By Stephen Holder

stephen.holder@indystar.com

There are those who have made up their minds about Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson.

The checklist of perceived failures: He overspent to land running back Trent Richardson, trading away the team's 2014 first-round pick; he overpaid for free agents who had only moderate success in the just-completed season; and his last draft class contributed minimally to the team's 11-5 record.

Grigson, as you might expect, doesn't agree. But his reason for disagreement is because he hasn't made any judgments – good or bad – on the current Colts' roster. Saturday's loss in New England, the Colts losing in the AFC divisional playoffs, is still too close, the feelings still too raw.

The difficult choices that lie ahead won't be made rashly.

"We have to step away for a little bit," Grigson said in his season-end press conference Thursday. "Because right now, it's too fresh. It's hard to say right now definitively what needs to be fixed, even though we have the full body of work at our disposal from all the film we've watched, because there's still emotion involved. So I think you need to step away. We need to have discussions.

"Everybody wants to have it now in the microwave society and open the microwave door before the time's even up. But we've got to have some patience and build this thing the right way."

That was a theme throughout Grigson's media session, during which he covered a number of topics, including:

*The coaching staff

Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton was expected to interview with Vanderbilt University officials on Thursday, with Grigson saying the team remains in a wait-and-see mode. Grigson said Hamilton is the only coach that outside suitors have contacted him about. That presumably means there is nothing official happening with quarterbacks coach Clyde Chrisetensen, who reportedly is under consideration for Detroit Lions offensive coordinator under new coach Jim Caldwell.

"This time of year, if you're good, you're going to be in demand from other teams," Grigson said. "... It's kind of the byproduct of success."

*The Trent Richardson trade

Not that it was ever under consideration, but anyone who thought the Colts might ponder giving up on Richardson after his disappointing debut in Indianapolis got their answer in unambiguous terms.

"We have patience. He's not going anywhere," Grigson said. "We have him for the long haul. We don't win 12 games (including playoffs) this year if Trent Richardson isn't here. That's just a fact."

Richardson averaged a disappointing 2.9 yards per carry in 14 games with the Colts, their running game struggling after the losses of Vick Ballard and Ahmad Bradshaw to injury. Still, Grigson was practically defiant when addressing the trade.

"We had our starter get hurt and the mindset here is we are not going to just go reach for a guy," Grigson said. "We want to go out and get the best available guy. We are going to go to the hill to get the best we can. I think Trent fits all the things that we are trying to do here. ... (Coach) Chuck (Pagano) and all of us know that with a year under his belt, you are going to see a different player."

*Returning injured players

The Colts finished with a staggering 17 players on injured reserve, many of them key members of the roster such as receiver Reggie Wayne, tight end Dwayne Allen and guard Donald Thomas.

All are at various stages of their recovery and expected to be available for the 2014 season, but how much can the Colts rely on them to return to the same form? Wayne's age – he's 35 – is a major factor, for example. But the Colts are counting on an infusion from those players, as well as continued contributions from the young players who grew up quickly while replacing them.

"Those players that are coming back we're excited about, because all it's going to do is create more competition," Grigson said. "It's going to bolster our (roster). At the end of the day, the more talented guys you have out there, obviously, gives you a better chance to win. And it's going to make those guys that are on the fringe maybe go that next step and become a good player from being an average one."

*Impending free agents

Grigson mostly avoided specifics on the team's impending free agents, a list that includes cornerback Vontae Davis, safety Antoine Bethea, kicker Adam Vinatieri and running back Donald Brown. Grigson did say, in keeping with his aforementioned stance, that no decisions have been made or even discussed.

He did allow that Davis is a priority, as expected.

"Any cover corner is going to be high on the pecking order, especially in a scheme like ours," Grigson said. "Vontae's a heck of a player. Again, consistency's the key. Vontae can be as good as he wants to be and you saw in some of those games this year where he just completely erased the receiver. And they were top-tier receivers in this league. (If) he does that every game and there's no reason he shouldn't be in the Pro Bowl every year."

*Will Colts be free-agent players again?

After aggressively entering the free-agent market last year, the Colts enter this offseason with deep pockets again, expected to have more than $30 million in salary-cap space.

But will owner Jim Irsay see fit to open his wallet again?

"We have an owner that's supportive," Grigson said. "Even in the locker room after the game, he's so supportive in what we feel we need, he will let us get. He will be supportive of that and we can go get it."

