Where is this team going forward?

[BProland85]

I'll start out by saying that I like to listen to guys like Stephen Holder, Rick Venturi, and Greg Cosell when it comes to Colts football, and try to follow them when I can. Having said that, I am VERY discouraged about this team going forward when I listen to both Venturi and Holder. Maybe it's just me, but I have thought that for awhile now Pagano and Grigson both are not the answer at their respective jobs. These horrible showings in the preseason certainly doesn't help the argument against that. I'll go back to saying what I thought before, that whatever they are doing in training camp and practice, it seems to not be working to get this team to the physical standard they say that they want. I could go into a number of problems with this team...

 

Bad OL play (What has happened to Costanzo?)

Bad pass rush (We all know how deficit we are here)

Bad rushing offense (I haven't seen any sign of quality rushing offense in this preseason)

Bad coverage play on defense (Yes injuries play into this but from what I've heard they aren't even challenging WRs)

Bad depth everywhere except WR, QB and maybe DL

Bad coaching

 

If this season turns out to be what I think it could be, Pagano and Grigson do not deserve a pass and Irsay needs to do something to fix this team in the offseason. I feel that in some respect this team has gone backwards since 2012, and probably a good part of that is coaching and talent evalutation, both fall on the laps of Pagano and Grigs. I don't think I'm the only one who feels that way either.

 

Sorry to sound so doom and gloom but I just worry that this team has gone soft in the past year or two and that we just cannot compete with the quality teams in the NFL anymore. If that's the case, Irsay needs to make a change and bring in smart people who can bring an attitude and physicality to this team so we can stop wasting Andrew Luck's best years.

[RockThatBlue]

No offense to the OP who I like as a poster, but some of you guys are being drama queens. Yes, we have issues, but we ALWAYS look like hot garbage in preseason. 

 

We have only won I think like 10 preseason games total since 2000. We have looked horrible in a lot of game threes of preseason. 

 

I wouldn't take much from this past game, if anything at all. If we are looking like that towards the beginning of October, then we can worry. But stressing over a meaningless game is just silly. Luck is healthy and thats really all that matters.

[2006Coltsbestever]

35 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

I'll start out by saying that I like to listen to guys like Stephen Holder, Rick Venturi, and Greg Cosell when it comes to Colts football, and try to follow them when I can. Having said that, I am VERY discouraged about this team going forward when I listen to both Venturi and Holder. Maybe it's just me, but I have thought that for awhile now Pagano and Grigson both are not the answer at their respective jobs. These horrible showings in the preseason certainly doesn't help the argument against that. I'll go back to saying what I thought before, that whatever they are doing in training camp and practice, it seems to not be working to get this team to the physical standard they say that they want. I could go into a number of problems with this team...

 

Bad OL play (What has happened to Costanzo?)

Bad pass rush (We all know how deficit we are here)

Bad rushing offense (I haven't seen any sign of quality rushing offense in this preseason)

Bad coverage play on defense (Yes injuries play into this but from what I've heard they aren't even challenging WRs)

Bad depth everywhere except WR, QB and maybe DL

Bad coaching

 

If this season turns out to be what I think it could be, Pagano and Grigson do not deserve a pass and Irsay needs to do something to fix this team in the offseason. I feel that in some respect this team has gone backwards since 2012, and probably a good part of that is coaching and talent evalutation, both fall on the laps of Pagano and Grigs. I don't think I'm the only one who feels that way either.

 

Sorry to sound so doom and gloom but I just worry that this team has gone soft in the past year or two and that we just cannot compete with the quality teams in the NFL anymore. If that's the case, Irsay needs to make a change and bring in smart people who can bring an attitude and physicality to this team so we can stop wasting Andrew Luck's best years.

