Superman

Maybe the chicken is a little rubbery...

So are you going to stand outside wearing a sandwich sign, banging a pot in protest?

As time goes by, I think a reunion is appropriate. I was going to say "reconciliation," but I'm not sure there's any beef between Luck and the Colts, or ever has been. I think the reason he's been distant is because he wanted to pursue a life away from being a football player, and he stayed away to do that. He took a job on the West Coast, he's doing other things, raising his family, etc. And the Colts have let him have his space, especially because the fans have been so thirsty for a replacement franchise QB, to the point that anytime he was seen in the area people wondered if it meant he was thinking about coming back. Maybe Hilton's comments about the booing are a reflection of Luck's feelings toward being in the stadium on game day, but that's not about the organization itself. As for Ring of Honor, I've been on the fence on this, and have never really thought about it. But I just looked at the list. Jim Harbaugh was a decent player, the team had a fantastical run to the AFCCG with him, but he was here for four years and went into the ROH eight years later. Marshall Faulk, five years with the Colts, left on bad terms. Eric Dickerson, four and a half years with the Colts. Luck is just as worthy as any of them, if not more. However, everyone after Faulk was here during the glory days, was on the team for at least a decade, and won a SB. So the bar has been set significantly higher since then. If Luck ever does go in the ROH, it will only be after a few more years have passed.

Sure, but if the building has a daycare facility, why can't the Chargers use it? The report card says the Rams have onsite daycare, but the Chargers have inconvenient offsite daycare. I would understand the Chargers having players pay for daycare, but I don't get why they can't use the same facility the Rams players use.

When I said 'don't quote me,' I just meant don't hold me to my prediction that I'm going to get a full mock done. I didn't mean I don't want you to quote my post, LOL. Just wanted to clarify.

To be clear, they have the #1 pick from the Panthers, who jumped up and drafted their QB of choice. I think they got it wrong, but we'll see. The Bears won 7 games in 2023, they're already showing some competitiveness, IMO. Also, last year, I was a fan of a potential trade back that could put the team in position to get to #1 this year. I really liked Stroud, I thought he was the best QB last year, but I always liked Caleb Williams more. The Bears really got lucky because the Panthers were terrible, but now they're in great shape, and can draft IMO the best QB prospect in a long time.

I don't disagree. They should draft Caleb Williams. But if they honestly think he's not the right guy for them, and are not just playing with a simulator and falling in love with the idea of piling up a bunch of draft picks, they could get a nice return by moving back, and still get a good QB prospect.

There was a rumor a couple days ago that the Bears might want to trade Fields, and trade the #1 pick, and draft a different QB. Some reports say the Commanders are enamored with Caleb Williams. And then the Raiders really want Jayden Daniels. It probably wouldn't happen, but if the Bears moved down to #2, and then down again to #3, and still got Drake Maye, plus whatever they can get for Fields, and still have #9 (Rome Odunze? Brock Bowers? The best LT?), they'd have a lot of reason to be excited.

Full offseason mock. Don't quote me.

Yeah, just simple stuff to save my thoughts on these guys before I move on. I started watching some of Byron Murphy and Jer'Zhan Newton, I'll post on them soon. I might post on Bowers, I still think he goes top ten, but oh well. Chop Robinson, Latu... I already posted on Brian Thomas. Maybe some of the corners. Also gonna try to do a full mock next week... 😬

I don't know. The practice facility upgrade was in 2018. Was something more recent done? Also, some of this is about the practice facility locker rooms, not the stadium locker rooms.

All of this is fair. I'm just trying to promote a deeper than surface level consideration of these reports. Ultimately, I don't think there's a significant amount of impact on free agent decisions. Free agency is and always has been about the money first. After that, considerations like the city, coaching staff, status, etc., have varying degrees of importance for different players. But for 95% of players, it's about the money. No one is turning down the contract they want because they don't like the team plane situation.

Do you think we have a sufficient amount of information about these surveys and the responses? And do you think it makes sense for the Chiefs facilities to have been slightly improved, but their grade to be worse? The bolded speaks to how subjective this entire process is. I'm not trying to downplay it. Like you and Ballard said, find ways to continue to improve the facilities and experience where possible. But there's a lot of reaction to this stuff, and not a lot of detailed info.

