AQ Shipley to possibly start at C for Colts come Sunday

[Superman]

isn't any center not named satele still an upgrade from last year?

A year ago, people wanted Shipley to be the starter.

[esmort]

you dont take a player in the round ahead hes suppose to go unless youre the raiders. 

 

You don't know where he was supposed to go, unless you seen the draft boards.  The various draft lists were off on multiple players often by several rounds.

 

We also could have traded back.

[ColtsBlueFL]

I don't think you're being hypocritical.

But his stance has been that Grigson is terrible because he signed Shipley, "and Shipley is so terrible that he got cut by the Ravens, oh no!" Then he turns around and says that Shipley is a good move... then what's the problem? Why is everyone else delusional?

 

Yes that is confusing.  But it sounds like a vent rather than thoughtful dialog.  We've all succumbed to it.  He'll be back on the deck again soon.

[Superman]

You don't know where he was supposed to go, unless you seen the draft boards. The various draft lists were off on multiple players often by several rounds.

We also could have traded back.

We all know where Warford was drafted, for instance. And he was gone by the time we made our second pick in that draft.

[Superman]

Yes that is confusing. But it sounds like a vent rather than thoughtful dialog. We've all succumbed to it. He'll be back on the deck again soon.

In this case, I don't think he's ever been on deck. And he's very demeaning to anyone who disagrees with him.

[ColtsBlueFL]

A year ago, people wanted Shipley to be the starter.

 

Indeed, they di.  I'm still not sold on our G / C / G

[NewColtsFan]

Anyone betting on the game should look at how poorly the losing Super Bowl teams have played week 1 since 2000

 

Shipley is here to play C vs the Broncos not sure how much that hurts or helps us since I have never seen Holmes actually play a NFL game. How can anyone be upset when no one has ever seen the guy play in a real game?

 

Frustrated sick of Holmes not being on the field I get but thinking it changes the game.....what is that based on?  Pagano saying how great he is? He also said he'd be out 2-3 wks we are on day 32? 

 

I for one am tired of Holmes it is becoming more and more obvious he doesn't have what it takes to play this game. Shipley may very well be better than Holmes the guy has never played in a game he can barely make it through a practice. I am ready to move on.

 

Castonzo Mewhort Shipey Thorton Cherilus doesn't sound bad to me but they need time together that is how an O Line grows just doesn't seem Holmes is going to be able to give us that consistency. You need consistency at the C position.

 

The only player the Colts will miss is 98, The defense will play well and the offense is loaded with weapon we will win the game.

 

Spoken like a fan.    And not someone who understands football.    

[ColtsBlueFL]

In this case, I don't think he's ever been on deck. And he's very demeaning to anyone who disagrees with him.

 

Hmmmm.......   

[NewColtsFan]

I'm not stating that at this point it wasn't a good move.  I'm saying that once again the Colts are playing with a horrible offensive line and they are going to get destroyed by better teams like the Broncos.  Feel free to disagree but I seriously doubt that you'll be coming here admitting you were wrong if they lose as I predict they will. So many people on this forum are in for a major wake up call on Sunday.  All you delusional fanboys who can't perceive the Colts losing are going to be shown exactly how good this team is.  I'm sure you'll come up with some excuse as to why the team lost though.  You seem to be very good at maintaining a delusional optimism that everything will be okay.

 

You think Superman is a........   Fanboy?!?

 

You must be new to this website....      about as far from that as they come...

[CR91]

You don't know where he was supposed to go, unless you seen the draft boards.  The various draft lists were off on multiple players often by several rounds.

 

We also could have traded back.

You draft the best talent not for need

[USAFHoosier]

Am I wrong?  Is it good that this team is putting Luck behind a Center that couldn't even make the 53 man squad of another team.  That this team traded away for a conditional 7th round draft pick.  I just really hope that Luck is not seriously injured.  What poor, pathetic management.

how is that pathetic management when your first and second string centers are hurt plus a second string guard is hurt?

