Did 2013 free agency doom the Colts?

[BProland85]

With a lot of us questioning Grigson's decisions to overpay for players like RJF, Walden, Toler, and Landry, did Grigson doom us on these players due to his intent to back his decisions and not admit defeat on them by cutting them loose?

 

I feel that Grigson needs a strong 2014 offseason in both Free Agency and the draft since last year's offseason was pretty poor as far as production. Our draft class wasn't impactful either. Hopefully they prove us wrong and show up in 2014.

[dudeski]

No. Mcglynn, satele and Landry did

[BlueCollarColts]

Did the 2013 free agency doom us? Hmmm well lets see, we made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs with largely 2nd year players and we lost Allen, Wayne, Ballard, Bradshaw, and Thomas for the year...... no, no it did not

[House]

What is wrong with our fanbase? Do people realize how much success we've had the past two years, with very little quality pieces?

Doomed is the last thing this franchise is currently.

[Flash7]

What is wrong with our fan base as a whole?

11-5 with a playoff win and we're talking about doom?

The Texans had a monumental collapse. It's understandable for them to talk about doom. We over achieved for a second year in a row, considering how many impact players were IR'ed this year.

[Indyfan4life]

With a lot of us questioning Grigson's decisions to overpay for players like RJF, Walden, Toler, and Landry, did Grigson doom us on these players due to his intent to back his decisions and not admit defeat on them by cutting them loose?

 

I feel that Grigson needs a strong 2014 offseason in both Free Agency and the draft since last year's offseason was pretty poor as far as production. Our draft class wasn't impactful either. Hopefully they prove us wrong and show up in 2014.

Who are you to say we overpaid anyone? I'm so sick of "we overpaid for this person we all wanted to be signed, cut him!" It's maddening how little logic is used around here.

[Flash7]

What is wrong with our fanbase? Do people realize how much success we've had the past two years, with very little quality pieces?

Doomed is the last thing this franchise is currently.

House, we wrote almost exactly the same thing!

[TKnight24]

"With alot of us questioning"

No, it's just a select few of you who're just determined if the Colts don't go to the super bowl every year, then the world has come to an end

I can understand questioning a few of Mr. Grigson's moves that's cool.

But then there's some who just feel that if Grigson doesn't sign guys like Wes Welker, Mike Wallace, Greg Jennings etc etc then it was a "poor" off-season

[House]

House, we wrote almost exactly the same thing!

great minds.

[bavanlan]

With a lot of us questioning Grigson's decisions to overpay for players like RJF, Walden, Toler, and Landry, did Grigson doom us on these players due to his intent to back his decisions and not admit defeat on them by cutting them loose?

 

I'm curious as to what 'cutting them loose' would have solved.  Let's go down that rabbit hole; please inform me.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

"With alot of us questioning"

No, it's just a select few of you who're just determined if the Colts don't go to the super bowl every year, then the world has come to an end

I can understand questioning a few of Mr. Grigson's moves that's cool.

But then there's some who just feel that if Grigson doesn't sign guys like Wes Welker, Mike Wallace, Greg Jennings etc etc then it was a "poor" off-season

Dem wideouts doe.

[TKnight24]

Dem wideouts doe.

Only 2 out of the 3 are actually good

[PrincetonTiger]

No

[NewEra]

What is wrong with our fanbase? Do people realize how much success we've had the past two years, with very little quality pieces?

Doomed is the last thing this franchise is currently.

Bro I really can't figure it out. Makes me remember why I stopped posting here years ago. We just went 11-5 2 years in a row. There's a lot if cool colts fans on here. But a good majority I hate with a passion. Ok, little deep. Just saying ;)

[ricker182]

Bro I really can't figure it out. Makes me remember why I stopped posting here years ago. We just went 11-5 2 years in a row. There's a lot if cool colts fans on here. But a good majority I hate with a passion. Ok, little deep. Just saying ;)

Just imagine how angry people will be if we don't win the Super Bowl nest season coming off two 11-5 seasons and a playoff win.  

