Ryan Grigson is the real problem.

[throwing BBZ]

lol, Grigson is a big reason why the Colts made the playoffs the past 2 years.

 

Hardly.

The easiest schedule in 2012 and the easiest division in 2013.

Any GM could have done well with his picks in 2012. And surely wouldn`t have killed us for TWO seasons with BOTH Satele & McGlynn who have been terrible to watch.

 Werner? lol

 T Rich? ugh

 Gave up a solid Hughes for ??Walden and Sheppard & $2+M of good Cap $$.

Made Cherilus, a decent RT (Diem at that age, without the false starts -Close IMO) the highest paid RT.

Kept dud Link over Ijalana.

R Mathews constantly mauled NO PUSH over L Guy who was solid holding his ground AND got push.

DHB did block well, but...

 Grigson is a draft guy, very iffy with that Cap $$$. Toler & his thin frame playing physical & with his History??

  Others would complain about more...  like deer in the headlights chazz... and Manusky

 Not that I didn`t like winning in SF even tho they were a shell that week, beating Seattle at home was BIG fun,

 and Punking Peyton was All-Time CLASSIC.

 Excellent Entertainment and season highlights and i did believe we could win in NE if Andrew ran well and played smart.

He Flunked, Choked, forced many dumb, hopeless passes, was bad.

 PEP used little of what worked well in KC. He Flunked too! Execute what you do best and make them prove they can stop it.

 Go Colts!

 Grigson is very replaceable, not saying I would, but the O-Line he gave us is a Career Mark against him.

 I would dump Chuck in a hearbeat, he is Marginable, for Whisenhunt`s history with QB`s, and Manusky must be replaced.

[Bluefire4]

He's found too many great players to point him out as the problem.. I think people saw his incredible first draft and think every player he drafted needed to work out.

[jvan1973]

Hardly.

The easiest schedule in 2012 and the easiest division in 2013.

Any GM could have done well with his picks in 2012. And surely wouldn`t have killed us for TWO seasons with BOTH Satele & McGlynn who have been terrible to watch.

Werner? lol

T Rich? ugh

Gave up a solid Hughes for ??Walden and Sheppard & $2+M of good Cap $$.

Made Cherilus, a decent RT (Diem at that age, without the false starts -Close IMO) the highest paid RT.

Kept dud Link over Ijalana.

R Mathews constantly mauled NO PUSH over L Guy who was solid holding his ground AND got push.

DHB did block well, but...

Grigson is a draft guy, very iffy with that Cap $$$. Toler & his thin frame playing physical & with his History??

Others would complain about more... like deer in the headlights chazz... and Manusky

Not that I didn`t like winning in SF even tho they were a shell that week, beating Seattle at home was BIG fun,

and Punking Peyton was All-Time CLASSIC.

Excellent Entertainment and season highlights and i did believe we could win in NE if Andrew ran well and played smart.

He Flunked, Choked, forced many dumb, hopeless passes, was bad.

PEP used little of what worked well in KC. He Flunked too! Execute what you do best and make them prove they can stop it.

Go Colts!

Grigson is very replaceable, not saying I would, but the O-Line he gave us is a Career Mark against him.

I would dump Chuck in a hearbeat, he is Marginable, for Whisenhunt`s history with QB`s, and Manusky must be replaced.

Lucky for us, you aren't running the show

[BLUEx40]

the reality of this situation is there is nothing wrong with any thing maybe that some people have a little higher contracts then they might deserve but you don't have 2 playoff appearances in your first two seasons and there is something wrong with you good GM in my mind

[throwing BBZ]

Lucky for us, you aren't running the show

 

been awhile since i checked one of your responses. I don`t find you knowledgeable. lol

[jvan1973]

been awhile since i checked one of your responses. I don`t find you knowledgeable. lol

nor i you

[James Lucas Smith]

2013 was a good year in the history of the Indianapolis Colts. Some would even say great- but the truth is this, a group of youngsters that overcame adversity and overachieved despite the administrators of the team hindering them at every turn. The Indianapolis Colts began the 2013 season by acquiring a handful and a half of free agent players. Some were obvious fits for the scheme, such as LaRon Landry and Ahmad Bradshaw however, the former Executive of the Year seemed to whiff on some of the intermediate talent that he had acquired. Questions were raised about the acquisitions of Lawrence Sidbury and the insane contract given to Erik Walden. Most Colts fans and personnel were spoiled by the 2012 season, one where every Draft Pick and acquisition seemed to work for the Indianapolis Colts, however in 2013, that would be a different story all-together.

