Is Andrew Luck Really Joining a Depleted Roster? Fan's Take

[Horseshoe79]

From Yahoo

Andrew Luck is joining the Indianapolis Colts as the new face of the franchise. Luck is coming to a team that had the worst record in the NFL in 2011. Peyton Manning is gone and this is now Andrew Luck's team. The top two picks in the draft are clearly Luck and Robert Griffin III and the two have been compared throughout the whole process. Many think that Griffin is walking in to a better situation and said throughout the draft that Luck is joining a very poor team. I think Indianapolis has done a lot to improve the roster and is already much better than many think.

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Edited May 2, 2012 by Maureen
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[Fx Stryker]

This can't be taken seriously. It is a fan, and they are biased. I mean I stopped reading after Donald. The guy is a joke, and those who think he improved haven't looked at him objectively. His contribution is exaggerated because of a terrible season. Almost half of his game he averaged less than 3.33yds. Meaning he wouldn't have gained enough for a first down if he was called on three times in a row. He is just inconsistent.

His "best game", the Titans game, more than half of his runs, 9 attempts, went for less than 3 yards.

[krunk]

I don't think the guy is too far off base. We do have a talented roster except maybe on defense but the worst position is at cornerback and I think those guys are serviceable for now.

[Moncrief]

Let the critics say what they want. All they see is the name and think oh he was good at one point, why did they do that?

We fans actually know what we had.

[CR91]

This can't be taken seriously. It is a fan, and they are biased. I mean I stopped reading after Donald. The guy is a joke, and those who think he improved haven't looked at him objectively. His contribution is exaggerated because of a terrible season. Almost half of his game he averaged less than 3.33yds. Meaning he wouldn't have gained enough for a first down if he was called on three times in a row. He is just inconsistent.

His "best game", the Titans game, more than half of his runs, 9 attempts, went for less than 3 yards.

biased or not he listed facts about why the team could be good unlike the talking heads who all think we're doomed before we even play a down without listing a shred of evidence as to why

[Smonroe]

From Yahoo... For people to say that Washington and Robert Griffin III has a superior roster doesn't seem quite right at this point.

Every team has talent. You could look at the Vikings, Rams, and Browns and find talent. It's how that talent gels that matters.

But as far as that last sentence, I think it's pretty clear that the Skins are a better team than the Colts right now. If the writer can't admit that then he's not being very logical.

[Bad Dog]

I don't think the guy is too far off base. We do have a talented roster except maybe on defense but the worst position is at cornerback and I think those guys are serviceable for now.

I think the Colts signed a couple of free agent corners who can play. Personally, I think RB is the main weakness. However, it is a passing league. Don't have much faith in Brown. Never impressed me for a first round selection.

[Coltfan09]

From Yahoo

Andrew Luck is joining the Indianapolis Colts as the new face of the franchise. Luck is coming to a team that had the worst record in the NFL in 2011. Peyton Manning is gone and this is now Andrew Luck's team. The top two picks in the draft are clearly Luck and Robert Griffin III and the two have been compared throughout the whole process. Many think that Griffin is walking in to a better situation and said throughout the draft that Luck is joining a very poor team. I think Indianapolis has done a lot to improve the roster and is already much better than many think.

The players who left the team this offseason were no longer major contributors and are not as important as many are making them out to be. Dallas Clark, Joseph Addai, Gary Brackett, and Melvin Bullitt contributed nearly nothing to the team last season and have been severely plagued by injuries lately. These players have yet to sign on elsewhere and this was the perfect time to cut ties with the injury-prone veterans.

The additions on the offensive line of Samson Satele, Winston Justice and Mike McGlynn leave the group already improved from 2011. The departed Mike Pollak and retired Ryan Diem were simply not good players and replacing them will make the line better. Donald Brown, Delone Carter and Darren Evans represent three young running backs who have shown potential in the league. Brown showed development in 2011 behind a bad quarterback and the position should be significantly improved with Andrew Luck.

The receivers are not bad by any means. Reggie Wayne is a Pro Bowl wide receiver who is one of the best in the business. Luck also gets one of the best slot receivers in the NFL, Austin Collie. Donnie Avery could turn out to be a solid player if he can stay healthy as well. The only true loss that hasn't or will be difficult to replace is receiver Pierre Garcon. This is hardly a group that Luck will struggle to have success with.