"Pagano and Grigson are both not the answer to their respective jobs". When I said I can name 20 teams that they are better at their jobs at compared to other duo's: Here they are -

Dolphins, Bills, Jets, Texans, Jags, Titans, Chargers, Raiders, Chiefs, Bengals, Browns, Redskins, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Lions, Vikings, Bears, Bucs, Falcons, 49ers, Saints, and Rams. That is 23 and Pagano/Grigs have done a better job than all of these teams Coaches/GM's over the last 4 seasons together with the exception of the 49ers but those dopes chased Harbaugh off and suck now so they are irrelevant. I just named 22 teams excluding the 49ers and have those teams had near the success we have had over the last 4 seasons? The answer is a big fat NO. Are Pagano/Grigs Great? No and far from it but they don't suck either.

[Rackeen305]

But to win championship(s) you cant compare yourself to the likes of the Cleveland Browns. If comparing yourself to the Dolphins make you feel better than go ahead. But "I want Winners"... -Mike Singletary

[NorthernBlue]

The way I see it, Irsay re-upping both Pags and Grigs is his way of doubling down. If they can't turn this team into a contender (or at least competitive with the big dogs in the AFC) soon, then he'll fire both of them no questions asked.

 

The way I like to view the teams future (in terms of talent on the roster) is this. The offense, is pretty much set. They got the QB, and the weapons to put up points. They spent the last draft stockpiling on Offensive Line talent, and while it may not look it now, they will hopefully develop into a strong line with depth across the board. The only position that will need a pickup soon is at RB. Aside from that, the rest of the offense is young, explosive and still growing.

 

That leaves the team to heavily focus on the defense in the upcoming draft(s). Obviously looking at the Colts D on paper, it isn't very good. But there are plenty of pieces for the team to build around to create a solid defense, going forward. Henry Anderson looks to be a star on the Defensive Line, and if Green and Geathers continue to develop, the Colts have their safety tandem for the next little while. Plus you got guys like Parry and Sio Moore who will at least be decent rotational players (or more). And you got Vontae Davis, who is already and top level talent in this league, and he should be able to help the team now and in the future (provided he's healthy). Yes the defense is heavily lacking in youth, talent and depth, but you hope guys like Mathis, Cole, Patrick Robinson, DQ among others can provide some viable production for the next season(s) whilst the team continues to get younger and better on the defensive side of the ball.

 

Granted, it isn't as easy as I just made it out to be. There will be some mistakes, by the players, coaches and management. I think expecting the team to contend right away (like right now) is unrealistic. But if we give them some time, I think this current core (with Pags and Grigs) have the ability to build a contending football team in Indianapolis for years to come.

[SaturdayAllDay]

2 hours ago, Rackeen305 said:

But to win championship(s) you cant compare yourself to the likes of the Cleveland Browns. If comparing yourself to the Dolphins make you feel better than go ahead. But "I want Winners"... -Mike Singletary

Well it's easy to say "we don't compare ourselves to Teams worse then us" just so you can justify calling an above average (based on team success) coach/gm duo "the worst in the league". 

If everyone below you is irelavent then you are ALWAYS the worst. 

[Mr.Debonair]

Not including preseason. We are somewhere in the middle of the pack. Offense has potential but the O-Line still seems weak and we are weak at the RB spot. Yes Gore is good but he's ancient and none of the backs we have drafted have seemed to work.

 

Defensively we are not very good. Generating no pass rush at all. LBs are unproven and CBs outside of VD and Adams, are a mystery.

 

Special teams is good in the kicking/punting game. Return game is meh. We've never had much pop in that department.

 

We will make the playoffs regularly but don't expect to contend for championships.

[Chucklez]

4 hours ago, RockThatBlue said:

Yes, we have issues, but we ALWAYS look like hot garbage in preseason. 

This.

Also... it's the preseason... who cares?.... if we are 1 - 3 at the beginning of October, then I might be a bit more worried, but at the moment. Everyone just simmer down.

[Smonroe]

3 hours ago, Chucklez said:

This.

Also... it's the preseason... who cares?.... if we are 1 - 3 at the beginning of October, then I might be a bit more worried, but at the moment. Everyone just simmer down.

 

Isn't it interesting that for the last two, maybe three years, every talking head said we were a playoff team.  Some said SB contender.  Then Luck got hurt.  Now we're an 8-8 team.

