State of the Team: Indianapolis Colts - Football Outsiders

[bayone]

    OFFENSE OVERVIEW

 

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/state-team/2013/state-team-indianapolis-colts

 

 good article , goes into details at all positions, ex Vonte Davis on cusp of being a top 10 CB

 

Of all Rookie QB's last year  & Kapernick Luck is the one with ,most stable lonh term skill set

 

Discusses free agency aquisitions

 

Defensive Overview

OVERVIEW

The Colts are mainly a 3-4 base defense but they’ll play a lot of one gap (i.e. 4-3) concepts out of those looks. Their success in 2012 may have been partly a case of smoke and mirrors, though they were working with less than 50 percent of the personnel that Chuck Pagano and Greg Manusky need for their hybrid system. The overhaul process is underway. Improving in 2013 hinges on finding interior defensive linemen, more pass-rushers, and a No. 2 corner.

 

 

OFFENSIVE OVERVIEW 

Colts general manager Ryan Grigson had an amazing inaugural draft, concentrated entirely on offense. Not only did he find a long-term superstar quarterback, he also found two multidimensional tight ends in Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, a starting three-down running back in Vick Ballard (granted, he’s of "role player" ilk, not "star" ilk, but still...), and two speedy wide receivers in T.Y. Hilton and LaVon Brazill. All were significantly contributing rookies in 2012, and all will assume significant roles under new coordinator Pep Hamilton. The former Stanford coordinator’s system will be a fairly sizeable change, featuring more underneath and intermediate route concepts, as opposed to the vertical designs that Bruce Arians favored

[Fx Stryker]

They have a lot of our players Just a guy. They don't have any upgraded though. Which is a good sign. We have solid players. So as they initially stated a lot of our players just haven't had a lot of experience. 

 

This is a really good read.

[BOTT]

I don't now how they rate castonzo as good and cherilus as adequate...but whatever.

Best Part: darn it Donald Brown

[Smonroe]

Good to read anything about the Colts at this point.  Nothing really new there.  

 

Check out the comments, apparently we're not even as good as the writer rates us according to them.

 

Can't wait to see how this team of a bunch of Just a Guys turns out.

[Balzer40]

I don't think they are giving some of our guy's much credit. Their "color" rankings are kind of imbecilic IMO and makes me question if they really know what they're talking about.

[bayone]

I don't think they are giving some of our guy's much credit. Their "color" rankings are kind of imbecilic IMO and makes me question if they really know what they're talking about.

 

Agree that color rankings seem out of line, but I have seen similar with  various other teams

 

Broncos Decker not a star receiver either , not sure  even was good as per color, though they tal;ked h him i up 

[southwest1]

I don't think they are giving some of our guy's much credit. Their "color" rankings are kind of imbecilic IMO and makes me question if they really know what they're talking about.

What's really annoying is you forget what all the darn color codes mean again so you keep going to the top of the page to be reminded again what the color stands for & they forget what the hades you just read.

 

Did Chris Polian design this piece of crap feature along with the "Be the 1st To Comment Ball & "Like Us On FaceBook" viper snake bite button like he did on Colts.com when he was INDY's GM? BrentMc11 & Lollygager8 know what I'm talkin' about...  

[bayone]

I don't now how they rate castonzo as good and cherilus as adequate...but whatever.

Best Part: darn it Donald Brown

 

I loved seeing that

[bayone]

What's really annoying is you forget what all the darn color codes mean again so you keep going to the top of the page to be reminded again what the color stands for & they forget what the hades you just read.

 

Did Chris Polian design this piece of crap feature along with the "Be the 1st To Comment Ball & "Like Us On FaceBook" viper snake bite button like he did on Colts.com when he was INDY's GM? BrentMc11 & Lollygager8 know what I'm talkin' about...  

 

Agree, also at least for me I had a hard time on top determining green from black, they should have made them bold like in article itself

 

anyway, thats my Sunday contribution, I'm  off  ,

 

all have a great finish to the holiday weelkend

[funktacious2]

I feel like a lot of their "just a guy" rating is a convenient way to not do some research.

[southwest1]

Actually, it would have been better to establish individual categories & place the relevant players under each category 1st in a spreadsheet format.

 

Star: Andrew Luck.

 

Good: Dwayne Allen,  Robert Mathis, Anthony Castonzo,  Vontae Davis, Antoine Bethea, Pat McAfee. 

 

Adequate: Vick Ballard, Weslye Saunders. 

