This is the part three of our series looking at how each team stacks up headed into next week’s draft. In case you missed it, you can find part one covering the AFC East here and part two covering the AFC North here.

As always, feel free to let us know what you think via the comment section.

Houston Texans (9-7)

The Texans came close to their first playoff trip in franchise history last year, but things didn’t quite play out the way they wanted late in the season. That disappointment has fueled the fires of anticipation in Houston this off-season, and anything short of a solid playoff run will be looked at as a failure, given the level of talent amassed across the board right now. There are still some areas of concern headed into next week’s draft though, and as such, the Texans will need to use their picks judiciously to maximize production from those players next fall. Read the rest of this entry »

In a somewhat surprising move for a Super Bowl team, the Indianapolis Colts parted ways with starting guard Ryan Lilja today.

Lilja has been a fixture on the team with the best regular season record over the last seven years, culminating in two Super Bowl appearances and a victory in 2007.

Lilja had 67 career starts for Indianapolis and also bounced back nicely from missing the entire 2008 season with a bum knee by starting every game in 2009.

He was due a $1.7 million roster bonus, but according to the Indianapolis Star the move was not financially driven. The motive was apparently the Colts’ desire to get bigger along the offensive line, making the 290-pound Lilja a casualty in this shift of strategy.

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9:15 am – Schefter is reporting that the deal is final for five years and is worth $33 million with a $12 million signing bonus.

8:10 am – There was little doubt an agreement between Indianapolis and free agent linebacker Gary Brackett would come together sooner or later, but once the free agency period hit last night, things could have easily gone in a different direction if another club chose to throw more cash in Brackett’s direction.

None of that matters now, as the Colts have a deal in place with Brackett, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Terms of the contract were not immediately available but Schefter believes the agreement is for five seasons.

There’s not much more in life that I enjoy than watching an entire city find redemption in the form of their favorite football team beating the odds to get to the Super Bowl. In New Orleans, we have just that, with a huge population of fans suffering through just about every possible calamity on and off the field, especially in recent times, with a franchise seemingly in disarray after Hurricane Katrina crushed the entire landscape of the Gulf Coast.

So it is with great joy that I was able to watch the Saints march into the Superdome earlier tonight and overcome a tremendous Vikings team that showed heart from start to finish, to win the NFC championship and book a trip to Miami for the Super Bowl.

This is the finish that every fan of the game wanted to see throughout most of this season, with two high flying offenses squaring off against each other in what looks to be a championship game for the ages. It marks the first time since 1994 that the top seeds in both conferences advance to the championship, and pits two of the league’s top quarterbacks in Peyton Manning (son of Saints legend Archie Manning) and Drew Brees.

Let’s not forget the fact that both defenses are equally talented in their own right, with plenty of opportunistic playmakers to create turnovers and keep opponents off the board. On paper, the advantage seemingly would lie with the Colts, although the Saints clearly have demonstrated a knack for getting stops when they need them the most.

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The Indianapolis Colts have clinched a division title, first-round bye and home field advantage thoughout the playoffs. With a 13-0 record, Coach Jim Caldwell might be tempted to employ a win-at-all costs strategy down the stretch in order to attain a perfect season.

But according to CBS Sports, Caldwell seems to have different plans for his team.

“It’s what’s best for us in terms of getting us ready to play well down the line. Obviously the most important games are the playoff games, and obviously we’re fortunate enough to be there, so we’ve just got to keep trying to get better and stay sharp and keep playing hard.”

– Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell

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Every year the debate over teams playing hard with their starters on the field late in the season, despite having their playoff future locked up, takes center stage around the league, and this year is no different. It involves different teams than we’ve seen before with this dilemma, but overall the same argument takes place.

Both the Colts and the Saints are likely to have this problem headed down the stretch, with both clubs currently holding on to perfect records going into week 14. Whereas New Orleans will likely have to make a decision late in the season, Indianapolis could have answer to this question as early as next week, as a win on Sunday will lock up home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

With that in mind, Colts president Bill Polian weighed in on the subject, potentially foreshadowing what the team will choose to do if they take home a victory this week.

