tonychen
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Posts posted by tonychen
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Word here is the Pats will re-sign Blount as he will not cost them a lot of money and he wants to stay. He is a great compliment to Ridley and Vareen and showed what he can do when given the chance. The Denver front was too tough but honestly he was taken out of the game because the Pats got behind early. That would have been true no matter what RB was back there.
And of course remember the Pats got him for a bag of potatoes - a seventh round pick and a track guy named Demps. Now remind me again what the Colts gave up for Richardson? ;)
Yeah that Richardson trade truly looks dumb now. In today's NFL who would draft a RB with a 1st round pick?
I sometimes have problem with Pats way of using backs - They simply try all and see who has a hotter hand. Sometimes even elite backs need some time to get into rhythm or soften up the defense. To Pats standard Marshawn Lynch could have been buried on the depth chart.
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Yeah I just think he playing smarter and more within himself. That's all. I think it was Ty Law that said the first few years of Manning's career was like taking candy from a baby. He would stare down his receivers and force throws. But after a few years, he learned and got better and it became more difficult to defend him. I think now he just gets the game better and realizes the he can rely on his teammates more.
Yes earlier than 05 he had his learning to do. By 06-07 he was pretty established and I am having problems with Colts not taking advantage of his best time from 07 to his leaving.
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Peyton came up short himself but I think overall we made some mistakes in the front office and by the coaches. I like Tony Dungy as a coach...but I don't think we had to run the tampa 2 defense. Even so tampa had Mcfarland and Sapp run stuffing and creating pressure up the middle along with a strong pass rush from the edge...then they had solid corners, HOF safety and MLB....that is pretty hard to replicate...that defense was loaded and it was beautiful to watch. We just simply couldn't replicate that. Our defense was made to play with a lead but when playoffs came and points became tougher they couldn't give or hold our leads. I agree our issues were from the inside out. Nothing wrong with our skilled positions...but the OL/DL just couldn't hold up against elite teams who had less skilled talent but better hogs.
We had some of the best teams in 04/05/06 and then again in 09 until late injury to Freeney really limited our defense...we didn't have guys that stepped up like Denver has had. I honestly believe we could have given Peyton less talent in the skilled positions (especially RB) and he would have worked with and got the most out of them....if he had time to let routes develope...plus I really do think the OC help he has got the last two years have been great for him. If he can turn the the Pierre Garcons, Austin Collies, and even for half a season Blair White into a household name...he could do the same without all the investments to say Reggie and Marvin and Dallas. But yeah...all our money on defense was loaded up on the ends...and in a couple guys in the secondary that couldn't stay on the field or didn't work out. It happens...but we had a great run and how many playoff loses were less than 7pts???? I mean we lost a ton late after having leads and had our opportunities.
Nothing wrong with the Tampa 2 since every scheme comes down to execution. Chicago ran the same scheme for years and they were dominating before this yr. The personnel of Colts D could ruin any scheme.
Marvin and Dallas were overrated. Both burnt lesser teams but just disappeared against physical defenders. Reggie was great but he was only a possession receiver with average frame and speed.
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I think this is rather obvious but Manning is playing QB better now with Denver since the surgeries. He has developed the short passing game, is much more patient, does not force as many throws and will take the run every time if the D dictates it. I think the injury in some ways was a blessing in disguise as it forced him to become more of a thinking/patient QB and rely less on his God given talent which was diminished by the surgeries. He also seems calmer to me too both on and off the field. Maybe that type of injury gave him the perspective he needed and made him play looser.
I watched Manning's game against Pats in 07 last week and found it was the opposite. At the time he was more capable of making plays while now he has to depend more on the legs to make the same plays. He used to throw less ducks simply because he was younger and stronger. His understanding of the game might have improved but it may not be sufficient to compensate for the diminished arm strength. On the other hand Colts OL was giving him very little time, and his receivers could barely get open.
