Do we honestly have any holes on defense?

[trueblueblood]

Think about it, all the good news about chapman and montori Hughes, the drafting of Werner, loads of depth at d-line, a great ilb in freeman, as well as some other solid ilb's, two pro bowl caliber safeties, a pro bowl caliber corner in Davis, the addition of toler, and a good 3rd corner in butler... I'm very excited to see this monster in action.

[TKnight24]

Depth in the Secondary is the biggest hole right now

[Dustin]

Middle linebacker. We need a game changer there.

[coltsfanatic24]

 This is the 1st year  that i can remember even during the Manning era that we are good at every defensive position.

[NY_Colts]

We have 1 proven CB..... In a passing league where you play nickel 2-3 downs down the stretch of a close game that's a huge hole

[jshipp23]

Really???? Wow...

[Smonroe]

Think about it, all the good news about chapman and montori Hughes, the drafting of Werner, loads of depth at d-line, a great ilb in freeman, as well as some other solid ilb's, two pro bowl caliber safeties, a pro bowl caliber corner in Davis, the addition of toler, and a good 3rd corner in butler... I'm very excited to see this monster in action.

 

We're undefeated and unscored on...

 

Seriously, do we really know what we have on defense until we actually see them play together?

[NewColtsFan]

Holes?     In the Colts defense?     Really?     Seriously?

 

I'll take "Yes! for $2,000, Alex"

 

Find me 40 sacks from this defense.     Find me 20-24 interceptions.

 

They may come.   They may be there.    But they're not apparent now, today. 

 

Who are the game changers?    Who are the big play makers?    I don't see many today.    I might in 6 months,  but nothing is obvious to me today.

 

So, for me there are holes on every level (DL, LB and DB) until we prove on the field that there are not.

[jshipp23]

Were gonna be the next 85' Bears....Loaded with pro Bowlers at every position,,,,,smh...Still gonna be plenty of 38-31 games people, just hopefully fewer...Let's not get carried away, but luckily we have LUCK on our side so anything is possible...

[HarassedOffTheSite]

Not sure if I would characterize it as a hole but Angerer at ILB does not qualify as a strength.

[Smonroe]

Holes?     In the Colts defense?     Really?     Seriously?

 

I'll take "Yes! for $2,000, Alex"

 

Find me 40 sacks from this defense.     Find me 20-24 interceptions.

 

They may come.   They may be there.    But they're not apparent now, today. 

 

Who are the game changers?    Who are the big play makers?    I don't see many today.    I might in 6 months,  but nothing is obvious to me today.

 

So, for me there are holes on every level (DL, LB and DB) until we prove on the field that there are not.

 

I will say I can't see any gaping holes, not like last year.  We don't have to be great, we just have to be good.  Middle of the pack good.  

 

There aren't any great defenses in the NFL anymore.  The Ravens certainly didn't have one last year.  You win in this league with a great offense and an adequate defense.  

[NewColtsFan]

I will say I can't see any gaping holes, not like last year.  We don't have to be great, we just have to be good.  Middle of the pack good.  

 

There aren't any great defenses in the NFL anymore.  The Ravens certainly didn't have one last year.  You win in this league with a great offense and an adequate defense.  

 

Good post.    Really good post.

 

Hope all Colt's fans will read it.     And then read it again!

 

Nice job!     

[jshipp23]

Good post.    Really good post.

 

Hope all Colt's fans will read it.     And then read it again!

 

Nice job!     

Not true....

[Luckynumber12]

i think we r 1 solid ILB and 1 solid CB from being a true superbowl contender

[unitaswestand]

We don't really need to have a team of Pro Bowlers on defense.  In the modern NFL with the salary cap, teams are mostly made up of 6-8 core guys, and then a bunch of lower level guys.   We are in a great position that since our skilled position guys are mostly very young and on rookie contracts, we can put together a solid defensive unit across the board.   I think our defense, potentially, is a Top 5 defense.

 

And I don't consider Angerer a liability.  Not sure why people are down on him.  He was a tackling machine two years ago.  Last year, he was hurt all year and tried to play.  If this guy is healthy, he will be very good.

