Left Tackle(Leno,Fisher,Okung?)/Sam Tevi at LT (MERGE)

[Stephen]

If tevi starts wentz will be hurt within the  the first ganes

[throwing BBZ]

10 minutes ago, Hoose said:

I think the concern is that Tevi seems woefully inadequate for a team with championship aspirations. And a team that has a new QB they clearly need to protect better than his previous team. And a team that likely expected to draft a new starter at LT and failed because they were barely beaten to the punch several times this weekend. 
Tevi is a poor fallback position for the Colts and is why so many believe the they will be active seeking an upgrade. 
And I for one don’t take everything said publicly at face value. Nor do I expect do you. So it is with this in mind that people like me believe there is another, better option out there that the Colts will pursue. COULD they end up with Tevi there? Sure, it’s certainly possible. Do I believe the Colts will have him as their starter when the first game rolls around? Nope.

 

  Considering All of our needs, pre-draft, i know i Expected a Vet LT to be signed before training camp. There is no rush if they already have a plan.

  Your gross exaggeration/meltdown unites you with the Jaredites.

 Ballard and his coaches, probably their kids, know more about this than you.

[hoosierhawk]

I said before the draft I think the LT was already on the team. Regardless of how unpopular it is on this site or what the Colts have said in the past I still think there is a better than 50/50 chance Q moves out to LT and Reed moves into LG.

Why do I feel strongly about this? #1, Q was rated one of the top if not the top LT coming out of HS. I think he would be a very good LT and will be earning LT money. Could he be a Pro Bowl caliber LT? I think so. Reed is a mauler and runs  well in space. Someone said he would just be another Glowinski. I don't think that is all bad. Many worst guards in the NFL than Glow.

I, like everyone else on the board has no idea what will happen but when you look at the money and the talent this is my conclusion. Hopefully CB and the gang has it all figured out.  I'll duck now.

[chad72]

29 minutes ago, Southside Hoosier Fan said:

I had a text convo this morning with someone well known in the Indy sports community, FWIW...They know who the LT is going to be and isnt currently on the roster. Said when announced everyone will understand why they stayed put at 54 and went DE again. I'm guessing its Fisher or someone like that.

 

Again FWIW.

 

I am hoping that is the case. Fingers crossed, but with belief in Ballard and his staff.  

[MPStack]

[MikeCurtis]

3 hours ago, luv_pony_express said:

 

 

We’ll see how it pans out.  There’s still plenty of time left in the off-season.  And Ballard has earned the benefit of the doubt.

I agree with this part

[Orioles22]

As I wrote earlier, Polian said Smith would switch sides. I think it makes a lot more sense for him to flip sides than take the league's best guard and try to change positions. I'm guessing Holden is the best option with the current roster, if we don't move Smith.

[ColtJax]

[John Waylon]

I have a Chargers fan in our dynasty fantasy league.
 

He made fun of us for signing him. 

 

It’s not fun to get made fun of by a Chargers fan.
 

Ijs. 

[luv_pony_express]

4 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

I agree with this part

Yeah, but (a) CB’s got work left to do, (b) his apparent range of options has narrowed significantly, and (c) they each look something less than ideal.

[Hoose]

18 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

  Considering All of our needs, pre-draft, i know i Expected a Vet LT to be signed before training camp. There is no rush if they already have a plan.

  Your gross exaggeration/meltdown unites you with the Jaredites.

 Ballard and his coaches, probably their kids, know more about this than you.

That’s an absurd comment. Gross exaggeration? All I said was that Tevi isn’t the answer and I expect the Colts will find another option. 

[#12.]

The more I think of it, if you sign Fisher, I sort of like the idea of moving Nelson tempoarily.  You know it's temporary, 4-to-5 games, perhaps, and you get your future answer for Nelson at T.  If he's dominant, you might consider it in the future.  

[Hoose]

2 minutes ago, #12. said:

The more I think of it, if you sign Fisher, I sort of like the idea of moving Nelson tempoarily.  You know it's temporary, 4-to-5 games, perhaps, and you get your future answer for Nelson at T.  If he's dominant, you might consider it in the future.  