One of the things the Colts will look at is whether they have the appropriate pieces to play their aggressive 3-4 defense. Grigson suggested that two years is not enough time to rebuild the personnel after going from a traditional 4-3 under former coach Caldwell to Pagano's 3-4. Perhaps the front seven will be a focus of the team's free-agent efforts again.

Follow Stephen Holder on Twitter at @HolderStephen.

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

General Manager Ryan Grigson

Opening Statement:

"Good to see everyone here. I just want to first take this opportunity after the grind that we've been through this year, the last two seasons actually, I want to first and foremost thank all the people that support me and this whole operation. That's Jim Irsay and his family. He brings so much passion, football acumen, wisdom and knowledge. He has helped really guide me from the beginning in the darkest days of this endeavor. I'm very grateful to him and his family for their support every day. They've been unwavering in that sense. Our head coach, who in less than a year, took on the task after beating cancer and got a team to 12 wins in less than a year from defeating an illness, the likes of cancer. His leadership, the foundation he's laid is one that's been made of stone and it's been a rock through the storms we've had to take on the last two years and it's a credit to him. And his staff, with the amount of change we've had, changes in schemes and coaches and things like that and the adversity we faced, the way we had to adapt, despite the personnel changes and the injuries and things like that, which everyone in the league has to but especially our staff. It's kind of unique the last couple years and I'm really grateful for their intestinal fortitude the last couple years. Also the scouts, who are away from their families, they always kind of get left in the dust but without them, we don't have that bevy of players every year to look at and they separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, and really help this process and find those players that are going to get us where we want to go. They're away from their families so much and they really make a tremendous sacrifice. Everyone is going to the Pro Bowl next week but they'll be down in Mobile (Alabama) at the Senior Bowl, as well as I will be because that process is already starting as soon as the season's over. We're already trying to get better. Lastly, I'd like to really thank our fans this year. That stadium, the 12th Man keeps getting stronger. From that Denver game earlier in the year, that was the loudest I heard it since I've been general manager here. Then the KC game, anyone who was there will always remember it was deafening as well. Really thank them for their support. I've never seen anybody since I've been here leaving early like when I've been at other stadiums even when teams were still in it, getting out of the stadium to beat traffic. We don't have that here, which is fantastic. It shows their loyalty, shows the kind of character the people in this city, in this state have. I thank all of them."

Can you get us up to speed on where you are with your coaching staff, specifically Pep Hamilton and Clyde Christensen?

"Right now, we're just kind of waiting to see. This time of year, if you're good, you're going to be in demand from other teams. I was on the phone with another team today. They're just getting raided left and right. It's kind of the byproduct of success. It's part of this business. That's why you got to have 'next man up' with your coaching staff as well. It's nothing that is unusual. It's something you hope you don't have to walk into again the day after the season is over. But you get weathered and it gets a little bit less anxiety ridden as it was the year before. You deal with it, you find the best people, you go through the process, you try to find those matches in personality and philosophy and passion and all those things we look for to build on this great foundation we've laid. If there is change, we're going to be optimistic about who the replacements are. But as of right now, there's nothing imminent."

Has anyone asked about permission to talk to any of your coaches?

"Vandy did ask for permission. But that's it so far."

Going into the offseason, are there any areas that stand out more than others in terms of needing improvement?

"We need to be more consistent as a whole. This year, if you look at our team and our wins, we've beaten the best. It's already been stated, but three of the four teams in this, this team has beaten. And then the other team, we were down by seven in the fourth quarter to. But we've got to put it together for four quarters, we can't have the roller coaster ride. We are a very young team, led by a young quarterback. Everybody in this organization is pretty darn new and we all don't have years and years of experience in our select positions. But we're growing together as a family and we're building this thing the right way. In terms of each position group, we're going to do like we have even since year one, we're going to create competition. Guys aren't going to be allowed to rest on their laurels. We're going to stay with the mindset of iron sharpens iron, that whole thing that you guys have heard a thousand times. That's just the old fashioned way. Create competition, that's when guys are at their best. We still have only been how many days since the game, I don't even know, but we have to step away for a little bit. Those coaches deserve to go out to Hawaii and decompress a little bit and let the dust settle so we can get a clearer picture. Because right now, it's too fresh. It's hard to say right now definitively that needs to be fixed, that needs to be fixed even though we have the full body of work at our disposal from all the film we've watched, because there's still emotion involved. So I think you need to step away. We need to have discussions. The league year doesn't start until March 11. We got to be smart and succinct with our approach. Everybody wants to have it now in the microwave society and open the microwave door before the time's even up. But we've got to have some patience and build this thing the right way with these young players we have."

