This Is Very Depressing

[oldunclemark]

Peyton Manning's moving on.....

surely Jeff Saturday and Reggie Wayne....we're gutting our offense

First year GM, first year head coavch ..rookie QB

Now...it looks like Dwight Freeney will be moved and wants to go...Garcon, maybe

I know all about what the hope is for the future but I'd like to see something positive

now...This is as dark a time as I can remember for the Colts in Indy.

Does anybody else feel the same way... I wish we could just fast-forward to the draft

Is there anything concrete to be positive about right now..

[chad72]

Is there anything concrete to be positive about right now..

Andrew Luck and a defense to go with that, possibly .

[PolkHigh33]

Is there anything concrete to be positive about right now..

No.

Or just ask undecidedfrog. He couldn't wait to see all that happen ;)

[oldunclemark]

Andrew Luck and a defense to go with that, possibly .

We dont have them, yet.

[oldunclemark]

No.

Or just ask undecidedfrog. He couldn't wait to see all that happen ;)

No...

FROG MAN just predicted the future for Manning and he was right...

I have to say ...as sad as I am about it...he was right..

[MSColtsFan]

I think we're past the worst of it. 2-14, PM decision made. Those two things are about as low as you can go. I know the other vets who will be cut in June, or earlier, or the FAs who won't be resigned are going to be tough too, but at least I think we've seen rock bottom, and there is no other way to go but up. How long will the journey last we don't know, but a deep draft, first pick in a year with QBs at the top, an organization who at least appears to understand some balance is necessary through the hiring of a D-minded HC, I see a house down to the foundation, or pretty close, but the trucks are arriving with the materials to rebuild it. But like any other massive project, this isn't going to happen in a day. This isn't going to be done in late April after one draft. Jags and Titans are in transition too. Last place schedule coming. Ends of eras are terrible, but all eras end. All runs of greatness stop at some point, especially in a capped sport where the average career is three or four years. I'm not remotely depressed. I am optimistic that the future will be bright again. And the journey getting there will be fun to watch unfold. I actually think the Colts will win more games next year than they did last year.

[oldunclemark]

I think we're past the worst of it. 2-14, PM decision made. Those two things are about as low as you can go. I know the other vets who will be cut in June, or earlier, or the FAs who won't be resigned are going to be tough too, but at least I think we've seen rock bottom, and there is no other way to go but up. How long will the journey last we don't know, but a deep draft, first pick in a year with QBs at the top, an organization who at least appears to understand some balance is necessary through the hiring of a D-minded HC, I see a house down to the foundation, or pretty close, but the trucks are arriving with the materials to rebuild it. But like any other massive project, this isn't going to happen in a day. This isn't going to be done in late April after one draft. Jags and Titans are in transition too. Last place schedule coming. Ends of eras are terrible, but all eras end. All runs of greatness stop at some point, especially in a capped sport where the average career is three or four years. I'm not remotely depressed. I am optimistic that the future will be bright again. And the journey getting there will be fun to watch unfold. I actually think the Colts will win more games next year than they did last year.

NCC...I'm not concerned that it will take 12 months to rebuild. I'm concerned it will take 12 years.

The Redskins and Cowboys have been rebuiding since the 20th Century...

and I hate to say it

..but we still have dark days ahead..Saturday retiring..

Manning, Garcon and Wayne signing else where.... before the draft..

Freeney being traded..Dallas Clark being cut (I'm afraid of that one)

.and we have a rookie GM..rookie coach...

Positives will start when we draft but..until then.....its like a funeral...

[subvet]

Is there anything concrete to be positive about right now..

Well, we will be drafting a quarterback that may or may no suck, we will be obtaining new players to fill the holes created by dropping veterans and we have Lucas Oil Stadium to play in, lots to be optimistic for.

[P-Money]

NCC...I'm not concerned that it will take 12 months to rebuild. I'm concerned it will take 12 years.

The Redskins and Cowboys have been rebuiding since the 20th Century...

and I hate to say it

..but we still have dark days ahead..Saturday retiring..

Manning, Garcon and Wayne signing else where.... before the draft..

Freeney being traded..Dallas Clark being cut (I'm afraid of that one)

.and we have a rookie GM..rookie coach...

Positives will start when we draft but..until then.....its like a funeral...

The Redskins and Cowboys both have over controlling owners which destroys those teams. Lets pray that Irsay doesn't follow suit!!

[buccolts]

It is easy to be concerned right now, but I won't have to wait until the draft.

FA starts next Tuesday, and that should bring some positive anticipation back to us.

Right now it's difficult for three reasons:

- There's been nothing but detraction so far.

- There are many empty helmets in starting positions.

- We don't yet have a vision for what the team will look like (players & schemes).

I'm hopeful, and excited for the future.

