Polian Compliments Colts....

[NewColtsFan]

He was on SportsCenter this morning along with Herm Edwards....

Among the many compliments Polian paid to the Colts was this....

That the current defense is using 8 players from his old regime... and that none of them naturally fit the system that they currently play, and YET, they're playing very, very good defense...

He credited the coaches and the players for buying in... it was a nice compliment....

Polian and Edwards also gushed over Luck trying to tackle Landry after the interception... while they don't recommend that Luck do that kind of thing, they said when Luck's teammates see him doing that kind of thing, that'll get them even more fired up and they'll want to play even harder because of Luck. They said the coaches will be showing the players the Luck hit today when they look at the game film...

[21isSuperman]

Without any doubt, there's something special about this team.

[Nobody]

Polian really annoyed me when he talked about how bad we were before the season.

Dangit, Bill, you're the reason we sucked!

Glad he is impressed.

[Smonroe]

Polian really annoyed me when he talked about how bad we were before the season.

Dangit, Bill, you're the reason we sucked!

Glad he is impressed.

I really don't want to start this debate again. I'm not a Polian apologist but I understand the situation he was in with the cap, and how the team was built around Peyton.

And no matter if you love or hate him, you can't argue with the results under his regime.

[betheafan41]

I really don't want to start this debate again. I'm not a Polian apologist but I understand the situation he was in with the cap, and how the team was built around Peyton.

And no matter if you love or hate him, you can't argue with the results under his regime.

you do realize he was the one who built the team around manning right?? since 98' he had brought in pieces to fit Mannings needs and not the defensive needs he really needed. that there i feel robbed manning of multiple super bowls.

[Smonroe]

you do realize he was the one who built the team around manning right?? since 98' he had brought in pieces to fit Mannings needs and not the defensive needs he really needed. that there i feel robbed manning of multiple super bowls.

Please, not that old "we should have won multiple SBs again". We were the best team in the league in 2005 and lost in the playoffs. Probably due to an emotional letdown. You can argue that we were best in 2009. Other than those two years, we simply weren't the best team in the league. Yet we won a SB.

The NFL isn't Madden. A GM can't have the best players on both sides of the ball all the time. He has to deal with real contracts and real injuries. The great ones make the best of what they have. There may only be one or two that have done it better than Polian.

Sorry you feel robbed. Fans of about 26 other teams would love to have been in our shoes the last 15 years.

[unitaswestand]

Bill Polian is one of the greatest talent evaluators in NFL history. So I am glad to hear he complimented the Colts.

[John Dee]

He was on SportsCenter this morning along with Herm Edwards....

Among the many compliments Polian paid to the Colts was this....

That the current defense is using 8 players from his old regime... and that none of them naturally fit the system that they currently play, and YET, they're playing very, very good defense...

He credited the coaches and the players for buying in... it was a nice compliment....

Polian and Edwards also gushed over Luck trying to tackle Landry after the interception... while they don't recommend that Luck do that kind of thing, they said when Luck's teammates see him doing that kind of thing, that'll get them even more fired up and they'll want to play even harder because of Luck. They said the coaches will be showing the players the Luck hit today when they look at the game film...

About the D, last season and the last few years.

Last season and with Manning a lot of 3 n outs... or quick scores. (Manning)

Luck has brought a dimension to this team Peyton simply could not.. he can run and keep drives going. The D is simply not on the field as long as in the past. They are a lot fresher towards the end.

Luck has knack for long drives... and that is a D's best friend, and a lead... .

[NewColtsFan]

About the D, last season and the last few years.

Last season and with Manning a lot of 3 n outs... or quick scores. (Manning)

Luck has brought a dimension to this team Peyton simply could not.. he can run and keep drives going. The D is simply not on the field as long as in the past. They are a lot fresher towards the end.

Luck has knack for long drives... and that is a D's best friend, and a lead... .

Perhaps more than any other school in college football, Stanford specializes in long drives. We don't have many explosive players, so we ground and pound and have ball control (west coast) passing... the opposing team can't score if they don't have the ball.

