ColtsSpeak: David Seiter

PhilB: How are you feeling about the Colts and what they’ve done in the offseason?

David: I think they’ve greatly improved the team. We also benefit from the fact that Tennessee hasn’t done much of improving, they’ve just kind of maintained. And of course Houston has lost some key pieces and I don’t see Jacksonville making a push this year. I really think the (AFC South) division is ours to take. We still have some pieces we need to improve. Particularly with the release of (Chicago tight end) Trey Burton, maybe the Colts look at somebody like him to fill in for the loss of (Eric) Ebron.

PhilB: GM Chris Ballard reiterated he won’t push the envelope on drafting a quarterback. I took that to mean unless there’s a guy they really want right where they want him, they’re not going to push it.

David: I guess I took it to mean that we’re not going to trade up to get one, we’re not going to reach, but if one drops down and it’s a guy we like, we’ll take ‘em.

PhilB: You put it better than I did. How do you feel about that?

David: I think that’s the smart move. I agree with the philosophy. You have seen teams reach and miss. How many times has Jacksonville done that? I like the plan. We have a decent quarterback with Philip Rivers, even if he’s on the downside of his career. We still have the best backup in the NFL with Jacoby Brissett. And I think they still want to see what Chad Kelly can bring. So I don’t know that there’s a rush for this team to draft a quarterback.

PhilB: What other thoughts do you have on the draft?

David: Obviously for our team, wide receiver is going to be a focus. That’s our most glaring need. I think we did some great work at fixing the gaps in the defensive line as well as getting some depth at cornerback. So I think offense is probably going to be our primary focus. And I think we’re going to see some players slip. That 34 pick is a great location for us.

PhilB: Do you have your eyes on a specific wide receiver?

David: I don’t. I’ve seen a lot of wide receivers that have been tied to us. Most of them look pretty good to me as well. But I think we just take the best wide receiver at that 34 position when it comes open.

PhilB: Yeah, I’ve gone through about six of them, from Tee Higgins to Chase Claypool. I don’t think I’d be upset with any one of them. I guess the one thing I hope for, I want to see somebody with size. The Colts don’t need another speedy, little guy. I want a guy whose physical. Maybe that’s the Reggie Wayne envy coming out in me. ‘Reg’ might be the last really good big receiver we’ve had.

David: And that plays to Philip’s strengths as well.

PhilB: How many times with the Chargers, and it was a concern I had about him, he threw a lot of jump balls. Great players that he had there went up and got it for him.

David: That’s why I wouldn’t mind seeing somebody like Trey Burton.

PhilB: Any other spots that need to be reinforced?

David: I’d like to see them plan for (offensive left tackle) Anthony Castonzo’s replacement.

PhilB: I would, too.

David: Whether we do that with the second pick in the second round or wait until the third round, I wouldn’t mind expending some serious capital there to make sure we get that replacement.

PhilB: Yeah, because you don’t know if two years (on his new contract) represents his swan song.

David: I think this is probably Castonzo’s last contract.

PhilB: How old are you, David?

David: I turn 50 on April 23rd.

PhilB: Happy early 50th birthday.

David: Thanks, I’m hoping for a good draft as a birthday present.

PhilB: You said you started out as a Colts fan when Peyton Manning arrived. It’s hard not to think back to what we had with Manning in that era. That was a lot of fun, wasn’t it?

David: It really was. He was a special player. I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times when he would be around the city. Just a class act, all the way around.

PhilB: Any favorite players or moments from a game you would like to share?

David: In 2003, I was in Iraq as a soldier there.

PhilB: Thank you for your service.

David: Thank you. That was when Peyton led that Monday Night Football comeback at Tampa Bay. Because it was a night game, I actually got up early in the morning over there because were seven hours ahead. And when I say watch, I was on CBSSportsline.com watching the little helmets go across the screen. People thought I was crazy. It’s like 5:30 in the morning and I’m cheering for a little helmet going across the screen. I loved that game even though I never got to see it other than the helmet.

PhilB: I was at that game. Unforgettable comeback.

David: The other big memory was last season, when we played at Tennessee and I took my 10-year-old son to that game and it was his first live Colts game. And it was hot. It was probably one of the hottest games they’ve had down there at Tennessee. We toughed it out.

PhilB: You got a Week 2 win.

David: We did. I kept asking all the fans, ‘When do they close the dome down here?’

PhilB: Anything else stand out about your time in Iraq?

David: I was working with a colonel from Louisiana. He was a big New Orleans Saints fan and I was a Colts fan. We set up what we called ‘Operation Touchdown,’ where we invited two Baghdad orphanages to bring out their kids to a stadium and we taught them the sport of American football. We reached out to both the Colts and Saints organizations, and both were very generous to donate shirts. It was a great event. That year, the Colts beat the Saints pretty handily.

PhilB: That was when Peyton threw six touchdown passes in his hometown.

David: I was able to rub it in to the colonel, that’s for sure. When we reached out to the organizations and told people back home what we were doing, some church group from Virginia sent us a bunch of Green Bay Packers hats.

PhilB: Worried about the coronavirus pandemic impacting the NFL season?

David: I hope it starts on time. I’m still holding out hope. The fact that communities are already canceling Fourth of July celebrations concerns me. But I think football, much like how it did after 9/11, can unify us again to getting back to normal. I hope it’s there for us come this late summer, early fall. Maybe that’s our transition to getting back to normal.

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