How do you project how all the injured guys will fit into your plan as you approach free agency because everyone recovers differently? Is that a hard issue?

"No, I think, because the cream is going to rise to the top. We had to adapt. We had to play guys in different ways. We had to change things. And that's a great credit to our staff. And we had to figure out that this isn't working, we got to go in this direction and we had to change some things. But those players that are coming back we're excited about, because all it's going to do is create more competition. It's going to bolster our 53. It's still, at the end of the day, the more talented guys you have out there, obviously, gives you a better chance to win. And it's going to make those guys that are on the fringe maybe go that next step and become a good player from being an average one, or a great player from being a good one. And we saw some guys, I think, this year start to ascend from good to great and average to good and so forth. The mindset I think you have to have and one I believe in is you want your 53, you want your back end, you want your backups to all have starter ceilings. We want guys that when you plug them in, there's not a drop off. We want to strive to have championship level players throughout our roster, that's the goal. And it's not easy. It's not like you can just go to your local swap meet or go to Target and just take your cart and grab whatever and say, 'I need this, this and this' and just go grab it. It's a process. You may really need this but you don't have the means to get it. Or that thing may be irregular or it might have some dents and some things in it that you can't spend the money on. Everything has to kind of line up sometimes to get the right pieces. But that's what you have the draft for. That's what you have free agency for. That's what you have the scouts scouring regional combines for and finding the Josh McNary's and all those types of things. We need to look under every rock, which we always will, and we need to continue to churn this roster and to create the greatest air of competition. I think that's how you hedge your bets."

Who are some of the guys who might be making those steps from good towards great?

"Looking at it, I'd say T.Y. (Hilton). He sure as heck showed up this year and showed levels of greatness. I think Jerrell Freeman ascended his level of play. Robert Mathis goes without saying. He's doubled, tripled every game and he still is such…I had some people from other organizations and other players even say to me about Robert, even though he's so good and so talented, it's hard to get someone that plays that hard that has that level of talent. And even though he's getting the doubles and the triples, he comes so hard every down, the football gods are still going to give him a sack or two just because he doesn't stop. So that's something to aspire to. He sets such a great example with our team, as well as Reggie (Wayne). Like I said, Jerrell Freeman. I hate to leave anybody out. There were guys who showed some great flashes this year but then got hurt and their sample size was too small, but in those small samples, we were playing really good football and they were going in the right direction. Some defensive linemen and even (Greg) Toler. It's just unfortunate that injuries happen and you got to make the best of it. As you see, some teams crumble, some teams rally and there's still some that are playing that are decimated. I feel like you do yourself a disservice, no matter how hard you're hit, I think we finished with 17 on IR. It kind of takes the wind out of your sails to ever want to walk in these doors and not believe you can still win it all and we did up until the end. We all did. I know Jim (Irsay) did, we all did. So while we're happy with our progress since the new regime and since I first arrived here and hired Chuck (Pagano) and all those things, had two drafts, we're happy with our direction but we're not nearly satisfied. To say we were not disappointed that we're not in New York this year would be a lie. But we are going in the right direction. We have a nucleus of young players, a young quarterback that's shown some really rare intangibles under fire. We've seen that from a bird's eye, you guys have, and to me it's glaring."

In your opinion, why wasn't Trent Richardson able to get it going this season?

"To be honest, I think it comes down to confidence. We've been over it a thousand times. This is a bottom-line business, a league where you are judged are on your last carry. I thought he showed some progress this year. I thought that from a play speed standpoint, as the year progressed, just in practice, he was making more decisive cuts. It's all about comfort level and confidence. There's many examples of backs that came into this league with so much promise that took a full year and had the low average per carry and things like that. We have patience. He's not going anywhere. We have him for the long haul. We don't win 12 games this year if Trent Richardson isn't here. That's just a fact. We had a guy get hurt, our starter get hurt and the mindset here is we are not going to just go reach for a guy. We want to go out and get the best available guy, not just the best guy, we are going to go to the hill to get the best we can. I think Trent fits all the things that we are trying to do here. If it isn't this year, it's going to be next year because he's going to have the offseason. He's going to be dialed in as a pro. He's going to have his life in order. Chuck (Pagano) and all of us know that with a year under his belt, you are going to see a different player."

Is it hard to be patient with Trent Richardson when you've got people saying you gave up a first-round pick for him?

