CurBeatElite
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5 minutes ago, krunk said:
My thing is corner is a new position for Tell so its going to be a significant challenge for him to make it there considering all those guys ahead of him. My other issue is who would play nickel back if Kenny Moore got hurt? I dont think we have that guy unless maybe they slide Yasin inside. I think we probably keep Nate and send Tell to the PS. Or list him as a safety and keep an extra safety. I suppose we could keep an extra corner also instead of cutting him and signing to PS
I get your logic, though listening to Ballard's post-draft press conference he raved about Quincy Wilson and Tell's ability to play anywhere in the secondary. He basically sounded like Quincy (and maybe Tell) will be playing in nickel and dime packages and will be somewhat expected to act as 'rovers' in the secondary.
I like Hairston a lot. We've just got some very thick competition in the secondary this year (finally). Maybe they'll view Tell as a guy who can play CB/S and make someone like Odum or Farley expendable at S.
Up until week 5 last year, Hairston played all but one snap on defense. I know he had some ankle issue going into week 5 though (I don't think it caused him to be placed on any official injury/disabled list). Maybe that slowed him down the remainder of the season, I'm not sure. It just seemed as the year went on, other CBs were seeing their time increase while Hairston saw less and less time.... if it was b/c he was slowed by an ankle, maybe a full offseason to recover will have him back up higher on the coaches ratings -- if it was because of his play or the way the coaches thought he fit the scheme, I see him as the odd man out with the rookie additions, resigning of Desir, and hopefully continued improvement from Wilson.
It does seem like Ya-Sin has the ability and the build to play both inside and outside as well. It'll be interesting to see how things progress throughout training camp and pre-season. At least we finally seem to have addressed the defensive backfield to the point where we are going to have some tough decisions to make and will likely have to cut at least a couple players who will wind up playing on other rosters next year. That was one of the things I really liked Ballard saying in his presser -- something like "You know you're doing it right when you have your roster down to 65 guys and guys 54-65 who get cut from our team are getting signed and playing on other teams. I don't know if we're there quite yet, but we're getting close."
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13 hours ago, MarquisJ said:
Man that WR room is going to be interesting no way we keep more than six I’d assume the final roster we’ll see
Ty
Funch
Parris
Zach
Cain
Rodgers/Johnson whoever wants it more but i’ll give the upper hand to Chester.
Considering I think the only players on this team before Ballard who are still around are:
Offense -- Luck, Doyle, Castanzo, Ryan Kelly, Joe Haeg, L. Clark, TY Hilton, Chester Rogers,
Defense -- Chris Milton, Mathias Farley, Clayton Geathers
ST -- Vinatieri
Ballard has done a heck of a job going into his 3rd year.
I don't remember being this excited about a WR corps since Reggie's 3rd year (when we had Marvin, Stokely, Reggie, Terrence Wilkins, Troy Walters, Moorehead, and Dawson).
This is the best secondary competition I can ever remember (been a Colts' fan since 1994). The best OL competition I can remember during that same time.
We may have had a couple years of the Dungy era where our LB competition was on par with this... and although we're young, probably the best overall DL competition I can remember. You'd have to go back to the Freeney/Mathis prime years to really challenge there.
It's sure an exciting time to be rooting for this team and organization!
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3 minutes ago, krunk said:
I dont really see another nickel back on the roster behind Kenny Moore other than Hairston. I expect he will be better this year. Im predicting we will keep him.
It'll be interesting to see what happens.
Last year we had 11 DBs on our final roster with 5 being CBs and 6 being Safeties. The previous year we had 10 DBs on our final roster with 5 CBs and 5 safeties.
Right now we have 7 CBs signed, we drafted 2 (I'm calling Tell a CB, as that's what the website has him listed at). We signed 3 as UDFAs (Shak Taylor, Chris Rayford, Jamal Peters) who all seem like they can play and have good size and athletic ability.
Then we have 7 safeties signed, along with the drafting of Willis.
That puts us at 20 DBs.
Assuming we keep 11 max, I'll bold who I would think makes the roster if the season started next week and no injuries, etc. occur between now and then (I put a line between S/CB):
Matthias Farley
Clayton Geathers
Malik Hooker
Isaiah Johnson
Derrick Kindred
Geoerge Odum
Rolan Milligan
Khari Willis (R)
___________________
Rock Ya-Sin (R)
Marvel Tell III (R)
Kenny Moore II
Pierre Desir
Quincy Wilson
Nate Hairston
Jalen Collins
Chris Milton
DJ Killings
Jamal Peters (R)
Shak Taylor (R)
Chris Rayford (R)
I could be wrong, of course... and regardless, this is by far the most depth with skilled players in our secondary that we've had going into a season in a very long time. I've been a Colts fan since 1994, and to be honest, I don't think I can remember a team with this deep and talented of a secondary in an off-season in that time.
Good job, Ballard and Co.!
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23 hours ago, Irish YJ said:
idk. if you are keeping JB, he really won't have comp for QB2 anyway.
if you want a guy just to go to camp and compete with walker, why not just go with an undrafted rookie like they turned away that might have a higher ceiling than Kelly and no baggage. why bring in a guy that got released due to arrest? He's not really ever been a humble team guy..