[Superman]

Indeed, they di. I'm still not sold on our G / C / G

I like that they're young and have upside, but they are going to be prone to mistakes. However, if they come along like we hope, we'll have one of the best lines in football in a couple years.

[NewColtsFan]

First lets start in the draft you referenced .... the next C off the board was Frederick, and the next guard off board was Warford (have you heard of them) both available for us to pick.

 

The offseason I referenced when I said we should have taken more OL ...Schwartz, Slauson, and several others were available for less than what we were paying McGlynn.

 

No need to wait long!

 

The draft you were referring to was last year,  2013.

 

We had no 2nd round pick,  that was used to trade for Vontae Davis.

 

So,  the team used it's first pick for a pass rushing OLB,  Werner.

 

They used their 2nd pick (3rd round) on a guard,  Thornton   and they used their 3rd pick (4th round) on a center,  Holmes.

 

A number of guards were taken in the 3rd round.   And a number of centers were taken in the 4th round.   And as Grigson himself has noted in a number of interviews,  he's been connected with 3 teams who went to the Super Bowl with a center who was originally a free agent.     So, spending a 4 tells me he was serious about trying to fix the problem.    It hasn't worked out as anyone wanted.....  yet.

 

There's a difference between not doing enough -- as you claim -- and doing plenty, but not having the plans work out as hoped for. 

[ColtsBlueFL]

I like that they're young and have upside, but they are going to be prone to mistakes. However, if they come along like we hope, we'll have one of the best lines in football in a couple years.

 

Could be, it's true  High risk/reward move.  OTOH, it is also true they have no NFL experience and and  injury histories..  All of them. even being wet behind the ears...

 

Not lookiing good at this point.  Long term, w  will see.

[esmort]

Sorry,  but you're not telling the whole story.

 

The 2nd rounder was the first pick Grigson had to use this year.

 

First, I agree the 2nd is arguably premium pick, but it is just one pick and It still was not a pick you would normally think is going to be ready to step in day one.  To avoid opening a can of worms I don't think I need to go into why that was the highest pick we had to use.

 

And the 3rd and 4th were the 2nd and 3rd picks he had a year ago after drafting Werner.    So, he has used premium picks.

 

Even though they were the next highest picks for us doesn't mean they were picks that were going to get us premium linemen, because not only were they 3rd and 4th rnd picks they were also very late picks in those rounds.  If he wanted to make the line a top priority he should have either traded back or picked up FAs to replace Satele and McGlynn.

 

Besides,   he also spent premium money signing Cherilous (made him the highest paid RT in the NFL)  and he signed Thomas to a starters-level contract.

 

I gave him credit for GC, and I liked the Thomas pick up at the time ... but, Thomas did have some risk and Grigson should have planned accordingly especially since we took the "discount approach" at G.

 

The 7th rounders mean little to me....   But when push comes to shove,  Grigson has drafted and spent top dollars trying to build the o-line.     It just hasn't worked out the way anyone expected or hoped.    At least,  not yet.

 

I said I don't think he has completely neglected it, but I don't believe he made it a high enough priority either.  He always seems to be gambling, or trying to "play the smart guy", instead of just straight up fixing it.  Just take the tackle position for instance; not a problem yet ... but whats the back up plan ""Glass Joe" Reitz? ... Nixon?  I like Joe Reitz I think he is good, but he is just an injury waiting to happen I would not want to count on him if a Tackle went down ... but Grigson will take that gamble.  I love his gamblers mentality with the bottom of the roster, I hate it when it comes to the OL.

[esmort]

We all know where Warford was drafted, for instance. And he was gone by the time we made our second pick in that draft.

 

We still could have taken him (reached, which actually would not have been a reach), or traded back and taken him while picking up more picks.  I know several of us on here were in favor of us both trading back and/or picking up Warford ... so this is not something I am only bringing up after the fact.  Even though I like Werner and have defended him on here, I was not in favor of the pick.

