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Week 12 Colts Offseason (My best to date)


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Here is my updated Colts Free Agency and Draft....and what I think should be done.

Free agency - Indy trades DE Robert Mathis to the Carolina Panthers for their 2013 3rd round pick. (I may get some hate on this, but Mathis hasnt really wowed me as a OLB in the 3-4. He fits better as a DE in a four man front. Carolina needs another pass rusher opposite Charles Johnson, and we get good value for one of the better 4-3 pass rushers.)

Indy releases the following players

-OLB Dwight Freeney

-CB Cassius Vaughn

CB -Darius Butler

-NT Antonio Johnson

-WR Donnie Avery

(Notice I had them resigning Moala, Powers, Avery, and Nevis. I think they all can be kept for cheap contracts and will be needed. Moala is pretty good at 3-4 DE and can start there, Powers can play the nickel, and Nevis is good at playing DT on passing downs when we run the 4-3 on certain downs. Plus we wouldnt get much for these guys in a trade.)

Indy signs free agents

- OLB Connor Barwin

- CB Sam Shields

- WR Danny Amendola

- CB Dominique Rodgers Cromartie

- Veteran NT. Just not sure who's set to be available

(OLB Connor Barwin fits great in this defense, and we get to take away from a division rival, Shields could be an underrated signing, Amendola replaces Collie in the slot, and Cromartie is not a good fit in Philly's defense and is better man to man. And bringing in a vet NT to share time with Chapman would be helpful. Again, I wouldnt sign these guys if they are going to cost big contracts, so I made these decisions with that in mind.)

2013 NFL Draft

1st round(21st pick)

*Indy trades down to the early 2nd and gets a 3rd round pick in return

2nd round(via trade)- SS Matt Elam (Very instintive safety who has big upside. I could see a 1 or 2 other safeties getting drafted before Elam, due to his size, but he is built compact and can play the duties of a SS. We now have the potential to have a great secondary.)

3rd(via Mathis trade)- OG Larry Warford, Kentucky (Gives us a very good OG who can be a road grader and also has good athleticism for his size at 6-3, 335. Id much rather get Warford than taking a OG in the 1st round in Warmack.)

3rd(via trade down)- DT/DE Shariff Floyd, Florida (Good motor guy who plays physical, and could share time with both Moala and Redding at DE right away. Could be a very good player in a few years.)

3rd- OLB Sean Porter, Texas A&M (Similar build to Von Miller, Porter has good speed and ability to beat OTs. He can play right away opposite Connor Barwin, sharing time with Jerry Hughes.)

Rest of draft - Best player available or trading picks for better 2014 picks.

What are your thoughts?

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Mathis has played 37.5% of the games he played last year (16) and his stats are still pretty awesome.

2011 - 43 Tackles, 9.5 Sacks, 3 Forced Fumbles

2012 - 20 Tackels, 6 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble

I wouldn't trade away our best defensive player...

Free Agency:

I don't think Texans will let Barwin test FA. As for the rest...meh. Doesn't seem like we got that much better.

Draft :

Now...of course this is all subjective, but...here is my feedback.

-I'm not sure I'd understand the logic if a team traded a late 1st round pick for their early 2nd and 3rd first of all...not getting much value added.

-Matt Elam is the best S in the draft at this point. I don't see him lasting until this second round. He has a first round grade.

-Sharrif Floyd is awesome but also a player with a late 1st round/2nd round grade. Not projected to last until the 3rd.

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I want Vollmer at RT, and I think Cary Williams is a free agent this off season, I'd like him even as a nickel back. I love Elam, he has been a beast this year, but I doubt that he will still be there come day 2 of the draft.

be interesting what happens with vollmer. i don't see the patriots letting him go, yet i not sure the market will be great for a 6'8 tackle who has had two back surgeries. think he missed thursday game with back problems.

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I like the structure of your ideas, if that makes sense, but not many of the specific players.... I could see a Mathis trade for a third rounder when he starts to lose a step, but I don't see that happening, honestly... he will be even better with a year in the system under his belt...

I am not a big fan of DRC, especially at the salary he will command, but we really need to shore up our secondary along with our O-line... which you have not really addressed here... I would ship Powers and keep Butler and try to sign Shields.

I don't think we should go after a slot guy like Amendola because LaVon and T.Y. are prototypical slot guys... I'd like to see us hold on to Avery and find Reggie's replacement in a couple years, but not so late that Reggie won't be able to train him. Maybe Mike Wallace is the answer here.

I like the draft if we can get an O-lineman in FA, maybe instead of a NT... need a stud SS and OLB to replace Freeney... Don't know where the prospects will end up on the board, but we are so thin at so many spots that we will be pretty free to take BPA through most of the draft... I will be judging Grigs on his FA grabs this offseason more than anything else... it could be the difference between being cap and talent starved in a couple years and reclaiming our rightful place at the top of the div. for years to come...

