Colts hope draft solidified team

INDIANAPOLIS -- Forget major changes. Bill Polian and Tony Dungy figured all the Indianapolis Colts needed for a Super Bowl run was a little fine-tuning. Just add some more speed, a little depth and a new infusion of young talent.\nPolian, the team president, and Dungy, the coach, believe after taking a safety, two cornerbacks and two linebackers in this year's NFL draft, last weekend's mission was accomplished.\n"I don't think so," said Polian, the team president, when asked if he'd look to fill any remaining holes with veteran free agents. "The quarterback situation may be interesting, depending on who shakes free, but we like who we drafted."\nWhile the Colts got none of the big names, like a Dwight Freeney, who could have made a major impact next season, they didn't have much choice.\nPicking 29th in the first round of a draft that was thin on defensive talent, the Colts did the next best thing -- acquiring extra draft picks to throw more players into the mix.\nTrading up would have been costly in terms of picks and the salary cap, too, especially considering the Colts have four major free agents to re-sign after next season in wide receiver Marvin Harrison, running back Edgerrin James, right tackle Ryan Diem and left guard Rick DeMulling.\nSo the Colts need to save every dime they can.\nThat forced Polian to be creative with his choices. He traded down twice before selecting big-hitting safety Bob Sanders from Iowa, who will cost far less than the only safety taken ahead of him, Miami's Sean Taylor.\nYet Polian thinks Sanders gives the Colts' defense something it sorely needs -- attitude.\n"It energizes everybody," Polian said. "His coach, Kirk Ferentz, pointed it out in the fall when I talked to him. He said 'Bob does something very few players do. He makes the mentality of the defense different, tougher, because he strikes.'"\nThat's what the Colts must now bank on.\nLosing two key contributors at cornerback, Walt Harris and David Macklin, during the offseason depleted their depth in the secondary. But the loss of starting linebacker Marcus Washington to the Washington Redskins in free agency put a gaping hole in the Colts' defense.\nYes, they took Purdue's Gilbert Gardner and Florida State's Kendyll Pope in the third and fourth rounds, but there is no guarantee either will be ready to start this year. Both are small, fast linebackers, the kind that have thrived in Dungy's zone coverage through the years.\nThe only other options are second-year players Keyon Whiteside, Cato June and Jim Nelson.\nWhen asked who would be the starter Friday when minicamp opens, Dungy did a double take.\n"I've not thought that far ahead," he said. "Normally, we do it by the seniority system, so it would probably be Jim Nelson."\nDungy has been here before, though. In 2003, the Colts let outside linebacker Mike Peterson depart via free agency. That forced David Thornton, a second-year player, into the starting lineup. Many wondered how he would handle the job, and Thornton was consistently among the Colts' leading tacklers.\nThis year's philosophy seems a little different.\nBy using three picks on defensive backs, the Colts seem to be counting on a deeper, faster secondary to carry the load.\nWith second-year safety Mike Doss and Sanders, the Colts now have two hard hitters. By moving Donald Strickland back to cornerback, the return to health of Joseph Jefferson, the continuing emergence of Nick Harper and the addition of draft picks Jason David and Von Hutchins, there's little doubt the Colts are deeper and faster.\nBut are they better?\nAll the Colts can do now is wait and hope they've gotten enough help in the draft to make a run at New England, a team that beat the Colts twice last season on the way to its second Super Bowl title in three years.\n"Well, I saw the ESPN commercial, and they were talking about the two-time Super Bowl MVP picked in the sixth round," Dungy said, referring to New England quarterback Tom Brady. "Obviously, your chances of getting an impact guy are greatest when you're in the top 10 picks. But you've got to have confidence in them"