Erik Walden 10 sacks!

[RockThatBlue]

How awesome has Walden been this year? 10 sacks, with 2 games to go.

 

Ha, I remember when people ripped Grigson over signing Walden. Hes arguably the most consistent player on defense, with the highest motor.

[indyagent17]

Good to see another player besides Mathis to get to double digits

[CR91]

Course now the sticky situation of resigning him. 

[RockThatBlue]

1 minute ago, CR91 said:

Course now the sticky situation of resigning him. 

It will be interesting to see what we do with Walden and Butler. Both, albeit a bit older, are playing so well right now. 

[NorthernBlue]

I love Walden. He has done exactly what he's asked to do coming here, and then some (10 sacks from your edge setting LB.........that's something).

 

But I doubt he does it again next season. Who knows, maybe he proves me wrong and does, but I don't know many players who reach a turning point at 31. Hopefully the Colts do bring him back though.

[RockThatBlue]

7 minutes ago, NorthernBlue said:

I love Walden. He has done exactly what he's asked to do coming here, and then some (10 sacks from your edge setting LB.........that's something).

 

But I doubt he does it again next season. Who knows, maybe he proves me wrong and does, but I don't know many players who reach a turning point at 31. Hopefully the Colts do bring him back though.

Resign Walden and draft a pass rusher to help him out.

[AKB]

1 hour ago, RockThatBlue said:

Resign Walden and draft a pass rusher to help him out.

Considering his main job isn't rushing the passer, I'd be okay with this. Mathis has to retire right? 

[Dark Superman]

Gonna definitely need to sign or draft some pass rush. Mathis is pretty much done and I haven't seen enough from anyone else to feel comfortable heading into next season. Man, hopefully we can bring someone in though because this team seriously could use a presence from the outside.

[AKB]

All we need on defense is a pass rusher, an average cb2 (slide robinson into the slot) and a true nose tackle.

[akcolt]

3 hours ago, AustinnKaine said:

All we need on defense is a pass rusher, an average cb2 (slide robinson into the slot) and a true nose tackle.

I would add ILB  

[zibby43]

Knowing Grigson, he'll let Walden and Butler walk and sign some UDFAs out of Old Dominion and UTEP to replace them both.  Or Canada, the UDFAs could come from Canada.  Or Germany.  Grigson loves him some turds, I mean, diamonds in the rough.

 

[Malakai432]

Yeah he has had a rockin year

[Jdubu]

8 hours ago, RockThatBlue said:

How awesome has Walden been this year? 10 sacks, with 2 games to go.

 

Ha, I remember when people ripped Grigson over signing Walden. Hes arguably the most consistent player on defense, with the highest motor.

Walden has been one of those "bring your lunch pail to work" type of guys. Not overly flashy but solid and just works. Doesn't miss games and. Makes inconspicuous plays. Never is the headliner but just plays. I'd resign him to at least another 2 year contract and maybe even 3 if that 3rd season you can walk away from if his age catches him quickly like it did Mathis. 

[Jdubu]

5 hours ago, SupermanLuck12 said:

Gonna definitely need to sign or draft some pass rush. Mathis is pretty much done and I haven't seen enough from anyone else to feel comfortable heading into next season. Man, hopefully we can bring someone in though because this team seriously could use a presence from the outside.

While I agree that Mathis is pretty much done...as a starter, I wouldn't mind taking him in on a 1 year 3 million dollar deal to spot use. He isn't a starter anymore but still has that lean and ability, he just has to be used less. If we don't bring him back, I'm fine with that too but as you say, we need some more pass rush from somewhere. 

[UKColt13]

Called it.

[Jason_]

4 hours ago, zibby43 said:

Knowing Grigson, he'll let Walden and Butler walk and sign some UDFAs out of Old Dominion and UTEP to replace them both.  Or Canada, the UDFAs could come from Canada.  Or Germany.  Grigson loves him some turds, I mean, diamonds in the rough.

 

 

You mean like Walden...and Butler?

[masnerj]

Walden is a "Edge-setting" hard-nosed LB in the words of Pagano. I remember when everyone on this forum freaked out when we "overpaid" him coming over from GB but so far he has been great, consistent and just overall very solid starter which is what we need to fill this defense with. We should definitely sign him as he probably won't regress that much and he has been playing about the same level for a few years now as well and knows this defense well.

