NFL News & Rumors Digest

INDIAN OLIS — A lot is unknown in Peyton Manning’s comeback from neck surgery.

But one particular issue is certain: It won’t fail because of lack of effort.

The quarterback has been throwing at an up-tempo pace because mid-December, just ahead of his try to return for the Indianapolis Colts’ final two games finally ended, as SI.com reported Wednesday. Manning threw in a post-practice setting with a group of receivers and operating backs Dec. 14 as part of the rehabilitation method.

1 league source stated that to “describe it as a practice is incorrect.” The session was scripted by the Colts’ strength and conditioning coaches and Manning’s rehabilitation coordinator, with then-vice chairman Bill Polian, coach Jim Caldwell and offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen monitoring from the sideline.

According to the source, Manning was throwing at about 󈭅 percent” and didn’t seem impaired, though the players had been constrained to an region inside the 25-yard line so the quarterback wouldn’t have to (or be tempted to) make far more taxing throws.

4 days soon after the session, Polian announced that Manning wouldn’t play at all in the 2011 season. At the time, Polian said Manning hadn’t “come far sufficient to make it prudent for him to step on the field in game action.”

Doctors consistently told Colts officials to be cautious in charting Manning’s progress throwing the ball, specifically soon after that perform in December. The doctors maintained that while Manning’s neck issue had cleared up, the difficulty with nerve regeneration remained, and there wasn’t a timetable for recovery in that location.

(About:) This post was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NFL news see: Manning threw at 85 percent in December, wanted to play.

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New Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell is generating it a point to set the bar low for Joe Flacco. At least, lower than exactly where it would be if Flacco had been Peyton Manning.

Caldwell coached Manning, a four-time league MVP, for a full decade. Whilst he sees a lot in Flacco that tends to make him “dangerous,” he’s not trying to make the Ravens’ starter the subsequent Manning.

“Everybody’s different,” Caldwell told the team’s official site. “[Flacco] has his own strengths, and what we want to attempt to do is accentuate those.

“I’m not here to try to make him like any other quarterback in this league, like Peyton Manning or Brad Johnson or the other guys I’ve coached. That’s not my aim. He is who he is. What we want to do is just aid him excellent what he does nicely.”

Flacco, 27, has accomplished plenty for his own resume, leading the Ravens to the playoffs in every of his initial 4 seasons. Caldwell told the internet site he’s noticed growth in Flacco while preparing for him as an opponent, but the development of an NFL quarterback takes time and consistency.

“Joe’s been able to show it for four years. He’s continued to get far better and lead his team to the playoffs. That’s consistency,” Caldwell mentioned.

“Every as soon as in a while you will find a quarterback that will have 1 outstanding year and that’s it. Each once in a while you’ll locate one that has two quite great years. And that’s it for their whole career. The individuals that can string them back to back to back to back and continue, that’s what you look for in terms of consistency and performing at a extremely high level.”

Caldwell really should know. He witnessed it for 10 seasons.

(About:) This write-up was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NFL news see: Ravens’ Caldwell not intent on making Flacco the next Manning.

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The Indianapolis Colts’ sudden crash has price coach Jim Caldwell his job.

The team announced it fired Caldwell on Tuesday, the second significant selection in what is expected to be a long offseason shake-up. Team owner Jim Irsay fired team vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, Chris, the team’s general manager, the day following the season ended.

Caldwell led the Colts to a 14-two typical season and Super Bowl appearance in the 2009 season, his very first after becoming hand-picked by Tony Dungy to take over the team’s head-coaching duties. The Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV to the New Orleans Saints. They had been upset in the 2010 wild-card round by the New York Jets, following a 10-6 regular season.

Caldwell won his very first 14 games, an NFL record for a rookie head coach, and became only the fifth initial-year coach to take his team to the Super Bowl.

“This was a hard selection,” Colts owner Jim Irsay mentioned during a Tuesday news conference. “It was based on the feeling that this was a direction the franchise needed to go. I wanted to make certain we took all the time we necessary to make positive it was the appropriate choice.”

With the Colts’ head-coaching position now open, there could be speculation that the Colts might approach Dungy about a possible return. NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora mentioned Tuesday on “Around The League,” that there’s no cause to believe Dungy could return to the coaching ranks.

“Everything I’ve heard is he’s perfectly happy doing what he’s performing,” La Canfora stated of Dungy, who has been working for NBC’s “Football Night in America.” “There’s really been no smoke there for a couple of years now. He’s been fairly equivocal with his stance on this.”

Newly hired general manager Ryan Grigson mentioned the Colts will be patient throughout their search for a new head coach.

“We don’t want to do something rash in any regard with any of this,” Grigson said. “These are big decisions, and we don’t want to be hurried.”

Grigson stated that Caldwell was informed Tuesday of the team’s choice to move in another path.