 

Are those teams from 13, 14, and 15 so much better than this team?  If people are using the preseason to make that determination, they really don't know football.

 

[Rackeen305]

9 hours ago, SaturdayAllDay said:

Well it's easy to say "we don't compare ourselves to Teams worse then us" just so you can justify calling an above average (based on team success) coach/gm duo "the worst in the league". 

If everyone below you is irelavent then you are ALWAYS the worst. 

 

Do you even know or understand what you just said? Saying that a team is better than a minor league team doesn't make you good. It means you are better than a sorry minor league team (Baseball terminology). What really matters is, How you stack up against championship quality teams ala Patriots, Broncos, Steelers, Seahawks etc...  Show me where I said "The worst in the league", I never quoted anyone. I made a statement. 

 

To be the man, you got to beat the man. Go ahead and say the Colts are better than the Jaguars. How much weight does that carry? Saying the Colts are better than the PATS, that's a different statement.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 hour ago, Rackeen305 said:

 

Do you even know or understand what you just said? Saying that a team is better than a minor league team doesn't make you good. It means you are better than a sorry minor league team (Baseball terminology). What really matters is, How you stack up against championship quality teams ala Patriots, Broncos, Steelers, Seahawks etc...  Show me where I said "The worst in the league", I never quoted anyone. I made a statement. 

 

To be the man, you got to beat the man. Go ahead and say the Colts are better than the Jaguars. How much weight does that carry? Saying the Colts are better than the PATS, that's a different statement.

I think he meant to quote gacoop because he was the one that said we were the worst. So I pointed out that we aren't even close to the worst which we are not. I have always took the bad with the good since the Manning era started because 90% of the time we have been Good to Great since he got drafted, even with Luck we were Good to Very Good his first 3 seasons. No we are not on the Patriots, Broncos, Seahawks, or Panthers level as of now with the way things are being ran but who else is? Give it time, Luck is only going into his 5th season. We basically had to do a complete rebuild after Peyton left so nobody should expect miracles in the first few years of a re-build. The Steelers haven't won a SB since 2008 so it's not like they have been juggernaut over the last 7 seasons. Patriots had a 9 season drought in between SB wins from 2005-2013. It happens to the best of every team. 

[Steamboat_Shaun]

6 hours ago, Smonroe said:

Are those teams from 13, 14, and 15 so much better than this team?

 

This roster is far and away better than any roster in the Luck era. I'd say it's not even debatable, but I know someone will try to anyways.

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

This roster is far and away better than any roster in the Luck era. I'd say it's not even debatable, but I know someone will try to anyways.

Yeah it's similar to everyone of those actually. Cant really debate it. I do miss having Reggie Wayne though.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

Just now, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yeah it's similar to everyone of those actually. Cant really debate it. I do miss having Reggie Wayne though.

 

The pipeline of young players, on both sides of the ball, blows '12, '13, & '14 out of the water honestly. We have a solid rock at the center position now, 3 young and scary WRs, some talented youth AND depth along the defensive line, and some very exciting and promising young guys waiting to take over the secondary. The only (negative) thing that I see carrying over from the previous 3 seasons is lack of ability to rush the passer, but if those guys grew on trees, every defense in the NFL would be dominant.

[2006Coltsbestever]

5 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

The pipeline of young players, on both sides of the ball, blows '12, '13, & '14 out of the water honestly. We have a solid rock at the center position now, 3 young and scary WRs, some talented youth AND depth along the defensive line, and some very exciting and promising young guys waiting to take over the secondary. The only (negative) thing that I see carrying over from the previous 3 seasons is lack of ability to rush the passer, but if those guys grew on trees, every defense in the NFL would be dominant.

I fully expect us to win the Division and I love the Kelly pick, also love the TJ Green pick.

[coltsfeva]

Truth is...we just don't know.

   O-lines take time to gel and when Mewhort and Reitz come back, they may be fine.

  As far as the pass-rush; how many times have they almost gotten there but someone was open and the QB got rid of the ball? I definitely think the secondary (when healthy) will be improved and provide that extra second for the rushers to get home.

