AFC Free Agent Winners & Losers (Colts are Neither)

[NewColtsFan]

NFL.com has a list of winners and losers in free agency, at least within the AFC....

 

And the Colts aren't on either list....

 

Not a long story, and the Colts are the last entry.....

 

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000152913/article/afc-free-agency-winners-and-losers

[Dustin]

I like the compariosn to the 2001 Patriots.

[Superman]

His heading for the Colts is "Team Confusion." I don't think Grigson and Pagano are confused about their vision at all.

 

Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. Like it or not, I think they did exactly what they wanted to do in free agency, with maybe one or two exceptions at guard (I think they wanted Vasquez), and receiver (whoever the mystery target was/is, he's still not in the building).

[illdubb]

I think the confusion is just the price tag Grigson paid for some of these players... That's the only question marks I would see, but other than that we did ok in getting depth. This makes our draft a little more easier IMO. 

[dgambill]

I think the confusion is just the price tag Grigson paid for some of these players... That's the only question marks I would see, but other than that we did ok in getting depth. This makes our draft a little more easier IMO. 

I agree. Not confusion on our part but with those in the media....and well they don't matter that much unless you care about these articles. That said I think with the money we had we didnt target anyone they believed was on our list. Not Levitre or Vasquez or Kruger or Avril or Reed. That threw a lot of people. Then to turn around and sign our guys to contracts that were equal or equivilent to to what these guys got....didn't make sense to people. It was how much we spent on the guys we got. For the same money we could have landed several of the guys on their list easily. Thats the confusion.

[colts8718]

Idon't like free agency but understand Grigson needed to get a lot of positions filled and we did not have many draft picks. The good thing is a lot of the contracts are front loaded. On paper right now where a better team GO COLTS GO FREE AGENCY

[Kyle]

It was how much we spent on the guys we got. For the same money we could have landed several of the guys on their list easily. Thats the confusion.

 

I do not understand the complaints about $ around here.  We could not have signed huge name guys to incentive based contracts.  If these guys we signed turn into what we think they can then we underpaid.  If they turn out to be crap then we cut them next year and don't take much of a hit because not much $ was guaranteed.  Two contract for the same amount of years and money can be VERY different.

[CanuckColt]

We really won't know if this was a winning or losing FA period until after we see how these new guys play.

I prefer to remain optimistic and trust Grigson's judgement.

[Warhorse]

Lets play the comparison game:

 

 

 

Compare........

 

The number of former front office people and coaches who go into broadcasting.

 

-to-

 

The number of former broadcasters who become coaches and front office people.

[AllYouNeedIsLuck]

We're a winner.. We've basically improved an 11 win team by replacing the worst CB in the NFL with a solid CB, getting 2 new starters on the line, fixing the 29th worst run defense in the league, and last but not least but Luck will improve with experience. He just seems as if he was a QB who would improve immensely after having one year under his belt. For example, first year in Stanford he was good but not great, and the next 3 years he was superb. I could envision many similarities between his collegiate his NFL days. 

[illdubb]

We're a winner.. We've basically improved an 11 win team by replacing the worst CB in the NFL with a solid CB, getting 2 new starters on the line, fixing the 29th worst run defense in the league, and last but not least but Luck will improve with experience. He just seems as if he was a QB who would improve immensely after having one year under his belt. For example, first year in Stanford he was good but not great, and the next 3 years he was superb. I could envision many similarities between his collegiate his NFL days. 

 

The only sophomore slump possibility is with him changing OCs this year. But with him being familiar with Pep at Stanford, I think we will be alright. I can only hope this hybrid offense he spoke about will catch everyone off guard and we go back to the playoffs. The more playoff experience for Andrew, the better. 

[GoColts8818]

His heading for the Colts is "Team Confusion." I don't think Grigson and Pagano are confused about their vision at all.

 

Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. Like it or not, I think they did exactly what they wanted to do in free agency, with maybe one or two exceptions at guard (I think they wanted Vasquez), and receiver (whoever the mystery target was/is, he's still not in the building).

Exactly the media doesn't understand it there for the team must be confused.  That's pretty much the logic he's useing. 

