“What are the odds?” said coach Tom Coughlin after the team arrived in Arizona on Monday, “I hope that’s the end of it”.

“We had three guys missing last week, and some who were not quite as sick.”

Meanwhille, New England quarterback Tom Brady says he will play despite missing training with ankle trouble.

Brady, seen in a protective boot last week, expects to help the Patriots’ bid to become the second team in the modern era to achieve an unbeaten season.

“This won’t keep me out of this game… It would have to take a helluva lot more than an ankle,” he said.

“It is feeling good. I will be ready to go. It has been a good week.”

The only other team to have won all their games including a Super Bowl were the 1972 Miami Dolphins who went 17-0. The NFL season has since expanded by two games.

“I think we have an incredible opportunity as a team,” Brady added.

“I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished thus far and we have talked as a team that for the rest of our lives we’ll all remember this week, win or lose.

New England completed their 100% regular season by coming from behind to win 38-35 against the Giants, who have since upset Dallas and Green Bay in the play-offs.

New York defender Michael Strahan, one of two players remaining from the Giants team who lost the 2001 Super Bowl to Baltimore, said the thought of preventing a Patriots’ perfect season was extra motivation.

“This is the biggest challenge that you can have in the Super Bowl,” Strahan said. “We have to go against the only 18-0 team ever.

“It’s like Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas. You wake up and you expect that Tyson knocked him out in the first round and you find out Douglas won. That’s what we hope we are.

“If we win, this would be the biggest upset in a lot of ways.”

Football - 137 UNLV Rebels -250 for Game

 Football – 140 Oregon State Beavers -290 for Game

 Football – 167 Iowa Hawkeyes -600 for Game

Football - 170 Oregon Ducks -800 for Game

Football – 72 Wisconsin Badgers -700 for Game

Football – 200 Auburn Tigers -700 for Game

Football - 208 Arizona State Sun Devils -900 for Game

 Football - 223 Texas Tech Red Raiders -340 for Game

 Football - 226 Clemson Tigers +3½ -110 for Game

Baseball - 911 Milwaukee Brewers +140 for Game

 Baseball - 911 Milwaukee Brewers/Chicago Cubs under 7½ -105 for Game

Baseball - 913 St Louis Cardinals/Houston Astros under 8½ -115 for Game

Baseball - 915 Arizona Diamondbacks/San Diego Padres under 8 -105 for Game

Baseball - 927 Detroit Tigers/Kansas City Royals under 9½ -110 for Game

Saturday Sept 8th, 2007 is a day to mark on your calendar! With over 60 NCAA Football games, you’re going to want to stay tuned to FootballSportsNews for all your NCAA predictions, news, and results. Saturday’s schedule is below, with the option to search for tickets from our sponsor, StubHub.

While the Xbox 360 version doesn’t pack the same amount of features or overall depth that the Xbox version does it’s still a truly next-gen football offering that is definitely worth your time and money. The visuals alone, as long as you’re playing on a solid HD set, are worth the sixty bucks at times. The gameplay is fun and addictive and the online mode, while not as deep as a 2K Sports offering would have been, is still fun nonetheless. There’s still room for improvement, but in the end NCAA 08 is as fun and entertaining an offering as we can expect for the series’ first time out on the Xbox 360.

GamePlay -9/10:

There are a few instances of oddities, like players running crossing routes right into one another, but for the most part NCAA 08 is as addictive and heart-pumping as the series has ever been.

Graphics - 8/10:

Wonderfully detailed close-ups are only hampered by a framerate that has a small tendency to start chugging if there’s too much going on. The animation set has been nicely expanded too, now if they could only get rid of those jaggies.

Overall - 8.5/10:

NCAA 08 doesn’t quite have the legs of its past-gen counterpart but there’s still enough to warrant a purchase. The lack of the small things like alternate jerseys and classic teams will sting just a bit. The visuals are the main innovator here. The gameplay has stayed largely unchanged less the new kicking mechanic and a few additions on either side of the ball. The third-person camera perspectives of the Xbox version would have really helped.

NFL opinion:

It would be an understatement to suggest that the Arizona Cardinals expect big things out of their first-round pick, Levi Brown. In fact, it appears like they expect him to be the greatest offensive lineman in the history of the league.

