Colts sign Matt Slauson

[aaron11]

2 hours 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, 

desperation, basically

 

we had to make a move, and the other guys we were interested in signed elsewhere.

[aaron11]

12 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

In what way is it desperate??

because we had to sign a veteran guard this offseason and the first couple of guys we looked at went elsewhere 

[Trueman]

All the younger free agent OL have gotten outrageous deals so far. I’m sure if we could found a 26-27 year old and given him a 1 year deal (or a deal that’s easy to get out of after a year) we would have.

 

They weren’t on the market. So Ballard took the next best thing. He will not commit long term to average/old/unproven talent.

 

Slauson fills a need , and fits Ballard’s plan.

[richard pallo]

7 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

desperation, basically

 

we had to make a move, and the other guys we were interested in signed elsewhere.

True. The other guys went elsewhere and Mewhort hasn't been resigned so we go with last years lineup and a couple of rookies?  We have to bring in a veteran or two to shore up the line even if we are successful in getting some good prospects in the draft.  We had to.

[stitches]

2 hours 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).  

There are different types of FA signings. I see them as follows:

- potential long-term parts of the roster - those are the ones he's been signing on multi-year deals(Autry in this free agency class) They seem to be relatively young and entering their prime. 

- stop gaps - Slauson is the embodiment of a stop gap in this year's FA, he's a vet with more than 100 games starting as interior lineman in the league, a vet who knows what he's doing and has performed well when healthy. He gets a small (both years and money) deal. This has absolutely nothing in common with what Grigson's over the hill vet moves were(high $, multiple years). The stop gap gives you some baseline production and performance to help the rest of the team function normally. He will not be the reason you win games, but he will also let your team and players be functional and will give your young players a chance to develop in a realistic in-game environment.

- flyers/prove it deals - this is the Ebrons and Grants of the world - you take a chance on young players that seem to have potential, but for whatever reason have not realized it yet - you give them a chance to show if they are worth keeping around past their contracts. 

 

The common denominator among all of those seem to be that Ballard is still refusing to overpay for any of those, which makes all of those low-risk moves. 

[JColts72]

Solid move. Can help with Nelson if at 6.

[CR91]

7 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 am basing this on where are current status of our roster looks like. If we resign mewhort and yes there is no reported interest to do so, but if that would atleast give us two plug in starters with playing experience so we can get by for now. If you look at say DE or CB1, then we are lacking in talent and experience which would indicate we would look at someone like Chubb, ward, davenport, or convert fitzpatrick. I get it, you go for talent not need, but in comparison those guys I just mentioned are just as talented as nelson and fill a need. I have no issue with drafting nelson. My latest mock has him picked by us mostly because we haven't done anything to address the guard position at this time besides signing Slauson which imo is not enough. I hope that made my previous comment more clearer.

[ColtsAC]

1 hour ago, mds said:

 

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. 

Totally agree. I think it is a good signing for stop gap, depth, and locker room reasons. I'm glad the Colts signed him. He just has to be an improvement over last year's Vuckovich(sp).

[will426]

One thing I’m intrigued by is that he’s on the field more often than all these other interior linemen we have 

[Jason_]

48 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

I am basing this on where are current status of our roster looks like. If we resign mewhort and yes there is no reported interest to do so, but if that would atleast give us two plug in starters with playing experience so we can get by for now. If you look at say DE or CB1, then we are lacking in talent and experience which would indicate we would look at someone like Chubb, ward, davenport, or convert fitzpatrick. I get it, you go for talent not need, but in comparison those guys I just mentioned are just as talented as nelson and fill a need. 

 

No way to know if Ballard agrees with that or not.  Mewhort did get re-signed...for 1 year.  Slauson was signed for 1 year.  I guarantee you Nelson is NOT off of the Colts board because of either of those 2 signings.  That does not guarantee that the Colts will draft Nelson...but he's not going to be ruled out by any means.

[CR91]

Just now, J@son said:

 

No way to know if Ballard agrees with that or not.  Mewhort did get re-signed...for 1 year.  Slauson was signed for 1 year.  I guarantee you Nelson is NOT off of the Colts board because of either of those 2 signings.  That does not guarantee that the Colts will draft Nelson...but he's not going to be ruled out by any means.

 

Maybe off the table was extreme, but Ballard also talked about day 2 guards which makes me think we're going defense rather that is Chubb or whoever is available at 6 

[Jason_]

3 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

Maybe off the table was extreme,

 

lol..yes, it most definitely was

 

Quote

but Ballard also talked about day 2 guards which makes me think we're going defense rather that is Chubb or whoever is available at 6 

 

Anything that any GM, Coach or owner says this close to the draft should be taken with a grain of salt.  No way is Ballard going to say anything that gives any literal indication of what he might do on draft day.  