[akcolt]

There are more positions on the football team that have to be addressed than O Line.

 

I will agree that O Line is probably the most important. We are pretty good at both T spots. Thorton back to RG should be a good thing. Mewhort for a year at LG should be fine as long as Pep toss the pull out of the play book. Now we have a young experienced C in Shipley.

 

No one has ever seen Holmes play and at the rate he gets injured we may not. Yet it is the end of the world that he isn't playing AGAIN?

 

You can not build a successful team over the long haul trying to build through FA especially the kind of FA this board wants to sign. 3 yrs ago we won 2 games. Sorry if things aren't moving fast enough back to back 11-5 season winning a playoff game last year. That to me shows great improvement.

 

Boy that O Line cost us in the loss to NE I remember them giving up the 70 yard run to Blount. Good thing we brought in Jones and Jackson.

 

The O Line is coming along if not for the injury to Reitz we would be in good shape. As it is we are thin at T. There is no way a guy who has never played a real down in the NFL is that big of a loss. He can't stay healthy maybe this just isn't his thing.

 

Grig's is building the team in a way that we can keep the pieces together by not panicking and making crazy moves. I give him credit for that.

 

Maybe we should see the O Line before we throw in the towel. We will have a full draft next year and we have a team some publications feel is Super Bowl ready.

 

Things are not nearly as bad as the board is making them out to be.

[akcolt]

Spoken like a fan.    And not someone who understands football.    

We are talking again....I knew you couldn't stay away.

[Superman]

We still could have taken him (reached, which actually would not have been a reach), or traded back and taken him while picking up more picks.  I know several of us on here were in favor of us both trading back and/or picking up Warford ... so this is not something I am only bringing up after the fact.  Even though I like Werner and have defended him on here, I was not in favor of the pick.

 

I think there was a consensus on Warford as a third rounder. And a lot of people liked him, so trading back and taking him even in the second would have made sense. I don't think that's a hindsight argument at all. Also, I wasn't a fan of the Werner pick, either.

 

But still, you have to make decisions on draft day. They liked Werner, and I understand why, so why not take him? We also signed a starting tackle and a starting guard last year. I don't see this string of decisions as neglect.

 

And it's curious that you downplay the importance of a third rounder, but only because it's our third rounder. If Warford had lasted to our pick, how would we feel? Thornton is a good prospect, and I think he'll be good for us in the future. I feel the same way about Holmes, who dropped mostly due to injury. People here wanted Marcus Martin this season, who dropped because his talent level isn't that high, but this board would have been ecstatic if we had taken him in the second round. Holmes, I think, is a much better prospect.

 

Again, I don't think Grigson's approach has been neglectful. I think maybe he hasn't gone after the people some wanted him to, but he's brought in many linemen, of different levels. And if Mewhort, Holmes and Thornton pan out, like I said earlier, we'll have a really strong interior line. 

[Superman]

Could be, it's true  High risk/reward move.  OTOH, it is also true they have no NFL experience and and  injury histories..  All of them. even being wet behind the ears...

 

Not lookiing good at this point.  Long term, w  will see.

 

Every good lineman was once a rookie.

 

Warford started every game, took every snap as a rookie. He was probably the best rookie in the NFL last year. Using the approach a lot of people here want, he wouldn't have sniffed the field. Same thing with Cordy Glenn, who has probably been the Bills best lineman.

 

I don't expect our guys to be Warford and Glenn. But just because they're wet behind the ears doesn't mean they can't play. Thornton had his struggles last year as a rookie, playing a position he hadn't practiced at, but the talent and ability was obvious. And now, this preseason, he's looked very good. 

 

It seems like people like the players on other teams, but are always down on the players on this team. Their rookies are awesome, our rookies suck because they're rookies. 

 

Like you said, long term, we'll see how it goes. But there's nothing inherently wrong with starting young offensive linemen.

