NewColtsFan

I was speaking to Doug, not to you. My arguments were to Doug, not you. Im surprised you haven’t figured out yet, but we see this completely different. That’s fine. But you keep trying to convince me you’re right. And I’m either not responding or I’m disagreeing. Look, you and I think you and I see most issues in a similar light. I think you’re a very good poster. But on this issue we’re on different sides of the argument. We’re almost as far apart as I am with Doug, which is to say as far as can be. Sorry…. But that’s where we are.

Josh did not bail out because he was concerned over Luck. Josh had accepted the job. Josh and Ballard shared the same agent. There was plenty of conversation between them. Why, at the last minute would it suddenly occur to Josh that he should be concerned about Luck’s health? Job interviews last hours. You think Josh and Chris didn’t talk all about Luck? Suddenly days later, Josh is concerned enough about Luck that he backs out of his deal? Kraft lured him back. This wasn’t an astute move by McDaniels and a bad move by Ballard. This was a move that was so bad, McDaniels was fired by his own agent.

I think this is a TERRIBLE look for Buffalo. Awful. Everyone TALKS character, but not everyone WALKS character. Very disappointing decision.

Great…. Now I have to deal with silly rumors that turned out to be 100 percent WRONG! SMDH.

No. Not at all. All I see is you writing about McDaniels being intelligent and Ballard’s failures. You keep selling this. We’ve talked about this before. When you get passive-aggressive. This is a classic example. You push this narrative as if it’s true, then proclaim it’s not me, it’s other posters, or it’s not me, it’s the media. Sorry, Philly thinks Hurts is a franchise quarterback. Thats why they pay him as they do. The Giants and Seahawks think their guy is a game manager, that’s why they pay their guy much much less. I think you’re way over-thinking this. Im sorry.

There were rumors of Lucks commitment to the Colts? Huh? What rumors? I’m here 365 days a year and I don’t recall those rumors. The rumors were about his health, not about his commitment.

How do we know Josh backed out over worries about Luck? The views back then were that (A) Kraft convinced him Irsay was crazy, and (B) Kraft gave him a new huge deal to return as the OC.

Ok…. I’ll just go on the record as saying I don’t think I agree with a word of this. I demonstrated that the Eagles clearly view Hurts as a franchise QB by how they’re paying him and contrasted with how other teams pay their game manager QB. And all you can say is “and I’m right”. I think you’re too hung up on the size of a franchise quarterback. You don’t have to be 6’4”+ to be a franchise quarterback. Drew Brees says hello. So does Tua. Tom Brady may have had the height, but he didn’t have a great body or a great arm. What he had was a great brain to process information. It’s the most important quality for a QB.

The opinions, whose ever they are, are only opinions. There are no facts there. Yet you work to advance them. Look at your own language. “Being spun to put Ballard in a positive light.” It’s revealing Doug.

While you’re commenting on Jalen Hurts here, perhaps this is the best opportunity to drop in this fact. Earlier this year you called Hurts a game manager and NOT a franchise quarterback. I think the Eagles, who signed Hurts to a contract of 5/255 (51m per) which was the highest in the NFL at the time would strongly disagree. I think the Eagles clearly believe Hurts is a franchise level QB. The Giants signed Daniels Jones to a contract of 4/140 (35m per) and the Seahawks signed Geno Smith to 3/75 (25m per). Those are contracts for a game manager.

Doug…. Of course, you’re entitled to any opinion you want. But let’s be clear, all that you’ve written here is your opinion. There are no proven verified facts here. But you’re writing as if this is all fact. It’s not, not even a little.

No one was going to give up a draft pick or player for Leonard. Ballard is a masterful trader. He didn’t release Leonard without checking the market. I’m sure you noticed when Leonard was released no team claimed him with his remaining contract. They all waited until he clears waivers so the Colts would be stuck the rest of the financial hit. Also releasing him is what teams often do for former top players. You're letting him pick his future team rather than trading him away to a team he may not want to play for. This is good for Leonard. It’s a classy final move.

I watched and admired greatly but from a distance. There wasn’t anything not to like. I was impressed and a bit of a fan.

This my 12th year as a Colts fan in this community. Has there ever been a season that exceeded more expectations?! Great fun! At this point it’s win-win!!

OFM…. For your consideration. Ballard didn’t make this decision, one of this magnitude, without talking it over with a good number of people. I’ll list them. Jim Irsay Owner Shane Steichen. HC Ed Dodds. ASST GM Morocco Brown. PERSONNEL VP Ballard does not make such a big decision without maximum input from those around him. None of the guys I listed found out about the decision by reading the Indy Star newspaper. Ballard is collaborative about these things. I give you my word, I’m not yanking your chain. Also, why should Ballard care that Leonard is going to help Philly win? So? Who cares? They’re in the NFC, so it’s the best scenario for the Colts.

Now THIS is the OLD FAN MAN we all know and love! Back in your comfort zone!

Im not talking about this year. Lol I’m talking about for more than 50 years. How does one franchise be that good for that long? They’re great.

They are not good this year. But the Steelers have been one of the top franchises for more than 50 years. That’s what I’m talking about. That’s not an accident. Any team can be bad a year here or there. But for 50+ years? Greatness.

When a team is that lucky for that long…. It’s NOT luck. Just food for thought.

Can you explain why you don’t like the Steelers? Outside of the Colts, the Steelers are one of my favorite franchises. What gives?

I think so. I think the Colts would use the lower level tag that would bring one first round pick. I don’t think they’d use a higher level tag that would bring two first round picks. I could easily be wrong, but that would be my guess.

Forgive me…. I don’t mean to be argumentative, but I’m a bit perplexed. I appreciate that it’s not efficient, but why is top-20 the metric for deciding what is or isn’t efficient. Why isn’t 25 the magic number? Or more to the point, since there are 32 teams, why isn’t 32 the magic number? Also, I’ve been reading this discussion and there appear to be roughly 3 pages of discussion about how Pittman is used. That, to an extent, he’s a bit of being a victim of circumstance. He gets all the short stuff. And, just for the record, while I’m a very big Pittman fan, I also don’t see him as a legit WR1. I call him a high level WR2, and I don’t mean it as an insult. I look forward to your response.

Hmmm? You list four rankings, but I only see one that’s not good…. YD’s. Obviously receptions is a good stat. But I also think his YPG and Yard rankings are good as well. Nothing wrong with being ranked 16th and 14th in the entire NFL. Just my two cents.

ok…. I’m confused…. Are you saying no way MCDANIELS doesn’t take the job without a healthy Luck? Or…. Are you saying no way BALLARD doesn’t take the job without a healthy Luck? Because you wrote that. But Ballard DID take the job without a healthy Luck. For context…. Ballard and McDaniels shared the same agent. He’s the top agent for coaches and executives. His name is Bob LeMonte. And he was telling McDaniels NOT to back out of this deal. But once he did, LeMonte fired him.

FWIW: ESPN analytics puts the Colts chances at about 56 percent. I think the Colts were 3rd most likely of 8 teams. I believe the Colts were behind only Houston and Cleveland.