Fa

[SubZero]

I really hope we are active in free agency this offseason. The colts do a pretty good job in taking care of their own players, but a good dip into free agency would be good. This is my free agents the colts should look into.

Carlos Rogers CB, SF

Terrel Thomas CB, NYG

Brodney Pool SS, NYJ

Paul Soliai DT, MIA

Max Starks OT, PIT

Id love to get Thomas, Pool or Starks. Starks is a nice lineman who could play tackle or guard. Thomas is a nice cornerback and could be pushed out by Amukamara or Ross. And i think Pool is a underrated saftey and he is a good special teams player. Rogers and Soliai are playing to well to be unsigned by there teams.

[chad72]

Aubrayo Franklin or Paul Soliai for NT. Terrell Thomas, CB from NYG. That should be enough to get some vet. presence to our D.

[LUVTHESHOE]

I really hope we are active in free agency this offseason. The colts do a pretty good job in taking care of their own players, but a good dip into free agency would be good. This is my free agents the colts should look into.

Carlos Rogers CB, SF

Terrel Thomas CB, NYG

Brodney Pool SS, NYJ

Paul Soliai DT, MIA

Max Starks OT, PIT

Id love to get Thomas, Pool or Starks. Starks is a nice lineman who could play tackle or guard. Thomas is a nice cornerback and could be pushed out by Amukamara or Ross. And i think Pool is a underrated saftey and he is a good special teams player. Rogers and Soliai are playing to well to be unsigned by there teams.

Colts or should I say BP does not do free agency

[Happy2BeHere]

What are you talking about? WE DO FREE AGENCY! It's just that we "give" to free agency rather than "take"

[shaunzo]

Carlos Rogers CB, SF

Terrel Thomas CB, NYG

Brodney Pool SS, NYJ

Paul Soliai DT, MIA

Max Starks OT, PIT

I can tell you, unfortunately, with 100% confidence, that not a single one of these players will be in a Colts uniform next year. Just a bunch of undrafted free agent scrubs instead.

[OLD FAN MAN]

I really hope we are active in free agency this offseason. The colts do a pretty good job in taking care of their own players, but a good dip into free agency would be good. This is my free agents the colts should look into.

Carlos Rogers CB, SF

Terrel Thomas CB, NYG

Brodney Pool SS, NYJ

Paul Soliai DT, MIA

Max Starks OT, PIT

Id love to get Thomas, Pool or Starks. Starks is a nice lineman who could play tackle or guard. Thomas is a nice cornerback and could be pushed out by Amukamara or Ross. And i think Pool is a underrated saftey and he is a good special teams player. Rogers and Soliai are playing to well to be unsigned by there teams.

i would i would love to get some good talent also but that is not the way the front office gets it. bp likes to get undrafted players who work cheap, and sometimes he finds a good one,undrafted o-line guys are not too good but our o-line draft picks havent been good, bp needs to do better

[hurricane1122]

we dont need terrel thomas! we have jacob "third down cushion" lacey

[MAC]

How about pausing the sarcasm long enough to notice that the Colts brought in four vet free agents this year, and it's hardly the first time. They just do it intelligently based on salary cap space.

Many people make it sound as if the Colts are being cheap, when actually they are at the cap every year. You can only spend so much - the question is where are you going to spend it? Do you like Manning, Adaii, Clark, Wayne, Freeney, Mathis, etal? Sign someone else, and lose the Colt of your choice. The grass isn't always greener.

By the time someone reaches free agency they have usually peaked athletically, and football players often have very short careers. If you are lucky they will maintain that level for a few years, but often they drop like a stone - or don't fit into the new teams scheme. Yet they are looking for a lifetime payoff based on the benefit they have already provided to their old team when their salary was a bargain. Buying into that is a recipe for disaster, as evidenced by teams like the Redskins. They have an utterly moronic front office. The Colts have a terrific front office. I'm constantly baffled by those who can't recognize the difference.

[deedub75]

How about pausing the sarcasm long enough to notice that the Colts brought in four vet free agents this year, and it's hardly the first time. They just do it intelligently based on salary cap space.

