Indianapolis

I have to say that it was a lot of fun attending the Colts Mini Camp. I came away with a few things from the camp. 1. DHB is much faster than I ever thought. He busted out along the sidelines on one play and kicked in the after-burners. He is possibly the fastest receiver the Colts have ever had. If he has the hands to go along with that speed, then this guy is going to be an incredible receiving threat. That play looked like a man with something to prove. It was like, "Let's see anybody even try to match my kinda speed." 2. I never realized what a beast Cory Redding is. Number 90 just looked awesome on the field. It was especially evident when he was working on plays with all of the rest of the big boys where they had to run through a series of pilons and hit down the pilons. No one was able to hit them with anywhere near the kind of force that Cory did. I always knew he was a great pickup from the Ravens last year. But it wasn't truly evident until you get to see this guy in practice. 3. Hasselbeck is very good at short passes. This works great if the Colts run a West Coast offense and he needs to fill in. 4. Harnish is very accurate. It showed in the numerous passing drills that Harnish was running. 5. Reggie can catch almost anything. He just catches the ball with such ease. 6. LaVon Brazil looked pretty good in a deep pass route. He has some good speed. 7. Whalen quickly stepped into the lineup on one play and went for a deep route with Luck. He bobbled the ball a little and looked like he struggled a little due to the height disadvantage to his defender. But he brought in the pass and pulled off a nice reception. Whalen seems to catch everything thrown at him, but his short height may hurt him some. 8. It looked like they were utilizing Williams a lot on returns and for runs. He looked pretty descent. 9. Thanks to all the players for coming out and signing things for the fans. Werner was especially nice to talk to. I guess in Germany they make their 9's somewhat like pound signs (#). 10. Special thanks to WR Palmer of Elkhart. He came out to say hi to his family afterwards and was the only player I saw signing stuff for the fans after the practice. I wish Palmer the best of luck on making the 53 man roster! I have to say that it was a lot of fun attending the Colts Mini Camp. I came away with a few things from the camp. 1. DHB is much faster than I ever thought. He busted out along the sidelines on one play and kicked in the after-burners. He is possibly the fastest receiver the Colts have ever had. If he has the hands to go along with that speed, then this guy is going to be an incredible receiving threat. That play looked like a man with something to prove. It was like, "Let's see anybody even try to match my kinda speed." 2. I never realized what a beast Cory Redding is. Number 90 just looked awesome on the field. It was especially evident when he was working on plays with all of the rest of the big boys where they had to run through a series of pilons and hit down the pilons. No one was able to hit them with anywhere near the kind of force that Cory did. I always knew he was a great pickup from the Ravens last year. But it wasn't truly evident until you get to see this guy in practice. 3. Hasselbeck is very good at short passes. This works great if the Colts run a West Coast offense and he needs to fill in. 4. Harnish is very accurate. It showed in the numerous passing drills that Harnish was running. 5. Reggie can catch almost anything. He just catches the ball with such ease. 6. LaVon Brazil looked pretty good in a deep pass route. He has some good speed. 7. Whalen quickly stepped into the lineup on one play and went for a deep route with Luck. He bobbled the ball a little and looked like he struggled a little due to the height disadvantage to his defender. But he brought in the pass and pulled off a nice reception. Whalen seems to catch everythi

Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy is writing another book.

Feb 23, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Indiana Pacers small forward Danny Granger (33) during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace. Pacers win 90-72. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports This is the simple question on Indiana Pacers’ fans minds as we enter this off season. Personally, I don’t think you do anything with Danny Granger at this moment. I don’t think any team is going to take a chance on him after missing all of last season minus five games. It might as well be a lost season for Granger.  He came out in those five games, but hardly looked like the player he once was. I know for me, I think Granger has to come off the bench. But I also understand his desire to start.  He’s been a starter all these years.  And you should lose your starting job due to injury. But the fact is that this Pacers team could have their starting line up back, and they need to stick with that core group to see where they can go.  Granger has to understand that as well, and if he doesn’t want to come off the bench, then you start looking for ways to get him off on another direction. I would hate to part with Granger as he’s been through the Pacers in those down years, and now that this team is taking the turn for the better, I believe he wants to stick around for that.  But he’s got to be that team player, and understand his role has changed.  He could be a Shawn Marion type, where you’re like the “sixth” starter.  Don’t think of it as a bench player.  Frank Vogel has said that some guys on the bench could be starters anyways. If Granger can come out and play 15-20 minutes to get you some double figures in scoring, this bench already gets improved.  That’s where the Pacers need the most help as well.  Granger could be that boost that the Pacers need there.  Why wouldn’t he want to do that?  I think the front office will talk plenty with him, and tell him exactly that. He’s going to be  a voice in the locker room that guys will listen to, and that’s just another area where this Pacers team can use him. For now, Danny Granger is an Indiana Pacer, but I am curious where he ends up throughout the upcoming season.  Where do you think Granger ends up?