I think if we were going to get rid of Jacoby, it would've happened before the draft and it would have been for multiple draft picks.
Ballard has also said on record he will talk with Jacoby about trading him before he trades him, as he really likes and respects Jacoby and wants him to land in a spot where Jacoby will thrive and be comfortable.
With Miami getting Rosen, I don't see a whole lot of scenarios where Jacoby would land and be better off than he is here in Indy as Luck's back-up.
8 minutes ago, ar7 said:Yes people are selective who gets second chances. It's the NFL so people are going to pick every player apart and be selective in general.
Whether you like it or not the price tag plays a role in how people will feel about this. The higher the price = the higher the risk.
The Colts very well could regret signing Kelly but time will tell. Personally, I do believe that the high character/locker room thing is important to Ballard/Reich. When they do decide to take a risk I trust they did their research and feel good that the player has turned things around.
They might be wrong about it and it's certainly not something you want to repeat a lot. If they are wrong it's also not something that will likely screw the team up. You easily cut him and move on.
Frank Reich and Chad Kelly's uncle, Jim, go way back in this league. http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-micd-up/0ap3000000978088/Mic-d-Up-Reich-reunites-with-Jim-Kelly-pregame-Week-7
I don't know if they knew each other before Buffalo, but they definitely knew each other well from 1986-1994 when they were both QBs on Buffalo. You can tell from the video above that they have a lot of respect for each other and are probably pretty good friends. I would venture to guess that Reich knew Chad Kelly from the time he was a little kid (he was born the year Reich left Buffalo as Jim's back-up and lived very close to Buffalo).
I'm not saying this with certainty, but this signing could be as simple as Jim Kelly called up Frank Reich and said "Hey buddy, My nephew is a very talented football player, I think he's really trying to turn his life around. You seem like a coach with a mentality that he could thrive under and he's had a lot of respect for you since he's been a little kid. Please do me a favor and give him one last chance. If he doesn't work out for you or screws up again, no hard feelings, but can you help me try to get my nephew's life on track?"
Like all other big businesses, the NFL I'm sure has some 'good old boy' mentality associated with it. I would not be shocked at all if the fact Jim Kelly is Chad's uncle is a reason why he's a guy that selectively gets more than one chance.
Anyway, I think this is low risk/high reward. Worst case scenario is Ballard/Reich let him know he's on a very short leash, if he screws up, he's gone. Best case scenario is he cleans up his act, performs well and we trade him or Jacoby for future draft picks and are still set with a solid back up.-
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24 minutes ago, LockeDown said:
In the regular season, the ball is going to be spread around. However, come playoff time, who will be the receivers not named TY that Luck counts on. Ebron, Doyle, Cain, Funchess or Campbell? Or somebody else?
One of the nice things about Luck is he gives guys 2nd chances and usually takes blame on himself (e.g., if a TE drops a ball, Luck will say he could have thrown it better rather than saying the TE/WR could have made a better play).
I think Funchess will have to earn some trust with Luck by making big-time catches throughout the regular season. Luck will work with him to keep his confidence up, I'm sure -- but the main knock on Funchess are hands (I don't think they're really that bad, though he did have a bit of drops last year).
I envision Campbell's speed and YAC ability really opening this offense up. Reich said in the post-draft presser that it's 'almost not fair Luck will have all these weapons.'
My major concerns with Doyle and Cain are their health. Doyle missed time with 2 different injuries last year and isn't expected to be ready to really start ramping up workouts until around pre-season coming off that hip surgery, which for a guy who is 6'6" 260+lbs and major parts of his job include blocking monsters, cutting and breaking on routes and after catch, and getting tackled by monsters, is kind of concerning (at least to me). Sounds like Cain is on the right track with his knee, but hard to believe he'll come back without missing a step until I see it.
After this draft, I'm starting to think TE may be the thinnest position on the roster. With Doyle's health being a concern, we're not very deep at the position after Ebron. We've got bodies, but Gabe Holmes and Ross Travis have pretty much done nothing in their 4 year careers and Billy Brown doesn't seem to be much more than a PS guy. Mo Alie-Cox showed some potential last year, but I don't know how limited that will be.
Sounds like this Hale Hentges from Alabama kind of fits the Doyle mode. One of the best blocking TE's in college and not really known for his receiving ability -- though 6 of his 11 catches over the past 2 years were for TD's: https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/alabama-te-hale-hentges-agent-announces-where-hes-signed-as-an-nfl-undrafted-free-agent/
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On 4/27/2019 at 12:03 PM, Fisticuffs111 said:
I like this pick. Going Willis and Tell III back to back reminds me of doubling up on RB with the Hines and Willis pick. Although Tell III seems like more of a FS who is kind of built like a CB.
Actually wouldn't be surprised if they're thinking about trying him some at CB.
Ballard and Reich's press conference post-draft is worth watching (you can find it on the videos page of Colts.com). Ballard mentions that Coach Gannon (DB coach) worked Tell out at CB when they were scouting him and putting him through drills. Ballard also mentions Tell and Q. Wilson as 2 guys in our secondary that can move all over the place and have the body type/athleticism to play pretty much any secondary position. Ballard says this is something that will make Tell a very valuable addition to this team. He said he's going to start out at CB, but the coaches/FO will keep an open mind about moving him around the secondary.