 

The downhill trend began with the 24th pick of the 2013 NFL Draft Ryan Grigson and Chuck Pagano thought it best to draft Bjoern Werner, a Defensive End from Florida State and convert him to an outside linebacker- with names like Kiko Alonso and Alec Ogletree (Both ILBs, but true linebackers) still on the draft board. The Colts then went on to draft two linemen on the offensive side, one on the defensive, a safety, a runningback and a tight end through the last six rounds of the draft. Of the six drafted players- zero started the season. One lineman (Hugh Thornton) earned a starting position due to injury, Werner was a rotational OLB, Khaled Holmes was (for some reason) AWOL the entire season. Boyett- the safety had off-the-field issues which led to him being released from the team. The defensive lineman, Montori Hughes ended the season with the Colts, albeit on injured reserve and the running back, Kerwynn Williams ended up bouncing on and off of the practice squad before the San Diego Chargers signed him. 

 

While the free agent additions of LaRon Landry, Ahmad Bradshaw and Gosder Cherilus ended up ok, the absolute horrendous acquisitions of Erik Walden, Lawrence Sidbury, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Kelvin Sheppard drained cap money that could have been used elsewhere and on more productive players. 

 

Then the season began-

 

Three weeks into the NFL season, Vick Ballard, Ahmad Bradshaw, Donald Thomas, and Dwayne Allen's seasons all ended. Ryan Grigson decided to counteract these injuries by swapping out his 1st round pick for Trent Richardson- a Running back selected two spots behind Andrew Luck in the 2012 NFL Draft, and the apparent savior to the Indianapolis Colts. His impact was not felt, and he was relegated to a #2 RB spot. 

 

Here's looking to 2014, a season that will most likely begin with Samson Satele still in the offensive line works, two consecutive wasted 1st Round Picks, and another disappointing draft for the Indianapolis Colts. Don't worry though, Grigson's gotta get something right sometime? He WAS Executive of the Year last year. 

I absolutely agree with most of what you are saying. I don't understand why Grigson gave starter money to injury prone free agents who were back ups on their old teams. I also don't understand what makes him think a WR who cant catch (DHB) and a RB who cant run (Richardson) on their old teams would do any better on our teams. Andrew Luck (much like Manning) makes the people around him look good though. Including the GM. Even if they don't exactly deserve it. There is no doubt this last off season was a disaster. Over 100 million spent in free agency, and who did we get (besides Laundry, who hits hard, but is a liability in coverage). I just hope he learns from his mistakes and brings in players who can play at a championship level. He has already all but killed our chances of having a good 2014 draft. I'm also not sold on Pep Hamilton. Our offense never looked prepared for the teams they were facing, and the reason we pulled it together at the end of the year was because we obvioudly completely abandoned his "Power Run" offense and put the ball in Luck's hands and let him do what he does best. I understand that we lost a ton of players to injury, and the way Luck pulled this team together and had a successful season says a lot about how special of a player he is. We just need to put the right people around him (including coaches and GM's) before we are going to be able to win championships. The other side of the ball is a mess. I just hope Pagano can make the hard choices and get rid of players and coaches who don't perform.

[ricker182]

Uhhhhh. No. LOL. You guys are crazy. He is the main reason we won a playoff game and still have ~$40 million in cap space. We are 2 years outside of a 2 win season and MAJOR team overhaul. Usually this kind of rebuilding takes 5-6 years. We did it in two. Believe me, other teams are very jealous.

[dudeski]

been awhile since i checked one of your responses. I don`t find you knowledgeable. lol

he just criticizes. Never offers up solid analysis. Usually just a "you can't do better" response

[jvan1973]

he just criticizes. Never offers up solid analysis. Usually just a "you can't do better" response

Is that unlike your "The whole team and coaching staff sucks" responses?

