Bill Polian: "Colts as good as anybody"

[Malakai432]

They beat Green Bay 3 years ago and Seattle 2 years ago, hardly relevant

Yes, as with your statement is hardly relevant considering we don't know how good this Colts team will be this year, nor how good Seattle, Green Bay, New England and Dallas will be. Fact of the matter is YOU don't know.

[Malakai432]

Whaaat? I hate to hear you say that....

You should expect comments like that from him/her. Negative is as negative does.

[crazycolt1]

You know this thread amazes me. This is a man who, along with Peyton Manning (who Polian drafted by the way) had as much to do with the Colts being transformed from NFL doormat to NFL powerhouse as anyone.  He's also a man who whenever asked says nothing but nice things about our city and expresses fondness about his time here.  He also built a team that rewrote the NFL record book for winning and brought this city it's only Super Bowl title.  Yet people are bashing on him after he said the Colts were as good as anyteam in the NFL...  I don't get it.  Was Polian a condescending jerk at times while he was here?  Sure, but I don't think that's a reason for people to hate him for life and try to pretend like he had nothing to do with the Colts success while he was here. 

There is one thing you are overlooking. Polian was very good at putting a winning team together but very poor at building a championship team. It takes more than putting a team on a great QBs back and riding him off into the sun set. The whole time Polian was here the Colts were always at the bottom of the league in defense and special teams play. Polain and the Colts did take full advantage of a very weak division and had a lot of wins handed to them because of it. You look at Polians playoff record and it don't look as impressive as the regular season does. Yes he made a winner out of the Colts but way too many wasted trips to the playoffs with a team that was not championship caliber.

[GoColts8818]

There is one thing you are overlooking. Polian was very good at putting a winning team together but very poor at building a championship team. It takes more than putting a team on a great QBs back and riding him off into the sun set. The whole time Polian was here the Colts were always at the bottom of the league in defense and special teams play. Polain and the Colts did take full advantage of a very weak division and had a lot of wins handed to them because of it. You look at Polians playoff record and it don't look as impressive as the regular season does. Yes he made a winner out of the Colts but way too many wasted trips to the playoffs with a team that was not championship caliber.

The Colts were a Championship level team under Poilan.  Hence that they did win a Super Bowl, went to another one, and went to three AFCCG with him and won countless division titles.  Did they win as many Super Bowls as anyone would have liked?  No.  I think even Polian would tell you that.  However, they were still a Championship team which is why they were almost always in the championship mix while he was here.  With that said, Polian's teams were far closer to winning Super Bowls than any team before he got here.  It's not like they were just winning ring after ring before he got here and they took a major step back under him.  The franchise completely changed where they stood in the NFL power structure under him.  He brought a winning culture here and I think other than Peyton Manning is the most important person in Indianapolis Colts history. 

 

Also it's not Polian's playoff record.  That's worse than judging QBs by if their team wins or lose the game because Polian had ZERO control over what happened in games.  All he could do is get the players to put the franchise in position to win playoff games.  Clearly as the Colts weren't hurting for talent while he was here until the end.  Rather they won or lost those playoff games goes on the coaches and the players.  Frankly the Colts players for the most part under performed in the playoffs.  That goes on them.  Could Polian moved players around to try to get guys who were better in the playoffs.  Perhaps but one that is easier than said when it comes to the NFL as you tend to never get equal back when you decide to move on from a player and in most cases you get nothing back in return at all.  For example one of the players I thought performed the worst in playoff games under while Polian was here was Marvin.  Can picture the outrage had Polian elected to move Marvin?  On top of that could picture the guts it would have taken to move a guy like and try to get equal value back for him?  There is a higher chance of failure making moves like than that than there is trying to bring guys back and make another run at it.  Polian did the later.  Sadly things almost never went the Colts way in the playoffs.  That's not Polian's fault. That's just the nature of the NFL.  It's why winning Super Bowls is extremely hard. 

[crazycolt1]

The Colts were a Championship level team under Poilan.  Hence that they did win a Super Bowl, went to another one, and went to three AFCCG with him and won countless division titles.  Did they win as many Super Bowls as anyone would have liked?  No.  I think even Polian would tell you that.  However, they were still a Championship team which is why they were almost always in the championship mix while he was here.  With that said, Polian's teams were far closer to winning Super Bowls than any team before he got here.  It's not like they were just winning ring after ring before he got here and they took a major step back under him.  The franchise completely changed where they stood in the NFL power structure under him.  He brought a winning culture here and I think other than Peyton Manning is the most important person in Indianapolis Colts history. 

