IMO what the colts need. (Outside perspective)

[JimJaime]

After watching a couple of colts games here is what I THINK the Colts need:

 

OLine:  I can’t stress this enough, this O line will get smoked by the Jags D front and needs help badly.

 

RB:  not sure if it’s your rookie RB or again the Oline failure.. but being one dimensional against good to great Ds will get Luck reinjured.  

 

secondary:  well be fair your starters are injured but the backups couldn’t cover anyone and were exposed all night last night and heck they looked bad against the Texans.

 

be honest the colts aren’t missing much, but they need focus on how beat the Jags and Titans as those are the two top dogs they need to face make the playoffs. 

[aaron11]

agreed, the jags smoked our oline last year btw, nearly double digit sacks on brissett

 

we have been in the top 20 in rushing only once in the last 10 years, and it was 20th exactly 

[#12.]

With so many young, inexperienced and new players, with a new coaching staff and new offensive and defensive systems, it's impossible to say what we need until we see a full season from this team.  

 

Rough guess - nearly half of last night's starters have less than 16 starts in the league.  Many only have a handful.  You have numerous other free agents, starting and playing important roles who are new to the team.

[NewEra]

42 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

agreed, the jags smoked our oline last year btw, nearly double digit sacks on brissett

 

we have been in the top 20 in rushing only once in the last 10 years, and it was 20th exactly 

I do t think it's been really good since Edge. 

[CamMo]

48 minutes ago, JimJaime said:

After watching a couple of colts games here is what I THINK the Colts need:

 

OLine:  I can’t stress this enough, this O line will get smoked by the Jags D front and needs help badly.

 

RB:  not sure if it’s your rookie RB or again the Oline failure.. but being one dimensional against good to great Ds will get Luck reinjured.  

 

secondary:  well be fair your starters are injured but the backups couldn’t cover anyone and were exposed all night last night and heck they looked bad against the Texans.

 

be honest the colts aren’t missing much, but they need focus on how beat the Jags and Titans as those are the two top dogs they need to face make the playoffs. 

 

 

We have starters out at every position you mentioned. No one here actually knows what this team looks like healthy. When Castonzo and Mack come back healthy, it very well could take care of our OL, RB problem for all we know. 

[Trueman]

DT, DE, OT, WR, CB, SS, LB

 

[MPStack]

21 minutes ago, CamMo said:

 

 

We have starters out at every position you mentioned. No one here actually knows what this team looks like healthy. When Castonzo and Mack come back healthy, it very well could take care of our OL, RB problem for all we know. 

Mack can’t carry the ball 15-20 times a game. Nor has he shown the ability too. 

[smittywerb]

Agreed about the oline.  The new system is masking some of its weaknesses, and injuries aren’t helping either.  But we do need maybe 2-3 more studs on the line.  RT, RG, and LT if AC can’t stay healthy.

 

disagree about the RB.  I think with a good oline, we could put anyone behind there and they would produce

 

Also agree about the secondary.

[CR91]

Honestly the colts aren't too far off. When you're missing more then half your defense and missing key players on your offense, you're not gonna win. What has impressed me is how much tougher this team is and the fight they have. Doesn't matter if we're down 21-3, their gonna keep coming. Are we a finished product? heck no, but we're gonna be a really good football team in a year or two.

[pgt_rob]

1 hour ago, JimJaime said:

After watching a couple of colts games here is what I THINK the Colts need:

 

OLine:  I can’t stress this enough, this O line will get smoked by the Jags D front and needs help badly. 

 

People always bring up how we don't protect Andrew Luck. I think people just think we don't address O-Line at all. So not true. We've drafted and signed so many friggin' O-Linemen but none of them pan out to be any good. We've spent the last 3 seasons drafting O-Linemen in the 1st and 2nd rounds in the draft. Those seem to be the only ones that pan out for us. Another huge blow, after solidifying most of the line, Jack Mewhort retires after 5 seasons. One step forward, one step back. Anthony Castonzo is our left tackle and he hasn't played at all this season due to a hamstring injury and he's usually our rock. Quentin Nelson at left guard is a beast. Ryan Kelly at center is also usually pretty good. Right Guard and Right Tackle are our worst spots every year. It seems like nobody can play them at a high level for us. 

[CamMo]

1 hour ago, MPStack said:

Mack can’t carry the ball 15-20 times a game. Nor has he shown the ability too. 