"I know that's going to be the media's job to every week point at this because it's such a, from your perspective it's such a bold and aggressive move and so forth. But really from a football standpoint, without going into such great detail because we've been over it a thousand times, from a football standpoint, we needed a starting running back. Trent was made available. I've never talked to a person in football, scout, coach, that didn't have a great comparison to another great back when they did him coming out, that didn't think he was going to be a special back. He's going to have his detractors because of course you want him to come in and set the world on fire. But he played a valuable role for us this year. He kind of did it in reverse. He showed such promise on third down and he can go and hit a backer flush in the pocket and stand him up in the A-gap at the line of scrimmage and not give any ground. There's a lot of backs that can't do that. He functioned for us well this year. I know he's not satisfied and I'm glad he's not, but that's why we have him here for the long haul. It was very economically wise as a franchise to make the move, given where we are going with the run game. We are happy with Trent. We have a level of patience obviously different than the media and fans understand. With the history of young backs in this league and just first rounders in general, it's sometimes, Donald Brown's case even, there's many examples. You've got to be patient. As long as you're winning, at the end of the day, that's all that matters. Twenty years from now, all that's going to matter is wins and losses, not all the window dressing. It's the things you do to win. A lot of times, it comes down to team and he made us a better team. Was it three days, I think (the trade) was three days before we played the Niners, I think it was one of our best games this year. I think it re-charged us when we were kind of down and I saw it firsthand. Ahmad (Bradshaw) ran so darn angry that week, that was one of the best games I've ever seen as a Colt. I'm happy that Trent is here."

Have you looked into or made any free agent decisions, as some players on Twitter seem to have indicated? Or is that just the cart before the horse kind of thing?

"No, it's way cart before the horse. I've not talked to anyone. Those conversations will come later. You've got to remember, this is a long season. These coaches, and myself even, aren't in the frame of mind yet to make good decisions. We need to get a little rest, eat three meals and maybe just kind of live normal for at least a few days before we start making huge decisions. We need to step away. We've already had one meeting, kind of end of year meeting. I thought it was fantastic with the entire staff. Really got some great input. That's the one thing, I feel nobody is afraid to voice their opinion here. We get in a big round table and it's not some stuffy session where I'm sitting there with my notepad. We interact with each other. Everything is out on the table because that way we know what the guys is at their core, what they feel they need, who they are passionate about and then you make your decisions. Chuck (Pagano) and I get together from there and then we'll move forward. But those discussions and those calls and things like that, they are still down the road."

How many pieces on the offensive line that you need are already here?

"Again, we got to look at it. We also got to look what's out there. Really, I still have to watch film – UFAs, Draft and that's every position. It comes down to who's up? Who's available? Who's going to be willing to take the offer that we give them? There's a lot of variables involved, even if we want to retain someone. There's 32 teams. Just like in the first round, 'Oh I'm going to get that guy in (round) two all day.' But it just takes one that's thinking like you and they go and take the guy in (round) one. It just takes one to snatch one of your guys and overpay for them because that's the way I've gotten guys before in free agency. You have to overpay to pull them out, because they've got houses there, their kids are in school, there's things that 'Joe fan' and people don't understand. Guys don't always don't want to leave where they are at because they are comfortable. They have houses, all those types of things. Now unless there's someone where they are getting their barn doors blown off every week, everyone wants to get out of that situation. There's a lot in play when you make those decisions and like I said, we are far from being at that point."

Do you feel like you're in a position to be aggressive in free agency again?

