Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney says the team's problem last season was inconsistency. "I know this, we have to get back to playing consistent football, night in and night out," Freeney said. "Every practice we have to make sure we're doing what we need to do. I think we were a little too inconsistent. We would have great games, and then the next game we would play bad. The next game we would play good. The year that we played real good and we ended up in the Super Bowl, we were a great road team. You knew what to expect, and we were winning those games. Last year was too up and down."

Sports Illustrated has released its eighth-annual list of the 50 top-earning American athletes -- factoring in total salary, winnings, endorsements and appearance fees. Three NFL quarterbacks landed in the top 10: Peyton Manning ($38,070,000) of the Colts at No. 4, Matt Ryan ($32,700,000) of the Falcons at No. 8, and Tom Brady ($30,007,280) of the Patriots at No. 9.

The NFL has promised to award the city of Indianapolis another Super Bowl in the future if the current labor unrest results in the canceling of next February's event. NFL senior vice president Frank Supovitz was in town to examine the Super Bowl host committee's plan. "I think any good business or brand wants to put their customers first, and it's something we began to talk about immediately" after the last Super Bowl, he said. "There were some well-documented cases about serving our fans well in Dallas, so that's what this is really about." If the 2012 Super Bowl is canceled, something that has never happened, Supovitz said publicly for the first time that Indy would be assured of getting another Super Bowl if the city wants it. And he said it could also be pushed back a week if the season gets off to a late start. "We have contingency plans on top of contingency plans, as the commissioner has said," Supovitz said. "Actually, we had a contingency built into the bid. So there is flexibility to hold the game on Feb. 12, if necessary. In terms of additional contingencies, Indianapolis would be able to host the Super Bowl as soon as possible in an unoccupied year." The first available year is 2015.

The Colts added another of team vice chairman Bill Polian's sons to their management team, The Indianapolis Star reported Tuesday. Team owner Jim Irsay confirmed Dennis Polian was hired as the Colts' director of football administration, joining his brother, Chris, who is the team's vice president and GM.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has yet to begin throwing the football since his most recent neck procedure. Manning had the procedure on May 23. "It's coming up on three weeks since Manning went under the knife. It's not a big concern that he has yet to resume throwing," writes The Indianapolis Star.

Archie Manning doesn't expect his son Peyton's neck injury to be an issue this coming season. The elder Manning said the Colts quarterback's recovery from neck surgery isn't going as quickly as Peyton had hoped, though he should be ready in time for the start of the season. "It's just been 10 days," the father said. "He's not where he wants to be. It's just something that came up and had to be done, so hopefully it'll work out." Peyton Manning told The Indianapolis Star last month that the procedure was "minimally invasive" and that he expected to make "a quick recovery." The four-time NFL MVP told The Star that the surgery revolved around a disk-related issue in his neck that had created discomfort recently.

The Colts aren't losing any sleep over the neck of Peyton Manning. Manning has had two neck procedures in the last 16 months, but president Bill Polian isn't the least bit concern about the quarterback's future health. "We've got little or no worry," Polian said of Manning. "This was just a minor procedure to relieve a little pressure on the nerve [in Manning's neck]. I told them [Colts officials] to call me if there were any further problems, and no one's called."