It's just hard to see right now.

[IndyTrav]

I am actually the exact opposite right now.

I cant recall a time I have been more excited for a Colts season to start. I think its amazing what they are doing.

Will it work out? We won't know until next year, but I for one CANNOT WAIT for this season to get started.

[ColtsBlueFL]

1st pick choice in the upcoming draft, and high round selections for many of the next 8 picks for the Colts. For now.

[oldunclemark]

I am actually the exact opposite right now.

I cant recall a time I have been more excited for a Colts season to start. I think its amazing what they are doing.

Will it work out? We won't know until next year, but I for one CANNOT WAIT for this season to get started.

I hope you are right....about it being promising and exciting next year (and not next decade)

Its just going to be a very difficult next few weeks ..

[Jaric]

Is there anything concrete to be positive about right now..

We're going to have a metric crap ton of cap space. This means we can pick up quite a few reasonably priced free agents to fill the holes this draft doesn't fill.

We'll also probably have another high draft pick since next year is going to be rough which gives us the ability to pick up a real difference maker.

[ColtsBlueFL]

We're going to have a metric crap ton of cap space. This means we can pick up quite a few reasonably priced free agents to fill the holes this draft doesn't fill.

We'll also probably have another high draft pick since next year is going to be rough which gives us the ability to pick up a real difference maker.

This. ^ ^ ^

Will probably get a lot of talent next two drafts, then the coaches must coach 'em up and make it jell. Then hold on for another decade+ !!

[MSColtsFan]

NCC...I'm not concerned that it will take 12 months to rebuild. I'm concerned it will take 12 years.

The Redskins and Cowboys have been rebuiding since the 20th Century...

and I hate to say it

..but we still have dark days ahead..Saturday retiring..

Manning, Garcon and Wayne signing else where.... before the draft..

Freeney being traded..Dallas Clark being cut (I'm afraid of that one)

.and we have a rookie GM..rookie coach...

Positives will start when we draft but..until then.....its like a funeral...

I'll be a pallbearer with you, but I'm heading to the party soon too. It starts with a franchise QB, and circumstance led the Colts to the best chance at another one since, well, PM. I hate to place it all on Luck (or RG3), but the NFL is all about QB play. The Redskins have never replaced their QB. The Cowboys I would argue are close, have been competitive, and like the Colts faced for many years, need that one moment of good fortune, the one big break going their way to wipe away the memories of near misses, failed runs. We all remember being down 21-3 against the Pats in 2006, right? I mean, the one title the Colts won seemed like a lost cause in the second quarter.

Could it take 12 years? Yes. Luck's progress and development will determine that. In a league of parity, caps, and quick turn arounds from a team or two every year, I still say we're closer to being a 10 win team and routine playoff trips than we are 10 years of 3-13, circa the 80s. But that's the pressure on Luck, and Pagano and Grigson, as they build a defense that can actually contribute every week, every year.

[Boiler_Colt]

I think it will be nice to see a team grow and will be happy if they overachieve. Even with all the great seasons we had we still underachieved in the postseason.

[MSColtsFan]

I also think the 'unknown' is what is so frustrating, or causing such concern. And rightfully so. The Colts move forward with a QB who has never taken a snap in the NFL, a GM who have never been responsible for caps and drafting and managing a roster, a HC who has never been a HC at any level ever before. Will all three work out? Will any of them work out? We hope so. Those three will be tied together in this. We might survive the HC failing, but the new QB and GM can't.

[oldunclemark]

I think it will be nice to see a team grow and will be happy if they overachieve. Even with all the great seasons we had we still underachieved in the postseason.

I'd gladly take underachieveing in the post-season right now..wouldnt you??

[CCH]

Over the next few years we should have a crap load of cap space, which will make free agency very interesting for a while. I'm excited for the next generation Colts.

[LUVTHESHOE]

Peyton Manning's moving on.....

surely Jeff Saturday and Reggie Wayne....we're gutting our offense

First year GM, first year head coavch ..rookie QB

Now...it looks like Dwight Freeney will be moved and wants to go...Garcon, maybe

I know all about what the hope is for the future but I'd like to see something positive

now...This is as dark a time as I can remember for the Colts in Indy.

Does anybody else feel the same way... I wish we could just fast-forward to the draft

Is there anything concrete to be positive about right now..

Just think back to the Rod Dowhower days, then you will cheer up.And if that does'nt do it,Ron Meyer should.

[Jaric]

I'd gladly take underachieveing in the post-season right now..wouldnt you??

Depends. If that's the best I can get, I'll take it.

But I don't think that's the best we can do. Unfortunately sometimes things have to get worse before the get better. I think that's our situation right now.

Stay the course Mark. It's going to be fine. Probably not next year of course, but we'll get there.

