[Ballard to be on 1070 with DAKICH @ 1pm EST/ Right Now (Merge)]

1 hour ago, DougDew said:

Nah.  Pretty much everybody on this forum blames Grigson for just about everything, even when their dog dies. 

 

The problems with the team's performance over the years stems more from Pagano.  The problem with Luck throwing picks and getting injured has more to do with Luck than Grigson. 

 

Those are the kinds of thing Dakich would be opinionated about.  He would be correct, and he wouldn't back off.  

Have you seen the drafts Grigson put together? Have you seen us make moves for Veterans who are on there last leg like Andre Johnson under Grigson? Did Grigson do anything other than try to gain headlines by making his “dream team” in Philly (AWFUL) and then a “dream team” in Indy? Come on man Grigson was not the right man to run the first few years of the luck era... Futhermore I do not like Chuck Pagano but there is no denying how he was as a motivator during the first three years of the Luck ERA. Grigson was a PROBLEM and his reputation lived off ONE draft 

[Vontae Davis]

Nate Hairston might be one of the best draft picks (value wise) that we’ve had for quite sometime. He plays physical! Which the colts have been missing that play style for a long time. Truly love watching him play every week. Always looking for number 27 when watching. AWESOME 5th rounder

[Ryan Grigson's O line , the gift that keeps on giving.]

I never said the O-Line is fixed, it’s very clearly terrible, like really really terrible. Giving up 10 sacks against Jacksonville was absolutely pathetic... 

 

All I was saying was there are some guys that we have that will stick around even with us fixing the line. Kelly does a good job that’s pretty clear when watching the games he’s played in, Castonzo is overrated but serviceable. Mewhort is pretty much pumped into that same catergory overrated but serviceable. Clark,Good, and Vujnovich are all terrible. I was saying I think a lot of the regression we’ve seen from especially Clark has come from no continuity on which side of the line he has to play on.

 

futhernore some of the issue we’ve seen with sack do have to fall on Jacoby Brissett, while watching the games I like some things I see from him but pocket presence and awareness is not his strong suit, he needs to be more decisive and more aware of his surroundings.

[Maybe now Colts can have a proper rebuild]

So I’ve seen a lot of negative talk about Chris Ballard and his moves on here, but I for one think he’s incredibly savvy... I know I recently heard Colin Cowherd give him a lot of praise as well. That being said I’m beyond excited for what he may be able to do with the 2018 draft

 

This years draft class while some may question it looks awesome 

 

1. Malik Hooker (played well, misses too many tackles but is a ball hawk)

2. Quincy Wilson (very talented see game against Arizona, needs to mature)

3. Terrell Basham (See his sack last week, very savvy move, needs to mature but future is bright) 

4. Zach Banner (yuck but he was huge so give him a shot) 

4. Marlon Mack (extremely elusive, bright future... pagano give him the ball!)

4. Grover Stewart (Came from UAlbany so could have been under valued, high ceiling, very low floor also)

5. Nate Hairston (5th rounder playing a tough position pretty well his first year... STEAL!)

5. Anthony Walker Jr (Get on the damn field please, liked him a lot in college could be undersized)

 

Ballard did a great job with the chiefs and brought in good talent his first draft with the colts, give him a top 3 pick that he could trade away so we have possibly 4 picks in the top 50 and I’m extremely optimistic about the future of our franchise. Plus we have a ton of money to spend and he seemingly has a good eye for free agents as well and is willing to take risks on them... Trumaine Johnson needs to be a top target for us... also I may be the only one but I’d at least like to try to return Vontae Davis (for a way discounted price)

[Ryan Grigson's O line , the gift that keeps on giving.]

12 minutes ago, BobbyMorris94 said:

To be fair to the line and both GMs, health and continuity is a major factor in a flourishing offensive line. I think if our line was healthy since day one things could be different. I think Kelly is playing hurt, and so was Mewhort until he got IR'd. AC has been doing decent like always, but the rest of the line has been a mess. You can't predict injuries and I think the NFL needs to seriously reevaluate their playing surfaces and use some modern technology on all fields if it's safer.

 

Injuries are a league wide problem. But man we sure do seem to take the brunt of them ever since the Manning debacle. Injuries seem to do in our chances almost every year the past few. And obviously the draft isn't an overnight answer and free agency is a crap shoot.

 

The key to this team's success is a healthy Luck and offensive line. You start shuffling guys on the fly every single Sunday, and we all see the result. So the real question should be, how do we stay healthy? Replacing decent prospects with even better ones will not work out if they can't stay healthy.

 

I was thinking the same thing. We have decent pieces on our line but they get shuffled around so often and miss so much time. Ryan Kelly for example plays a damn good center but when you miss 6 weeks it’s hard to get your feet underneath yourself. Castonzo has played a decent LT (he’s been beat a few games) Kalis has played well... As for the others, they get shuffled around too often for them to get any continuity at a spot, if we can keep the line healthy and maybe get a good/great guard this line could be just fine! I’d like to see us find a big mauler in the draft.

