The Official Colts WR FA Thread or lack thereof

[Indeee]

I'm starting this as to not allow any excitement/complaints tie up other threads. 

 

This is ONLY a WR thread as we all know WR is a huge need for this team. With that being said, here we go:

 

WTH is Ballard doing? 

 

Ok, Kirk's contract I get. Way too much but hey, at least they are trying to better that group in Jax

 

Cooper for a 6th? We could have easily paid his 20mil or restructured him long term. Just because his yards per catch were down doesn't mean that trend would've continued here

 

DJ Chark to the lions for 12mil? Could we not have afforded that? I mean we give terrible Funches 11mil and washed-up TY 10 but a young promising WR in Chark we don't want.

 

Zay Jones...meh

 

I know many will say it's because we don't have a QB but that's nonsense. I'm sorry I'm not buying that.

 

Maybe they will draft WR's but if everybody thinks they are going to give up draft capitol for Garoppolo, then what? 

 

I personally do not want some washed up Allen Robinson, AJ Green, Jarvis types. I want younger guys

 

Anyway... Fire away

 

 

 

 

[MikeCurtis]

I am less concerned on WR in FA

 

There are some really good WRs that we could grab in round 2 and 3

 

We cant get every open position in FA

 

If we go WR in FA.... I hope its a tier 2

 

My big wish is DE.... I am hoping we spend BIG money there

 

We may also take a swing at LT in FA

 

 

It will be an interesting few months

 

[Flash7]

The amount of second round WRs  that are doing well in the league makes me feel okay with not going after one in FA. This is a position that can be addressed in the draft.

 

I have no problem with not going after a WR in FA.

[Scott Pennock]

50 minutes ago, Indeee said:

I'm starting this as to not allow any excitement/complaints tie up other threads. 

 

This is ONLY a WR thread as we all know WR is a huge need for this team. With that being said, here we go:

 

WTH is Ballard doing? 

 

Ok, Kirk's contract I get. Way too much but hey, at least they are trying to better that group in Jax

 

Cooper for a 6th? We could have easily paid his 20mil or restructured him long term. Just because his yards per catch were down doesn't mean that trend would've continued here

 

DJ Chark to the lions for 12mil? Could we not have afforded that? I mean we give terrible Funches 11mil and washed-up TY 10 but a young promising WR in Chark we don't want.

 

Zay Jones...meh

 

I know many will say it's because we don't have a QB but that's nonsense. I'm sorry I'm not buying that.

 

Maybe they will draft WR's but if everybody thinks they are going to give up draft capitol for Garoppolo, then what? 

 

I personally do not want some washed up Allen Robinson, AJ Green, Jarvis types. I want younger guys

 

Anyway... Fire away

 

 

 

 

Wow......I am glad I don't live my life with this much angst......

 

We don't know what is being done behind the scenes.......I liked Kirk and Chark in FA but Kirk got WAY OVERPAID and contracts like that (despite your feelings on at least they are going for it) come back to bite a team. maybe Chark didn't want to play in Indy?  And you have zero clue on the inner workings of the trade for Amari Cooper and whether he would restructure or not. 

 

And Devin Funchess was an ascending young WR just like Kirk and Chark who played with a QB not really known for his accuracy that we signed. Most were happy with that signing as a true number 2 receiver and he just happened to blow out his knee the first game of the year after he already had 3 catches for 32 yards and 2 first downs - which was what he was brought in to do. And now you second guess it in hindsight. 

 

Get a grip and be patient before acting like the world is ending!

[Indeee]

11 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

Wow......I am glad I don't live my life with this much angst......

 

We don't know what is being done behind the scenes.......I liked Kirk and Chark in FA but Kirk got WAY OVERPAID and contracts like that (despite your feelings on at least they are going for it) come back to bite a team. maybe Chark didn't want to play in Indy?  And you have zero clue on the inner workings of the trade for Amari Cooper and whether he would restructure or not. 

 

And Devin Funchess was an ascending young WR just like Kirk and Chark who played with a QB not really known for his accuracy that we signed. Most were happy with that signing as a true number 2 receiver and he just happened to blow out his knee the first game of the year after he already had 3 catches for 32 yards and 2 first downs - which was what he was brought in to do. And now you second guess it in hindsight. 

 

Get a grip and be patient before acting like the world is ending!

