Doyle Article on "Lousy" Colts Offensive Line

[masterlock]

Gregg Doyle wrote a not-so-flattering article on the Colts' offensive line. Nothing we don't already know, but maybe worth discussing.

 

Link:

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2015/08/03/doyel-colts-counting-luck-protect-luck/31063481/

 

It's almost a separate topic, but I wonder whether Ben Heenan will be give a chance to compete for the starting left guard spot.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

Was just about to post this article. It's a concern, but I don't think I'm as "doom and gloom" in my assessment of the O-line as Doyel is in this article.

[krunk]

That article is Super Lousy to me.  How about that dumb bell tell us how the line is protecting in actual practices that he sees with his own eyes instead of basically ranting about how he has questions about the personnel.  This guy writes a whole bunch of stupid articles. He's been writing them since the draft.  There's nothing ground breaking at all.

[throwing BBZ]

Well, we really are counting on Herremans to make the right side better. Herremans response kinda made me ill. lol

[HtownColt]

#FreeJoeReitz

[PeterBowman]

How about he actually sees them perform before he starts running his pen.

[Superman]

That article is Super Lousy to me.  How about that dumb bell tell us how the line is protecting in actual practices that he sees with his own eyes instead of basically ranting about how he has questions about the personnel.  This guy writes a whole bunch of stupid articles. He's been writing them since the draft.  There's nothing ground breaking at all.

 

Sensational click bait.

 

No question the Colts have some issues at OL. We'll see how it looks in a few weeks. But that article was absolute garbage.

[indyagent17]

No kidding, We are in the first week of the preseason, so lets give it some time to see if this line is better than last year and a notch or two above "Lousy"

[Steamboat_Shaun]

That article is Super Lousy to me.  How about that dumb bell tell us how the line is protecting in actual practices that he sees with his own eyes instead of basically ranting about how he has questions about the personnel.  This guy writes a whole bunch of stupid articles. He's been writing them since the draft.  There's nothing ground breaking at all.

 

Yeah, I get the impression that Doyel likes to stir the pot. I'm not reading much into it until they have pads on and actually blocking someone.

[bestQBever]

well... we don't really know what we will get out of this line... Castonzo is great, Thornton is horrible, all of our centers are horrible, Herremans is a ? and Mewhort is also a ? at RT. We can only pray for the best.

[rock8591]

Part of me almost wishes they bring back Mike McGlynn to play center. When he did, the line was superb.

[braveheartcolt]

May I introduce you to the new Brad Wells......

[ColtsLegacy]

#FreeJoeReitz

Louis over Reitz is just unbelievable. It's as if the Colts are so set on Reitz being the swing guy, the go-to backup, that they aren't even considering him as a starter. That seems to be the story of Reitz career with the Colts.

[LockeDown]

Here in Memphis, Doyle was a favorite of our local sports shows and they had him on as a guest every week.  He believes he's the only one with enough guts to call these coaches and players out.  I was saddened when he got the job for the Indy newspaper.  

[The Fish]

Well, I tend to agree that on paper this o-line isn't what we'd like. I really hope the center position isn't going to be a train wreck again.

[Superman]

Louis over Reitz is just unbelievable. It's as if the Colts are so set on Reitz being the swing guy, the go-to backup, that they aren't even considering him as a starter. That seems to be the story of Reitz career with the Colts.

 

I think the real issue is that he's always hurt. Maybe nothing serious, but he's unavailable at least a quarter of the season, every year.

 

And then, we really don't have any tackles. Josh Wilson says Reitz is working with the second unit at LT.

 

I'd love for Reitz to win the LG spot, but I don't know if he can really be counted on.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

May I introduce you to the new Brad Wells......

 

No need, the old Brad Wells is doing just fine, hasn't changed a bit (although his Twitter profile now says he's an "ex-Colts fan")

 

They are seriously considering starting Lance Louis? Holmes at center? Herreman? Mewhort starting at RT? Luck will get killed.

