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Bill Polian’s weekly radio show in 97.1 Hank FM in Indianapolis always produces a lot of quality material for discussion, and we always appreciate that John Oehser takes the time to transcribe it. You’ll find it all here.



Let’s touch on a few of Polian’s points:



Polian: “In terms of this particular game, we weren’t outplayed. We weren’t outhit. We weren’t out-hustled. We weren’t out-coached. The statistics — whatever statistics mean or don’t mean, they mean nothing. We didn’t execute in the critical times and therein lies the story of the game, nothing more, nothing less.”



Kuharsky’s take: Polian repeatedly stressed that there was no fault in preparation, that the outcome of Super Bowl XLIV was about the Saints’ ability to execute and the Colts’ failure to do the same. It must be a coping mechanism for him, because I haven’t heard any criticism about Indy’s preparation.



Polian: “The offensive line, by our standards, did not have a good game. They were outplayed by the Saints’ defensive line, I thought, pretty decisively.”



Kuharsky’s take: Um, didn’t that first quote say “We weren’t outplayed?” I said Tuesday it’s time to consider revamping the O-line and that as Pete Metzelaars takes over for Howard Mudd, he needs to have more physical options. The Saints D-line isn’t an all-star cast. It shouldn’t have been able to win so many plays.



Polian: “Our special teams, in terms of handing the ball — both in the return game and on the onside kick were outplayed by the Saints. Therein lay the result. It had nothing to do with strategy or preparedness of toughness or effort. All of that was there. We just didn’t execute.”



Kuharsky’s take: Um, didn’t that first quote say “We weren’t outplayed?” For too long the Colts have been content with average special teams. I’ve gotten to know Ray Rychleski, the special teams coach who just completed his first year, a bit and I think he’s good at his job. He needs more to work with. Start with some sort of explosive possibility at the return spots. The kicker situation needs resolution so the team has the comfort level there it has with Pat McAfee, the strong young punter and kickoff man.



Polian: “I made it clear to Gary (Brackett) on Sunday night that we very much want him back and will do what is necessary within all reasonable bounds to get him back. It may take a while, as it did with (center) Jeff Saturday last year, because you have to work through budgets.”



Kuharsky’s take: The Colts are usually tight against the cap. But we are heading to no cap. If they are fair, they should be able to keep Brackett. His would be a big hole to fill.



A final thought: Out-played, out-executed, out-prepared — all that stuff is pretty meaningless in the big picture where all that matters is out-scored.

Michael Vick admitted that he was “complacent” and “somewhat lazy” when he was playing for the Falcons.

With former Redskins guard Russ Grimm being voted into the Hall of Fame last Saturday, we’ve heard a lot of great stories about him. But Redskins blogger Matt Terl pulled back the curtain on the voting process Tuesday by visiting with Grimm’s presenter, David Elfin.



The former Skins beat writer for the Washington Times (when it still had a sports section) was refreshingly honest about what led to Grimm finally making the final cut. And he talked about how difficult it is to quantify an offensive lineman’s worth to a team. Elfin set out to talk to coaches and players who had faced Grimm over the years. And obviously the strategy paid off:

“What I chose to do this year was go to people who opposed Russ. I don’t mean the voters, I mean the people who played and coached against him,” said Elfin. “Because if they had good things to say, that would be more decisive than anything [Joe Bugel] or [Joe] Gibbs or anybody on the Redskins could say.

“And Randy White said that Russ Grimm was one of the best guards he ever faced. Bill Parcells said that Mike Munchak was the only one that he’s ever seen in his time who was better than Russ — and he was on the Patriots when they had John Hannah.

“Harry Carson said that Russ always gave him a headache and was the glue that held the Hogs together. And Matt Millen said basically that he was the smartest offensive lineman he had ever seen. So that was the basic gist. Those four people, I think, were pretty decisive.”

Terl also asked Elfin to talk about who’s next for the Redskins in the Hall of Fame:

“For me, if you wanted to name Redskins who are deserving, Chris Hanburger is number one,” says Elfin. “Nine Pro Bowls, there’s no question. I would say Len Hauss is second, with, like, seven Pro Bowls. And then you’d probably throw [Dave] Butz into the group with Jake and Pat Fischer and Larry Brown and … off the top of my head, those’d be the lead guys.”

The one name missing from that group in my mind is wide receiver Gary Clark. Who’s next in your minds? As hard as this is to believe, defensive end Dexter Manley only went to one Pro Bowl. But he was named to the All-Pro team twice and had 103.5 sacks. That sack total is higher than Charles Haley’s. Defensive end Charles Mann went to four Pro Bowls but he only finished with 83 career sacks, 82 with the Redskins. But he did play on three Super Bowl-winning teams.

I caught up with Floyd Little as he soaks in life as one of the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.



The running back – who was the face of the Denver Broncos from 1968-75 – was elected into the Hall of Fame on Saturday in what was likely his final chance to get elected.



Little is still in Miami, as he and the other newly-elected members are going through a Hall of Fame orientation. Tuesday, Little was measured for his Hall of Fame jackets and had photos taken for his bust for this summer’s enshrinement ceremony. Little took time out of his hectic schedule to play five questions:



How did you celebrate your election Saturday night? “We had a group of 11 friends and family who went to a steakhouse. My old friend, baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Murray, was in Miami and he joined us. We had champagne and cake and we partied big time.”