So, where do I get off suggesting that? Well, I base that assumption on Brown’s new six-year, $62 million contract — a deal which is believed to be the richest for any offensive lineman ever in the NFL. That is, of course, if he’s able to reach all the incentives.

I would sure hope he looks forward to playing now that he’s set for the rest of his life and beyond.

When Brown finally enters camp, he’ll begin a battle with Oliver Ross for the starting job at right tackle. Gee, I wonder who’s going to come out of that one on top. No one in their right mind would sit a 62 million dollar man on the bench.

I never want to hear anyone call the Bidwill’s cheap again.

For sports fans in the US, this is the summer of scandal. Baseball, football and basketball: all are in the mire. A steroid-tainted Barry Bonds labours towards the most hallowed record in baseball when half of those who follow the sport wish he would simply disappear into a hole in the ground. Michael Vick, the thrilling quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, is charged with running a dogfighting ring that inflicts unspeakable cruelty on the poor animals bred to take part. And now a top basketball referee is accused of links with the mob and of betting on games in which he took part.

ESPN, the sports cable TV, has even run a poll to determine which of the scandals its viewers find most disturbing. Its findings are instructive.

Bonds’ transgressions come a distant third, at just 15 per cent. Vick, somewhat surprisingly, manages only second place, despite the public outrage and revulsion at the criminal activity with which he is linked. Judged worst of the three, by no less than 45 per cent of respondents, is the gambling of which Tim Donaghy, who has been officiating at NBA games for 13 years, is soon to be charged by the FBI.

On reflection, however, judged through a purely sporting prism, the outcome makes good sense. The allegations against Bonds, as he approaches Hank Aaron’s career home run record of 755, have been around for three years or more. Vick’s extracurricular pursuits, however repulsive, do not affect his on-field performance. But news last week of Donaghy’s betting was not only a bolt from the blue. It calls into question the basic assumption without which competitive sport is meaningless: that the game you are watching is a genuine contest. Instead a terrible suspicion surrounds the sport graced by Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan: has the fix been in all along?

Yes, you could say the same of drugs in baseball, America’s answer to the Tour de France and the scandal that - at least until Vick - had made Bonds America’s most hated sports star. The joyful climate in which the nation awaits his feat may be divined from a recent exchange with the media pack that trails his every step. “You all hate me anyway. I don’t know why you’re here - most of you say whatever nasty things you say about me anyway. And if you really believe all the things you write, why are you talking to me?”

The mood has not been improved by word that the federal grand jury investigating the player for tax evasion and perjury over his steroid denials has just had its mandate extended for six months and a report in at least one US newspaper that prosecutors now believe they have enough evidence to secure an indictment.

Vickhas already been indicted. On Thursday, a Virginia court set a trial date of 26 November, as the player pleaded not guilty to charges that carry a possible six-year jail sentence and a $350,000 (£171,500) fine.

The 18-page indictment sets out in nauseating detail how Vick was present as dogs that didn’t measure up were dealt with - drowned, smashed into the ground, or in one case doused with water and electrocuted. Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, has told Vick to stay away from pre-season training with the Atlanta Falcons, while a former deputy US Attorney General is helping the League decide how to deal with the case. Whatever happens, however, the career of one of the NFL’s most glittering stars - think Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard for a Premiership comparison - is in jeopardy.

But basketball potentially faces the most damage. NFL players, alas, have long been no strangers to police charge sheets, while a cloud has hung over Bonds ever since the Balco drugs scandal broke in 2003. And not only that: the fans may dislike Bonds the man, but they are ambivalent about steroids.

The home run slugger, even with chemical assistance, is still the sport’s biggest draw. The crisis casts doubt on baseball’s most sacred records - but not on its competitive credibility.

Its most enduring disgrace is not drug use, but the Chicago “Black Sox” and the thrown World Series of 1919, when its showcase event was rigged by the gamblers. Baseball will countenance anything, except the merest whiff of betting. It is why Pete Rose has been banned from the sport for life and barred from the Hall of Fame, even though he is the all-time leader in hits. Rose’s sin was to bet on the Cincinnati Reds while he first played for and then managed them in the 1970s and 1980s, even though there is no evidence he manipulated results to line his, or anyone else’s pocket.

Now a similar nightmare faces the NBA. Sports betting in the US - whether in its legal form in Las Vegas and Atlantic City or illegally elsewhere (including, since 2006, the Internet) - is a multibillion dollar business.

