Boondoggle

Latu is an absolute beast. Indy is going to love him.

Get well Jim.

Yes. I think so. I see him as a modern day Elway, who had teams early on that could actually get it done vice him dragging them there and losing. If he wins this one he is second only to Brady.

Agreed and as it stands both are very strong this year up top.

I have to admit that I expected him to play well with SF. Figured he'd suck it up given the potential payday if he helps them get a ring this year. But the man is stupid as well as lazy apparently.

Yes and there is always that team in any era who will shut down your run game in the playoffs (this one being the Chiefs who just did that to Lamar) and force your QB to win with his arm. So I don't think Brady is a bad addition for them or anything but coaching aside as it pertains to either the Bills or the Ravens what will determine whether they can get over that hump is individual development in speed of reads and dealing the ball from the pocket when they are contained and/or their run game is taken away. Way I see it the staff owes it to AR to expedite this area of his growth as quickly as possible. His rookie season lasted four weeks. Maybe we can get him through the season this time around by parking his oversized and talented posterior in the pocket and having him learn to win there. That would be the best gift this staff could give him.

Bills QB is a better comp for him. But Jackson is appropriate too. And neither of those QBs have won titles in spite of having fantastic rosters around them. This roster was good enough for Jackson to get it done and he came up short because of his limitations from the pocket. So. If I'm the guy running this offense or QB room my coaching for AR is focused around building him as much as possible to win from the pocket. It will maximize his shelf life at this level. And it will increase his odds of winning a title. Lining him up out there and running him into defensive fronts might maximize your wins initially as coach. But it will limit your ability to win big games with him because come the playoffs you will face defenses that take away the runs and you lose.

I did not say I thought they would be taken out. Rather that I hope he can quickly advance as a QB to where they are not required. Doing that occasionally is fine. But when you require them to move the chains that's when you're on borrowed time at this level.

Sometimes scheme puts them in dangerous situations too. As does an inability to grasp scheme, where there will be increased reliance on schemed runs to help move the chains. But those types of things can also shorten that young QB's season. Hopefully this next season AR has a full grasp of the playbook and can run the offense well enough to where they don't need those schemed runs. Also having a good defense helps that. But I'd like to see him show transition into being a QB who can be relied upon in the pocket and thus protected.

This is why I mention the owner too. The owner does matter but is often overlooked. Not all of them are willing to restructure deals to extend windows so some teams have an advantage there.

The GM has to be capable at a minimum. He has to hire a good coach, or a good coach has to hire a capable GM. One of those two. And those two need to be in lockstep. Pulling in one direction. Obviously the better the two positions the better chance you have of winning every year. And some coaches are good enough to pull a GM over that line but you gotta have both if you want to win consistently and even then there will be down years. On top of that if you have a good cap planner and an owner who can move money around with the deep pockets to pay out to the players to enable it, you can get away with murder just about. You hear all this hubbub about teams going all in, but some can do that every season because of those elements being in place. There's a big difference in that regard in owners. Most recent example would be the Rams who won a SB and cleaned house this past year and somehow are going to have a cleared cap in '24. It's some nonsense.

Just be careful out there kid. Live to play another snap. Those defenders are grown men making a fraction of what you will make over your career so know they will take you out. They won't say that. Isn't nice and all that. But they'll take you out.

Wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong. But I expect they will fire him next year. He reminds me a bit of Jay Gruden, and not in a good way.

Campbell oversees that offense which is built to his vision and standards. You can change that OC out and they're going to keep showing well because of Campbell. I think he is going to be an exceptional head coach as well, because he motivates the entire roster. That defense is a undergunned but they are playing over their heads of late and that's not by mistake. Harbaugh is extremely knowledgeable on the offensive side of the ball as well. And his knowledge is deeper than most "hot OC" type of hires. So don't kid yourself in this regard. He is absolutely ensuring his offense is to his standards and he knows what it looks like when done right.

Sirianni did a terrible job this year vs zero looks. NFL defenses of course took notice and punished them for it. I think the issues go deep, down to the play design, which is a really bad look for Sirianni given his background. I'm surprised they didn't fire him. I would have fired him because in today's league you must have a coach who can hold down one side of the ball at a minimum at your head coach spot. Head coaches who cannot do that are more susceptible to impact from poaching of coordinators.

I expect it comes down to the market for him. But that market may be weaker than the faithful expect. He's a good wideout, a good team player and locker room element, but teams know he's not an explosive threat. Teams covet that. Big guys who can move the chains can be found outside the early going. If you compare him to types who work the underneath Deebo was round 2. Kupp was round 3 or 4 forget which. Nacua even later. WR quality is so good now in the draft that if you were to look for a good athlete with good size who can move the chains you're gonna have a ton of options to fill that. And we're not talking round 1. Round 1 is where you get the studs. The guys who can take the top off wherever you line them up but who will project to do well vs the best corner on the opposition. So any team that is considering Pittman is going to look at the draft and see where the Pittman equivalents are found and will offer something along those lines. And by extension the Colts will need to project what Pittman can do over 17 games with the new QB. To what extent does he change that. Does he make Pittman more of a threat to beat defenses down the sideline and on posts for those explosive plays they want. At that point you can convince yourself of anything if you try hard enough. So the Colts may do that. But also a factor here is that Pittman probably wants to sample that green grass from the other side of the fence. He probably wants to be used in those deep roles. He wants to be Mike Evans. Problem is he isn't Mike Evans. So way I see it why not let the kid try the market and scoop that round 3 pick which generally is going to give you a good quality player in return. Certainly with wideouts it can get you a big underneath weapon that maybe you hit on.

A third round comp pick is likely next offseason. So it is not accurate to say it is "for nothing." In fact the best teams in this league tend to play the comp pick game by being careful and not wasting money on expensive signings in order to have an edge over the less fortunates. When done correctly it is very effective, it just requires a good coach in place which it seems like the Colts do have.

Next season Pierce will be running all these underneath hooks and chain mover routes that our dearly departed WR1 ran this season. And in his place there will be a new and young wideout who offers significant explosive threat. OR Ballard will defy what I perceive to be the obvious decision and retain that WR1 at a costly chunk of cap space. Not sure why he'd do that but I am often in this role, dazed and confused in my easy chair as to why a professional and educated GM cannot see things the way I do.

It would not surprise me if Jim doesn't agree with my assessment.

Whether he rebounds or not I suspect this will mark the team moving into his daughter's control. I wish Jim the best in his recovery. But it feels like it is time for someone else to hold the reins.

Sirianni looked outclassed. His QB had no real answers for the heat Bowles was bringing. That plus the lack of life in the team is a bad combo with an owner like Lurie.

Young is lazy. The moment he gets paid he'll have his mind on everything but production on the field. Hell of a talent by the way. But I'd hate to see the Colts sign him. I don't think that player is ever going to prioritize the right things.

Hunter is a guy fans of just about every team are citing as a FA target but I've never been too impressed with him. He has games where I'll say ok yeah this guy can ball but he disappears too much for my taste. Pay a guy like that top money at great risk. Chase Young is even worse. He's got the talent but whoever pays him is going to be enormously disappointed. I don't see any edge types that I'd throw a bag of money at on the market. What I'd do is throw money at other positions of need and draft my edge this year. For myself both edge and wideout fall in that category.

You could have stopped writing there.

What has Vrabel done that makes you think he is remotely near a "league of his own."