[Balzer40]

I still don't understand how the Titans are winners. I don't see anything special at all in their signings and they are so bad, it's gonna take a heck of a lot more than a good guard, decent TE and a couple of average other players to bring them any hope at all.

[dgambill]

While I'm not thrilled with all our signings I do think we could have signed some from each camp. A couple big names that we were sure to get production (Vasquez or Levitre) and take flyers on some of ours we did. I mean I love RJF and I love Thomas so it isn't every single signing...just I also wanted a couple of top graded players a long with taking a shot on a Toler or Waldon. That said I was simply referring to the analysts perception (being confussed) not so much my own confussion. I understand what Grigson is doing...that puts a lot of pressure on people to meet the expectations...thats good...but also there is nothing to say they won't and even though we can cut them with little cap implecations...that doesn't mean we don't lose a year or two that we could have had a given commodity.

I do not understand the complaints about $ around here.  We could not have signed huge name guys to incentive based contracts.  If these guys we signed turn into what we think they can then we underpaid.  If they turn out to be crap then we cut them next year and don't take much of a hit because not much $ was guaranteed.  Two contract for the same amount of years and money can be VERY different.

[colts8718]

I still don't understand how the Titans are winners. I don't see anything special at all in their signings and they are so bad, it's gonna take a heck of a lot more than a good guard, decent TE and a couple of average other players to bring them any hope at all.

Its all on paper right now

[21isSuperman]

It's an article written by Gregg Rosenthal.  The man doesn't know the difference between "could have" and "could of"...and he gets paid to write.  That should be all you need to know about how much value to give that article

[Superman]

I still don't understand how the Titans are winners. I don't see anything special at all in their signings and they are so bad, it's gonna take a heck of a lot more than a good guard, decent TE and a couple of average other players to bring them any hope at all.

 

I think the Titans did well. Shonn Greene is a good complement to Chris Johnson. They got Levitre, who fits their scheme and was probably the highest rated guard in free agency. Rob Turner is a decent interior lineman who can play three positions. Between Pollard and Wilson, they signed two pretty good options at safety. I'm not sure who the odd man out is, between those two and Michael Griffin, but they are better on the back end for sure. Delanie Walker probably isn't as good as Jared Cook, but he came with a much smaller price tag. And they weren't doing a good job of using Cook anyways. Sammie Hill is a nice DT, and they took Fokou from us for a small contract.

 

Those moves aren't going to make them the favorites in the division, but I think they made good foundational moves, and did so in a responsible manner. The only big contract they gave out was for the top rated player at his position. What's going to make the difference for them is Locker's development. If he can become a dependable quarterback, then everything else will start to take shape.

[Kyle]

While I'm not thrilled with all our signings I do think we could have signed some from each camp. A couple big names that we were sure to get production (Vasquez or Levitre) and take flyers on some of ours we did. I mean I love RJF and I love Thomas so it isn't every single signing...just I also wanted a couple of top graded players a long with taking a shot on a Toler or Waldon. That said I was simply referring to the analysts perception (being confussed) not so much my own confussion. I understand what Grigson is doing...that puts a lot of pressure on people to meet the expectations...thats good...but also there is nothing to say they won't and even though we can cut them with little cap implecations...that doesn't mean we don't lose a year or two that we could have had a given commodity.

 

there have been a lot bigger names than Vasquez and Levitre that have not produced.  They could both do worse than Thomas.

[dgambill]

Look. I'm just a fan...like everyone else. I've played football and sports all my life but I'm just an armchair coach/gm like everyone else. Its just my opinion on watching them play. I know my opinion doesn't matter...but its my opinion from watching those guys play that I would have been satisfied to get a couple of those guys with a proven track record of success and take some chances on some other up and comers like Toler. I hated the Hasselbeck signing but again thats me. No one knows what the outcome will be. It isn't like I'm going to stop being a fan...not even close...I'm going to root for these guys like crazy. I just had guys that I felt would have been definate upgrades/contributors and wouldn't be taking the chances like we have on some other guys. I saw more bang for my buck another way..thats all. But since you used a big font...that means you must be right..so my opinion isn't valid. I'll just keep my opinion to myself. Sorry.

