Ranking Grigson as a GM

[James]

Where do you see Grigson in the big picture? Top 5? Top 10? He won Executive of the Year because of his eye for talent. Colts are 22-10 (.688) during his tenure here. People will want to point at him overpaying last year in FA, but I honestly still think he is top 10.

 

1. Ozzie Newsome

2. John Schneider

3. Trent Baalke

4. Kevin Colbert

5. Bill Belichick

6. Ted Thompson

7. Ryan Grigson

8. Jerry Reese

9. Rick Spielman

10. Les Snead

[Mitch]

I think this offseason is HUGE. I wouldn't rank him till 3 seasons in anyways.

[1yrdandacloudofdust]

LoL at him being ahead of Jerry Reese. A SB winning gm.

[Modern]

He has the biggest watch

[Superman]

LoL at him being ahead of Jerry Reese. A SB winning gm.

 

So what? The Giants haven't made the playoffs in two years, their drafts have been somewhat underwhelming, and they have trouble stringing winning seasons together. I like Reese a lot, but his team has been troubled in recent years. And the main point is that him having a Super Bowl has little bearing on the conversation. GMs with Super Bowls get fired all the time.

 

I personally don't think it's possible to rank GMs like this. Their body of work is heavily influenced by team restraints that are out of their control, the coaches have to develop the players and put them in good situations, injuries influence draft picks and FA signings, etc. It's much more complicated than just making a list, and it's much more complicated than ranking coaches or QBs. 

[Smonroe]

...

 

I personally don't think it's possible to rank GMs like this. Their body of work is heavily influenced by team restraints that are out of their control, the coaches have to develop the players and put them in good situations, injuries influence draft picks and FA signings, etc. It's much more complicated than just making a list, and it's much more complicated than ranking coaches or QBs.

Like any other list, it's subjective. Some may consider a GM that goes all in and sacrifices cap and future draft picks in order to win now a success if they win it all. Some may not, since their team will face dark days.

Ozzie is a great GM, but was paying a mediocre QB like Flacco a wise move? He had to let a lot of talent go.

Part of being a great GM is adjusting to things that are out of his control, and moves that just don't work out. Hard to rank Grigs because we really haven't seen how he does in that regard.

[Superman]

Like any other list, it's subjective. Some may consider a GM that goes all in and sacrifices cap and future draft picks in order to win now a success if they win it all. Some may not, since their team will face dark days.

Ozzie is a great GM, but was paying a mediocre QB like Flacco a wise move? He had to let a lot of talent go.

Part of being a great GM is adjusting to things that are out of his control, and moves that just don't work out. Hard to rank Grigs because we really haven't seen how he does in that regard.

 

Winning cures all ills. It's hard to argue with the Seahawks strategy, even if they pay for it for the next couple of years. They reached their goal, which is pretty hard to do (and which has never been done by that franchise, so extra credit there). 

 

But if you go for broke and it doesn't work? Like the Richardson trade, you're going to face extra scrutiny. 

 

In Ozzie's case, I get why they paid Flacco. And I get why they let other players go. I think there's a false correlation between Flacco's contract and the players that walked or were traded. They could have kept Boldin, but chose not to. Probably a mistake, but they weren't forced to make that move by Flacco's deal. They signed several free agents, some on bargain deals, but some on big deals, like Dumervil. The guys that they let walk were either retiring or over the hill (Lewis, Reed), or massively overpaid by other teams (Ellerbe, Kruger). They cut Pollard, but that didn't save them very much money; the story is that there was a beef between him and Harbaugh. They signed Michael Huff to replace him, and I think Huff's deal ate up whatever cap they saved from releasing Pollard. 

 

This is the year that they're really going to start hurting, cap-wise. They already figured things out with Suggs, but they'll have trouble keeping some other pieces, like Arthur Jones. And Flacco's deal only gets worse as time goes on. Kind of illustrates why it's hard to grade GMs.

[Smonroe]

Winning cures all ills. It's hard to argue with the Seahawks strategy, even if they pay for it for the next couple of years. They reached their goal, which is pretty hard to do (and which has never been done by that franchise, so extra credit there). 

 

But if you go for broke and it doesn't work? Like the Richardson trade, you're going to face extra scrutiny. 

