I really enjoy reading Bill Polian articles from ESPN

[BlueShoe]

I spent years listening to every word I could find that Bill Polian said. I tried to find key words; he often used, to really understand his thinking process. I consider him one of the greatest talent evaluators and football minds in the history of the NFL, and I can honestly say that I learned more from him than any other person about football, even though I never actually met him. I have stood very close to him on several occasions, but it never was my style to make situations about me. I enjoyed playing the role of the sponge.

 

Now that Bill Polian is an ESPN Insider, I find everything he writes to be very interesting, as his thoughts are no longer a guessing game of masked words, but rather straight forward and to the point, and in his writings he often uses experiences that I can remember from a Colts fan point of view. These experiences are confirmation that I either understood the situation well or that I was not on the right track.

 

There is an article about Manti Te’o that Bill wrote yesterday, and he brings up a topic that was highly debated years ago, if anyone remembers the Rob Morris and Gary Bracket debates, or should we call them what they were at the time, which were somewhat insane message board mind wrestling. For those who may not remember or were not involved, I will summarize and refresh everyone’s memory.

 

Rob Morris was the most criticized Colt in the history of Colts message boards, and Bill Polian took a beating for drafting him in the first round. If we were all in a physical room back then then Bill would have been eyebrow-beaten until he said uncle several times. Every time Bill would pass on drafting another middle linebacker, several fans would say that Bill is only doing so because he is too proud to admit that he made a mistake with Rob Morris. We drafted Morris in 2000, and Gary Bracket came along a few years later in 2003. Gary was an undrafted free agent and quickly became the fan favorite to become our starting middle linebacker, which he did eventually win out.

 

From reading Bill’s new article about Te’o yesterday, Bill let it be known that in 2009, we were interested in drafting James Laurinaitis; however, we passed on him because he ran a 4.81 40 at the combine, so the Colts dropped his grade and he was off the first round board. A move that Bill admits was the incorrect call, nevertheless, a model that he stands by and probably should as the process made him very successful in the draft. Bill’s model was always to draft production, character, and speed, and refers to these types of players as winning players. Bill acknowledges that in the Colts draft model, while he was general manager of the Colts, an acceptable 40 time for a middle linebacker was anything below 4.74.

 

This is only one small example of several articles that Bill has written. I am interested if anyone else enjoys reading Bill’s work as much as I do.

[braveheartcolt]

I spent years listening to every word I could find that Bill Polian said. I tried to find key words; he often used, to really understand his thinking process. I consider him one of the greatest talent evaluators and football minds in the history of the NFL, and I can honestly say that I learned more from him than any other person about football, even though I never actually met him. I have stood very close to him on several occasions, but it never was my style to make situations about me. I enjoyed playing the role of the sponge.

 

Now that Bill Polian is an ESPN Insider, I find everything he writes to be very interesting, as his thoughts are no longer a guessing game of masked words, but rather straight forward and to the point, and in his writings he often uses experiences that I can remember from a Colts fan point of view. These experiences are confirmation that I either understood the situation well or that I was not on the right track.

 

There is an article about Manti Te’o that Bill wrote yesterday, and he brings up a topic that was highly debated years ago, if anyone remembers the Rob Morris and Gary Bracket debates, or should we call them what they were at the time, which were somewhat insane message board mind wrestling. For those who may not remember or were not involved, I will summarize and refresh everyone’s memory.

 

Rob Morris was the most criticized Colt in the history of Colts message boards, and Bill Polian took a beating for drafting him in the first round. If we were all in a physical room back then then Bill would have been eyebrow-beaten until he said uncle several times. Every time Bill would pass on drafting another middle linebacker, several fans would say that Bill is only doing so because he is too proud to admit that he made a mistake with Rob Morris. We drafted Morris in 2000, and Gary Bracket came along a few years later in 2003. Gary was an undrafted free agent and quickly became the fan favorite to become our starting middle linebacker, which he did eventually win out.

 

From reading Bill’s new article about Te’o yesterday, Bill let it be known that in 2009, we were interested in drafting James Laurinaitis; however, we passed on him because he ran a 4.81 40 at the combine, so the Colts dropped his grade and he was off the first round board. A move that Bill admits was the incorrect call, nevertheless, a model that he stands by and probably should as the process made him very successful in the draft. Bill’s model was always to draft production, character, and speed, and refers to these types of players as winning players. Bill acknowledges that in the Colts draft model, while he was general manager of the Colts, an acceptable 40 time for a middle linebacker was anything below 4.74.

