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colts18

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  1. colts18
    Is there logic behind what the Colts are doing. The answer to that question is yes. As you all know recently many Colts fans got very upset when they heard who got cut yesterday, including me. Jim Irsay and Ryan Grigson do in fact know what they are doing. Let's take a look at controversial cuts made yesterday:
    Dallas Clark:
    This cut was the most upsetting cut for me. Clark is a great man and a great football player. So why did the Colts cut him? Is there a replacement?
    For the last two years Clark had some big injury problems. When Clark went down in '10 a younger, lesser known Colt stepped up to the plate. That Colt is Jacob Tamme, now I bet everyone of you reading this knows his name. He struggled for his first two games and then all the sudden out of nowhere he started to perform better than Clark did before he got hurt. Tamme continued to perform this past season as well when he was needed. He is now 26 years old and in his 4th season in the NFL; he is showing that he might be just as reliable as Clark was for all those years. So give him a chance, I see a bright future for JacobTamme.
    Joseph Addai:
    Why did the Colts cut him? Can any of the other backs come and take his place?
    For the past few years Addai has been #1 on the depth chart for HBs. Some people might already have remembered all of the injury problems Addai has had which have kept him out of many Colts games. Some games he struggled, others he performed well. But the biggest contribution that will be missed is his blocking abilties. He was able to pick up that LB that came rushing in at Peyton, giving him time to throw the ball. With that said take a look at the roster; we have two young backs already on the roster and we could pick another one up this April. That answers the 2nd question but why did the Colts cut him? Well I know I'm not a part of the Colts organization but there is still a very simple answer. Money, Risk, and Style. Money - The colts have very little cap space. They need cap to build the team for the future; the only fix is cutting older guys. Risk - He has had so many injury problems that the big contract becomes a problem. Style - This is just a thought to keep in mind. Maybe the Colts are looking to get a power back and build a running game. Maybe a blocking back is no longer a priority.
    Gary Brackett:
    I know Brackett missed the '11 season but is that the only answer to why he was released?
    Most likely yes, that was the reason to his release but there could be some other prominent reasons as well. Pat Angerer is one heck of a football player who filled his spot and did a fantastic job doing so. The ROLB and LOLB are up for grabs though. Could they have kept Brackett at MLB and moved Angerer to one of the OLB spots, yes, but is there a FA or Rookie they are going after to fill those spots, I don't know. It is definently a possibility. So for all of you who think this is "downgrading" the defense just think about this and the main reason for this cut. Cap Room.
    Melvin Bullitt:
    The Colts secondary struggled last year without Bullitt, who is supposed to be his replacement?
    If you were thinking that you are absolutely correct. This is the only cut that doesn't make sense to me. The Colts don't have a replacement for Bullitt. So why was he cut? Let's look back at the '11 season, oh wait Bullitt hardly played because of injury. Now don't get me wrong I do not like this cut at all. But there still has to be a reason behind this cut. Look at the cuts above what was the main reason for the guys being let go? The answer is age and money. Bullitt is very young so age is not a factor. Money on the other hand could be a possible reason. I don't know what Bullitt's contract was but it must have been a large one. And don't forget the draft that is coming up in a little more than a month. We have a new GM, he might see someone he likes that they will grab. Could I be wrong, could this be a bad decision on the Colts part? Of course but I am trusting Grigson and I do believe there is a good reason behind this.
    Of course I do not need to go into detail why Curtis Painter was cut. He was given 11 chances to win a game and was unable to do so. Looking back at these cuts and back at the Manning cut there is a big pattern that shows the #1 reason for these upsetting cuts. Money. I know this is probably the third time I have said this but cap room for the Colts is hardly even there. Who knows how many cap penalties the Colts have racked up over the years but this year it is apparent that it was a good amount. And aside from that these cuts are going to rack up some cap penalties next year as well so lets hope the Colts can do most of there re-building this year. So please don't go out insulting Irsay or Grigson for these cuts that feel devestating to us fans but leave here understanding that they have no choice but to make roster moves to sign some younger promising guys who could lead us to 10+ years of success in this new era of Colts football.
  2. colts18

