The reason why we haven't signed anymore d line

[Toe Toed Sloth]

We have some big, young guys on the d line that have showed some promise. We signed two guys that will help greatly in the front seven (Cole, Langford) and have a pro bowl talent coming back (Mathis). We also have a draft coming up that features some really solid talent in the front seven. We also have some young guys that we have been grooming for a few years in hopes that they can become starting caliber players. Contrary to many armchair generals' beliefs, some players need more time to develop than others. We don't see these players practice or have one on ones with them, so sometimes we need to take a deep breath and accept that the front office and coaching staff have more insight on the team's talent and whether they are a schematic fit than we do.  

 

We've addressed every freaking hole this off season aside from Safety, another DT, and another LB. And the last two are somewhat arguable for absolute needs. We have all of our picks and every single position of want is healthy in the draft aside from safety, which IMO we can easily hide due to the rest of our secondary being elite level talent. 

 

Our offense should be way more potent this year with a more stable O line, improved running attack, and another receiver that can create match up nightmares. Football is an amazing team sport. Improving in any one area has a positive ripple effect on just about every other area.

 

Grigson has done an amazing job so far with managing players and contracts. I think he's mostly earned the benefit of the doubt here.

[Dark Superman]

Exactly, just back to my point I made in the "Why no threads about Langford" thread.

Sign people no one knows, people label it terrible signings or not addressing the position

Just truly thankful that some forum members aren't the GM or Owner, we'd be in so many bad contracts and salary cap trouble, we'd go bankrupt

Regardless, we still need DL depth.

After the draft we will have a better look on how our line will be looking..

It's only March.

[Dark Superman]

So grigson and pagano say that they are confident in the defensive linemen they have already. So let me get this straight, the BACKUPS of the same group that gave up all them rushing yards to the pats and some other teams, are considered our best run stoppers going into next season. This makes me dislike pagano and grigson even more. http://www.stampedeblue.com/2015/3/15/8219371/why-havent-the-colts-signed-other-big-name-defensive-linemen-zach-kerr-montori-hughes-kelcy-quarles

It's still early..

We still have the draft.. It's only March.

Let's not hit the panic button just yet.

[COLTS449]

We will definitely take a DT in the 1st round IMO. Phillips, Armstead, Goldman, Brown, whoevers on the board. Now if we don't address the D-Line in the draft then I'll be really worried, but I don't see it happening. I hope we get Phillips in the 1st, then turn around and get a guy like Henry Anderson, Bobby Richardson, or maybe Bennett in the 2nd or 3rd.

[NewEra]

So I guess our young dlinemen have no chance of improving...got it

[akcolt]

Like TKnight said, Redding and RJF are gone plus we have the draft. The guys we targeted in FA chose other paths.

Not much quality out there right now on the FA market. We'll be fine.

Who did we target that we didn't sign? Langford was our big fish we got him. i don't recall serious interst in anyone else. Rumors yes.

Grigs has always stood by if they aren't better than what we have he's not signing names. Good rule of thumb.

He likes Kerr Hughes and Quarles. Langdon Chapman and Jones will start. Langdon makes us better right away now we need Jones for a full yr. We get a guy or too in the draft.

All the names on the forum Potroast Fairley Wilfork haven't exactly been highly sought after by anyone. Let the man do his job.

[Dark Superman]

I still think one way or the other, we should grab a veteran NT to help push and mentor these young guys. Wilfork would have been the perfect fit. He's a champion, and seemed very well liked by his teammates.

[bestQBever]

If we don't draft a D lineman in one of the first two rounds I'll be angry, but for now I'm in a wait and see mode.

[krunk]

Who did we target that we didn't sign? Langford was our big fish we got him. i don't recall serious interst in anyone else. Rumors yes.

Grigs has always stood by if they aren't better than what we have he's not signing names. Good rule of thumb.

He likes Kerr Hughes and Quarles. Langdon Chapman and Jones will start. Langdon makes us better right away now we need Jones for a full yr. We get a guy or too in the draft.

All the names on the forum Potroast Fairley Wilfork haven't exactly been highly sought after by anyone. Let the man do his job.

 

 

It was reported numerous times that we made higer bids than most teams on Fairley.   The others may have been rumors.

