Should Painter Start?

[bdogg]

I was actually impressed with what Curtis did last night after getting a little time on the field. Give the guy credit for not being a basket case. For 3 years he never gets to practice with the first team. His first on field experience is against one of the best "D" in the NFL when that team is fighting for a playoff spot and we have decided to pass on a chance at history. Things go bad and the fans trash him from the stands, in the paper, on the radio and yes on this forum. Then when Peyton goes down the management shows how much they think of him by going out and wasting $4M dollars on a washed up veteran with no knowledge of a very complex offense rather than give the ball to your 3 year backup. If I was Curtis my confidence last night would have been somewhere around less than zero. So he came in looked shaky the first two series (I don't blame the fumble on him, you got to protect your QB from the blindside and Castanzo didn't and manned up and excepted responsibility for his mistake), but after completing his first pass he settled down and looked pretty good. 5 of 7 for 60 yards on a 80 yard drive that ended in 7 points was nice to see. People forget that as a Sophomore at Purdue he had a very good year and started strong his Junior year before getting injured. Some people were even talking Heisman before his the start of his Senior years. That year didn't turn out like many expected and it led to his being pretty much forgotten as a reasonable draft pick. I did not like the draft pick because I thought he was available as an UDFA, but I don't run the team. So bottom line give him the ball let him be the guy and see what he can do. Maybe he returns to his early college years productivity or maybe he crashes and burns we will see. If the D can keep playing at the level they did last night and if the receivers can start catching a few more balls(are you listening Dallas) and the running game continues to improve maybe we win 5-6 games, if not then we get the #1 draft pick and move on. Peyton is not coming back so let's see what Curtis brings to the table with the proper support, Collins has proven he was right to retire after last year.

I agree 100% entirely with this post. Painters QB rating was a 9.5, and look what he did. I don't blame him for taking two possessions to get used to the game, he was thrown in there in the fourth quarter when both teams starters already had a feel for the momentum of the game. He has proven he is worth a shot. With a rating of 9.5, the only way to go is up.

[Dtman513]

Painter, although a bit shaky at times last night, provided at least some sort of chemistry with the offense. Collins hasn't done that. Gotta go with Painter next week

[ALCATRAZ]

I cant start a post but I would love for someone to start this one: "Did Collins Really suffer a Concussion?" If you notice, they showed the play and Collins simply hit the ground, jumped right back up and started arguing with the refs. That didnt look like someone that has a concussion. I think it was the Colts way of saying Collins is benced. what are your thoughts/

[Colt.4ever]

i am no fan of painter but from what i saw last night, with the exception of the fumble, he did 100% better than Collins.

Collins couldn't even get a touchdown when he was 10 yds from the endzone and Painter got one and had to go 80 yds.

Yeah i know he fumbled but Ben fumbled twice and threw an interception!

Painter has better timing, has had more practice with these guys, knows the playbook/system, and has watched Peyton and what he does!

For the short time Painter was in he had 60 total passing yds compared to collins' 97 yds in 3 quarters...

I say start him next week whether collins is healthy or not!!! Collins has not proven he can do it!!

[NM_Colts]

I cant start a post but I would love for someone to start this one: "Did Collins Really suffer a Concussion?" If you notice, they showed the play and Collins simply hit the ground, jumped right back up and started arguing with the refs. That didnt look like someone that has a concussion. I think it was the Colts way of saying Collins is benched. what are your thoughts/

Those were my actual thoughts last night, too. Concussion was a way of saving face for him, IMO.

[Rich Cannon]

I will be the 1st to admit I believed Collins could have led us to a winning record and was behind him 100 percent but after seeing him miss easy check downs and not move the offense for 11+ quaters, why not gie Painter a shot. In a critical drive vs. a great Steeler defense we moved the ball down field with Painter under center and scored. At this point what have we to loose we are already 0-3, with playoff hopes looking very slim but possible. :slaphead:

[oldunclemark]

Collins is a proven player but isnt this a moot point.

Collins has a concussion..He's out.

the only other QB on the roster Curtis Painter..

Its his time.

[oldunclemark]

I cant start a post but I would love for someone to start this one: "Did Collins Really suffer a Concussion?" If you notice, they showed the play and Collins simply hit the ground, jumped right back up and started arguing with the refs. That didnt look like someone that has a concussion. I think it was the Colts way of saying Collins is benced. what are your thoughts/

What does someone look like when they get a concussion?

A concussion does not mean you are unconscious.

[oldunclemark]

I agree 100% entirely with this post. Painters QB rating was a 9.5, and look what he did. I don't blame him for taking two possessions to get used to the game, he was thrown in there in the fourth quarter when both teams starters already had a feel for the momentum of the game. He has proven he is worth a shot. With a rating of 9.5, the only way to go is up.