— Brad Wells (@BradWellsNFL)

August 3, 2015

[The Peytonator]

Louis over Reitz is just unbelievable. It's as if the Colts are so set on Reitz being the swing guy, the go-to backup, that they aren't even considering him as a starter. That seems to be the story of Reitz career with the Colts.

 

 

I don't get it either. Reitz has been a stud at LG. He hasn't been as good on the right side, or at Tackle, but at Left Guard he has been tremendous at pass blocking, and a pretty solid run blocker. The guy at ColtsAcademy that does the Oline charts, Ben Gundy I believe is his name, raves about Reitz at LG. PFF has always given him high grades at the position. We just signed him for 3 years at a solid starter's contract. I don't see why your swing tackle can't also be a starter at guard. 

[ColtsLegacy]

I think asking Herremans about his PFF rating is very disrespectful. "Hey, Todd, PFF says you suck. Your response?"

[ColtsLegacy]

I think the real issue is that he's always hurt. Maybe nothing serious, but he's unavailable at least a quarter of the season, every year.

And then, we really don't have any tackles. Josh Wilson says Reitz is working with the second unit at LT.

I'd love for Reitz to win the LG spot, but I don't know if he can really be counted on.

I understand he's been banged up a lot, but if they don't trust him to be healthy, why pay him 9m over 3 years?

If he ends up injured then we're back to square one. To me, being scared he may get injured in the future is not an excuse to sit him behind inferior players.

[OLD FAN MAN]

imo the o-line is a big question mark, I hope it is at least as good as last year. it is a long way from even being average, which we will need to win a super bowl. we have a lack of monsters on the line same as last year, grigs needs to upgrade it before the season starts

[Grigs build the lines plz.]

Herramans was ranked 70th out of 78 guards last season??? They really do try

to fix the lines with duct tape, bubble gum and zip ties. 

 

Can't win a title with crappy lines.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

Unfortunately, I can't disagree with the article. Last season it was our weakest unit and this season it still has huge question marks. And that is unfortunate for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

[Superman]

I understand he's been banged up a lot, but if they don't trust him to be healthy, why pay him 9m over 3 years?

If he ends up injured then we're back to square one. To me, being scared he may get injured in the future is not an excuse to sit him behind inferior players.

 

Team friendly deal, no signing bonus, nothing guaranteed after this year. He's a good player and he's really good depth, if nothing else. I don't have a problem with holding on to him, and I was hoping they would. But you should have contingencies.

 

I don't think they're sitting him behind inferior players for no reason. He's in and out of the training room, and they want to have some consistency. If he had been healthy the past two years, there's little doubt that he would be a starting guard.

[ColtsLegacy]

Team friendly deal, no signing bonus, nothing guaranteed after this year. He's a good player and he's really good depth, if nothing else. I don't have a problem with holding on to him, and I was hoping they would. But you should have contingencies.

I don't think they're sitting him behind inferior players for no reason. He's in and out of the training room, and they want to have some consistency. If he had been healthy the past two years, there's little doubt that he would be a starting guard.

If that's their reasoning it's weak, IMO. You don't sacrifice quality for the hopes of consistency, which you can't predict anyway, especially when the gap is as large as I believe it is between Reitz and Louis.

And, if "consistency over quality" is their thinking, it makes me question why they'd even keep DT around. He's not exactly the picture of health and I doubt they're keeping him around for that price to be a backup.

IMO, the best man should get the job, period. You can't try to predict injuries, you just deal with them when they come and if it does come for Reitz/DT than we're just back to square one (Louis) anyway.

[zibby43]

I too am concerned about the OL. 

 

That said, isn't it weird that Dallas had one of the best OLs in football last year and did diddly poo with it?  Romo is an above average QB, and he had Dez and Murray as two of the better weapons in football.

 

I guess the lesson learned there is that a great OL is great to have, but what you need, overall, is a very well-rounded team. 

[Superman]

If that's their reasoning it's weak, IMO. You don't sacrifice quality for the hopes of consistency, which you can't predict anyway, especially when the gap is as large as I believe it is between Reitz and Louis.

And, if "consistency over quality" is their thinking, it makes me question why they'd even keep DT around. He's not exactly the picture of health and I doubt they're keeping him around for that price to be a backup.

