bluephantom87

The Bucs went for it on 4th and 10 near midfield with almost a quarter to go! They gained 19 on the play and scored later on the drive. I think Shane should've punted but his going for it earlier led to Colts points also. My problem was the defense on that drive especially rushing 2 on one of the plays.

If Minshew throws to Pierce on that 4th down he's STILL running because he was wide open... Shane has too much confidence in Minshew to make the right play on a regular. Should've punted and pinned them deep.

Belichick getting desperate

I would concur and to a small Colt sample size Dan Orlovsky.

So true. Look at Tua's play once the Phins hired an offensive guy as hc in McDaniel. Another coach off the Shanahan tree. The focus also shifted to offensive playmakers and speed. I think from the rumblings coming from the Bills and Chargers (who both have defensive hcs) as of late it might be hard for the Texans or Lions to keep Slowik or Johnson if either of those jobs become available.

That's good news. If they can't give it a go I expect to see more tight end sets with a heavy dose of the run game.

I'm NOT going to let you do that. I've GONE to most of the Colts games since they have arrived in Indy as a season ticket holder for years until recently. I have a Colts mancave that gets many jaw drops and attend training camp EVERY season. My comments were DIRECTLY to you because every time there's a discussion about the talent level under Ballard and whether it's up to par or not you give the sad emoji like he has the Colts as a perennial contender! I have SEEN greatness with this franchise before and simply want a return to glory. I will be the FIRST to praise Ballard if he gets the team where they need to be and right now it's not good enough after being on the job for YEARS. I"m not spitting poison if I say Ballard is under .500! I'm not spitting poison if I say we're last in the division after coming in next to last a season ago and have had minimal success under Chris. If I list some of the failed qbs that directly impacted this team it would partly explain Ballard's record. If the Colts are ranked bottom tier defensively then which is it the players or the dc that Ballard personally handpicked after Ebs departed instead of allowing the hc to choose his staff? Not for certain but I believe Reich would've chosen Jim Schwartz as dc ( who now runs the Browns top defense) because of their Philly ties on that SB run. I could go on but like I said I think Ballard has finally gotten the hc / qb combo right and that's a start but I'm not praising him for lackluster results when other gms have done a better job in the same time frame. I've already listed the AFC teams that have risen under the Ballard tenure and in the NFC the Niners, Eagles, Rams, Tampa and now the Lions to name a few. I understand though if you like the guy ignore the facts and chalk it up as not true or trolling but trust me there are many complaing about Ballard on Sundays at the Luke.

So are you suggesting that Gus needs to blitz more even though he is stubborn to a fault with his OUTDATED system? That's been my point on various threads. Either Gus has to ADAPT and be flexible with his scheme or Ballard needs to get some ELITE defensive ends to make it work because we have no consistent pass rush ESPECIALLY with a game on the line. It's been THREE games in a row that an opposing qb has completed an over 30 yd pass play on 3rd and long. What's funny is that it doesn't surprise me because Gus is a mediocre dc at best utilizing some meh type players and it's just not good enough.

So I take it that you believe Chris Ballard is a top gm and that he has built a very talented team even though his RECORD doesn't reflect that after YEARS of being on the job. It's becoming almost laughable at this point with the "we're not that far off" narrative when in all actuality we're CLOSER to the cellar in our OWN division as the Jags have come up and now the Texans seem to be on the right path that I don’t think will take 8 yrs! This is not even INCLUDING the afc teams like the Dolphins, Bengals, Browns, Chargers and Bills who have come up during Ballard's tenure. Or winning teams like the Ravens and Chiefs who got aggressive by moving up in the draft to snag their guy at qb . Here we are talking about the SAME positions of need on a YEARLY basis with Ballard but this is a grievance thread in your view. Lol Funny how nationally the sport's world thinks that the Colts don't have enough PLAYMAKERS at the positions that matter to CONTEND but on THIS forum there are some who believe that Ballard is all world based on his "PHANTOM" success. You can keep on drinking his Kool-aid and using the snake oil that he's selling that's your prerogative not mine. At the end of the day Tobin, Polian and even the lackluster Grigson ALL had better winning percentages with Colt teams that saw at least ONE conference championship game. I know look at their qbs you'll say but guess what? Ballard had the SAME option to snag a young qb after Luck's departure but CHOSE guys like Scott Tolzien, Brian Hoyer, Brissett, Eason, a washed Ryan, Wentz and Rivers (who actually was decent in his only season) Lord forbid that Minshew gets hurt or we'll have his other qb reach in the subpar Sam Ehlinger who Shannon Sharpe said couldn't play dead in a horror movie! Wow