 

also want to just give props to the injuried Bond. I thought for an undrafted free agent he preformed very admirably (too many penalties) but preformed way better than to be expected from a guy asked to contribute on such short notice 

[Basham]

I don’t like Pagano, that must not come as a surprise to most if not all Colts fans...

 

although i I think his in game management is his most troubling feature plus his very positive attitude seems to be lost on some players at this point.

 

With that said I actually think he’s done okay with the young guys we’ve had come in, I think Ryan Grigson was absolutely pathetic as a drafter and had a very clouded vision of the team and that’s why you don’t see much young player or drafted players from the previous years around anymore, they just weren’t good enough...

 

Although looking at some of the young talent that has rolled over I think Pagano has done a good job coaching them up. Ryan Kelly struggled throughout his first half of the season last year but ended up playing very well in the second half. Henry Anderson when healthy is a force up front as we saw from last weeks game. Hilton is undersized and wasn’t highly praised coming out of the draft but he’s a top 10 WR. Moncrief has flatlined but his development was coming along nicely (new qb and turnover of OC can contribute to the lack of development) Chester Rodgers is way better than he should be. Plus our special teams unit as a whole has grown together and developed...

 

As for this season, Hooker was playing fantastic (falls into poor tackling like 90% of our team) but overall was a ball hawk in the middle, Mack is playing well but needs to get better at inside runs and pass protection which the team is heavily working on with him. Seems like with Wilson it’s some tough love showing him he needs to compete every down and work hard on special teams but from the Arizona game it’s obvious he has the knowledge and skills. lastly and most importantly let’s look at NATE HAIRSTON, he’s a guy drafted in the 5th round playing a very tough position for us (Nickle) and playing it well, he was coached up heavily and it’s showing. Pagano has actually done a decent job developing...

 

Pagano has got to go though! Can’t stress that enough lol

[My take on Tolzien, Morris, Brissett and Walker]

6 minutes ago, Indeee said:

You have to use a little common sense and read between the lines here....

 

Morris was never in the Colts plans regardless of out playing Tolzien. Brissett WILL BE the back up QB for the next 3 years. Tolzien will be released once Luck is healthy or Brissett is comfy in the offense, whichever comes first. Walker was only QB that was eligible for PS.

 

There was no way the Colts we're going to let Morris start while Lucks out to potentially give any controversy to a back up QB battle. If the Colts had traded a 6th for brissett, maybe, but not after trading Dorsett. This is why Morris was waived.

 

On the bright side, I'm almost certain, Tolzien has been told he will be released sooner than later, so while he starts he is basically auditioning for another job somewhere else, so it's imperative scott does well in his dress rehearsal.

 

 

Great analysis, I was on to the same train of thought myself. Tolzein will work hard to impress in his start or two in order to be a back up else where because Brissett is obviously the direction that back up QB spot is going. If he manages the game and takes a chance to our playmakers every so often our offense should be able to put up some point especially with our newly improved run game. 

[RB Matt Jones]

Ballard's work for us should speak for itself at this point. He has made us faster, younger, more physical, and more prepared to win. Yes our Colts still have issue but hes addressed many and promoted people to step up and compete for their job at those positions were arent sold on. That competion style has seemingly (small sample size) gotten the most out of our players, whether it be Mingo who very easily could have ran himself out of the league at this point (good preseason) or our young guns making a splash and producing more than many thought because they are fighting for their lives on this team like Nate Hairston (5th rounder now our starting nickle corner) or Anthony Walker (5th rounder who could start at ILB...

 

As for Matt Jones hes fun to watch when the balls not knocked out of his hand... i truly believe this RB core could really produce for us and help us control the time of possession which wins football games and keeps our defense fresh... Gore is reliable, paired with Marlon Mack who im very high on and Matt Jones who's big and explosive but will also be the best at protecting our franchise piece in Andrew Luch (super important)

[The season is not as hard as you think...]

In Ballard we trust.... I think Luck will only be out until week 2 or 3 and with that said I think the rams are more than beatable even with Scott Tolzein (yuck). The Colts defense will surprise people this year by getting more takeaways and making more clutch plays. I think they'll be like some defenses of the past that were raved around the league as "gritty." 

 

Luck is a seasoned vet so I don't predict he'll have too hard of a time getting the swing of things...

 

not to mention our run game could be the best since Joesph Addai's rookie year. Frank Gore is reliable not flashy but consistent, pair him with Marlon Mack (highly optimistic about him) and Matt Jones (who is excited to watch as long as he doesn't fumble) we should be pretty good at controlling time of possession and working the ball down field.

[[Yates] Colts trade Phillip Dorsett for Jacoby Brissett]

The colts addressed a need that has been ignored for many years... having a back up qb we trust and can have for many years is extremely important... enough of the days of relying on the Curtis Painters Jim Sorgi's and Scott Tolziens of the league if our franchise piece goes down. Job well done Chris Ballard! Big ups to him and all his moves