NewColtsFan

I think Peyton lives mostly in Denver these days. That’s where his world is these days. Ballard and Irsay have mentioned Peyton in the last few months regarding our coaching search and quarterback evaluations. So the Colts and Peyton still have a relationship. So I wouldn’t read too much negative into it.

I understand that. But the story is now nearly 4.5 hours old. And the NFL still has nothing up on their own website. So, it’s clear they’re not saying anything today. They’ll say something when they make their announcement official. I’m not saying this is good or bad, right or wrong. I’m only observing how they’ve handled this as I find it interesting.

Perhaps…. Clearly there’s been no official poll…. I’m simply going by the majority of responses here on this website. And in my view more posters would say Ballard is a better GM than Grigson. And that comes after an epically bad season and a career record that’s clearly worse than Grigson. So my praise may not mean much, I don’t think being better than Grigson is saying a whole lot. Just my perspective.

No one would debate that Polian is a better GM than Chris Ballard. It’s not even a discussion. Polian is a first ballot Hall of Famer. But long before you joined this website the debate between Grigson and Ballard has been settled. And without any sugar costing, Grigson lost. If you don’t like Ballard, that’s fine. But the debate between the two did not go as you see it.

Ok…. You might want to re-think this. Why in the world would JT accept anything less than $10.1 mill per year? That’s the franchise tag number. Any offer less than that would be immediately rejected and viewed as not serious and even insulting. And that’s simply not going to happen. Even the other top RB’s are being offered the tag so that is your floor, the starting point for any negotiation. And a reminder, the salary cap is about to blow up, it’s going to go way, way up over the next few years. The Colts are a well managed small market team. They can afford to do whatever they want to do.

One interesting thing to note….. As of this post I’m writing, approx 2p on Eastern Time, this story is not — repeat, NOT — posted up on NFL.com. To say the least, this is unusual. The NFL is getting scooped on a big story about the NFL.

To be clear…. The suspensions are expected THIS WEEK. Which means it could be as soon as later today, but most likely tomorrow or Friday. And while the initial word appears to be optimistic on Rodgers, I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high just yet. This is NOT official. His suspension could still be longer than we’re hoping for. These things are tricky. As we have discussed, there are compelling reasons why it might be longer than one year. At least we know that the decision is coming soon….

Here’s the problem with your view…. If Minshew is good enough to hold off from playing Richardson except in mop-up duty, then the Colts will have completely wasted AR’s rookie year. From my perspective, that’s a complete failure for the franchise. The number one goal for the Colts is to get AR ready to start week one of 2024 and play at a reasonably high level. He can’t get there playing only garbage snaps. Whether it’s by starting or playing selected series, AR has to be prepared for every possible scenario…. Starting a game, finishing a game, 2:00 offense, 4:00 offense, red zone…. And on and on. AR won’t get that in your scenario of playing only garbage minutes. He has to learn. The Colts focus in 2033 can’t be on getting the best record possible. . Not if it comes at the expense of developing Anthony Richardson. He has to play and grow. He can’t do that mopping up at the end of games that are decided. The focus of 2023 is getting the franchise ready for 2024 and beyond. Hopefully this is good for thought….

If the Colts take a quarterback next year that’s an admission that Richardson is so bad that the Colts have decided in just one year that AR is a failure. And if it’s a failure, then the Colts are picking first. Ballard would likely get fired and the enthusiasm for Steichen and his staff would plummet. I think that’s about as bad a scenario as the Colts could hope for. Just my two cents, and as I like to say, it’s often not worth that much!

I wouldn’t rule out Sam Darnold. The early buzz on him is said to be very good.

I think most posters have the Colts in a range of 6-9 wins. There are some outliers. Some have the Colts winning 10-12 games. Some have the Colts only winning 3-5 games. But I believe there are fewer outliers. But the vast majority want the team to improve as the season progresses. The young kids have to play and get better so the team can compete at a higher level in 2024.

If Young had remained healthy, he likely would’ve lived up to the hype. His injuries are what have kept him from reaching his full ability. Great talent.

Sorry…. 267. I’ll correct. My bad. Thanks for the catch. Fixed it!

