We need to stop saying these contracts are ridiculous...

[IndyScribe]

Just now, richard pallo said:

IMO no one on our team has claimed the RT spot.  It's wide open.  James is a 4yr starter at RT after being a no.1 pick.  He will get a much larger contract in FA.  Tackles get paid more than guards.  IMO this is an easy plug and play player and we have three spots fixed on the OL.  I'm sure Ballard will find a guard in FA that is better than any player we currently have.  James can be acquired for a pick and that would be a great start and we avoid going after him in FA.  The way this FA is going the longer we wait someone else might come in and trade for him.  It's a gamble.  

James isn't a number one pick. He's a first-round pick. Just because James is a 4 year starter doesn't mean he's good. I think Ballard would rather keep his picks than spend it on someone that is, at best, a small upgrade. You don't need good players at every position. Fix the guard positions and any player we have at RT now would work.

[richard pallo]

3 minutes ago, IndyScribe said:

James isn't a number one pick. He's a first-round pick. Just because James is a 4 year starter doesn't mean he's good. I think Ballard would rather keep his picks than spend it on someone that is, at best, a small upgrade. You don't need good players at every position. Fix the guard positions and any player we have at RT now would work.

He was a no.1 pick for Miami. Not the draft. I thought that was obvious. IMO, and I would think in most peoples minds, if you're a 4yr. starter your'e good and you must be doing something right or they replace you. Exercising his 5th. year option says they think your'e good. He's a major upgrade over Clark, Haag and Good.  If any pick is a crapshoot and they all are, mid round picks and further back are at the top of the list.  Just ask Banner and Clark who was a third and Green who was a second.  I'm suggesting mid round not the first three.  I'll take a proven young starter for one of those picks any day.  In case you haven't noticed a lot of proven talented starters were traded this year for mid round picks.  It happens all the time.  

[chad72]

4 years $32 mil. for Trey Burton from the Bears IS ridiculous!!!  

 

Some contracts ARE definitely ridiculous, IMO.

[Mr.NotSoCreative]

2 hours ago, Bizarro Superman said:

THIS IS WHAT I'M SAYIN TOO!  ALL THE GM'S IN INDY AND NEW YORK AND SAN FRANCISCO LOSE NORWELL TO THE JAGS!  NOT EVEN A FINALIST!! WHAT A BUNCH OF NINCOMPOOPS!!  ONE THING IS FOR SURE, YOU KNOW HOW TO RUN A FOOTBALL TEAM.  WHEN YOU STAY UP ALL NIGHT WORKING, YOU GET YO MAYNE!!

Type louder please

[WoolMagnet]

3 hours ago, Indeee said:

Look, the "OLD SCHOOL" debate on over-paying vs. not over-paying vs. position is irrelevant in 2018.

 

When it comes to the "TOP TALENT" teams WILL have to pay big to get them, especially when the cap number continues to go up every year giving teams more money to spend.

 

The notion of "Norwell's Contract" as example, being horrible as he is over paid for a Guard is stupid. He's the best Guard, was the best Guard on the market and now-a-days you have to pay for talent. The colts did not.

 

It's the second tier contracts, where players get over paid by desperate teams who were cautious with the "TOP" talent guys that are normally terrible contracts.

 

Enter the Colts here.... Have the money but go after 2nd tier guys. In Norwell's case I really don't fault the Colts as it has just as much to do about geographically playing as well as the contract. Norwell has a huge TAX free bracket down there in FLA now to go along with that contract

 

Please everybody, stop this notion of "money ratio" vs. position. If you want the top talent, in today's NFL you gotta pay for it.

You are right, we should start saying these POSTS are ridiculous.

[OffensivelyPC]

3 hours ago, Shadow_Creek said:

or maybe all 3 GMs felt it was insane to pay over 66 Million to someone who might not even pan out in the next couple of years so maybe there the smart ones

SARCASM BRUH.  NOT 100% A JOKE OR SERIOUS  ITS BASICALLY THE BUTT CRACK BETWEEN SERIOUSNESS AND JOKE.  GET IN THE BUTT CRACK WITH EVERYONE ELSE WHO GOT IT.