“I don’t know how you get rusty when you practice four times a week. It’s pretty hard to be rusty in that situation. Secondly, momentum is an overrated situation. We didn’t have a lot of momentum going into the playoffs the year we won the Super Bowl. The fact is that at this time of year, you have very many players who are injured, playing hurt, who need rest because they have nagging injuries through which they’ve been fighting. That’s your first and most important consideration.”

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With an excellent career at Michigan in his back pocket, most people felt like Mike Hart would be a solid addition to an Indianapolis squad that boasts some of the best players in the league on the offensive side of the ball. But after an injury plagued first year, the Colts used a high round pick to take RB Donald Brown, and as such, Hart became expendable.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Colts have decided to release Hart just a season and half into his young career, choosing instead to upgrade their defensive depth by signing veteran DE Josh Thomas. Obviously, Indianapolis felt that the running back position was safely secure in the hands of RB Joseph Addai and Brown, so Hart unfortunately became the odd man out.

Given his production in college and potential on the pro level, Hart won’t be out of work for too long, but if he makes it through waivers, he could come back to the Colts, albeit on their practice sqaud. As always, we’ll keep you posted.

Life in the NFL goes by at the blink of an eye, and the knee injury suffered by the Colts starting CB Marlin  Jackson yesterday illustrates that principle to a tee.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Jackson was injured on the final play of the team’s practice on Wednesday, and was later diagnosed with a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in his knee. The remainder of his season will be finalized in the near future, as Indianapolis is almost certain to place Jackson on the injured reserve list.

Jackson is likely to have surgery to repair the tear sometime next week, but his future with the Colts is somewhat murky at this point, given his status as a free agent next spring. Suffering an injury like this is definitely not a good way to convince a club to extend a better contract offer, so  Indianapolis will probably be able to re-sign him at a much lower cost than initially projected.

Philip B. Wilson of the Indianapolis Star is reporting that the Colts have decided to part ways with DT Ed Johnson, pushing rookie DT Fili Moala into the lineup in his place.

Head coach Jim Caldwell was quick to say that the decision was based on  Johnson’s play on the field and not on his lack of character off it, but that line of reasoning seems a bit suspect given the amount of playing time Johnson has had thus far. His production was pretty poor, so it makes sense that the Colts would want to find an upgrade, but a release would indicate that something else is at work here.

As always, we’ll keep you updated…

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting (via Twitter) that Colts K Adam Vinatieri is expected to miss the next six weeks while he recovers from a knee injury. As a result, Indianapolis will sign free agent K Matt Stover to a short term deal as a replacement for Vinatieri, according to Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports.

Obviously, the Colts would prefer to have Vinatieri handling the kicking duties, but they didn’t do too bad in finding a quick replacement for him in Stover, who was accurate and reliable during his long tenure in Baltimore.

It’s doubtful that Stover will stay on with Indianapolis once Vinatieri’s healthy, but he now has an opportunity to prove he still has the ability to kick well enough to play in the league. If he does well, look for Stover to sign on elsewhere when his time with the Colts runs out.

According to Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports, Indianapolis has brought in former Ravens kicker Matt Stover for a tryout tomorrow. Apparently, Adam Vinatieri’s knee trouble is bad enough to warrant a look see at Stover, although they may just be doing their due diligence.

Stover is an extremely experienced pro at the position, and if for some reason the Colts feel that Vinitieri can’t go, look for them to sign Stover as a replacement.

In a league where salaries often approach eight figures, one of the longest tenured assistant coaches in its history is calling it quits, thanks in part to the NFL owners deciding to change their policies on nonplayers pension plans.

According to Chris Mortensen (ESPN), Colts offensive line coach Howard Mudd has told the team he will be retiring immediately to take advantage of a full lump-sum payment on his plan right now, as opposed to annuity payments that can be reduced to 50% of value if Mudd passes on. Mudd has reached the maximum payout already, so from a financial point of view, his decision makes absolute sense.

For Indianapolis, the prospect of losing Mudd is not a good one, as he’s been widely credited as a key component of the team’s continued offensive success along with offensive coordinator Tom Moore. The Colts are currently working overtime to convince Mudd to stay, but at this point, his continued employment does not look promising.