This would be a viable option.

[richard pallo]

IMO once we drafted Paye we were at the mercy of the draft.  With our 3rd rd pick gone we had no real ammunition to get a tackle we had targeted and to move up and get him.  As Ballard has often said you need to get lucky sometimes.  This year wasn't that year.  Tomorrow teams can start signing FA's and not lose draft picks.  If Ballard is thinking about Villanueva or Okung he will need to move quickly on those two.  Fisher is in a different category but hopefully he doesn't take his time with him if he's interested.  Even with his injury I don't think he will be a FA much longer.  Fisher is the one that makes the most sense IMO.  If he's thinking about moving Smith over he could sign Shwartz to play RT.  That's another option but Smith is playing so great I would leave him there.  Veldheer is another option I could get behind if he wanted to play a full year.  Maybe he misses it and is ready to come back.  That signing would catch us all off guard.  I think it's pretty certain we could lose some of our options this week once the teams start signing FA's again.  I do agree though Tevi can't be the plan if we are serious about making a run.  Depth sure but not permanent starter.  I'm hoping we get our new LT this week and get this need behind us.  

[coming on strong]

2 hours ago, krunk said:

Im not sure if Villanueva is the same player anymore and the others have back and achilles concerns. We will see what happens

I think its worth the risk to get swartz or fisher on a on year deal .  we have a lot of cap space and can sign leonard and smith next year . it would not hurt the cap because its only a one year deal .  worst case we are back in the same situation we are in now , best case they heal up and we have a pro bowl veteran left tackle .

[coming on strong]

20 minutes ago, John Waylon said:

I have a Chargers fan in our dynasty fantasy league.
 

He made fun of us for signing him. 

 

It’s not fun to get made fun of by a Chargers fan.
 

Ijs. 

yea i dont know what people see in him he is a below average tackle . He would make a above average backup tackle but to trust him starting the whole season is scary .

[shasta519]

2 hours ago, coming on strong said:

we could develop fries into a great tackle if is a good worker . swartz was a 7th round pick and turned into a shut down big time tackle

Mitchell Schwartz? He was an early 2nd rounder.

[Superman]

1 hour ago, Hoose said:

I think the concern is that Tevi seems woefully inadequate for a team with championship aspirations. And a team that has a new QB they clearly need to protect better than his previous team. And a team that likely expected to draft a new starter at LT and failed because they were barely beaten to the punch several times this weekend. 
Tevi is a poor fallback position for the Colts and is why so many believe the they will be active seeking an upgrade. 
And I for one don’t take everything said publicly at face value. Nor do I expect do you. So it is with this in mind that people like me believe there is another, better option out there that the Colts will pursue. COULD they end up with Tevi there? Sure, it’s certainly possible. Do I believe the Colts will have him as their starter when the first game rolls around? Nope.

 

It's fine to think that Tevi is inadequate. I don't have a strong opinion on him one way or the other, but I certainly don't view him as a rock solid LT. 

 

My point is that the Colts are clearly considering him there. I don't know what you mean by we don't take everything at face value, but a guy like Ballard doesn't play a lot of game when it comes to his public comments. If he says multiple times that they're considering Tevi at LT, why wouldn't we believe him? Why would we say he can't really be an option? 

 

Same thing about Nelson at LT. Multiple times they've downplayed the possibility of putting him at LT, yet people keep trotting that out there. (And there are ulterior reasons for that also.)

 

It seems to me that people have their minds made up, and nothing the staff says or does will change their mind until they see him at LT. Which is just ignoring what they're plainly telling us. If the Colts use Tevi at LT and he doesn't play well, you all can talk about how right you were about him all along. But that has to play out. 

[Jackie Daytona]

3 hours ago, coming on strong said:

when you have swartz from the chiefs just cut why not sign him on a one year deal he played at a all pro level and was a shut down tackle . he is 31 sign him for a one year deal then we can draft one next year.

because he's a RT?

[Freddie B.]

Left Tackles and Tight Ends - Do Something with Philly?