3 hours ago, Trueman said:

 

Is this another one of those times where I’m supposed to respect everyone’s opinion?

UHH.  IT'S RESPECK.  DUH

1 hour ago, Mr.NotSoCreative said:

Type louder please

rIGHT?  hELPS. dRIVE.  tHE.  pOINT.  hOME.  

[Coffeedrinker]

Like many on this forum, I have been watching the NFL for a long time and I have also been deeply interested in the offseason for a long time.  And in that time I have noticed some truths:

 

1.  The salary cap has never prevented a team from signing or retaining a player they really wanted to have on their roster.  The salary cap does not correlate to real numbers that players are paid, meaning the money paid to a player can be manipulated to fit within the cap.  A local example of this is when the Colts signed Corey Simon.  At the time the Colts had like 1.5 or 2 million in cap space and a lot of fans thought the Colts could not sign him because they didn't have the cap room.  The fans were wrong and the Colts signed him.  And that kind of leads to point #2.

 

2.  All teams want to win.  Every coach and GM and owner wants to win the Superbowl.  Teams are not going to let a player walk if they think that player is a better long term solution than anyone else out there.  If a team lets a player walk there is usually a reason, it may be attitude, it may be health, it may be some other undisclosed reason.  The people that know him best do not think he's worth a contract.  That should tell everyone something.

 

3.  Rarely have the most sought after free agents become superstars with their new team.  Actually, rarely have the most sought after FAs become better with their new team than they were with the previous team.  Corey Simon mentioned above is an example.  The only FA I can think of that has been everything the team hoped is Drew Brees and, if I remember correctly, he was not that sought after because of that horrendous shoulder injury.

 

4.  Fans used to get so upset when Polain was quiet on the first few days of Free agency.  History has proven Polian was correct and the fans were usually wrong.

 

5.  It's just football it's supposed to be enjoyed and fun.  If you get stressed about what is or is not happening during the NFL offseason then I would say you have issues.

[OffensivelyPC]

14 minutes ago, Bizarro Superman said:

SARCASM BRUH.  NOT 100% A JOKE OR SERIOUS  ITS BASICALLY THE BUTT CRACK BETWEEN SERIOUSNESS AND JOKE.  GET IN THE BUTT CRACK WITH EVERYONE ELSE WHO GOT IT.

UHH.  IT'S RESPECK.  DUH

rIGHT?  hELPS. dRIVE.  tHE.  pOINT.  hOME.  

This dude....LOL

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 minutes ago, OffensivelyPC said:

This dude....LOL

Hey it's entertaining

[OffensivelyPC]

Just now, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Hey it's entertaining

I don't think I've ever seen him before.  Hope he's always this funny.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Just now, OffensivelyPC said:

I don't think I've ever seen him before.  Hope he's always this funny.

I haven't either but he is funny  

[OffensivelyPC]

Just now, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I haven't either but he is funny  

Do you rememebr that one guy from the ESPN chats?  rootpench or something?  That guy was always good for a laugh too.  Obviously it was for a different reason than actually being funny, but still.  And he'd always come back for more too.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Just now, OffensivelyPC said:

Do you rememebr that one guy from the ESPN chats?  rootpench or something?  That guy was always good for a laugh too.  Obviously it was for a different reason than actually being funny, but still.  And he'd always come back for more too.

That name does sound familiar. There were so many funny characters there it was hard to keep up with everyone. I do remember him actually. That was when ESPN had like 5000 Posters on a Game Day Thread. You never knew who would Post or say what.

[Fisticuffs111]

37 minutes ago, Coffeedrinker said:

If you get stressed about what is or is not happening during the NFL offseason then I would say you have issues.

I get what you're saying but that's fandom, people do it differently.

 

The offseason, especially FA and the draft, always brings out the excitement in people. Plus we're coming off a 4-12 season, so that probably adds to the desperation/intensity for some.

