Colts sign Matt Slauson

[jvan1973]

2 hours ago, needanoline63 said:

A desperate signing. Hoping we draft Quenton Nelson 

In what way is it desperate??

[jskinnz]

4 hours ago, CR91 said:

Interesting. Not really a CB move, but here's hoping he still has something left in the tank. If we resign mewhort now, that all but takes nelson off the table

 

Oh my heavens...

 

It does no such thing.  

[Southside Hoosier Fan]

My guess is that this is insurance in case Nelson is not available at pick 6.

[Hoose]

Nelson is very much in play. I think they'll get him if he's their guy. And I'm praying they do, because they DESPERATELY need talent in the O-line. If Slauson can hold his own for a year or two, this is a good signing, because when you're starting a guy like Vuj, times are tough and the talent is razor thin.  Make no mistake though: the Colts will have to invest some serious $ in this O--line to get it where it needs to be. Looks like that will be another year before that happens. So be it. 

[CR91]

13 minutes ago, jskinnz said:

 

Oh my heavens...

 

It does no such thing.  

 

You expect us to bench a top ten draft pick? Mewhort and slauson would start

[ColtsBlitz]

54 minutes ago, OffensivelyPC said:

But...but....we overpaid!!!

Preposterous!! Hogwash! Fiddlesticks!

[Freenyfan102]

30 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

In what way is it desperate??

he is 32 years of age and have been injured twice in the last 4 years

[a06cc]

We have to draft for the offensive line period. 

[throwing BBZ]

This puts us one step closer to never having to watch Slowhort again. Hallelujah!
And Desir, he and Morrison could make a real difference in our pursuit for the #1 draft pick. Start'em.

[Goatface Killah]

43 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

You expect us to bench a top ten draft pick? Mewhort and slauson would start

Bahahahahaha

 

Neither guy is beating out Nelson in camp.

 

Not a chance.

[Defjamz26]

These aren’t 1-year prove it deals. These are moves made to buy time until the next draft. With Slauson, you don’t necessarily need 2 guards in the draft now. Or you at least don’t need 2 starters at OG. You can have a developmental guy who sits for a year. This is a smart signing.

[Trueman]

Figured Ballard would have to go older than his typical free agent signings to get an OL. 

 

The contracts are ridiculous and really only one player is (arguably) worth it. Jensen being the highest paid center in the league now, says it all.

 

Slauson was pretty solid for a while. Here’s hoping we can get another year out of him. 

[Jason_]

5 hours ago, CR91 said:

 

Who's starting then?

 

They'll  work that out in TC. What does that matter? 

[GoColts8818]

For all those who don’t like Vujnovich do you think Slauson is an upgrade over him?  If the answer is use he’s upgrade to the starting line from last year.  Does that mean he’s going to be an all pro?  No probably not but it’s still an upgrade.

[oldunclemark]

8 hours ago, TKnight24 said:

 

He's solid..He was good for the Bears before he got hurt..

......3 veteran pickups on offense......

 

Don't believe anyone (even the GM) who says we're 'rebuilding' 

No team with a healthy Andrew Luck is rebuilding, in my opinion.

[oldunclemark]

3 hours ago, a06cc said:

We have to draft for the offensive line period. 

What you meant to say was: We have to acquire offensive linemen...by any means necessary.

With the cap space we have..a one or two year deal almost cant be a mistake.

 

 Worst case scenario: He gets hurt and we lose $3 mil...

...we have the money..He has 100 starts in the NFL

[oldunclemark]

3 hours ago, Hoose said:

Nelson is very much in play. I think they'll get him if he's their guy. And I'm praying they do, because they DESPERATELY need talent in the O-line. If Slauson can hold his own for a year or two, this is a good signing, because when you're starting a guy like Vuj, times are tough and the talent is razor thin.  Make no mistake though: the Colts will have to invest some serious $ in this O--line to get it where it needs to be. Looks like that will be another year before that happens. So be it. 

 

If '1'. '2' and ;3'; are QBs and '4' is Barkley..that leaves Denver...

They need O-line help but they signed Leary from Dallas at guard last year. They need tackles.

There is a lot of talk that Elway likes Baker Mayfield ( I think thats a mistake) but Vance Joseph coached hi in the Pro Bowl and Elway was at his 'pro day'    Denver probably isn't going to draft Chubb because they have ends and OLBs.