    If I Was The Colts Gm

    By colts18,

    If I was the Colts GM....
    The Draft:
    If I was the GM I would NOT draft Andrew Luck. I personally like Morris Clayborn from LSU but he is not a top 5 pick... Or at least not yet. If his position stays the same I would trade the fist pick and aquire a pick to pick him up with a first round pick for next year and the year after that and maybe another lower pick as well. Most people only see the QB problem we have but that is not the only problem, we desperately need some help in the secondary. Would I draft a QB, definently. Who would I draft? I would need to look at some that are projected to be taken in the other rounds. Many great QB's come out of those rounds. I would also look to add a WR or two in the lower rounds and I mean 5th and below.
    The Roster:
    I would make some roster changes, the first thing I would do is restructure Manning's contract to be more cap friendly, This is how I would deal with free agents:
    Must Sign
    Reggie Wayne
    Robert Mathis
    Ryan Diem
    Pierre Garçon
    Jeff Saturday
    Those 5 play a crucial part in our offense and we cannot afford to lose them. Saturday and Wayne are experienced veterans if we want to turn our rookies into great NFL players we need some veterans to help guide them and teach them throughout their first couple years.
    Who we really should sign
    Jacob Tamme
    Tyler Brayton
    Philip Wheeler
    Jammal Anderson
    Brayton and Anderson are two good options to give Freeney and Mathis a break, they performed well all year and deserve a new contract unless they want too much. Jacob Tamme is a great TE he has played great the past two years in place of Clark. We might need him in 2012 again and we really need to resign him. Philip Wheeler played decent and would be able to provide some depth this upcoming season.
    Consider Re-Signing
    Eric Foster
    Daniel Muir
    I know Foster got hurt but he is one great football player. Both of these guys deserve to consider re-signing, if they are willing to take a very cap-friendly deal they would be great options to re-sign.
    Free Agency:
    The only free-agents I would pick up would be guys where we have little to no depth at, after re-signing and the draft we probably will not have much cap room left. So these are just small deals to add depth.
    Coaching Staff:
    This is tough, I really wouldn't want to fire Caldwell but it might be the year to do it, I would want to hire Fisher but it looks like he is going to go to another team. He would be a great addition to the staff. The only other option that I would consider is Bill Cower he is a great coach, he took the Steelers to the Super Bowl and I believe he could do the same here. I would NOT be interested in hiring Gruden. As for the assistant coaches it is hard to say, It is hard to evaluate their performance just by the games. There are a few that I have opinions on, Clyde needs to go. Offensive play calling really held us back this season. I remember we RAN the ball on 2nd and 27. We gained 2 yards. That can't happen, if we would have let Curtis air it out we might have won a couple of games and if not he would have at least improved more and could have became a little more comfortable which could have led to a couple more wins. On the defensive side of the ball I think Mike Murphy has done a great job coming in as DC, taking over and really improving the defense. The other guys I couldn't say one way or another on, they might be doing a great job or a not so great job but I can't tell by just game day performance since so much more goes on during the week.
    My biggest concern for next season is that if we throw in our rookies before they are ready, that will just lead to losses and them eventually getting benched. That would do nothing for them except they would lose any confidence they had. That is why we need veteran leadership and guys who can play some while we develop our rookies. You guys know what happened when Painter got thrown in too early.
    Depth Chart:
    I would also make some changes in the depth chart. I would move Angerer over to starting LOLB and have Brackett start at MLB. I would give Brown and Carter more reps, and I would look at some other options at ROLB.
    That is what I would do if I was the Colts GM, I would start building a young team but still keep veterans to keep that veteran leadership on the team. We need young guys who will be able to step up and start when some of the older guys retire which could start happening very soon.
  3. colts18

    An Important Offseason

    By colts18,

    This upcoming offseason is really important which is why I hope the Colts find the right GM for the job. It is probably the most important offseason since the '97 offseason when Manning was drafted. The Colts now have to make a decision on him and many other veterans who's contracts are expiring. I recently have been thinking through scenarios about what the major decisions could cause.
    1. Manning's future:
    One of the decisions the Colts could make is to keep him do nothing about his contract. But there are still uncertainties with that choice. What about FA's? Are we going to continue to base the team around him even after this season's results? I don't think so, what could they do to sign some FA's and still keep Manning? The most welcome way is to restructure Manning's contract to make it more cap friendly but what about other options? Another option that I recently thought of is they could resign the younger guys and maybe sign one veteran, they still would be building the team for the future but they would lose much of the veteran leadership.
    Of course the Colts could let him go, he would probably retire and the colts would draft Luck but some problems and uncertainties still arise from that scenario. Who has ever seen Luck play in an NFL game.... No one has so how do we know how that will turn out? Some names come to mind (Ryan Leaf, Jamarcus Russell, Vince Young) and if that is true we pretty much sacrificed that season and maybe more after that. But there are still some positives that come out of that scenario, more money to resign and sign FA's, and it creates a team ready for the future.
    I personally think Manning will stay on the team.
    2. Head Coaching Position
    This is obviously just as big of a decision as #1. One scenario is that the Colts fire Caldwell and hire a veteran coach like Fisher or Cower. The only concern is that they hire the wrong one for the job. There are quite a few of benefits. They could build a strong overall team, they could also focus on specific needs(which could be good or bad) I do believe this is the way to go, not that Caldwell did a poor job he just didn't do a great job.
    They could also keep Caldwell, but that does carry a lot of uncertainty. We have seen what injuries has done the past 2 years will that happen again? Maybe we don't have injury problems and win a Super Bowl? It just carries too much unknown effects. I personally think we should hire Jeff Fisher.
    Well I only talked about two topics but there are many more, how will the Colts build for the future? What will be their focus on how to prepare for the future? Who will be the new GM? The list goes on and on. Which just proves how important the next couple months are.
  4. colts18
    Yeah, Yeah, I know I am a little late to post a mock draft but what is one more... Right? Any way it looks like Luck will be our QB, I have given into that but who comes next? Over the past couple weeks I have been putting together scouting reports and just last night I finished the mock draft. So let me know if you like it or not. I put a lot of time into this so please no hating
    Indianapolis Colts Needs:
    I broke it up into major and minor needs. Major needs are needs that we don't have an apparent starter for or many people competing for that starting spot. Minor needs are postions without depth.
    Major Needs: QB, RG, Will (Weak side LB), CB,
    Minor Needs: RB, C, LG, LT, RT, Mike (Middle LB), Sam (Strong side LB), TE
    Obviously not all of these can be fixed through the draft so I put highest priority first.
    Here it is, I also added a little support to go along with each of the picks:
    Round 1 Pick 1: Andrew Luck - QB - Standford
    Pros:
    -We obviously don't have a starting QB
    -Size
    -Accuracy
    -not afraid of contact (see video below)

