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The money isn’t mine. I’m not certain about what you can afford and what the market will pay when free agency opens on March 13. I’m not positive about your plans and schemes.

But I’ve got a good sense of your team. We've looked at the free-agent list.

And here’s what I’d try to do with your major issues:

1) Tell Peyton Manning thanks for everything. Say we had every intention of you playing out your career with the Colts, but the chances of all these elements aligning -- his health questions, a new GM and coach, the top pick and Andrew Luck’s availability -- make it impossible. Maximize your graciousness.

2) Assessing what will be available in the draft, or a relatively inexpensive free agent or two you’d like to grab, then franchise either defensive end Robert Mathis or receiver Reggie Wayne accordingly. Both will have great chances to move on in free agency, and you can’t afford to move forward without them, either. You can make a case either way -- Mathis would be a great piece in a transformation to a 3-4; Wayne would reliably be in place to convert third downs for a young quarterback.

3) Convince defensive end Dwight Freeney to sign an extension. You have to drive down his $19 million-plus cap hit and his $14 million-plus base salary for 2012. But cutting him would be awfully painful, especially if Mathis is getting to free agency. If Freeney has to go because of cost, then Mathis has to be tagged and Wayne is likely lost.

4) Look for cost savings with these players: Tight end Dallas Clark ($7.32 million cap hit, $4.53 million base), middle linebacker Gary Brackett ($7.4 million cap hit, $5 million base), running back Joseph Addai ($4.3 million cap hit, $2.9 million base), and safety Melvin Bullitt ($3.7 million cap hit, $2.4 million base). Brackett and Bullitt are now injury prone and I don't know if you can count on them. But just cutting them won’t necessarily save money as accelerated bonus cost could produce a cost approaching their scheduled cap numbers. Same with Addai, who may not fit with a new run philosophy.

5) Let receiver Pierre Garcon walk. The guy is a blazer who will make a good amount of big plays, but he’s not guaranteed reliable in big moments. The sort of drops and gaffes he’s capable of can really mess with a team trying to build confidence and he'll be overpaid by the market.

6) Try to get Jeff Saturday to sign up for one more year. He’d be a great influence on Luck and a young team and could help get a group of young linemen ready to protect the new centerpiece and to block for a newly emphasized run game.

7) Re-sign reserve quarterback Dan Orlovsky, tight end Jacob Tamme and receiver Anthony Gonzalez cheaply if you can. Orlovsky can spot start if need be and it’ll be difficult to find a quality backup who wants to come to be No. 2 to Luck. Tamme has quality hands. Gonzalez was highly rated not too long ago and a doghouse visit under the last regime will make him affordable. It’s worth trying to keep them around at reasonable cost and they are unlikely to draw significant offers elsewhere.

8) Let three other free agents walk: linebacker Philip Wheeler, guard Mike Pollack and tackle Ryan Diem.

Early thoughts on some key Colts scheduled to become unrestricted free agents come March 13.

Thanks to Mac’s Football Blog, where you can find complete team-by-team lists that include exclusive right and restricted free agents.

QB Kerry Collins – He may not have filed paperwork, but he’s retired.

QB Dan Orlovsky – Showed enough to be on a roster in the league as a third quarterback in a crowded situation or a backup somewhere with a sure-fire starter.

WR Pierre Garcon – He’s inconsistent, but this team needs a speed receiver for Andrew Luck and it’s better to keep the one they’ve been developing than going searching.

WR Anthony Gonzalez – Was completely in the doghouse at the end and could not get on the field. Probably needs to sign for a season, in Indy or elsewhere, and prove he can be healthy and contribute.

WR Reggie Wayne – Has said he’d stay and be honored to be part of a rebuild, but they’d have to be fair. Other teams will court him and somebody will pay him better than the Colts would if they pursued him, I suspect.

TE Jacob Tamme – Was quite a good receiving option for Peyton Manning in 2010, but how much of that was Manning? I think Tamme is a valuable piece they should want back and can certainly afford.

OT Ryan Diem – Did well to serve as a veteran example for a young line and was flexible, playing some guard. But his time is going to be up.

OG Mike Pollak – Has played a lot and not gotten a lot better. They got new tackles last year; it’s time for a new guard or two.

OC Jeff Saturday – If Manning is gone, it would make sense to turn the page with Saturday, too. Reportedly the Colts and at least one other team would like him in their front offices.

DE Robert Mathis – Will be a commodity, for sure. Never mind his age. He can help you rush the passer for the next three years. Colts should want to keep him, but will they pay what he costs?

LB Philip Wheeler – If the Colts are getting bigger on defense, they’ll probably move on here. He’s consistently failed to get in or stay in the lineup for extended stretches in a defense for which he’s better suited.