  Luck is looking better and our receivers are pretty sure-handed.

 

  Of course, injuries change things, as with any team.

 

I was at the Carolina game last year and believe me, the Colts were anything but soft. They gave Carolina all they could handle and you could hear some pretty goods hits dealt by the Colts. Even though Andrew had a terrible first half, they never gave up and made a game of it. If this thing comes together, the Colts can play with anybody, Panthers, Pats, Steelers, etc.

[superrep1967]

16 hours ago, BProland85 said:

I'll start out by saying that I like to listen to guys like Stephen Holder, Rick Venturi, and Greg Cosell when it comes to Colts football, and try to follow them when I can. Having said that, I am VERY discouraged about this team going forward when I listen to both Venturi and Holder. Maybe it's just me, but I have thought that for awhile now Pagano and Grigson both are not the answer at their respective jobs. These horrible showings in the preseason certainly doesn't help the argument against that. I'll go back to saying what I thought before, that whatever they are doing in training camp and practice, it seems to not be working to get this team to the physical standard they say that they want. I could go into a number of problems with this team...

 

Bad OL play (What has happened to Costanzo?)

Bad pass rush (We all know how deficit we are here)

Bad rushing offense (I haven't seen any sign of quality rushing offense in this preseason)

Bad coverage play on defense (Yes injuries play into this but from what I've heard they aren't even challenging WRs)

Bad depth everywhere except WR, QB and maybe DL

Bad coaching

 

If this season turns out to be what I think it could be, Pagano and Grigson do not deserve a pass and Irsay needs to do something to fix this team in the offseason. I feel that in some respect this team has gone backwards since 2012, and probably a good part of that is coaching and talent evalutation, both fall on the laps of Pagano and Grigs. I don't think I'm the only one who feels that way either.

 

Sorry to sound so doom and gloom but I just worry that this team has gone soft in the past year or two and that we just cannot compete with the quality teams in the NFL anymore. If that's the case, Irsay needs to make a change and bring in smart people who can bring an attitude and physicality to this team so we can stop wasting Andrew Luck's best years.

I agree 100%

[krunk]

I don't agree

[csmopar]

17 hours ago, BProland85 said:

I'll start out by saying that I like to listen to guys like Stephen Holder, Rick Venturi, and Greg Cosell when it comes to Colts football, and try to follow them when I can. Having said that, I am VERY discouraged about this team going forward when I listen to both Venturi and Holder. Maybe it's just me, but I have thought that for awhile now Pagano and Grigson both are not the answer at their respective jobs. These horrible showings in the preseason certainly doesn't help the argument against that. I'll go back to saying what I thought before, that whatever they are doing in training camp and practice, it seems to not be working to get this team to the physical standard they say that they want. I could go into a number of problems with this team...

 

Bad OL play (What has happened to Costanzo?)

Bad pass rush (We all know how deficit we are here)

Bad rushing offense (I haven't seen any sign of quality rushing offense in this preseason)

Bad coverage play on defense (Yes injuries play into this but from what I've heard they aren't even challenging WRs)

Bad depth everywhere except WR, QB and maybe DL

Bad coaching

 

If this season turns out to be what I think it could be, Pagano and Grigson do not deserve a pass and Irsay needs to do something to fix this team in the offseason. I feel that in some respect this team has gone backwards since 2012, and probably a good part of that is coaching and talent evalutation, both fall on the laps of Pagano and Grigs. I don't think I'm the only one who feels that way either.

 

Sorry to sound so doom and gloom but I just worry that this team has gone soft in the past year or two and that we just cannot compete with the quality teams in the NFL anymore. If that's the case, Irsay needs to make a change and bring in smart people who can bring an attitude and physicality to this team so we can stop wasting Andrew Luck's best years.

Keep in mind that while I like to listen to  Rick Venturi,  keep in mind he's not coached pro in almost a decade and has a head coaching record of 2 and 17 in the pros. Hes not exactly the John Madden or Lombardi of coaching......

[Smonroe]

2 hours ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

This roster is far and away better than any roster in the Luck era. I'd say it's not even debatable, but I know someone will try to anyways.

