Tribe.net. Local Connections Michael David http://IndianapolisColts.tribe.net/thread/b8938d5d-9675-4ee3-a8d0-51e1dbc4bde2#8d3b304c-dd6e-488d-83af-bc04dc3f7435 2006-05-04T23:57:06Z 2006-05-04T23:57:06Z

Thursday, May 4, 2006 SITTING DOWN WITH DUNGY By John Oehser - Colts.com A Conversation with Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy this week sat down with Colts.com to discuss topics pertinent to the Colts. The Colts will hold a rookie mini-camp Friday through Sunday that is closed to the public. Question: The rookie camp, in a sense, is the start of the season – right after the draft and a few weeks before the summer-school sessions begin. With the draft behind you, what’s your outlook on this team right now? Answer: I feel good about a lot of things. I feel good about the way our team has taken to the off-season (conditioning) program, the amount of work we’re getting done, the guys we have here and the type of effort we’re putting into it. I feel good about the group of new guys we’re bringing in. I think we’ve got a chance to put together the same type of group we had last year. Q: In 2003, you watched closely to see how the team would respond to a difficult playoff loss to the New York Jets. They responded well and have won three consecutive AFC South championships. Immediately, you liked what you saw that year and that seems to be what you see every year in the off-season . . . A: You can usually tell, after you give them the time away, how they come back. We’ve had some good conversations with a lot of the veteran guys. For the most part, we haven’t had to say too much. We’ve had a lot of people around with a high energy level. I just sense they have a determination to improve and that because of that, we’re going to be in good shape. Q: The drafting of running back Joseph Addai has been a huge story in recent days, but there are several veterans stepping into new roles, too. Third-year veteran linebacker Gilbert Gardner will start summer school as the starter in place of outside linebacker David Thornton. Talk about his progress, if you will. A: This is going to be a big year for Gilbert. He actually played at the end of the year and did pretty well. He played in the Jacksonville game, when (outside linebacker) Cato (June) was out. It was a big game for us and he did a good job. He got to play down the stretch in some games and did well. Now, he has a chance to come in as the starter. I think he’s going to seize the opportunity. Q: The defensive line hasn’t been a huge off-season focus of most observers. But with defensive end Raheem Brock playing inside more, and with defensive tackle Larry Tripplett and Josh Williams now gone, it will look different, won’t it? A: It will. We think we have a little more versatility. We’re going to play Raheem Brock inside a little more. That has to happen with the way things unfolded. We’ve got to use (defensive ends) Josh Thomas and Robert Mathis a little more on the outside. We’ve got some interesting guys who want to play more. (Defensive tackle) Corey Simon wants to play more and get more into how we do things. (Defensive tackle) Darrell Reid did an outstanding job in the limited time that he got to play and he wants to play more. We feel like we’ve got to play Robert Mathis more and get a little more productivity there. (Defensive end) Josh Thomas is healthy and coming off surgery. So, you’ve got a lot of guys who want to play more and you’ve got that group that’s already in there that doesn’t want to play less, so it’s going to be good competition. Q: Another off-season story has been potentially moving second-year veteran Marlin Jackson from corner to safety. Has the draft sorted any of that out, or is that a wait-and-see situation? A: We’ll see. We’ve got some guys we feel pretty good about. (Second-year) cornerback Kelvin Hayden should come on this year. (Rookie) Tim Jennings we drafted at corner. If those guys do what we think they can do, we’ll be able to move Marlin if we need to. But if some of our other guys come on – (safeties) Matt Giordano and Antoine Bethea – we’ll see what sorts out the best. Q: Kicker Adam Vinatieri, who signed as a free agent after 10 years in New England, is another new face. He has been in summer school. You obviously have a pretty good idea what you’ll get out of him. A: I would think so. He’s been here. He’s working. He’s kicked well the three or four days I’ve seen him kick. My sense is we’ve got a very, very solid guy who’s not going to miss very often. He’s another guy who knows what it takes to win. He’s one of the best players in the league at his position and he also understands what winning’s all about. I think it’s going to be great for us. http://www.colts.com/modules/article7_print.cfm?news_id=3735

Michael David 2006-05-04T23:57:06Z