shasta519

I think KC/TB was probably going to be closer to a shootout until KC's bookend Ts both went down the week before and they couldn't protect Mahomes at all. But I think it's long been have a great offense and QB play first. Then you layer in an above average defense that can make some plays. I think you can also win with a great QB, above average offense and great defense. But if you have a great QB already, the goal should be a great offense.

This is great context. Was not aware that MPJ and Higgins had the same agent. Makes sense that both WRs made it through their rookie deals to ultimately get the tag. But IND's situation is far less murky than CIN, who have Burrow's mega contract and an impending massive deal with Chase to work around, so Higgins making it to the tag makes more sense. MPJ doing so is an outlier, both in how the position has trended and how the Colts have handled every other prominent upcoming UFA. So something is keeping MPJ from signing and I am not sure it is something that can be resolved in a matter of days, but we will see.

I mean...it happened in the 2023 SB as well with KC and PHI. Go back one year, and it was 34-28. Would have both been in the 30s if ATL didn't choke the 2H. So almost 3x in 7 years doesn't seem that rare.

Well if anything can get them to offer daycare, this would be it.

Wait til later this summer...the locker room will have all the freshest, most delicious corn these guys could ever want.

It's not that surprising if there actually is a large gap between how most Colts fans perceive Jim Irsay...vs. just about everybody else, including Colts players.

MPJ was technically a R2 pick, but he was pick #34, which which is more like a R1 pick. The WRs picked behind MPJ haven't worked out. So I think if Ballard is comparing this WR class to 2020, he's likely eyeing one at #15 or after a slight trade down.

Agree. I think Ballard knows his defensive system is that one that is LB friendly to where they can plug and play guys at LB and not have to spend big in the draft or cap space. Shaq was a special case when he got paid cause he was a star, but I don't see them allocating heavily to the position. More likely to draft one late Day 3 and another Day 4 to develop and replace the current duo.

That's not really confirmation on anything we didn't know. That's just Destin's "source" saying they are confident in getting a deal done without having to use the tag. What else would they say?

1987: I do not recall this. 1995: Bailey caught it...he didn't. 2006: Finally beat NE in playoffs. 2009: Should have won SB. 2012: Most fun I have had. 2014: Stupid NE dynasty part two. 2020: Breath of fresh air. 2023: Steichen could be the guy.

Moore played slot CB closer to the LOS than he ever has. From 2000-2022, his aDOT was ~8 yds. This past year, it was ~4. That obviously helped him tremendously, In that CAR game, he got two pick 6s just hanging around the LOS. But outside of that game, he also allowed a 113 passer rating, per PFR, which is not too far off what it was in 2022 (117). Plus, Moore is going to be 29. He could easily lose a step and be the liability he was toward the end of 2021 and throughout 2022. It just seems like there should be plenty of DBs out there with the skillset to handle that type of role, who will cost much less. And likely several of those DBs would be more versatile with less risk for slowing down. He's only one year removed from being a cut candidate. So giving him a big extension based off this season seems like a bad bet. He does provide vet leadership, which is important, but that should only factor in why they would want to bring him back, not how much they would be willing to pay. It also comes down to this. Let's say they can a get good CB1 in FA. Wouldn't you rather have that player and find another player to take Moore's role (either in the draft or via cheaper vet CBs), than give Moore a big contract AND have to fill that boundary CB1 spot via the draft? Seems like an easy choice.

Well MPJ is the big fish. So my guess would be they will wait to see how that goes before dealing with other FAs. It's not like any of them are getting the tag. With this cap increase, I don't think they want to guess on what the market will look like for those players.

Do most players live in their team's city in the offseason? I honestly don't know. But perhaps he just likes it in Indy during the offseason vs. being somewhere like SoCal. He made public comments about valuing career potential over comfort, so being established or comfortable in Indy (he just bought a farm) might not be enough anyways, or might not be his priority. That's why it seems like more than just posturing IMO. But it's all just speculation. I just figured he would be locked up by now.

I could see it. Could also see them waiting til after to announce his extension too. Given how they were peppered about questions about JT during that process, I think Ballard and Steichen prefer to not have to answer a bunch of the same questions about MPJ at a draft event.

He no doubt is tired of a different QB every year. The situation has certainly improved from knowing who the QB should be, but AR is no guarantee. So if QB stability is something MPJ values, he might see several situations as more stable and better bets. Plus, he's only going to turn 27, so he might be eyeing another shot at a big deal in 3 years with how the cap is trending. And QB stability would be important in that regard. Him re-signing with IND is the most likely outcome though. But if you had told me last year that we would be a week or so from the tag deadline and MPJ was still unsigned, I wouldn't have believed it. That's just not the trend with WRs...and not the trend with Colts players. And now he's publicly talking about exploring FA and not sacrificing career potential for comfort. It just seems like there has to be some hesitation somewhere, whether that's the org. or MPJ's camp. But money typically clears that up.

