Bill Polian Said

[DougDew]

To Mike Wells, who took Quenton Nelson at 6 with Roquan Smith on the board in ESPNs live mock draft,  "Why would you take a G when the second most important position in the new Colts defense, WILL, is sitting there"

 

Which struck me familiar from the days of Polian's radio show.  That WILL is a very important position in the new defense.  Its more important than MIKE.  Its second only to probably 3 Tech.

 

I read on this board fairly frequently that WILL isn't very important.  Polian thinks otherwise.

[NewColtsFan]

Thanks for posting this.. 

 

And to add to that,  I've read that, depending on the down and distance, Smith can be the WILL on certain plays and be the MIKE on others in this defense...   he'll never come off the field and will be good no matter where he plays.

 

Nice.....       

 

[danlhart87]

Smith would be a fantastic selection 

[BProland85]

1 minute ago, danlhart87 said:

Smith would be a fantastic selection 

 

And even better after a slight trade down which I hope Ballard is trying to do. 

[danlhart87]

Trade down with Bears 

[danlhart87]

Mainly cause Smith won't fall past Raiders

[Fisticuffs111]

I know this is a broad assumption, but I really get the feeling that some people who downplay Roquan's abilities/the Will position are the same people who favor Edmunds and are just trying to knock him down a peg. Then again I also think Roquan would be a great Mike in passing situations. And this is coming from somebody who pretty heavily favored Edmunds at the beginning of all this.

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, danlhart87 said:

Trade down with Bears 

Just out of curiosity why would the Colts do that?  The Bears more than likely are looking at Nelson. The Bucs could certainly take Smith with pick #7.

Why gamble if Smith is who they want?  Just take him.

[crazycolt1]

Just now, Fisticuffs111 said:

I know this is a broad assumption, but I really get the feeling that some of the people who downplay Roquan/the Will position are the same people who favor Edmunds and are just trying to known him down a peg. And this is coming from somebody who pretty heavily favored Edmunds until I sat down and watched mutliple games of each of them.

Personally I think the up side of Edmunds out weighs the up side of Smith.

I wouldn't have a problem at all if either is taken.

Landry might come into play as well?

[Fisticuffs111]

5 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Personally I think the up side of Edmunds out weighs the up side of Smith.

I wouldn't have a problem at all if either is taken.

Landry might come into play as well?

I think Landry would be a top target in a trade back for sure but I think #6 is high for him. I agree with what you've said in previous posts, if Ballard likes the guy then why not take him at #6, but IMO I’d be surprised if Landry was one of those 8 guys.

 

As for Edmunds, his upside is undeniable, but there’s another side to that, and it’s far from a given he fixes everything IMO.

[danlhart87]

11 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Just out of curiosity why would the Colts do that?  The Bears more than likely are looking at Nelson. The Bucs could certainly take Smith with pick #7.

Why gamble if Smith is who they want?  Just take him.

Bucs are taking secondary they were 32nd in pass defense 

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, danlhart87 said:

Bucs are taking secondary they were 32nd in pass defense 

If the Bucs are looking at their secondary what would stop them from trading down?

If that happened then Smith could very well be in play to be taken before the Colts.

My point is if the Colts are interested and wanted Smith just take him when they have the chance.

This mindset of trading down has reached almost epidemic proportions.

[BleedBlu8792]

55 minutes ago, danlhart87 said:

Bucs are taking secondary they were 32nd in pass defense 

 

That was because they were arguably worse than the Colts were at rushing the QB. There isn't a corner in this draft that will help their pass rush, and no Ward isn't it either - I'm saying that as a Buckeye fan.

[Hoose]

56 minutes ago, danlhart87 said:

Bucs are taking secondary they were 32nd in pass defense 

I think this is correct. TB is probably not a competitor for what the Colts are seeking. However, a small trade down is all the Colts can afford if they want Smith. A trade with the Bills is likely giving up at least Smith and probably Edmunds as well. A trade with the Dolphins may get the same goose egg result. A trade with the Bears? Now that probably works. 

