It Should Not Take 3 Plus Years To Win Afc Title.

[UndecidedFrog]

8 mediocre journeyman players < game changing impact premier pass rusher.

I don't care how much cap space you free up if you dump him, the Colts defense will be weaker without Freeney.

I say honor the contract you gave him and if the year shows he is a fit, you keep him beyond, but if he proves to not be a scheme fit, then you are free of him after honoring the contract he has earned.

Honestly, I consider this talk of cutting a premier game changing pass rusher, in a pass happy league, as being pure lunacy.

1) When you factor in injury into the equation, I would rather have 4 healthy mediocre journeymen (and 4 injured mediocre journeymen) than one injured game-changing impact player.

2) Cutting a player, or trading a player is still honoring the contract, given the specific language in the contract that permits teams to do so.

3) It is not lunacy to cut or trade a very good player because of cap reasons.

[betheafan41]

this might be something worth talking about.....Asante Samuel has said he would take a pay cut to facilitate a trade from philly, cut freeney,trade for samual to play on the opposite side of of Powers and the DB positions would be set with Powers and Samuel at CB and Bethea and Zybikowski at the safety positions. may need to sign an OLB or find one in the draft to fill the hole that will be left after releasing freeney but this trade could work. grigson has traded for a couple philly guys so far (bet fphilly is mad at them selves for trading their oline now lol) so why not try to make this work?

[bahhummbug]

this might be something worth talking about.....Asante Samuel has said he would take a pay cut to facilitate a trade from philly, cut freeney,trade for samual to play on the opposite side of of Powers and the DB positions would be set with Powers and Samuel at CB and Bethea and Zybikowski at the safety positions. may need to sign an OLB or find one in the draft to fill the hole that will be left after releasing freeney but this trade could work. grigson has traded for a couple philly guys so far (bet fphilly is mad at them selves for trading their oline now lol) so why not try to make this work?

Asante did say he would play for 7mill we definately need a good CB even if we have boo koo DBs on roster.would still free up another 7 mill to get a NT or TE in FA.There will be more players added to list after draft and june cuts.We could even move 7 mill to next years cap which would give us around 69 mill.

[dgambill]

8 mediocre journeyman players < game changing impact premier pass rusher.

I don't care how much cap space you free up if you dump him, the Colts defense will be weaker without Freeney.

I say honor the contract you gave him and if the year shows he is a fit, you keep him beyond, but if he proves to not be a scheme fit, then you are free of him after honoring the contract he has earned.

Honestly, I consider this talk of cutting a premier game changing pass rusher, in a pass happy league, as being pure lunacy.

Like cutting one of the most prolific passers in the history of the nfl? Point is if we can trade him for a second or third rounder that would be great. IDK what we could get but if he is up for restructuring for another team that would make a trade more likely. Freeney is a great pass rusher but his contract is horrible and the savings we would have could get us 8 mediocre players or perhaps a couple pro bowlers. Point is we don't have to spend that money this year but could use it next. As soon as the draft happens you will see a lot more moves happen. A lot of teams may target certain positions in the draft but if they can't land what they are looking for they may change their mind and find Freeney a worthwhile target. I think the big thing is if they pass the rule pushing back the trade deadline to week 8 then that could very much help us in finding a trade partner. You could see several teams that would be willing to pay half his salary and give up a decent draft pick if they have need of a pass rusher late in the season from injury or to get them over the top in a playoff run. I think that is our perspective. I don't think we will cut him. I think we will keep him but continue to try to trade him as the year moves along. At any point we get the value we have placed on him..say a second or third rounder or a player to fit our scheme then we move him. If the season starts we still have until week 8. This also allows us to evaluate him in the new system as well if we want to extend him. Really we are in a good position with him.

It depends on the space they have left.

http://blogs.nfl.com...-for-each-team/

Gives an example of every team for this season. It's a month old at this point but the carry over part won't change.

Jacksonville carried over 31 million.