[Str8himalaya]

2 hours ago, dgambill said:

Thank you! Perfectly said. If you think paying guys like Hitchens the same money as guys like Luke Keuchley and Watkins the same as Julio Jones and Norwell the same as Joe Thomas then well your signing second tier guys to first tier money....and that is what happens in FA. You are overpaying no matter how good you think these free agents are and that isn't sustainable when your trying to build a team. We've watched teams like Washington and Oakland and Dallas in the past try to buy their way to a championship...heck Philly did it about 10 years ago remember the "Dream Team" they put together? If you have the right nucleus around that you can add some key free agents sure you can go after some of these guys but we aren't close to that position....we are a 4-12 team...and we need to behave like it...and build this team back up with the draft. Not only are there a lot of unrealistic expectations set for who we should get but I think there are a lot of unrealistic expectations on how fast this gets turned around. It took us how many years of Grigson to get into this mess. I don't think it is too much to expect it might take 3 or 4 years to get us out of it.

This is the hardest pill to swallow, IMO. Sure don't overpay, but that means minimal talent upgrades year after year. The hard part is watching Luck come back and still going 8-8 and continuing to waste a franchise QB's prime. It's unfortunate, but I think you're right. It's going to be a pretty rough next year or two unless we get very lucky in the draft.

[NorthernBlue]

I know I'm not supposed to say an insult but some of y'all are really dumb  

 

Relax. FA barely started and in case you haven't noticed, Indy isn't exactly a prime FA destination 

[dgambill]

1 minute ago, Str8himalaya said:

This is the hardest pill to swallow, IMO. Sure don't overpay, but that means minimal talent upgrades year after year. The hard part is watching Luck come back and still going 8-8 and continuing to waste a franchise QB's prime. It's unfortunate, but I think you're right. It's going to be a pretty rough next year or two unless we get very lucky in the draft.

Yeah. Drafting well is the only way to build a team everyone here wants. This free agency thing is nice but to fill in a hole or two like your seeing say Jacksonville or Philly doing..when your window is open and you have a shot at a SB. We tried that under Grigson and it failed miserably....and the bad drafting set us back several years. It's tough to swallow...and in a world of instant gratification people want results now...and you can get those....for a short period but in the long haul it won't be sustainable and we will be in an even bigger mess. Ballard is trying to do the right thing. If he drafts well his plan will really come into focus in a couple years...and Luck will have plenty of prime years ahead of him. A qb's prime is like almost 15 years long now....we need to do this right. It aint fun but its the right way to do it. Look at the Houston Astros...they drafted well....went through some terribly tough years with a bunch of youngsters but now they are built for the next 5 years at least. We just are taking our lumps now but we should come out of this soon. I don't want to just go crazy and try to turn this team into a SB caliber team overnight...it likely won't work and it will be a shell of itself in a couple years and we start over. We've started down this road of good young guys and focusing on the future...Ballard isn't about to overreact and throw all his hard work out the window now.

[OffensivelyPC]

10 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

That name does sound familiar. There were so many funny characters there it was hard to keep up with everyone. I do remember him actually. That was when ESPN had like 5000 Posters on a Game Day Thread. You never knew who would Post or say what.

Lol, yeah man, I do miss those chats from time to time.  On the bright side, I do get more work done because of it lol.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Just now, OffensivelyPC said:

Lol, yeah man, I do miss those chats from time to time.  On the bright side, I do get more work done because of it lol.

Yeah the 2012 Season we had to give the Luck haters an education. Man did I get into it with some RG3 lovers. They were hounding me . The good ol times. I remember during that 2012 Season, you and I and about 4 or 5 other Posters always Posted after games. Like a Post game breakdown, it was fun because we went 11-5.

[OffensivelyPC]

3 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yeah the 2012 Season we had to give the Luck haters an education. Man did I get into it with some RG3 lovers. They were hounding me . The good ol times. I remember during that 2012 Season, you and I and about 4 or 5 other Posters always Posted after games. Like a Post game breakdown, it was fun because we went 11-5.