To that end, my favorite Luck drive happened last year vs. UCLA. Bruins got the ball first, got to around mid-field, they punted to the 1-yard line. Luck led the team on a 19-play, 119 yard drive for a score. Read that again, it's NOT a typo. 119 yards. While going the length of the field, Stanford was hit with two 10-yard penalties. So, we had to travel 119 yards to score, which we did. It was the beginning of a long but very fun night!!

That Luck guy is something else!

[GrizzColt]

Polian has so much knowledge I think ESPN needs to use him more. He has such a high football IQ. He didn't want to make a Super Bowl prediction before the season, but when they said he had to, he predicts the Falcons and for Mattey Ice to have a break out season. Here they sit undefeated. He knows his stuff.

[BleedingBlue]

i never understood how people can mock or make fun of the folks that brought us 12 years of winning.

[John Dee]

Nice Avatar NCF.. I love Luck's shaved nug look.

Looks like a middle linebacker...

[GoColts8818]

i never understood how people can mock or make fun of the folks that brought us 12 years of winning.

I want to say first I agree with you I find the shots people take at Polian to be a bit disturbing.

With that said I see why people do it. They blame him for things falling apart last year and frankly i think there are still a lot of hurt feelings from 2009 that have been waiting since then to see Polian fail so they could go after him.

I'll add one more thing. I think there is a group of fans that hates to give anyone else credit for the past 12 years for anything good beyond Peyton and seem to think giving anyone else credit for anything some how takes away from Peyton's greatness. I am not saying that all those who are hard on Polian are those people but I do think it's some.

[Brooklyn Colt]

I really don't want to start this debate again. I'm not a Polian apologist but I understand the situation he was in with the cap, and how the team was built around Peyton.

And no matter if you love or hate him, you can't argue with the results under his regime.

I'm afraid we'll be in the same situation again when Luck's rookie contract is up..

[GoColts8818]

I'm afraid we'll be in the same situation again when Luck's rookie contract is up..

It's the price that comes with having a superstar QB in this league. They get a big pay day but part of the reason that they do is that you count on them to be able to cover up other holes on your team made by having a superstar QB.

With that said the Colts issue towards the end was that Peyton wasn't the only player on the roster getting a big payday. Wayne, Freeney, Mathis, Hayden, Clark, and Brackett were all signed to big deals. We banked on our superstars and when a good chunk of them got hurt we couldn't over come it. That's part of the problem with drafting well you don't want to let your core players leave so you end up paying for them and if you pay for them well it sucks up your money.

[Smonroe]

It's the price that comes with having a superstar QB in this league. They get a big pay day but part of the reason that they do is that you count on them to be able to cover up other holes on your team made by having a superstar QB.

With that said the Colts issue towards the end was that Peyton wasn't the only player on the roster getting a big payday. Wayne, Freeney, Mathis, Hayden, Clark, and Brackett were all signed to big deals. We banked on our superstars and when a good chunk of them got hurt we couldn't over come it. That's part of the problem with drafting well you don't want to let your core players leave so you end up paying for them and if you pay for them well it sucks up your money.

Well said. Two franchises go against the grain, the Pats and Steelers. They manage to stay relevant without paying multiple players big bucks.

Yes, Luck will most likely be the highest paid player in the game when it's his turn. But they can make that contract franchise friendly. It's the ancillary players that you can't over pay.

[southwest1]

Perhaps more than any other school in college football, Stanford specializes in long drives. We don't have many explosive players, so we ground and pound and have ball control (west coast) passing... the opposing team can't score if they don't have the ball.

To that end, my favorite Luck drive happened last year vs. UCLA. Bruins got the ball first, got to around mid-field, they punted to the 1-yard line. Luck led the team on a 19-play, 119 yard drive for a score. Read that again, it's NOT a typo. 119 yards. While going the length of the field, Stanford was hit with two 10-yard penalties. So, we had to travel 119 yards to score, which we did. It was the beginning of a long but very fun night!!

That Luck guy is something else!

Yes, Andrew Luck is patient, methodical, & an unflappable QB who never gets to high or to low. He is steady, even keel, & knows when to motivate player buttons in the huddle when necessary.

In a word: Resilient: “The ability to recover smoothly and swiftly despite any obstacles or setbacks that arise along the way.”