 

Also it's not Polian's playoff record.  That's worse than judging QBs by if their team wins or lose the game because Polian had ZERO control over what happened in games.  All he could do is get the players to put the franchise in position to win playoff games.  Clearly as the Colts weren't hurting for talent while he was here until the end.  Rather they won or lost those playoff games goes on the coaches and the players.  Frankly the Colts players for the most part under performed in the playoffs.  That goes on them.  Could Polian moved players around to try to get guys who were better in the playoffs.  Perhaps but one that is easier than said when it comes to the NFL as you tend to never get equal back when you decide to move on from a player and in most cases you get nothing back in return at all.  For example one of the players I thought performed the worst in playoff games under while Polian was here was Marvin.  Can picture the outrage had Polian elected to move Marvin?  On top of that could picture the guts it would have taken to move a guy like and try to get equal value back for him?  There is a higher chance of failure making moves like than that than there is trying to bring guys back and make another run at it.  Polian did the later.  Sadly things almost never went the Colts way in the playoffs.  That's not Polian's fault. That's just the nature of the NFL.  It's why winning Super Bowls is extremely hard. 

I understand all that but excuses don't cut it with me. Polians playoff record shows he did not have the ability to field championship teams here. There was a reason the Colts lost so many playoff games, they didn't have the right players. Winning and championship teams are two different things. Manning was the single most reason when the winning was plenty. Well Manning couldn't win by himself in the playoffs. Polian always took care of Manning while letting the other parts of the team go and the proof is in the playoff records of the Colts. When you build a team on the back of a great QB the whole team takes the mentality of Manning will pull us all through. Well he couldn't.

[ColtRider]

The reason why the Colts did not win 3 Super Bowls during Polian's tenure is a simple fact. Manning will tell you. Dungy will tell you. Polian will tell you.

They could not _execute_ in the Playoffs! That falls on players, coaches, and situational football.

[GoColts8818]

I understand all that but excuses don't cut it with me. Polians playoff record shows he did not have the ability to field championship teams here. There was a reason the Colts lost so many playoff games, they didn't have the right players. Winning and championship teams are two different things. Manning was the single most reason when the winning was plenty. Well Manning couldn't win by himself in the playoffs. Polian always took care of Manning while letting the other parts of the team go and the proof is in the playoff records of the Colts. When you build a team on the back of a great QB the whole team takes the mentality of Manning will pull us all through. Well he couldn't.

That's not excuses.  Polian didn't play the games in the playoffs. Thus it's not his playoff record, he wasn't the coach or the players.  That's their playoff record.  It's like baking cake.  If someone goes to the store and buys the stuff to make a cake with and the chief makes a mistake making the cake it's not the person who bought the stuff to make the cake's fault that the cake turned out poorly.  He built the team and gave them the pieces to be successful which they were at a historic level.  So clearly the talent was there.  However the talent didn't perform. 

 

Manning was by far the biggest player but make no mistake Manning benefited from Polian putting guys like Edge, Addai, Clark, Rhodes, Saturday, and Wayne around him on offense and keeping those players with him. Also don't forget it was Polian who brought Peyton to Indianapolis.  So I would say it's Peyton and Polian 1 and 1A in terms of who gets the most credit for those successful years. 

 

Also, this idea that Polian ignored other parts of the team is extremely far fetched.  Look at how many of those draft picks he took were on defense.  He was consistently looking for defensive talent.  You could make a very strong case he didn't do as good of a job drafting on defense as outside of Freeney, Mathis, and to extent Bethea he never hit homeruns on defense with draft picks like he did on offense but he was always looking to upgrade the defense.  Heck most of the few "big name" free agents or trades he would make when he was here was to get defensive players.  Bratzke, Poole, Buris, Reagor, Simon, and Booger. All defensive players. 

