DougDew

Yes, overall, I think Irsay is doing JT a favor by honoring the contract. That's what Irsay does, and its in JTs favor, IMO.

When did I ever say there were not going to be designed runs for AR? I know he's not Phillip Rivers. What I have said earlier is that I doubt that Irsay wants his pick 4 investment to be run like Earl Campbell in some sort of 1-2 power running based offense with JT, even if that's what SS did with second round throw away capital they invested in Hurts and Sanders. And I don't think SS even did that with Hurts as much as folks think he did.

My earlier point about cutting JT was not meant as an option at this moment, or before trade options are explored. Obviously Ballard should not make such a dramatic move this early. I was in a Kreskin moment, and if JT digs in his heels the Colts may not have any other option than to cut him and open up a roster spot for a RB that may actually have more versatility for SS. At some point during the season or even before, if JT seems exceptionally recalcitrant. Would JT dig in his heals and potentially forego $4.3M? Maybe, if he thinks he can get a contract next spring for a team that will guarantee, say, $12M of his next contract, then digging his heels in (and saving his body the punishment this season) might be a good investment. He could get hurt being the protective punching bag for the new superhero.

Of course, that's usually how I form my opinions. There were a lot of designed runs. But Hurts is much more than that. And while he succeeded at the designed runs, he was good because he can do more things than run. I had dinner and lost the train of the convo. Are we still talking about AR and expectations, or just bickering over the minutia of Hurts running stats, however they are compiled?

That's another strange thing. Usually guys that hold out for more money come off of a season where their production was high, and that production was instrumental in the team's success. More money justifies what they helped the team accomplish. Its obvious they are underpaid. But there is none of that with JT last year. So its not even a matter of the injury. Its also the fact that he did virtually nothing more than his backups did, and the team went 4 and 12. It seems to me that he feels the need to get as money money ASAP, regardless of this past season, he sees himself as replaceable and doesn't want the rest of the NFL to figure it out.

I get that, but are those distinguished from scrambles when it comes to QB rushing yards. Or number of "rushes". I don't think they are.

The amounts given to players upon signing a new contract is always high relative to the present cap. The contracts can be staggered so the amount of money being paid to positional groups can even each other out. But here's the problem. How much does a team want to pay to the guys who rush with the ball? When the NFL is a passing league. There are some on this board who believe that AR is going to run the ball a lot. Add in the amount of runs that are needed to justify giving a RB $16M, and how does that leave the passing game. It seems like the running talent will outpace the throwing talent by miles. That can happen this year, but I don't see Ballard/SS locking up long term contracts to RBs that will promote that kind of run/pass ratio over the next 3 to 4 seasons. If AR is running a lot, and JT is running lot, does Irsay Ballard, SS think they can win very many games with that kind of run emphasis?

What do you mean by "carries" as it pertains to a QB? Designed rushes, or broken play scrambles, or something in between where the QB knows he's going to run with the ball after he drops back a bit. I'm not familiar with how granular the stats are when it comes to QB rushing yards.

Exactly. He can still milk the team for $4.5....uh $4.3M....and maintain his bargaining rights by playing the documented ankle injury as far as he can. Who knows if he will or not. But it seems like he's going to have to cry UNCLE pretty loudly in order to get back into being a reliable asset to the team.

Jvan. You can't compare how the Colts value RBS under Frank and how Philly values them with Siranni/SS. Any good HC is going to ride the hot hand. But that doesn't mean they value that particular RB going into the next contract. What we know is that Philly just let their "non RBBC guy" walk rather than pay him $7M per year. And we just hired their play caller as our HC.

But I wouldn't trust that assessment. There is no link provided.

Do you get bogged down with literalism like Dustin Hoffman in Rainmann? In the context of contracts given to RBs, which is the topic of the thread, they have a RBBC system.

Stop correcting insignificant things. Philly did not have a franchise guy they they valued long term. That's the disconnect between SS/Ballard/Irsay and JT at the moment. IMO.

I simply meant that they want Taylor off the books by the beginning of the New League Year. Unless he capitulates into a RBBC role that SS likely wants. Which JT can do tomorrow and that would solve the entire problem.

Wouldn't the team trading for JT want to spend franchise tag value for him? Or a long term contract close to that? What team would do that? Isn't the RB group complaining about that right now?

Nobody is allowed to speculate here. JMV needs to provide a link.

Sure. They want good ball players at every position. The salary cap makes that impossible (unless you're the LAR), so 31 teams have to prioritize. It goes back to positional value. Something that I'm hoping SS can teach Ballard about.

What claim? Can't you tell. Its my opinion of what is unfolding and why. How could there be a source for that other than me?

He will play out the season and be gone next year. Exactly. How that is going to play out is yet to be seen. If it gets bad enough, he may be gone without compensation to the Colts. He's not going to be tagged. Its more cap than SS wants to spend on a RB, IMO.

Common sense. If you have none, please look for links to think for you.

The Colts want the contract terminated by the New League Year. They are not going to keep this going into next summer's TC. They've got a young superhero to rally around, promote, Symbolize the horsehoe, etc. JT is not in the plans unless he'll be happy role-playing at about $6-7M in perpetuity.

The problem we are in was set when Frank was fired and SS was hired. Its just come to a head now because the facts have arrived.....JT had his surgery and TC is here. There was no reason for this situation to come to a head before TC. The big issue is that SS has no use for a RB with enough talent to require $10M/year. Philly just let Sanders walk for $6.5M. Would JT play for $6.5M, and does SS want a RB that's not as all around as Sanders? NO. And JT knows the Colts don't want to pay a RB more than that. So he's not going to jeopardize his career by suffering an injury by playing the one-year role of supporting the superhero so that guy can be the franchise. I don't know where this ends. But the problem is that SS doesn't want a $10M/year RB. That's the issue, and JT knows it and he doesn't want to be strung along for one season.

JT's role in this rebuilding year is to take the heat off of AR. IOW, from JTs position, he's to be the punching bag this year as to protect the Colts investment they made in AR for the future. Where JT would probably be gone after this year, seeking a new contract after playing that role. He sees his role, and how he would probably be strung along at $4.5M? Maybe he'll figure its worth $4.5M to keep the heat off of AR and show up to TC.

Not if they are interested in moving on from him next spring.

That would be paying him on spec. Why do you think the heads of the Colts, Ballard and Irsay, say to "let see how it goes"?