As the smoke clears

[Warhorse]

I started a thread last night and then asked mods to remove it. I posted with too much frustration. Thanks for honoring my request, SCC.

 

I have watched each interview with each new addition to this Colts team. There was a myriad of attitudes, styles, demeanor's, and so on. But one thing was evident in every single interview...the desire to play with a contender. So rather than vent my frustrations with the negativity by fans about..

 

Cost of a FA

Age of a FA

Lack of effort in free agency

Lack of addressing each fans personal view of what is needed

 

...I will just say that I prefer to trust those who work their * off in the NFL. They chose the Colts. Not because they got more money, because in at least one case, they got less, but because this team is on its way to the top. Any fan has the right to think they know more than coaches, GM's, players, etc. But when players who have left their blood, sweat and tears on the field for a team, and now they have to choose another, I would guess that those players know a great deal more about who is legit and have a great deal more at risk when changing towns, teams, and schools for their kids.

 

I raise a toast to those who decided to put a shoe upside their head. It is Jim Irsay, Ryan Grigson, Chuck Pagano, Pep Hamilton, and Rob Chudzinski, and the players both past and present that make this franchise...a place of destination. This is not an accident, nor is it a compromise. This years FA activity is historic when viewing the Colts over the last 25 years. I remember when the Colts were NOT a place to go in FA.

 

11-5 and the playoffs

11-5 and a playoff win

11-5 and an AFC title game appearance

An historic FA push which was orchestrated by a young, formidable, smart GM.

 

Never in my 40 years of being a Colt fan, have I seen such well planned and executed quality from the team I follow.

 

To put is as simply and succinctly as possible...get on board kids...you may be an old man or woman before you see this this confluence of events again. Time has a way of sharpening your view of the now. Now is pretty freaking awesome.

[FloridaColtsFan]

I started a thread last night and then asked mods to remove it. I posted with too much frustration. Thanks for honoring my request, SCC.

 

I have watched each interview with each new addition to this Colts team. There was a myriad of attitudes, styles, demeanor's, and so on. But one thing was evident in every single interview...the desire to play with a contender. So rather than vent my frustrations with the negativity by fans about..

 

Cost of a FA

Age of a FA

Lack of effort in free agency

Lack of addressing each fans personal view of what is needed

 

...I will just say that I prefer to trust those who work their * off in the NFL. They chose the Colts. Not because they got more money, because in at least one case, they got less, but because this team is on its way to the top. Any fan has the right to think they know more than coaches, GM's, players, etc. But when players who have left their blood, sweat and tears on the field for a team, and now they have to choose another, I would guess that those players know a great deal more about who is legit and have a great deal more at risk when changing towns, teams, and schools for their kids.

 

I raise a toast to those who decided to put a shoe upside their head. It is Jim Irsay, Ryan Grigson, Chuck Pagano, Pep Hamilton, and Rob Chudzinski, and the players both past and present that make this franchise...a place of destination. This is not an accident, nor is it a compromise. This years FA activity is historic when viewing the Colts over the last 25 years. I remember when the Colts were NOT a place to go in FA.

 

11-5 and the playoffs

11-5 and a playoff win

11-5 and an AFC title game appearance

An historic FA push which was orchestrated by a young, formidable, smart GM.

 

Never in my 40 years of being a Colt fan, have I seen such well planned and executed quality from the team I follow.

 

To put is as simply and succinctly as possible...get on board kids...you may be an old man before you see this this confluence of events again. Time has a way of sharpening your view of the now. Now is pretty freaking awesome.

 

I started a thread last night and then asked mods to remove it. I posted with too much frustration. Thanks for honoring my request, SCC.

 

I have watched each interview with each new addition to this Colts team. There was a myriad of attitudes, styles, demeanor's, and so on. But one thing was evident in every single interview...the desire to play with a contender. So rather than vent my frustrations with the negativity by fans about..

