Le'Raven Clark

[Legend of Luck]

After everything that transpired this season, I'm still incredibly confused about what happened to Clark this year.

 

He played so well in limited time in 2016, so much so that Irsay felt comfortable saying "the line has been fixed."

 

Then he doesn't even make it out of training camp as our starter. And then, when he finally got his chance in season, he was awful.

 

Does anyone know what happened? He showed so much promise. I just haven't read anything definitive about his struggles/why he regressed.

[Fisticuffs111]

I think 2016 was a small sample size, and even then, probably an unpopular opinion but I didn't think he looked that good. And of course, as for Irsay's "the line is fixed" comments, never really took much stock in that either.

[ColtJ82]

I thought a lot about him during the draft. He could be such a wildcard if he comes out and wins the RT position. Hopefully, he settles well into a zone blocking scheme. 

[Calmack]

...sucks 

[MPStack]

Future HOFer!

[Fluke_33]

1 hour ago, Legend of Luck said:

After everything that transpired this season, I'm still incredibly confused about what happened to Clark this year.

 

He played so well in limited time in 2016, so much so that Irsay felt comfortable saying "the line has been fixed."

 

Then he doesn't even make it out of training camp as our starter. And then, when he finally got his chance in season, he was awful.

 

Does anyone know what happened? He showed so much promise. I just haven't read anything definitive about his struggles/why he regressed.

Change of ol coaching or was that the year before?

[HectorRoberts]

He’s my dark horse this year. I have high hopes that he pulls all that potential together and becomes that tackle we drafted!

[IinD]

Him developing at RT would literally solidify/complete our line.

 

That would be a welcome sight. 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

2 hours ago, Legend of Luck said:

After everything that transpired this season, I'm still incredibly confused about what happened to Clark this year.

 

He played so well in limited time in 2016, so much so that Irsay felt comfortable saying "the line has been fixed."

 

Then he doesn't even make it out of training camp as our starter. And then, when he finally got his chance in season, he was awful.

 

Does anyone know what happened? He showed so much promise. I just haven't read anything definitive about his struggles/why he regressed.

Though Philbin was 'supposedly' a OL guru I felt he did a less than adequate job. Ventura complained several times that the line continuedly failed to pick up simple stunts.

I think Clark may improve with a new OL coach.

[aReggie7]

It would be huge if he can play up to his potential. The guy has all of the physical tools. Hopefully the new coaching staff helps him. Not only with his technique but the scheme too. There is supposed to be an emphasis on getting the ball out quicker this year. Hopefully this combined with some hard work by Clark equals a good season for him.

[stitches]

Clark played well to finish 2016, but there were still some worrying signs. His size and length and athleticism were evident and were allowing him to mask some of his inefficiencies BUT... even then you could see his trouble with strength when it came to builrushes. IMO, the scouting report just caught up to him. You might have one weakness but when you get beat every single time when people attack your weakness, it makes all your good attributes almost irrelevant. And that's what happened - opponents watched him and scouted him and saw where he has trouble and abused him this way. I don't know how fixable this is. 

[Douzer]

Technique can be taught, elite physical traits cannot.be taught.

 

I personally, had no expectation of success in year 1 and 2, as he had never been taught, or practiced pro techniques. As such, year three has always been when I expected to find out if we hit gold or pyrite. We shall see.

[krunk]

Would be nice if Clark could put it together. New scheme and staff so we will see.

 

[krunk]

Good seems to play tackle the best out of the 3 and has the necessary strength. However hes a bit injury prone as well as inconsistent with his technique and just overall performance. Im hesitant on all 3 of them dudes until i see greater improvement. Hoping we can find one vet to add to the mix.

[NewColtsFan]

 

So........

 

This is NOT good news for Le'Raven Clark...

 

Ballard was on NFL Radio with Alex Marvez and some other guy named Polian...

 

Marvez introduced Ballard by calling him the most honest, straightforward and truthful interview he's done in 24 years of interviewing NFL people....     High praise...

 

Then, in the interview,  they asked him to breakdown the O-line....