[jvan1973]

It was reported numerous times that we made higer bids than most teams on Fairley. The others may have been rumors.

They were all just rumors. FaIrly signed for 5 million

[akcolt]

It was reported numerous times that we made higer bids than most teams on Fairley.   The others may have been rumors.

As far as I know Fairley has never set foot in Indianapolis this off season. That would not indicate a ton of interest to me.

[krunk]

They were all just rumors. FaIrly signed for 5 million

 

 

Reporting that we actually made bids is more than rumors, those are pure lies. Lol!

[krunk]

As far as I know Fairley has never set foot in Indianapolis this off season. That would not indicate a ton of interest to me.

 

He's already with the Rams now.  All of it could have been false now that the smoke has cleared.

[Hamster360]

People are so afraid of the names they don't know, or letting people develop. Most of the times, only players in the first 2, maybe 3 rounds of the draft develop into solid starters in year 1. Some 1st round picks are flops (T rich) and some 6th rounders are gems (Brady)   I wouldn't say I'm super excited about the way our line looks today, but at one point, someone said "FML, we have Brady, or Rodgers, or Wilson starting? we're doomed, FIRE the coach FIRE the GM!" 

 

 

Take a deep breath, hit the pause button, resume your complaining after the draft

[YOUR GM]

Art Jones is our best lineman.  He was hurt for a lot of last season and when he was on the field he was rarely at full strength.  Langford is a very good signing.  Hughes has another year to develop, so does Kerr (and we're getting Pendleton back, who is not a lock by any means but he at least will bring competition into camp if he is fully healthy).  We still have the draft and more FA to go -- unfortunately, the only real 'names' in FA chose to go elsewhere.  Right now, assuming Art Jones is fully recovered from his ankle sprain, our line is better than it was last year with Langford being an upgrade to RJF (and probably Redding) and Art Jones being healthy.

 

 

Grigson has done plenty to address the interior positions on both sides of the ball.  Some people forget that he took a completely garbage team (save Reggie Wayne, Mathis and our kicking unit) from 2-14 to 3 consecutive playoff appearances.

 

When Grigs took this team, Polian had it in such terrible shape it was ridiculous.  Off the top of my head, I think Vinatieri, McAffee, Castanzo, Reitz and Mathis are the only 5 members that were here when Polian was in charge (I may be missing a player or 2).  A dynasty can't be  built overnight and taking the worst team in the league (by far, in my opinion) to 3 straight playoff appearances (advancing a round further in the playoffs each year) is pretty darn impressive if you ask me. 

 

Since Grigs has been here, we haven't had all that much luck with the interior positions, but that doesn't mean he has neglected or failed to try to improve them.  Holmes and Donald Thomas have battled injuries on the offensive side (along with many others -- including Cherilus who was very good for us in his first year and prior to being injured last year), Art Jones battled injury last year, RJF was a temporary stop-gap (he wasn't great for us, but he was better than what Polian left us with, and was a short term improvement), Redding was good for us (maybe moreso in the leadership role than on the field, but he was better than what Grigs inherited), Langford should be good for us, Hughes and Chapman are still young and should continue to improve (along with Kerr and Pendleton if they stick around).

 

Mewhort was very good last year, and should only improve.  Castanzo was the only player on either side of the interior that was worth keeping around when Grigs took over, and Grigs has retained him.  Herremans was just signed, and he should be an instant upgrade for our OL, especially if at least 2 of the 3 from Harrison, Holmes, Thornton don't make major improvements (and figure out how to stay healthy). 

 

Sorry to disagree, but I don't see how you can look at the drafts and free agents that Grigs has brought in and say he doesn't seem to care about fixing the problem.  It is not like we have unlimited cap space and Indy is the place where every player wants to come (although Grigs has made it a place where more and more big names want to come because Grigs has built a team that should be at the level to compete for a championship for years to come, compared to the 2-14 joke of a team that he was handed when he took over).  Nobody ever has a 100% success rate, but because many players have been struck with injury doesn't mean Grigs doesn't care or is poor at identifying talent, it just means he still has work to do to build this monster -- and from what I can tell he is doing a very good job.

