The Indianapolis Colts Linebackers

[BlueShoe]

Having a great quarterback (and protecting him) is the most important ingredient to being successful. The next best ingredient is to apply pressure on the opposing quarterback. 

 

The tables below really puts things into perspective.

 

Inside linebackers the Colts have drafted over the past 7 years:

 

http://footballdungeon.com/indianapolis-colts/

 

Year	OVR	RD	Player	Position	College	Rank
2017	161	5	Anthony Walker Jr.	ILB	Northwestern	141
2016	125	4	Antonio Morrison	ILB	Florida	129
2015	207	6	Amarlo Herrera	ILB	Georgia	260
2014	203	6	Andrew Jackson	ILB	Western Kentucky	194
2010	63	2	Pat Angerer	ILB	Iowa	101

 

Edge rushers the Colts have drafted over the past 7 years:

 

Year	OVR	RD	Player	Position	College	Rank
2017	80	3	Tarell Basham	EDGE	Ohio	76
2016	239	7	Trevor Bates	EDGE	Maine	298
2014	166	5	Jonathan Newsome	EDGE	Ball State	170
2013	24	1	Bjoern Werner	EDGE	Florida State	25
2012	214	7	Tim Fugger	EDGE	Vanderbilt	255
2010	31	1	Jerry Hughes	EDGE	TCU	35

 

We traded away the only player we actually hit on (Jerry Hughes). 

 

It's too soon to know much about Anthony Walker or Tarell Basham, but our last 7 years of drafting linebackers is absolutely horrid!

 

[DougDew]

We had Mathis at EDGE for a lot of those years so the need for a high draft pick wasn't there, and recent drafts really haven't aligned talent with our draft position. 

 

But as far as ILB, I don't think we know what we're doing.

[BlueShoe]

36 minutes ago, DougDew said:

We had Mathis at EDGE for a lot of those years so the need for a high draft pick wasn't there, and recent drafts really haven't aligned talent with our draft position. 

 

But as far as ILB, I don't think we know what we're doing.

 

I cannot give the Colts a pass because of Robert Mathis. He was getting old in 2010, and we needed to replace both him and Freeney. Mathis had a couple of good years left, but we needed to find replacements. Everybody on the boards knew it. We have failed to replace either of them, and we have had 7 years to accomplish the task.

 

I don't think the Colts have had any idea what to do at linebacker, ever since Clay Matthews was taken out from underneath us. 

[DougDew]

1 minute ago, BlueShoe said:

 

I cannot give the Colts a pass because of Robert Mathis. He was getting old in 2010, and we knew we needed to replace both him and Freeney. Everybody on the boards knew it. We have failed to replace either of them, and we have had 7 years to accomplish the task.

 

I don't think the Colts have had any idea what to do at linebacker, ever since Clay Matthews was taking out from underneath us. 

I guess the draft after Werner I see as the need to give Werner a chance.  If you draft another EDGE high after you drafted Werner, then you're giving up on Werner.  Maybe we should have, but I can see the logic in not investing back to back high draft picks, especially when the other OLB is more of a SAM and not a rusher. 

 

ILB we have never drafted very highly, and Angerer was a Tampa 2 guy to begin with. 

[BlueShoe]

8 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I guess the draft after Werner I see as the need to give Werner a chance.  If you draft another EDGE high after you drafted Werner, then you're giving up on Werner.  Maybe we should have, but I can see the logic in not investing back to back high draft picks, especially when the other OLB is more of a SAM and not a rusher. 

 

ILB we have never drafted very highly, and Angerer was a Tampa 2 guy to begin with. 

 

I liked Angerer, and even met him once. He was excited about playing in the 3-4, and I think he would have played inside well (a lot better than others following him). 

 

I don't believe you ever stop looking for EDGE rushers. Look at Denver. They have Von Miller, and they're still drafting pass rushers. That's why they play great defense. 

 

I am not going to give the Colts front office(s) any passes on this. They have failed. 

[DougDew]

Just now, BlueShoe said:

 

I liked Angerer, and even met him once. He was excited about playing in the 3-4, and I think he would have played inside well (a lot better than others following him). 

 

I don't think you ever stop looking for EDGE rushers. Look at Denver. They have Von Miller, and they're still drafting pass rushers. That's why they play great defense. 

 

I am not going to give the Colts front office(s) any passes on this. They have failed. 

No passes either, but others will put up the same investment in OL.  I'd put up the same problem with our drafting of WRs, nobody to complement TY.

 

Me thinks we will be drafting LBs this spring.

[BlueShoe]

2 minutes ago, DougDew said:

No passes either, but others will put up the same investment in OL.  I'd put up the same problem with our drafting of WRs, nobody to complement TY.

 

Me thinks we will be drafting LBs this spring.

 

I agree.

 

In my mind, a GM must put the majority of his resources into protecting the quarterback and hitting the opposing quarterback. I wouldn't blame Ballard if he spent every pick for the next 3 seasons on drafting nothing but offensive linemen and pass rushers. If we can block for Andrew and frustrate the opposing quarterback then we will win a lot of games. 

 

That might seem a little extreme, but it is true, nonetheless. 

[Nesjan3]

43 minutes ago, BlueShoe said:

Having a great quarterback (and protecting him) is the most important ingredient to being successful. The next best ingredient is to apply pressure on the opposing quarterback. 

 

The tables below really puts things into perspective.

