I was squeezing in a rare workout on Wednesday, in an effort to drop some of the five pounds gained over Thanksgiving weekend in time to gain 10 between Christmas and New Year’s Day. And in periodically checking the official PFT Sprint Blackberry Tour, I noticed an e-mail from the Colts, announcing a few roster moves.
I decided not to forward the thing to MDS and/or Rosenthal, since it’s impossible to keep up with all the minute and mundane details of December roster moves.
But with running back DeDe Dorsey being linked to the Browns and many of you wondering why Mike Hart is out of work, I decided after further reflection to point out that Hart, once regarded as a high-end NFL prospect, has been added to Indy’s active roster.
The move comes a day after the Colts gave a tryout to Dominic Rhodes, a key player in the team’s 2006 Super Bowl-winning season.
So Hart has a job again in the NFL. For now.
The Colts also promoted defensive end Erwin Baldwin from the practice squad and added three to the practice squad: quarterback Shane Boyd and offensive linemen Keith Gray and Andrew Radovich.
shameless promotion blog.
I really thought Hart was going to be better in the NFL and he still can be. Maybe he needs to be on a different team, not that the Colts are holding them back but maybe if he was on a worse team or a team more dependent on the run he could maybe have a career.
i was wondering what happened to that guy when i was watching the colts/pats game…
he’s slow and indecisive. not good when ur job title is RB.
slow? yes. indecisive? you’ve apparently never seen mike hart play football.
He’s also fragile.
It’s also not like the Colts really need him. Addai, Brown, and Chad Simpson are all very solid running backs. I guess having the depth is nice, but I don’t know if it’s worth it to try and keep him.
Here’s a guy who may actually have talent, but since he can’t stay healthy, we’ll never know.
Even though I’m a Colt fan and I like Mike, I think I agree with thisclasssucks.
Not sure why anyone would think Mike Hart would actually make it in the NFL. Seriously…try to name a Big Ten running back from the past twenty-five years who had a successful NFL career besides Eddie George and Keith Byars.
Take a few weeks if you want…won’t help.
robesi:
Marion Barber III is doing ok in Dallas.
Maroney has carved out a niche in NE.
Alstott had a good career at Tampa.
L.Johnson has done ok, a head case tho.
T.J. Duckett has had a nice career.
Ladell Betts is serviceable.
Mendenhall is doing nicely.
These are off the top of my head, I’m sure there has been alot more. That took me 5 minutes.
You can have the rest of the 2 weeks to come up with a better post.
@robesi
Rashard Mendenhall
Robert Smith
TJ Duckett
Michael Bennett
Larry Johnson
Ladell Betts
Beanie Wells (early to tell yet)
Marion Barber
Laurence Maroney
And those are fairly recent guys. If I actually thought about it, I bet I could name a bunch more guys who had productive/successfull careers.
@robesi: I’m kind of thinking current running backs here (not really interested in going back in time), and this is just off the top of my head, but Laurence Maroney, Rashard Mendenhall, and Marion Barber come to mind.
Whether or not they have prolonged success remains to be seen, but if your trying to imply Big 10 running backs are somehow unfit for the NFL minus the two exceptions you listed, I’d say your opinion was off-base.
Jeff and PeaTear…allow me to run through one-by-one your list of ten running backs:
Barber III – yup, he can score TD’s. So could the Fridge. Has never broken 1000 yards.
Maroney – Also never broken 1000 yards, and plays with perhaps the best QB/passing attack in the league over his tenure.
Alstott – Never rushed for over 1000 yards…good FB, sure…great FB…not what we’re looking for here.
LJ – Two GREAT years, absolutely…FAR from great career.
Duckett – Seriously? You’re going to TJ Duckett?
“Ladell Betts is serviceable.” Thank you for proving my point.
Mendenhall & Wells – To be fair, verdict still out.
Robert Smith – This is your closest one, I’ll give you that. Shame he retired so early. I concede Smith.
Michael Bennett – What? After 1,978 yards his first two seasons, he’s had 1,686 in EIGHT PLUS SEASONS. Not a good career.
There are definitely “serviceable” backs from the Big Ten…and maybe Hart will be one…but there have been VERY, VERY, VERY few to have successful careers, especially given their expectations.
@robesi
I wasn’t arguing HOF stats, I was arguing productive careers. I was pointing out that these guys are on NFL rosters year in and year out and they are all off the top of my head.
For every Walter Peyton, there are 100 Najeh Davenport’s.
I guess success is in the eye of the beholder. If I could stay on an NFL roster for 5+ years when the average is less than 3 yrs, I’d call my career a success.