[esmort]

I think there was a consensus on Warford as a third rounder. And a lot of people liked him, so trading back and taking him even in the second would have made sense. I don't think that's a hindsight argument at all. Also, I wasn't a fan of the Werner pick, either.

 

But still, you have to make decisions on draft day. They liked Werner, and I understand why, so why not take him? We also signed a starting tackle and a starting guard last year. I don't see this string of decisions as neglect.

 

And it's curious that you downplay the importance of a third rounder, but only because it's our third rounder. If Warford had lasted to our pick, how would we feel? Thornton is a good prospect, and I think he'll be good for us in the future. I feel the same way about Holmes, who dropped mostly due to injury. People here wanted Marcus Martin this season, who dropped because his talent level isn't that high, but this board would have been ecstatic if we had taken him in the second round. Holmes, I think, is a much better prospect.

 

Again, I don't think Grigson's approach has been neglectful. I think maybe he hasn't gone after the people some wanted him to, but he's brought in many linemen, of different levels. And if Mewhort, Holmes and Thornton pan out, like I said earlier, we'll have a really strong interior line. 

 

I you are referring to how I referred to the 3rd rounder in my post to NCF.  I was not trying to say the 3rd rounder was worthless because it was ours, I was more trying to address the fact that the value of a player chosen at the end of the 3rd round was not more valuable because it was our 2nd pick ... regardless of how important the pick was to us didn't raise the value of the players available. 

 

My main point being I don't think that we have invested that much "draft capital" into the OL ... Mewhort increases it a little, but not nearly high enough if we aren't going to invest more heavily in FA OL talent IMO. I hope Mewhort, Holmes, & Thornton do turn out to be the core of a top notch OL. As I think we have discussed before there are a couple of strategies one could have chosen to rebuild the line and I am not a fan of the strategy Grigson has chosen and many of the decisions he has made concerning the OL ... hopefully it will prove more successful in the long term, because if the OL has another sub par year I believe many will start questioning his strategy (and not just Colts fans).

[IndyFan93]

What I'm worried about right now is the depth on the Oline going into the game on Sunday. As of now isn't Louis the only healthy reserve lineman? How could we possibly go into the game with only 6 offensive linemen? What would we do if two of our starters were to get injured? I'm really surprised we haven't claimed or signed an OT with both Reitz and Nixon sure to miss Sunday's game, and probably several more weeks after that for Reitz.

[Superman]

I you are referring to how I referred to the 3rd rounder in my post to NCF.  I was not trying to say the 3rd rounder was worthless because it was ours, I was more trying to address the fact that the value of a player chosen at the end of the 3rd round was not more valuable because it was our 2nd pick ... regardless of how important the pick was to us didn't raise the value of the players available. 

 

My main point being I don't think that we have invested that much "draft capital" into the OL ... Mewhort increases it a little, but not nearly high enough if we aren't going to invest more heavily in FA OL talent IMO. I hope Mewhort, Holmes, & Thornton do turn out to be the core of a top notch OL. As I think we have discussed before there are a couple of strategies one could have chosen to rebuild the line and I am not a fan of the strategy Grigson has chosen and many of the decisions he has made concerning the OL ... hopefully it will prove more successful in the long term, because if the OL has another sub par year I believe many will start questioning his strategy (and not just Colts fans).

 

No, my point about the third rounder was your somewhat dismissive attitude about it. 'A late third... a late fourth...' No, it doesn't raise the value of the player, but Warford being your favorite lineman doesn't raise his value, either. If you can get Warford in the third, then there's no reason to dismiss any other lineman who comes in the middle of the draft. There are literally dozens of quality linemen in the league right now who got drafted in later rounds.

 

I think two linemen in 2013 and a lineman in 2014 is significant draft capital, especially when we've given up some of our high picks. Like you said, it doesn't raise the value of the players we took (Thornton isn't equal to a second rounder because we took him with our second pick, for instance), but it does speak to the way Grigson has prioritized OL with his draft selections. Same this year. We were messed up, without a first rounder, and Grigson using the second rounder on Mewhort shows that he wanted a young guy who could be a big part of the team's future. Having Mewhort makes it easier to handle Thomas' injury.

