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Position Depth Comfort Level


myic90

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Thought I'd start a thread to gauge your comfort level at each position with the starters and depth. You can do this however you want to, I'll be ranking them and explaining my thought process. 

 

1. ST

 

Vinatieri, Boomstick, Overton, best combo in the league probably. Our ST has usually ranked pretty well over the years in the Grigson era, which is a welcome change from the manning years when they were a liability.

 

2. DL

 

Surprise Surprise! I feel very comfortable with our DL group, starters and depth, assuming everyone gets through healthy. No superstars but Langford, Parry, Jones, Ridgeway, Mcgill, Kerr is a very, very solid rotation. Not to mention we'll get back our defensive MVP (in my eyes) Anderson at some point in the season. It's penetrative, disruptive and our biggest strength on defense. What a difference a year makes from when the pats just ran over chapman.

 

3. QB

 

If the past year didn't happen, this is automatically number 1, even with the lack of depth. Obviously I believe Luck will be back with a vengeance, but the proof will have to be in the pudding. I don't know enough about Tolzien to make an informed judgement, obviously his stats leave a lot to be desired. But he has great potential from talking to some packer fans and by all accounts he's a grinder. 

 

4. OL

 

Could be ranked higher based on potential, but until the whole package manifests on the field, no. 4 is where they belong. Have great hopes with Philbin at the helm, and I think this will be the most tightly contested position group during training camp. Expecting Castanzo Mewhort Kelly Thornton Reitz to start. That's a good group. Depth is great as well, our 2nd team OL would read Clark Harrison Blythe Haeg Good. I'm actually comfortable putting that lineup in front of a QB. Obviously there's development needed with the rookies, but the future looks bright.

 

5. ILB

 

Another surprise pick. No superstars, but I like the quality of the depth. Jackson, Irving start with Moore, Morrison backing up. Mcnary has been solid in special teams and decent in spot duty.

 

6. WR

 

Like I said with the DL, what a difference a year makes! One of our strongest and deepest position groups last year suddenly has poor depth. Starters are still among the strongest in the league, definitely the fastest, but if any one of Hilton, Moncrief and Dorsett get injured for any significant period, we end up with the untested Bray, Tyms, Boyce, etc. An UDFA or two may make it, but in a young group where Hilton is the vet, I'll have my questions. Would love for another vet addition such as Boldin, who would definitely ease my mind depth wise.

 

7. TE

 

Allen and Doyle are solid, but after that? tons of potential but untested. Time for Swoope to step up. Griswold and Miller have flashed, we'll see where they go from here.

 

8. RB

 

Frank the tank. Turbin has bounced around numerous times, you would think he'd have found a home by now, and thinking he'll stick around here is highly optimistic. I hope he does, of course, but that's a different story. Varga flashed, but I don't think he's an answer to our RB questions long-term. I personally hope Ferguson makes it, rooting for that kid. 

 

9. S

 

Pops adams is a beast. Geathers had many bright spots last year, and I hope he continues his development.. Green is a year away at least before taking up reins but his ceiling is super high. Winston guy's role is ST and I don't think it'll ever evolve past that at this point. Depth is lacking and I wish we had colt anderson who was good in spot duty last year. 

 

 

10. CB

 

Very uncomfortable with our starters. Davis will do this thing, but I'm not happy with Robinson on the outside at all. I don't think he's an upgrade over Toler, who himself was miserable last year. Butler's getting up there in age and while decent at nickel, is simply atrocious on the outside. Smith seems to have a way to go before competing for starter snaps, and while depth seems good on paper with Tevin Mitchell, Jalil Brown, Williams, etc etc, simply the difficulty of the position mandates some discomfort, especially when said talent is unproven. Our scheme demands a lot from our corners, we aren't the panthers where you can stick a long body in there and have success.

 

11. OLB 

 

I don't think I need to say much here. Rob Mathis has to have close to a career year, and our UDFAs better step up or I call a few blowouts. If we can't affect QBs, the defense doesn't get very far. Monachino will have to scheme hard.

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It speaks volumes that you only got down to position 5 before my initial reaction was 'oh my God'.

 

4 position groups where I'm generally happy - including Special Teams and a O-Line that was an apparent weak point last year and has only had a rookie center brought into the starting group. Eek!