On 4/27/2019 at 12:19 PM, Mr.Debonair said:Sounds like the S we took out of Clemson a few years back
Tell is much more refined than TJ Greene. They are both freak athletes who tested off the charts, and neither is a great tackler (Tell is a better tackler coming out of college, but still not great). Otherwise, Tell is a lot further along as a DB than Greene was when he came out of Clemson.
On 4/27/2019 at 12:26 PM, chad72 said:Both Quincy Wilson and Kenny Moore are on notice, in my opinion, In case they become free agents after this year, One due to his contract and the other possibly if you cannot crack the starting lineup.
I think Hairston should get thrown into that mix, as well. His playing time seemed to diminish more than the others as last year went on. I agree with you on contract, as I can see Moore wanting too much after the season and Ballard parting ways based on that... I think Q. Wilson really improved last year and showed a new level of maturity/willingness to work. I think we'll see another leap in performance from him this year and after watching Ballard's presser after the draft, he only spoke very highly of Wilson and his ability to adapt to many positions in the secondary.
Jalen Collins is who I am going to be interested to see this year. He, IMO, may be the most naturally athletic CB of ours (I'd have to give Hooker the overall most athletic DB) and has tremendous size for a CB. He's a former 2nd round pick who was highly touted coming out of college and has spent some time away from football due to failed PED tests (sounds like he failed non-PED tests in college as well). If he can keep himself clean, I expect it's gonna be a dog-fight to win a spot on this roster as a CB next year.
On 4/27/2019 at 12:29 PM, Chloe6124 said:Kenny Moore Lol. Unless last year was a fluke he will have no issues. He is a dog. Wilson yes. Not sure if either of the two safeties we took can even play nickel.
The roster on Colts.com has Tell listed as CB along with Ya-sin. Willis they have listed as a safety. I think Willis is more of a thumper and strong run-stopping SS. However, it's clear listening to Ballard that he thinks Tell can move all over the secondary.
I was really frustrated with Kenny Moore II's play in 2017, but he was much better last year. The only thing I can see as a downfall for him is that Ballard likes big/long CBs. Moore at 5'9" is now one of 2 CBs out of the 9 on this roster (assuming Tell and Ya-Sin sign) who is under 6'0", with Chris Milton being 5'11".
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On 4/27/2019 at 5:49 PM, Mr.Debonair said:
Campbell won’t be the #2 or 3 barring injury
Right now TY is in front of him, for sure. Funchess is likely in front of him. Rogers is average. Cain has never played a down in the NFL (regular season) and is coming off a major injury. I'd say Campbell is likely to start out training camp in the mix with the starters.
On 4/27/2019 at 6:43 PM, NewColtsFan said:And.... let’s not forget Darnelle Inman. It ain’t over til it’s over.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
I think Inman was asking for a lot of $. Ballard was in serious discussions with him right after the season it seemed like and they sort of faded away. He played well for us last year, but he hasn't done a whole lot in the NFL over the course of his career and he's 30 years old. Ballard seems to be wanting this team to move towards getting younger.
For the right price, I'd like to see Inman back, but the drafting of Campbell, IMO, seals the deal that Inman and the Colts are parting ways.
23 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:Found this on the Valdosta State DE/DT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDslJAU60fg
Above is Jegs Jegede's youtube channel. Says he played basketball for 2 years before transferring to Valdosta St. to play football for the first time in his life. Seems like a practice squad guy to me (at best, this year) -- very good athleticism, very good size (he'll need to bulk up some if he's gonna stay at interior DL, but NFL training staffs should have no problem with that frame). He's raw and from a small school... interesting signing.
22 hours ago, Douzer said:I believe when we see Campbell take his 1st WR Screen to the house, we'll all want more...
We've struggled with screens for as long as I can remember. Maybe Campbell will be the fix that I've long been waiting for.
12 hours ago, Bluesmith said:Found this on Northwestern DT Jordan Thompson:
Considering he is the only IDL we added so far, I am hoping he impresses and sticks around.
Ballard said in a press conference that he thinks we're in very good shape in the IDL with Hunt coming back, Autry being a good player, Lewis' ability to move inside. What was most interesting was he specifically mentioned Grover Stewart as a guy he thinks is ready to make a very big jump in progress this coming season.
11 hours ago, ColtsBlueFL said:Agreed. For now.
Undetermined. Campbell has to learn / improve his route tree and become a reliable downfield receiver, among other things. a 4.31 guy running crossing patterns, quick slants, and hitches from the slot won't amount to much in the NFL. It may take awhile, but he has Jeremy Maclin type talent, but needs coaching/development. My hope is by the beginning of 2020, he and TY are scaring the daylights out of defense coordinators. And at the end of 2020 people all over are wondering how and why he 'fell' so far in the 2019 draft.
Ohio State is a hard school to evaluate WRs at. For example, Michael Thomas Jr. didn't produce near as much as Campbell did while he was at OSU and is now one of the best WRs in the NFL (2x pro-bowls, 1x first-team all pro in 3 years).
Apparently at the combine, Campbell was exceptional in route-running drills. Reich said in the presser that Campbell jumped out at him with his route-running skills at the combine and that he was used specifically for his college scheme in college so there are traits/skills he possesses which just aren't readily available watching his college tape.
