ColtStrong2013

I live on the fence...

Caitlin Clark effect…

Perhaps. I think there were some mistakes made coaching. Some aggressive moves made that didn't work out. But ultimately I think the Texans made more plays than we did, especially in key moments that were the difference in the game. That last throw and catch Stroud to Collins on 3rd down to put the game away was one heck of a play... and a matter of inches... and one that had it gone the other way could have very well led to an entirely different outcome in the game. It's a game of the smallest margins, and the Texans made the necessary plays.

To answer your question @Mighty Blue, take a look at what the Eagles did in 2022 under Steichen as playcaller. Miles Sanders rushed for about 75 yards a game (1269 and 11 tds) and Jalen Hurts rushed for about 50 yards a game (760 and 13 tds). I think you will see that kind of balance between AR and JT over the course of the season, providing they stay healthy of course. I thought all offseason that teams would stack the box a lot and force AR to throw, especially after what was coming out of the joint practice with the Bengals and their defense talking smack. Now that he has shown to be a legitimate deep threat, teams are going to have to decide how they are going to approach the 2024 Colts. Continue forcing them to throw and risk what we saw Sunday, or try and balance it out and force him to convert 3rd downs.

I think a fullback role is going to become more common as linebackers are becoming smaller and focusing on speed. Teams are never going to abandon a power run game that can dictate the pace of the game and control the clock, especially when they want/need to. It might not be a traditional fullback, but we are starting to see a lot of usage in the backfield in that role.

Nah, They don't have anything because they don't know. Who runs that hiring process? Pete Ward and the Irsay girls? I have a feeling they really like working with Chris and won't like having to do it. Pete's been around for 4 decades and a whole lot of General Managers... If he says he's not interested in doing another GM hire, then they are going to stay as patient as they possibly can until the tide finally turns, knowing how close it's been and the formation of a young and promising core. Folks on here fail to acknowledge that there is a changing of the guard and a whole new generation of owners and fans coming in. They have all the data. They aren't firing Chris until it's necessary.

I predict we will continue seeing Anthony Richardson develop and the highs and lows that come with it. 230 passing and 40 rushing with 2 touchdown passes to Pittman and AD. Another interception and some missed throws keep him from a monster game. JT finds the endzone with a 22 touch 90 yard game. Matt Gay returns and goes 2/3 missing a 52 yarder. Defense struggles at times against the run, but ultimately finds ways to get off the field more balancing the time of possession. Packers don’t make the 3rd down plays CJ Stroud, Joe Mixon, and Nico Collins make leading to a 27-17 Colts win.

max speed was faster than worthy? That’s insane…

could be. And right now we have 1 game (against what will be imo a top 5 offense) as a sample for the 2024 season. Give me 3 more to evaluate and I’ll have a pretty good idea what the defense is going to look like and make predictions. At this point, it’s kind of a moot point.

I found myself at a bottom when the team melted at the end of 2021. My attitude was really bad, I acted like a fool in front of my kids and I let the last two games and entire offseason dictate my mood. At some point I found it wasn’t really the team that was causing it, but the rest of the stress in my life and it was coming out during the games. Pretty well from then on I decided to be positive and just try and enjoy the moments, both with the Colts and especially in the rest of my life. After ‘22, I felt like anything to show growth would be a good thing. I didn’t expect the team to turn anything around quickly, regardless of what a small handful of other teams were doing in the league, and i figured if they were going to fully rebuild that would be the time. The Irsay family clearly did not want to do a rebuild nor felt it was necessary and last year showed they weren’t wrong. I’ve seen enough to stay patient and hope that it pays off down the road. It’ll be more than worth it if we ever become a true contender. If not, it’s just a game and one that so many franchises have had decades of pain in… I don’t like seeing us get run over, but something tells me it was an anomaly. I don’t see it being a common problem throughout the year and if that’s the case, AR won’t have to outscore teams as much as we are all predicting after week 1.

Based on how many of the Ballard haters on this forum copy and paste the same argument over and over on repeat and question people that disagree with them, I think you dramatically disregard many on this forum as being rational.

And in the past few years it’s been due to a much better qb that has the same problems but covers them up. Had we beaten the Texans Sunday, they would have blamed their secondary. They won because they had a qb making massive plays, a runningback that exploited a defense playing the pass, and a receiver that made a couple unbelievable catches that were ultimately the difference in the game. they also forced a turnover in the endzone and we did not. Slim margin Sunday and they made the plays to win the game.

Why would they think they aren’t in position to? They knew they were going to increase their explosiveness by getting AR back and hitting the draft at a couple positions, which they did in Latu and AD. They tried to get Hunter and he went to the Texans, which is where is from. I don’t think they sat on their hands, I just don’t think it worked out this offseason. Players want to play with playmakers, and it’s brutally obvious with the pickups Houston got. Solely because of Stroud. If AR stays healthy, we will be very much in the mix next offseason to do more than what has been done in free agency. But I don’t at all think anyone in the organization believes they aren’t looking to compete this season. I think week 1 reiterated they can, they have a lot to clean up and grow from.

And the vast majority of rational thinkers here agree with you on this...