It’s time to move on from Shaq!

[ColtsUrUs]

It’s hard watching him play lately. He’s out of position on most plays. He’s thinking too much and not just playing. 

[Indyfan4life]

Still. Coming. Back. From. Back. Surgery. 

[Bravo]

He has been terrible. He won’t ever be the same. It sucks to see.

 

I understand he needs time to recover and get back into it but I just don’t think he is going to be near the same player he was before.

[IinD]

How about he gets at least a month to get back into form. Jeez.

[Indyfan4life]

The announcers even said how amazing it is he’s even playing right now after the surgeries he had. 
 

Everyone understands it and gets it except for Colts fans. 

[colts89]

He had a bad game for sure. He's got this year to prove that he isn't capped in regards to his recovery. If he is, then the Colts probably move on from him this off-season.

[kymd82222]

10 minutes ago, Indyfan4life said:

Still. Coming. Back. From. Back. Surgery. 

Right.  That sucks and I feel for him.  But when he's the highest paid defensive player, his rope is only so long, so to speak.  

[Chucklez]

10 minutes ago, colts89 said:

He had a bad game for sure. He's got this year to prove that he isn't capped in regards to his recovery. If he is, then the Colts probably move on from him this off-season.

This, we will see how he goes over the course of the season, if he is still playing as he is now by the end of the season, we will move on. I will hold out hope that by the end of the season we will see some improvement. 

Otherwise, we move on. It makes sense to wait and see.

[DougDew]

How do we know it injury related?

 

Maybe he just sucks playing anything other than WILL in Flus' defense.

[indykmj]

8 minutes ago, DougDew said:

How do we know it injury related?

 

Maybe he just sucks playing anything other than WILL in Flus' defense.

 Probably both....

[bluebombers87]

Whether or not he comes back is irrelevant at this point. He wasn’t in the game when it was on the line. That says one thing conclusively: He wasn’t helping out there.

[Patrick Miller]

If he sucks bc he’s still coming back from injury then he needs to sit.

[1959Colts]

I think he will be phased out as the weeks progress

[GoColts8818]

Not until the end of the year.  The Colts can’t cut him now for cap reasons so you might as well give him time to let him recover from his injury and try to work his way back into the defense.

[Jackie Daytona]

4 hours ago, ColtsUrUs said:

It’s hard watching him play lately. He’s out of position on most plays. He’s thinking too much and not just playing. 

It's been that time for a year or so.....  I hate it, cause Leonard was so much fun to watch.  In Indy, when we get special players not named Manning or Miller, there's a law of nature stating they have to flame out quick.

[Defjamz26]

It’s scheme and injuries. I think he’s fully healthy ( he wouldn’t be out there if he wasn’t), but the injuries and physical toll from playing that position have piled up. Shaq peaked in terms of production like 2 years ago. Would be hard to move on from him because of the contract and injury history.

[hoosierhawk]

We use to have a LB named Darius Leonard. He was really good. Would love to have him back but think he is gone for good.

[masterlock]

5 hours ago, ColtsUrUs said:

It’s hard watching him play lately. He’s out of position on most plays. He’s thinking too much and not just playing. 

His dead cap hit is $8M in 2024 and $4M in 2025 if they flat-out released him, which I don't see happening. Next year will be year-3 of the 5-year contract, and given the cap investment, I think the Colts will wait until 2025 to make any moves.

[AwesomeAustin]

I brought this up not too long ago and it proved to be a touchy subject. I personally was giving him four games to readjust and now think it’s acceptable to expect seeing flashes of his old self.  I know if he was going to return to form it would take time but someone of his talent level should start showing us something the next few games and build from that. If not, him being cut in the offseason wouldn’t be a surprise bc he is the highest paid player on the team. Whether some agree or not, that comes with expectations.  So as usual, I will wait and see what happens these next few games. 

[1959Colts]

53 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

It’s scheme and injuries. I think he’s fully healthy ( he wouldn’t be out there if he wasn’t), but the injuries and physical toll from playing that position have piled up. Shaq peaked in terms of production like 2 years ago. Would be hard to move on from him because of the contract and injury history.

but if he continues to play the way he's been playing... They must to move on, regardless of his contract. A team needs to have its best players on the field. You just cant continue to play a guy because he makes more money. I believe, if Grant Stuard had been given all of Shaq's snaps we would have seen much more production from him.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

It’s really sad to see what has happened to him. Looks like his career might be over.

[Defjamz26]

4 minutes ago, 1959Colts said:

but if he continues to play the way he's been playing... They must to move on, regardless of his contract. A team needs to have its best players on the field. You just cant continue to play a guy because he makes more money. I believe, if Grant Stuard had been given all of Shaq's snaps we would have seen much more production from him.