 

With that said, if you go back and look at most of the playoff games the Colts lost while Polian was here it wasn't the defense that failed.  It was the high powered offense that didn't player like it had during the regular season that failed.  Clearly it wasn't because they didn't have good enough players.  It was either because the game plan wasn't good enough or the players didn't play well enough.  That's not the GMs fault. 

 

Also I know people don't like to hear this but there is a level of luck that goes into winning a Super Bowl.  Look at the Colts playoff losses.  Almost all of them came to teams they just didn't match up well with, the Steelers, Chargers, and Pats.  Especially the Chargers and Steelers because over time they morphed into a team that matched up well with the Pats.  The two years during the prime of their "winning window" they got favorable matches ups Chiefs, Ravens, and Jets they went to the Super Bowl.  Had they had to play the Chargers in either 2006 or 2009 I don't think they would have gone to any Super Bowls at all, but lucky for them they got some upsets along the way that helped them for a change. 

[crazycolt1]

That's not excuses.  Polian didn't play the games in the playoffs. Thus it's not his playoff record, he wasn't the coach or the players.  That's their playoff record.  It's like baking cake.  If someone goes to the store and buys the stuff to make a cake with and the chief makes a mistake making the cake it's not the person who bought the stuff to make the cake's fault that the cake turned out poorly.  He built the team and gave them the pieces to be successful which they were at a historic level.  So clearly the talent was there.  However the talent didn't perform. 

 

Manning was by far the biggest player but make no mistake Manning benefited from Polian putting guys like Edge, Addai, Clark, Rhodes, Saturday, and Wayne around him on offense and keeping those players with him. Also don't forget it was Polian who brought Peyton to Indianapolis.  So I would say it's Peyton and Polian 1 and 1A in terms of who gets the most credit for those successful years. 

 

Also, this idea that Polian ignored other parts of the team is extremely far fetched.  Look at how many of those draft picks he took were on defense.  He was consistently looking for defensive talent.  You could make a very strong case he didn't do as good of a job drafting on defense as outside of Freeney, Mathis, and to extent Bethea he never hit homeruns on defense with draft picks like he did on offense but he was always looking to upgrade the defense.  Heck most of the few "big name" free agents or trades he would make when he was here was to get defensive players.  Bratzke, Poole, Buris, Reagor, Simon, and Booger. All defensive players. 

 

With that said, if you go back and look at most of the playoff games the Colts lost while Polian was here it wasn't the defense that failed.  It was the high powered offense that didn't player like it had during the regular season that failed.  Clearly it wasn't because they didn't have good enough players.  It was either because the game plan wasn't good enough or the players didn't play well enough.  That's not the GMs fault. 

 

Also I know people don't like to hear this but there is a level of luck that goes into winning a Super Bowl.  Look at the Colts playoff losses.  Almost all of them came to teams they just didn't match up well with, the Steelers, Chargers, and Pats.  Especially the Chargers and Steelers because over time they morphed into a team that matched up well with the Pats.  The two years during the prime of their "winning window" they got favorable matches ups Chiefs, Ravens, and Jets they went to the Super Bowl.  Had they had to play the Chargers in either 2006 or 2009 I don't think they would have gone to any Super Bowls at all, but lucky for them they got some upsets along the way that helped them for a change. 

You have your opinion and I have a different one. You say it wasn't the defense that failed? How many playoff games did the Colts have the lead or have the opportunity to take the lead just to let the defense and or the special teams give the game away? That is from lack of having enough good players to make a good team across the board. You want to point the finger at the players? Well who brought those players in? Polian jumped on the back of Manning and road him into the ground and kept Manning with weapons while ignoring bigger needs. He did draft pass rushers but where were the run stoppers? When we played the Jags you would have thought they had the best runners in the history of the league. Polian never cared one bit about what is called ball control. He thought having the most potent offense in the league would win championships and it didn't.  You say the match ups were a problem? Why? Could it be the Colts didn't have the players needed? Championship teams are the ones who other teams have a problem with matching up with. We are just going to have to agree to disagree on how great Polian was as a GM for the Colts. There are two sides to most things and this is the case.

[peytonmanning18]

Yes, as with your statement is hardly relevant considering we don't know how good this Colts team will be this year, nor how good Seattle, Green Bay, New England and Dallas will be. Fact of the matter is YOU don't know.