Many people make it sound as if the Colts are being cheap, when actually they are at the cap every year. You can only spend so much - the question is where are you going to spend it? Do you like Manning, Adaii, Clark, Wayne, Freeney, Mathis, etal? Sign someone else, and lose the Colt of your choice. The grass isn't always greener.

By the time someone reaches free agency they have usually peaked athletically, and football players often have very short careers. If you are lucky they will maintain that level for a few years, but often they drop like a stone - or don't fit into the new teams scheme. Yet they are looking for a lifetime payoff based on the benefit they have already provided to their old team when their salary was a bargain. Buying into that is a recipe for disaster, as evidenced by teams like the Redskins. They have an utterly moronic front office. The Colts have a terrific front office. I'm constantly baffled by those who can't recognize the difference.

Colts have not been fiscally responsible with that the payroll. Somehow they manage to have a team full of undrafted FAs and few talented players on the team and still be right up against that cap space. Wasting $4M to a washed up Kerry Collins to come out of retirement proves that this FO wastes money and is reactive instead of proactive.

[OLD FAN MAN]

How about pausing the sarcasm long enough to notice that the Colts brought in four vet free agents this year, and it's hardly the first time. They just do it intelligently based on salary cap space.

Many people make it sound as if the Colts are being cheap, when actually they are at the cap every year. You can only spend so much - the question is where are you going to spend it? Do you like Manning, Adaii, Clark, Wayne, Freeney, Mathis, etal? Sign someone else, and lose the Colt of your choice. The grass isn't always greener.

By the time someone reaches free agency they have usually peaked athletically, and football players often have very short careers. If you are lucky they will maintain that level for a few years, but often they drop like a stone - or don't fit into the new teams scheme. Yet they are looking for a lifetime payoff based on the benefit they have already provided to their old team when their salary was a bargain. Buying into that is a recipe for disaster, as evidenced by teams like the Redskins. They have an utterly moronic front office. The Colts have a terrific front office. I'm constantly baffled by those who can't recognize the difference.

cap was put in place so teams could not buy a super bowl, if you manage your cap well you have good talent at all spots, if you manage your cap badly you wind up with a few hi dollar stars and no talent at other spots, is this the colts? blame front office, take a lesson from the pats and manage it well bp

[MAC]

Colts have not been fiscally responsible with that the payroll. Somehow they manage to have a team full of undrafted FAs and few talented players on the team and still be right up against that cap space. Wasting $4M to a washed up Kerry Collins to come out of retirement proves that this FO wastes money and is reactive instead of proactive.

The Colts have been successful by paying market value for some exceptional players, and then filling in the gaps with the likes of Saturday, Garcon, Mathis, Brackett, Bethea (etc, etc, etc, etc). That's not only fiscally responsible, it's as efficient - or more so - as any team in the league. The vast majority of the wasted expenditures they have is due to injury - which is obviously something that you can't predict. Contrast that to signing Albert Haynesworth, for example (it happens every year without fail).

Your one example is an aberration based on a unique star getting hurt, and says absolutely nothing about the decisions made over the past 14 years, other than that they chose not to spend four million EVERY year just to have a vet QB on the bench. To do so might have crippled the team. Yet the people I'm responding to in this thread think the Colts have failed by not running out and overpaying for numerous other "stars". Makes no sense to me.

The Collins signing was a gamble taken at a time when Painter was floundering and they thought Peyton would be back after four games. It theoretically might have been the difference between making the playoffs or not. The fact that Peyton took a step backwards and Collins fell off the table were not predictable facts. (And I'm saying that as someone who likes Painter and didn't like Collins at ANY point in his career).

[Jaric]

By the time someone reaches free agency they have usually peaked athletically, and football players often have very short careers. If you are lucky they will maintain that level for a few years, but often they drop like a stone - or don't fit into the new teams scheme. Yet they are looking for a lifetime payoff based on the benefit they have already provided to their old team when their salary was a bargain. Buying into that is a recipe for disaster, as evidenced by teams like the Redskins. They have an utterly moronic front office. The Colts have a terrific front office. I'm constantly baffled by those who can't recognize the difference.

How do you explain the current state of our team right now then?