 

In Ozzie's case, I get why they paid Flacco. And I get why they let other players go. I think there's a false correlation between Flacco's contract and the players that walked or were traded. They could have kept Boldin, but chose not to. Probably a mistake, but they weren't forced to make that move by Flacco's deal. They signed several free agents, some on bargain deals, but some on big deals, like Dumervil. The guys that they let walk were either retiring or over the hill (Lewis, Reed), or massively overpaid by other teams (Ellerbe, Kruger). They cut Pollard, but that didn't save them very much money; the story is that there was a beef between him and Harbaugh. They signed Michael Huff to replace him, and I think Huff's deal ate up whatever cap they saved from releasing Pollard. 

 

This is the year that they're really going to start hurting, cap-wise. They already figured things out with Suggs, but they'll have trouble keeping some other pieces, like Arthur Jones. And Flacco's deal only gets worse as time goes on. Kind of illustrates why it's hard to grade GMs.

 

Exactly.  The OP had Ozzie at the top of the list because of his track record.  Yes, they're won two SBs since he's been there.  But they've also had some lean times.  And, as you pointed out, they don't seem to be well structured for the future.  Yet, if you ask most people, they'll name him a top GM.

 

I think we can all agree that certain GMs were disasters, like Millen, and others were excellent, like Polian.  No matter what people want to say about his last few years in Indy, he built three different franchises into playoff teams.

 

So, how should we rank Grigson as a GM?  Since none of us can predict the future, and we're using actual team performance as the prime factor - I'd say he's top 10, if not higher.

[MTC]

I judge a GM's work on success.

 

Colts have been successful the past two seasons and I'm pretty satisfied with his offseason moves so far.

[Valpo2004]

I don't know.  He had a insanely good 2012 draft and that draft seems to be carrying the team quite a bit.  Not to mention signing Freeman.

 

2013 free agency was ok, but I'm not sure any of the players besides Cherilus have lived up to what we wanted. 

 

The 2013 draft did not have similar success.  Not one of those guys has yet panned out to even be a solid NFL starter.  

 

I think 2014 is key season.  If his 2014 free agent moves and draft picks turn out like they did in 2013 then I am going to start to turn against him a bit.  

[Modern]

I like the 2012 draft but realistically Luck had to be first, Fleener was his favorite target in college and we needed some tight ends, Allen was rated higher by many analysts then Fleener so he wasnt really a reach. T.Y. was a nice pick and gotta give Grigson credit for that one, and Ballard had a decent rookie season for where he was picked, his stats would probably have made him go a round earlier, not amazing, but still solid.

All in all it was a very good draft, but somewhat predictable.

The 2013 draft was not good, we got a DE who they converted to an OLB. He might turn into a good linebacker, but seemed like a reach for the first round, other then that we really didnt get much.

The 2 big trades Grigson made were Davis and Richardson. Davis was a very nice trade, filled a need and contributed right away. So far Richardson has been a horrible trade whose production could have been matched by many players for only a fraction of the cost.

Grigson also hasn't hit a home run with any of his free agent signings, found a couple solid starters and some bums.

I wanna see what he does in this draft before I call him a great GM or at best a one hit wonder. He has already placed himself behind the 8-ball by trading away the first round pick for a player with 5th round skill.

I was excited about Grigson when he first came and had his first draft, I thought Polian should have been gone years ago, but after the free agents signings, the 2013 draft, and the Richardson trade I am no longer excited and have moved onto hoping he himself isnt gonna be a bust.

[BOTT]

Hard to say at this point. I like Grigson, but he made some very questionable moves last season.

[USAFHoosier]

I think you have to give Grigs another season or 2.

[B-B]

I'm giving Grigson this season without Telesco to see what I see him as, 2012 was a major success, last year I think was a failure so far, but making rash decisions so soon on whether he's a good/average/bad GM while I think is always fair, isn't the best measurement of a body of work so soon

[Jaric]

I'm not even remotely informed enough to rank him with other GMs.

 

I can say I'm happy with the overall job he's done and see absolutely no reason to panic.  We're 4 years ahead of where we were with the Peyton Manning regime so we've got that going for us...

[Superman]

I'm not even remotely informed enough to rank him with other GMs.

 

I can say I'm happy with the overall job he's done and see absolutely no reason to panic.  We're 4 years ahead of where we were with the Peyton Manning regime so we've got that going for us...

 

Good on you for admitting that. I know most people don't pay that much attention to what other teams do, just their team. Personally, I'm fascinated with this offseason stuff -- FA negotiations, contract structure, the draft, personnel decision making in general. Plus I play fantasy football, so that keeps me interested in other teams and their players as well.

