If You Were Gm Of The Colts

[BmoreColt]

I like alot of the selections fvantagio.. I just don't know if some of the players are going to be around as late as you projected them...But all in all, players who fit what the Colts need, I would have liked to seen some DE's drafted with all the extra picks!

[fvantagio]

Bmorecolt your absolutely right. That would be a perfect world scenario. Also as soon as i posted it i realized that i had forgotten a DE.

[BmoreColt]

Maybe in the third round I would like to see Monte Ball selected by the Colts as the RB, then with some of those other mid round picks get at least one if not two DE's! Personally I like Oakfur from Texas!

[Ramblinwreck7]

Maybe in the third round I would like to see Monte Ball selected by the Colts as the RB, then with some of those other mid round picks get at least one if not two DE's! Personally I like Oakfur from Texas!

how many DE's do you think that we can have on one roster? We already have 5, which is a lot, but if we keep Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Jerry Hughes, Jamaal Anderson, and Eric Foster, then I don't think we have any room for more DE's. In my case we would add a top NT which is what moves Foster to run stopping DE and pass rushing/situational DT.

[jskinnz]

how many DE's do you think that we can have on one roster? We already have 5, which is a lot, but if we keep Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Jerry Hughes, Jamaal Anderson, and Eric Foster, then I don't think we have any room for more DE's. In my case we would add a top NT which is what moves Foster to run stopping DE and pass rushing/situational DT.

I think your career as a GM might be over before it ever got off the ground.

A DE is very likely to be on their radar this offseason. Mathis is a FA now and not very young any longer. Freeney is a FA after the 2012 season and he is also not very young either and neither of those guys have pressued the QB like we have seen before. And Hughes is safe to say is a bust and his time on the roster is likely coming to an end. And the others you mentioned, forgetting Brayton as well, are all JAG's. There is nothing special about them and certainly all can be upgraded.

[Ramblinwreck7]

I think your career as a GM might be over before it ever got off the ground.

A DE is very likely to be on their radar this offseason. Mathis is a FA now and not very young any longer. Freeney is a FA after the 2012 season and he is also not very young either and neither of those guys have pressued the QB like we have seen before. And Hughes is safe to say is a bust and his time on the roster is likely coming to an end. And the others you mentioned, forgetting Brayton as well, are all JAG's. There is nothing special about them and certainly all can be upgraded.

You are wrong in so many ways, a DE is likely if we get rid of some of our current DE's. I expect, as the GM I guess you thought I was, that we will only release Tyler Brayton at the end of the season. From what I have read and seen, Jamaal Anderson has played pretty well against the run and that he is improving as a pass rusher, not that he will become a good one though, but maybe average. If so, then I think we will keep Anderson because he is young and pretty cheap. Eric Foster is a versatile DT/DE who can play either position. His best spot though is as a run stuffer at DE and a situational pass rusher at DT. He is a good leader and the colts will probably keep him as well. I also expect the colts to keep Robert Mathis, without him, this defense only goes in the wrong direction. Dwight Freeney will definitely be here for several more years, so that leaves one spot open for grabs and maybe 2 if they don't keep Jamaal Anderson.

Hate on Jerry Hughes all you want, but from watching highlight videos of him at TCU, he still has some potential, not just as a stand up pass rusher, but as a DE with his hand on the ground as well. He has played better this year compared to last year, with 8 tackles and 1 sack in 8 games in a limited role. I don't think the colts will cut him and that leaves 4 DE's and 1 DE/DT. Adding one top NT to make it 4 DT's is about the only thing that the D-line needs.

Your comment about Freeney and Mathis not pressuring quarterbacks like they have before shows that you are misinformed. Have you thought of why they are getting very many sacks? Watch the games closely and you will find your answer.

