Grigson quotes on O-line/good for ijalana

[BronxColtNYC]

Interesting read, looks like ijalana has a chance.

http://blogs.indystar.com/coltsinsider/2013/04/14/sizing-up-the-colts-pre-nfl-draft-roster-offensive-line/

"Ijalana is just a big question mark,’’ Grigson admitted. “I just know Ben Ijalana from what I saw against Rhode Island in a live game and from what I watched on tape. That’s all I know of Ben.

“He’s big, long and he’s athletic but he’s got to prove that he can stay healthy and that he can be a pro and settle in to be a pro football player. The ability level is there, we just got to see if Ben is going to be a football player.’’

Returning left tackle Anthony Castonzo. (Rob Goebel/ The Star)

" “The arrow is up with him,’’ he said. “He’s young. He’s smart. He’s determined. has length and . . . I feel he got better with each game. People don’t realize he’s only 24.

“When you put together all the tackles in this league (together), there’s only a select, a very small one, two or three, every year that are elite at left tackle. Is he in the elite category right now? No, and he knows that. But he is getting better and that’s a good sign. I think he plays winning football for us.’’

[BronxColtNYC]

Castanzo is a main stay. Notice he didn't mention mcglynn, satele...

Chappell thinks Shipley will unseat satele in TC.

Chappell doesn't write gold, but interesting he makes that assumption after speaking with Grigson.

Grigson knows he's not done with o line? Interesting...

[AntonMcG]

I really don't see McGlynn starting at RG, I think Reitz beats him out at camp if we don't draft someone.

[BronxColtNYC]

I really don't see McGlynn starting at RG, I think Reitz beats him out at camp if we don't draft someone.

Valid point that Chappell insinuates in article.

[Smonroe]

Interesting read, looks like ijalana has a chance.http://blogs.indystar.com/coltsinsider/2013/04/14/sizing-up-the-colts-pre-nfl-draft-roster-offensive-line/

"Ijalana is just a big question mark,’’ Grigson admitted. “I just know Ben Ijalana from what I saw against Rhode Island in a live game and from what I watched on tape. That’s all I know of Ben.

“He’s big, long and he’s athletic but he’s got to prove that he can stay healthy and that he can be a pro and settle in to be a pro football player. The ability level is there, we just got to see if Ben is going to be a football player.’’

Returning left tackle Anthony Castonzo. (Rob Goebel/ The Star)

" “The arrow is up with him,’’ he said. “He’s young. He’s smart. He’s determined. has length and . . . I feel he got better with each game. People don’t realize he’s only 24.

“When you put together all the tackles in this league (together), there’s only a select, a very small one, two or three, every year that are elite at left tackle. Is he in the elite category right now? No, and he knows that. But he is getting better and that’s a good sign. I think he plays winning football for us.’’

It's refreshing when a GM gives an honest opinion about his players. At this point if Ijalana gives us anything, even if he makes the team, it's a win. AC continues to improve. Looking back at that draft he may turn out to be the best LT.

[lollygagger8]

It sure would be nice to have him pan out and turn into a stud. He's got a new knee (or two depending on which story you read) so hopefully he's good to go this year.

[Smonroe]

It sure would be nice to have him pan out and turn into a stud. He's got a new knee (or two depending on which story you read) so hopefully he's good to go this year.

I just noticed, that quote is apparently from January. We should know very soon if Ben made enough progress since then to hold a roster spot.

I'm really rooting for the kid. He was well liked by guys who know their stuff. If he can get back to it we may have a very good line.

Like Grigs said, he has to show he can stay healthy.

[Black-Vell]

Ben Ijalana was a 2nd rnd pick. If Ijalana can play - is OL still a need?

[TKnight24]

I told you guys Grigson wasn't done with the oline

[21isSuperman]

Give Ijalana time.  He has potential through the roof.  If he can come back fully healthy, I think he can be our best OL.

[jskinnz]

I told you guys Grigson wasn't done with the oline

 

That in no way makes you unique.

[Buck Showalter]

Ben Ijalana was a 2nd rnd pick. If Ijalana can play - is OL still a need?

I hope so, for depth at least...

Thats why I am high on a few of the versatile guys in this draft that have played multiple positions across the line, B.Jones, B. Schwenke, A. Bailey...

[austriancolt]

We need need more guys or our Offensive Line. Donald Thomas and Gosder Cherilus are nice but there are still a few holes to fill with nearly no quality depth

[Archer]

Ben Ijalana was a 2nd rnd pick. If Ijalana can play - is OL still a need?

