Jonathan Taylor comments on his contract/Request trade (Merge)

[Jackie Daytona]

27 minutes ago, AKB said:

not to mention the money we gave Brisket. its insane the amount of money we've wasted and splurged, overpaid nelson (arguably)

What do you want us to do man, beef prices have been increasing steadily for years.....

[EasyE]

2 minutes ago, Jackie Daytona said:

What do you want us to do man, beef prices have been increasing steadily for years.....

NFL prices as well

[Jackie Daytona]

13 minutes ago, EasyE said:

Good thing that wasn't Matt Ryan.. Just one game.. I think we our fine, this is a real evaluation season with all the new changes. JMO

Huh?  That was a great play by Braden Smith.....a RT recovering that quickly?

[EasyE]

Just now, Jackie Daytona said:

Huh?  That was a great play by Braden Smith.....a RT recovering that quickly?

You see Ryan moving like that?

[Fluke_33]

2 hours ago, EasyE said:

Does a long term JT contract really matter anymore? He has already expressed he doesn't want to be a Colt anymore. So what happens will we be able to trade by the deadline or end up tagging him at end of season then trade? I'm confused on what happens or what team does. The whole situation is depressing I'm a huge JT fan but a bigger Colt fan. I hope both parties get what they want.

I’m with you.  I posted something similar today or yesterday and now seeing yours I’m realizing we’re going through the stages of grief.   I don’t know what they are exactly but I was def angry at one point and I think this post is bargaining. Lol

[colts52761]

What's the chance we sign Fournette?

[AKB]

9 minutes ago, Jackie Daytona said:

Huh?  That was a great play by Braden Smith.....a RT recovering that quickly?

yeah ive never seen a counter spin by a RT. thats why i shared it, 

[w87r]

3 minutes ago, colts52761 said:

What's the chance we sign Fournette?

Probably zero, if we don't trade Taylor.

 

I would say, if we trade Taylor.

 

45% - Hunt

40% - Fournette

15% - other or no one

[EasyE]

3 minutes ago, Fluke_33 said:

I’m with you.  I posted something similar today or yesterday and now seeing yours I’m realizing we’re going through the stages of grief.   I don’t know what they are exactly but I was def angry at one point and I think this post is bargaining. Lol

Yeah, once one of my teams players wants out. CYA!!! I don't understand the big deal about JT contract anymore when he has said he wants traded. Something has changed that he doesn't want to be in this always sunny state with ocean front property.. 

I'm just messing around. IMO He would've been signed cause Ballard does re-sign his players. I'm thinking Shane may have a say in JT contract. I may be wrong but who knows, NFL and teams move on everyday giving up once elite players that was once on their roster. Go Colts!!!

[EasyE]

7 minutes ago, AKB said:

yeah ive never seen a counter spin by a RT. thats why i shared it, 

I didn't take anything away from OL. All I said was did you ever see Matt rollout like that? I'm confidence in OL until a injury happens. 

[coltsfan_canada]

I read somewhere on this forum that next year RB draft is deep since we are rebuilding mode I would not mind collecting some draft picks around AR evaluate him this year and next year we can go for Marvin Jr 1st round and RB in later rounds. 

[AKB]

1 minute ago, EasyE said:

I didn't take anything away from OL. All I said was did you ever see Matt rollout like that? I'm confidence in OL until a injury happens. 

oh yeah many times last game Ryan would've been sacked im ecstatic we got the most athletric qb

[hoosierhawk]

2 hours ago, Superman said:

 

It's simpler than that. We had JT performing like an elite RB in 2021, but he was on a rookie contract with a $1.8m cap hit. That's a huge value add for a team, but as we saw, there's still a limit to how much a RB can do for your team's prospects.

 

Whereas having an elite RB with a $15m cap hit (for instance), sure it's nice to have the elite performance, but we know his contributions are going to be capped. And now he's taking up a greater share of your available cap space, in effect costing you another player.

 

Long story short, the argument is NOT that simply having an elite RB somehow hurts your team. The argument is that committing major cap resources to having an elite RB is likely taking away from the quality of your roster in other areas.

 

You may or may not agree with that premise, and that's fine. But let's be clear about what the premise is to begin with. Because no one is arguing that having an elite RB is a bad thing. The argument is about the cap strategy of paying an elite RB.