[jskinnz]

You are wrong in so many ways, a DE is likely if we get rid of some of our current DE's. I expect, as the GM I guess you thought I was, that we will only release Tyler Brayton at the end of the season. From what I have read and seen, Jamaal Anderson has played pretty well against the run and that he is improving as a pass rusher, not that he will become a good one though, but maybe average. If so, then I think we will keep Anderson because he is young and pretty cheap. Eric Foster is a versatile DT/DE who can play either position. His best spot though is as a run stuffer at DE and a situational pass rusher at DT. He is a good leader and the colts will probably keep him as well. I also expect the colts to keep Robert Mathis, without him, this defense only goes in the wrong direction. Dwight Freeney will definitely be here for several more years, so that leaves one spot open for grabs and maybe 2 if they don't keep Jamaal Anderson.

Hate on Jerry Hughes all you want, but from watching highlight videos of him at TCU, he still has some potential, not just as a stand up pass rusher, but as a DE with his hand on the ground as well. He has played better this year compared to last year, with 8 tackles and 1 sack in 8 games in a limited role. I don't think the colts will cut him and that leaves 4 DE's and 1 DE/DT. Adding one top NT to make it 4 DT's is about the only thing that the D-line needs.

Your comment about Freeney and Mathis not pressuring quarterbacks like they have before shows that you are misinformed. Have you thought of why they are getting very many sacks? Watch the games closely and you will find your answer.

I am not sure what is so hard to understand.

Freeney & Mathis has been around forever. One will be looking for his 3rd big contract this year and the other will be doing the same thing next year. Their time with Indy is closer to the end than the beginning.

Your comment about Jerry Hughes is funny. Two years into his NFL career and he is not playing up to the level of first round pick. In short he has all the earmarks of being a bust. What he showed at TCU is completely meaning to what he is or is not doing right now. In fact his being on the way to being a bust is a reason why a DE in next year's draft is likely. That and Freeney & Mathis' pending contracts.

When last we saw Eric Foster his foot was pointing backwards. Counting on him next year is premature at best. Anderson and Brayton have been decent players this year but if you know anything about the league, their spots on the 2012 are anything but assured. They are dime a dozen type talents who can be easily replaced.

If you understand how the Colts draft, they often take a player a year before they may be needed to play. All this adds up to DE being on the table next year.

[BmoreColt]

Ramblin I have to agree with Jskinnz on this one, I know we have been talking about this and have thrown around alot of ideas about who we would like to see used and how mixing one run stuffer with one pass rusher could be effective, but IMO I think the Colts should and will address the DE position to get guys who can not only rush the passer but stop the run on the way there. I.e. Allen, Peppers, and Tuck. Having two young everydown type DE's under Freeney and Mathis tooteledge, seems better than keeping Anderson and Brayton who can really only stop the run. And we have no idea offseason plans for Mathis and his contract as well as Freeney and his upcoming contract. I think Freeney's needs to be reworked as I mentioned, they aren't every down DE's anymore..

[Ramblinwreck7]

Ramblin I have to agree with Jskinnz on this one, I know we have been talking about this and have thrown around alot of ideas about who we would like to see used and how mixing one run stuffer with one pass rusher could be effective, but IMO I think the Colts should and will address the DE position to get guys who can not only rush the passer but stop the run on the way there. I.e. Allen, Peppers, and Tuck. Having two young everydown type DE's under Freeney and Mathis tooteledge, seems better than keeping Anderson and Brayton who can really only stop the run. And we have no idea offseason plans for Mathis and his contract as well as Freeney and his upcoming contract. I think Freeney's needs to be reworked as I mentioned, they aren't every down DE's anymore..

Come on BmoreColt! I would love to have DE's who can rush the passer and stop the run well too. I think your underselling Freeney and Mathis's abilities against the run. They are okay and even better when they commit to it. Give them a solid NT and we will have a very good run defense. Also, no DE's in the NFL are every down DE's. Justin Tuck, Julius Peppers, and Allen all rotate out too! Sometimes guys just need a breather. Freeney and Mathis play more snaps than you think, they are usually on the field unless we need extra help against the run, which is what Jamaal Anderson and Tyler Brayton are for.

