From Phil Wilson, Speaking On Dan Dakich's Radio Show On Wfni In Indianapolis On Hughes

[bayone]

Wilson: It's like every time I see [Hughes], the head lowers and... he just looks like the puppy that peed on the rug in the corner, and you just, you don't even have to beat the snot out of him anymore because he knows he's been bad. I mean, I hate to describe it that way. It just doesn't look like he has any confidence at all. We were talking, the colleagues and I, about how one of us wants to go over there and throw him a token interview tomorrow, maybe, and just to see if it can get some life in him because... he knows. He does. He knows.

Dakich: What do you think he knows?

Wilson: He knows he does not have the confidence right now or faith in himself that he can be the player that's expected as a first round pick.

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2011/9/16/2429187/jerry-hughes-peed-on-the-rug#storyjump

[tonychen]

just cannot understand why people are picking on Hughes. he has nothing to do with the chaos we are going through now. the offense sucks, which makes the defense suck. that's it.

[Razgriz18]

I think the weight of the expectations is crushing this guy. Every snap he takes, he feels he has to live up to the Freeney/Mathis billing. He is simply aiming too high. Take your snaps, be in the right place when you're supposed to be there and make the plays that come your way. This will lead to confidence. But Wilson is right.. the fans are so down on him, because we are a team that needs our first rounders to produce on game day, and he's not getting it done with the limited time he has on the field...

[tonychen]

There is definitely no logic behind the way people are looking at him. Let us assume tomorrow morning he plays at the level of Mathis or Freeny, is it gonna help us out of the hole we are in? There can be only two DEs on the field. As far as Mathis and Freeny are healthy, which was true for last year, whether Hughes is a bust or not will not matter, unless he plays better than either of them in such a short period of time, which everybody should agree is an unrealistic assumption for even the most demanding coach.

Indeed, people are angry because Pollian took Hughes instead of other plays that could contribute. Again it was hard to argue Pollian lost his mind completely when drafting Hughes since Mathis and Freeny were seldom as healthy as they were last year, and we just suffered from losing Freeney and losing the SB at the draft time. Anyway it should be Pollian if somebody needs to step up and take the responsibility for the bust, not Hughes himself.

In all, it is unfair to blame Hughes and it will not solve our problem no matter how good/bad he is. Emphsizing on his issues is purely distracting the fans and taking the well-deserved heat off from the front office.

[ruksak]

I don't think anyone is trying to make it seem as though Hughes is responsible for our troubles, thats just silly. As fans, we are however left to wonder why this guy was picked at all, let alone in the first round.

It's an interesting character study of a bust in motion. Just fodder for our idle time, don't make too much of it fellas.

[21isSuperman]

I think the weight of the expectations is crushing this guy. Every snap he takes, he feels he has to live up to the Freeney/Mathis billing. He is simply aiming too high. Take your snaps, be in the right place when you're supposed to be there and make the plays that come your way. This will lead to confidence. But Wilson is right.. the fans are so down on him, because we are a team that needs our first rounders to produce on game day, and he's not getting it done with the limited time he has on the field...

I agree. People are so used to seeing Freeney and Mathis put constant pressure on offenses that they automatically expect the same from Hughes. Like you said, he needs to take it one step at a time. He shouldn't go out there and expect to have a 10+ sack season, he needs to go out there and each snap he gets, he needs to do what he can to be around the ball and make a play.

I give Hughes this year and next. I'll expect him to get some playing time this year, then a substantial amount of game time next season and if he does not perform well next year, I wouldn't mind seeing us let him go.

[Smitto]

I fail to see why these ppl are always rippin on him, i mean the guy isnt even a starter for god sakes, look at fili moala the guy didnt start until his second year... just cause he's a first round pick doesnt mean much especially when your drafting 25+.. you might as well consider yourself a 2nd round pick by then.

[IndyTrav]

I'm not under the impression that we the fans are 'against' Hughes, it's just hard to justify him as a selection and the manner in which he was selected.

[JoKeR]

Hughes needs to listen to his teammates and stop looking for fans criticisms. The most professional of football players do not listen to the media because it's a distraction. So start there. Do not interview him as it will probably have the opposite intended effect.

The guy is probably self conscious because in college he was a man against boys most of the time, loved the glory of it. Now he's a struggling young NFL player trying to adjust to the increased difficulty, and can feel eyes staring a hole though him.

Jerry of your on this board, stop coming here. If your on Twitter, quit. Get rid of those distractions!

[Jack Burton]

So... Phil beats the snot out of puppies?

[JoKeR]

So... Phil beats the snot out of puppies?

