EastStreet
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Posts posted by EastStreet
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5 hours ago, runthepost said:
Chiefs were going to win the game until Dee Ford had a brain fart
agree, but point is, NE has a lot of success on O.
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7 hours ago, Superman said:
That might always be the case, but when it's a DII guy who wasn't at the Combine, it's hard to imagine there was a ton of interest in him. Of course, all it takes is one team being in love with him. I'm sure there was another team expecting him to be a UDFA, mad because the Colts took him in the fifth. Get your guy, that's the most important thing.
Yup, let's just hope it pans out.
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7 hours ago, Jdubu said:
My take
1. We overachieved last season. Period
2. We played at KC
3. TY limited the offense because he was so injured.
4. We played a very very good coach with time to prepare and his guys got some rest too and time to scout the team. Remember, Reich is well known to Reid as well by now.
5. Not having Hooker really mattered
6. Play calling was a bit blah
7. How does Vinny automatic miss those kicks?
8. A strip sack for us turns into a strip sack for them a few plays later, that hurt.
9. A young team who wasn’t supposed to be in the playoffs, let alone a second game in the playoffs had some factor here.
10. KC had a pretty good team
my concern from that game would be how poorly our run game was going forward. Kelly better play better than he did this season or I don’t see a 15 million/yr contract coming his way in Indy. I think with a healthy TY, the additions of DF and Cain and Paris and others should really boost that offense. An offense with TY, Paris, Doyle, EE and Mack, now that’s gonna be a tough group to match up with and defend. Run or pass, heck coach, idk what they are doing lol.
Gonna be fun to see this team evolve and have better back ups coming off the bench. I just hope we have enough beef in the middle to stop the run and I just hope that Kelly was hobbled in that KC game because it was one of his worst games that year.
I agree with most of what you said except 1) I don't feel that we really overachieved, and 2) the run game wasn't the issue.
Those early season losses were mostly close games, and we were a team starting off with several new starters, and a QB that was just coming back from a year off. As far as the run game vs KC, our RBs only ran the ball 12 times, and we still had a good YPC average. We simply abandoned the run once we got down.
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8 hours ago, throwing BBZ said:
It is amazing how much stronger amateur's can get in 6 months working in their local gym, and you sit here telling us how strong Okereke is Today, and sounding like Ballard and his staff screwed up the grade of those 3 guys.
This, while you can't really have a clue. If you had been their area scout and dug into them like a area scout is hired to do, you just as likely would have stood on your desktop advocating for them. Considering these guys all made a 160 or so draft board after everyone else was cut, maybe... just maybe, they may prove to be underdrafted.Stanford has had one of the best S&C programs in college football since Turley took over 10+ years ago. Not saying he can't get stronger, or build his base, but it's not like Stanford wasn't attempting to do the same thing for the past 4 years.
I'm not saying Ballard screwed up anything. Most quality big boards had them ranked a lot lower than where Ballard took them. I hope they all turn out to be rock stars, but let's not act like ever draft pick or FA signing Ballard has made is perfect. Basham, Banner, Grant, etc are just a few of the names to come to mind in the 2ish years.
In terms of comparison... Okereke for instance was taken 89th. PFF graded him 158th and NFL.com 152nd. Willis was taken 109th while PFF graded him at 149th and NFL.com had him 232nd. Speed was taken 164th, while not making PFF's or NFL.com's top 250/300. Glad Ballard got the guys he wanted, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't have been available later.
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2 hours ago, Chrisaaron1023 said:
I get it...
Number 1 seed
Superbowl favorite
MVP QB
Good coach
One of the best home Field advantages
We're we supposed to win? I'm asking "I still don't get it after watching 05 vs Steelers 07 and 08 against the chargers...
and then NE goes into KC and throws for 350 and Sony runs for 100+ on them.
our O, and O game plan just sucked.
i get KC was good, but our O just sucked.
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4 hours ago, Superman said:
I value speed, quickness, range and tackling ability at those stack LB spots. I think Walker is a limited athlete, but he's a good tackler and is smart and instinctive. I think he's limited, but with time and work he might be better than I expect him to be. Okereke has the physical traits, but not the instinctiveness or discipline. If I was placing a bet on the starting MLB, it would be Walker.