How many calls of congratulations have you gotten since your election? My voice mail holds 60 messages and it is full. I have 150 emails. Many college teammates from Syracuse are calling and my Denver teammates are calling me. Two of the most special calls were from Vice President Joe Biden and Hall of Famer Joe Greene. He said I was the best player he ever played against. Joe Biden and I went to Syracuse together. He wants to come to the Hall of Fame ceremony.



Who is going to be your Hall of Fame presenter? “My son, Marc. He was the first guy to write a letter to the Hall of Fame asking why I wasn’t in. I told him if I ever made it, he’d be standing up there with me.”



Who will be the next Denver player elected? “It should either be Randy Gradishar or Shannon Sharpe.”



What should the Broncos do with receiver Brandon Marshall? “The tail can’t wag the dog. He didn’t play in the team’s last game but he played in the Pro Bowl. But I think they have to find a way to keep him. He’s the best receiver in the league, in my opinion. They have to find a way make it work.”

After re-watching most of Super Bowl XLIV, I was left wondering whether the goats and gaffes beyond Peyton Manning‘s late interception got off a bit easy. So let’s revisit a couple:



Hank Baskett mangled the onside kick. He was wide to the side that Thomas Morstead sent the surprise second half kickoff to and took a giant step and a half back before realizing what was going on. Cody Glenn, who was beside him, and Ramon Humber, who was central, also reacted poorly. But Baskett’s the hands guy of that trio. He recovered and got a clean look at the kick before any Saints player arrived, sprawling forward and letting the ball bounce off his face mask. A horrific effort.



Another special-teams error came from Chad Simpson. The guy is not an explosive returner. If he’s not positive he’s getting to the 20 or beyond, he better take a touchback. So what is he doing at the end of the third quarter bringing out a kickoff from 4 yards deep when the best he could manage was the 11-yard line?



Reggie Wayne’s effort on two big passes seemed questionable. He and Manning can praise Tracy Porter endlessly, but Wayne seemed to give up on the route. He allowed Porter to gain position on a pattern analysts say he’s got to be sure continues and crosses the corner who’s in coverage. The move he made before he made his break didn’t look like much and the cut wasn’t very sharp. TV only showed it for a quick second, but Manning went to Wayne before walking off the field, head down, and said something to Wayne who kind of shook his head no and shrugged.



The Colts would have had to retrieve an onside kick and scored another touchdown, but Wayne also botched a TD catch near the end of the game. I asked him what happened there and he said he wasn’t in the end zone and was trying to ensure he had proper depth as he made the catch to make sure it was a score.



Maybe he was slow playing it, but Wayne seemed almost disinterested in his crossing route from wide to the left to between the hashes, and as the ball went through his hands, I didn’t think he was worrying about his depth, I thought he was worrying about Scott Shanle preparing to pop him.



Two other things of interest at this point in the game: On the first timeout, Manning signaled for it, then tried to change his mind. I was surprised by his indecision. And the third-down run call at 1:10 is just silly. The Colts couldn’t afford the 21 seconds they lost when Joseph Addai was stuffed.

After re-watching most of Super Bowl XLIV, I was left wondering whether the goats and gaffes beyond Peyton Manning‘s late interception got off a bit easy. So let’s revisit a couple:



Hank Baskett mangled the onside kick. He was wide to the side that Thomas Morstead sent the surprise second half kickoff to and took a giant step and a half back before realizing what was going on. Cody Glenn, who was beside him, and Ramon Humber, who was central, also reacted poorly. But Baskett’s the hands guy of that trio. He recovered and got a clean look at the kick before any Saints player arrived, sprawling forward and letting the ball bounce off his face mask. A horrific effort.



Another special-teams error came from Chad Simpson. The guy is not an explosive returner. If he’s not positive he’s getting to the 20 or beyond, he better take a touchback. So what is he doing at the end of the third quarter bringing out a kickoff from 4 yards deep when the best he could manage was the 11-yard line?



Reggie Wayne’s effort on two big passes seemed questionable. He and Manning can praise Tracy Porter endlessly, but Wayne seemed to give up on the route. He allowed Porter to gain position on a pattern analysts say he’s got to be sure continues and crosses the corner who’s in coverage. The move he made before he made his break didn’t look like much and the cut wasn’t very sharp. TV only showed it for a quick second, but Manning went to Wayne before walking off the field, head down, and said something to Wayne who kind of shook his head no and shrugged.



The Colts would have had to retrieve an onside kick and scored another touchdown, but Wayne also botched a TD catch near the end of the game. I asked him what happened there and he said he wasn’t in the end zone and was trying to ensure he had proper depth as he made the catch to make sure it was a score.



Maybe he was slow playing it, but Wayne seemed almost disinterested in his crossing route from wide to the left to between the hashes, and as the ball went through his hands, I didn’t think he was worrying about his depth, I thought he was worrying about Scott Shanle preparing to pop him.



Two other things of interest at this point in the game: On the first timeout, Manning signaled for it, then tried to change his mind. I was surprised by his indecision. And the third-down run call at 1:10 is just silly. The Colts couldn’t afford the 21 seconds they lost when Joseph Addai was stuffed.