You're right, Jacksonville has a good a chance of winning the Super Bowl as New England and Seattle

[ColtsLegacy]

You're right, Jacksonville has a good a chance of winning the Super Bowl as New England and Seattle

I forgot the Jaguars were in the AFC Championship last year, have improved every year for the past 3 years, and have Andrew Luck at QB.

3rd grade logic.

[Jason_]

There is one thing you are overlooking. Polian was very good at putting a winning team together but very poor at building a championship team. It takes more than putting a team on a great QBs back and riding him off into the sun set. The whole time Polian was here the Colts were always at the bottom of the league in defense and special teams play. Polain and the Colts did take full advantage of a very weak division and had a lot of wins handed to them because of it. You look at Polians playoff record and it don't look as impressive as the regular season does. Yes he made a winner out of the Colts but way too many wasted trips to the playoffs with a team that was not championship caliber.

 

That's simply not true about the Colts always being at the bottom of the league in defense.  Here is a list of where the Colts ranked in terms of total defense from 1999-2009

 

1999-17th

2000-11th

2001-3rd

2002-25th

2003-22nd

2004-4th

2005-22nd

2006-12th

2007-30th

2008-22nd

2009-15th

 

The defensive failures, especially in getting run over by power running teams like Jax, were as much on Dungy as Polian.  That's simply the type of defense he ran...a defense that had a strong pass rush, multiple zone coverage looks but that was susceptible to power running teams.  His defenses had the same issues in Minnesota.  The only place Dungy was successful defensively was in Tampa but he also had Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli to help...plus he was lucky enough to get Warren Sapp.  Without Sapp that defense is completely different.

 

Also, it's not like Polian didn't try to address the DT position while he was here.  He drafted multiple DTs that just didn't work out for one reason or another.

[LockeDown]

Imo, Polian drafted pretty darn good.  

 

Our problem in the Manning era began with the loss of 2 people (maybe 3).  Tarik Glen and Edge were never properly replaced.  We struggled with pass protection on Mannings blind side and never had a great RB again.  Manning never again got time in the pocket to make the longer throws.  He was continually having to outsmart defenses to make plays.  Yes, we won the Super Bowl w/o them, but our defense carried us that year.  The 3rd player was Bob Sanders.  Nuff said.

[Coffeedrinker]

 

 

Also, it's not like Polian didn't try to address the DT position while he was here.  He drafted multiple DTs that just didn't work out for one reason or another.

People forget, Polian did more things that were unusual for him to address the DT position than any other but there was some extremely bad luck.

 

Signing Corey Simon was good for one year

Trading for McFarland - Was good for the SB run

Montae Reagor

Drafted Quinn Pitcock but retired with a gaming addiction.

 

The list goes on.  He tried to address the situation, he just was not very good at it.  DTs and safeties were Polian's weak spots.  Dungy helped with the safeties but they never could find a long term answer at DT.

[crazycolt1]

That's simply not true about the Colts always being at the bottom of the league in defense.  Here is a list of where the Colts ranked in terms of total defense from 1999-2009

 

1999-17th

2000-11th

2001-3rd

2002-25th

2003-22nd

2004-4th

2005-22nd

2006-12th

2007-30th

2008-22nd

2009-15th

 

The defensive failures, especially in getting run over by power running teams like Jax, were as much on Dungy as Polian.  That's simply the type of defense he ran...a defense that had a strong pass rush, multiple zone coverage looks but that was susceptible to power running teams.  His defenses had the same issues in Minnesota.  The only place Dungy was successful defensively was in Tampa but he also had Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli to help...plus he was lucky enough to get Warren Sapp.  Without Sapp that defense is completely different.

 

Also, it's not like Polian didn't try to address the DT position while he was here.  He drafted multiple DTs that just didn't work out for one reason or another.

7 of those years you list the Colts were on the back end of defense. The defensive failings also came at the most needed times,mostly during the playoffs. If you are a Polian fan I have no problem with that at all. There are some mixed so it is what it is. You can list multi excuses all you care too IMO Polain was way over rated. His playoff record speaks for itself dating back to his time with Buffalo. The one more shot with the same players didn't work and to keep doing the same thing over and over made for some pretty bad memories of the Colts and Mannings playoff records here in Indy. It is said that losses are worse than wins in the playoffs and that is something the Colts knew very well when Polian was here. Just where is the line between the losses adding up more than the wins? I guess it's different for each one of us.