[Superman]

Look. I'm just a fan...like everyone else. I've played football and sports all my life but I'm just an armchair coach/gm like everyone else. Its just my opinion on watching them play. I know my opinion doesn't matter...but its my opinion from watching those guys play that I would have been satisfied to get a couple of those guys with a proven track record of success and take some chances on some other up and comers like Toler. I hated the Hasselbeck signing but again thats me. No one knows what the outcome will be. It isn't like I'm going to stop being a fan...not even close...I'm going to root for these guys like crazy. I just had guys that I felt would have been definate upgrades/contributors and wouldn't be taking the chances like we have on some other guys. I saw more bang for my buck another way..thats all. But since you used a big font...that means you must be right..so my opinion isn't valid. I'll just keep my opinion to myself. Sorry.

 

I agree with a lot of what you said. I thought we'd get Vasquez or Kruger, two guys that are a lot less unknown than Thomas and Walden. Kruger is probably overpriced, but I think he and Mathis would have been a wrecking crew together. If I were GM -- and I'm not, nor am I qualified to be -- I probably would have done things a little differently than Grigson did in free agency. But even if his moves turn out to be terrible ones, they don't really have the potential to handicap the franchise moving forward.

 

But I don't have to co-sign every move he makes. What I like about Grigson more than anything else is that he does everything with a sense of conviction and determination. He believes in his process. And not in a stubborn "we do what we do" kind of way. I don't know if you read his interview with Peter King after the draft last year, but the way he explained his process was very eye opening. Some might have gone with the "these people in the media don't know what they're talking about" angle, one that Polian perfected. Grigson took the time to explain why and how he makes the decisions he makes, not to sell his decisions, but to say "we do this because we put in a lot of work and truly believe it's the right thing to do."

 

Whether he has an eye for talent or not is yet to be determined. Finding guys like Jerrell Freeman and making bold moves to get guys like TY Hilton certainly earns him some credit, but that's something that you can't know for several years, at best. So far, however, his approach to building a team has been absolutely refreshing. So I believe in Ryan Grigson. Not blindly; I question a lot of his decisions, but I don't question whether he has a plan or not.

[SLILLINGTON10]

We're a winner.. We've basically improved an 11 win team by replacing the worst CB in the NFL with a solid CB, getting 2 new starters on the line, fixing the 29th worst run defense in the league, and last but not least but Luck will improve with experience. He just seems as if he was a QB who would improve immensely after having one year under his belt. For example, first year in Stanford he was good but not great, and the next 3 years he was superb. I could envision many similarities between his collegiate his NFL days. 

we also added a pro bowl safety to a terrible secondary... that is pretty good in my book

[Gavin]

I think the key to remember when it comes to a couple of the questionable contracts is this:

 

1. As it pertains to Waldens deal, its no secret I was one of the forum members who lead the way in disbelief over the contract he got    and while it still sounds like to much in my opinion here is a key note to remember in the contract;

 

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/indianapolis-colts/erik-walden/

 

2014 base guarantees 5th league day of 2014

 

Meaning his 4 million base salary is not do until then, the only thing do to him for 2014 for sure is 250,000$ unless he is on the roster after the 5th league day of 2014.........Someone who knows for 100 percent certainty want to verify I understand that correctly

[GoColts8818]

We're a winner.. We've basically improved an 11 win team by replacing the worst CB in the NFL with a solid CB, getting 2 new starters on the line, fixing the 29th worst run defense in the league, and last but not least but Luck will improve with experience. He just seems as if he was a QB who would improve immensely after having one year under his belt. For example, first year in Stanford he was good but not great, and the next 3 years he was superb. I could envision many similarities between his collegiate his NFL days. 

That is what got lost in the Walden signing too he's really good at helping to stop the run.  It could be Grigson knows they had Mathis to rush the passer and it's put up or shut up time for Hughes and they could draft another pass rusher so he wanted a linebacker who could also help with stopping the run. 

 

Honestly I think he has done a great job addressing our needs this off-season.  Our only true needs going into the draft is a guy who can be a number two WR and a kick returner.  Everything else he has bruoght smoeone in or we probably have someone on the roster who can do the job that we might upgrade in the draft (guard and pass rusher being the later two). 