 

That's too big of an if.  At this point in time, tt's just a pleasant surprise if Ijalana proves worthy of a roster spot.  By my way of thinking, the two starting guards are Thomas and Reitz.  The top back-up at both guard and tackle positions is Jeff Linkenbach.  There is literally no other viable back-up OTs, and to date only Ijalana and Anderson at OG.  McGlynn was so horrible he doesn't warrent consideration IMHO.  I still like us drafting a new starting RG in the 1st (Warford, if Fluker's not available), calling Link an OT, and letting Anderson, Ijalana, and all other TC attendees compete for the 4th and final OG spot.

[John Dee]

JJ was interviewing Chap on 1070 yesterday and asked Chap if he has heard anything on Ben I?  Chap said that Grigs was recently asked about him and said he was a "question mark."

 

Chap went on to say that this TC is do or die for Ben, that "he has got to practice, and at least show the team he can stay healthy."

 

Sounds like Ben has got to show some real progress or his days could be numbered in Indy. 

 

Jersey Johhny's Sunday show is not put up on podcast or I would post the interview.

[TKnight24]

That in no way makes you unique.

I never said it did????

[UKColt13]

I really don't see McGlynn starting at RG, I think Reitz beats him out at camp if we don't draft someone.

I gotta say, I think whoever will be starting at RG isn't on our roster yet. I'm seeing a lot of potential in rounds 3 and 4 for good interior linemen.

[Black-Vell]

Depth is not a luxury in the NFL. A dropoff in talent is expected when you lose a starter. You decide on a starter - if he goes down - replace him with whoever is there & go. The salary cap wont allow much else. You wont make it far hoarding quality backups. Because they will want starter money to stay. 

 

We should use Ijalana as an excuse to put more focus on another need. We already have a 2nd rnd pick invested in him - if we draft a OL at #24 - that seems unnecessary. Not unnecessary but Ijalana is still on team - D Freeney isnt - #24 has to go towards replacing him. If Mathis cannot be effective without Freeney - a good OL will be irrelavent. And - we would be repeating old mistakes.

 

We have had a top offense for the last 10 years - 1 ring

[TKnight24]

Depth is not a luxury in the NFL. A dropoff in talent is expected when you lose a starter. You decide on a starter - if he goes down - replace him with whoever is there & go. The salary cap wont allow much else. You wont make it far hoarding quality backups. Because they will want starter money to stay.

We should use Ijalana as an excuse to put more focus on another need. We already have a 2nd rnd pick invested in him - if we draft a OL at #24 - that seems unnecessary. Not unnecessary but Ijalana is still on team - D Freeney isnt - #24 has to go towards replacing him. If Mathis cannot be effective without Freeney - a good OL will be irrelavent. And - we would be repeating old mistakes.

We have had a top offense for the last 10 years - 1 ring

49ers are a pretty good depth team but I see what you're saying

[chad72]

Given the chemistry Reitz and Castanzo had, if Reitz had to play, it would be LG. Donald Thomas plays RG, IMO.

 

Ijalana, I am not getting my hopes up on him. I am glad Grigson went ahead and got the RT in Cherilus and OG in Thomas to give us enough options. I won't rule out us going after Brandon Moore or Matt Slauson as a bargain pickup after the draft.

[NewColtsFan]

I told you guys Grigson wasn't done with the oline

 

Who said he was?

 

Seems most everyone is expecting a relatively high pick to be used on an interior lineman.   I think few if any think Grigson is done.

 

But thanks for telling us anyway.....

[NewColtsFan]

I don't remember which poster it was who said it in the last month or so....

 

But a wise Colts fan here basically said,  no one should count on Ijalana.    If he comes back all the way -- great.   But it's an unexpected bonus.    I don't think we'll know soon about Ben.   I think we won't know until training camp at the earliest and maybe even the pre-season games.

 

But Ijalana is not someone you can count on at this point.   It'll be another 4-5 months before anyone knows.....

 

Pretend he's not there.....   and if he shows up healthy,  great for everyone.....   but otherwise......

[TKnight24]

I don't remember which poster it was who said it in the last month or so....

But a wise Colts fan here basically said, no one should count on Ijalana. If he comes back all the way -- great. But it's an unexpected bonus. I don't think we'll know soon about Ben. I think we won't know until training camp at the earliest and maybe even the pre-season games.

But Ijalana is not someone you can count on at this point. It'll be another 4-5 months before anyone knows.....

Pretend he's not there..... and if he shows up healthy, great for everyone..... but otherwise......

*Raises hand*

That was me

[coltsfanatic24]

Ijalana played LT in college but natural position is RG. If he can get healthy which i think he will wouldn't have to worry about a guard until later rounds. He looks like Warmack in these highlights.

