Colts run game struggles in first 2 games

INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis wants to get back to basics.

Sure, it can rely on Peyton Manning and his Pro Bowl receivers to produce big numbers and improbable comebacks. But if the Colts intend to win another Super Bowl, they know it will take more than Manning’s trusty right arm.

They must begin running the ball effectively.

“It’s easy for everybody to get frustrated,” Dominic Rhodes said. “We’ve just got to be patient.”

Patience is already wearing thin in a city that has been spoiled by the Colts’ traditionally high-scoring, balanced offense.

This season, that’s not been the case.

Indy has not scored 20 points in either of its first two games, and the running game has essentially been grounded.

Pro Bowler Joseph Addai has 27 carries for 64 yards in two games. Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson ran for nearly twice that (118) in the first half Sunday.

Thirty-five players, including backups Jerious Norwood of Atlanta, Warrick Dunn of Tampa Bay and LenDale White of Tennessee, actually have more yards rushing than the Colts have produced as a team (78).

This is not what the Colts expected. Since Marshall Faulk arrived in 1994, four runners have combined for 12 1,000-yard seasons. Making it to No. 13 will take some major work.

What’s wrong?

Clearly, the Colts are adjusting to a rebuilt offensive line.

“We’ve got some new guys in there, and I guess they’re young and that happens sometimes when you’ve got young guys in there,” Rhodes said. “Yesterday, I think, was a good test for them because it showed them what we have to do.”

Injuries have completely changed how the Colts look and, to some extent, how they’ve played.

Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday hasn’t been in a game since hurting a knee ligament Aug. 24. Starting left guard Ryan Lilja remains on the physically unable to perform list after undergoing offseason knee surgery. Rookie Mike Pollak, a second-round draft choice expected to start at right guard, has been out since Aug. 24 with his own knee injury. Left tackle Tony Ugoh left Sunday’s game early with a groin injury.

Tight end Dallas Clark (knee) also missed the Minnesota game.

Should Clark and Saturday return to the lineup this weekend against Jacksonville – something coach Tony Dungy described as a possibility – it would help.

Yet Dungy insists the replacements have played well amid continuing struggles.
“Whether we run or throw, we’ve got to execute,” he said Monday. “But we’ve got to run it better to make our play-action passes go.”