Other UFAs:

• DE Jamaal Anderson
• FB Jerome Felton
• OT Quinn Ojinnaka
• OG Jamey Richard
• DE Tyler Brayton
• DE Eric Foster
• LB Kevin Bentley
• LB Ernie Sims

INDIANAPOLIS -- Matt Hasselbeck will start at quarterback for the Titans as we expected, as he’s worked through the calf strain that knocked him out of last week’s loss to New Orleans.

But with Hasselbeck and Jake Locker (chest) dinged up, third quarterback Rusty Smith is active for the first time all season.

The Colts have two lineup changes.

Jacob Tamme starts at tight end in place of Dallas Clark.

Ernie Sims starts at strongside linebacker in place of Philip Wheeler.

Earlier, this post said Mike Pollak would start at left guard in place of Joe Reitz. But the Colts announced about 20 minutes before kickoff that was an error and that Reitz will start.

Titans:

• RB Javon Ringer
• C Kevin Matthews
• T Byron Stingily
• LB Gerald McRath
• WR Donnie Avery
• DE William Hayes
• DT Zach Clayton

Colts:

• QB Peyton Manning
• DB Mike Holmes
• TE Dallas Clark
• LB Philip Wheeler
• LB A.J. Edds
• T Quinn Ojinnaka
• DE Jamaal Anderson

Quarterback Kerry Collins first game as a member of the Indianapolis Colts was not about the stats as much as it was whether he could show that he was comfortable.

And while five-for-10 for 45 yards hardly made for a big evening, he looked like he knew what to do and where to go with the ball.

Twice he got hit by Michael Johnson. The Cincinnati defensive end got pushed wide by Indy rookie tackle Anthony Castonzo, but kept working and managed to land a meaningful swipe on Collins anyway. The first time hit forced a red-zone incompletion and the second resulted in a lost fumble.

Collins made a great deep throw down the middle for David Gilreath on his first snap and drew a pass interference penalty. And later he hit Chris Brooks deep on the left side, a pass that was dropped.

The quarterback didn’t get a completion or yardage for either.

After Collins yielded to Dan Orlovsky, owner Jim Irsay tweeted: “#5 looked good 2nite,gonna help us if #18 needs a few more weeks getting ready...but Peyton is improving rapidly..steady progress!”

Collins is No. 5 while No. 18, of course, is Peyton Manning.

I think it has to be considered an encouraging start for the backup, He could play in the season opener on Sept. 11 in Houston if Manning isn’t sufficiently recovered from the May neck surgery that kept him out of action until a recent return to limited practice.

And hey, the Colts actually won a preseason game, 17-13. It was their first preseason win since August 20, 2009.

One defensive note: Linebacker Philip Wheeler started with Kavell Conner and Ernie Sims.

Wheeler seemed a prime culprit in the Colts’ struggles against the run, getting run through on multiple occasions. Brian Leonard ranks as Cincinnati’s third back, but got the early work and managed 5.2 yards a carry.

And running back Cedric Peerman stiff-armed Wheeler after a short catch, watched him slip off and ran for more yards.

Wheeler did make a nice play tracking and dragging down Jermaine Gresham after a short catch.

ANDERSON, Ind. -- It’s trendy to call the Colts aging and to view the Texans and even the Jaguars as up-and-comers in the AFC South.

But if Indianapolis is healthy, it’s awfully risky to be ahead of the curve regarding its demise.

This is a team that lost a ton of talent to injury last season and still won the division at 10-6. It’s added some nice pieces on defense through bargain-basement free-agency. It drafted two offensive tackles who should be pillars, and also selected a short-yardage back.

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about a big rebound year, and most teams aren’t even talking rebound when it comes to following a division title.

“I think it’s really the same team,” middle linebacker Gary Brackett said.

The same team is a major threat to win the division and compete for home-field advantage in the playoffs. Should it break through for the third Super Bowl appearance of the Peyton Manning era, a huge prize awaits: The game will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium.

THREE HOT ISSUES

1. Manning’s health.

He spoke after signing his contract and has been seen around the team a couple of times during training camp at Anderson University. But like in 2008 following offseason knee surgeries, he’s not practicing.

This time it’s a result of neck surgery in May. It’s the second year in a row Manning had a neck procedure after the season. But he and the team have expressed confidence that all he needs is time and rehabilitation. It’s unlikely that a five-year, $90 million contract would have gotten done if the medical staff and management had any doubts.

While the Colts move forward without Manning, his absence also puts them in limbo. No matter how strongly they spin Curtis Painter’s performance, the defense isn’t being pushed in practice the way it would be if Manning was running the other side.

And no matter how precise the routes, how good the blocking or how well-timed the play, the offense will still need to sync it all up with the star quarterback once he returns.

That knee in 2008 limited him early, when the team struggled out of the gate. Coming back from a neck injury, Manning is less likely to have any sort of mechanical issues or physical limitations that affect his passing. That’s one case for expecting a better start after so much missed time.

