The Colts have signed 28-year old linebacker Tyjuan Hagler.  Hagler played in 7 games for the Colts last season and he had 26 tackles and 3 passes defensed.  Hagler has played in 37 games in his four years with the Colts and he has 114 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 1 sack and 2 forced fumbles.  The Colts were lucky that Hagler was sitting at home as he is a decent football player.  He also knows the Colts’ system so he will be ready to go this weekend against the Jaguars if needed.

UPDATE:  (10/7/2010) – The Colts have released Tyjuan Hagler.  He played against the Jaguars last week and he had 2 tackles.

The Colts will be without 23-year old rookie linebacker Kavell Conner for a while as he has had surgery to repair a fractured bone in his left foot.  Conner was a 7th round pick out of Clemson last April and he did a good enough job to not only win a roster spot but actually was getting P.T. for the Colts.  Conner has played in 3 games for the Colts this year and he has 5 tackles.  This injury will hurt the special teams and depth at linebacker for the Colts.

The Colts dominated this game yesterday.  Peyton Manning was his usual outstanding self as he completed 27 of 43 passes for 325 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Joseph Addai had a rough time finding running room as he carried the ball 13 times for 29 yards (2.2 ypc) yesterday.  Austin Collie had a monster game for the Colts with 12 catches for 171 yards (14.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  WR Blair White pitched in with 3 carries for 27 yards (9.0 avg) with a TD grab.  The Colts finished up with 40 yards rushing on 22 carries (1.8 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 43 passes for 325 yards.

The Colts’ D was in bend but don’t break mode yesterday.  CB Kelvin Hayden (10 tackles, 1 pass defensed), LB Gary Brackett (9 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and CB Jacob Lacey (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Colts’ D last night.  The Broncos finished up with 47 yards rushing on 18 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 37 of 57 passes for 472 yards.  The Colts are now 2-1 on the year.

Everything almost looks too good for the Colts in this game.  The Broncos will be without their top RB (Knowshon Moreno) and CBs Andre’ Goodman and Champ Bailey are banged up.  Here is a look at the matchups:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts mixed it up really good last week using both the run and the pass to move up and down the field almost at will against the Giants.  They would like to keep the same mix of play calling this weekend in Denver.  That means that Joseph Addai and Donald Brown will be taking aim at a Broncos’ D that is allowing 121.5 yards rushing and 4.5 yards per carry so far this year.  The Colts will also spread out the field and throw the ball to Dallas Clark,  Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon which will cause the Broncos’ secondary a lot of problems seeing how they are banged up right now.  Throw in the fact that Joseph Addai and Donald Brown will be up against converted DEs at OLB (Robert Ayers and Jarvis Moss) when the Colts throw to them and this game is a recipe for disaster for the Broncos’ D.

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos like to throw the ball but they can’t possibly fight the urge to run it against a Colts’ D that is allowing 188.5 yards rushing and 5.6 yards per carry.  The Broncos have not been able to run the ball too well this year but they will likely be giving the ball to Laurence Maroney (a newcomer) early and often in this game.  If the Broncos have luck in the running game that might slow to Colts pass rush a little bit which would buy Kyle Orton more time to throw the ball.  He has a 103.9 QB Rating so far this year to go along with his 602 passing yards so he has been very effective.  Demaryius Thomas, Eddie Royal, Brandon Lloyd and Jabar Gaffney give him a solid set of WRs so the Colts’ D will likely have their hands full this weekend.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 41, BRONCOS 31

24-year old WR Austin Collie is off to a great start this year.  In his first two games, Collie has caught 15 passes for 188 yards (12.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Collie and Manning are definitely on the same wavelength as Manning has completed 15 of his 16 throws to him so far this year.  Look for Collie to easily top his impressive rookie numbers of last year when he caught 60 passes for 676 yards (11.3 avg) with 7 TD grabs as long as he can stay healthy.

The Colts will be without backup linebacker Ramon Humber indefinitely after he underwent surgery to repair a fractured hand.  The 23-year old Humber played in both of the Colts first two games in which he had 3 tackles.  Last year as a rookie, Humber played in 16 games in which he had 32 tackles and forced 1 fumble.  This injury will hurt the Colts’ depth at linebacker and that’s not a good thing as opposing teams have been running all over them so far this year.

UPDATE:  (9/30/2010) – The Colts have placed Ramon Humber on the Injured Reserve List ending his season.

The Colts have lost 26-year old WR Anthony Gonzalez for the next 4-6 weeks with a high ankle sprain.  Gonzalez has played in 1 game for the Colts so far this year and he has caught 1 pass for 12 yards.  This is a shame for Gonzalez who pretty much missed all of last season due to injury as he played in 1 game but didn’t catch any passes.  Gonzalez was supposed to replace Marvin Harrison last year in the starting lineup but now he has been passed on the depth chart by both Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie.  In his first two years with the Colts, Gonzalez played in 29 games (11 starts) in which he caught 94 passes for 1,240 yards (13.2 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Here’s to hoping that Gonzalez gets well soon.

The Indianapolis Colts dominated the Giants last night in the ‘Manning Bowl’.  Peyton Manning was very sharp last night in completing 20 of 26 passes for 255 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Joseph Addai looked good too with 20 carries for 92 yards (4.6 ypc) and 2 catches for 21 yards (10.5 avg).  Donald Brown was also solid with 16 carries for 69 yards (4.3 ypc) with a TD run and 1 catch for 19 yards last night.  Reggie Wayne (7 rec, 96 yards, TD), Dallas Clark (5 rec, 83 yards, TD) and Austin Collie (4 rec, 25 yards, TD) all played very well for the Colts last night.  The Colts finished up with 160 yards rushing on 43 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 26 passes for 250 yards. 

CB Kelvin Hayden led the way for the Colts’ D last night with 8 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  DEs Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney combined to have 7 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 4 QB hits as it was like they were living in the Giants’ backfield.  CB Jerraud Powers (3 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) and DT Fili Moala (fumble recovery for a TD) also made big plays for the Colts last night.  The Giants finished up with 120 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 24 passes for 137 yards.  The Colts are now 1-1 on the year.

The Manning Bowl…….Eli vs. Peyton.  I just don’t see the Giants engaging in a fire fight if they watched game film of how poor the Colts handled the Texans’ running attack.  Here is a look at the match-ups in this game:

When the Colts have the ball:  The Colts have to come out throwing the ball this week to take the Giants out of their offensive game plan.  To do that the Colts must give Peyton Manning time to throw the ball as the Giants had 4 sacks and 3 interceptions last week.  I look for the Colts to spread the ball around to Dallas Clark, Austin Collie, Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Joseph Addai.  Addai will likely get a lot more action in this game both running and receiving as long as the Colts don’t fall behind like they did last week.

When the Giants have the ball:  The Giants no doubt will be unleashing Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs against a Colts’ D that allowed 257 yards rushing on 42 carries (6.1 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Eli Manning is also a master at play action so if the Giants get the running game going the secondary better be ready.  In WRs Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Steve Smith the Giants have a very dangerous trio down the field.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 30, GIANTS 27

The Colts have signed 24-year old safety DaJuan Morgan to add depth in the secondary.  Morgan played in 13 games for the Chiefs last season and he had 18 tackles.  He has now played in 28 games in his NFL career and he has 41 tackles.  He did get cut by the Chiefs so the Colts will likely be hoping that he only has to play on special teams for them.