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August 30, 2012

Pagano, Colts looking for diamonds in the rough in preseason finale

Tom James Tribune-Star Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS — For 22 players currently on the Indianapolis Colts roster, tonight’s preseason game with the Cincinnati Bengals could very well be the first time that many of them will be playing in a National Football League game.

NFL teams trimmed their rosters to 75 players last Monday. They have to be down to 53 players by Friday afternoon. Whatever happens tonight — both good and bad — at Lucas Oil Stadium (7 p.m., WNDY) will go a long way in determining their immediate futures.

“You know every one [preseason game] is important. The last one is just as important as the first one. I’ve been around the league 11 years now, and I’ve seen guys come out of nowhere the last week and make a case for themselves,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said earlier this week.

“Either from a special teams standpoint, or on offense and defense and make it really hard on the coaching staff and the personnel people to determine who is going to make that 53rd spot, so to speak. So it’s really important for all those guys.”

Case in point. In 2003, rookie wide receiver Brad Pyatt entered the final game of the preseason on the outside looking in. Pyatt, an undrafted free agent from Northern Colorado, was trying to crack the Indianapolis roster any way that he could.

In that game, also against Cincinnati, the Arvada, Colo., native had a couple of notable kickoff and punt returns. His performance impressed then-Colts coach Tony Dungy so much, Pyatt eventually made the Indianapolis regular-season roster.

Later that season — in the Colts’ fifth-game against defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay — it was Pyatt’s long kickoff return that helped kick start a wild late fourth quarter comeback in a 38-35 overtime win.

“There’s a formula [for deciding on the final regular-season roster], if you will, on both sides of the ball and special teams. Typically special teams is easy, you usually get three specialists. That’s the easy one. Then offense and defense you try to balance it out,” Pagano explained.

“And then special teams plays a role in that as far as backup linebackers and your backup running backs and wide receivers and how those guys affect special teams. So, there’s a certain number on each side of the ball, and special teams, that you’re looking for to round that 53 out.”

I I I

n Facing the Bengals — The Colts come into tonight’s game with a 1-2 preseason record, dropping the last two games on the road to Pittsburgh and Washington. Indianapolis won its only other home preseason matching, knocking off the St. Louis Rams 18 days ago.

While he wasn’t sure just how long the first offensive and defensive units would end up playing against the Bengals, Pagano still wants to come away with a win and set a positive tone heading into the regular-season opener at Chicago on Sept. 9.

“Looking back at last week’s game, we’ve got to clean up some things. Execution [is important]. We’re looking for timing and things like that, but we want to execute better. See how they respond as far as running the football on offense and stopping the run when those guys are out there, so we’re going to challenge them in that regard,” the Colts coach said.

“And then, like last week, these guys have got a front four that can put pressure on you, as well as they love to blitz linebackers and secondary personnel. We’ve got to do a great job in the pass protection part of it. But then, for the young guys, this is really their last opportunity, obviously to go out and showcase themselves and make a case for themselves as far as making this team.”

In addition to an improved performance across the board, Pagano wants to come out of this evening’s matchup as healthy as possible. The Colts are already hurting at several key positions with nose tackle Brandon McKinney out for the year with a knee injury and inside linebacker Pat Angerer sidelined for at least six weeks with a fractured foot.

“I think any game you want to come out clean, and we’ve had our fair share [of injuries] so we’d love to get out of this one as healthy as possible. But there’s still some question marks out there, and there’s still some guys out there fighting for jobs. Like I said before, a lot of those back end of the roster spots that guys are fighting for and it’s going to be determined on special teams,” he said.

“There’s going to be a lot of young guys, obviously, getting a lot of playing time in this last ball game. Like I told them this morning, we’re going to prepare to go win this football game, and we’re going to play well and take the next step. There’s nothing that we would like more than to play well and win the football game at home and start off the regular season on a good note.”

n Roster move — In a late roster move Tuesday evening, the Colts claimed wide receiver Kashif Moore and waived-Injured wide receiver Jarred Fayson. If Fayson goes unclaimed, he will revert to the Colts’ Injured Reserve list.

Moore (5-9, 180), a rookie who played collegiately at Connecticut, was recently released by Cincinnati.

n Indiana State connections — They’ll be plenty of former Sycamores around Lucas Oil Stadium tonight.

Bengals rookie wide receiver Justin Hilton, who signed with Cincinnati as an undrafted free agent after a two-year career with ISU, was waived by the Bengals on Wednesday evening.

Cincinnati offensive assistant Kyle Caskey is a former Indiana State offensive line and tight ends coach, working on the staffs of Lou West and Trent Miles. He’ll be one of the Bengals assistants in the press box.

Kyle Monroe, an ex-Indiana State defensive back and the son of former Sycamore running back Ken Monroe, has been hired by the Colts to work with the team’s media relations department on game days this season.

n Youth football teams honored — Tonight marks the Colts’ USA Football Month Game. In conjunction with USA Football, the Colts awarded tickets for the Cincinnati game to numerous local youth football programs.

Forty youth players will be on-field with the Colts for the National Anthem. Prior to this evening’s kickoff, the Colts also will present a $10,000 check to benefit local youth and high school football.

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Sports
SPT0512213mcmillan.jpg

Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Winners: Terre Haute North students Chanli Mundy and Calvin Blank are the 2013 McMillan Award winners.

  • Blank, Mundy named McMillan Award winners

    Posing side-by-side for photos following Terre Haute North High School’s Senior Awards ceremony, seniors Calvin Blank and Chanli Mundy couldn’t look more different.

