Polian doesn't list Colts as a contender

[Goodtimes]

i take it you didn't watch that game

 

I didn't. That was a travel day for me but I read about it afterward. I move all over the country so that unfortunately happens once in a great while. I try to pull over and hit a sports bar to see the game.

[Goodtimes]

you a texan fan?

 

Not one bit. I do think they are very talented and they have some stars we can't match up with. I also think Wade Phillips has done a great job with that defense. I am a Colt and Bronco fan. That is all.

[jvan1973]

I didn't. That was a travel day for me but I read about it afterward. I move all over the country so that unfortunately happens once in a great while. I try to pull over and hit a sports bar to see the game.

i figured, anyone who said it could have gone either way didn't watch it

[Goodtimes]

But they weren't 5-11 they were 11-5. They won games and made the plays when it mattered. They won't be 7-1 in one scores games again this year, but we also won't have as many games where we have to win at the last minute. This is an improved team and I see 10 wins. You see 5,6,7 or whatever.. We'll see how it starts in a few days

 

No, I don't see them that low at all. I see them as 8-8 with 7-8 or 9-7 being no big surprise. You think the Colts are going to blow people out this year? I think they will have plenty of one score games again this year. I don't expect them to be quite as good in them.

[Nadine]

Not one bit. I do think they are very talented and they have some stars we can't match up with. I also think Wade Phillips has done a great job with that defense. I am a Colt and Bronco fan. That is all.

 

A manning fan that is still mad?

[BPM_Colt]

i figured, anyone who said it could have gone either way didn't watch it

Agreed! I was at the game and we handled them pretty well throughout

[Goodtimes]

i figured, anyone who said it could have gone either way didn't watch it

 

The write-ups and box scores I saw indicated it could have gone either way and they were watching the game.

[BPM_Colt]

No, I don't see them that low at all. I see them as 8-8 with 7-8 or 9-7 being no big surprise. You think the Colts are going to blow people out this year? I think they will have plenty of one score games again this year. I don't expect them to be quite as good in them.

I'm not saying we are going to blow teams out all year. But I also don't think we will be coming from behind in every game.

[Goodtimes]

A manning fan that is still mad?

 

A Manning fan but not mad about anything. Peyton made out like a bandit with a huge contract and playing on a Super Bowl contending team. I watch them because Peyton is always a "must see" for me. We won't know if the Colts were right or wrong for ten years. I am betting that they were wrong but we will see.

[jvan1973]

The write-ups and box scores I saw indicated it could have gone either way and they were watching the game.

the colts handled them all day. A nine plus minute drive at the end running it down their throat. Two picks by Davis, and a KO return for a td. one of the most complete games the colts have had in years

[jvan1973]

A Manning fan but not mad about anything. Peyton made out like a bandit with a huge contract and playing on a Super Bowl contending team. I watch them because Peyton is always a "must see" for me. We won't know if the Colts were right or wrong for ten years. I am betting that they were wrong but we will see.

[Buck Showalter]

Uh oh kiss of death...... Mike Greenberg (Greeny) of mike & mike on espn radio just picked the colts to play Seattle in the Superbowl......yikes

Cowherd has been on the Colts band wagon lately as well...

[BPM_Colt]

A Manning fan but not mad about anything. Peyton made out like a bandit with a huge contract and playing on a Super Bowl contending team. I watch them because Peyton is always a "must see" for me. We won't know if the Colts were right or wrong for ten years. I am betting that they were wrong but we will see.

Wrong? You are in complete denial if you think they made the wrong decision at this point... Manning WOULD NOT have won a super bowl with the team we would have had if we kept him.. His contract would have prevented others being signed plus the plain fact that nobody knew how the nerves would react after being hit week in week out. Going with Luck was the obvious business decision.. A decade of another potential great QB or another few years of question marks

[Buck Showalter]

A Manning fan but not mad about anything. Peyton made out like a bandit with a huge contract and playing on a Super Bowl contending team. I watch them because Peyton is always a "must see" for me. We won't know if the Colts were right or wrong for ten years. I am betting that they were wrong but we will see.

Ten years???

awesome...

glad someone around here can be the voice of reason...