 

Cost of a FA

Age of a FA

Lack of effort in free agency

Lack of addressing each fans personal view of what is needed

 

...I will just say that I prefer to trust those who work their * off in the NFL. They chose the Colts. Not because they got more money, because in at least one case, they got less, but because this team is on its way to the top. Any fan has the right to think they know more than coaches, GM's, players, etc. But when players who have left their blood, sweat and tears on the field for a team, and now they have to choose another, I would guess that those players know a great deal more about who is legit and have a great deal more at risk when changing towns, teams, and schools for their kids.

 

I raise a toast to those who decided to put a shoe upside their head. It is Jim Irsay, Ryan Grigson, Chuck Pagano, Pep Hamilton, and Rob Chudzinski, and the players both past and present that make this franchise...a place of destination. This is not an accident, nor is it a compromise. This years FA activity is historic when viewing the Colts over the last 25 years. I remember when the Colts were NOT a place to go in FA.

 

11-5 and the playoffs

11-5 and a playoff win

11-5 and an AFC title game appearance

An historic FA push which was orchestrated by a young, formidable, smart GM.

 

Never in my 40 years of being a Colt fan, have I seen such well planned and executed quality from the team I follow.

 

To put is as simply and succinctly as possible...get on board kids...you may be an old man before you see this this confluence of events again. Time has a way of sharpening your view of the now. Now is pretty freaking awesome.

 

 

I agree that we as fans have a lot to be grateful for in the fact that players want to come here now and not just for the money. I am excited by the job Grigs, Pags, and Chud have done, but the game is won on the field and I'm trying to hold back my excitement until I see the result on the field.

[SteelDragon]

Andrew Luck is a nice centerpiece for the franchise too. Veterans will come here for less because we have #12. Now, if we can continue building the monster, we will get the ring chasers for years to come.

[zibby43]

Outstanding post.  HOF post, actually.

[braveheartcolt]

Well done, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

[crazycolt1]

Well done, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

I can relate?  

[theanarchist]

I said after the playoff loss to NE that there were several places the team had to get better. Top on the list was offensive line and RB. I've always like Frank Gore. If we get 2 average years out of him we'll be in good shape. The guy runs hard and he can do it all. Herremens sounds like a solid vet that will be an immediate upgrade at RG.

 

Next on the list was toughness on defense between that tackles. So far, I don't see that we've upgraded there. Stay tuned I guess.

 

Next was pass rush. With Mathis hopefully coming back and addition of Trent Cole that has been nicely addressed.

 

Strong Safety play. Mike Adams was retained. We need another safety that can cover.

 

WR: with the addition of the young Carter and Andre Johnson I think that there is a lot of optimism that Luck will have so many targets that defenses should be scared out of its wits if he can get the time to throw now that we have a legitimate threat in the backfield.

[ProblChld32]

Great post man, one of the better ones i've seen.

[gspdx]

Yes - an excellent post.  I think the FO is doing a great job bringing in some upgrades in areas of need.  We need to remember this team went to the AFC Championship game this past season.  Overpaying for a few stars wouldn't be the smart way to go.  Adding upgrades - quality upgrades - to this team while still building through the draft is the right way to go and I think Grigs and company are being aggressive yet measured in their approach.  Bringing in vets that really want a ring will be a great addition to the locker room.  These guys know how fast an NFL career goes and that their window is closing.

 

Sure, there are still questions to be answered and holes to fill, but no team is perfect (except the '72 Dolphins).

 

Also - as someone that has been watching football since 1968 I see how fortunate we are to have lived through the Manning era and get to follow it up immediately with the Luck era!  Enjoy the ride folks.  Really looking forward to this year.

[Barry Sears]

Excellent post!!!  I read so much negativity here and all of the second-guessing of the moves our front office makes.  I refrain, because I'm not a GM, coach or owner, so I have no idea what is involved in building a team and maintaining a level of consistency.  I can only imagine what it's like to be a fan of several teams in the NFL that do not have a front office with a plan.  It must be so frustrating to be a fan of teams that over-spend on free agents, draft poorly, etc.  Sure, we whiffed on some FA pick-ups, but all teams do...it's the nature of professional sports.  If anyone had the perfect formula, then they'd win it all every year.  There are so many factors involved.  You can do a great job getting and coaching players, but in the end, it comes down to performance on the field and avoiding injuries.

