By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS(AP) -- Indianapolis spent the entire offseason trying
to improve its stagnant ground game.
The Colts took Donald Brown with their first-round pick in
April. They switched left tackles. They cut a 2008 draft choice
in favor of a lineman who played Arena League football. They
heard owner Jim Irsay call for improvement when offensive line
coach Howard Mudd came out of his brief retirement.
Seven games into the season, little has changed.
"It's not like all is lost," coach Jim Caldwell said Monday. "We
just don't have the numbers we'd like to see."
The stats certainly illustrate how tough things have been for
Indy.
-The Colts ran 21 times in Sunday's 18-14 victory over San
Francisco, with just five going as long as 4 yards, generally
the average measuring stick for NFL teams. They finished with 61
yards rushing and a per carry average of 2.9.
-The biggest contributions from a running back came from former
Pro Bowler Joseph Addai, who used a 10-yarder to close the third
quarter to set up his 22-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne. Brown
missed the game with a bruised left shoulder and Caldwell isn't
sure if the rookie will play this week against Houston.
-Indy ranks 30th in the NFL in total yards rushing (611) and
only six teams have a yards per carry average lower than Indy's
3.7. The Colts have only three runs of 20 yards or more this
season, with one coming from backup Chad Simpson late in the
blowout victory at St. Louis.
-And for the first time since 1992-93, the Colts are in danger
of failing to have a 1,000-yard runner in back-to-back seasons.
Addai has a team-high 336 yards this year.
The Colts (7-0) insist it's not time to panic. Hey,they haven't
lost a game.
"It's just being positive, going with it, staying with it,
knowing it's a long season," Addai said after Sunday's win. "We
know what we can do. We just have to correct the mistakes we
made and move forward."
So far, the struggles have not cost the Colts.
They have opened with seven straight wins for the fourth time in
five years and once again are the AFC's last remaining unbeaten
team. Caldwell is the first rookie coach since the 1970 merger
to start 7-0. Indy has won a franchise-record 16 straight
regular-season games, and a victory at home Sunday over Houston
(5-3) would give the Colts a four-game lead in the loss column,
a first-half sweep of their AFC South foes and an early chip in
the head-to-head tiebreaker with the second-place Texans.
But those in the organization know to be successful in the
playoffs, the running game must improve.
"We've got to play better," Mudd said during training camp,
referring to the offensive line. "We're not used to having
mediocre performances like last year. Until we play and perform
like we used to perform, we're not going to go any place and we
know that."
The Colts' track record proves it.
When Manning threw a then-league record 49 TD passes in 2004,
the Colts were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.
The next year, when the Colts started 13-0, they averaged 3.7
yards on the ground and again went out in the divisional round.
Last year, they lost in overtime at San Diego because they
couldn't convert on third-and-short twice.
But in the 2006 postseason, Manning threw seven interceptions
and only three TDs yet won his first Super Bowl in large part
because of the Colts' ability to run. Addai and Dominic Rhodes
combined for four straight 100-yard rushing games in the
playoffs, including 191 yards against the Bears in rainy Miami.
The Colts need to get that efficiency back or other teams are
likely to follow the 49ers' script.
San Francisco spent Sunday trying to take away Manning's deep
throws by keeping everything in front of them. When Manning
couldn't convert long, he exploited the underneath routes. But
with little help from the ground game, the Colts were clearly
out of sync.
The offensive line allowed three sacks after giving up just two
in the first six weeks, and the Colts had four three-and-outs
after having only 10 all season.
To avoid a repeat, Manning needs a rushing attack that gives him
the kind of balance players, coaches and team officials have
been talking about since last winter.
"We have to continue to work on it," Caldwell said. "You can't
get to the point where we stop trying to become effective in
that area."
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