Grades: Week 10 vs Rams

[Superman]

 
 
Week 9 grades
Box score
 
Offense, D+: 69 plays, 406 yards, 21 first downs (18 passing, 0 rushing, 3 from penalty), 2/12 on third down, 0/2 on fourth down, 1/5 in the red zone, 5 turnovers (4 interceptions, 1 lost fumble), 8 points; terrible execution early, too many mistakes as the game went on

 

QB: Worst game of the year. Missed wide open receivers for big gains, held on to the ball too long, missed hot reads and dumpoffs in favor of highly contested throws, and the overthrows caught up to him with the pick in the middle of the field. The misreads caught up to him with the first pick in the end zone. The third pick wasn't all his fault, Fleener should have at least defended it better, but at his size, probably should have brought it in. Luck was hesitant to pull it down and run, and then came up short on the fourth down scramble. Some of this was due to poor protection, but in rewatching the game, his protection wasn't all that bad. More on the line play later, but the QB really didn't pull his weight. A couple of drops and a couple of bad hits, but I'm putting the majority of the blame for this poor passing performance on him. Of course, he's still the freakin' man, let's not let that be misunderstood. Made some big throws and wound up with 353 yards, had us in the red zone multiple times, and still showed the stuff with some zippy throws. But a real stinker of a game for Luck, both the stats and the film. D+, (too many bad throws and poor decisions)

 

Backs / receivers / tight ends: Best offensive unit, but that's not exactly high praise. Hilton did his business, aside from tripping over his own feet on the long play... should have been a TD. A few other plays by the receivers, but most of it came after we were already down by four scores. The backs got no love, whatsoever. They did a good job catching the ball and getting some YAC (did anyone else hear that BOOM?!) Richardson must have taken dizzy pills because he was running like this on a couple of plays: http://www.pbh2.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/funniest-kid-gifs-dizzy-soccer-kick.gif Need some burst from our 2014 first rounder. Fleener was targeted 10 times, only came down with 4 catches + the extra point. Can't be too critical of the skill guys when the QB was missing throws, the offensive line wasn't blocking well, and the play calling was bipolar. C+, (productive catching and running, but too late in the game, and nothing else)

 

OL / blocking: No run blocking. Whiffed a ton of blocks, multiple mistakes on each run play, got overpowered, showed poor technique, just plain missed defenders at times. The pass blocking suffered some key breakdowns early on, most notably the Long sack where Castonzo got beat (but Luck should have gotten rid of it sooner, I think). The pass blocking started to improve as the game went on, but part of that was the Rams rushing straight up more often. They hit us with a stunt that Havili and Luck didn't see, which wound up as a sack. And Link missed his block on the heavy left play action on first and goal, which was an inventive way to bust our own trend of running to the heavy side, but got blown up after the play fake. The Rams have a really good defensive front that shut down the Seahawks a couple weeks ago, so this isn't surprising. Overall, these guys owned our blocking unit: 

http://forums.colts.com/gallery/image/2071-rams-dline/

 D, (should be pretty obvious)

 
Defense, C: 55 plays, 372 yards, 12 first downs (7 passing, 5 rushing, 0 from penalty), 7/15 on third down, 0/1 on fourth down, 1/3 in the red zone, 1 turnovers, 24 points; just a few big plays, but that's two weeks in a row that we got busted for big plays

 

Defensive front: Best unit of the day. I thought our front played really well. Not a lot of chances to rush the passer, with only 21 dropbacks, but Mathis got two sacks (should have been two fumbles, also, but Clemens obviously has a ridiculously strong right hand), and there was more pressure throughout the game. The run defense was kind of inconsistent, letting a couple gains out for decent yardage, and then there was the big 56 yarder late in the game, against a bunch of backups up front (Werner was way out of position). But for the most part, the run fits were solid, the tackling was good, and we stopped runs at or behind the line of scrimmage pretty well. Franklin got pushed around again, winding up on his back more often than not, and he was the primary culprit in a lot of those solid gains, but we shut down the outside and corralled the ball carriers well. Take out that 56 yarder and Clemens' scrambles, and they averaged 2.5 yards/carry. Not too shabby. B-

 

Pass defense: I don't know what to say. Davis is lacking in concentration, and sometimes our safety play is just awful. Bethea has to be better at playing the ball. The linebackers got caught watching a couple dumpoffs/screens, and got rubbed off their man another couple times. But most of the issue here was with the deep coverage, again. Outside of Austin's two catches, the coverage was there, but it wasn't really tested too much. There was a blown coverage by Cassius Vaughn on third down, which isn't surprising. We just have to stop making mistakes. Eleven yards/pass play is terrible. C-
 
Special teams: So much for being the 7th ranked special teams unit in the league. Chad72 jinxed that... Unacceptable execution on the punt return TD, but the writing was on the wall. We've been playing with fire all season long, missing immediate stops and letting them go for 15 or 20 yards, and that's how Austin got warmed up in this one. Then the big mistake. I hope that means we got it out of our system, and this was the perfect game for that to happen. Why not let everything go wrong all at once? Then our return game was pathetic, and that's being very nice. I'm sick of David Reed. At least our protections weren't off like they were against the Texans, and we almost blocked a punt. Really, just two slight mistakes on punt coverage, but they both went for big yardage. D+
 
