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Pagano: Gore and Johnson ‘Been Here for Past 5 Years’

By Luke Schultheis

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Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano spoke to the media on Wednesday right after his team finished practice at OTA’s to discuss next year’s team and their current progress. Of course, arguably the biggest move this offseason was adding the package deal of high-profile free agent veterans Frank Gore and Andre Johnson as part of a planned “reUnion”.

When asked about two of his newest veterans, Pagano only had high praise for both Gore and Johnson’s assimilation into both the Colts culture and playbook, noting that it seems like they’ve been playing for the horseshoe for a number of years already:

"“Pretty seamless, to me, it seems like they’ve been here for the past 5 years, to be honest with you,” said Pagano. “They don’t miss a beat, as far as the playbook goes, knowing what to do.”“Every time I see them in the huddle, break a huddle, to me it looks like they’re going in the right direction,” added Pagano. “They’re lining up right. They’re very talented, talented guys. They fit right in, in the locker room. They’re professionals. Their resume speaks for itself. They’re not talkers, they’re workers, they’re doers, and so it’s not like they had to come in here and say a whole lot. They’re all business.”"

As Pagano notes, veterans like Gore and Johnson lead by example. It’s not necessarily what they say, but it’s how they conduct themselves both on and off the field for the two future Hall of Famers that speaks for itself.

Having lost two key veteran leaders this offseason in Reggie Wayne and Cory Redding, the Colts do have a significant leadership void to fill. However, both Gore and Johnson look ready to assume such important leadership roles for their new team, as Pagano already has said as much in his Wednesday press conference:

"“We’ve lost some great ones, but we were able to replace them with the same type of guys,” said Pagano.“They’re great for our team, and they’re great for our young guys to see guys like that come in and having years of experience under their belt and watching those guys work and put the time in at their age,” remarked Pagano. “You know, they don’t ask to have days off, they don’t ask to have reps off and all of this other stuff. They’re working like everybody else.”"

Both players, despite having never won a Super Bowl, are seemingly winning players. Veterans that know what it takes to both win and play at a high level in the National Football League. The Colts look like they found two new, yet true horseshoe players. The type of players that truly embody what the horseshoe is really all about.

So far, so good, as it appears they’ve had a very smooth transition. 

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