 

I'd agree that it would be hard to argue it's worse.  The argument is that it's somewhat unproven.  And there are currently more injuries.

 

I know I'd take Kelly over all the previous centers, even if he hasn't played a real game.  There are starters on some of those teams that may not make this one.  

 

[RollerColt]

We went from being one of the oldest teams (2015) to one on the younger side. I like that to be honest. It's time for our fifth years to take the leadership role. Things take time. I admit I started to overreact to the line issues in August, but things do take time. This line was never going to be as effective as I wanted it to be on day one. Lets just hope they continue to learn from mistakes as the season rolls.

 

I am loving what I see from Kelly so far. He's doing everything he can to make his mark: I'd actually wager that he's already the best player on the line as of today.

[krunk]

I see no reason to think the defense will be bad outside of injuries.  Injuries is the real key to this thing.

 

DL is deep once all the starters return.  Arthur Jones, Henry Anderson, Kendall Langford, TY McGill, Hassan Ridgeway, Zach Kerr, David Parry

 

LBs are solid. I have no problems with Sio Moore, Nate Irving, Dqwell Jackson, Robert Mathis, Erik Walden, Trent Cole.

Solid starters there. Could be better but they'll do their jobs overall I trust.

 

CB group once Vontae returns should be pretty good between Vontae, Cromartie, and Patrick Robinson.  I think Tevin Mitchel, Djoun Smith, and Butler will be good behind them.  Some question marks in that group behind the starters, but I trust my instincts.  Wouldn't be surprised if we find another young DB with promise somewhere once the cut to 53 happens if somebody isn't healthy yet.

 

Safeties:  Adams, Green, and Geathers should be solid.  If we decide to leave TJ in as the starter we can move Geathers back to the Dime Backer.   If we start Geathers and Adams we can use TJ in coverage on the tight ends and whatever else.

 

There has not been one time this entire preseason where all these people have been on the field at the same time.  We've watched nothing but backups playing, but for whatever reason people are buying this "Dumpster Fire" story as if everything we saw was the real first team defense.   Why?

 

Add this to an offense that I know is going to score points and I can't make myself have the outlook of some of you.  I just can't.   I believe the line will look better as they play together in full games that have been planned.  The return of Reitz will help as well. Kelly won't have too many more games like the Philly game and I trust AC will get his stuff together.  Run or Pass we haven't even seen a large amount of the type of plays we'll be running on game day.  When I see that Luck hasn't thrown a single INT the entire preseason even with the pressure we saw from the Eagles that tells me things are moving in the right direction there.  He's completed a nice percentage of his passes too.  We just needed to clean up some things here and there but I'm expecting the execution to be sharper than it was last year once we get in our groove.

 

I do think the first couple games may be a mixed bag but as we get guys back I trust we'll firm up defensively.

 

 

[richard pallo]

10 minutes ago, krunk said:

I see no reason to think the defense will be bad outside of injuries.  Injuries is the real key to this thing.

 

DL is deep once all the starters return.  Arthur Jones, Henry Anderson, Kendall Langford, TY McGill, Hassan Ridgeway, Zach Kerr, David Parry

 

LBs are solid. I have no problems with Sio Moore, Nate Irving, Dqwell Jackson, Robert Mathis, Erik Walden, Trent Cole.

Solid starters there. Could be better but they'll do their jobs overall I trust.

 

CB group once Vontae returns should be pretty good between Vontae, Cromartie, and Patrick Robinson.  I think Tevin Mitchel, Djoun Smith, and Butler will be good behind them.  Some question marks in that group behind the starters, but I trust my instincts.  Wouldn't be surprised if we find another young DB with promise somewhere once the cut to 53 happens if somebody isn't healthy yet.

 

Safeties:  Adams, Green, and Geathers should be solid.  If we decide to leave TJ in as the starter we can move Geathers back to the Dime Backer.   If we start Geathers and Adams we can use TJ in coverage on the tight ends and whatever else.