 

Alright...He had limited touches last year because the coaches wanted to roll with a much older, experienced Gore. This year, he’s been hurt. But regardless, I think he can make plays and help the offense without getting the lion’s share of carries.  

[JimJaime]

1 hour ago, pgt_rob said:

 

People always bring up how we don't protect Andrew Luck. I think people just think we don't address O-Line at all. So not true. We've drafted and signed so many friggin' O-Linemen but none of them pan out to be any good. We've spent the last 3 seasons drafting O-Linemen in the 1st and 2nd rounds in the draft. Those seem to be the only ones that pan out for us. Another huge blow, after solidifying most of the line, Jack Mewhort retires after 5 seasons. One step forward, one step back. Anthony Castonzo is our left tackle and he hasn't played at all this season due to a hamstring injury and he's usually our rock. Quentin Nelson at left guard is a beast. Ryan Kelly at center is also usually pretty good. Right Guard and Right Tackle are our worst spots every year. It seems like nobody can play them at a high level for us. 

I saw Manning and Luck get killed behind that line for YEARS! Maybe it isn’t the lineman but the lineman coach? I know that was the case when Scar retired for a year and his replacement almost got Brady killed behind the same line that they won a SB with a year later

[Lawrence Owen]

1 hour ago, pgt_rob said:

 

People always bring up how we don't protect Andrew Luck. I think people just think we don't address O-Line at all. So not true. We've drafted and signed so many friggin' O-Linemen but none of them pan out to be any good. We've spent the last 3 seasons drafting O-Linemen in the 1st and 2nd rounds in the draft. Those seem to be the only ones that pan out for us. Another huge blow, after solidifying most of the line, Jack Mewhort retires after 5 seasons. One step forward, one step back. Anthony Castonzo is our left tackle and he hasn't played at all this season due to a hamstring injury and he's usually our rock. Quentin Nelson at left guard is a beast. Ryan Kelly at center is also usually pretty good. Right Guard and Right Tackle are our worst spots every year. It seems like nobody can play them at a high level for us. 

90% of all pressures last year came up the middle.  It has been our guard play, both sides, that have stunk it up.  The year before last, only the RT and Center play was solid.  I think Good has shown he can play very well at RT,...if/when he's healthy.  Made big strides last year.  To be fair, i think our starters are on the team now.  But when your #1 blocker is out,..there is a ripple effect and downgrades an entire o-line.

[PeterBowman]

Luckily the interior has been pretty stout in pass protection this year....for the most part.

 

Maybe now some people will realize the value Castonzo has on the o line....him coming back should be a huge boost.....in the running game too since he's generally a very good run blocker.

[Shadow_Creek]

4 hours ago, aaron11 said:

agreed, the jags smoked our oline last year btw, nearly double digit sacks on brissett

 

we have been in the top 20 in rushing only once in the last 10 years, and it was 20th exactly 

not sure what your talking about because i believe Texans front 7 tops jags all day and we did pretty well against them so why not the jags...??

[aaron11]

2 minutes ago, Shadow_Creek said:

not sure what your talking about because i believe Texans front 7 tops jags all day and we did pretty well against them so why not the jags...??

i was replying to when the original poster said- OLine:  I can’t stress this enough, this O line will get smoked by the Jags D front and needs help badly.

 

and we did give up a ton of sacks to Jacksonville last year, and there were some in the texans game too, i dont remember how many though 

[Shadow_Creek]

1 minute ago, aaron11 said:

i was replying to when the original poster said- OLine:  I can’t stress this enough, this O line will get smoked by the Jags D front and needs help badly.

 

and we did give up a ton of sacks to Jacksonville last year, and there were some in the texans game too, i dont remember how many though 

true but we didn't have nelson who has been a huge bright spot so far..also if AC comes back healthy along with good we should be fine

[Colt Overseas]

Honestly the oline isnt the biggest problem. We badly need a RT but other than that AC, Nelson, Kelly and Slauson/Smith are solid players. Once AC comes back, he has been injury free his whole career, we will be ok.

 

Players like Smith, Haeg, Good and Clark are decent back ups. Not great but servicable, and they have been serviceable when called upon. Braden Smith will be a solid starting guard next year.

 

I think if Ballard gets a good RT next off season and a decent back up C/G we will be fine there. That's it really.

[JimJaime]

18 minutes ago, Shadow_Creek said:

not sure what your talking about because i believe Texans front 7 tops jags all day and we did pretty well against them so why not the jags...??