If you are looking for top-flight players for Indiana to workout, that has not happened that much so far. Outside of Michigan's Tim Hardaway, Jr., North Texas' Tony Mitchell, and D-League star of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Glen Rice Jr. Through the first four group workouts, those are the only prospects expected to be taken in or near the first round come draft night. Once again, Pacers.com beat writer, Scott Agness announced the latest group workout yesterday evening on Twitter. Pacers scheduled to workout Christian Watford, Trevor Mbakwe, Kenny Kadji (Miami), and Romero Osby (Oklahoma) on Tuesday. — Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 17, 2013 This group of prospects does not sound appealing at all with the 23rd pick, but it is for the 53rd. Indiana Pacers lead scout, Ryan Carr was in attendance at least once during the season. All of these prospects in today's workout are expected to be taken in the mid-late second round. All of these players would fill a need at either small forward, power forward, or due both in a stretch-4 role. I would be fine with any of these four players being selected with the 53rd pick. Below are positives and negatives on the prospects from ESPN's Chad Ford from the NBA Draft Insider section. Christian Watford Hollinger PER 20.64 Projection Second Round Pick/Undrafted Positives Versatile forward Long arms, good frame Solid athlete Quick off the dribble Decent shooter with range Does a good job of getting to the line Negatives Needs to add strength A bit of a tweener Needs to improve his rebounding Kenny Kadji Hollinger PER 22.11 Projection Second Round Pick/Undrafted Positives Stretch four Good shooter with range Long arms Runs the floor well Solid scorer around the basket Decent rebounder and shot-blocker Negatives Old for his class Still raw on both ends of the floor Trevor Mbakwe Hollinger PER 25.40 Projection Second Round Pick/Undrafted Positives Big, physical forward Tenacious rebounder Good athlete, with long arms Plays very hard Negatives A bit undersized for his position Old for his class Needs polish on the offensive end Ford has not done positives and negatives on Romero Osby, so here is a highlight video of him below. Even though is not a top workout for their top pick, this workout could be crucial in who the Pacers take at 53.

Andrew Luck. Andrew Luck. Andrew Luck. Well, that's about it for the preview of the quarterback position. Thanks for reading! Ok, I kid, I kid - but only because of this minimum word count I need to reach. Seriously, though, no position on the entire Colts roster is more set than the quarterback position, and no player on the entire Colts roster is better than the starter at the quarterback position, Andrew Luck. As a rookie in 2012, Luck put together one of the best quarterbacked seasons that I have seen in the NFL in a long time.* He made the pro bowl (albeit as an alternate), led a bad Colts team to 11 wins and a playoff berth, and posted very impressive individual numbers (including rookie passing records) while enduring an insane amount of pressure due to a terrible offensive line. In 2012, Luck completed 54.1% of his 627 passes for 4,374 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions while averaging 7.0 yards per attempt. He also added 255 yards and 5 scores on the ground rushing. Perhaps the most impressive part of Luck's game last year was in the final minutes, where the rookie quarterback quickly established himself as one of the best (if not the best) in the league. He led 7 game winning drives and 4 fourth quarter comebacks, constantly pulling a win out in the final minutes of a close game. There's no reason to think that he won't be better in 2013. Equipped with a new but familiar offense, a retooled offensive line, and better receiving threats, Luck could take the league by storm. Perhaps it is unfair to say this about a guy entering his second year, but I fully expect him to emerge as one of the NFL's best signal callers and I expect him to enter into the MVP race in 2013. Yes, I'm serious. This guy is as good of a young quarterback as I have ever seen - in fact, I have never seen a guy have a more impressive rookie season than Luck did. His numbers absolutely will improve in 2013 and his play will too. He will be the unquestioned leader of a team with playoff expectations from fans and Super Bowl expectations from themselves. Some (like me) think they will win the AFC South. All of these expectations revolve around one player, and that one player is Andrew Luck. If you think this is way too high of expectations for a second year quarterback, you are absolutely right. But if you look at Andrew Luck and take away his experience factor, he has all the makings of a quarterback ready to burst onto the scene even more than he did last year. Ok, my love fest on Andrew Luck is over. The team has two other quarterbacks on their roster, both of whom are very intriguing options. Despite having two capable backups, there is zero percent of a competition for the number two spot. None. Zilch. Zero. Matt Hasselbeck has the overwhelming hold on the number two quarterback spot. I mean, when you're paying your backup quarterback close to $4 million a year, he should be! And Hasselbeck will indeed be the number two guy. The Colts signed him this offseason, and though it was surprising, it was still a good move. As I outlined in my free agent profile on Hasselbeck, there is three ways that this move will help the Colts: It will help Andrew Luck learn the ins and outs of being a successful NFL quarterback and gives him a tremendous mentor everyday in the meeting room - someone who has played well and won at this level. Hasselbeck will be a great influence on Luck and will be a key figure, albeit behind the scenes, to Luck's continued development as a signal caller. It will help Chandler Harnish, the team's other quarterback. Harnish is also entering his second year, and Hasselbeck will likely be even a bigger help to Harnish than he will be to Luck. If Harnish wants to make it as a quarterback in the NFL, he would be very smart to be paying very close attention to Hasselbeck. The opportunity to learn from a good veteran will be huge and is key to Harnish developing into the quarterback I think h