[MAC]

cap was put in place so teams could not buy a super bowl, if you manage your cap well you have good talent at all spots, if you manage your cap badly you wind up with a few hi dollar stars and no talent at other spots, is this the colts? blame front office, take a lesson from the pats and manage it well bp

Pats have same problem. They won the SBs when their QB was a bargain, and all their money was invested in a superb veteran defense. What have they done lately? They are probably as dependent on Brady right now as the Colts are on Peyton. Their defense is young and below average, and their offensive weapons aren't all that special other than Welker. People are holding them up as an example because they signed Ochocinco and Hayneworth, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to find that the Pats regret both (despite neither being paid like superstars at this point).

[Andy]

Carlos Rogers, and Aubrayo Franklin. Franklin is a great nose tackle who stuffs the line well. Imagine Carlos Rogers and Jerraud Powers as our starter, and our 2nd or 3rd round CB playing in Nickel situations, then we have Lacey and Rucker as depth.

[MAC]

How do you explain the current state of our team right now then?

First of all, as has been endlessly discussed, they are built around Peyton's unique talents. Call it a gamble if you want, but the fact is that it is utterly unreasonable to expect a team to make the playoffs when they lose their franchise QB for the entire season. I highly doubt that it's happened during the salary cap era.

Why are they so pitiful? Because they co-incidentally were in the middle of rebuilding the offensive line and defensive backfield. You could call the former a front office failure for waiting too long to inject new talent, but you also have to acknowledge that the problem is well on it's way to being corrected, and that the offense looked good enough to win some games before they lost 80% of the new starters and a couple of reserves as well. It wouldn't have slowed Peyton down much, but it's murder for a rookie QB. The defensive backfield problems are purely bad luck. Do you have a problem with the plan that should have us still featuring Jackson, Hayden, Sanders, and Bethea, with Powers and Bullitt as the primary reserves? They would have been terrific. No team expects to be injury free, but losing five out of six? It's just insane. I'm sure they would have added a FA replacement if a good fit was available that they could afford.

[sfergson727]

Unreasonable to make the playoffs? Perhaps. How about win a game? Is that unreasonable too?

You mentioned the Pats, they lost Brady several seasons ago, I guess I missed it when they went 0-16, or even 0-9.

Edited November 8, 2011 by sfergson727

[Jaric]

First of all, as has been endlessly discussed, they are built around Peyton's unique talents. Call it a gamble if you want, but the fact is that it is utterly unreasonable to expect a team to make the playoffs when they lose their franchise QB for the entire season. I highly doubt that it's happened during the salary cap era.

Playoffs? No one said anything about playoffs. I expected them to miss the playoffs. I also don't think it's too much to ask to win a game without Peyton Manning starting. At least 15 other team in the league manage to do it on a weekly basis.

Why are they so pitiful? Because they co-incidentally were in the middle of rebuilding the offensive line and defensive backfield. You could call the former a front office failure for waiting too long to inject new talent, but you also have to acknowledge that the problem is well on it's way to being corrected, and that the offense looked good enough to win some games before they lost 80% of the new starters and a couple of reserves as well. It wouldn't have slowed Peyton down much, but it's murder for a rookie QB. The defensive backfield problems are purely bad luck. Do you have a problem with the plan that should have us still featuring Jackson, Hayden, Sanders, and Bethea, with Powers and Bullitt as the primary reserves? They would have been terrific. No team expects to be injury free, but losing five out of six? It's just insane. I'm sure they would have added a FA replacement if a good fit was available that they could afford.

Why do I have to acknowledge the problem is well on it's way to being corrected? I see nothing to indicate that the problems are being corrected. On the contrary. It seems each week I'm finding new problems I didn't even know existed.

I'm sorry, but no one is going to buy that we have a great front office when we are 0-9 and currently leading the race for the first overall pick.

We built a structurally flawed team dependent on a few players to excel and without them it all falls apart. And it's not just on offense. Remember the playoff game against the chargers where Dwight got hurt and BILLY VOLEK carved us up like Thanksgiving Turkeys? How long has our defense been unable to stop even the most mediocre of running backs? When was the last time we were able to consistently run the ball effectively. And by effectively I mean by NFL standards, not the "well we almost got 100 yards" reduced Colt standards.

