This Is Why I Like Nate Dunlevy

[Superman]

http://18to88.com/20...done-wrong.html

There are words and phrases that I hate.

Among my least favorite these days is, "Held accountable".

"The Coaches should be held accountable!" "The Polians should be held accountable!" "Jim Irsay should be held accountable!"

What does that even mean? Blamed? Fired? Given a stern talking to?

I believe people should say what they mean instead of tossing around weak euphemisms devoid of meaning. The Colts dropped to 0-8 yesterday in lackluster fashion.

...

The Colts need a new coaching staff. This one is philosophically bankrupt. Coaches are easy to find. Top level front offices are much more difficult to construct.

Blame the front office for the mistakes they've made. They aren't perfect. They aren't without fault.

As for those who want to run the Polians out of town...you will be held accountable.

I don't agree with everything he says. But he's levelheaded, and he constructs his arguments and then supports them with reasoned statements. This is a great article that I think focuses on most of the problems with this team. Again, I could nitpick a few things he writes and point out where I think he's wrong, but for the most part, he's knocking it out of the park.

[John Waylon]

I'll be held accountable?

How?

You gonna show up at my house with an automatic weapon and "make me pay" like some kind of misguided comic book hero?

Furthermore, why? Why should I be held accountable? I'm just a fan with an opinion. Last time I checked that doesn't give me legitimate ground for anything let alone an actual decision made by the organization I support. You mean to tell me if Polian called Jim Irsay a "poopy pants doo-doo head" tomorrow and Irsay fired him in a fit of rage it would be my fault? Or better yet, if Irsay were to fire the Polians because they've built a franchise who can't win a game without their QB that's my fault and therefore I am to be held accountable?

More of the same from 18to88. He's trying to seem like he's blaming the Polains, but really he isn't. He's not blaming them in the slightest.

He even said so himself... It's not the Polians who should be held accountable for this mess in any way, it's those of us who want them gone.

However that works...

[Andy]

Although I disagree with some of the stuff he says sometimes, I find he's a great writer, who definitely has my respect.

[MAC]

I don't read everything he writes, but at least what I've seen doesn't make my blood pressure soar so often like some others I can think of.

Edited November 1, 2011 by MAC

[Superman]

I'll be held accountable?

How?

You gonna show up at my house with an automatic weapon and "make me pay" like some kind of misguided comic book hero?

Furthermore, why? Why should I be held accountable? I'm just a fan with an opinion. Last time I checked that doesn't give me legitimate ground for anything let alone an actual decision made by the organization I support. You mean to tell me if Polian called Jim Irsay a "poopy pants doo-doo head" tomorrow and Irsay fired him in a fit of rage it would be my fault? Or better yet, if Irsay were to fire the Polians because they've built a franchise who can't win a game without their QB that's my fault and therefore I am to be held accountable?

More of the same from 18to88. He's trying to seem like he's blaming the Polains, but really he isn't. He's not blaming them in the slightest.

He even said so himself... It's not the Polians who should be held accountable for this mess in any way, it's those of us who want them gone.

However that works...

You really wanna spend your time critiquing a throwaway line at the end of the article?

I gathered that he doesn't like trite and cliched "observations" that so often get bandied about, mostly with zero meaning behind them. I don't, either. He doesn't think the Polian management team should be fired, though he does see plenty of things they've messed up on over the years, some not so big, others monumental. He addressed several seasons worth of decision making by the front office and coaching staff, and critiqued them all fairly. And you're going on about one little play-of-words throwaway line.

What do you think "Blame the front office for the mistakes they've made. They aren't perfect. They aren't without fault." means? Doesn't that mean that the front office bears some of the responsibility? I think he's saying that the front office can be "held accountable" without them being fired, and that that would be best for the team. I tend to agree, because despite his mistakes in recent years and his standoffish demeanor, I still believe Bill Polian is a good executive. I like management styles that entail a consistent and steady approach, in preference to managers who have no clear-cut philosophy and don't stand for anything in particular. If you don't like Polian's philosophy and think it's time for him to go, at least you know what that philosophy is and why you don't like it (at least, most fans do; some are completely off the wall). What did Matt Millen stand for?

As for Chris Polian, if this offseason is charged to him, I think he's got the right stuff. I think we knocked the draft out of the park, and the only thing I didn't like about the offseason is that we didn't add anything worth mentioning at safety and guard.

Anyways, I posted the article because, unlike a lot of the ranting and raving that goes on, Dunlevy expressed himself without hyperbole and wild assumptions.