 

Left to Right....     AC -- Nelson -- Kelly....

 

Then....   he said RG would be a battle between Slauson, Mewhort and the rookie, Smith...

 

Then.....  he said RT would be a battle between Good and Haeg.     No mention of Le'Raven Clark.    Not.  A.   Word.

 

That's not good.     The only way to spin it would be to say that he's trying to light a fire under the guy.    Otherwise, he's telegraphing that Clark is not long for this roster....  

 

He did say,  in a perfect world,  there would be 10 O-lineman on a 53-man roster...    and he said that he's not done looking for more....   so, I took that to mean,  any cuts made now,  or during the cutdowns in August and Sept,  he could grab someone.....

 

But if you're Le'Raven Clark....   if you want to make this roster,  it's time to man-up and deliver.....

 

[krunk]

16 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

So........

 

This is NOT good news for Le'Raven Clark...

 

Ballard was on NFL Radio with Alex Marvez and some other guy named Polian...

 

Marvez introduced Ballard by calling him the most honest, straightforward and truthful interview he's done in 24 years of interviewing NFL people....     High praise...

 

Then, in the interview,  they asked him to breakdown the O-line....

 

Left to Right....     AC -- Nelson -- Kelly....

 

Then....   he said RG would be a battle between Slauson, Mewhort and the rookie, Smith...

 

Then.....  he said RT would be a battle between Good and Haeg.     No mention of Le'Raven Clark.    Not.  A.   Word.

 

That's not good.     The only way to spin it would be to say that he's trying to light a fire under the guy.    Otherwise, he's telegraphing that Clark is not long for this roster....  

 

He did say,  in a perfect world,  there would be 10 O-lineman on a 53-man roster...    and he said that he's not done looking for more....   so, I took that to mean,  any cuts made now,  or during the cutdowns in August and Sept,  he could grab someone.....

 

But if you're Le'Raven Clark....   if you want to make this roster,  it's time to man-up and deliver.....

 

Sounds like Clark will be playing in the last preseason game most likely. Unless he really turns it around.

[Scott Pennock]

18 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

So........

 

This is NOT good news for Le'Raven Clark...

 

Ballard was on NFL Radio with Alex Marvez and some other guy named Polian...

 

Marvez introduced Ballard by calling him the most honest, straightforward and truthful interview he's done in 24 years of interviewing NFL people....     High praise...

 

Then, in the interview,  they asked him to breakdown the O-line....

 

Left to Right....     AC -- Nelson -- Kelly....

 

Then....   he said RG would be a battle between Slauson, Mewhort and the rookie, Smith...

 

Then.....  he said RT would be a battle between Good and Haeg.     No mention of Le'Raven Clark.    Not.  A.   Word.

 

That's not good.     The only way to spin it would be to say that he's trying to light a fire under the guy.    Otherwise, he's telegraphing that Clark is not long for this roster....  

 

He did say,  in a perfect world,  there would be 10 O-lineman on a 53-man roster...    and he said that he's not done looking for more....   so, I took that to mean,  any cuts made now,  or during the cutdowns in August and Sept,  he could grab someone.....

 

But if you're Le'Raven Clark....   if you want to make this roster,  it's time to man-up and deliver.....

 

Could you recap the entire interview? And yes, that does not bode well for Clark UNLESS it's ca subliminal message as you said!??!

[jbaron04]

On 4/30/2018 at 9:06 PM, Legend of Luck said:

After everything that transpired this season, I'm still incredibly confused about what happened to Clark this year.

 

He played so well in limited time in 2016, so much so that Irsay felt comfortable saying "the line has been fixed."

 

Then he doesn't even make it out of training camp as our starter. And then, when he finally got his chance in season, he was awful.

 

Does anyone know what happened? He showed so much promise. I just haven't read anything definitive about his struggles/why he regressed.

Pagano not the best evaluator of talent lol

[NewColtsFan]

16 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

Could you recap the entire interview? And yes, that does not bode well for Clark UNLESS it's ca subliminal message as you said!??!