You all understand that once the Steelers got the lead..they were in somewhat of a prevent defense?

[FRW]

From NFL.com combine analysis:

Strengths: Good size and bulk for the position. Durable four-year starter from a system that produced starting NFL QBs Drew Brees (Saints) and Kyle Orton (Bears). Quick set up and delivery. Legitimate NFL arm strength and accuracy. Can make every NFL throw, showing the zip, touch and deep accuracy necessary to attack every level of the defense. When given time in the pocket, shows very good accuracy. Can hit the moving target, giving his receivers the opportunity to take advantage of their abilities to run after the catch. Not particularly athletic, but can roll out, square his shoulders and throw accurately on the move. Weaknesses: Struggles with pressure. Fails to feel the pocket collapsing around him and too often either absorbs hits or forces the ball into coverage. Will stare down his primary target and trusts his arm strength to put the ball into extraordinarily tight windows.

I think he deserves a shot. His weaknesses would seem to match pretty much with what we have seen from Collins so far this season. Maybe as a younger player he has the chance to improve which I don't think Collins has. Will he, we won't know unless he gets the chance to try. At this point, if reports are right, it is one or the other and we have seen what Collins brings to the table.

[oldunclemark]

You guys know painter missed 1/2 dozen wide open receivers, right?

[Tim Dog]

Well since "none of the above" is an actual option Painter should get the starting position without a doubt. If you ask me, he should have been the starter in the beginning of the season. Nothing against Collins but I think his concussion was a God send.

[GatorColts]

I think Painter should get the start. I am not the biggest fan of Painter, and yes he missed that throw to Garcon which could have won the game. But he came in against PIT, which is not an easy D to go up against and did pretty well and moved the ball pretty well. So yes I think the job should go to Painter and see what he can do.

[Superman]

You guys know painter missed 1/2 dozen wide open receivers, right?

He still looked more comfortable and decisive than Kerry Collins has all season. Curtis Painter isn't going to be a 70% passer; you'd be lucky to get 60% out of him on a consistent basis. But since we're in the unenviable position of having to choose between him and Collins, who has been immobile, indecisive, and has struggled with accuracy himself (49% completion rate, 4 fumbles), I'm throwing my vote Painter's way at this point. I don't expect him to save the season, but I do think he's better for our quick read offense than Collins, and I don't even think it's close after last night. You point out the underwhelming aspects of Painter's performance, and it only stresses just how bad the passing game has been with Collins so far, because it was significantly better with Painter.

[NM_Colts]

You guys know painter missed 1/2 dozen wide open receivers, right?

And how many has Collins missed... last night and in the previous 2 games? And how many balls did Painter's receivers drop? And just how many reps has Painter had with the 1st team lately?

[Tim Dog]

I sure hope Bill Polian and the coaching staff see and heed this survey !!

[Marquis Maahrque]

Those were my actual thoughts last night, too. Concussion was a way of saving face for him, IMO.

Hmmm, I felt the same way; maybe management told coaching to tell Collins "you're hurt, you've suffered a concussion, sit down & let's have your noodle looked at." "Painter ?...where's Curtis ?...get in there #7, let's GO ! you're UP !

(this way management won't look so foolish in their decision to start Collins over Painter). Oops !, hey, the guy got injured, oh well !

[Portage Coltfans]

The Pats got to trade away Cassel, I voted for Painter because Maybe he will play decent, and some sucker team like the chiefs will trade for him....you never know.

You know they wouldn't trade for collins.

[Raul44]

Who should get the start next week?

I think Painter did a good job yesterday, but he should get in shape ! the pass that he missed to Garçon could mean the victory!!

The defense did a great game!

MEXICO FAN! sorry for my spelling LOL

[GoColts!]

Painter having a 9.5 rating means nothing! The games he played in, they threw him to the dogs.Either with a lot of second or third stringers, or a bad situation. He's a accurate passer and he just needs a shot. Collins gets pressure on him he makes poor reads and does nothing for our team, how could painter be worse than him? I don't see how.

Maybe someone can help me understand. We have had Painter for a few years, watching manning, learning the system, working with the team.

Is this not the situation that we have been grooming him for.Why did he not get his chance. If he is not the guy, and not ready now, then when? Why did we keep him. They apparently have no confidence in him.

I mean heck we could have let him play this year and the worst thing that could have happened was some good draft picks. And we would know for sure if he could run the O.

He has not got a real shot,or some real playing time with the starters.To get comfortable and build some confidence.

Nothing against collins, but it just seems like another puzzling call by front office or who ever makes those calls.