Im calling Sarah Mclaughlin!

[WoolMagnet]

Actually, a BETTER story would be why Freeney and Mathis were non-existent vs Houston.

[JoKeR]

Actually, a BETTER story would be why Freeney and Mathis were non-existent vs Houston.

That's a great point, why criticize someone who's not playing when the dynamic duo was almost invisible against the Texans. That is much more worrisome.

[grmasterb]

Actually, a BETTER story would be why Freeney and Mathis were non-existent vs Houston.

Teams don't have to play the edges honestly when we offer no pressure up the middle.

[21isSuperman]

I fail to see why these ppl are always rippin on him, i mean the guy isnt even a starter for god sakes, look at fili moala the guy didnt start until his second year... just cause he's a first round pick doesnt mean much especially when your drafting 25+.. you might as well consider yourself a 2nd round pick by then.

Our depth at DT was also much worse than our depth at DE. Now, if I remember right, people were saying Moala was a bust because he didn't get much playing time as a rookie. Some of the people on here are too impatient. The NFL game and college game are very different, give these guys some time to adjust. It's better to have a prepared guy play for you after a few years rather than have an unprepared guy thrown into action where he will lose confidence.

Actually, a BETTER story would be why Freeney and Mathis were non-existent vs Houston.

Their rollouts neutralized our pass rush to start, then they ran the ball with ease, so Mathis and Freeney couldn't do what they do best

[ColtsExtreme]

Maybe, just maybe, he ain't worth a crap? Anyone ever think maybe the man is just not an NFL caliber player? Happens all the time. Hughes had no reason to be drafted in the 1st. round. He would have still been there @ the last pick of the 2nd. round. Nothing in his last 2 years of college ball suggested he was a 1st. round pick. Even if he had all the talent in the world, we don't have the coaching staff to utilize that talent, or maximize that talent. A pity on both fronts.

[jwilli69]

Well I don't care if he feels beat up or his head down or whatever, this isn't tiddlywinks and the man is getting paid to do a job at a high level. For those of you asking why are we being so hard on him, he isn't even a starter blah blah blah!! That is the point people, he isn't even good enough to be on the active day roster in his second year. Either he doesn't have it, doesn't fit our scheme or the coaches have no idea how to tap into his potential. If this kid can't make the active gameday roster, then what good is he to the team whether or not he is a first rounder or UDFA? I want to see him at least out there on ST's making plays, pumping up his spirits and allow him to makes some plays. Maybe that will boost his confidence.

[LaughingAtIrsay]

just cannot understand why people are picking on Hughes. he has nothing to do with the chaos we are going through now. the offense sucks, which makes the defense suck. that's it.

The reason everybody is picking on him is the same reason RT's & LT's pick on him.. They know he not gon do crap

[Jason_]

So... Phil beats the snot out of puppies?

Yeah I thought the same thing as I was reading it. Even though I'm sure it was simply said for effect it still seems an odd thing to say.

Well I don't care if he feels beat up or his head down or whatever, this isn't tiddlywinks and the man is getting paid to do a job at a high level. For those of you asking why are we being so hard on him, he isn't even a starter blah blah blah!! That is the point people, he isn't even good enough to be on the active day roster in his second year. Either he doesn't have it, doesn't fit our scheme or the coaches have no idea how to tap into his potential. If this kid can't make the active gameday roster, then what good is he to the team whether or not he is a first rounder or UDFA? I want to see him at least out there on ST's making plays, pumping up his spirits and allow him to makes some plays. Maybe that will boost his confidence.

I agree about him being a professional and he needs to not let things like fan or media criticism affect him. However I've been giving more thought as to why he wasn't activated last week and I have an alternative theory to the "he's not good enough to be on the game day roster" theory. Has anyone considered this...the Colt's are doing something far different this year. They picked up Anderson and Brayton to play on running downs in an attempt to be more stout against the run. This means that this is the first year Mathis/Freeney aren't going to be every down DE's only subbing out to get a rest which was mostly the case in years past. Therefore, Mathis/Freeney are becoming more situational pass rushers instead of every down players so the risk of injury for them automatically goes down. Also consider that Hughes has been compared to various NFL players in different scouting reports, but at DE the player he was most often compared to is Mathis in that he's undersized for an NFL DE, he was considered an elite pass rusher but a liability against the run.

So this brings us to last week's game against Houston. Yes they have an explosive offense but the explosiveness hinges largely on their ability to run and then create big plays off of play action and history tells us they've been incredibly successful running the ball on us so there's no reason to think we wouldn't get a huge dose of their rushing attack this year as well. Why then would we want to have 3 situational pass rushers against a team who we were predicting would do their best to run the ball down our throats? If Freeny/Mathis were still every down DE's, or if we were playing a more pass oriented team like the Pats or Packers then perhaps we would have had Hughes on the game day roster and left Anderson or, more likely, Brayton inactive for that game.