[Jason_]

7 of those years you list the Colts were on the back end of defense.

 

And that's fine...but also a couple of those years the Colts were top 5 and several years they were right around the middle of the pack.  So your comment "The whole time Polian was here the Colts were always at the bottom of the league in defense" was not true.  Yes, there were plenty of times the defense let us down, but there were times the offense let us down as well.  I'm not a big fan of Polian nor an apologist for him but I cannot deny the good that he did while he was here.

 

And as I said earlier, a lot of the defensive problems were not because of Polian, but rather because of Dungy...especially in terms of his "smaller but faster" player philosophy. 

[Superman]

People forget, Polian did more things that were unusual for him to address the DT position than any other but there was some extremely bad luck.

 

Signing Corey Simon was good for one year

Trading for McFarland - Was good for the SB run

Montae Reagor

Drafted Quinn Pitcock but retired with a gaming addiction.

 

The list goes on.  He tried to address the situation, he just was not very good at it.  DTs and safeties were Polian's weak spots.  Dungy helped with the safeties but they never could find a long term answer at DT.

 

Yeah, he didn't ignore it, he just wasn't very good at it, and had some decisions backfire on him. That's been Grigson with the OL so far.

[Defjamz26]

The reason why the Colts did not win 3 Super Bowls during Polian's tenure is a simple fact. Manning will tell you. Dungy will tell you. Polian will tell you.

They could not _execute_ in the Playoffs! That falls on players, coaches, and situational football.

It comes down to two things for me:

1. Polian's lack of top tier players

2. Manning being terrible in the post season.

It's like a 60-40 split in favor of Polian. He never really did put a top tier team(at least in terms of defense) around Manning. But it didn't help that even to this day,Peyton was sometimes awful in the post season. The loss to the Saints in the Superbowl was more on Manning IMO.

[ColtRider]

It comes down to two things for me:

1. Polian's lack of top tier players

2. Manning being terrible in the post season.

It's like a 60-40 split in favor of Polian. He never really did put a top tier team(at least in terms of defense) around Manning. But it didn't help that even to this day,Peyton was sometimes awful in the post season. The loss to the Saints in the Superbowl was more on Manning IMO.

I certainly agree with you, Defjamz26, with regards to #2. From 2003-2009 the Colts never fell below 12-4. Better execution in the Playoffs could've easily (yes, I said easily) yielded at least 3 SB wins instead of 1.

[ColtStronger]

The Colts aren't as good as New England, Seattle, Dallas, or Green Bay

Really? 

[masterlock]

The Colts aren't as good as New England, Seattle, Dallas, or Green Bay

You might want to wait until the season is over to decide who's better than whom.

[masterlock]

So who's responsibility was it when the Colts were 2-14 and 39 million in dead cap space? Just saying.

I think things started to really go downhill when his son, Chris Polian, took over. Polian built a championship team with sustained success for a decade. 

[crazycolt1]

I think things started to really go downhill when his son, Chris Polian, took over. Polian built a championship team with sustained success for a decade. 

Championship means titles. One out of 14 years. Winners? Yes. Champions? One time.

[NewColtsFan]

Championship means titles. One out of 14 years. Winners? Yes. Champions? One time.

 

That's one more time than most general managers ever do,  so I'm not sure what your point is....

 

His resume' is good enough to make him a first ballot Hall of Famer....   

 

I'm sorry he didn't bring the Colts a 2nd or a 3rd WC.....   but he was still a fantastic GM.....

[BOTT]

The reason why the Colts did not win 3 Super Bowls during Polian's tenure is a simple fact. Manning will tell you. Dungy will tell you. Polian will tell you.

They could not _execute_ in the Playoffs! That falls on players, coaches, and situational football.

That, and the teams they lost to were usually more talented

[crazycolt1]

That's one more time than most general managers ever do,  so I'm not sure what your point is....

 

His resume' is good enough to make him a first ballot Hall of Famer....   

 

I'm sorry he didn't bring the Colts a 2nd or a 3rd WC.....   but he was still a fantastic GM.....

