CurBeatElite
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Posts posted by CurBeatElite
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1 minute ago, Stephen said:
This will be the best offense Luck has had since he was drafted
I tend to agree. Let's just hope we stay healthy. I think our OL is going to be the biggest thing for Luck's sake -- it was nice having Reggie and TY early in his career, though we didn't have a good enough line (or RBs) to develop much of a run game back then. Until I see Campbell, Cain, and Funchess actually perform, I have a hard time saying our WR's are better than Luck's first 2 years with Reggie and TY... but, it's still an exciting group.
9 minutes ago, Irish YJ said:with our RBs and TEs, and IF our top 4 WRs pan out, we'll be able to threaten every inch of the field and create match up problems regardless of down and distance. as far as the long ball is concerned, having TY, Cain, and Campbell on the field at the same time running verts blows the top off any D, and nullifies just about any type of zone.
Let's hope we stay healthy and the WRs pan out. There was a point in time where we had similar speed with DHB, Moncrief and TY and they were bragging about an 'Indy 500' package with all their speed.... unfortunately, DHB couldn't catch and Moncrief wasn't very good at route running. Hypothetically, though, if we've got Hines, Cain, Campbell, and TY all on the field at the same time, we'd have the fastest offense in football (just about KC). If we can spread the field with that speed and have our size guys (Doyle, Funchess, Ebron) work the middle of the field, we should be very tough to stop consistently.
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1 minute ago, Irish YJ said:
Our biggest problem last year IMO was simply not having a true, well rounded X with speed. Without that, we simply couldn't keep Ds honest. And I don't think play calling helped in several cases. Not that it (play calling) was all bad, it simply want's creative enough at times to keep the chains moving when TY was doubled and / or hobbled. I expected much more creativity vs KC, yet what we got was a lot of same over reliance on TY, too many short passes, etc.. It was way too predictable. We have a lot more tools in the bag this year, so if play calling isn't creative, that's purely on the coaches.
With both legit speed and size options opposite TY, and in the slot, it's going to be real fun. we're all going to be so tired of winning!
I know part of last year (the beginning anyway) was designed to keep Luck throwing short as he was still testing out his shoulder. It seemed to open up some as the season went on.... but you're right, we have a lot more toys for the coaches to utilize this year. I think Reich was a creative play caller in Philly and given what he had, I think he did well last year, too. It took several weeks for our OL to get solidified, which helped balance our O (along with the return of a healthy Mack). We also dealt with injuries to our skill players all year (e.g., Mack was nicked up early, Doyle was out and we kind of bounced around TE's behind Ebron -- I think TE's are a big part of Reich's philosophy, so hopefully they stay healthy, our WR corps after TY was shaky at best, etc.). I have also read that they've been running a lot of stretch plays with Mudd being back in Indy helping with the OL, which may add another wrinkle to our attack (and I've read Campbell has been being used all over the field... he and Hines on the field together at the same time could be very dangerous). I'm hoping with the speed we've got (three 4.3 guys in Hines, Campbell and TY along with a 4.4 guy in Cain if healthy), this will be the year where we figure out how to execute screen passes to help open up the long ball.
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35 minutes ago, JR Indy said:
I think this 5th and possibly the sixth spot will be decided in the next four games. The problem with the receivers from last year that is still on the team (outside TY) is they do not show up on game day. That’s how the last spot or two will be decided. I hope these guys show up this year
Some of the young guys haven't really been game tested (e.g., Dulin & Campbell) and others have very limited game experience. I think Fountain has the most potential out of the guys likely battling for the 5th spot (i.e., not TY, Campbell, DF, and likely not Cain). It'll be interesting to see if that drop in the playoffs comes back to bite him at all -- a lot of times it only takes 1 or 2 really bone headed plays in preseason to lose your job if you're a bubble guy.... hopefully if it comes down to Fountain making a catch in a pressure situation in a preseason game he doesn't flashback to KC.
