Defjamz26

If there is one thing Ballard is good at, it’s drafting and developing LB’s.

This team needs JT or a back with a similar skill set. If Taylor plays we probably win that game. You need to be able to run the ball between the tackles to win in this league.

What a great topic. You almost forget about some of these guys after awhile. But I’ve got a great one for you guys. Delano Howell. He was an undrafted safety from Stanford during the Grigson era. I remember the going into I think the 2014 draft and someone asked why they didn’t draft safety and Grigson said they like what they had in house. Howell was one of those guys. He had a big fan club on this board as well. Speaking of Grigson era guys, In surprised no one mentioned Donte Moncrief. He went off in that Bengals game and then left in FA and got payed by the Steelers or Jags. The. Proceeded to do absolutely nothing. His last year with the Colts was his only decent season in the league.

If we win more than 7 games, color me surprised.

Yeah what’s his full list of injuries now? Back, ankle, foot, and 2 concussions? It’s so many that it’s impossible to believe he’ll ever play a full season again, and when he does play he’ll only show flashes of being the player he was from 2018-2020.

Jones crossed my mind too. Not just because of what Ballard said, but also because of what I saw and heard in preseason. I just wonder how many snaps he’ll actually get early on to be effective.

Who are our breakout candidates for this year? Pick 1 of the following -Rookie not named Anthony Richardson -1 non-rookie offensive player -1 non-rookie defensive player My picks; Rookie Breakout: Josh Downs, WR Offensive Player: Bernard Raiman, OT Defensive Player: Nick Cross, SAF Rookie pick came down to Hull and Downs for me, but ultimately given the thin depth at receiver I think Downs should thrive. I think 500 yards and 4 TDs is possible. Offenisve player was also hard to pick between Pierce and Raiman, but I like what I’ve seen from Rainman in camp. I think he takes that next step. Defense was easy. I don’t trust Kwity Paye to stay healthy and Ebukum is an unknown right now. Cross looks a lot more comfortable this year now that they have him playing more SS. The SS has to do a lot in a Bradley scheme, and clearly it was too much for him last year. This year I think he has a great season.

I totally agree with this thought. Only thing I’d add is that Leonard might be the exception. While he’s a fit in a Bradley D, we saw last year that the defense is fine without him. He’s more essential in Eberflus’ Tampa-2. But that’s a topic for another time. If Nelson and/or Smith wanted to be extended, Steichen would have came in and said “Get it done”. This is an important point that people who are criticizing Taylor are missing. He’s in a lose-lose situation. If he gets hurt again it damages his value to any other teams. He also could have a bad season due to the poor O-line play or the coach just not using him enough/properly. Good point. The answer is probably no, which is also probably why he is *. He’s being asked to play a full season and risk injury for a contract that may either not be worth his skill set, or play good and not get offered a contract because he’s not a scheme fit. Rest of your post was spot on as well.

In theory yes, but they’re fans too. Holder probably likes Taylor just as much as the rest of us do. Difference is he’s probably actually got to spend a decent amount of time with him, so he knows him more than we do. I think he’s reporting things accurately, but the fan in him is definitely showing on this one.

https://x.com/yuckbgr/status/1696995004630147373?s=46&t=Wvd3D2aVDNMUixcyKKG_xA this seems to Imply that Irsay was once again meddling, although it also points to Saturday. This is an underrated part of the story that not many other media people are talking about.

Well remember that’s what Antonio Brown alleged went on with him and the Bucs. They tried to “force” him to play on a bad foot. There’s another recent example/claim of that happening with a player but I can’t think of it right now. No one can be forced to play, but if this has any merit to it then maybe JT felt “pushed” to play. He also could have just misinterpreted what someone said to him.

Did anyone else see on Twitter where Zach Hicks was saying that the relationship with JT and the Colts started to go sour in November? https://x.com/zachhicks2/status/1696994293804638690?s=46&t=Wvd3D2aVDNMUixcyKKG_xA https://x.com/zachhicks2/status/1696997698275065997?s=46&t=Wvd3D2aVDNMUixcyKKG_xA

Absolutely. Taylor was the best player in Reich’s offense even though Frank wanted the QBs to carry the load. Without him Frank probably doesn’t even make it to 2021. The 4 win line from Ballard would’ve been better served if they won 4 games when JT was healthy the whole season. Winning 4 games says more about how putrid the rest of your team is/was then it does about the overall importance of JT to the team.

To be fair, the Colts in the post Luck era have been mostly a disaster. They got handed a winking lottery ticket by having the number one pick when Luck was coming out but he retired early because they couldn’t figure out how to protect him. They then proceeded to fill his void with guys like Jacoby Brissett, Phillip Rivers, and Matt Ryan. Last year they were victim to the biggest comeback in NFL history in a season where they fired the HC mid season and the owner decided to replace him with an ESPN analyst with no prior coaching experience. They hire what most people think is a great hire and finally draft a QB for the future, but now the best offensive player they’ve had since Luck isn’t getting extended. It’s warranted.

I guess we should also give some credit to Ballard and Irsay. We criticized them last year (Irsay more than Ballard) about interfering in coaching decisions and processes. From the presser it looks like Ballard (and Irsay from his comments back in July) is leaving things in the coaches hand. Which is a fair trade off if part of the terms for the hire was that he would retain certain coaches. But he will get final say in roster decisions. That’s how Josh Downs (undersized by typical Ballard metrics) got drafted.