 

You didn't read what I said then. I said Grigson and Polian both struggle finding quality players in the interior of both lines. Based off 3 drafts/free agency periods, I don't think you can find much evidence that proves my point otherwise, in regards to Grigson. Mewhort has been his best linemen that he's brought to the team, and the jury still isn't even out on him yet. He may be trying to address that weakness, but he is failing, in my opinion. Neither line has improved to the point that we would expect after 3 seasons of bringing in his hand-picked guys. I'm of the opinion that something needs to be shaken up regarding the staff. Maybe a new O-line coach, new D coordinator, or heck, a new head scout for all I care. Andre Johnson  and Frank Gore were decent acquisitions, but they won't be what puts us over the top. We need hogs, that's it. It's almost sort of annoying that Grigson (being a former linemen himself) can't seem to figure that particular unit out.

 

 

Oh well, agree to disagree, I suppose

[YOUR GM]

Oh, that's why the Colts had the NFL record for most wins in a decade. A Gazillion Playoff appearances. 2 Super Bowls 1-1. And not to mention multiple Championship games. Wow! ;) I'll take Grigson and Polian any day of the week and twice on Sunday!

 

Sub "Grigson and Polian" with Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck, and you'd be correct. Neither GM (Polian towards the end of his tenure here and Grigson since he's been here) has done anything noteworthy to improve the trenches. Grigson definitely has put more effort into doing so than Polian did, but his efforts have been in vain. Just because you luck into 2 once in a generation Quarterbacks, back-to-back, doesn't make your short-comings as a GM above reproach 

[Deathiltis]

Yet we are solid at NT.

Wat?

[ColtRider]

Sub "Grigson and Polian" with Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck, and you'd be correct. Neither GM (Polian towards the end of his tenure here and Grigson since he's been here) has done anything noteworthy to improve the trenches. Grigson definitely has put more effort into doing so than Polian did, but his efforts have been in vain. Just because you luck into 2 once in a generation Quarterbacks, back-to-back, doesn't make your short-comings as a GM above reproach

"Just because you luck into 2 once in a generation Quarterbacks, back-to-to back, doesn't make your short-comings as a GM above reproach"

Gee, I never knew quarterbacks were the only position requiring NFL GMs to make them look like geniuses. Thanks for clearing that up.

⭐️ The Logic Police

[BigQandTheManiac]

Wow yall miss the whole point.

Point is were once again week on the d line

Unlike everybody else, i actually agree with you. Idk how Grigson can think the same group of guys that got ran all over could be our answer at d line. And this is gonna be minus RJF, and Redding. Unless we hit a home run in the draft, which its a possibility we could, then idk what Grigs is thinking.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

You didn't read what I said then. I said Grigson and Polian both struggle finding quality players in the interior of both lines. Based off 3 drafts/free agency periods, I don't think you can find much evidence that proves my point otherwise, in regards to Grigson. Mewhort has been his best linemen that he's brought to the team, and the jury still isn't even out on him yet. He may be trying to address that weakness, but he is failing, in my opinion. Neither line has improved to the point that we would expect after 3 seasons of bringing in his hand-picked guys. I'm of the opinion that something needs to be shaken up regarding the staff. Maybe a new O-line coach, new D coordinator, or heck, a new head scout for all I care. Andre Johnson  and Frank Gore were decent acquisitions, but they won't be what puts us over the top. We need hogs, that's it. It's almost sort of annoying that Grigson (being a former linemen himself) can't seem to figure that particular unit out.

 

 

Oh well, agree to disagree, I suppose

 

Grigs became head coach of the worst team in the entire NFL just 3 years ago.  We had gaping holes everywhere on our team except at kicker, punter, and rush linebacker (Mathis).  Our offense, defense, and special teams packages were all altered.  IMO, the defense was altered the most -- the defense we had was already horrible, but they were small and built to play fast -- the defense we switched to requires hogs and different skill sets from all players.

 

We were parting ways with arguably the greatest QB of all time.  We were 2-14 and the laughing stock of the league.  We were not a place that was attractive to any free agents.