The Jags corners are light years better than the Texans! So while the Texans front four may get their a 1/2 second faster the Jags make it so there is no place throw the ball. The JAGs D >>> Texans D

[Shadow_Creek]

2 minutes ago, JimJaime said:

The Jags corners are light years better than the Texans! So while the Texans front four may get their a 1/2 second faster the Jags make it so there is no place throw the ball. The JAGs D >>> Texans D

we shall see just how good there D really is when KC runs up the scoreboard this week

[WoolMagnet]

6 hours ago, JimJaime said:

After watching a couple of colts games here is what I THINK the Colts need:

 

OLine:  I can’t stress this enough, this O line will get smoked by the Jags D front and needs help badly.

 

RB:  not sure if it’s your rookie RB or again the Oline failure.. but being one dimensional against good to great Ds will get Luck reinjured.  

 

secondary:  well be fair your starters are injured but the backups couldn’t cover anyone and were exposed all night last night and heck they looked bad against the Texans.

 

be honest the colts aren’t missing much, but they need focus on how beat the Jags and Titans as those are the two top dogs they need to face make the playoffs. 

What the Colts REALLY need is a better "technical" department with backgrounds in cameras , air pumps, and audio equipment.

Apparently THAT is what wins Super Bowls, not defenses. obviously.

 

 

 

[colt18]

We need healthy starters, for one.

 

I really think a healthy Mack would do wonders for this offense, he's flashed a ton of talent but just can't stay on the field so lately. Hines has been looking  pretty good IMO, not someone who can run behind that line very well but he makes plays. Wilkins has been pretty average to meh. I think Turbin will be a big help in the red zone, if Mack can't stay healthy we may have to sign a FA or draft one in the later rounds again. I'm not too worried about this group.

 

The OL needs Castanzo in the worst way. We need the right side of the line to solidify as well. I think we have a solid group that needs time to gel and get healthy. Maybe draft another OL in the mid rounds next year. Again, not too worried about this group.

 

We very desperately need another WR besides Hilton. I really thought Moncrief would be it, I think Grant is solid #3 but there's not a good enough #2 in this group. It's literally Hilton and a bunch of #3 WRs. We need a playmaker here,.

 

We could also use a few more playmakers on defense, whether it's another pass rusher or a coverage LB/S. I like the corners we have, they just need to stay healthy as well. I really want Quincy Wilson to do well here, I've seen enough from everyone else to have my trust. 

[JimJaime]

20 hours ago, Shadow_Creek said:

we shall see just how good there D really is when KC runs up the scoreboard this week

I’m taking the Jags in that game:

 

Jags 28

KC 14

 

mahommes throws 3 picks

[Fluke_33]

On 10/5/2018 at 11:47 AM, CamMo said:

 

 

We have starters out at every position you mentioned. No one here actually knows what this team looks like healthy. When Castonzo and Mack come back healthy, it very well could take care of our OL, RB problem for all we know. 

Agreed.  I think castonzo in particular cures most of these ills. 

[Defjamz26]

On 10/5/2018 at 11:45 AM, NewEra said:

I do t think it's been really good since Edge. 

I’ve been saying this forever. We need a franchise back. All of our backs are 1-dimensional.

[horseshoecrabs]

To sum it all up, We need to get healthy.  We really haven't seen what our starting line up can do if all of our projected starters were on the field at the same time. The Colts don't have the luxury of a lot of depth. It's hard to really evaluate needs, when it seems like almost every position has injured players.

[Defjamz26]

10 minutes ago, horseshoecrabs said:

To sum it all up, We need to get healthy.  We really haven't seen what our starting line up can do if all of our projected starters were on the field at the same time. The Colts don't have the luxury of a lot of depth. It's hard to really evaluate needs, when it seems like almost every position has injured players.

I’m not under the impression that everyone is going to get healthy and everything is going to magically improve. For example, what if Castonzo doesn’t come back? Are we going to pack it in and say the season was lost because we didn’t have our LT?

 

And at RB, are we supposed to believe that a guy who saw limited action as a rookie is supposed to fix the run game when there’s 3 other backs on the roster?

 

Is Quincy Wilson even missed? 

 

Good teams dont use injuries or availability of the players as excuses. Eagles won the Super Bowl with a backup LT and QB. The Steelers are running the ball fine without Bell. The past few years we saw the Vikings lose Bridgewater and not miss a beat with Bradford or Keenum. 