 

This is only one small example of several articles that Bill has written. I am interested if anyone else enjoys reading Bill’s work as much as I do.

I'd rather read Brad Wells

[AntonMcG]

40 times have some bearing on game speed, but it is often greatly exaggerated in my view.

 

For instance, someone can spend months perfecting their starting technique, keeping low and driving their knees up, before coming up fully around the 15-yard mark... players who do this will have a greatly enhanced 40 time... but at what stage of a game is this relevant... the NFL is about reaction speed, you do not start in a sprinters stance and you often do not know the direction you will be forced to run.

 

If Manti T'eo is in coverage, the angles he takes, his anticipation, change of direction and pure desire are all contributing factors as well as his straight line speed.

 

40 times are a one-off shot to sprint against a timer... and peoples times can fluctuate to an extremely high degree. It just seems to be treated with far too much scrutiny in this league.

[Smonroe]

I spent years listening to every word I could find that Bill Polian said. I tried to find key words; he often used, to really understand his thinking process. I consider him one of the greatest talent evaluators and football minds in the history of the NFL, and I can honestly say that I learned more from him than any other person about football, even though I never actually met him. I have stood very close to him on several occasions, but it never was my style to make situations about me. I enjoyed playing the role of the sponge.

 

Now that Bill Polian is an ESPN Insider, I find everything he writes to be very interesting, as his thoughts are no longer a guessing game of masked words, but rather straight forward and to the point, and in his writings he often uses experiences that I can remember from a Colts fan point of view. These experiences are confirmation that I either understood the situation well or that I was not on the right track.

 

There is an article about Manti Te’o that Bill wrote yesterday, and he brings up a topic that was highly debated years ago, if anyone remembers the Rob Morris and Gary Bracket debates, or should we call them what they were at the time, which were somewhat insane message board mind wrestling. For those who may not remember or were not involved, I will summarize and refresh everyone’s memory.

 

Rob Morris was the most criticized Colt in the history of Colts message boards, and Bill Polian took a beating for drafting him in the first round. If we were all in a physical room back then then Bill would have been eyebrow-beaten until he said uncle several times. Every time Bill would pass on drafting another middle linebacker, several fans would say that Bill is only doing so because he is too proud to admit that he made a mistake with Rob Morris. We drafted Morris in 2000, and Gary Bracket came along a few years later in 2003. Gary was an undrafted free agent and quickly became the fan favorite to become our starting middle linebacker, which he did eventually win out.

 

From reading Bill’s new article about Te’o yesterday, Bill let it be known that in 2009, we were interested in drafting James Laurinaitis; however, we passed on him because he ran a 4.81 40 at the combine, so the Colts dropped his grade and he was off the first round board. A move that Bill admits was the incorrect call, nevertheless, a model that he stands by and probably should as the process made him very successful in the draft. Bill’s model was always to draft production, character, and speed, and refers to these types of players as winning players. Bill acknowledges that in the Colts draft model, while he was general manager of the Colts, an acceptable 40 time for a middle linebacker was anything below 4.74.

 

This is only one small example of several articles that Bill has written. I am interested if anyone else enjoys reading Bill’s work as much as I do.

Nice post. Some people have this sense of entitlement and feel it's BPs fault we didn't win multiple SBs. There's no serious argument that he was one of the best GMs ever.

[BlueShoe]

40 times have some bearing on game speed, but it is often greatly exaggerated in my view.

 

For instance, someone can spend months perfecting their starting technique, keeping low and driving their knees up, before coming up fully around the 15-yard mark... players who do this will have a greatly enhanced 40 time... but at what stage of a game is this relevant... the NFL is about reaction speed, you do not start in a sprinters stance and you often do not know the direction you will be forced to run.

 

If Manti T'eo is in coverage, the angles he takes, his anticipation, change of direction and pure desire are all contributing factors as well as his straight line speed.

 

40 times are a one-off shot to sprint against a timer... and peoples times can fluctuate to an extremely high degree. It just seems to be treated with far too much scrutiny in this league.

 

I agree. Te'o has the intangibles to be a good middle linebacker. From the sound of it, Te'o would be on our first round board in this year's draft, if Polian were still the GM. I find that interesting.