The timetable for his return is unknown. You know the drill: They say he’s progressing well, that they are optimistic, etc., and no one outside a very tight circle has any real idea when he will re-emerge. He was spotted once throwing with what a witness called “decent velocity.” Hey, encouraging news is encouraging news.

2. Is the secondary deep enough?

Last season, the Colts were stretched virtually everywhere. Aaron Francisco wasn’t on the team for opening day, ranking as the fourth or fifth option at strong safety, and he played a good share of the season as the starter.

Behind free safety Antoine Bethea and re-signed and healthy strong safety Melvin Bullitt, there are unproven options including Al Afalava, Joe Lefeged, Mike Newton, David Caldwell and Chip Vaughn.

And after the top three corners -- Jerraud Powers, Justin Tryon and Jacob Lacey -- there also isn’t proven depth.

“At the safety position, I’m confident that we’re going to get two guys that will emerge there,” Colts vice chairman Bill Polian said. “We see enough signs to know that there is quality in that group.

“I also think there is some quality in the backup corners. Kevin Thomas is one of them. There are some interesting guys, and they’ll play themselves on or off the roster based on the preseason. But based on what I’ve seen thus far, I’d say we’ve got a good group and one or two guys will emerge.”

They will all benefit, of course, from a better pass rush. And if Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are better supplemented by Jerry Hughes and Jamaal Anderson on the edges and Tommie Harris provides a solid nickel push in the middle, they could have one.

3. Will the passing game have enough consistent weapons?

The ability of the 2010 Colts to get production from the likes of tight end Jacob Tamme and receiver Blair White was remarkable.

But if they can’t count on often-injured receiver Anthony Gonzalez or Austin Collie, who was shut down last season after concussion issues, it will be harder to make things go again.

Reggie Wayne is in fantastic shape and working hard, and will be a key target for Manning as always. Dallas Clark is back from a wrist injury. If the Colts are calling plays for those two and Pierre Garcon, Collie and Gonzalez, they can be potent. If the group shrinks, the effort is more exhausting.

Manning averaged 6.92 yards per attempt in 2010. That’s the lowest mark in his career outside of his rookie season (6.5). The Colts need to find more big plays and move the ball with a little less effort to be the kind of team they want to be.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

If the Colts get a significant contribution out of Anderson, Harris or linebacker Ernie Sims, it’ll be a win. All three signed cost-effective one-year deals that amount to low-risk, high-reward scenarios. Polian said in a normal year, the market wouldn’t have given the team an opportunity to sign players like these, veterans who are all ideally suited for Indy’s defense. If they get something from two of them, it will make for a home run. Three-for-three amounts to a grand slam. Harris looks very good so far, while Sims is recovering from an appendectomy.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Polian was singing Philip Wheeler’s praises and saying that while the team loves starting strongside linebacker Pat Angerer, it loves Wheeler too. But he failed to hold the job last season and should be able to win and hold a starting job by now. Brody Eldridge gets a mention, too. He had knee surgery after last season, and a setback means he hasn’t seen the practice field yet. They need him to be part of the run game.

OBSERVATION DECK

• Delone Carter is coming into a perfect situation as a rookie. He’s unlike any of the Colts' other running backs and should get chances in short yardage and goal-line situations. If Javarris James ran for six touchdowns last season, Carter could run for 12 this fall. The Colts can continue to praise Donald Brown, but with Joseph Addai back and Carter in the fold, when does Brown get on the field?
• It was a surprise to find Lacey as the No. 2 cornerback at the start of camp. He was better as a rookie than in his second season. And he can be an effective piece of the secondary. But I’d bet on Tryon passing him before opening day.
• After one long and hot afternoon practice session, two players stuck around to catch machine-thrown balls: Wayne and Bethea. Those are some solid veterans and the kind of guys any team would like to have leading the way.
• Manning didn’t react well to TV crews that saw a recent throwing and running session. My understanding is that the Earth is still spinning, however. I understand being private, but everything and everyone cannot always be controlled. Did I miss the catastrophic outcome?
• The buzz is good on Hughes, and with him and Anderson in the mix, the Colts may pace Freeney and Mathis better. That could make for fresher stars in December and January.
• They won’t talk until after the season, but as of now I’d expect the Colts to try to keep both Wayne and Mathis with new contracts.
• Jacques McClendon or Joe Reitz could be an upgrade over Kyle DeVan at left guard. The big question on the line to me -- presuming Anthony Castonzo takes over left tackle reasonably quickly -- is right guard. Mike Pollak has had sufficient opportunity, and the team can aspire to be better there. Couldn’t they be better with Ben Ijalana there until he’s ready to displace Ryan Diem at right tackle?
• 'Tis the season for Garcon to prove he's a consistently reliable threat. He had too many drops and too many lapses last season. He needs to be more than fast. He spent more time with Manning this offseason, before the neck surgery, than he did last offseason.