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There's been a lot of bad-mouthing of DRC around here for weeks....

For what it's worth, about a week to 10 days ago, I came across a story about the Eagles other corner, A.A. (I'm not going to try and spell it) and in the story it said that while A.A. has had a very poor year, DRC has had a very good year and the Eagles would love to sign him to a new contract.

So, I don't know where the DRC is not very good talk came from, but I don't know that it has much basis in fact.....

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Resign

1.A.Q Shipley (Our starting Center Satele has been dealing with injuries quite a bit this year and pre injury did not look good but has played a little better as of late) still when Shipley has been called upon he has been able to handle his own out there and has looked good on several occasions

2.Fili Moala-While has not been a world beater he has played pretty decent more often then not, likely not the answer going forward but we dont have the answer behind him either and we have bigger needs at this point that need to be addressed,

3.Antonio Johnson-While Chapman if healthy and can handle his "business" at Nose Tackle will likely be the starter going forward, Mookie has held his own at Nose and would be a good rotational Nose for the defense

4.Donnie Avery-He is going to be 29 by the time next season rolls around which given the position is still young and he has shown good hands this year when called on, not great hands but he has been a serious weapon while being a good route runner, He also has game changing speed

5.Matt Overton-No need in creating an unnecessary hole at a position that goes largely unnoticed until they screw up, he is young and comes cheap by NFL standards

6.Darius Butler-Has made some good plays since starting. 2 Picks and a forced fumble, may not be the answer at the #2 Corner going forward but beast the alternative in Powers

7.Josh Gordy-Struggled early and often in the beginning, I dont think will ever be a starter at Corner but is decent to have as depth

8.Pat Mcafee-Our best special teams player all around, enough said

9.Winston Justice-Not a starter in my opinion but has shown some good and some bad this year. Not a bad option for depth

10.Moise Fokou-has played alright when called upon, nothing spectactular, easily can be exposed in coverage like Conner, Fokou does have a forced fumble this year and a sack and may just be our hardest hitting Interior Linebacker

11.Drew Stanton-I dont see him coming back next year ( I dont see him getting a staring job anywhere), his deal was only for a year so leads me to believe ihe wont last in Indy although decent QB depth would be nice, resign if can

12.Linkenbach-Filled in well at Guard this year, Could even say he has been our best interior O Lineman and its not really even been close, he could be depth going forward if we sign or draft a Guard going forward, if not I have no problem with him sticking as starter at Left Guard although prefer drafting Warmack or Bailey

Released

Freeney

Green

Geathers

Hills

Tevasue

Vaughn

Hickman

Harvey(I like him though)

Colts sign

Jairus Byrd or Kenny Phillips

Tracy Porter or Brent Grimes

William Beatty

Ropati Pitoitua

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Resign

1.A.Q Shipley (Our starting Center Satele has been dealing with injuries quite a bit this year and pre injury did not look good but has played a little better as of late) still when Shipley has been called upon he has been able to handle his own out there and has looked good on several occasions

2.Fili Moala-While has not been a world beater he has played pretty decent more often then not, likely not the answer going forward but we dont have the answer behind him either and we have bigger needs at this point that need to be addressed,

3.Antonio Johnson-While Chapman if healthy and can handle his "business" at Nose Tackle will likely be the starter going forward, Mookie has held his own at Nose and would be a good rotational Nose for the defense

4.Donnie Avery-He is going to be 29 by the time next season rolls around which given the position is still young and he has shown good hands this year when called on, not great hands but he has been a serious weapon while being a good route runner, He also has game changing speed

5.Matt Overton-No need in creating an unnecessary hole at a position that goes largely unnoticed until they screw up, he is young and comes cheap by NFL standards

6.Darius Butler-Has made some good plays since starting. 2 Picks and a forced fumble, may not be the answer at the #2 Corner going forward but beast the alternative in Powers

7.Josh Gordy-Struggled early and often in the beginning, I dont think will ever be a starter at Corner but is decent to have as depth

8.Pat Mcafee-Our best special teams player all around, enough said

9.Winston Justice-Not a starter in my opinion but has shown some good and some bad this year. Not a bad option for depth

10.Moise Fokou-has played alright when called upon, nothing spectactular, easily can be exposed in coverage like Conner, Fokou does have a forced fumble this year and a sack and may just be our hardest hitting Interior Linebacker

11.Drew Stanton-I dont see him coming back next year ( I dont see him getting a staring job anywhere), his deal was only for a year so leads me to believe ihe wont last in Indy although decent QB depth would be nice, resign if can

12.Linkenbach-Filled in well at Guard this year, Could even say he has been our best interior O Lineman and its not really even been close, he could be depth going forward if we sign or draft a Guard going forward, if not I have no problem with him sticking as starter at Left Guard although prefer drafting Warmack or Bailey