Don't know how long you have followed Colts and Manning, but the long drives he had last Sunday was his bread and butter when he was with Colts. Reasons: 1. Colts OL could only give him around 2 secs, 2. Receivers were not fast and strong enough to get open, 3. He had to spend more time to get the defense some time to rest.
Totally understand why he was forcing the ball more often as he knew he had less opportunities since his defense would stay on the field forever just to give up scores. He had the pressure to take every chance to score TDs.
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They were the better team on that day. But our great teams really never did great in the playoffs.
I wouldn't call the '06 team great. They were up and down all year, and the D got hot at the right time. The offense was a mess for most of the playoffs though.
Peyton had great teams in '04 and '05 in my opinion, and it just didn't happen for us.
Why do you have the perception that the Colts treated him so bad?
It is not treating him bad but holding him back. But if the best treatment for these elite QBs is to surround him with more weapons instead of taking his weapons away and let him fight with subpar weapons, then Colts might have treated him pretty bad.
To that point I can see why Manning chose Elway since as a former elite QB the manager surely understands what a QB needs, which could be more preferable to him than those managers treating it purely as a business.
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How many superbowls has Devin Hester played in
I an pretty sure Colts special teams can commit suicidal mistakes any time to anybody. Remember the 2010 playoff against Jets with 1-point lead and 1 min left they gave up a kickoff return directly to the 40 yard line, and 2008 at Chargers overtime they allowed Sproles to the midfield to set up his TD. In the games they won, say 06 AFCCG after Manning tied the game for the first time when he was still drinking his Gatorade Pats already had the ball at midfield. As Colts QB Manning had to constantly fight against his own special team.
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It is amazing that every yr Pats special team can bring some epic moments. In 2011 they had an OL return a Packers kickoff for a TD, but you don't count on these plays and call these returner monster.
Also Ravens were struggling the whole yr looking for their identity. Toward the end of yr they just looked tired after the long playoff run in the previous yr. The last week when they could win and go into the playoff at Bengals, I felt they were just waiting for the game to end as if they had booked direct flights from Cincy to Bahamas.
What got me was that first Ravens game and the fact he strung together three great outings in a row. That all went out the window though when his QB ran further than he did against a good run D.
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Just goes to show you. That's the game of football. Any given Sunday or Saturday or Monday Or Thursday or I believe rarely Wednesdays
Yeah it is all about match ups. If I have a big back I will feel happy to put him opposing Colts even if he has done nothing the entire yr.
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I don't think there is an easy way to get to 5 SBs and we certainly weren't close. We managed to make two. Better teams just bested us in the playoffs. Nothing shameful about that.
I don't think the 05 Steelers were a better team. The 05-06 Colts were probably the best in the entire league. In 07 Harrison started to decline very quickly and the replacement in Anthony Gonzalez was not close even before he got injured. Meanwhile the OL degenerated and there was no answer as well. Why they failed to assemble a team that is a little better in Manning's best years was mystery.
The 09 team making the SB was a miracle. The 14-0 to start the season was largely due to an easy schedule and a bunch of 1-score games going Colts way. And finally the playoff opponents got rid of Pats and Chargers.
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For now I would like to see how Colts will build the so-called "better team with defense and special team talents" around Luck. The 2012 draft class was a hit but other than Luck how many of them can become franchise players remains to be seen. And by now they 2013 draft was a huge miss, and I think they already overpaid some FAs before wasting a 1st rounder on Richardson.
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Don't be fooled by his occasional flashing. Blount is a washed out large back who would become a journeyman. It is hard to make him a featured back, so he is most likely going somewhere to be a situational back in a committee of RBs.
Ravens and Bills might have overthought on Brady's passing game and did not focus enough on stopping the run. For Colts it is in its DNA to struggle against big backs.