If that is your opinion I have no problem with that at all. I just have a different opinion. Like I said, Polian was very good at building winning teams. Just not good at building championship teams. If you look at his playoff record you might understand my point of view. If not, no big deal.

[Dark Superman]

Sign Evan Mathis, cut Thomas and Cherilus and move Mewhort to RT.

 

Then we will be as good as anybody.

[NewColtsFan]

If that is your opinion I have no problem with that at all. I just have a different opinion. Like I said, Polian was very good at building winning teams. Just not good at building championship teams. If you look at his playoff record you might understand my point of view. If not, no big deal.

 

Fair enough.....

 

But the bottom line is,  it's not just my opinion....

 

The fact that he's a first ballot Hall of Famer shows it's the opinion of a lot of people for whom pro football is their livelihood.

 

I appreciate that his Bills lost 4 straight super bowls,  but they were to great NBC teams.

 

And his Panthers lost to New England...   (I don't think he was the GM when they went to the SB, but he helped build that team)

 

And the Colts were 1 for 2.....    I get all of that....

 

But doing what he did isn't easy and that's why he's so highly thought of.....

[bap1331]

I don't care what anybody says. 1 super bowl championship in 2006 is much more meaningful than 4 questionable titles. Atleast we are respected for that win.

[southwest1]

Only 7 or so great players?  Some GMs are lucky if they get one...

 

Also this isn't factoring in at all his draft picks in Buffalo.  The man drafted or played a major roll in the drafting of four Hall of Famers there before he ever got to Indianapolis.  In Indy he clearly drafted at least one in Peyton Manning and you could make a very strong case that Edge, Wayne, and maybe Freeney and or Mathis will join him one day in the Hall of Fame.  Drafting between five to nine Hall of Famers is a pretty darn good draft track record.

 

There is no way you set all the records the Colts did for winning while he was GM and not be good at drafting.  Factor in that the Colts had to draft well because they had their money tied up in a handful of star players (that he drafted by the way) that they couldn't play much in free agency and it's pretty clear Polian did a very good drafting over the time he was here.  No not every player he drafted was a star but not every player any team drafts is going to be a star.  Sometimes you just get good key pieces and he did that.  However, let's break down his drafting history.

 

Here is a link to who they have taken so I don't have to retype it all.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis_Colts_draft_history#1998_Draft

 

98 - Clearly got a homerun in Manning but also got three other pretty good players in that draft.  Pathon was their number two WR in the early Manning days.  Green was good when healthy which wasn't enough and McKinney was a solid lineman for the Colts while he was here.  So that is four good picks out of seven

 

99 - Another homerun with Edge.  A very good player in Peterson.  Scioli game them a couple of solid years which is pretty good for a fifth round pick and Hunter Smith was a hit as he was their punter up until McAfee was drafted.  So Four good picks out of seven.

 

2000 - Morris was a solid starter for a few years.  Washington was pretty good during his time here and Macklin and Williams both played and started on defense at time.  Four pretty good picks out of seven.

 

2001 - Homerun with Wayne and I would say another major hit in Diem who was a cornerstone on the line for 10 years.  That's extremely good for a fourth round pick.  He also got DeMulling who was a pretty good lineman while he was there.  Byrd and Bashir both played while here so I would three really good picks and two decent ones out of eight picks. 

 

2002 - Again Polian hit a homerun in the first round with Freeney and also landed Thornton in that draft who was maybe Polian's best linebacker pick while he was here.  Over all not his best draft though as he got two really good picks but pretty much missed on the other six.

 

2003 - Maybe Polian's best draft.  He got Clark, Mathis, and June who were all pro-bowlers here.  He got Doss who was a starter while here but not much to write home about but still a minor hit.  He also got Strickland who was just a solid guy for a couple of years.  So two homerun picks and another good pick in June.  Minor hits for Doss and Strickland so five good picks out of eight.

 

2004 - Bob Sanders was the star of this draft class.  Hits for Sorgi and Jake Scott.  Credit for Jason David but again nothing to write home about.  So four good picks out of nine picks

 

2005 - Nailed the first two rounds with Jackson and Hayden as they played major roll in the Colts winning their Super Bowl.  Credit for Hagler and Giordano as they were good special teamers for the Colts.  So four good picks out of ten picks.