Devin Funchess was terrible, not ascending and that just proves right there that you my friend know nothing of football at all. Devin Funchess, my god. Funchess was productive on a team with a terrible QB in Newton, but ascending? Absolutely not. It's why Ballard gave him a one year prove it deal. Yea, he is so ascending, so young, so talented that we can only offer a prove it deal.... Come on dude. Kirk and Chark are young and actually do have talent. They are chances yes, but ceiling high chances. Kirk more so than Chark as Chark has been banged up

[Scott Pennock]

1 minute ago, Indeee said:

Devin Funchess was terrible, not ascending and that just proves right there that you my friend know nothing of football at all. Devin Funchess, my god. Funchess was productive on a team with a terrible QB in Newton, but ascending? Absolutely not. It's why Ballard gave him a one year prove it deal. Yea, he is so ascending, so young, so talented that we can only offer a prove it deal.... Come on dude. Kirk and Chark are young and actually do have talent. They are chances yes, but ceiling high chances. Kirk more so than Chark as Chark has been banged up

Ballard (and a lot of successful GM's) give out 1 year deals to a lot of folks and when Kirk doesn't live up to his 3rd highest paid WR contract I hope you are person enough to eat your crow. Chark still has to prove he is healthy as well.....

 

Funchess was not a scrub as you seem to think and that just proves you are a Madden Armchair GM.....

 

 

[Goatface Killah]

Are any of those guys really difference makers?

 

I guess I just dont see it. Why pay average receivers top tier money? How does that help us?

 

DJ Chark? 

 

Why didnt Jax bring him back instead of signing Zay Jones? 

 

Amari Cooper lost his job and got ran out of town for some reason. Why didnt they restructure him instead?

 

I would rather draft a receiver than do that.

 

Also, Im tired of people acting like WR makes such a difference when its really all about the QB. The truth is, WR is only important when you have a top tier QB. Name me an impactful WR and odds are they play with a top flight QB. That isnt a coincidence. 

 

We need to figure out the QB position or nothing else we do will matter. Why waste resources trying to field a competitive team when you dont have the single most important piece to even be competitive? 

 

In reality, thats why we have so much cap space in the first place. As it stands right now we easily have less money invested in the most important position, than anyone else.

 

[chad72]

@Shive @Nadine - do we need a separate thread for this? 

[DeepseaColt]

Russell Gage is my sleeper FA at wr. He is a capable #2 and is still young! Sign him! 

[Indeee]

33 minutes ago, GoatBeard said:

Are any of those guys really difference makers?

 

I guess I just dont see it. Why pay average receivers top tier money? How does that help us?

 

DJ Chark? 

 

Why didnt Jax bring him back instead of signing Zay Jones? 

 

Amari Cooper lost his job and got ran out of town for some reason. Why didnt they restructure him instead?

 

I would rather draft a receiver than do that.

 

Also, Im tired of people acting like WR makes such a difference when its really all about the QB. The truth is, WR is only important when you have a top tier QB. Name me an impactful WR and odds are they play with a top flight QB. That isnt a coincidence. 

 

We need to figure out the QB position or nothing else we do will matter. Why waste resources trying to field a competitive team when you dont have the single most important piece to even be competitive? 

 

In reality, thats why we have so much cap space in the first place. As it stands right now we easily have less money invested in the most important position, than anyone else.

 

Again, you can have opinions however when UPGRADING a team the only question you need to ask is this:

 

Is any of those guys, i.e. Cooper, Chark, Kirk. Are they better than Pascal, Dulin, Campbell, Straughn, TY at this point in his career?

 

If you answer no, then you are delusional. If you answer Yes, then you go get one of them or at least try. It's that simple.

 

If Ballard doesn't try or sign anyone than what he's really saying is that he believes these guys are not better than what we currently have which makes Ballard delusional, or he is willing to take a chance on an unproven WR/s in the draft. Ok. How is his track record other than Pittman? All this factors in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's that simple

[Colt.45]

6 minutes ago, Indeee said:

Again, you can have opinions however when UPGRADING a team the only question you need to ask is this:

 

Is any of those guys, i.e. Cooper, Chark, Kirk. Are they better than Pascal, Dulin, Campbell, Straughn, TY at this point in his career?

 

If you answer no, then you are delusional. If you answer Yes, then you go get one of them or at least try. It's that simple.

 

If Ballard doesn't try or sign anyone than what he's really saying is that he believes these guys are not better than what we currently have which makes Ballard delusional, or he is willing to take a chance on an unproven WR/s in the draft. Ok. How is his track record other than Pittman? All this factors in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's that simple

It's not that simple. Go to the draft, now that is the simple truth. 

