Colts Trying to Get on Move Again : Raiders: Indianapolis has had its seventh consecutive 0-2 start, but Pankey should help.
Owner Robert Irsay’s Flying Circus, featuring the Indianapolis Colts, will pitch tents today at the Coliseum.
It seems that only the performers have changed since Irsay revved up the U-Haul trucks back in 1984 and sped away with the Baltimore Colts, moving the franchise to Indianapolis in the dead of night.
But the carnival life is not an easy one. The Colts will play the Raiders after having opened the season 0-2 for the seventh consecutive year.
As usual, their coach, Ron Meyer, appears to be in jeopardy of losing his job. It’s one of his most consistent qualities.
“You know,” Meyer joked last week, “I have a certain image, and it dates back two or three years. I think one of the images is that I’m not going to be around for very long.”
When the Colts lost their opener to the New England Patriots, 16-7, Irsay reportedly wanted to fire Meyer on the 50-yard line. Irsay apparently was talked out of it by his son, Jimmy, the team’s general manager.
The elder Irsay hadn’t been so angry since last year’s holdout by tailback Eric Dickerson, whom Jimmy Irsay had obtained in 1987 from the Rams.
It says something of the Colts’ current state that Dickerson has become the team’s stabilizing force. Yet the man who held two teams hostage with questionable negotiating tactics was last seen rallying his troops in private team meetings.
“I mean, it’s only two games right now,” Dickerson told reporters last week. “So, I’m looking forward to a good season. I think people have a tendency to panic right off the bat when you’re 0-2, and I can see why. But I haven’t panicked yet.”
Dickerson helped influence the front office’s decision to acquire Irv Pankey, the left tackle who couldn’t agree to terms with the Rams. Pankey helped Dickerson set the NFL single-season rushing record seven years ago, in happier days with the Rams.
The Colts’ offensive line, a reshuffled deck since Dickerson arrived, has been the team’s weakest link.
The addition of Pankey and Bubba Paris, a former San Francisco 49er, is expected to open things for Dickerson. Dickerson’s burden became greater when the team lost versatile Albert Bentley with a major knee injury in last Sunday’s 17-6 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Dickerson is on a strange pace. He leads the Colts in pass receiving through two games with 15 catches for 101 yards after having only 18 receptions last season. He is averaging 62 yards rushing, well below the 100 he averages for his career.
“I haven’t caught this many passes this early since my rookie year,” Dickerson said.
That was in 1983 with the Rams, when he finished with 51 catches and 1,808 rushing yards.
While the Colt offensive line is hardly the league’s best, it might be the largest ever assembled. From left to right, it’s Pankey (315 pounds), Paris (325), Ray Donaldson (300), Bill Schultz (305) and Kevin Call (308).
“There’s a lot of tonnage, a lot of beef on the offensive line,” Raider Coach Art Shell said. “It makes a difference late in the game, with those big people pounding on you.”
The group presents a unique challenge for the Raider defensive front.
“I figure they’re going to come out and pound us,” said 265-pound defensive end Greg Townsend, who leads the Raiders with three sacks.
“We have to try not to get into that toe-to-toe battle with them. We have to try to cut and slash, try to make them move their feet. Because there is no way I can up and push with those guys for four quarters.”
Said Meyer: “You play jaw to jaw with the Raiders, and chances are you’re going to end up with your jaw broken. It’s going to test our manhood.”
Raider Notes
More on Eric Dickerson: With 12,027 rushing yards, he needs 94 to move ahead of Franco Harris into fourth place on the NFL’s all-time list. He needs 713 to move past Harris, Jim Brown and Tony Dorsett. Dickerson trails all-time leader Walter Payton by 4,699 yards.
Colt quarterback Jeff George, the first pick in the 1990 draft, enters the game with a quarterback rating of 68.2, but he is not being blamed for his team’s poor start. “He didn’t miss four field goals,” Coach Ron Meyer said, referring to kicker Dean Biasucci’s performance in the opener. “He didn’t block a first-and-goal play from the one-yard line against Miami when we failed to get in.” . . . Don’t blame the Colts’ defense. It is ranked second overall through two weeks.
Meyer called the loss of running back Albert Bentley because of a knee injury “horrendous.” . . . Bentley’s replacement is former Notre Dame fullback Anthony Johnson. . . . The Raiders lead the series, 3-2. . . . Eight of the nine offensive linemen on the Colts’ roster weigh 300 pounds or more. The exception is guard Brian (Tiny) Baldinger at 278 pounds.
RAIDERS: TODAY’S GAME
Opponent: Indianapolis Colts.
Site: Coliseum.
Time: 1 p.m.
Records: Raiders 1-1, Colts 0-2.
Radio: KFI (640), KMEN (1290) (joined after Dodger game).
TV: None.
Rosters: C16.