[deedub75]

Pats have same problem. They won the SBs when their QB was a bargain, and all their money was invested in a superb veteran defense. What have they done lately? They are probably as dependent on Brady right now as the Colts are on Peyton. Their defense is young and below average, and their offensive weapons aren't all that special other than Welker. People are holding them up as an example because they signed Ochocinco and Hayneworth, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to find that the Pats regret both (despite neither being paid like superstars at this point).

The last I checked the Patriots did not go 0-9 when their star QB went down.

[Andy]

The last I checked the Patriots did not go 0-9 when their star QB went down.

The Pats didn't make the playoffs that year, so it's sorta the same problem.

[deedub75]

First of all, as has been endlessly discussed, they are built around Peyton's unique talents. Call it a gamble if you want, but the fact is that it is utterly unreasonable to expect a team to make the playoffs when they lose their franchise QB for the entire season. I highly doubt that it's happened during the salary cap era.

Why are they so pitiful? Because they co-incidentally were in the middle of rebuilding the offensive line and defensive backfield. You could call the former a front office failure for waiting too long to inject new talent, but you also have to acknowledge that the problem is well on it's way to being corrected, and that the offense looked good enough to win some games before they lost 80% of the new starters and a couple of reserves as well. It wouldn't have slowed Peyton down much, but it's murder for a rookie QB. The defensive backfield problems are purely bad luck. Do you have a problem with the plan that should have us still featuring Jackson, Hayden, Sanders, and Bethea, with Powers and Bullitt as the primary reserves? They would have been terrific. No team expects to be injury free, but losing five out of six? It's just insane. I'm sure they would have added a FA replacement if a good fit was available that they could afford.

So what unique talent does Peyton have that relieves a team from having to field a decent defense and special teams? Peyton is a great QB but there have been plenty of QBs who have led high powered offenses. Where is all of this talent that people keep saying is being placed around Peyton? Peyton makes the players around him better than what they really are.

The team is pitiful because, as you said, the team is built around Peyton's unique talents. You could say that the team was build to NOT be able to win without Peyton and that's no way to build a team.

[deedub75]

The Pats didn't make the playoffs that year, so it's sorta the same problem.

Did I say they made the playoffs? The point of my statement is that they did not fall apart without their star QB. The Colts have always been considered to be a 3 win team without Manning. So how is the Colts possibly going 0-16 without Manning sorta the same problem as the Patriots going 11-5 without Brady?

[Andy]

Did I say they made the playoffs? The point of my statement is that they did not fall apart without their star QB. The Colts have always been considered to be a 3 win team without Manning. So how is the Colts possibly going 0-16 without Manning sorta the same problem as the Patriots going 11-5 without Brady?

I'm just saying the result was the same in the end, that's all.

[BOTT]

I really hope we are active in free agency this offseason. The colts do a pretty good job in taking care of their own players, but a good dip into free agency would be good. This is my free agents the colts should look into.

Carlos Rogers CB, SF

Terrel Thomas CB, NYG

Brodney Pool SS, NYJ

Paul Soliai DT, MIA

Max Starks OT, PIT

Id love to get Thomas, Pool or Starks. Starks is a nice lineman who could play tackle or guard. Thomas is a nice cornerback and could be pushed out by Amukamara or Ross. And i think Pool is a underrated saftey and he is a good special teams player. Rogers and Soliai are playing to well to be unsigned by there teams.

the problem is the colts overpay their own players. brackett, hayden, clark and addai were all overpaid. and don't get me started on giving guy who just tore their acl (edge) a new contract or giving a safety with a pin in his shoulder a new contract. don't worry the colts will sign some washed up scrubs like kerry collins and tommy harris....

[mahagga73]

I can tell you, unfortunately, with 100% confidence, that not a single one of these players will be in a Colts uniform next year. Just a bunch of undrafted free agent scrubs instead.

true dat.why would we improve our team with Peyton back,goes against all our principles besides lacey is really a good CB.

[MAC]

The last I checked the Patriots did not go 0-9 when their star QB went down.