All the talent on the team and I haven't even mentioned the newcomers on the way that were recently drafted by the team. I think Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen, TY Hilton and Lavon Brazill add a lot of weapons for the rookie quarterback. These are all players that Luck can grow with and can all get better together. Several of these players could be huge assets for the team in the future.

Overall, I think that Luck is the kind of quarterback who can make the players around him better. I think Indianapolis still has a talented roster that could surprise a lot of people in 2012. For people to say that Washington and Robert Griffin III has a superior roster doesn't seem quite right at this point.

I've been saying that to everyone man. I agree we've made some excellent moves. The addition of Redding and McKinney are ones that I like too. Justice actually was a top prospect at one point He just hasnt had much of a chance tp prove himself due to injuries. Regardless of what Mr. Fx Stryker says I too believe that Donald Brown has improved. He stopped raging through the holes like an * and actually started reading his blocks. The only problem I have is that the new running back we got (Vick Ballard ) seems to have the same kind of running style as Delone and Brown. Other than that though I like everything we have done so far and the way we helped Luck in the draft with the 2 TE's and speed recievers is a good work of genius by Mr. Grigson. glad we have him on our side.

[CR91]

Every team has talent. You could look at the Vikings, Rams, and Browns and find talent. It's how that talent gels that matters.

But as far as that last sentence, I think it's pretty clear that the Skins are a better team than the Colts right now. If the writer can't admit that then he's not being very logical.

signing a couple of number 2 wrs who will never be number 1s and a no name TE makes them a better team?

[Dustin]

But as far as that last sentence, I think it's pretty clear that the Skins are a better team than the Colts right now. If the writer can't admit that then he's not being very logical.

What exactly does Washington have that we don't?

[Restored]

This can't be taken seriously. It is a fan, and they are biased. I mean I stopped reading after Donald. The guy is a joke, and those who think he improved haven't looked at him objectively. His contribution is exaggerated because of a terrible season. Almost half of his game he averaged less than 3.33yds. Meaning he wouldn't have gained enough for a first down if he was called on three times in a row. He is just inconsistent.

His "best game", the Titans game, more than half of his runs, 9 attempts, went for less than 3 yards.

Hold up. So players can't have good seasons despite their teams losing? I guess Adrain Peterson's are exaggerated because his team sucks along with Stephen Jackson on the Rams.

I agree that Donald Brown has been consistent thus far in his career but if you wanna look recently, he was our best back last year and really started to come alive later in the season. I anticipate him to have a breakout year this year.

[ruksak]

Many think that Griffin is walking in to a better situation and said throughout the draft that Luck is joining a very poor team.

If anyone thinks Griffin is walking into a "good situation" by joining the Redskins, they haven't paid much attention to this crap-show of a franchise for quite some time. Two words come to mind when I think of the Washington front office; Reckless and incompetent. Using 5 premium draft picks to secure two QB's in the same draft indicates nothing has changed.

Indianapolis has shown the ability to operate on a stable platform for quite some time. Granted, last year was an unmitigated disaster, but there are many factors that worked against them. The Colts front office has shown the capability to turn itself around under Irsay's watch in 1998.

I would also say that I believe it works in Luck's favor that we're rebuilding at this time. The Skins have done nothing to deserve to be called a "good team" anymore than Haynesworth deserved to be called a "good signing".

[Fx Stryker]

biased or not he listed facts about why the team could be good unlike the talking heads who all think we're doomed before we even play a down without listing a shred of evidence as to why

We could, but the Donald Brown thing I didn't get past.

Hold up. So players can't have good seasons despite their teams losing? I guess Adrain Peterson's are exaggerated because his team sucks along with Stephen Jackson on the Rams.

I agree that Donald Brown has been consistent thus far in his career but if you wanna look recently, he was our best back last year and really started to come alive later in the season. I anticipate him to have a breakout year this year.

Never said if your team sucks means your season did. Angerer had a great season, Brown didn't. Came alive late in the season? Seriously, his first half was better and consistent.

7
5.22
3.3
4.38
3.79
5.71
2.93
3.11
10.06
3.18
3

His season averages. His first half is better. His second half is skewed by the Titans game. Like I said before of his 16 attempts, 9 were less than 3 yards, 5 were for 0 or negative yards. He had 4 runs that were average. His stats were heavily skewed by a run of 17, 39, and a broken 80 yard run.

