Colts Fantasy News

Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 2:12pm

Colts RB Vick Ballard finished his rookie season with 12 consecutive starts at running back, 211 carries, 814 yards and a highlight reel diving, corkscrew touchdown to win an overtime game in Tennessee.

In his second year, he’s in line to continue as the lead back for the Indianapolis Colts, who will also have Donald Brown, Delone Carter and seventh-round pick Kerwynn Williams in the backfield mix.

It remains to be seen just how much new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton will look to split up the workload for the team’s running backs.

“It’s always nice to have a couple guys, a change of pace guy,” coach Chuck Pagano said recently. “But certainly at the end of the year with Donnie hurt and the way Vick came on and the way he was running, he was getting the lion’s share of the snaps. At this point, yeah, he’s sitting there as the lead guy. But Donnie’s in great shape and healthy and looks fantastic to this point in the offseason program.

QB Tyler Wilson impresses at rookie camp
Monday, May 13, 2013, 9:42am

As far as rookies go, quarterback Tyler Wilson looked nothing of the sort Saturday as he displayed the poise and skills of a seasoned veteran in only his second practice as a member of the Raiders.

Wilson showed off a strong arm, placing balls right on target time and again, be it swing passes, throws over the middle or well downfield.

“Obviously, picking up a new system, there’s a little bit of rust there,” Raiders coach Dennis Allen said of Wilson. “But throwing the ball, he’s done a nice job. I don’t have any question about his arm strength and his accuracy.”

Arians targeting 100 receptions, 10-15 TDs for Larry Ftzgerald
Thursday, April 25, 2013, 2:34pm

Cardinals HC Bruce Arians on WR Larry Fitzgerald:

“It was a down year, and it’s nice to see him on a mission right now to get back to where he was, and rightfully so. He’s a premier player and we need to have him back up over 100 catches and 10-15 touchdowns.”

Shanahan: RG3 will "set a record" in ACL recovery
Sunday, April 7, 2013, 11:40am

The talk that Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is making an unprecedented recovery from reconstructive knee surgery continues.

Two weeks after Dr. James Andrews, who performed Griffin’s surgery, referred to Griffin’s recovery as “superhuman,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said in an interview on NFL Network that Griffin’s hard work in rehab is already leading to significant progress.

“He’s over at the facility, rehabbing all of the time. He’ll set a record for coming back because that’s how hard he works,” Shanahan said.

Shanahan cautioned, however, that the Redskins won’t rush Griffin and won’t even have an estimate for when he’ll be back to full-speed on-field work until training camp starts.

“He is ahead, but there’s a process. It takes time. Robert will do it the right way and we’ll find out in July exactly where he’s at,” Shanahan said. “He will not come back until he’s 100 percent.”

Shanahan also continues to say that the read-option offense, which some people think exposes Griffin to too many hits, actually protects Griffin. Shanahan says the biggest thing he wants Griffin to pick up is knowing when to slide at the end of a run.

Carroll: Russell Wilson is going to "bust out" in 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013, 1:18pm

One of the more interesting responses from Seahawks HC Pete Carroll came when he was asked who he believes will be the Seahawks’ breakout player in 2013. His answer? Quarterback Russell Wilson.

“I think it’s going to be Russell Wilson,” Carroll said. “I think he’s going to really do well this year. He’s going to bust out and will benefit tremendously from his first year. It may be hard to imagine he’s going to get any better, but I think he’s going to get a lot better, being he was a first year starter, first time in the League.”

Colts WR depth chart unclear
Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 11:39am

It will be interesting to see how the Colts line up in two wide-receiver sets. This much is certain: Reggie Wayne starts. Somebody asked on Twitter if that could be stated as fact. Yes, it can. Wayne is still a Pro Bowl WR. You don’t sit him.

The early hunch is Darrius Heyward-Bey and T.Y. Hilton will alternate at the other starting WR slot when they are in two-receiver sets. This is why the team has training camp and preseason games. Such roles sort themselves out.

“We feel good about acquiring a talented player in Darrius Heyward-Bey,” GM Ryan Grigson said in a team release. “He’s big, strong and shows toughness in traffic and after the catch. He’s got elite finishing speed that’s as good as there is in the NFL.”

Colts sign Darrius Heyward-Bey
Tuesday, April 2, 2013, 1:28pm

The Colts have agreed to terms with ex-Raiders wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey, the team said Monday night. Owner Jim Irsay, who had made no secret that the club had zeroed in on a wideout, linked to the announcement on Twitter.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Heyward-Bey’s deal is for one year and as much as $3 million.

The 26-year-old Heyward-Bey caught 41 passes for 606 yards and five TDs for Oakland in 2012.