 

And just to illustrate how weird the perspective is of some fans, people railed against Grigson when Phil Costa retired, as if Grigson should have somehow known in his heart what Costa was going to do, yet those same people held out hope that Grigson would sign Travelle Wharton, who was openly discussing retirement from the minute the season was over. For some people, whatever Grigson does is wrong. This thread is an evidence of that.

 

As I've said, I would have liked to see us add another veteran lineman, as insurance against Holmes not playing well, or Thomas getting hurt again. If Shipley were available this offseason, that would have been a good addition, and now we have him. Kind of makes up for Phil Costa not sticking around, IMO.

 

It's very possible that the line struggles this season. But you can't account for injury -- even if you try to foresee it, how many high quality linemen are you supposed to have on your roster? And most people are speaking as if there's zero chance the line will be improved, and we haven't even played a game yet. I think Mewhort, Holmes and Thornton are good quality prospects, and they deserve a shot. Let's see what happens.

[Smonroe]

If reciting history is considered delusional, we're all doomed.

 

Funny, I never did get a response from him.  Am I being delusional to expect one?

[lollygagger8]

Yay. 

 

[R.J. MacReady]

I think he'll be solid, if he has to go on short notice.

[ColtsBlueFL]

Every good lineman was once a rookie.

 

Warford started every game, took every snap as a rookie. He was probably the best rookie in the NFL last year. Using the approach a lot of people here want, he wouldn't have sniffed the field. Same thing with Cordy Glenn, who has probably been the Bills best lineman.

 

I don't expect our guys to be Warford and Glenn. But just because they're wet behind the ears doesn't mean they can't play. Thornton had his struggles last year as a rookie, playing a position he hadn't practiced at, but the talent and ability was obvious. And now, this preseason, he's looked very good. 

 

It seems like people like the players on other teams, but are always down on the players on this team. Their rookies are awesome, our rookies suck because they're rookies. 

 

Like you said, long term, we'll see how it goes. But there's nothing inherently wrong with starting young offensive linemen.

 

In and of itself, I agree.  But if you compound it with doing so while suffering injuries, that complicates the development process.  Then you pack 2 or 3  inexperienced and nicked up guys side by side and it is a recipe for problems.  rookie mistakes compound a little. Teams scheme and go hard after weak spots.  Ours are known.  They will get trial by fire. Hopefully they learn and develop without much more injuries.  Then long term looks real good.  Short term will have some heartbreak moments, unfortunately.  Hopefully not at critical times.

[chad72]

With Shipley, it is like things have come a full circle again. The guy who passed our eye test over Satele is back because Grigson's draft picks did not work out the way he thought they would??? Is it an admission of "I didn't do as well as I thought I would or things did not pan out as I thought they would"? If that is the case, I applaud Grigson instead of criticizing him because Polian did cut Terrance Taylor, a 4th round draft pick, that is as big an admission that you messed up as a GM.

 

It seems like Grigson's philosophy of "center is not a premium position" is manifesting itself in his moves so far. Even Grigson's answers like the one in this article from May (not written by Brad Wells but by Josh Wilson at Stampede Blue) can give you the same feeling:

 

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2014/5/12/5709990/ryan-grigson-got-a-bit-testy-when-asked-about-center

 

If having Bethea and Landry is the perfect scenario, is Grigson suggesting he cannot be expected to keep such a scenario? Is he another Polian with his eye for skilled positions being better than his eye for OL? I am certain he is unlike Polian on building quality depth throughout the roster, playing free agency much more and improved focus on special teams but we have 3 drafts in the books and do we have one single defensive playmaker that Grigson drafted? V. Davis, Toler, Butler, Arthur Jones etc. - almost all the playmakers on D are through free agency. Long term, such an approach is not sustainable without draft picks to develop that are waiting in the wings.

