shasta519

Fields was a much better passer though. And there are plenty of people saying that Fields can't throw in the NFL. I think AR is way further away than that.

I would jump on that deal.

Sounds like something ARI would love to have out there. Their #3 pick basically becomes the #2 pick in that scenario. And if HOU is passing on QB to take Anderson, ARI has almost no reason to hang around at #3. I just can't imagine HOU doesn't draft a QB though. Plus, why not just trade it then? It would be worth a haul.

Yep. I think I just typed this exact same response. Unreasonable for the expectations, for the fans and the team. At least with Wentz, it was a bit more reserved. It was more about Reich working his magic and turning Wentz into a franchise QB. And how Ballard had fleeced Howie Roseman for a franchise QB in a masterclass of negotiating. But it not long ago that outrageous things were being said about Ryan. And this was AFTER the Wentz experiment. From him being "best Colts QB since Luck" to comparisons to Manning to the Colts being an AFCS shoe-in and a SB contender (Zierlein even had them winning it haha). For some reason, most of the media were willingly lining up to praise that move with little critical thinking. At the risk of agreeing with Dakich, I think last offseason exposed either how much juice Ballard has with the media or how narrative-driven they can be. For so many supposedly qualified NFL writers and even content creators to be all so wildly wrong about the Colts and Ryan, it's hard to believe there wasn't some coordination involved.

Well when the excitement around both moves was largely based on unreasonable expectations and hype, I think it's fair. That's the part that was unreasonable. The moves, without any real expectations, would have been reasonable I guess. But that was not the purpose of the moves or how they were portrayed.

Plenty of examples of large groups of people believing/agreeing with some not reasonable things throughout history. And this fanbase (or really any fanbase) is no stranger to groupthink. Fans often take their queues from the org and media. And as Jared said, the professionals are paid to know better than fans. And the media is paid to question those decisions. But neither really happened. Instead, it was all hype for this team going forward. You had the Colts talking about Wentz being a 5-7 year solution and Irsay talking about the next great decade of Colts football. And then the next year, you have the media saying that Ryan is the "best Colts QB since Luck" and that the Colts are darkhorse SB contenders. Of course the fanbase liked the sound of all of that. But it wasn't reasonable at all. And fans got duped.

"Conviction" definitely has two meanings. This is usage of the word I often hear...that the team has "conviction" in a player. It really started showing up when Wentz was acquired. One of the "With the Next Pick" episodes was titled "Deep Conviction." But I have not really heard "convict" or "convicted" used like that. Doesn't really sound right.

I will just say that I disagree with saying TB and Ryan were similar. And the difference between the perception of Stafford and Wentz was reflected in the asking price. And I am definitely not playing revisionist history. I argued with many of the good people on this forum about both acquisitions at the time.

IND has been on an opposite path of both of those teams since 2020. And after winning 4 games, they have a ways to go to even get to mediocrity.

It can work. It worked with Rivers to an extent. But Brady and Stafford weren't retreads in the same sense as Wentz and Ryan. And I don't think Ballard will ever be the GM who could go all-in like LAR and TB did.

Even if Ballard knew that Luck was going to miss 2017 (which I think they did because they did nothing to address the OL), they had to think he was coming back the next season or they would have drafted QB. So while Luck was not playing in 2017, that was still an offseason to build up the offense and better set Luck up for success. But it took Ballard until the 3rd offseason to even draft a WR with Day 2 capital. Prior to that, he had only tried draft WRs from Day 3 (not unlike his time in KC). And PC was Ballard's 9TH Day 2 pick. He even prioritized a project ER over WR. By the time he drafted PC, Ballard has passed on drafting several good WRs on Day 2 in his tenure. As for FA, he signed Aiken in '17, Grant in '18 and Funchess in '19. All one-year deals...all out of the NFL not long after. TBF though, FA for WRs doesn't have the best track record. I think that could change though, with more and more good WRs entering the NFL and the market going up. At TE, he did sign Ebron in '18. But he didn't draft any TEs until this past year. I think it's fair criticism of Ballard. The one thing he did was solidify G and RT in a big way. But he had plenty of resources to do more with the pass catchers.