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As far as depth goes and ONLY depth NOT starters

 

QB-D

RB-C

WR-D

TE-C

OL-D

ILB-C

CB-D

OLB-D

S-C

P-A

K-A

 

Our depth is not unlike a lot of teams, A lot of unproven players or players that really have shown they have no business seeing meaningful snaps

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I love our QB, I think he stays healthy, love our SPTeams with Vinny/Pat, and like our WR core with TY/Moncrief/Dorsett. Everything else is still shaky. Hopefully our Draft will solidify the O.Line, I am high on Kelly. Our Defense as a whole is shaky period but we can still win 9 or 10 games if they play just Average if Andrew stays healthy.

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3 hours ago, Gavin said:

As far as depth goes and ONLY depth NOT starters

 

QB-D

RB-C

WR-D

TE-C

OL-D

ILB-C

CB-D

OLB-D

S-C

P-A

K-A

 

Our depth is not unlike a lot of teams, A lot of unproven players or players that really have shown they have no business seeing meaningful snaps

Am i missing it?..or you missing the DL?  and plz say you rank the DL depth higher than a D+....(which seems to be your average.)

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To the OP..

 

I think you have the OL too high. Castonzo and Mewhort (and Reitz to a lesser degree) are the only proven players we have.  Otherwise we have Thornton who kind of sucks, then a heap of unproven guys. 

 

The CB position doesn't inspire a ton of confidence, but I don't think the outlook is as grim as you make it out to be.  Same goes for OLB (for THIS season).  Mathis/Walden should be a decent short term duo.

 

I'd personally knock S and TE down a couple pegs. 

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43 minutes ago, Lawrence Owen said:

Am i missing it?..or you missing the DL?  and plz say you rank the DL depth higher than a D+....(which seems to be your average.)

D Line C+

 

A couple good pieces in Langford and Henry when healthy. Neither are absolute studs but good players. Who knows what we will get out of Jones. We have guys with plenty of potential and my grade for them will go up the more they reach that potential

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4 hours ago, Gavin said:

As far as depth goes and ONLY depth NOT starters

 

QB-D

RB-C

WR-D

TE-C

OL-D

ILB-C

CB-D

OLB-D

S-C

P-A

K-A

 

Our depth is not unlike a lot of teams, A lot of unproven players or players that really have shown they have no business seeing meaningful snaps

 

Pretty fair Gavin, even generous.  If you define depth as a player who can come without too much of a dropoff from the starter, there aren't too many teams that would score much better.  

 

Once we we get a look at all of our new guys, it will be easier to give a true grade.  Right now we're speculating based on expectations.

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54 minutes ago, Buck Showalter said:

Yeah its not the guy kicks footballs for a living or anything.,,

Well I have been going to Colts camp since Anderson was the camp before Terre Haute. Not one time have I seen AV even attempt a punt. So think what you want, it's not likes it gonna happen anyway.

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Disagree on the ranking of the WRs by the OP. No team in the NFL has true "depth" at WR by that definition.The Colts are near the top of the league in terms of WR talent though. All most team have is a great number 1, a good 2, and a 3 who is hit or miss. No one has just a heap of WR talent to the point where even their 4 and 5 could be considered "good". You only need 3 good ones IMO.

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2 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Well I have been going to Colts camp since Anderson was the camp before Terre Haute. Not one time have I seen AV even attempt a punt. So think what you want, it's not likes it gonna happen anyway.

 

So because you haven't seen it happen, Vinatieri hasn't punted a football in years, and therefore, couldn't even do it if he had to in a game? 

 

You don't think the Colts have ever practiced for a situation where McAfee gets hurt, and Vinny has to punt?  Have you seen how McAfee hits returners?

 

You don't think he has punted the ball once in a single practice with the Colts ever?  Because you haven't seen it in camp?

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1 hour ago, aaron11 said:

name a team that has quality depth at Kicker and punter

 

1 hour ago, crazycolt1 said:

Very true comment.

 

I think the original comment about a backup P/K was a joke since teams don't carry backup kickers in the regular season.  Therefore the depth would be N/A instead of getting an "A" grade, like the OP did.

 

The starters get an "A", but there are no backup kickers on ANY team to grade for depth...

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5 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

So because you haven't seen it happen, Vinatieri hasn't punted a football in years, and therefore, couldn't even do it if he had to in a game? 

 

You don't think the Colts have ever practiced for a situation where McAfee gets hurt, and Vinny has to punt?  Have you seen how McAfee hits returners?

 

You don't think he has punted the ball once in a single practice with the Colts ever?  Because you haven't seen it in camp?

