Colts sign Devin Funchess (Merge)

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

I don’t think Inman would compete with funchess. Funchess has much more play making ability. I know he hasn’t played a snap yet but I have a very good feeling about it. Ballard is doing with funchess exactly what he says. Come in and play well and you will be rewarded.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

16 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

Here what I like about what Ballard did with funchess. He has to earn his way into a contract with the colts after next year. He is going to work hard. Instead of just handing  a player like Williams a four year deal we are making Funchess earn it. This is very ballard like. He wants players to earn their way onto this team. That is exactly what funchess is doing. He doesn’t like to hand out contracts to players who haven’t earned their way onto the colts.

 

 

If Funchess has a good season he will 'earn' and want a multiyear $15 million per AND Ballard will let him walk.

 

If he doesn't produce Ballard will let him walk.

 

Odds are he's only here 1 season.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

He won’t command that much lol. Maybe 13m. Ballard would resign him for that if he was a difference maker on this team.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

You people are really pessimistic. How about being optimistic and Ballard knows what he is doing.  I want all  you haters to say you were wrong after next season.

[Bravo]

He was on a “prove it” deal last year in Carolina. 

 

He didnt do well. We will see.

[EastStreet]

8 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

You people are really pessimistic. How about being optimistic and Ballard knows what he is doing.  I want all  you haters to say you were wrong after next season.

 

There's a lot of fact and data reasons to be critical. That means folks are being realistic, not necessarily pessimistic. Not everything that comes out of Ballard's backside will smell like roses. And that's OK. He just needs to hit more than he misses, and improve the team when all is said and done. Looking at past performance as an indicator for future performance is logical. Ignoring stats and past performance, and thinking Ballard is perfect, is simply pumping sunshine. Come September, EVERYONE will cheer for DF to succeed. But it's OK to be critical or question things when facts, stats, and pay don't make perfect sense.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

12 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

He won’t command that much lol. Maybe 13m. Ballard would resign him for that if he was a difference maker on this team.

 

He will want a multiyear and some $ guaranteed. You think ballard will pay that? If he wanted to invest in WR for several years he probably would have signed Tyree Willams for similar $. 

He's probably planning on Draftong a WR and hope he hits on him and Cain comes back healthy and he has 2 good prospects on rookie salary.

We'll see how it plays out.

[Four2itus]

3 minutes ago, Irish YJ said:

 

There's a lot of fact and data reasons to be critical. 

But isn't that logic just as relevant in reverse towards Ballard? If we are suppose to go with facts .....considering the numbers by Funchess last year, then shouldn't we also note the "fact", that Ballard was GM of the year?

 

Not trying to be a hard butt, just noting that if we are going hard facts, then the Ballard facts out weigh the Funchess facts. 

 

Come to think of it, maybe Devin could do a radio NFL show after retirement...Funchess Facts. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

5 minutes ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

 

He will want a multiyear and some $ guaranteed. You think ballard will pay that? If he wanted to invest in WR for several years he probably would have signed Tyree Willams for similar $. 

He's probably planning on Draftong a WR and hope he hits on him and Cain comes back healthy and he has 2 good prospects on rookie salary.

We'll see how it plays out.

Yes he will. He is 24 yo. If he comes in and makes a difference on this team and makes us a better team yes he will pay him.   

[Scott Pennock]

I could see him working out of the slot like Matthews/Agholar did in Philly. 

 

Big body, supposedly runs good crossing routes, huge wingspan and is a willing blocker in the run game if he needs to crash down on a DE.....

 

The Grant/Inman combo accumulated 63-638-4 as the number 2 and (if healthy) Funchess will surpass those numbers this season.

 

In fact, I'd bet that our number 3 WR will match or surpass those stats next year as well.

[EastStreet]

3 minutes ago, Four2itus said:

But isn't that logic just as relevant in reverse towards Ballard? If we are suppose to go with facts .....considering the numbers by Funchess last year, then shouldn't we also note the "fact", that Ballard was GM of the year?