To the bolded. In 2021 you mentioned that the elite RB made no difference to teams prospects and we had a QB on that team that led Philly to  a Super Bowl. In 2021 he cost the Colts over 14 times what JT cost the Colts plus a third round draft choice plus a 2022 first round choice. Wentz truely sucked in 2021 so in this case do you blame the elite RB who was paid way, way less than the QB who was bad or put some blame on the QB? Would you agree that with decent QB play that elite RB could have contributed to the teams prospects?  

I agree we probably won't agree and it is all more than likely a moat point so I guess we just agree to disagree.

[Solid84]

6 hours ago, hoosierhawk said:

To the bolded. In 2021 you mentioned that the elite RB made no difference to teams prospects and we had a QB on that team that led Philly to  a Super Bowl. In 2021 he cost the Colts over 14 times what JT cost the Colts plus a third round draft choice plus a 2022 first round choice. Wentz truely sucked in 2021 so in this case do you blame the elite RB who was paid way, way less than the QB who was bad or put some blame on the QB? Would you agree that with decent QB play that elite RB could have contributed to the teams prospects?  

I agree we probably won't agree and it is all more than likely a moat point so I guess we just agree to disagree.

Wouldn't you agree Wentz played a fair bit worse in 2021 than he did in the year he took the Eagles to the Super Bowl?

 

Wouldn't you also agree JT played a fair bit worse in '22 than he did in '21? So why are you judging JT at his best but Wentz at his worst?

[DougDew]

13 hours ago, AKB said:

but in my opinion, signing taylor, even to a record breaking deal, isn't gonna change the way our roster is built. we've been doing it, for 6 years. draft em, play, pay em. let the ones that are average walk. he's been doing it for half a decade. 

Aye, there's the rub.  Some of us forecasted this when Nelson was drafted #6.  If he plays well, you re-up him at a high contract.  So once you draft nonpremium positions high, you're probably stuck with them through the next contract too...not a great use a capital.   G, ILB, RT, RB, and WR#2 were drafted at pick 41 or higher, and if they play up to expectations, they get rolled into a high FA contract.   If they don't play up to expectations (or usefulness)...well....then it was kind of a bad draft pick.  Not saying that those positions can't be good players, but they are different positions than if you draft a QB, WR#1, DE, LT, or TE with those top 41 picks. 

 

AR and Paye are the only top 40 picks in the last three drafts....a QB and a DE, that's good.   (CB Brents was 44 after a trade down).

 

We'll see if Ballard approaches Taylor and Pittman with SS on board the same way as he has in the past.

[2006Coltsbestever]

5 hours ago, Solid84 said:

Wouldn't you agree Wentz played a fair bit worse in 2021 than he did in the year he took the Eagles to the Super Bowl?

 

Wouldn't you also agree JT played a fair bit worse in '22 than he did in '21? So why are you judging JT at his best but Wentz at his worst?

It is because we know what Wentz is, we don't with Taylor who is only 24 years old. Even last year playing injured, Taylor still averaged 4.5 yards a carry on 192 carries. In 2021, he had a Barry Sanders type of year. By the way Wentz was average at his best in 2021. When we beat the Pats in 2021, that was all Taylor. Wentz threw for like 47 yards that game. Had it not been for Taylor, we would have never been 9-6 at 1 point and the media was saying we were a threat to make deep playoff run because we could run the ball.

 

Wentz never led the Eagles to the SB, it was Nick Foles that led them, Foles played all the playoff games and great in the SB. Wentz was great in the Regular season but Foles is the one who led them to the promise land.

 

I will stick to what I have been saying, RB by committee only works (regarding winning a SB) if you have 2 good RB's - which we don't without Taylor or you have a QB that is a top 10 QB in the league and as of now AR isn't. Since 2018, every QB that has won the SB has been a top 10 QB so they could go RB by committee because they at least had 2 good RB's. Brady, Mahomes, Brady, Stafford - yes Stafford was top 10 in 2021, and last year Mahomes again. The Colts and Taylor need to mend their differences because without Taylor we aren't winning many games this season. We should beat Houston but that isn't a given, they stink though. 

 

Bottomline is, if you don't have a top 10 QB you better have a great RB to even have a chance at doing anything. Tennessee has been good mainly because of Henry. Take Tannehill off those Titans teams from 2019-2021 and insert someone like Cousins or Dak, they may have won a SB. 