Ballard wouldn’t cut him though. That’s not how Ballard rolls. I’m not saying I disagree that he shouldn’t be getting paid top tier money to be the 3rd best LB on the team, but Ballard won’t just outright cut one of the locker room leaders.

 

Ballard has shown to be really good at drafting and developing LBs, so he wouldn’t be hard to replace.

[bluebombers87]

I don’t think we’re at the cutting convo just yet. I think keep him limited or out to give him every opportunity.

 

We know who is agent is so some additional prudence wouldn’t hurt just in case.

[csmopar]

3 hours ago, IinD said:

How about he gets at least a month to get back into form. Jeez.

It’s been a month

[1959Colts]

27 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

Ballard wouldn’t cut him though. That’s not how Ballard rolls. I’m not saying I disagree that he shouldn’t be getting paid top tier money to be the 3rd best LB on the team, but Ballard won’t just outright cut one of the locker room leaders.

 

Ballard has shown to be really good at drafting and developing LBs, so he wouldn’t be hard to replace.

I get how Leonard has that locker room leadership quality, but it just don't make sense, to keep playing a guy who's a liability out there. At some point you got to put your best players on the field. Perhaps Ballard can avoid cutting Leonard, and keep him on the team? So he can stand on the sidelines for inspiration, like last year?

[IinD]

13 minutes ago, csmopar said:

It’s been a month

Sept 10 first game if you wanna be technical, but I meant we're literally one day into October and he's getting killed by fans already.

 

The race for I TOLD YOU SO BRO is in full affect around here... Lol.

 

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

He is coming off injury and missing a year. I said about a month ago in here that would take him 8 or 9 weeks to get back to Maniac. Have patience. 

[csmopar]

1 minute ago, IinD said:

Sept 10 first game if you wanna be technical, but I meant we're literally one day into October and he's getting killed by fans already.

 

The race for I TOLD YOU SO BRO is in full affect around here... Lol.

 

 

It’s 4 games. That’s typically considered a month in the NFL world. 
 

And it’s not about being right or wrong or first. But the fact is, he doesn’t look even close to the player he once was. Sad as it is and I do feel for the guy cause I’m sure his heart definitely is still in it even if his body isn’t. But at some point, we will have to part ways with him if this level of play continues 

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

He is coming off injury and missing a year. I said about a month ago in here that would take him 8 or 9 weeks to get back to Maniac. Have patience. 

Perhaps. But I would have thought that we’d see glimpses of the old Darius by now. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 minutes ago, csmopar said:

It’s 4 games. That’s typically considered a month in the NFL world. 
 

And it’s not about being right or wrong or first. But the fact is, he doesn’t look even close to the player he once was. Sad as it is and I do feel for the guy cause I’m sure his heart definitely is still in it even if his body isn’t. But at some point, we will have to part ways with him if this level of play continues 

Perhaps. But I would have thought that we’d see glimpses of the old Darius by now. 

Yeah he isn’t improving. 

[Defjamz26]

11 minutes ago, 1959Colts said:

I get how Leonard has that locker room leadership quality, but it just don't make sense, to keep playing a guy who's a liability out there. At some point you got to put your best players on the field. Perhaps Ballard can avoid cutting Leonard, and keep him on the team? So he can stand on the sidelines for inspiration, like last year?

I wouldn’t say he’s a liability, he’s just not an asset like he used to be. A guy like Baker was a liability when he was starting at corner. Leonard just isn’t playing up to his contract and that’s as concerning. If anything Stuard should get more snaps so we can see what we have there.

 

1 minute ago, csmopar said:

And it’s not about being right or wrong or first. But the fact is, he doesn’t look even close to the player he once was. Sad as it is and I do feel for the guy cause I’m sure his heart definitely is still in it even if his body isn’t. But at some point, we will have to part ways with him if this level of play continues 

I’ll back you on that too because it’s so easy to just automatically assume a player who missed a ton of time is still “getting back to form”, but sometimes that’s not the case. That was the same thing people kept saying about Malik Hooker. Dwayne Allen is another guy that people said that about. Julian Blackmon, Parris Campbell, etc… the list goes on. Maybe he’s just not that good and peaked 2 years ago 🤷‍♂️

[IinD]

4 minutes ago, csmopar said:

It’s 4 games. That’s typically considered a month in the NFL world. 
 

And it’s not about being right or wrong or first. But the fact is, he doesn’t look even close to the player he once was. Sad as it is and I do feel for the guy cause I’m sure his heart definitely is still in it even if his body isn’t. But at some point, we will have to part ways with him if this level of play continues 

Perhaps. But I would have thought that we’d see glimpses of the old Darius by now. 