 

But either have perspective or acknowledging that you don't have a lot of perspective is a good thing. Keeps people from assuming that the grass is greener somewhere else. 

[Jaric]

Good on you for admitting that. I know most people don't pay that much attention to what other teams do, just their team. Personally, I'm fascinated with this offseason stuff -- FA negotiations, contract structure, the draft, personnel decision making in general. Plus I play fantasy football, so that keeps me interested in other teams and their players as well.

 

But either have perspective or acknowledging that you don't have a lot of perspective is a good thing. Keeps people from assuming that the grass is greener somewhere else. 

Yeah, I'm personally fascinated with the seemingly large group of people here who want him fired.  We blow up an aging roster and win 11 games each of his first two years, including a playoff win.

 

I'm not sure what the expectation levels were for the team, but they've well exceeded mine both seasons.

[Superman]

Yeah, I'm personally fascinated with the seemingly large group of people here who want him fired.  We blow up an aging roster and win 11 games each of his first two years, including a playoff win.

 

I'm not sure what the expectation levels were for the team, but they've well exceeded mine both seasons.

 

Yeah, we were supposed to be knocking on the door for the playoffs in 2013, at the soonest, if we were lucky. We've made the playoffs the past two seasons, exceeding everyone's expectations.

 

Not to say that he hasn't made some mistakes, in my opinion, but on the whole, he's done a very good job. If I had to grade him, I'd give him a solid B, and that's mostly because of the Richardson trade.

[Jaric]

Yeah, we were supposed to be knocking on the door for the playoffs in 2013, at the soonest, if we were lucky. We've made the playoffs the past two seasons, exceeding everyone's expectations.

 

Not to say that he hasn't made some mistakes, in my opinion, but on the whole, he's done a very good job. If I had to grade him, I'd give him a solid B, and that's mostly because of the Richardson trade.

That's pretty much my thoughts exactly.  The Richardson trade was disappointing, but IMO the jury is still out on that.  Still time to salvage that.  I don't personally think most running backs warrant a first round pick.  My opinion is that in most cases an effective running game is a function of superior blocking.  Obvious exceptions (Peterson) excluded.

 

I was really hoping when they announced we were trading a first round pick to Cleveland it was for Joe Thomas (or Alex Mack).

 

But hey, what's done is done so I'm hoping this year Richardson proves he was at least somewhat worth the pick

[sweetsurrender]

Where do you see Grigson in the big picture? Top 5? Top 10? He won Executive of the Year because of his eye for talent. Colts are 22-10 (.688) during his tenure here. People will want to point at him overpaying last year in FA, but I honestly still think he is top 10.

 

1. Ozzie Newsome

2. John Schneider

3. Trent Baalke

4. Kevin Colbert

5. Bill Belichick

6. Ted Thompson

7. Ryan Grigson

8. Jerry Reese

9. Rick Spielman

10. Les Snead

I don't see him that high yet. Having Luck land in his lap has been his biggest reason for success these past two years. I didn't like many of his moves this past season with Richardson being the chief blunder. We need to see what he does the next few seasons to see where he ranks out.

[JoshPhilpot]

1st Season: A+

2nd Season: C-

[GoColts8818]

Honestly I think we need this season to get a real grasp on where he ranks.  He had a homerun 1st year.  That was going to be nearly impossible to follow up but even with that in mind last year wasn't as good.  The draft class really only gave us one player who made a major impact in terms of playing and that was Thornton who was playing more out of need than how good he was.  His free agents were decent at best.  The only one that looks to be a complete homerun was GC, although Thomas might have been if he hadn't been hurt.  I would like to see what he does this off-season and see if it's closer to his first season or last year before I make a judgment call.  Also this is really the first off-season he's going to have balance keeping his own in free agency vs. just going out and getting guys. 

[SOMDColtsfan]

IMO, Grigson has been all over the place. Maybe its inexperience as a GM. Luck was a no brainer pick. Like Manning before him, how much has Luck made everybody else look good around him? After 2-14 there was no place to go but up. Its only 2 years after wholesale changes so the final product is yet to be determined. 2012 was a banner draft year according to on field results, but the Colts also held early picks in each round. Something they didn't have for almost an entire decade. Then there`s picks like John Boynett. I read where the Colts kind of stumbled upon him during the combine through incidental conversation. After his incident with Indy police that's the first thing I thought, did the Colts/Grigson really check this guy out off the field before they drafted him? The Samson Satele pickup. And then get rid of A.Q Shipley. The Trent trade, hoping that's still to be determined and what we saw isnt what we are getting more of. So that's why I say he`s kind of all over the place. Some really great moves and some really questionable moves. Two 11-5 records is hard to complain about still