Now we have collins and will play him with no benefit to the future of our team. And at best finish 8-8 and not get good draft picks, and not evaluated our so called back-up for manning.

IMO should have played painter from the start. Sure he missed a wide open garcon against steelers, but with his hands he probably would have dropped it anyway, lol

Manning will not be here for ever. And we need to know what painters got. Colins is done. At best he might be able to win a few games.

Play painter and see what he's got, What do they have to lose?

Props to the D, well done.

[teunr]

Painter has not played in like 11 years, coming into a high pressure situation and doing what he did is signs of a great player. He did over throw Garcon and have a fumble, but after not playing for so long, he is a little rusty. Painter after having been practicing more this week (hopefully) will do much better this week, if he starts

[Superman]

Maybe someone can help me understand. We have had Painter for a few years, watching manning, learning the system, working with the team.

Is this not the situation that we have been grooming him for.Why did he not get his chance. If he is not the guy, and not ready now, then when? Why did we keep him. They apparently have no confidence in him.

The way it looked to me, we gave him a chance to show something in the preseason, and he played terribly in the first two games. I think we were already looking at veterans before that, but Painter still had an outside chance at earning the job. He didn't. Then Collins comes in and is given the job. But when we actually gave Painter a gameplan and let him play with the other offensive starters, he looked halfway decent. Played reasonably well against the Packers. Had a similar outing last night. Not perfect by any means, but still he looked competent, which is more than you could say for him before.

I would think that if we give him first team reps in practice and work up a gameplan with him as the designated starter, he could possibly play to a decent level. The difference between him and Collins is that Painter is making quicker decisions and has more mobility. The missed touchdown pass hurts, but Manning overthrew Garcon two or three times against the Jets in the playoffs last year. Overthrows happen. You'll often hear commentators say that the wide open ones are easy to miss, and I would imagine that's even more true when you have a quarterback throwing his first meaningful NFL pass. I would expect him to make that throw if given the opportunity again. I'm more impressed with his ability to make the quick decision and get the ball down there. Would have been a perfect play had he taken that extra tenth of a second to grip the ball and put a little more touch on it. Completely fixable.

I'm more concerned with the one-hoppers than with the overthrow. And even with that, I think our offense would still be better with him than with Collins, judging from the way he played last night.

[Poster X]

At least Painter knows the receivers and in due time he will settle in and things will run much more smoothly. I would have rather seen what he was capable of then signing someone like Collins.

[Jason_]

Maybe someone can help me understand. We have had Painter for a few years, watching manning, learning the system, working with the team.

Is this not the situation that we have been grooming him for.Why did he not get his chance. If he is not the guy, and not ready now, then when? Why did we keep him. They apparently have no confidence in him.

Honestly, I think the Superbowl being in Indy affected the decision. Had the superbowl not been in Indy this year, I think Painter might have been the starter from day 1. However it definitely appeared in the brief offseason they had that the Colts were doing a lot of moving and shaking in order to try to fix some of the holes we have. I could be way off base, this is only my opinion.

[MightyColts84]

good to see people have not become blind to the obvious. like i have been saying for months, collins is an old bum that has nothing left? i knew this would happen. had they trusted their 3 year real backup qb, theres no reason not to believe we would be 2-1 right now. loss to the texans because its the 1st game and hes technically still a rookie as far as regular season goes. ahhhh if we start him the remainder of the season we DO have a chance. people forget. all you have to do is win the division. the seahawksa and rams made the playoffs with what? 7-9 record i think? the reality is the texans are only 2 games ahead of us. if they get to 4 then u can hang up the helmets. easy 13 chances left. im going with 9-7 record with painter. think about it this way. we win monday night? 1 win for us. texans lose again. then we are only 1 game behind. i bet that tennessee will do better.AND they just lost kenny britt .. id say 9-7 tenn 9-7 colts 8-8 texans. jags who cares? i believe the last playoff spot will be decided in the last two games between our division rivals. You just watch lol..

[MightyColts84]

You guys know painter missed 1/2 dozen wide open receivers, right?

ummmmm silly boy... that was collins that missed his own players like 14 times last night. and its been 3 games , thats no excuse. Painter hasnt played since 2009. he has a real reason. and he lead the only offensive producing drive of the game. against the STEELERS! try throwing somebody in in the 4th quarter against the high powered steelers that hasnt played a real meaningful game in his career. you wont get better results from anyone else. let alone a 80 yard drive producing a td. 5 of 7 passing. he needs reps and practice he will do better then collins for sure

[Grav]

Painter, why did they sign collins? as in they threw a lot of money his way, surely there was a cheaper vet option

[coltcub64]

Its quite simple: Painter was thrown in with no preparation against a top defense and very nearly pulled it out. People are thinking about the 2 plays, the miss to Garcon and the fumble. Well, Kerry Collins was missing wide open guys too and James Harrison is just a beast. Fact of the matter is Curtis Painter led us in the no-huddle, for the most part called the right plays, and made a few nice throws. Give him a week of prep, and I bet we put up 20 points down in Tampa next week.