Welcome to the ESPN.com NFL Twindex. Or Twitterdex. Or Twitter Index. (Shall we vote?) No, we’re going Twindex.

This is our periodic look -- I’m thinking twice a month for now, weekly once we’re in a season -- at what players and others who work for NFL teams are saying via Twitter. Because I love being subjective and we all love lists, it’s a subjective list.

I’m following everyone I can find -- 328 people and growing -- and I hope they’ll follow me back. It’s difficult to read every tweet every day, so if you see a great one, forward it to me. I’m @ESPN_AFCSouth and @PaulKuharsky. The Twindex will be built from the best sampling I am able to do while still also fulfilling the obligations of a full-time job.

Each guy who makes the list each week will get a tweet notifying him of his status. We’re fluid. If a guy is interesting this week, he may find himself in the top five. Be boring next week and he may disappear, depending on what his competition is doing. Former players, coaches, owners, equipment guys and mascots are eligible, too. Bring it.

What gets you here? Tweets beyond the ordinary.

You’re scored down for morning greetings (sorry @MikeSimsWalker), birthday wishes, constant song lyrics (sorry @JimIrsay), weather updates and dinner reviews (unless, maybe, you are @PotRoast96).

You are rewarded for witty observations, clever lines and exchanges, smart life advice, amusing family stories, a great re-tweet or picture and, certainly, high-quality football information or commentary. A good week of tweeting can get you a spot. One outstanding tweet can, too.

As I am a positive guy, this is a positive list. Generally, we want to be a place players want to be. Like in our MVP Watch or the best restaurant in town or in unrestricted free agency after a great season. It’s an evolving concept, and whether you’re a candidate or a reader, I welcome your input.

Titans cornerback Jason McCourty and his twin brother, Patriots Pro Bowl cornerback Devin McCourty, combined Twitter accounts and have made a big push to let fans see them.

When I told him about this during their recent ESPN car wash, Jason wasn’t ashamed to say he wanted @McCourtyTwins to get a spot on the initial Index.

“I think guys are so competitive, anything like that with a list and a top spot, guys will get some enjoyment out of it,” he said. “Somebody may post, ‘Hey, check out so-and-so, he’s No. 1 this week on the Twitter poll.’ I think it’ll probably be a cool idea. I’ll check it out.

“Hopefully that gets us to No. 1.”

Maybe next week, Jason.

Here’s the debut list.


Need to point me to a tweet? Have ideas for the NFL Twindex? Find me @ESPN_AFCSouth and @PaulKuharsky.

Every team in the league has some sort of blind spot when it schemes to the draft: A position it can’t resist or won’t touch, a spot where there is always need, a round that’s an extra high hurdle.

Today we’ll strive to examine one biggie for each team.

Indianapolis Colts -- The third round

Thirty-five draft picks were on the Colts roster (including IR) at the end of the season. Here’s the round-by-round composition: Eight first-rounders, five second rounders, three third-rounders, five fourth-rounders, two fifth rounders, six sixth-rounders and six seventh-rounders.

The third round has been a bugaboo, and while 2009 corner Jerraud Powers is definitely a quality player, the other two third-rounders on the roster are question marks. Philip Wheeler, a linebacker from 2009, has been unable to hold on to a starting spot and 2010 cornerback Kevin Thomas was injured and lost for the year during the offseason before his rookie year.

Notable misses: Corner Dante Hughes (2007), defensive tackles Quinn Pitcock (2007) and Vincent Burns (2005), defensive backs Donald Strickland (2003), Joseph Jeffries (2002) and Cory Bird (2001) and receiver E.G. Green (1998)

The lesson: Stay away from defensive backs in the round, and don’t be afraid to trade the pick.

UPDATE: Apologies for initially including guard Brandon Burlsworth from 1999 on the notable misses. He died in a car accident before his rookie season.

After being struck recently with how the NFL's labor rift has been cast as billionaires vs. millionaires, I thought I’d look at some players' salaries.

Totaling-up career earnings is quite difficult, and bonus money can be hard to nail down and sort through.

We can still get an interesting snapshot by looking at scheduled 2011 base salaries. I suspect many readers will be surprised that the vast majority of players will earn less than $1 million this fall.

Here, according to the NFLPA, are the players from each AFC South team currently scheduled to make a base salary of $1 million or more in 2011. Keep in mind guys in line for some form of free agency are not part of things here.

Fifty-three of 216 players under contract are slated to make $1 million or more. That’s 24.5 percent of the division.