I'm talking about this years Patriots. Their defense has slipped, and their offense has had trouble keeping ahead of them. Take four of their offensive lineman out with injuries, and throw in a 6th round pick QB with no starts to his credit and watch how many games they win when THEIR offense can't stay on the field and their defense is pushed past their breaking point. THEN remove three defensive starters (including the leader who calls the signals) and see what happens.

More importantly (as Andy suggested), what freaking difference does it make if you don't make the playoffs? Either you are contending for the Super Bowl or you are not. If you are not, then you're priority becomes preparing for next year. Everyone is frustrated, but insisting that the FO of a team with the success that the Colts have had - superstar QB or not - is incompetent is a bit of an over reaction in my opinion.

[buccolts]

How about pausing the sarcasm long enough to notice that the Colts brought in four vet free agents this year, and it's hardly the first time. They just do it intelligently based on salary cap space.

Many people make it sound as if the Colts are being cheap, when actually they are at the cap every year. You can only spend so much - the question is where are you going to spend it? Do you like Manning, Adaii, Clark, Wayne, Freeney, Mathis, etal? Sign someone else, and lose the Colt of your choice. The grass isn't always greener.

By the time someone reaches free agency they have usually peaked athletically, and football players often have very short careers. If you are lucky they will maintain that level for a few years, but often they drop like a stone - or don't fit into the new teams scheme. Yet they are looking for a lifetime payoff based on the benefit they have already provided to their old team when their salary was a bargain. Buying into that is a recipe for disaster, as evidenced by teams like the Redskins. They have an utterly moronic front office. The Colts have a terrific front office. I'm constantly baffled by those who can't recognize the difference.

I agree with most everything you've said in this thread, and agree totally with your overall reasoning.

HOWEVER, you'll never get this across to most of us, as we've declared to begin the off season weeks ago, and the 'glass empty' attitude seems to be en vogue.

Obviously, everything's wrong, everyone must pay, and it all needs to be corrected by the next game (or at least by the end of the season).

Fire the entire coaching staff, the front office, and break the fingers of the owner. Justin Snow is the only irreplaceable man on the team.

Start all over with Luck, and we'll do the same thing all over again for the next decade.

I still wonder what team we would have rather been over the past 12 (or so) years, and how many fan bases would have traded places with us over the same time period.

Yup, losing stinks. It happens. It's happening.

If PM comes back to old form next year, we'll be O.K. again.

Changes will be made, as time and money allows, and we'll see where we are next year, and going forward.

[MAC]

Playoffs? No one said anything about playoffs. I expected them to miss the playoffs. I also don't think it's too much to ask to win a game without Peyton Manning starting. At least 15 other team in the league manage to do it on a weekly basis.

I didn't say that you did, it was just part of my larger point that either you are striving to win the Super Bowl, or you are preparing for next year. Once Peyton went down this years results became largely irrelevant - other than it being a matter of pride. I'm not happy with the way this year is going, but (aside from the moment that I realized Peyton was out for the count) there hasn't been one millisecond that has approached the pain that one experiences after a playoff loss, or even a significant normal regular season loss. The reactions on this website have been outlandish.

Why do I have to acknowledge the problem is well on it's way to being corrected? I see nothing to indicate that the problems are being corrected. On the contrary. It seems each week I'm finding new problems I didn't even know existed.

If you re-read my post you will see that I was specifically referring to the offensive line problems being well on their way to being corrected. How else would you describe the additions of Costanzo, Ijalana, and Reitz - all of who look like keepers, and the improvement of Pollack. Even a couple of this years emergency fill-ins look like they are good enough to function as reserves going forward - much better reserves than we have had in as long as I can remember.

[MAC]

I agree with most everything you've said in this thread, and agree totally with your overall reasoning.

HOWEVER, you'll never get this across to most of us, as we've declared to begin the off season weeks ago, and the 'glass empty' attitude seems to be en vogue.

Obviously, everything's wrong, everyone must pay, and it all needs to be corrected by the next game (or at least by the end of the season).

Fire the entire coaching staff, the front office, and break the fingers of the owner. Justin Snow is the only irreplaceable man on the team.

Start all over with Luck, and we'll do the same thing all over again for the next decade.

I still wonder what team we would have rather been over the past 12 (or so) years, and how many fan bases would have traded places with us over the same time period.