David Carr on NFL Network said Campbell was a major steal in this draft. He also said Campbell looked very good in his route-running at the combine and just wasn't utilized to show those skills in his college scheme.
5 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:Fair enough but I will trust Ballard and Reich over anyone in here.
Till we find out one way or another I choose to stay positive and not prejudge or jump to conclusions.
I think Funchess and Campbell will be used in very different roles in this offense. Reich (and Sirianni) seem to be very good in taking what defenses give us. I imagine based on defensive schemes coming at us, some are going to want to cut off Campbell's speed and others will focus on limiting Funchess as a possession WR.
I think you're right to trust Ballard/Reich over posters in here (after all, there is a reason why they are the GM and head coach and we're all sitting behind our computers away from the Colts' FO). However, the fact that Ballard gave Funchess a 1 year deal tells me he doesn't have a whole ton of confidence that Funchess is going to come in and be the solution as a top WR. Without knowing what Funchess wanted and how exactly those conversations take place, I could be wrong -- but if Ballard thought Funchess was the long-term, clear-cut solution to be WR 2 (or 1A to TY), I think he'd have been signed to more than just a 'prove it' contract.
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18 hours ago, throwing BBZ said:
You lost me at bust. Garbage mentality.
huh?
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3 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:
I think the oline stays exactly like it is. We just signed Glowinski at RG to a pretty big deal.
I personally thought Glowinski did a nice job last year but was the weak link of the OL (when the OL was healthy, when Kelly was out, different story).
I know Reich, Ballard, etc. always want to improve anywhere/anyway we can.
You're probably right, at least going into the season, that our OL depth chart will be the same as last year.
That said, if Clark takes a big leap this offseason, I'd love to see Glowinski move to backup and Smith move back inside to RG.
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He was a project pick when we drafted him 3 drafts ago. Ballard said late this season or early this off-season that Clark is at a 'prove-it' point in his career. He did start 4 games last year, and I thought he did pretty well.
Here's Clark's old draft profile: http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/leraven-clark?id=2555202
SOURCES TELL US
"He's going to end up being big time in our league. He's got elite foot quickness, he's long and he's smart. He'll keep getting better once he gets to a pro offense and away from that stuff Texas Tech does and he'll become one of the top five tackles in our league." -- NFC personnel director
Here's a pretty cool article about Clark:
I know a lot of folks (myself included) think we need to address OL depth in this draft.
I have not yet given up on Clark. I think all the physical tools are there for him. Texas Tech runs a very unique offense and is totally different than the NFL, so it was expected for him to have some sort of a learning and development curve at this level.
Does anyone think he could be the answer at RT next season (if we move Smith back inside to his natural position of RG)? Or is Clark a bust, or a career back-up?
I would sure like to see him reach his potential and have a break-out year for us.
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13 hours ago, PuntersArePeopleToo said:
That sounds more like Hollywood Brown as he is a speed/jet type guy. Which track comparison makes sense
Could be...it's fun to speculate. Could be someone totally different, too.
I don't think it's Brown, though.... as route running, shiftiness, run after catch, etc. are all strengths of his that compliment his speed. His main weaknesses are his size and durability.
I think Metcalf fits the 'track' comparison a little better. His strengths are his size and his speed. His weaknesses are his hands and his stiffness (i.e., he seems to be more of a straight line runner with lack of agility and quickness -- in other words, he could outrace most anyone on a track, but may not have the quickness to get around defenders or make cuts in and out of routes).
There are multiple other WR's who ran 40's at track-like speed in their workouts that are 1-3 round considerations: Parris Campbell (OSU), Terry McLaurin (OSU), Emmanuel Hall (Mizzou), Andy Isabella (UMass), Miles Boykin (Notre Dame)
And others who are late round/FA considerations: Mecole Hardman (UGA), Jonny Dixon (OSU)
Just fun to speculate on who those scouts/coaches/GMs are talking about in the "With the Next Pick" series.
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On 4/19/2019 at 12:53 PM, PuntersArePeopleToo said:
This has been my thought since Jan. Just seems to much more a big athlete and not a WR. Seems a perfect type of Raider guy. DHB type
Just watched Episode 4 of 'With the Next Pick.' It's always fun to speculate about who coaches/scouts are talking about.
The OC, Sirianni, has a quote in the draft room saying something like "I like this kid, he's got toughness. He's different than other track guys, I think he's got some confidence."
I was kind of wondering if he was eluding to Metcalf there. I could be way off, and I don't see Metcalf having been a track athlete at Ole Miss... but he kind of reminds me of a 'track guy' in the DHB mold (with better hands). A burner with straight away speed, with limited ability to run routes or bring multiple threats to the opponent. Who knows though, with TY, Funchess, Ebron, etc.. maybe a burner that can take the top off a defense is just what we need.
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On 4/22/2019 at 8:37 PM, 2006Coltsbestever said:
Right now I love everything about this team, can't wait for the draft. If Luck can stay healthy we should have at least a solid 5 year window to win a SB.
Yeah it was fun until Polian pulled the plug
I think it was Caldwell who pulled the plug. Either way, I'll never forget Peyton standing on the sidelines with his helmet on, looking furious, the entire second half when the starters got benched vs. the Jets.
