Colts Corner: Former Colts Edition

I already linked to it earlier, but it is worth linking again: check out Smart Football’s breakdown of the Peyton Manning and Tom Moore offense.

If you are upset with the Indianapolis Star’s coverage of Peyton Manning, read Mike Chappell’s response and then get over it.

Retired Patriots left tackle Matt Light called Dwight Freeney the “best guy he ever faced“.  Light’s retirement is a very big loss for New England and especially Tom Brady.

According to Pro Football Focus, Pat Angerer had the best single game performance of any 4-3 inside linebacker in 2011.

An update on Peyton Manning’s first day of OTAs with the Denver Broncos, from the Denver Post.

Former Colts and Bengals tight end Ben Utecht, dealing with the effects of multiple concussions, is continuing his music career.

Another former Colts tight end, Dallas Clark, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Former Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt is in some trouble after allegedly grabbing a student by the throat. 

Former Colts’ defensive coordinator for seven years under Tony Dungy and now the Chargers’ new secondary coach, Ron Meeks is taking a “hands on approach” in coaching.

All Manning Era Team: Special Teams

All Manning Era Team: We take a look at the greatest single seasons by position in the Peyton Manning Era (1998-2011).  Today, we look at the:

 Special Teams:

 Special teams are quite possibly the most underrated part of football.  A game can change in a moment, thanks to an incredible special teams play.  While the Colts have gained a reputation as having a bad special teams unit, they have had some incredible seasons by some incredible players.

 The kicker on this list was between two seasons: Mike Vanderjagt’s 2003 season and Adam Vinatieri’s 2010 season.  Vanderjagt earned the spot on the team.  He has a terrible reputation among Colts fans, and part of it is deserved.  But Vanderjagt is one of the most accurate kickers of all time and made a lot of kicks for Indy.  In 2003, he made 100% of his kicks he attempted.  He was 37/37 on field goals (with 1 over 50 yards) and 46/46 on extra points.  Total for the year he was 83/83 kicking.  That is as good as it gets.

 His holder for those kicks has the complete opposite reputation as Vanderjagt.  While Vanderjagt is known among fans as “Vanderjerk” or “Vanderchoke”, Hunter Smith is affectionately known as “Hunter the Punter”.  Smith was a fan favorite during his entire tenure in Indianapolis.  He had many great seasons, but in 2005 the punter was at his best. Smith punted 52 times and averaged 44.3 yards per punt (with a long of 58).  9.6% of Smith’s punts went for a touchback, and a stunning 44.2% of his punts were downed inside the 20 yard line.  Of all his seasons in Indy, Hunter the Punter’s best was 2005.

 The return game has been whyIndianapolis’ special teams have been viewed badly.  In fact, when I was going through the stats by year, I was just trying to find someone who took more than one kick back for a score in a single year.  I found one.  In 1999, Terrence Wilkins averaged 22.2 yards per kick return and scored on a kick return, while also averaging 9.5 yards per kick return and another score.

 Special teams are one of the biggest game changers in football, and these 3 seasons are the ones that definitely deserve to represent the unit on the All Manning Era team.