2. The rookie class. Where to begin? CB Jerraud Powers? P Pat McAfee? WR Austin Collie? Powers moved immediately into the starting lineup and has Pro Bowl ability, and Collie showed this past Sunday with his first 100-yard receiving game in the biggest game of his life that he – like Powers – is mature beyond his years. In McAfee, the Colts have a “flip-the-field” punter for the first time in more than a decade, and he has been a huge reason for the improvement of not only the Colts’ field-position situation on punts, but for their improved kickoff coverage as well. There were rumblings among fans of displeasure with Colts President Bill Polian’s drafts because 2007 second-round selection Tony Ugoh, 2008 second-round selection Mike Pollak and 2009 first-round selection Donald Brown have had varying degrees of success – Ugoh and Pollak lost their starting jobs this year and Brown has been hampered by injuries at times – but the reality is the Colts are a team built through the draft, and three big-time contributors from the rookie class have been invaluable.
3. Joseph Addai. Throughout the offseason, he was a major question mark and many thought Brown would start over Addai sooner, not later. Instead, Addai had a big-time year and was one of the Colts’ most valuable offensive players. He didn’t have huge rushing numbers, but his combination of red-zone rushing effectiveness, pass-blocking skills and field awareness has made him critical.
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