Yeah...definately carrying over any amount of that 14 million would be key to building this team. I can't see why so many people thought paying Peyton 20 million was so terrible and we have to cut him but paying Freeney 14 million is ok and helping the team. Looking at the contracts that we were able to sign with that much money...I mean that is 3 high caliber players and perhaps a player that actually could fit our new system and be better than Freeney.

As far as the OP is concerned and that is shouldn't take us 3 years to win the AFC. To me that is laughable. We have so many holes on defense and our only pro bowler on offense is a solid player but growing very old. In 3 years he won't be a number 1 wideout..perhaps he isn't now. I mean we have no definate proven running game. A rookie qb that could do well or struggle..we don't know. We have a terrible secondary and LB playing in a scheme they never have. We have no NT and pieced together offensive line. Sure we will get better and add pieces but we are the worst team in the league full of holes. Tennessee is in a much better position and Houston will be just fine. We are in the worst division in the league but that can change quickly. That said that still won't help us if we even get to the playoffs against teams like Balt, Cincy, Pitt, NE, Den, and SD. We have a long way to go to compete to get into the Super Bowl again and I don't see that happening in 3 years...definately not less.

[TennEngr]

A Super Bowl in 3 years? I sure hope so but don't give that much chance.

[John Dee]

O.K first topic Ive started so give me honest opinions,analysis.Freeney must go,either as a trade or dropped.First my grammar is horrible sry.Were talking about the AFC South.We beat Tenn and Houston last year with who as QB?Can we not all agree Luck is far far better than any QB that played for us last year.We can win our Div next year with all the cap money we will have.But,we can be far more competitive this year without Freeney.14 mill can buy alot when teams start dropping players in cuts to 53.Does not make any sense to me to keep Freeney when 1 man cannot fill all your needs.Iam a huge Freeney fan he has done great things for us over the years but not worth the risk. Sign 8 or more players to 1 year contracts to fill needs now to be competitive this year.62 mill in cap space next year can even roll more into it with cutting Freeney,and with extra comp picks next year for FAs we lost we will have all needs met and win the AFC Title i have No doubts that we can beat Houston,Tenn and Jax none.

If Colts can't trade Freeney for at least a 2nd then keep him and use him exclusively as a rush end on passing downs. He is in the last year of his contract so just cutting him would not be smart IMO. He does have value as a rush end. He just can't play a typical end or OLB in a 3-4.

But that's OK.. us him as best we can and then next season find a better fit for the scheme.

I think Indy's O will be fine, the question is how good will the D be.

[MEAT]

3 years and in the Super Bowl?   I wish Vegas had odds against that.   of course you'd have to lay 1,000,000 to win 100.

[bahhummbug]

Yee of lil faith,Give this ole die hard fan a break and get on board.After this year if we drop Freeney send that money forward to our already stockpiled 62 mill in cap next year. add all the picks and FAs we can add and comp picks next year,and you have a whole new team fired up by the best rookie QB ))))))))))

[Fx Stryker]

I think in the next five years we get ONE AFCS title, and possibly two playoff appearances.

[Smonroe]

Yee of lil faith,Give this ole die hard fan a break and get on board.After this year if we drop Freeney send that money forward to our already stockpiled 62 mill in cap next year. add all the picks and FAs we can add and comp picks next year,and you have a whole new team fired up by the best rookie QB ))))))))))

I'm originally from Ohio and have a lot of friends who are die hard Browns fans. Maybe you should go on one of their boards and explain how it shouldn't take more than 3 years to win the AFC. Of maybe, just win.

Love your optimism though!

[deedub75]

I'm still waiting for clarification from the league about that. I get the feeling that the 1.6 you are speaking of was what pushed the cap to 120.6.

I'm not sure about that. It was projected to be $120.6M before the info about the penalties came out.

[Tark The Shark]

I can only hope that we have a similar kind of era of dominance that we just had in the Manning era

[ruksak]

I can only hope that we have a similar kind of era of dominance that we just had in the Manning era

Well, considering we've reloaded everything everywhere and everyone, if we do this right we could have a long run getting ready to start. It kinda trips me out to think that Luck could still be chucking the pigskin for us in the year 2026.