 

Among the other comments....

 

Ballard said he does not subscribe (my word, not his) to the idea that Guard, or other positions (like RB) can't have a player that has elite skills....    that he thinks these difference makers are worth taking...    so, a guard or a RB or any position can have a player so good that he can justified being taken anywhere.

 

He acknowledged that WR is not a loaded position for the Colts...   but said he was very happy with both TE and RB...   and that if you scheme it correctly,  the offense can create mismatches that can be taken advantage of...   said Ebron looks really good...   compared him with KC's Travis Kelcie and said he looks like he could be a difference maker. 

 

He said he was very strict about getting guys who both had playing skill and super high character...    said Polian had done a good job of training the scouts about what to look for.     Also said he and the scouts sat and talked with the coaches about what THEY were looking for.     The type of player and skill set....    "traits" is a word that Ballard loves to use... 

 

They spoke a lot about Luck...   and again,  Ballard was mostly evasive,  which he acknowledged...    but said he loves Luck and Luck is right where he supposed to be.     Ballard was literally asked if Luck would be ready with the opening of camp in late-July and Ballard tap-danced around a specific answer...    he used the "Luck is not going to skip steps" on his road to recovery....

 

They didn't get too much into the defense....   did say that Hooker and Wilson should be fine in the new defense...   Interestingly,  he did say when he was in Chicago running the same Tampa-2 defense,  they had a big NT,  and so he's looking forward to seeing if guys like Stewart and Woods can make the transition.    I don't recall anything more specific about the defense.... 

 

I think that's most of it....    if I hear a re-broadcast,  I'll listen for more...

 

[Scott Pennock]

Awesome, good stuff @NewColtsFan! Thank you!

[Scott Pennock]

I went and looked, 2003-2009 all of the Bears DT's were 6'3" and 300+.....plus they had Urlacher so I'm guessing that's why they played D stouter than we did in the cover 2.

 

You know, except for the SB when Rhodes and Addai ran roughshod over them! Ha!

[chad72]

4 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

I went and looked, 2003-2009 all of the Bears DT's were 6'3" and 300+.....plus they had Urlacher so I'm guessing that's why they played D stouter than we did in the cover 2.

 

You know, except for the SB when Rhodes and Addai ran roughshod over them! Ha!

 

That is because from Glenn to Lilja to Saturday to Scott to Diem, everyone was h*** bent on run blocking that playoff run. They were not the biggest guys on OL in the middle but they sure worked darn well together.

[Scott Pennock]

5 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

That is because from Glenn to Lilja to Saturday to Scott to Diem, everyone was h*** bent on run blocking that playoff run. They were not the biggest guys on OL in the middle but they sure worked darn well together.

Same year as the Saturday pancake block against the Pats.....they really did gel that year!

[NewColtsFan]

46 minutes ago, jbaron04 said:

Pagano not the best evaluator of talent lol

 

How exactly did this get to be a Pagano problem?

 

How about Grigson?     How about Philbin?

 

How about scouts? 

 

On the list of where blame for Clark lies,  I suspect Pagano's name is barely on it....

 

Come on now...

 

[Luck 4 president]

Give him another half of a season. If he still hasn’t improved then he’s a bust. 

[Douzer]

It's possible that Clark may be penciled in as the backup LT/LG. It doesn't seem as if Ballard spoke to who's behind Castonzo/Nelson. Vuj had that role last year.  That too would fit the 10 player narrative. 

 

 

[jameszeigler834]

On ‎4‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 10:01 PM, Calmack said:

...sucks 

He blows.

[Dark Superman]

Do we still have Goode?

I just don't want Joe Haeg in our starting lineup.

[krunk]

20 hours ago, chad72 said:

 

That is because from Glenn to Lilja to Saturday to Scott to Diem, everyone was h*** bent on run blocking that playoff run. They were not the biggest guys on OL in the middle but they sure worked darn well together.

I loved that offense when we were running the football a whole lot.  It seemed like after that Superbowl year we totally got away from being committed to running the football.  I just couldn't understand what happened. I guess Dungy leaving is what happened because Caldwell didn't keep that approach.