[Boiler_Colt]

I'd gladly take underachieveing in the post-season right now..wouldnt you??

You still end up with the same amount of rings. I felt disgusted after every playoff defeat and choke. I can't honestly tell you how I will respond if we have losing seasons to come because we only had one in the last 10 years and we all accepted the reasoning behind last years failures.

[MSColtsFan]

You still end up with the same amount of rings. I felt disgusted after every playoff defeat and choke. I can't honestly tell you how I will respond if we have losing seasons to come because we only had one in the last 10 years and we all accepted the reasoning behind last years failures.

But that's the thing in sports. Nobody could control PM's excellence happened at the same time Brady appeared out of the 6th round, or that the Steelers would return to greatness in the way they did, or that the Chargers just seemed to have the Colts number. Had the Colts always played the Broncos in the playoffs, maybe they win more. To me the shortcomings aren't an indication of failure on the Colts as much as they are indicators of just how hard it is to win a title at all. So many things have to align, so many things have to happen just right. Think the Packers aren't wishing circumstances weren't different last year? Like the Colts the year Dungy's son passed away (perhaps the best Colts team of all of them), the Packers all had to deal with Philbin's son this year. Those things clearly aren't even on the field issues, yet had an impact. But that's the point. In a one and done format, all it takes is 60 better minutes. Baseball teams can have three horrible games, but win four, and you have a title. 60 minutes and one chance is it in football.

[oldunclemark]

You still end up with the same amount of rings. I felt disgusted after every playoff defeat and choke. I can't honestly tell you how I will respond if we have losing seasons to come because we only had one in the last 10 years and we all accepted the reasoning behind last years failures.

Its about making the playoffs for me......I didnt consider playoff defeats season failures.

I accept you cant win a lot of rings because everybody else is trying to stop you

I agree about last year......I could ride it out because I knew we'd be back this coming season.

Now. we wont be.....and I'm asked to believe in guys who have never done the job they now have

...while my guys scatter to parts unknown...and the NFL Network.

..I dont think we're signing any free agents (cap room) so I wish the draft would hurry up and get here

[Superman]

The only fix for this is Prozac.

[Boiler_Colt]

Its about making the playoffs for me......I didnt consider playoff defeats season failures.

I accept you cant win a lot of rings because everybody else is trying to stop you

I agree about last year......I could ride it out because I knew we'd be back this coming season.

Now. we wont be.....and I'm asked to believe in guys who have never done the job they now have

...while my guys scatter to parts unknown...and the NFL Network.

..I dont think we're signing any free agents (cap room) so I wish the draft would hurry up and get here

But we all knew this was coming in the next 3 years or so anyways we just decided that it is best to start earlier. I miss Peyton Manning as much as the next guy.

I have a horseshoe tattoo on my back that says "Believe" and that's what I will continue to do.

There are a lot of Old teams in the AFC right now. Theoretically if this all works out, we could be hitting our stride right at the time of the end of the New England and Baltimore/Pittsburgh eras. The rest of our division (sans Houston) are in the middle of youth movements as well. If the right moves are made we could be back sooner than we think. At least that is my thinking of why I will hold my head high.

[Ohio Colt]

feels like we're an expansion team

[icf]

I am actually the exact opposite right now.

I cant recall a time I have been more excited for a Colts season to start. I think its amazing what they are doing.

Will it work out? We won't know until next year, but I for one CANNOT WAIT for this season to get started.

This.....Who knows how things will play out, but the Colts will be freeing up lots of Cap space over the next 12 months and will likely have lots of FA $'s to spend and high draft picks too (as I dont expect much from the 2012 season).

I hope that Luck can become the next greatest QB of all time and they use the drafts to find this decades version of Wayne, Harrison, Clark, Freeny , Edge and the like.

Rebuilding is hard -- busts like Gonzo, Hughes and to a lesser extent Brown were suppose to be the guys that after a few years were cheaper (yet still as effective) versions of guys like Wayne, Mathis/Freeny and Addai but that wasnt the case. Had they panned out then this "rebuilding phase" wouldn't seem so difficult. The Colts had a very old (by NFL standards) roster. Guys that are still around and preform at the level they as some of these favorite Colt's have, soon become VERY well paid even though their contributions are likely going to decline as they start heading down the wrong way of their mid 30's. As such, you're paying almost as much for the past and what they HAVE meant and not so much what they mean to the team today.

Nobody can predict if Luck will be the next Manning, Ryan Leaf or somewhere in the middle....and that goes for all the other high picks they'll have this year and likely next. If they draft like they did in the late 90's / early 00's this team could be very good in the next couple of years. If they draft poorly, then it could be ugly for awhile.....I can't say how it will turn out, but I look forward to watching it all unfold.