Please direct me to one of your posts that contains analysis.

[Gavin]

Is that unlike your "The whole team and coaching staff sucks" responses?

Please direct me to one of your posts that contains analysis.

Even when logical thought out analysis is given one of your typical responses is along the lines of "you dont know so and sos assignment" so either type of response

[jvan1973]

Even when logical thought out analysis is given one of your typical responses is along the lines of "you dont know so and sos assignment" so either type of response

Only when someone states it as fact and not opinion.

[dudeski]

Is that unlike your "The whole team and coaching staff sucks" responses?

Please direct me to one of your posts that contains analysis.

if you need pointers on how to be an ultra awesome poster on this board just let me know

 

i am here to help

[jvan1973]

if you need pointers on how to be an ultra awesome poster on this board just let me know

i am here to help

so no posts of yours with analysis?

[dudeski]

so no posts of yours with analysis?

all my posts are full of insightful, thought out, top notch analysis

[BOTT]

The "First Take" generation is upon us. May be time to exit.

[OffensivelyPC]

What i forgot about the nfl is more than you will ever know.

I guess you forgot about the Great Train Robbery....you know, the only bad trade in nfl history to have a nickname?

[Warhorse]

Thread that I disagree with wholeheartedly.....

 

Three posters like..........

 

All were on "the list".........

 

Dope!

[IMissMarvin]

Sure a lot of his decisions didn't pan out this year in the draft or FA but after what he did in 2012 its hard to knock the guy. I for one was a little bit dissapointed we drafted Werner over Alec Ogletree - who made an immediate impact on the Rams' front seven - or ahead of Werner's FSU teammate Xavier Rhodes, who was drafted two picks after Werner and had a pretty stellar rookie campaign with the Vikings this season. The jury is still out on Werner though. The kid is pretty raw but he has tremendous upside so who knows what type of player he will develop into. Look at how well another supposed bust, Jerry Hughes performed for the Bills this year in his fourth NFL season.

[Superman]

idontwanttoliveonthisplanetanymore.gif

[coming on strong]

My offseason concern is free agency i haven't understood grigsons pick ups , lets look at last year we needed a  pass rush ,safety ,corner back , defensive line help and offensive line help. now we picked up erik walden  for  16 million laron landry  for 24 million and greg toler for 14 million and ricky jean francois for 22 million .

 

Now think about this we could of had bernard pollard for 2 million dollar one year deal who is a better cover and overall better safety and knows pagano's system. Micheal bennett instead of erik walden for a one year 4 .8 million dollar contract  cheaper than waldens 16 million and bennett had 8.5 sacks and a forced fumble and is dominating right now had a great year to erik waldens 1 sack . Cary williams instead of greg toler for 17 million for 3 years  , cary williams had a huge year for philly and was good last year for the ravens and knows paganos system. terrence knighton for rickjean for  4 million for 2 years  to ricky jeans 22 million deal, and have leftover  money to get better interior offnesive line men .

 

Now i no grigson had a great 2012 draft and thats why he won gm of the year , and he is great at finding under the radar players out of no where like a freeman and mcnary and rogers , but is his weakness free agency?  imagine how much better are team would have been with  a better offseason pickup last year  i know people love grigson but he isn't perfect and maybe the colts winning has more to do with luck carrying the team on his back than grigson being so good.

[Gavin]

Walden had 4 sacks....3 in the regular season...1 in the playoffs...I'd like to see him make more plays on the ball in the run game after shedding his block, I think we keep him however but can improve there through the draft

[Nobody]

All this star-talent, and you remove Andrew Luck, what do you get? five wins? six?

 

That's my point though- Teams that house above average skill across the roster tend to win in the playoffs more than teams with one or two superstars. See Minnesota and Detroit- Best RB and WR to possibly ever play the game- neither crossed 8 wins.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not pulling the Fire Grigson or Trade Luck cards. (Heck with Grigson's trade history, we might get a 3rd rounder for him) What I'm saying is the holes we had in the 2012 season are still here in the 2013 season and none have been adequately filled.