 

 

On the d-line, Grigs had the following players when he came here (this is actually probably worse than it actually looks, because many of these guys were no longer considered d-lineman when we were making the switch from 4-3 to 3-4) --  Mario Addison, Jamaal Anderson, Tyler Brayton, Dwight Freeney, Jerry Hughes, Antonio Johnson, Robert Mathis, Ricardo Mathews, Fili Maola -- Mathews was OK, Maola was OK, Freeney and Mathis were forced to switch to OLB -- the rest of that group is nothing to be excited about.  Grigs went out and brought in Redding, who was probably the highest end free agent on the line that would have any interest to come play for Indy at the time, and Redding did very well in his role as a temporary stop gap (on the field, but perhaps more important in the locker room being a leader to the young guys).  We got RJF, who was also fine for his role, and who we have since released because we don't have the need for him anymore.  Compared to what he was handed, our line is exponentially better today than it was 3 years ago.

 

On the o-line, Grigs had Castanzo, Ryan Diem, Jeff Saturday, Jeff Linkenbach, Quinn Ojinnaka, Mike Pollak, Joe Reitz, Jamey Richard.  Jeff Saturday, arguably the best C in franchise history, left.  Diem retired.  Of all the rest of those players, Reitz is an injury-prone backup and the rest outside of Castanzo are not very good.  Castanzo is a top 10 T in the league and for that reason Grigs retained him.  Grigs went out and got Donald Thomas who looked to be maybe our best lineman but hasn't been able to stay healthy (a freak injury is not something that can be blamed on the GM).... for whatever reason, Satele stunk here but he was pretty good before coming here and he was pretty good for Miami last year -- we cut ties with him because he wasn't producing, but after Saturday retired, Satele was an improvement to what we had.  Mewhort was very good as a rookie, and there is no reason to believe he shouldn't continue to improve.  Holmes looked good when he was healthy last year.  We still have room for improvement on the line, but again we are much better off with what we have now than what we had when Grigs took the team from Polian.

 

To think that any GM in the league would be able to take a team from 2-14 with the players we had, totally change the coaching staff and the system that we were using and fix every problem in less than 3 years is pretty difficult, IMO.  Not only has Grigs improved our lines, but there are some things (like injuries) people complain about that just can't be blamed on Grigs.  Cherilus was a huge improvement, unfortunately he struggled with injury the later part of last year ... Everyone was high on Thomas and he was hurt .. Holmes has struggled to stay healthy ... Art Jones was very good when healthy ... maybe we need a new conditioning coach, but I don't think you can blame the absence of some of these players who are obvious improvements over what we had when Grigs started on Grigs.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

Unlike everybody else, i actually agree with you. Idk how Grigson can think the same group of guys that got ran all over could be our answer at d line. And this is gonna be minus RJF, and Redding. Unless we hit a home run in the draft, which its a possibility we could, then idk what Grigs is thinking.

 

Langford is definitely an upgrade over RJF, and IMO he is an upgrade over Redding.  Art Jones will be healthy.  All other players on our line should improve as they are only going into their 2nd or 3rd year.  If the season were to start today, and all players were healthy, we are already better than last year on the D-Line.  I'm not sure Grigson thinks we are done upgrading here, but I highly doubt he is going to tell any media member 'our guys all stink..'  There is still plenty of offseason left where we can improve, and even if we do nothing else, I think we are already better than last year.  Not saying I think we shouldn't try to add some more talent to the d-line, but right now I'm not sure that there is any talent in FA that would be an improvement.  Suh chose to go to Miami, and after him there weren't/aren't much more than 'names' on the free agent market (i.e., I don't think any of the free agents like Fairley, Wilfork, etc. are very much better than who we already have, and it makes no sense to overpay for a guy because he is a household name but is not going to produce a great product).

[ColtRider]

Grigs became head coach of the worst team in the entire NFL just 3 years ago.  We had gaping holes everywhere on our team except at kicker, punter, and rush linebacker (Mathis).  Our offense, defense, and special teams packages were all altered.  IMO, the defense was altered the most -- the defense we had was already horrible, but they were small and built to play fast -- the defense we switched to requires hogs and different skill sets from all players.

 

We were parting ways with arguably the greatest QB of all time.  We were 2-14 and the laughing stock of the league.  We were not a place that was attractive to any free agents.