[Horseshoe79]

I liked the guy's outlook for next season. Do i personally think we are a playoff team, no. I thnk we can win a decent amount of games. New coach, new players............how is it we still have debbie downers around here.

[CopenhagenColt]

The addition of Satele, Redding, McKinney, Justice, Zbikowski and Avery in free agency and the addition of Fleener, Allen, Hilton and Chapman looks pretty good to me. Sure, we could have a stronger crop of CB's and better RB's, but we knew that we couldn't cover everything at once. Especially with the cap situation.

But I doubt that most of us, expected us to be Super Bowl contenders this season anyway. We'll do decently this season, but probably won't make the playoffs. Next season we'll have more cap space, giving us the chance to make some moves in free agency, and with a solid draft improve even more and have a reasonable to chance to make the playoffs.

It takes time to build a team that can compete deep into the playoffs, but we're on the right path.

[Coltsagent]

I was one of those that lobbyed not to get rid of PM because we had lost to much perspective. We were a team that ended last season with 18 of 22 of the same starters that we had just 2 years ago in the SB and that was with NOT having 18 as one of those 18.

This kid better be as good as advertised or 3 years from now we will wonder what PM could have done with weapons like he had never before.

[The Peytonator]

Let the critics say what they want. All they see is the name and think oh he was good at one point, why did they do that?

We fans actually know what we had.

Exactly!!!

Anyone that thinks Melvin Bullitt, Gary Brackett, Joseph Addai, and Jacob Tamme, are big losses, does not understand the state of our team.

[Fx Stryker]

I was one of those that lobbyed not to get rid of PM because we had lost to much perspective. We were a team that ended last season with 18 of 22 of the same starters that we had just 2 years ago in the SB and that was with NOT having 18 as one of those 18.

This kid better be as good as advertised or 3 years from now we will wonder what PM could have done with weapons like he had never before.

Better watch out the words Peyton, Manning, or 18 are counted inflammatory posting around here these days.

[GAColt]

Although we went 2-14 last year, we had the chance to win several games last year. We had terrible play from the most important position on the field. Even though he is a below average QB, I think we would have been close to .500 if we would have had Rex Grossman as our starting QB. The Redskins would not have come close to winning 5 games with the QB's we had.

Of players that gave us any production last year, we lost Saturday, Garçon, and Tamme. I think overall we are better at OL than last year, better at TE, and probably a push at WR. We have improved our DL and safety, all other positions are about the same.

What have the Redskins done other than adding RG3? They added Garçon and released Gafney, so imo I don't see their WR's being any better than last year. They didn't have a very good draft after RG3.

[Horseshoe79]

Although we went 2-14 last year, we had the chance to win several games last year. We had terrible play from the most important position on the field. Even though he is a below average QB, I think we would have been close to .500 if we would have had Rex Grossman as our starting QB. The Redskins would not have come close to winning 5 games with the QB's we had.

Of players that gave us any production last year, we lost Saturday, Garçon, and Tamme. I think overall we are better at OL than last year, better at TE, and probably a push at WR. We have improved our DL and safety, all other positions are about the same.

What have the Redskins done other than adding RG3? They added Garçon and released Gafney, so imo I don't see their WR's being any better than last year. They didn't have a very good draft after RG3.

nor will they in future years after trading away all those picks to get him

[Smonroe]

What exactly does Washington have that we don't?

Seriously? How about a defense that beat the Giants twice.

I'm not saying they're a SB contender, but they're a team ready to win now. They're not in rebuild mode.

[CR91]

Seriously? How about a defense that beat the Giants twice.

I'm not saying they're a SB contender, but they're a team ready to win now. They're not in rebuild mode.

they sure have a great line to protect RGIII. i remember when they gave up 10 sacks to the bills who had 4 sacks coming into the game.

[Smonroe]

they sure have a great line to protect RGIII. i remember when they gave up 10 sacks to the bills who had 4 sacks coming into the game.

One game makes their line worse than ours? I guess you forgot the Saints game, or the Falcons.