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The biggest problem Manning had in Indy was Bill Polian. I've said it for yrs. and many disagree but Polian has always been over rated. His blatant disregard to fill obvious weak links on the roster with better talent was nothing more than Polian just being stubborn and wanting to prove to people how brilliant he was by filling those weak links with mediocre talent. If it would have worked(which it didn't) he wanted to look back and make backhanded remarks to those who questioned his "genius". He overpaid mediocre or just bad players instead of upgrading at those positions and he let players walk that he should have paid.
Yes I agree with you. After the 09 team lost to Saints I also pointed this out. His earlier work was not bad but ever since his son took over they never hit the right pick.
Today's Pats somewhat look similar to this. They may still win enough games to make the playoff and sometimes go deep, but Belichick's failure to draft talented DBs and WRs have been hurting them, and the players they got to replace veterans did not pan out.
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Until Train Glenn and Jake Scott left...yes. Afterwards we struggled pretty badly when the playoffs rolled around.
Our interior D-line was always soft when Manning was here.
They decided not to pay their best OL and Colts stopped to run between tackles afterward. Even for a passing team if your left tackle Charlie Johnson was pretty much a backup level for 25 NFL teams troubles were set to come.
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This was the problem right here. Our three best players on defense weren't great football players.
Freeney and Mathis were so one dimensional at times they might as well not have even been out there against the run. And our best defensive player we ever had wasn't on the field half the time.
Mathis was a complete player and underrated for years. But I do agree that Freeney was overrated as he never contributed much in the running defense.
The major problem was the philosophy they had for interior lineman and middle linebackers. If you cannot stop the run the opponents are just not going to pass.
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Colts had some great teams with a ton of great players. Peyton, Edge, Marvin, Reggie, Freeney, Mathis and Bob Sanders. Oh and a stellar oline. I don't know what else they could have wanted. Can't make a team "perfect" but they had some pretty close.
That team could have won in 04 and 05 but they let the chance slip away. But the majority of these talents stayed in 06 and it paid off. What I am most disappointed with is the wasted time after 06 to assemble a team anywhere near that talent level.
When the entire league was obviously steering toward bigger and more powerful players, Colts in the late 2000s' continued to look for smaller players and it ended with a depleted roster in 2011.
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The Broncos are/were already assembled. You didn't have to add tremendous pieces to make them a great team. The team was built, and all they needed was a QB.
If this team stuck with Manning, or any team with any top QB, it's my opinion that a team starts to decay. That doesn't mean they can't succeed, but their absolute peak years are few.
This Colts team is leaps and bound better then the 2010-2011 team. Not all of that is Manning's fault, but we did have the ability to maneuver more pieces around without worrying about his cap.
This isn't just a problem with QBs either. It's just the nature, again in my opinion, of the salary cap era. Harder to pay those who deserve payed, and keep a team together for long periods of time.
So how do you explain why Broncos can assemble a good team and meanwhile find the money to pay Manning and also add those FA pieces? Maybe the difference is they sucked for a period of time to pile up with earlier draft picks, but it is still no excuse for Colts to continue getting busts and having no contribution from 1-2 rounders for 4-5 yrs.
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Those three SB-winning teams Pats had were so dominant in all phases that they could still win at least 2 with adequate QBs. People just never paid attention to the supporting cast.
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If we could build a team, that had no QB eating up the cap, and then in one season insert a HOF QB, it wouldn't hard to have instant success.
Manning, not purposefully, was culpable in the decay of our team. Because he ate so much of the cap.
We had multiple teams more than capable of winning it all, but for whatever reason we didn't win. I don't think we let Peyton down. And I don't think he let us down. Sometimes things just don't go perfectly.
Isn't Manning eating the same amount of salary cap at Denver now, not to mention the percentage may be even higher with the lowered cap total? Even if he eats about 15% of the entire cap, there is no excuse to keep drafting busts in the first two rounds for nearly a half decade.