 

As far as Ballard's WR track record, i hear you and have beat this drum before. He nailed Pittman. You cannot fault him for Parris. Fact is, as @GoatBeard rightly surmised, if you have good QB, your pass catchers exponentially get better. See no further than the evidence of our last two QBs.

[Shive]

42 minutes ago, chad72 said:

@Shive @Nadine - do we need a separate thread for this? 

Since it's specifically to discuss Colts WR FA options, it's fine.

[Goatface Killah]

35 minutes ago, Indeee said:

Again, you can have opinions however when UPGRADING a team the only question you need to ask is this:

 

Is any of those guys, i.e. Cooper, Chark, Kirk. Are they better than Pascal, Dulin, Campbell, Straughn, TY at this point in his career?

 

If you answer no, then you are delusional. If you answer Yes, then you go get one of them or at least try. It's that simple.

 

If Ballard doesn't try or sign anyone than what he's really saying is that he believes these guys are not better than what we currently have which makes Ballard delusional, or he is willing to take a chance on an unproven WR/s in the draft. Ok. How is his track record other than Pittman? All this factors in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's that simple

No that isnt the only question.

 

Its real easy for you to say these things when you dont have to invest a single dime into those guys, let alone MILLIONS of dollars. Real easy.

 

 

 

[Indeee]

1 minute ago, GoatBeard said:

No that isnt the only question.

 

Its real easy for you to say these things when you dont have to invest a single dime into those guys, let along MILLIONS of dollars. Real easy.

 

 

 

You can't be serious? You're gonna pull the money thing? 

 

Dude, wake up and look around. Not only are the "over-reaction fans" screaming but so are the actual Indy media and Indy players. 

 

I'm sorry but responses like this are age old and trite... as is Ballard's approach to upgrading this team

 

 

[Goatface Killah]

23 minutes ago, Indeee said:

You can't be serious? You're gonna pull the money thing? 

 

Dude, wake up and look around. Not only are the "over-reaction fans" screaming but so are the actual Indy media and Indy players. 

 

I'm sorry but responses like this are age old and trite... as is Ballard's approach to upgrading this team

 

 

I dont give a crap what other people are saying. And yes when you are investing real dollars into someone you are a little more selective than some madden gm sitting at home with no skin in the game. When there are actual people involved, it is much harder than just playing fantasy football which is what we do. People make choices. It isnt about just picking out a guy you like and saying "you are with us now"......which is what you are doing in your head. There are no variables there.

 

You are basically throwing a baby fit because Chris Ballard cant crap out a franchise QB so we can win more playoff games. Because THAT is what it will take, not some middle of the road WR. 

 

Russell Wilson didnt make the playoffs last year either and this was everyones best case scenario and only realistic option. And he cost a ton. His numbers werent any better than Carsons and he had great receivers. Explain that? This stuff is a lot more complicated than you know.

 

Thats how hard it is to get a QB. Guys who arent that great command a kings ransom. 

 

So tell me again how he is supposed to solve this problem? Because the rest of the roster is damn close. Every year we have had good QB play we have been right in the mix. 

 

You put Patrick Mahommes on this team, are we whining about receivers then?

 

You put Josh Allen on this team, are we any good?

 

You just complain. Thats it. You complain and pretend you have a solution you dont have and you never have to prove what you claim is actually true. 

 

Those are 2 different worlds 

[Hawkeyecolt]

Christian Watson with Austin III. I’ll take that over paying for the FA WR’s.  Go get a pass rusher, LT, and DB

[Indeee]

14 minutes ago, GoatBeard said:

I dont give a crap what other people are saying. And yes when you are investing real dollars into someone you are a little more selective than some madden gm sitting at home with no skin in the game. When there are actual people involved, it is much harder than just playing fantasy football which is what we do. People make choices. It isnt about just picking out a guy you like and saying "you are with us now"......which is what you are doing in your head. There are no variables there.

 

You are basically throwing a baby fit because Chris Ballard cant crap out a franchise QB so we can win more playoff games. Because THAT is what it will take, not some middle of the road WR. 

 

Russell Wilson didnt make the playoffs last year either and this was everyones best case scenario and only realistic option. And he cost a ton. His numbers werent any better than Carsons and he had great receivers. Explain that? This stuff is a lot more complicated than you know.

 

Thats how hard it is to get a QB. Guys who arent that great command a kings ransom. 

 

So tell me again how he is supposed to solve this problem? Because the rest of the roster is damn close. Every year we have had good QB play we have been right in the mix. 

 

You put Patrick Mahommes on this team, are we whining about receivers then?

 

You put Josh Allen on this team, are we any good?