Yup, losing stinks. It happens. It's happening.

If PM comes back to old form next year, we'll be O.K. again.

Changes will be made, as time and money allows, and we'll see where we are next year, and going forward.

Good to hear.

I do this to myself a lot. I might as well change my user name to "Salmon" and post a picture of one jumping a small waterfall in a raging current. It can be fun (as the actual Salmon's would likely agree), but there are also bears lining the banks, and some of those claws are pretty sharp.

[Jason_]

the problem is the colts overpay their own players. brackett, hayden, clark and addai were all overpaid. and don't get me started on giving guy who just tore their acl (edge) a new contract or giving a safety with a pin in his shoulder a new contract. don't worry the colts will sign some washed up scrubs like kerry collins and tommy harris....

I agree with the underlined part, but does this "blame" go on Polian or Irsay? Did Polian have such a history in Buffalo or Carolina of overpaying their star players? I don't recall that being the case. On the other hand, it was Irsay who said over and over and over again throughout the Manning contract negotiations that Peyton would retire a Colt and that he would be the highest paid player in league history.

[deedub75]

I'm just saying the result was the same in the end, that's all.

0-16 is nowhere near the same as 11-5, playoffs or not.

[deedub75]

I'm talking about this years Patriots. Their defense has slipped, and their offense has had trouble keeping ahead of them. Take four of their offensive lineman out with injuries, and throw in a 6th round pick QB with no starts to his credit and watch how many games they win when THEIR offense can't stay on the field and their defense is pushed past their breaking point. THEN remove three defensive starters (including the leader who calls the signals) and see what happens.

More importantly (as Andy suggested), what freaking difference does it make if you don't make the playoffs? Either you are contending for the Super Bowl or you are not. If you are not, then you're priority becomes preparing for next year. Everyone is frustrated, but insisting that the FO of a team with the success that the Colts have had - superstar QB or not - is incompetent is a bit of an over reaction in my opinion.

Ok we were talking about the year Brady went down, not this year. So you're saying that if we don't make the playoffs then we may as well go 0-16 and rebuild for next season. The way this team is built, making the playoffs is not a realistic goal and most fans realize that. We were at least hoping for a competitive team to be fielded which is not the case. I never said the FO was incompetent but this is the team they built.

[BOTT]

I agree with the underlined part, but does this "blame" go on Polian or Irsay? Did Polian have such a history in Buffalo or Carolina of overpaying their star players? I don't recall that being the case. On the other hand, it was Irsay who said over and over and over again throughout the Manning contract negotiations that Peyton would retire a Colt and that he would be the highest paid player in league history.

good question. i would assume polian. i just can't believe irsay would take these matters into his own hands, i mean he did bring in polian to run things after he himself proved to be a miserable failure at it. come to think of it one of the first things polian did was aquire tyrone poole,a player he drafted in carolina, and overpay him. but i have no idea really.....

[BmoreColt]

Why is it that after one bad season, a lot of you fans want to start from scratch? “Oh well, we will just draft Andrew Luck with the first pick of the draft and just rebuild the team around him.” Yeah and continue to have the same problems with him, that Manning has had his entire career! If the Colts take Luck, the only difference between having him and the current team is about four wins at the end of the season. The team obviously has glaring holes, that they just plug with undrafted free agents, because as some of you have pointed out, the problem is the Colts over pay for their own! Freeney 12 Million dollars a year? He can’t stop the run and is not an every down end, like a Tuck and Peppers who can stop the run and rush the passer! What is so special about Dallas Clarke without Manning? Obviously not a whole lot, Tamme was very serviceable in his place last season. Your going to pay Addai, and he can’t stay healthy for a full season, just like Dallas Clarke who has played one full season, both are injury prone! A back-up safety as a starter, who is also injury prone, this is what the Cotls are paying for instead of quality free agents. I think this is going to change after being exposed for how bad the team is, and I have been saying it on this forum and last, the Colts need to bring in impact free agents, and think outside their conventional big square box! Brackett, Bullit, Diem, Lacey, Foster, Collins they point blank need to go! Freeney, Clarke, Addai, need their contracts redone, Hughes, Brown, Gonzales need drastic pay cuts or they can walk. Mathis should be resigned at a cap friendly deal, Wayne needs to take a hometown discount if he wants to stay around. And then some proactive free agent searching or drafting needs to happen for another OLB, CB, SS, and NT. The Colts need to trade down, get picks and players for the most hyped college quarterback, and rebuild those weak points with the picks and players, while still getting an eventual Heir to MANNING’S OBVIOUS THRONE! Cause if they take Luck and continue with their old philosophy, the game is just going to continue to pass them by.