Then we had the on-side kick happen after halftime and lost the SB a month later. That was a great, but ultimately frustrating year.
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5 hours ago, mirobi48 said:
I think Defense is what Ballard we go with. CB,DE,LB we are facing top tier QBS right out of the gate
I think Ballard is building this team for the long haul. We can use some help on D, for sure. I doubt he's going to be planning this draft specifically to match up with some teams' QBs who we play early this season.
It may be that those positions and players available at them turn out being the positions Ballard thinks we need to improve and grow sustainably, but I have a feeling he's got his long-term plan in mind and isn't going to let a couple games early this year impact his draft strategy of building this team into a perennial SB contender.
The positions you list all make sense, but I just think he's got a long-term plan in mind and isn't going to let the fact that we play Rivers, Ryan, Mariotta, Carr and Mahommes in the first 5 games influence what he thinks is best for this team's overall future.
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25 minutes ago, hoosierhawk said:
Small correction, Fountain was not on 53 man roster but on practice squad till end of season game or two.
Yes, that is why I stated "Final 53" man roster. The only action he saw was in the post-season when he had that bad drop. I'm hoping that doesn't wreck his confidence and mentality.
I think the guy has a lot of potential and can contribute to the team if he continues to develop and can overcome a pretty embarrassing moment in his first NFL action in front of a national playoff audience.
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29 minutes ago, Peterk2011 said:
So far, Ballard did exactly what the "experts" predicted. At least with his first round picks. He picked Nelson last year, the most obvious and surest pick of all, by any "expert". In 2017, he picked up Hooker, who, at 15, was the unanimous "best player" available by most expert's boards.
Ballard has his own mindset, and his own way of doing his job, but he is not "unorthodox" by any means. This era with all the available information and tons of films, etc. is different than how it was 10 years ago. Everyone knows everything. The first 20-30-35 players are almost identical on most "experts", and as the actual drafts show, most teams boards. There are always 1-2 exeptions, but honestly, those exceptions (like Colton Miller, Terell Edmunds last year) were more like misses than great moves.
So I don't think Ballard will surprise us. With his #26, and probably with his #34 he'll pick a player, who is already in the top 30 on most boards. Who will that player be? We'll see, but right now, I don't see an OL available around the bottom of the first round. There are players who would be good picks at #26 are mostly rated much higher and will probably be gone by #26. The next tier does not worth a 1st rounder. The same can be said regarding RB. (And in some extent, secondary. However, the top of the secondary class might get into the first round, and thus, might end up being drafted by Ballard.)
Btw, Ballard won't draft an OL in the first round to sit on the bench. If he'll indeed draft a tackle, he'll do it as an investment in the future, e.g., to replace Castonzo next year. That means, Castonzo will be gone in 2020 and the Colts will have 1 starting left tackle again. That's how it works. The OL does not rotate unless injury, so you do not spend too much on rotation. Period. If you do, you will pay the price at other positions, by not being able to sign/keep players due to overspending on OL bench.
I agree with you that Nelson was probably the 'safest' pick in last year's draft. However, there were a lot of 'experts' saying #6 is way too early for an interior lineman. The best part about Nelson (aside from him turning out to be a gem) is that Ballard was able to trade back and pick up other picks who turned out to be good players as rookies (well, he traded the 49th pick to drop back to 52, etc.... but still, his trades in last year's draft were impeccable).
Aside from Cain, who shined in pre-season and got injured, everyone of the rookies was on the final 53 man roster. That is almost unheard of.
I agree with most of what you said... however, what I see so far from Ballard is he really trusts his coaches and is no nonsense when he says he wants to build through the draft and won't overspend in FA. Grigson came in with a terrible roster and overpaid a bunch of high-profile FAs and wound up leaving the team in worse shape than when he found it (aside from Luck, but Luck was injured and missed a year anyway after Grigs left). Ballard, unlike many GMs, doesn't just say 'we're going to build through the draft and rely on our coaches to teach these young men how to play NFL football'... he actually is doing it and making smart offseason moves to supplement the young talent he's acquiring via draft.
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1 minute ago, Rally5 said:
Agreed. I do wonder if we've underestimated just how significant it is having only one left tackle who's is over 30...
I think it's pretty significant that we only have 5 players 30 or over. Last year we were the 8th youngest team in the league. If you took out Vinny, I think we would have been the youngest.
Pretty darn impressive that Reich got that much out of such a young team after the difficult start.
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1 hour ago, Rally5 said:
Here's my big bold draft prediction which can turn out to be completely wrong... and my math on why I think it.
We hear of Coach's desire to run the ball.
We hear Ballard give a clue about we're not sorting players the way media is almost as a "look out."
We have one true LT in this team and when he's out we immediately hurt (no depth).
We have RG playing RT (and doing it well to be sure) I like him there but if he played inside with a true OT to his right...
"You can't have enough offensive linemen." -CB
Job 1 Protect Luck!
I have a hunch we'll get an OT early in this draft and potentially a RB in the first three picks. An early OT makes this line spectacular, maybe best in the league kinda good, and a power RB makes the run game formidable and the passing game nearly unstoppable. My final big speculation is we may not draft a WR at all. All this is pure conjecture and I'm not necessarily advocating for this position, I'm just reading the tea leaves! To be honest I thought this for a couple weeks but questioned it until I saw Ballard fighting back a smirk during the Castonzo conversation.