[schwamm]

Not sure I understand this thread much.  Not much of what the Colts have done in the last year and a half fits with conventional NFL wisdom.  Cutting a hall of fame QB isn't conventional.  Firing your entire staff, and rebuilding the FO and coaching staff the way Irsay did isn't conventional.  "Lucking" out in the draft with another franchise QB on the heels of losing another isn't conventional.  Scrapping half your team isn't conventional.  Finding a way to go 11-5 in a season where 1/3 of your salary cap is tied up in players no longer on the team isn't conventional.  Going through a lot more turnover despite an 11-5 record isn't conventional.  Being very active in Free agency, but avoiding all the "big names" and focusing on "value" isn't conventional.

 

Bill Polian is the epitome of conventional in the NFL.  Of course he doesn't get it.

 

No need to get all up in arms about any of these opinions.  "Experts" don't have a clue what to expect from the Colts, because there is no historical reference to rely on to help them fathom what this team might do.  It is easier to assume they will struggle, simply because that is what "ought" to happen when something new is introduced.

[southwest1]

That and for goodness sake, PROTECT ANDREW LUCK!

 

If we cannot do that then we are doomed

Amen Nadine Amen...

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

Honestly when you say TRUE CONTENDER I think we have alot of questions & don't feel at this time we are. Given that certainly we could be a team on the rise. Pollian may feel that he can't be objective when it comes to INDY!

[Goodtimes]

Wrong? You are in complete denial if you think they made the wrong decision at this point... Manning WOULD NOT have won a super bowl with the team we would have had if we kept him.. His contract would have prevented others being signed plus the plain fact that nobody knew how the nerves would react after being hit week in week out. Going with Luck was the obvious business decision.. A decade of another potential great QB or another few years of question marks

 

Or a decade of an overhyped QB who never lives up to his reputation. I accept the business decision. I don't agree with it. Keep Manning and take the boatload of picks you could have gotten for the rights to Luck and you would have been a Super Bowl contender again quickly and you could have had your QB of the future on hand (Wilson, Tannehill, etc." So, I think you are very wrong and the next ten years will show that. I hope you are right and Luck is what you think he is. I don't see it yet.

[Goodtimes]

Ten years???

awesome...

glad someone around here can be the voice of reason...

 

Some folks are calling me a troll and not a voice of reason which is certainly what I want to be. I hope Luck turns out to be the best decision ever. I think it is 50/50 at best.

[BPM_Colt]

Or a decade of an overhyped QB who never lives up to his reputation. I accept the business decision. I don't agree with it. Keep Manning and take the boatload of picks you could have gotten for the rights to Luck and you would have been a Super Bowl contender again quickly and you could have had your QB of the future on hand (Wilson, Tannehill, etc." So, I think you are very wrong and the next ten years will show that. I hope you are right and Luck is what you think he is. I don't see it yet.

We can agree to disagree then. Enjoy watching your Broncos tonight

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

Why would he mention them as contenders? They aren't and they won't be. That said, I think they will be much better than last year but not as fortunate in close games and against some teams. Somewhere from 7-9 to 9-7..

I see 10 wins as possible but in no way a guarantee, if the season ended up as above I would be disappointed with 7 or 8 wins, but really not surprised. sometimes a team arrives a year early, only time will tell!

[Gavin]

Or a decade of an overhyped QB who never lives up to his reputation. I accept the business decision. I don't agree with it. Keep Manning and take the boatload of picks you could have gotten for the rights to Luck and you would have been a Super Bowl contender again quickly and you could have had your QB of the future on hand (Wilson, Tannehill, etc." So, I think you are very wrong and the next ten years will show that. I hope you are right and Luck is what you think he is. I don't see it yet.

Manning wasn't who he is now only 1 year and 4 preseason games into his career

[GoColts8818]

Whenever Polian says anything......

thats pretty much my thoughts whenever the media predicts Super Bowl contenders in general.

[southwest1]

Not sure I understand this thread much.  Not much of what the Colts have done in the last year and a half fits with conventional NFL wisdom.  Cutting a hall of fame QB isn't conventional.  Firing your entire staff, and rebuilding the FO and coaching staff the way Irsay did isn't conventional.  "Lucking" out in the draft with another franchise QB on the heels of losing another isn't conventional.  Scrapping half your team isn't conventional.  Finding a way to go 11-5 in a season where 1/3 of your salary cap is tied up in players no longer on the team isn't conventional.  Going through a lot more turnover despite an 11-5 record isn't conventional.  Being very active in Free agency, but avoiding all the "big names" and focusing on "value" isn't conventional.