Some sports, like boxing, have long been tainted by ties with gambling and organised crime. But since 1919, the “big three” have been clean. Or have they? Every sign is that, as it has struggled to recapture the glories (and the TV ratings) of the Jordan era, basketball has been looking in the wrong direction. Its focus has been on improving the on- and off-court conduct of its players. The NBA might have been better running a rule on the people who run its games.

Donaghy, according to David Stern, the NBA’s commissioner, is a one-off, “an isolated case”. But the normally sublimely self-confident Stern cut a chastened and sombre figure at a press conference this week. It was, he confessed “the most serious situation and the worst situation” in his 23 years in charge of the league. “I can’t believe this is happening to us.” No charges have yet been filed. But matters may get worse when the former referee turns himself in to the federal authorities, probably early next week, and if, as seems likely, he agrees to cooperate with FBI investigators.

As for motive, one can only speculate. Envy perhaps? Though Donaghy was paid $260,000 (£127,000) last year, that sum is barely a week’s wages for some of the petulant stars he manages on court. Or was he simply a compulsive gambler - who had in fact been seen placing bets at an Atlantic City casino back in 2005, in violation of NBA rules?

The real question, though, is not so much whether he gambled. Did he actually fix games, for the benefit of himself or gambling syndicates? A referee certainly has plenty of scope to do so. The most common basketball bet is for or against a “line” set by bookmakers for a game - that one team will win by a certain number of points. “Bulls -5″, for instance, means that the Chicago Bulls (Jordan’s old team) are favoured by five points. Bet on the Bulls and they have to win by more than that for you to win as well. If a flood of bets comes in on one side, the line will be adjusted accordingly.

Another frequent wager is an “over-under” bet; that the combined points total for a quarter, a half, or a whole game will be above or below a predetermined figure. Again, a tide of bets either over or under will cause oddsmakers to shift that figure.

A referee can easily manipulate scores by calling dubious fouls, forcing a team to bench its best players, and allowing the other team extra free-throw scoring opportunities. At least a dozen Donaghy games are under scrutiny, and some possible anomalies have already been noted. Over the past two seasons, he awarded more free throws than any other NBA referee.

According to the sports betting website Pregame.com, the first 15 games of the 2006-2007 season refereed by Donaghy that drew enough bets to move the line 1.5 points or more “were perfect against Las Vegas - meaning the big-money gamblers won 15 times out of 15 on his games”. Although there is no suggestion of wrongdoing, the odds against that happening, claims Pregame.com, are 32,768-1.

For others however, the evidence is less conclusive. Had the discrepancies been that glaring and that frequent, someone would surely have raised a red flag. After all, the NBA monitors every game minutely to make sure fouls have been called correctly. Ultimately, without details only Donaghy and/or any accomplices can provide, nothing is provable in law.

But in terms of faith dented, suspicions aroused and reputations unjustly tarred, Stern is right to talk of “a betrayal of the most sacred trust in professional sports.” After Donaghy, basketball fans will wonder darkly about every referee and every questionable foul call. As for the players, Shaquille O’Neal - center for the Miami Heat and one of the most dominant players of his era - summed up their feelings to the Washington Post last weekend. “How many games did he throw that I played in?” Even if Donaghy is a single rotten apple, and no game-fixing is proved, the damage to basketball will not be quickly undone.

But Stern is not the only major league sports boss who must do some soul-searching. As he wonders whether and how enthusiastically to attend the games at which Bonds might equal and break Aaron’s record (he is two behind on 753 at the time of writing), the baseball commissioner Bud Selig should ask himself how his sport for so long turned a blind eye to steroids. Bond’s late-career power surge was only the culmination of the freakish home run explosion of the late 1990s, which won back fans disgusted by the players’ strike of 1994-1995. The suspicions were glaring. But until Balco left it no choice, baseball’s high command did nothing.

And what of Roger Goodell at the NFL? There had been talk for years that some players were linked to dogfighting, a felony in 48 of the 50 states. How come this was missed amid the disciplinary clampdown on errant NFL players that has already seen one suspended for the entire 2007 season?

But that is just one question unanswered in this amazing summer of sporting scandal.

