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shasta519

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Everything posted by shasta519

  1. I didn't break it, but I am certainly one of the few who voted the other way. Here's my take on it. I don't think either side is blameless. And there is also the RB market overall that is part of the issue. But the Colts FO set a precedent on paying guys early. Ballard has long preached about paying your own and he has practiced what he preached...several times. He even did so at the same position as JT. And he's been praised for this philosophy. And now, when it's JT's turn, they say "well let's wait and see." They want him to prove his worth (again), except this time in a new system with a first time HC and mobile QB who isn't going to check down to him, will likely take 8-10 carries of his...AND will vulture goal line TDs. In his mind, it will be very difficult to put up close to his AP year and get the contract that he seeks. Now maybe JT overvalues himself, given the overall RB market. But he is one of the best RBs in the NFL. Miles Sanders played in this system on an elite offense with an elite QB, made a PB and still only got $6M AAV. JT won't be playing in an elite offense or with an elite QB. So I don't blame JT for feeling a sense of urgency or wanting to get out. He doesn't want to burn another year of his career on a rebuilding team in the hopes that he MIGHT get paid. And with how the FO has shifted their mindset into doing things they haven't done before, I wouldn't trust them to not use the franchise tag either...even though they haven't since Ballard got here. Meanwhile, Jim Irsay is on Twitter saying silly stuff about how nobody would care if JT was out of the league. JT did hire a questionable agent. And he has continued to employ him. But that same agent got his teammate, Shaq Leonard, nearly $100M out of contract negotiations with the same GM. And he apparently was able to get valid contract offers from teams when he was seeking a trade. So was it really that questionable of a choice? JT moping around practice is on him though. But he's been dealt a bad hand.
  2. Here's why I think there is some validity to this. The offense should be better. It has to be. However, the defense is what kept last year's team in games. And I think the defense has a chance to be far worse than we are accustomed to seeing. The secondary is full of young and/or unproven players. Even with Gilmore, Rodgers and McLeod playing really good ball last year, the Colts were bottom 3 in passer rating and comp % against. They were #18 in pass defense EPA. And the LB room lost Oke, who filled in at WILL for Shaq. Oke is now gone and there are big question marks about Shaq coming back, let alone being the same player he was before. That leaves the starting LB duo as Franklin and Speed without much depth. From a pass coverage standpoint, that is not ideal. The potential is there for the pass defense to be swiss cheese against the pass. And if that happens, the Colts will find themselves with far less margin for error and playing catchup far more often. That's just not an ideal situation for a raw rookie QB who is still developing as a passer. I can see a scenario similar to CHI last year.
  3. The Colts went 1-4-1 against the lowly AFC South last year. JAC is clearly on the way up and are the favorites. Colts haven't beat TEN in the past 5 games. They fired their awful OC and added DHop, which can only help their offense. The defense is still stout. HOU hired a new coaching staff, including the passing game coordinator from SF. They drafted the QB2 prospect and hvae added a lot of talent in the draft the past two years, in addition to adding several vets in FA. Meanwhile, the Colts did draft a QB as well. And they hired a new HC to install a new scheme. But the defense lost key players and they are relying on a very unproven secondary. They will be without JT for at least 4 weeks (2 of which are AFCS games). If JT is out for 6 weeks, he will miss 4/6 AFCS games. Not really sure I see 3 wins, unless AR is far better than I think. Even then, the defense could be far worse than we have seen before.
  4. Ballard will get so much credit if AR pans out. If he doesn't, Ballard will be accountable, but Brown will be the scapegoat. Dodds has wisely made it known that he had reservations about AR during the scouting process. The fence-sitting will likely serve him well.
  5. The worst part is that this was a reaggravation of a hamstring injury he suffered back in spring. Hamstring injuries are really tricky. And Woods is a huge person. Hopefully they give him plenty of time to heal up.
  6. Looks like the WR room is shaping up: MPJ Pierce Downs McKenzie Rodgers Strachan
  7. Probably won't be able to get Williams unless they have #1 pick. But Maye could be a possibility. If they land a top 3 pick, Ballard will just trade it back and then grab a DL/OL player.
  8. A fully torn hamstring is a grade 3 strain. A partially torn is a Grade 2 strain. And a grade 1 strain is really just a pulled hammy. I am guessing it's at least grade 2 strain if they are using the word "torn." Not good for a bigger guy who is also a pass catcher.
  9. They had a few they could have won and a few they should have lost. Their estimated win total was <4 last year. They were a really bad team.
  10. This guy uses the term "erratic" to describe AR's 7-on-7 play and also says he went 4/5 with an INT. But then says it was by no means a "bad" day haha. I guess this is about as close to being critical of AR as Colts Twitter gets.
  11. Not just at WR, but I think JAC certainly has more overall receiving talent. Ridley was a top 5 WR before the mental issues and suspension. And Kirk was better than MPJ last season. Zay Jones is a pretty good WR3 as well. Plus, they have a pass catching weapon in Etienne and Engram at TE. After that, it's probably a toss-up, though I would give TEN the nod as the best remaining duo with DHop and Burks.
