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2010 Offensive Line Analysis - Indianapolis Colts

2010 Projected Starters:
Left Tackle: Charlie Johnson
Left Guard: Tony Ugoh / Jacques McClendon
Center: Jeff Saturday
Right Guard: Kyle DeVan
Right Tackle: Ryan Diem

2009 Injuries:
T Charlie Johnson: Weeks 5, 13, 16 and 17

2009 Statistics:

Overview:
Every year it seems that the Colts have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL in pass protection but one of the worst in run blocking. A lot of that is due to Peyton Manning who seems to be able to get rid of the ball no matter what’s coming at him. It’s pretty amazing however that the Colts manage to be one of the best teams in the NFL every year despite having such a poor running game.

Charlie Johnson has done everything that has been asked of him over the last four years starting 39 regular season games at pretty much every position on the offensive line. Johnson is the favorite to start at left tackle despite somewhat struggling in 2009. He was responsible for a lot of the pressure put on Manning last year but in the end was only awarded two sacks against and took only one penalty in the entire year. Johnson is a below average left tackle and probably isn’t the long term solution at the position but he’s good enough to be relied upon until the Colts find an adequate replacement. The right tackle position is much stronger with Pro Bowl alternate Ryan Diem. The 6’6” and 320 lbs tackle has good technique and is very strong but his lack of speed can hurt him at times against speedy defensive ends. At 31 years old, he is an above average tackle in both pass protection and run blocking and likely will be for a few more years. The 6’8” and 335 lbs Adam Terry was acquired in the off-season to add depth at tackle. Terry started 18 games for the Ravens from 2006 to 2008 but missed the entire 2009 season with a knee injury. He is a better fit as a right tackle but has also played at left tackle and right guard in his NFL career.

The battle for the starting job at left guard should be one of the most competitive in training camp. Tony Ugoh who was seen as the left tackle of the future for the Colts has now made the move to left guard after losing the starting job at tackle last year. Ugoh seems to be much more motivated and it seems to be his job to lose at guard. He doesn’t have the ideal shape to play guard at 6’5” and 300 lbs but he is the most talented of the group and it would be surprising if his newly found motivation didn’t land him the job at the start of the year. The one player most likely to take it away from him is fourth round pick Jacques McClendon. He is very smart, strong and dedicated to becoming a better football player. He still has a ton of work to do on his technique but he could be exactly what the Colts need on their offensive line. Free agent acquisition Andy Alleman has an outside shot at the job but it would be surprising to see him as the starter since he wasn’t good enough to be a full time starter in Kansas City or Miami in the past two seasons. Mike Pollak also has an outside chance but he lost his starting job at right guard last season to the 25-year old Kyle DeVan. The former undrafted free agent came out of nowhere last year and was one of the most reliable players on this line. DeVan will return at right guard this season and should once again be reliable in both pass protection and run blocking. We’ll have to see if he can keep up his play for a second straight season and be dependable for all 16 games.

At center the Colts can rely on one of the best of all-time in Jeff Saturday. He is a leader for this line and a very hard worker who was named to four Pro Bowls in the past five years. Saturday has only missed six games since 2000 and continues to be reliable even at age 34. In the four games that he missed in 2008, the Colts averaged only 2.7 yards per carry against opponents that allow on average 4.0 yards per carry. The Colts drafted Jamey Richard in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft and he started seven games in 2008 including four at center in place of Saturday. Richard still has a lot to learn and probably still needs a few more years as a backup before the Colts can rely on him as a starter.

2010 Outlook:
The Colts offensive line is going through some sort of transition this year after the release of left guard Ryan Lilja. They have nine players that could arguably start on this line and the only two spots that are truly guaranteed belong to Saturday and Diem. The line didn’t show any improvement in the second half of the 2008 season even with DeVan replacing Pollak at right guard. From weeks 9 to 16, the running game averaged 3.6 yards per carry and Manning was sacked seven times, pretty much the same as in the other eight games. It would be surprising to see much improvement this season since four of the five starters are likely to be back and the left guard position probably won’t be better than last year. The competition at the guard positions could motivate everyone and improve the running game a little but we wouldn’t bet on it. Overall this line has very good depth and will again allow less than 20 sacks but they will remain well below average in run blocking.

See all of our 2010 Offensive Line Analysis Articles