Semi Colts related....Dwight Freeney

[cmgww]

Freeney looking pretty good for the Cards right now. Has 4 sacks in 8 games, game clinching sack last week....and he signed for less than $1 million. Sorry if this has already been discussed, but why did we not even look at him? Is it the scheme? Maybe he didn't want to come back even if we had offered (hard feelings)....I think I remember scheme was part of the reasoning for letting him go, that and $$....but we play multiple fronts and AZ plays a 3-4. Considering our lack of any pass rush, having him right now would be nice. 

[oldunclemark]

Great to see that sack against Cincy that iced the game

You're right...it would have ben difficult for us to keep him (or resign him for the minimum this year) but he clearly wasn't done..

....has anyone noticed that Jacob Tamme has 51 catches for the Falcons?

[zibby43]

I am very surprised that Freeney has been as effective as he has been.

 

Sometimes these outcomes are just unpredictable.

[cmgww]

I'm surprised too, bc he did very little with the Chargers. Maybe Arians just knows how to get the most of of his players. 

[NBColtsFanatic]

1 minute ago, oldunclemark said:

Great to see that sack against Cincy that iced the game

You're right...it would have ben difficult for us to keep him (or resign him for the minimum this year) but he clearly wasn't done..

....has anyone noticed that Jacob Tamme has 51 catches for the Falcons?

Holy moly 51??. Bill Polians having an effect throughout the league with his drafted players lol. Unfortunately some of the best players on the colts aren't even grigsons/AC, mcafee, mathis

[cmgww]

11 minutes ago, NBColtsFanatic said:

Holy moly 51??. Bill Polians having an effect throughout the league with his drafted players lol. Unfortunately some of the best players on the colts aren't even grigsons/AC, mcafee, mathis

 

Yep. He reached his end here, but he did have some good draft picks. Bethea still playing solid ball for a terrible SF team as well. 

[NBColtsFanatic]

Just now, cmgww said:

 

Yep. He reached his end here, but he did have some good draft picks. Bethea still playing solid ball for a terrible SF team as well. 

Yes he definitely did. It's always interesting seeing old colts. I remember in last years sf-san Diego game it was like a colts reunion. Players like Ricardo Matthews, Bethea, Donald brown and the some.

[21isSuperman]

No point in bringing him back here.  He wasn't that great for us as an OLB.  You can blame that on scheme fit, blame it on coaches, whatever you want.  Bottom line is we tried having Freeney in our defense and it didn't pan out.  No point in trying the same thing again.

[Gavin]

It worked with Freeney fine considering we dropped him back in zone a number of times, He is rushing the passer just about every snap in Arizona and on average is seeing 13 less snaps a game in Arizona since he was picked up compared to when he was in San Diego. He is averaging 23.3 snaps a game in Arizona...Compared to 35.7 when he was in San Diego.

 

His last year as a Colt (2012) he saw 49.9 snaps a game most of which he was injured because J'marcus Webb dove on his leg

 

[chad72]

11 minutes ago, Gavin said:

It worked with Freeney fine considering we dropped him back in zone a number of times, He is rushing the passer just about every snap in Arizona and on average is seeing 13 less snaps a game in Arizona since he was picked up compared to when he was in San Diego. He is averaging 23.3 snaps a game in Arizona...Compared to 35.7 when he was in San Diego.

 

His last year as a Colt (2012) he saw 49.9 snaps a game most of which he was injured because J'marcus Webb dove on his leg

 

 

Yeah, since they know he is an old horse, they save him for later when they have to hold on to a lead. So, he is fresh and can do what he does, very well.

 

Like Bill Parcells said with Lawrence Taylor, if LT rushes the passer the best, let him rush the passer, quit trying to do other things with him and trying to be cute.

[throwing BBZ]

15 hours ago, cmgww said:

I'm surprised too, bc he did very little with the Chargers. Maybe Arians just knows how to get the most of of his players. 

 

 Maybe Calais Campbell freaks the O-Line with his bursts up the middle, or Mathieu`s blitzes do the same, and it makes good opportunities for ol` Dwight.
 The sack to end the game was pretty _____ awesome.

[ColtsLegacy]

He set the tackle up so hardcore on that spin move. He sold the outside rush so well that the tackle had no chance once Freeney stuck his foot in the ground to spin. It was a thing of beauty.

[ColtsLegacy]

3 hours ago, 21isSuperman said:

No point in bringing him back here.  He wasn't that great for us as an OLB.  You can blame that on scheme fit, blame it on coaches, whatever you want.  Bottom line is we tried having Freeney in our defense and it didn't pan out.  No point in trying the same thing again.

