Yahoo Ranks Colts #16 - Not a bad article though

[cjwhiskers]

First off the article IMO was fairly well written. Made some great observations and points. However, I think the editor definitely is underrating the new defense we have. Last year our defense came up big when it needed too and we actually played very well run D outside of a few games. Bit of a fantasy focus. 

 

Some of my favorite quotes

 

"So let's not pretend Luck was dealt exactly the same hand as Russell Wilson or RG3, or whoever else. He was placed in a unique situation and performed unreasonably well. Andrew Luck, in a nutshell, is a damn good quarterback coming off a phenomenal year."

 

"Luck is the eleventh quarterback off the board in an average Yahoo! draft (ADP 79.8), yet his ceiling is clearly much higher."

 

"Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen form one of the NFL's better tight end tandems"

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fantasy-roto-arcade/juggernaut-index-no-16-indianapolis-colts-001300503.html

[Iancolts]

Well at least they said rg3 and Wilson had a way better team then the colts did regardless of our schedule. I can't wait till football season and we start winning and all these talking heads jump to colts bandwagon!!!

[Jay Kirk]

Lol I just like proving them wrong

[21isSuperman]

It should be noted that the author believes we are 16th in terms of fantasy football, not the NFL.  A few of my thoughts:

 

1. "We should also note that Luck was sacked 41 times, the fourth-highest total in the league, and he was hit while throwing another 14 times, which tied for the NFL lead. Indianapolis receivers dropped 50 of his pass attempts, the most in football (again, per PFF). The Colts running game wasn't particularly effective (3.8 YPC), and the team's defense ranked 26th overall, allowing 374.3 yards per game."

I didn't realize it was that bad.  Jeez. 

2. Luck had 14 straight completions at one point in camp.  That's unreal!

3. I think Luck should be drafted higher than rounds 7-9, especially in keeper leagues

4. The author certainly has a sense of humour.  "Vick Ballard proved reliable if not spectacular as a rookie, averaging 3.9 YPC and gaining 966 scrimmage yards. He'll see plenty of first-team reps in camp with Bradshaw sidelined. Think of him as a high-end handcuff. And try not to think of Donald Brown ever again."

5. Who will be the better fantasy TE between Fleener and Allen?  The writer leans towards Fleener because he was really productive in Stanford's offense.  But Allen is so versatile, he can do it all.  However, not everything he can do (such as blocking) will show up on the fantasy football stats.  So who would you take first?

[cjwhiskers]

It should be noted that the author believes we are 16th in terms of fantasy football, not the NFL.  A few of my thoughts:

 

1. "We should also note that Luck was sacked 41 times, the fourth-highest total in the league, and he was hit while throwing another 14 times, which tied for the NFL lead. Indianapolis receivers dropped 50 of his pass attempts, the most in football (again, per PFF). The Colts running game wasn't particularly effective (3.8 YPC), and the team's defense ranked 26th overall, allowing 374.3 yards per game."

I didn't realize it was that bad.  Jeez. 

2. Luck had 14 straight completions at one point in camp.  That's unreal!

3. I think Luck should be drafted higher than rounds 7-9, especially in keeper leagues

4. The author certainly has a sense of humour.  "Vick Ballard proved reliable if not spectacular as a rookie, averaging 3.9 YPC and gaining 966 scrimmage yards. He'll see plenty of first-team reps in camp with Bradshaw sidelined. Think of him as a high-end handcuff. And try not to think of Donald Brown ever again."

5. Who will be the better fantasy TE between Fleener and Allen?  The writer leans towards Fleener because he was really productive in Stanford's offense.  But Allen is so versatile, he can do it all.  However, not everything he can do (such as blocking) will show up on the fantasy football stats.  So who would you take first?

 

Sorry, my misunderstanding. I wasn't exactly sure what Juggernaut rankings were, assumed it was Yahoo's power rankings . 

 

But to answer your last question, I think I agree with the author. I'd take Fleener first. He's a big target in endzone, all the camp hype, and the fact that he will be very familiar with this offense, and the OC. 

[Orlando Fan]

Good assessment of the team.  It will be interesting to see how well the defense gels and if the Colts are on the right track.  On paper it looks good, but I'll be eager to see how well they are doing halfway through the season.

[Andy]

The defense hasn't really proven anything and they haven't made too many big upgrades at each position (Landry over Zbi is probably the only major one, and maybe the two new guys at OLB). They should be quite a bit better because it's another year in Pagano's offense; they're more comfortable. 

 

So, I don't think the Colts defense is underrated. They could surprise, but underrated is something else. They should end up in the top 20 if everything goes according to plan. 

 

Definitely agree on Allen and Fleener, Allen was awesome last year and Fleener is having a good camp. They could creep into the top 4 TE tandems at the end of the year. Two very talented players.

[cjwhiskers]

The defense hasn't really proven anything and they haven't made too many big upgrades at each position (Landry over Zbi is probably the only major one, and maybe the two new guys at OLB). They should be quite a bit better because it's another year in Pagano's offense; they're more comfortable. 

 

So, I don't think the Colts defense is underrated. They could surprise, but underrated is something else. They should end up in the top 20 if everything goes according to plan. 

 

Definitely agree on Allen and Fleener, Allen was awesome last year and Fleener is having a good camp. They could creep into the top 4 TE tandems at the end of the year. Two very talented players.

When you're ranked in the bottom 8 in just about every defensive category through 2012 and add quite a few of the pieces we did I'd say we're pretty underrated. Think about it, we may not have any major upgrades but we filled holes with players to better fit the system, making the system more effective. Landry allows Bethea to play where he was easily considered a probowler, toler is an upgrade over Vaughn/butler, we actually have true NTs on this team, and our lbs have another year of experience as you said. Maybe underrated was a bad word to use, but I sure as hell don't think we will bottom 8 in defense. I'm not saying we will be top 10 either, but I think defense will be considered a strength of our quite a few times throughout this season.