Also, it depends on what we do with our current DE's if we are going to draft one. Nothing that I have read or seen tells me that Eric Foster won't be back next year. Anderson has been playing pretty well, and Jerry Hughes has been improving. Do you want to give up on a guy that shows promise but is just developing slowly? Give him a chance and I think that we will see a much improved player out of him soon. The only guy that I can see us not keeping is Brayton, just because he is an older veteran while Anderson is younger. They are both playing at about the same level though. Drafting a NT takes up this spot though.

[Jason_]

Being an every down DE doesn't mean they have to play every down. yes players will have to come out for a breather once in a while. Rather, being an every down DE means the player CAN play any down whether it's a known passing down, known running down or anywhere in between. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't have both Mathis and Freeney next year because I'm not sure we'll be able to afford both.

I would like to bring at least Anderson back because he's still young, plays very well against the run and is getting better against the pass. If we can bring him back, move Foster primarily to DE and bring in a young versatile DE then that'd be great. Doesn't have to be a first round pick on a DE, there will be solid players available in the middle rounds. Guys like Malik Jackson, Trevor Guyton, Devin Tyler, Cam Johnson etc.

I agree that we need help at DT/NT but I just don't think the player is there that many people want, and if the type of player is there then it'll require a very high pick because NT's who can face and beat double teams on a consistent basis and make plays in the backfield are hard to come by and they're generally going to be drafted with a higher pick by a 3-4 team than a 4-3 team is willing to spend for a NT.

[BmoreColt]

Yeah, my issue Ramblin is the huge contract Freeney has and the huge contract Mathis is going to want! Foster is not very good, just because he tries hard and has alot of heart doesn't make him worthy of a roster spot. He is a "Rudy" and that's not what the Colts need at DE...I am not sure how the Colts intend to work out Mathis contract, if Freeney were to come down to 7 and Mathis accept 7 so they both have the same cap hit 14 million going forward that they do now, I can see keeping both. But with their value sky high, I could certainly see trading one or even both! I am not ready to give up on Hughes, I would like to see him play SAM in a 4-3 Under look, and get some time as a DE as well... But Brayton, Foster, Moala, have to go, just a waste of roster spots on these guys. I would like to see some fresh faces on the D-Line, Maybe Hughes and the new kid from Chicago can be the second DE rotation and Anderson, Brayton, Foster, and Moala can go..with some new DT's brought in and maybe draft another DE like Oakfur from Texas later in the draft.

[Ramblinwreck7]

Yeah, my issue Ramblin is the huge contract Freeney has and the huge contract Mathis is going to want! Foster is not very good, just because he tries hard and has alot of heart doesn't make him worthy of a roster spot. He is a "Rudy" and that's not what the Colts need at DE...I am not sure how the Colts intend to work out Mathis contract, if Freeney were to come down to 7 and Mathis accept 7 so they both have the same cap hit 14 million going forward that they do now, I can see keeping both. But with their value sky high, I could certainly see trading one or even both! I am not ready to give up on Hughes, I would like to see him play SAM in a 4-3 Under look, and get some time as a DE as well... But Brayton, Foster, Moala, have to go, just a waste of roster spots on these guys. I would like to see some fresh faces on the D-Line, Maybe Hughes and the new kid from Chicago can be the second DE rotation and Anderson, Brayton, Foster, and Moala can go..with some new DT's brought in and maybe draft another DE like Oakfur from Texas later in the draft.

Why are you so worried about our cap space? I don't understand. The colts don't go out and spend big money on free agents, they spend money on their own players. We're under the cap right now and without Kelvin Hayden's contract, we have some cap space to sign all of our free agents. I could see us reworking a couple of guys contracts like Dallas Clark and maybe Dwight Freeney, but there isn't much else. We won't have Kerry Collins contract, so I don't see the worry about resigning both Reggie Wayne and Robert Mathis. They both want to stay in Indianapolis so that's another plus.