[crazycolt1]

3 minutes ago, Hoose said:

I think this is correct. TB is probably not a competitor for what the Colts are seeking. However, a small trade down is all the Colts can afford if they want Smith. A trade with the Bills is likely giving up at least Smith and probably Edmunds as well. A trade with the Dolphins may get the same goose egg result. A trade with the Bears? Now that probably works. 

The thing is can the Colts get too "cute" with trading down and lose the player they are targeting? 

I am thinking they are standing pat till they actually see who is available at pick #6.

They may have a wait and see deal in place but I don't think they pull a deal till they find out who is there.

[aaron11]

protecting the QB needs to be a top priority now

 

nelson is bpa over smith too

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, aaron11 said:

protecting the QB needs to be a top priority now

 

nelson is bpa over smith too

Nelson could very well be who Ballard is targeting. 

That is why I said the Colts are going to stand pat till they find out who is actually there at pick 6.

Just because some in here think Smith or anyone else would be a better pick does not make it so in Ballard's thinking.

[danlhart87]

4 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

protecting the QB needs to be a top priority now

 

nelson is bpa over smith too

CB and LB are massive needs too.

[danlhart87]

22 minutes ago, Hoose said:

I think this is correct. TB is probably not a competitor for what the Colts are seeking. However, a small trade down is all the Colts can afford if they want Smith. A trade with the Bills is likely giving up at least Smith and probably Edmunds as well. A trade with the Dolphins may get the same goose egg result. A trade with the Bears? Now that probably works. 

If it means getting 2019 1 id pursue it if not stay put

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, danlhart87 said:

If it means getting 2019 1 id pursue it if not stay put

I could be wrong but I don't see the Bears giving up a #1 pick to move two spots no matter how much they may want Nelson.

[danlhart87]

3 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

I could be wrong but I don't see the Bears giving up a #1 pick to move two spots no matter how much they may want Nelson.

I know. The Dolphins and Bills could. 

[bertjones7]

I got a chuckle when after Polian criticized the Broncos pick, their beat writer called out Polian for the Donald Brown pick. 

 

Separately Frank Ragnow g/c was someone I wanted the colts to get in the 2nd rd. Seems like most of draft “experts” have been too low on him. They must be getting word that he is going higher than they expected.  Mayock now has him 19th overall. Jeremiah, McShay and others are saying they have him too low.  He might be the 2nd interior OL drafted. 

[danlhart87]

1 minute ago, bertjones7 said:

I got a chuckle when after Polian criticized the Broncos pick, their beat writer called out Polian for the Donald Brown pick. 

 

Separately Frank Ragnow g/c was someone I wanted the colts to get in the 2nd rd. Seems like most of draft “experts” have been too low on him. They must be getting word that he is going higher than they expected.  Mayock now has him 19th overall. Jeremiah, McShay and others are saying they have him too low.  He might be the 2nd interior OL drafted. 

I have the Colts taking him at 49 in my mock game thread but could see him going Round 1

[crazycolt1]

12 minutes ago, danlhart87 said:

I know. The Dolphins and Bills could. 

That would all depend if either one valued a QB at that position that much. From what I have been seeing is there is some serious doubt as to any QBs worth giving up much for.

[Yoshinator]

15 minutes ago, bertjones7 said:

I got a chuckle when after Polian criticized the Broncos pick, their beat writer called out Polian for the Donald Brown pick. 

 

Separately Frank Ragnow g/c was someone I wanted the colts to get in the 2nd rd. Seems like most of draft “experts” have been too low on him. They must be getting word that he is going higher than they expected.  Mayock now has him 19th overall. Jeremiah, McShay and others are saying they have him too low.  He might be the 2nd interior OL drafted. 

If Frank Ragnow goes in round 1, that's a good thing for us. Someone will drop that is better in our round 2 picks. I'd take him at 49, but not anywhere above it. 

[danlhart87]

Here's my question 

If Colts take Ragnow who plays Center?

[Yoshinator]

2 minutes ago, danlhart87 said:

Here's my question 

If Colts take Ragnow who plays Center?

Ryan Kelly I would assume. Ragnow can also play G.

[danlhart87]

8 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

Ryan Kelly I would assume. Ragnow can also play G.

