Colt Tethered to the Bench

FOXBORO--Former Harvard All-American guard Roger Caron returned to a football field in New England Sunday for the first time in over a year.

A lot had changed.

Last year he wore the crimson and white of the Harvard. Now he wore the space-age blue and white of the Indianapolis Colts.

Last year he played in front of 10,000 cheering Harvard students and friends. Now some 58,000-plus crazies were on hand to root against the Norwell native and his team.

And last year he had been the star, the leader of the Crimson offensive line which paved the way for a Harvard rushing game that averaged 251 yards per game This year he stood on the sidelines, his horseshoed helmet tucked under his right arm, waiting for a chance to show his family and friends that he had finally made it to the big time.

It was a chance that never came.

The Colts got 44 of their 45 players into the game Sunday.

Everyone but the Harvard boy.

But for Roger Caron, it was still a homecoming.

"It was good to see all my friends here," Caron said after the Patriots clobbered the visiting Colts, 34-15. "A lot of friends from home as well as school were here."

"I wanted to get in today," Caron--who has played in three or four games this year--added. "But our lines are playing well. Usually you don't get to play unless someone's not playing well or someone gets hurt."

Actually, the Indianapolis line, along with the rest of the Indianapolis offense, is struggling this year. The Colts have topped 20 points only twice in 10 games this year, and the offensive line allowed six sacks Sunday.

But this is designed to be a learning year for Caron, who quit the Crimson squad in his sophomore year only to come back to the team the following fall.

"It's not like in college where they play everyone," Caron said. "[In the NFL] they play only the starters."

"This year is going to be tough [for Roger]," Colts Offensive Line Coach Tom Lovat said. "We want to give him a good off-season and get him into a lot of pre-season games next year and get him some game experience."

Spring Forward, Fall Back

Lovat said that Caron's Harvard football background left him at a disadvantage compared to other rookie linemen. The lack of spring practice combined with the ten game seasons (most college teams play 11) left Caron "very inexperienced."

But the Colts obviously saw something they liked when they chose Caron in the fifth round (117th player overall) of last spring's draft. He was the first offensive lineman chosen by the Colts.

"He played in the East-West game [a college all-star game] last year and had a good second half," Lovat said. "We figured if he could make such an improvement between halves [Caron had a bad first half], we could work with him."

"I'm learning a lot even when I'm not in the game," Caron said while being kidded by his teammates about his background and vocabulary.

The 6-ft., 5-in., 270-1b. lineman is listed as the second string right and left guard, but is unsure when his opportunity to play will come. "It's hard to say," Caron said, "both guards are playing well."

It is unclear whether the presence of the two starters--both of whom are larger than your average Mack truck--on either side of Caron's locker as he was speaking affected his word choice.

"It's a big change," Caron added about sitting on the bench. "Here you have to approach it the same way as if you're going to play."

"He's tough young man," Lovat said, "bright, he's got good test scores..."

LSATs? GREs? MCATs?

"No," Lovat clarified, "On our strength tests."

A lot really has changed in the life of Roger Caron.