Grigson also confirmed that the Colts met with former St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo about a potential defensive-coordinator position. Caldwell was present at the meeting.

Caldwell was the Colts’ quarterback coach/assistant head coach from 2002-08.

(About:) This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For much more NFL news see: Caldwell out as Colts head coach right after 2-14 season.

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The Indianapolis Colts’ sudden crash has cost coach Jim Caldwell his job.

The team announced it fired Caldwell on Tuesday, the second major decision in what is expected to be a long offseason shake-up. Team owner Jim Irsay fired team vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, Chris, the team’s general manager, the day after the season ended.

Caldwell led the Colts to a 14-2 regular season and Super Bowl appearance in the 2009 season, his first after being hand-picked by Tony Dungy to take over the team’s head-coaching duties. The Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV to the New Orleans Saints. They were upset in the 2010 wild-card round by the New York Jets, following a 10-6 regular season.

Caldwell won his first 14 games, an NFL record for a rookie head coach, and became only the fifth first-year coach to take his team to the Super Bowl.

“This was a difficult decision,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said during a Tuesday news conference. “It was based on the feeling that this was a direction the franchise needed to go. I wanted to make sure we took all the time we needed to make sure it was the right decision.”

With the Colts’ head-coaching position now open, there could be speculation that the Colts might approach Dungy about a possible return. NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora said Tuesday on “Around The League,” that there’s no reason to believe Dungy could return to the coaching ranks.

“Everything I’ve heard is he’s perfectly happy doing what he’s doing,” La Canfora said of Dungy, who has been working for NBC’s “Football Night in America.” “There’s really been no smoke there for a couple of years now. He’s been pretty equivocal with his stance on this.”

Newly hired general manager Ryan Grigson said the Colts will be patient during their search for a new head coach.

“We don’t want to do anything rash in any regard with any of this,” Grigson said. “These are big decisions, and we don’t want to be hurried.”

Grigson said that Caldwell was informed Tuesday of the team’s decision to move in another direction.

Grigson also confirmed that the Colts met with former St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo about a potential defensive-coordinator position. Caldwell was present at the meeting.

Caldwell was the Colts’ quarterback coach/assistant head coach from 2002-08.

(About:) This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NFL news see: Caldwell out as Colts head coach after 2-14 season.

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• Caldwell Out as Colts Head Coach After 2-14 Season

As the Colts prepare to return to Tampa for the very first time given that an epic Monday night game eight years ago, eight members of the team are listed as questionable.

Possibly the biggest surprise is that quarterback Kerry Collins, who apparently has a concussion, hasn’t been ruled out for the game.  He’s officially listed as questionable with a head injury.  The team has not specifically said that Collins suffered a concussion last Sunday night, but coach Jim Caldwell has suggested that Collins is suffering concussion-like symptoms.

The Colts already have stated that Curtis Painter will be the beginning quarterback.

Also questionable is defensive end Dwight Freeney (ankle), defensive back Antoine Bethea (ankle), tackle Ryan Diem (ankle), tight finish Brody Eldridge (knee), defensive tackle Fili Moala (ankle), offensive lineman Joe Reitz (ankle), and linebacker Ernie Sims (knee).

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Reuters

Typically, the men who will be in the beginning lineup for Week 1 of the normal season don’t play a lot, if at all, in their team’s final preseason game.

1 guy who could be beginning in Week One could be taking a lot of snaps on Thursday night.

Colts quarterback Kerry Collins, who may well or may not be playing in location of Peyton Manning on September 11 against the Texans, will be playing a-plenty on September 1 against the Bengals in Cincinnati.

“He’s going to play a lot, certainly,” coach Jim Caldwell said Tuesday regarding Collins.  “We’ll type of decide that here in the next couple of days or so.”

Facing the Bengals will be the culmination of Collins’ crash course in the Colts’ offense.

“He’s finding a very good really feel for it, I think,” Caldwell said.  “We’ve been trying to saturate him with it as a lot as we possibly can.  So he’s been working day and night.  Ron Turner has been actually counseling him along the way, and attempting to make use of each waking hour possible.  I think it’s undoubtedly given him a opportunity to, at least, get familiarized with it somewhat.  Now, clearly, the practices are extremely important, but he’s got to get some time in the game as nicely.”

The other fascinating subplot for Thursday night, given that Peyton Manning has been activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list, is the competition between Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky.  Unless the Colts plan to maintain four quarterbacks or to pay Collins his guaranteed base salary to not play for the team, Painter or Orlovsky will be amongst the final roster cuts on Saturday, if not sooner.  Their respective closing arguments come in Cincinnati.

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Quarterback is far from the first position the Colts need to upgrade in this year’s NFL draft. But they appear to be giving serious consideration to taking a passer with a high pick. Colts G.M. Chris Polian and coach Jim Caldwell had a private workout with TCU quarterback Andy Dalton on Monday, and the Indianapolis…

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