 

 

On the d-line, Grigs had the following players when he came here (this is actually probably worse than it actually looks, because many of these guys were no longer considered d-lineman when we were making the switch from 4-3 to 3-4) --  Mario Addison, Jamaal Anderson, Tyler Brayton, Dwight Freeney, Jerry Hughes, Antonio Johnson, Robert Mathis, Ricardo Mathews, Fili Maola -- Mathews was OK, Maola was OK, Freeney and Mathis were forced to switch to OLB -- the rest of that group is nothing to be excited about.  Grigs went out and brought in Redding, who was probably the highest end free agent on the line that would have any interest to come play for Indy at the time, and Redding did very well in his role as a temporary stop gap (on the field, but perhaps more important in the locker room being a leader to the young guys).  We got RJF, who was also fine for his role, and who we have since released because we don't have the need for him anymore.  Compared to what he was handed, our line is exponentially better today than it was 3 years ago.

 

On the o-line, Grigs had Castanzo, Ryan Diem, Jeff Saturday, Jeff Linkenbach, Quinn Ojinnaka, Mike Pollak, Joe Reitz, Jamey Richard.  Jeff Saturday, arguably the best C in franchise history, left.  Diem retired.  Of all the rest of those players, Reitz is an injury-prone backup and the rest outside of Castanzo are not very good.  Castanzo is a top 10 T in the league and for that reason Grigs retained him.  Grigs went out and got Donald Thomas who looked to be maybe our best lineman but hasn't been able to stay healthy (a freak injury is not something that can be blamed on the GM).... for whatever reason, Satele stunk here but he was pretty good before coming here and he was pretty good for Miami last year -- we cut ties with him because he wasn't producing, but after Saturday retired, Satele was an improvement to what we had.  Mewhort was very good as a rookie, and there is no reason to believe he shouldn't continue to improve.  Holmes looked good when he was healthy last year.  We still have room for improvement on the line, but again we are much better off with what we have now than what we had when Grigs took the team from Polian.

 

To think that any GM in the league would be able to take a team from 2-14 with the players we had, totally change the coaching staff and the system that we were using and fix every problem in less than 3 years is pretty difficult, IMO.  Not only has Grigs improved our lines, but there are some things (like injuries) people complain about that just can't be blamed on Grigs.  Cherilus was a huge improvement, unfortunately he struggled with injury the later part of last year ... Everyone was high on Thomas and he was hurt .. Holmes has struggled to stay healthy ... Art Jones was very good when healthy ... maybe we need a new conditioning coach, but I don't think you can blame the absence of some of these players who are obvious improvements over what we had when Grigs started on Grigs.

Well said, my friend, well said! ;) After the draft and before the season starts (additional moves) people around here are going to be bowing in praise of one ... Ryan Grigson!

[bap1331]

I want to know why people are obsessed with rjf and redding. They obviously werent helpful against the pats. Need to move on seriously..

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

I like Hughes and Kerr's upside but I think we could use a few more bodies IMO.

[Flash7]

I want to know why people are obsessed with rjf and redding. They obviously werent helpful against the pats. Need to move on seriously..

No one's obsessed with RJF or Redding. With them, we were obliterated by the Patriots. Now we don't have them and only added Langford on the D-line through FA. Currently we may not better than we were before, thus the complaining.

 

It remains to be seen what will happen in the draft.

[Coltsman1788]

We weren't a terrible team against the run as the Patriot game would make people believe. Poor execution....maybe some poor matchups...but most importantly poor TACKLING was a big contributor there. We honestly got very little from Jones last year....definately his health was a big issue. Redding is on the decline even though I thought he played admirably. RJF was very inconsistant. Honestly Jackson and Freeman looked like they were trying to tackle a greased pig out there. We may continue to have issues with NE but we really didn't have the same issue with the rest of the NFL. We can't make this team worse just to try to beat 1 team or fix one apparant issue. We have to realize we have a lot of areas of concern and DL was just one of them. Langford is being underrated on here by most. His natural fit was in the 3-4 and I think we he will be an upgrade. I do think we look at the draft to add depth and hopefully by later in the season a young guy can step in and contribute. Honestly, I think NE just as much out coaches us rather than we don't have the athletes to compete. Pagano needs to show he has learned some things from that game film and address it with our fronts.

 

This isn't necessarily directed to you specifically dgambill, but I quoted your post because it provided a nice jumping off point for some thoughts I wanted to express...

