NewColtsFan

You pick a moment out of one game. I gave you a season long grade. Ballard does not give up on his young players quickly unlike some fans here.

Nick Cross has a PFF grade of nearly 72. I don’t know where in the world you got the idea that he’s just plain bad. The opposite is true. Again, every year posters here predict a change in Ballard’s behavior. And every year they’re disappointed that he doesn’t. I don’t expect him to change this year, though with a new HC, it’s certainly possible.

Huh? How is it that I write a long post about safety and you write back talking about…. offensive guard? Huh? But I’ll humor you. Odds are Ballard sticks with Fries. He quietly had a decent year and few here even noticed.

Mike? Did you mean to make a post? There’s nothing here.

People make comments like yours every year. But for better and worse, Ballard is incredibly patient. He believes in his young players and that they will get better. More times than not, he’s proven right. Ballard doesn’t draft safeties high nor does he sign expensive safeties in free agency. Those are facts. And here you are pushing back.

Id like to share some info about Safety. You’re not alone in thinking the Colts might go after a safety in FA. I disagree and here’s why…. These are the safeties Ballard has drafted. Hooker. 1 Willis. 4 Tell. 5 Blackmon. 3. (85 after trade down) Davis. 5 Cross. 3. (96) Scott. 5. (158) to me, this tells all of us that Ballard doesn’t think safety requires a premium player. So I don’t see the Colts either drafting a safety high or signing one in FA to a contract of $10 mil per. Heck, Ballard signed Rodney Mcloud and he played great for the Colts. Your view is popular. I see plenty of posts that say what you’re saying. But recent history says you’re likely going to be disappointed.

So? What would be wrong if the change was made here in America, even if it’s not made outside the country. At least it might be more exciting here in the U.S. Im now 67, and old enough to remember that 55 years ago, soccer would soon become the most popular sport here in America. Well, more than a half century later, it’s still not even close. I’d say soccer is 5th behind the Big 4. So, still waiting. Also…. I don’t understand you bagging on the women’s national team. Haven’t they had more international success than the men? Haven’t they won the World Cup? Haven’t they won the Olympic Gold? If they’re not doing well now, isn’t that just a snapshot of a moment in time? Im obviously not an expert of soccer. I’m just giving some thoughts from someone who thinks change would only be helpful. Maybe I’m making bad arguments? It’s possible. But I’m not convinced yet.

My problems with soccer are many. First, a typical game might be 2-1. Boring. Hockey used to have this trouble, but about 10 years ago they changed some rules to make scoring easier so a game might be 4-3, or 5-4. More action. Second, while a game like football is made for television…. Time for roughly 130 plays and replays after most plays, soccer has very little of that. The continuous play works against it. Third, the field is huge, bigger than a football field in many cases plus there are so many players on the field, to me many of the players look lost, almost like ants because the cameras shoot the game wide. IMO, the game was not made for TV. Fourth, scoring a goal is so rare, and such a big deal, that the celebration of the score often takes longer than the actual goal itself. If you were editing hi-lites for your local TV station, the celebration would take up more time than the best plays. Here is one thing that might be a good start to other needed changes. Make the goal bigger. Perhaps 4 feet wider and 2 feet taller. Add scoring. The four biggest American sports have all added more scoring with subtle changes and with great success. Soccer should too. Im sure this post will not be popular with traditional soccer fans, but that’s ok. Just my two cents and for some, not even worth that much!

From where I sit, soccer is a crime against humanity! If you force someone to watch a game against their will, it should be considered torture! Worse than watching paint dry or grass growing! I’ve rarely seen a game I thought was worth my time. Now here comes outraged soccer fan in 3…. 2…. 1…..

My guess is your view is the popular view. Most everyone feels that way. But I’m an odd duck. Ok, a very odd duck! I ***LOVE*** the off-season. I love trying to guess what will happen. Which players are kept, which are let go? Which free agents do the Colts sign? Who do they draft, plus what about trading down and up. All sorts of strategy involved. And this lasts until June. There’s a 6 plus week break for the players, but until then, there are always things going on that are interesting to me. Like I said, I’m wired funny!

From the Colts perspective, anyone would prefer the package from the Vikings website. It’s insultingly low. Minnesota would slam the phone down, it’s not even worth countering. Honestly, I don’t see the Vikings trading JJ at this point in his career, he’s a foundational piece, and certainly not for so little.