"I'm fortunate and our head coach is fortunate that we have an owner that's supportive. Even in the locker room after the game, he's so supportive in what we feel we need, he will let us get. He will be supportive of that and we can go get it. Last year, like I said, we kind of diversified. We were still in year two of taking a far end of the spectrum 4-3 and taking it to a 3-4 defense. Those pieces are hard to come by. Five-techniques, three-techniques, they are not easy pieces to find. We had Ricky Jean (Francois) start really showing up through the course of the year, then got hurt. Bjoern (Werner) had his moments, got hurt. So those types of things are unfortunate. (Greg) Toler I thought was playing excellent football and when he was playing, our defense was humming. You saw it in Denver. When Greg was in there, we really locked down those receivers and that's when had that 'no fly zone' going and we were doing really well. But you adapt. We found a way to get it done and still beat really good teams and that's a credit to our coaches. We found a way. You really just can't do anything about the injuries. You don't know who it's going to happen to. Ricky Jean, heck, that guy had like the best physical that I had ever heard. I never knew there was like a 1.00 or whatever, it was like he was a spring chicken. Everything on him was tip-top and then he got hurt. There's no way of calculating when that can happen. That's why depth, your practice squad, those type of things, that's why we are relentless about it. You've got guys like Jeris Pendleton and guys that come up, the Sheldon Price's and the Josh McNary's that are just not bodies, they're guys that are actually ascending players that can help you win. Because if not, you get into the playoffs and you play with just guys, those teams and those great coaches are going to find those weaknesses and they are going to exploit them and you are going to lose. Year two, we have high expectations for all those guys. This is the National Football League. No matter what, we expect to perform and when we signed you, to come here and play championship level football and be consistent week-in and week-out. We are in year three of the program guys. This is year three coming up and we need to be consistent. We need to aspire to be one of those teams that doesn't beat a great team one week and then get outscored by 40 the next. That's all growing pains. We are a young, young team and I feel like we are going in the right direction because that's typical of youth. It's things I've heard since I started playing. You've got to learn how to win consistently. You can beat these teams that no one else had beat at one time or were undefeated, and then go and lose to someone that's maybe not as good. We just have to learn, week-in, week-out to beat teams consistently and not have those big swings and have to be chasing. I thought we got better as the year went on."

Did you see enough from Bjoern Werner to be able to project how you can use him next year? Do you have a pretty good idea of what you expect from him?

"I think Bjoern, he needs to get stronger. He knows that. He got better versus the run. He had a game where he's so close to getting a tipped ball and taking it to the house. He has kind of a knack for breaking up passes, which is great. But the physicality that he's starting to play with, he's starting to get it. I think playing with the Roberts (Mathis) and just seeing how Erik Walden, the ferocity in which he plays with. It starts through osmosis, I think, sinking in. And there was one game where Bjoern had I think his first sack. And I think after the game I had said, 'That wasn't the play that impressed me the most. It was when I saw you set the edge and make a tackle two yards deep in the backfield. You did your job in a physical way. You played your technique and you showed that you're not a finesse guy. So I think year two's going to be big for Bjoern, especially having an offseason in the weight room. I think the last few years, even at Florida State, he's had some nicks to where he's had some scopes and things like that to where he couldn't just dig in and start training right after the season. He always had some kind of hurdle to overcome injury-wise. So this year he goes in fresh to an offseason, expect him to get big and strong. And I know Coach Manusky's all over him about that, about getting some guns and looking the part. But Bjoern, we knew he could play. And the level of play that he showed in college, I felt it was easy to see and the production he had in a major conference. So we're excited about him."

Is Vontae Davis pretty high on your list of your own free agents to re-sign?

"Like I said, any corner, any cover corner is going to be high on the pecking order, especially in a scheme like ours. Vontae's a heck of a player. Again, consistency's the key. Vontae can be as good as he wants to be and you saw in some of those games this year where he just completely erased the receiver. And they were top-tier receivers in this league that it was like they didn't even play. So he does that every game and there's no reason he shouldn't be in the Pro Bowl every year. And he knows that. But we really like Vontae and like I said, once we go through this process and get to that point where we make those calls and do those things, hopefully it all works out how we want and we're better because of it."

Are there guys you have to have back?

"Sure."

Can you name them?

"Probably not. No, I'm going to stay away from that because like I said, I'm still a little emotional. I need to step away, get with Chuck (Pagano) before I go off and say anything like that."

With all the injured players, do you anticipate having them all ready to go, if not by OTAs, by the start of training camp?

"I think we're in good shape. I think most the guys are slated to at least be ready by camp. There might be some PUP candidates in there that see how they progress. The one thing is too, I like erring on the side of caution because I'd rather have a guy that's…you can't, in this league it's just too competitive and teams are too good. You just don't want a guy that goes out there even at 90. You want guys to be ready, especially running backs, corners, those types of positions. I mean at guard and things like that, you're playing in a phone booth, you can get by with some things. But when you're out there on that island or you're playing a skill position, you need to be at full strength, especially heading into a season. Try going through a grind for 17 weeks when you came in already dinged. I don't think that's smart. We have a great training staff and medical staff and we'll be good stewards of that. Because like I said, it's the third year. We want to have all our horses ready because we left some great players there on the sideline this year early. But we just kept on trucking and we still ended up with 12 wins and as the days wear on, I'm starting to actually kind of assimilate that and kind of realize that we did some good things this year."

You have cap room but at some point in the near future you're going to have to write a big check to Andrew Luck. Is that something you're already starting to factor in heading into free agency this year?