[Four2itus]

53 minutes ago, Douzer said:

It's possible that Clark may be penciled in as the backup LT/LG. It doesn't seem as if Ballard spoke to who's behind Castonzo/Nelson. Vuj had that role last year.  That too would fit the 10 player narrative. 

 

 

Having a bad O line is really hard on a team. Having no depth behind it is a nightmare. 

[chad72]

2 hours ago, krunk said:

I loved that offense when we were running the football a whole lot.  It seemed like after that Superbowl year we totally got away from being committed to running the football.  I just couldn't understand what happened. I guess Dungy leaving is what happened because Caldwell didn't keep that approach.

 

We did run well in 2007 but then Ugoh busted and Glenn retired, Jake Scott left for the Titans, and in 2008 the Titans took the division on the heels of CJ2K while Peyton had his bursa sac issues, and then the next year, Peyton managed to drag the likes of Charlie Johnson and Mike Pollak to the SB in 2009. 

[Manroth19]

I remember when philbin was a great o line coach with a great track record and I got excited

[jimmy g]

3 hours ago, DarkSuperman said:

Do we still have Goode?

I just don't want Joe Haeg in our starting lineup.

Last year many wanted to move Anthony to RT and sign a LT.  Made it sound like switching to the Right would be easy.  It's not. Actually, in the small window of Joe playing Left Tackle for Anthony in the few plays AC was hurt, Joe played much better than he did on the Right.  Joe, Anthony, and Laraven were LT in college, weren't they?  Clark was a human turnstile last year, no matter where he lined up.  I suspect he'll be cut in camp if not improved.  Joe (my favorite Colt)played decently enough to fill in, but probably not start.  It's probably Good's job, unless we finally sign Austn Howard, or another true, experienced RT that gets cut...

[DougDew]

On 5/1/2018 at 10:34 PM, chad72 said:

 

That is because from Glenn to Lilja to Saturday to Scott to Diem, everyone was h*** bent on run blocking that playoff run. They were not the biggest guys on OL in the middle but they sure worked darn well together.

And also because, the only really good DT Chicago had, Tommy Harris, was out during the playoffs and SB.

[lollygagger8]

RT is the one position that needs the most help, so it's time to shine Good, Haeg, and mystery O-lineman!  

[a06cc]

Was drafted as a project player. He is also playing out of position as he should be playing as a left tackle. I also don’t get all the love for Good as well. At that weight you shouldn’t be picked up and tossed into your QB. 

[ColtsBlueFL]

On 5/1/2018 at 9:54 PM, Scott Pennock said:

Could you recap the entire interview? And yes, that does not bode well for Clark UNLESS it's ca subliminal message as you said!??!

 

On 5/1/2018 at 10:24 PM, Scott Pennock said:

Awesome, good stuff @NewColtsFan! Thank you!

 

Just to give another listener perspective from that interview, to add to excellent info NCF already supplied -

 

**********************************************************************8

Chris Ballard interview- After Alex Marvez intro (mentioned in prior post by NCF)

Ballard - 'sometimes too honest. lol'

 

Nelson, elite talent, and elite character.  Great medical. He checks all of the boxes.

Polian, it is rare to find someone that checks all of the boxes.

 

Marvez on taking a guard at 6 - Ballard says difference makers can be at any position on the field, and Nelson is a difference maker.  League is paying more attention to interior line, and there is scarcity of top tier interior O linemen.

 

Getting close to having 10, 5 good starters, 5 good depth, and no mention of Clark (as mentioned)

Luck in a good place mentally and physically, but not skipping a step. If all goes as planned, we'll be ready to roll come training camp.  

Polian- reminder Indy fans, you don't line up to play until sometime in September.  

 

Ballard- Luck now has a chip on his shoulder to prove people wrong, a beautiful thing for a top 5 QB in the league.

