TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The defending AFC South Champion Indianapolis Colts are a team that prides itself on consistency and routine.
Consistency in fact best describes a team that has won their division with at least 12 victories for five straight seasons — not to mention a Super Bowl Championship in between.
The key to maintaining a steady rhythm, even they will assert, begins in the preseason where mistakes can be made without lasting repercussions.
Entering this weekend’s start of the NFL preseason however, the Colts face several critical questions that will determine whether a perennial powerhouse can remain that way this season.
The Colts last week returned to the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology for training camp, the camp site for the past decade. In the process, they did so missing the services of critical starters, including one Hall-of-Fame quarterback whose absence has gone relatively unnoticed as another legendary signal caller steals the headlines.
The players on the Colts Physically Unable to Perform list reads like a pro bowl roster, with Peyton Manning, defensive end Dwight Freeney and defensive back Bob Sanders among those nursing various injuries this preseason. And although he is working himself into form on the practice field, receiver Marvin Harrison’s recovery from knee surgery remains an issue with an undetermined resolution.
Colts head coach Tony Dungy admitted the issues entering the 2008 season are glaring, still he is confident this team will find ways to regain a familiar form.
“We will try to keep the same routine and get your players to feel we are doing the same thing,” Dungy said. “It’s not a situation where we’re saying, ‘oh we don’t have this guy, or Peyton’s not here so everything’s different.’ We want to do things the same way and get the team accustomed to being the same regardless of whose there.”
Dungy added that while starters on the PUP list recover, his expectation is that the veteran core will lead the team in the business-as-usual approach to which the team is accustomed.
A younger veteran who appears to relish the new leadership role is running back Joseph Addai. Entering his third training camp, Addai has a better feel for his place on the team and looks to lead by example.
“In year three, I’m already ahead,” he said. “I understand what’s going on, but I can’t forget the little things. That’s what a lot of people tend to do; they forget what they’ve been doing and not what they’ve been doing over the years.”
“Joe’s a little more relaxed, and I think he does understand that he has to be one of the leaders,” Dungy said. “We talked a little about different fine details and he and (Dominic Rhodes) made it a special point to really be on a couple of those details. Knowing you are a guy who your teammates depend on I think is going to be big for Joseph.”
With an extended preseason schedule, the Colts will depend on the extra time in competition to adjust for camp absences. The team will play the first of five preseason match ups Sunday in primetime, versus the Washington Redskins and returning to the Hall-of-Fame game for the fourth time in franchise history.
Throughout the duration of training camp, the Recorder will examine the Colts strengths and weaknesses and will provide an outlook for the 2008 season.