Houston Texans

• DE Mario Williams -- $13.8 million
• WR Andre Johnson – $7.2 million
• QB Matt Schaub -- $5.7 million
• LB DeMeco Ryans -- $5 million
• DE Antonio Smith -- $4.6 million
• RT Eric Winston -- $4.5 million
• DT Amobi Okoye -- $2.95 million
• C Chris Myers -- $2.75 million
• QB Dan Orlovsky -- $2.75 million
• K Neil Rackers -- $2.15 million
• G Wade Smith -- $1.75 million
• WR David Anderson -- $1.44 million
• RB Steve Slaton -- $1.2 million

Total base salaries of $1 million or more: 13

Total players under contract for 2011: 49

Percentage of roster making $1 million or more: 26.5

Indianapolis Colts

• DE Dwight Freeney -- $11.42 million
• CB Kelvin Hayden -- $6.105
• WR Reggie Wayne -- $5.95 million
• RT Ryan Diem -- $5.4 million
• FS Antoine Bethea -- $4.745 million
• TE Dallas Clark -- $4.2 million
• DE Robert Mathis -- $2.41 million
• C Jeff Saturday -- $2.4 million
• LB Gary Brackett -- $2 million
• LB Philip Wheeler -- $1.2 million
• WR Anthony Gonzalez -- $1.11 million

Total base salaries of $1 million or more: 11

Total players under contract for 2011: 57

Percentage of roster making $1 million or more: 19.3

Jacksonville Jaguars

• QB David Garrard -- $7.975 million
• CB Rashean Mathis -- $4.45 million
• LB Daryl Smith -- $4.2 million
• RB Maurice Jones-Drew -- $4.05 million
• FB Greg Jones -- $3.1 million
• DE Derrick Harvey -- $2.8025 million
• DE Aaron Kampman -- $2.45 million
• G Vince Manuwai -- $2.9
• K Josh Scobee -- $2 million
• OL Justin Smiley -- $2 million
• C Brad Meester -- $1.95 million
• WR Kassim Osgood -- $1.475 million
• LT Eugene Monroe -- $1.2425 million

Total base salaries of $1 million or more: 13

Total players under contract for 2011: 51

Percentage of roster making $1 million or more: 25.5

Tennessee Titans

• QB Vince Young -- $8.5 million*
• SS Chris Hope -- $6.5 million
• WR Kenny Britt -- $5.75 million
• LT Michael Roos -- $5 million
• G Jake Scott -- $4.7 million
• RT David Stewart -- $4.5 million
• DT Tony Brown -- $4 million
• WR Justin Gage -- $3.5 million
• FS Michael Griffin -- $3.3105 million
• WR Nate Washington $3.3 million
• CB Cortland Finnegan -- $3.293 million
• DT Jovan Haye -- $3 million
• C Eugene Amano -- $2.68 million
• K Rob Bironas -- $2.4 million
• DB Vincent Fuller -- $2.06 million
• LS Ken Amato $1.05 million

Total base salaries of $1 million or more: 16

Total players under contract for 2011: 59

Percentage of roster making $1 million or more: 27.1

*Young will be cut or traded, the Titans have announced.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Halftime thoughts from LP Field where it’s 21-7 Colts over Titans.

• Donald Brown is not the guy to solve the rushing problems for Indianapolis. Spins in the backfield provide time for defenders to tackle him in the backfield. That’s especially ineffective when it’s losing yards inside the 5-yard line. Javarris James is simple better in the red zone.
• My understanding of the Titans use of Randy Moss gets worse and worse. He played minimally in that half, and I don’t think he and Kenny Britt were on the field together for a snap. Meanwhile, a drop for Nate Washington and a good bit of action for Justin Gage.
• Kerry Collins can’t get nearly enough on the ball if he can’t step into it and the pocket rarely holds up. There are quarterbacks in the league who can make quality throws as they retreat. He’s not one of them.
• Rookie linebackers Pat Angerer and Kavell Conner were in the starting lineup, but the Colts are mixing and matching at linebacker beyond Gary Brackett. Tyjuan Hagler has played a lot. Philip Wheeler’s been out there some too.
• Two Tennessee giveaways led to two Colts touchdowns -- Dwight Freeney stripped Britt for one, Brett Kern couldn’t pull in a high snap from Ken Amato for a punt and Taj Smith recovered it for the other.
• Ryan Diem, two false starts. Not good. Manning, no picks, good. Still a couple more bad throws than you’d expect -- one where he missed an open Reggie Wayne on a scramble, one where he had James at the goal line.

PHILADELPHIA -- There was no suspense at all pertaining to the Colts' inactives today. Every one of them is hurt.

There was a bit of suspense about the lineup.

Donald Brown is sill starting at running back, where Joseph Addai and Mike Hart are out. Gijon Robinson starts at tight end with Brody Eldridge out. Tyjuan Hagler will play weakside linebacker for the injured Clint Session and Jacob Lacey will play right cornerback in place of the ailing Jerraud Powers.

Pat Angerer stays at strongside linebacker, ahead of Philip Wheeler, and Kyle DeVan remains at left guard.

