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Hot Colts must overcome off-field distractions
INDIANAPOLIS — There have been an eventful few days since the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Tennessee Titans 41-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium last Sunday.
First, backup wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers was arrested for DUI early Monday morning. Rogers, who had off-field issues in college at Tennessee and didn’t last long with Buffalo in his first NFL stop, was quickly released by the Colts.
Also, safety LaRon Landry, one of general manager Ryan Grigson’s early veteran free agent additions before last season, was suspended for four games after violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy.
Landry will be eligible to return after the team’s Oct. 26 road game with Pittsburgh.
With that as a backdrop, Indianapolis head coach Chuck Pagano must get his team’s focus back on this week’s home game with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Ravens have never won a regular-season game in Indianapolis, but that doesn’t mean much to Pagano. A former assistant under John Harbaugh, he has only faced Baltimore once since becoming Indianapolis’ head coach three years ago. The Ravens posted a 24-9 win in a 2012 AFC wild-card matchup.
Baltimore comes into this week’s game with a 3-1 mark and winners of three straight after losing to Cincinnati in the season opener.
The Colts will be facing a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Joe Flacco, who Pagano knows very well.
“They do a great job offensively. Obviously, we know (offensive coordinator) Gary Kubiak’s over there running that offense now. We’re very familiar obviously with that system,” the Indianapolis coach said, referring to Kubiak’s stint as the Houston Texans’ head coach.
“They do a great job running the football and then the play-action pass they move them around. Got a good offensive line, really good offensive line. It’s going to be a tall order and we’ve got our hands full and we’re going to do the best we can to try to put pressure on him.”
The Ravens’ defense is also a major concern.
“Yeah, they’ve got a bunch of game-wreckers over there and we’ve got to make sure that we have a plan to take care of those guys. Haloti (Ngata), (Brandon) Williams, those guys are a load inside. (Chris) Canty and certainly T-Sizzle (Terrell Suggs) on one side,” Pagano said.
“Courtney Upshaw starts in their base stuff, he’ll play a little bit of sub, but they’ll bring in Elvis (Dumervil) on third down and he’s still a beast, got 3 1/2 sacks and had 1 1/2 last week, so he’s a nightmare off the edge. So we’ve got to have a plan for those guys.”
One minor skirmish has already erupted between the two head coaches, who are longtime friends. The Ravens’ John Harbaugh had joked earlier in the week about Indianapolis piping in crowd noise for Sunday’s game. Pagano, though, wasn’t laughing.
“To be honest with you, we kind of have our blinders on. I never heard that, him talking about us piping in crowd noise,” the Colts coach said.
“I think it’s more of an insult to our 12th man, if you will. I think he’s calling out our fans, which I think are the best fans in the National Football League. So let’s see how our 12th man reacts to that insult.”
NOTES: G Jack Mewhort (ankle) will not play Sunday. … ILB Jerrell Freeman (hamstring) saw light work in Wednesday’s practice. … DT Arthur Jones (ankle) did not practice Wednesday and is not expected to play Sunday. … S Colt Anderson (groin) practiced Wednesday after missing the last game and is expected to play Sunday. … G Hugh Thornton (ankle) should be back in the Colts’ starting lineup after sitting out last week.
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