Colts promote Marcus Brady to OC (merge)

[EastStreet]

9 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

I think there’s a good chance you’re right.  
 

But if you think of Eason as a candidate to be our future,  he would seem out of place in a dink and dunk, or ball control offense.  Wouldn’t the team want to use Eason’s arm to stretch the field?   Make the defense defend more space?   

 

I would think with better or more weapons at WR and TE, our offense could get stretched out more.    I agree, perhaps not wide open, but maybe more wide open-ish.  

Just because your O is conservative, or dink/dunk, doesn't mean you don't value a QB who has a strong arm. Reich does like to take the occasional shot, he's just not a "vertical" coach (which is a bit weird given all the time he spent in k-gun). And it does take arm strength to even go to the opposite side flat or intermediate sideline. I don't view Eason as a poor fit for a future with Reich. Underutilized perhaps, but not poor fit. Not a huge fan of Reich's scheme, but not a fan of Arians either. I'd prefer a happy medium.

[crazycolt1]

14 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

I think there’s a good chance you’re right.  
 

But if you think of Eason as a candidate to be our future,  he would seem out of place in a dink and dunk, or ball control offense.  Wouldn’t the team want to use Eason’s arm to stretch the field?   Make the defense defend more space?   

 

I would think with better or more weapons at WR and TE, our offense could get stretched out more.    I agree, perhaps not wide open, but maybe more wide open-ish.  

I really don't know what to think of Eason. I had predicted he will be our starter next season but who really knows?

If he does become a starter I don't think we will all of a sudden be a down the field offense. We will still be pretty even between the run and the pass. 

If Eason can just take what the other teams gives it could become what you may call dink and dunk but he will have the ability to go down field when it's open. 

[CurBeatElite]

43 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

I think there’s a good chance you’re right.  
 

But if you think of Eason as a candidate to be our future,  he would seem out of place in a dink and dunk, or ball control offense.  Wouldn’t the team want to use Eason’s arm to stretch the field?   Make the defense defend more space?   

 

I would think with better or more weapons at WR and TE, our offense could get stretched out more.    I agree, perhaps not wide open, but maybe more wide open-ish.  

 

 

It would seem like that.. but that also depends on other things like you mentioned (WR, TE, etc.).  

 

Going into last year, we all knew Rivers didn't have the arm strength that many other QBs in the league do, so it was kind of predictable that we were 'dink/dunk' to some extent.  However, we also went into the season thinking we'd have a healthy Campbell (4.3 forty guy), a fully healthy Pittman, fully healthy TEs and Marlon Mack (a dynamic starting RB who the coaches were comfortable with in the passing game).  

 

Pittman missed significant time, Campbell missed basically the whole season, TY didn't seem like himself (how much of that was him slowing down a bit, being hampered by injuries, not syncing with Rivers, I don't know) at least for the early part of the season, between Doyle, MAC and Burton, we were missing at least 1 or 2 TEs for a good portion of the season and we lost Mack for the year in week 1.  While JT had a great year, it took him a while to get going and undoubtedly that had to change some of the coaching strategy (i.e., going from a vet to a rookie), also the amount of injuries we had at WR/TE to top 2-3 guys had to impact game planning.  There were a few games early when Marcus Johnson came in and we had some success going deep to him... that stopped (my 2 guesses as to why are 1: Other teams were caught off guard the first couple weeks we put that into the fold, and 2: MJ isn't a very crisp route runner and made some critical mistakes making wrong cuts).

 

In all, I tend to believe Reich would be willing to open the offense up some.. but it's not like we just need a QB with a strong arm in there, we need explosive players at the WR and TE position as well.. and a steady run game from the get-go would be helpful.... especially if we get a QB who likes play action.  

 

29 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Just because your O is conservative, or dink/dunk, doesn't mean you don't value a QB who has a strong arm. Reich does like to take the occasional shot, he's just not a "vertical" coach (which is a bit weird given all the time he spent in k-gun). And it does take arm strength to even go to the opposite side flat or intermediate sideline. I don't view Eason as a poor fit for a future with Reich. Underutilized perhaps, but not poor fit. Not a huge fan of Reich's scheme, but not a fan of Arians either. I'd prefer a happy medium.

