Over the last weekend the Horseshoe had to cut down to a 53 man roster. Since there were 94 players in camp that meant 41 would have to go. There were really no surprises here. Pass rusher John Simon was released. Simon had been signed from the Houston Texans in 2016. He was an effective rightsider linebacker and team leader in the 3/4 defense that the Colts were employing at the time. This year the team switched back to a 4/3 set and placed Simon at defensive end where he was less effective and the team was overstocked with players. Simon will be picked up before long by a team with a 3/4 defensive scheme. It would not surprise me to see Simon with the Texans again.
So the next stop is Monday Night at Lucas Oil with the Boys in Blue meeting the Bengals. I know that the team met and beat Cincinnati but this time it’s for real. The NFL power rankings has the Colts ranked 32 and last in terms of winning potential, so it will be interesting to see the team’s progress, or lack thereof, as the season unfolds. Thursday night the regular season officially begins and it’s for the birds. The Eagles meet the Falcons. Let the games begin.
Portland IndyCar Race
Takuma Sato drove to his 3rd career IndyCar victory at Grand Prix of Portland after an altercation on lap 7 eliminated several top contenders from charging for the possible win. Pole sitter Will Power had to have extensive repairs to his car and rejoin the race seven laps down. Scott Dixon also had pit repairs, but drove hard to finish 5th and maintain his point lead over Alexander Rossi who finished 8th.This was the first IndyCar race at the Portland Oregon International Raceway in 11 years and the racers made it a memorable return. It’s on to the Sonoma Raceway Road course in Sonoma CA for the final event of the season on September 16.
Oh, BTW veteran driver Carlos Munoz has replaced Robert Wickens on the Schmidt/Peterson racing team. Munoz was the 2013 Indy 500 rookie of the year and won the 2015 Detroit Grand Prix.
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