Michael Vick was due in federal court Thursday to start a legal process that jeopardizes not only his career, but also his freedom.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback was expected to appear at a bond hearing and enter a plea on dogfighting conspiracy charges. Vick is accused with three others of conspiracy involving competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting, and conducting the enterprise across state lines. Federal prosecutors allege the operation — known as Bad Newz Kennels — operated on Vick’s property in rural Surry County.

The grisly allegations detailed in an 18-page indictment sparked protests by animal rights groups at the headquarters of the NFL and the Falcons, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has barred Vick from training camp while the league investigates.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank said the team wanted to suspend Vick for four games, the maximum penalty a team can assess a player, but the NFL asked him to wait. Instead, Blank has told his embattled player to focus on his legal problems, not football.

The Falcons opened their first camp under coach Bobby Petrino on Thursday.

The case began April 25 when investigators conducting a drug search at the home found 66 dogs, including 55 pit bulls, and equipment typically used in dogfighting. Items such as a “rape stand” that holds aggressive dogs in place for mating and a “breakstick” used to pry open a dog’s mouth in a fight were seized.

Vick contended he knew nothing about a dogfighting operation at the home, where one of his cousins lived, and said he rarely visited. He has since declined comment, citing his attorney’s advice.

Attorney Lawrence Woodward of Virginia Beach, who has also represented Allen Iverson and Vick’s younger brother, Marcus, has not returned several phone messages.

Animal rights organizations have seized on the case as an opportunity to raise awareness of the largely underground and always gruesome world of dogfighting, where dogs are trained to fight to the death.

Five hours before Vick’s scheduled arraignment, animal rights activists, supporters of the athlete and the media gathered early Thursday outside the federal courthouse. About 40 people began queuing for a seat in the courtroom or an overflow courtroom.

Some members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals dressed in dog costumes and carried signs, including one with the image of a battered pit bull and the words “Dogfighting Victim.”

A trio of supporters from Boston wearing Vick’s No. 7 jersey and Atlanta Falcons’ hats made the nine-hour trip south to support Vick.

“It was time someone should step up and support him,” said Nick Fontecchio, one of the three.

Downtown workers honked at the gathering crowd as they drove to their offices.

Streets near the courthouse were closed Wednesday night, and dozens of television trucks were already in place near the building. Court security was apparent as the crowd swelled early Thursday.

According to the indictment filed July 17, dogs not killed in the fighting pit were often shot, hanged, drowned or, in one case, slammed to the ground. The document alleges that Vick was consulted before one losing dog was wet down and electrocuted.

It alleges that the dogfighting operation began in 2001, not long after Vick parlayed a dazzling two-year run as the quarterback at Virginia Tech into the first overall selection in the NFL Draft. His first contract was for $62 million.

In 2004, he signed a 10-year, $130 million deal, then the richest in league history.

The indictment alleges the fights offered purses as high as $26,000, and Vick once paid $23,000 to the owner of two pit bulls that had beaten Bad Newz Kennels dogs.

That owner is one of four cooperating witnesses cited in the document.

Charged along with Vick are Purnell A. Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach; Quanis L. Phillips, 28, of Atlanta; and Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton. They all face up to six years in prison, $350,000 in fines and restitution if convicted of both charges.

Last season: 12-4, won AFC South, defeated Kansas City, Baltimore and New England to win AFC and beat Chicago to win Super Bowl XLI

There was a parade through the streets of Indianapolis. A trip to the White House. Banquets, speeches, autograph sessions. And a glorious affair at which the Indianapolis Colts’ diamond-accented rings were presented on a silver platter.

After so much playoff heartbreak in recent years, the Colts were able to taste the spoils of Super Bowl success with one victory lap after another.

Now do it again.

“A Super Bowl run is about the journey,” Pro Bowl left tackle Tarik Glenn said during offseason workouts in June. “Afterward, everybody expects the same thing next year. We’re at the beginning stage of that process. We know how hard it is to get to the top. But we’re at ground zero right now.”

Glenn surprised the Colts in the past week by saying he may retire rather than rejoin the team for an 11th season. Colts president Bill Polian said he hasn’t pressured Glenn, who is entering the final year of his contract and had been looking for an extension, for an official decision, but wants the lineman to resolve the situation before training camp opens on July 28.

UPDATE: Glenn announces his retirement

“I can only tell you he’s clearly thinking this over,” Polian said Monday. “I think he’s weighing the pros and cons. “I’ve told him when he’s ready, obviously sometime before Saturday, let us know and we’ll talk it through.”