 

[Smonroe]

Given the chemistry Reitz and Castanzo had, if Reitz had to play, it would be LG. Donald Thomas plays RG, IMO.

 

Ijalana, I am not getting my hopes up on him. I am glad Grigson went ahead and got the RT in Cherilus and OG in Thomas to give us enough options. I won't rule out us going after Brandon Moore or Matt Slauson as a bargain pickup after the draft.

Reitz is almost in the same boat as Ijalana. If he can't stay healthy we need to move on. Both guys have more potential than playing time.

We're all counting on Thomas as being one answer at G but let's face it, he's still an unknown too. G has to be the biggest "if" position on our roster.

[ztboiler]

Given the chemistry Reitz and Castanzo had, if Reitz had to play, it would be LG. Donald Thomas plays RG, IMO.

 

Ijalana, I am not getting my hopes up on him. I am glad Grigson went ahead and got the RT in Cherilus and OG in Thomas to give us enough options. I won't rule out us going after Brandon Moore or Matt Slauson as a bargain pickup after the draft.

That is why I was a little surprised by Pags/Grigs definitively saying that D. Thomas will play LG.  I thought they might leave Reitz there until we have a second guard option emerge.  D. Thomas is even more comfortable at RG until recently.  He is on record as saying that a reluctance to play LG or difficulty adjusting to it was an issue for him in the past.  It seems that his solid work at LG last year has erased those fears, however.  All this means that they must see D. Thomas as having high end LG pass protecting skills and they want get him settled there and would rather look for a mauler on the right.

[ztboiler]

Reitz is almost in the same boat as Ijalana. If he can't stay healthy we need to move on. Both guys have more potential than playing time.

We're all counting on Thomas as being one answer at G but let's face it, he's still an unknown too. G has to be the biggest "if" position on our roster.

Thomas being able to lock down one of the G spots has very little uncertainty in my book.  He has enough quality starts under his belt and athleticism to suggest he'll be a long term quality starter.

[jskinnz]

I never said it did????

 

Not exactly a tough one to figure so a post telling us you had it all along is... well... kind of funny.

[GoColts8818]

I don't think the Colts are ready to write off a guy who was a former second round pick that they haven't really seen on the field for extended period of time yet.  With that said due to his injury history Ijalana is going to have to preform very quickly.  I do get the sense though that Grigson seems to think he might be the answer for the other starting guard.  Honestly the more I see about the Colts and hear people talk about them unless they are laying one large smoke screen that the Colts are looking for the other starting guard to come from someone already on the roster.  I don't think we will be drafting one unless we do it in the later rounds.  With that said the Colts might be laying a smoke screen. 

[zippyd]

I gotta say, I think whoever will be starting at RG isn't on our roster yet. I'm seeing a lot of potential in rounds 3 and 4 for good interior linemen.

It's really really rare for 3rd or 4th round linemen to come in and be starters. There's a thread around here somewhere with a quote from Grigson about the time needed for linemen to develop. IMO a starting lineman out of college is a stud which means he'll go in the 1st. Not saying it can't happen. Just unlikely IMO.

[adfisher870]

I told you guys Grigson wasn't done with the oline

as pointed out in a previous post this article is from january they have added to the oline already hard to say if he plans on adding through fa, the draft or both

[ztboiler]

I don't think the Colts are ready to write off a guy who was a former second round pick that they haven't really seen on the field for extended period of time yet.  With that said due to his injury history Ijalana is going to have to preform very quickly.  I do get the sense though that Grigson seems to think he might be the answer for the other starting guard.  Honestly the more I see about the Colts and hear people talk about them unless they are laying one large smoke screen that the Colts are looking for the other starting guard to come from someone already on the roster.  I don't think we will be drafting one unless we do it in the later rounds.  With that said the Colts might be laying a smoke screen. 

Completely agree that they are hopeful for Ijalana to become an answer.  But, they also clearly left room to fill the RG spot in the draft while having enough players to go to camp as is if the draft board doesn't fall right - or add a vet after the draft.  Regardless of what Grigs says about rookies, I think he is willing and hoping to start a rookie at RG.  I think that Ijalana and Anderson are the only 2 players on the roster that he believes have talent for a starting RG he is looking for - but Reitz, Link, and even Sowell could fill it this year if need be.  I guess he could let McGlynn do it again too - don't think so.  I'll bet they'd like Justice to sign as a back-up for the swing tackle spot as well once a vet minimum deal becomes appealing.