 

Not trying to be a hard butt, just noting that if we are going hard facts, then the Ballard facts out weigh the Funchess facts. 

 

Come to think of it, maybe Devin could do a radio NFL show after retirement...Funchess Facts. 

We're not debating if Ballard is a good GM. We're debating Funchess fit and contract value. Even GMs of the year make bad calls. Ballard's award doesn't erase Funchess's stats. Funchess having a bad year in 2019 won't by itself make Ballard a bad GM either. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

I will say this. I don’t know the size of Marcus Johnson.  The only way ballard would let funchess walk if he had a great season is if he felt one of the young guys could give the same production. That is a total unknown right now. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

3 minutes ago, Irish YJ said:

We're not debating if Ballard is a good GM. We're debating Funchess fit and contract value. Even GMs of the year make bad calls. Ballard's award doesn't erase Funchess's stats. Funchess having a bad year in 2019 won't by itself make Ballard a bad GM either. 

Exactly. All GM make mistakes. IF this doesn’t work out at least it is a minor one. I just think it’s ridiculous to say he is going to fail before he plays one snap.

[EastStreet]

3 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

I could see him working out of the slot like Matthews/Agholar did in Philly. 

 

Big body, supposedly runs good crossing routes, huge wingspan and is a willing blocker in the run game if he needs to crash down on a DE.....

 

The Grant/Inman combo accumulated 63-638-4 as the number 2 and (if healthy) Funchess will surpass those numbers this season.

 

In fact, I'd bet that our number 3 WR will match or surpass those stats next year as well.

I agree on the slot use. Agholar is a bad comp though. NA is 6ft, and both Matthews and NA have very different histories/trends compared to Funchess. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

6 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

I could see him working out of the slot like Matthews/Agholar did in Philly. 

 

Big body, supposedly runs good crossing routes, huge wingspan and is a willing blocker in the run game if he needs to crash down on a DE.....

 

The Grant/Inman combo accumulated 63-638-4 as the number 2 and (if healthy) Funchess will surpass those numbers this season.

 

In fact, I'd bet that our number 3 WR will match or surpass those stats next year as well.

He is going to create a lot of matchup problems. If Cain is ready I could see him with good numbers as the number 3. But I bet he is four to ease back in.

[EastStreet]

Just now, Chloe6124 said:

Exactly. All GM make mistakes. IF this doesn’t work out at least it is a minor one. I just think it’s ridiculous to say he is going to fail before he plays one snap.

Folks are questioning the value/need/fit. They won't be hoping for him to fail come September. It's OK to question things. I'll be screaming loud for him when he scores 6.

[shasta519]

15 minutes ago, Irish YJ said:

We're not debating if Ballard is a good GM. We're debating Funchess fit and contract value. Even GMs of the year make bad calls. Ballard's award doesn't erase Funchess's stats. Funchess having a bad year in 2019 won't by itself make Ballard a bad GM either. 

 

Exactly...questioning Funchess' fit and the move overall does not mean anybody is questioning Ballard's ability as a GM overall.

 

And if we want to be fair...we should look at the WR position individually...not point to other moves. 

 

So far...Ballard has signed Aiken, Grant and Funchess to one year deals. The first two were very bad (Aiken was probably the worst I have seen in a long time in a Colts uniform). So there is not a whole lot of precedent to go on here when it comes to the WR position.

 

And now you have Funchess...whose advanced stats last year were even worse than Grant. So questioning it is not an illogical or pessimistic view...it's actually a pretty natural reaction. 

 

I have no doubt that Funchess will provide some production next year.  But so did Rogers, Grant and Inman. If I had to bet right now...I would say he won't be back. 

[shasta519]

20 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

I could see him working out of the slot like Matthews/Agholar did in Philly. 