[Gavin]

I think we made a couple improvments,, Tight End, and defensive line but some do tend to exagerrate how good we will be, I have heard 10-6 and even 12-4 on here, we got a new quarterback, unproven Guards, we lost a pro bowl center, we have defensive ends playing linebacker and have done nothing to improve our corners, the colts are learning a new system, it will be a long year, Luck isnt joining a depleted roster so much because all of those positions have players playing in them, but he is joining a team with alot of unproven talent and to this point no running game, sure we have Freeney and Mathis and they are very talented but they are playing new positions and our Guards scare the heck out of me and not in a good way, besides Im not worried about winning this year, Id like another high draft pick so we can get some actual Linebackers, a Guard and a #1 Corner

[ruksak]

Better watch out the words Peyton, Manning, or 18 are counted inflammatory posting around here these days.

oh nonsense. It's not the "words", it's how one uses them. The way people respond is important. At this point, I think it's just as pathetic to fire back at "what ifs" angrily as it is to continue to pose "what if" statements.

Discussing Peyton in a certain context won't rile up the flames. I think it's more important that we don't respond to statements of "what if" with venom. Just let the bitterness go unanswered, or, answer back politely.

[ghor50]

You guys had a great draft and I want to congratuate you for it. I love what you did and you added some top quality players in the 1st four rounds.

You did an excellent job of surrounding Andrew Luck with playmakers. I think you'll be very pleased with Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen and TY Hilton. And you added a sleeper at DT late in the draft.

I wrote a nice article on my site on how well the Colts did. Here's a link to the article:

http://goo.gl/EgMcs

If you'd like to ask me any questions about your draft picks, then please hit me up on Twitter @ultimatedraft

And feel free to reference my website about the draft. It's absolutely free and here's a link:

www.ultimatedraftingguide.com

[ghor50]

I think that you guys did an excellent job of providing Andrew Luck with weapons in his rookie campaign. Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen and TY Hilton will help Luck to become successful early on his rookie campaign.

I'll definitely be following what you guys do this year.

Congrats on a job well done.

[Susie Q]

You guys had a great draft and I want to congratuate you for it. I love what you did and you added some top quality players in the 1st four rounds.

You did an excellent job of surrounding Andrew Luck with playmakers. I think you'll be very pleased with Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen and TY Hilton. And you added a sleeper at DT late in the draft.

Just wanted to tell you that was a well written article. Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

[OJl]

I am probably in the minority, but I think Andrew Luck is joining a team with a better roster than Peyton Manning did. Most of the experts out there seem to think Luck is joining a roster that is simply depleted of talent. I don't see it.

In 1998, Manning joined a team that truly had a bunch of no names plus Marshal Faulk. Yes, Marvin Harrison and Tarik Glenn and Adam Meadows and Ken Dilger and Marcus Pollard were all on the team. But if you look at that team through 1998 goggles, none of those guys were well known at all. Faulk was the ONLY guy on that team that commanded respect. On defense, Jason Belser was the only guy that people knew. Tony Siragusa was gone. "Big Play" Ray Buchanon was gone. Jeff Herrod and Quinton Coryatt were gone. If people will remember, one of the first things Polian did when he came in was spend a bunch of money on defensive free agents bringing in guys like Chad Bratzke, Chad Cota, Cornelius Bennett, Shawn King and the like.

In 2012, Luck will be coming into a situation where he has an established Pro Bowl WR to work with in Reggie. In 1998, Marvin had not even come close to sniffing the Pro Bowl yet. While Reggie is no longer in his prime, he can still play. Luck also has a solid second WR to throw to in Austin Collie. Peyton certainly didn't have that option in 1998. Peyton did have two excellent TEs to work with. Well, now Luck will too! In fact, Luck's TEs will PROBABLY be better than the combo of Dilger and Pollard. Viewing the offensive line through 1998 goggles, the offensive line in 1998 was by no means a powerhouse. I would say that Tarik Glenn and Anthony Costanzo have had comparable rookie years. Tarik took a huge step in year two of course. Can Costonzo do the same? Meadows also played big in year two. Can Ijalana do the same? It will be tough to say considering his injury last year. 1998's line was lucky in that it hit on Steve McKinney who immediately came in and played LG at a pro bowl level. Faulk tilts things a lot towards 1998 because the Colts current RBs cannot even compare to Faulk's injured turf toe.

