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October 22, 2009

Rams are winless, but Colts don’t care

Indianapolis taking Sunday’s matchup with St. Louis seriously

By Tom James

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts may be coming off a bye week, but it’s a pretty safe bet that the team’s players and coaches kept a close eye on what transpired in the NFL this past weekend.

Specifically, the Colts know a heavily-favored Philadelphia Eagles team went west to play the struggling Oakland Raiders and suffered an embarrassing 13-9 loss.

If Indianapolis’ players needed any kind of wake-up call when they reported back for practice on Monday, all the Colts coaching staff had to do was to point out what happened to Philadelphia in that game. That, plus an extended Monday practice session, got their attention in a hurry.

Despite a 5-0 start, players and coaches realize Indianapolis has yet to reach its full potential. So playing with a bit of an edge should serve the team well this week.

Coach Jim Caldwell’s team has begun full-scale preparations for Sunday’s road trip to the Edward Jones Dome. Indianapolis will face an 0-6 St. Louis Rams team that is trying to right itself under first-year head coach Steve Spagnuolo.

“This is the NFL. We’re coming off a bye week. We have some things we need to improve on. We need to get better this week. I haven’t studied the Rams offense, but on defense, I tell you they give you a lot of looks,” quarterback Peyton Manning said Wednesday.

“Their head coach came from the [New York] Giants, and he did great things there. You see a lot of the similar schemes. It’s a handful. Mentally, it’s a challenge all week. It’s an unfamiliar opponent, and that always presents a challenge for us.”

Manning doesn’t think about the Rams coming into the game winless. He has watched the video tape of their games this year. He sees plenty of talent on both sides of the ball.

“I just don’t think about a team’s record when you play them. You study them, you study the X’s-and-O’s, you study the schemes, and you just try to go out there and beat those defenses and schemes. Whether they won last week, lost last week, is really kind of irrelevant. It’s what’s going to happen on this Sunday in St. Louis. That’s what we have to worry about,” he pointed out.

“Like I said, they have a lot of good athletes. [Defensive end] Leonard Little, an old [college] teammate of mine [at Tennessee], made a huge play for an interception for a touchdown last week [at Jacksonville]. They have a lot of players that are capable of making plays. Mentally, it will be a challenge as well.”

• Continue to play at a high level — Caldwell is doing all he can in order to help the Colts retain their focus on the business at hand.

“We have a tough battle on our hands. That’s for certain. We have had an opportunity to look at the film and watch [the Rams] on film. They have a lot of fine football players. Week in and week out, every team we face has a real challenge for us. These guys present a great challenge. [Running back] Steven Jackson is as big and fine a running back as you’ll see. He’s one of those rare guys that because of his size and power that you anticipate all he’s going to do is run over a guy. He can overpower you but also make you miss. He runs the ball effectively. He catches the ball. He blocks well. You name it, he can do it,” the Indianapolis coach said.

“They have a fine quarterback in [Marc] Bulger. He’s a very accurate guy who can certainly move the ball. You look at their team when Bulger is in there. They move the ball up and down the field. They just didn’t get it in the end zone as many times as they would like. He’s a very effective quarterback. [Wide receiver Donnie] Avery is a guy we have to be concerned with speed. So is [wide receiver Keenan] Burton. They have a very skilled tight end in [Randy] McMichael. He’s a guy that can catch it and run. He’s done a lot of athletic things once he gets the ball in his hands. They have a very effective offensive line. The core of their offensive line is tough, hard-nosed and big, with some speed and agility inside. They are going to present some problems for us.”

Caldwell has been impressed by what he has seen of the St. Louis defense.

“When you look at the other side of the ball on defense, their defensive ends are fine players. Leonard Little has been around a while. He and Peyton have been in the league for about the same time at 12 years. Little leads their team in sacks with four. When you watch him on film, he still has that power that can devastate you. He makes plays all over the field. You can tell his leadership in terms of the rest of the guys. He sets a great example for them. [Defensive end Chris] Long on the other side is certainly a guy that has ability and power and [defensive tackle James] Hall [is] as well. He is the second-leading guy on their team in sacks with three. [Defensive tackle LaJuan] Ramsey inside is tough,” he said.

“[Rookie middle linebacker James] Laurinaitis is playing very good football as the middle linebacker. They do some fairly complicated things. For a young guy, he is doing a great job of getting them set. They have a solid secondary as well. They give you a lot of problems and a lot of different looks. They can harass you. Couple that with the fact they have a real solid kicking game. Their placekicker and their punter can each change the field position on you. They also have a fiery return man in [Danny] Amendola. He is outstanding at what he does. He returns both punts and kickoff returns. We will have our work cut out for us. They are a handful in terms of what they make you prepare for.”

• Injury list — While the Colts will get cornerback Kelvin Hayden (hamstring) and offensive tackle Charlie Johnson (knee) back for the Rams game, the availability of safety Bob Sanders (knee) won’t be determined until the end of the week.

Hayden and Johnson both practiced on Wednesday, as did Sanders.

“[Sanders is] improving. He [practiced Wednesday]. He practiced last week as well. He has been ramping up his activity over the last three weeks. We fully anticipate, as things continue to go forth this week, that he may be able to do something for us [against St. Louis],” Caldwell said.

“We’ll wait and see towards the end of the week. He won’t participate in every single drill throughout the entire week. He’ll do the great majority of it, but we’ll watch. We’ll listen to what he says about his body and also what the physicians say.”

Sanders was noncommittal about status. But he continues to hope for the best.

“Right now we are not sure. I know I am practicing, but we’ll see how much time I get in this weekend if I get any,” he said, adding that he would like to play against the Rams.

“[He would] definitely play [if given the choice]. But you have to be smart about the decisions we make now, and when it is time I’ll be ready. I feel better than I have felt in a long time. I definitely feel excited about it, and hopefully I’ll be able to get in and get some plays.”

Cornerback Marlin Jackson (knee), though, is not expected to play for the next couple of weeks. Jackson revealed on Wednesday that he suffered an MCL injury to his left knee against Seattle on Oct. 4. He hopes to be back after the Colts’ home game with San Francisco on Nov. 1.

Also, cornerback Tim Jennings (calf) did not practice on Wednesday. He is, however, expected to be available to play against the Rams. Offensive give Jamey Richard, meanwhile, missed Wednesday’s workout due to illness. Richard hopes to be cleared to return to practice later this week and be available to play at St. Louis on Sunday.

Wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez (knee) and placekicker Adam Vinatieri (knee) also did not practice on Wednesday. There is no timetable on Gonzalez’s possible return to practice. Vinatieri is sidelined for the next three to seven weeks after undergoing knee surgery last week.



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