 

Finally, enjoy the balanced team.  Because 3-4 years ago when Luck and the skilled position youngsters get new contracts, we will start becoming like we were a few years ago.  A few really good players and a bunch of lower level guys.  That is just the NFL now.  I would actually love to see a team take the approach to never get into that unless it is with the QB.  What I mean is give Luck him money when he contract runs out.  But then continuously refresh the roster and trade away guys that are up for big money.  Sounds stupid, but Patriots have done that some.  You are running the risk of not replacing your players.  But you are able to put together a much more balanced team and pick up more draft picks.   Manning and Brady have shown you don't need great receivers when you have a great QB.

[jshipp23]

We don't really need to have a team of Pro Bowlers on defense.  In the modern NFL with the salary cap, teams are mostly made up of 6-8 core guys, and then a bunch of lower level guys.   We are in a great position that since our skilled position guys are mostly very young and on rookie contracts, we can put together a solid defensive unit across the board.   I think our defense, potentially, is a Top 5 defense.

 

And I don't consider Angerer a liability.  Not sure why people are down on him.  He was a tackling machine two years ago.  Last year, he was hurt all year and tried to play.  If this guy is healthy, he will be very good.

 

Finally, enjoy the balanced team.  Because 3-4 years ago when Luck and the skilled position youngsters get new contracts, we will start becoming like we were a few years ago.  A few really good players and a bunch of lower level guys.  That is just the NFL now.  I would actually love to see a team take the approach to never get into that unless it is with the QB.  What I mean is give Luck him money when he contract runs out.  But then continuously refresh the roster and trade away guys that are up for big money.  Sounds stupid, but Patriots have done that some.  You are running the risk of not replacing your players.  But you are able to put together a much more balanced team and pick up more draft picks.   Manning and Brady have shown you don't need great receivers when you have a great QB.

Good point...I dread when we have to take this approach in a few years,,,,I've said before, right now and the next few years we will have our most talented teams and  I hope we maximize this...

[BOTT]

I will say I can't see any gaping holes, not like last year.  We don't have to be great, we just have to be good.  Middle of the pack good.  

 

There aren't any great defenses in the NFL anymore.  The Ravens certainly didn't have one last year.  You win in this league with a great offense and an adequate defense.

Before the playoffs the Ravens were not great on either side of the ball

[LockeDown]

The best teams don't win the Super Bowl, the teams that play best do. Just get hot in the playoffs.

[In Luck We Trust]

I am not sold on our secondary until i see them play. Davis is a given, he did start playing better last year in the second half but our other CB's is no guarantee. i think CB is our biggest hole right now. im not against us drafting werner in the first round, but i will stand by my opinion before the draft when i thought we should have gotten Rhodes if he fell to us.   

[atapcl]

Middle linebacker. We need a game changer there.

Agreed. We need one intimidating ILB.

[dw49]

We don't really need to have a team of Pro Bowlers on defense.  In the modern NFL with the salary cap, teams are mostly made up of 6-8 core guys, and then a bunch of lower level guys.   We are in a great position that since our skilled position guys are mostly very young and on rookie contracts, we can put together a solid defensive unit across the board.   I think our defense, potentially, is a Top 5 defense.

 

And I don't consider Angerer a liability.  Not sure why people are down on him.  He was a tackling machine two years ago.  Last year, he was hurt all year and tried to play.  If this guy is healthy, he will be very good.

 

Finally, enjoy the balanced team.  Because 3-4 years ago when Luck and the skilled position youngsters get new contracts, we will start becoming like we were a few years ago.  A few really good players and a bunch of lower level guys.  That is just the NFL now.  I would actually love to see a team take the approach to never get into that unless it is with the QB.  What I mean is give Luck him money when he contract runs out.  But then continuously refresh the roster and trade away guys that are up for big money.  Sounds stupid, but Patriots have done that some.  You are running the risk of not replacing your players.  But you are able to put together a much more balanced team and pick up more draft picks.   Manning and Brady have shown you don't need great receivers when you have a great QB.

 

 

 

I think you might be over- stating a bit. First of all we have 4 more years before Luck gets a monster contract. Looking back at the Polian - Manning years , we had so many players that were paid at the top of their positions Manning , Clark , Freeney , Harrison and Sanders all signed deals that topped the market at their respective positions. MH may not have been No. 1 but he was close to it. As a result , we couldn't even play special teams. If you look at teams that have big QB contracts , you really don't see that horrible of a balance. NE , Den. Balt , and GB have decently deep rosters and lets see how NO does with their coach back. I agree that with the salary cap , you have no great , deep rosters (SF and Seattle are exceptions to that) but we should be at no big  disadvantage when Luck signs a top contract 5 years from now.