The two DEs took over 20% of the entire cap room at the time and they had nobody to generate any pressure the interior, which allowed the opponents to run through the middle just to negate the edge rushers. Not a wise move as well.
The current Colts team is supposedly enjoying the low cap hit by Luck, but is the team much better now? The team has potential as it defeated both SB teams, but allowing a mediocre Chiefs to score 44 pts and a washed out RB in Blount to run 166 yards and 4 TDs were as bad as any lost games in Manning's era. Not to mention Luck will earn top QB salary in 2 years and they will face the same problem.
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The AFCCG was as intensive as any Manning's playoff games at the beginning, but very soon it made people relax - not because of the score, but how he played the game. Pats D could not generate any pressure, and actually they couldn't even touch Manning for the most of the game. The big OL kept the pass rush 4 yards away.
Unlike Manning's old days with Colts when the margin for error was within inches, the receivers where WIDE open, as unlike the smaller receivers in Wayne and Harrison who used to be knocked around by Pats DBs, this group of bigger guys were more physical and faster than the Pats DBs.
Compared with the old Colts RBs who depended on the stretch plays but constantly got stuffed by the opposing penetration, Denver RBs just ran physically between tackles and the OL out-muscled the opponent.
Terrance Knighton was a beast and I cannot recall any Colts DL to be this big and fast. Their DEs and OLBs were not Freeney-Mathis caliber but they played the run consistently.
Major injuries and free-agent losses happened, but the team smartly added talents from both drafts and free agency. Sylvester Williams and Ball played well as rookies, but DRC, Shawn Phillips, Welker, and Vasques as FAs all contributed immediately. In comparison Colts almost did nothing in FA in the Manning era.
This game shows what Manning is capable of when he is given an adequate supporting cast. Manning's earlier years with Colts he was still learning and had to play a much better Pats team. In 04-06 Colts started to become the better team, but after winning the SB in 06 when people believed Manning had it figured out, Colts followed that with multiple draft busts and eventually a depleted roster when Manning left. After 06, 5 years were wasted. The D could not stop anybody and were always on the field. The O aged and degenerated. The special team gave up big plays on a consistent basis.
Looks like it is a good decision for Colts and Manning to part ways. But for Colts although they have made the playoff for two consecutive years, they need to learn from the lessons of wasting Manning's talent to avoid the same things to happen on Andrew Luck.
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The latest history has offense beating defense in this passing era. Even last year when the two elite defenses met each other it was an offense-oriented high-scoring game.
Only thing that may not work into Denver's favor is the weather, but I think Manning will do better since he has more experience with cold games now.
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Did Colts ever consider drafting Leaf seriously? Teams do their due diligence to talk to a few candidates but I think they have already made their mind. Same case for the Luck-RGIII debate, which indeed was never a debate at the first place.
BTW going into NFL as a top pick and asking for "the more laid-back lifestyle" is enough to explain why Leaf never had a career.
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Umm i doubt it would have much of an affect at all... Belichick is more of a defensive minded head coach, i doubt he spends much time at all with the offense because he trusts McDaniels and Brady to take care of business.
Manning should be able to win 3 more rings had his defense been up to the old Pats level.
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I don't like one team getting a bye. I think that advantage is just too big in the NFL where it is a one game and go home scenario. If they do this format then they need to get rid of the bye altogether.
Considering the debates on bye week VS. momentum it is hard to tell how much advantage there is for the top 2 seeds. I like the idea for #2 seed to play #7 since it will still be a good advantage for the #2 as many #7's are not really great teams, and it is a good thing to separate the #2 and #1 seeds as currently the two are not that much different (except for this weekend's game).
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But interesting thing is both the teacher in Shanahan and student in Kubiak have not been doing well recently, although they had success in the past.
Peyton Manning's legacy now and if he wins the Super Bowl [Merge]
in NFL General
Posted
Had Ryan Clady been there the 7-TD game in week 1 could repeat at least several times. Manning could have 80 TDs.