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Steve Mitchell- USA TODAY Sports A major question the Indiana Pacers will have to answer during the offseason is if they’re set at the guard spot with Lance Stephenson. It’s possible the Pacers will look to make a deal to strengthen that spot, unless Stephenson gives indication he’s ready to turn his game up a few notches. Stephenson did improve greatly this season for the Pacers and actually didn’t perform badly in the playoffs, but it’s rather apparent that the team is looking for him to do better in 2013-14 if the Pacers are to pass the Miami Heat in the NBA East regular season battle and get that top seed. The focus on Stephenson during the offseason for the Pacers will be twofold: his free-throw shooting needs to improve and so does his consistency in his overall play. During the regular season, the Pacer guard shot 62.2 percent in free throws which is higher than his career mark of 64.4 percent. Stephenson was 62.2 percent during the playoffs but only 50 percent in the first round. Stephenson averaged 29.2 minutes, 38.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals during the regular season. Those numbers are up from his two-year career mark of 21.5 minutes, 6.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. His career shooting average is 44 percent from the floor and 46 percent at the line. Stephenson played well in the conference semifinals with 11.7 points per game. He was 8.9 points per game against Miami but combined for only 18 points the final three games of the series. Stephenson’s consistency needs to improve to help the Pacers compete for the title next season.

This matchup is a battle of point guards who have completely different traits. We have a small point guard in Canaan, who has risen his stock all the way into the first round. Brown, who was projected as a first rounder a few months ago, has seen his stock nosedive into the mid-second round. Having a scoring guard (Canaan) versus a 6'5" guard who excels with his ball handling ability (Brown) should be a good matchup in the underneath the article. Who will win this battle of point guards and advance on to the second round? Unfortunately, there is no prospect breakdown on neither Canaan or Brown from Draft Express. We do have though ESPN Insider access of Chad Ford's positives and negatives on both prospects. Below is the Insider access breakdown on Canaan and Brown from Ford, also video interviews/highlights on them as well. Isaiah Canaan Hollinger PER 24.28 Projection Late First Round Pick Positives Efficient scoring guard Excellent shooter with deep range Strong, physical guard Good speed and quickness Negatives Lacks ideal size for position A bit of a tweener, more scorer than PG Lorenzo Brown Hollinger PER 19.54 Projection Second Round Pick/Undrafted Positives Quick, big point guard Excellent ball handler Quick first step Solid playmaker Negatives Needs to add strength Needs to improve jumper Needs to be a better finisher at the basket Canaan or Brown would give Indiana much needed depth behind George Hill at the point guard position. As mentioned earlier, Canaan has impressed big-time in draft workouts and interviews with teams. Canaan was one of the few Indiana had in for a private, solo workout. The other was Shane Larkin a few days before (date is unknown, but working on it by emailing his agent). It took place on May 18, the morning of the Pacers series-clinching win over the Knicks. Canaan has worked out for the Pacers, Knicks, Spurs, Cavaliers, Suns, Clippers, and Jazz so far. Brown, on the other hand, has seen his stock go way down since the Combine. He is not scheduled to come in for a workout with Indiana yet, but has worked for teams in the mid-late second round. Which one of these scoring point guards will advance on to the second round? Lorenzo has worked out for the Jazz, Knicks, Suns, Blazers, and Kings so far. After the analysis from ESPN's Chad Ford and videos from Draft Express, who should advance on to the second round? Will it be Isaiah Canaan of Murray State, or Lorenzo Brown of North Carolina State receiving your vote to move on in the Indy Cornrows 23rd Pick Tournament? Poll Who should advance on to the second round? Isaiah Canaan, PG, Murray State Lorenzo Brown, PG, North Carolina State 8 votes | Results

