INDIANAPOLIS — When the Indianapolis Colts take the field at Reliant Stadium for Sunday’s game with the Houston Texans (1 p.m., CBS), Tony Dungy says that fans shouldn’t expect to see a lot of wholesale changes scheme-wise or personnel-wise.
After getting the season off to a sluggish 1-2 start, Dungy understands the desire to see overall improvement from the Colts and for more consistent play across the board. Coming off a bye week, he says that the mood of the team remains good.
“I thought our practice week has been pretty good. I’m looking forward to going down to Houston to see if we can get back on track. It feels like a long time since we’ve played. I think our guys are anxious to go and ready and will play pretty well,” he said before the start of Friday’s workout.
“I think we’re anxious to play. And we realize that we have 13 games [the rest of the season] that we have to get better every week. We want to make improvement. I think it’s on an individual basis, everybody being anxious to play and to play a little better.”
The Indianapolis coach continues to be adamant about what needs to be done in order to achieve the team’s goals as the season progresses.
“We have really focused in on trying to get sharper so we can play better, play faster, play more efficiently, not have the turnovers, not have the penalties, not have the assignment errors [on defense] that leads to the long runs and see if we can be a little more consistent,” Dungy said.
“There’s not a lot wrong with our approach. We just have to play better. I told the team [Friday] that we really haven’t played a good, sharp game all the way around, all three units, for 60 minutes. We’ve had spurts. We’ve had a good series here and a couple of good series there. But nothing with the consistent flow that we’re used to.”
But why have the Colts — who have a 29-9 record in September and October since Dungy took over as head coach in 2002 (15-2 over the last three years) — been so lethargic on offense and defense through the first three weeks of the season? That’s a good question.
Yes, medical issues and injuries to key personnel such as quarterback Peyton Manning (knee), center Jeff Saturday (knee), tight end Dallas Clark (knee), offensive tackle Tony Ugoh (groin), offensive guard Ryan Lilja (knee), offensive guard Dan Federkeil (ribs), strong-side linebacker Tyjuan Hagler (pectoral muscle), and strong safety Bob Sanders (ankle/knee) have taken their toll.
Having to use more rookies than normal — center Jamey Richard, offensive guard Steve Justice, defensive tackle Eric Foster — has also been an issue. As has the loss of defensive tackles Quinn Pitcock (retired prior to training camp) and Ed Johnson (released after being arrested for possession of marijuana and speeding).
“There have been a lot of reasons [for Indianapolis’ uncharacteristic slow start]. Not having the same personnel in there, more than anything,” Dungy said. “Maybe it’s concentration lapses. I’m really not sure. But some way, some how, we have to get it back. There’s no magic formula or magic person we bring in to solve everything. It’s just everybody doing their job a little bit better.
“Yes, it would be nice. And believe me, it’d be a lot easier if we could just do that. ‘Well, if we bring in this new player, that would make it work,’ or ‘Add these two plays,’ or ‘Put this formation in,’ or “Go to a [Chicago Bears 46] defense.’ But, really, the old-fashioned remedies are the best, which are ‘Just get back to doing what you do and make sure you’re doing it well.’”
• Injury list update — Wide receiver Roy Hall (hamstring/knee), Sanders and Federkeil will not play Sunday. Rookie tight end Jacob Tamme (ankle) has practiced this week but will probably be a game-time decision as to whether he will be activated for the game-day roster.
Defensive tackle Daniel Muir (knee), Saturday and Clark all took part in practice during the week and are expected to play against the Texans. Defensive end Dwight Freeney and wide receiver Marvin Harrison did not practice Friday in order to rest old injuries. Both will start on Sunday.
• Former Colts up for NFLPA job — According to Sirius NFL Radio, two former Colts safeties— one from the Baltimore days and one from the franchise’s current Indianapolis run — are among the early candidates to replace the late Gene Upshaw as the National Football League Players Association Executive Director.
Bruce Laird, who played strong safety from 1972-81 for the Baltimore Colts, and ex-free safety Jason Belser (1992-2000) are joined by former NFL players Jamir Miller, Mike Kenn, Don Hasselbeck, Troy Vincent, George Martin, Robert Smith, Clark Gaines, Bart Oates, Harris Barton, and Nolan Harrison on the prospect list.
The candidate list was compiled by the NFLPA’s executive committee and the Chicago-based executive search firm Reilly Partners. Indianapolis center Jeff Saturday is one of the members of the union’s executive committee.
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