Coaching / playcalling, C-:

Again, I have no problem with Manusky's play calling. I do have a problem with relying on Cassius Vaughn on the outside, but I don't know that we have any better options right now. (What's Justin Tryon up to these days? Kevin Thomas?) A busted coverage, then poor help from the safety, and that sums up the passing coverage. That's not Manusky's fault. The run defense was sound. We got pass rush. It's weird because the defense gave up 31 points, but I think the defensive schemes were just fine. I'll say again, poor execution and too many mistakes. B-

 

Hamilton can't figure out what kind of offense he wants to call. Does he want a vertical passing game, or a quick hitting attack? Does he want to throw screens, or keep the backs in to block? Does he want to run the ball up the middle, or does he want to attack the edges? I understand having some unpredictability on your offense, but you first have to allow your team a chance to execute the basics. His plays did get some receivers open, though, and Luck missed the throws. We had some draws and traps that had a chance to get yardage, but the line didn't block them well. I absolutely hated some of his play calls, including the 3rd and 3 sack early on (there were no short options for Luck to go hot to). I still contend that the offense will find a rhythm, but it's getting harder to give Pep the benefit of the doubt. D+

 

Pagano let me down at the end of the first half. You're down four scores and if you have any chance of winning, you have to give your team a chance to establish some momentum. The defense did a nice job stopping the Rams, and we had three timeouts, but he decided not to use them and let the half end. Didn't like it. And it's his job to readjust his team after big plays, and he simply didn't in the first half, until it was too late. Not sure why we went for two, or why we went for it on fourth down after Luck was already pulled, but whatever. We got blasted by four scores at home. The coach doesn't get to hide behind poor execution. Sorry. D

Game ball, offense: N/A 

 

Game ball, defense: N/A

 

Good Guy Colt Award: Pat McAfee. If there was any positive yesterday in LOS, it was this: http://fox59.com/2013/11/11/colts-pat-mcafee-makes-a-soldier-and-his-familys-day-at-lucas-oil-stadium/#axzz2kOIueuiS

 

On to the Titans. What a week to have a Thursday night game. Get over the stinky loss and go out and hit somebody.

 

GO COLTS!

Edited November 12, 2013 by Superman
correction made

[HungarianColtsFan]

[OffensivelyPC]

I don't suspect we'll see anything higher than a C+, and that's being gracious if you ask me.

[Smonroe]

The defense was about average. Every other aspect deserves an F.

[Superman]

I don't suspect we'll see anything higher than a C+, and that's being gracious if you ask me.

 

I can neither confirm nor deny...

[HungarianColtsFan]

I can neither confirm nor deny...

 

 

On different sites B- was the highest grade for run blocking, but anyway... C-

 

I wouldn't grade it for a while, I have to digest it!

[Valpo2004]

If I had to guess from listening on the radio until the score was 35 - 0. 

 

Offense D

Defense D+

Special Teams F 

 

No Colt came to play on Sunday.  

[OffensivelyPC]

The defense was about average. Every other aspect deserves an F.

The best aspect of the game was our rush defense, and it gave up 140 yards and a TD.  We got torched on the pass all day long.  Missed throws, bad running for the very short time we actually ran the ball, atrocious blocking, special teams...just puke.  I'm glad we have a short week this week in that I hope this team picks it up and wins on Thursday.  This is just one of those games where the sooner we can have another game to talk about, the better.

[Gavin]

I'd give a game ball to Hilton, He played well for the most part. Have not seen the All 22 yet, Ill give my opinions then but that was one awful performance on all 3 phases and some players really need to be questioning there effort

[jameszeigler834]

Fail  fail and impressively fail.

[Le Neon]

Grade what? Last weekend was clearly a bye.

[Nobody]

F

[IndyD4U]

Is G an option?

[Superman]

I'd give a game ball to Hilton, He played well for the most part. Have not seen the All 22 yet, Ill give my opinions then but that was one awful performance on all 3 phases and some players really need to be questioning there effort

 

It's one thing to acknowledge him as a bright spot, quite another to give him a game ball. Sorry, ain't happenin.

[SilentHill]

F

[swflacoltsfans]

I give the cheerleaders an A+ they kept smiling through that awful showing. The team gets and INCOMPLETE FOR NOT SHOWING UP.

[MTC]

[GoDeep]

Game ball to AV. Didn't miss a kick.

[Chucksoft]

I am going to grade the decisions our GM has recently made instead.

 

Ok no matter how many times Grigson wants to say it, it takes more than saying you are a smash mouth running team to actually become one. The one aspect of our game that is stopping this team from becoming great and it has been the problem since Peyton was here, is the OFFENSIVE LINE. We are not getting any kind of consistently good play from any guys up front. I cannot think of any guy on our line that would start on another team. 