Sunday, March 24, 2013, 12:01pm

New Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton is trying to minimize changes in the playbook and adapt as much of Bruce Arians’ offense as possible to make it easier on his young players. That includes terminology, formations and personnel groups. Even though Andrew Luck is familiar with Hamilton’s old offense because they worked together at Stanford, Hamilton and Chuck Pagano don’t want to burden the rest of the offense too much. And, they want to stick with what worked.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 2:26pm

Chiefs WR Donnie Avery is a likely starter along with Dwayne Bowe. Reid said recently that Dexter McCluster would also play.

“I like McCluster,” Reid said. “I think he’s a good football player, and he has a role on this football team. I’ve got some things in mind for him.”

McCluster, who is quick, could flourish in Reid’s offense. But he’s not particularly fast, which again pointed to the need for Avery.

Avery was a second-round pick of the Rams in 2008 and played two seasons in St. Louis before tearing his ACL in a preseason game in 2010. He missed that season and was cut by the Rams before the following season.

Cardinals content with Drew Stanton as starting QB
Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 2:22pm

New Cardinals coach Bruce Arians appears ready to anoint Drew Stanton as his starting quarterback.

Asked by Andrew Siciliano on NFL Network whether he thinks his starting quarterback is currently on the roster, Arians answered, “Yes, we have a very capable one in Drew Stanton.”

Arians continued that Stanton played for him last year as Andrew Luck’s backup in Indianapolis, which makes him comfortable that he has a quarterback who can run his offense effectively.

“Drew knows the offense, he is more than capable of doing it. If he is our guy, I am comfortable,” Arians said.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 2:19pm

Matt Hasselbeck wasn't out of work very long.

Just a few hours after being released by the Tennessee Titans, Hasselbeck is reportedly signing with the Titans' AFC South rival, the Indianapolis Colts, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

Hasselbeck couldn't reach an agreement with the Titans to lower his $5.5 million base salary and was released on Monday afternoon.

Chiefs sign WR Donnie Avery
Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 2:18pm

Former Colts WR Donnie Avery signing with KC Chiefs.

Sunday, February 17, 2013, 9:51pm

The Indianapolis Colts will not renew wide receiver Austin Collie's contract, the Colts announced Saturday.

"Austin was a warrior and an inspiration for the franchise and Colts fans around the world,” said Colts Owner and CEO Jim Irsay. “He was a great player for us and a superstar for our community, and will always be a part of the Colts family."

Thursday, February 14, 2013, 12:25pm

New Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton is about to begin working with Andrew Luck for the second time, having previously served as the offensive coordinator at Stanford during Luck’s final season there. But when Hamilton talked to reporters today about his plans for the Colts’ offense, he talked about a lot more than just using Luck as a pocket passer.

“We’ll do a great job of mixing in some power runs, mixing in the downfield passing game, maybe even mixing in some wildcat plays, mix in some read-option, pistol-type schemes. Just really try and present once again a lot of conflicts for our opponents,” Hamilton said, in comments distributed by the Colts’ PR staff.

Luck, who ran 62 times for 255 yards and five touchdowns last season, has the athletic talent to get outside the pocket and make plays with his feet, and Hamilton obviously knows that. But Hamilton also knows he doesn’t want Luck taking too many hits, which is why Hamilton also made a point of talking about the importance of the offensive line.

Bruce Arians thinks Larry Fitzgerald can bounce back
Thursday, January 24, 2013, 12:08pm

Reggie Wayne, the Colts’ veteran, had statistics (75-960-4) in 2011 that mirrored what Larry Fitzgerald dealt with in 2012 (71-798-4). But when Bruce Arians came in to Indianapolis as offensive coordinator before the 2012 season, one of his goals was to make Wayne the impact player he had always been. Now that Arians is head coach of the Cardinals, he has the same plans for Fitz.

“As a receiver, you can’t hand it to them, you have to throw it to them,” Arians said. “They can double-cover him, and you don’t throw it to him if he is double-covered and someone else is single-covered. You’ve got to take what is there as a quarterback, but you do have to get him the ball because he is such a tremendous talent.

“When I first met with Reggie, Reggie had been on the left side for 10 years. The first day of spring I put him over there on the right, and he looked like he had palsy. I said, ‘It’ll come. You have to retrain your body here. Wait until I put you in the slot.’ There was buy-in.”

Now, Fitzgerald is ahead of the curve there. The Cardinals have been moving him around for a while now, just to get him open. Wayne’s resurgence not coincidentally benefited from the arrival of Andrew Luck at quarterback, and as of today, it doesn’t look like a Luck-type will end up behind center for the Cardinals this season. But Arians understands the ball must end up with Fitz more often than it did last season.