Matt Ryan benched for Sam (merge)

[Caddieman]

5 hours ago, coming on strong said:

Sam is not just a running Qb he is a pocket passer who can run if needed .  

4.8……….I don’t think so. Is he more mobile sure, but 5.0 to 4.8 Is like going from tar to Molasses!

[GoColts8818]

Just now, colts89 said:

Stroud doesn't play like Fields or the other OSU QBs before him at all. I went to Purdue, so I'm not a OSU homer in the slightest, but the accuracy and timing  this kid shows is second to none imho. But, this thread isn't about NFL draft prospects so I digress.

 

I agree that I hope Sam becomes the second coming that a bunch of Texas fans proclaim he is lmao. 

Yeah I heard the something about Fields when he was coming out compared to Haskins.  

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

14 minutes ago, colts89 said:

Is this more of a last ditch attempt by Reich before getting fired, or is this another forced move by Irsay and Reich/Ballard keep their job next year and get to draft their QB of the future since the chances of this working out well are super slim, despite what some SEC fans online think? Probably a bit of both, but I guess we'll see.

 

It will be interesting to see how the vets on this team respond to this move if this is a lost season. It's gonna be hard to keep a lot of guys here with the history of QB inconsistency.

 

And if we somehow get CJ Stroud out of this, I can't say I'll be mad.

 

 

 

 

 

I think hink what you said is the most interesting. If Sam plays well and they make the playoffs all is good with Reich Ballard. What happens if this turns bad? Will Irsay let them stay and give them a chance at a reset with a young QB? That will be something to watch. How players respond I think will be telling whether they stay or go.

[SOMDColtsfan]

Bottom line, as a Colts fan..all of this just stinks. Frank doesn't have answers and it's hard to watch. Great human being, a builder of men, but just doesn't fire this team up in a way needed. It shows up every Sunday. O line coach Strausser needs to go too. Bashing Ballard isn't warranted either. This defense is legit. Pryor showed no sign of being this bad subbing in late last year. Nelson, Kelly and Smith's regression, to this level? Nobody saw that coming either. Add Doyel's retirement and blocking abilities, they all add up.

[coming on strong]

19 minutes ago, skerfalcon8710 said:

Yea dude I hope for the fans sake that he does. I’m a life long Ryan fan, I admit I’m bitter with how todays announcement was handled and reported. 
 

if sam comes in and get sacked 5 times a game then what? You bring in Foles for a try? Just poorly managed and worded approach to the remainder of the season. 

then we tank the season the team does not have the offensive line to make it to a suepr bowl so its better to blow everything up than play and older veteran

[hoosierhawk]

4 hours ago, Jared Cisneros said:

Props to Irsay for more than likely stepping in and forcing Ballard and Reich to bench Ryan for Elingher. They can't be trusted at this point, and they would've started Ryan the rest of the year and had a losing record. At least the owner gets it! 

Does Ballard name the starting lineup each week? For some reason I thought it was the coaching staff.

[csmopar]

30 minutes ago, skerfalcon8710 said:

Yea dude I hope for the fans sake that he does. I’m a life long Ryan fan, I admit I’m bitter with how todays announcement was handled and reported. 
 

if sam comes in and get sacked 5 times a game then what? You bring in Foles for a try? Just poorly managed and worded approach to the remainder of the season. 

Just curious why are you bitter regarding the way it was handled 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

14 minutes ago, SOMDColtsfan said:

Bottom line, as a Colts fan..all of this just stinks. Frank doesn't have answers and it's hard to watch. Great human being, a builder of men, but just doesn't fire this team up in a way needed. It shows up every Sunday. O line coach Strausser needs to go too. Bashing Ballard isn't warranted either. This defense is legit. Pryor showed no sign of being this bad subbing in late last year. Nelson, Kelly and Smith's regression, to this level? Nobody saw that coming either. Add Doyel's retirement and blocking abilities, they all add up.

Not everything is always a coaching issue. 

[RollerColt]

20 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Because you signed Ryan to be the starter back in April.  You signed Foles to be the backup.  They were loading up for a Division title and Sam wasn't part of that.