[UKColt13]

It's really really rare for 3rd or 4th round linemen to come in and be starters. There's a thread around here somewhere with a quote from Grigson about the time needed for linemen to develop. IMO a starting lineman out of college is a stud which means he'll go in the 1st. Not saying it can't happen. Just unlikely IMO.

That may be, but if we got say Travis Fredrick, Alvin Bailey or Barrett Jones in the 3rd or 4th, could you say with a straight face that they wouldn't more than likely beat Reitz or McGlyn to a starting spot?

[zippyd]

That may be, but if we got say Travis Fredrick, Alvin Bailey or Barrett Jones in the 3rd or 4th, could you say with a straight face that they wouldn't more than likely beat Reitz or McGlyn to a starting spot?

I honestly can. 

[DarkHorseColts]

I won't rule out us going after Brandon Moore or Matt Slauson as a bargain pickup after the draft.

 

Go ahead and rule Slauson out, he's a Bear now.

 

But your point still stands.

[Colts_Fan12]

Reitz is almost in the same boat as Ijalana. If he can't stay healthy we need to move on. Both guys have more potential than playing time.

We're all counting on Thomas as being one answer at G but let's face it, he's still an unknown too. G has to be the biggest "if" position on our roster.

I believe Thomas had just got the starting job on the pats o line so he should be pretty good the pats don't have a bad line

[BronxColtNYC]

I told you guys Grigson wasn't done with the oline

Vet lineman after training camp. Or draft.

[BronxColtNYC]

Thomas being able to lock down one of the G spots has very little uncertainty in my book.  He has enough quality starts under his belt and athleticism to suggest he'll be a long term quality starter.

It's his spot to lose.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

A buddy of mine played DE at Villanova and was a 3 year starter.  He said Ijalana was the most talented OL he had ever seen.  I trust that, but also don't trust Ijalana's health.  Even if he is healthy come training camp we need at least one more versatile OL on this team before the season.

 

I think Ijalana, if healthy, can beat Thomas out for a G spot.  If we draft early, I think we can get a guy to beat Thomas out at the other G spot.  I think Thomas is very versatile, and would be thrilled to see him start the year on the bench ready to come in at either G spot along with Reitz.  However, if Ijalana goes down and we don't get another starter via the draft, I kind of worry if Reitz and Thomas are on the field together.

 

I think Costanzo is a mainstay on our line for years to come.  Cherilus, I think is an improvement over Justice, but I kind of worry about his health, too (I don't think that Grigs would have signed him to the deal that he did if he was worried, but there were all sorts of things being said about his knee back before we signed him). 

 

Assuming that Grigs knows more about his knee than I do, I am comfortable going into the season with Costanzo, Thomas, Shipley/Satele, G??, Cherilus. 

 

I think there is too much risk with Ijalana right now to not either get a Brandon Moore or draft another OL.  I am not sure if they have thought about moving Shipley over to G, and honestly wouldn't be all that opposed to seeing us sign Justice back (for cheap) to come in as a reserve T and possibly to try to compete at RG.

[ztboiler]

A buddy of mine played DE at Villanova and was a 3 year starter.  He said Ijalana was the most talented OL he had ever seen.  I trust that, but also don't trust Ijalana's health.  Even if he is healthy come training camp we need at least one more versatile OL on this team before the season.

 

I think Ijalana, if healthy, can beat Thomas out for a G spot.  If we draft early, I think we can get a guy to beat Thomas out at the other G spot.  I think Thomas is very versatile, and would be thrilled to see him start the year on the bench ready to come in at either G spot along with Reitz.  However, if Ijalana goes down and we don't get another starter via the draft, I kind of worry if Reitz and Thomas are on the field together.

 

I think Costanzo is a mainstay on our line for years to come.  Cherilus, I think is an improvement over Justice, but I kind of worry about his health, too (I don't think that Grigs would have signed him to the deal that he did if he was worried, but there were all sorts of things being said about his knee back before we signed him). 

 

Assuming that Grigs knows more about his knee than I do, I am comfortable going into the season with Costanzo, Thomas, Shipley/Satele, G??, Cherilus. 

 

I think there is too much risk with Ijalana right now to not either get a Brandon Moore or draft another OL.  I am not sure if they have thought about moving Shipley over to G, and honestly wouldn't be all that opposed to seeing us sign Justice back (for cheap) to come in as a reserve T and possibly to try to compete at RG.

If Ijalana is able to beat out Thomas....then I'm going to really enjoy those kind of problems compared to 2012.  Thomas is a starter.  You'll get your draft pick to compete at RG, no doubt about it, and Ijalana will get his shot.