Through three games, what are your thoughts on the rookies so far?

[RockThatBlue]

Including our UDFAs too.

 

How have our rookies played in your opinion?

[chad72]

36 minutes ago, RockThatBlue said:

Including our UDFAs too.

 

How have our rookies played in your opinion?

 

When we could confidently fill Blythe in for that 1 play that Mewhort took off and the several plays Haeg was asked to fill in, and not pay a heavy price for it for a position that is pretty hard to play for rookies, I think we did alright, more than alright this draft!!!

 

From the first pick on the Center to the second pick that most called a project, that turned to starter faster than we thought, in T.J.Green, we have pretty much hit our first 2 picks and gotten more out of this draft with every game that passes. You can't ask for more. We have gotten younger, and gotten productivity with our rookies.

 

[AKB]

Regardless of what everyone here says, Grigson hasn't drafted too poorly. It is free agency and trades where he is lackluster.

 

I like the presence Kelly brings. I think Haeg can be a franchise Tackle in this league (hopefully stays with us).

 

TJ Green works well in our defense, especially due to our lack of cover guys in the linebacker room. Without a competent trio of safeties we would struggle immensely against check downs and shift backs (week 2- Lions). However, i think due to our depth at safety, and Green's coverage ability, coupled with Geathers' ability to essentially play a linebacker role gives our defense a lot of flexibility. -- Something we did not have without Green. 

 

Ridgeway has been a little quiet. I would like to see more from him. But our defensive line has been the strength of the entire team, offense and defense. So obviously he can't be doing terrible. And as for the offensive line you already kind of summed it up. (@Chad72) I am a little disappointed with Clark, but we all knew he would be a project, and injuries never help anyone's case. 

[NorthernBlue]

Also would like to add that Ferguson has been good. The few downs he was in, he made some plays, especially on those short passes. Much better than what we saw in the pre season.

[cjwhiskers]

15 minutes ago, NorthernBlue said:

Also would like to add that Ferguson has been good. The few downs he was in, he made some plays, especially on those short passes. Much better than what we saw in the pre season.

 

I agree. I think the issue in pre-season was that we tried running him between the tackles. He's much more of a speed/open space guy. During the games we've definitely utilized him in a checkdown curl type roll. Fits him. 

[achcolts]

I'm a huge fan of the rookies that have played so far, Grigs did a great job. Who knew Ferguson would contribute so much (yes dink and dunks, but huge for maintaining drives) 

 

It really was just that 1 year (2013?) that didn't fare well

[GoColtsWin]

Last years and this years draft picks are paying dividends IMO. 

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

TJ Green can't really cover well yet. But the year is still young and the growing will continue 

[csmopar]

39 minutes ago, Gabriel Alexander Morillo said:

TJ Green can't really cover well yet. But the year is still young and the growing will continue 

Um....are we talking the same TJ Green......

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

9 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Um....are we talking the same TJ Green......

Yes. Lots of those open tight ends, runningback outlets and general dumpoff passes when we blitzed were supposed to be covered by Green. He recovers well and tackles fine but the coverage must be worked on. Thankfully they dropped a lot of easy catches 

[BlueCollarColts]

Ferguson is on pace to be a 450 yard receiver as a rookie, not bad considering he's basically our 3rd string RB. 

[ColtsLegacy]

4 hours ago, AustinnKaine said:

Ridgeway has been a little quiet. I would like to see more from him. But our defensive line has been the strength of the entire team, offense and defense. So obviously he can't be doing terrible. And as for the offensive line you already kind of summed it up. (@Chad72) I am a little disappointed with Clark, but we all knew he would be a project, and injuries never help anyone's case. 

 

WHAAAAAAT? The defensive line has easily been the biggest weakness of this team thus far. Yesterday was the first time they were anywhere near decent.

[bigt]

Ryan Kelly for sure.  Too early to judge the others, but I have high hopes for Haeg.