[deedub75]

Why is it that after one bad season, a lot of you fans want to start from scratch? “Oh well, we will just draft Andrew Luck with the first pick of the draft and just rebuild the team around him.” Yeah and continue to have the same problems with him, that Manning has had his entire career! If the Colts take Luck, the only difference between having him and the current team is about four wins at the end of the season. The team obviously has glaring holes, that they just plug with undrafted free agents, because as some of you have pointed out, the problem is the Colts over pay for their own! Freeney 12 Million dollars a year? He can’t stop the run and is not an every down end, like a Tuck and Peppers who can stop the run and rush the passer! What is so special about Dallas Clarke without Manning? Obviously not a whole lot, Tamme was very serviceable in his place last season. Your going to pay Addai, and he can’t stay healthy for a full season, just like Dallas Clarke who has played one full season, both are injury prone! A back-up safety as a starter, who is also injury prone, this is what the Cotls are paying for instead of quality free agents. I think this is going to change after being exposed for how bad the team is, and I have been saying it on this forum and last, the Colts need to bring in impact free agents, and think outside their conventional big square box! Brackett, Bullit, Diem, Lacey, Foster, Collins they point blank need to go! Freeney, Clarke, Addai, need their contracts redone, Hughes, Brown, Gonzales need drastic pay cuts or they can walk. Mathis should be resigned at a cap friendly deal, Wayne needs to take a hometown discount if he wants to stay around. And then some proactive free agent searching or drafting needs to happen for another OLB, CB, SS, and NT. The Colts need to trade down, get picks and players for the most hyped college quarterback, and rebuild those weak points with the picks and players, while still getting an eventual Heir to MANNING’S OBVIOUS THRONE! Cause if they take Luck and continue with their old philosophy, the game is just going to continue to pass them by.

Amen brother!

[mark_dk]

Carlos Rogers, and Aubrayo Franklin. Franklin is a great nose tackle who stuffs the line well. Imagine Carlos Rogers and Jerraud Powers as our starter, and our 2nd or 3rd round CB playing in Nickel situations, then we have Lacey and Rucker as depth.

If this scenario actually happened - then I can assure you that LACEY won't be kept as depth! Kevin Thomas and Rucker should though

[mark_dk]

Why is it that after one bad season, a lot of you fans want to start from scratch? “Oh well, we will just draft Andrew Luck with the first pick of the draft and just rebuild the team around him.” Yeah and continue to have the same problems with him, that Manning has had his entire career! If the Colts take Luck, the only difference between having him and the current team is about four wins at the end of the season. The team obviously has glaring holes, that they just plug with undrafted free agents, because as some of you have pointed out, the problem is the Colts over pay for their own! Freeney 12 Million dollars a year? He can’t stop the run and is not an every down end, like a Tuck and Peppers who can stop the run and rush the passer! What is so special about Dallas Clarke without Manning? Obviously not a whole lot, Tamme was very serviceable in his place last season. Your going to pay Addai, and he can’t stay healthy for a full season, just like Dallas Clarke who has played one full season, both are injury prone! A back-up safety as a starter, who is also injury prone, this is what the Cotls are paying for instead of quality free agents. I think this is going to change after being exposed for how bad the team is, and I have been saying it on this forum and last, the Colts need to bring in impact free agents, and think outside their conventional big square box! Brackett, Bullit, Diem, Lacey, Foster, Collins they point blank need to go! Freeney, Clarke, Addai, need their contracts redone, Hughes, Brown, Gonzales need drastic pay cuts or they can walk. Mathis should be resigned at a cap friendly deal, Wayne needs to take a hometown discount if he wants to stay around. And then some proactive free agent searching or drafting needs to happen for another OLB, CB, SS, and NT. The Colts need to trade down, get picks and players for the most hyped college quarterback, and rebuild those weak points with the picks and players, while still getting an eventual Heir to MANNING’S OBVIOUS THRONE! Cause if they take Luck and continue with their old philosophy, the game is just going to continue to pass them by.