[FanFromtheWasteland]

His arrogant abusive personality caused me long ago to not care one iota about what he has to say

[ColtsBlueFL]

Bill has been one of the best at evaluating of talent, and the best teacher of those wishing to be a good talent evaluator (except for his son...  :& )

 

For Bill and Tony Dungy, it was always about the combo for a winner, and fitting the scheme.  All of those items mentioned (character, motivation, intelligence, effort, etc...) are important to most any scout/team.  For a Tampa 2 D, speed was also very important.  Now if we ran a 3-4 D, Bill Polians make/break 40 times for certain positions might  have been scaled differently.  But 2000's era Colts, speed was a key.  Next was size.  So a big, speedy guy was what we wanted. However, big speedy guys are few, and our draft position negated us ever getting that type of player.  So the Polian/Colts decision was to go for little fast guys over big and slow guys in the absence of big, fast guys.  We all saw that.  

 

So what do I conclude from everything?  Manti has placed himself back into 1st round consideration with his 4.71 40 and may no longer fall to round 2 like Laurenitis did.

[SteelCityColt]

40 times have some bearing on game speed, but it is often greatly exaggerated in my view.

 

For instance, someone can spend months perfecting their starting technique, keeping low and driving their knees up, before coming up fully around the 15-yard mark... players who do this will have a greatly enhanced 40 time... but at what stage of a game is this relevant... the NFL is about reaction speed, you do not start in a sprinters stance and you often do not know the direction you will be forced to run.

 

If Manti T'eo is in coverage, the angles he takes, his anticipation, change of direction and pure desire are all contributing factors as well as his straight line speed.

 

40 times are a one-off shot to sprint against a timer... and peoples times can fluctuate to an extremely high degree. It just seems to be treated with far too much scrutiny in this league.

 

Tell that to Al Davis.

[Smonroe]

His arrogant abusive personality caused me long ago to not care one iota about what he has to say

Personally, I couldn't care less about his personality. I won't defend it, but at times I thought his responses were spot on, like how he dismissed Wells.

Lets face it, we really don't know anyone's real personalities unless we know them personally. He wasn't paid to make nice with he media, he was paid to build a contender. I don't think you can argue that he didn't do that right.

[Tark The Shark]

I enjoy reading stuff that Bill Polian writes now a days for ESPN.

 

For me, he will always be known as the "ultimate spin-master"

[jskinnz]

 

His arrogant abusive personality caused me long ago to not care one iota about what he has to say

 

Understandable, I guess. But I also think that causes you to miss out on some truly great insight into the game. The Polian / Parcells free agency special was outstanding.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

A lot of stuff

 

Yeah, you really went all the way around your elbow to get to your nose.

 

Polian is just responding (like the bitter resentful person that he is) to the point made on NFL network about James Laurinaitis being overlooked because of his 40 time (and the snickering that followed).

 

I enjoy reading/listening to Bill too....because a solid minute of him talking provides more insight into football in general than you'd get spending a solid day online in forums (and I'm being conservative). But him talking about James Laurinaitis sounds like C.Y.A.

[Thewholefnshow28]

What should make Te'o fall is his laughable performance against Alabama. The guy was completely dominated when he finally went up against some stiff competition that season.

I have always felt that GMs valued the 40 time to much given the fact they are running it in spandex and work on it for months upon months perfecting their technique. Dropping Laurinaitis because of his 40 after watching all of his tape is definitely a big miss on BPs part.

Bill should be regarded as one of the best GMs, but he has his worts just like everyone has. When it comes to skill position guys like WR, TE, or RB I am all ears, but if he starts talking about OL that should be taken with some caution given his track record.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

The above being a shining example

[Thewholefnshow28]

Oh no somebody had a different opinion.  OMG!!! How horrible!!! I  guess I should have posted Bill Polian is the greatest thing since slice bread and left at that.  My bad.  

[CR91]

ouch

I'd rather read Brad Wells

[FanFromtheWasteland]

Personally, I couldn't care less about his personality. I won't defend it, but at times I thought his responses were spot on, like how he dismissed Wells.

Lets face it, we really don't know anyone's real personalities unless we know them personally. He wasn't paid to make nice with he media, he was paid to build a contender. I don't think you can argue that he didn't do that right.