And they killed off the chat before we had a chance to rub it into the Redskin fans faces how much RGIII sucked.  LOL was so bummed about that.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, OffensivelyPC said:

And they killed off the chat before we had a chance to rub it into the Redskin fans faces how much RGIII sucked.  LOL was so bummed about that.

I know, me too. I thought the same thing . I was like damn it, they kill off the chat when Luck is still Good and RG3 stinks. As rookies they were close so we had to put up with their nonsense.

[Trueman]

2 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I know, me too. I thought the same thing . I was like damn it, they kill off the chat when Luck is still Good and RG3 stinks. As rookies they were close so we had to put up with their nonsense.

 

Meh, I don’t even think they were close as rookies.

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 minutes ago, Trueman said:

 

Meh, I don’t even think they were close as rookies.

Oh I still think Luck was better but RG3 had a Good rookie season. You should've seen some of the chats I had with RG3 fans. They would just invade Colts Threads anytime Luck played bad. It was funny.

[Trueman]

2 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Oh I still think Luck was better but RG3 had a Good rookie season. You should've seen some of the chats I had with RG3 fans. They would just invade Colts Threads anytime Luck played bad. It was funny.

 

Oh yeah, believe me I remember. From Skip Bayless to my roommate, there were tons of people convinced RG3 was better. 

 

Stats are a hell of a drug.

[OffensivelyPC]

4 minutes ago, Trueman said:

 

Meh, I don’t even think they were close as rookies.

To a fan of a team that just had a decade and a half of the best QB to ever play the game, we could see why RGIII was better.  To the fans of a team that wanted a franchise QB so bad that they ignored the telltale signs, Luck and RGIII were equally as good at least.

[superrep1967]

5 hours ago, Indeee said:

Look, the "OLD SCHOOL" debate on over-paying vs. not over-paying vs. position is irrelevant in 2018.

 

When it comes to the "TOP TALENT" teams WILL have to pay big to get them, especially when the cap number continues to go up every year giving teams more money to spend.

 

The notion of "Norwell's Contract" as example, being horrible as he is over paid for a Guard is stupid. He's the best Guard, was the best Guard on the market and now-a-days you have to pay for talent. The colts did not.

 

It's the second tier contracts, where players get over paid by desperate teams who were cautious with the "TOP" talent guys that are normally terrible contracts.

 

Enter the Colts here.... Have the money but go after 2nd tier guys. In Norwell's case I really don't fault the Colts as it has just as much to do about geographically playing as well as the contract. Norwell has a huge TAX free bracket down there in FLA now to go along with that contract

 

Please everybody, stop this notion of "money ratio" vs. position. If you want the top talent, in today's NFL you gotta pay for it.

Yes, I agree the Colts are doing themselves a disservice by being frugal and it's going to cost them more in the long run. I mean it's not Ballard fault we missed bigtime in two whole drafts but the colts are going to have to spend money to make up for it and they are not doing that. Ballard keeps saying it's risky to spend in free agency and that I agree with but it's risky in the draft too so I don't get it.   

[2006Coltsbestever]

5 minutes ago, OffensivelyPC said:

To a fan of a team that just had a decade and a half of the best QB to ever play the game, we could see why RGIII was better.  To the fans of a team that wanted a franchise QB so bad that they ignored the telltale signs, Luck and RGIII were equally as good at least.

Yeah I wish RG3 could've stayed healthy, once he got injured he was toast. I think Luck was smart taking last season off and will come back better than ever. Luck still has his legs and that is where your power comes from when Throwing and Pitching. As long as his shoulder isn't severely damaged he should be Good to Great again.

[Trueman]

7 minutes ago, OffensivelyPC said:

To a fan of a team that just had a decade and a half of the best QB to ever play the game, we could see why RGIII was better.  To the fans of a team that wanted a franchise QB so bad that they ignored the telltale signs, Luck and RGIII were equally as good at least.