The inactives for Indy: CB Justin Tryon, S Bob Sanders, CB Jerraud Powers, RB Joseph Addai, RB Mike Hart, LB Clint Session, TE Brody Eldridge, DT Antonio Johnson.

The inactives for Philly: QB Mike Kafka, WR Chad Hall, RB Joique Bell, CB Ellis Hobbs, DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, T King Dunlap, G Reggie Wells, TE Clay Harbor.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 9:

Canceling out Rivers: The odds are good that San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, who’s got record passing yardage through eight games, will be able to move the ball against Houston’s porous pass defense. Rivers should succeed even with injuries at receiver and to Antonio Gates, who's doubtful. The Texans' best defense might just be a big offensive day for Houston, too. Matt Schaub was shaky last week, especially in the first half. He needs to carry the Texans and match Rivers.

New venue: The Colts’ game in Philadelphia is their first in the city since 2002 and their first visit to Lincoln Financial Field. In two games in the city with Peyton Manning at quarterback, he’s thrown six touchdown passes and the team has two wins and 79 points. Mike Tanier thinks the Colts’ defensive scheme, with lots of defenders in short zones, is perfect for containing a scrambling quarterback like Michael Vick. But this version of the defense will be missing two or three key pieces, depending on the status of cornerback Jerraud Powers.

Watch first down: San Diego’s offense is the second best in the league this season on first down, while Houston’s is dead last, Aaron Schatz tells us. The Texans have to fare better on first down, and Gary Kubiak has to do better with the play calling there. Last week’s failure in Indy was pinned largely on third-down ineffectiveness. But more yards on first and second down produce more manageable third downs and presto. Well, I guess you can fail to give the ball to Arian Foster enough there, too.

More shuffling: The Colts pulled Philip Wheeler for Pat Angerer at strongside linebacker last week, but they’ll probably shuffle linebackers again this week. This time it wouldn't be by choice, it would be because of Clint Session's elbow/arm injury. It’s a guess as to how he’s replaced if he's out, but the candidates to be the third linebacker include Wheeler, Cody Glenn, Tyjuan Hagler and Kavell Conner. We’re also expecting receiver Anthony Gonzalez to be out, which means Blair White could get work if Austin Collie isn’t ready or is limited.

Hurry up and wait: The arrival of Randy Moss in Tennessee ranks as one of the biggest stories in the division this season. But the Titans are closed up for the weekend and his head start might not begin until Monday or Tuesday. As far as the potential to hear from him about being released in Minnesota and claimed by the Titans, we may not hear from him until Wednesday. We don’t know if he’ll provide both the questions and the answers as he said he would when he last talked as a Viking. The Jaguars, who also have a bye, will have a quieter return.

Philip Wheeler's demotion may have only lasted one week.

With Clint Session's agent, Harold Lewis, confirming his client finished the Monday night win over the Texans after dislocating his elbow and breaking his arm, it’s hard to imagine we’ll see the feisty linebacker in the lineup against the Eagles in Philadelphia on Sunday.

I asked a couple of medical people about the outlook for Session, and while they couldn’t make a real prediction due to the lack of details, they said most injuries like the one Lewis described would require surgery and several months to recover. But they cautioned that the agent could have overstated the injury. Mike Chappell said an MRI was scheduled.

The Colts have announced surgeries and been quick to declare when players with big injuries would sit out games this season. They’ve said nothing so far about Session except listing him on the injury report with an elbow issue and saying he did not practice Wednesday or Thursday.

Against Houston, rookie Pat Angerer replaced a healthy Wheeler on the strong side while Gary Brackett was in the middle after missing a game. Session manned his usual weakside spot.

Brackett is a certainty to remain in the middle, and Angerer got good reviews. The candidates for the other outside spot, presuming Session is out, are Wheeler, Cody Glenn, Tyjuan Hagler and rookie Kavell Conner, who just resumed practicing after a long layoff following foot surgery.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Philip Wheeler’s healthy but not in the starting lineup, replaced by the active and effective rookie Pat Angerer at strongside linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts tonight against Houston.

Two injured Colts are also out of the starting lineup: Joseph Addai (shoulder/neck) will be replaced as the starting running back by Mike Hart and right cornerback Jerraud Powers (foot) will be replaced by Justin Tryon. Nickelback Jacob Lacey is also out.

Kyle DeVan will start instead of Jamey Richard at left guard for the second straight game.

The Colts also let running back Andre Brown go, adding cornerback Cornelius Brown, who is active.

The Texans have no surprises among their inactives. Antoine Caldwell starts at right guard for Mike Brisiel.

The complete inactive lists.

Colts: Receiver Austin Collie, safety Bob Sanders, Powers, Lacey, linebacker Kavell Conner, guard Jacques McClendon, defensive tackle Antonio Johnson.