The problem comes if Denver trades down....I hope not...

Nelson would give us low some cost protection for Andrew for 4 years and we still have a lot of picks .

 

[oldunclemark]

8 hours ago, James said:

They couldn't land the other guards. But I reckon Slauson will be a solid short term solution. If we can draft a couple guards (Nelson, Hernandez, Price, Wynn) the oline should look better now and in the future. 

 

AC - Nelson - Kelly - Hernandez/Price/Wynn - Clark/Good/Haeg

Will Hernandez looks like he could move anyone and we could get him in round 2.

[stitches]

33 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

He's solid..He was good for the Bears before he got hurt..

......3 veteran pickups on offense......

 

Don't believe anyone (even the GM) who says we're 'rebuilding' 

No team with a healthy Andrew Luck is rebuilding, in my opinion.

This is oversimplification. If all you have is Andrew Luck, then yes, you are rebuilding. That doesn't mean you will go 1-15 next year, because Luck gives you a certain floor when healthy, but when you don't have long-term solutions to more than half of your roster, then yes - it is rebuilding whether you want to call it that or not. 

 

Every single thing Ballard has done so far emphasizes that we are in a rebuild. When do you go after the big free agents? When you think you are close and can compete. He pretty much punted on week 1 of free agency when all the overpriced FAs went and when asked about it said (direct quote) "we didn't feel like we are at a point to where we wanted to add some of the guys at the price that they were at". He traded our pick for multiple picks and he himself said "we need to replenish the young talent on the roster". What is that a sign of? A rebuild. So yeah... it is a rebuild. 

[oldunclemark]

7 minutes ago, stitches said:

This is oversimplification. If all you have is Andrew Luck, then yes, you are rebuilding. That doesn't mean you will go 1-15 next year, because Luck gives you a certain floor when healthy, but when you don't have long-term solutions to more than half of your roster, then yes - it is rebuilding whether you want to call it that or not. 

No team has longtern solutions to half its roster. That's not today's NFL

'Rebuilding', to me....suggests that the playoffs or division title is not a 'next year' goal.

Cleveland is rebuilding. 

We can both play with the words,. but we are division title contenders with Andrew Luck and we are acting like it.  ..having just signed 3 offensive players with 4 years or more experience.

 

This week, we did not sign long term solutions...We signed guys to make the playoffs and win the division this coming season..

Just look at who we signed

Edited March 21, 2018 by oldunclemark

[stitches]

40 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

No team has longtern solutions to half its roster. That's not today's NFL

'Rebuilding', to me....suggests that the playoffs or division title is not a goal.

We can both play with the words,. but we are division title contenders with Andrew Luck and we are acting like it.

..and we have just signed 3 offensive players with 4 years or more experience.

 

This week, we did not sign long term solutions...We signed guys to make the playoffs and win the division this coming season..

Just look at who we signed

We signed caretakers/prove it deals until we address half of those in this year's draft and the other half in next year's draft. This is because you cannot address everything in one off-season when you need starters for 3-Oline spots, 2 receivers, 1 RB, 1 TE.... 2 corners, 3 linebackers, 1 safety, 3tech, 1 EDGE...

 

If we were in a win now mode we would have splurged on free agents. We didn't. We got stop gaps and flyers on players with prove it deals at bargain short-term contracts.  

 

I think it's delusional if we think we are acting like we are division title contenders. We are acting precisely the opposite way - like a rebuilding team that's going to take at least 2 off-seasons to get where it wants to go. We are saving the capspace to roll it over for next year if most of our draft picks pan out and we look closer to competing. We are filling up the roster with bargain contracts and not overpaying for the top of the shelf talent even though we were top 3 team in capspace money entering free agency. Hell, we might even get a compensatory pick. This is not a team that is saying "we are going for it right now". 

 

And I don't mind it honestly. This is good calculation by Ballard and good assessment of his roster. He knows that he needs young talent and he knows that it will take time and doesn't go overspending for players without having a stable foundation for building a contender. 

[ThorstenDenmark]

7 hours ago, CopenhagenColt said:

It's not something that's got me popping champagne, and I had hoped for something a little "sexier" this offseason, but an in all, probably a decent addition to our O-line. 

He has experience, doesn't cost an arm and a leg and it's a short term deal.

du havde sku da heller ikke seriøst regnet med at ballard smed bomben for at signe en spiller i denne off season.