 

Inside linebackers the Colts have drafted over the past 7 years:

 

http://footballdungeon.com/indianapolis-colts/

 

Year	OVR	RD	Player	Position	College	Rank
2017	161	5	Anthony Walker Jr.	ILB	Northwestern	141
2016	125	4	Antonio Morrison	ILB	Florida	129
2015	207	6	Amarlo Herrera	ILB	Georgia	260
2014	203	6	Andrew Jackson	ILB	Western Kentucky	194
2010	63	2	Pat Angerer	ILB	Iowa	101

 

Edge rushers the Colts have drafted over the past 7 years:

 

Year	OVR	RD	Player	Position	College	Rank
2017	80	3	Tarell Basham	EDGE	Ohio	76
2016	239	7	Trevor Bates	EDGE	Maine	298
2014	166	5	Jonathan Newsome	EDGE	Ball State	170
2013	24	1	Bjoern Werner	EDGE	Florida State	25
2012	214	7	Tim Fugger	EDGE	Vanderbilt	255
2010	31	1	Jerry Hughes	EDGE	TCU	35

 

We traded away the only player we actually hit on (Jerry Hughes). 

 

It's too soon to know much about Anthony Walker or Tarell Basham, but our last  7 years of drafting linebackers is absolutely horrid!

 

Ugh yeah looking at these charts we have not had much success drafting linebackers at all.  Hopefully Ballard can turn this pattern around.

[superrep1967]

1 hour ago, DougDew said:

We had Mathis at EDGE for a lot of those years so the need for a high draft pick wasn't there, and recent drafts really haven't aligned talent with our draft position. 

 

But as far as ILB, I don't think we know what we're doing.

We drafted Werner in the 1st round

[Smonroe]

56 minutes ago, BlueShoe said:

 

I agree.

 

In my mind, a GM must put the majority of his resources into protecting the quarterback and hitting the opposing quarterback. I wouldn't blame Ballard if he spent every pick for the next 3 seasons on drafting nothing but offensive linemen and pass rushers. If we can block for Andrew and frustrate the opposing quarterback then we will win a lot of games. 

 

That might seem a little extreme, but it is true, nonetheless. 

 

Thats not extreme, that’s common football sense.   Not saying it’s easy to find those guys, but a smart GM wouldn’t stop trying.  

[Four2itus]

We really have not valued the LB position in Indy for decades. The Steelers, Pats, and Ravens have taken a different tack. 

[Two_pound]

Exactly, Four2itus, and why is that, we have been drafting db's instead of front 7 players four years. And I will repeat it again, it doesn't matter who is in your secondary if your front 7 can't stop the run or get to the passer. Now we did a lot better job stopping the run this year than recent years. And that was mostly because of Hankins, Woods, Anderson, Ridgeway, even Hunt played half decent this year. Just no pressure on the qb. Does anyone realize Walden had 11.5 sacks last year and Sheard only managed 4.5 this year. Time to cut him, he go back to where he came from.

[OLD FAN MAN]

2 hours ago, BlueShoe said:

 

I agree.

 

In my mind, a GM must put the majority of his resources into protecting the quarterback and hitting the opposing quarterback. I wouldn't blame Ballard if he spent every pick for the next 3 seasons on drafting nothing but offensive linemen and pass rushers. If we can block for Andrew and frustrate the opposing quarterback then we will win a lot of games. 

 

That might seem a little extreme, but it is true, nonetheless. 

i concur

[LockeDown]

With the 3rd pick, if Ballard truly grabs best available, it will be hard not to pick Barkley after what I just saw in their bowl game.  I am all in on Chub or Key, but that RB is everything they say.  You felt like he could win the game anytime he wanted. 

[OLD FAN MAN]

1 hour ago, Smonroe said:

 

Thats not extreme, that’s common football sense.   Not saying it’s easy to find those guys, but a smart GM wouldn’t stop trying.  

hard to find 3-4 linebackers i agree

[#12.]

57 minutes ago, LockeDown said:

With the 3rd pick, if Ballard truly grabs best available, it will be hard not to pick Barkley after what I just saw in their bowl game.  I am all in on Chub or Key, but that RB is everything they say.  You felt like he could win the game anytime he wanted. 

 

Imagine what a good OC like McDaniels could do with Barkley(and Mack).  You want to talk about having to defend every blade of grass.  

[Jaredfor3]

If we keep the third pick, I am fine with DE/LB Bradley Chubb or RB Saquon Barkley. 

[Jdubu]

11 hours ago, LockeDown said:

With the 3rd pick, if Ballard truly grabs best available, it will be hard not to pick Barkley after what I just saw in their bowl game.  I am all in on Chub or Key, but that RB is everything they say.  You felt like he could win the game anytime he wanted. 

The one standout thing I can say about Barkley is he didn’t have to play in this game but he wanted to play in this game and help his team. He risked injury and draft position (money) to play the game and play hard. That’s a trait that gets overlooked these days with athletes playing it safe in their last year and especially in the last game knowing he is a top draft pick already. It’s just hard to justify picking a RB at #3 when there is equal talent at the other positions we really need as well. DE/LB, OT, G. Let’s hope some WR’s come into the combine and a few more QB’s make a push towards the top of the draft and maybe we can move back 2-5 spots and still get a huge difference maker plus more picks.  

[LockeDown]

2 hours ago, Jdubu said:

The one standout thing I can say about Barkley is he didn’t have to play in this game but he wanted to play in this game and help his team. He risked injury and draft position (money) to play the game and play hard. That’s a trait that gets overlooked these days with athletes playing it safe in their last year and especially in the last game knowing he is a top draft pick already. It’s just hard to justify picking a RB at #3 when there is equal talent at the other positions we really need as well. DE/LB, OT, G. Let’s hope some WR’s come into the combine and a few more QB’s make a push towards the top of the draft and maybe we can move back 2-5 spots and still get a huge difference maker plus more picks.  

Totally agree.