    May 23, 2013 4 Photos

  • SPT 052213 JENKINS JUBI.jpg North baseball pulls away from South in sectional opener

    In high school baseball little things mean a lot, and the crack in the door doesn’t have to be open very wide.
    Terre Haute North burst through that crack in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday evening at Terre Haute South, scoring seven two-out runs — all unearned — and going on to a surprisingly easy 12-2 victory over the host Braves in Class 4A sectional action.

    May 23, 2013 4 Photos

  • Indiana State baseball now one win from MVC Championship

    Indiana State’s Wednesday morning wish list probably read something like this: a dominant complete game effort from starting pitcher Devin Moore, near-immaculate defense to support him, and a steady diet of clutch situational hitting from lineup spots one to nine.

    May 23, 2013

  • West Vigo baseball advances with 10-0 win behind Stewart's two-hitter

    West Vigo got off to a good start in Class 3A high school sectional baseball action Wednesday evening at Dick Ballinger Field.
    The Vikings scored four runs in the first inning of the first sectional game and went on to defeat Brown County 10-0 in five innings with Kevin Stewart hurling a two-hitter.

    May 23, 2013

  • Terre Haute South tennis claims regional crown

    It was a lot tougher than some thought it would be, but the Terre Haute South girls tennis team won the Greencastle regional for the second year in a row Wednesday evening at DePauw University Tennis and Track Center.

    May 23, 2013

  • evans-jump.jpg METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman's Evans honored as Great Lakes' top athlete

    Rose-Hulman senior Liz Evans earned her fifth career NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year honor, according to results released Wednesday by the U.S. Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Terre Haute's Mascari running 10,000 meters for chance to get to Hayward Field

    Indiana State freshman and Terre Haute North graduate John Mascari is among the enormous group of Sycamores competing this weekend at the NCAA East Preliminary. The top 48 NCAA track and field competitors in each event on this half of the United States are narrowed down to 12 who will compete at the NCAA meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

    May 23, 2013

  • SPT0511613trackseibert.jpg Big group of Wabash Valley boys head to Evansville looking for state berths

    The top four finishers in each event from last week’s Terre Haute North, Evansville Central, Jasper and Princeton boys high school track and field sectionals will converge on Evansville Central today for regional competition.

    May 22, 2013 2 Photos

  • SPT0512113WVSB mcclain.jpg West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball

    West Vigo got off to a good start but Brown County finished better in Class 3A high school softball sectional semifinal action Tuesday night at Edgewood.
    The Eagles bested the Vikings 7-5 and will meet South Vermillion, a 12-7 winner over Owen Valley, for the sectional championship on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
     

    May 22, 2013 5 Photos

  • Valley baseball teams have been keeping busy heading into sectionals

    When high school baseball sectionals begin around the Wabash Valley today, one complaint that’s not expected to be heard from any coach is that his team has had too much time off.

    May 22, 2013

Local Interest
evans-jump.jpg

  • METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman's Evans honored as Great Lakes' top athlete

    Rose-Hulman senior Liz Evans earned her fifth career NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year honor, according to results released Wednesday by the U.S. Cross Country and Track and Field Coaches Association.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • SPT 051913 TIM TERRY.jpg Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play

    South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
    But on the Yankees, a 35-and-over team in the Terre Haute Men’s Senior Baseball League, Terry is “just a youngster” if you ask Larry Roesch, his 68-year-old teammate on the Volkers Group Yankees.

    May 22, 2013 4 Photos

  • softballsecs.jpg Softball sectionals up for grabs

    All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.

    May 20, 2013 1 Photo

  • Indiana State baseball series canceled

    Heavy rain from Thursday through Saturday has forced Indiana State and Tennessee Martin to cancel their three-game weekend baseball series in northwest Tennessee.

    April 27, 2013

  • METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman baseball to play DePauw on Thursday after Tuesday's rain

    The Rose-Hulman baseball team has rescheduled its non-conference game with DePauw to Thursday night.
    The start time remains 7 p.m. for the single nine-inning game that was originally scheduled for today. Tuesday’s scheduled Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at Anderson was moved to Sunday because of rain.

    April 24, 2013

High School
College
  • Indiana State baseball now one win from MVC Championship

    Indiana State’s Wednesday morning wish list probably read something like this: a dominant complete game effort from starting pitcher Devin Moore, near-immaculate defense to support him, and a steady diet of clutch situational hitting from lineup spots one to nine.

    May 23, 2013

  • Terre Haute's Mascari running 10,000 meters for chance to get to Hayward Field

    Indiana State freshman and Terre Haute North graduate John Mascari is among the enormous group of Sycamores competing this weekend at the NCAA East Preliminary. The top 48 NCAA track and field competitors in each event on this half of the United States are narrowed down to 12 who will compete at the NCAA meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

    May 23, 2013

  • Manaea's shoulder causing him latest pain

    Indiana State pitcher Sean Manaea has battled through so many aches and pains during the 2013 season that it can be hard to discern the serious pain from the pain he pitches through.

    May 22, 2013

  • ISU's Negele answers call in big way in wake of Manaea injury

    When Indiana State starting pitcher Sean Manaea slumped on the mound in obvious pain after he took his warm-up pitches, red flags raised for ISU’s Missouri Valley Conference tournament hopes.

    May 21, 2013

  • SPT0511613manaea3.jpg ISU baseball hoping Manaea can get its MVC Tournament moving in right direction

    Indiana State’s baseball team has been waiting all season for its stars to align.
    But this is the 2013 Sycamores, after all, and after a season in which seemingly little has gone right, it appears its stars will remain crossed at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

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Terre Haute Rex
SPT 071512 DORSETT FILE.jpg

Consultation: Rex manager Brian Dorsett talks with his pitcher and players during a time-out Sunday, July 15, at Sycamore Field. (Tribune-Star file/Bob Poynter)

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