Thanks for the heads-up, @rock8591 I try to keep an eye on the roster. I look at it perhaps once a month. For an organization that likes to put out info, the Colts have taken a big step backward with respect to the roster the last few years. This update is the biggest since pre-covid. So at your urging, these are the changes that jump out at me….. Blackmon now 6’0” and 202. Used to be 5’11” and 187. Ebukum now listed at DE, was listed as OLB. Ehlinger now 6’2” and 225. Was 6’1” and 222. Fries now 6’6” and 305. Was 6’6” and 309. Lewis now 6’3” and 267. Was 6’3” and 275-ish. Murray now 6’9” and 346. Was 6’9” and 325. O’Donnell now 6’5” and 305. Was 6’5” and 325 and 315 over the years. Odeyengbo now 6’6” and 286. Was 6’6” and 275. Now likely the heaviest 4-3 DE in the NFL. Paye now 6’3” and 265. Was 6’3” and 262. Raimann says he’s gained about 15 pounds, but still listed at his original weight of 303. Smith now 6’6” and 312. Was 6’6” and 317. Brents now 6’3” and 198. Was originally listed as 6’4” and 202. Last, but not least: Rodgers now 5’10” and 176. Was 5’10” and 170. What were the ODDS of this happening? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t have BET on it!

Honestly, I was totally serious. Not at all sarcastic. If a caller was put on hold to make them hang up, that would be a sign of a badly run organization. Seriously. Interest in the organization potentially means dollars to them. Whether they show up at camp and buy t-shirts, hats, jerseys and other swag. Merch is big money to every franchise. And if you treat your customers well, then maybe they buy tickets to games and everything else that goes with it…. Parking, food, merch. And it can all start with the person who answers the phone. And if they don’t have the info they should say so and invite them to call back to find out.

I think Pagano is retired.

Easy pass…. Rarely a fan of the alternative or experimental uni’s or helmets. I’m too old school.

Offensive line and the new OL coach. I’ll be somewhat skeptical until they give me reason not to be.

How unbelievably sad that you feel this way. I’m sure you’re not alone. At least you’re willing to cop to it publicly. 8 years of being unhappy with your favorite team. Sad.

The Colts do not have a reputation of being cheap. The problem is, right now in the NFL, no one knows what Taylor is worth. Seriously, nobody knows. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, value of a top running back is in the eye of the beholder. The agent and RB want the type of money that used to be paid out to top RBs in the past 3-5 years. As you know, teams are now reluctant to pay that kind of money to the position. So paying Taylor what he’s worth is a big unknown. A point I’ve been trying to emphasize in multiple posts now. JT’s situation is much harder to solve than you have suggested.

Contracts are important to everyone. The team, the player, the agent, and all the other 31 teams and their players. Because once you establish a precedent for one player it complicates things for everyone else in the NFL. “Hey, you made an exception for THIS guy why can’t you do it for THAT guy?” So when you write just give JT what he wants in some front loaded deal, just make sure you can get out later without much of a financial hit, that’s much easier said than done. It rarely happens except in a small handful of exceptions (typically quarterbacks) and none of them are with a RB where money for the position is drying up. Im sure the Colts will make a competitive offer. I’m just not sure JT and his agent will accept it. And if not, the Colts can still tag him twice in 24 and 25. Odds are the two sides will find a compromise. But I wouldn’t rule this getting difficult for both sides and the Colts having to use the tag. It’s not ideal, but this is the world the NFL has created and it’s hard to find a clear path. The Colts have a very good reputation for getting fair deals done. Have confidence the Colts will handle this appropriately. JT is an important part of the team, he is valued.

You completely lost me at…. “The Colts need to not worry about price and years.” I think the chances of that are close to 0.0, and that maybe too high.

I don’t know where you got that run blocking is all that important? Pass catching is clearly important. But guys like McCaffrey , Kimara, Henry, Jones, Chubb, Barkley, Jacob’s and whoever else makes $10m+ aren’t earning their money for their RUN blocking. Perhaps did you mean PASS blocking, because otherwise I think your argument just collapsed.

@2006Coltsbestever What did you find funny about my post telling a poster to contact the Colts for information?

Tell me…. Who was the “star” wide receiver that the Colts passed on who went on to have great success? Julio Jones? Nope. OBJ? Nope. Jarvis Landry? Nope. Robert Woods? Nope. Allen Robinson? Nope. All the people you talk about weren’t star players, they were big name players who fans here know and don’t realize were past their prime. So they used to be stars, but weren’t anymore. Fans didn’t know their contract or their health or their age. And none of them did anything for their new team. And please don’t throw out guys like Adams or Hill or Hopkins or anyone else. Those guys had leverage and were never coming to Indy even if the Colts wanted them. And if CB is reluctant to pay a WR $25m per, imagine trying to pay more than that which those players got. Not happening. Ballard had a terrible 2022, you could argue worse than terrible. But none of the moves that you’re complaining about would have made a difference in 2022.