I don't have any opinion of EJ Speed. I just can't wrap my mind around evaluating a prospect from grainy DII Internet footage. I haven't posted my draft grade yet (still working on some), but I will have an INC on Speed. I am definitely deferring to Ballard and Co on this one, but I wonder if he would have been available at the end of the 7th...
I agree on Walker. On Okereke, I think he as instincts, but not the strength (especially lower body).
Regarding Speed being available later, I think several of the guys we drafted would have been available later. That includes Okereke, and Willis in addition to Speed.
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it was just an ugly ugly ugly game.
to me, our O was the issue. you can't punt your first four possessions and then miss a FG to end the half. then you punt your first two possessions of the 2nd, fumble on your 3rd, and punt again on your 4th. When special teams is your only score for 3Qs, it's your offense lol....
our D actually held them under their average so i can't blame them too much. we actually had more sacks and QB hits they them.
Biggest issues
1. they doubled a hobbled TY, and the rest of our WR group were mediocre to begin with
2. O play calling sucked. horrible game plan from Reich, and good one from Andy.
3. our LB's played bad...
4. we abandoned the run too early (only 14 rushes the entire game). Our YPC was pretty good.
5. weather/field
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16 hours ago, Lawrence Owen said:
I'd say that would be impressive, considering Edgerrin James never topped what Marlon Mack did YPC wise last year.
Addai had 4.8 in 2006, which is better than Mack's 4.7, so maybe the wrong comparison :-).
Any RB's average will go up typically if you take away the "obvious run" downs.
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16 hours ago, John Hammonds said:
I think that Walker will continue to start at MLB. But in tossing around the question, I've also been mixing and matching lineups to take advantage of individual skill sets. Kinda fun!
Starting Defense
DE Sheard
DT Lewis
DT Autry
DE Houston
WLB Leonard
MLB Walker
SLB Banogu
CB Desir
CB Moore
SS Geathers
FS Hooker
Max Pass Rush / Max Coverage (3rd and 10)
DE Banogu
DT Lewis
DT Autry
DE Houston
WLB Leonard
MLB Okareke
CB Desir
CB Moore
DB Wilson
DB Tell
FS Hooker
Short Yardage Run Defense (3rd and 2)
DE Sheard
DT Hunt
DT Stewart
DE Lewis
WLB Leonard
MLB Geathers (!)
SLB Walker
CB Ya-Sin
CB Moore
SS Odum
FS Farley
isn't our starting D pretty much nickel? in terms of snap count, we hardly have a SAM on the field.
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4 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:
He has plenty of height, (Listed at 6-3) and seems to have a good frame
He is now listed at 230, which IS 5-10 lbs too light to play MLB, today
But..... some NFL weight training and focused nutrition, can put some needed weight on him
He may stay at WSLB, or get washed out....... (Its a big jump from Division 93 College football)
But he did seem to line up a great deal at MLB in college, and he didnt look as bad as Okereke.....
He'd be a major project for MLB in a 4-3. His upper body is pretty underdeveloped. Not sure about his base either. He really needs to be 240 at minimum. IMO, he could develop into a great and cheap backup for Leonard, or the primary SAM even though we don't use SAM much. And yes, I like his film much better than Okereke's. Very hard to judge though given the talent is not comparable.
And honestly, if we're talking about moving pieces around for a fit at MLB or even SAM, I'd rather Gerri Green become that project (maybe loose some bad weight). He's struggled as a 4-3 DE and was better in space as an OLB/hybrid. I don't see him making the team if the keep him at traditional DE. He struggled mightily with his hand in the dirt at MSU.
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5 hours ago, ColtStrong2013 said:
I'm not sure you understand that progressive and inovative coaches utilize what they have personnel wise to design their sets. I am certain Franks gameplanning and design for this offense will change this season with more weapons on offense.
Oh I absolutely expect them to innovate and use the personnel. That's why most think Funchess will eat into Ebron's stats....
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3 hours ago, ColtStrong2013 said:
I think they are relying on Funchess to provide several of those spots this season, and will utilize Ebron in the bully/big slot role a lot more than you are giving credit for. Ebron had to play traditional tight end more than ideal last season. Getting a healthy Jack Doyle gives this offense so much versatility and flexibility. I'm not saying 4 receivers is ideal... it's not. I said it COULD happen and would be due to an injury or two somewhere at the top of the receiver depth chart.
