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April 28, 2008

MIKE BEAS: Colts draft looks good for now

Every April when another NFL Draft has come and gone, personnel questions float about as frequently as scrutinization of Mel Kiper Jr.'s helmet hair.

This year is no different. To quote the greatness that is Nancy Kerrigan: “Why? ... why ... why?”

As in, why do the Detroit Lions take two steps backward every draft when its sole purpose is to help teams get better? And why didn’t Chicago use one of its 11 picks to pluck a quarterback from the collegiate ranks when its one-two punch is the wounded-duck special of Grossman-Orton?

As a franchise responsible for victories in 70 of its last 91 games, including a Super Bowl, Indianapolis doesn’t set itself up for ridicule the way the league’s punching bags do.

Rather, when Bill Polian plucks a player off the board, you get the feeling the other personnel experts all look at each other like, “Man, we could have had that guy.”

If there is a message in the madness of the choices made by the Colts this past weekend, it’s that Peyton Manning best remain vertical, or this team can wave bye-bye to anything resembling the playoffs the next few seasons.

The discrepancy between Manning and backup signal-caller Jim “Clipboard” Sorgi is measured in solar systems, but that tends to be the case with most of the league’s elite franchises.

Nonetheless, Indianapolis entered this draft wanting to bolster and make younger its offensive line. Mission accomplished, though I would be lying through my teeth if I told you I had heard of Mike Pollak of Arizona State, Steve Justice of Wake Forest or Jamey Richard of Buffalo.

As of now, they are 877 pounds of question mark and promise.

But Polian likes them. He likes their character, work ethic and how smoothly they should fit into coach Tony Dungy’s offensive system.

Frankly, that should qualify as good enough for any Colts fan.

But the draft selections that really got my attention were Indianapolis taking Georgia defensive end Marcus Howard, the MVP of the Sugar Bowl, in Round 5, and Michigan running back Mike Hart in Round 6.

You might remember how the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Howard practically single-handedly drove south the draft stock of Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan in the Sugar Bowl, sacking him time and time again.

Regarded by so-called draft experts as undersized for his position, Howard is an inch taller than a fellow named Dwight Freeney. Yes, at the moment he’s about 30 pounds lighter than Freeney, but the Colts’ strength coaches will take care of that.

At 5-foot-9, 196 pounds, Hart, too, is supposed to come with too many physical deficiencies to make a real difference at the next level, but the kid is a winner. You don’t become the all-time leading rusher at a tailback factory like Michigan without skills and a heart the size of Ann Arbor.

It will be interesting to see if Hart has what it takes to bump Kenton Keith as Indy’s No. 2 tailback.

Overall, I like how the Colts drafted. The name recognition isn’t necessarily there, but what do you expect for a franchise that observed 58 other selections before getting one itself?

Such is life when you win. It sure beats the alternative.

Mike Beas’ columns are published three times each week. He can be reached at mike.beas@heraldbulletin.com.





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