[Superman]

I think the key to remember when it comes to a couple of the questionable contracts is this:

 

1. As it pertains to Waldens deal, its no secret I was one of the forum members who lead the way in disbelief over the contract he got    and while it still sounds like to much in my opinion here is a key note to remember in the contract;

 

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/indianapolis-colts/erik-walden/

 

2014 base guarantees 5th league day of 2014

 

Meaning his 4 million base salary is not do until then, the only thing do to him for 2014 for sure is 250,000$ unless he is on the roster after the 5th league day of 2014.........Someone who knows for 100 percent certainty want to verify I understand that correctly

 

If we release him prior to the 5th day of the 2014 league year, we pay him nothing. If we keep him beyond that, his entire salary for 2014 is guaranteed (not sure if there's offset language or not), so if we cut him in camp, we still have to pay him the $4m. The $250k is the prorated portion of his $1m signing bonus, but wouldn't have to be paid; it's already been paid. If we release him prior to the 5th day of the 2014 league year, he has a dead cap hit of $750k for 2014 (or it could be split, $250k in 2014, and $500k in 2015, if it's designated as a post June 1 release).

 

Short answer, your understanding is mostly correct. We can terminate his contract prior to the 2014 season without paying the $4m base salary, and with minimal cap implications.

[Gavin]

If we release him prior to the 5th day of the 2014 league year, we pay him nothing. If we keep him beyond that, his entire salary for 2014 is guaranteed (not sure if there's offset language or not), so if we cut him in camp, we still have to pay him the $4m. The $250k is the prorated portion of his $1m signing bonus, but wouldn't have to be paid; it's already been paid. If we release him prior to the 5th day of the 2014 league year, he has a dead cap hit of $750k for 2014 (or it could be split, $250k in 2014, and $500k in 2015, if it's designated as a post June 1 release).

 

Short answer, your understanding is mostly correct. We can terminate his contract prior to the 2014 season without paying the $4m base salary, and with minimal cap implications.

Understood

[dgambill]

Yeah. I don't mind how some of the contracts were done...but we also passed up on some quality guys as well to get some of these guys. I think some of those guys could have been signed days 3,4, and 5 and we could have focused on one or two of those proven guys but hey....we filled tons and tons of wholes with hungry guys. Can't ignore we got a TON BIGGER and we stayed young. I felt our biggest issue was the middle of the OL and while I think Thomas was a solid pickup I would have liked Levitre or Vasquez to go along side and taken a lesser RT if money was an issue. I still don't get the Hasselbeck 4 million a year thing. That is starter money for several positions on the team and while I know backup qbs make good money there were decent options out there for that position far cheaper. 

[Superman]

Yeah. I don't mind how some of the contracts were done...but we also passed up on some quality guys as well to get some of these guys. I think some of those guys could have been signed days 3,4, and 5 and we could have focused on one or two of those proven guys but hey....we filled tons and tons of wholes with hungry guys. Can't ignore we got a TON BIGGER and we stayed young. I felt our biggest issue was the middle of the OL and while I think Thomas was a solid pickup I would have liked Levitre or Vasquez to go along side and taken a lesser RT if money was an issue. I still don't get the Hasselbeck 4 million a year thing. That is starter money for several positions on the team and while I know backup qbs make good money there were decent options out there for that position far cheaper. 

 

They signed a guy like Sidbury on Day 1 of free agency, which makes me think they had determined who they wanted, and weren't worried about the conventional "let's wait a couple days and see if we can get his price down a little" process. That might be why Walden came in higher than anyone would have thought, but reports are that other teams were interested in Walden as well. So I'm not too worried over the idea that they could have saved a few million in cap space if they waited a couple days. I'm more encouraged that they got the guys they wanted.

 

All things being equal, I might have preferred Levitre or Vasquez over Cherilus, but the draft has a lot of interior linemen. Cherilus is highly rated, had a really good year. I'm glad that we can check at least one spot on the offensive line off the list for right now. And if Thomas does a good job, then we only have to worry about the other guard spot. 