Texans: Quarterback Matt Leinart, receiver Dorin Dickerson, cornerback Carl Paymah, linebacker Daryl Sharpton, guard Kasey Studdard, defensive end Jesse Nading, tight end Garrett Graham, defensive tackle Earl Mitchell.

Like all good personnel men, Bill Polian does well projecting and predicting. But ultimately, he wants to see and judge not with forecasting but off of production.

And so he often says during the offseason and preseason, “Check with me three weeks in.”

I do my best to take him up on that, and spent some time on the phone with the Indianapolis Colts team president this week for that check-in.

Here, then, are the highlights of a wide-ranging discussion about the state of the 2-1 Colts.

Paul Kuharsky: You always say check in three weeks, so here I am. What’s your general feel about this team? Are you in as good a shape as you expected or do you have more concerns than you anticipated?

Bill Polian: I don’t really know, because all of the injuries have derailed us a little bit. So I am not really sure what we have at this point until we get everybody back healthy, or at least as many as we can. It’s been a struggle thus far.

PK: It seems like that injury string just goes and goes. Is it a cyclical thing, is it a bad-luck thing?

BP: I think it’s just a luck thing. You would hope it changes.

PK: Peyton Manning’s numbers are obviously fantastic. Is there anything subtle he’s done to get better?

BP: No, I don’t think so. I think he’s done a great job working the new receivers in and getting comfortable with them and letting them get comfortable with him. I think by and large it’s been business as usual.

PK: When Austin Collie has a game like he did in Denver, are you ever surprised when a guy maxes out the way he did, or it s a business-as-usual, we-expect-it kind of thing?

BP: When you put up gaudy numbers, that’s an every-once-in-a-while thing. But we expect a good performance from him. He’s a guy we’ve learned to be able to count on.

PK: How’s [rookie tight end] Brody Eldridge been and what kind of effect has he had on your offense?

BP: He’s been great. And he really had an effect in the running game and will get better day by day in the passing game, he’s got ability in that area and he will continue to develop it … Brody’s been really in there in a lot of run situations. But we trusted [undrafted rookie left tackle Jeff Linkenbach] to do the job and he did. For Brody, pass protection comes a little more slowly, he was more developed as a run blocker for obvious reasons [at Oklahoma], but he does both pretty well. Linkenbach was on his own a good portion of the time and he did a good job.

PK: When you get a nice game out of someone like Linkenbach, does that say to you we can continue to find guys on the offensive line who can be successful for us without a big pick or a big move? Or is that a position you’ll be constantly evaluating and where you’ll maybe be looking to get that big-time guy?

BP: Well, I don’t know that Link isn’t the big-time guy. I think we’ll find that out over time. And obviously we’re hoping to get Charlie [Johnson] back. You’re always looking for the best players you can get, the question is are they available when you choose and what else is available? We’d like to have big-time players at every position. Unfortunately when you’re drafting as low as we have, you don’t get a shot as some of the marquee guys but Link proves, just like Jamey Richard and Jeff Saturday and Ryan Diem, that you can find guys down low that are very productive players.

PK: I know you’ve been dinged up there, but do you feel like the offensive line is giving you better play or will give you better play than you got last year when you said it was a concern?

BP: I don’t think there is any question that it will be better. And I think you could argue that they’ve played about as well as they could have given all the injuries and the unsettlement there. But I don’t think that there is any question that it will be better over time.

PK: What will make it so?

BP: We’ve got Jamey playing left guard and that’s a new position for him. Mike Pollak’s done a nice job at right guard. Jamey had to play center in the preseason because Jeff Saturday was hurt the whole preseason. Link stepped in for Charlie, we’re hopeful that Charlie will be back here shortly, so that gives us some pretty good depth there and a lot of good young players there. So I think they’ll get better over time.

PK: Has Philip Wheeler been as good as you’d hoped coming into the season? How’s your depth at linebacker given the injuries to Clint Session and Kavell Conner?

BP: Philip’s played well. The depth has turned out to be fine, unfortunately. Cody Glenn played well stepping in without much practice when Kavell Conner went down. Kavell played really well. So we’re happy with the depth we have. Pat Angerer played really well when Gary [Brackett] was out during the preseason. The depth is great, thank God. But hopefully we’ll get Clint back very soon and Kavell will be back in eight weeks. Hopefully we can span the gaps until then.

PK: Is Pat Angerer strictly an inside guy?

BP: We’ll see down the road, right now he’s inside, let him get comfortable there. And he is doing very well there. If we had an absolute emergency I guess he could go outside, but right now we’d rather have him inside.

PK: How do you evaluate your secondary depth?

BP: The depth isn’t what we’d like to have there at safety, but hopefully we’ll continue to be OK. That’s probably the area where we have the least depth and that’s simply because of injury. You could never have imagined that both Jamie Silva and Bob [Sanders] would go down for extended periods in the same year, that’s just bad luck but it happens to every team. You can’t change it. At corner, I’ve always believed you can never have enough, but the five guys we have are pretty good. And I think they’ll be OK.