I think however that the 2012 defense is far superior to the 1998 defense which is why I think the overal make-up of the 2012 roster that Luck is joining is better. 1998 had NOBODY! Jason Belser. That's it. Like I said Polian brought in a bunch of FAs who were past their primes or overpaid to fill out the roster because he had to. 2012 boasts 3 former Pro Bowlers who can still play at a high level: Freeney, Mathis, and Bethea. 2012 also boasts a potential star LB in Pat Angerer and two solid players in Kavell Conner and Jerraud Powers.

I think if Luck plays well, the Colts will do better than most people expect...which I am actually kind of torn about. Because I remember in 1999, our horrendous 1998 turned into the 4th pick in the draft which became Edge! God I loved Edge! Anyways that was my roundabout way of saying Luck's team ain't as bad as the so called experts think.

[ghor50]

Just wanted to tell you that was a well written article. Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

Thank you ver much and I appreciate the feedback. I'm very excited about the players you added and I look forward to Andrew Luck being one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in the very near future.

You'll need to be patient early on, but by year 3 you guys should have a really good team.

Congrats on having such a great draft!

[Dustin]

Seriously? How about a defense that beat the Giants twice.

I'm not saying they're a SB contender, but they're a team ready to win now. They're not in rebuild mode.

You're going to base the entire teams value on two games? Against the 9-7 Giants?

[ghor50]

How is the Colts transition to a 3-4 defense working out thus far? Have you acquired the requisite people for your defensive line?

What does you linebacking corps look like right now?

[king general 317]

I think t that they do hAve a superior defense and superior run game are they world beaters no...especially being in the nfc where either the packers or 49 er's will win the conference

We should also send t he m a thank you letter for letting coby fall to us lol

[king general 317]

I also do believe Donald had a better year and wanna say that stats don't always show results or improvement

[GAColt]

Sure we have holes, but what team doesn't? Green Bay was 15-1 with a horrible defense and not much at RB. New England had no WR's, below average RB's, no pass rush, bad CB's. Pittsburg had a horrible OL and a defense getting old. SF had no WR's and a below average QB.

Every team has weaknesses and not just minor ones, yet some people on here think that if we aren't strong at every position, we won't win 5 games.

[CR91]

One game makes their line worse than ours? I guess you forgot the Saints game, or the Falcons.

yea because everyone knows how great the falcons and saints get to the qb.

[spoonfish]

I didn't even realize Darren Evans was still on the team.

Other than that... good article.

[Fx Stryker]

For those who think Brown had a good year 80 of his attempts, roughly 60%, went for 3 or less yards.

[funktacious2]

I think a lot of people underestimate the impact the lockout had on many teams, we had a lot of players, who due to injuries in the previous season, along with the rookies could have benefited from a full camp. Not saying it would have saved the season, but could have helped out some of the more unproven guys like Thomas, Rucker, Caldwell, Castonzo, Carter etc... Many of these guys had most of a season to improve, but from an off-season standpoint some are still somewhat "undeveloped".

[rockywoj]

I also do believe Donald had a better year and wanna say that stats don't always show results or improvement

I posted this a month or so ago, but I will again, as the general hate on for Donald Brown is NOT born out of his stats. The fact is, Brown has not been given opportunity to shine, but given the amount of carries he gets, even the league's best backs don't seem to do any better. Here's the statistical FACTS over the last two years ....

Adding yet more elite running backs into the analysis of similarly (NOT) featured games with 10 to 17 carries ....

2010/2011 combined : 10 to 17 carries per game performances:

Donald Brown .......... 14 games, 195 att., 901 yds., 4.62 ypc.avg., 6 TDs

Matt Forte ................ 18 games, 219 att., 901 yds., 4.11 ypc.avg., 2 TDS

Adrian Peterson ...... 13 games, 183 att., 794 yds., 4.34 ypc.avg., 10 TDs

Chris Johnson ......... 19 games, 239 att., 774 yds., 3.24 ypc.avg., 3 TD

Maurice Jones-Drew 6 games, 88 att., 377 yds., 4.28 ypc.avg., 0 TD

This is actually getting quite interesting, the more elite RBs I add to the analysis, the more it looks like Donald Brown might be the best RB in the league over the past two years when only being given 10 - 17 carries per game. Of course, I am being facetious in saying that, well, sort of. lol