 

Hasselbeck came at kind of a steep price, but nothing earth shattering. That's going rate for a veteran backup these days. But even if you get someone for half the price, I don't think the difference of $2m is going to make or break our season. We still have cap space and flexibility if we need it. And I really like the intangibles that Hasselbeck is going to bring.

 

We probably overpaid for Walden and Toler, but again, not so much that it wrecks our cap. And both of those contracts have minimal signing bonuses and guaranteed money. If both of them bomb and we release them, we'd have a combined dead cap hit next season of less than $1.5m. No big. I really like the trench guys we got on defense, RJF and Franklin. Much deeper at tackle and five tech now, with quality guys. RJF is a borderline contract; he got a much bigger signing bonus than Toler and Walden, so if we cut him, it hurts a little more. 

 

Landry is a highly rated player as well, so long as he stays healthy. That's another contract that would hurt if he bombs, but he's a known commodity. I think that signing has been a bit understated, to be honest. We haven't had really good strong safety play since 2007. Sanders was hurt, Bullitt was serviceable, but we've been mostly dealing with guys like Aaron Francisco, David Caldwell and the ghost of Tom Zbikowski. The secondary is way better already.

 

So anyways, that's a long-winded way of saying I'm not worried about any of the contracts. Low risk, high reward.

 

If the draft falls favorably, we'll add another pass rusher, another interior lineman, a receiver and an inside linebacker. I'll take a corner as well. But, having filled so many holes in free agency, Grigson will undoubtedly stick to his board and add talent wherever he can. I'm excited.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

Was the guy or girl who wrote it, one of the same dummies that picked us to be AFC South cellar dwellers last season?

 

I have this much......    .......regard for prognostications from people on a hard word count requirement/who do not know this team.

[dgambill]

They signed a guy like Sidbury on Day 1 of free agency, which makes me think they had determined who they wanted, and weren't worried about the conventional "let's wait a couple days and see if we can get his price down a little" process. That might be why Walden came in higher than anyone would have thought, but reports are that other teams were interested in Walden as well. So I'm not too worried over the idea that they could have saved a few million in cap space if they waited a couple days. I'm more encouraged that they got the guys they wanted.

 

All things being equal, I might have preferred Levitre or Vasquez over Cherilus, but the draft has a lot of interior linemen. Cherilus is highly rated, had a really good year. I'm glad that we can check at least one spot on the offensive line off the list for right now. And if Thomas does a good job, then we only have to worry about the other guard spot. 

 

Hasselbeck came at kind of a steep price, but nothing earth shattering. That's going rate for a veteran backup these days. But even if you get someone for half the price, I don't think the difference of $2m is going to make or break our season. We still have cap space and flexibility if we need it. And I really like the intangibles that Hasselbeck is going to bring.

 

We probably overpaid for Walden and Toler, but again, not so much that it wrecks our cap. And both of those contracts have minimal signing bonuses and guaranteed money. If both of them bomb and we release them, we'd have a combined dead cap hit next season of less than $1.5m. No big. I really like the trench guys we got on defense, RJF and Franklin. Much deeper at tackle and five tech now, with quality guys. RJF is a borderline contract; he got a much bigger signing bonus than Toler and Walden, so if we cut him, it hurts a little more. 

 

Landry is a highly rated player as well, so long as he stays healthy. That's another contract that would hurt if he bombs, but he's a known commodity. I think that signing has been a bit understated, to be honest. We haven't had really good strong safety play since 2007. Sanders was hurt, Bullitt was serviceable, but we've been mostly dealing with guys like Aaron Francisco, David Caldwell and the ghost of Tom Zbikowski. The secondary is way better already.

 

So anyways, that's a long-winded way of saying I'm not worried about any of the contracts. Low risk, high reward.

 

If the draft falls favorably, we'll add another pass rusher, another interior lineman, a receiver and an inside linebacker. I'll take a corner as well. But, having filled so many holes in free agency, Grigson will undoubtedly stick to his board and add talent wherever he can. I'm excited.