 

In 2012 our offensive line was terri-bad. Luck was the highest sacked QB in the league- How did we fix this in the offseason? Sign a backup guard, overpay an (at the time) mediocre right tackle (Who, I will say earned his payday this year) and trade off our better center. 

 

In 2012, we had very little pass rush. How did we fix this? Sign a very expensive edge rusher who didn't earn his 4 mil a year, and Draft Bjoern Werner. Mathis went APE on the season with no other force on the defensive side of the ball. I think that just shows how phenomenal Mathis is- as teams were able to gameplan for him directly. Walden was ok, not good, not great. He did the bare minimum to not get jettisoned in the offseason. Werner is a project, and not really something you expect from your first round draft pick. 

 

Hindsight is 20/20, but Grigson gambled big time on the 2013 offseason, and it just didn't pay off.

Because he was a backup means nothing, he's a very good guard, dumb argument. Mediocre? That's just.. What??? He was not mediocre in the slightest, what is wrong with you? And AQ was bad in Baltimore I sadly admit. The OL is partly talent and mostly our refusal to start the best players.

Walden is not an edge rusher he is a Sam and he did his job well. Projects are projects, they develop. He's from freaking Germany.

We got some very great contributors and guys with a lot of potential. He had an okay offseason, honestly injuries aren't his fault. He had an A+++++ offseason his rookie year, calling him the problem is just wrong.

[ThaCaliColt]

I've been disappointed in the defensive acquisitions, however, was there really enough evidence to suggest that Richardson wasn't going to be successful? Landry has been less than spectacular, but, again, he was highly regarded when the trade was made, (as was Toler, Vaughn and others). Perhaps we have to look at coaching a bit too when addressing the ineffectiveness of the defense...I have a similar opinion to the one I had week seven or eight- there are about a handful (4-5) of guys on the defense I think are difference makers and the rest we could part ways with...Either, they are just too ridiculously inconsistent or just flat out underachieve. Again, maybe that has something to do with coaching. I say we need at least another year to properly evaluate Grigson. Advancing twice to the playoffs and once to the Divisional Round in two seasons after an overhaul is pretty impressive. 

[1yrdandacloudofdust]

Grigs could've had Keenan Allen. That Werner pick is almost worst than the Trent trade. Especially if they're going to continue running a 34

[Darryl C. Patrick]

Hopefully, the Colts don't fall into the trap of trying to make Luck win the game for the team in the future. If you look at the 49ers and Seahawks, they've built powerhouses by hanging their hat on a dominant defense. Thats got to be this teams mindset moving forward. Lucks talent is evident and will continue to build. But defense, and for that matter, a dominant offensive line, as well, has to be the mind-set for team progress. The guys in the trenches for the team this year havent been at the level they need to be to build this Monster the Owner and coach talk about. And finally, if you cant run the ball and cant stop the run, you don't deserve to go deep in the playoffs. Just sayin. But, we'll get there. 

[coming on strong]

Walden had 4 sacks....3 in the regular season...1 in the playoffs...I'd like to see him make more plays on the ball in the run game after shedding his block, I think we keep him however but can improve there through the draft

we could have had micheal bennett for cheaper he is so much better

[Superman]

we could have had micheal bennett for cheaper he is so much better

 

He plays a different position. If you think we needed another pass rusher, that's fine, but that has nothing to do with Walden. He's not a pass rusher.

[coming on strong]

I wasn't even trying to be negative at all im proud of the colts i just thought grigson had a solid 2012 and a bad 2013 draft and 2013 offseason and bad trent trade.  I hope he proves me wrong i feel like were riding lucks back like we did manning i know it takes time but when we try to rebuild by overpaying for players it scares me

[coming on strong]

He plays a different position. If you think we needed another pass rusher, that's fine, but that has nothing to do with Walden. He's not a pass rusher.

He plays olb you need to be a pass rusher and mathis converted .