 

 

I don’t dispute either of your points.  Up until the last few years he was here I supported what he was doing for the most part although I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t glad that he is gone. I do believe that he could have built a better contender than he did if he hadn’t been so stubborn about some of his beliefs,,,,for example, that the small fast bend but don’t break defense was still working and that we didn’t need a full back, even though our d was continually getting pummeled and none of our running backs were capable of punching that ball in the endzone even when we were first and goal at the two.

 

  As far as his personality goes you are right I have never met him so I don’t know what he is really like. All I can judge him on is the personality that he chose to display in public. Not so much as he was with the media but how he was with the fans. Think what you want of them but don’t blow them off or act like they aren’t relevant.

 

Just a side note. I wonder why no team has hired him, especially since he expressed interest in front office management again.  

[funktacious2]

I have stood very close to him on several occasions, but it never was my style to make situations about me. I enjoyed playing the role of the sponge.

Jim Sorgi is that you?

[BlueShoe]

Jim Sorgi is that you?

 

NICE! lol

[jvan1973]

What should make Te'o fall is his laughable performance against Alabama. The guy was completely dominated when he finally went up against some stiff competition that season.

I have always felt that GMs valued the 40 time to much given the fact they are running it in spandex and work on it for months upon months perfecting their technique. Dropping Laurinaitis because of his 40 after watching all of his tape is definitely a big miss on BPs part.

Bill should be regarded as one of the best GMs, but he has his worts just like everyone has. When it comes to skill position guys like WR, TE, or RB I am all ears, but if he starts talking about OL that should be taken with some caution given his track record.

Alabama dominated nearly every defense they have played the last two years. Teo will be a solid mlb for years.

[21isSuperman]

Rob Morris was a decent player.  He wasn't great, but when healthy, he was reliable...from what I remember.  I do remember really liking Laurinaitis and wanting us to draft him.  I also remember wanting us to take Saffold and the Rams took both of those guys from us.  But hindsight is always 20/20.

[Warhorse]

What should make Te'o fall is his laughable performance against Alabama. The guy was completely dominated when he finally went up against some stiff competition that season.

 

I am curious as to how many of the fans who want him are Domers.

[masterlock]

40 times have some bearing on game speed, but it is often greatly exaggerated in my view.

 

For instance, someone can spend months perfecting their starting technique, keeping low and driving their knees up, before coming up fully around the 15-yard mark... players who do this will have a greatly enhanced 40 time... but at what stage of a game is this relevant... the NFL is about reaction speed, you do not start in a sprinters stance and you often do not know the direction you will be forced to run.

 

If Manti T'eo is in coverage, the angles he takes, his anticipation, change of direction and pure desire are all contributing factors as well as his straight line speed.

 

40 times are a one-off shot to sprint against a timer... and peoples times can fluctuate to an extremely high degree. It just seems to be treated with far too much scrutiny in this league.

 

Excellent point about reaction speed. In nearly all cases, good technique/skill trumps speed. This is more or less true for any position.Take a receiver with 4.5-4.6-ish speed: If he has great hands and helps convert third downs on a regular basis (e.g., Reggie Wayne), then he is more far more valuable than a 4.3-speedster (e.g., Donnie Avery, Darrius Heyward Bey) with a 50-percent drop rate. In the case of defenders, rarely does a missed tackle happen because the opposing player ran a faster 40.

[NewEra]

Oh why, why, manti? Faaaaaaaar from it!

[dgambill]

Teo I don't think will be a pro bowl caliber MLB. It wasn't just the Alabama game that I have problems with. ND didn't face any elite teams last year and I'm a HUGE ND fan. If you watch early in the season he was getting free run to make plays. About half way through the schedule like against Pitt and a few other teams you notice a change in how offenses attacked that defense. They started keying on getting a lineman on Teo and making him work off a block....and he was very very average if not poor when he had to shed a blocker or anticipate and beat a blocker. Teo was a very emotional leader and did come up with a lot of big plays...but a lot where being in the right place right time. Don't get me wrong...that is how defense is played but watching him try to shed blockers or get around traffic....he was not the same player. To me he is a servicable starter...but doesn't have the athleticism to be elite. If you only catch the sports center highlights then you don't have the full picture. I watched every game start to finish last year....and more importantly the last few years and while he had some balls bounce his way...he still missed tackles more than he should and he still did not look explosive or shed blockers...I wouldn't draft that guy until late second rd.

[NewColtsFan]

ND didn't face any elite teams last year and I'm a HUGE ND fan. 