 

 

[John Hammonds]

11 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Aye, there's the rub.  Some of us forecasted this when Nelson was drafted #6.  If he plays well, you re-up him at a high contract.  So once you draft nonpremium positions high, you're probably stuck with them through the next contract too...not a great use a capital.   G, ILB, RT, RB, and WR#2 were drafted at pick 41 or higher, and if they play up to expectations, they get rolled into a high FA contract.   If they don't play up to expectations (or usefulness)...well....then it was kind of a bad draft pick.  Not saying that those positions can't be good players, but they are different positions than if you draft a QB, WR#1, DE, LT, or TE with those top 41 picks. 

 

AR and Paye are the only top 40 picks in the last three drafts....a QB and a DE, that's good.   (CB Brents was 44 after a trade down).

 

We'll see if Ballard approaches Taylor and Pittman with SS on board the same way as he has in the past.

Totally agree with you.  (Along with your obscure LOTR quote from the "Scouring of the Shire" chapter!)

Our path was set with the 6th pick of the 2018 draft.  And it continued all the way through the 2022 collapse.

I'm hoping that the 2023 draft started a Grand Reset of the way this team is built.  *crossing fingers*

[DougDew]

15 minutes ago, John Hammonds said:

Totally agree with you.  (Along with your obscure LOTR quote from the "Scouring of the Shire" chapter!)

Our path was set with the 6th pick of the 2018 draft.  And it continued all the way through the 2022 collapse.

I'm hoping that the 2023 draft started a Grand Reset of the way this team is built.  *crossing fingers*

I forgot the first one, FS Hooker at pick 15 in 2017.  I mean, even if the guy balls out are you going to want to pay him top 5 DB money come contract time?  I just think that its rare that a S has that much impact relative to other positions over a sustained period of time. 

 

With SS on board, I'm not sure that the "pay our own" policy is going to be the norm on offense for a while.

[richard pallo]

54 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I forgot the first one, FS Hooker at pick 15 in 2017.  I mean, even if the guy balls out are you going to want to pay him top 5 DB money come contract time?  I just think that its rare that a S has that much impact relative to other positions over a sustained period of time. 

 

With SS on board, I'm not sure that the "pay our own" policy is going to be the norm on offense for a while.

I think any player we draft during the SS tenure will get a 2nd contract if they perform or exceed expectations.  It only makes sense to pay your own.  The JT situation is unique because his new agent threw a wrench into the works.  Otherwise he would be playing out his contract like Pittman.  I’m sure SS was looking forward to having JT as a part of his offense.  How could a coach not want JT?  He’s a playmaker and he’s young and in his prime.  I think if JT plays and performs well he would get his second contract.  I think that is the plan.  You don’t let your playmakers leave if you can help it.  They are to hard to find.

[Superman]

14 hours ago, hoosierhawk said:

To the bolded. In 2021 you mentioned that the elite RB made no difference to teams prospects and we had a QB on that team that led Philly to  a Super Bowl. In 2021 he cost the Colts over 14 times what JT cost the Colts plus a third round draft choice plus a 2022 first round choice. Wentz truely sucked in 2021 so in this case do you blame the elite RB who was paid way, way less than the QB who was bad or put some blame on the QB? Would you agree that with decent QB play that elite RB could have contributed to the teams prospects?  

I agree we probably won't agree and it is all more than likely a moat point so I guess we just agree to disagree.

 

I don't "blame" JT at all for 2021, he was the best player on the team by a long shot. I also didn't say that he made no difference to the team's prospects. I said we saw that there's a limit to how much a star RB can lift your team.

 

And you're kind of making my point about the importance of an elite RB. The position that really changes a team's trajectory is QB, which is why the Colts gave up those picks and paid that money to Carson Wentz in the first place. Just because we had a bad QB doesn't mean the QB position isn't the most importance piece of the puzzle. 

 

I also don't understand how a bad QB performance is evidence that it's okay to overpay your RB.

[DougDew]

1 hour ago, richard pallo said:

I think any player we draft during the SS tenure will get a 2nd contract if they perform or exceed expectations.  It only makes sense to pay your own.  The JT situation is unique because his new agent threw a wrench into the works.  Otherwise he would be playing out his contract like Pittman.  I’m sure SS was looking forward to having JT as a part of his offense.  How could a coach not want JT?  He’s a playmaker and he’s young and in his prime.  I think if JT plays and performs well he would get his second contract.  I think that is the plan.  You don’t let your playmakers leave if you can help it.  They are to hard to find.