This week will be really fun!
I like Castonzo and think he's still playing at a high level. And I agree with you that Smith is truly a RG who is doing a very good job at RT.
Castonzo is one of 5 players on our team that is 30 or older. Inevitably, he's going to start slowing down a little. IMO, in 2-3 years it may be best to switch him to RT and have a stud LT ready to step in to protect Luck's blindside.
I think there are deeper positions in this draft than OL and am not sure someone who will be a bonafide stud at LT will be around when pick 26 comes around (maybe someone like Kaleb McGary).
It won't shock me to see us going OT early in this draft ..... but depending how the board plays out, there are decent chances a starting caliber DB, WR, LB or TE drops to us (if Doyle is not a guarantee, TE becomes a pretty thin position).
Like @Smonroe said, this is the first draft in a long time where we don't have a very good idea of what direction we'll go in. That's probably a good thing and is exciting for the future.
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You could tell by the way he acts around his teammates and how they treat his son in the locker room in some of the post-game speech videos he is very well-liked by his teammates.
That last little 5 minute documentary they put out on their homepage, you could tell by his speech and his tears after losing in the playoffs that he's become one of the leaders of this team and that he really cares about winning and his teammates.
Ballard always says he wants guys that aren't just good football players, but that have high character and will be good teammates and good for the Indy community. So far, Ebron doesn't seem to be letting him down at all.
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21 minutes ago, MarylandTerrapin said:
With the over/under having us at 9.5 wins, I copied and pasted this from my post in December. Many times it is not just who you play, but when you play them. This schedule should allow us to get off to a strong start and then get 3 of the final 4 at home against the division. With a possible 5-1 start in our sights, I'll take the over.
9/8 @ Jax 1pm (CBS)
9/15 MIA 1pm (CBS)
9/22 OAK 1pm (CBS)
9/29 @ Hou 8:20pm (NBC)
10/6 DEN 1pm (CBS)
10/13 @ Ten 1pm (CBS)
10/20 @ Pit 4:25pm (CBS)
10/27 ATL 1pm (FOX)
11/4 @ San Diego 8:20pm (ESPN)
11/10 BYE WEEK
11/17 @ NO 8:20pm (NBC)
11/24 CAR 1pm (FOX)
12/1 @ Tampa Bay 1pm (CBS)
12/5 TEN 8:20pm (NFLN/FOX)
12/15 HOU 1pm (CBS)
12/22 @ KC 4:25pm (CBS)
12/29 JAX 1pm (CBS)
I want to see what a few of these teams (and us) do in the draft and the rest of FA before making a call. I think we definitely have a good shot at winning the AFC South, but the AFC West opponents I think are too much of a crapshoot right now.
KC has a high-powered offense, but they let a few of their stalwarts on defense go. Andy Reid, IMO, is too smart to have done that without having a plan or being confident that they've got younger guys who can step up.
I think Flacco has some good ball left in him and is a very good fit on that Denver team. I think they're going to surprise some folks.
The Raiders have made some improvements and have 3 first round draft picks in 2019. I'm glad we have them early in the year, as I expect they're going to get better as the season goes on and the younger guys start to gel. I just hope Burfict doesn't pull any cheap stuff on any of our guys, he was already a dirty player and crazy on the field -- now he's gonna be wearing a Raider uniform, which I doubt will do anything to help him settle down as a player.
Philip Rivers is coming off one of the best years of his career and SD looked pretty good last year.
The NFC South doesn't really scare me too much outside of NO, especially because they're going to be hungry coming off that NFC Championship loss.
Subject to major change based on what we and other teams do for the rest of the off-season.... but I will say we'll be 11-5 or 12-4 and back atop the AFC South. I think we'll go 3-1 against the NFC South, 2-2 with the AFC West, 5-1 with the AFC South, beat Miami and toss-up at Pitt.
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3 minutes ago, ThorstenDenmark said:
Not sure what to say about this signing...
Don't know him and only 17 games in 3 seasons... not a starter
Played in 42 games and started 17 games in the past 3 seasons. Former 4th round pick from TCU.
He's got good size at 5'10" 210 lbs.
He ran a 4.5 40 coming out of college. He broke his collarbone 3 days before the start of his senior year, but played through the injury and was selected first team All-Big 12.
He's a thumper and is a pretty strong guy (17 reps of 225 at his pro day).
His biggest issue on his scouting report was missed tackles from going for the monster hit.
I don't see him as much more than a STer and maybe a back-up safety. His hitting ability may land him on D in some special packages.
Overall, I like the signing. We need depth at S and can always use a guy that can bring the wood on STs, which I think he can.
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On 3/31/2019 at 12:39 PM, NewColtsFan said:
Thanks so much! This is a great article, and I’ve never seen it before.
And yet even in this this article about the rebuild and when it starts, the writer, Kevin Bowen, uses some soft language implying even he is not 100 percent sure when the rebuild starts. Ultimately, he accepts that it started in 2018 and ends after the 2020 season.
Interesting. I hope you bookmark this so you can retrieve it next year when we’re still rebuilding and some posters are again wondering what Ballard is doing.
Really appreciate you finding and posting this. Just what I hoped existed!