[Stephen]

I think you might be over- stating a bit. First of all we have 4 more years before Luck gets a monster contract. Looking back at the Polian - Manning years , we had so many players that were paid at the top of their positions Manning , Clark , Freeney , Harrison and Sanders all signed deals that topped the market at their respective positions. MH may not have been No. 1 but he was close to it. As a result , we couldn't even play special teams. If you look at teams that have big QB contracts , you really don't see that horrible of a balance. NE , Den. Balt , and GB have decently deep rosters and lets see how NO does with their coach back. I agree that with the salary cap , you have no great , deep rosters (SF and Seattle are exceptions to that) but we should be at no big  disadvantage when Luck signs a top contract 5 years from now.

And greenbay keeps getting embarassed by giants because they cant afford to fix o line

[Dustin]

And greenbay keeps getting embarassed by giants because they cant afford to fix o line

 

They can afford it, but TT doesn't dabble in free agency very much. He builds through the draft and I think that they took their LT in the first round 2 years ago. So it's not so much being able to pay for it as it is just being mediocre at drafting lineman in later rounds on the part of TT.

[krunk]

I think we have plenty of depth and talent at almost every position on defense now. Most of the depth in the secondary is pretty adequate for the most part. Whatever we don't appear to have I think one or two of the UDFAs (Price or/and Chapman) can fill in even more depth if they make the team.

I'd like a little bit more talent at MLB, but the guys we have are solid football players for the most part. Certainly not chicken feed. It wouldn't shock me if C.O. Prime was able to make a contribution in the pecking order. He's a tackling machine, although he doesn't appear to be very fast.

[GoColts8818]

I am sure we do we just have to see how everyone looks when they play.  Honestly I think we have a lot of "good" players on the defense but very few "great" players.  I think the defense is going to be solid but not spectacular as a whole. 

[krunk]

I think we have just as much talent as what the Ravens took to the Superbowl in my opinion.

[Dustin]

I think we have just as much talent as what the Ravens took to the Superbowl in my opinion.

 

2012 Ravens vs 2013 Colts:

 

CBs:

 

Davis > Cary Williams

Toler > Jimmy Smith

 

Safeties:

 

Bethea < Reed (Reed is better in coverage, but Bethea is a better tackler. Reed gets the nod.)

Landry = Pollard (Both terrible in coverage, big hitters)

 

Linebackers:

 

Freeman > Lewis

Angerer  > Ellerbe

Mathis < Suggs

Werner < Kruger

Walden <<< McClain

 

D-line: 

 

Redding < Ngata

RJF < Jones

Chapman < Kemoeatu

 

___________________________________________________________

 

Colts: 4

 

Ravens: 7

 

1 wash.

 

Hopefully some of those carrot signs can be changed next season, but I don't see us comparing to the Ravens at all. Especially with OLBers and D-line. The most important parts of the defense.

[trueblueblood]

Were gonna be the next 85' Bears....Loaded with pro Bowlers at every position,,,,,smh...Still gonna be plenty of 38-31 games people, just hopefully fewer...Let's not get carried away, but luckily we have LUCK on our side so anything is possible...

You're right, I totally said this defense will be full of pro bowlers and be the best defense of all time

[ponyboy9]

i think so. i'm not a huge landry fan and big depth issues in the secondary.

[Tark The Shark]

Cornerback and Inside LB are both holes right now.

 

We have picked up depth but both positions are still weak. 

 

And all of this is on paper, we don't know how this team will gel yet.

[BrentMc11]

Before the playoffs the Ravens were not great on either side of the ball

Fired their OC and replaced him with the living Legend Jim Caldwell.....and yes it worked  D was banged up big time....and old!

[BrentMc11]

I really would love to wait until preseason to give a better answer....16 minutes from camp...Will get to see with the naked I and give solid reports....

 

Right now backup CB is very weak.... unless our rookies step up.

