TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) -Joseph Addai would like to forget about the crash of 2008. He figures he’s better off pondering how to get the Colts’ running game fixed than reliving last season’s nightmare.
“We have a chance to start over,” Addai said. “That’s the positive thing. You can start over and kind of work on those small things. I wish it would’ve been better (last year), yeah, but I think those kind of things in life make you stronger.”
The Colts are counting on Addai to play better, and he certainly has the credentials to revive Indy’s rushing attack.
xcel in the Colts offense.
So how does one explain last season’s decline?
Nagging injuries led to less practice time and a string of uncharacteristic performances. Addai finished with career-lows in yardage (544), touchdowns (five) and yards per carry (3.5), prompting some to complain he “danced” too much before hitting holes.
The truth: It wasn’t all Addai’s fault.
Three-time MVP quarterback Peyton Manning got off to a slow start, in part because knee surgery forced him to miss all of training camp and it allowed defenses to stack the line of scrimmage. Manning is healthy this year.
Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday, the anchor of the offensive line, missed four games because of injuries. At times, the Colts played with three rookie linemen. All those linemen are back and, for the moment, are healthy.
“You can pass blame all the way through, but ultimately it is the offensive line,” Saturday said. “That’s our role and responsibility. … It’s our job to open holes for Joe and Donald (Brown).”
Indy’s new goal is to restore balance in the offense, something Manning has always called a necessity.
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The Colts backfield stable includes Brown, who has breakaway speed; Mike Hart, a powerful second-year runner coming back from knee surgery; Chad Simpson, a speedster who made the team as an undrafted rookie in 2008; and Lance Ball, who closed out the regular season with 13 carries for 83 yards – more than Addai had in 11 of his 12 starts last season.
Addai is doing what he can to make sure things improve in 2009, and he doesn’t seem to mind helping.
“You have a teacher that teaches you and, now as you get older, you have to be a teacher no matter what’s going on or no matter how people might put the situation,” he said. “He (Brown) comes to me asking me questions I’m going to give him the answers. It’s a team thing regardless of what’s going on.”
Though Addai and Brown will battle through training camp for carries, Addai seems content with the addition.
Together, the two young running backs are convinced they can get Indy’s running game off the ground.
“Joe has been very helpful and has really expedited the whole learning process,” Brown said.
Improving the ground game, after finishing 31st in the league (79.6 yards per game) and behind only winless Detroit, is the Colts’ top priority. All Addai really wants is a chance to make up for last year.
of shows leadership about this team that everybody takes the blame and not one person,” he said. “You kind of have to get some of those things behind you, worry about this new year and start off fresh.”
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