I don't know that a rebuild every truly ends in the NFL.
What I do know is that Ballard has been helping provide a good core of younger players that he wants to develop with the coaching staff (even Funchess is only 24 years old).
It is pretty remarkable that in just 2 years, we have seen the amount of turnover on this team compared to the Grigs era and that we made the playoffs despite of that. Ballard inherited a team that was pretty much garbage outside of a few key players, due to Grigs' handling of the team and the way he did things.
From the Grigs' era the only guys still on the team are Luck, TY, Vinatieri, Castonzo, Doyle, Rogers, L. Clark, Haeg, Ryan Kelly, and Mathias Farley. Of them, Luck, TY, Vinny, Castonzo and Kelly have been central figures to our success. Farley and Doyle are both coming of season-ending injuries and Rogers looks like he'll be our #3 WR at best (if he makes the team again). The entire rest of the team has turned over in just 2 years.
Luck showed us last year that he's healthy again, and at age 29, I imagine he's got at least another 7 or more years in him. TY was plagued by injury last year, and as a smaller WR who relies mainly on speed and quickness, I cannot see him playing at an elite level for much more than a few more years (he'll be 32 after the 2020 season -- about the age where injuries keep piling on and speed and quickness may lose a step). It won't be more than a year or 2 before we've gotta replace Vinny and we've got some other players whose age is creeping up on them (Justin Houston, Margus Hunt, Castonzo are all on the wrong side of 30).
I like that Ballard is mostly filling this roster out with young guys who can be coached into good players. However, in 2-3 years, we're going to be needing to start replacing some of our stalwarts. Therefore, I don't really think the rebuilding process ever ends. The nice thing is that Luck will still be in his prime and we've got enough cap space, etc. to keep surrounding him with talent.
On 3/31/2019 at 2:32 PM, Boiler_Colt said:One of the biggest issues with the Grigson era was him thinking the team was closer to competing for a title than it actually was. That led to all the failed FA signings and more importantly the Richardson trade. I'm good with a GM actually sticking to a solid plan and his convictions. Build the roster the right way and build the depth.
Amen! A big part of Grigs' downfall (IMO) is how good Luck was right out of the gate. Luck had some struggles his rookie year, but he still lead us to 11 wins and masked a lot of our deficiencies along the way (I don't think playing in the AFC South, which was the cellar of the league then, did us any favors in exposing deficiencies, either).
One of many problems with Luck being so good so fast was that Grigs had the 'win-now' mentality with a rookie QB... and Grigs never really did much in the way of protecting Luck (he was a little too late with his Ryan Kelly pick in Round 1 -- otherwise, he surrounded Luck with late-round OL talent or old and underwhelming veterans).
On 3/31/2019 at 3:29 PM, crazycolt1 said:What Grigson did is what some of the forum members want Ballard to do. Grigson let our record influence on how close he thought we were. He attempted to go for it but failed.
Personally I don't have a problem with Ballard's approach.
A draft and a 90 man roster is quickly coming up.
A lot to think about real soon.
Yes, Grigs tried to fill the roster with makeshift pieces because we won 11 games in Luck's first few years. Ballard seems to be doing the opposite, by building organically through the draft and adding a few FA pieces here and there (Grigs went out on a crazy FA frenzy early on in Indy and very few of them panned out in our favor).
Ballard is also finally putting an emphasis on building our lines. Grigs always talked about doing this and 'winning in the trenches', etc.... but he did little to actually show for it. Ballard is clearly emphasizing this early and often during his tenure here in Indy.
On 3/31/2019 at 4:19 PM, Chloe6124 said:We are clearly ahead of schedule. We were two games away from the SB. With the few things we have done so far we should be in the running for the SB next season. The depth on this team is starting to look really good. With Luck there is no reason we can’t be a fav for the SB next season. We need at least the number 2 seed. If we can get that we will have gotten over the hump and to the next level.
I honestly consider us 'getting over the hump,' the day we can beat NE in the playoffs and make it to the SB. Until then, I don't think we can settle for the #2 seed as our benchmark.
While the AFC has some good young QBs, several of the greats in the division are getting near the end (Brady, Roethlisberger, Rivers). Hopefully Luck remains healthy until those guys are all gone (especially Brady). I get the feeling Brady and Belichek will go out together -- which in itself may give us the boost we really need to take the leap to the SB.
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On 3/27/2019 at 7:09 PM, JPFolks said:
But the concern, first raised by Superman I believe, is still that he has a one year deal.
If he sucks, we blew some money, but he'll follow Grant out the door.
If he's so-so, he might come back, probably not, but he's not getting a deal anywhere else of note.
If he's great, his price just got jacked and he's 25, meaning we will way overpay for him now to keep him (plus likely a lot of years) or he'll walk. Sure, we'll get a draft pick presumably (it still is confusing to me) but we will have "fixed him" for our short term (one season) gain, but lose financially/contractually or see him go play for a competitor. Not a great result. It seems to me they had to flat refuse a 2 year deal for a reasonable price, so I wouldn't expect him to give us a discount as he risks his own future on a prove it deal.
So if Frank loved the guy, that sounds great to me. But Superman pointed out the major downside.