Han gør som han hele tiden har sagt, bygger holdet langsomt og sikkert op igennem draften og henter så de spillere der kan bruges som lappeløsninger i free agency for billige penge. sexy er ikke vejen frem i nfl, og det med at bruge hele banken på 5 spillere vinder man intet på.

[stitches]

 

[K-148]

Colts has to draft 2 OLs in Days 1&2. 2 OGs or OG&OT depends on how draft will go on. So the Colts have to have somebody at OG and OT to start. If the Colts will draft 2 OGs, Slauson to backup at OG, Haeg/Good to start at OT. If the Colts will draft OG&OT, Slauson to start at OG, Haeg/Good to backup at OT (or challenge Slauson for OG spot).

[JPFolks]

6 minutes ago, 1959Colts said:

I love all the posters who say...

"this player is no good" or "this player is great"...

When they probably have never even watched the guy play football.

 

I've seen him play quite a bit, but that's the past. The Chargers who know him best passed.  But more curious to me is this seems to completely contradict the philosophy of getting younger core players to compete long term.  If we're looking for short term older players, what is next Suh? We have plenty to spend. I am not advocating for it, just trying to understand the philosophy I guess. 

[jskinnz]

5 hours ago, CR91 said:

 

You expect us to bench a top ten draft pick? Mewhort and slauson would start

 

You've got damn near 15,000 posts, many of which have been in response to one of my posts. I would have thought you would have learned more by know.

 

1) There has been no reported interest in Mewhort but to the point, that does not matter.

 

2) If Mewhort does sign and Nelson is picked, they would start the best of those two.  Simple as that. Guessing that the probability that Nelson would be one of the two best players in that scenario is right around 100%.

 

3) To the larger point, signing a journeyman guard and an oft-injured Mewhort would not change their draft strategy at all.  If at the time of their pick Nelson is on the board and deemed to be their best option, they will take him 10 times out of of 10.  No one, Ballard or any other GM for that matter, passes on Nelson if he is highest player on the board because they signed Matt Slauson in free agency.

[jskinnz]

1 minute ago, JPFolks said:

I've seen him play quite a bit, but that's the past. The Chargers who know him best passed.  But more curious to me is this seems to completely contradict the philosophy of getting younger core players to compete long term.  If we're looking for short term older players, what is next Suh? We have plenty to spend. I am not advocating for it, just trying to understand the philosophy I guess. 

 

Really not all that difficult to understand.

 

Clearly this is a short-term signing.  The younger guys out there in free agency were either too expensive or Ballard thinks are not as good as Slauson.  So they sign him to a team friendly, short term deal.  In fact if after training camp Slauson is not what they thought, I would bet they can cut him without too much penalty.  

[lollygagger8]

He's light years better than Vujistomp. 

[JPFolks]

3 hours ago, jskinnz said:

 

Really not all that difficult to understand.

 

Clearly this is a short-term signing.  The younger guys out there in free agency were either too expensive or Ballard thinks are not as good as Slauson.  So they sign him to a team friendly, short term deal.  In fact if after training camp Slauson is not what they thought, I would bet they can cut him without too much penalty.  

Signing an old journeyman isn't the question... why is THIS guy so special that he's pulled a Grigson move and signed a broken down short term vet in contradiction to his stated philosophy and if this is the new policy, or was all along, then why not sign a better veteran WR for example (I don't count Ebron who couldn't get ball from one of the most prolific QBs in the league and he played bad enough to get booed by Lions fans... no small rebuke).  

[jvan1973]

11 hours ago, Freenyfan102 said:

he is 32 years of age and have been injured twice in the last 4 years

And?  It's still not a desperation move.  Troll on 

[jskinnz]

1 hour ago, JPFolks said:

Signing an old journeyman isn't the question... why is THIS guy so special that he's pulled a Grigson move and signed a broken down short term vet in contradiction to his stated philosophy and if this is the new policy, or was all along, then why not sign a better veteran WR for example (I don't count Ebron who couldn't get ball from one of the most prolific QBs in the league and he played bad enough to get booed by Lions fans... no small rebuke).  

 

As I stated above.

 

Clauson filled a need at a reasonable cost.  I would make an educated guess that the "better veteran WR" were deemed either not good enough, or too expensive or they really like some guys in the draft.