[JPFolks]

On 10/5/2018 at 11:39 AM, #12. said:

With so many young, inexperienced and new players, with a new coaching staff and new offensive and defensive systems, it's impossible to say what we need until we see a full season from this team.  

 

Rough guess - nearly half of last night's starters have less than 16 starts in the league.  Many only have a handful.  You have numerous other free agents, starting and playing important roles who are new to the team.

That's why you bring in a handful of veteran FA's to supplement the weak areas.  Probably 5 players in the right spots would have made a tremendous difference.  Plus we should have drafted at least one OT and brought in another Veteran FA OT.  Clark just isn't viable enough and the other guys aren't good enough at RT.  Protect Luck and the rest of the team can "grow up" over time and he's good enough to work with young players and to overcome a bad defense. Give him a RB that can seriously pound in between the tackles behind that viable line (2 things he's never had) and he can take us deep into the playoffs based solely on his talent.  But damn, why can't anyone in 6 years take care of the most obvious problems we've had since Luck was drafted?  (And don't point to injury... we obviously haven't ever had sufficient depth to overcome injuries we KNOW are coming because they happen to EVERY team).  Youth and build a team through a plan is great, meanwhile we need to sprinkle in some FA Vets to fill the holes rather than once again throwing Luck to the wolves.   

[horseshoecrabs]

1 minute ago, Defjamz26 said:

I’m not under the impression that everyone is going to get healthy and everything is going to magically improve. For example, what if Castonzo doesn’t come back? Are we going to pack it in and say the season was lost because we didn’t have our LT?

 

And at RB, are we supposed to believe that a guy who saw limited action as a rookie is supposed to fix the run game when there’s 3 other backs on the roster?

 

Is Quincy Wilson even missed? 

 

Good teams dont use injuries or availability of the players as excuses. Eagles won the Super Bowl with a backup LT and QB. The Steelers are running the ball fine without Bell. The past few years we saw the Vikings lose Bridgewater and not miss a beat with Bradford or Keenum. 

We don't have the talent depth remember? we are rebuilding. And yes obviously we are not going to have everybody healthy. I never said we should pack it in this season. Your words, not mine. It's not like Ballard is going to go on a spending spree to help the current roster this season. To compare us to the Eagle situation last year is a little ludicrous.  

[aaron11]

14 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

 Are we going to pack it in and say the season was lost because we didn’t have our LT?

arguably thats already happened, unless we go on a big win streak 

[Defjamz26]

42 minutes ago, horseshoecrabs said:

We don't have the talent depth remember? we are rebuilding. And yes obviously we are not going to have everybody healthy. I never said we should pack it in this season. Your words, not mine. It's not like Ballard is going to go on a spending spree to help the current roster this season. To compare us to the Eagle situation last year is a little ludicrous.  

I’m just saying it’s a dangerous to play the “just wait until everyone’s healthy” game. If everyone comes back and the same problems persist, then what? Slippery slope. Adding a player or two in FA could help, and Ballard’s already done that with Ward.

[horseshoecrabs]

5 hours ago, Defjamz26 said:

I’m just saying it’s a dangerous to play the “just wait until everyone’s healthy” game. If everyone comes back and the same problems persist, then what? Slippery slope. Adding a player or two in FA could help, and Ballard’s already done that with Ward.

Adding FA's of talent can help at this stage but it will not be a fix until we get our current roster healthy . It is just to many holes at this stage for a quick fix. Thus my point. If you have seen my posts in the past, I have been a strong supporter  of a dominate RB but most posters feel that the running back by platooning  is what we need. In their defense we haven't had them healthy to see how this plan will work. 

[1959Colts]

On 10/5/2018 at 10:55 AM, JimJaime said:

After watching a couple of colts games here is what I THINK the Colts need:

 

OLine:  I can’t stress this enough, this O line will get smoked by the Jags D front and needs help badly.

 

RB:  not sure if it’s your rookie RB or again the Oline failure.. but being one dimensional against good to great Ds will get Luck reinjured.  

 

secondary:  well be fair your starters are injured but the backups couldn’t cover anyone and were exposed all night last night and heck they looked bad against the Texans.

 

be honest the colts aren’t missing much, but they need focus on how beat the Jags and Titans as those are the two top dogs they need to face make the playoffs. 

Right now I think the Colts need to focus on beating the Jets.

[masterlock]

10 hours ago, 1959Colts said:

Right now I think the Colts need to focus on beating the Jets.

I'm sure they are. We, the fans, on the other hand, have the luxury of speculating about personnel, etc.