Trying to solve something here - Looking over Philly depth chart, they seem to have strong depth at the Offensive Tackle position, plus they want to unload the salary of Zach Ertz and need lower priced TE depth.  As much as us Colts "love our draft picks" maybe we entertain trading our new TE for Ertz and a piece to help fill our need at Left Tackle.  I'll leave it to Chris B. to evaluate which tackle prospect would be most enticing to him.

[shasta519]

1 hour ago, Southside Hoosier Fan said:

I had a text convo this morning with someone well known in the Indy sports community, FWIW...They know who the LT is going to be and isnt currently on the roster. Said when announced everyone will understand why they stayed put at 54 and went DE again. I'm guessing its Fisher or someone like that.

 

Again FWIW.

Yeah...they are going to sign somebody. However, there are DEs in FA left too...so drafting a redshirt ER won’t make more sense if they sign a FA LT. They could have gone any number of ways in round 2.

[BProland85]

Yeah Ballard may have botched the LT position for 2021 unless he knows something we don’t about the return of health quicker than expected for Eric Fisher. We cannot get Wentz killed by trotting Tevi out there at starting LT. 

[CR91]

Unless we pick up a vet T, this is what I see happening. During TC, Tevi opens at LT and looks bad. Then they try Davenport and looks bad. Out of options, Colts finally move Nelson to LT with Reed moving to LG. Ballard continues to say the 5 best olinemen so regardless on how many times they debuck the idea, at some point the colts will concede to the idea.

[holeymoley99]

1 hour ago, Orioles22 said:

As I wrote earlier, Polian said Smith would switch sides. I think it makes a lot more sense for him to flip sides than take the league's best guard and try to change positions. I'm guessing Holden is the best option with the current roster, if we don't move Smith.

Except for the fact Smith has never played LT at any level and his arm reach is considered too short for the position, while Nelson played the spot all his life and was an All American at the position which he considered his natural spot, so there is that.

[Orioles22]

31 minutes ago, holeymoley99 said:

Except for the fact Smith has never played LT at any level and his arm reach is considered too short for the position, while Nelson played the spot all his life and was an All American at the position which he considered his natural spot, so there is that.

I thought he was an All-American at guard at Notre Dame.

 

[Moosejawcolt]

6 hours ago, Hoose said:

First, a message to the moderators: please don’t stuff this in with the other discussions that pre date the draft. Things have changed and I’d like to hear from our best and brightest on this topic. It’s issue number one for the Colts going forward IMO. 
 

The dust has settled from the draft and, to me, the unthinkable has happened: in perhaps the most historically deep and talented OT class in memory, the Colts, a team badly in need of talent at the LT position, drafted not a single player to fill that need. And no, the guy they picked in the middle of the 7th round will not be their LT. He may be a solid swing O lineman in time, but he’s not the future protector of Wentz. The draft was cruel to the Colts; key opportunities were repeatedly snatched away just before they picked on Day 2 and 3. I liked the pick of Paye, and find no fault with it, but the fallout is what it is. 
 

So, regardless of the reasoning by Ballard and crew, the situation at LT has, IMO, gone from bad to worse. We are now hearing, more and more, that Sam Tevi, the lowest rated starting LT per PFF last season, is the likely heir to the job. I’m sorry, I love my Colts and admire Ballard, but I cannot believe this is the answer. If not, what is?

 

Option 1: Snag one of the remaining FA’s  remaining. The choices that make sense: Villanueva, who is, however, rumored headed to Pitt.; Fisher, who is recovering from a January Achilles injury; or Okung, who is aging rapidly. Villanueva would make the most sense here since he’d be a solid two year answer. Fisher would be my second choice, but the Colts could come up goose eggs again if neither wants to take significantly less $. 
 

Option 2: Move Smith or Q to Left Tackle. Regardless of what they are saying now, you play your best 5 linemen. Period. If they can fill in at either LG with Pinter, for example, or Holden at RT, why in the world would you not do that if it gives you the best O line? Of course you would. 
 

Option 3: I don’t see another option. 
 

Clearly, Ballard knows this is a problem. I hope he moves quickly and decisively and grabs one of the vet free agents. But maybe I’m missing something. If there’s a good Option 3, I’d love to hear it. 
 