I guess he doesn’t fit in the "vaunted" Gus Bradley system!!! I hope this is his last season as dc! I say again it's an OUTDATED scheme with marginal players running it.

Oh yeah they already said he'll only be on their practice squad for a very short stint to get familiar with the offense because they have plans for Bryant to get many reps on game day to pair with Lamb... Oh well

Cowboys didn't let Bryant get out the building and signed him to the PS. By all reports he looked good physically, had nice catch radius and still had burst. Gives them a big receiver with speed.

I never liked the Paye pick for WHAT Ballard was drafting him for. Paye was NEVER an ELITE or even upper tier pass rusher in college. He was more of an edge setter that played hard. To expect a guy that had only 11.5 sacks NOT in one season but for his WHOLE college career to suddenly turn into a top level pass rusher in the NFL was a reach. Not only did Ballard use a first rd pick on a SOLID but nowhere near game changing Paye but DOUBLED down with our 2nd rd pick and used it on Dayo who by the way had only 12 sacks his WHOLE college career. Dayo was also coming off an Achilles tear which is considered by most as a skill altering injury for a DE by robbing them of some speed and torque. Ballard made the choice anyway for ANOTHER solid type knowing that he would also have to sit out his rookie season. What?! These are the type of decisions combined with some other head scratching moves over the YEARS that has put this team below .500 under Ballard's guidance. Say what you want about HOF gm Bill Polian but the man drafted HOFs or fringe type ones at the PREMIUM positions in both Buffalo and Indy while winning division titles and getting to SBs. All I see from Ballard after all these YEARS is polished talker trying to use the Polian template by building through the draft and being limited in FA only in Ballard's version there are too many JAG types ESPECIALLY at the positions needed to compete in today's NFL. If it's ALL about "RAS" scores, potential and low risk high reward types in FA then Ballard is your guy along with the ready made excuses by his fans on WHY this team continues to remain non relevant while other teams have flipped since Ballard has been at the helm in Indy.

The needs have been the same in Ballard's LONG unfulfilled tenure.... A pass rushing DE, a top WR1 and a shutdown corner!!! Seems like we finally have a solid LT since AC's retirement and also seem to have the right young qb / hc combo after a mostly subpar list of both. Hopefully Ballard's decision not to move up a couple of spots to snag the pro ready Stroud (my first choice) will not come back to haunt the franchise BUT I do believe that the raw uber talented Richardson (my second choice) is the REAL DEAL and think the two QBs will prove to be the best of this class. Unfortunately AR's promising season was cut short due to injury so it'll buy Ballard some more time to UPGRADE this team's talent level and position them to start WINNING on a CONSISTENT level in order to compete for division titles or playoff runs INSTEAD of record wise being a bottom tier team.

Agree wholeheartedly. Think about it as BAD as the Chiefs need a receiver they're not even fooling with Watkins who was there before. He was looking washed in the end and that was with Mahomes as his qb. @krunk suggested a possible look at Martavious Bryant who has been reinstated by the league. (substance abuse) Bryant will work out for the Cowboys today and the Titans tomorrow. He would be a nice pairing for either Lamb or Hopkins. The dude has talent and could be a low risk high reward type that's worth a flier on if not signed by either team.