The Colts will open training camp with their magnificent trek to the Super Bowl XLI crown, which culminated with the 29-17 victory against the Chicago Bears, decidedly in the rearview mirror.

TABLE: Additions, subtractions in Indianapolis

Just eight teams have repeated as champions since the Super Bowl era began, a history that says much about the challenge that awaits the Colts.

They are the hunted in an ultra-competitive AFC. With the New England Patriots perhaps improving themselves more than any other team in football, a San Diego Chargers squad with most of its personnel intact after an NFL-best 14-2 regular season and other dangerous teams lurking in the conference, the glory of last season will not buy the Colts a “W” during the 2007 season.

This much they know: Complacency won’t cut it.

More than 90% of the players worked out at the team’s headquarters in the offseason program, which was pushed back four weeks to account for the extended run to the Super Bowl. “I think everybody has been pretty level-headed about things,” Polian says. “We’re kind of ‘business as usual.’”

FIND MORE STORIES IN: NFL | Super Bowl | National Football League | Peyton Manning | Indianapolis Colts | Running back | Bill Polian | Tarik Glenn | Mike Blake

In the ever-changing NFL, usual business includes a revolving door. For Super Bowl champs, that is often reflected with competitors willing to pay top dollar to raid rosters. The Colts lost several cogs:

• Both cornerbacks who started in the Super Bowl, Nick Harper and Jason David, left as free agents.

• The top tackler from last year, linebacker Cato June, bolted to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

• Running back Dominic Rhodes was lured away by a fat contract from the Oakland Raiders.

• Brandon Stokley, the No. 3 receiver, must be replaced, too, after signing with the Denver Broncos.

Despite the losses, Polian doesn’t sound worried. All-world quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning and his Pro Bowl receiving duo, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, are back. The offensive line that allowed the NFL’s fewest sacks is intact. And big defensive playmakers such as end Dwight Freeney and safety Bob Sanders are still in the fold.

To replace Stokley, the Colts used their top draft pick on Ohio State’s slot receiver, Anthony Gonzalez. The cornerback posts are expected to be manned by a former No. 1 pick, Marlin Jackson, and a home-grown third-rounder, Kelvin Hayden. Freddie Keiaho, a third-rounder last year, is penciled in as June’s replacement.

And the back to complement 1,081-yard rusher Joseph Addai? Probably DeDe Dorsey, who toiled on the practice squad last year.

“Next man up,” Polian says impassively. “That’s always been our philosophy around here.”

It surely works. Since Polian arrived in 1998, only the Patriots have won as many regular-season games as the Colts (92-52), and no NFL team has secured as many playoff berths. The Colts have advanced to the postseason in seven of the last eight campaigns.

Still, there are always delicate issues, salary-cap headaches and the like that cross Polian’s desk. He just signed Freeney to a long-term deal that liberates the defensive end from the often contentious franchise tag … but it also means Freeney, Manning, Harrison and Wayne are tying up much of Indianapolis’ cap space, leaving Polian with less roster flexibility.

And if Glenn makes the possibility of his retirement a reality, the Colts face the daunting task of finding a replacement for the man who has guarded Manning’s blind side for nine seasons.

The significance of that challenge can’t be overstated. Glenn routinely has drawn jeers from fans for his frequent false starts but has been the linchpin of Manning’s pass protection unit.

Since Manning’s arrival in 1998, the Colts have yielded a league-low 176 sacks in 144 regular-season games. They’ve led or shared the league lead in fewest sacks allowed five times, including in each of the past three seasons.

Among the potential replacements for Glenn are second-year tackle Charlie Johnson, who played in 16 games last season, and rookie Tony Ugoh, whom the Colts selected after trading up to the 42nd pick.

“I always tell all our guys you never know what’s going to happen,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said about the team’s ability to replace players. “We never go into it thinking if we don’t have this person or we don’t have that person, we can’t function.”

Manning, however, who hosted Saturday Night Live, met Queen Elizabeth II during a state dinner at the White House and was the celebrity starter for the Indianapolis 500, remains the team’s most important player and has not eased up on his usual obsessive offseason preparation.

“As long as that man is playing, you’re never going to see him slacking,” Glenn said back in June. “He’s constantly working to get better.”