 

2006 - An extremely underrated draft for Polian.  Hit for Addai, Colts don't win the Super Bowl without him and while he doesn't go on the Colts Mt. Rushmore of runningbacks I do think was an underrated player here.  Also hit a homerun in the sixth round in Bethea and landed Charlie Johnson in the later rounds as well. So three very good picks out of seven.  Should be noted one of those misses was Jennings who went on to be a very good player for the Bears.

 

2007 -  The downhill slide began and I do think Polian started to turn control over to his son.  Gonzo was good when he was healthy but much like EG Green that was few and far between.  Ugoh was maybe his worst draft day move ever other than not drafting Brady in fifth round to be Manning's backup when Brady came out (I am joking there.).  Honestly the guy they probably got the most out of in this draft was Clint Session or Keyunta Dawnson and neither of them were anything special.  Still Id' give them two minor hits for those picks but still pretty much flat misses across the board on nine picks.

 

2008 - Wheeler and Tamme were hits Garcon was the star of this class.  Hart gave them some mileage at running back so I give him credit for four players in this draft out of nine picks.

 

2009 - Credit for McAfee, Collie, and Powers.  Brown would have been a hit if taken in any round but the first so I give him three hits out of eight.

 

2010 - Angerer and Conner were good in the 4-3 defense but didn't transition well to the 3-4 but for Polian's teams they are hits.  So two hits out of eight.  Again worth noting that like Jennings, Hughes went on to be good elsewhere. 

 

2011 - Only five picks but a major homerun with Castonzo but that was his only good pick that year so one for five. 

 

So I think when you look at this it becomes clear that more years than not Polian hit on about half of his picks which is pretty good for any GM.  I also think what you notice is if you look at 2006 and before most of his picks that he hit on were coming in the early rounds including a stretch where he drafted maybe four Hall of Famers in five years in the first round.  Add in two more pro-bowlers in the first round in Addai and Clark and a second rounder who was a defensive player of the year in Sanders his worst "first" draft pick through 2006 was Rob Morris who was a solid starter for a number of years. 

 

After that most of his hits came in the later rounds with few hits in the early rounds.  That's what caused the slide.  He missed in the rounds where they couldn't afford to miss. 

 

 

Peyton Manning

Dwight Freeney

Robert Mathis

Edgerrin James

Joseph Addai

Thurman Thomas

Andre Reed

Ellis Johnson

Marvin Harrison

Reggie Wayne

Tarik Glenn

Bertrand Berry

Mike Peterson

Dallas Clark

Bob Sanders(Same as Gonzalez)

Jake Scott

Anthony Gonzalez (showed promise before injuries)

Pierre Garcon

Pat Mcafee

Jerry Hughes

Anthony Castonzo

Austin Collie

Ryan Deim

 

 

He missed a lot and Im not nearly as familiar with all his Bills picks as I am his Colts picks but he got plenty right over the years, He failed to draft enough talent on defense especially to give Manning a great team I agree but he also made plenty of great picks or players that showed a lot of promise prior to getting injured

Nice job of listing all the talent Bill Polian is truly responsible for assembling in 3 different cities.  GC8818. When you see it laid out before you, it boggles my mind. I like that Gavin included players from Buffalo too. 

[crazycolt1]

Fair enough.....

 

But the bottom line is,  it's not just my opinion....

 

The fact that he's a first ballot Hall of Famer shows it's the opinion of a lot of people for whom pro football is their livelihood.

 

I appreciate that his Bills lost 4 straight super bowls,  but they were to great NBC teams.

 

And his Panthers lost to New England...   (I don't think he was the GM when they went to the SB, but he helped build that team)

 

And the Colts were 1 for 2.....    I get all of that....

 

But doing what he did isn't easy and that's why he's so highly thought of.....

Why do you feel the need to defend your opinion? I stated mine and said it was no big deal. This has long ago been debated and or argued about and is all old news at this point. As far as the hall of fame I also have a problem with some aspects of that too but that is a different subject.

[crazycolt1]

23 players listed out of over 175 drafted over a 25 year span.

[southwest1]

My issue with Bill is minor. Just that he didn't like being challenged by reporters in INDY sometimes who questioned why voids were sometimes ignored defensively but then again I have no idea what kind of budgetary restrictions Jim Irsay placed on Bill regarding free agency or during the draft either regarding signing players either. 