 

[CR91]

2 minutes ago, J@son said:

 

Anything that any GM, Coach or owner says this close to the draft should be taken with a grain of salt.  No way is Ballard going to say anything that gives any literal indication of what he might do on draft day.  

 

 

Maybe. Maybe not. While see in a month

[Smoke317]

How does this signing compare and contrast to the Herremans signing a couple years ago?  Is Slauson much younger?  Does he have more left in the tank?  Is he just flat out better?  Not asking to be snide or anything.  Just an honest explanation from someone maybe a little more informed on Slauson than I am...

[ThorstenDenmark]

I like the signing of slauson. He can teach Nelson and help him in year one. introduce him to the NFL and teach him about being a pro. all this is IF we draft nelson, if not... its an okay signing short term.

 

 

[jvan1973]

3 hours ago, aaron11 said:

because we had to sign a veteran guard this offseason and the first couple of guys we looked at went elsewhere 

And were extremely over paid.  I would say the teams that overpaid are the desperate ones

[aaron11]

34 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

And were extremely over paid.  I would say the teams that overpaid are the desperate ones

id be fine with what norwell went for.  it was a lot, but hes a good player too

[coltsfansince65]

2 hours ago, Smoke317 said:

How does this signing compare and contrast to the Herremans signing a couple years ago?  Is Slauson much younger?  Does he have more left in the tank?  Is he just flat out better?  Not asking to be snide or anything.  Just an honest explanation from someone maybe a little more informed on Slauson than I am...

Herremans is 35. Was a 4th round pick by Philly in 2005. Slauson is 32. Was a 6th round pick by Jets in 2009.

[Jason_]

2 hours ago, CR91 said:

 

Maybe. Maybe not. While see in a month

 

all we'll see is where he gets drafted.  We'll never see Ballard's big board.

[CR91]

2 minutes ago, J@son said:

 

all we'll see is where he gets drafted.  We'll never see Ballard's big board.

 

Course not. It's just speculation

[jvan1973]

6 hours ago, aaron11 said:

id be fine with what norwell went for.  it was a lot, but hes a good player too

30 million guaranteed for a guard? Luckily Ballard thinks differently

[southwest1]

On March 20, 2018 at 5:18 PM, Mr.Debonair said:

 

 

I love this, moreso for the Potter reference 

I don't get this inside joke at all. Please explain...Thank you. 

 

I'm well versed on Lord Of The Rings lore. Harry Potter on the other hand, not so much. 

[southwest1]

On March 20, 2018 at 6:24 PM, BOTT said:

Wanted him like 5 hrs ago when he was FA from the jets. Better late than never I guess.

Best post in this thread BOTT. He's a short term stop gap as your reply indicates. A good signing for 1 yr at least. 

[Mr.Debonair]

8 hours ago, southwest1 said:

I don't get this inside joke at all. Please explain...Thank you. 

 

I'm well versed on Lord Of The Rings lore. Harry Potter on the other hand, not so much. 

Not much of a joke besides the guys facial expression. The expression coupled with the player signed was him showing his displeasure 

[aaron11]

11 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

30 million guaranteed for a guard? 

why does it matter?  we have the money and no one important to pay 

 

would have rather had him than most of the guys we did sign 

[southwest1]

5 hours ago, Mr.Debonair said:

Not much of a joke besides the guys facial expression. The expression coupled with the player signed was him showing his displeasure 

Oh, okay. I just figured it was a reference that only the most avid readers of author J. K. Rowling would really grasp. I just wanted to make sure something didn't go over my head that's all. Thanks for clearing up the mystery that wasn't a mystery at all Mr. Debonair. 

[OLD FAN MAN]

is this guy an upgrade on a bad line or more of the same?

[Four2itus]

11 hours ago, aaron11 said:

why does it matter?  we have the money and no one important to pay 

 

would have rather had him than most of the guys we did sign 

Just curious...are you aware that players come available when teams have to cut down for salary cap reasons and can become part of draft day deals?

[JPFolks]

12 hours ago, jskinnz said:

 

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.

JS, 

 

I am really not disagreeing with signing guys to fill holes. But many rightfully decried Grigson from doing the same, especially older players with injury history.  Let's hope he has something left in the tank and plays the whole season.  It seems like not only are O Lineman worse overall than ever before, but they also seem to be getting hurt more often than I can recall.  I remember season after season while growing up where the O Lines rarely if ever had a played hurt. I can't recall anything like what has happened to the Colts the past 6 years.  I don't recall Manning losing multiple guys each week nor the Steelers growing up.It never seemed to be a thing.  

[Dark Superman]

Draft Nelson and Connor Williams.

[aaron11]

13 hours ago, Four2itus said:

Just curious...are you aware that players come available when teams have to cut down for salary cap reasons and can become part of draft day deals?

we dont need like 50 million in cap space for that

 

probably wont even make any significant moves there