[BmoreColt]

I guess I am optimistic that the Colts will bring in a free agent who may require more than a minimum contract to make an impact on our team.. i.e. Larron Landry or Paul Soliai! I think Clarke can be traded if his contract isn't re-worked, he isn't much without Manning, and Tamme has more upside and is younger! Addai needs to go, he is over paid and he can't stay healthy, Bullitt and Brackett both gone...my problem is I think the Colts mispend their money on their own and that has been the problem with the organization... I would like to see much better cap management, so more players with talent could be brought in for Mannings final run!

[Ramblinwreck7]

I guess I am optimistic that the Colts will bring in a free agent who may require more than a minimum contract to make an impact on our team.. i.e. Larron Landry or Paul Soliai! I think Clarke can be traded if his contract isn't re-worked, he isn't much without Manning, and Tamme has more upside and is younger! Addai needs to go, he is over paid and he can't stay healthy, Bullitt and Brackett both gone...my problem is I think the Colts mispend their money on their own and that has been the problem with the organization... I would like to see much better cap management, so more players with talent could be brought in for Mannings final run!

Larron Landry and Paul Soliai would cost a lot though! I like keeping our own guys instead of bringing in expensive free agents.

Also, Jacob Tamme doesn't have as much upside as Dallas Clark. Clark is bigger and faster than Tamme at 6'3" 252 lbs. compared to Tamme at 6'3" 236 lbs. Tamme doesn't do much as a blocker but he is a pretty good receiver. When Clark is playing well he is a pretty good blocker and great receiver. He just is being asked to block a lot this year which isn't his strength compared to catching the ball.

Why you hatin on Addai? There's a reason that Peyton Manning wanted us to keep him. He is a good runner and great pass blocker. If he can stay healthy, then with our improved O-line he could start looking like what he did in 2006 and even better.

I'd like to keep Bullit and Brackett if we can. Brackett needs to take a paycut though, but he would be great depth and maybe start at MLB or OLB. He is great with calling defensive plays as well, he is the leader of the defense. I'm not sure how much Melvin Bullit is getting paid though. I wish he could have stayed healthy, but now it seems that we will need to find a good SS in the draft. I hope he comes back next year and plays great, but this is the 2nd year in a row that he has had season ending surgery.

[BmoreColt]

Keeping our own that aren’t producing and certainly aren’t worth the money they receive has been a formula for disaster. Why not bring in a proven NT and SS that are very impactful when they play? You wouldn’t want to see Landry earn another 3 million more a year than Bullitt and start as a Colt? Or Soliai come in and be the impact NT that you were saying you have wanted paired with Mathis and Freeney? They may cost more than our own BUT THEY ARE BETTER BY FAR THEN OUR OWN! Clarke did a horrible job in pass protection, and also demonstrated brick hands in his brief stay this season. Clarke is injury prone, why waist the cap on him when Tamme has been more than serviceable as a TE in Clarkes place or when a rookie could be drafted, same thing goes with Addai, he can’t stay healthy, why are the Colts wasting cap space on him? Peyton wanted a good pass protector which is exactly what Addai brought to the table but he also cannot stay healthy so I think his time is up. I would only say keep Bullitt and Brackett if contracts are drastically going to be re-worked and they are more than likely going to be back-ups. I think Brackett would provide a mid-round draft pick in a trade to a team needing a MLB, like a Tennessee, Philadelphia, or Giants team. Heart and soul and defensive captain doesn’t mean he is a good player, they both also show injury proneness.