[Scott Pennock]

Blythe - has seen very limited action, too early to tell, BUT, he threw a key block on one of the rushing TD's as part of the jumbo package against the Chargers

 

Clark - was always a project, we'll see as the year goes on

 

Farley - with his pedigree as a Captain at ND (including their two Championship runs) he has been solid in his ST role and backup to the backup role in the secondary - even playing nickel last week versus Denver. Not bad for a dumpster dive pickup

 

Ferguson - has been pretty good in his role (so far) out of the backfield in the two-minute drill

 

Green - plays hard and fast and is still learning on the job. Considering the 50/50 projections on him as to whether he was a "project" pick - I think he has played surprisingly well thus far

 

Haeg - next to Kelly, this guy is a polished lineman and I think its only a matter of time before he's starting at either spots on the right side (probably RT)

 

Kelly - STUD - enough said

 

Maggitt - looks good out there so far in limited action - may be the steal of the UDFA class this year and successor to Walden next year

 

Morrison - needs work on his coverage abilities, but does not look overmatched in the middle

 

Ridgeway - has been involved in the DLine rotation from day one and hasn't really flashed but hasn't killed us either - I do remember one solid play from him versus Detroit

 

Rogers - made a great play on the ball in the Chargers game - except for the pass  interference of course, but, hasn't really been used too much yet to judge

 

All of these guys, coupled with last years crop of Anderson, Bray, Dorsett, Edwards, Geathers, Good, McGill and Perry are starting to form a younger nucleus to combat the older FA signings....

 

All in all, a couple of really solid years so far from Grigson and Company

[AKB]

12 hours ago, ColtsLegacy said:

 

WHAAAAAAT? The defensive line has easily been the biggest weakness of this team thus far. Yesterday was the first time they were anywhere near decent.

I hope you are not serious? The lack of tackling has been on the linebackers, and due to our scheme we had to run with the lack of talent in the secondary before we were healthy. Last week Anderson rushed for how many yards? And we just held Gordon to how many yards? Wasn't Gordon in the top 3 for rushing this season?

 

Please stop. 

[ColtsLegacy]

12 minutes ago, AustinnKaine said:

I hope you are not serious? The lack of tackling has been on the linebackers, and due to our scheme we had to run with the lack of talent in the secondary before we were healthy. Last week Anderson rushed for how many yards? And we just held Gordon to how many yards? Wasn't Gordon in the top 3 for rushing this season?

 

Please stop. 

 

Yes, the d-line has been putrid, prior to their decent output Sunday. To say they've been the best group on the team is a complete joke. Our CBs, while banged up, have outplayed the d-line. The only group that has arguably been as bad is the LB corps.

[AKB]

2 minutes ago, ColtsLegacy said:

 

Yes, the d-line has been putrid, prior to their decent output Sunday, to say they've been our best group on the team is a complete joke. Our CBs, while banged up, still outplayed the d-line. The only group that has arguably been as bad is the LB corps.

How is that even debatable? We have allowed 280 yards rushing in 3 games, and 900ish yards passing in 3 games. Our red zone defense has been all defensive line play (OLB cleanup). And our secondary literally gave away the lions game. 

[lollygagger8]

Kelly - absolute stud. 

 

TJ Green - has had some growing pains, but he is going to be great for us.

 

Ferguson - is great at catching pass out of the backfield. He reeeeeallllly needs to work on his pass protection though. 

 

Haeg - great at guard, needs work on tackle. But he will get better in time. 

 

Ridgeway - has flashed here and there. 

[ColtsLegacy]

28 minutes ago, AustinnKaine said:

How is that even debatable? We have allowed 280 yards rushing in 3 games, and 900ish yards passing in 3 games. Our red zone defense has been all defensive line play (OLB cleanup). And our secondary literally gave away the lions game. 

 

Lol. No, the secondary did not give away the Lions game. Nearly 50% of the passing yards were to the RBs and TEs in the flats or over the short middle of the field (166 of 340). Also every TD, receiving and running, was by a TE or RB. That lies mostly on the LBs. The DBs got the blame from people like you who just see that Stafford threw for a ton of yards and that the Colts DBs are banged up, so of course it was the DBs fault. And in that same game, Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick ran all over our defense to the tune of nearly 6 YPC and that's on a Lions team that is arguably worse at running the ball than the Colts.

 

As for the Broncos, they ran very effectively and pushed our defensively line all over the field. They had 135 rushing yards and left a lot of yards on the field.