Get technical. Anyone could be the back up punter. That don't mean anyone can kick it any distance. PM practices FGs right along side AV in camp and practices but I have never seen AV practice kicking punts with PM. If all you want to do is argue find someone else.

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16 hours ago, bananabucket said:

To the OP..

 

I think you have the OL too high. Castonzo and Mewhort (and Reitz to a lesser degree) are the only proven players we have.  Otherwise we have Thornton who kind of sucks, then a heap of unproven guys. 

 

The CB position doesn't inspire a ton of confidence, but I don't think the outlook is as grim as you make it out to be.  Same goes for OLB (for THIS season).  Mathis/Walden should be a decent short term duo.

 

I'd personally knock S and TE down a couple pegs. 

First of all this is difficult to grade before we know who is even on the roster. That being said I'm not sure how looking at the options CB isn't the biggest area of concern on the team right there with S. Compared to those two spots OLB isn't so bad and TE.is good.

 

TE- Allen is a solid all around starter and Doyle a solid back up. We will have a young guy with a lot of potential sitting 3rd on the depth chart. That will be whoever wins what should be a good 3 way camp battle Griswold Swoope or Miller. Gone are the 2 TE sets. I don't see tight as a huge concern. If need be we can add a 3rd stringer during cuts. 

 

Compared to the back end we aren't so bad at OLB. We have proven starters Cole/Mathis and Walden.  We don't know what we have behind them. We may not have anyone behind Walden or Okine maybe Thompson emerge. If Maggitt can get healthy he could help. Bates will be in the mix. A lot of questions at OLB after the starters. The back end we get to questions before we get past the starters. 

 

S we have Adams a solid starter but age and injury concerns have to be high. Geathers is unproven. It has yet to be seen how he will handle the full time job. We don't know what's behind them. Green and Southward both have the measurables to be very good. McClure showed flashes at Cal. We know Guy his value is mainly on ST's. Lots of questions at S. 

 

CB IMO is worse. Davis when healthy we know has the goods. Robinson during his career has been very inconsistent on the outside. Last year he was one of the best CB's in the league in the slot. We brought him to play outside. Butler was as bad in the slot last year as he is when asked to play outside. When targeted in the slot he gave up a 118 passer rating. We have one guy who can play outside a guy who can play the slot and Butler who looked shot last year. Behind those 3 are only questions. 

 

We have Smith we hope. He's hasn't even shown he can play on Sunday's. Brown who had a terrific camp and preseason last year. He came off the tracks when it got real and ended up on the IR by week 4. Maybe another off season with Pagano and he can carry his preseason play to Sunday. Beyond that Mitchel and Glover-Wright have good size but no experience both have been in the league for a year. Then we have UDFA's. The 2 I like are Milton and Wright. It would not be surprised if one found their way on to the team but that is more about who's in front of them than anything Both are good candidates for the PS. 

 

The back end to me is the biggest question mark on the team. It's not even close. 

 

 

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7 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Get technical.

 

What?

 

7 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Anyone could be the back up punter. That don't mean anyone can kick it any distance.

 

If anyone can do it, and AV can kick a 50 yd FG, proving his leg strength, then why would you doubt his ability to fill in for McAfee?

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On 5/29/2016 at 10:17 AM, bananabucket said:

To the OP..

 

I think you have the OL too high. Castonzo and Mewhort (and Reitz to a lesser degree) are the only proven players we have.  Otherwise we have Thornton who kind of sucks, then a heap of unproven guys. 

 

The CB position doesn't inspire a ton of confidence, but I don't think the outlook is as grim as you make it out to be.  Same goes for OLB (for THIS season).  Mathis/Walden should be a decent short term duo.

 

I'd personally knock S and TE down a couple pegs. 

Yeah and Luck won't have Fleener as his security blanket anymore..ooch. So I agree on the TE's..

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3 hours ago, superrep1967 said:

Yeah and Luck won't have Fleener as his security blanket anymore..ooch. So I agree on the TE's..

 

security blanket? all fleener got on here was heat and now he was a security blanket for luck? don't get me wrong, I liked fleener and yes he made some easy drops and didnt really use his height to his advantage, but he also made so really nice catches like the one vs the texans for the two point conversation and the against his body catch vs the bengals,

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I'm not worried that Luck won't have Fleener or Griff.

 

He'll be OK.      He'll throw to Allen or Moncrief or someone else.     

 

He'll create some chemistry with another receiver.       Of all the worries about Luck for me,  losing Coby and Griff are among the least of them....

 

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9 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

He is 43 years old and hasn't punted in 21 years?