 

Bill Polian is the epitome of conventional in the NFL.  Of course he doesn't get it.

 

No need to get all up in arms about any of these opinions.  "Experts" don't have a clue what to expect from the Colts, because there is no historical reference to rely on to help them fathom what this team might do.  It is easier to assume they will struggle, simply because that is what "ought" to happen when something new is introduced.

A reasonable answer schwamm. I applaud you for taking the high road here. Except for 1 thing: When someone like Bill Polian won a ring here, I expect him to be more gracious in their evaluation of the Colts. No need to lie or inflate our club's deep bound Playoff likelihood.  But, any analyst worth their salt would get off their duff, leave their ESPN Connecticut corner office, fly to INDY, & do an extensive report or series of reports chronicling the changes in the squad from their tenure up til now with GM Grigson, but that might require some actual work. Oh no! Are you sure that you are up to the task Bill? Can you handle that? 

 

Sorry SW1 didn't want to convey the impression of disrespect here. I do respect Bill's contributions in both Buffalo & INDY. I really do. I also have little patience for sheer laziness & recycled, carbon copy answers that tell you instantly that Bill doesn't really want to invest the time to find out the truth & the changing of the guard in INDY or our overwhelming drive to compete for division titles right here; right now.  There is something to be said for real, investigative, field work IMO. This isn't a question of journalism credentials; It's a question of a desire to be naturally curious crossing all your t's & dotting all your i's. Would you want someone to do a sad, fly by night summary of your HOF GM career Bill. No, I didn't think so...Part of your legacy is here in INDY. Why ignore that? 

[Brock Easley]

IT'S ALL SMALL TALK!!!! LET THE COLTS GAMEPLAYING SPEAK FOR ITSELF!!!! THEN THEY CAN EAT THEIR WORDS!!!!  :foot:

[schwamm]

A reasonable answer schwamm. I applaud you for taking the high road here. Except for 1 thing: When someone like Bill Polian won a ring here, I expect him to be more gracious in their evaluation of the Colts. No need to lie or inflate our club's deep bound Playoff likelihood. But, any analyst worth their salt would get off their duff, leave their ESPN Connecticut corner office, fly to INDY, & do an extensive report or series of reports chronicling the changes in the squad from their tenure up til now with GM Grigson, but that might require some actual work. Oh no! Are you sure that you are up to the task Bill? Can you handle that?

Sorry SW1 didn't want to convey the impression of disrespect here. I do respect Bill's contributions in both Buffalo & INDY. I really do. I also have little patience for sheer laziness & recycled, carbon copy answers that tell you instantly that Bill doesn't really want to invest the time to find out the truth & the changing of the guard in INDY or our overwhelming drive to compete for division titles right here; right now. There is something to be said for real, investigative, field work IMO. This isn't a question of journalism credentials; It's a question of a desire to be naturally curious crossing all your t's & dotting all your i's. Would you want someone to do a sad, fly by night summary of your HOF GM career Bill. No, I didn't think so...Part of your legacy is here in INDY. Why ignore that?

I guess I don't see it as laziness on BPs part. I just don't think he understands what Grigs is doing, and its easier to project mediocrity on a foundation of unknowns. It's like Grigs is speaking in a foreign tongue, and BP is assuming it's just babbling. BP never ran a team like this, and would never have imagined taking the same approach, so it's just too foreign.

[chad72]

Mike Greenberg taking the Colts to the SB is a kiss of death, I'd be more worried about that.

 

It might also means we fall just short, so I anticipate us to be in the divisional round or AFCCG at least. No wild card round exit for us, book it!!! ;)

[Goodtimes]

Manning wasn't who he is now only 1 year and 4 preseason games into his career

 

Agreed and Luck is the same deal. He is not the QB he will be in the future. What he will be is still unknown but he will better than last year an better than he will be this year.

[LockeDown]

There are 53 players on teams.[/quote

We have the current exec of the year building our other 53 guys and I hear he is pretty good. That's one point in our favor. Luck set rookie records. Another point. We beat teams like the Lions who are on the list. Another point. We made the playoffs last year and we have a better defense this year. The points keep adding up.

My point is that a team only goes as far as their franchise QB and Luck and the other 53 were slighted by Polian, IMO.