I agree with everything you said. It was clear this was Grigson's plan all along. Who knows....perhaps jumping on these guys early might have surprised these guys. To get some big dollar contracts might have seduced them even without them noticing a lot of the contracts had outs for us. I'm not really complaining. Like anyone I had my own ideas of who I wanted to see us go after and stay away from. I'm happy with the positions we filled and upgraded and excited to see how the draft turns out. I think we also will see a flurry of deals right after the draft too depending on what we get just to get the right numbers for the roster. We have tons of DL/OL. I think we will have to add some corners/safeties just because you have to have enough for special teams and injuries. We are going to cut some guys that contributed last year but still not good enough to make this team. I think an easy schedule and a team with a cause (chuck) rallied us to 11-5. Even with an upgraded squad I think that will be hard to repeat...but I see no reason baring a lot of key injuries why we can't compete for a division title and at least make the playoffs.

[GoColts8818]

I agree with everything you said. It was clear this was Grigson's plan all along. Who knows....perhaps jumping on these guys early might have surprised these guys. To get some big dollar contracts might have seduced them even without them noticing a lot of the contracts had outs for us. I'm not really complaining. Like anyone I had my own ideas of who I wanted to see us go after and stay away from. I'm happy with the positions we filled and upgraded and excited to see how the draft turns out. I think we also will see a flurry of deals right after the draft too depending on what we get just to get the right numbers for the roster. We have tons of DL/OL. I think we will have to add some corners/safeties just because you have to have enough for special teams and injuries. We are going to cut some guys that contributed last year but still not good enough to make this team. I think an easy schedule and a team with a cause (chuck) rallied us to 11-5. Even with an upgraded squad I think that will be hard to repeat...but I see no reason baring a lot of key injuries why we can't compete for a division title and at least make the playoffs.

Chap kinda explained the contracts the other day.

 

He said if you look at them most of them have heavy money in the first two years with low signing bonuses meaning if the guys don't preform in two years the Colts can part ways with them and not being in big trouble with the cap.  When asked why they did this Chap said if you look at the guys we cut last year what made them so expensive against the cap was the signing bonuses that counted against the cap on the back ends of the deals so he was trying to avoid putting himself in the same position. 

 

I don't think all these moves will work out but I do think most of them will just going off what Grigson has done to this point. 

 

As for it being Grigson's plan all along Irsay said they got everyone they targeted and I know the people that don't want to believe that are going to say that's just football talk but I think it could just as easily be that people had their hearts set on us going after big names after this past season and when the Colts didn't sign them people just don't want to believe that wasn't their plan.  We will never know though so I would say we should probably move on from it and just support the guys we do have now.  (I just want to be clear I am not saying you aren't.).

[Jules]

2001 Pats comparison?

 

Yes, gimmie some of that......

[Crunked]

He didn't care for the "LaRod" signing......I loved that we got Laron, but now that I know we got an imposter....I am no longer thrilled with a LaRod Landry signing LOL......Look as fans we must remember most writers have as much insight as we do....so its just an opinion.....I didn't want to be the March World Champ, I prefer the February designation for that......I still maintain, front back or sideways loaded contracts aside. I think we overpaid two or three of these guys......based on past production.....now maybe as starters here we see them blossom, I will then happily retract this statement. But I need to see it week in and out on the field before I feel totally warm and fuzzy about this group. Free Agency in general is a crap shoot.....and I am a little nervous in general going into 2013 and beyond that we were in position to be such a big player. We didn't invest make or break money in one guy which is good, but the cumulitive total equals that one guy money and can be just as much of a success or failure as a group....so I am tenatively optimistic........

[TKnight24]

Doesn't anyone appreciate the Colts anymore?

[LockeDown]

Every year it seems like the bottom dweller teams get the high draft grades, get the high FA grades and every year they stay bottom dwellers. There should be a rule that after 5 years of high draft grades, if you don't consistently go to the playoffs, then they are disqualified from grading. But we know prognosticators conveniently forget previous years because they might be called out on them.

[willysp]

Doesn't anyone appreciate the Colts anymore?

 

I hope not.  They played well with a chip on their shoulder last year.  Hope the media haters keep hating.

