smittywerb

JT isn’t going anywhere and if he does it’s for team that will bite give us a high pick for him. JT does not have the market he’s looking for. Him and Jacobs are both on the trading block so what does that say? Cook is still unsigned so what does that say? Saquon after crying signed for $10million. JT has to understand the market is the market. You’ll get more money, but not what you’re trying to get. And if you do get that money, I doubt that team is going to be able to make him a winner.

1. Commanders: I don’t think they’ll have a chance to win their division, but I want to see what Eric B can do with that offense. 2. Broncos: I credit last year to their inept coach. Let’s see what they can do with a healthy squad and a HOF coach. 3. Bears: I’m interested in Fields development. They got him some weapons and had a good offseason. Want to see what he does this year.

this right here. I don’t know if I’d call MPJ an alpha receiver. He is one of the best POSSESSION receivers in the game but a bonafide alpha, idk. He lacks the speed that most alpha receivers have. Even though he is very productive, he doesn’t command the same attention other alpha receivers require. In other words, MPJ doesn’t command a safety and a corner but he requires a very good corner. I’m hoping that Alec with a qb that can utilize his speed and size will turn him into that alpha. I would rather see Alec as our WR1 than MPJ because Alec can stretch the field with his 4.4 speed and can put jump most corners with tall frame. Alec is the wild card among our receivers because he was drafted in the second round and had a first round grade in a deep class. So hopefully Ballard struck gold with him or we’re going to have to look to FA or the draft for our alpha WR

nope. Unless our defensive backs are way better than we thought. I have no worries about our front 7. I’m 50/50 on the offense and that mainly depends upon if AR comes along, but those CBs scare me. Young and inexperienced. They will be thrown to the fire. I’m expecting us to be one of the worst pass defenses in the league. Especially if our front 7 can’t get pressure.

you just made me cry. Bob is my favorite colt :,(

Get ready for AR and JT to give defenses fits with the options. Can’t wait to see what Shane draw up with the RPOs also. Can you imagine an RPO where AR can either hand off to JT, throw it, or keep it himself?

well, with the way we were playing I’d put my bet on the over that he definitely betted the under lol

Right here it says it: https://deadspin.com/isaiah-rodgers-nfl-gambling-indianapolis-colts-1850592796https://deadspin.com/isaiah-rodgers-nfl-gambling-indianapolis-colts-1850592796 Sorry, I didn’t want see him go but betting against your own teammate? I get it, have to set the tone.

I think if Rodgers had better on another team it wouldn’t have looked as bad. But betting on your own team? That’s like insider trading at that point. He had to be cut. You’re in the Locker room betting on your own teammate to fail. I don’t like the cut, but I understand it.

This will let me know where our org stands for this year. if they want to compete, they’ll go out and grab a vet corner. Maybe Marcus peters. If they’re in the building the phase (which I think they are), they will stand Pat and let the rookies learn through the fire. as a fan, I’m ok with this. We get to see what our rookies can do. This year imo was going to be a wash anyway. I’m honestly more excited to see Brents and rush out there learning and developing than to miss out on playing time.

I compare ballards drafting to a test. see on a test, you can get all the questions that aren’t worth much correct, but if you get the big ones wrong, then you can possibly fail the test. That is Ballard to a T right now. he’s pretty much hit on all of the “non-impactful” positions, whether through FA or the draft. But when it comes to the “impactful” positions (like DE, QB, LT) he’s pretty much skated or flat out missed.

- that’s what has done him in, his reluctance to spend money in FA. We always target the right people and then get outbidded. You can build through the draft but you have to sign free agents to compensate for those misses and when you don’t, those misses hit harder. But yes, compared to other GMs Ballard is in the elite tier of drafting. Probably the best when it comes to the later rounds and UDFAs - I’d say the Richardson pick bought him 2 years. 1 depending on bad we are lol - he does draft well, but as said above, him drafting well gets nullified by his failures in FA. And it better change because he’ll be gone. - and meh, it’s worth a try. Especially if we let him go and no one grabs him. But I doubt it

I already have in my head we’re going to be horrible. For 3 reasons: - Rookie QB who needs reps and experience - Rookie HC - Inexperience at CB. We are going to have the WORST pass defense in the NFL. Our young CBS are getting thrown into the fire and if they don’t learn and adjust quick, teams will pick us apart. I may be wrong. AR might just be an absolute stud who just needed the reps and experience. Shane might be a natural and pull this team together. Our CBs might be better than what we thought. But that’s a lot ifs. All in all, I knew this. This year is going to be an evaluation/building year. My expectations are low. I’m more excited to see our rookies and young players develop rather than winning. If we’re just getting blown out every game then yes I will be very unhappy. But if we’re fighting and getting better every week, then I’ll be a happy Colts fan.

I think the only thing keeping Ballard here is that he can draft well. I know, he’s missed on DE but everywhere else he’s either been solid or good. this is definitely make or break for Ballard in the next few years. If Ballard doesn’t surround Richardson with talent through the draft and FA and this team continues to regress he will be gone. My faith in AR improving is solid. Shane track record for developing QBs is solid. Ballard track record, questionable. me personally, if it comes to finding a new GM, I would want to put Ballard on the scouting/drafting team. That’s if he’d want to.