    -Great Athleticism
    Cons:
    -leaves pocket early
    -Arm Strength?
    Do I really need to explain this pick? I am going to assume you all understand why I chose him.
    Round 2 Pick 2: Kevin Zeitler - OG - Wisconsin
    Pros:
    -Mobility
    -Size
    -Ability to pull effectively (move down across the line to make a block)
    Cons:
    -Minor History of Injuries
    -Ducks head at times
    -Technique only adequate
    Zeitler has no problem being a pulling guard. He can move down to 2nd level defenders on running plays as well. His form definently needs to be improved. He needs to learn to not duck his head. Past injuries could be a problem but that is not likely. He has room for improvement.
    Round 3 Pick 1: Ronnell Lewis - OLB - Oklahoma
    Pros:
    -Athleticism
    -Can play in any defensive scheme
    -Aggressiveness
    Cons:
    -Maturity
    -Not quick
    -Academic Problems
    Overall he is a good third round pick. He played and still can play both DE and OLB which enables him to fit in to any defensive scheme, including a 4-3 and a 3-4. But his maturity and academic problems hurt his draft stock. His lack of quickness also hurts him. But his natural strength will give him an advantage. I see him playing as an OLB.
    Round 4 Pick 2: Dwight Bentley - CB - Lousiana - Lafayette
    Pros:
    -Natural Coverage Skills
    -Aggressiveness
    -Speed
    Cons:
    -Low Vertical
    He has the basic abilities to be an NFL CB but he lacks some skills to make him a great one. His vertical is low, which is not good going against a star WR. Especially a fade route in the back of the endzone. He is tall, which makes his vertical look even smaller. He needs to improve that to compete. Overall he does have potential but he has a lot of room for improvement.
    Round 5 Pick 1: Shaun Prater - CB - Iowa
    Pros:
    -Good Ball Skills
    -Aggressiveness
    -Can contribute on run support
    -Aware Defender
    -Good tackling technique
    Cons:
    -Can struggle in zone coverages
    -Will struggle against veteran QBs his first few years in the NFL
    I have two CBs being picked for the Colts 4th and 5th round picks to fill the big hole in the secondary. They never fully addressed this issue in free agency, except when they signed Terrence Johnson. These two guys will provide depth and be able to contribute on special teams until they are able to compete for the starting job.
    Round 5 Pick 35 (Compensatory): Audie Cole - ILB - North Carolina State
    Pros:
    -Pass Defense
    -Coverage Skills
    -Attacks line of scrimmage
    Cons:
    -Inconsistent
    -Needs to improve pass rush significantly
    -Underestimates ball carriers athleticism
    Cole could fill the 2nd String MLB Position behind Angerer. There are plenty of reasons to doubt his ability to play in the NFL. After he works out the rookie mistakes he will with out a doubt make, he could be a decent player.
    Round 6 Pick 37(Compensatory): James Hanna - TE - Oklahoma
    Pros:
    -Speed
    -Gives the Colts a "passing TE"
    -Catching
    Cons:
    -Inexperience - not as much playing time in college as others
    James Hanna would give the Colts the "Passing TE" they had in Dallas Clark and Jacob Tamme. The big "Blocking TE" will be Broodie Eldridge He could also provide depth behind Eldridge and another option in some passing packages.
    Round 7 Pick 1: Adonis Thomas - RB - Toledo
    Pros:
    -Balanced Runner(power and speed)
    -Good Stop/Start ability
    -Makes defenders miss
    Cons:
    -Needs time to develop
    -Lacks size
    -Hesitant
    -No special teams experience
    He gives a little more depth at RB behind Brown and Carter. Possibly a sleeper if he is given time to develop.
    Round 7 Pick 17 (From NYJ) : Garth Gerhart - C - Arizona State
    Pros:
    -Quick Feet
    -Durable
    -Good Collegiate Experience
    Cons:
    -Lacks Size and Strength
    -Limited Range
    -Struggles Athletically
    His durability would make him an ideal long term backup option. He would struggle on the field so 2nd or 3rd string is where he would find himself.
    Round 7 Pick 46(Compensatory): Derrick Coleman - RB - UCLA
    Not much to say about him. He would add some competition for a roster spot as a RB/FB and competition is always good.
    Well that's it. Let me know what you think. I might post an updated version if I feel that I need to change something.
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