I think JT figures that SS doesn't want him extended at a high price.  I think JT figured this upon SS being hired.  And he's not going to go on the field until he gets guaranteed money from somewhere.  Playing out the contract and risk being hurt...which would tremendously reduce his value come March as a FA.....was never something JT wanted to do, IMO.  Without an extension and guaranteed money, the Colts are essentially hanging JT out to dry by making him play this season and risk his future earnings potential....while they groom the next star of the team.

 

I don't think this has anything to do with his agent being a *.  I think its the result of them both reading the landscape back in May and deciding this was the best strategy to get him guaranteed money BEFORE he plays another down. 

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

39 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I don't "blame" JT at all for 2021, he was the best player on the team by a long shot. I also didn't say that he made no difference to the team's prospects. I said we saw that there's a limit to how much a star RB can lift your team.

 

And you're kind of making my point about the importance of an elite RB. The position that really changes a team's trajectory is QB, which is why the Colts gave up those picks and paid that money to Carson Wentz in the first place. Just because we had a bad QB doesn't mean the QB position isn't the most importance piece of the puzzle. 

 

I also don't understand how a bad QB performance is evidence that it's okay to overpay your RB.

I am guessing most people in here would agree that a team shouldn't overpay a RB. I agree with that but what is overpaying JT? Is it 12 Mill a year, is it 13 Mill a year, is it 14 Mill a year. Everyone has a different opinion on that. Like Kevin Bowen, he and I have the exact number we think Taylor is worth. That is 13 mill a year over 3 years = 39 mill. With around 25 million of it guaranteed. That takes him up through his prime as well. That is assuming Taylor is healthy and I am pretty sure he will proven to be shortly. Bowen came up with this figure around the beginning of August and I did as well. I didn't even know he did until I Listened to his radio show locally one day here in the first week of August. I think he copied off of me (joking but he used to post in here). 

[1959Colts]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/dandre-swifts-performance-underscores-the-reluctance-of-teams-to-pay-running-backs

 

D’Andre Swift’s performance underscores the reluctance of teams to pay running backs

Mike Florio

 

Some will say that Thursday night’s 175 rushing yards on 28 carries from D’Andre Swift proves the value of running backs. Actually, it proves the opposite.

It shows that a team can put together an effective running game without paying a lot of money to any one running back. Because there are plenty of running backs who can move the chains and gain yard, especially with the kind of holes the Eagles’ offensive line was creating on Thursday night...

[Solid84]

3 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

It is because we know what Wentz is, we don't with Taylor who is only 24 years old. Even last year playing injured, Taylor still averaged 4.5 yards a carry on 192 carries. In 2021, he had a Barry Sanders type of year. By the way Wentz was average at his best in 2021. When we beat the Pats in 2021, that was all Taylor. Wentz threw for like 47 yards that game. Had it not been for Taylor, we would have never been 9-6 at 1 point and the media was saying we were a threat to make deep playoff run because we could run the ball.

 

Wentz never led the Eagles to the SB, it was Nick Foles that led them, Foles played all the playoff games and great in the SB. Wentz was great in the Regular season but Foles is the one who led them to the promise land.

 

I will stick to what I have been saying, RB by committee only works (regarding winning a SB) if you have 2 good RB's - which we don't without Taylor or you have a QB that is a top 10 QB in the league and as of now AR isn't. Since 2018, every QB that has won the SB has been a top 10 QB so they could go RB by committee because they at least had 2 good RB's. Brady, Mahomes, Brady, Stafford - yes Stafford was top 10 in 2021, and last year Mahomes again. The Colts and Taylor need to mend their differences because without Taylor we aren't winning many games this season. We should beat Houston but that isn't a given, they stink though. 

 

Bottomline is, if you don't have a top 10 QB you better have a great RB to even have a chance at doing anything. Tennessee has been good mainly because of Henry. Take Tannehill off those Titans teams from 2019-2021 and insert someone like Cousins or Dak, they may have won a SB. 

 

 

'22 Taylor in the 4 games before he got injured had:

82 carries for 328 yards and 1 TD. 4 ypc. In 4 games that's pretty average.

 

But the Oline was crap? Isn't that something he should overcome as an elite RB, though? If it's not a valid excuse for Wentz why is it for JT?

 

All I've said is a good RBBC will be better than JT for us in the long run. Why do people keep arguing like I've said we can take any bum off the streets and win with?

 

You are picking and choosing your arguments here. And the last part...

Quote

Bottomline is, if you don't have a top 10 QB you better have a great RB to even have a chance at doing anything. Tennessee has been good mainly because of Henry. Take Tannehill off those Titans teams from 2019-2021 and insert someone like Cousins or Dak, they may have won a SB. 

... Is so wrong I don't know where to begin. If you don't have a top 10 QB, you go looking for your top QB. What you don't do is throw your cap space away on a position (or positions) that won't make up for not having a top QB anyway. 

[DougDew]

2 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

 Why do people keep arguing like I've said we can take any bum off the streets and win with?

To make their position sound better.  LOL.

[2006Coltsbestever]

At least Moss is playing this week. He is above average and sometimes good. That should help the run game out. Jackson was brutal last week.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 hour ago, DougDew said:

To make their position sound better.  LOL.

Solid84 did just that, he said Taylor averaged only 4 yards a carry on 82 carries before his injury. So he singles out a few games (4) to make his argument look better. So we agree, thanks Doug. In reality Taylor averaged 4.5 yards a carry for the year and he did some of that while playing hurt. The year before that he averaged 5.5 a carry when he was healthy. 5.5 is off the charts great. 

 

By the way 4 yards a carry is better than average for 1 back. That is the cut off point for being at least good but he even had that with the O.Line playing bad.

[hoosierhawk]

3 hours ago, Superman said:

 

I don't "blame" JT at all for 2021, he was the best player on the team by a long shot. I also didn't say that he made no difference to the team's prospects. I said we saw that there's a limit to how much a star RB can lift your team.

 

And you're kind of making my point about the importance of an elite RB. The position that really changes a team's trajectory is QB, which is why the Colts gave up those picks and paid that money to Carson Wentz in the first place. Just because we had a bad QB doesn't mean the QB position isn't the most importance piece of the puzzle. 

 

I also don't understand how a bad QB performance is evidence that it's okay to overpay your RB.

Don't think I insinuated that. Just saying he carried the offence pretty much that year. The message is it's a team game and everyone has to contributeto the team success, not just the QB. if the QB and the entire team played better we would have made the playoffs and I believe and have made some noise in the playoffs.

We obviously are not on the same page as I believe we are most of the time so on to a new subject. If I am wrong then I accept that and let's move on. 

[richard pallo]

2 hours ago, DougDew said:

I think JT figures that SS doesn't want him extended at a high price.  I think JT figured this upon SS being hired.  And he's not going to go on the field until he gets guaranteed money from somewhere.  Playing out the contract and risk being hurt...which would tremendously reduce his value come March as a FA.....was never something JT wanted to do, IMO.  Without an extension and guaranteed money, the Colts are essentially hanging JT out to dry by making him play this season and risk his future earnings potential....while they groom the next star of the team.

 

I don't think this has anything to do with his agent being a *.  I think its the result of them both reading the landscape back in May and deciding this was the best strategy to get him guaranteed money BEFORE he plays another down. 

 

You can say that about Pittman too.  Why should he risk injury?  But he’s playing.  So are a lot of players around the league.  Tee Higgins for example.  Players play out the last year of their contract all the time.  And they are risking injury too.  Btw Ballard’s job is to worry about price.  Not SS.  He’s not the GM.  Ballard doesn’t want to extend him right now.  SS has no say when it comes down to contracts.  He’s no Bellicheck or Payton or any of the other longtime successful coaches in the league.  Those coaches have a lot of influence and power unlike a rookie wanabee like SS.  Hopefully he earns it with the Colts.   

[w87r]

1 hour ago, 1959Colts said:

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/dandre-swifts-performance-underscores-the-reluctance-of-teams-to-pay-running-backs

 

D’Andre Swift’s performance underscores the reluctance of teams to pay running backs

Mike Florio

 

Some will say that Thursday night’s 175 rushing yards on 28 carries from D’Andre Swift proves the value of running backs. Actually, it proves the opposite.

It shows that a team can put together an effective running game without paying a lot of money to any one running back. Because there are plenty of running backs who can move the chains and gain yard, especially with the kind of holes the Eagles’ offensive line was creating on Thursday night...

Should've quoted this part:

 

From link in 1959 post above:

"Last year, Miles Sanders rushed for 1,269, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and scoring 11 touchdowns. He became a free agent. The Eagles let him walk. The Panthers gave him a four-year contract with an average value of $6.35 million per year.

The Eagles opted instead to embrace a four-headed approach at the position, with Kenneth Gainwell, D’Andre Swift, Boston Scott, and Rashaad Penny. And their cumulative cap numbers for 2023 is only $6.009 million."

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, w87r said:

Should've quoted this part:

 

From link in 1959 post above:

"Last year, Miles Sanders rushed for 1,269, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and scoring 11 touchdowns. He became a free agent. The Eagles let him walk. The Panthers gave him a four-year contract with an average value of $6.35 million per year.

The Eagles opted instead to embrace a four-headed approach at the position, with Kenneth Gainwell, D’Andre Swift, Boston Scott, and Rashaad Penny. And their cumulative cap numbers for 2023 is only $6.009 million."

I agree with that concept because they have a top 5 QB in the league. Our situation is different.

[2006Coltsbestever]

When you have a top 5 QB especially, or really even a top 10 QB you can get away with building your team in many ways because the QB is either good or great. I would have love to see how Tennessee would have been going RB by committee with Tannehill. We all know, and they even have had a good defense and good coach. Henry made them a threat to do deep every year even with Tannehill and his silly INT's in the playoffs.

[hoosierhawk]

13 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I agree with that concept because they have a top 5 QB in the league. Our situation is different.

They also have an OL that D Jackson could probably gain a 100 yds running behind.

[krunk]

16 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

You can say that about Pittman too.  Why should he risk injury?  But he’s playing.  So are a lot of players around the league.  Tee Higgins for example.  Players play out the last year of their contract all the time.  And they are risking injury too.  Btw Ballard’s job is to worry about price.  Not SS.  He’s not the GM.  Ballard doesn’t want to extend him right now.  SS has no say when it comes down to contracts.  He’s no Bellicheck or Payton or any of the other longtime successful coaches in the league.  Those coaches have a lot of influence and power unlike a rookie wanabee like SS.  Hopefully he earns it with the Colts.   

RB is about the only position though where if you tear the Achilles your career is pretty much done in most cases. There are very few come back stories at RB when the Achilles is torn. Other positions have come back successfully so it's easier for somebody to be willing to play. More to consider with a RB. I can somewhat see why JT wants to get paid. Doesn't mean he should if you're looking at last year's performance but I can see.

[iuswingman]

5 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

It is because we know what Wentz is, we don't with Taylor who is only 24 years old. Even last year playing injured, Taylor still averaged 4.5 yards a carry on 192 carries. In 2021, he had a Barry Sanders type of year. By the way Wentz was average at his best in 2021. When we beat the Pats in 2021, that was all Taylor. Wentz threw for like 47 yards that game. Had it not been for Taylor, we would have never been 9-6 at 1 point and the media was saying we were a threat to make deep playoff run because we could run the ball.

 

Wentz never led the Eagles to the SB, it was Nick Foles that led them, Foles played all the playoff games and great in the SB. Wentz was great in the Regular season but Foles is the one who led them to the promise land.

 

I will stick to what I have been saying, RB by committee only works (regarding winning a SB) if you have 2 good RB's - which we don't without Taylor or you have a QB that is a top 10 QB in the league and as of now AR isn't. Since 2018, every QB that has won the SB has been a top 10 QB so they could go RB by committee because they at least had 2 good RB's. Brady, Mahomes, Brady, Stafford - yes Stafford was top 10 in 2021, and last year Mahomes again. The Colts and Taylor need to mend their differences because without Taylor we aren't winning many games this season. We should beat Houston but that isn't a given, they stink though. 

 

Bottomline is, if you don't have a top 10 QB you better have a great RB to even have a chance at doing anything. Tennessee has been good mainly because of Henry. Take Tannehill off those Titans teams from 2019-2021 and insert someone like Cousins or Dak, they may have won a SB. 

 

 

 

It is optimistic to think we don't know what Taylor is because RBs tend to peak early and then decline.    

 

I think what is also missed trying to compare Taylor to Wentz is the depth at the position and how much it effects winning.   

 

1) If you lose an elite QB then where is your team?  (we saw that after Luck left)

 

2) If you lose an elite RB then where is your team?  (seeing that now)

 

While 2 definitely hurts, 1 is much more devastating.

 

Most teams are prioritizing positions that require top talent to succeed and finding that RB isn't one of those positions.

[DougDew]

1 hour ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Solid84 did just that, he said Taylor averaged only 4 yards a carry on 82 carries before his injury. So he singles out a few games (4) to make his argument look better. So we agree, thanks Doug. In reality Taylor averaged 4.5 yards a carry for the year and he did some of that while playing hurt. The year before that he averaged 5.5 a carry when he was healthy. 5.5 is off the charts great. 

 

By the way 4 yards a carry is better than average for 1 back. That is the cut off point for being at least good but he even had that with the O.Line playing bad.

I'm not following or getting into y'alls debate.  I just answered his question.

 

BTW, that transfer from Georgia Tech, Jeff Sims, looks brutal.

[richard pallo]

1 hour ago, 1959Colts said:

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/dandre-swifts-performance-underscores-the-reluctance-of-teams-to-pay-running-backs

 

D’Andre Swift’s performance underscores the reluctance of teams to pay running backs

Mike Florio

 

Some will say that Thursday night’s 175 rushing yards on 28 carries from D’Andre Swift proves the value of running backs. Actually, it proves the opposite.

It shows that a team can put together an effective running game without paying a lot of money to any one running back. Because there are plenty of running backs who can move the chains and gain yard, especially with the kind of holes the Eagles’ offensive line was creating on Thursday night...

This just tells me how important an OL is.  Swift was the 3rd pick in the 2nd. Rd in 2020.  That’s pick 35 overall.   But he went to the Lions.  We know how that turned out.  None the less he’s a very talented rb who was stuck on a poor team.  Now the trade to the Eagles where some say lies the best OL in the league and what do you know he’s off to a good start.   Anyone surprised?  You shouldn’t be.  He’s a very talented back.  If a team has a top OL they should be able to run the ball and when you add a talent like Swift you hit the home run.  And Swift is still on his rookie deal.  Eagles pulled off a great trade for sure.  If your OL is not great or just average the chances are your running game will be just average unless you can add an elite rb like Taylor.  Elite players make a difference.  Average running backs are no threat when you have OL issues.  But an elite back can make a difference.  The Bills line is not great for example, but JT on that team will get them to a Super Bowl game imo.  And elite players do get paid as they should.  

[compuls1v3]

2 hours ago, 1959Colts said:

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/dandre-swifts-performance-underscores-the-reluctance-of-teams-to-pay-running-backs

 

D’Andre Swift’s performance underscores the reluctance of teams to pay running backs

Mike Florio

 

Some will say that Thursday night’s 175 rushing yards on 28 carries from D’Andre Swift proves the value of running backs. Actually, it proves the opposite.

It shows that a team can put together an effective running game without paying a lot of money to any one running back. Because there are plenty of running backs who can move the chains and gain yard, especially with the kind of holes the Eagles’ offensive line was creating on Thursday night...

Key words here, offensive line creating the holes.  C'mon oline, we can do this!!

[compuls1v3]

27 minutes ago, hoosierhawk said:

They also have an OL that D Jackson could probably gain a 100 yds running behind.

Unless he fumbles....

[DougDew]

56 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

You can say that about Pittman too.  Why should he risk injury?  But he’s playing.  So are a lot of players around the league.  Tee Higgins for example.  Players play out the last year of their contract all the time.  And they are risking injury too.  Btw Ballard’s job is to worry about price.  Not SS.  He’s not the GM.  Ballard doesn’t want to extend him right now.  SS has no say when it comes down to contracts.  He’s no Bellicheck or Payton or any of the other longtime successful coaches in the league.  Those coaches have a lot of influence and power unlike a rookie wanabee like SS.  Hopefully he earns it with the Colts.   

I think the difference is that the Colts have no intention of paying a RB top money in SSs offense.   They may pay Pitt if he plays like a top WR.  And both players know this, so they are taking different approaches. 

 

If JT produces tape this year that questions his ability to play elite in a modern NFL offense, it will compete with his stellar 2021 season that he wants to be known for.  OTOH, Pittman is not in that position since he has never had an elite season.