 

Regarding his 10 sacks? On the first glance, it is certainly nice having ANY player on a defense get double-digits but its a problem when the one guy that does get there is playing a role that shouldn't be getting that many sacks to begin with. Usually that means we don't have any other pass-rushers even close to capable. That means we HAVE TO DRAFT PASS-RUSHERS....as simple as that. I really wanna see a top end OLB-pass rusher drafted in the first or second round and a ILB drafted in the other other pick. 

[VaAllDay757]

Glad he's gotten better because his first two years in indy were hard to watch

[JMichael557]

Luck cannot do it more (regarding short passes) unless the coaches call this type of offense. That has always been the problem the coaching decisions. If you send everyone deep then Luck has to hold the ball and the line has to block for 5 seconds or longer. Why we have done this for the last several years is mind boggling.  

[Superman]

1 hour ago, JMichael557 said:

Luck cannot do it more (regarding short passes) unless the coaches call this type of offense. That has always been the problem the coaching decisions. If you send everyone deep then Luck has to hold the ball and the line has to block for 5 seconds or longer. Why we have done this for the last several years is mind boggling.  

 

?

[Superman]

13 hours ago, zibby43 said:

Knowing Grigson, he'll let Walden and Butler walk

 

He should, unless they sign for relatively cheap.

[zibby43]

14 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

He should, unless they sign for relatively cheap.

 

I like both of these guys.  One reason I like them: Because there is no better option behind either of them on the roster right now.  That said, I don't want the Colts to overpay for them, either.

 

Have you been disappointed with their play this year?  I have been pleasantly surprised by Butler's versatility, and his willingness/ability to play through some "injuries."  He did some good things in the Packers and Vikings game, too.

[Superman]

6 minutes ago, zibby43 said:

 

I like both of these guys.  One reason I like them: Because there is no better option behind either of them on the roster right now.  That said, I don't want the Colts to overpay for them, either.

 

Have you been disappointed with their play this year?  I have been pleasantly surprised by Butler's versatility, and his willingness/ability to play through some "injuries."  He did some good things in the Packers and Vikings game, too.

 

Not disappointed in either of them, and I like them both. But I wouldn't be committing significant resources to either of them. They're nice players to have, but neither of them are difference makers. Neither of them are foundational players. Not in a hurry to push them out the door, but when it's time to pay them, I'd be tight-fisted. 

 

[jbaron04]

Contract year guys 

[1959Colts]

Time to move on.

[Jason_]

3 hours ago, VaAllDay757 said:

Glad he's gotten better because his first two years in indy were hard to watch

 

How so?

[IinD]

He definitely saved us this year because sadly the future HOF'r on the other side is done. No knock on him, he's done it forever, but it's time.

 

I could see Walden walking simply because it's his last contract and teams will see double digit sacks from an edge setter and probably throw some decent cash at him that he won't be able to refuse.

 

Needless to say we will definitely need multiple OLB's on both sides.

[VaAllDay757]

51 minutes ago, Jason_S said:

 

How so?

He couldn't set the edge like he should have or rarely penetrate through the o-line to create pressure but he has gotten better though

[AZColt11]

Nice, under-stated year by him. He doesn't get a lot of national love, or even a lot of love here, but he's been solid.  I have no problem with keeping him if the price is right.

[MTC]

On 12/18/2016 at 11:17 PM, RockThatBlue said:

How awesome has Walden been this year? 10 sacks, with 2 games to go.

 

Ha, I remember when people ripped Grigson over signing Walden. Hes arguably the most consistent player on defense, with the highest motor.

 

Walden playing at his best during a contract year? Hmm

 

I'll give credit to where credit is due. Walden is the Colts best pass rusher. That being said, he isn't that good at anything else. His coverage skills stink and his tackling is inconsistent at best.

 

I'm a bit nervous Grigson is going to offer him a crazy contract that isn't quite worth it.

[Colt Overseas]

8 hours ago, Superman said:

 

Not disappointed in either of them, and I like them both. But I wouldn't be committing significant resources to either of them. They're nice players to have, but neither of them are difference makers. Neither of them are foundational players. Not in a hurry to push them out the door, but when it's time to pay them, I'd be tight-fisted. 