It didn't pan out because the Colts used him improperly. He's in a base 3-4 defense in Arizona doing fine because they are usingly him sparringly and at the right time. If the Colts had done the same he would have been successful here as well.

[Gavin]

The thing I think about Freeney is that he still has the acceleration off the snap. He still has the power, His spin move obviously is as dangerous as it was 14 years ago. He still has all of what he had 14 years ago...He just don't have the stamina to do it every down

[lollygagger8]

Freeney at his age is still better than Werner. 

 

Sigh. 

[Nesjan3]

^what he sayd

[21isSuperman]

21 hours ago, ColtsLegacy said:

It didn't pan out because the Colts used him improperly. He's in a base 3-4 defense in Arizona doing fine because they are usingly him sparringly and at the right time. If the Colts had done the same he would have been successful here as well.

 

I agree that the coaching staff didn't utilize him properly.  I think he still has some physical abilities left, but the staff didn't take advantage of those.  But that leads to the original problem: if we tried using Freeney in our defense once, why try it again when it failed the first time?  We have the same head coach and defensive coordinator, so it's not like we have new coaches that would be able to use him better

[ColtsLegacy]

47 minutes ago, 21isSuperman said:

 

I agree that the coaching staff didn't utilize him properly.  I think he still has some physical abilities left, but the staff didn't take advantage of those.  But that leads to the original problem: if we tried using Freeney in our defense once, why try it again when it failed the first time?  We have the same head coach and defensive coordinator, so it's not like we have new coaches that would be able to use him better

Because they have the ability to learn and adapt. If we know how Freeney can be used effectively, they likely do too.

 

Plus, he was our 16m/yr starter last time he was here. If he returned, he'd be at best #4. So by default, he'd be in a better role now.

[MCurtis32]

Superman is right. our present GM and company have a definite lack of spotting talent. Hey, they have picked some good individuals, but at this level, they are all good. Trying to make a football player out of a rugby star is ridiculous. Where is Geathers? Is he hurt? Or, does he not fit in our scheme, if not, why draft him? I would not be surprised if the offseason fix for the o-line is getting Linkinback back from the Dolphins bench. 

[Jules]

It's water under the bridge now.

 

Love to see him doing well with the Cardinals though. I love watching that team anyway. Some ex Colts action lol.

[2006Coltsbestever]

I really don't blame us for moving on from Freeney, he was so injury prone his last 2 seasons here. Glad he is playing well in Zona though. He is one of my favorites. I always called him the CLOSER back when I posted at ESPN. Peyton started and he closed it with a key sack or big play on D.

[chrisfarley]

Think about how much he was getting paid when he left.  Then think about what he would have had to sign here for.  I don't think he would want to have a salary flame-out in the same city he banked.  And since there were some hard feelings, it would be giving in to the same organization that decided you were not worth the $$$.

[akcolt]

On December 17, 2015 at 5:47 PM, NBColtsFanatic said:

Holy moly 51??. Bill Polians having an effect throughout the league with his drafted players lol. Unfortunately some of the best players on the colts aren't even grigsons/AC, mcafee, mathis

There are only 5 players on the team that aren't Grigs the three you named add Reitz and Adam. He had to remake the entire roster. It would make sense that they are better players. Why else would you keep them around? 

I'm not sure Mathis is still in the best player catogery. His job is to get to the QB. He needs to be replaced or decide to have more kids 

[akcolt]

On December 17, 2015 at 5:59 PM, cmgww said:

 

Yep. He reached his end here, but he did have some good draft picks. Bethea still playing solid ball for a terrible SF team as well. 

That's an interesting perspective on still playing solid ball Bethea has been on the IR since week 7. 

[SteelDragon]

4 sacks is a good season now? 

[cmgww]

4 hours ago, akcolt said:

That's an interesting perspective on still playing solid ball Bethea has been on the IR since week 7. 

 

Well, I meant it more in general terms, had a solid season last year. Not saying he is a world beater, and he's slowing a bit (he was his last few years in Indy) but I always thought he was a cornerstone type guy. Made the Pro Bowl twice, so he wasn't a slouch. He probably would have been much better playing in Pagano's scheme his whole career, bc under Dungy he had to make a LOT of tackles due to smaller LBs and DL and runners getting to the secondary more often. 

Sorry I don't keep up on all things 49ers....

[cmgww]

3 hours ago, SteelDragon said:

4 sacks is a good season now? 

 

He has only played in 8 games for AZ, and has been pretty disruptive...more so than our edge rushers. Mathis is close to done, IMO, which I hate. I agree with Superman that he wasn't used properly under Pagano. My only point is, he still obviously has some gas left in the tank.