 

They stink after 4 games and know they have no chance with the team they have.  They elevate Sam to be the backup thinking that if things go they way they are going, they will bench Ryan.  (I said that was the reason they elevated Sam, in prep for benching Ryan, when others were saying it was for installing gimmick plays).   Now that future is here.  The playoff chase is over already.  The starter is done, and Foles becomes the emergency player in case Sam gets hurt or stinks really badly.   

 

But, Frank isn't going to say any of this.

 

I don't see why Lawrence Owen can't see that and had to ask the question.

I think it was Doyle that asked, not Lawrence... 

 

Again, I think Ballard is the one who needs to answer these questions more than Frank. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

If Sam doesn’t turn it over with this defense we might be ok.

6 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

I think it was Doyle that asked, not Lawrence... 

 

Again, I think Ballard is the one who needs to answer these questions more than Frank. 

Yeah that’s why it’s weird. Reich blamed himself today for not holding up to the bargain with Ryan. That seems more on Ballard then Reich.

[Stephen]

1 minute ago, TaylorTheStudMuffin said:

If Sam doesn’t turn it over with this defense we might be ok.

Yeah that’s why it’s weird. Reich blamed himself today for not holding up to the bargain with Ryan. That seems more on Ballard then Reich.

Ballard is cowering in a corner somewhere from nessing up oline

[Moosejawcolt]

And one more for all u people who lambasted me over the years. I said Irsay was heavily involved at the beginning of the season. I felt he had taken some power away from Ballard and injected himself, good or bad, into making personal decisions.

 

[Happy2BeHere]

Either way something needed to happen, for me I’d rather they know what they can get from Sam as opposed to the same old same from Ryan. Sure our Oline needs help…no reason why the 3 staples in Nelson, Kelly, and Smith aren’t performing better. Something needs a change there also. 
 

I’m excited to see what happens Sunday. Most excited I’ve been since opening day and that’s a good thing IMO

[Boondoggle]

3 hours 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.

His performance as an OC.

[AKB]

3 minutes ago, Happy2BeHere said:

Either way something needed to happen, for me I’d rather they know what they can get from Sam as opposed to the same old same from Ryan. Sure our Oline needs help…no reason why the 3 staples in Nelson, Kelly, and Smith aren’t performing better. Something needs a change there also. 
 

I’m excited to see what happens Sunday. Most excited I’ve been since opening day and that’s a good thing IMO

i also am excited for this sunday. this TEN game was worse to me than the DEN game tbh

Just now, Boondoggle said:

His performance as an OC.

i think with a mobile QB we see a lot more RPO (Franks strength)

[RollerColt]

3 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

And one more for all u people who lambasted me over the years. I said Irsay was heavily involved at the beginning of the season. I felt he had taken some power away from Ballard and injected himself, good or bad, into making personal decisions.

 

Probably not a good thing. But his health seems to be in decline. He's getting up there in age and maybe he's realizing there's not much time left to personally see his team succeed. I don't know, I'm just throwing stuff out there... 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

5 minutes ago, Stephen said:

Ballard is cowering in a corner somewhere from nessing up oline

If he doesn’t come out and take some of the blame this week I really will lose even more respect for him. Reich is out there falling on the sword for some of Ballard’s mistakes.

Just now, RollerColt said:

Probably not a good thing. But his health seems to be in decline. He's getting up there in age and maybe he's realizing there's not much time left to personally see his team succeed. I don't know, I'm just throwing stuff out there... 

believe it or not Irsay is only 61. But he is walking slower everyday and just doesn’t seem right.

[fire cartier]

3 hours ago, MPStack said:

I wonder how Sammy’s fastball is. 
 

 

1,52  release time

[Boondoggle]

Just now, AustinnKaine said:

i think with a mobile QB we see a lot more RPO (Franks strength)

He might give the kid some easy reads early on to get him some confidence but he will need to run this offense and do it better than Ryan for us to win.  And he should know the offense well by now.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how he handles things.