 

Big body, supposedly runs good crossing routes, huge wingspan and is a willing blocker in the run game if he needs to crash down on a DE.....

 

The Grant/Inman combo accumulated 63-638-4 as the number 2 and (if healthy) Funchess will surpass those numbers this season.

 

In fact, I'd bet that our number 3 WR will match or surpass those stats next year as well.

 

Since 2014, only one WR (not named Hilton) has surpassed that yardage production. I can't imagine two doing it...unless Ebron's production and role is reduced.

[BOTT]

1 hour ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

 

If Funchess has a good season he will 'earn' and want a multiyear $15 million per AND Ballard will let him walk.

 

If he doesn't produce Ballard will let him walk.

 

Odds are he's only here 1 season.

Desir earned another contract and got paid. Same with Doyle, Glowinski and Hunt.

[Scott Pennock]

4 minutes ago, shastamasta said:

 

Since 2014, only one WR (not named Hilton) has surpassed that yardage production. I can't imagine two doing it...unless Ebron's production and role is reduced.

I had faith that the team would go 10-6 last season and I have faith that the 2nd year in this system the offense will expand as such as well.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

I don’t think you can really compare grant to Funchess. Funchess has much more upside in this offense. His size alone should make him more productive then grant. Ryan grant wasn’t going to case matchup problems.

 

Ebron probably won’t hsvr as big of s year with funchess in this team. But that doesn’t mean he is less important. We will have so many targets.

 

This  also might be a player Reich had his eye on and went to ballard about it.

[sreeb2deeni]

If Funchess has a great year and wants to be paid huge money, he mostly likely will have to leave for greener pastures. At that point, Ballard scours free agency once again and choose another popular or unpopular (with the forum) WR to come in and make big plays with Luck. Or if a current guy or draft pick is ready, even better. All of these scenarios point to Ballard having impressive abilities as a GM. I don't see Funchess being a flop in this system, not with this QB. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

3 minutes ago, sreeb2deeni said:

If Funchess has a great year and wants to be paid huge money, he mostly likely will have to leave for greener pastures. At that point, Ballard scours free agency once again and choose another popular or unpopular (with the forum) WR to come in and make big plays with Luck. Or if a current guy or draft pick is ready, even better. All of these scenarios point to Ballard having impressive abilities as a GM. I don't see Funchess being a flop in this system, not with this QB. 

Ballard will pay him what every other number two receiver gets. Somewhere in the range of 11 to 12 m. Unless we have two of our receivers are ready to step up he will get signed after a good year. He is young.  Right now our young receivers are unknown. We will know more after this season. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

The young receivers we have also don’t have the size of funchess. He brings a different type of receiver to our team.

[ColtsBlueFL]

1 hour ago, bravo4460 said:

He was on a “prove it” deal last year in Carolina. 

 

He didnt do well. We will see.

 

Paying a WR $10,000,000 /year with a $3 million incentive package isn't a prove it deal; it's an investment - short term.

 

The Incentives are (almost certainly) to be of the Not Likely to BE Earned (NLTBE) variety. If he hits them, its possible he gets a longer contract offer at that 13 million /yr level. If not by Colts, then someone else.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

11 minutes ago, ColtsBlueFL said:

 

Paying a WR $10,000,000 /year with a $3 million incentive package isn't a prove it deal; it's an investment - short term.

 

The Incentives are (almost certainly) to be of the Not Likely to BE Earned (NLTBE) variety. If he hits them, its possible he gets a longer contract offer at that 13 million /yr level. If not by Colts, then someone else.

I think I read one of the incentives is a 1000 yards. With all our targets I wouldn’t expect him to hit that. But you never know.

[sreeb2deeni]

23 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

Ballard will pay him what every other number two receiver gets. Somewhere in the range of 11 to 12 m. Unless we have two of our receivers are ready to step up he will get signed after a good year. He is young.  Right now our young receivers are unknown. We will know more after this season. 