 

What has our GM done since he has gotten here to address this issue? Not much really, he has done the opposite. Yes, he drafted 3 O lineman but none of these guys were high draft picks or are starting on the team now. Now to his free agent signings. Justice, Cherilus and Thomas are all not worth the paper their contracts were printed on and are making way too much on said contract. 

 

Now to his trades. He has given away too many draft picks that should have been kept to shore up our biggest problem, O LINE! Traded 2nd pound pick for Vontae Davis. A corner who was struggling on the team he was on and now is quitting on plays. The same thing he was accused of doing in Miami! 

 

Trent Richardson. Now I will admit it is too early to say this was a completely bad trade but let us look at this more closely. He traded away Delone Carter for David Reed (who thinks he is Deion and doesn't understand the point of a touchback), this was the wrong move. If he had kept Delone Carter we wouldn't have needed to trade our first round pick next year for Richardson. We would have had Bradshaw,Ballard, Brown and Carter. Bradshaw/Ballard get hurt we still have Carter, Brown, and our 1st round draft pick next year to address our pathetic O line. We sure didn't need Reed and if we are going to be a run first team, why are you trading away our running backs? 

 

Grigson needs to learn that if a team is willing to trade away a former first round draft pick it is because they feel he is not worth it. His inexperience got him suckered on these deals in my opinion. Running backs are a dime a dozen. You can get one in the late rounds of any draft and he can be a productive back. O linemen are not available like this. You need every draft pick, as high as you can get, to get assure you get a good one.

 

I will give Grigson a grade and it is a D. For DO NOT trade anymore of our draft picks. If he continues down this path Colts fans are in for another decade of watching Andrew pick himself up from the ground and try to win us a game in the 4th quarter. Just like Peyton had to his whole career here.

 

P.S. The defense also gets a big fat F. I didn't know that Reggie played defense? What was their problem yesterday? Receivers and O line get worse than an F. They get a DNP. Did not participate. Except T.Y. Love you T.Y.! I know it is tough trying to do it all on your own. Ask Reggie he can sympathize.

[Superman]

I am going to grade the decisions our GM has recently made instead.

Ok no matter how many times Grigson wants to say it, it takes more than saying you are a smash mouth running team to actually become one. The one aspect of our game that is stopping this team from becoming great and it has been the problem since Peyton was here, is the OFFENSIVE LINE. We are not getting any kind of consistently good play from any guys up front. I cannot think of any guy on our line that would start on another team.

What has our GM done since he has gotten here to address this issue? Not much really, he has done the opposite. Yes, he drafted 3 O lineman but none of these guys were high draft picks or are starting on the team now. Now to his free agent signings. Justice, Cherilus and Thomas are all not worth the paper their contracts were printed on and are making way too much on said contract.

Now to his trades. He has given away too many draft picks that should have been kept to shore up our biggest problem, O LINE! Traded 2nd pound pick for Vontae Davis. A corner who was struggling on the team he was on and now is quitting on plays. The same thing he was accused of doing in Miami!

Trent Richardson. Now I will admit it is too early to say this was a completely bad trade but let us look at this more closely. He traded away Delone Carter for David Reed (who thinks he is Deion and doesn't understand the point of a touchback), this was the wrong move. If he had kept Delone Carter we wouldn't have needed to trade our first round pick next year for Richardson. We would have had Bradshaw,Ballard, Brown and Carter. Bradshaw/Ballard get hurt we still have Carter, Brown, and our 1st round draft pick next year to address our pathetic O line. We sure didn't need Reed and if we are going to be a run first team, why are you trading away our running backs?

Grigson needs to learn that if a team is willing to trade away a former first round draft pick it is because they feel he is not worth it. His inexperience got him suckered on these deals in my opinion. Running backs are a dime a dozen. You can get one in the late rounds of any draft and he can be a productive back. O linemen are not available like this. You need every draft pick, as high as you can get, to get assure you get a good one.

I will give Grigson a grade and it is a D. For DO NOT trade anymore of our draft picks. If he continues down this path Colts fans are in for another decade of watching Andrew pick himself up from the ground and try to win us a game in the 4th quarter. Just like Peyton had to his whole career here.

P.S. The defense also gets a big fat F. I didn't know that Reggie played defense? What was their problem yesterday? Receivers and O line get worse than an F. They get a DNP. Did not participate. Except T.Y. Love you T.Y.! I know it is tough trying to do it all on your own. Ask Reggie he can sympathize.

You are so wrong in so many different ways.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

Andrew you blew it for me buddy. Come out next week and prove you can deal with this adveristy, light a fire under our team's and especially Coaches * 

[Chucksoft]

You are so wrong in so many different ways.

 

Okay I got time. Show me why and explain how many different ways I am wrong? You cannot just say I am and not explain yourself?

[SilentHill]

Okay I got time. Show me why and explain how many different ways I am wrong? You cannot just say I am and not explain yourself?

 

Well for one, Vontae Davis is having a pro-bowl season, one bad game doesn't change that.

[Derakynn]

Okay I got time. Show me why and explain how many different ways I am wrong? You cannot just say I am and not explain yourself?

Two, pretty sure Delone Carter is a FA. He was cut by the Ravens before final cuts. They obviously didn't think highly of him.