[oldunclemark]

But we all knew this was coming in the next 3 years or so anyways we just decided that it is best to start earlier. I miss Peyton Manning as much as the next guy.

I have a horseshoe tattoo on my back that says "Believe" and that's what I will continue to do.

There are a lot of Old teams in the AFC right now. Theoretically if this all works out, we could be hitting our stride right at the time of the end of the New England and Baltimore/Pittsburgh eras. The rest of our division (sans Houston) are in the middle of youth movements as well. If the right moves are made we could be back sooner than we think. At least that is my thinking of why I will hold my head high.

Y'all are saying all the right things...

but I didnt know 2-14 was coming and staying.

I'm hoping for something positive...some good news.

[ColtsBlueFL]

What we have is hope. Last year as the losing piled up, we lost faith and hope whenever the word on Manning came back negative. We now all know what Ray Lewis knew a long time ago and mentioned on Peyton Manning's #8 video of the NFL's top 100 players. He said withput #18, we were a below average ballclub. The thing is, we didn't have to address and fix it, Peyton made it work. He covered the holes. Until they were too wide (which they are now).

We can now build with better balance, and not put it all on Luck's shoulders. Though we could. If you're Peyton Manning, that model works. If you're not, it is probably better to take a different route. And we will. But we will still have an excellent trigger man, which still has sky is the limit potential.

[Zebra3]

The Redskins and Cowboys both have over controlling owners which destroys those teams. Lets pray that Irsay doesn't follow suit!!

Um...new Gm, new coach, *the* face of the franchise gone, many other fan favorites gone. One remaining consistent thing - owner. What's that about over controlling owners?

[P-Money]

Um...new Gm, new coach, *the* face of the franchise gone, many other fan favorites gone. One remaining consistent thing - owner. What's that about over controlling owners?

I know but lets hope Grigson is given full reigns of the team unlike the Cowboys GM because of Jerry "I Am The Best" Jones

[carmelcolt]

as sad as this is not seeing the same lineup on Sundays, i'm also excited to see the new Colts......new coaching philosophy, maybe some emotion on the sidelines. I just have this feeling that this Coaching staff we have is going to be a good one....i can't wait to see Luck turn into a monster before our eyes.

[Jaric]

I know but lets hope Grigson is given full reigns of the team unlike the Cowboys GM because of Jerry "I Am The Best" Jones

I'm gonna bet that with the Manning issue over, we're going to see more Grigson, and less Irsay. I never got the impression Irsay wanted to be a rockstar or anything like that. I've always thought he simply felt the need to put the Manning issue on his shoulders rather than start Grigson off with having to tell the fanbase their favorite player had to be cut.

Because we'd never forgive him and his time here would be over before it started. Heck, look at how upset people are with Irsay right now and try to mentally put that anger on Grigson.

That would not be good at all.

[P-Money]

I'm gonna bet that with the Manning issue over, we're going to see more Grigson, and less Irsay. I never got the impression Irsay wanted to be a rockstar or anything like that. I've always thought he simply felt the need to put the Manning issue on his shoulders rather than start Grigson off with having to tell the fanbase their favorite player had to be cut.

Because we'd never forgive him and his time here would be over before it started. Heck, look at how upset people are with Irsay right now and try to mentally put that anger on Grigson.

That would not be good at all.

Well said!! Totally agree

[oldunclemark]

I'm gonna bet that with the Manning issue over, we're going to see more Grigson, and less Irsay. I never got the impression Irsay wanted to be a rockstar or anything like that. I've always thought he simply felt the need to put the Manning issue on his shoulders rather than start Grigson off with having to tell the fanbase their favorite player had to be cut.

Because we'd never forgive him and his time here would be over before it started. Heck, look at how upset people are with Irsay right now and try to mentally put that anger on Grigson.

That would not be good at all.

Its a god point.

In retrospect....I understand now why Pagano and Grigson seemed so disconnected from Manning even to the extent of talking to him or about him...

..Its almost like they didnt take over until now...

only thing..They're going to be left with a half empty locker room...

[BOTT]

Um...new Gm, new coach, *the* face of the franchise gone, many other fan favorites gone. One remaining consistent thing - owner. What's that about over controlling owners?

hiring/firing coaches and gm's isn't a controlling owner....that's what owners do. it's not like irsay writing up draft boards and such....

[BleedingBlue]

You should be depressed.

Can't wait to be on these boards when the reality sets in to these dumb ***** who actually wanted this.

[David Wagner]

I am actually happy. the colts got rid of a GM who was average at best when accessing talent. They got rid of a poor head coach. They cut loose a soon to be 36 yr old qb who is one hit away from being in a wheel chair, they r going to finally address the defensive deficiencies which have kept the colts from being a dynasty. sunny days r on the horizon.