C'mon now 4 games is all you need to see? 

 

I mean I get it but we aren't winning anything this year so I'm fine with him working his way back from a big injury.

 

I'm not saying I know he's great and he's back, simply how about half a year, maybe three quarters to see if he gets back to himself.

 

I totally get moving on after the season I just hate the talk about he's toast already.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

13 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

I wouldn’t say he’s a liability, he’s just not an asset like he used to be. A guy like Baker was a liability when he was starting at corner. Leonard just isn’t playing up to his contract and that’s as concerning. If anything Stuard should get more snaps so we can see what we have there.

 

I’ll back you on that too because it’s so easy to just automatically assume a player who missed a ton of time is still “getting back to form”, but sometimes that’s not the case. That was the same thing people kept saying about Malik Hooker. Dwayne Allen is another guy that people said that about. Julian Blackmon, Parris Campbell, etc… the list goes on. Maybe he’s just not that good and peaked 2 years ago 🤷‍♂️

It’s not that he isn’t good. This is probably a injury that wasn’t able to be fixed.

[Defjamz26]

10 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

It’s not that he isn’t good. This is probably an injury that wasn’t able to be fixed.

At and it’s stacked upon other injuries. If I’m not mistaken he’s had 2 concussions, an ankle injury that requires surgery, and the back injury that’s been going on for awhile. No pun intended but this last injury/surgery, is probably the straw that broke the camel’s back.

[Moosejawcolt]

4 hours ago, Indyfan4life said:

The announcers even said how amazing it is he’s even playing right now after the surgeries he had. 
 

Everyone understands it and gets it except for Colts fans. 

Did u really expect him to ever be the same player?

 

[AKB]

the fan inside me wants him to remain a Colt icon, but the reality and doubt inside me say he will never be the same. A lot of the Colt players we have come to idolize and love end up moving on from the team in some fashion. We saw it with Luck, Castonzo, maybe Taylor soon, Hines, Mack, Doyle, Hilton

 

in reality, Leonard probably never be the same. I did see him almost rip a ball out today when someone was on their way down in a tackle, but he doesn't look as fast as he once was, is out quite a few plays, and often looks easy to move with a high frame. 

[1959Colts]

36 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

I wouldn’t say he’s a liability, he’s just not an asset like he used to be. A guy like Baker was a liability when he was starting at corner. Leonard just isn’t playing up to his contract and that’s as concerning. If anything Stuard should get more snaps so we can see what we have there.

 

He just doesn't make any plays. When you do see Leonard he is never at the bottom of the pile, but rather, he comes jogging into the camera view, standing there after the whistle blows. I was watching him a few times and noticed how he can't shed a block to save his life. Yeah he picks up a few tackles every week, but never a big hit, or tackle for loss, etc.

It would be great if they would give Stuard a few reps. In the preseason he really impressed me. Quite a few times, I remember, he would come flying like a rocket in to make a nice solo open field tackle. No doubt in my mind GS would be an upgrade over Shaq at this point

[kymd82222]

1 hour ago, bluebombers87 said:

I don’t think we’re at the cutting convo just yet. I think keep him limited or out to give him every opportunity.

 

We know who is agent is so some additional prudence wouldn’t hurt just in case.

Haha, good point regarding his agent 😂

[kymd82222]

1 hour ago, Defjamz26 said:

Ballard wouldn’t cut him though. That’s not how Ballard rolls. I’m not saying I disagree that he shouldn’t be getting paid top tier money to be the 3rd best LB on the team, but Ballard won’t just outright cut one of the locker room leaders.

 

Ballard has shown to be really good at drafting and developing LBs, so he wouldn’t be hard to replace.

You may be right about Ballard not cutting him, but if he doesn't improve all season, it doesn't make sense to keep him just because he's a locker room leader.  Your highest paid guy needs to be more than just a locker room leader.  I know you agree with this, but just saying. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

6 minutes ago, kymd82222 said:

You may be right about Ballard not cutting him, but if he doesn't improve all season, it doesn't make sense to keep him just because he's a locker room leader.  Your highest paid guy needs to be more than just a locker room leader.  I know you agree with this, but just saying. 

Franklin has taken that leader role. I think Shaq looks kind of emotionless on the sideline.

[DiogoSales]

3 hours ago, Jackie Daytona said:

It's been that time for a year or so.....  I hate it, cause Leonard was so much fun to watch.  In Indy, when we get special players not named Manning or Miller, there's a law of nature stating they have to flame out quick.

James, Wayne, Harrison, Clark, Diem, Saturday, Freeney, Mathis.. calm down