[Chucksoft]

Well for one, Vontae Davis is having a pro-bowl season, one bad game doesn't change that.

 

Sorry but NO. Vontae has been consistently getting beat since Toller has been out (and gives up after HE decides he is beat), now that he has had to cover the #1 receiver. He is a boom or bust corner. He either makes the big play or gets beat. He has had 3 consecutively worse games. Do not act like it was only one game. His numbers this year 23 tackles, 7 passes defended, 1 int are not in Pro Bowl consideration. 

 

Is that all you have to debunk everything I said? What about the O line issues I stated? Nothing to say about that? 

 

Look I love the Colts too. But I am being realistic. I do not let being a fanboy get in the way of the truth.

[Superman]

Okay I got time. Show me why and explain how many different ways I am wrong? You cannot just say I am and not explain yourself?

 

I think I'm known well enough around here to pull rank and just say that you're wrong without explaining myself, actually. But I'll humor you.

 

1) The idea that none of our offensive linemen would start on any other team is just wrongheaded and impossible to verify. There are a dozen teams that have terrible tackle play and would take either Castonzo or Cherilus, or both. The Ravens, Dolphins, Jaguars and Raiders come to mind immediately.

 

2) Cherilus has been above average. Donald Thomas was one of the very best guards in the league before he got hurt. Criticizing either of those two signings -- for a team that was in desperate need of offensive line help -- is ridiculous. I agree so very much that our offensive line isn't performing well, but Grigson did plenty to address the line this offseason. 

 

3) Vontae Davis is one of the better young corners in the league, albeit somewhat inconsistent. He's been burned the past two weeks, but he bounced back against Houston with a good second half, and he was tremendous three weeks ago against Denver. Complaining about acquiring a player of his caliber with a second round pick is, again, ridiculous. (He gave up on plays? Stop it. If you want to give brownie points to someone trying to run down a play that they have no shot at making, be my guest. I personally don't care if Davis jogged out the end of the Austin TD; I care that he blew his coverage.)

 

4) The Richardson trade doesn't look good. Kudos to you, you got one right!

 

5) I love it when fans get infatuated with players who can't perform. Delone Carter is a fumble machine who can't stay on the field. He was not going to make our final roster. We got a potential kick returner out of him. I don't like David Reed either, but hanging on to Delone Carter is -- guess what! -- ridiculous. The Ravens cut him 9 days after we traded him, and he's still a free agent. Time to get over him.

 

6) For those of us with short memories, Peyton Manning played behind one of the best offensive lines in the league through about 2007.

 

All Ryan Grigson has done in two years is turn over 80% of the roster and helped the Colts along the path to becoming a title contender. This flawed roster with all these weaknesses is 6-3, with the three most impressive wins in the league, and two games up in the division. If the playoffs started tomorrow, we'd be the 3 seed and host the Jets (which is unchanged from last week, by the way). He took over a team that was 2-14, had no tight ends, one receiver, one running back (who fans have wanted to run out of town, but who is currently earning his keep), and a makeshift offensive line, and has built a team that can put up 34 and 39 points on the best AFC team and the best NFC team. He has completely rebuilt the defense, from a team that had one defensive lineman, two underperforming linebackers, no corners and one safety, and now that team is capable of holding last year's NFC champ to 7 points on the road.

 

Grigson is not perfect. I don't agree with every decision he makes (and admittedly, the highest profile move he's made so far isn't looking good). But he is the absolute LAST person associated with this team that I'd be pointing the finger at right now.

 

Fixing the offensive line is something that takes time. Even with the best players in the world, the unit has to grow together in order to form a cohesive unit. No question we need to fix the C and RG spots, but you act as if Grigson has been sitting around twiddling his thumbs. There is no more active GM in the league, and while all of his acquisitions haven't panned out (like Satele and McGlynn), he is undeniably on the job. 

 

There, is that better? Now you not only know that you're wrong, you know exactly why you're wrong.

[Superman]

Two, pretty sure Delone Carter is a FA. He was cut by the Ravens before final cuts. They obviously didn't think highly of him.

 

This means that we could have Delone Carter if we wanted him right now, along with the player we traded him for. But we don't want him, because he's not good.

[Superman]

Sorry but NO. Vontae has been consistently getting beat since Toller has been out (and gives up after HE decides he is beat), now that he has had to cover the #1 receiver. He is a boom or bust corner. He either makes the big play or gets beat. He has had 3 consecutively worse games. Do not act like it was only one game. His numbers this year 23 tackles, 7 passes defended, 1 int are not in Pro Bowl consideration. 

 

Is that all you have to debunk everything I said? What about the O line issues I stated? Nothing to say about that? 

 

Look I love the Colts too. But I am being realistic. I do not let being a fanboy get in the way of the truth.

 

Toler has been out two games. Do you know what you're saying? 

 

Oh, and I especially LOVE the fanboy line. That's really original.

[Chucksoft]

I think I'm known well enough around here to pull rank and just say that you're wrong without explaining myself, actually. But I'll humor you.