[Happy2BeHere]

8 minutes ago, AustinnKaine said:

i also am excited for this sunday. this TEN game was worse to me than the DEN game tbh

i think with a mobile QB we see a lot more RPO (Franks strength)

Yea the Denver game it was like not a must win with it at least being out of the division, but the titan game that really was a must win if you want the division and Ryan really let us down there. 

[Zoltan]

1 hour ago, TaylorTheStudMuffin said:

Lol

 

 

That made frank mad

[Dobbinblitz]

Thank you Jim Irsay!
The team was beginning to circle the drain, and toward a probable rinse/repeat next year. The fact that it is being done now would seem to indicate there is a some level of optimism they have something with Sam.

Hope Sam kills it!

[JColts72]

This is what team gets with fading QB although Phillips had decent year. The picks and money have been wasted. What a s___show. Hope Ryan returns next season to take the 24 million.

[EastStreet]

2 minutes ago, TaylorTheStudMuffin said:

If he doesn’t come out and take some of the blame this week I really will lose even more respect for him. Reich is out there falling on the sword for some of Ballard’s mistakes.

believe it or not Irsay is only 61. But he is walking slower everyday and just doesn’t seem right.

 

lol...

I'd really love if Ballard came out and told the truth...

 

Ballard: "Hey guys... Reich pushed for Wentz. Reich doesn't like mean guys, so he picked super nice but super worthless Strausser who screwed up our OL. Reich pushed us to over-pay Hines who he doesn't know how to use. Reich preferred to spend money on Foles instead on OL (like keeping Glow or Reed). But hey, Reich continues to climb the mountain!"

 

[Introspect]

17 minutes ago, TaylorTheStudMuffin said:

 

believe it or not Irsay is only 61. But he is walking slower everyday and just doesn’t seem right.

SAD!

[skerfalcon8710]

58 minutes ago, AustinnKaine said:

you act like they didn't give him almost half a season to figure it out. he's giving up more turnovers than rookie QBs. they gave him a fair shake. 

 

29 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Just curious why are you bitter regarding the way it was handled 

Irsay clearly came in and demanded this change, naming Sam the starter for the rest of the season when they could have just said Ryan is hurt and will be out at least 4 weeks. If Sam plays well then you roll with him. Now you are backed into a corner. If Sam flops what are y’all gonna do? Hope that you suck more than Hou, Det, NO, & Car so you can maybe get a QB? It just a cruddy way to back the bus over Matt Ryan claiming Sam as the starter for the next 10 games when your still in the thick of playoff contention lol. Ryan and the country go sold a lie regarding an “all pro line” and a dominant running game. 
 

maybe you can trade for Mac Jones as he just got benched in NE. 

 

 

[Defjamz26]

1 hour ago, Chucklez said:

So ive been on record in the past saying I just dont see what people are seeing in Ehlinger, and im sticking by that. Was Ryan getting the job done? No not at all, which is very disappointing. But i really do not expect this to go all that much better with Ehlinger. 

I sincerely hope I am wrong, i really really do, and I will be rooting for Sam to prove me wrong! But I just dont see it. I think FAR too many people are putting a lot of stock in watching him play against 3rd stringers in the preseason. 

Prove me wrong Sam, i'd love nothing more than for you to.

 

Agreed.

 

How often does the “Let’s see what we have in this guy” actually work out? How many times does the late round/UDFA QB actually turn out to be the answer? Didn’t work for the Panthers with Kyle Allen and Will Grier. Didn’t work for the Texans with Case Keenum. Didn’t work for the Titans with Zach Mettenberger.

 

Why people think a 6th round pick with an okay arm can provide a spark on a team with arguably the worst O-line in football is beyond me. Like Doyle said, he wasn’t good enough to start so you went and got Ryan. 2 weeks ago he wasn’t even good enough to be your backup so why should anyone believe he’s going to lite it up as a starter?

[Crunked]

I dont know what Matt will do, I dont even know what Sam will do...but I will say the "hype" train is wearing me out, if everyone is great, elite, special.....why the slipdisc are we 3-3-1? It's the old adage, if everyone is special no one is special....sniffs a bit of Dr. Suess and the Star bellied Sneeches to me.... 