Yeah this all begs the question then of why was Hughes taken in the first round anyway. This is harder to argue and I think may have been a bit of a knee jerk reaction to Freeney's injury issues the previous year coupled with Mathis being in a contract year this year. Along with the fact that at the time, Freeney and Mathis were still every down players and the idea of them being played as situational pass rushers had not been conceived yet.

Based on the direction the team appears to be moving, we do not need 3 situational pass rushers so, imo, one of them needs to be let go at the end of the year. The popular opinion on this is that it would be Hughes, but imo we need to hold off until we see what kind of money Mathis is wanting. He's now 30 and he's largely a speed rusher so it's only natural that his abilities will soon begin to decline. If he expects to continue to get paid for being an every down DE then I think we should, as painful as it is to say, cut him loose and keep Hughes.

As far as trying to trade Hughes, considering his lack of playing time and therefore lack of production it would be very difficult to get anything in return. Our best chance would come, imo, before the trade deadline if another team who is a contender loses one of their top pass rushers. Considering he is undersized, our best chance may be for a 3-4 team who loses a pass rushing OLB. Back to the scouting reports I mentioned before, Mathis was the DE he was most often compared to but most reports predicted he would likely make a better fit as a 3-4 OLB rather than defensive end due to his size. He was also compared to Lamar Woodley and Damarcus Ware. If a 3-4 team who considers themselves to be a contender loses their elite pass rusher, then in order to save their season this may cause them to reach and give up a little more than they otherwise would for a guy like Hughes (assuming they're not able to find a replacement in FA) in an attempt to try to salvage their season. Houston may wind up being a likely candidate seeing as how Wade has already shown he has no problem moving a DE to OLB.

Just my $0.02

****Edit..I just wanted to clarify that just because I mentioned Hughes and LB in the same sentence does not mean we should move him to LB. The job of a 3-4 pass rushing OLB is far different from the job of our cover-2 4-3 LB's.

[OLD FAN MAN]

Well I don't care if he feels beat up or his head down or whatever, this isn't tiddlywinks and the man is getting paid to do a job at a high level. For those of you asking why are we being so hard on him, he isn't even a starter blah blah blah!! That is the point people, he isn't even good enough to be on the active day roster in his second year. Either he doesn't have it, doesn't fit our scheme or the coaches have no idea how to tap into his potential. If this kid can't make the active gameday roster, then what good is he to the team whether or not he is a first rounder or UDFA? I want to see him at least out there on ST's making plays, pumping up his spirits and allow him to makes some plays. Maybe that will boost his confidence.

make him a linebacker ,he will be very good at it.

[Jason_]

make him a linebacker ,he will be very good at it.

based on what?

[OLD FAN MAN]

based on what?

1070 radio today said that was his position in college

[Coffeedrinker]

Maybe, just maybe, he ain't worth a crap? Anyone ever think maybe the man is just not an NFL caliber player?

It's possible but considering he has played well when he's been on the field that does not seem to be the case.

Happens all the time. Hughes had no reason to be drafted in the 1st. round. He would have still been there @ the last pick of the 2nd.

There is absolutely no bit of evidence or facts that can back up that nonsense statement.

Nothing in his last 2 years of college ball suggested he was a 1st. round pick.

Well other than leading 26.5 sacks (led NCAA his junior year with 15) and 36 tackles for a loss. 2 year All American in addition to was recipient of Ted Hendricks Award (nation’s top defensive end) and Lott Trophy…was finalist for Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award and Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award…was semi-finalist for Chuck Bednarik Award…was MWC Defensive Player-of-the-Year and First-Team All-MWC…also received Local Hero Award for work in community. Those awards were just for his senior year, add in his junior year, earned First-Team All-America honors from The NFL Draft Report, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News, Associated Press, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, College Football News and Rivals.com…was one of five finalists for Bronko Nagurski Trophy and finalist for Ted Hendricks Award…was semi-finalist for Chuck Bednarik Award…

It was like he slept through his two seasons as a starter.

Even if he had all the talent in the world, we don't have the coaching staff to utilize that talent, or maximize that talent. A pity on both fronts.

Boy, that's true... the staff doesn't know how to use what most of the NFL would consider, smaller, faster defensive ends. The Colts have never had success with THOSE type of DEs.

[Coffeedrinker]

based on what?