I'm thinking differently. If Funchess has a great year and meets his incentives and earns his full $13M, wouldn't he want to begin negotiating at that number? To pay him more than TY seems unlikely. Then again I am not an agent or a GM.  

[EastStreet]

21 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

The young receivers we have also don’t have the size of funchess. He brings a different type of receiver to our team.

If we are talking size, Inman was 6-3, and Ebron is very similar. Both EE and DF were TEs coming out of HS. Funchess played both TE and WR in college. He played WR at Michigan probably more out of need at WR than anything else. He's a jumbo WR / detached TE tweener kind of guy. Ebron is a detached TE, but plays a little heavier.

[Four2itus]

6 minutes ago, sreeb2deeni said:

I'm thinking differently. If Funchess has a great year and meets his incentives and earns his full $13M, wouldn't he want to begin negotiating at that number? To pay him more than TY seems unlikely. Then again I am not an agent or a GM.  

The longer the contract, the less per year is a fairly common stance. 

[shasta519]

1 minute ago, Irish YJ said:

If we are talking size, Inman was 6-3, and Ebron is very similar. Both EE and DF were TEs coming out of HS. Funchess played both TE and WR in college. He played WR at Michigan probably more out of need at WR than anything else. He's a jumbo WR / detached TE tweener kind of guy. Ebron is a detached TE, but plays a little heavier.

 

Yeah...Inman was Funchess last year. Similar height, size and catch radius. Inman was faster when he was younger...but probably the same speed now as Funchess.

[CurBeatElite]

15 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

Ballard will pay him what every other number two receiver gets. Somewhere in the range of 11 to 12 m. Unless we have two of our receivers are ready to step up he will get signed after a good year. He is young.  Right now our young receivers are unknown. We will know more after this season. 

Funchess' major issue in the NFL have been drops.  The guy has a lot of upside.  Ebron's major problem was drops, but he had a lot of upside.  Ebron had some drop issues last year, but not like he had in the past and he made a lot of big plays at critical times.  He was also a very solid red zone guy for us.  Ebron seems to have revived his career here in Indy.  A big part of that is our QB and probably also the culture Reich/Ballard/etc. are building. 

 

Funchess brings the size to the table which will help alleviate some of the pressure from Ebron in the red zone (especially if Doyle doesn't come back healthy).  I read recently (I think in Indy Star) a quote from Reich that was along the lines of "I can deal with a few drops here or there if the guy is making big plays to counteract them." (I know I'm off on the quote, but that was the idea).  The article kind of compared Ebron to Funchess -- two bigger guys with a world of upside who may not have been living up to their potential with their main issues being drops.  The article basically argued that part of the reason the Colts aren't afraid of Funchess' history is because they signed a guy who was a pro-bowler and critical part of our success last year who had similar knocks on his game.

 

If Funchess comes in here and is turning things around (in terms of drops), making plays, and the Colts are winning football games, then I imagine Ballard will be offering him something long-term before Funchess gets the chance to test the FA market next year.  If he's still dropping the ball and not making plays, then we let him walk at the end of the year.  I think that's about as complex as this situation gets.

[BluHorzhu]

The other day I slighted Funchess based on his speed, or lack thereof.  I was right in saying he's not fast.  But that's not the whole story.  

 

He does other things very well, including blocking and making contested catches despite the caveat that he can't gain separation. 

 

Something to remember is that he will never be a #1 receiver, so he's never going to command or get paid #1 receiver dough.  There's no 1,000 yards and 10 TDs in his 2019 season because he won't be asked to do that much.  Even if he balls out he could get extended for what?  Maybe $12 mil per year base salary with more incentives?  Food for thought.

[throwing BBZ]

1 hour ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

 

He will want a multiyear and some $ guaranteed. You think ballard will pay that? If he wanted to invest in WR for several years he probably would have signed Tyree Willams for similar $. 