[Ramblinwreck7]

Keeping our own that aren’t producing and certainly aren’t worth the money they receive has been a formula for disaster. Why not bring in a proven NT and SS that are very impactful when they play? You wouldn’t want to see Landry earn another 3 million more a year than Bullitt and start as a Colt? Or Soliai come in and be the impact NT that you were saying you have wanted paired with Mathis and Freeney? They may cost more than our own BUT THEY ARE BETTER BY FAR THEN OUR OWN! Clarke did a horrible job in pass protection, and also demonstrated brick hands in his brief stay this season. Clarke is injury prone, why waist the cap on him when Tamme has been more than serviceable as a TE in Clarkes place or when a rookie could be drafted, same thing goes with Addai, he can’t stay healthy, why are the Colts wasting cap space on him? Peyton wanted a good pass protector which is exactly what Addai brought to the table but he also cannot stay healthy so I think his time is up. I would only say keep Bullitt and Brackett if contracts are drastically going to be re-worked and they are more than likely going to be back-ups. I think Brackett would provide a mid-round draft pick in a trade to a team needing a MLB, like a Tennessee, Philadelphia, or Giants team. Heart and soul and defensive captain doesn’t mean he is a good player, they both also show injury proneness.

Wouldn't Landry cost more than that? I don't know how much Bullit is getting paid, but if we could get Laron Landry for $6 million a year then I'd be for it. And Dallas Clark was being asked to block Mario Williams, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Our coaching staff was completely stupid when we did that and we did it multiple times. You can't ask a TE to block and pro bowl pass rusher, let alone an OT one on one. The only complaint I can see being viable about Dallas is that he dropped some passes in that one game and that he isn't healthy and wasn't healthy last year. What do you expect? Clark hadn't been used much as a receiver before that game so he is going to be a little rusty. Anybody would be rusty in that situation.

And I have no idea how much Soliai would cost hahah, but I'd rather draft a star NT and keep Robert Mathis.

[BmoreColt]

Ramblin it shows that maybe talent has been miss evaluated and that players are expendable! Addai, Clarke, Bullitt, Foster, Moala, Brackett, Diem, are all very much so expendable.. Bullitt was making $3 million a year over the next three seasons, I think Landry would be somewhere around $6 million a season, it could be more, but this is a proven hard hitting impact SS! I would rather draft one as well, but the issue is the talent simply isn’t there at NT in this years draft. In fact I have been watching college games very closely and I am going to put together a new mock draft, and some of the selections will probably shock you!

[Ramblinwreck7]

Ramblin it shows that maybe talent has been miss evaluated and that players are expendable! Addai, Clarke, Bullitt, Foster, Moala, Brackett, Diem, are all very much so expendable.. Bullitt was making $3 million a year over the next three seasons, I think Landry would be somewhere around $6 million a season, it could be more, but this is a proven hard hitting impact SS! I would rather draft one as well, but the issue is the talent simply isn’t there at NT in this years draft. In fact I have been watching college games very closely and I am going to put together a new mock draft, and some of the selections will probably shock you!

Yeah but who would you replace those guys with? I don't think that Joseph Addai and Dallas Clark are expendable though. What's the difference between keeping our own guys and replacing them with outsiders who are not as familiar with the team? Bullit and Brackett both need to take paycuts though because they haven't proven that they can stay healthy. Moala is a decent DT at the least and he's not getting paid very much. Same with Foster, he usually makes some good plays in a game and he is cheap too. I'm not sure how much Diem is making because I know he took a paycut this offseason.

[BmoreColt]

Foster makes over a million, and Diem is several million I think $2-4 million range....I am posting a revised version of this, I did alot of thinking and made some what I thought were appropriate changes.

[Ramblinwreck7]

Foster makes over a million, and Diem is several million I think $2-4 million range....I am posting a revised version of this, I did alot of thinking and made some what I thought were appropriate changes.

Around 1.2 million isn't very much for a situational pass rushing DT/ run stopping DE is it? Veteran minimum would be something around $800,000 right? I think Diem is worth $2 million but $4 million is pushing it. If we draft a talented OG, then next year I think that Diem would be a backup for qualitly depth at OG/OT or a starter until the rookie is ready to take over. I like Foster though, he has a great motor and occasionally makes great plays.