Funch is the big/bully slot, and possession X. Funch is not an outside speed X. We used Pascal and Inman as big slot (they both ran out of slot about 30% of their snaps). They were not very good big/bully slots.
A TE's routes are always going to be similar to a bully slot. That's what a TE is. The reason why you want an true WR bully slot is so you can have them on the field at the same time as a TE. Not sure you understand the sets we run, or what Reich wants to run based on down/distance and field position.
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1 hour ago, ColtStrong2013 said:
What was it before Doyle's injury?
Snap counts last year were very similar. In 2018 it didn't change a lot overall due to Doyle's injury. Things looked to have changed more due to WR injury (Grant). IMO, Ebron and TE in general got a lot more targets simply because our WR group was so mediocre. That's not the case this year.
QuoteI don't see that. I see mismatches and I'm fairly certain Reich will as well. Those guys on opposite ends of the field with Hilton and Campbell's (Hines as well) speed paired with those big bodied receivers is a nightmare for defenses to gameplan against. They can (and will) create serious space for our speed with those guys.
Indy did a great job in terms of utilization with Ebron. They upped his RZ targets big time, and focused on the routes he was good at. He still dropped a lot. They will do the same with Funch. The thing is, Funch is "good", or more successful in the same types of routes that Ebron is. Indy hinted at using Funch in ways he is most successful at by publishing his route success rates along with AL's. IMO, if Cain comes back and Campbell is challenging for reps, Funch is going to be limited to his "successful" routes, which means he'll be playing big/bully slot, and possession X in short to intermediate routes. More or less 5-10 yards deep and a lot more in the middle of the field than outside or long. That's going to eat into Ebron's bread and butter.
QuoteDoyle is pretty dang good at both... And Mo Alie-Cox will be as well this season, which will make the tight end group extremely valuable and deep. I know a lot of people see Ebron as the odd guy out, but I'm sure the organization doesn't. And I'm positive Luck won't. He built a great relationship pretty quick with him on the field last season. That won't go away by putting more weapons and mismatches on the field...
Doyle is good at both, but he's not on the level that Ebron is in receiving. Cox is looking good as well. He's raw but making great strides and has a lot of upside. I don't see Ebron as the odd guy out at all. After this season, I'd bet on Ebron and Cox being resigned. Doyle is older and has injury issues. Ebron is younger and is an elite flex. Cox is taking big steps forward, younger than both, and will be cheap. Not so sure about Doyle unless he's very reasonable.
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2 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:
I saw play after play, like this, where he couldnt disengage from ANY blocker........
If he cant disengage a college blocker I would HATE to see what a pro blocker would do to him
I think its a strength problem
The other thing I noticed is that he seems to not find the hole the RB is heading through
He seemed to be out of position constantly
A SS and FS, will have a VERY busy day backing him up.....
I would also try Speed at MLB as well. That guy has good closing, well .... SPEED
Stanford's LBs were both undersized for the middle to be honest. Barton who was a year or so younger than Okereke was just as good IMO. And it is absolutely a strength problem. His base is too slight and he simply gets pushed back. He doesn't deliver a blow, he takes it, and then struggles to disengage. He's much more suited for WILL or SAM. Speed is way to small for MIKE.
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2 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:
Walker is has developed into a better than average NFL MLB
Not Pro Bowl...... but holding his own
He gets lost in coverage more than I like.
Hopefully he can pick up and improve that part of his game.
Maybe Okereke starts to get passing reps, ...... but......at this point, so far, I havent seen the reason to love Okereke over Walker
I say put him in on ST...... learn the game, learn how to prepare, learn where he needs to be on the field..... he is better depth then we have had in a LONG time
We will see........ not much news these days
Its almost like there is no football on Sundays.......
Walker improved a lot as the year went along IMO. He had a very good tackle/snap ratio. He was also tied for 29th in the NFL in tackles. Take out a few of the Ss in front of him and just look at LBs, and he's likely top 25.
That's pretty damn good when you have the #1 tackler, and also another top 25 LB. There's only a few teams out there that have 2 LBs in the top 25, or even top 32 (teams in the league).