The answer to your question is yes. The Colts can sign there own any time now. The four you mention are likely to be signed before FA opens in mid-March.

Jackson will likely want more money than Ballard would be willing to pay.

I wouldn’t be quite so quick to say what will happen if Pitt gets a full season with AR. You may be entirely right, you make some good and fair arguments. But AR is a unicorn, so I think it’s possible we might see things none of us were expecting. Remember, Pitt’s first two years he averaged 12 yards a catch. These last two years with uneven QB play his average has been 10 per catch. Wouldn’t we all be happy if AR brought Pitts number back up to 12 or maybe even 13 per catch? I think those are the kind of things that might be possible with AR.

Im coming up on 13 years as a Colts fan. I wouldn’t spend as much time here on this site if it wasn’t for the community. Lots and lots of really good and really smart people.

Agreed. I just do it for fun. Seems most everyone here does it for fun. But some do it because it’s important to them. They’re serious as a heart attack about it. This community is filled with all kinds.

Nice try. I never said 4. Never even came close to four. I know you don’t like me but you have me confused with someone else you hate. My first prediction for the 2023 season a year ago was for 6 wins. After the draft, I bumped it to 7 wins. I made multiple posts on both. For 2024, I’ve already predicted 9 wins. I could revise that after we all see what the team does in free agency and the draft.

Go to YouTube. Search: Rich Eisen, Steve Wilks fired. You’ll find interview clips with 49ers announcer Greg Pappa. He explains. There should also be other clips on the topic.

Well…. Love had three years of coaching with GB. Three years of preseason games before he got the keys to the car this year. So if you think AR was helped by one year, then Love’s three years should be better. Again, AR’s biggest problem coming out of college was a lack of experience. 13 games. Now AR only played a small fraction of snaps as a rookie. So he still has a lack of experience. And AR has to play to gain experience. And I seem to have upset some who think AR should be viewed as someone whose off-the-field sessions with Steichen makes up for not playing most of the season. This is false. 100 percent false.

Dear God, you have a serious problem. That argument I just made is airtight. If you have a problem with it, that’s a YOU problem. There isn’t a yeah, but argument to make. So stop making bad arguments.

Yes Jordan Love had three lost seasons. You’re certainly not recommending that AR not play for three years are you? But Love had much MUCH more experience in college than Richardson did in college. Love also had three years with the Packers before he played. AR has only had one. Sorry, you’re so determined to prove me wrong you’re making bad arguments. And to think all I said is that AR needs more experience. How outrageous of me!

What is baffling to you never surprises me. Riddle me this Batman: why do you think Peyton and Luck were so good so early? It’s because they were in college for FOUR YEARS. Peyton started for 3.5 years, Luck started for 3. THAT’S real world experience. All the class room work with Steichen is great. I’m sure AR will maximize his lost season. But it is still a lost season — period. There is NO SUBSTITUTE for real experience. There are no shortcuts to real experience. The kid has to play to get better. For the record, I love AR. I’m on record predicting a 9-8 season. I think he’s a great kid with a bright future, but he’s got to learn which means he’ll make mistakes which every young quarterback does. He can be better than we all thought and still need experience. These two views are not mutually exclusive. Both can be true. That’s why Ballard said “let’s not crown him just yet.”

I think you completely misinterpreted my comment. I said nothing about the team or what we spend. My comment was only how it’s important that AR plays and gains experience. I'm already on record saying I think the Colts will go 9-8 and hopefully make the playoffs. Do I sound like I’m preaching patience? I’m not. But AR basically lost his rookie year. He needs to play and learn and grow while the Colts build around him. That’s all I’m saying.

Appreciate the apology, but it was certainly not necessary. This is the time of year where topics can get knocked off track easily. Hey, it happens. We’re good!

I appreciate you think AR will be just fine. And it’s true he was far more advanced than any of us thought. All good. But it’s also true that AR missed most of his rookie year. He lost roughly 1,000 snaps and there’s no shortcut to replacing experience. AR was way behind schedule with experience coming out of college and now he’s even further behind. So 2024 is, in essence, going to be AR’s rookie year. He needs all the experience he can get these next 2-3 years. AR has to maximize these next few years. This is important to the kid’s future.