Yeah that’s fair. And it doesn’t seem like Ballard is budging on that. And when you put it like that, they didn’t extend any other guys yet either, because Pittman is also due next year. But, what I think JT is saying on his side is “Hey I understand but I’d like to get extended now because I’ve well outplayed my current contract and I’d like some security in case I’m injured, especially since my position is devalued even more based on how much work I get”. He also doesn’t want to perform as good as a Nick Chubb does and only make $4.5 million when Chubb will make about $14.5 million. To me it seems like the two sides are at an impasse. Regardless of how this ends up playing out, I don’t see him playing here in 2024. Only way that’s not true would be if JT got a new agent.

I thought it was clear that Holder has been talking to JT and his agent, and is on their side. While that may seemed biased, I think it’s fair. Holder has been accused many times by Colts fans (myself included) of carrying water for the Colts. If he is actually on the side of a player for once, and holding the organization accountable, then there must be some merit to that. Ultimately I think Holder feels the way a lot of fans do. Taylor is the best offensive player on this team, and he’s just as valuable as the guys that have gotten extensions by Ballard. I get the scheme/philosophy fit but it’s JT. It’s also weird to say “We only won 4 games last year” in reference to Taylor, when: 1. He only played 11/17 games last year and there’s a statistic from 2021 that showed the Colts have a negative W/L ratio when he doesn’t go over 109 yards 2. When he was fully healthy in 2021 you won 9 games literally off of his back because the QB and receivers were terrible. Again I understand both sides in this situation. Neither has played it correctly IMO. My personal opinion? San Francisco has already shown us what the right answer is.

Oh yeah JT is in a league of his own. I live in Jersey so there’s a lot of Giants fans here, and I tell them. All the time that Taylornis better than Barkley. But despite how special he is, I think he may be in a Miles Sanders situation. Obviously he’s way more talented than Sanders, but even after having a career year in Philly, they chose to let him walk because in a Sirianni offense, it’s RB by committee. The then upcoming contracts of Hurts, Slay, and Bradberry definitely left little wiggle room for them and played a part, but ultimately he wasn’t that valuable to them. Remember that Steichen said in his introductory presser that quote “Were going to throw to score points and run to win”. It may be that despite him being an elite player, that it may not be worth paying him what he wants if he’s not going to be the focal point.

Which leads us to the very simple answer of why JT hasn’t been payed: They don’t yet no how valuable a RB will be in Steichen’s offense to warrant paying JT the type of money he is asking for. Which is probably why Irsay said they wanted to wait until after the season to pay him at first. That’s slightly different from my original take which was that they just didn’t want to pay him what he was asking.

Also the “pain” in the ankle line is telling. JT is playing a game. I get why he’s doing it, but that’s bad business.

Sounds like what I thought all along. It’s about money and positional value. The “they won’t pay him because he can’t prove he’s healthy” stuff is just fluff.

Yes because it’s Taylor. He’s been a great Colts up until this offseason and it’s a minor injury as far as we know. If it was Pittman in the same situation I’d say no. But I’d say it’s worth the gamble for the best offensive player this team has had since Luck. I also did read the article where he could be suspended, which would result in a loss of money for him, but would probably play right into his hand. Him and his agent definitely played this wrong as well. That I can agree on. His agent should’ve tried to get him a 1 year (fully guaranteed)prove it deal like what Barkley and Jacobs got. That way if he’s healthy and performs you can extend him after the season is over. Or if he gets injured again, JT gets let’s say 12 million, but it’s only for this season and you can draft another RB in 2024.

Also why would teams (new report from ESPN saying the Packers tried as well) be trying to trade for a RB that Isn’t healthy and would need a new contract?

I’m pulling at straws here, but I would think that if he’s healthy but won’t “show” them, it’s because he doesn’t want to play (even if he’s healthy) on his current contract. If he plays any length of games on his current contract and gets injured, he’ll make only $4 million. Also when he’s been healthy he vastly outplays most RBs in the league, but gets payed less. He rushed for 861 yards last year while battling an ankle injury. He still put up 4.5 YPC while the OL and QB play were horrible and was 139 yards short of going over 1,000 yards again, despite only playing 11 games. Given that, it wouldn’t be in his best interest if he is healthy to play without a new contract. But again, that’s if it really is all just a matter of health. I still think it’s about money. It always is. It’s not as if he had some type of crazy ankle injury. With that being said, do Colts fans need to be worried about Taylor’s ankle injury as well? In a word, no. Taylor underwent an arthroscopic debridement, which is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure to remove small amounts of broken cartilage and tissue in an attempt to reduce pain and improve movement. The surgery was successful, and Taylor was able to go home the same day. No structural damage was found on his right ankle. https://www.si.com/nfl/colts/news/jonathan-taylor-injury-ankle-surgery-colts That was in February. It’s now August. Unless something happened outside of football (like Luck and the snowboarding thing), it’s highly unlikely he isn’t healthy.

Their actions are showing that they don’t think he’s that valuable. Or rather they don’t think he’s valuable enough to pay whatever his asking price is. It’s not only the Colts as the RB contract thing is league wide, but they’ve made it clear through their actions where they stand on the debate. They value him, just not at his number.