[Introspect]

5 minutes ago, JColts72 said:

This is what team gets with fading QB although Phillips had decent year. The picks and money have been wasted. What a s___show. Hope Ryan returns next season to take the 24 million.

That's not right

[AKB]

3 minutes ago, skerfalcon8710 said:

 

Irsay clearly came in and demanded this change, naming Sam the starter for the rest of the season when they could have just said Ryan is hurt and will be out at least 4 weeks. If Sam plays well then you roll with him. Now you are backed into a corner. If Sam flops what are y’all gonna do? Hope that you suck more than Hou, Det, NO, & Car so you can maybe get a QB? It just a cruddy way to back the bus over Matt Ryan claiming Sam as the starter for the next 10 games when your still in the thick of playoff contention lol. Ryan and the country go sold a lie regarding an “all pro line” and a dominant running game. 
 

maybe you can trade for Mac Jones as he just got benched in NE. 

 

 

i think they saw 7 weeks of ugly football and decided regardless of when he comes back, they're done with Matt Ryan. He has looked ugly at QB. He was supposed to come in and be the smooth steady veteran, he has looked worse than Zach Wilson. 

 

Im glad hes benched. very glad. time to turn the page. for better or worse, either we got something in Sam , or we end this QB vet carousel. 

[compuls1v3]

7 hours ago, coming on strong said:

No it sends a message we are here to win games not collect pay checks . I love it cut him now and have foles the back up . Players wanna be lazy and not work for it then cut them 

I’m all for the move, but three comeback wins doesn’t seem lazy to me.  And to be fair, the oline hasn’t done Ryan any favors.  I am interested in what Sam can do.

[John Hammonds]

Ballard made four bets that all went bad:

1. He bet that he could draft someone just as effective as Denico Autry in the pass rush, and save money to pay other players.  He was wrong.
2. He bet that Danny Pinter was ready to start, so he wouldn't have to pay Glowinski, in order to pay other players.  He was wrong.
3. He bet that he could start a lunch bucket journeyman at left tackle, counting on Nelson to cover for his lack of talent.  He was wrong.
4. He bet that Matt Ryan was his best option to replace Wentz, to take the team to the playoffs two straight years.  He was wrong.

Reich looked so downcast because he knows what is going on.  So does Ballard.  They both do.

The bottom line is The Plan has failed.  Everything they did on purpose has gone badly.

 

They're not stupid.  They see the score.

This team has really won only one game all year.  And they play like it.

They're 1-3-1 against the division.  No, they are not going to win the division.

Which means the only way they go to the playoffs, and have a hope of saving their own jobs, is to do it the hard way.  Win more games than anyone.

 

Can they do it?  Doubtful.  But here's the plan.  This offensive line cannot protect for a stationary drop back passer.  And they can't block for a standard between-the-tackles running game.  But they did have success running the RPO offense last year.  You can't run that offense with an old QB like Ryan.  But you can with a guy like Sam.

 

I think their only hope of winning games is to run the RPO with Sam.

 

Do I think it's gonna work?  No.

 

I predict 4 or 5 wins for the season, both guys lose their jobs, both Ryan and Foles are released, and they draft QB Will Levis next year.  And start over as best as they can.

[EastStreet]

24 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

And one more for all u people who lambasted me over the years. I said Irsay was heavily involved at the beginning of the season. I felt he had taken some power away from Ballard and injected himself, good or bad, into making personal decisions.

 

 

I've always thought Irsay meddled. Good or bad. Never believed he was hands off... ever.... 

 

So he forced Wentz out. He called Ryan "like Manning". And we paid Foles a decent amount because he was Reich's guy....

Now we are starting the former 3rd string QB....

 

I really love Sam. But our organization is a mega-joke right now. 

[AKB]

2 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

 

I've always thought Irsay meddled. Good or bad. Never believed he was hands off... ever.... 

 

So he forced Wentz out. He called Ryan "like Manning". And we paid Foles a decent amount because he was Reich's guy....

Now we are starting the former 3rd string QB....

 

I really love Sam. But our organization is a mega-joke right now. 

i think his meddling increased during the Wentz year. and i think it has gradually gone up since. 