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2 minutes ago, Irish YJ said:
I think everyone's production goes down with a bum ankle :-). He was doubled most of the game too. A healthy TY, even a bit slower would kill it in the slot.
On Parris, yup yup, and yup. Excited about his potential. I just hope they don't try to do too much too fast. I'd prefer he focus on one or at most two things. Having him play slot, floating outside to X and or Z, taking handoffs, doing returns.... that's a lot. Not saying he can't do it all, but I would rather him be really good at one or two things, than good but perhaps slower to learn on all of them.
Yes, playing on a bum ankle is tough and I give TY a lot of credit for doing it towards the end of the season and into the playoffs. That said, I don't think KC would've taken him out of the game like that if he was at full speed.
Also, at that point, TY was getting some help from Inman as a fellow WR, but it was really easy for D's to focus almost solely on taking TY out of the game. Assuming Funchess, Campbell and Cain all work out like we hope, teams aren't going to have as easy a time focusing their game plan on cutting one player out of the equation (especially with Ebron and a healthy Jack Doyle in the mix).
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On 7/25/2019 at 6:20 PM, NewColtsFan said:
I agree with you.... but two areas to note....
One, it will be interesting to see how things move forward with TYH... he has two years left on his contract. We will extend early? We will extend when his two years are up? Lots of unknowns here...
Also.... Ballard has noted the 2020 draft class of WR's looks like one of the strengths of the next draft. I could easily see him using a Day 2 pick on one of them.
Just food for thought. But adding Funchess and Campbell, getting Cain back and hearing Ballard says he was very pleased with Pascal puffs up this group nicely.....
I do believe part of why Funchess got a 1 year deal is because of the WR class coming out of next year's draft... if Funchess works out for us, we can extend him before the season ends, if not we can let him walk and use one of our extra 2nd round picks for a new guy. Ballard, unlike Grigson, seems to really think ahead when he makes roster moves.
On 7/25/2019 at 9:37 PM, Irish YJ said:I think TY has 2-3 more years before he starts losing speed. When he does lose a step, he'd make a great slot and could easily prolong his career.
I really don't see Cain as a Z. Especially with our needs for a prototypical X. I could see Campbell as a Z. Campbell could really play anywhere (X, slot, or Z) with his measureables assuming he can beat the press. I think given his speed and shiftiness, he'd be an ideal replacement for Z given it's the most "moving" WR position.
Ideally, I want TY to stick at Z for 2-3 more years, Parris become the speed slot, Cain or Fountain to be the prototype X. In 3-4 years, hopefully Cain has locked down X, and Parris and TY can flip flop.
I thought it was very obvious against KC when TY was playing with a bum ankle that his production goes way down when his speed isn't full tilt. The nice thing with him, though, is he is a very good route runner with dependable hands, so the transition to a slot guy shouldn't be too difficult, especially with the chemistry he and Andrew already have developed.
Sounds like (from camp reports and Reich's interview) they are already getting pretty clever with how they're using Campbell. Also sounds like Reich thinks he is a lot more developed as a route runner than anyone gave him credit for leaving college.
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I'm not so sure the Jags will be our toughest foe. They have a very good defense, but other than adding Foles it doesn't seem like they did much to provide him with the skill set necessary for him (I could be wrong, but I don't view Foles as a QB who can carry a team without talent around him -- someone like Luck, Brady, Rogers, etc. could... I don't see Foles as that guy). However, as @RockThatBlue pointed out, he's still a major upgrade to Bortles and with their D, he can essentially be a game manager and just have to avoid poor decision making for them to win a few more games than they did last year.
That said, the Texans are coming off an 11-5 season (compared to Jax' 5-11 season), and I think after Luck, DeShaun is the best QB in the division, plus he's got weapons around him and their defense is very good. I think HOU is still the biggest challenge in this division for us.
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On 7/25/2019 at 10:28 AM, Coffeedrinker said:
Yes, when he runs hard he loses his fundamentals.
And I'm guessing his college coaches worked on those fundamentals and his high school coaches worked on those fundamentals...