[funktacious2]

I really don't want to start this debate again. I'm not a Polian apologist but I understand the situation he was in with the cap, and how the team was built around Peyton.

And no matter if you love or hate him, you can't argue with the results under his regime.

Speaking of this, no one has talked about this for a while: but with Andrew Luck's freakish growth some pundits are already starting to put him up near the "elite" status, so by time his rookie contract is up he may be a top 3-5 QB. How are we not supposed to pay him like a Peyton Manning? How do we avoid that issue unless Andrew wants to be very contract friendly when you can't assume that?

[#12]

You pay him what he's worth. Other organizations pay their elite QBs, yet still build balanced teams. The idea that you can't is an attitude unique to this neck of the woods.

[John Dee]

Luck's next contract will make him the highest paid player in the NFL.

Peyton's money was not the issue strapping Indy it was Sanders, and several other "dead weight" players that hurt Indy.

Ever great NFL team is paying their QB....

Just don't OVERSPEND in other areas. Indy needs to be VERY CAREFUL next season.

[DallasClarkrules]

I don't see us having the same problem against the cap which we had when Manning was here. Simply because, everyone saw what happened last season. As much as I believe we'll continue to use the draft to build, Grigson will look at free agency more than Polian did, which may help us as I do think he's a very good talent evaluator. The key is to not overpay the talent we have. The true test of that will come after this season, when players such as Powers, Freeney and McAfee (among others) become free agents. Would we like to keep all of these players? - Yes, but only for reasonable money.

[chad72]

Luck's next contract will make him the highest paid player in the NFL.

Peyton's money was not the issue strapping Indy it was Sanders, and several other "dead weight" players that hurt Indy.

Ever great NFL team is paying their QB....

Just don't OVERSPEND in other areas. Indy needs to be VERY CAREFUL next season.

Yep. The true issue was dead money and lack of quality depth. We squeaked by a lot of times in 2009 and that 4th qtr. mojo of living on the edge did go away, IMO, when we rested the starters. But I do see why we did it, Polian knew his roster was top heavy in talent and salary, and he did not draft well probably since 2007 with his top round picks as years past and could not sustain injuries to even overachieving fringe players like AJ who was having a good year then.

[ColtsBlueFL]

I appears Andrew will get a big pay raise in a couple years, and he'll be worth every penny. Just like Peyton was. We just need to be smart about the the building blocks and ancillary players placed around him. I'm excited for the future.

[Smonroe]

Speaking of this, no one has talked about this for a while: but with Andrew Luck's freakish growth some pundits are already starting to put him up near the "elite" status, so by time his rookie contract is up he may be a top 3-5 QB. How are we not supposed to pay him like a Peyton Manning? How do we avoid that issue unless Andrew wants to be very contract friendly when you can't assume that?

DallasClarkrules said it best in his post. I disagree that Lick will be a top 3-5 QB. I think he'll be a top 1 QB, and should be paid like it. IMHO, the QB should be the only player 'overpaid', simply because every other position doesn't have as long of a career.

If Grigs follows the Steelers/Pats philosophy, we'll be fine for the next 15 years.

[coltsgoodin]

Polian has so much knowledge I think ESPN needs to use him more. He has such a high football IQ. He didn't want to make a Super Bowl prediction before the season, but when they said he had to, he predicts the Falcons and for Mattey Ice to have a break out season. Here they sit undefeated. He knows his stuff.

Yeah but Polian is much like Peyton Manning. He only knows the regular season. When it comes to the playoffs just watch as the Falcons screw up big time within the first 2 games and fall short at even making it to the Super Bowl. Something Polian has ALWAYS fallen short on is drafting pure passion, heart, and sole players and we've finally got that starting with this seasons team and coaches. Come back at end of season and tell me I'm wrong, I bet you won't be able to...

[braveheartcolt]

Polian has so much knowledge I think ESPN needs to use him more. He has such a high football IQ. He didn't want to make a Super Bowl prediction before the season, but when they said he had to, he predicts the Falcons and for Mattey Ice to have a break out season. Here they sit undefeated. He knows his stuff.

Yep, he certainly knows all about undefeated seasons....