 

As I said, the d-line was decent vs. the Charges which I largely credit to the return of Henry Anderson and Kendall Langford showing up for the first time this year (he was awful the first two games).

[PeterBowman]

this is shaping up to be the best draft class since 2012, though not the sexiest.

 

Still a long ways to go but there's lots to be excited about.

[Archangel]

Haeg should be starting at RG or RT like his foot work. 

Kelly was a Good pick in the first still learning to read a defense but is looking out for Andrew. 

Ferguson good on the outside if they can pitch to him more.

Clark is a project see how he turns out next year.

Blythe is still learning good backup at center or Guard but is coming along well could be a starter on another team.

Ridgeway not flashy but has his moments lets see in a couple of games when he gets the scheme down and works beside anderson who will draw a lot of double teams.

Green projected as a project this year shoved into action has grew up fast and has done good, Excellent hitter move Geathers into a hybrid LB in some cases could benifet the team.

As for the rest Morrison is a good run stopper but needs to work on pass coverage after three games he has been torched numerous times, Enough said their.

Maggit have not seen enough of him yet. 

 

[Hoosiernsavga]

15 hours ago, csmopar said:

Um....are we talking the same TJ Green......

TJ is not good in coverage but the Colts knew this drafting him. But he has all the intangibles to be very good. He's still raw at safety he will be going through some growing pains. I do believe he will be a leader on defense in the near future though. 

[MacDee1975]

14 hours ago, Franchise said:

Blythe - has seen very limited action, too early to tell, BUT, he threw a key block on one of the rushing TD's as part of the jumbo package against the Chargers

 

Clark - was always a project, we'll see as the year goes on

 

Farley - with his pedigree as a Captain at ND (including their two Championship runs) he has been solid in his ST role and backup to the backup role in the secondary - even playing nickel last week versus Denver. Not bad for a dumpster dive pickup

 

Ferguson - has been pretty good in his role (so far) out of the backfield in the two-minute drill

 

Green - plays hard and fast and is still learning on the job. Considering the 50/50 projections on him as to whether he was a "project" pick - I think he has played surprisingly well thus far

 

Haeg - next to Kelly, this guy is a polished lineman and I think its only a matter of time before he's starting at either spots on the right side (probably RT)

 

Kelly - STUD - enough said

 

Maggitt - looks good out there so far in limited action - may be the steal of the UDFA class this year and successor to Walden next year

 

Morrison - needs work on his coverage abilities, but does not look overmatched in the middle

 

Ridgeway - has been involved in the DLine rotation from day one and hasn't really flashed but hasn't killed us either - I do remember one solid play from him versus Detroit

 

Rogers - made a great play on the ball in the Chargers game - except for the pass  interference of course, but, hasn't really been used too much yet to judge

 

All of these guys, coupled with last years crop of Anderson, Bray, Dorsett, Edwards, Geathers, Good, McGill and Perry are starting to form a younger nucleus to combat the older FA signings....

 

All in all, a couple of really solid years so far from Grigson and Company

 

Who's Edwards?

[Steamboat_Shaun]

16 hours ago, ColtsLegacy said:

 

WHAAAAAAT? The defensive line has easily been the biggest weakness of this team thus far. Yesterday was the first time they were anywhere near decent.

 

I thought they played fairly well in Denver as well. Holding CJ Anderson to 70 yards at home is pretty impressive.

[RockThatBlue]

21 hours ago, NorthernBlue said:

Also would like to add that Ferguson has been good. The few downs he was in, he made some plays, especially on those short passes. Much better than what we saw in the pre season.

Ferguson is very Sproles like in the passing game.

[RockThatBlue]

3 hours ago, lollygagger8 said:

Kelly - absolute stud. 

 

TJ Green - has had some growing pains, but he is going to be great for us.

 

Ferguson - is great at catching pass out of the backfield. He reeeeeallllly needs to work on his pass protection though. 

 

Haeg - great at guard, needs work on tackle. But he will get better in time. 

 

Ridgeway - has flashed here and there. 

I agree with this but I'll add one more. Edwin Jackson has been a total stud on STs. 