 

There has not been one time this entire preseason where all these people have been on the field at the same time.  We've watched nothing but backups playing, but for whatever reason people are buying this "Dumpster Fire" story as if everything we saw was the real first team defense.   Why?

 

Add this to an offense that I know is going to score points and I can't make myself have the outlook of some of you.  I just can't.   I believe the line will look better as they play together in full games that have been planned.  The return of Reitz will help as well. Kelly won't have too many more games like the Philly game and I trust AC will get his stuff together.  Run or Pass we haven't even seen a large amount of the type of plays we'll be running on game day.  When I see that Luck hasn't thrown a single INT the entire preseason even with the pressure we saw from the Eagles that tells me things are moving in the right direction there.  He's completed a nice percentage of his passes too.  We just needed to clean up some things here and there but I'm expecting the execution to be sharper than it was last year.

 

I do think the first couple games may be a mixed bag but as we get guys back I trust we'll firm up defensively.

 

 

Excellent analysis IMO.  Not to mention we could possibly improve the team in the next few days after cuts and maybe even a trade, who knows.  I think this team is stronger than last years team that started the season and many thought that was a SB potential team.  

[krunk]

1 minute ago, richard pallo said:

Excellent analysis IMO.  Not to mention we could possibly improve the team in the next few days after cuts and maybe even a trade, who knows.  I think this team is stronger than last years team that started the season and many thought that was a SB potential team.  

I agree.

[krunk]

14 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Excellent analysis IMO.  Not to mention we could possibly improve the team in the next few days after cuts and maybe even a trade, who knows.  I think this team is stronger than last years team that started the season and many thought that was a SB potential team.  

Yeah I just can't see the doom and gloom.   We have better personnel than we had last year in some key places.  Add in an offense that I 100 percent know will score more than 10 points and we should be more than okay to me.   We had confidence in our defense headed into the Patriots game last year with almost this same group of players that we have on defense. It was well understood what dragged that unit down and that was the Offense.  Now we've improved on that defensive unit from last year, added some young talent to the D Line, key veteran talent and now we are supposed to think the defense will be worse?  I just can't expect that if we are playing complimentary football.  If the offense is moving the ball and scoring points with any consistency I can't see a crappy defense with what we've got.  Mathis will get home and we haven't even seen all the blitz pressures.  If the guys who I see we've got in this secondary play the way I expect them to we should get some sacks just based on good coverage alone.

[grmasterb]

I believe fans need to be prepared for Irsay to show patience.  The team rebounded faster than expected after the 2011 debacle, so Irsay opened up his wallet for pricey free agents, which backfired.  It seems the Colts are now reverting back to form and building through the draft.  Grigson's draft record is spotty at best, but given Irsay's appreciation for the Rooneys and Maras, I think he will follow their model and give Pagano and Grigson time.

 

http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2006/12/20061211/This-Weeks-News/Colts-Owner-Is-New-Face-Of-Old-School.aspx?

[krunk]

Kevin Bowen @KBowenColts Retweeted by @batman

So yes, it is the preseason, but Luck did go 21-of-26 this preseason. Good sign for a guy, who typically hovers around 60 percent.

 

 

Kevin Bowen @KBowenColts Retweeted by @batman

FWIW, in the category of (who cares?) preseason stats... Andrew Luck’s 80.8 completion % was the highest of any QB (at least 11 attempts).

[aReggie7]

Many are pointing out that you don't have to win in the preseason. While that has been true for the Colts that is less true in this era. The previous era had a host of staples on offense and defense. Now that is not the case.

 

At the same time it is important not to get overly concerned. I don't think Chud has shown anywhere close to his full game plan yet, there are many young players on the offensive line and Philbin is reason for optimism as the season progresses, and while the defense is not elite we should see several key players come back within the first month of the season.

 

While it is true that this roster is not much different from recent teams it is also important to remember that the Jaguars, Texans, and Titans are all much more talented. Most importantly, all three potentially have an answer at QB. Who knows if the Jaguars will play up to their hype or if Brock is good enough for the Texans to win the division but time will tell. If any of these other teams in the AFC South haven't surpassed the Colts they have significantly closed the gap. 