We don't need to re-hash it and I am not responding to this to call Ballard cheap or anything. But I think it's worth pointing out some context on that spending on offense. It was almost entirely from spending nearly $120M on vet QBs from 2020-2022 (including JB, Rivers, Wentz, Ryan, Foles) and OL extensions for Q, Smith and Kelly. And very little was spent on any non-QB additions to the team. And it's actually sort of sad that the Colts spent more than anyone else on offense during those years, yet have little to show for it and bottomed out as the worst offense in the NFL. If anything, it shows how flawed Ballard's philosophy has been...or how bad he has executed it.

I think it's possible he could have gotten to the SB with Reid and KC. But let's be honest...Luck wasn't always great in the playoffs. His career playoff passer rating of 73 and his 12 TD/13 INT ratio is as much on him as it is the team around him. It's also a different timeline as well, with NE entering their next dynasty run when Luck showed up vs. coming out of it when Mahomes showed up. Just makes it really tough to compare. But Mahomes career is something out of a video game like Madden.

He wasn’t really supposed to see the field as a rookie. But I doubt they are close to ready to cut ties or never give him a chance again. I bet we could see him start next season and then he either takes a leap or they know to draft somebody.

Luck is my favorite player of all time. But even in KC, I still don’t think he would have been at the level of Mahomes. It’s just unparalleled QB play to start a career. He has the career best reg. season and playoff passer rating and that’s through his age 23-27 seasons. Luck was more prone to mental mistakes than Mahomes. Peak Luck could have maybe been on a similar level, but I doubt it. I don’t really think it’s fair to say the Colts did everything possible to sabotage Luck. Would have been awesome to have an elite young WR and TE1 in the NFL already on the roster, but the offense was bare, except for having re-signed a 34 year-old Reggie. So they did a lot to address offense those first two years, including using (1) R1 pick and (4) Day 2 picks on skill position players. They even hired Luck's OC/QB coach to be OC after BA left to help him. We blame Grigson for unsuccessfully addressing interior OL, but from BA to Chud, the playcalling was all about those long-developing plays that put Luck at risk. I have always wondered if that was a chicken or egg situation, where Luck wanted to play that way and they tailored the offense to it. Or did they force him into it. Watching Luck, he seemed to love and thrive on the physical aspect of QB play. Luck’s trajectory and success would have likely been better with Reid and KC. But they were a playoff perennial team when Mahomes joined. Just such a different situation and I won’t hold that against IND, who was rebuilding both when Luck was drafted and when he came back from surgery.

Yep. Both Lamp and Feeney were Colts fans draft favorites that year. LAC drafted both of them. I believe Lamp is out of the league now.

I think is a big reason they traded him. He doesn't fit and Ballard didn't seem to want to pay him anyways. I don't know what would have changed since then. He also took some parting shots at the org. when he was traded...saying they got complacent and took their foot off the gas...and that this wouldn't happen in LV. Granted, he wasn't wrong, but I doubt the org. appreciated that.

That play is absolutely amazing. I just watched it 20x. Has to be one of the greatest plays I have ever seen. Walker threw it freakin' 70 yards downfield while rolling to his left. And it drops right in to Moore's diving hands. I assume Moore had been in a dead sprint the entire go route. Incredible timing.

Haha. But it could be a cautionary tale for signing a RB to a monster contract. There are also always seem to be value to be had in FA at the RB position.

So (JT+Kelly+early pick next year) for (#3)? I would do that all day. Could easily trade back from #4 to recoup that pick next year plus add more.

I had heard they were going to bring him back and let Hardman walk. I would expect Toney and Moore to take on much larger roles next season.

So a WR finally signs. $11M AAV seems about right for a player like Meyers. I would assume then that PC is more like $5-6M, but who knows.

Financial. Football. Makes no sense on any level.

I doubt it would be that low of a price tag. Moore was balling out as a rookie before getting hurt. And then Garret Wilson showed up last season and he took a backseat. If they trade him, I am guessing it's for a Day 2 pick.

I feel like they could have done it without much fanfare right at the beginning of FA, as everybody was expecting. But now people are starting to wonder why he isn't cut. And if they still cut him, now there are likely going to be questions about why they waited, especially since that is cap space that could be used right now. Should have been a nothing burger at the start of FA, but now it's starting to become interesting.