 

Valid questions, IMO, I will patiently wait after this year to frame a steadfast opinion there. The development of Werner, Chapman and Newsome will weigh heavily on my opinion because those were the ones drafted by Grigson with Newsome possibly needing another year but not the other 2.

[ProblChld32]

Is Holmes still injured? i know he had that high ankle sprain...any word on his progress with that?

[Iancolts]

Well after this year the Oline will get neglected even worse. Luck, TY, Fleener, And Allen contracts!

[csmopar]

Who cares when Warford was taken, he was there for us to pick. Frederick was one of the top C's in the league last season, he was reach because the "draft gurus" say so? Obviously he was not a reach!

If your snarky quality linemen remark was in reference to slauson and schwartz they were 2 of the top guards in the league last year who just got rewarded with multi year deals.

Hindsight is always 20/20. Could of should of would of don't matter. Yeah I'm not happy with our O line either. But keep this in mind. One of the best starting centers in the league for some 15 years was an undrafted center by the name of Jeff Saturday. Now it doesn't happen often but at some point, all these big name o line players had to start somewhere and the best way to get better is to play. You can practice and train until you're blue in the face but its no where near game speed. So let's sit back and see what happens and hope and pray luck survives and these guys work out. Cause we are not gonna nab the magic pill at this point that can come in and fix the entire problem. Unless its Mack......

[NagelHausForge]

I liked Shipley in 2012 and wish the Colts would have kept him at center and booted Satele. 

 

Having him back I think helps our Center position if Holmes is going to be out.  I think Shipley is better than Harrisson at this point.

 

Will be interesting to see who starts come Sunday.

[Coffeedrinker]

@KBowenColts: A look at Monday’s injury notes and new @Colts center A.Q. Shipley taking all the first-team reps on Monday http://t.co/khyBNzfhvb

@HolderStephen: Chuck Pagano admitting in presser what I think is obvious: Khaled Holmes faces uphill climb to return bc of conditioning/altitude (Denver)

@HolderStephen: Neither he nor Harrison practiced today. AQ Shipley took first team snaps at center. #Colts

@KBowenColts: Pagano says A.Q. Shipley took every snap with the first team today.

Well there you have it folks. When you turn your televisions on Sunday night expect to see good ol Shipley at C. It's not guaranteed but more than likely that'll be the scenario

Well last week Pagano said Holmes would not be practicing on Sunday or Monday... who else did you expect to take the first team snaps on Sunday and Monday?

[Superman]

With Shipley, it is like things have come a full circle again. The guy who passed our eye test over Satele is back because Grigson's draft picks did not work out the way he thought they would??? Is it an admission of "I didn't do as well as I thought I would or things did not pan out as I thought they would"? If that is the case, I applaud Grigson instead of criticizing him because Polian did cut Terrance Taylor, a 4th round draft pick, that is as big an admission that you messed up as a GM.

It seems like Grigson's philosophy of "center is not a premium position" is manifesting itself in his moves so far. Even Grigson's answers like the one in this article from May (not written by Brad Wells but by Josh Wilson at Stampede Blue) can give you the same feeling:

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2014/5/12/5709990/ryan-grigson-got-a-bit-testy-when-asked-about-center

If having Bethea and Landry is the perfect scenario, is Grigson suggesting he cannot be expected to keep such a scenario? Is he another Polian with his eye for skilled positions being better than his eye for OL? I am certain he is unlike Polian on building quality depth throughout the roster, playing free agency much more and improved focus on special teams but we have 3 drafts in the books and do we have one single defensive playmaker that Grigson drafted? V. Davis, Toler, Butler, Arthur Jones etc. - almost all the playmakers on D are through free agency. Long term, such an approach is not sustainable without draft picks to develop that are waiting in the wings.

Valid questions, IMO, I will patiently wait after this year to frame a steadfast opinion there. The development of Werner, Chapman and Newsome will weigh heavily on my opinion because those were the ones drafted by Grigson with Newsome possibly needing another year but not the other 2.