Polian says injuries represent his top concern — as always. “If we stay healthy, I think we’ll be right back in a position to compete,” he says. “It’s ironic that we won the Super Bowl yet we struggled so much with injuries last year.”

Sanders missed half the season before returning to provide a spark during the postseason, making a huge difference on a defense that ranked last against the run. Tight end Dallas Clark missed a quarter of the year. Departed players such as Stokley, defensive tackle Montae Reagor and safety Mike Doss also missed long stretches of time.

Yet the gritty Colts won it all. It’s no wonder the $5,000 Super Bowl rings awarded to the players included a tiny red ruby that symbolized the blood shed in accomplishing the mission.

Asked what he learned about last season’s team that sticks with him most, Polian says, “The team was mentally tough.”

Now the Colts are poised to discover what they are worth in staying power.

AROUND THE FIELD IN INDIANAPOLIS

Quarterback: Peyton Manning has had three consecutive seasons with a passer rating of at least 100. The Colts maintain he approached the offseason with his customary passion to upgrade his game. Of course, if Manning, who has started 144 consecutive regular-season games, is lost for any significant time, the Colts are cooked. Untested Jim Sorgi is the backup.

Running back: Joseph Addai provided just the punch needed last year as the rookie replacement for Edgerrin James. Yet Dominic Rhodes‘ defection stripped the team of half of its effective 1-2 punch. Simply giving Addai more snaps risks wearing him down. The front-runner for the No. 2 spot? DeDe Dorsey, who, like Rhodes, is explosive and entered the NFL as a free agent.

Wide receiver: Consistent and crafty Marvin Harrison, who turns 35 in August, has had at least 10 touchdowns for eight consecutive seasons and shows no signs of slippage. Reggie Wayne is a star, too. No. 1 pick Anthony Gonzalez is projected as Brandon Stokley’s replacement in the slot.

Tight end: Led by not-always-sure-handed Dallas Clark, the Colts probably use multiple tight ends more than any other NFL team. Battling for the No. 2 role, Bryan Fletcher is a more fluid receiver and Ben Utecht the more imposing blocker.

Offensive line: The Colts allowed an NFL-low 15 sacks in 2006, which, in addition to Manning’s quick release, reflects the cohesion of the Tarik Glenn- Ryan Lilja- Jeff Saturday- Jake Scott- Ryan Diem front wall. Glenn’s potential retirement would leave a huge hole, and makes the second-round pick of Tony Ugoh more intriguing. Charlie Johnson, who played well at the Super Bowl, is also in the wings.

Defensive line: Dwight Freeney had a career-low 5 1/2 sacks in 2006 but is still a premier rusher. Left end Robert Mathis has emerged as lethal. The acquisition last season of tackle Anthony McFarland helps ease the sting of the whiff on Corey Simon.

Linebacker: Cato June led the Colts in tackles last season but left. Enter Freddie Keiaho. Middle linebacker Gary Brackett and Rob Morris, who boosted the run defense in the playoffs, are back.

Secondary: Starting corners Nick Harper and Jason David left, pushing Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden into first-team duty. Will they hold up? Jackson, who played nickel back and was an emergency starter at safety, might be best suited for safety. The expected new nickel is unproven Tim Jennings. There are fewer questions at safety if playmaker Bob Sanders stays healthy. He missed half of last season but energized the defense down the stretch. Antoine Bethea’s surprising rookie impact made safety Mike Doss‘ departure a blip.

Special teams: Clutch kicker Adam Vinatieri takes so much pressure off the offense — his five field goals allowed the Colts to win a road playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens without scoring a touchdown. Hunter Smith returns as the reliable punter. A void exists if Terrence Wilkins isn’t re-signed as the returner. The Colts also need to shore up kick coverage that has been shaky for years.

Coaching staff: Continuity has been a key. Tom Moore has been Manning’s only NFL coordinator, and Howard Mudd is a mainstay for the offensive line. Tony Dungy can tie Tom Landry’s record with a ninth consecutive playoff berth. The significant departure was defensive specialist Leslie Frazier, now the Minnesota Vikings coordinator.

Outlook: A run toward another title seems imminent. The Colts — 60-20 under Dungy with four consecutive division titles — will again be tested by a formidable lineup of challengers. Like last season when they gutted it out through injuries, it will be crucial to peak at the right time.