 

In the grand scheme of things, I have no qualms with Bill at all. Besides, nobody likes being challenged. The trick is to not take it personally. Just keep the boss satisfied that the team is competitive & that players want to come to INDY because our program is elite which it was under Polian. 

[NewColtsFan]

Why do you feel the need to defend your opinion? I stated mine and said it was no big deal. This has long ago been debated and or argued about and is all old news at this point. As far as the hall of fame I also have a problem with some aspects of that too but that is a different subject.

 

Sorry,  I wasn't trying to start something....

 

I thought we were having a discussion....     my bad....

 

Consider it dropped.

[southwest1]

Fair enough.....

 

But the bottom line is,  it's not just my opinion....

 

The fact that he's a first ballot Hall of Famer shows it's the opinion of a lot of people for whom pro football is their livelihood.

 

I appreciate that his Bills lost 4 straight super bowls,  but they were to great NBC teams.

 

And his Panthers lost to New England...   (I don't think he was the GM when they went to the SB, but he helped build that team)

 

And the Colts were 1 for 2.....    I get all of that....

 

But doing what he did isn't easy and that's why he's so highly thought of.....

Don't tell that to Jim Kelly.  I know what you meant NCF. It just made me chuckle. No worries my friend. It's all good. 

[southwest1]

It comes down to two things for me:

1. Polian's lack of top tier players

2. Manning being terrible in the post season.

It's like a 60-40 split in favor of Polian. He never really did put a top tier team(at least in terms of defense) around Manning. But it didn't help that even to this day,Peyton was sometimes awful in the post season. The loss to the Saints in the Superbowl was more on Manning IMO.

 

 

I certainly agree with you, Defjamz26, with regards to #2. From 2003-2009 the Colts never fell below 12-4. Better execution in the Playoffs could've easily (yes, I said easily) yielded at least 3 SB wins instead of 1.

Yes, that is a fair criticism to say that Manning struggled in the Playoffs. He always wrestled with that which is where "the greatest regular season QB" classification comes into play. Not entirely Peyton's fault but he owns his share of failing to close the deal there. Some of that is rooted in cold weather woes & some of that is defensive woes. Either the unit was too tremendous to mount a comeback i.e. Seattle or Ty Law & Troy Brown were just on fire that day. It's as simple as that. 

 

Some have even said that Peyton is too cerebral for his own good. Thinking 3 moves ahead instead of concentrating on the play before him. Maybe, but next level guys are always a great asset I'd want in my offensive fox hole so I can't really condemn superior X's & O's intelligence on Manning's part. Implementation yes; IQ no. 

[crazycolt1]

Sorry,  I wasn't trying to start something....

 

I thought we were having a discussion....     my bad....

 

Consider it dropped.

There is no problem. After all this time since Polian has been gone none of us are going to change our minds or opinions at this point. I didn't think you were starting anything. It's no big deal. There is no issue, we just disagree. Feel free to say or post anything you care to.

[Hoose]

Simply stated, Polian had a great decade with the Colts. He began to fade with some very poor drafts and his demands that his son take over a prominent role in running the team and the draft. The team gradually suffered for his failures late in his tenure.

 

Bottom line: Bill Polian was tremendous for this franchise, and should be enshrined for it. But he lost his mojo after the Super Bowl run, and his departure was both necessary and overdue, to be honest.

[jskinnz]

I don't care what anybody says. 1 super bowl championship in 2006 is much more meaningful than 4 questionable titles. Atleast we are respected for that win.

Dear God....

[LJpalmbeacher2]

We are certainly capable of beating any team but I wouldn't say we are as good as anyone.

Imo, our biggest short comings is OL & Coaching.

A Belichek, Pete Carroll, etc...team will always have a advantage over us in the coaching department.

[Jason_]

We are certainly capable of beating any team but I wouldn't say we are as good as anyone.

Imo, our biggest short comings is OL & Coaching.

A Belichek, Pete Carroll, etc...team will always have a advantage over us in the coaching department.

 

Saying "always" is a bit much.  Pagano has improved since he first got here and no reason to believe he won't continue to improve.  I'm sure there were a lot of Browns fans that said the same thing about Belichik and Pats fans that said the same about Carroll.