[Gavin]

Year 1(2012)= B+ (89)

Rebuilt a roster almost entirely from scratch but did leave a move or two out on the table

Key additions=

1.Jerrell Freeman(absolutely huge find)

 

2.Cory Redding(Good locker room leader and is a fine DE...Not close to great but pretty decent)

 

3.Vontae Davis(Mixed results to this point but he has shown much improvement when healthy and capable of being that lock down Corner....That dont mean he gets there but he has the traits, speed, physicality to press, good hands, Just needs to stay healthy and put it all together)

 

Disappointing moves=

 

1.Signing Satele (It was pretty clear on film from previous years that I watched that he just isn't a starting Center in the league especially in a Man scheme, Plus a couple better Centers went for less, Matt Birk, Jeff Faine, Todd Mcclure)

2.Mike Mcglynn-Same as above but applies to Guard

 

 

2013 C- (74)

Key Additions or resignings

 

Darius Butler-Has stepped up since being signed with 8 int's in 2 years, 15 passes defensed this past season, Has some lapses in coverage sometimes and still learning technique and to be consistent but has been a solid productive Nickel Corner whos also had to fill in at #1 and 2 Corner

 

Gosder Cherilus-Had a very good year overall pass blocking wise, Not much of a hand punch or mauler to open up run lanes often (Found in the preseason Paul Kruger has a better stiff arm and hand punch then he does)but overall had a solid year

 

Matt Hasselbeck-Now obviously he wasn't going to start but he gives us solid...not extremely good QB thats content to play a backup role...Thats a tough pill to swallo for many former starting QB's especially once you take into account he led Seattle to a SB appearance....seattle lost but Bill Leavy the Head Official for the game came out and publicly admitted he blew a TD call for Seattle and another deep pass by Hasselbeck was nullified on a controversial holding call in the 4th Quarter by Sean Locklear

 

Disappointing Departures (via trade or otherwise)

 

1.Jerry Hughes-Did not kill our season by any means trading him but he finally got some playing time at his natural position, Produced well in a rotational role and people forget is he still very young(gave up on him ridiculously quick, he has an explosive first step and loose hips which you cant teach) but was traded in a head scratching move to me

 

2.A.Q. Shipley-Again certainly didn't make or break our season but he was better the Satele, Does have short arms however.

 

3.1st round pick in the upcoming draft for a running back....Again Im not saying he wont workout...I believe he will...or want to......But that dont change the fact he is a running back and also a running back that looks for contact instead of trying to avoid it

 

Overall Grade 81.5 B-

[Warhawk]

Too soon.

 

Pretty good so far though.

[The Fish]

I'd give a letter grade instead of comparing him to others also. He's a C+ to B- right now. 

[ÅÐØNϧ 1]

Where do you see Grigson in the big picture? Top 5? Top 10? He won Executive of the Year because of his eye for talent. Colts are 22-10 (.688) during his tenure here. People will want to point at him overpaying last year in FA, but I honestly still think he is top 10.

 

1. Ozzie Newsome

2. John Schneider

3. Trent Baalke

4. Kevin Colbert

5. Bill Belichick

6. Ted Thompson

7. Ryan Grigson

8. Jerry Reese

9. Rick Spielman

10. Les Snead

 

Ryan Grigson has done a excellent job here in Indy period I personally only care about the Colts .

 

2 great seasons  11-5 after all the dome & gloom scenarios after 18 left .

 

He has proved his worth & after the 2014 season after  T- Rich explodes as a Colt his critics will be silenced for about 1 minute .

 

Some people are never happy unless there complaining .   11-5  his first 2 seasons does'nt that mean anything ? 

 

Were'nt we happy with all those 10 win seasons before Grigson arrived ?    I was ..

 

We went from 18 a veteran to 12 a rookie  a flawless transition that can only get better ..  In this Colts fans opinion Grigson is #1.

[Modern]

Only way Richardson explodes is if he owns a Pinto and gets rear ended.

[Dustin]

Only way Richardson explodes is if he owns a Pinto and gets rear ended.

 

[Jaric]

I'd be content with a semi-decent "pop."

[Modern]

I think average is the best we can hope for, he was well below that mark last season. He didnt have one big play as a colt.

What's done is done , but its sad to think that I am cheering for a player to try and be average.