 

The only sophomore slump possibility is with him changing OCs this year. But with him being familiar with Pep at Stanford, I think we will be alright. I can only hope this hybrid offense he spoke about will catch everyone off guard and we go back to the playoffs. The more playoff experience for Andrew, the better. 

 

BA called long throws last year far too often given the O-line, Luck's accuracy and receivers' teflon hands.

[Kyle]

Look. I'm just a fan...like everyone else. I've played football and sports all my life but I'm just an armchair coach/gm like everyone else. Its just my opinion on watching them play. I know my opinion doesn't matter...but its my opinion from watching those guys play that I would have been satisfied to get a couple of those guys with a proven track record of success and take some chances on some other up and comers like Toler. I hated the Hasselbeck signing but again thats me. No one knows what the outcome will be. It isn't like I'm going to stop being a fan...not even close...I'm going to root for these guys like crazy. I just had guys that I felt would have been definate upgrades/contributors and wouldn't be taking the chances like we have on some other guys. I saw more bang for my buck another way..thats all. But since you used a big font...that means you must be right..so my opinion isn't valid. I'll just keep my opinion to myself. Sorry.

I used a big font to show u the section of ur coment I was commenting on....

 

im guessing the only reason you think Levitre and Vasquez are better than Thomas is because you have heard their name, not because you have actually watched them play. 

[NewColtsFan]

It's an article written by Gregg Rosenthal.  The man doesn't know the difference between "could have" and "could of"...and he gets paid to write.  That should be all you need to know about how much value to give that article

 

I think you'd be surprised at the number of people who write professionally who make mistakes like that.   Many don't know when to you "a" vs. "an"....

 

There are lots of grammatical errors that trip up professional writers.   English can get tricky.   

 

Stay focused on what he says...   the overall quality of his work...   if you don't like that --- fine.    But if you do like it,  then don't  worry about some minor grammatical flub.   That kind of thing is not as uncommon as you might think.

 

Just my     as a former media guy....  

[21isSuperman]

I think you'd be surprised at the number of people who write professionally who make mistakes like that.   Many don't know when to you "a" vs. "an"....

 

There are lots of grammatical errors that trip up professional writers.   English can get tricky.   

 

Stay focused on what he says...   the overall quality of his work...   if you don't like that --- fine.    But if you do like it,  then don't  worry about some minor grammatical flub.   That kind of thing is not as uncommon as you might think.

 

Just my     as a former media guy....  

There are a number of grammatical errors that are hard and English can be a very confusing language.  But when your job is to write, I would think they should have a better than average grasp of the language.  On a similar note, I know of many people in the education sector who have poor grammar.  If the teachers don't know, how do we expect the children to learn?  But I digress.  And I do appreciate your opinion on the matter.

[NewColtsFan]

There are a number of grammatical errors that are hard and English can be a very confusing language.  But when your job is to write, I would think they should have a better than average grasp of the language.  On a similar note, I know of many people in the education sector who have poor grammar.  If the teachers don't know, how do we expect the children to learn?  But I digress.  And I do appreciate your opinion on the matter.

 

I don't disagree either with your view on the education sector....   that's one of those were I say....  "don't get me started!"....

 

believe me, I hear you and understand what you're saying...

[ÅÐØNϧ 1]

Its all on paper right now

 

Exactly  - Grigson like Polian has a vision  when Manning was drafted the media second guessed - Ryan Leaf on paper looked pretty good & was bigger & stronger .

 

Edgerin James over Ricky Williams raised some eye brows in the media , IMO how players on any team fit is based on coaching as well as talent I believe maybe Chuck Pagano has a system that fits the players brought in  better then there last team & stats & playing time don't tell the whole story -  for instance in my book without Jim Harbaugh Alex Smith looked like a bust - Now a Chief QB starter - Stats & playing time so far can't say he'll be a bust or really good & they don't mean everything especially with a new coach & team  .In his case they point out change was good, But will Andy Reid be able to get a playoff berth because of it ? On paper the Chiefs look pretty good but there paper tigers till they hit the field  . At this point the Confusion is all on the outside of the Colts Complex inside there focused on winning filling holes & getting better are there goals . FA filled & upgraded the talent how much remains to be seen .