And people keep conveniently forgetting that we changed D schemes last year and brought in a new DC.
And regarding Okereke... he's coming from a 3-4, so he's now learning the 4-3.
Anyone who thinks Okereke is going to stand up against the run from day one, watch the clip below. Dexter Williams Williams runs buy him after the ND TE manhandles Okereke. Dex had 161 yards up the middle that game which was his first game of the year.
https://www.nbcsports.com/video/notre-dames-dexter-williams-takes-45-yard-touchdown
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Athlon named him their #1 LB. Not sure if that was posted on the board, but here's the link.
https://athlonsports.com/nfl/nfl-linebacker-rankings
It's going to be really interesting this year. The upgrades on our O will likely mean our opponents will be playing from behind more than last year... which means teams will be passing against us more. Then, the level of QBs we'll be facing this season is much, much better.... which means teams will be passing against us more... lol. So more passing against our defense X2.
On D, we've added a veteran pass rusher, and drafted a raw but promising pass rusher. We also added a quality CB in the draft. I really like the thought of Desir, Moore, and RYS in nickel together. I wish we would have upgraded iDL, but even without and interior beast, I think the DEs will give us much more pressure/sacks than last year. That combined with a pretty solid DB group, screams to me that teams will be attacking our middle even more.
So I think targets vs Leonard and Walker will get a pretty decent increase. What I like though, is both will be in their second year of Flus's defense. Things started slowing down for both the second half of the season.
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12 minutes ago, CR91 said:
People need to stop this nonsense. Im begging prople to go watch film on him and tell me what they see that tells you hes better then Walker or even a 3 down LBer. We needed depth and players to matchup against certain teams and that is what Okereke is. Be appreciative that we have Walker.
I wish they had a Vegas line on this. Easy money on Walker lol.
Okereke might steal some passing down snaps, but he's not starting over Walker. He's a tweener that's probably more suited for WILL or SAM. And because we're in nickel so much, we don't use much SAM at all. He's depth... If he's starting, I don't like our chances against good running teams.
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On 6/21/2019 at 8:51 AM, ColtStrong2013 said:
And yet has he scooted in and blocked in the NFL as a tight end? If not, this is a moot point. Because Ebron splits out wide often...
I never said he was seen as a WR. I said he was a receiving tight end that is limited with his blocking ability and I said his versatility would seem to make it easier to justify dressing one less receiver because of the formation usage with tight ends and runningbacks... ESPECIALLY if one of your receivers is a big-bodied "tight end lite."
Not many teams have TEs that are great at both receiving and blocking. Kelce, Ertz, Kittle, are the exceptions, not the rule. And having a TE-lite starting as a WR isn't going make dressing 4 WRs any easier. If Funch was an outside speed demon, then maybe, but he's not. It might however make dressing less TEs easier.... That's why a lot folks think Funch will eat away snaps/yards/TDs from Ebron. And having a great flex TE and a TE-lite on the field at the same time is really only ideal in the RZ or short/medium yard passing situations. And keep in mind, most teams dress 5, and some even dress 6. Dressing 4 is pretty unusual.
And you can't ignore special teams. Teams typically don't want their top 3 or 4 WRs returning kicks or punts. Now if you're one of the few teams that have a DB returning kicks, then maybe you can get away with dressing 4 but still not ideal for a team that uses WR as much as we do. Last year's WR group was so limited we had to use our second leading WR (in snaps and yards) to return both kicks and punts.
Let's do this. Give me a 4 WR dress roster that accounts for outside/speed X, possession X, traditional slot, bully/big slot, and Z. You'll need to account for RZ, short, and long situations/sets... Don't forget PR (1) and KR (2) and also account for backup/injury so that you are not severely limited in the typical sets we run. And FYI, we run 3 WR sets 60ish% of the time, and 2 TE sets 30ish% of the time.
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1 hour ago, ColtStrong2013 said:
I guess I was confused at the original commentary on active rosters. I can't imagine keeping less than 6 with this group, i was more referring to game day active rosters and using Hines/Ebron's versatility and usage in different spots as reason for thinking 4 receivers on gameday isn't crazy. Is there a minimum for the 46 player game day roster?