 

Fair enough.  I don't think he has punted in an actual game in that long, but I'm sure he has punted the ball in practice as recently as last year, even if it was just for fun.  He won't be as good as Boomstick, but I think he could punt the ball as well as most NFL punters if he had to.

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2 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

Fair enough.  I don't think he has punted in an actual game in that long, but I'm sure he has punted the ball in practice as recently as last year, even if it was just for fun.  He won't be as good as Boomstick, but I think he could punt the ball as well as most NFL punters if he had to.

Just for reference the greatest punter in NFL history was Ray Guy. He retired at age 37 because he no longer could do it. George Blanda kicked FGs till the age of 48. Just saying.

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Concerned CB S OLB QB I think the back end is the weakest area of the team. Doesn't appear to be much behind the old guys at OLB. There is never going to be adequate depth behind luck

 

Think we are OK: DL  WR TE ILB RB. I think we are pretty good at these spots WR and RB could be dicey if hit hard but that's the same for any team

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On 5/30/2016 at 4:27 AM, akcolt said:

First of all this is difficult to grade before we know who is even on the roster. That being said I'm not sure how looking at the options CB isn't the biggest area of concern on the team right there with S. Compared to those two spots OLB isn't so bad and TE.is good.

 

TE- Allen is a solid all around starter and Doyle a solid back up. We will have a young guy with a lot of potential sitting 3rd on the depth chart. That will be whoever wins what should be a good 3 way camp battle Griswold Swoope or Miller. Gone are the 2 TE sets. I don't see tight as a huge concern. If need be we can add a 3rd stringer during cuts. 

 

Compared to the back end we aren't so bad at OLB. We have proven starters Cole/Mathis and Walden.  We don't know what we have behind them. We may not have anyone behind Walden or Okine maybe Thompson emerge. If Maggitt can get healthy he could help. Bates will be in the mix. A lot of questions at OLB after the starters. The back end we get to questions before we get past the starters. 

 

S we have Adams a solid starter but age and injury concerns have to be high. Geathers is unproven. It has yet to be seen how he will handle the full time job. We don't know what's behind them. Green and Southward both have the measurables to be very good. McClure showed flashes at Cal. We know Guy his value is mainly on ST's. Lots of questions at S. 

 

CB IMO is worse. Davis when healthy we know has the goods. Robinson during his career has been very inconsistent on the outside. Last year he was one of the best CB's in the league in the slot. We brought him to play outside. Butler was as bad in the slot last year as he is when asked to play outside. When targeted in the slot he gave up a 118 passer rating. We have one guy who can play outside a guy who can play the slot and Butler who looked shot last year. Behind those 3 are only questions. 

 

We have Smith we hope. He's hasn't even shown he can play on Sunday's. Brown who had a terrific camp and preseason last year. He came off the tracks when it got real and ended up on the IR by week 4. Maybe another off season with Pagano and he can carry his preseason play to Sunday. Beyond that Mitchel and Glover-Wright have good size but no experience both have been in the league for a year. Then we have UDFA's. The 2 I like are Milton and Wright. It would not be surprised if one found their way on to the team but that is more about who's in front of them than anything Both are good candidates for the PS. 

 

The back end to me is the biggest question mark on the team. It's not even close. 

 

 

 

 Wake up! We will see Plenty of 2 TE sets so we are average to weak at the position.
And Proven average to weak at OLB.
RB Ugh!
CB a definite concern.
Thin at WR.
  These new coaches need to be very good!
 

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On 5/29/2016 at 11:32 AM, crazycolt1 said:

It's been 21 years since AV has punted. At 43 years of age it would be questionable.

 

Tell me, should McAfee get hurt, who do you think they will send in to do the punting?

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9 minutes ago, jskinnz said:

 

Tell me, should McAfee get hurt, who do you think they will send in to do the punting?

More than likely they are not on the roster at this time. I don't think there would be anyway the Colts would have AV do both. The best punter in NFL history retired at age 37 because he just couldn't do it no more and AV is 43. Big difference between kicking FGs and punting physically.

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1 hour ago, crazycolt1 said:

More than likely they are not on the roster at this time. I don't think there would be anyway the Colts would have AV do both. The best punter in NFL history retired at age 37 because he just couldn't do it no more and AV is 43. Big difference between kicking FGs and punting physically.

 

I am talking an in-game injury to McAfee.  If that were the case I would bet $5 bazillion dollars that AV would punt the rest of the game.

 

Of course they would then sign a punter if necessary the following week.

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