The Hardest Theoretical Question I’ve Seen
By Staff
Here is a question I brought up on Stamede Blue. If the Colts were completely healthy and not one player on the active roster (so minus Ryan Lilja and Tyjuan Hagler), what 8 players would be inactive for the game? Only 45 people dress, so that means 8 players will not be playing. Taking out special teamers, that leaves 42 players, so one backup for every starter except 2. This is such a tough question, I will need to break it down position by position.
QB: Peyton Manning, Jim Sorgi
We need both of them. End o’ story.
RB: Joseph Addai, Dominic Rhodes, Mike Hart, Justin Forsett
This is a lot of players for one position. It’s sad, but a player we all love has to be off. We can’t carry more than three running backs, even if Forsett is a returner. Mike Hart is inactive.
WR: Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Anthony Gonzalez, Roy Hall, Pierre Garcon
One of these players has to be off. Harrison, Wayne, and Gonzo are all amazing receivers, so it is down to Hall and Garcon. We haven’t seen too much of either of them, but right now, Hall is the better receiver from what we know. Pierre Garcon is inactive.
TE: Dallas Clark, Gijon Robinson, Jacob Tamme, Tom Santi
This one is pretty easy. Clark and Robinson are starters, and Tamme was one of the best players in the preseason. Tom Santi has had injury problems, so we haven’t seen much of him. Tom Santi is inactive.
OL: Tony Ugoh, Dan Federkeil, Jamey Richard, Steve Justice, Mike Pollak, Jeff Saturday, Ryan Diem, Charlie Johnson, Corey Hilliard
So we have 9 offensive linemen on the active roster. One of these guys stands out. He’s the only one who hasn’t had extensive playing time this season or isn’t a Pro Bowler. Corey Hilliard obviously is inactive. He shouldn’t have even made the team. It should be Toudouze on the roster, not Hilliard.
DE: Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Josh Thomas, Curtis Johnson, Marcus Howard
To be honest, I don’t see how any of them would be left off. However, we don’t have room for all 5 of these guys. Curtis Johnson is inactive.
DT: Raheem Brock, Eric Foster, Keyunta Dawson, LaJuan Ramsey, Daniel Muir
One of these guys has to be inactive. The question is, LaJuan or Muir? Right now, I’d lean towards Muir just because Ramsey has more experience, but it’s close. Daniel Muir is inactive.
LB: Gary Brackett, Buster Davis, Philip Wheeler, Freddie Keiaho, Clint Session, Jordan Senn
I think this one is fairly obvious as well. Jordan Senn is inactive. We need a lot of linebackers for special teams, but Senn is probably the weakest link on the defense.
CB: Marlin Jackson, Kelvin Hayden, Tim Jennings, Keiwan Ratliff, Dante Hughes
I’m not going off of who I think should be inactive. I’m going off of what I think the team will do. Personally, I think Dante Hughes is better than Keiwan Ratliff, but the team has seen something different. Ratliff is ahead of Hughes on the depth chart, so that means that if it comes down to those two, Dante Hughes is inactive.
S: Antoine Bethea, Bob Sanders, Matt Giordano, Melvin Bullitt
Yeah, none of these guys can be inactive.
It took me two times to get to 8. At first, I had 6. When I went back through, I added Hart and Curtis Johnson. I really like both of them, but they are at a position where there is enough depth already. This was tough.