 

I feel that Josh McNary is someone who is going to be a keeper out of Army.  He is listed as a "Rush linebacker, but at 6' 250 I am wondering if he cannot add depth at the middle linebacker spot????  Looks like the Mathis LB....can Werner go to the right???  Interesting.  At ILB, I am not afraid to go with who we have anyway with Conner, Angerer (if healthy/2 surgeries) Sheppard (80 tackles for Buffalo) and a fella by the name of Freeman....(Harvey...and a sleeper or two)

 

Some McNary footage....watch him from the left OLB/and with hand down too.......shows at 235 in the game....bad fast to the QB!  250 now...I bet he could play middle with his intelligence...but I like the rush too!!!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW7sL2RCXJY

 

It is already hard to pick 53 for the team....it makes me ill some of these guys have to go....that is call competition Colts fans.....Pagano/Grigson style!!!!              !!!!!

[Mouthfire]

Depth in the Secondary is the biggest hole right now

 

 

Middle linebacker. We need a game changer there.

 

These two.

 

Also, let's see how these guys play first before we anoint them all pro-bowlers.  I seem to remember last year, people were excitedly jumping up and down about the acquisitions of Justice, McGlynn, and Satele, declaring our O line fixed.  How did that turn out? 

[BrentMc11]

These two.

 

Also, let's see how these guys play first before we anoint them all pro-bowlers.  I seem to remember last year, people were excitedly jumping up and down about the acquisitions of Justice, McGlynn, and Satele, declaring our O line fixed.  How did that turn out? 

I would have to see where anyone said our OL was fixed last year.  Those pickups were stop gap measures at best...Justice and McGlynn anyways....Satele was supposed to be a 'find.'  We 'found' ourselves in a dilemma when he was oft-injured and outplayed by AQ Shipley....3 yrs- 10.8 million....here's to hoping he was just injured!!!  :cheers: (Only 3 it is early ) We have him again....URRGH!!!  

[IndyD4U]

We're undefeated and unscored on...

Seriously, do we really know what we have on defense until we actually see them play together?

^this^

We don't know what we have, yet. On paper we look solid, but so did the Eagles a few years back. Remember the "dream team"

[Smonroe]

I would have to see where anyone said our OL was fixed last year.  Those pickups were stop gap measures at best...Justice and McGlynn anyways....Satele was supposed to be a 'find.'  We 'found' ourselves in a dilemma when he was oft-injured and outplayed by AQ Shipley....3 yrs- 10.8 million....here's to hoping he was just injured!!!  :cheers: (Only 3 it is early ) We have him again....URRGH!!!

And don't forget Olsen, who took the 'stop' out of stop gap. I think we're all hoping that Satele's issue was injury because we know he played better in the past.

I hope he can stay healthy long enough to let our rookie learn the system. We know he's a very bright kid, it shouldn't take long for the mental part to work.

[Jay Kirk]

One thing to remember about the inside linebackers and linebackers as a whole,is that its like a puzzle  IMO,if the DL improves like we hope and think,life for the LBs especially the inside guys is gonna be so much better.Time will tell,training camp and preseason will show us a lot,if you know how to evaluate and read between the lines.Really looking forward to it.And like Brent im hoping some of the UFA  CBs come thru to add depth there.Right now would consider that our weakest point.

[BrentMc11]

And don't forget Olsen, who took the 'stop' out of stop gap. I think we're all hoping that Satele's issue was injury because we know he played better in the past.

I hope he can stay healthy long enough to let our rookie learn the system. We know he's a very bright kid, it shouldn't take long for the mental part to work.

With you on everything today it would seem  Great points on Satele...

[BrentMc11]

One thing to remember about the inside linebackers and linebackers as a whole,is that its like a puzzle  IMO,if the DL improves like we hope and think,life for the LBs especially the inside guys is gonna be so much better.Time will tell,training camp and preseason will show us a lot,if you know how to evaluate and read between the lines.Really looking forward to it.And like Brent im hoping some of the UFA  CBs come thru to add depth there.Right now would consider that our weakest point.

We need someone to take Gordy and Cassius 'I get burned like molasses' Vaughn's CB spots...ASAP.  

 

 

[Jay Kirk]

Expanding on the inside LBs it seems to me with more DLs demanding double teams it just allows the inside backers more opportunity to blast the gaps to stop the run or even get to the QB,also allows them to stay at home if need be to drop back in coverage