 

1) The idea that none of our offensive linemen would start on any other team is just wrongheaded and impossible to verify. There are a dozen teams that have terrible tackle play and would take either Castonzo or Cherilus, or both. The Ravens, Dolphins, Jaguars and Raiders come to mind immediately.

 

2) Cherilus has been above average. Donald Thomas was one of the very best guards in the league before he got hurt. Criticizing either of those two signings -- for a team that was in desperate need of offensive line help -- is ridiculous. I agree so very much that our offensive line isn't performing well, but Grigson did plenty to address the line this offseason. 

 

3) Vontae Davis is one of the better young corners in the league, albeit somewhat inconsistent. He's been burned the past two weeks, but he bounced back against Houston with a good second half, and he was tremendous three weeks ago against Denver. Complaining about acquiring a player of his caliber with a second round pick is, again, ridiculous. (He gave up on plays? Stop it. If you want to give brownie points to someone trying to run down a play that they have no shot at making, be my guest. I personally don't care if Davis jogged out the end of the Austin TD; I care that he blew his coverage.)

 

4) The Richardson trade doesn't look good. Kudos to you, you got one right!

 

5) I love it when fans get infatuated with players who can't perform. Delone Carter is a fumble machine who can't stay on the field. He was not going to make our final roster. We got a potential kick returner out of him. I don't like David Reed either, but hanging on to Delone Carter is -- guess what! -- ridiculous. The Ravens cut him 9 days after we traded him, and he's still a free agent. Time to get over him.

 

6) For those of us with short memories, Peyton Manning played behind one of the best offensive lines in the league through about 2007.

 

All Ryan Grigson has done in two years is turn over 80% of the roster and helped the Colts along the path to becoming a title contender. This flawed roster with all these weaknesses is 6-3, with the three most impressive wins in the league, and two games up in the division. If the playoffs started tomorrow, we'd be the 3 seed and host the Jets (which is unchanged from last week, by the way). He took over a team that was 2-14, had no tight ends, one receiver, one running back (who fans have wanted to run out of town, but who is currently earning his keep), and a makeshift offensive line, and has built a team that can put up 34 and 39 points on the best AFC team and the best NFC team. He has completely rebuilt the defense, from a team that had one defensive lineman, two underperforming linebackers, no corners and one safety, and now that team is capable of holding last year's NFC champ to 7 points on the road.

 

Grigson is not perfect. I don't agree with every decision he makes (and admittedly, the highest profile move he's made so far isn't looking good). But he is the absolute LAST person associated with this team that I'd be pointing the finger at right now.

 

Fixing the offensive line is something that takes time. Even with the best players in the world, the unit has to grow together in order to form a cohesive unit. No question we need to fix the C and RG spots, but you act as if Grigson has been sitting around twiddling his thumbs. There is no more active GM in the league, and while all of his acquisitions haven't panned out (like Satele and McGlynn), he is undeniably on the job. 

 

There, is that better? Now you not only know that you're wrong, you know exactly why you're wrong.

 

Okay maybe Delone was a bad example. But do you honestly think that we saw a large enough sample of him in game scenarios to make that decision. Obviously the staff and Ravens did though. 

 

You say that there is no more active GM in the league. Is that really a good thing? The point I was making with Delone was that we do not need a "elite" back to be successful. Good QB's like Peyton and Andrew make guys around them look and play better. GM's should know to treat their draft picks like gold.  I think trading a first round pick for any RB is a bad decision. I do not care if it is Adrian Peterson his second year in the league. Especially when Grigson knows the state of our offensive line. We are obviously winning games without whatever he felt Richardson would provide.

 

Thomas being hurt is definitely hurting us. The rest of these guys are scrubs from other teams that did not want them. All the more reason we need every draft pick we can get. 

 

I will admit Grigson has done some really good things. Jerrell Freemen!? Superman's Dad! What a discovery. So good. T.Y. What a draft pick! He is awesome.

 

I just feel like he is being too hasty. He is being impetuos. He is hungry to succeed right now and I love that. But we have Andrew Luck we need to think of the future and I just see the same issues reemerging. After Tarik left we had the worst O line  in the league for years, part of the reason Peyton has that broke neck.  Do not want to see the same mistakes made again. 

 

But thanks for the response you brought up some good points. I guess time will tell.

Edited November 11, 2013 by Superman
formatting / quote tags

[OLD FAN MAN]

I am going to grade the decisions our GM has recently made instead.

 

Ok no matter how many times Grigson wants to say it, it takes more than saying you are a smash mouth running team to actually become one. The one aspect of our game that is stopping this team from becoming great and it has been the problem since Peyton was here, is the OFFENSIVE LINE. We are not getting any kind of consistently good play from any guys up front. I cannot think of any guy on our line that would start on another team. 

 

What has our GM done since he has gotten here to address this issue? Not much really, he has done the opposite. Yes, he drafted 3 O lineman but none of these guys were high draft picks or are starting on the team now. Now to his free agent signings. Justice, Cherilus and Thomas are all not worth the paper their contracts were printed on and are making way too much on said contract. 

 

Now to his trades. He has given away too many draft picks that should have been kept to shore up our biggest problem, O LINE! Traded 2nd pound pick for Vontae Davis. A corner who was struggling on the team he was on and now is quitting on plays. The same thing he was accused of doing in Miami! 

 

Trent Richardson. Now I will admit it is too early to say this was a completely bad trade but let us look at this more closely. He traded away Delone Carter for David Reed (who thinks he is Deion and doesn't understand the point of a touchback), this was the wrong move. If he had kept Delone Carter we wouldn't have needed to trade our first round pick next year for Richardson. We would have had Bradshaw,Ballard, Brown and Carter. Bradshaw/Ballard get hurt we still have Carter, Brown, and our 1st round draft pick next year to address our pathetic O line. We sure didn't need Reed and if we are going to be a run first team, why are you trading away our running backs? 

 

Grigson needs to learn that if a team is willing to trade away a former first round draft pick it is because they feel he is not worth it. His inexperience got him suckered on these deals in my opinion. Running backs are a dime a dozen. You can get one in the late rounds of any draft and he can be a productive back. O linemen are not available like this. You need every draft pick, as high as you can get, to get assure you get a good one.

 

I will give Grigson a grade and it is a D. For DO NOT trade anymore of our draft picks. If he continues down this path Colts fans are in for another decade of watching Andrew pick himself up from the ground and try to win us a game in the 4th quarter. Just like Peyton had to his whole career here.

 

P.S. The defense also gets a big fat F. I didn't know that Reggie played defense? What was their problem yesterday? Receivers and O line get worse than an F. They get a DNP. Did not participate. Except T.Y. Love you T.Y.! I know it is tough trying to do it all on your own. Ask Reggie he can sympathize.

Robert mathis played hard and fast like he always does and 2 sacks grade a+

[Superman]

Okay maybe Delone was a bad example. But do you honestly think that we saw a large enough sample of him in game scenarios to make that decision. Obviously the staff and Ravens did though. 

 

You say that there is no more active GM in the league. Is that really a good thing? The point I was making with Delone was that we do not need a "elite" back to be successful. Good QB's like Peyton and Andrew make guys around them look and play better. GM's should know to treat their draft picks like gold.  I think trading a first round pick for any RB is a bad decision. I do not care if it is Adrian Peterson his second year in the league. Especially when Grigson knows the state of our offensive line. We are obviously winning games without whatever he felt Richardson would provide.

 

Thomas being hurt is definitely hurting us. The rest of these guys are scrubs from other teams that did not want them. All the more reason we need every draft pick we can get. 

 

I will admit Grigson has done some really good things. Jerrell Freemen!? Superman's Dad! What a discovery. So good. T.Y. What a draft pick! He is awesome.

 

I just feel like he is being too hasty. He is being impetuos. He is hungry to succeed right now and I love that. But we have Andrew Luck we need to think of the future and I just see the same issues reemerging. After Tarik left we had the worst O line  in the league for years, part of the reason Peyton has that broke neck.  Do not want to see the same mistakes made again. 

 

But thanks for the response you brought up some good points. I guess time will tell.

 

Delone Carter is nothing special. Maybe he could play a reserve role for us, but he's not worthy of mention when being critical of the GM. 

 

Grigson being active isn't necessarily a good thing by itself. But it is better than him not doing anything. A GM's moves should be judged over a period of time, not one by one in a vacuum. The Richardson deal might seem impetuous, but if he hadn't done that, we'd have been down to just Donald Brown. Not that we needed to give away a first rounder to address that issue, but Richardson can still be a solid weapon for us in the future. We have his rights for two more seasons. Let's not be so quick to judge this as a bad deal.

 

I agree with you in general terms that a running back isn't worth a first rounder. I've been saying that for many seasons, and that's the primary reason I didn't really like the Richardson deal. 

 

I disagree that the rest of our linemen are scrubs that no other team wanted. Satele had suitors (I wish he had signed with one of them at this point, but his book was much more positive prior to his signing here than it has been in his year and a half as a Colt). Cherilus was one of the highest rated tackles in the league the last two years, and he's still been pretty good for us. Our line is playing bad enough; we don't really need hyperbole, do we? The problem is Satele and McGlynn. I hope Thornton continues to grow and can step in at RG next year (he whiffed pretty badly on a third down run yesterday, but he's a rookie playing a position he wasn't working at in preseason). Thomas coming back will help tremendously. Fixing the line takes time. The line play so far is NOT a referendum on Ryan Grigson.

[Chucksoft]

Delone Carter is nothing special. Maybe he could play a reserve role for us, but he's not worthy of mention when being critical of the GM. 

 

Grigson being active isn't necessarily a good thing by itself. But it is better than him not doing anything. A GM's moves should be judged over a period of time, not one by one in a vacuum. The Richardson deal might seem impetuous, but if he hadn't done that, we'd have been down to just Donald Brown. Not that we needed to give away a first rounder to address that issue, but Richardson can still be a solid weapon for us in the future. We have his rights for two more seasons. Let's not be so quick to judge this as a bad deal.

 

I agree with you in general terms that a running back isn't worth a first rounder. I've been saying that for many seasons, and that's the primary reason I didn't really like the Richardson deal. 

 

I disagree that the rest of our linemen are scrubs that no other team wanted. Satele had suitors (I wish he had signed with one of them at this point, but his book was much more positive prior to his signing here than it has been in his year and a half as a Colt). Cherilus was one of the highest rated tackles in the league the last two years, and he's still been pretty good for us. Our line is playing bad enough; we don't really need hyperbole, do we? The problem is Satele and McGlynn. I hope Thornton continues to grow and can step in at RG next year (he whiffed pretty badly on a third down run yesterday, but he's a rookie playing a position he wasn't working at in preseason). Thomas coming back will help tremendously. Fixing the line takes time. The line play so far is NOT a referendum on Ryan Grigson.

 

You are totally right. I like Grigson. I really think he has the team's best interests at heart. He has turned this team around quicker than I thought possible. I feel like also, that he is young, headstrong and wants to prove himself in the NFL front office spotlight.

 

With the Richardson deal, I am glad we are on the same page. Grigson should have known- when you need to get somewhere you do not buy a fancy carriage you get good horses.

 

Trading away our early draft picks (that is the one surefire way to get the O linemen we desperately need) early in his GM career maybe a mistake that will haunt him.

[GoColts8818]

F

[CroatianColtsFan21]

overall i'd give them a solid E+

[MR. Blueblood]

 

Defense, C: 55 plays, 372 yards, 12 first downs (7 passing, 5 rushing, 0 from penalty), 7/15 on third down, 0/1 on fourth down, 1/3 in the red zone, 1 turnovers, 31 points; just a few big plays, but that's two weeks in a row that we got busted for big plays

 

 

Just splitting hairs but 38 - 7 (fumble recovery TD) - 7 (punt return TD) = 24

[Superman]

Just splitting hairs but 38 - 7 (fumble recovery TD) - 7 (punt return TD) = 24

 

You're right. I thought I was missing something. Thank you sir. I'll fix that.

[throwing BBZ]

Okay I got time. Show me why and explain how many different ways I am wrong? You cannot just say I am and not explain yourself?

 

Justice played pretty decent and for peanuts, Thomas was playing just fine and for a lower salary.

Vontae has been a proven STEAL for a late 2nd rd pic.

  on the wasted space about Carter.

 

 I don`t think Cherilus is any better than Diem was in his 3-4 year Prime. But Diem got $5M per back then as a FA.

 Griggs did screw up IMO not moving our mediocre at best LT to right.

 Castonzo has been a Very Good run blocker the previous 2 years but Now they are foolishly commited to run toward Cherilus, who is Failing as a run blocker, apparently to Justify  to Irsay for having made him the highest paid RT.

 Griggs let Ijalana go who was destroying people in pre-season. I guess because Pagano Loves Link as his 4 Position skilled bench warmer. Link of course can`t play ANY position well enough and has NO HOPE to be a future starter.

 And Ijalana probably needed a little more time to get 100% and they couldn`t deal with that. Live or Die with LINK. Pure Bung!

 

 He committed to Satele when most agree Shipley solidified the line the minute he started at C.

 Griggs kept Olson on a 53 man roster. Grade F

 McGlynn is a better C than Satele but can`t play G well enough to be on a roster unless it is ahead of the Linkster. IMO

 

 A young, historically rated QB with Satele & McGlynn chosen to deliver for him. What the

 Actually, IMO, Irsay told them to keep & pay Freeney that Nutcase $14 Million, so presuming with all that available $$$ Griggs wouldn`t have killed us by signing those 2 as Starters, so now everyone else is left holding that Irsay bag.

 

 With Andrews young QB problems, and all Griggs decisions to be made, I am still happy with our track, and we did beat unDefeated Denver/Manning on our home field, we played a playoff game in Baltimore crying out loud.

 That is so bleeping mind blowing Awesome... Go Colts!!

[OffensivelyPC]

You are totally right. I like Grigson. I really think he has the team's best interests at heart. He has turned this team around quicker than I thought possible. I feel like also, that he is young, headstrong and wants to prove himself in the NFL front office spotlight.

 

With the Richardson deal, I am glad we are on the same page. Grigson should have known- when you need to get somewhere you do not buy a fancy carriage you get good horses.

 

Trading away our early draft picks (that is the one surefire way to get the O linemen we desperately need) early in his GM career maybe a mistake that will haunt him.

The name, man.  Come on.  I get it and I'm sure that you weren't intending to be malicious with it.  But considering purpose behind the name, it's a bit disrespectful if you ask me.  Not telling you what to do or anything, but think about why the name "Chuckstrong" came around from the get go.  Had nothing to do with football or his coaching, ya know?