 

I thought Luck’s rookie season was one of the most impressive I’ve seen. I wasn’t thinking of Peyton.

 

I was thinking, “ how the hell are we winning games with this roster and a rookie quarterback with this much responsibility ”. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, Trueman said:

 

I thought Luck’s rookie season was one of the most impressive I’ve seen. I wasn’t thinking of Peyton.

 

I was thinking, “ how the hell are we winning games with this roster and a rookie quarterback”. 

Yeah the comebacks we had that season just had me in awe. Still my 3rd favorite season ever only behind 2006 and 1995.

[Trueman]

2 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yeah I wish RG3 could've stayed healthy, once he got injured he was toast. I think Luck was smart taking last season off and will come back better than ever. Luck still has legs and that is where your power comes from when throwing and Pitching. As long as his shoulder isn't severely damaged he should be Good to Great again.

 

Eh, even if healthy I don’t think he would’ve been elite.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Just now, Trueman said:

 

Eh, even if healthy I don’t think he would’ve been elite.

I don't either but I just hate to see anyone get injured like that.

[OffensivelyPC]

4 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yeah I wish RG3 could've stayed healthy, once he got injured he was toast. I think Luck was smart taking last season off and will come back better than ever. Luck still has his legs and that is where your power comes from when Throwing and Pitching. As long as his shoulder isn't severely damaged he should be Good to Great again.

Yeah, as far as I'm concerned, he'll be just fine.  Even if he isn't as effective, he should still be a very good QB.

4 minutes ago, Trueman said:

 

I thought Luck’s rookie season was one of the most impressive I’ve seen. I wasn’t thinking of Peyton.

 

I was thinking, “ how the hell are we winning games with this roster and a rookie quarterback with this much responsibility ”. 

I merely meant we were accustomed to a higher level of QB play.  Even though Luck and Peyton aren't the same QB, we know a good QB when we see one, or at least what it takes to be a QB with a sustainable career.  Redskins fans were looking for anything to justify why RGIII had staying power.

[Trueman]

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I don't either but I just hate to see anyone get injured like that.

 

Fair point. He’s still trying to play , so you never know. It’s a weird league sometimes.

[Trueman]

Just now, OffensivelyPC said:

Yeah, as far as I'm concerned, he'll be just fine.  Even if he isn't as effective, he should still be a very good QB.

I merely meant we were accustomed to a higher level of QB play.  Even though Luck and Peyton aren't the same QB, we know a good QB when we see one, or at least what it takes to be a QB with a sustainable career.  Redskins fans were looking for anything to justify why RGIII had staying power.

 

I know what you meant. I’m saying what Luck did that year as a rookie was right up there with the most impressive QB seasons I’ve seen. I was blown away.

[Goatface Killah]

4 hours ago, Tim Chewning said:

I would rather overpay a couple million and get the top guy you know will perform than get a couple middle of the road guys and have to go thru this again in a couple years

Yeah this isnt a bargain hunting contest to see who gets the most value for thier money.

 

Its a football game. And the team down in Jacksonville has been dishing out big contract, after big contract. And they have passed us up doing so.

 

Its a balance. If you need the player bad enough, hes worth it. Its about what he does for YOUR TEAM, not how good he is or what position he plays.

 

Last year if i suggested we go after Calais Campbell everyone wouldve said "too old" blah blah blah and he would have easily been our best defensive player last year.

 

 

[buccolts]

When they stop offering ridiculous contracts, I'll stop saying they're ridiculous contracts.

Not before. Sorry.

[Four2itus]

6 hours ago, Stoney said:

 Old timers that don't adapt... 

Get off my lawn.....

[buccolts]

25 minutes ago, Four2itus said:

Get off my lawn.....

 

Turn the music up.

[Colts_Fan12]

The contracts are only going to get higher people complaining about them have to understand they will never sign a top FA for a cheap deal 

[VaAllDay757]

Can't be cheap every season....gotta spend some big money eventually