 

I am not entirely sure that Reich doesn't have it in him to be more 'vertical' as a coach.  I do believe he (and Ballard) like to control the ball (and therefore the clock) on offense.  Part of that strategy inherently means limiting deep shots and quick attacks.  That said, I think our D has gotten good enough (ideally it'll get even better this offseason) to the point where I don't think our O needs to play 'keep away' so often.  Also, if we get a healthy Campbell back, coupled with Pittman and ideally see TY come back fully healthy, add another speedy WR and see advancements from Patmon/Harris/Pascal/Dullin. etc... we'll have a lot of speed on the field.  I know we can move the ball with screens and dink/dunk offense, but if we had a QB with a shotgun arm (could be Eason, maybe Stafford, etc..), I find it hard to believe Reich's tendencies to take shots down the field will not increase.

[EastStreet]

8 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

I am not entirely sure that Reich doesn't have it in him to be more 'vertical' as a coach.  I do believe he (and Ballard) like to control the ball (and therefore the clock) on offense.  Part of that strategy inherently means limiting deep shots and quick attacks.  That said, I think our D has gotten good enough (ideally it'll get even better this offseason) to the point where I don't think our O needs to play 'keep away' so often.  Also, if we get a healthy Campbell back, coupled with Pittman and ideally see TY come back fully healthy, add another speedy WR and see advancements from Patmon/Harris/Pascal/Dullin. etc... we'll have a lot of speed on the field.  I know we can move the ball with screens and dink/dunk offense, but if we had a QB with a shotgun arm (could be Eason, maybe Stafford, etc..), I find it hard to believe Reich's tendencies to take shots down the field will not increase.

IDK, I won't believe it (more vertical) until I see it. 

 

I do believe Pittman will take a nice step forward in year 2, but my confidence in Campbell staying healthy is low. As far as WR is concerned, lots of potential, but almost zero "for sure".

 

Unless we bring back Houston/Autry/Rhodes, or solve for the absence (in an upgraded way), I think our D back slides. I'm not confident in Oke or Blackmon either. Buckner and Leonard are really the only 2 on D I have faith in right now. 

 

 

[CurBeatElite]

4 hours ago, EastStreet said:

IDK, I won't believe it (more vertical) until I see it. 

 

I do believe Pittman will take a nice step forward in year 2, but my confidence in Campbell staying healthy is low. As far as WR is concerned, lots of potential, but almost zero "for sure".

 

Unless we bring back Houston/Autry/Rhodes, or solve for the absence (in an upgraded way), I think our D back slides. I'm not confident in Oke or Blackmon either. Buckner and Leonard are really the only 2 on D I have faith in right now. 

 

 

 

I feel your sentiment, and I won't believe it until I see it either.. and yes, lots of potential at WR (unless the coaching staff thinks Patmon is the real deal, I'd also be more comfortable if we add another player to that mix), but nothing for certain (we'll have to see PIttman and Campbell actually stay healthy for the majority of the season - ideally 16 games and post-season).  

 

Considering there was a very weird off-season last year, I was pretty impressed by our young WRs (particularly Pittman and Harris).  I think we've pretty much seen what we can get from Pascal - a solid, not spectacular 3 or 4 WR.  

 

Again, I don't think we'll see a fully vertical system with Reich (nothing like Arians runs)... but, if we get a QB (e.g., Stafford or perhaps Eason) with a strong arm.. I have a hard time believing we won't see 'more' vertical than we've seen with Reich, especially if our young guys continue to improve and if we add another WR.

 

In terms of defense stepping back... I don't think we'll see that.  I expect Walker moves on.  I highly doubt we let Houston/Autry/Rhodes all leave (my guess is we bring back all 3 on 2-3 year deals, and if not all 3, at least 2 of them), unless Ballard is comfortable that we've upgraded or are not moving back in those positions.  

 

My personal opinion is that we'll bring Hooker back for a 1 year 'prove it' and I think he and Blackmon would be exceptional as a safety duo- and think Willis would be great in a hybrid role (what we all dreamed Geathers of doing).  Again, a big "IF".  

 

We have one of the smartest GM's in the league and I think are top 5 in cap-money available.  We are in a  unique position that I don't see many other teams in...... that is, 'win now' and 'build for the future'.  

 

Until we see it come to fruition, we won't know and we should all be skeptical... as an optimist, I think we're going to be OK.

 

 

 

 

[Rackeen305]

On 1/21/2021 at 11:29 PM, The Fish said:

Our OC loves putting up points?!

 

That's probably like at least half of the job requirements, right? Right? 

How was Nick Sirianni at that???

[Zoltan]

I saw Duce Staley has asked for his release from the Eagles, if he does get released Frank should try to bring him in. He is a highly respected coach and I'm sure we could add him as assistant Head Coach or something. It sounds like he wants a coordinator position but maybe Frank would be able to sway him with sometime of promotion.