 

But I really wanted to respond to the 1st round trade part.  I can understand and even agree that using a first round pick for a RB is pushing it - especially when he hasn't shown any signs of improvement over the course of 8 or so weeks.  He deserves an offseason before the criticism deserves any serious support.  That being said, with the new rookie pay wage scale, OL are going much higher than they ever have.  There was what, 7 offensive lineman taken in the first 11 picks?  If we make the playoffs, we'd be picking from 2nd tier OL in a strong class.  And, by many accounts thus far, this year's draft class isn't boasting the offensive line depth...yet, anyway.  Which means that if we did have our first round pick, we're looking at a prospect that will either be a project, or a prospect that is NFL ready, but a gamble.  They're out there, sure.  But unless you have a top 10 pick, the gamble we took on Richardson will be about the same gamble that we took on any OL at the mid-20th pick in the draft.

[Superman]

The name, man.  Come on.  I get it and I'm sure that you weren't intending to be malicious with it.  But considering purpose behind the name, it's a bit disrespectful if you ask me.  Not telling you what to do or anything, but think about why the name "Chuckstrong" came around from the get go.  Had nothing to do with football or his coaching, ya know?

 

Agreed.

 

But I really wanted to respond to the 1st round trade part.  I can understand and even agree that using a first round pick for a RB is pushing it - especially when he hasn't shown any signs of improvement over the course of 8 or so weeks.  He deserves an offseason before the criticism deserves any serious support.  That being said, with the new rookie pay wage scale, OL are going much higher than they ever have.  There was what, 7 offensive lineman taken in the first 11 picks?  If we make the playoffs, we'd be picking from 2nd tier OL in a strong class.  And, by many accounts thus far, this year's draft class isn't boasting the offensive line depth...yet, anyway.  Which means that if we did have our first round pick, we're looking at a prospect that will either be a project, or a prospect that is NFL ready, but a gamble.  They're out there, sure.  But unless you have a top 10 pick, the gamble we took on Richardson will be about the same gamble that we took on any OL at the mid-20th pick in the draft.

 

 

Yeah, the draft and the league are changing. That really became obvious to me this year with the way the top picks went, and was driven home when the Cowboys took 3rd round prospect Travis Frederick in the 1st round. Everyone ridiculed them, but Frederick is playing well and is their center of the future. Linemen are being valued higher and higher, which is changing the way the draft plays out. Of course, the absence of any blue chip quarterbacks also figured in big time.

 

But the thing is, running backs are readily available in later rounds. I would not draft a running back in the first round, just on principle. Even at the end of the first round. I've been saying that for a couple years now. I shook my head when the Browns drafted Richardson third overall. And here the Colts have surrendered a first rounder for the same guy, albeit a much later first rounder. I think Richardson can be a feature back for us if we get this line straightened out, but I think the same goes for guys like Montee Ball and Eddie Lacy, who were late second rounders. Joseph Randle and Zac Stacy were fifth rounders, and both have been more productive than Richardson so far. So it's hard for me to like the idea of giving up a first rounder for any running back, and I'm going to be really snarky about it in April and May.

[OffensivelyPC]

Agreed.

 

 

Yeah, the draft and the league are changing. That really became obvious to me this year with the way the top picks went, and was driven home when the Cowboys took 3rd round prospect Travis Frederick in the 1st round. Everyone ridiculed them, but Frederick is playing well and is their center of the future. Linemen are being valued higher and higher, which is changing the way the draft plays out. Of course, the absence of any blue chip quarterbacks also figured in big time.

 

But the thing is, running backs are readily available in later rounds. I would not draft a running back in the first round, just on principle. Even at the end of the first round. I've been saying that for a couple years now. I shook my head when the Browns drafted Richardson third overall. And here the Colts have surrendered a first rounder for the same guy, albeit a much later first rounder. I think Richardson can be a feature back for us if we get this line straightened out, but I think the same goes for guys like Montee Ball and Eddie Lacy, who were late second rounders. Joseph Randle and Zac Stacy were fifth rounders, and both have been more productive than Richardson so far. So it's hard for me to like the idea of giving up a first rounder for any running back, and I'm going to be really snarky about it in April and May.

I don't disagree wtih you entirely, but I don't have an issue with an RB going in the first round if it's a can't miss prospect. I am sure there are plenty of teams who would take Adrian Peterson with a top 10 pick and a need at RB.  Now I'm not saying that Trent is as good as AP, but the comparisons were all we heard about pre-draft.  We judge the value of trades in hindsight.  I guess my point is that, while we can find potential top 10 RBs in the second round of the draft, that doesn't mean their value is forever a second round draft pick.  Let's say, knowing what we know now, would you have been upset if we get the same production out of Trent as the Eagles do LeSean McCoy or Marshawn Lynch?  Because to me, if you could guarantee the same production, those guys are worth a first round pick. 

 

What makes this trade so inflammatory for the critics, is that we took all the risk on the trade and that we forced ourselves into hitting on a OL prospect later in the draft (which is harder to do than what you are arguing).  Trust me, I get it.  Worse yet, we got a power running back with no power running OL.  Then after injuries, it just imploded.  I still have faith that this trade might be worth it.  But where my faith is fading is in Pep's system.  To some extent, even with a good OL, cramming 18-20 guys in the box just isn't going to cut it. It's like expecting a hole to open up in the middle of a Rugby scrum.  You might get push, but don't expect to take a chunk of yardage out.