my thoughts going forward

[ruf]

haven't been on in a while so looking forward to give some thoughts after the disapointing loss.

 

Gus the DC it looks like will remain therefore one of two things: we need to draft for the D and it should be at #15 the best DE on the board--resign GS and KMII as well as Blackmon--and 2nd round should go LB and 3rd FS--the rest of  the draft should be best players for either side of the ball--if we resign Pittman now with this in mind we can fix the D enough while thinking that with AR back it will even things out

 

the other thought would be to go top 3 draft picks O and just hope we can outscore everybody-- #15 best WR and they should be some good one--2ndrd maybe a stud OG if one there 3rd maybe another OL maybe OT--we want to give AR the best chance to pass or with JT and him to run--

 

AR will improve the O as is with Pitt back--so the question is and i think we should do one or the other---should we fix the D or outscore everyone on O

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

Go all out on the offense is my standpoint. Get play makers at WR, TE and draft depth on the oline. 
 

however I don’t see Ballard doing this. He will do what he always does. 

[jvan1973]

3 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

Go all out on the offense is my standpoint. Get play makers at WR, TE and draft depth on the oline. 
 

however I don’t see Ballard doing this. He will do what he always does. 

What was the last team that traded assets for the future and was successful?  The Rams?  I don't think we have the vet qb to do what the Rams did.   Look at the Panthers.   They are terrible,  and will continue to be terrible.   Only one team wins v the chip.  I think we have some good pieces.  Add a few more and hope the QB stays healthy 

[OLD FAN MAN]

18 minutes ago, ruf said:

haven't been on in a while so looking forward to give some thoughts after the disapointing loss.

 

Gus the DC it looks like will remain therefore one of two things: we need to draft for the D and it should be at #15 the best DE on the board--resign GS and KMII as well as Blackmon--and 2nd round should go LB and 3rd FS--the rest of  the draft should be best players for either side of the ball--if we resign Pittman now with this in mind we can fix the D enough while thinking that with AR back it will even things out

 

the other thought would be to go top 3 draft picks O and just hope we can outscore everybody-- #15 best WR and they should be some good one--2ndrd maybe a stud OG if one there 3rd maybe another OL maybe OT--we want to give AR the best chance to pass or with JT and him to run--

 

AR will improve the O as is with Pitt back--so the question is and i think we should do one or the other---should we fix the D or outscore everyone on O

have to get ar some weapons not sure ballard can do that he has had too many misses at wr

[ruf]

7 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

Go all out on the offense is my standpoint. Get play makers at WR, TE and draft depth on the oline. 
 

however I don’t see Ballard doing this. He will do what he always does. 

Good response and if Ballard does what he always does he should be gone next season--Im kinda of thinking it is Not so much Gus but he didn't have the players. I do think those young cb's willll be better next year

[ruf]

4 minutes ago, OLD FAN MAN said:

have to get ar some weapons not sure ballard can do that he has had too many misses at wr

have reggie pound the table lol

[ruf]

need reggie to pound on the table

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

21 minutes ago, ruf said:

Good response and if Ballard does what he always does he should be gone next season--Im kinda of thinking it is Not so much Gus but he didn't have the players. I do think those young cb's willll be better next year

I think that the way the league is set up you’re rarely going to have an elite defense. I’m not the biggest Bradley fan out there but I don’t see many guys doing much better with the league the way it is, and the players we have. 
 

we are closer to having a top 5 offense than having a top 5 defense. So go offense and out score everyone else. 

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

1 hour ago, jvan1973 said:

What was the last team that traded assets for the future and was successful?  The Rams?  I don't think we have the vet qb to do what the Rams did.   Look at the Panthers.   They are terrible,  and will continue to be terrible.   Only one team wins v the chip.  I think we have some good pieces.  Add a few more and hope the QB stays healthy 

 

I guess I should clarify, go all out in the draft for playmakers on offense. I’d like to see a top WR in the first round even if it means trading up. 

[ruf]

5 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

 

I guess I should clarify, go all out in the draft for playmakers on offense. I’d like to see a top WR in the first round even if it means trading up. 

I don't think we will have to trade up i think there will be a good one there at 15

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

44 minutes ago, ruf said:

I don't think we will have to trade up i think there will be a good one there at 15

I don’t follow college but I’ve heard a few names of guys close to Harrison’s talent level. 

[ruf]

7 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

I don’t follow college but I’ve heard a few names of guys close to Harrison’s talent level. 

yea there's 3 maybe even 4 but there may be a run on qb's and there is also about 3 top plug and play LT's that will go so there will be maybe one by 15 if not there will be elite D players there for the taking

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

6 minutes ago, ruf said:

yea there's 3 maybe even 4 but there may be a run on qb's and there is also about 3 top plug and play LT's that will go so there will be maybe one by 15 if not there will be elite D players there for the taking

I’d really like to believe this is the year Ballard spends a 1st on a pass catcher. It doesn’t seem to be his MO. Usually once you have your QB you get guys to put around him so I’m hoping he break routine… if he doesn’t and we do get a top pass rusher it wouldn’t kill me. 

[ruf]

5 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

I’d really like to believe this is the year Ballard spends a 1st on a pass catcher. It doesn’t seem to be his MO. Usually once you have your QB you get guys to put around him so I’m hoping he break routine… if he doesn’t and we do get a top pass rusher it wouldn’t kill me. 

if we get a top pass rusher we should look at keeping Pitt and also FA like Higgings. doubt he would do that but if he wants to keep his job he should consider it . my fear is Huston is no joke and they will have all their pass catchers ready to go and also the jags will make improvements. we really best inprove on both sides of the ball 

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

9 minutes ago, ruf said:

if we get a top pass rusher we should look at keeping Pitt and also FA like Higgings. doubt he would do that but if he wants to keep his job he should consider it . my fear is Huston is no joke and they will have all their pass catchers ready to go and also the jags will make improvements. we really best inprove on both sides of the ball 

IF and that’s a big if, AR can stay healthy, I’m not worried about Houston so much, and even less the Jags. Stroud did good this year but he’s stoppable. 

[chad72]

10 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

IF and that’s a big if, AR can stay healthy, I’m not worried about Houston so much, and even less the Jags. Stroud did good this year but he’s stoppable. 

 

Yes but when he had both Tank Dell and Noah Brown to throw to, he was getting to the point of unstoppable. We got to evaluate him with JUST Nico Collins and he still beat us. He rarely turns the ball over and plays sound QB football. Plus, we can't assume the Texans aren't going to upgrade the TE or OL or defense either to increase his margin for error. Texans do scare me for the next decade if they manage to keep Stroud upright.

[throwing BBZ]

I know we must trade back.

And we must come out of the draft with Washington LT Troy Fautanou to play RG next season 

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

7 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

Yes but when he had both Tank Dell and Noah Brown to throw to, he was getting to the point of unstoppable. We got to evaluate him with JUST Nico Collins and he still beat us. He rarely turns the ball over and plays sound QB football. Plus, we can't assume the Texans aren't going to upgrade the TE or OL or defense either to increase his margin for error. Texans do scare me for the next decade if they manage to keep Stroud upright.

 

well the Texans weren’t going to be a crappy team forever. They had Watson too not so long ago. If Ballard can’t get things going everyone will get their wish. So seeing as how we don’t know what AR is, by the time we do know, we will also know if Ballard is staying. I think AR can be just as dynamic as stroud was before losing his guys. Maybe more so. If we can beat the Texans with an elite stroud we can beat anyone. And the colts already have shown they can beat anyone. Keep AR healthy and the sky is the limit. 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

Bring in a outside voice to help with off season direction of players personnel and direction of team and its assets. 

[ruf]

18 minutes ago, LJpalmbeacher2 said:

Bring in a outside voice to help with off season direction of players personnel and direction of team and its assets. 

I can be that voice

[rock8591]

Ballard needs to take some risks. Especially when all of his salary cap management has gotten us nothing but .500 at best the past 6 years.

 

Now's the time to do so when AR is still on his rookie contract. Load up on a few stars in FA, even if it means grossly overpaying for them. Cut the bait that aren't worth their contracts (e.g. Braden Smith, R. Kelly, Mo Cox).

 

Instead of re-signing Grover Stewart to $10 million a year, go and get Chris Jones for 20 a year.

[ThorstenDenmark]

5 hours ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

IF and that’s a big if, AR can stay healthy, I’m not worried about Houston so much, and even less the Jags. Stroud did good this year but he’s stoppable. 

Stroud is a future MVP in the NFL and DeMeco Ryan looks to be a great coach in the perfect situation.

Honestly, if Houston does this one right, they are going to dominate the AFC South in the next decade.

 

Tennessee is going to start all over with a new coach, new QB and new everything.

Jaguars have Jennifer Lawrence at QB, but looks to have some huge holes on and off the field.

 

Regarding the Colts, we don't know what we have in Anthony Richardson and with Irsays illness things off the field might have a huge impact on the future of the colts  

Pittman want out of Indy and our second best WR is Pierce, but he's average at best. 

Our pass defence is lacking playmakers and though shane steichen did a great job, I can´t see us challenge Houston nor Jags in the next couple of years.

 

Houston got their hands on the next Andrew Luck and I bet they won't make stroud retire due to a bad O-line.

[lollygagger8]

I'm just glad it'll be Steichen in his ear this draft. 

 

Also, keep listening to Reggie when it comes to WRs 

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

3 hours ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

Stroud is a future MVP in the NFL and DeMeco Ryan looks to be a great coach in the perfect situation.

Honestly, if Houston does this one right, they are going to dominate the AFC South in the next decade.

 

Tennessee is going to start all over with a new coach, new QB and new everything.

Jaguars have Jennifer Lawrence at QB, but looks to have some huge holes on and off the field.

 

Regarding the Colts, we don't know what we have in Anthony Richardson and with Irsays illness things off the field might have a huge impact on the future of the colts  

Pittman want out of Indy and our second best WR is Pierce, but he's average at best. 

Our pass defence is lacking playmakers and though shane steichen did a great job, I can´t see us challenge Houston nor Jags in the next couple of years.

 

Houston got their hands on the next Andrew Luck and I bet they won't make stroud retire due to a bad O-line.

 

that is a sky is falling mindset. It isn’t there yet, and Pitt never said he wanted out of Indy. But we will see what happens. 

[ColtStrong2013]

4 hours ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

Houston got their hands on the next Andrew Luck and I bet they won't make stroud retire due to a bad O-line.

He sure will if he continues having concussions like he did this season… 

[2006Coltsbestever]

4 hours ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

Stroud is a future MVP in the NFL and DeMeco Ryan looks to be a great coach in the perfect situation.

Honestly, if Houston does this one right, they are going to dominate the AFC South in the next decade.

 

Tennessee is going to start all over with a new coach, new QB and new everything.

Jaguars have Jennifer Lawrence at QB, but looks to have some huge holes on and off the field.

 

Regarding the Colts, we don't know what we have in Anthony Richardson and with Irsays illness things off the field might have a huge impact on the future of the colts  

Pittman want out of Indy and our second best WR is Pierce, but he's average at best. 

Our pass defence is lacking playmakers and though shane steichen did a great job, I can´t see us challenge Houston nor Jags in the next couple of years.

 

Houston got their hands on the next Andrew Luck and I bet they won't make stroud retire due to a bad O-line.

Houston dominating the next decade will never happen. They barely beat us the other night and IMO we played poorly for the most part. Let's see them beat us when AR is starter because in week 2 AR was outplaying Stroud bigtime and we were up 14-0 before he got that concussion. I think between the Colts, Jags, and Texans anyone can win the South in 2024. Titans will be the only team that stinks. Just my 2 cents. 

 

Regarding Ryans and Steichen - it is pretty even, so the Texans don't even have the better coach. Regarding Stroud being great for the next decade, we don't know if he will or not. Most people said Lawrence would dominate this year and the Jags would run away with the South. The aged about as well as everyone saying Caleb Williams /USC would win the National Championship before the season .

[Dingus McGirt]

1 hour ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

 

that is a sky is falling mindset. It isn’t there yet, and Pitt never said he wanted out of Indy. But we will see what happens. 

Agreed.  As far as Houston being dominant in the division - this may be true, so long as injuries and other issues don't get in the way.  Somehow, they always seem to.  Stay tuned.

[ColtStrong2013]

14 minutes ago, Dingus McGirt said:

Agreed.  As far as Houston being dominant in the division - this may be true, so long as injuries and other issues don't get in the way.  Somehow, they always seem to.  Stay tuned.

 

Exactly right on the injuries... A competitive division like the North has for what seems like an eternity can offset the so called dominance of a division. I doubt that the Browns care right now that the Ravens dominated the division this year, aside from having to play on the road in the playoffs. They are very much in the thick of things. Steelers don't have a shot, but they are there instead of another South team. It looked like two South teams would for sure be represented in the playoffs until the very end. NFL is strange that way. 

 

It's not like Stroud is playing in the Brady-era AFC East. I don't think he is going to be a perennial division champion year after year. It's going to be competitive. Teams within the division are going to be hard for him to sweep each year, and even when they do, they could still lose the division to that team. We were that close to beating the Jags for the division title this year, without coming close to actually beating them. When the Texans win the division, they are going to be playing other division winners and they are going to have the harder schedule. Life in the NFL. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

7 minutes ago, Dingus McGirt said:

Agreed.  As far as Houston being dominant in the division - this may be true, so long as injuries and other issues don't get in the way.  Somehow, they always seem to.  Stay tuned.

Houston won the division but was not even close to being dominant. They barely beat us and they had their franchise QB and we didn't. Being dominant in the division is what the Colts and Peyton were from 2003-2010. Winning the Division 7 out of 8 years in that stretch. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

15 hours ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

Go all out on the offense is my standpoint. Get play makers at WR, TE and draft depth on the oline. 
 

however I don’t see Ballard doing this. He will do what he always does. 

What. It’s actually the opposite. Defende especially secondary is what needs fixed.  Especially with having to play stroud twice a year.

[Dingus McGirt]

12 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Houston won the division but was not even close to being dominant. They barely beat us and they had their franchise QB and we didn't. Being dominant in the division is what the Colts and Peyton were from 2003-2010. Winning the Division 7 out of 8 years in that stretch. 

Agreed.  My post was intended as a counter to those touting Houston.

[tweezy32]

its funny seeing people praising Stroud so much likes hes so good. Take away that 1st play and that random throw away pass that nico caught and he didnt do nothing special against us. Take away those 2 drives and there was nothing he did against us. Even that deep pass wasnt anything that special. it was a beautiful ball yes, but it was a blown coverage with no safety help.

[tomloge1]

5 minutes ago, tweezy32 said:

its funny seeing people praising Stroud so much likes hes so good. Take away that 1st play and that random throw away pass that nico caught and he didnt do nothing special against us. Take away those 2 drives and there was nothing he did against us. Even that deep pass wasnt anything that special. it was a beautiful ball yes, but it was a blown coverage with no safety help.

Agreed.  In my eyes, Houston didn't "win" the game.  The Colts handed the game to Houston on a silver platter.  The one time the Colts blitzed they sacked Stroud for a loss.  Maybe the Colts should consider bllitzing more than once per game.  Occassionally the blitz does work.  

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

1 hour ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

What. It’s actually the opposite. Defende especially secondary is what needs fixed.  Especially with having to play stroud twice a year.

If you want to play the long game then yeah sure, invest mostly in defense this year, try and fix the secondary and improve the pass rush. However I disagree as the quicker route to a SB is getting an elite offense. This defense stopped stroud enough times to allow an elite offense to out score them. With AR healthy, added playmakers, this team scores 30+ on Saturday night. 
 

agree to disagree. 

[tweezy32]

8 minutes ago, tomloge1 said:

Agreed.  In my eyes, Houston didn't "win" the game.  The Colts handed the game to Houston on a silver platter.  The one time the Colts blitzed they sacked Stroud for a loss.  Maybe the Colts should consider bllitzing more than once per game.  Occassionally the blitz does work.  

That and maybe safety blanket there 1 and only WR they had basically. When Nico didnt get the ball they really didnt do anything against us. 

[tweezy32]

The only problems i had with our defense really that actually frustrated me was us giving up 3rd and longs and no blitzing. When you dont blitz or get pressure of course our secondary will get lit up just like any defense in the league lol.

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

3 minutes ago, tweezy32 said:

The only problems i had with our defense really that actually frustrated me was us giving up 3rd and longs and no blitzing. When you dont blitz or get pressure of course our secondary will get lit up just like any defense in the league lol.

which is why I think it’s futile to invest heavily in defense in todays league. Go all out on offense and this defense as it sits, will stop the other team enough to allow our offense to score big. 

[SR711]

Bottom line, IMO, the front office is going to have to be a lot more aggressive with trades, free agency compared to what they have been in the past in order to get this franchise back to where we all want.

 

This is especially true these upcoming off seasons as I have a feeling that the competition in this division is going to be raised a lot in the coming years.  
 

It’s frustrating as a fan that even with all the changes/re-tools/re-boots our division rivals have had over the past few years, we still have not won the AFC South in 9 years where every other team in over division I believe has won it twice during that same time span.

 

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

11 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

If you want to play the long game then yeah sure, invest mostly in defense this year, try and fix the secondary and improve the pass rush. However I disagree as the quicker route to a SB is getting an elite offense. This defense stopped stroud enough times to allow an elite offense to out score them. With AR healthy, added playmakers, this team scores 30+ on Saturday night. 
 

agree to disagree. 

They can add a play maker and go heavy on defense. The offense does not have any huge holes. Even the Oline depth was pretty good.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

You all want Bradley fired because the defense was so beat up but yet want to invest heavily on offense. That makes zero sense.