 

Signing one aging vet does not mean a break from overall philosophy.  They will be miles younger this year.

[Old Colt]

16 hours ago, MarquisJ said:

You guys happy now? Good sign CB 

he doesn't fit the youth movement and upgrades he has been pushing....  not much to see here...

[needanoline63]

11 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

In what way is it desperate??

Signing a 32yr old guard. I see this more as a backup signing. Draft Nelson!!!!!

[csmopar]

5 hours ago, jskinnz said:

 

You've got damn near 15,000 posts, many of which have been in response to one of my posts. I would have thought you would have learned more by know.

 

1) There has been no reported interest in Mewhort but to the point, that does not matter.

 

2) If Mewhort does sign and Nelson is picked, they would start the best of those two.  Simple as that. Guessing that the probability that Nelson would be one of the two best players in that scenario is right around 100%.

 

3) To the larger point, signing a journeyman guard and an oft-injured Mewhort would not change their draft strategy at all.  If at the time of their pick Nelson is on the board and deemed to be their best option, they will take him 10 times out of of 10.  No one, Ballard or any other GM for that matter, passes on Nelson if he is highest player on the board because they signed Matt Slauson in free agency.

I have to agree.  With all of our injury issues on the OL, I think DEPTH is going to be greatly needed.  Nothing about this signing, nor MeWhort's status is going to alter whether or not we draft Nelson.  I think Ballard is going to go BPA(best player available) and if that player happens to be Nelson, GREAT for Luck. Great for us. 

[csmopar]

Just now, needanoline63 said:

Signing a 32yr old guard. I see this more as a backup signing. Draft Nelson!!!!!

this signing doesn't stop us from doing that...

[mds]

1 hour ago, JPFolks said:

Signing an old journeyman isn't the question... why is THIS guy so special that he's pulled a Grigson move and signed a broken down short term vet in contradiction to his stated philosophy and if this is the new policy, or was all along, then why not sign a better veteran WR for example (I don't count Ebron who couldn't get ball from one of the most prolific QBs in the league and he played bad enough to get booed by Lions fans... no small rebuke).  

 

I don’t want to pretend to know anything. I only want to share plausible answers to the question. 

 

They know what type of person Slauson is in the locker room. He could be exactly what kind of mentor they are looking for. He could also be a stop gap for a long term solution - what if Billy Price is available for our 4th or 5th pick due to his injury? 

 

Similarly, Grant could be that kind of signing as well. Read about his character and leadership in the locker room and not just his reliable hands and crisp route running. 

 

The biggest potential thing this allows for is draft board flexibility. When guys fall, Ballard and company can go many different ways. It’s honestly the best case scenario they could hope for. 

[DraftMaster]

6 hours ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

du havde sku da heller ikke seriøst regnet med at ballard smed bomben for at signe en spiller i denne off season.

Han gør som han hele tiden har sagt, bygger holdet langsomt og sikkert op igennem draften og henter så de spillere der kan bruges som lappeløsninger i free agency for billige penge. sexy er ikke vejen frem i nfl, og det med at bruge hele banken på 5 spillere vinder man intet på.

Translation in Danish:

You would not have seriously counted on the fact that Ballard threw the bomb to sign a player in this off season. He does as he has always said, building the team slowly and safely through the draft and then picking up the players that can be used as lappings in the free agency for cheap money. sexy is not the way forward in nfl, and using the entire bank of 5 players does not win anything.

[Jason_]

11 hours ago, CR91 said:

 

You expect us to bench a top ten draft pick? Mewhort and slauson would start

 

Says who besides you? 

[throwing BBZ]

22 minutes ago, Old Colt said:

he doesn't fit the youth movement and upgrades he has been pushing....  not much to see here...

 

Actually he perfectly fits the youth movement. He is a Quality LG or C, a big upgrade to Vujo.
He fills a Huge hole for one year allowing time to add his replacement in next years FA or in the draft.
We are actually going to have a REAL Guard for the first time in many years. Whoppee.
No more of that sloth Slowhort who couldn't pull 2 holes away or successfully participate in any type of screen.
 The Full NFL playbook is back. yeehaa! 

[jvan1973]

34 minutes ago, needanoline63 said:

Signing a 32yr old guard. I see this more as a backup signing. Draft Nelson!!!!!

That doesn't sound like desperation at all