigTen: Hawkeyes Dallas Clark & Bob Sanders, UM's Marlin Jackson, and more Buckeyes than just Anthony Gonzales.

The 2006 WORLD CHAMPS have also achieved:

• 5 consecutive DIVISION BANNERS.

• 5 consecutive seasons of 12+ victories, the first time that has been achieved in the NFL's 88-year history
• the only team in NFL history to win 75% 5 consecutive years (AFC SOUTH is ranked #1)

• A place alongside the Green Bay Packers of '29-31 as the only teams to start 3 consecutive seasons 7-0 or better: 13-0, 9-0 and 7-0
• The Colts are the only NFL franchise to keep its starting QB & offensive coordinator/line coach (Tom Moore/Howard Mudd) together for the past 10 seasons. RB coach Gene Huey is the longest-tenured assistant in team history: 16 seasons, 254 games (Marshall Faulk, Edge, Joe Addai).
• They've fielded a top-four offense each of the past five years. Not to mention they draw killer ratings on prime time TV.

When our free agents leave, they 0ften 0penly 0pt f0r d0-0vers. When they stay, they have access to his private jet, Pro-Bowls and performance bonuses. No wonder Bill Polian has won NFL Executive of the Year 5 times...

With the 32nd pick, the XLi Champs select...

The defense lost two solid veterans in Cato June and Nick Harper, but I doubt we'll be looking for a CB with a core secondary of Bob Sanders, Antoine Bethea, Jason David, Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden. I've heard reports that Ron Meeks and Mike Murphy are ready to push Freddie Keiaho to start at LB alongside Rob Morris and Gary Brackett. This is obviously the ONLY HOLE in the Colts starting 25 (22 + Hunter Smith, Adam Vinatieri, Terrence Wilkins). The run-defense stepped up in the playoffs, but you cannot expect Booger and Brock to plug the gaps every down.

The next position we need to look at is RB. With the absence of Rhodes, Peyton will need a similar compliment to handle some of the rushing/blocking when Addai rests. The type of player Gene Huey wants here will be someone that's available on Day #2 or even in Free Agency.

When Brandon Stokely only played a handful of games, we saw replacement-wannabes continually drop passes from Peyton's laser-rocket arm. Morehead is still too raw, and Dallas Clark was only a temporary slot-receiver. There is an abundance of talented WRs in this year's draft, but I doubt Polian will flinch at the studs that'll be available.

Here's a look at some possible candidates for the 32nd pick in the 2007 draft:

• Brandon Siler (LB) UF
• Jon Beason (LB) Miami
• Justin Harrell (DT) Tennessee
• Anthony Spencer (DE/LB) Purdue
• Dwayne Jarret (WR) USC
• Steve Smith (WR) USC
• Brian Leonard (RB) Rutgers

Polian's previous 10 1st round picks:
Joe Addai, Marlin Jackson, Dallas Clark, Dwight Freeney, Reggie Wayne, Rob Morris, Edge, Peyton Manning, Tarik Glenn, Marvin Harrison

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