[Superman]

Hopefully, the Colts don't fall into the trap of trying to make Luck win the game for the team in the future. If you look at the 49ers and Seahawks, they've built powerhouses by hanging their hat on a dominant defense. Thats got to be this teams mindset moving forward. Lucks talent is evident and will continue to build. But defense, and for that matter, a dominant offensive line, as well, has to be the mind-set for team progress. The guys in the trenches for the team this year havent been at the level they need to be to build this Monster the Owner and coach talk about. And finally, if you cant run the ball and cant stop the run, you don't deserve to go deep in the playoffs. Just sayin. But, we'll get there. 

 

The Niners are four years into their new regime (when Baalke took over personnel duties). Same for the Seahawks, when Schneider and Carroll came on. The Colts are two years behind both teams, and still beat both teams head to head this season. 

[Superman]

He plays olb you need to be a pass rusher and mathis converted .

 

Mathis plays a different position from Walden. 

 

Michael Bennett plays a different position from both of them, and really would have been an odd fit for our defense.

[coming on strong]

The Niners are four years into their new regime (when Baalke took over personnel duties). Same for the Seahawks, when Schneider and Carroll came on. The Colts are two years behind both teams, and still beat both teams head to head this season. 

I know that this team looks better im only strictly talking about offseason signing last year, do you think they were  good moves honestly?  i just imagine if we got others players that were cheaper or the same price and still had room left to build the online more we would have been able to make a run this year

[coming on strong]

Mathis plays a different position from Walden. 

 

Michael Bennett plays a different position from both of them, and really would have been an odd fit for our defense.

ok then who would you pick if you were the gm last year knowing we needed  and olb would you sign walden ?

[Superman]

I know that this team looks better im only strictly talking about offseason signing last year, do you think they were  good moves honestly?  i just imagine if we got others players that were cheaper or the same price and still had room left to build the online more we would have been able to make a run this year

 

Yes. The team had a bunch of holes going into the offseason last year, and now we don't. The players we signed all played a significant role on the team, though some of them didn't work out that well (Toler, DHB). That people don't understand the contributions of guys like RJF and Walden is really an evidence that -- excuse me for being frank -- they don't know what they're talking about. We didn't get a lot of big time playmakers, and that's something we really should do this offseason. A difference maker at ILB, an improvement at safety, an OL, and the team looks a lot stronger.

 

I wanted another pass rusher and another corner. I don't give Grigson an A on every move he made. But I co-sign his overall approach.

[ThaCaliColt]

The Niners are four years into their new regime (when Baalke took over personnel duties). Same for the Seahawks, when Schneider and Carroll came on. The Colts are two years behind both teams, and still beat both teams head to head this season. 

Good point. A lot of people seem to have the opinion that the Hawks and Niners just appeared out of nowhere from one year to the next. Those teams have been years in the making.

[Superman]

ok then who would you pick if you were the gm last year knowing we needed  and olb would you sign walden ?

 

No, I wouldn't have. But I learned something in the last 10 months about this team's defensive philosophy, and signing Walden was a good move. Maybe we could have added someone for less to do the same job, but really, Walden's contract is not out of whack with other players at his position (maybe some don't recognize that because they don't really understand his position to begin with). So, in hindsight, I have no problem with signing Walden.

 

What I would have done in addition is either signed another pass rusher or not traded Jerry Hughes. If you want something to complain about, that's the move right there that I disagree with. Even though Sheppard started playing better as time went on, Hughes still would have had more of an impact for us, if we used him properly. Would have been the extra pass rusher we needed, especially with Werner missing time and developing slowly.

[Superman]

Good point. A lot of people seem to have the opinion that the Hawks and Niners just appeared out of nowhere from one year to the next. Those teams have been years in the making.

 

Yes they have. And neither of them have rookie head coaches, or had to deal with all the trials this team had to deal with (from the cap penalties to Pagano's illness to the change in offensive philosophy to all the injuries this season). When you talk about building a monster, I think the Seahawks (minus the braggadocio) is what you're talking about. But you don't just snap your fingers and get there. I think, with another draft class and free agency, we'll start really closing the gap, talent-wise. 

[Warhorse]

Lucky for us, you aren't running the show

Did you have to quote that list so I had to see it?

[jamesie jr]

Grigson is the real problem?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No.