 

Looking at the box score from the AFC Championship game.  Both the Colts and Patriots averaged 4.4 yards per carry.  The difference is that the Pats ran the ball twice as much while still dropping back for around the same number of pass attempts as the Colts.  The reason for this disparity is attributed to the drastic difference between the teams in third and 4th down conversion percentages.  The Pats went 12/18 and 2/2 respectively compared to the Colts 3/11 on 3rd down conversions.  This amounted to the Pats running 76 plays versus 52 for the Colts and enjoying a sizeable time of possession edge of 37:49 vs. 22:11.  Simply put, the Colts could not get off the field when it counted and that led to more plays for the Pats.   Brady was able to consistently move the chains with the short passing game and their running game. 

 

The Colts inability to get off the field is indicative of an overall weakness in their defense versus New England..it's not simply just a defensive line issue.  It also was the failure of linebackers, corners and safeties to limit the short slants; the failure of front seven to generate any semblance of a pass rush; and the failure of front seven to stop the Pats from grinding out yards and chewing up clock through their running game.  Getting better on the defensive line is just part of the solution...improvements are needed throughout the Colts defensive unit as a whole. 

 

Grigs is addressing these needs thus far in free agency by adding a passer rusher to the front seven in Trent Coles and through the addition of Langston to help solidify the defensive line.  He has addressed the Colts inability to sustain drives and ground out yards by signing Frank Gore and Andre Johnson. More is still needed and this remains a work in progress...however every need does not have to be addressed via free agency.   We still have the draft and the July/August post training camp cuts free agent signings to add other pieces needed to hopefully improve this team's areas of weakness.

 

With all of that said, I also agree with the last point that dgambill made in regards that some of the Colts problem vs. New England is coaching/scheme related.  We can sign all of the talent in the NFL but if Pagano doesn't do a better job of countering and matching up schemes with Bellicheck it won't make much of a difference.  Hopefully, Pagano can start showing some growth and development in his game planning for the Patriots.  Right now Bellicheck is running circles around him...in my opinion.

[DougDew]

Well......golly.....if we're going to play the NE game now, in March, based upon the personnel we have, and we only have 5 dlineman compared to 6 last year, I guess NE scores a lot of points on us. 

 

Of course, since they lost their 2 starting CBs and Wilfork, and we replaced an ineffective Wayne/Nicks with AJ....We would score more points.

 

Yippie...you know what this means???? 

 

We have JUST WON the imaginary early-offseason AFCCG!!!! 

[dgambill]

This isn't necessarily directed to you specifically dgambill, but I quoted your post because it provided a nice jumping off point for some thoughts I wanted to express...

 

Looking at the box score from the AFC Championship game.  Both the Colts and Patriots averaged 4.4 yards per carry.  The difference is that the Pats ran the ball twice as much while still dropping back for around the same number of pass attempts as the Colts.  The reason for this disparity is attributed to the drastic difference between the teams in third and 4th down conversion percentages.  The Pats went 12/18 and 2/2 respectively compared to the Colts 3/11 on 3rd down conversions.  This amounted to the Pats running 76 plays versus 52 for the Colts and enjoying a sizeable time of possession edge of 37:49 vs. 22:11.  Simply put, the Colts could not get off the field when it counted and that led to more plays for the Pats.   Brady was able to consistently move the chains with the short passing game and their running game. 

 

The Colts inability to get off the field is indicative of an overall weakness in their defense versus New England..it's not simply just a defensive line issue.  It also was the failure of linebackers, corners and safeties to limit the short slants; the failure of front seven to generate any semblance of a pass rush; and the failure of front seven to stop the Pats from grinding out yards and chewing up clock through their running game.  Getting better on the defensive line is just part of the solution...improvements are needed throughout the Colts defensive unit as a whole. 

 

Grigs is addressing these needs thus far in free agency by adding a passer rusher to the front seven in Trent Coles and through the addition of Langston to help solidify the defensive line.  He has addressed the Colts inability to sustain drives and ground out yards by signing Frank Gore and Andre Johnson. More is still needed and this remains a work in progress...however every need does not have to be found via free agency.   We still have the draft and the July/August post training camp cuts free agent signings to add other pieces needed to hopefully improve this team's areas of weakness.