 

I feel like this tends to happen when coach/gm are on, or close to being on hot seat. 

 

but i dont agree that the Colts organization is a mega-joke, that i don't agree with. 

[skerfalcon8710]

Just now, AustinnKaine said:

i think they saw 7 weeks of ugly football and decided regardless of when he comes back, they're done with Matt Ryan. He has looked ugly at QB. He was supposed to come in and be the smooth steady veteran, he has looked worse than Zach Wilson. 

For 5 weeks he had possibly the worst oline in the league.. then looked vintage in a win vs JAX, this week it was a return to form for the oline with 3 sacks and multiple big hits on Ryan. 
 

Sorry but the offense only moved when in the hurry up under Ryan’s direction. Anytime they huddled up for a Frank play it wound up in disaster. 
 

Ryan got past the fumbling issue, unfortunately the oline didn’t get past the protection issues. 
 

but hey maybe Sam will be Indy’s Zappe 

[AKB]

1 minute ago, skerfalcon8710 said:

For 5 weeks he had possibly the worst oline in the league.. then looked vintage in a win vs JAX, this week it was a return to form for the oline with 3 sacks and multiple big hits on Ryan. 
 

Sorry but the offense only moved when in the hurry up under Ryan’s direction. Anytime they huddled up for a Frank play it wound up in disaster. 
 

Ryan got past the fumbling issue, unfortunately the oline didn’t get past the protection issues. 
 

but hey maybe Sam will be Indy’s Zappe 

did you watch the game? both picks he had 4s+ to throw, and threw it straight to the defender. you can't blame that on the OL (as a Matt Ryan fan, you should be well acclimiated to his propensity to turn the ball over)

 

also for clarity, they said he was getting benched regardless of injury. he has played bad, it's just how it is. 

[coming on strong]

3 minutes ago, compuls1v3 said:

I’m all for the move, but three comeback wins doesn’t seem lazy to me.  And to be fair, the oline hasn’t done Ryan any favors.  I am interested in what Sam can do.

matt just doesnt look good at all the line is playing bad but the excuses for ryan have to stop .     11 fumbles and 9 picks in 7 games is rookie level numbers .   outside of the one game matt has looked horrible he only scored over 20 points one time .  you cant win averaging 13 points a game while losing the ball 20 times .  the team needs a spark right now

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

One of the worse things that could of happened this year is only winning 7 or 8 games and missing the playoffs and not knowing anything about Sam. This now gives them a lane forward whether that’s San or a draft pick.

[VikingsFanInChennai]

21 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Just curious why are you bitter regarding the way it was handled 

Frank Reich said Sam would've started even without the injury to Matt Ryan. Does it have to be publicized? It's similar to how Wentz was made a scapegoat. 

 

There are many issues other than Ryan. Roster on the offense has just got WR2, and TEs aren't used consistently. The whole league knows this offense is short of play makers except for WR1 & RB1, one of whom gets injured and misses few games. It's actually a pleasant surprise that Pierce has matured and developed his game to start pro career this early in rookie season with this much quality! 

 

Then, you've new untested OL going into the season, and they perform very poorly by eye test and all metrics. Run game with an elite RB1 wasn't working as expected even when healthy. 

 

Then, you have a stale offense, mediocre play caller whose game plan and adjustments aren't up to the level needed in the NFL, and repeatedly gets outcoached and outprepared. 

 

There are constant issues in roster building. Only side that cannot be criticized is the defense. 

 

With all these issues, is it right to repeatedly bring veteran QBs and humiliate them as if they are the only problem, while other issues do not get fixed and still persist? 

 

Even for a casual observer from outside, this gives a bad vibe about the organization. If Sam does badly, he probably knows he'd be the next scapegoat. Would players from around the league want to play for such an organization, ownership and Management that throw them under the bus to save their jobs? 

 

I would feel bad if I were a Falcons or Ryan fan too. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Everyone keeps blaming Reich for arguing with the ref and not getting that play call in that caused the INT. Ryan could of just thrown ball away, spiked it, or even called a timeout himself. It even audible to another play. It was awful by Ryan.