 

Jury's still out: Ricardo Mathews,  Brandon McKinney, Josh Chapman,  Justin Hickman, T.Y. Hilton, LaVon Brazill,  Coby Fleener,

 

Just A Guy:  Chandler Harnish, Donald Brown, Delone Carter,  Nathan Palmer, Donald Thomas, Samson Satele, Mike McGlynn;  Jeff Linkenbach, Ricky Jean-Francois, Fili Moala, Martin Tevaseu; Jerry Hughes. 

 

Upgrade Needed: 

 

Why even bring up: No longer on the team? Pointless to a 2013 Colts team discussion....

 

Are we sure this isn't a Bleacher's Report? Sounds like an FBI's serial killer tracking system if you ask me...Hmmm....Like a massive manhunt to end community chaos...

[CR91]

how is ty just a guy. he led all rookie wrs in every wr category and he was taken in the backend of the third round

[SLILLINGTON10]

LaRon Landry is a pro bowler right? how is he just adequate

[throwing BBZ]

 Ya, a couple guys I would have bumped, but overall fair enough.
Of course I aprreciated his comments on Brown & Moala. Spot on.

[Balzer40]

how is ty just a guy. he led all rookie wrs in every wr category and he was taken in the backend of the third round

 

 

LaRon Landry is a pro bowler right? how is he just adequate

 

 

 

See, that's what I was talking about. These rankings are just...stupid. No better or nicer way to put it. Ignorant!!!!!

[Narcosys]

I don't now how they rate castonzo as good and cherilus as adequate...but whatever.

Best Part: darn it Donald Brown

I was seriously lmbo when I read that part. The only guy given a nickname. How many times have you said that same thing when watching him. ::

[james_zeigler1994]

Castonzo in my opinion isn't a left tackle I for one think he would be better as a RT thoughts?.

[BOTT]

Castonzo in my opinion isn't a left tackle I for one think he would be better as a RT thoughts?.

I would say he still has a lot to prove at left tackle. He is still young so we shall see...

[Dustin]

Castonzo in my opinion isn't a left tackle I for one think he would be better as a RT thoughts?.

 

It was only his second year. He still needed to develop, this season we be telling of Castanzo's abilities IMO.

[TKnight24]

I stopped reading once I saw TY's color

This is why I avoid reading articles on the team unless it comes from colts.com

[Colts_Fan12]

Castonzo in my opinion isn't a left tackle I for one think he would be better as a RT thoughts?.

I think he will get better only his 2nd year plus with better players around him he can get better he had alot more stress when playing with our horrible o line

[james_zeigler1994]

True we will just have to see what this season brings thoughts?.

[Albaby]

Why does this article seem to take a lot of you guys off guard?  You should know by now that the Colts are only allowed to have one star and a couple of decent other players (according to the mass media).  They (the Colts) will have to have multiple playoff seasons before anyone will take notice.  That's the price for being a Colt.  Personally, I kind of like it.  It's kind of like flying under the radar.

[ColtsLegacy]

how is ty just a guy. he led all rookie wrs in every wr category and he was taken in the backend of the third round

 

 

TY is "Jury's still out" not "Just a guy". I think that's acceptable.

[bayone]

I think alot  of Just a guy  or Jury's still out is sometimes, pending the player liker TY ,  just need more years  to evaluate & prove 1st not a fluke

 

only rational explanation to me , especially as initial overview for example on offense said after noting our RB, 2 TE's and Brazil bsides TY as  

 All were significantly contributing rookies in 2012,

 

 so acknowleges them as played well, but guess just not enough years under belt to say it will be consistent yearly & raise them    higher though some just A guy have been around awhile 

 

as coltsrule noted  TY  rated as  just a guy BUT was actually rated  higher level called  

Jury’s still out 

 

  but  YES these color ratings are weird & hard to remember which color is what and have top keep lookingg back at top color schemme

 

Writing is better than the rating scheme to me

 

I HOPE I MADE SENSE

 

Good to read anything about the Colts at this point.  Nothing really new there.  

 

Check out the comments, apparently we're not even as good as the writer rates us according to them.

 

Can't wait to see how this team of a bunch of Just a Guys turns out.

 

 

I feel like a lot of their "just a guy" rating is a convenient way to not do some research.