 

You just complain. Thats it. You complain and pretend you have a solution you dont have and you never have to prove what you claim is actually true. 

 

Those are 2 different worlds 

Absolutely!! and Absolutely NOT. 

 

If you believe that our receiving core, which includes our TE's are comparable to the Chiefs or Bills you, again, are delusional. look I don't have any more time to debate you here. You have your opinion, that's fine. We will agree to disagree. All I know is that this team will NEVER truly compete for SUPER BOWLS without an extraordinarily amount of luck, if Ballard continues to be Ballard like. 

[Goatface Killah]

4 minutes ago, Indeee said:

Absolutely!! and Absolutely NOT. 

 

If you believe that our receiving core, which includes our TE's are comparable to the Chiefs or Bills you, again, are delusional. look I don't have any more time to debate you here. You have your opinion, that's fine. We will agree to disagree. All I know is that this team will NEVER truly compete for SUPER BOWLS without an extraordinarily amount of luck, if Ballard continues to be Ballard like. 

No team competes for a SB without an extraordinary amount of luck.

 

So we wouldnt be any good with Josh Allen, JT and Pittman? Dude seriously?

[Indeee]

2 minutes ago, Hawkeyecolt said:

Christian Watson with Austin III. I’ll take that over paying for the FA WR’s.  Go get a pass rusher, LT, and DB

I would Love, love, love Christian Watson. We agree... Knowing Ballard though, he will draft Watson Christian in the 4th and Watson Christian will be a bust... 

[Hawkeyecolt]

23 minutes ago, Indeee said:

I would Love, love, love Christian Watson. We agree... Knowing Ballard though, he will draft Watson Christian in the 4th and Watson Christian will be a bust... 

We will be lucky if Watson is around at 42. Between the senior bowl workouts and combine no one has improved his position more than Watson.  Ballard likes his senior bowl studs too. 

[DougDew]

I agree with those who say that there is more bang for the buck in the draft than in free agency.  The only issue is that the WR group will be very young, with Pittman being the most seasoned vet?

[Colts1324]

5 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I agree with those who say that there is more bang for the buck in the draft than in free agency.  The only issue is that the WR group will be very young, with Pittman being the most seasoned vet?

Take a flyer on Will Fuller to go with a rookie WR. Fuller & Campbell can compete for that WR 3 spot.

[Flash7]

3 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I agree with those who say that there is more bang for the buck in the draft than in free agency.  The only issue is that the WR group will be very young, with Pittman being the most seasoned vet?

The RB position and WR now seam to be the most "plug and play" positions. I don't think it takes 3 years anymore to truly learn the WR position, as has been seen by the recent emergence of many young WRs, including Pittman.

 

Times have changed. These kids spend summers in football camps learning the nuances of the position and then play all throughout college. They're ready to play when they enter the NFL. Being young at the WR position isn't ideal, but not too much of an issue, IMO.

[Indeee]

Russell gage to the Buccaneers.

 

There goes another one

 

[tvturner]

This thread tells me that you haven't seen the loaded WR draft class...

[Hawkeyecolt]

5 hours ago, Flash7 said:

The RB position and WR now seam to be the most "plug and play" positions. I don't think it takes 3 years anymore to truly learn the WR position, as has been seen by the recent emergence of many young WRs, including Pittman.

 

Times have changed. These kids spend summers in football camps learning the nuances of the position and then play all throughout college. They're ready to play when they enter the NFL. Being young at the WR position isn't ideal, but not too much of an issue, IMO.

Definitely wasnt always the case for WR.  That’s changed in recent years with the higher picks.  

[Boondoggle]

Rams are listening to offers on Robert Woods.  He shouldn't be pricey in trade and knows the offense.  Would immediately help whatever sorry soul ends up at QB for Indy.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/rams-getting-calls-about-robert-woods-availability-after-adding-big-name-receiver-in-free-agency-per-report/

[stitches]

No WR wants to go to a team with Sam Ehlinger as their QB1... 

[r a y s k i]

15 hours ago, stitches said:

No WR wants to go to a team with Sam Ehlinger as their QB1... 

In fact, looking at history, hardly any FA wants to come to Indy as a location period, it is what it is, we can keep complaining about Ballard but it’s a two way street

[Bravo]

8 hours ago, rayski said:

In fact, looking at history, hardly any FA wants to come to Indy as a location period, it is what it is, we can keep complaining about Ballard but it’s a two way street

You can always force it, Could have had Cooper for a 5th rounder.

 

Worth that easily.

[Colt.45]

Just to put it out there. Anyone interested in the Colts talking to Antonio Brown?