Matt Ryan benched for Sam (merge)

[NewColtsFan]

21 minutes ago, TheShadow said:

Why would Ryan do them any favors. They lied to him to come here. They told him we have a great OL, just look at our 3 allpros on the line, just what you need to be sussessful. Then they bench him because it cant be the coaching or the OL. Its all  him. If I was him I would get everything I could. So would you.

You think they lied?    LIED?!?

 

Dear God, what the heck is the matter with you?!?    It isn’t possible they thought they had a good line and were simply wrong?!?  
 

Isn’t that more likely than LYING?!? 
 

What a messed up fan base…..    

[csmopar]

25 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Lol. People are so silent especially about coming after me. They loved singing the virtues of Ballard and that I knew nothing and laughing at me . Where r those same people now???

Right here… been here.  Like I’ve said, Ballard has his faults, but I still feel that performance is centered around Reich. Sorry if you disagree

[csmopar]

16 minutes ago, Blueblazes said:

Pretty sure a Professional QB would look at tape himself before joining a team, so lying probably didn't happen. Also, if he checked himself, he would know we have only one All-Pro (Pro Bowl is different than All-Pro). Also if he checked himself, he would see that our pass blocking ranked 30th last year, despite us Colts fans saying it was due to injuries. Omg, the man is 37, if he didn't do research, he's slower than we thought. If you watch games closely, he misses what is in the NFL open receivers, and takes about one second too long, which is a killer in the NFL. At some point, the INTs and fumbles have to be admitted and move on.

Honestly, he’s just an old Wentz play wise. 

[jonjon]

2 minutes ago, a06cc said:

I’m glad you said this. I’m tired of all this change, so I wouldn’t be upset if this happened. I’m for whatever makes the team better moving forward. Maybe Sam’s that guy because he’s been in the system for years. Frank isn’t the problem in my personal opinion.

Again he isn't all of it but he is certainly part of it. He's no OC that's for sure. And from what I have seen/heard I am losing faith in his HC abilities but don't feel sure either way.

[Moosejawcolt]

3 hours ago, indyagent17 said:

It’s about time to give the kid a chance. I do find it funny that Ryan is another scapegoat lol 

Although not a scapegoat but that being said. Bad Oline or not, Ryan had been horrible in 6 out of 7 games. I think getting beat up early just took a toll on his 37 year old body. He just turtled  and I think wanted no part of football moving forward.

[hoosierhawk]

2 hours ago, Boondoggle said:

Gotta say I think Reich is an excellent OC but only average as an NFL head coach.  What limits him as HC is his kindness I think.  Simply put Frank is too nice.

 

So as to the decision of whether to retain him it becomes about who you want to replace him with.  Because it would be very easy to go backwards when you fire a coach like Frank.  This is why I'd be all in on Sean Payton, even if it meant cleaning house midseason to ensure I can openly chase him without looking like a jerk of an owner.

 

But yeah if you're going to hire some hot coordinator there's a ton of risk.  And even best case he's going to need to learn on the job and a lot of learning is done from making mistakes.  So just go get Sean Payton.  I am praying we end up with him because if we do this team will finally start bringing us the results we have been pining for.

What makes you think Frank is an excellent OC? I see no imagination to our offense, I see wrong personnel in the game at the wrong time, especialy goal line situations with Hines up the middle, there were games when the best RB in the league hardly got any touches, I haven't seen  the offense appear ready to play to start the game, etc. Just my opinion.

[MPStack]

I wonder how Sammy’s fastball is. 
 

 

[chickenMan]

Personally I have no faith in Reich or Ballard at this point. We can blame this on this person and that on that person and make reasons for why Reich/Ballard is/are worth keeping, but the fact of the matter is that it’s been 6-7 years and we have one playoff win and zero division titles to show for it.

 

I’m sorry, but teams like the Bengals, Jets, Giants, etc are proof that it does not take 7+ years to complete a rebuild...they all did it in roughly 4 or less if my memory is correct, and the Bengals, who are defending conference champs, did it in two.

[csmopar]

6 minutes ago, chickenMan said:

So I guess the plan is either Ehlinger lights the field on fire and becomes the guy we’ve been waiting five years for....or he stinks and we tank for Young/Stroud.

 

Honestly to me this reeks of either desperation by Reich or interference by Irsay and/or Ballard

The way Reich sounded, I’d say he got it from all sides, and that he senses the end is near, so desperation definitely comes to mind.  Will this finally be the end of this Reich? We shall soon see 

[1959Colts]

7 minutes ago, hoosierhawk said:

What makes you think Frank is an excellent OC? I see no imagination to our offense, I see wrong personnel in the game at the wrong time, especialy goal line situations with Hines up the middle, there were games when the best RB in the league hardly got any touches, I haven't seen  the offense appear ready to play to start the game, etc. Just my opinion.

I agree, and when Frank was OC in Philadelphia, he wasnt even allowed to call the plays

[Blueblazes]

3 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Honestly, he’s just an old Wentz play wise. 

Yep, you're right and with more INTs in 7 games than Wentz had all season---and yep, Wentz played behind the 30th ranked pass blocking O line too. Not saying I want Wentz either, just saying Ryan did way worse with a similar line.

[csmopar]

2 minutes ago, Blueblazes said:

Yep, you're right and with more INTs in 7 games than Wentz had all season---and yep, Wentz played behind the 30th ranked pass blocking O line too. Not saying I want Wentz either, just saying Ryan did way worse with a similar line.

Yeah. 
 

time to shine Sam!

[Nickster]

9 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

You think they lied?    LIED?!?

 

Dear God, what the heck is the matter with you?!?    It isn’t possible they thought they had a good line and were simply wrong?!?  
 

Isn’t that more likely than LYING?!? 
 

What a messed up fan base…..    

one thing remains the same NCF.  You are still indignant lol.  Facepalm on brother man.

[csmopar]

5 minutes ago, hoosierhawk said:

What makes you think Frank is an excellent OC? I see no imagination to our offense, I see wrong personnel in the game at the wrong time, especialy goal line situations with Hines up the middle, there were games when the best RB in the league hardly got any touches, I haven't seen  the offense appear ready to play to start the game, etc. Just my opinion.

Exactly 

[MPStack]

2 minutes ago, chickenMan said:

Personally I have no faith in Reich or Ballard at this point. We can blame this on this person and that on that person and make reasons for why Reich/Ballard is/are worth keeping, but the fact of the matter is that it’s been 6-7 years and we have one playoff win and zero division titles to show for it.

 

I’m sorry, but teams like the Bengals, Jets, Giants, etc are proof that it does not take 7+ years to complete a rebuild...they all did it in roughly 4 or less if my memory is correct, and the Bengals, who are defending conference champs, did it in two.

You forgot SF.  I use them as a benchmark due to Lynch being hired as GM same year as CB. Totally different results and both had QB issues. 

[Two_pound]

No to Bryce Young, Stroud is the only qb in this upcoming draft worth a first round pick. He is remarkably accurate with his throws.

[chickenMan]

Just now, MPStack said:

You forgot SF.  I use them as a benchmark due to Lynch being hired as GM same year as CB. Totally different results and both had QB issues. 

That’s an even better example, because they still don’t have a franchise QB and yet they still have made it to their conference championship twice in the last five years. Ballard and Reich are running out of excuses, fast

[Two_pound]

No, it only took the Bengals 30 years in-between playoff wins! And to the point of only one playoff win in Ballards first 5 years as gm, how many playoff wins did Polian have in his first 5 years? I'll save you the time of looking it up, the answer is ZERO!

[Jackie Daytona]

54 minutes ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

I agree. I will get lambasted for saying this but I think Irsay ,who is quirky to say the least is getting like his father was and.....

He's the reason Luck retired.

He's the reason Mcnumbnuts left us at the alter last minute.

He's the reason Rivers didn't want to play another season

He's the reason Wentz lasted 1 year.

He's the reason this latest change was made.

He's the reason we will be starting from scratch next season.

He's the reason we are heading towards being the Browns.

But...he cuts the checks so I guess he has that right.

 

Worst take I've seen in this entire thread...

And that's saying a loooooot.

 

 

[MPStack]

3 minutes ago, chickenMan said:

That’s an even better example, because they still don’t have a franchise QB and yet they still have made it to their conference championship twice in the last five years. Ballard and Reich are running out of excuses, fast

You forgot SB year 3 for Mr Lynch. You know why? Because him assembled a solid roster around a non elite QB that could win games. 
 

Waiting for the butts……..   

[Moosejawcolt]

18 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Right here… been here.  Like I’ve said, Ballard has his faults, but I still feel that performance is centered around Reich. Sorry if you disagree

So u think the talent is here and it's just coaching?

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

1 hour ago, PRnum1 said:

We let Glow go and he was only making 6.67 M a year

what was ballard thinking

[cdgacoltsfan]

2 minutes ago, Jackie Daytona said:

Worst take I've seen in this entire thread...

And that's saying a loooooot.

 

 

What's your take? Do you even have one?

It all starts at the top.

[Flash7]

4 minutes ago, Two_pound said:

 And to the point of only one playoff win in Ballards first 5 years as gm, how many playoff wins did Polian have in his first 5 years? I'll save you the time of looking it up, the answer is ZERO!

Polian first became the GM of the Buffalo bills in 1986. By 1992, the Bills had been to 3 straight Superbowls. How did the Bills get to the Superbowl without a playoff win?

[Two_pound]

I was referring to his first 5 years here. Really. 1998 through 2002. 

[NodakColt]

Didn’t see this coming. Oh wait 

[#12.]

I don't at all buy that they are tanking.  If they are, they might end up very disappointed.  Hell, they are averaging 16 points a game with Ryan, near the bottom of the league.  Do they think they can drop it to 12 a game with Sam?  Doubt it, points will likely go up, chances of winning will go up.  It can't get much worse.

[Yoshinator]

1 minute ago, #12. said:

I don't at all buy that they are tanking.  If they are, they might end up very disappointed.  Hell, they are averaging 16 points a game with Ryan, near the bottom of the league.  Do they think they can drop it to 12 a game with Sam?  Doubt it, points will likely go up, chances of winning will go up.  It can't get much worse.

It'll be interesting to see. We have the type of record where I'll be fine if we tank, but I can also hope we make a run and Sam turns into a good QB. Both scenarios are possible. I just don't want a .500 season.

[Crunked]

20 turnovers in 7 games, should have happened much sooner. Don't know if Ehlinger is the answer.....but I at least know the question. How much worse could it be? 

[SR711]

Well, that pretty much wraps a bow on the Matt Ryan era in Indianapolis and, IMO, his NFL career.  My thoughts...

 

- While I am glad someone had the foresight to see that mediocrity was the worst possible outcome from this season, I sincerely hope that the someone was Chris Ballard and not Jim Irsay.  It is a major issue for the franchise if the owner (Jim Irsay) is driving personnel decision.   I have seen that movie between 1984-1993 and it was not particularly good. 

 

- Will Ryan dress and be available after he recovers from the shoulder injury?  Is he going to be around the team? Its crazy to thing how quickly this thing went south considering all the fanfare when he was acquired. 

 

- Ultimately, this is what I have been saying about ripping off the bandaid once Luck called it quits.  The reality was a reset season was going to be necessary in order to get the better draft position that allows picking or trading up to get the franchise QB that is required to compete in today's NFL.  

[CR91]

I don't think this is a tank move. I think the colts see what we see. The defense is the only bright spot of the team and they need a spark on offense. Clearly, the oline can't protect so why continue to hit your head against the wall. With Sam at QB, we're obviously not gonna sit in the pocket. Expect a lot of rollouts, shotgun, and RPOs. 

[Yoshinator]

2 minutes ago, CR91 said:

I don't think this is a tank move. I think the colts see what we see. The defense is the only bright spot of the team and they need a spark on offense. Clearly, the oline can't protect so why continue to hit your head against the wall. With Sam at QB, we're obviously not gonna sit in the pocket. Expect a lot of rollouts, shotgun, and RPOs. 

I think they know Matt Ryan isn't the answer and want to see what they have in Sam. It's not a purposeful tank move, but they are probably aware there's a good chance Sam will struggle and don't mind if they get a top 10 pick while seeing how he does.

[jemack]

In 1974, week 3 of the season, Colts Owner Bob Irsay told head coach Howard Schnellenberger to replace Marty Domres with Bert Jones. Howard refused and was fired. Guess Reich knows Colts history. Lol

[Flash7]

1 minute ago, Two_pound said:

I was referring to his first 5 years here. Really. 1998 through 2002. 

By highlighting Polian's prior successes, it should bring to light that this is actually a bad comparison. Polian built a  consistent Superbowl contending team in the Buffalo Bills within 6 years. He left the Bills and took the startup Panthers organization to the NFC championship game, all within 2 years. Then he was hired by the Colts to be the GM & Team President and he went on to win a Superbowl with Indy.

 

What you are doing is using one of the greatest GMs ever as a point of comparison, but pointing to a period of time that was a bad stint and using that as an excuse for Ballard's performance. The truth is that Ballard's first 5 years pale in comparison to Polian's.

 

If Ballard had a similar start to his career, we would be more patient with him. But we're not seeing the improvement. We are seeing stagnation. Just average.

 

 

[shasta519]

50 minutes ago, BlackTiger said:

They shouldnt say anything about cutting him and tell him hes in line for backup duty.  

 

See if hes willing to go through with that and who calls the bluff first 

I mean…all it does is hurt them to keep Ryan around…because more money gets gtd midway through March.

 

Seems weird that he would let IND keep $12M they told him was his some months ago.

[cdgacoltsfan]

2 minutes ago, jemack said:

In 1974, week 3 of the season, Colts Owner Bob Irsay told head coach Howard Schnellenberger to replace Marty Domres with Bert Jones. Howard refused and was fired. Guess Reich knows Colts history. Lol

Wow...I loved that team and Bert but didn't know that's how it went down.

[King Colt]

Funny how much praise Reich put on Sam today now that his other options flopped.

[Flash7]

2 minutes ago, King Colt said:

Funny how much praise Reich put on Sam today now that his other options flopped.

What's he supposed to say?

[shasta519]

17 minutes ago, SR711 said:

Well, that pretty much wraps a bow on the Matt Ryan era in Indianapolis and, IMO, his NFL career.  My thoughts...

 

- While I am glad someone had the foresight to see that mediocrity was the worst possible outcome from this season, I sincerely hope that the someone was Chris Ballard and not Jim Irsay.  It is a major issue for the franchise if the owner (Jim Irsay) is driving personnel decision.   I have seen that movie between 1984-1993 and it was not particularly good. 

 

- Will Ryan dress and be available after he recovers from the shoulder injury?  Is he going to be around the team? Its crazy to thing how quickly this thing went south considering all the fanfare when he was acquired. 

 

- Ultimately, this is what I have been saying about ripping off the bandaid once Luck called it quits.  The reality was a reset season was going to be necessary in order to get the better draft position that allows picking or trading up to get the franchise QB that is required to compete in today's NFL.  

The cynic in me assumes that Ryan will disappear somewhat similarly to Kerry Collins back in ‘11. 
 

Does make all that absurd hype seem (even more) silly right now, especially when taking about leadership.

 

But why would Ryan stick around? I assume they discussed this and struck an accord about next season and how this plays out. Colts will cut Ryan after the season and then he will retire shortly after.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

The good thing is Sam is in the system for his second year and should have the playbook down.  He actually might be ahead of Ryan in that aspect.