As a rookie hc I'm pleased with Shane from what I see so far GROWING pains and all. Do you realize that going into yesterday's game the Colts were 6th in scoring LEAGUE wise while having played FOUR top ten defenses with mostly a backup qb?! I have seen growth in Shane already as the season has progressed. For one he has been taking the points with a money kicker and has been less aggressive with a suddenly turnover prone LIMITED arm backup in Minshew. He called a "safe" game yesterday against a ONE win team that has NO offense!! (one of the worst in the league) With that being said the problem has been the defense! Gus Bradley in particular. I take yesterday with a grain of salt because it's not EVERY Sunday that you'll get to face an abysmal team with a rookie qb and a subpar hc overseeing the process. This defense is FULL of JAG type players minus about 3. Buckner is elite. (top five at his position) Moore is probably top three at the nickel and Franklin has A LOT of tackles but how many are GAME CHANGING like the ones Leonard had when he was ELITE pre injury? Gus runs an OUTDATED system that he seems to be unwilling or incapable of ADAPTING to his players on hand said skillsets. This is now three games in a row late that this defense has given up an over 30 yd pass play on a 3rd and 13 or longer. Moore's late pick six saved another possible non closeout game.

How about this then NCF?

See above NCF

The least he could do....

Does Irsay continue to WAIT for delayed gratification under the mediocre gm known as Chris Ballard? EIGHT years and counting... There will be some to have pushback that Ballard is one of the best but I ask based on what? Nationally I hear that the Colts lack playmakers / explosive players across the board. Ballard's record continues to dip the wrong side of .500 which suggests he is more of a SUBPAR gm with his 80's TEAM build philosophy vs the modern aggressive pass first landscape of today's NFL. I believe the Colts finally have the RIGHT hc in Shane but he is a rookie. The Colts are actually scoring at a high clip with a turnover prone BACKUP qb but this soft schemed marginally talented defense under Gus can stop no one. The Saints came in struggling on offense yet amassed over 500 yds, put up 38 pts on the Colts and won by ELEVEN. Do you realize that SIX teams won yesterday scoring less than the 27 pts put up by the Colts with TWO of them only scoring 15 and 13 pts respectively in wins. The Titans are being applauded for SCORING 28 pts for the first time all season under the rookie qb Levis. Wow! This team has a lot of JAG type players and the DEPTH behind them falls off a cliff talent wise at most positions ESPECIALLY on the defensive side of the ball. The Colts have been headed in the wrong direction for awhile now. I said a few years back that we are closer to being cellar dwellers in the south (when those teams start to get better) than we are to challenging for the division. So keep on applauding the trade downs (while passing on some top tier talent) in the draft to garner more picks that turn mostly into high "RAS" score players that don't necessarily translate at the nfl level or the CONTINUED lack of ELITE level players at premium positions and lastly by penny pinching in FA searching for bargain basement talent or waiver wire rejects. Yes ALL gms whiff but many have turned teams around quickly in Ballard's tenure while we are left with excuses in a RESULT driven league....

I am with you on this. Ballard is an average gm at best who can sell snake oil with his polished talk but this team is stuck in mediocrity! Several teams have come up quickly in Ballard's now 8 yr tenure as we stay stuck on wash, spin and cycle again. The new scapegoat will be Shane even though Gus's defensive scheme is outdated in this passing league minus the secondary and front line dominant players....

In a safe offense. By all accounts he looked terrible in camp and preseason....

Paye only had a TOTAL of 11.5 sacks in his ENTIRE CAREER at Michigan and Dayo was coming off an Achilles injury that robbed him of some speed so what do you expect? Once again that falls on Ballard!!!! As well as his LOVE for Gus Bradley as dc....

It was based on his subpar college game tape.

Minchew is who he is regardless of what @lennymoore24 tries to tell you.... Who by the way has been awfully quite since the limited arm turnover machine became the FULL time starter!