[ColtsLegacy]

1 hour ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

I thought they played fairly well in Denver as well. Holding CJ Anderson to 70 yards at home is pretty impressive.

 

Looks good on paper, but they were manhandled by the Broncos line all day, especially in the passing game. Broncos left a lot of yards on the field and still average over 4 ypc.

[Matabix]

20 hours ago, ColtsLegacy said:

 

WHAAAAAAT? The defensive line has easily been the biggest weakness of this team thus far. Yesterday was the first time they were anywhere near decent.

Sorry your crazy, onlything in first 2 games that gave me hope about the defense. Thought wr was strength of team, but now I have to say dline.

[ColtsLegacy]

17 minutes ago, Matabix said:

Sorry your crazy, onlything in first 2 games that gave me hope about the defense. Thought wr was strength of team, but now I have to say dline.

 

Literally, every other part of the defense outperformed the d-line through the first 2 games (though LBs weren't much better). With both Henry Anderson and Kendall Langford healthy the d-line has good potential, but as a group they have been bad thus far.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

22 hours ago, RockThatBlue said:

Including our UDFAs too.

 

How have our rookies played in your opinion?

 

Overall, I think they've been very good!

 

Kelly has had very few poor plays, a lot of average plays, and a lot of above average-very good plays... as he gets more comfortable with the guys around him, I think he'll be just fine and well worth a first round pick.

 

Green has looked much better than I think anyone would have anticipated given his scouting report/project status coming out.

 

Haeg I think will be special for us -- I tend to think he'll be a starter for the rest of the year (whether it be at RT or RG) -- and honestly think he could be a very good LT for us in the future.

 

16 hours ago, Franchise said:

 

Rogers - made a great play on the ball in the Chargers game - except for the pass  interference of course, but, hasn't really been used too much yet to judge

 

 

 

I thought that pass interference on him was total garbage last week.  I watched the replay multiple times and still have really no idea how the ref slept at night after making that call.  I think it's hard to tell with young WR's, but from what I've seen between preseason and the little he's seen in game action, he seems to 'have it.'

 

 

2 hours ago, MacDee1975 said:

 

Who's Edwards?

I'm thinking he means Edwin Jackson?

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

45 minutes ago, ColtsLegacy said:

 

Literally, every other part of the defense outperformed the d-line through the first 2 games (though LBs weren't much better). With both Henry Anderson and Kendall Langford healthy the d-line has good potential, but as a group they have been bad thus far.

Man our d line has completely outplayed our Linebacking Corpse (spelling intended). They're occupying lots of space and even shutting down runs at the line. 

 

Meanwhile our olbs provide 0 pressure, Zero. Which in this scheme is their job most of the time. Walden has been studly, I will give you that my friend. And forget about our MLBs, terrible in coverage and tackling dudes who get to the second level. 

[Malakai432]

On September 26, 2016 at 5:57 PM, NorthernBlue said:

Also would like to add that Ferguson has been good. The few downs he was in, he made some plays, especially on those short passes. Much better than what we saw in the pre season.

 

Yeah I think he has potential especially with the passing game.  If they do decide to run with him they definitely need to be creative, this line isn't great at run blocking at all but I would love to see him burn someone for a big run. 

[ÅÐØNϧ 1]

On 9/26/2016 at 4:58 PM, RockThatBlue said:

Including our UDFAs too.

 

How have our rookies played in your opinion?

 

I'm pleasantly surprised I recall Grigson a few years back pointing out it takes O-lineman a couple of years to get up to speed . 

 

We'v thrown these guys in the deep end & there doing more than the dog paddle , Kelly & Haeg will have growing pains but they are the future & I believe we had a third rookie out there Sunday as well the name escapes me .

[ColtsLegacy]

1 hour ago, Gabriel Alexander Morillo said:

Man our d line has completely outplayed our Linebacking Corpse (spelling intended). They're occupying lots of space and even shutting down runs at the line. 

 

Meanwhile our olbs provide 0 pressure, Zero. Which in this scheme is their job most of the time. Walden has been studly, I will give you that my friend. And forget about our MLBs, terrible in coverage and tackling dudes who get to the second level. 