 

The complete turnaround has been nothing short of amazing and the organization deserves a lot of credit. 

[Slick_Rick]

Yep, 2-14 next year, we will fire Grigs, Pagano and Co. Jim is going to pack up the Mayflower Vans. Oh the humanity...

[BProland85]

I realize I may have over exaggerated my choice term of "doom." I didn't mean this franchise is doomed. I meant that with the contracts we paid out to these average players at best, are we stuck with them considering Grigson is most likely unwilling to admit he was wrong with some of them? 

[esmort]

With a lot of us questioning Grigson's decisions to overpay for players like RJF, Walden, Toler, and Landry, did Grigson doom us on these players due to his intent to back his decisions and not admit defeat on them by cutting them loose?

 

I feel that Grigson needs a strong 2014 offseason in both Free Agency and the draft since last year's offseason was pretty poor as far as production. Our draft class wasn't impactful either. Hopefully they prove us wrong and show up in 2014.

 

i don't think he did bad in free agency ...

 

RJF - Did fine - I don't know why he gets so much hate.

Walden - Did what he was brought here to do - may have slightly overpaid. but that is the nature of FA

Toler - Did good before he got hurt

Cherilus - Was a very good pick up

Bradshaw - Was a stud before he got hurt

Landry - so/so, want to see another year

DHB - terrible but cost us next to nothing, we were just rolling the dice ... did good on special teams

Butler - Great signing

Franklin - ehhh - stop gap

Hasselbeck - probably top couple of back ups in the NFL; we were lucky we never needed his services

Thomas - looked good before hurt

 

I don't see nothing to complain about here.  Really cannot blame him for the injuries and the contracts are mostly Colts friendly.  I would have liked to seen another FA guard and maybe another piece or two for depth, but overall I think Grigson did a good job filling holes and not hurting us in the salary cap department.

 

As far as the draft goes ... I was not excited about our draft and it was not what I wanted us to do, but the players he drafted are at positions that take a bit more time to see a return; so I am willing to hold off judgement on the draft at least another year.

 

I am definitely not one to give Grigson a free pass; he has made some mistakes and I have hated almost every trade he made this season ... but, I think he did a good job in FA; he did a good job with the contracts and a lot of the players ... and the draft is TBD.

[GoColts8818]

Those deals are pretty much set up so the Cokts can get out of them if they need too without taking a huge hit for doing so. So no I don't think so.

[buccolts]

I think it's a ruse.

Has anyone ever seen BProland85 & Rob Lowe in the same room?

[Superman]

[braveheartcolt]

Free speech and all that. 'No' would have been an easier. And it was the Trent trade that doomed us.

*runs for cover*

But only gets 3 yards....

[Johnny Bui]

Maybe this terrible defensive season will encourage the defensive players to step up next season.  Along with adding some key players would help.  I don't think its doom.  We did show some flashes of success.

 

Heres some OLine FA.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1919978-2014-nfl-free-agents-highlighting-top-offensive-line-help

[NewColtsFan]

Just out of curiosity....   who was supposed to get "cut loose"..??

 

Was there a single free agent this year -- or ANY year for that matter -- whose GM cut them loose during the first year of signing?

 

I mean, it just doesn't happen.

 

You give guys a chance.    They're dealing with injuries...  new teammates,  new coaches,  new towns that they live in...  it all takes time...

 

These kind of views are the views of impatient fans,  they're not the view of experienced general managers who know what's going on behind the scenes....

 

If you sign free agents to long-term deals, and then turn around and cut them during their first season,  how many other free agents do you think will be willing to come to your team in the future?    Very few, and they won't be the best ones...  they'll be the FA's who have few other choices because the best teams don't want them.   Is that the kind of talent you want for Indy?

 

No.

 

We've had two great years with the promise of better days to come....   this team WILL get better!

 

Believe it!   

 

p.s. -- how many people actually listened to Grigson either live or on tape?   It's a half-hour.  But I think you'll find it's well worth your time.    I love listening to the man.   I've heard plenty of GM's that I didn't like listening to.  Ryan Grigson is not one of them. I really enjoy hearing him talk about the team, the coaches, the players and MR. Irsay.     Take a listen...