All 65-75 of them... I bet the food is fine. Not five star Michelin, but does it need to be?

I think your reaction is potentially over the top. I say that because there's simply not enough information being shared to really know. And I don't say this just as a fan of the Colts, I'm trying to maintain some perspective with the reports for all the teams. I mentioned an example earlier with the Chiefs. They were expecting to upgrade the locker room at the practice facility. The upgrades weren't made, they only added new seats. So the Chiefs grade for practice facilities went down from last year, even though we could probably say the facilities were improved, just not as much as the players hoped they would be. The grade for the Colts food offerings is funny to me. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the freshness of the food, and it probably tastes fine also. If they can't figure out the plane seating thing, though, that's a problem. Two years in a row. However, they say players don't have to share rooms anymore. And the weight room, last year some players wanted more modern equipment, but the grade was a B. This year, the grade went down to a C. I doubt the equipment got worse. Just seems like a lot of this is sensationalized.

I just watched some of Jared Verse. He's a pretty good athlete, good size, adequate length, seems powerful, and he definitely passes the eyeball test as a football player. Good motor during his rushes, kind of jogs around once the ball goes away from him. He has a good first step, not super explosive, so don't be fooled by the plays where he times up the snap perfectly. He can come out of his stance too high, and then sometimes he'll be too far out over his feet, but when his leverage is right, he can go speed to power and embarrass the lineman. Good chop move, good swim, he'll spin but it's not super effective. Speaking of, he can be incredibly undisciplined with some of his moves, taking himself out of position, giving up rushing lanes, abandoning edge containment, and it happens a little too often. And it's really the lack of of discipline that bugs me throughout the game. He's also not a great tackler, kind of dives around a lot and will miss the ball carrier. He's not great in space, and he doesn't bend the edge very well... look for a mediocre three cone and shuttle. There are also times when he looks like the most unstoppable player on the field. Watch the Florida game, or the Louisville game... sheesh. Just a wrecking ball. There are plays where he sets up a blocker and hits them with a counter, and even plays where he has to go to his second or third move to beat the blocker, and has some success. If he can refine his technique, and stabilize his attacks, he can be a pretty good DE and pass rusher. If he's disciplined, he can hold up against the run. I don't see him having a high ceiling in the NFL and being a consistent double digit sack guy, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a long career. Think Brandon Graham. He probably wouldn't be my favorite pick at #15.

Define "whining."

I doubt that it happens, and I don't think I'd do it. But Sneed seems to meet the criteria above. I could see Ballard doing this for a WR or an edge rusher.

Colts Food / Cafeteria C 22ND They rank 20th overall in food taste They rank 24th overall in food freshness LOL

I mean, Sneed is one of the best corners in the league.

Agreed. And it would be one thing if players were striking because there's no onsite daycare. What it seems like is they're being surveyed about this, and asked for their opinion, which they are willing to give. 'It would be nice if we had daycare support on game day, that way my family can be at the stadium together, and we don't have to try to get private care on Sunday afternoon.' I don't even think it's a big factor for free agents. But if you ask a current player if there's anything they would change, and they say 'I wish we had daycare on gameday,' I get it.

Probably right. This is from the Chargers report card, who got an F in this category: But it seems like most teams provide daycare at no charge. How do the Rams have onsite daycare, but the Chargers don't?

One of the grades for the Chiefs got dinged because the team was planning to do upgrade the locker rooms at the practice facility, but they only added new chairs. Then they told the players that they were unable to make additional upgrades because the team went too deep into the playoffs last year. So, to your point, nothing got worse, but "expectations" were not met. Even though I don't agree with csmopar's take -- and it's certainly not just the Colts -- some of this does seem like a sense of entitlement. This could be a very valuable resource for players and teams. I fear it's being weaponized in a way, and its value will be undermined because of the sensationalism.

But it's not necessarily about cost... From the survey: I don't know if I've seen anything that says they're asking for free daycare support. Maybe they are. I think more detail would be nice.

Do you really think the issue is with the cost of day care?