+1 !! All of this point toward our FO mishandling cap space and being to conservative in FA. Only thing I wish to add is poor coaching

[Jaric]

I didn't say that you did, it was just part of my larger point that either you are striving to win the Super Bowl, or you are preparing for next year. Once Peyton went down this years results became largely irrelevant - other than it being a matter of pride. I'm not happy with the way this year is going, but (aside from the moment that I realized Peyton was out for the count) there hasn't been one millisecond that has approached the pain that one experiences after a playoff loss, or even a significant normal regular season loss. The reactions on this website have been outlandish.

I'm sorry, I'm not buying that at all. I get that the goal is always the superbowl, but saying that going winless is no different than the other 30 teams who didn't win the superbowl is missing the big picture.

Do you know why going winless (as we appear to be on a course to do) is bad? Because superbowl caliber teams missing one player don't go winless. And yes, I know we are missing other guys than just Manning, but don't even try telling me we're 0-9 because Melvin Bullitt isn't on the field.

What bothers me is the lack of mental toughness. ONE thing goes wrong and this team just packs it in and puts on their zombie faces on the sidelines. All our probowl players have disappeared. Every. Single. One. That's is completely unacceptable and there needs to be accountability.

If you re-read my post you will see that I was specifically referring to the offensive line problems being well on their way to being corrected. How else would you describe the additions of Costanzo, Ijalana, and Reitz - all of who look like keepers, and the improvement of Pollack. Even a couple of this years emergency fill-ins look like they are good enough to function as reserves going forward - much better reserves than we have had in as long as I can remember.

Ok, if we're limiting it to just the O-line, I can see why you might be optimistic. But It's far too early to declare the issue resolved. Costanzo and Ijalana have looked good, but they've only played a few snaps due to injuries. Reitz has been a pleasant suprise, but our best linemen this year (saturday) isn't getting any younger. We're still a ways off before the line is back to where it should be.

[BmoreColt]

Thanks for the support guys! It’s a shame, it would be a true injustice and smack in the face to trade Peyton/ draft Luck, since Peyton was never really given the opportunity to be put on the pedestal that he rightfully so deserves. I live in Baltimore and am constantly talking about how he is the greatest ever and have been saying this for years, it really isn’t until the Colts are 0-9 the people realize wow, this is a Super Bowl contending team every year with Manning, and a winless team without him, same exact team, they are playing without their top three draft picks, so it’s really the same team! If Peyton were on Baltimore or Pittsburgh, he would have won a minimum of 5 more Super Bowl rings, having a defense and run game. Peyton doesn’t need big name receivers, look at the Saints, these guys (Colston and Graham) were just household names and because of Brees they look like stars! Peyton needs a good offensive line, which will improve the run game and his protection, somewhat of a run game to take some pressure off him, and just a combination of young, fast, big, explosive, kids at WR. The rest of the money should be put on defense. Peyton made Blair White and Tamme viable players last season both in fantasy and in an NFL perspective. The Colts have really done Manning a true injustice and to let him walk now would be ludicrous. After realizing the last decade of football has been made possible for the Colts because of Manning! If they draft Luck, I hope Manning goes to a Ravens or 49ers, any team with a run game and good defense, cause he will win every year until he retires, while the Colts bask in their (Manning’s) former success.

[BOTT]

Aubrayo Franklin or Paul Soliai for NT. Terrell Thomas, CB from NYG. That should be enough to get some vet. presence to our D.

i think the colts could have had franklin this year. if i remember right he signed a cheap one year deal with the saints. good thing the colts saved that money for the country singer.

[BmoreColt]

Franklin and Rodgers signed cheap deals with New Orleans! I would have gladly welcomed either one to Indy, but apparently they aren't talented enough and the Colts are "fine" at DT according to Polian and Irsay.