Based on the fact that is what they do in Madden and he's a BEAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jason_]

1070 radio today said that was his position in college

I've tried my best and can find no evidence that he actually did play LB in college. I'm not saying he didn't, simply that I have yet to find any evidence to support this. Many of the scouting reports on Hughes said he may be a fit at 3-4 OLB rushing the passer but none explicitly said that he had experience in doing so.

Based on the fact that is what they do in Madden and he's a BEAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know...all these "this is Madden, not real life" and "cause that's what they do in Madden" comments are really getting old...I'm pretty sure ESPN has an NFL video game too so it's possible they're playing something other than Madden....geesh you'd think Madden had the monopoly on NFL based video games (oh wait..they kinda do) lol (just teasin ). On a side note though, even Madden has made improvements so that it's no longer as easy as it used to be to move a player from one position to another so even THEY realize the absurdity...how can actual, educated football fans not? Wait...I may have answered my own question. :hmm:

In all seriousness..I lol'd when I read your reply...loved the "and he's a BEAST!!!!!!!!!!!" lol

[21isSuperman]

Based on the fact that is what they do in Madden and he's a BEAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rotfl

[WoolMagnet]

Teams don't have to play the edges honestly when we offer no pressure up the middle.

Oh come on, We've NEVER had pressure up the middle.

THAT doesn't change the fact that Freeney and mathis couldn't get pressure.

Sure, pressure from the DT spot would help, but when is the last time you saw it on this team?

[chrisfarley]

make him a linebacker ,he will be very good at it.

not a bad idea

[colts89]

changing him from a 3-4 OLB to a 4-3 DE has it's consequences

Hughes has the tools, just might need a joker role or a new scheme

[ColtsExtreme]

It's possible but considering he has played well when he's been on the field that does not seem to be the case.

There is absolutely no bit of evidence or facts that can back up that nonsense statement.

Well other than leading 26.5 sacks (led NCAA his junior year with 15) and 36 tackles for a loss. 2 year All American in addition to was recipient of Ted Hendricks Award (nation’s top defensive end) and Lott Trophy…was finalist for Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award and Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award…was semi-finalist for Chuck Bednarik Award…was MWC Defensive Player-of-the-Year and First-Team All-MWC…also received Local Hero Award for work in community. Those awards were just for his senior year, add in his junior year, earned First-Team All-America honors from The NFL Draft Report, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News, Associated Press, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, College Football News and Rivals.com…was one of five finalists for Bronko Nagurski Trophy and finalist for Ted Hendricks Award…was semi-finalist for Chuck Bednarik Award…

It was like he slept through his two seasons as a starter.

Boy, that's true... the staff doesn't know how to use what most of the NFL would consider, smaller, faster defensive ends. The Colts have never had success with THOSE type of DEs.

I get dumber just reading your replies! He went to TCU for Christ sake. They played in Mountain West. Look how he fared when they played bigger programs? He was a non factor. He played running back in high school, wanna try him there? Maybe kick returns? He did that in high school as well. Don't cherry pick your replies to fit your agenda. He was an overrated player, period. He is not going to get any better than he is right now. He won't be a linebacker either as some are suggesting. The kid is just a dud, period. If every 1st. round pick was a guaranteed success they're would be nobody in the NFL from round 2 down. They bust, it's how it works no matter how ya want to spin it.

[wordofmouth]

I get dumber just reading your replies! He went to TCU for Christ sake. T

hey played in Mountain West. Look how he fared when they played bigger programs? He was a non factor. He played running back in high school, wanna try him there? Maybe kick returns? He did that in high school as well.

Don't cherry pick your replies to fit your agenda. He was an overrated player, period. He is not going to get any better than he is right now. He won't be a linebacker either as some are suggesting. The kid is just a dud, period. If every 1st. round pick was a guaranteed success they're would be nobody in the NFL from round 2 down. They bust, it's how it works no matter how ya want to spin it.

vs

Well other than leading 26.5 sacks (led NCAA his junior year with 15) and 36 tackles for a loss. 2 year All American in addition to was recipient of Ted Hendricks Award (nation’s top defensive end) and Lott Trophy…was finalist for Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award and Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award…was semi-finalist for Chuck Bednarik Award…was MWC Defensive Player-of-the-Year and First-Team All-MWC…also received Local Hero Award for work in community. Those awards were just for his senior year, add in his junior year, earned First-Team All-America honors from The NFL Draft Report, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News, Associated Press, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, College Football News and Rivals.com…was one of five finalists for Bronko Nagurski Trophy and finalist for Ted Hendricks Award…was semi-finalist for Chuck Bednarik Award…

Boy do you lose that one.