 

With all of that said, I also agree with the last point that dgambill made in regards that some of the Colts problem vs. New England is coaching/scheme related.  We can sign all of the talent in the NFL but if Pagano doesn't do a better job of countering and matching up schemes with Bellicheck it won't make much of a difference.  Hopefully, Pagano can start showing some growth and development in his game planning for the Patriots.  Right now Bellicheck is running circles around him...in my opinion.

good point about 3rd down....wow that was a crazy stat. We had opportunities for stops and failed to keep them in front of the sticks because of many reasons including missed tackles. Also we wore out....on the field too long didn't sustain drives like you said....all perfect points. Think about this....is dallas's defense great? Heck no....but their offense controlled clock, sustained drives, put up points and rested their defense. We did that as well during the year but definitely failed that in NE. A better offense helps your defense for sure....especially the big uglies up front...and tired arm tackles are much easier to break. You put great thought in your post and it's very accurate. I also agree with your accessment with our additions and look forward to some help and youth in the draft too. Everyone should read your post because it's a very good one and full of good insight. Thanks for your accessment...I appreciate it,

[Coltsman1788]

good point about 3rd down....wow that was a crazy stat. We had opportunities for stops and failed to keep them in front of the sticks because of many reasons including missed tackles. Also we wore out....on the field too long didn't sustain drives like you said....all perfect points. Think about this....is dallas's defense great? Heck no....but their offense controlled clock, sustained drives, put up points and rested their defense. We did that as well during the year but definitely failed that in NE. A better offense helps your defense for sure....especially the big uglies up front...and tired arm tackles are much easier to break. You put great thought in your post and it's very accurate. I also agree with your accessment with our additions and look forward to some help and youth in the draft too. Everyone should read your post because it's a very good one and full of good insight. Thanks for your accessment...I appreciate it,

Thanks dgambill...your post provided me with the platform to get that out.  It had been swirling around in my head for awhile.  I will also add that I use New England for obvious reasons but that the Colt's defensive problems are likely to surface against any team with a balanced offensive showcasing a good quarterback, running & passing games.  See also Pittsburgh and Dallas last year although the Colts kind of mailed in the one against Dallas after the 1st quarter.  Still offenses that have this kind of balance exploited our defense in much the same way as New England did.  Hopefully, the Colts can make the necessary overall defensive improvements for next year. 

[Rally5]

So grigson and pagano say that they are confident in the defensive linemen they have already. So let me get this straight, the BACKUPS of the same group that gave up all them rushing yards to the pats and some other teams, are considered our best run stoppers going into next season. This makes me dislike pagano and grigson even more.

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2015/3/15/8219371/why-havent-the-colts-signed-other-big-name-defensive-linemen-zach-kerr-montori-hughes-kelcy-quarles

Here's another view of the same issue, specific to the Pats.  They lost both starting corners, how do they match up against our receiving core now?  FA has changed every team and every season starts anew.  I agree 100% that NE is the bain of our existence. I like the Langford signing.  I'm also perplexed as to how our DLine could be so amazing in some games (Cincinnati) and so horrible in others (New England).  In part, our issues are scheme related.  I think Manusky needs an advanced level class in New England offensive dynamics. They seem to run a lot of trap blocks/pull plays v our DLine and then Freeman just got swallowed over and over again (not to mention the nightmare that was the softness of Laron Landry). Manusky, nor anyone else, seemed to schematically solve their offensive design.  Point is, it's not all player or GM driven. I think the combo of Jones and Langford is quite good.  I think we've covered significant gaps in FA which will allow us nice flexibility on draft day.    

[Rally5]

So grigson and pagano say that they are confident in the defensive linemen they have already. So let me get this straight, the BACKUPS of the same group that gave up all them rushing yards to the pats and some other teams, are considered our best run stoppers going into next season. This makes me dislike pagano and grigson even more.