Jake Roth USA Today Sports One thing that knowledgeable NFL fans and analyst could agree with regards to the Oakland Raiders, as run by the late Al Davis and that is through the draft or free agency, to expect the unexpected. I mean, this is a franchise that drafted a kicker in the first round of the draft. A kicker. No offense to Sebastian Janikowski, but no one, fan, head coach or skill-position player thinks much of kickers. Al Davis did. As a result, that 11th overall pick in the 2000 draft is still active on the Raiders roster and his is considered to have one of the strongest kicking legs in the league. As wacky as a kicker going with first-draft pick my sounds, for Davis, it wasn’t wasn’t a one time thing. The man that embodied the phrase, “Commitment to Excellence” looked for other qualities. Davis, being a numbers guy, was known to be absolutely flabbergasted and astonished by pro prospects with impressive size and/or speed. In to fit the bill, the Raiders have brought in players such as Louis Murphy, Fabian Washington, Darren McFadden and Darrius Heyward-Bey, to varies degrees of success. In Heyward-Bey’s case, what attracted Davis to the wide out, in large part, was do to his 4.3 second 40-time at the combined. In a game where speed kills, Heyward-Bay was expected to step into the Black Hole and slay opposing defensive backs for touchdowns. Instead, what the Raiders got from the University of Maryland standout in the 2009 and 2010 seasons with the franchise was a combined 35 receptions for 490 yards and two touchdowns. To be the seventh pick in the first round means that Heyward-Bay was regarded highly within the organization with the assumption that he would develop into an All-Pro receiver. Although Heyward-Bay improved by leaps and bounds from year two to three as well as the dearly departed 2012 season, the Raiders decided against retaining the services of Heyward-Bey. With his independence from the Raiders, Heyward-Bey signed a one-year deal worth up to $3 million with the Indianapolis Colts to catch passes from Andrew Luck. If Heyward-Bey was a borderline number-one receiver for the much maligned Raiders, than for the playoff contending Colts, the speedster, is a third receiver. The five-year receiver will enter training camp penciled into the third receiver slot behind veteran play maker, Reggie Wayne and second-year wide out T.Y. Hilton. With a one year deal, Heyward-Bey has to prove himself to his new Colts teammates that his previous stellar seasons what just a case of more things to come, which along the way again reinforces the late Al Davis’s philosophy that  ”you can teach a great athlete to be a football player, but you can’t each a football player to be an athlete.” M. Quann Boyd is a writer for RantSports.com Follow him on Twitter @MQuannBoyd. “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.

According to Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico, the Indiana Pacers have strong interest in acquiring Brandon Jennings from Milwaukee. The deal for Jennings would have to get done by sending Danny Granger in exchange for Jennings in a sign-and-trade. The only way this trade works as mentioned is if Jennings signs a near max-deal with Milwaukee and is sent packing to Indiana for Granger. Danny would be a big upgrade over Tobias Harris and Luc Mbah a Moute as their top small forward. Also, it would help the Bucks shred tons of cap space to be top players in free agency in 2014. Meanwhile, adding Jennings to the Pacers gives Indiana a true scorer in the backcourt who can go off for 20 plus points every night. As mentioned in the other trade rumors surrounding Granger, trading him away would be hard for loyal Pacers fans to watch, but this is the time to do it. Getting back a top guard in the NBA, like Jennings would help this team out a ton in scoring. The question is, who is the sixth man if Jennings is traded here? Would you rather go small and have George Hill play shooting guard, or keep Lance Stephenson in his starting role? Adding Jennings would send shock waves throughout the NBA, and especially Indiana. Would you be on board with sending Granger to Milwaukee for Jennings? It makes some sense for both teams to make upgrades at both positions, but we will see soon if this trade rumor has fire, not just smoke. Poll Would you do a sign-and-trade of Danny Granger for Brandon Jennings? Yes, Jennings would be a big upgrade at point guard No, Jennings would mess up the team's chemistry 32 votes | Results