The Top Ten Indianapolis Colts (Pre-1998) - #9: Jeff Herrod, Inside Linebacker (1988-1996, 1998)

Drafted in the 9th round of the 1988 draft, not much was expected out of Jeff Herrod.  What the Colts and their fans got was nine solid years of middle linebacking excellence.  He was a Team Captain for almost his entire time here and lasted through FOUR head coaches (Ron Meyer, Ted Marchibroda, Jim Mora, and Lindy Infante).

He was a bit undersized and was considered a bit slow, but just about every time you looked at the stats at the end of the season you would find him at the top of the tackling statistics.  Jeff was a fan favorite and all around good guy.














The Top Ten Indianapolis Colts (Pre-1998) - #10: Barry Krauss, Inside Linebacker (1979-1988)

The Top Ten Indianapolis Colts (Pre-1998) - #10: Barry Krauss, Inside Linebacker (1979-1988)

Barry Krauss went from being the star of the 1979 Sugar Bowl for Alabama to a very poor Colts team.  He was a big and mobile inside linebacker who played very well for the Colts for nine years.  He was a good leader and was popular with the community.  I think that in a larger market Barry would have been considered one of the better linebackers in the league.  He manned the middle alongside Cliff Odom to form a solid inside linebacker tandem for a few years.

Barry Krause - looking for someone to collide with!

He tore his knee up early in the 1986 season and was lost for the season.  To add to his troubles he contracted a staff infection from his surgery that caused him to lose 50 lbs of his muscle mass.


Barry was back for the 1987 season about twenty pounds lighter than opening day the previous year.






I will always remember Barry as the best linebacker on a strong unit that the Colts had during those years.

New feature: The Top Ten Indianapolis Colts (Pre-1998)

I was thinking about doing a article on the top ten Colts of the Indianapolis era, but I decided that it would be dominated by players from the time Bill Polian joined the team in 1998.


There were a lot of great and beloved players who played for our Colts before then - even if as a team we did not have a lot of success.


In terms of my criteria, first off I am NOT a stats guy.  I don't care about stats - stats are for people who don't understand football.


My major considerations are how long they were here and what kind of impact on the team *and* the fanbase they had while they were here.  Bonus points for a player who brought national recognition to the team.


I do plan to do another list for the players from 1998 to present at some time in the future.


Hopefully you will enjoy it!  Feel free to share who you think should be on the list - I promise that it will have no effect on me whatsoever, but I'd like to see what others think.


I'll put direct links to each position as they are posted:


#10: Barry Krauss, Inside Linebacker (1979-1988)
#9: Jeff Herrod, Inside Linebacker (1988-1996, 1998)