And I don't think we see eye to eye on your Ebron analysis. How many think of Funchess as a tight end?... Many see Ebron split wide and utilized as a receiving tight end that is limited as a blocker.
Funchess was a TE that converted to a WR while at UM. Most consider him a TE-lite.
Ebron is a receiving TE. That doesn't mean he's seen as a WR, especially now that we have a WR who is a TE-lite.
No minimum, but.... As far as getting to the 46 game day roster, it's not really that hard reducing 7. Position counts will vary a little due to injury concerns, but not a big issue. For instance, we had 10 OL on the 53, but typically only dressed 7-8. That's 2-3 spots. We'll likely keep 10 DBs on the 53, but typically won't dress more than 7-8. That's another 2-3 spots. We carried 5 TEs on the 53 at times last year, but dressed 3-4 IIRC. We'll dress at least 3 RBs, sometimes 4. Now that we have Ware, it will be a lot easier to dress only 3 (Mack, Ware, Hines). I don't see us dressing less than 5 WRs unless there are serious issues other places.
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I'm removing Leonard and Nelson from consideration. They are proven studs. They proved it first year. They'll prove it again this year. It doesn't excite me, I expect them both to be monsters.
So...
1. Parris Campbell - I expect him to be the biggest impact to point differential
2. Rock Ya-Sin - I expect him to challenge for time right away, and start by mid season
3. Deon Cain - more than anything else, we need a well rounded outside guy / X with speed
4. Ben Bonagu - Hope they stick to DE focus in TC. I thought about Turay in this spot.
5. Nyheim Hines - Great rookie year. I think he's a smaller, but better planned part of the O this year
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2 hours ago, wig said:
Willis would have to be awful in camp not to make it. You don't trade up in the middle rounds to get a guy you're going to cut unless it's a huge whiff.
I get we traded up for him, so obviously Ballard liked him. The rest of the world didn't like him as much. He was graded out at 5.3 (232nd best player in the draft). That's a 7th round grade...We'll see. Hope he kills it and proves me and others wrong, but he's not a lock by any means.
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2 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:
Of course you can remove a game. And no doubt our staff DID when evaluating his drop rate and why it may have happened.
And Andrew has been stinkaroo his whole career at ball placement, if you want to go back for years. He Finally showed some improvement last season.
Please explain what his Incentives are. I have been wanting to know. Thanks
If you remove his worst game, then at least remove TY's worst game since you are comparing...
If that's cool, are you now going to remove his bad college games too? lol, just kidding.
luck's placement is a hell of a lot better than what Funch is coming from.
IIRC, his contract is 7M signing bonus, 3M base, and an additional 3M if he hits 1000 yards.
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2 hours ago, jskinnz said:
Hey, that is a lot of words, math and speculation. But unless Willis is Zach Banner level bad, he is not getting cut out of camp. It really is as simple as that.
Knowing how the NFL works, Geathers, Odum and Farley have a better chance of being cut than Willis.
that's some Zach Banner level speculation...
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3 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:
The only injury I recall of Kindreds was his broken collarbone that he played his entire senior year at TCU with.....? In the pro's not so much.
Not to be argumentative, however, Geathers was signed the day before Houston as the next to last free agent we signed.
For the record though, Kindred was signed off of waivers about 13 days after Geathers and Houston were signed.
Still getting to the point where availability starts to count when other talented options are available.
I like Geathers, don't get me wrong, jist think he's on a short leash.
Kindred broke his ankle in 2016 and injured his wrist in 2017. Both years went to IR. 2018 was better for him, but IIRC from my buddy, both his ankle and wrist were aggravated at one time or another.
Geathers is on a short leash due to injury concerns. He's much more talented than Kindred. My buddy who is a an uber Browns fan, said "he's OK depth guy. makes big hits, but can whiff occasionally. ok in coverage. good depth, but not someone you want starting full time"..
I Still Don't Get It???
in Colts Football
Posted
I had us going 10-6 and winning the AFC South. I knew with Luck back we'd be at minimum .500, and I thought by adding Nelson, Ebron, and Cain, our O would be pretty decent, and enough to take the South. We were 10-6, but didn't win the South. I wasn't counting on our D being as good, so I guess they overachieved. Honestly I'm still not sold on our D. This year will be a much bigger test.