 

Marvez on changoing coaches / schemes-
Ballard: Easy from a scouting perspective as the scouts  (mostly Polian trained) know what to look for for the Tampa 2 D scheme.  Some players are 3-4 to 4-3 transcendent (Hooker, Wilson, and Basham should be better with hand in the dirt). He mentioned Grover Stewart not being prototypical but, compared to Bears who played with Alfonso Boone and Anthony Adams (bigger noses) which helped on early downs, and notably in December/January. Still have to get more right personnel in building for the scheme.

 

On Offense will be similar to what they did in KC with A. Reid, and also what they did in Philly. Believes F. Reich might also institute some of old Buffalo Bills no huddle / hurry up, too. Polian says Luck can handle it, and Ballard says he unfortunately saw it personally when we went no huddle and came back from 38 - 10 deficit to win 45-44 in playoffs.

 

Dan Campbell - Ballard says a few HC choices on re-opened list (McDaniels saga), says Dan will be a good HC.

 

On the RB situation - Mack, coming back from shoulder surgery, the 2 draft picks Hines and Miller, Turbin, and C. Michael coming off ACL and Ferguson will provide excellent competition.

 

T.Y. came to OTA in very good shape, R. Grant good route runner, good hands, and Chester Rogers, with Doyle and Ebron.   It's great if you have dominate wideouts, but you can have dominant RB's and 2 tight ends and create huge mismatch problems for the opposing D as well.

 

*************************************************************

 

Polian was happy about Ballard hire and his plan to return Colts to high level again.  Playing on fast turf in good weather conditions (11-12 games a year), Tampa 2 type D is good, and few are using it these days so we have a pick of players, players very few other teams are interested in. He was also very excited about Frank Reich HC hire, says he knew he was HC material when Reich was 24 years old. It was a good segment on the SiriusXM NFL Radio show 'Late Hits' Tuesday evening.

[DougDew]

Interesting how the scouts are mostly leftovers from the Polian years.  

 

Apparently, they are trained to know how to scout Tampa 2 defenses but not so much 3-4 defenses.  Maybe when Irsay demanded we switch to a 34 after he fired Polian, that some proper scouts should have been hired.  We could have had better talent over the past few years.

[krunk]

11 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Interesting how the scouts are mostly leftovers from the Polian years.  

 

Apparently, they are trained to know how to scout Tampa 2 defenses but not so much 3-4 defenses.  Maybe when Irsay demanded we switch to a 34 after he fired Polian, that some proper scouts should have been hired.  We could have had better talent over the past few years.

I think the talent issue was related to Grigson.  As soon as Ballard came in he started getting the right type of personnel even for the 3-4 defense we ran last year.  First thing he did was start getting players who had the typical NFL size for the scheme we were running.  Grigson had players who weren't even the right size for the position they played. I'm sure Pagano made it clear to him what they needed

[Valpo2004]

On 5/1/2018 at 9:35 PM, NewColtsFan said:

 

So........

 

This is NOT good news for Le'Raven Clark...

 

Ballard was on NFL Radio with Alex Marvez and some other guy named Polian...

 

Marvez introduced Ballard by calling him the most honest, straightforward and truthful interview he's done in 24 years of interviewing NFL people....     High praise...

 

Then, in the interview,  they asked him to breakdown the O-line....

 

Left to Right....     AC -- Nelson -- Kelly....

 

Then....   he said RG would be a battle between Slauson, Mewhort and the rookie, Smith...

 

Then.....  he said RT would be a battle between Good and Haeg.     No mention of Le'Raven Clark.    Not.  A.   Word.

 

That's not good.     The only way to spin it would be to say that he's trying to light a fire under the guy.    Otherwise, he's telegraphing that Clark is not long for this roster....  

 

He did say,  in a perfect world,  there would be 10 O-lineman on a 53-man roster...    and he said that he's not done looking for more....   so, I took that to mean,  any cuts made now,  or during the cutdowns in August and Sept,  he could grab someone.....

 

But if you're Le'Raven Clark....   if you want to make this roster,  it's time to man-up and deliver.....

 

 

Maybe he just forgot about him, but even then it's not a good sign that the GM forgot about you.