[GoColts8818]

Free speech and all that. 'No' would have been an easier. And it was the Trent trade that doomed us.

*runs for cover*

But only gets 3 yards....

hey grey you know it's 2.5 not 3 and 1 or less if it's the playoffs 1 yard, 3 yards...pssh Trent wishes he could get 3 yards.

[tomasi21]

Some of these topics lately have been crazy. This team after going 2 and 14 have now made the playoffs in back to back yrs. Not sure why or how with the draft class and free agency pick ups we are doomed. Makes me question is those starting the topic ever played the sport. Yes, the ultimate goal is a championship and its a lot tougher to do so in Football because its one game at a time you win you move on you lose you go home. I think the colts future is bright and things will go back to normal where we sit on top of our division and teams respect the colts as a power house in the NFL.

[Zachris]

I guess if we don't make it to the SB and win every year, we have had a doomed season!  I think a few people need to go become a fan of the Browns for a while!  And after a year or two of that, come back here and I am sure, you will find out that your comments above. are just plain stupid.

[Zachris]

At this time....The only bad pickup last year in my opinion was DHB.  But at the time, I was you know....He does have talent, he deserves to try to be on a winning team, you know, not with Oakland.  He had a chance, but didn't do anything with it.  But I would have 100% as a GM, given him a chance.  I would have benched him a lot sooner though also. 

 

None of us know what goes on behind the closed doors, who really knows the system, knows the play book, injuries they hide.  The coaches do. 

 

Chemistry is HUGE and while some people don't understand that you "can't just cut players loose", due to the contract....You would sink us if we had all this dead money people seem to forget about each year.

 

And as far as Trent goes, I agree 100% at this time, I am willing to give him until 6 to 8 games into next seasons to see where he is.  YOU ARE RIGHT, if he still isn't getting the job done, bad trade!  But if you are WRONG and he is getting the job done, good trade, but I am not willing to just give up yet.

 

The first few years Reggie was a Colt, I hated him!  Hated how he played, dropped passes, made mistakes, YES THAT REGGIE WAYNE NOW THAT WE LOVE!  I was 100% wrong about him.  And it made me understand, sometimes, you need time to develop!  Only a few players are studs coming into the NFL right off the bat!

[jvan1973]

I realize I may have over exaggerated my choice term of "doom." I didn't mean this franchise is doomed. I meant that with the contracts we paid out to these average players at best, are we stuck with them considering Grigson is most likely unwilling to admit he was wrong with some of them?

please explain why he "most likely will be unwilling to admit he was wrong"

[K-148]

Maybe I'm wrong, but Landry has played FS a lot. Not because he is good in coverage, but because Bethea is bad. When Landry has played in-box SS, he was just fine. IMO

[theanarchist]

With a lot of us questioning Grigson's decisions to overpay for players like RJF, Walden, Toler, and Landry, did Grigson doom us on these players due to his intent to back his decisions and not admit defeat on them by cutting them loose?

 

I feel that Grigson needs a strong 2014 offseason in both Free Agency and the draft since last year's offseason was pretty poor as far as production. Our draft class wasn't impactful either. Hopefully they prove us wrong and show up in 2014.

I understand your concern but I don't think we're doomed. Did a few of the players he signed fizzle out? Sure. Toler and Landry were big disappointments in my book. Landry didn't look bad for the first few games but he really took a nose dive after that I think.

 

RJF, I didn't see enough of him to have an opinion. Walden I thought was average. He isn't going to be a difference maker but he played fair I thought. I think the money that was spent on Cherilus was money well spent. Toler, I think he would have been solid had he not gotten hurt which of course is the big knock on him.

 

Going forward I think Grigson needs to hit a homerun on the weak spots we have going into next season which I think most people would agree is: inside linebacker, FS, C/G. I would add CB in there if Davis is not resigned. I think Davis has to be the #1 priority for our own Free Agents. No doubt Grigson is going to have to be a little more judicious with the $ this off season so he can be prepared when Luck's contract comes up in a couple years.