 

What?

 

You mean facing USC, Stanford, Oklahoma, BYU, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Pittsburgh wasn't enough of a schedule for you?

 

The only argument you can make is those teams didn't turn out to be as great as some thought they might at the start of the year...   but that's not Notre Dame's fault.    I'm not sure any other school had a tougher schedule?    At the start of the year,  I half-jokingly thought that was a schedule designed to get a coach fired.

 

The whole ND team was bad against Alabama, not just Manti....   it was everyone.    They got outclassed....   hey, it happens.

 

Personally,  I think Manti will be very good...   perhaps not great, but very good...   Laurinitis (sp?) seems a fair comparison....  That wouldn't be a bad career to have....

[dgambill]

What?

 

You mean facing USC, Stanford, Oklahoma, BYU, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Pittsburgh wasn't enough of a schedule for you?

 

The only argument you can make is those teams didn't turn out to be as great as some thought they might at the start of the year...   but that's not Notre Dame's fault.    I'm not sure any other school had a tougher schedule?    At the start of the year,  I half-jokingly thought that was a schedule designed to get a coach fired.

 

The whole ND team was bad against Alabama, not just Manti....   it was everyone.    They got outclassed....   hey, it happens.

 

Personally,  I think Manti will be very good...   perhaps not great, but very good...   Laurinitis (sp?) seems a fair comparison....  That wouldn't be a bad career to have....

Did any of those win their conference? Did any go to a BCS game? How many where a top 25 team? Stanford was a good win....but a homer for sure. Not just when they played ND but by the end of the season all those teams had been exposed. I definately believe that schedule normally would be a murderous one...but last year it was just a solid schedule....certainly not an SEC schedule. Alabama was in another league and Georgia, Florida, and LSU would have done the same to ND. I LOOOVE ND. But they simply weren't that good. Never-the-less...we are talking about Manti....and I'm sure you watched the games...when teams game planned to get a guard on him...he disappeared....not just the Alabama game. His 40 speed was evident in the film....and so is his footwork and for a MLB that won almost every defensive award...he missed more tackles than I would care to admit. Perhaps we just won't agree.....but nowhere in the last 3 seasons have I seen 1st rd quality out of this kid.

[NewColtsFan]

Did any of those win their conference? Did any go to a BCS game? How many where a top 25 team? Stanford was a good win....but a homer for sure. Not just when they played ND but by the end of the season all those teams had been exposed. I definately believe that schedule normally would be a murderous one...but last year it was just a solid schedule....certainly not an SEC schedule. Alabama was in another league and Georgia, Florida, and LSU would have done the same to ND. I LOOOVE ND. But they simply weren't that good. Never-the-less...we are talking about Manti....and I'm sure you watched the games...when teams game planned to get a guard on him...he disappeared....not just the Alabama game. His 40 speed was evident in the film....and so is his footwork and for a MLB that won almost every defensive award...he missed more tackles than I would care to admit. Perhaps we just won't agree.....but nowhere in the last 3 seasons have I seen 1st rd quality out of this kid.

 

Well...    I'm long on record as saying I think very, very few ILB's or MLB's are worth a first round pick.   I think they can be found in the 2nd-5th rounds....  (same with guards)

 

Guys like Willis and Keuchly are exceptions to the rule...

 

But if Manti goes late in the first,  I wouldn't object...   and if he goes high in the 2nd,  that's roughly where I think he rates...

 

I just don't get too worked up about those things anymore...    as I say over and over and over....   we all see the same thing differently...   it's what makes scouting so difficult....

[dgambill]

Well...    I'm long on record as saying I think very, very few ILB's or MLB's are worth a first round pick.   I think they can be found in the 2nd-5th rounds....  (same with guards)

 

Guys like Willis and Keuchly are exceptions to the rule...

 

But if Manti goes late in the first,  I wouldn't object...   and if he goes high in the 2nd,  that's roughly where I think he rates...

 

I just don't get too worked up about those things anymore...    as I say over and over and over....   we all see the same thing differently...   it's what makes scouting so difficult....

Pretty much agree. There are those ver special players....that can come up and diagnose plays....get the defense set...in the right coverage...and also drop into coverage. Special like you say. They are first rounders. I question that about Manti. I question his strength and speed and question his ability to shed a blocker and make a play in traffic. I just see him as a late second rd pick....but your right...to each their own.