[LockeDown]

There are 53 players on teams.[/quote

We have the current exec of the year building our other 53 guys and I hear he is pretty good. That's one point in our favor. Luck set rookie records. Another point. We beat teams like the Lions who are on the list. Another point. We made the playoffs last year and we have a better defense this year. The points keep adding up.

My point is that a team only goes as far as their franchise QB and Luck and the other 53 were slighted by Polian, IMO.

[LockeDown]

Sorry for the double post

[NewEra]

Agreed and Luck is the same deal. He is not the QB he will be in the future. What he will be is still unknown but he will better than last year an better than he will be this year.

That you olblu? Welcome back!

[JoKeR]

Some folks are calling me a troll and not a voice of reason which is certainly what I want to be. I hope Luck turns out to be the best decision ever. I think it is 50/50 at best.

I didn't agree with most of your posts on this thread but I didn't see any trolling involved. Just opinions.

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

There are 53 players on teams.[/quote

We have the current exec of the year building our other 53 guys and I hear he is pretty good. That's one point in our favor. Luck set rookie records. Another point. We beat teams like the Lions who are on the list. Another point. We made the playoffs last year and we have a better defense this year. The points keep adding up.

My point is that a team only goes as far as their franchise QB and Luck and the other 53 were slighted by Polian, IMO.

Tougher schedule this year!

[Goodtimes]

I didn't agree with most of your posts on this thread but I didn't see any trolling involved. Just opinions.

 

Thanks. I don't expect everyone to agree because this is a Colts fan board and expectations and emotions are high. That is how it should be. But, thanks, I have no desire to be a troll.

[Stephen]

Thanks. I don't expect everyone to agree because this is a Colts fan board and expectations and emotions are high. That is how it should be. But, thanks, I have no desire to be a troll.

I think Brandon weeden will improve more from year 1 to year 2 than newton.

[Ja'Crispy]

Clearly he thinks the Colts are more than contenders, right? He's saying the Super Bowl is locked up! 

[ColtStrong]

I just bought today's USA Today NFL special and they predict the Colts being third in the AFC South with a 7-9 record. Is that sour grapes too? They also say they will be a better team than last year that got outscored by 40 points and still won 11 games. I think this was a pretty fair evaluation. I could see them getting to 8-8 or if they get all the breaks they got last year even 9-7. USA Today has Tennessee ahead of them at 8-8.

Give it up man.

[Goodtimes]

I think Brandon weeden will improve more from year 1 to year 2 than newton.

 

You do know that Newton's second season was one of the best in NFL history? He had a better year than Eli Manning who has won two SBs.

2012     280 completions 485 attempts 57.7% 3869 passing yards 241.8 Passing Yds. per game 8.0 Average gain   19 TDs 12 Ints 127 Rushes 741 Yards

46.3

Avg

5.8

Per carry

8

TDs

 

3

Fum

 

These are pretty damn good numbers for a QB on a very bad team. I look for him to be better and for the team to be better this year.

 

Cam Newton's 2013 Draft Rank and Projections

[shecolt]

It matters to me because it evokes an emotional response from me: A lack of gratitude from a former employer where Bill acquired a number of his Executive Of The Year Awards from Is he dismissing the Bills, another employer with the same level of intensity or hesitation? I highly doubt it.  Yes, I realize that NFL analysts are supposed to be impartial in the screening process among teams.

 

True, Bill is not a Supreme Court Justice here. I realize that, but  as an analyst one must try to appear balanced in their criticism both positive & negative in scope. Usually, when your former boss Jim Irsay gives you the boot, objectivity gets tossed out the window. It's really hard to be fair to the boss who let you go. The only question is: Do you acknowledge your bias publicly, abstain from chiming in at all with any opinion trying deliberately not to be  incredibly harsh or cruel, or is there a statute of limitations when the kid gloves came come off with no neutrality or safe haven for a previous franchise anymore? 

 

Players go through this process when they retire & become broadcasters on network, satellite, & cable TV shows too. They go from having your teammates back in the locker room to getting the story or scoop by being methodical, unyielding, & willing to step on more than a few egos & toes along the way to meet a deadline & satisfy the demands of their editor or producer. 

 

I understand that it matters to you and makes you emotional, but I'm just not going to worry about whether or not Polian was being biased because pre-season predictions are nothing more than a guessing game to me.

 

Personally, I get more upset when a Colt's fan says that he hopes the SB comes down to the Patriots vs. the Saints.