Ehrman.Dutton.Cook.Barnes

Agree with all. Great effort from adequate talent. I think it's safe to say that pre-season expectations are now a distant memory. Let's hope for a new GM who can deliver the talent within the financial constraints Grigson has left behind and will be more astute in the draft. I think we have a shot at the play-offs given our weak division but not much more than that. As always as a die hard fan I'm hoping for more than last year but as a realist not sure we have the talent to get us there. Hope is a good thing.

Sorry COLTS7 but C for the defense is generous. Defenses win play offs and SBs.. You need to have a shut down defense so that any third & long is always 4th down for the opposition. You cannot be at the bottom or even the bottom half of the league in team defense against the run. You have to have linebackers who can at least stay with tight-ends or RBs out of the backfield. And finally you need a coach who can make adjustments to counter the unexpected, play by play, team by team. We have little if any of those key traits. We made the defense older & slower in one year with the FAs Grigson has signed. Mathis is a legend but no longer a consistent threat and cannot go the entire game any longer. On this point I respectfully disagree with a C for the overall defense.

Respectfully to all who think that Grigson should be given some room to improve. I say in this day & age, football is an unforgiving & demanding business. You simply can't make as many mistakes as he has made and hope that he will learn on the job. You are talking about the guy whose sole job it is to identify the needs of a team and bring in the talent to meet those needs and get it to the SB. The only thing he has demonstrated is that he lacks the ability to do either. If Pagano's conflict with him is about the talent he is trying to coach, then maybe I can be persuaded in seeing him continue.

Another great analysis COLTS7. I can only hope the rumblings & rumors about Pagano & Grigson are for real. I can only repeat, Grigson destroyed the fabric of this team with many poor draft choices and free agent signings. We are the OLDEST team in the league. Pagano is at fault for not "fixing the problems" which he declares he will do at every presser. We don't have SB caliber talent at too many important positions, mostly along either O or D lines. Grigson brought in bullets but he didn't know the gun he was trying to load.

COLTS7, great analysis as always, thanks. Where we part ways is on the talent side of the equation. We do have some really talented players, we just don't have enough to be SB contenders. And I lay the blame at the feet of Grigson. He turned this team into the oldest in the league in one year, mortgaging the future for what he hoped would be a SB run this year. Problem is he did not bring in the talent level, he just brought in a bunch of past their prime players who are not producing and who are sucking up valuable cap money. Combine that with three horrendous drafts and it becomes clear why we are where we are. Turning this team around is going to take a smart GM with a real eye for talent and who will clearly identify the most pressing needs of this team. It will take 2-3 years if we make the change now.

Grigson must be fired. If Luck's ribs are broken it is mostly because he is operating behind an inferior O-linedespite the obvious need to upgrade it in the draft or free agency. Instead we got another wide receiver in the draft and Herreman in free agency, neither of whom addresses that need. To compound matters, Luck is playing hurt, ? Because Grigson knows his name is all over this team, and he is trying to save his neck. In one year, he transformed this team into the OLDEST team in the NFL. With the possible exception of Gore, his free agent signings will be out of football in a year or two, so much for building for the future. And then of course the most bizarre first round draft picks T-RIch & Bjorn Werner??????

- - - - - Amen John242 It's Not Hard To Understand, It's Hard to Fix Posted by Ehrman.Dutton.Cook.Barnes, 26 October 2015 · 143 views In just three short years we went from one of the youngest teams, with some potential, to THE OLDEST TEAM IN THE NFL !!!! In the last year alone, we went from a team that went one step further to a team that is in serious regression. Why? Because we replaced that group of players with a bunch of over the hill, cap-$ sucking, dinosaurs who have not improved on what we had last year. Add to that the fact that our last three number one draft choices were all wrong-headed for what this team needed. So it's not hard to understand why we are watching a team with such high expectations, (according to the Grigson/Pagano analysis) implode. How to fix it? Grigson, Pagano and his entire staff have to go. Otherwise, we all know what the definition of insanity is, keep doing what you're doing hoping for a different result. I realize this is dramatic in scope, but with the right people managing the team and the right GM bringing in the needed talent, maybe when Luck turns 30 we might field a competitive team around him while his best years are still out there.

In just three short years we went from one of the youngest teams, with some potential, to THE OLDEST TEAM IN THE NFL !!!! In the last year alone, we went from a team that went one step further to a team that is in serious regression. Why? Because we replaced that group of players with a bunch of over the hill, cap-$ sucking, dinosaurs who have not improved on what we had last year. Add to that the fact that our last three number one draft choices were all wrong-headed for what this team needed. So it's not hard to understand why we are watching a team with such high expectations, (according to the Grigson/Pagano analysis) implode. How to fix it? Grigson, Pagano and his entire staff have to go. Otherwise, we all know what the definition of insanity is, keep doing what you're doing hoping for a different result. I realize this is dramatic in scope, but with the right people managing the team and the right GM bringing in the needed talent, maybe when Luck turns 30 we might field a competitive team around him while his best years are still out there.

Thanks COLTS7 for the perspective. I guess I'm just very frustrated and it's coming out sideways. Manning & Luck = 1 SB. unacceptable. Simply stated even with upgraded talent at a few key positions which Grigson is incapable of identifying, Pagano and his staff are incapable of developing them. So I agree, a couple of studs on the O-Line and D-Line and we could right the ship. However, remember thanks to Grigson, we've got some real dinosaurs on this roster with non-performance contracts which need to be dealt with. Sorry, But we may be looking at a couple of years of this kind of up & down performance until we get a Jim Harbaugh or a Sean Payton to coach some talent that someone with a proven eye for talent does the signing.

Not sure where to start. I said in my "Defining Moment" blog, that if we experience an embarrassing loss, we can give up any SB dream. Well, the loss was embarrassing less for performance and more because of sheer incompetence. Although the O-line yet again & still is woefully inadequate, our skill players made some good plays. In terms of performance, we had to resort to on-side kicks, fourth down go for it plays and a monumentally, inexcusable and to be blunt stupid play to try and stay up with a superior team. You simply can't rely on high risk, high reward plays to beat any opponent. And second half looked like nothing was learned from the successes we had in holding Gronk in check in the first half. Is that on the Coaching or talent? I contend that's on the coach and his assistants COLTS7I think you are being entirely too generous in describing Pagano & Grigson as good but not great.

COLTS7, well said. And regressing not only in talent acquisition but developing the players we have. Even if the talent is "OK" as you suggest (and I agree) with few exceptions there are too may players who have not been pushed or coached to their potential. We can only hope that we can either cut or trade our way back into a position of being able to attract and afford the real talent we need. I am convinced that Grigson cannot for two reasons: 1. his track record would be on display and 2. if Irsay is paying attention, which I am sure he is, who would entrust this guy with a say on the owner's checkbook.