[Tark The Shark]

Well, considering we've reloaded everything everywhere and everyone, if we do this right we could have a long run getting ready to start. It kinda trips me out to think that Luck could still be chucking the pigskin for us in the year 2026.

This year will certainly be a interesting year. I think if he get 4 wins, I would consider this year to be a success and it could be great moving forward because next year we will have a lot of cap room.

[FireJimCaldwell]

I'm not sure about that. It was projected to be $120.6M before the info about the penalties came out.

There were plenty of rumors floating around. That it would be a slight increase over 2011, that it would be lower than 2011, and then the penalty of the 1.6 and the 120.6 were announced the same weekend.

So that is why I said I'm waiting for clarification.

[ruksak]

Love the new username and avatar change. You iz a creative guy, HJC.

off topic; Can I borrow $5? Need a sammich and no monies.

[bahhummbug]

I'm originally from Ohio and have a lot of friends who are die hard Browns fans. Maybe you should go on one of their boards and explain how it shouldn't take more than 3 years to win the AFC. Of maybe, just win.

Love your optimism though!

Hmm Cleveland always forgets the same thing.They need a QB.Year in year out zzzzz gets boring watching them.

<<<<<Is Very Optimistic

[betheafan41]

Asante did say he would play for 7mill we definately need a good CB even if we have boo koo DBs on roster.would still free up another 7 mill to get a NT or TE in FA.There will be more players added to list after draft and june cuts.We could even move 7 mill to next years cap which would give us around 69 mill.

yeah so getting asante to play on the opposite side of powers would not be such a bad thing. maybe a new venue would do asante some good and his attitude will change.

[Creekside]

ironic that this post is about a winning season IF the Colts dump Freeney........and then where's the pass rush? They double Mathis every pass play...with mediocre at best DB's........ouch

[bahhummbug]

ironic that this post is about a winning season IF the Colts dump Freeney........and then where's the pass rush? They double Mathis every pass play...with mediocre at best DB's........ouch

I do understand your frustration but do you not understand 14 mill ?i hope double team mathis in a 3-4 leaves lb cb ss blitzes free to reak havoc.

[Corndog]

It took over 20 years to win the first one!

[Creekside]

I do understand your frustration but do you not understand 14 mill ?i hope double team mathis in a 3-4 leaves lb cb ss blitzes free to reak havoc.

..........in my opinion Mathis and Freeney need each other......Grigson understands 14 mill and insists Freeney will be a Colt in 2012....Pagano understands 14 mill and insists he wants both players on the team for as long as possible....I respect your opinion, but I believe the "game wrecking" duo allows the DB's to play coverage, which is the defense's greatest need right now............

[JoKeR]

So are the colts going to be more 4-3 with a rush 3-4 package ( both OLBs blitz).

Or are they just going to use Freeney on certain downs?

Or are they going to use Freeney and Mathis as OLBs , in a 3-4, on most downs?

[Creekside]

So are the colts going to be more 4-3 with a rush 3-4 package ( both OLBs blitz).

Or are they just going to use Freeney on certain downs?

Or are they going to use Freeney and Mathis as OLBs , in a 3-4, on most downs?

.........I honestly think that Pagano himself (right now) does not know....and after the draft, and throughout preseason he will evaluate and assemble...he has said that he's not going to force a square peg into a round hole....and that he wants to position the players on defense to maximize their talents that will allow them to make plays...it will be interesting, for sure, to watch the first few games next year to see what he comes up with...

[emac]

In my opinion the AFC South is a very weak. With good drafting and free agency (which I think we had) we could be battling Houston for the division sooner than everyone thinks. As far as the AFC title a couple of years.........bring on Peyton for a huge story. Go Colts!!

[Creekside]

In my opinion the AFC South is a very weak. With good drafting and free agency (which I think we had) we could be battling Houston for the division sooner than everyone thinks. As far as the AFC title a couple of years.........bring on Peyton for a huge story. Go Colts!!

......I agree....and the AFC in general is much weeker than it was just a couple of years ago....Chargers, Steelers, Pats are in decline......