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2015/3/15/8219371/why-havent-the-colts-signed-other-big-name-defensive-linemen-zach-kerr-montori-hughes-kelcy-quarles

Here's another view of the same issue, specific to the Pats.  They lost both starting corners, how do they match up against our receiving core now?  FA has changed every team and every season starts anew.  I agree 100% that NE is the bain of our existence. I like the Langford signing.  I'm also perplexed as to how our DLine could be so amazing in some games (Cincinnati) and so horrible in others (New England).  In part, our issues are scheme related.  I think Manusky needs an advanced level class in New England offensive dynamics. They seem to run a lot of trap blocks/pull plays v our DLine and then Freeman just got swallowed over and over again (not to mention the nightmare that was the softness of Laron Landry). Manusky, nor anyone else, seemed to schematically solve their offensive design.  Point is, it's not all player or GM driven. I think the combo of Jones and Langford is quite good.  I think we've covered significant gaps in FA which will allow us nice flexibility on draft day.    

[SteelDragon]

Free agency isn't over yet. We could sign a DL as late as right before training camp when the price will be dirt cheap. I think any perceived weaknesses will be addressed after the draft. We will have an infusion of new blood on both lines competing for roster positions. I'm going to hold my opinion until we see what the product on the field looks like.

I also think both of our main AFC opponents, Denver and New England, have been weakened by age(Manning and Brady) and free agency. We have gained some ground already.

[rock8591]

I would not be opposed to signing Ray McDonald to a 1-2 year prove-it deal, given the recent events.

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12492877/ray-mcdonald-sue-rape-accuser-defamation

[ColtRider]

S

Here's another view of the same issue, specific to the Pats.  They lost both starting corners, how do they match up against our receiving core now?  FA has changed every team and every season starts anew.  I agree 100% that NE is the bain of our existence. I like the Langford signing.  I'm also perplexed as to how our DLine could be so amazing in some games (Cincinnati) and so horrible in others (New England).  In part, our issues are scheme related.  I think Manusky needs an advanced level class in New England offensive dynamics. They seem to run a lot of trap blocks/pull plays v our DLine and then Freeman just got swallowed over and over again (not to mention the nightmare that was the softness of Laron Landry). Manusky, nor anyone else, seemed to schematically solve their offensive design.  Point is, it's not all player or GM driven. I think the combo of Jones and Langford is quite good.  I think we've covered significant gaps in FA which will allow us nice flexibility on draft day.

"Scheme related" Right on the Dime! "nor anyone else, seemed to schematically solve their offensive design." Again, right on the Dime!

Schematic ... aka ... Systematic Football is now the name of the "winning" game in the NFL! Like I've stated numerous times on this forum ... It ain't going anywhere, and it doesn't take prisoners! ;)

[ColtJ82]

Yet we are solid at NT.

Agreed....I think we draft a DE. 

 

RJF wasn't a fit here. Redding was well like and given the benefit of the doubt often. However, Redding was often inconsistent and undisciplined regarding his assignments. He was often out of position which caused up big problems. I'm not sure if this is lack of discipline or just getting blown off the ball. He is an above average player, but should be replaceable.

[Warhorse]

If we don't draft a D lineman in one of the first two rounds I'll be angry, but for now I'm in a wait and see mode.

If we draft a D lineman in one of the first two rounds for any other reason than BPA, I'll be angry.

 

We need safety help and depth at LB far more.

[GoColts8818]

The real reason is Grigson gets a kick out of seeing the forum over react to everything....

[bestQBever]

If we draft a D lineman in one of the first two rounds for any other reason than BPA, I'll be angry.

 

We need safety help and depth at LB far more.

we have a glaring hole at D line though. We have 2 decent players and Chapman. Behind them are a bunch of nobodies.

[GoColts8818]

we have a glaring hole at D line though. We have 2 decent players and Chapman. Behind them are a bunch of nobodies.

give it time with the draft. This is supposed to be one of the deeper NFL drafts for d-linemen so my guess is you will see the Colts draft some guys. They also have Hughes who has been developing and at some point you have to let him play to see if he can. So they have Langford, Jones and Hughes on the ends. Kerr and Chapman in the middle. They need to add at least one guy at each spot which can be done In the draft.

[BleedBlu8792]

give it time with the draft. This is supposed to be one of the deeper NFL drafts for d-linemen so my guess is you will see the Colts draft some guys. They also have Hughes who has been developing and at some point you have to let him play to see if he can. So they have Langford, Jones and Hughes on the ends. Kerr and Chapman in the middle. They need to add at least one guy at each spot which can be done In the draft.

And Kelcy Quarles.. Who played decently when he was given some time