"Of course. You have to be smart about, we're always forward thinking. We're always, before we make any type of move, are looking down the line. Because you don't want to hamstring yourself and you don't want to lose your franchise. So obviously I have very smart people around me that remind me, including our owner. So we'll be smart about that and we'll make sure that we keep our best players here as best we can."

Obviously the goal is to win a Super Bowl every year, but considering all you guys accomplished this year through all the injuries, do you feel like this team is ready to take the next step next year, whether that's going to the AFC Championship game or to the Super Bowl?

"Sure, I feel like that's our goal. I feel like last year, 2012… The great thing about playoffs and having our second one is it really does magnify the areas that you know, you sit there and look at, not even from watching the film but are just kind of magnified. You know, 'We need to get better here. We need to add more depth here. Look what they're doing to us, this needs to be better.' So that's a good thing in terms of the evaluation process, to kind of have that fresh in your mind after getting beat by the Patriots. Because those are the types of teams we're going to have to beat on the road to win Super Bowls. Hopefully at some point we can host a championship game here and we almost did. So I'd honestly be lying if I said that every year we're not looking, and this year especially, looking hard at the Super Bowl. The quarterback, you win in this league with great quarterbacks and we have a great one. We have to keep surrounding him with the right people that are like-minded, that are aspiring to greatness like he does every single day when he walks in this building and when his head hits the pillow at night. Those are the type of guys we need. We need to have guys like that. He is the most selfless guy in this building probably. And he's so talented, so he sets a great example. And the sky is the limit when you have a player like that and then a leader on defense like Robert (Mathis) and a guy like Reggie (Wayne) in the clubhouse. So we have the leadership. We're going to keep infusing this team with players and building in areas that we feel like we can improve on. I know the coaches are going to keep whipping these guys into shape. And the guys, even the guys that played last year in the scheme for the first year, were better this year. And I think the new guys will be better from this year to next as well. So we're all very optimistic because just in the progression we've been going, that obviously would be the expectation is we want to be heading in that direction, to win a championship and to keep winning them. That's what our owner's charged me with building, so that's where my mind's at."

What did you see from Daniel Adongo this year and what are your thoughts on him?

"Daniel is such a neat story. He was 233 pounds. He just came in the other day because I had to talk to him with our general counsel about just things he couldn't do when he left here, things he had to get squared away immigration-wise and things like that. And he couldn't go play another 20-game season of rugby somewhere, we didn't want that and him coming back 30 pounds lighter. That's not what we wanted him to do. But the guy was 233 when he walked in my door and I was like, to Jon Shaw, was like, 'This isn't the guy you showed me pictures of, showed me video of.' He had just gotten done playing back-to-back 20-game rugby seasons. But here we are and he's 33 pounds heavier, all muscle. I talk to the coaches constantly about certain things he does to where it looks like a real guy. Like maybe it's a spin move, or the way he disengages a block and then chases. Because at the end of the day, the guy can flat out run. He's 6-4, 270 pounds and his intangibles are off the charts. So it's a pretty good recipe to be a player in this league and I think he's got a real chance. He's a sponge. Our coaches always, that's like the first word they use when they talk about Daniel. And the aggression that he plays with, I can gush all day about him because his tempo through 17 weeks is just every day he drives those offensive linemen crazy. I love watching it because he gets those guys ready to play. And when you're a lineman and you've been playing 17 games, he's like a gnat and he's bothering you and he just stays after those guys. But it makes us better, and he in turn is getting better. So he's been great. You wish all of them were as dialed in as him every single day. Time's just what he needs."

Can Andrew Luck keep running the way he's running? He's taken a beating in and out of the pocket and that adds up eventually.

"Right, and I get reminded of that quite a bit. I don't think he runs near as much as some of the other guys do. But if you've looked at him and you look at those other quarterbacks, his lower body is that of a Dwayne Allen. He's got such a strong build. He's such a strong guy. Usually a quarterback just knows innately to not pick up a fumble and do a Walter Payton over the goal line. That's his mindset. He plays like a linebacker. He's built like a tight end. He's tough. And we've tried to wean him off some of those things and he's done better. He's slid a lot more and it's just a progression. And sometimes you want him to run it because he's got some wheels, I mean the guy can really run. So it's a delicate balance because he is your franchise. He becomes a running back when he's out there running the ball and you can put a lick on him. And we don't need him getting blown up by some 260-pound linebacker, we don't want that to happen. But it's a tough thing because he can decompress and deflate a defense on a 20-yard run on a scramble. So I'm not really concerned about that because I think we'll be smart."