Released

Freeney

Green

Geathers

Hills

Tevasue

Vaughn

Hickman

Harvey(I like him though)

Colts sign

Jairus Byrd or Kenny Phillips

Tracy Porter or Brent Grimes

William Beatty

Ropati Pitoitua

I am not sure about the Gordy resigning

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Resign

1.A.Q Shipley (Our starting Center Satele has been dealing with injuries quite a bit this year and pre injury did not look good but has played a little better as of late) still when Shipley has been called upon he has been able to handle his own out there and has looked good on several occasions

2.Fili Moala-While has not been a world beater he has played pretty decent more often then not, likely not the answer going forward but we dont have the answer behind him either and we have bigger needs at this point that need to be addressed,

3.Antonio Johnson-While Chapman if healthy and can handle his "business" at Nose Tackle will likely be the starter going forward, Mookie has held his own at Nose and would be a good rotational Nose for the defense

4.Donnie Avery-He is going to be 29 by the time next season rolls around which given the position is still young and he has shown good hands this year when called on, not great hands but he has been a serious weapon while being a good route runner, He also has game changing speed

5.Matt Overton-No need in creating an unnecessary hole at a position that goes largely unnoticed until they screw up, he is young and comes cheap by NFL standards

6.Darius Butler-Has made some good plays since starting. 2 Picks and a forced fumble, may not be the answer at the #2 Corner going forward but beast the alternative in Powers

7.Josh Gordy-Struggled early and often in the beginning, I dont think will ever be a starter at Corner but is decent to have as depth

8.Pat Mcafee-Our best special teams player all around, enough said

9.Winston Justice-Not a starter in my opinion but has shown some good and some bad this year. Not a bad option for depth

10.Moise Fokou-has played alright when called upon, nothing spectactular, easily can be exposed in coverage like Conner, Fokou does have a forced fumble this year and a sack and may just be our hardest hitting Interior Linebacker

11.Drew Stanton-I dont see him coming back next year ( I dont see him getting a staring job anywhere), his deal was only for a year so leads me to believe ihe wont last in Indy although decent QB depth would be nice, resign if can

12.Linkenbach-Filled in well at Guard this year, Could even say he has been our best interior O Lineman and its not really even been close, he could be depth going forward if we sign or draft a Guard going forward, if not I have no problem with him sticking as starter at Left Guard although prefer drafting Warmack or Bailey

Released

Freeney

Green

Geathers

Hills

Tevasue

Vaughn

Hickman

Harvey(I like him though)

Colts sign

Jairus Byrd or Kenny Phillips

Tracy Porter or Brent Grimes

William Beatty

Ropati Pitoitua

byrd won't be on the market any time soon
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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is my updated Colts Free Agency and Draft....and what I think should be done.

Free agency - Indy trades DE Robert Mathis to the Carolina Panthers for their 2013 3rd round pick. (I may get some hate on this, but Mathis hasnt really wowed me as a OLB in the 3-4. He fits better as a DE in a four man front. Carolina needs another pass rusher opposite Charles Johnson, and we get good value for one of the better 4-3 pass rushers.)

Indy releases the following players

-OLB Dwight Freeney

-CB Cassius Vaughn

CB -Darius Butler

-NT Antonio Johnson

-WR Donnie Avery

(Notice I had them resigning Moala, Powers, Avery, and Nevis. I think they all can be kept for cheap contracts and will be needed. Moala is pretty good at 3-4 DE and can start there, Powers can play the nickel, and Nevis is good at playing DT on passing downs when we run the 4-3 on certain downs. Plus we wouldnt get much for these guys in a trade.)

Indy signs free agents

- OLB Connor Barwin

- CB Sam Shields

- WR Danny Amendola

- CB Dominique Rodgers Cromartie

- Veteran NT. Just not sure who's set to be available

(OLB Connor Barwin fits great in this defense, and we get to take away from a division rival, Shields could be an underrated signing, Amendola replaces Collie in the slot, and Cromartie is not a good fit in Philly's defense and is better man to man. And bringing in a vet NT to share time with Chapman would be helpful. Again, I wouldnt sign these guys if they are going to cost big contracts, so I made these decisions with that in mind.)

2013 NFL Draft

1st round(21st pick)

*Indy trades down to the early 2nd and gets a 3rd round pick in return

2nd round(via trade)- SS Matt Elam (Very instintive safety who has big upside. I could see a 1 or 2 other safeties getting drafted before Elam, due to his size, but he is built compact and can play the duties of a SS. We now have the potential to have a great secondary.)

3rd(via Mathis trade)- OG Larry Warford, Kentucky (Gives us a very good OG who can be a road grader and also has good athleticism for his size at 6-3, 335. Id much rather get Warford than taking a OG in the 1st round in Warmack.)