 

 

I stopped reading once I saw TY's color

This is why I avoid reading articles on the team unless it comes from colts.com

 

 

how is ty just a guy. he led all rookie wrs in every wr category and he was taken in the backend of the third round

[PrincetonTiger]

not a bad read 

[OldSchoolColt]

LaRon Landry is a pro bowler right? how is he just adequate

 

It was not an overall rating, but a rating based on how he will be used in our hybrid system. "does he have the coverage awareness to handle the man/zone hybrid concepts that Pagano likes? He’s never been great in this department," This dropped him down. You could have the best pass blocker in the game, but if we need him to run block most of the time, then he would rate poorly. This article had more thought in it than most do.

[Superman]

how is ty just a guy. he led all rookie wrs in every wr category and he was taken in the backend of the third round

 

Hilton is listed as "Jury Still Out," not "Just a Guy." And between his drops and still developing route running, I'd say that's a fair assessment. (And I've been a TY fan since well before we drafted him.)

[Superman]

It was not an overall rating, but a rating based on how he will be used in our hybrid system. "does he have the coverage awareness to handle the man/zone hybrid concepts that Pagano likes? He’s never been great in this department," This dropped him down. You could have the best pass blocker in the game, but if we need him to run block most of the time, then he would rate poorly. This article had more thought in it than most do.

 

Yeah, good info in this article, but not structured very well. The color coding is confusing and hard to remember.

[BOTT]

It was not an overall rating, but a rating based on how he will be used in our hybrid system. "does he have the coverage awareness to handle the man/zone hybrid concepts that Pagano likes? He’s never been great in this department," This dropped him down. You could have the best pass blocker in the game, but if we need him to run block most of the time, then he would rate poorly. This article had more thought in it than most do.

I believe the Colts got Landry to be a wrecking ball that lights people up. I'm sure Pagano/Grigson didn't bring him in expecting Ed Reed.

[Superman]

I believe the Colts got Landry to be a wrecking ball that lights people up. I'm sure Pagano/Grigson didn't bring him in expecting Ed Reed.

 

But he's going to have to cover, and he's only adequate in coverage. Not due to physical limitations, but because of what FO calls "quasi-recklessness." His biggest strength in the box actually becomes a weakness against the pass. He doesn't position his body well, and he takes bad angles in the name of being aggressive. Maybe his limitations in the passing game are sometimes overstated; he's not bad in coverage. But that would hold his overall grade down a touch.

[BOTT]

But he's going to have to cover, and he's only adequate in coverage. Not due to physical limitations, but because of what FO calls "quasi-recklessness." His biggest strength in the box actually becomes a weakness against the pass. He doesn't position his body well, and he takes bad angles in the name of being aggressive. Maybe his limitations in the passing game are sometimes overstated; he's not bad in coverage. But that would hold his overall grade down a touch.

I understand that isn't his strength, but he seemed to imply he was downgraded because of that liability in pagano's system....he would have to cover in any system.

[Superman]

I understand that isn't his strength, but he seemed to imply he was downgraded because of that liability in pagano's system....he would have to cover in any system.

 

In a less aggressive system, his coverage would probably be 95% zone coverage. Even if he were with the Steelers or the Texans -- aggressive defenses, but more zone on the back end -- he'd be almost exclusively in zone coverage. In Pagano's system, he's going to be asked to play man coverage more frequently than he would for some other teams. I would think that he played a good share of man coverage with the Jets last year, because there are a lot of similarities between their defense and Pagano's.  So it's not that he can't do it, but that it's not a strength of his.

[BOTT]

In a less aggressive system, his coverage would probably be 95% zone coverage. Even if he were with the Steelers or the Texans -- aggressive defenses, but more zone on the back end -- he'd be almost exclusively in zone coverage. In Pagano's system, he's going to be asked to play man coverage more frequently than he would for some other teams. I would think that he played a good share of man coverage with the Jets last year, because there are a lot of similarities between their defense and Pagano's.  So it's not that he can't do it, but that it's not a strength of his.

Exactly...he was very good for the Jets. Given the similarities I would think he would warrant a "good" rating.

[SLILLINGTON10]

It was not an overall rating, but a rating based on how he will be used in our hybrid system. "does he have the coverage awareness to handle the man/zone hybrid concepts that Pagano likes? He’s never been great in this department," This dropped him down. You could have the best pass blocker in the game, but if we need him to run block most of the time, then he would rate poorly. This article had more thought in it than most do.

i think grigs and pagano know how to use player strenghts; they wouldn't have gone after a pro bowler if they didn't think he would still play at that high of a level in our system. IMO

[pacolt]

 Love the moves 2 or 3 stars would not have made this team all that better.