 

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/duce-staley-asks-eagles-release-163013216.html

[Two_pound]

Elevating Brady to oc was an excellent move on various levels. It was an "inhouse" move. He is familiar with the organization and coaches already. He is well respected. And I think also he has helped build a very strong foundation for the players over these past 3 years under coach Reich. We need a strong foundation here with the Colts because we will never be a franchise that can bring in a qb, no matter who it is, and have gigantic success immediately, such as the steelers(Roethlesberger), the Broncoes(Manning), or most recently Tampa(cry baby). That just isn't going to happen here, history tells us that. Let's just keep moving along with solid personnel moves by Ballard and we can compete.

[ColtStrong2013]

On 1/23/2021 at 3:13 PM, crazycolt1 said:

I really don't know what to think of Eason. I had predicted he will be our starter next season but who really knows?

If he does become a starter I don't think we will all of a sudden be a down the field offense. We will still be pretty even between the run and the pass. 

If Eason can just take what the other teams gives it could become what you may call dink and dunk but he will have the ability to go down field when it's open. 

Agreed. arm strength doesn’t change the philosophy of an offense. It just opens the playbook up more and makes a defense honor the arm strength a little more. Chiefs offense uses a lot of play designs to create big plays by getting guys in space. Mahomes arm gets the ball there and allows guys like Hill, Hardman and Kelse to make plays in open space. 

[krunk]

I think Brady will do well. I like how detailed he was as a QB coach

[NewColtsFan]

1 hour ago, Two_pound said:

Elevating Brady to oc was an excellent move on various levels. It was an "inhouse" move. He is familiar with the organization and coaches already. He is well respected. And I think also he has helped build a very strong foundation for the players over these past 3 years under coach Reich. We need a strong foundation here with the Colts because we will never be a franchise that can bring in a qb, no matter who it is, and have gigantic success immediately, such as the steelers(Roethlesberger), the Broncoes(Manning), or most recently Tampa(cry baby). That just isn't going to happen here, history tells us that. Let's just keep moving along with solid personnel moves by Ballard and we can compete.

I try hard not to use words like never and always.   Because never and always are typically wrong.  
 

And I wouldn’t agree that Indy can never bring in a QB and have immediate success right away. 
 

Rivers improved us 4 wins in a year.  Harbaugh took you to the AFC Championship game pretty quickly, didn’t he?   That’s just two recent examples.  

[boo2202]

On 1/21/2021 at 6:01 PM, John Hammonds said:

Call me crazy, but, added bonus:  the guy who started the work with Eason stays with the team.  And Eason doesn't need to start over with a new teacher.

Fan base is putting too much stock in a 4th round QB. Eason becoming a quality QB is a crapshoot at best. 

[Colts1324]

On 1/21/2021 at 10:42 PM, RollerColt said:

For some, this is the reason why it was lauded when Reich was hired and would be heavily invested in running the offense. So far, the contingency plan has worked. Nick has left, but with Reich, the system remains. A much different situation compared to the Luck Era. 
 

Love it or hate it, Reich’s offense is still here. Now, how much will Brady tweak it is the question. 

Our offense is going to be dramatically different with a more mobile QB. We can finally use the PA & hopefully we run more out of the single back formation.

[Two_pound]

Hey NewColtsFan, I wish I didn't have to use the words "never" and "always" but with 48 years of disappointments it's hard not to. Harbaugh came in in '94 and we went 8-8, then 9-7 the next year and got absolutely reamed in the afc championship game in Pittsburgh(since when are you allowed to step out of bounds in the end zone and then catch a td pass, with just 6 seconds remaining in the half no less????) Oh well it's nonsense like that that true Colt fans can be all that optimistic. I was very pleased with Rivers this year, this team has loads of talent and any above average qb will get us to the playoffs, winning it all is another story just like "always". Did you know Harbaugh is the only Colt qb in the last 48 years to win his first Colt playoff game? Jones, Trudeau, Manning, Luck, and now Rivers all lost their first postseason games as a Colt. Quite frankly, that is an astonishing stat! Maybe we can somehow get Stafford in here, I'd be alright with that.

[zibby43]

From Brady’s media availability today:

 

 

 

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

He mentioned Eason is very Hungry. Watched taped on both him and Brissett and knows Ballard is working on other options.

[Superman]

Brady was heavily involved in gameplanning and pass protection meetings back in 2018.

 

 

[zibby43]

Introductory press conference: