Great read on Yannick Ngakoue

[BProland85]

It's a lengthy read, but a very good one on Yannick. I really think this guy will help elevate our pass rush, almost in the way that Nelson elevated the OL. Having two proven guys in Ngakoue and Buckner will also go a long way in taking the OL's attention off of Paye and Dayo, who are both very talented in their own right, and should be able to take advantage. Should be a fun season as I am expecting Indy to retake the division. 

 

https://www.golongtd.com/p/you-dont-know-yannick-ngakoue?s=r

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Thanks, read that earlier in the day. Very interesting, loves how he wants to go out and prove his former teams wrong. We might have something here!

[MB-ColtsFan]

This kid seems to have a non-stop motor on and off the field.  He is driven and that could propel him to greatness.

I'm looking n forward to seeing him get loose a few times for us off the edge.  This D could really be special this year.

[compuls1v3]

1 hour ago, BProland85 said:

It's a lengthy read, but a very good one on Yannick. I really think this guy will help elevate our pass rush, almost in the way that Nelson elevated the OL. Having two proven guys in Ngakoue and Buckner will also go a long way in taking the OL's attention off of Paye and Dayo, who are both very talented in their own right, and should be able to take advantage. Should be a fun season as I am expecting Indy to retake the division. 

 

https://www.golongtd.com/p/you-dont-know-yannick-ngakoue?s=r

This was a really cool article.  Thank you for sharing it.  "For the record, it’s “yah-NEEK in-GAH-kway.”!"  Let's get it right Colts nation!

[CR91]

I don't think this move gets talked about enough honestly. Yannick is gonna change our pass rush and make guys like Buck and Kwity better. I just hope this isn't a one year rental

[sb41champs]

Thanks for sharing.

 

I agree with your comparison to Quenton Nelson and his elevation of the entire offensive line.

[Four2itus]

Wow. That explains a lot.

 

That isn't a chip on his shoulder, it's a big time focus. 

[will426]

Wonderful read rooting for him

[MB-ColtsFan]

4 hours ago, CR91 said:

I don't think this move gets talked about enough honestly. Yannick is gonna change our pass rush and make guys like Buck and Kwity better. I just hope this isn't a one year rental

That’s the thing, though…he feels he has been disrespected in his past contracts.  If he continues to post numbers as he has all his career what will he be asking for and will Ballard think of him as one of “his guys” and keep him in Indy?  Will be an interesting conversation this season if all goes well.

[Yoshinator]

5 hours ago, CR91 said:

I don't think this move gets talked about enough honestly. Yannick is gonna change our pass rush and make guys like Buck and Kwity better. I just hope this isn't a one year rental

Agreed. I hope we keep him for another long-term contract if he does well this year. It would be really disappointing if we traded Rock for him (both have 1 year contracts left), and we just got one year out of him and let him hit FA for only a compensatory pick. If he does well with Gus Bradley again with us, I would love to keep him for an additional 4-5 years after this and let him anchor our pass-rush. 

[GoColts8818]

6 hours ago, CR91 said:

I don't think this move gets talked about enough honestly. Yannick is gonna change our pass rush and make guys like Buck and Kwity better. I just hope this isn't a one year rental

If he does that I have a feeling Ballard will keep him one way or another.

[GoColts8818]

1 hour ago, MB-ColtsFan said:

That’s the thing, though…he feels he has been disrespected in his past contracts.  If he continues to post numbers as he has all his career what will he be asking for and will Ballard think of him as one of “his guys” and keep him in Indy?  Will be an interesting conversation this season if all goes well.

All depends on the production.  If it’s as good as everyone is hoping they can always franchise tag him if they have too.

[CR91]

19 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

All depends on the production.  If it’s as good as everyone is hoping they can always franchise tag him if they have too.

 

That would cost 20 mil

[GoColts8818]

23 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

That would cost 20 mil

Good players don’t come cheap and if he produces at the level people are hoping for you have to consider it.

[CR91]

1 minute ago, GoColts8818 said:

Good players don’t come cheap and if he produces at the level people are hoping for you have to consider it.

 

Definitely would be worth it, but I would prefer a long term contract

[GoColts8818]

Just now, CR91 said:

 

Definitely would be worth it, but I would prefer a long term contract

So would I.  It would be the last case option.  

[jmac_48]

WOW!

Impressive story, wish the man all the success in the world.

I take it his mother is well taken care of these days.

[Hawkeyecolt]

He won’t be laying down against Jax. Despite all Leonard’s strengths I think the defense needed better leaders to go with Buckner.  Gilmore and Ngakoue should provide that.  Being a leader is more than talk. 

[lollygagger8]

Man that was definitely worth the read, thanks for posting.

 

I'm really pulling for Yan even more and can't wait to see him, Buckner, Kwity and Dayo tear it up this year!! 

[Moosejawcolt]

On 5/5/2022 at 10:59 AM, BProland85 said:

It's a lengthy read, but a very good one on Yannick. I really think this guy will help elevate our pass rush, almost in the way that Nelson elevated the OL. Having two proven guys in Ngakoue and Buckner will also go a long way in taking the OL's attention off of Paye and Dayo, who are both very talented in their own right, and should be able to take advantage. Should be a fun season as I am expecting Indy to retake the division. 

 

https://www.golongtd.com/p/you-dont-know-yannick-ngakoue?s=r

He is a great pass rusher but I doubt he ever gets close enuff to the rb to ever see the color of his eyes.

[EastStreet]

Thanks @BProland85 . Great read. Read some stuff when we first signed him about his background, but this was way better.

And reading Defo's comments were a cherry on top of an already great article. 

 

Overall, my thoughts on his addition...

 

• He'll definitely make an impact this season. Still learning about the new scheme, but loved Defo's comments about the new scheme (I've copied below). I think everyone will benefit from the gap focus on vertical tracks.
• Love that he's a workout warrior, and especially love that he's not into the night scene. 
• I've read stuff about his childhood, but never to this detail. Awesome seeing kids overcome stuff like this. While his dad sounds like an awful guy, hope Yannick can let the bad juju go. Stuff like that can be used as fuel, just hope Yannick can find a way to be at peace with the situation. 
• I hope the twitter war stuff is behind him. I don't think public twitter spats ever help a situation. Doesn't really matter who is right/wrong. 
• My only concern about his performance over the years is his high missed tackle rate. Prior to last year, he was averaging 20+%, which is very high (higher than any Colt last year). Definitely improved last year. Not a big deal if he continues to improve, and our 2nd and 3rd levels clean up well. 

 

Defo's comments. Great about Ngakoue, but even better on scheme. 

He pointed out that Ngakoue is already leading younger players. With a thin smirk, he added that it’ll be nice for a teammated to absorb a double-team or two. And he also loves Bradley’s scheme because it puts the onus on the defensive line to disrupt. Whereas the previous scheme required the front four to move with blockers in read-and-react mode, this gets Buckner and Ngakoue vertical “on tracks.”

 

Just adding to Defo's comments. 

• Gap rush over read and react should benefit every player we have on the DL. It could be detrimental to our run D, but I'm OK with the dice roll. 
• Folks just don't realize how bland our pass rushing scheme was during the Flus years. I felt sorry for our DL as they were pretty much handcuffed. Gus's scheme looks to unleash folks. Flus's scheme restrictions are exactly why we saw guys leave and do much better on other teams with more focus on vertical pass rushing. 
• Thoughts of Ngakoue, Paye, and Defo on rails getting vertical is probably the most exciting thing for me going into the season. Given I think the O scheme will still be vanilla/conservative/short, knowing our D will be more aggressive should add some fun back into the season. 
• Really hoping we see a good article in the coming months that deep dives Bradley's scheme, and how the players will fit. Still looking for answers on "Big End" and SAM usage. MIKE usage as well to an extent.