Colts News Roundup

May 10, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson on left and owner Jim Irsay on right watch from the sidelines during the Colts Rookie Minicamp at the Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance Football Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

There are a number of stories surrounding the Colts today that warrant an update. Everything from roster moves to owner Jim Irsay’s rants on twitter.

Bradshaw Activated

Well, sort of. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw was taken off the PUP list this week and moved to the active roster. This wasn’t because he is able to play but rather due to the Colts apparently making a procedural error. Bradshaw took a few reps in walkthroughs last week and that was enough to remove him from the PUP.

If a player is on the list, they cannot practice or participate in team drills. They can be at practice and rehab, but that’s it. This essentially forced the Colts to move Bradshaw the active roster and cut someone to make room for him. He should be back in time for the season opener.

Angerer Activated

Inside linebacker Pat Angerer was also taken off the PUP list, but he is ready to go. He was a full participant in practice today, but he will still be listed as day-to-day. The team is being cautious with his return.

“We’ll stick him in some walk-through situations,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “He’ll continue to do most of his rehab and his position work with (director of rehabilitation) Erin Barill and our trainers on the side. As soon as he’s 100 percent and ready to go, we’ll stick him into action, but he’s day-to-day.”

Fleener Concussed

Tight end Coby Fleener apparently suffered a concussion in the preseason opener against Buffalo. He has already undergone concussion protocols and was back at practice today after missing Tuesday’s. The concussion would better explain why he fumbled the ball on his last play of the game. Losing consciousness makes it very difficult to hang on to the ball.

Fleener gave a sideline interview late in the game, so its clear that this wasn’t a very serious concussion. While he has been cleared for practice, he will have to pass more tests to be cleared for games. With Dwayne Allen out for the time being, it would be smart to keep Fleener as healthy as possible.

Irsay’s Takes to Twitter

Irsay is no stranger to twitter. He opened an account years ago when Bill Polian was still the general manager (which had to have made Polian ecstatic). This week, Irsay has made waves with two twitter rants.

Here is his tweet from Monday:

I have no problem with an owner being disappointed in his teams performance, in fact Irsay should be upset. But this isn’t an issue that Irsay should be taking to twitter. This is an in-house problem that needs to be addressed behind closed doors. If Irsay wants to talk to the media and say he was unhappy, fine, but don’t call out the coaching staff in public. 

Historically, the Colts haven’t cared in the slightest about the winning preseason games. This isn’t even the worst preseason loss in the past 10 years, that distinction falls to the Jim Caldwell led Colts who fell to the Packers 59-24. There was no story about Irsay yelling at Caldwell and Polian about that failure.

This is the preseason, and the fans really shouldn’t have any expectations about winning or losing these games. If Irsay is really upset with the loss, then he should take a look at the ticket prices and consider lowering them.

Which brings us to our next Irsay rant:

Sorry Jim, but you’re wrong here. If the face value of a game is $70.00 per ticket, then that’s the face value. You have no idea how good a game is going to be when you buy season tickets months in advance. But, you DO know what you’re going to get out of preseason games, and its not worth regular season prices.

Citing any specific game as having more inherent value than another just doesn’t track. Sure there will be the thrill of seeing Peyton Manning return home, but if that game results in a blowout, how much value is actually to be had? Sure, you can put the tickets on StubHub and derive value there, but its artificial and doesn’t relate to buying the tickets at face value well before the season begins.

Its price gouging, pure and simple. Its also the basics of capitalism and the NFL owners are working well within the system. They have a highly desirable product that people willingly pay out billions of dollars for annually. When you have the market cornered, its easy to adopt this stance.

This sort of argument only really works out if you have a good team that is consistently playing quality opponents. Fans who want season tickets shouldn’t be forced to buy the two horrible preseason games. If owner want to make this a more enjoyable event, and make fans not feel like they are being taken advantage of, then offer some specials at the game. Half price food and drinks, free give aways, or discounts on merchandise.

If you want the regular season tickets to be worth more, then raise the price of those tickets and lower the cost of the preseason games. Irsay clearly doesn’t understand why the fans are upset after going to preseason games. It’s almost insulting to the fans for him to try and rationalize the price of these games.

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