 

I see reasons to be optimistic that this team can have a good season but can easily see them missing the playoffs too. They are like probably 20 or so other teams in the league where they are not elite but have enough talent to make the playoffs and go on a run. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, rmboone8 said:

Many are pointing out that you don't have to win in the preseason. While that has been true for the Colts that is less true in this era. The previous era had a host of staples on offense and defense. Now that is not the case.

 

At the same time it is important not to get overly concerned. I don't think Chud has shown anywhere close to his full game plan yet, there are many young players on the offensive line and Philbin is reason for optimism as the season progresses, and while the defense is not elite we should see several key players come back within the first month of the season.

 

While it is true that this roster is not much different from recent teams it is also important to remember that the Jaguars, Texans, and Titans are all much more talented. Most importantly, all three potentially have an answer at QB. Who knows if the Jaguars will play up to their hype or if Brock is good enough for the Texans to win the division but time will tell. If any of these other teams in the AFC South haven't surpassed the Colts they have significantly closed the gap. 

 

Good point but we were 0-4 in the Pre-season in 2014 then went 11-5 and went the Championship Game without Robert Mathis even.

[GoColts8818]

I think what we are seeing is a transition.  The Colts got really good really fast when they brought Luck in and took what some thought was going to be a three year rebuilding process and pretty much did it overnight.  So what the Colts did was put all their chips in for last year by signing older players who they hoped would get them over the hump in the playoffs.  It ended up not working out.

 

So now this is the ugly side of "going all in" those already older players are normally gone in a year or two at most.  Then you are left with holes to fill.  That's what is happening now.  The Colts had too many holes for any team to be realistic to fill in one off-season.  Then Grigson elected to take a different approach, he elected to re-sign his own (when I say his own I mean the Colts players not just guys he drafted), Luck, AC, Hilton, and Allen, and then rebuild through the draft rather than free agency this time. 

 

The good news is if he hits on his picks these should be much longer answers than vet free agents would normally be.  The down side is that it's going to take sometime for those guys to develop into those long term answers and they aren't going to be finished projects like free agents can be.  So it's going to require some patience and realistically looking at what the Colts have and haven't done rather than just being mad because the o-line has a bad game and as fans we are tired of seeing it.  Honestly, the line is probably the most set up for the future spot on the roster besides QB and WR.  They had two proven starters you can build around already in AC and Mewhort plus a solid guy in Reitz and then they added four draft picks.  They also seem to like Good who was just a draft pick last year.  If the Colts can get two or three of those five young guys to pan out then the line is going to be really good in a year or two. 

 

Clearly there are risks with the building through the draft approach as you aren't going to hit on every draft pick but as we have seen free agency isn't a sure bet either.  Honestly, Grigson's draft classes have been better than his free agency classes.  Since he's been here the only free agents he's signed that have truly worked out are Redding, Hasselbeck, & Lowery, who are gone, Butler and Adams who he got off the scrap heap that no one wanted, Langford, Walden, Gore, and Jackson.  There is a big incomplete next to Jones just because he hasn't been available. 

 

His draft classes haven't been as bad as some would lead you to believe.  He nailed the 2012 class.  The 2013 class was a total miss and then the 2014 was mixed results.  He traded the first round pick for a miss but nailed the second and third round picks but missed on the rest.  The 2015 draft is looking pretty solid as it's provided four maybe five starters depending on what happens with Geathers once he gets healthy and it's honestly too early to judge the 2016 class but they early reviews are good. 

 

So where are the Colts going?  They are getting younger to try to make another run.  This isn't unlike what happened following the 2001 season minus the coaching change.  The Colts had their core in place with Saturday, Glenn, Manning, Marv, and Reggie.  So they started locking those guys up while they let go their older players at other spots on the team and started replacing them with younger guys like Clark, Freeney, Mathis, and Brackett.  The result was the winningest decade in football that any team has ever seen.  So this team might not be a Super Bowl team this year and this year might be a step backwards compared to what we are used to for a single season but might ultimately be a step forward on the long term journey.