Good question. I wouldn't think so, but CIN tagged Higgins pretty immediately. My guess is part of it could be optics. Ballard and Steichen are both speaking at the Combine, so tagging MPJ now will just create a lot of questions when they are there to talk about the draft. If they haven't tagged him, they can more easily skirt around those questions. I guess the upside would be additional time to explore trades? The start of FA is a few weeks away, so tagging him now could give you more time to get a trade done before the FA spending frenzy starts. But maybe you can explore trades without the tag applied? I don't really know the rules there. It would seem that that you should be able to, but there could be a rule against, since technically that player is going to be an UFA.

I think if they franchise tag him, it's could be a bad sign if anything. That could mean that time to negotiate isn't the issue, as much as whether he wants to play here or somewhere else. And tagging him would ensure they can at least recoup some value via trade. As for that value, I don't think you could get a R1 pick, but maybe a R2 pick and a R3 pick?

Well, the trolling part isn't part of the Colts PR. I think they just do that because that's what fanbases do to each on that app. But regarding Colts PR, Colts Twitter do not critique the team. Instead, they hype up every player and play...similar to what the Colts Twitter account does as well. It's an echo chamber...or another term that is probably not allowed here. Some of them have "sources" which clearly just use them to control narratives and drive hype. This is not unlike the local media. But they are a bit more subtle about it. Their access is their livelihood. This is just my cynical take on it. I interact with Colts Twitter quite often.

By 3 pts each too. I was stoked that NE beat SD. For some reason SD had Manning's number in that back half of 2000s.

Manning had 2 TDs and 2 INTs in the AFCCG and SB...and one rush TD. You can't talk about being narrow-minded and then just narrow your focus on those two games. The Colts dodged the best team in the AFC (SD), was knocked out by a NE team in a fluky manner. So the AFC path for them wasn't that loaded. Manning did not play well overall, outside of the 2H of that NE game. He was awful in the first two games. They were able to overcome it because the defense stepped up. Mahomes has not and will not have that luxury.

Not short-changing the team. But that run wasn’t the result of Manning beating really good defenses (outside of 2H of AFCCG). He had 3 TDs and 7 INTs in 4 games with a 71 passer rating. In the first two games, he had 1 TD and 5 INTs. If any QB today did that, their team is not 2-0 after two games. The Colts defense stepped up and shut down teams and the run game was very effective. And a large reason the defense was able to do that is because they got back Bob, but also because of their offensive opponents. Winning the SB is never “easy,” so I take back the use of that word. But the path was advantageous that year. Even NE wasn’t even that strong. Colts had beat them earlier in the year. And they somehow managed to knock off a 14-win SD team, who was the best team in the NFL and a team Manning was 1-5 against (including two playoff games) from 2005-2010.

It was an easy path of QBs and team offenses…that’s why I listed QBs. I am sure teams like BAL and CHI had their overall team DVOA heavily skewed due to their defense that year, so the strength of the overall team DVOA in that run doesn’t surprise me. The Colts defense actually carried the Colts through most of that run. Manning did not have a good playoffs. But that stat just reinforces what I said about Mahomes. We are beyond comparing him to Peyton.

When the Colts won the SB, Manning had to beat Trent Green, a 33 year-old Steve McNair and a Rex Grossman. Other than the AFFCG against Brady, it was a very easy path. This year, with what was suppose to be the weakest KC team yet, Mahomes had to beat Tua, Allen, Lamar and Purdy. All top 7 QBs this year in EPA. Yes, the defense helped him, but I just don't know what else he can do. By metrics and possibly record, he's on pace to be the best regular season and playoff QB that ever played. I love Peyton, but the only real argument left for Mahomes is will he surpass Brady as the greatest QB.

Reddit functions as some type of hybrid social media app/discussion forum. A large issue with sports social media in general these days is how disrespectful people are from the comforts of their own anonymity. It's a bit jarring at first when you encounter this. And it really makes for a difficult debate. Plus, there tends to be a lot of groupthink that spawns out of sports discussion on these apps. I think it might be a generational thing. Some sports social media sites are overrun with active Gen Z members. The Colts sub reddit and Twitter are probably good examples. I think I saw a chart recently of fanbases with growth of younger fans...and Colts were top 5. So if that is true, those younger fans have to go somewhere to actively talk about the Colts. Not to sound like the "get off my lawn" type...I am not even that far from the age group. But I get the sense that Gen Z has played a big role in this.

Colts Twitter is like this. It's delusional and embarrassing. It really just serves as an extension of Colts PR. But the irony is that a lot of it is just trolling other fanbases...since we haven't had much to celebrate for the past several years.