3rd(via trade down)- DT/DE Shariff Floyd, Florida (Good motor guy who plays physical, and could share time with both Moala and Redding at DE right away. Could be a very good player in a few years.)

3rd- OLB Sean Porter, Texas A&M (Similar build to Von Miller, Porter has good speed and ability to beat OTs. He can play right away opposite Connor Barwin, sharing time with Jerry Hughes.)

Rest of draft - Best player available or trading picks for better 2014 picks.

What are your thoughts?

Hahahaha, mostly not and here's what I'm saying no to

1.Robert Mathis to the Panthers for a third round pick, not gonna happen. Mathis is doing great in the Colts defense, he's worth more then a third round pick to the team, and the Panthers would be the last team in the world who would want him. Greg Hardy (someone I thought the Colts should have drafted instead of Angerer) and Charles Johnson are about the best tandem of pass rushers in the NFL. Plus it isn't like the team doesn't already have good OLB's. Plus Girgson knew he needed to make a decision on who to keep long-term between Freeney and Mathis and I believe he's made the right decision.

2.The Colts aren't releasing anyone, when someones contract expires and they become free agent and sign with another team their not released, their just either not re-signed or the Colts don't bother re-signing them. No ones getting released this offseason all that happened last year it's over. Now as far as the names you mentioned as to not being re-signed go, I'll agree with you on all of them except for Vaughn, because he's an RFA and it would only cost the team 1.9 mill to give him a second round one year tender. Meaning if another team out bids the Colts to re-sign him that team would have to give up a second round draft pick (2.7 mill for a first).

3.As far as players the Colts are looking at for the free agent market I don't think the team will be looking at 2 high priced corners considering the fact that their stuck with Vontae Davis till 2014 and I don't think the team will look at Amendola, Shields, or Barwin. Because the team has too many other needs to look at OLB's and WR's. Plus Shields is an RFA who isn't worth giving up a second or first round pick for.

3.As for NT here's a list of free agents who are either already NT's or could play the position and beat out Brandon McKinney and Josh Chapman in my opinion: Casey Hampton, Trevor Laws (only by a little (not much better then Johnson), Isaac Sopoaga, Kevin Williams, Terrance Knighton, Kyle Williams.

PS.

I expect the Colts to look for a guard and SS with their first 2 picks then go G/C and DE/DT.

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I am not sure about the Gordy resigning

Resign

1.A.Q Shipley (Our starting Center Satele has been dealing with injuries quite a bit this year and pre injury did not look good but has played a little better as of late) still when Shipley has been called upon he has been able to handle his own out there and has looked good on several occasions

2.Fili Moala-While has not been a world beater he has played pretty decent more often then not, likely not the answer going forward but we dont have the answer behind him either and we have bigger needs at this point that need to be addressed,

3.Antonio Johnson-While Chapman if healthy and can handle his "business" at Nose Tackle will likely be the starter going forward, Mookie has held his own at Nose and would be a good rotational Nose for the defense

4.Donnie Avery-He is going to be 29 by the time next season rolls around which given the position is still young and he has shown good hands this year when called on, not great hands but he has been a serious weapon while being a good route runner, He also has game changing speed

5.Matt Overton-No need in creating an unnecessary hole at a position that goes largely unnoticed until they screw up, he is young and comes cheap by NFL standards

6.Darius Butler-Has made some good plays since starting. 2 Picks and a forced fumble, may not be the answer at the #2 Corner going forward but beast the alternative in Powers

7.Josh Gordy-Struggled early and often in the beginning, I dont think will ever be a starter at Corner but is decent to have as depth

8.Pat Mcafee-Our best special teams player all around, enough said

9.Winston Justice-Not a starter in my opinion but has shown some good and some bad this year. Not a bad option for depth

10.Moise Fokou-has played alright when called upon, nothing spectactular, easily can be exposed in coverage like Conner, Fokou does have a forced fumble this year and a sack and may just be our hardest hitting Interior Linebacker

11.Drew Stanton-I dont see him coming back next year ( I dont see him getting a staring job anywhere), his deal was only for a year so leads me to believe ihe wont last in Indy although decent QB depth would be nice, resign if can

12.Linkenbach-Filled in well at Guard this year, Could even say he has been our best interior O Lineman and its not really even been close, he could be depth going forward if we sign or draft a Guard going forward, if not I have no problem with him sticking as starter at Left Guard although prefer drafting Warmack or Bailey

Released

Freeney

Green

Geathers

Hills

Tevasue

Vaughn

Hickman

Harvey(I like him though)

Colts sign

Jairus Byrd or Kenny Phillips

Tracy Porter or Brent Grimes

William Beatty

Ropati Pitoitua

I think the Colts will look for a NT in the free agent market and a SS in the draft, but other then that nice work.

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