[Superman]

Painter, why did they sign collins? as in they threw a lot of money his way, surely there was a cheaper vet option

$4 million for a veteran quarterback is about right. Hasselbeck signed for 3 years, $21 million. Vince Young got $4 million on a one year deal. Nothing wrong with the Collins contract. Nothing wrong with the signing, either. He's just not working out because he isn't making quick decisions with the football.

[coltcub64]

You guys know painter missed 1/2 dozen wide open receivers, right?

I know he led the offense to more points in 3 drives than Collins did the entire first 3 quarters. You can somewhat put the fumble on him, but you can also say that Kerry Collins would be on IR if he were in that situation. And Kerry Collins was horrible last night.

[Gonzo]

Bottom line to me is that for the first time this season we played the traditional hurry up, adjust at the line style offense we've been accustomed to for the last decade plus. I don't know if he can execute, but Painter clearly has a superior grasp of the offense compared to Collins.

Play Painter and let Collins keep studying the playbook for now.

[93Colts98]

I definitely like Painter to start. He showed a lot of promise. It's been a lot for Kerry Collins to try to ask him to learn our offense so quickly, even for a veteran like him, it's not gonna happen overnight. I'm thankful for him choosing to sign with us to help us out when we needed a veteran QB, but Painter is the way to go. GO BLUE!!

[sixfive]

At least Painter knows the receivers and in due time he will settle in and things will run much more smoothly. I would have rather seen what he was capable of then signing someone like Collins.

I can't agree with you more I said this before the Colts signed Collins. Not knocking Collins but Painter knows the system, all he needed was time with the number one's. Last night I feel he looked confident when he got in. Painter made a couple of mistakes but that is because he has never gotten the chance. I know Painter is not going to save the world but he is a far better solution then Collins. I'm on the Painter wagon now(lol) GO COLTS.

[jesusislord]

by this time if collins still had anything left, it would show. the throws and timing are just not there. he does not really have command over this offense and should still be retired. at least painter came in made some calls at the line, ran a play under no huddle, and marched the team down the field under pressure. painter is not a starter in the NFL, but hes the best option we have now.

[ColtsGal72]

I am of the opinion that one needs to be given the opportunity to practice in order to grow and improve at whatever they do. When Painter is not given that opportunity, how is he supposed to walk on the field and be spectacular? What he showed last night is that he definitely has potential, and he really should be given a chance to see what he can do. They need to let him practice more. There is a reason our backup QBs never seem to do a great job - lack of practice! Peyton usually gets most of the reps and plays the entire game. How is anyone supposed to live up to their potential in that situation? It's about time Painter is given the chance to work on his skills, grow and improve, and see what he can do on the field! I have faith in him. The team has faith in him. It's time the coaches showed some of that same faith!

[ruksak]

We've got to give this kid (Painter) a nick-name. His last name is just begging for a creative nick, he's got that 'surfer-dude' golden hair.

We need a thread to get this young buck a proper nick.

There is no way that the Colts coaching staff cannot see what we, the layman fans, are seeing.

The poll says it all, the people have spoken. Well over a hundred responses and only about 6% of pollers are against this move.

[kissnation2003]

Its obvious that the season is a wash so why not let Painter play! Playoffs are out of teh question and after the run that the Colts had since Peyton came here its not that bad to watch a young QB develop (hopefully) anyway. Win or lose I'm still watching and cheering my team on every week!

[Fr33UpFr33ney]

Listen to the fans Polian.

You put a decent dt in like we ask and we win a superbowl.

You draft a talented lb like we ask and hes leading the NFL in tackles.

You play 9 yard out with a d end like the eagles, more pressure.

Listen and start painter amd give him lots of reps. No real fans hear give a dang about Andrew luck.

[bdogg]

We've got to give this kid (Painter) a nick-name. His last name is just begging for a creative nick, he's got that 'surfer-dude' golden hair.

We need a thread to get this young buck a proper nick.

There is no way that the Colts coaching staff cannot see what we, the layman fans, are seeing.

The poll says it all, the people have spoken. Well over a hundred responses and only about 6% of pollers are against this move.

What nicknames do you have in mind?

[coltsblue1844]

My personal nickname for him has been and will remain CP7 ;)