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After a year in Oakland, Dominic Rhodes is returning to the Colts' stable to find his place in the gates for the 2008 season. I can't help but be excited about this addition. What was perhaps the thinest position in the Colts roster prior to the draft, running back is now a position that I believe will be a cornerstone for the Colts this year. More inside...
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The backfield for the Indianapolis Colts is now four deep. Joe Addai is the star. Kenton Keith was the backup from Canada last year. Mike Hart was the star the draft forgot with a chance to prove himself. Dom Rhodes is the guy the Super Bowl forgot.
 Last time Rhodes was with us he was putting the Bears away on the road to 117 rushing yards and a crucial touchdown in the Super Bowl. I thought then and think now that he was overlooked for the MVP. I am not alone, almost every memeber of the team (including the winner, Manning) claimed that Rhodes was the key to the game. He was the guy who was running with a chip on his shoulder, and it made him better. Now he has the chance to do that again.
Rhodes is not good enough to be a featured back. He isn't big enough, he isn't fast enough, and he doesn't have reliable enough hands to be there on every third down. He does run well on fresh legs. He runs low and has good early drive. He looks good running fresh and downhill. He always has. In Oakland, he never stood a chance. Oakland is a franchise without clear direction and focus. Rhodes needs that in a team so they can maximize his abilities and hide his deficiencies. The Colts do that as well as anyone. He can be put behind Addai in a contest with Hart for the #2 role and, if properly handled, both can spend the entire season running with a chip on their shoulder trying to prove to their coaches and teammates that they deserve the role. That would be ideal as Hart excels at running mad. Both are better than Keith, who is probably in the doghouse anyway. I will say this, Rhodes and Keith have both been busted for drinking. Rhodes even urinated on himself in the cruiser, which is the height of anti-establishment retribution if I do say so myself. Enough of the funny papers, though...
Last season Colts fans held their breath every time Addai disappeared into the breach, hoping that he got up okay because we knew if he did not, it was trouble. That is never a good situation for a ball club to be in. The Colts are known as a passing team, but one ugly reality we must all face is that we no longer possess the depth at the receiver spot to impose our gameplan through the air on every team we play. With Marvin a question mark and Gonzo still developing and no clear backup receiver, that is simply not an option anymore. Now, though, I think the stable of backs is solid enough to carry a much greater load. Where will they make a difference?
If you watched the Colts play, then you may have seen that the wheels came off the wagon early in fourth quarter. The Colts tended to be strong after halftime adjustments took hold, but they had trouble staying on the field and moving the ball early in the fourth. That was a mark of fatigue in my opinion, and they were either overcoming that or defeating that in all but a few games last year. With a more talented corps of backs, the Colts have other options early in the fourth. They will have fresh legs that can throw against the other guys. Instead of throwing on second and short because Addai is gassed, they can bring in Hart and have him jam it up in the hole for 3 and get the first down then instead of throwing two incomplete passes to mediocre receivers when Reggie is triple covered. Does that not make more sense? Instead of running Addai's legs off in the second  quarter, they can give the first drive of the second quarter to Rhodes and he can step in and understand the offense and get in timing and be a factor instead of walking Kenton Keith into the game and announcing to the world that the Colts are going to pass the ball. This is a great sign for everyone involved.
Oh, and so i can answer El Cucaracha's question before he asks it... Melvin Bullitt wears Rhodes' old #33, so I have no idea how that will turn out.
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Let's hope that he checks his ego at the door again.
Did you know that the Colts signed Courtney Roby to a two-year deal before the draft?
http://nwi.com/articles/2008/05/08/sports/top_sports/docc23c8f212a7eef8786257443000a1b48.txt