He's probably planning on Draftong a WR and hope he hits on him and Cain comes back healthy and he has 2 good prospects on rookie salary.

We'll see how it plays out.

 

 Yet he wouldn't have signed Tyrell for similar $$ because Tyrell wanted to play on the Raiders. But you can't get that, like duhflight. 
 Gee, it is possible Funchess has a indespensible like season. THAT is just as possible as the garbage you are spewing. Hate on.

[TonyBungee]

50 minutes ago, sreeb2deeni said:

If Funchess has a great year and wants to be paid huge money, he mostly likely will have to leave for greener pastures. 

True, but if he has a great year, he might also leave with a ring.

[Architects08]

I love that its only 1 year and we can move on after that  

[EastStreet]

8 minutes ago, shastamasta said:

 

Yeah...Inman was Funchess last year. Similar height, size and catch radius. Inman was faster when he was younger...but probably the same speed now as Funchess.

A lot of the "experts" have said the Colts should have resigned Inman over Funchess for a lot less. Like more than half less. I do think Funchess is better than Inman, but not that much better in terms of price tag.

[throwing BBZ]

16 minutes ago, sreeb2deeni said:

I'm thinking differently. If Funchess has a great year and meets his incentives and earns his full $13M, wouldn't he want to begin negotiating at that number? To pay him more than TY seems unlikely. Then again I am not an agent or a GM.  

 

 Under your scenario, TY gets cut because he is so badly damaged during next season Ballard doesn't believe he can earn his $13M. Hypotheticals are FUN.

[WoolMagnet]

2 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:

Here what I like about what Ballard did with funchess. He has to earn his way into a contract with the colts after next year. He is going to work hard. Instead of just handing  a player like Williams a four year deal we are making Funchess earn it. This is very ballard like. He wants players to earn their way onto this team. That is exactly what funchess is doing. He doesn’t like to hand out contracts to players who haven’t earned their way onto the colts.

 

I tend to agree with you.  If Ballard is 100% on board with a guy , then spending big on 1 player (a guy you expect to be a core player) has a much better chance of working out, or at least should.

  Another factor is, and Ballard has said this, that you wanna be careful who you bring in and how much you pay them.  We are building a great locker room culture.  Part of this is the belief if you work hard, the team will keep and pay you.  Ballard is ant to build thru the draft, and it appears he prefers most FA pickups as "trial periods."  This helps that they will come in and follow the "company rules".  A big name, high price guy may bring an attitude and a level of self- superiority which can rot a lot clearly room from the inside out.

  I used to have alot of angel fish (tropical fish)..  very rare and neat specimens. .  With tropical fish, not unlike an nfl locker room, 1 new addition can literally and figuratively "kill" the delicate balance.  

  Its not flashy, but Ballard needs a strong, self-policing locker room before he adds some of these guys i believe.  And i love he sets his limit and sticks to it. He'll find "his guys."

[throwing BBZ]

5 minutes ago, BluHorzhu said:

The other day I slighted Funchess based on his speed, or lack thereof.  I was right in saying he's not fast.  But that's not the whole story.  

 

He does other things very well, including blocking and making contested catches despite the caveat that he can't gain separation. 

 

Something to remember is that he will never be a #1 receiver, so he's never going to command or get paid #1 receiver dough.  There's no 1,000 yards and 10 TDs in his 2019 season because he won't be asked to do that much.  Even if he balls out he could get extended for what?  Maybe $12 mil per year base salary with more incentives?  Food for thought.

 

 His blocking is a negative.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

20 minutes ago, sreeb2deeni said:

I'm thinking differently. If Funchess has a great year and meets his incentives and earns his full $13M, wouldn't he want to begin negotiating at that number? To pay him more than TY seems unlikely. Then again I am not an agent or a GM.  

Williams just signed at 11 m. Funchess isnt AB. Lol I don’t know where got getting he would be worth more then that.