You are playing a little loose with the numbers to make it appear better. Technically, 2 of 76 is approximately 2%. Accurately it is 2.63% which is a significant increase over 1.6%.
You cannot really compare a WRs fumble rate to a RB for one and two, if Hilton consistently fumbled at a rate of 3.5% then people would complain but he doesn't. You had to go back 2 years to make this point, he had 0 fumbles in 76 touches in 2018 and 6 in 516 touches for a 1.16 fumble percentage.
I will end this with, I am sure Wilkins will improve over last year and I don't think he's horrible, he has good quickness and vision and if the hole is there he will hit and get as many yards as possible before contact. I just think he is one of those looks like Tarzan runs like Jane type players that are a dime a dozen in the NFL. A 2016 Ware is a better option, a 2017, 2018 Ware is not.
Ware is already hurt prior to the season, which doesn't look good for him after not playing a full season the past 2 years.
Yes, Wilkins' problems have been fundamental ones. I think they can still be worked on and fixed. Physically, he's very talented and he'll have to use his physical traits plus fundamentals to make a major improvement from last year. That said, the NFL is a much different game than highschool or college. There is a lot you can mask when you're a freak athlete at those levels like Wilkins was... in the NFL, they're all freaks and even the slightest mess up with fundamentals is exposed.
Ballard says fairly often that he expects our coaches to develop our players, and I think he's made it very clear that he'll give some time for young guys to learn and grow and play how he/the coaches want them to in our system. I expect Wilkins will have fixed his fundamental problems for the most part this offseason and we'll see him as a productive member of our offense.
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49 minutes ago, shastamasta said:
Rodney Haterisson...always throwing sahde on the Colts.
However, the idea that regression for some players could occur is not unfounded. Though collectively, the team can step forward.
I think Reich has very good leadership for this team, and don't see the team stepping back. I think we should win the AFC South this year.
However, like you said, it will be hard for several players to produce like they did last year. For example, Darius Leonard had 163 tackles as a rookie and lead the league by 19 (while missing a game, so over 10 tackles per game). He says he wants 200 tackles next year.. which is almost impossible. If he comes back and has 135 tackles next year (still good for 5th best in the league last year), it may look like a regression, but he'd still have a heck of a year.
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I thought this was a pretty good video (kinda surprised Ebron wound up ahead of TY). I think he deserves to be on the list.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-top100-2019/0ap3000001037198/Top-100-Players-of-2019-Eric-Ebron-No-66
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On 7/27/2019 at 8:29 AM, Pacergeek said:
The best offensive lineman in the NFL, by far, isn't on the list? This list is very fake and phony.
He had a very good rookie year, but 'by far' the best OL in the NFL is a long shot.
The nice thing with Q is he learns from his (few) mistakes and is seemingly always working to get better.
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3 hours ago, jskinnz said:
They will positively keep more than 4 LBs on the roster. Is not even a question.
In 2016 we had 11 LBs on our final roster. In 2017 we had 7 LBs on our final roster. In 2018 we had 6 LBs on our final roster. We are going to keep more than 4, for sure.
2 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:I think Walker, Leonard, okereke make the team. Then it comes down to most likely Adams. I doubt EJ speed makes the team. He will be cut or go on the practice squad. BANOGU is really a DE not a LB.
I'll call Banogu a DE (even though he's listed as LB). We have Adams, Franklin, Leonard, Lewis, Moore, Okereke, Speed, Thomas, Walker at LB. Like you said, Leonard, Walker, Okereke are pretty much locks. I thought Moore was a little slow last year, but I think he's got a good shot as he is kind of a hybrid type with good ball skills. Adams and Franklin both played fairly large roles last year. The FO is very high on Speed, I could see him on the PS, but they see something in him (IMO).
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On 7/20/2019 at 4:31 PM, Chloe6124 said:
Right there are no other options. Teams don’t trade their superstar left tackles and it’s not like you can just get one in the draft and they will be good right away. This o line would take a huge step back if he wasn’t extrnddd. O lineman age well in the nfl. They can play well into this mid thirties. I think it will get done once they get back to camp.