I honestly think this could definitely happen. Our defense is going to be BAD. We’re very young and inexperienced at corner, our LB core isn’t the best, and we still are not sure about our DEs. We have a rookie HC, we have a rookie QB who has 13 college starts under his belt. I feel fine about the rest of our offense but those first 2 are VERY important. I think our floor is 3 games and our ceiling is 7 games. Who knows, AR might be way better than advertised and everything gels together. But to say we’re only going to win 3 games isn’t a crazy thing to say.

idk about Shaq man. Has he even practiced yet? And I’m worried about our LB core now that Bobby is gone.

1. Yup, AP had a pretty productive despite what we had going on. He showed some rookie moments but it was a solid first year. Hopefully with a bigger arm and better playcalling we can see him become a dog. 2. I’m leaning more towards being optimistic than pessimistic when it comes to the OL. After Reich and the OL coach got fired, the OL actually played ok. I think with Raimann getting a full offseason of weight training, we should some improvement. I really think the left side of the line went to crap because Nelson was compensating for horrible LT play. ARs legs should also help the OL out as defenses won’t be able to just spam blitzes knowing it’s a statue sitting in the pocket.

im excited also. A little worried about our young CB room. We are going to picked on a lot in the pass so I hope they learn quick. if our pass rush can ever develop into what CB thinks it can be, then that will make it MUCH easier on them. But if not, look for us to have one of the WORST defense in the league as teams will just throw it all game.

As news becomes slower and slower as the off-season continues, I figure we look forward to the present. What are 3 things you’ll be looking forward to this upcoming season. For me: - I won’t say Anthony Richardson because I think that’s going to be on everyone’s list lol 1. Playcalling: my biggest gripe last year (and previous years during the Reich era) was playcalling. I felt like we had the pieces and potential to make things happen but we were too predictable, vanilla, and slow. Even with the limited arm of Matt Ryan, this team showed flashes on offense when we were put in position to do so. I want to see what Steichen is going to do with this offense. I expect some hiccups and things to start slow as he’s a rookie HC. 2. Alec Pierce’s Second Year: Coming out of college, AP was one of the best 50/50 catchers in his class. He showed flashes last year when given the opportunity. With ARs arm and Pierces speed. I expect to see a lot deep routes and jump balls. If AP comes around in his second year, he will be a matchup NIGHTMARE. 6’3, 4.4 speed, and can go up and get it. I predict AR and AP will have the best connection on the offense (hot take). 3. Jelani Woods: Another potential matchup nightmare. I hope he’s putting in the work and Shane will give him his time to shine. Most of the elite teams have a good QB/TE combo. Woods has the physical intangibles to become a monster at TE. Also, I hope Shane lines him up out wide to utilize that rare speed he has at TE. It would also give more space to JT by preventing defense to crowd the line. Those are mine. What are you looking forward to?

agreed. AR main knocks coming out were his lack of experience/reps and his mechanics. I trust Shane to improve his mechanics. The experience/reps are on AR. Fans need to understand AR is going to make mistakes. He’s going to make “dumb” throws. The key is that the amount of bad plays he makes decreases as the season goes on. The fact that reports are saying he looks good in camp means that he’s learning. But that’s just camp. The experience part of it begins when he plays in game. I’m on the side of letting him start early. Let him sit behind minshew for a couple games to get the routine down. As Keyshawn would put it “learn how to get to the stadium”. After that, start him. You can have all the mechanics in the world, but nothing beats real-world experience.

anyone who think otherwise is putting too much expectation into this season. Not worried about this at all. What I’m more interested are his mechanics. How do those look?

I like this singing, cheap, low risk, but high potential. Definitely has the intangibles and he’ll be in a better system with a better WR coach. I tell you one thing, it’s going to be fun sending on fly routes and having AR launch the ball on madden lol

I would assume so. The thing about playing in the league and betting is that it opens the possibility of insider trading which would open up the league to criminal charges and a lot of lawsuits. It’s just best to eliminate any doubt and don’t do it at all.

Hate to see him sit down for a year. Was looking forward to seeing him in an increased role. But this will be an evaluation year anyway so that means more time for our rookies to shine. This could be a blessing.

There is a salary cap, the thing is the owners have figured out how to get past it, and the players play a big part in helping with that. what they are doing is making “false money”. They’re essentially signing these players for huge contracts, pushing “money” down the line, and giving the players big signing bonuses/guarantees to make up for it. so for example, player a signs a 5 year $100 million contract. At first, it looks like the player is getting $20mill/yr. But when the details drop, the player gets $50 mill guaranteed and a $10 mill signing bonus. So really it’s a 5 year $50 mill contract. The contract is then designed to where that player will most likely get majority of that money in the first 2 years. Then, said player gets released. So all in all, the team probably paid that player $60–$70 mill out of the $100 mill as others have said, this works in the short term but in the long term it eventually catches up because that “false money” doesn’t come off the books. So teams like the rams and bucs are now seeing the results of this. Not sure how the eagles are making it happen but now that hurts got his contract we will see if they follow suit.