 

 

I think I would like to keep Walden and Butler for 2 more years if possible, provided it's not stupid money. I think this offseason, there is going to be a change with the older experienced players like Mathis, Jackson and Jones, it doesn't leave much vet leadership left. We're probably looking at bringing in maybe 2 more rookies into the line up on defense, so I think I would prefer to have these guys stick around for two years. I'd hope we can hold on to Walden anyway if he us not looking for too much, it would be hard to find a good replacement player when your already looking for rush OLB. He has emerged as one of the main leaders of this defense.

[Jason_]

11 hours ago, VaAllDay757 said:

He couldn't set the edge like he should have or rarely penetrate through the o-line to create pressure but he has gotten better though

 

Disagree. Teams have been trying to run to the opposite side of where he's lined up since he got here.

[Jason_]

8 hours ago, MTC said:

 

Walden playing at his best during a contract year? Hmm

 

I'll give credit to where credit is due. Walden is the Colts best pass rusher. That being said, he isn't that good at anything else. His coverage skills stink and his tackling is inconsistent at best.

 

I'm a bit nervous Grigson is going to offer him a crazy contract that isn't quite worth it.

 

Lord have mercy are you serious?  He's easily the colts best LB in terms of run defense.  As I stated above to another poster, teams are constantly trying to run away from him.

[life long]

How would people feel if draft day we made a trade to a top 5 pick for an elite player *olb* or is that as risky as it sounds. I know this draft is fairly deep in key spots but we likely will miss out on the for sure picks. Then be left with having to trust our current evaluators.

[BullsColtsFan1]

He's been solid.  I hope the Colts bring him back next year on a team friendly deal.  If Grigson is in charge, Walden will walk or get a big contract no in between lol. 

[Jason_]

55 minutes ago, BullsColtsFan1 said:

He's been solid.  I hope the Colts bring him back next year on a team friendly deal.  If Grigson is in charge, Walden will walk or get a big contract no in between lol. 

 

You mean like the original contract that Walden was signed to?  In fact, let me come at this from a different direction....aside from Luck and Gosder Cherilus, who else did Grigson give one of these big contracts to?

[VaAllDay757]

5 hours ago, Jason_S said:

 

Disagree. Teams have been trying to run to the opposite side of where he's lined up since he got here.

Naw they run it whereever they see the hole at and they have ran it right past walden....like the steelers, texans, even the rams did it

[Superman]

2 hours ago, Jason_S said:

 

You mean like the original contract that Walden was signed to?  In fact, let me come at this from a different direction....aside from Luck and Gosder Cherilus, who else did Grigson give one of these big contracts to?

 

No, like the big contract he gave Butler when he re-signed a couple years ago. Wait...

 

Like the big contract Mike Adams got when... no wait...

 

There's been little wrong with Grigson's contracts. Even the Cherilus contract wasn't that big. The players getting these contracts is another issue.

[BullsColtsFan1]

2 hours ago, Jason_S said:

 

You mean like the original contract that Walden was signed to?  In fact, let me come at this from a different direction....aside from Luck and Gosder Cherilus, who else did Grigson give one of these big contracts to?

I know Art Jones got a pretty big contract and LaRon Landry's was pretty decent to back in 2014.  I don't remember Waldens to be honest.  I just have a funny feeling he'll walk or Grigson will way over pay him.  He's had a good year but the team shouldn't get carried away.  It'd be cool if the Colts brought him back on a team friendly deal. 

[Jason_]

1 hour ago, BullsColtsFan1 said:

I know Art Jones got a pretty big contract and LaRon Landry's was pretty decent to back in 2014.  I don't remember Waldens to be honest.  I just have a funny feeling he'll walk or Grigson will way over pay him.  He's had a good year but the team shouldn't get carried away.  It'd be cool if the Colts brought him back on a team friendly deal. 

 

Jones was one of the highest rated FA DTs that off-season.  His contract was commensurate with the going rate for a premium DT.  Landry was coming off a Pro Bowl year, which the Pro bowl can be taken with a grain of salt, but the point is that he was coming off a good year.

 

so again I ask...who are all these players that Grigson way over paid for?  that funny feeling you have is hatred for Grigson and it's clouding your judgement. I'm not going to say that the way you feel is completely unwarranted.  Grigson's made his share of mistakes.  But overpaying for FAs has NOT been one of them.