[GoColts8818]

I get dumber just reading your replies! He went to TCU for Christ sake. They played in Mountain West. Look how he fared when they played bigger programs? He was a non factor. He played running back in high school, wanna try him there? Maybe kick returns? He did that in high school as well. Don't cherry pick your replies to fit your agenda. He was an overrated player, period. He is not going to get any better than he is right now. He won't be a linebacker either as some are suggesting. The kid is just a dud, period. If every 1st. round pick was a guaranteed success they're would be nobody in the NFL from round 2 down. They bust, it's how it works no matter how ya want to spin it.

Really you can see the future and see that he's never going to get better? I think it's pretty sad that I honestly think that some of our fans would be mad at Hughes if he developed because it would make their he's a bust arguement wrong. Honestly I think some here are more interested in their opinions being right than they are the team doing well.

[wordofmouth]

Really you can see the future and see that he's never going to get better? I think it's pretty sad that I honestly think that some of our fans would be mad at Hughes if he developed because it would make their he's a bust arguement wrong. Honestly I think some here are more interested in their opinions being right than they are the team doing well.

And, if Hughes fails, it's unequivocal truth that Polian Sucks. Can you imagine what that clown over at Stampede Blue would do if either Pollack or Hughes had productive seasons?

[GoColts8818]

And, if Hughes fails, it's unequivocal truth that Polian Sucks. Can you imagine what that clown over at Stampede Blue would do if either Pollack or Hughes had productive seasons?

Yep drafting guys like Peyton Manning, Edge, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Dwight Freeney, Bethea, Addai, and Mathis no longer matter. Heck even drafting guys like McAfee, Collie, Powers, Moala, Castonzo, Nevis, Carter, Garcon, Angerer, and Conner no longer matters if you want to play what have you done for me lately.

[Jason_]

Really you can see the future and see that he's never going to get better? I think it's pretty sad that I honestly think that some of our fans would be mad at Hughes if he developed because it would make their he's a bust arguement wrong. Honestly I think some here are more interested in their opinions being right than they are the team doing well.

I agree, some people are just too interested in being right or they have such a hatred for Caldwell/Polian/whoever that they can't even listen to any rational, intelligent argument that goes against their opinion.

And, if Hughes fails, it's unequivocal truth that Polian Sucks. Can you imagine what that clown over at Stampede Blue would do if either Pollack or Hughes had productive seasons?

Am I misunderstanding you or are you saying that Polian's entire reputation rests on Jerry Hughes? If so that more than just a little unfair.

[GoColts8818]

Am I misunderstanding you or are you saying that Polian's entire reputation rests on Jerry Hughes? If so that more than just a little unfair.

I think it was said with sarcaism at least that's how I took it.

[wordofmouth]

I think it was said with sarcaism at least that's how I took it.

Yes, I was being sarcastic. But, given some of the opinions around here, I can see why Jason thought I might be serious.

[Coffeedrinker]

I get dumber just reading your replies!

So that's your excuse for your lack of football knowledge?

He went to TCU for Christ sake. They played in Mountain West.

So Mathis played at Alabama A&M Freeney played at Syracuse

Look how he fared when they played bigger programs? He was a non factor.

Again, another non sense statement that is not supported by facts.

He played running back in high school, wanna try him there? Maybe kick returns? He did that in high school as well.

That would be about as stupid as your posts.

Don't cherry pick your replies to fit your agenda.

lol, what replies did I cherry pick and what is my agenda?

He was an overrated player, period.

Really by whom?

He is not going to get any better than he is right now.

Thanks for that bit of nonsense

He won't be a linebacker either as some are suggesting.

Finally you stated something that shows you have a brain.

The kid is just a dud, period. If every 1st. round pick was a guaranteed success they're would be nobody in the NFL from round 2 down. They bust, it's how it works no matter how ya want to spin it.

I guess one is your limit for the day and I haven't spun anything. Just refuted the nonsense you posted.

[Jason_]

Yes, I was being sarcastic. But, given some of the opinions around here, I can see why Jason thought I might be serious.

Oh good...I was hoping but couldn't tell. Like you said, it's hard to tell from what some of the people are saying.

SEE PEOPLE THAT'S HOW YOU DO THAT! I wasn't quite sure what he meant, so instead of just blasting off with as much sarcasm as I can muster I asked first to make sure there wasn't a misunderstanding. Sorry, that was a rant stirred up from various threads where one person misunderstand what another says and they make no attempt to clear things up but instead just totally blast the person.

Finally you stated something that shows you have a brain.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

that comment definitely gave me a good laugh lol