  12. Wasn't Reggie the one comparing Matt Ryan to Peyton Manning just a year ago? I take a lot of what Reggie says with a grain of salt, as he is a current employee. Luck threw 627 passes as a rookie. Even if AR plays the whole season, I wouldn't be surprised if he has 200 less PAs...even with the extra game. It will just be a very different offense, so I don't really see the comp. Plus, the 2012 team had Reggie playing at a HOF level, well beyond anything we have seen from MPJ...and TY, who is better than MPJ or Pierce as well. Plus, Allen and Fleener were there. That 2012 team just had a much better offense IMO, which allowed them battle back and win games that they probably should have lost. Their Pythagorean win total was 7.2 and their estimated win total (DVOA) was 6.2. But they managed to win 11 games. I do think this year's defense will be better than 2012...that's for sure. If it's not, the Colts aren't winning many games.
  13. I think Doyel is extreme in his view of this roster. But this is still a 4-win team that just drafted like 12 rookies. including a raw QB. They also lost their 3 best DBs from last year from a secondary that was about middle of the pack. And the defense is what kept this team in games last year. They are clearly in rebuilding mode, which is why I think this team has as good of a chance at picking #1-2 next year as any team out there. Right now, Vegas has only two teams with worse odds to make the SB. But what I don't get is the outrage from Doyel. Just seems forced or fake. What they are doing is necessary. I might disagree with Ballard being the one to do it, but it had to be done.
  14. That's awful. I think they believe the mother is still alive and near that area. But she also has a dolphin buddy she can hang out with.
  15. She's been in captivity since the 70s. I believe she is the second-longest orca in captivity. But also has been in the smallest enclosure as well.
  16. She will be a 15-acre netted area, based on what I read.
  17. I agree. The Colts likely have development milestones and certain standards for AR for this season. And while I don't think they just throw those out, I do think their evaluation process would tighten up significantly if Williams is sitting there. I think he could be also be a franchise QB very quickly. I would even go as far to say I think he could be a top 15 QB as a rookie. And then sky's the limit.
  18. I think some people might not like Williams' persona. That's really what I was talking about. But I am fine with it if he's out there making plays everywhere. And I like my QB to have confidence. But I think a very casual football fan could turn on a game and see Caleb Williams...and just know he's different. He is that good. I think it's being downplayed right now (don't want to overshadow the recent NFL draftees before they take a snap), but it will ramp back up in Oct. and Nov.
  19. I stumbled upon the USC/UCLA on some Sat night. Great game. DTR was doing everything he could do keep up. But Williams is just on a different level. It felt like Williams made every single throw in that one single game. He's not without some warts, but I honestly don't see many. He has the pocket presence, can evade pressure, can run and seems to always have high eyes downfield...and can make every throw. As for Maye, I just love how he throws. The short, compact, quick release should play so well in the NFL. Just seems like he has so much touch on his passes too...like he's throwing hard but the ball comes in soft. Not sure how else to describe it. If he gets drafted over Williams, it means he had an incredible season though. But I think a Maye/Downs reunion would be really cool. Regardless of AR, I will be paying some attention to the college QBs and where they end up. I think this could be a very deep class.
  20. Yeah...this is really much more of a conversation for December. A lot of those moving parts will be much clearer.
  21. It would be a failure. But if Ballard would put his own ego above the team, then Irsay should bring in a new GM. Steichen isn't going anywhere anyways. But the last 2 QBs were failures after one year and they were willing to admit failure and move on. AR might have been the best option at the time, but things can change in a year. I disagree that it would set the franchise back. I think those QBs could possibly still be ahead of AR, even after one season in the NFL. If anything, I think it could accelerate their contending window and it resets the rookie QB window. But this is all based on the idea that the Colts are a bottom 3 team in the NFL. If that happens, they aren't any closer anyways, so setting back the franchise probably isn't a thing at that point.
  22. That's a really high standard though. Not being the "next Andrew Luck" doesn't mean he's not an elite QB prospect. He has a chance to be a b2b Heisman winner. And there are still people out there that think Maye could still go #1 overall. I think that says a lot about Maye as well. Just keep them out of the AFC haha.
  23. Not sure about that haha. Manning had 575 PAs that year. Even if he starts Week 1, AR could have 150+ less than that. So if he's throwing more than 28 INTs, that's an incredible INT rate. I don't think he would be able to do it anyways. He would see the bench long before he got there if he's throwing INTs at that clip. Conversely, if he throws more TDs than Manning, it would be amazing. That would be an elite TD rate as a rookie.
  24. Here's the thing. In the scenario where you can draft a Williams or Maye, I think the bar and expectations for AR have to come up significantly. They can't just evaluate him the same way they originally planned at that point...not when there is an alternative out there like that.
  25. I don't know. I think it's even dumber to pass on a great QB prospect because you already invested in AR. Ballard said he didn't want to see AR become a superstar on another team. Well, the same would apply to these other QB prospects. And I think their path to superstardom has far less land mines. Which QBs gives you the better chance to contend in the AFC for the next 5 years and go that route. I think it's really that simple.
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