 

Obviously, the Colts are one of the organizations that "get it" and have been able to put a winner on the field for several years running.  We've had one down year since Peyton Manning came to town, and that was the year he was hurt.  We now have Andrew Luck and are building a solid team around him that's improved each year.  I'm excited about our FA signings and looking forward to the draft to continue the upgrade team-wide.

 

My congratulations and thanks to the Colts organization from top to bottom!!!  I echo the thoughts of the original poster when he mentioned how all of our new guys came here because they wanted to win, and some even took less money to do so.  Sure, we've had some guys mess up and make mistakes, but that's also the nature of professional sports.  We have a classy organization with classy players and I'm proud of their accomplishments on and off the field.

 

GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited March 12, 2015 by 21isSuperman

[throwing BBZ]

Signing quality vets at needed positions on what are really 1-2 year contracts is our future.
If you are a real SB contender, they will come.
 We have ILB`er play that will be hard to fix this season, is my concern.

[JR Indy]

A good offense makes for a good defense. My expectations for this year coming is high because of what was done these last few days. Luck has some weapons at his direction. As in the past with the Colts, teams will play you differently when you got a team that can score (remember the Manning years). Just the thought of Ty, AJ, Duron, and Donte in zone coverage. Finally a running back that can actually run. After looking at what was done in Free Agency, I am not worried at all what the Colts will do in the draft. I see some major upgrades coming. Maybe that 45 to 7 beat down in New England made GM Ryan pretty upset.

[Jay Kirk]

A good offense makes for a good defense. My expectations for this year coming is high because of what was done these last few days. Luck has some weapons at his direction. As in the past with the Colts, teams will play you differently when you got a team that can score (remember the Manning years). Just the thought of Ty, AJ, Duron, and Donte in zone coverage. Finally a running back that can actually run. After looking at what was done in Free Agency, I am not worried at all what the Colts will do in the draft. I see some major upgrades coming. Maybe that 45 to 7 beat down in New England made GM Ryan pretty upset.

That beat down should upset anyone , especially our fans .

[Smonroe]

That beat down should upset anyone , especially our fans .

 

We all remember that beat down because it was the last one.  In my mind, the Steeler's game was just 'one of those games' where you can't do anything to stop them.  But at least the offense kept moving the ball.

 

The Cowboys game was, let's face it, a don't care game.  Once it started getting away, you could tell there wasn't going to be a heroic comeback. The game was essentially meaningless.

 

We were in the other two losses until the very end.

 

So, as always, it comes down to the Pats games.  And I do blame the coaching staff as much as the players.  They dominated us at home and away. 

 

The good news - IMO, they're no better than last year so far (loss of Revis alone is going to change their defense).  And there's little doubt in my mind that our Offense is going to be even better.  The D is also getting bolstered.

 

Have the coaches improved?  Remains to be seen.

[Jay Kirk]

We all remember that beat down because it was the last one.  In my mind, the Steeler's game was just 'one of those games' where you can't do anything to stop them.  But at least the offense kept moving the ball.

 

The Cowboys game was, let's face it, a don't care game.  Once it started getting away, you could tell there wasn't going to be a heroic comeback. The game was essentially meaningless.

 

We were in the other two losses until the very end.

 

So, as always, it comes down to the Pats games.  And I do blame the coaching staff as much as the players.  They dominated us at home and away. 

 

The good news - IMO, they're no better than last year so far (loss of Revis alone is going to change their defense).  And there's little doubt in my mind that our Offense is going to be even better.  The D is also getting bolstered.

 

Have the coaches improved?  Remains to be seen.

Great points and I do agree we got out coached and IMO unprepared. Consistancy and execution is the name of the game.Hopefully with more high caliber vets this changes. At times I think we"ve lacked leaders on the field . As well as lack of a good game plan or adjustments during a game . That being said im still happy overall with what we have in Indy.