[theanarchist]

Some of these topics lately have been crazy. This team after going 2 and 14 have now made the playoffs in back to back yrs. Not sure why or how with the draft class and free agency pick ups we are doomed. Makes me question is those starting the topic ever played the sport. Yes, the ultimate goal is a championship and its a lot tougher to do so in Football because its one game at a time you win you move on you lose you go home. I think the colts future is bright and things will go back to normal where we sit on top of our division and teams respect the colts as a power house in the NFL.

I think the question was legitimate but maybe could have been worded a bit different. I think the poster probably meant is there concern that with so much money spent last off season on FA and then several players in the draft not panning out is it conceivable that this past off season is going to be detrimental to the team in a couple of years. I think the answer is probably no because I think a lot of the contracts that Grigson signed will allow the team to drop those players without huge hits, atleast on a few of those deals. Now, we all know that if you keep missing with your draft picks it's going to kill your team sooner or later.

 

Werner: Jury still out. Hard to say at this point if he's going to be anything more than average

Holmes: Who knows, looks like he's a potential bust

Thornton: Looks like with more playing time he's a solid pick

Montori Hughes: Will he develop into anything?

The rest pretty well didn't pan out

 

I think its reasonable to ask the question, if we keep missing on draft picks and free agents are we doomed? As we all know, a great QB can cover up weakness, make average players better etc but Grigson needs to have a good off season this year no question.

[dudeski]

Maybe I'm wrong, but Landry has played FS a lot. Not because he is good in coverage, but because Bethea is bad. When Landry has played in-box SS, he was just fine. IMO

no he wasnt

[lollygagger8]

The only thing the coulda/woulda/shoulda "doomed" us, was injuries.....and even then we still prevailed until the 2nd round of the playoffs. 

 

Oh man.....now I wanna play 

[HarryTheCat]

Maybe this terrible defensive season will encourage the defensive players to step up next season.  Along with adding some key players would help.  I don't think its doom.  We did show some flashes of success.

 

Heres some OLine FA.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1919978-2014-nfl-free-agents-highlighting-top-offensive-line-help

It would be awesome to pick up both Mack and Schwartz as FAs. That could give Pep's "power run" game a chance of actually succeeding.

[Smash Mouth]

I was ok with FA signings.  I'm more concerned with the 2nd draft class.  Grigson has to be very careful this off season:  there's $30m in cap room and too few draft picks due to trades.  I don't like building teams through FA because you inherently have to over pay players that another team, for the most part, didn't want. 

 

I do like that Grigson is talking patience and getting beyond the emotion of losing a playoff game. 

[a06cc]

Injury to Wayne didn't help our cause. That's the only reason I can think of. Injuries aren't excuses. Landry was taken out because of rule changes. He can't hit or he'll be fined. You hit low and you ruin someone's career. James Harrison is a prime example of a player with power becoming useless because of rule changes

[Smash Mouth]

It would be awesome to pick up both Mack and Schwartz as FAs. That could give Pep's "power run" game a chance of actually succeeding.

They would help but I m still concerned that Pep has some question marks at RB.  I fear that DB won't be signed -he was so consistent.  I feel like he can thrive in this offense, he's a great team guy and he's entering his prime.  If TR doesn't pan out and Ballard isn't the same, what happens next?  I think that Bradshaw's body has broken down and can't last a full season with his running style

[K-148]

no he wasnt

When he has played in-box, has covered RBs and TEs in flat and spyed QBs, he was good. Just don't ask him to be FS and play against deep ball.

[MR. Blueblood]

Oh great another one of these    threads.

 

I think Grigson was pretty smart with the way he set a lot of these contracts up.  Gives the team a chance to get out of them without big cap hits moving forward.  A lot of these moves will take time to come to fruition (especially with the draft choices).  Unfortunately, for some of you, time is not a luxury you're willing to give them.