IMO, the best man should get the job, period. You can't try to predict injuries, you just deal with them when they come and if it does come for Reitz/DT than we're just back to square one (Louis) anyway.

 

They set the line up coming out of camp, and he wasn't healthy. I don't think he was active until halfway through the season. So now what? Mewhort was at LG, Reitz's best spot. Louis had played RG, with mixed results, and the preferred option was Hugh Thornton. 

 

Right now, they're playing Reitz at LT. That's probably the best explanation for why he's not at LG with the first team. I'm not saying they have Louis in there right now because they're worried about Reitz. I'm saying the reason he hasn't been able to hang on to any spot on the line is because he gets hurt every year.

 

Thomas doesn't really factor in. Either they really want him to be healthy -- and if so, he's the best option at LG anyways -- or they're going to pull the plug on him at some point here soon. But again, he's not holding Reitz back.

[ColtsLegacy]

They set the line up coming out of camp, and he wasn't healthy. I don't think he was active until halfway through the season. So now what? Mewhort was at LG, Reitz's best spot. Louis had played RG, with mixed results, and the preferred option was Hugh Thornton.

Right now, they're playing Reitz at LT. That's probably the best explanation for why he's not at LG with the first team. I'm not saying they have Louis in there right now because they're worried about Reitz. I'm saying the reason he hasn't been able to hang on to any spot on the line is because he gets hurt every year.

Thomas doesn't really factor in. Either they really want him to be healthy -- and if so, he's the best option at LG anyways -- or they're going to pull the plug on him at some point here soon. But again, he's not holding Reitz back.

Aren't you implying the opposite of the bolded with this post?:

I don't think they're sitting him behind inferior players for no reason. He's in and out of the training room, and they want to have some consistency. If he had been healthy the past two years, there's little doubt that he would be a starting guard.

[Superman]

Unfortunately, I can't disagree with the article. Last season it was our weakest unit and this season it still has huge question marks. And that is unfortunate for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

 

Question marks is one thing. 

 

But, as is the case around here, the column argues that because guys like Thornton and Holmes haven't been Pro Bowlers in their first two years, they're no good, and shouldn't figure into the plans. That's just dumb. You draft and develop players, and there's no reason to give up on them after two seasons, especially when those seasons were undermined by injury.

 

It argues that because Mewhort is moving to RT, he should be written off as a productive member of the line. I love the 'neither you nor me or Grigson nor Pagano knows how Mewhort will be at RT' line that he pins this argument on, but it's nonsense. Coaches and personnel people base these decisions on what they have observed, and the Colts wouldn't have released Cherilus with Mewhort as the replacement if they didn't believe in Mewhort's ability to handle the job. And that's partly based on Mewhort's time in college at tackle, and his reps at tackle last season, and his work through the offseason program. Just because Doyle doesn't know whether Mewhort can play tackle doesn't mean know one else knows. He should watch some film.

 

He argues that because Lance Louis only played well at the end of the season (not entirely true, but that's another story), he doesn't count. Todd Herremans had a down season, so he's no good. 

 

Going back to last season, the column argues that Cherilus' injury doesn't factor in because Cherilus was no good anyways (which is, again, just dumb). 

 

This is all after one training camp practice. Just one. 

[Superman]

Aren't you implying the opposite of the bolded with this post?:

 

Not really. He can't win a starting job if he's hurt at the end of preseason, and then they don't want to pull Mewhort out of the lineup at LG for no reason. 

[BOTT]

That article is Super Lousy to me.  How about that dumb bell tell us how the line is protecting in actual practices that he sees with his own eyes instead of basically ranting about how he has questions about the personnel.  This guy writes a whole bunch of stupid articles. He's been writing them since the draft.  There's nothing ground breaking at all.

Kinda hard to evaluate the Oline while they are running around in shorts

[BOTT]

Grigson's attempts to improve the Oline the last couple yrs have been puzzling. Cross your fingers.......again.

