NAPOLIAN APOLOGIZES
Tom Curran of NBCSports.com reports that Colts president Bill Polian apologized earlier this month for shoving a Jets employee on October 1.
Per Curran, Polian discussed the matter with Jets G.M. Mike Tannenbaum and Ray Anderson, the league's senior V.P. of football operations shortly after the incident, and Polian issued a written apology.
(Maybe something like: "I'm f--king sorry, you worthless piece of sh-t.")
Curran contacted Anderson about the incident, who said "no comment" and abruptly hung up. (Real smooth, Ray.)
Meanwhile, Curran reports that the Patriots have twisted Napolian's tail by asking the league to ensure the safety of team employees during Indy's visit to New England next month. Recently, the Colts asked the league to talk to the Pats about improving the condition of the turf on their home field.
MORE NAPOLIAN ANECDOTES
After Jay Glazer of FOX broke the story regarding the incident in which Polian grabbed a Jets employee by the lapels and threw him against a wall, we put out a call to all agents for stories regarding Polian's past antics.
Here's a little bit of what we heard.
One agent opined that Polian is a "prickly old f--k," and another one compared him to Jack Nicholson's character in A Few Good Men.
Several agents told us that, in their opinion, the entire front office, top to bottom, is filled with cantankerous employees who regard all agents as adversaries. When one agent called a Polian colleague to inquire as to how a client was doing in training camp, the Colts employee said it's not his job to "wipe [the agent's] ass."
Another common theme is that Polian and crew are regarded as making every issue more contentious than it needs to be. Consider, for example, the placement of defensive tackle Corey Simon on the non-football injury/illness list. The consensus in league circles is that the team simply didn't want to pay Simon, so it opted to cut him off -- and to force him to pursue his money.
We've also heard that Polian often reacts angrily to questions posed to him by callers to his radio show. Also, consider this clip from an appearance on WFAN from the days following the Colts' playoff loss to the Steelers. It starts off cordially, but flashes of that temper come through once the hosts begin to ask tough questions about whether quarterback Peyton Manning had any blame for the defeat.
NAPOLIAN STRIKES AGAIN
Coming off of their bye week, the Indianapolis Colts list a whopping 21 players as questionable for Sunday's game against the Redskins.
That's nearly 40 percent of the entire roster.
Under NFL rules, the designation of "questionable" means that the player has a 50-50 chance of playing. And with so many players currently a 50-50 proposition, it's virtually impossible for the Redskins -- or anyone else -- to figure out which of the guys are actually hurt.
Many league insiders would say that it's not surprising, since it's just another example of the way that Colts president Bill Polian does whatever he wants, without consequence. Remember that report from Jay Glazer of FOX regarding allegations that Polian had thrown a Jets employee against a wall? Word is that nothing has been done about it, and nothing likely will.