 

If he is, then I will b the 1st to say pay Nelson what he wants. If they go this route!, the Colts have faith that they can plug a lesser player at LT and Nelson will b able to hide their short comings.

[jvan1973]

7 minutes ago, Orioles22 said:

I thought he was an All-American at guard at Notre Dame.

 

All american in high school at LT

[JediXMan]

Why are people acting like Tevi staying on the roster is a guarantee? There’s a good chance he’ll get beat out a spot when roster cuts happen.

[teganslaw]

Where are people getting information about signing Eric Fisher? I haven't noticed any articles about this, and the Colts organization hasn't mentioned it.  Maybe Twitter, which I don't have but is not reliable, anyway?  Could be just wishful thinking. 

[r a y s k i]

People seem to overreact this a bit. I’m not even phased, we spent a decade without viable OL options 

 

But in all honesty, trust Ballard, he hasn’t given us any reason to doubt his ability as a talent evaluator and has a plan. I think our picks were great, but yet to find out if it’s true or not so patience

[RollerColt]

I take what Chris says at face value. It looks like Tevi could be it for this year. Most likely the club believes the staff can fix him. 
 

Also, don’t be surprised if we are even more run heavy compared to last year. That alone will help the LT situation and it’s looking like that’s our plan with our newly drafted TE. 

[Orioles22]

I think the idea that it's the only real uncertain position we have going into the season makes it a big deal, along with being at left tackle. I trust the idea that our coaching staff and Ballard will find the right person with all of training camp to compete.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

1 hour ago, teganslaw said:

Where are people getting information about signing Eric Fisher? I haven't noticed any articles about this, and the Colts organization hasn't mentioned it.  Maybe Twitter, which I don't have but is not reliable, anyway?  Could be just wishful thinking. 

I think it has just been mentioned if he is healthy it would be a good fit. Ballard knows him well. If he comes back healthy he could even play a couple more years. Other then that there hasn’t been anything mentioned.

[CoachLite]

2 minutes ago, Wentzszn said:

I think it has just been mentioned if he is healthy it would be a good fit. Ballard knows him well. If he comes back healthy he could even play a couple more years. Other then that there hasn’t been anything mentioned.

If I had a plan for a perceived weakness (like the Colt's LT position), I wouldn't mention those plans to anyone. I just get 'er done.

[RudyB4u]

Like every GM, Ballard will keep a poker face and talk up Tevi.  It doesn’t do anything for the Colts or for Ballard to say we need an LT.  That doesn’t instill confidence in Tevi and gives all the negotiating power to LT’s in free agency.  We’ll be signing a starting caliber LT in free agency.  Ballard doesn’t need to tell everyone that is what we are going to do though.

[Dingus McGirt]

Sooner, rather than later, we’ll all laugh and wonder what we were worried about.

[jvan1973]

33 minutes ago, CoachLite said:

If I had a plan for a perceived weakness (like the Colt's LT position), I wouldn't mention those plans to anyone. I just get 'er done.

Yeah,   just get er done.    It's that simple

[SOMDColtsfan]

On 5/2/2021 at 1:41 PM, Southside Hoosier Fan said:

I had a text convo this morning with someone well known in the Indy sports community, FWIW...They know who the LT is going to be and isnt currently on the roster. Said when announced everyone will understand why they stayed put at 54 and went DE again. I'm guessing its Fisher or someone like that.

 

Again FWIW.

I had this thought earlier, can a team and free agent player verbally commit pre draft and then sign after?

[DougDew]

Ballard has merely stated that Tevi is one of the options.  

 

He's on the roster now, and there is no clear committed starter, so yes, he is one of the options.

 

Tevi is one of the options until Ballard finds somebody else.  That's the part he's not telling us.

[jvan1973]

Just now, DougDew said:

Ballard has merely stated that Tevi is one of the options.  

 

He's on the roster now, and there is no clear committed starter, so yes, he is one of the options.

 

If we traded for Orlando Brown and signed him to a $50mil contract, Ballard would not  talk about Tevi being one of the options.

 

Tevi is one of the options until Ballard finds somebody else.  That's the part he's not telling us.

Obviously