Here's a nice read on Anthony "Benjamin Button" Castonzo... https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2019/05/16/indianapolis-colts-anthony-castonzo-rusty-jones-andrew-whitworth-jason-peters/1164815001/ --- sounds like Rusty Jones really helped him last off-season by getting him to work on some hip imbalances and strengthening some muscles to support his knees, hamstrings and chest which had been bother Castonzo in the past.
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3 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:
It’s not that thin. I think we have some quality depth. Odum and Mcfarly can hold their own. Plus don’t forget we went and got Kindred who has been a good starter in the league. Then we also just got Willis in the draft. From all accounts Willis could start if we needed him.
And I think Quincy Wilson could play S if needed (Ballard said this multiple times around draft time that Q. Wilson is so valuable because he can play any position in the secondary). And another draft pick, Tell III was a S in college -- the plan for him is to move him to outside CB, but imagine (if he makes the team, which I think he will) he can play S in a pinch.
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On 7/17/2019 at 5:42 PM, TonyBungee said:
What struck me looking back at that draft was that Bobby Wagner and Lavonte David went after Fleener.
I thought we reached on Fleener at the time (at least talent wise)... but I liked the pick as he was a Stanford kid and gave Luck someone to be comfortable with right away after coming to fill Peyton's shoes.
On 7/21/2019 at 2:54 PM, Coltsfan66 said:It was a good trade for Indy and glad they did it! Geez, looking at that draft, only Luck and Hilton shined. I know Dwayne and Coby had some moments but definitely not what we all hoped.
Yes, it's kind of nuts how much of this roster Ballard has had to overhaul in such a short time.. Grigs really left him without much talent.
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This is Doug Farrar from Football Wire's list.
https://www.colts.com/news/seven-colts-make-touchdown-wire-s-top-100-players-list
The players are Kelly (91), Moore II (74), Leonard (59), Hooker (55), Hilton (52), Luck (47), Nelson (43).
Was kind of surprised to see Moore II on the list and also surprised how low Leonard, Luck and Nelson were (and Kelly, but he claims injuries have as much to do w/ that as anything).
I like his write up on Hooker the best... in part: ""In just his second NFL season, Hooker became the recipient of the ultimate gesture of respect given a defensive back — an extreme lack of targets in relation to his snap totals. He was on the field for 977 snaps and saw just nine targets all season. He gave up four catches for 51 yards, 25 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, two pass breakups and an opponent passer rating of 60.2."
I have seen a lot of folks suggesting Hooker had an off year... I think a lot of that is because his INT numbers weren't high -- but 9 targets out of almost 1,000 snaps is ridiculous.
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20 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:
I think it was very well known last year Eberflus benched Turay for his work ethic last season. Seems like he really took that and worked hard this off season.
Turay was battling nagging injuries a lot of last season, which I think is the main reason his playing time got reduced (coupled with Tyquan Lewis coming off the injured list).
I think everyone knew after Turay was drafted that he needed to get a bit stronger and become a more refined football player rather than just a raw athlete...it seems like he's working his butt off this off season to not only get stronger but to get more polished with Mathis as his mentor.
15 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:I'm not 100% convinced it was either work ethic, or that it was well known.
What I recall is more of a sense that Turay had hit the famous Rookie Wall.
I don't recall reading articles that talked about Turay and a lack of worth ethic.
Where as, when Wilson had trouble, there were all sorts of articles. We had four different articles. From the GM, from the HC, from the DC and from the player. (And still, there were people here who would not accept that view). But at least, it was written about.
Am I misremembering? Were there articles written where Turay's work ethich was talked about and I missed them? I don't even recall threads that talked about Turay's work ethic.
Anyone? Anyone at all?
I think he did hit a bit of a wall, some of which was caused by nagging injuries. Also, don't forget, he only played very sparingly in his second to last year at Rutgers after a more serious injury to his shoulder which required 2 surgeries.
He only played 2 years of HS football, red-shirted as a freshman. Ballard said right after we drafted him that the kid had very good physical traits but was still quite raw and needed to get stronger.
I think, aside from him having some nagging injuries and the return of T. Lewis), there was a plan to use Turay's rookie year as somewhat of a developmental year which he was building strength and learning technique.
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On 7/12/2019 at 7:31 AM, Shadow_Creek said:
I'm not even going to discuss Jonathan Williams because i believe he will be released after preseason and maybe be placed on the practice squad. However i do not see us carrying 4 running backs this season so i'm hoping that Jordan Wilkins brings his A game because i really like the effort he puts into his runs. Although that being said Spencer ware brings a different run style to our offense that i also admire so only time will tell which one comes out on top
We had 4 backs on our final roster last year each of the past 3 years, so I think there's a good shot of that trend continuing. Hines' receiving abilities may allow for him to be used some in the slot, making a WR more expendable at cut time. Also, Mack and Ware have both missed good chunks of time with injuries, which is one more argument to keep 4 for depth purposes.
On 7/12/2019 at 8:29 PM, jskinnz said:I have listened to Ballard and I think he genuinely believes Williams has a legit shot to make it. When the last cuts come, I think a surprise cut is Ware.
I can't find the exact interview, but I also think Ballard really thinks Williams can be a good player in this league. Ballard was with KC when Ware was brought over there, so he has some connection with him... doesn't mean he'll keep him, but that's the major advantage I think Ware may have over Williams (plus he's had a few very productive seasons).
On 7/15/2019 at 3:33 PM, Coffeedrinker said:His official combine weight was 216lbs
201/216/230 it doesn't matter. I'm not a fan of Wilkins, most of the time he doesn't run hard and when he does run hard he fumbles.
But he does have good speed and he will gain all the yards the oline gives him, but he's not going to gain a lot of extra yards or yards after contact.
If Ware is the Ware of 2016 then I think he will beat out Wilkins. I think though that injuries will have caught up with him though and he won't be the Ware of 2016.
I think his fumbles were more a result of how he was carrying the ball. This is a fundamental thing which can be coached, so I'm sure they've been working with him a lot on it. He saw significant reduction in playing time after his second fumble last year against Miami. My guess is the coaches didn't think he was changing his style well enough since his first fumble in NE and needed time to work on it in practice before trusting him in a game again. He saw touches again in week 17 and in the playoffs after having only 2 touches in a 4 week span after his Miami fumble.
He had 60 regular season carries and 16 receptions (76 total touches) and fumbled just 2x, which is ~2% of his touches. Ware had 4 fumbles on 247 touches in 2016, or 1.6% fumble rate.... any fumbles are too much, but it's not like Wilkins has a major fumbling issue. TY fumbled 2 times with 57 touches in 2017, a 3.5% fumble rate and nobody complained much about it.
I do agree with you, that for his size, Wilkins runs pretty soft. Hopefully that's a coachable thing as well, but who knows. Where Wilkins has the advantage over Ware/Williams is his ability to play well on STs (he returned a kick in the playoffs, but he was more used on STs as a non-returner..... there's value to that).
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I thought this was a very good read.
Essentially, it talks about Reich changing his approach to leading/motivating players this season. Last year, he said it was easy when we were ranked last in the league in the pre-season NFL power rankings.... this year he says the challenge will be to keep players motivated day in and day out with the expectations they have on them due to last year's success.
I like his quote here:
"Yeah, that will be a little bit of the challenge. I don't think -- maybe I overplayed the preseason ranking thing a little bit. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time," Reich said, laughing. "... As you know me and as you know how we roll around here, we typically don't make a big deal out of that. So really the challenge this year will be keeping the same approach, the 1-0 approach. Keeping the getting better every day, not being complacent in any way. Not falling into the trap of thinking, 'We are supposed to be this and that.' We did nothing. We've got to go prove it every day and that should be our mentality."
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On 7/15/2019 at 5:12 PM, Chloe6124 said:
They also are not going to cut Cain because he had a injury. They are going to give this kid every chance to fully recover and show what he has. He showed way to much promise in training camp last season. Think of all the he film Cain got to study while injured. He said he has been tight with Hilton while injured and learning the game.
The fact that they did a multi-part documentary about Cain (IMO) says a lot. It'd be pretty awkward to give the guy that much hype and publicity and then release him.
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On 7/2/2019 at 11:11 AM, Chloe6124 said:
That is a great stat. Once we have built depth it is going to be harder and harder for a draft pick to make this roster. We will t need ten draft picks like we have had the last couple of years.
On 7/2/2019 at 11:24 AM, Jared Cisneros said:I think the final 53 will be fantastic this year. Should be a great football team overall. I believe a couple of our late round picks these last two years may get cut. In any case, there will be good players that get cut. It's not just dead weight anymore. So proud and thankful for Chris Ballard!
Replying to @Chloe6124 and @Jared Cisneros here... I really liked a press conference with Ballard (I think it was right after the draft)... I don't think this is an exact quote, but essentially he said "You know you're doing it right when you make the cut from 75 to 53 and you have 9 or 10 guys getting signed by other teams and playing on Sunday." I don't know we'll have 10 cuts go play for other teams this year, but I bet we have at least 5.... I really like Ballard's logic there.
21 hours ago, krunk said:I do believe Luke Rhodes was brought in by Grigson as well. I'm pretty sure.
Yes, he was on the practice squad the vast majority of 2016 and then became a starter in 2017 when Ballard took over. Thanks for pointing that out.
17 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:Who writes these articles? As usual they are only partially accurate!
Polian Era - Castonzo, Vinatieri
Grigson Era - Clark, Haeg, Kelly, Farley, Geathers, Rhodes, Doyle, Milton and Hilton
Ballard - 29 draft picks the past 3 drafts, 27 still with the team. Banner is with Pittsburgh and Basham is with the Jets.
Still impressive how he's churned this roster over from a * poor oline and terrible 3-4 defense into an elite oline and an up and coming 4-3 defense.
Thanks, Scott! I thought we had more than 6 still on the team, but didn't do my due diligence to figure out who the author of the article left out..... but, as you said, Ballard has really turned this team around and has done a major overhaul. (on a side note, you left out the most important player of the Grigson era -- Andrew Luck).
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Pretty cool article just posted on the front page of Colts.com
Only 6 players are left on this team from the Grigson era -- Luck, Castonzo, Vinatieri, Geathers, Doyle and TY Hilton.
I give major kudos to Ballard, as he has basically conducted a total rebuild of this team in just 3 years and has kept us in very good salary cap shape.
I like Irsay's quote as well, and think Ballard has Irsay buying into his philosophy of building mainly from within.
“We've signed several players that can make a difference,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said back in March at the annual league meetings. “So the arrow keeps pointing up, because like I've told you guys before, it's not only who you sign, but it's who you don't lose. So the fact that we're adding to the roster, but not losing any key components, any guys that are really big-time starters in their prime that were pulling the team with them with several other guys.
“We've signed our own guys and we've added some guys that are going to make a difference. And I feel really confident about that. Chris has done a great job in just patiently evaluating talent.”
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4 hours ago, Smonroe said:
Since they’re only basing it on last season (Mahomes #1), you could make a case for Trubisky and even Winston being in the top 10.
I know it’s not PC to say but IMHO Wilson is overrated.
Anyway, it’s just another list of opinions.
If by Winston you mean Jameis Winston, he played in 11 games and only started 9 last year. Threw for 19 TDs and 14 INTs... based on last year, he's not even close to top 10.
In terms of Wilson, I'm torn -- at times I think he's overrated, but then if you look at his OL and supporting cast on offense, he has had a pretty remarkable career. I know he had a stellar defense the years they went to the SB, but he's still been very good (led the NFL in passer rating in 2015, led the NFL in TDs in 2017, 6x pro-bowler, etc.). He makes very few poor decisions and makes a lot of plays very few QBs in the NFL could make. I would rather have Luck, but I think Wilson's definitely somewhere in the top 6-7.
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5 hours ago, CR91 said:
5. Fair point, but everyone knew Pagano was getting fired.
4. Well for all the talk about building in the trenches, you would think we would select a pass rusher to build the defense around.
3. What depth? Only good piece is Haeg who we use all over the line. Clark Garcia and Webb are not proven depth.
2. Irsay's jet should have been sent the day after the super bowl and yet we waited til wednesday.
1. You have the best doctors in the world at your disposal. There is no way Ballard wasn't in the loop.
5. Ballard has already stated he thinks Stewart will make a big leap this year and be a very serviceable player for our team. Basham didn't work out and Banner didn't work out for this team -- though, they are both still in the NFL. They were in no way worse than Grigson picking Werner in the first round or picking Khaled Holmes, Hugh Thornton or overpaying for Samson Satele or being stubborn with keeping Jonnathan Harrison in the starting lineup. In fact, Ballard should be praised for moving on from his draft picks who didn't work out (more of them have worked out for him than the other way around... but Grigson literally forced Pagano to keep his mistakes in the line-up because he was too proud to admit he made a mistake -- look no further than Trent Richardson).
4. We had a lot of other needs (we were the worst team in the league when Ballard took over). We desperately needed secondary help, and it was addressed early in Ballard's tenure with additions like Hooker, Wilson, Moore II, Desir, etc. We also needed to address the OL, which he did with picks like Smith and Nelson as well as several FA additions. This team had so many holes, it was ridiculous... Ballard has also added Autry (9 sacks last year in less than 16 games), Hunt (5 sacks), Turay (4 sacks), Lewis (2 sacks in ~1/2 season), Leonard (7 sacks in 14 games), etc... just those guys alone accounted for 27 sacks last year (more than our entire team combined in 2017). Ballard has also added Houston and it seems as though Turay and Stewart are developing nicely. Sure, Basham didn't work out, but he was a 3rd round pick and a project pick at that.... it is pretty clear Turay is working harder in his first off-season than Basham was and Basham is still in the NFL (with the NYJ)... it's not like that was a terrible pick (not even close to as bad as Grigson wasting a first-rounder on Bjoern Werner).
3. Our OL was the laughing stock of the league when Ballard inherited this team. Last year was the deepest group of OL I have seen in Indy since I became a fan in 1994. We dealt with injuries to AC, Kelly, Glowinski, Slauson, etc. and still managed to keep Luck the least sacked QB in the NFL. Grigson would've wound up getting Luck killed if he stuck around... in essentially 2 seasons, Ballard turned the worst line in the NFL into the lineup which allowed the fewest sacks. Pretty remarkable.
2. "Irsay's jet should've been sent..." -- you admit in writing that this isn't on Ballard. He is under Irsay and doesn't have his own jet.
1. The shoulder and the hip are the two most complicated joints in the body. They are very hard to predict (look no further than Giancarlo Stanton from the Yankees and what they thought would be a 5-10 minor shoulder injury turned into a ~3 month injury). These things are hard to predict. Our team was also performing terribly without Luck, even if he had come back if/when he was ready, he would've gotten destroyed and we were essentially (I think mathematically) eliminated from the playoffs. Bringing him back in to get crushed and maybe help us win ~4-5 games would do nothing to benefit the feature of this team.
41 minutes ago, Fyasko said:Matt Eberflus and Nick Sirianni were McDaniel's guys no? Haven't seen anything saying Ballard had anything to do with those decisions. Correct me if I'm wrong?
I do agree though Reigh/Sirianni and Eberflus were major impacts to the change in development of our team.
Sirianni was a Reich guy. They coached together in SD. Eberflus was a Ballard/McDaniels guy who was brought on before Reich.
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40 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:
REICH defiantly knows the value of having a quality backup.
He would know better than just about anyone.
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The 5th Spot...
in Colts Football
Posted
I forgot about him for some reason... he seemed to be developing all right last year.