[ColtsLegacy]

Not really. He can't win a starting job if he's hurt at the end of preseason, and then they don't want to pull Mewhort out of the lineup at LG for no reason.

I'm not talking about last year. I'm talking about now. Reitz is healthy now.

Though, even last year, when healthy, Reitz was behind Louis.

[Superman]

I'm not talking about last year. I'm talking about now. Reitz is healthy now.

Though, even last year, when healthy, Reitz was behind Louis.

 

I think Reitz is playing with the second unit right now because we need another LT.

[The Peytonator]

Evan Mathis

[ColtsLegacy]

I think Reitz is playing with the second unit right now because we need another LT.

 

I hope it's that simple, but it tells me they're looking at him more as a backup swingman. I guess we'll see how it shakes out.

[Track Guy]

I too am concerned about the OL. 

 

That said, isn't it weird that Dallas had one of the best OLs in football last year and did diddly poo with it?  Romo is an above average QB, and he had Dez and Murray as two of the better weapons in football.

 

I guess the lesson learned there is that a great OL is great to have, but what you need, overall, is a very well-rounded team. 

 

Dallas was extremely close to beating Green Bay in the playoffs last year. The game was very evenly matched. Green Bay would've gone to the Super Bowl last year if Seattle didn't have the most lucky last few minutes in NFL history in the NFC championship game. My point is, even if they didn't win Dallas was easily among the best teams in the NFC last year. They had a better offense than Seattle IMO. That O-line is what made Tony Romo's stats so great this past season. He could even get 7-8 seconds to throw sometimes.

[Gavin]

A bit dramatic in the article especially that last line no doubt and nobody can really tell anything until pads come on BUT history has shown us repeatedly Castonzo can hold down his own at LT.  We have no idea who our LG will be but if it turns out to be Louis we have no reason to believe he will be anything more then bad at LG even if your the most optimistic of persons(I don't see how staff apparently believes having Reitz as our 6th O Lineman is more important then having our best 5 O Linemen starting, Just seems foolish to me to be honest).

 

Who knows how Holmes will be at C but we know he has a lot of improvement to do. I do have some hope for Herremans but that's more because he cant be as bad as Thornton was moreso then having high expectations of Herremans...I think he will come in and be serviceable which is an improvement but I don't expect our run game to suddenly be much better with his addition. Mewhorts foot speed at Right Tackle is a concern but Im hoping that's countered by being able to open up run lanes

 

Im honestly to the point I need to see more positive results before I get all optimistic

[jmac_48]

Dallas was extremely close to beating Green Bay in the playoffs last year. The game was very evenly matched. Green Bay would've gone to the Super Bowl last year if Seattle didn't have the most lucky last few minutes in NFL history in the NFC championship game. My point is, even if they didn't win Dallas was easily among the best teams in the NFC last year. They had a better offense than Seattle IMO. That O-line is what made Tony Romo's stats so great this past season. He could even get 7-8 seconds to throw sometimes.

Yeah, Well, If the Colts would have been drafting at the middle of the first round for the past ten years like the Cowboys, they might have had a better chance to draft a good O-line, but I would have hated seeing the Colts playing .500 ball for that period of time!

 

That said, IMHO, Grigs has made a big gamble basically standing pat on his group of guys on the line this past offseason, could be a fatal mistake... we will see! I don't see why. but he obviously thinks the players he has contracted can do the job.

 

Doyle is a tool, I think he took over the Kravits role at the Star of "Devils Advocate"... Wish he'd go back to Memphis!

This is a set-up article, so he can say "I told you so" when/if things crash and burn for the O-line.

Ha, the man certainly isn't a Homer.  haha

 

He may be right, but it is entirely too early to write off this season's O-line.

 

Isn't this the time of year to be optimistic?

[HarryTheCat]

Here in Memphis, Doyle was a favorite of our local sports shows and they had him on as a guest every week.  He believes he's the only one with enough guts to call these coaches and players out.  I was saddened when he got the job for the Indy newspaper.  

Maybe we could convince Doyle to leave Indy and return to Memphis. Doing so would simultaneously raise the average IQ in both cities.