PK: You guys did so well so much of the time last year at stopping the big plays, did you come out of Denver with concerns about that?

BP: It’s early yet and we’re still getting used to playing with one another and playing against people who do a little bit different things than we’ve seen before. Points and turnovers are what count for defense and the other stuff we can get corrected.

PK: How’s Fili Moala been?

BP: He’s been starting, he’s made a lot of progress. But every player does, the biggest jump a player takes is between his first and second year. Fili is no exception. And defensive line takes a longer time to develop than almost any other player, and Fili is no exception there. That said, he’s taken a big step and he’s developed and he’s playing fine. We’re very, very happy with the way he’s playing.

PK: Can you compare and contrast him to Antonio Johnson?

BP: Different styles. Fili is longer and he’s got more range than Mookie [Johnson]. He’s not quite as wide or stout and has to play with a little more quickness than Mookie does. But they both get the job done, but they are different styles of players with different body types.

PK: Some punts this year haven’t yielded you much in field position. Has your thinking on that changed at all? Might playing four downs in some spots to gain a scoring chance be more valuable?

BP: First of all, I don’t look at it from a statistical standpoint. To me, it’s always a game-by-game decision. Who’s the return man, what is the other team doing, what is the status of your defense, what’s the status of your offense? It’s a situation-by-situation decision. We’ve been unlucky in certain situations where if the ball had bounced properly for us or correctly for us we would have had kills on the 1-yard line. That said, we haven’t been as clean as we should have on the technique there and that will improve as we go on into the season. As far as decision making, that’s up to coach on a situation-by-situation basis and I don’t believe in any of the statistical formulas that I’ve seen.

PK: We’ve talked about [Jaguars GM] Gene Smith and how you like the way he’s building in Jacksonville. Are you surprised by their struggles the last couple weeks, and while I know you’re hoping they don’t bounce out of it this week, do you think they are still on track?

BP: Obviously we’re hoping that, but they are perfectly capable of doing it. I do like the way they are building, I think they are going about it in the right way. It takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight and I think they will be heard from before too long and I hope it’s not this weekend.

PK: When a quarterback struggles like David Garrard has the last two weeks, how much is confidence the biggest thing in play?

BP: The whole thing is a continuum; it’s not one individual player or even one individual platoon. Sometimes it can just be a bad break here, a penalty there and you get in those kinds of streaks and things can tend to mushroom on you. One thing I know about [Jaguars head coach] Jack Del Rio is he has a way of getting his team focused, he’s a tough guy, his team reflects that. They’ll play through it. There is a long, long way to go and I think they’re a much improved football team and they will show that before too long. I just hope it doesn’t come this weekend.

PK: Obligatory contract question. Have you had any significant talks with Tom Condon about Peyton Manning?

BP: Yeah, we continue to talk and there is nothing else to report other than that.

Many of you who follow the Colts have been asking about the punt returner situation. There was a bit of a charade leading into the opener about Anthony Gonzalez fielding punts, but it didn’t come to life before he was hurt. And the guy who made the team to field kicks, Devin Moore, has taken a backseat on punts to starting cornerback Jerraud Powers.


Discussions about starters with big roles as returners always hit on Jason Sehorn, the one-time Giants corner who missed a season as a result of a preseason injury suffered as a returner.

Every coach and team measures such risk, and based on a transcript of coach Jim Caldwell on Thursday he doesn’t think it’s an unreasonable one for the Colts to use Powers in the role.

“It was a combination of a little bit of everything,” Caldwell said of the decision to use Powers. “He’s done it before. He’s very good at it. Even the week leading up to it we certainly didn’t give any definite declaration of who was actually going to do it, so we worked several guys back there, Pierre Garcon, Blair White, Anthony Gonzalez, Jerraud Powers and Brandon James. We had a number of guys that still work at it. Obviously, we felt that particular day with the situation we were facing that he would do a great job for us and that carried over to the second week, as well.”

Caldwell also talked about how many starters have special teams roles, singling out Philip Wheeler, Antoine Bethea and Melvin Bullitt while talking of how many starting offensive linemen are on the field-goal unit and how many starters are in the field-goal block group.

But linemen and even players who run down to cover kicks are not being targeted and tackled.

The Colts took a thorough look at three return candidates in the preseason – Moore, James and seventh-rounder Ray Fisher. It’s unfortunate none of them emerged as the best option to field punts. For now it looks like Powers, but I won’t be surprised if he’s not permanent in the role.

While it would be nice to bust some big ones, it’s usually been an area where Bill Polian teams have been willing to sacrifice play-making ability because the offense is capable of gaining the yards the special teams can’t.

It’s probably a safer strategy than putting a top cover guy at additional risk.