Can Kelly play OG?

[Yoshinator]

1 minute ago, danlhart87 said:

Can Kelly play OG?

He probably could, but I see no reason to move him there. He allowed no sacks at C in his rookie year and got hurt last year. He has the makings of an elite C. No reason to put him anywhere else.

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

He probably could, but I see no reason to move him there. He allowed no sacks at C in his rookie year and got hurt last year. He has the makings of an elite C. No reason to put him anywhere else.

I agree. I think him and Luck work very well together and are comfortable with each other. The QB-center is key.

[stitches]

1 hour ago, danlhart87 said:

Here's my question 

If Colts take Ragnow who plays Center?

Ragnow plays guard. He has full year of experience+ at guard from what I've read. Kelly was always a center. 

[stitches]

Something else worth pointing out - in his pre-draft press-conference Ballard mentioned that they consider the mike and will both inside linebackers and that the sam is on the field for only something like... 20-25% of the snaps. I didn't realize that about the sam. I thought it would be more like 40-50%. This means we will be playing a ton of dime and nickel packages. 

[aaron11]

11 hours ago, danlhart87 said:

CB and LB are massive needs too.

i know, but if im picking one over the others id rather protect the qb at this point

 

i have nelson as my third choice, edmunds 4th, and smith 5th.  probably wont get down to 5th choice at the 6th pick, but its just my own board 

[DougDew]

9 hours ago, stitches said:

Something else worth pointing out - in his pre-draft press-conference Ballard mentioned that they consider the mike and will both inside linebackers and that the sam is on the field for only something like... 20-25% of the snaps. I didn't realize that about the sam. I thought it would be more like 40-50%. This means we will be playing a ton of dime and nickel packages. 

This says we'll need more LBs and DBs.

 

With Geathers neck being an issue, don't be surprised if we draft S Ronnie Harrison with an early 2nd.  Another important position in the Tampa 2 (If that's really what we'll be running) is the John Lynch/Bob Sanders safety position. 

 

Will Geathers hold up?  Hooker/Fairley are the Bethea's, IMO.

[ColtsBlitz]

14 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Just out of curiosity why would the Colts do that?  The Bears more than likely are looking at Nelson. The Bucs could certainly take Smith with pick #7.

Why gamble if Smith is who they want?  Just take him.

Don’t the Bucs need major corner and safety help? I know corner for sure. They already have Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David, why would they take Smith?

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, ColtsBlitz said:

Don’t the Bucs need major corner and safety help? I know corner for sure. They already have Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David, why would they take Smith?

Because their lack of pass rush is one of the main reasons they are rated at the bottom of the league in defense.

[ColtsBlitz]

10 hours ago, stitches said:

Something else worth pointing out - in his pre-draft press-conference Ballard mentioned that they consider the mike and will both inside linebackers and that the sam is on the field for only something like... 20-25% of the snaps. I didn't realize that about the sam. I thought it would be more like 40-50%. This means we will be playing a ton of dime and nickel packages. 

I like Hairston as our nickel corner. This new defensive scheme really works well with the players we have on our defense and it’s exciting

[crazycolt1]

5 minutes ago, ColtsBlitz said:

Don’t the Bucs need major corner and safety help? I know corner for sure. They already have Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David, why would they take Smith?

 

1 minute ago, crazycolt1 said:

Because their lack of pass rush is one of the main reasons they are rated at the bottom of the league in defense.

Their corners and safeties look bad just like the Colts do. The lack of rush on the opposing QB will make pretty much any corners or safeties look bad.

[ColtsBlitz]

1 minute ago, crazycolt1 said:

 

Their corners and safeties look bad just like the Colts do. The lack of rush on the opposing QB will make pretty much any corners or safeties look bad.

I pretty much get you, but I know they have Gerald McCoy inside. They would need a DE then, would they not? Or do they play 3-4 fronts?

[aaron11]

15 hours ago, DougDew said:

I read on this board fairly frequently that WILL isn't very important.  Polian thinks otherwise.

they never get drafted in the top ten like ever.  polians best will was a 6th round pick