 

I think it's debatable who has been worse between the d-line and LBs, but to me it's the d-line. A lot of the LB issues are directly related to the underwhelming performance of the d-line. Now that Henry Anderson is back and Kendall Langford remembered how to play, I expect the line to be much improved, but the first 2 weeks they were putrid.

 

Remember, my original response was to someone who claimed the defensive line has easily been the best unit on the team, not just defensively. That's absolute nonsense.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

36 minutes ago, ColtsLegacy said:

 

I think it's debatable who has been worse between the d-line and LBs, but to me it's the d-line. A lot of the LB issues are directly related to the underwhelming performance of the d-line. Now that Henry Anderson is back and Kendall Langford remembered how to play, I expect the line to be much improved, but the first 2 weeks they were putrid.

 

Remember, my original response was to someone who claimed the defensive line has easily been the best unit on the team, not just defensively. That's absolute nonsense.

I wouldn't agree with that last part about them being the best. But what I see is a clear difference in suckatude between our lbs and dline. But we just have differing opinions on that 

[loudnproudcolt]

If you look at the progress of the rookies on the OL from pre season through the Chargers game, for the first time I really see progress. They are still young, but Kelly is as good as advertized, and Haeg was a steal in the 5th. If you pair it with last years draft, for the first time in years, I think our DL and OL are going to be very good as they get more experience.

Geathers and Green look like a really good future for the safety positions.

LB I think we are going to be surprised and I like Morrison.

The DL is where I think we have really drafted well and FA also. I think Grigson the last two years has done a really good job. People expect instant results, but it does not work that way. Look at Jacksonville for proof!

The picks he has made the last two years are really shaping up to be a bumper crop.\

One last thought. Everyone thought Dorsett was a luxury pick. Well with Montcrief going down, and being thin at that position, I sure am glad he pulled the trigger. Dorsett has not made a lot of catches, but he is getting better each game, and he scares the defense with his speed alone. Also, look at who everyone wanted, Brown who NE took. I have not heard a thing about him since the draft.

We may not win the division this year, these players, even last years are still learning. It takes at least a year for a player to get comfortable, and for many two. The progress I see is encouraging, and most of it is in the trenches which I love. Get us another good CB, and someone who can really rush the passer, and watch out!

[AZColt11]

I think it's really hard to evaluate because it's only week 3 and we haven't really seen much of the starting defense intact, which affects guys like rookies who are thrust into starting roles before they are ready.  As we go forward it will be easier to see what's what.

[krunk]

I dont think I will ever be that big a fan of Morrison. Hes a very limited athlete overall. There's only so much you can do with him. Great hitter in between the tackles, but he's got to darn near be perfect because if he messes up he simply does not have the speed to recover. This is especially true with outside runs. In the passing game hes a pure liability. It's somewhat of an issue to me because even if the O looks like they are going to run they can easily audible out of that and go after him with a pass. Even if he knows what hes doing his lack of athleticism works against him. And as of right now many times he doesnt even know what hes doing in coverage. Hes busting coverage and its going for big plays then they have to take him out of the game. I think he will eventually get the assignments right, but even then I think his lack of speed and athleticism will bite him in the end. I'm not sure if I see him being the long term replacement for Jackson. Understand its early so I will give it time. I just dont think I will be wrong about it.

[Valpo2004]

Especially if we can get Clark up to speed and able to start then this will have been the best draft class since 2012.  

 

Maybe even better.  

[theanarchist]

I havent seen enough of any of them really to have a good handle on how I feel about them.

 

Kelly seems solid so far. Hopefully he becomes the anchor for years to come.

 

Green has been out some but when I have seen him on the field he sticks his nose in there and seems to tackle well. Cant really say I've seen enough of him to really get a handle on his potential though.

 

Ferguson is a 3rd down back only and a decent option out of the backfield in mid to short yardage 3rd downs. I don't think he has the skills to be an every down RB in the NFL.

 

Ridgeway I think has been solid and I think he has some potential.

 

Morrison- havent seen enough of him

 

Maggit- same

 

Haeg- same, just havent seen enough of him to really have an opinion.

 

Overall I see Kelly, Green, Ridgeway and Haeg sticking around for a while and being atleast solid contributors.