I'm not sure why signing Shipley is a referendum on Grigson's draft picks.

[YOUR GM]

grigs has drafted 5 olineman since hes been here and signed the best RT in the game. how is that neglecting the oline

I don't think he's ignored the O-line but he certainly hasn't addressed it (sufficiently, at least) My main issue is the backups he's put behind our young, inexperienced starters. Louis is exactly what i thought he'd be, a marginal player who was a year removed from playing because of a serious injury and wasn't challenging anyone for a starting spot, despite how much he was talked up by Grigson and this message board. Reitz, while i like him, is injury proned, Thomas shouldn't have been counted on to be there, coming off two serious injuries and he didn't even make it out of camp. Costa was a waste of time, and probably would have underwhelmed even if he didn't retire.

Mewhort doesn't appear to be ready yet and will have to go through growing pains this year, i imagine. I was saying these same things before the injuries even started mounting and people brushed them off as unwarranted criticism. Now here we stand with all the risks I mentioned from taking that approach causing early hurdles for us already. I'll still take the wait and see approach, as it's going to take time for the line to gel anyways, but the early returns on our backups are not good... and should we lose another starter to injury, I think this line is in for another long season. Given the injury history of players we were counting on to play key roles on the line this year, foresight should have kicked in at some point, to have our bases covered in case this happened. Having that extra proven and (keyword) TALENTED veteran linemen doesn't seem like all that bad of a proposition now, does it?

Also, saying Cherilus is the best RT in the game is a huge stretch. He wasn't a liability last year, which for our line, was major step forward

[chad72]

I'm not sure why signing Shipley is a referendum on Grigson's draft picks.

 

No, it is not. The only thing relevant to Shipley is the fact that things did not pan out as Grigson wanted on the center position, IMO.

 

I just went off on a tangent and started talking about Grigson's record on OL drafting and other stuff.

[Superman]

No, it is not. The only thing relevant to Shipley is the fact that things did not pan out as Grigson wanted on the center position, IMO.

 

I just went off on a tangent and started talking about Grigson's record on OL drafting and dragged other stuff into it.

 

Ah. 

 

I'm still not sure why things didn't pan out as Grigson wanted at center. Holmes having a relatively minor injury doesn't signal that, IMO. I think seeing Holmes play will make that determination.

[chad72]

Ah. 

 

I'm still not sure why things didn't pan out as Grigson wanted at center. Holmes having a relatively minor injury doesn't signal that, IMO. I think seeing Holmes play will make that determination.

 

Well, Satele was a disappointment, whichever way we want to spin it. Everytime Shipley stepped on the field, he seemed to play better than Satele, so never understood why we parted with Shipley in the first place.

 

Re-signing Shipley to be our starting center might play that story all over again, only time will tell.

[Superman]

Well, Satele was a disappointment, whichever way we want to spin it. Everytime Shipley stepped on the field, he seemed to play better than Satele, so never understood why we parted with Shipley in the first place.

 

Re-signing Shipley to be our starting center might play that story all over again, only time will tell.

 

Time will tell. I'm just not sure what Shipley has to do with Holmes. He was signed because Holmes is not certain to be ready for a couple games, and Harrison has the thumb. It's not like Holmes is a bum, so we had to bench him and go sign someone off the street. If Holmes turns out to be a bum, that's a different story.

 

JMO

[Fx Stryker]

I'm not going to lie Shipley starting with only a weeks notice isn't ideal.

Grigson needs to work out his oline, and fast. He doesn't ever seem to have a plan B. I'm glad Shipley is back for the long term. But for the immediate future that isn't how you build a team.

Yes, unfortunately injuries happen. They can't be forseen. It's not ideal, but he needs to always have a Plan B, C, and D.

Not throwing an important position out there only being with the team, and the new system for a week. Kerry Collins comes to mind.