I really don't see this as a bad thing. @Superman noted in a previous post in this thread that nobody would be complaining if it was a 1 year $6 mil deal instead of a $10 mil deal. We have so much cap space that it doesn't really matter that we spent the additional $4 mil or so.
We have a lot of cap space going forward. If Funchess is fitting in well with this team, I imagine Ballard will be working on extending him during the season rather than waiting for him to hit the open FA waters.
There is a lot to like about this team right now. Luck is healthy, and there are a lot of players (especially WRs) who would really like to play with him as their QB (that is why Gore and A. Johnson came to Indy late in their careers -- specifically to play with #12). Our o-line and D seem like they're improving to the point where we will be contenders for quite a while now (barring injury or other unexpected set backs).
With Brady likely retiring sometime in the next couple of years, it seems as though the AFC should be ready for a new king. Just looking at the way teams are set up, age factors (Brady, Rivers, Roethlisberger...), etc... it seems to me as though there isn't really another team in the AFC with as much potential to become the team to win multiple SBs in the foreseeable future.
Of course there are some teams that look as though they may be up-and-coming (Cleveland, Houston has a good young QB and very good D, etc.). That said, if Funchess is in this league to win a Super Bowl (and make money), one would think if he's fitting in well with Indy that he could still make quite a fortune here and put himself into a very good position to be playing in SBs. I can't speak for him, but if I am making over $10 mil/year anyway, I would gladly sacrifice a couple million to play with a legitimate contender than go to a team with nowhere near this potential and with a worse QB.
On 3/28/2019 at 7:20 AM, DougDew said:But its always that way. I believe that the HC has tremendous input into the roster and what players are added.
Bowen's article reaffirms my assumption. It a team, and sometimes HCs push for certain players and the GM says "ok, I'll get that guy for you".
Its not a top down command and control thing by the GM.
As far as P &G, nobody knows who wanted Werner, DJoun Smith, Morrison, or TJ Green more than the other guy, but I have my suspicions.
I like this a lot. It seems like Reich and Ballard have a very good working relationship and they are both bought into painting the same masterpiece with similar goals in mind.
It seems like Pagano and Grigs had the opposite relationship (you're right, nobody knows who really had the power in bringing in individual players like Werner, etc.). However, it was made pretty clear by players that Grigs was controlling who Pagano put on the field (e.g., Trent Richardson was playing even though he was terrible for us because Grigs forced that hand on Pagano). This leads me to believe that Grigs was probably not all that accommodating to Pagano, but rather Pagano may have been forced to adjust to what Grigs forced on him.
On 3/28/2019 at 12:09 PM, Superman said:Got this from Reddit:
This makes me feel good.
That is a cool chart. Most interesting to me is how successful Luck is on 'broken plays.'
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29 minutes ago, Valpo2004 said:
I don't think we can really trust Wilkins to hang onto the football at this point.
Hope that changes but I don't know that we can count on it changing.
Ajayi would help in terms of depth. Keep your RB's fresh and you have more than one good one on the roster in case of an injury.
I keep harping on this and it's true. If Mack gets injured . . . You have Hines who's good as a pass catcher but his yards per carry average is about the same as Trent Richardson's and you have Wilkins who can't be trusted to not fumble the ball.
Those arn't great options.
17 minutes ago, dodsworth said:Our running backs are in year 2 and 3 of their careers. We will
know soon enough if Wilkins and Hines have made the sophomore
jump.
I really like Wilkins but he has to hang onto the ball better.
To his credit, Wilkins only fumbled the ball 2x last year. Mack, although he had a lot more carries, also fumbled the ball 2x last year.
I think the fear with Wilkins (and why he pretty much got benched) is the way he was holding the football makes it prone to pop loose. This is coachable, for sure. Give him the off-season and pre-season and I don't think this will be an issue any more.
I am likely wrong, since I am not in the coaching room, but it seemed to me that when Wilkins was drafted at 6'1" 217 lbs., the Colts may have thought they were getting a guy who they could mold into a power back. He is very shifty and good in space, but power at the line of scrimmage doesn't really seem to be a part of his game (at this point, anyway). I could see Rathman, who was a bruising fullback in front of Roger Craig, having some dislike for Wilkins based on the fact that he doesn't seem to like to put his head down and power through the whole even though he's a physical monster.
Wilkins did average 5.6 yards per carry last year, which is pretty good for a back-up.
This week will be really fun!
Predicting Week 1 Depth Chart
in Colts Football
Posted
With it being uncertain that Doyle will respond well to his hip surgery when he is back in the line-up, I am thinking TE is currently our thinnest position. Followed by RB (though, if healthy, I think Mack, Hines, Wilkins is a formidable trio).
Sounds like the Hale Hentges from Alabama is one of the best blocking RB's in the draft, but he's only had 11 catches (6 for TDs) in the past 2 seasons. Mo Alie-Cox I think has good potential, but I'm not totally sure he's ready to be the #1 TE if Doyle has any hiccups in his recovery and something happens to Ebron. Especially because Reich really likes the 2 TE sets.
I wonder if Funchess, with his size, will at times be playing almost a hybrid TE/WR role.
For sure, though, we're going to see many more moves between now and week 1. I just hope we stay healthy and if we're dropping guys from our current group it's because we found a better player on waivers or through trade/FA rather than due to the injury bug.