ben ijalana was waived

[ColtsBlueFL]

And, by the way, no one is willing to attribute the quote to Mudd. This is a so-called connection one of the least reliable and reasonable bloggers I've ever read has made of his own accord. At this point, that so-called quote could have as easily come from Howard the Duck as from Howard Mudd.

Quote from Dan Dakich to Mike Chappel - Dakich: I was told last year by a great source, not a good one, that Ben Ijalana "can't play dead."

Dakich "Great source, not good" is really a connection to an unreasonable blogger? I live in SW Florida, so don't know intricate things like the central IN folks, but I do research people and their background and employment. I've seen nothing that leads me to believe Dakich would throw untrVths out there, but I can be enlightened if one feels the need. The Peyton quote comes from a Colts beat writer he was conversing with... is his reputation spotty as well?

Maybe it would be nice to see a written post that has names and their reputations of Radio hosts, newspaper writers, and internet bloggers for out of towners... a 'filter' for our reading so to speak.

[Fatboyslim11]

Just another example of how inept the Polians were when drafting players. Their hallmark was having a knack for the undersized, almost sure to be injury prone player (examples include Clark, Addai, Ijlana, Gonzalez and soon to be Jerry Hughes though he seems to suffer more from a lack of talent more than any injury). Chris Polian should never be allowed to make draft decisions.

[MR. Blueblood]

Size means nothing without technique and great technique is not what you'd tend to expect from any guy whose pro experience is limited to the Arena league. Stranger things have happened, of course, but people making judgments about how a guy will play based on their size is a pet peeve of mine.

Never said he was going to Pro Bowl, just said he it shouldn't be easy for him to get pushed into the backfield. And when you're talking about linemen size does have a factor in how effective you can be. You're absolutely right about technique, but you can have all the technique in the world and if you're a small guy you're going to get ran over. Like I said Grigson played on the oline so he ought to have a good idea what it takes and if the player has enough of the fundamentals to make it or not. You can coach technique you can't coach size.

[Vinny BoomBatz]

What a shame! I was hoping for him to develop into a fine young Offensive Lineman for Indy.

[dw49]

That's not the quote, and the quote isn't from Manning. This is being discussed in the link below:

http://forums.colts....ge/page__st__80

The quote is from an unnamed source, stating that Ijalana "can't play dead." Who can, by the way? What does that even mean?

What's being attributed to Manning is that he was skeptical of Ijalana, thought something was missing. Not a quote, just a vague reference to a supposed conversation a year ago.

What the quote means is that it's pretty simple to play dead. You just lie there and don't move. So more or less saying he's so unskilled that he can't even play dead yet alone play football.

[lollygagger8]

Not sure which I'm less excited about. Ijalana leaving, or his replacement coming.

[ConBro]

What a way to waste a second round pick who had much potential

Good ole Polians

[Dtman513]

No one is going to claim him, he'll be on our Injured Reserved

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

Size means nothing without technique and great technique is not what you'd tend to expect from any guy whose pro experience is limited to the Arena league. Stranger things have happened, of course, but people making judgments about how a guy will play based on their size is a pet peeve of mine.

It's actually very smart. Fans strongly underestimate just how valuable roster spots are in the NFL, even when you're looking at an expended pre-season roster. It's extremely unlikely anyone will claim Ijalana given his injury history so he'll basically wind up on IR and will have another chance to catch on with you guys next year.

You're likely thinking of the now defunct NFL Europe. Kurt did play Arena ball as well but he is the only non-kicker to make something of himself in the NFL after a stint there. His success in NFL Europe was more noteworthy and there have been a handful of players whose success in that league was a portent of things to come (Delhomme, Warner, and Kitna all got their respective starts there at approximately the same time). To arrange the quality of the players coming out of secondary leagues visually...

USFL (RIP 1987) > CFL >> NFL Europe (RIP 2007) >>> Arena League = XFL (RIP 2001)

Also bear in mind that Warner was originally signed by the Packers out of college but couldn't work his way on to the roster against stout competition in the form of a young Brett Favre, Mark Brunell, and former Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer.

No its dumb ! its an IR roster spot which means nothing, other than pay, 2 I think he has tallent & we have money invested in him!! It appears the staff thinks he has no tallet & sucks! :sadno:

[Superman]

Why did you set the 25th pick as your cut-off point for a BUST? Why not 32 or 10? Is it because the Colts have not picked anyone under 25 for a long time (Luck apart)?

I'm not. It's just an arbitrary thought. I'm not making a firm designation. But the further you get toward the end of the first round, the wider the platform becomes. You have more players on the same level of talent, and "best player available" becomes a more fluid concept. Just my opinion.

But there's no denying that you're more likely to miss at the end of the first round, where the Colts were picking for many years, than at the beginning or toward the middle.

To me, a bust is someone who never contributes anything worthwhile to the team, irrespective of where he is drafted. It doesn't mean the 'BUST' is a bad guy, or our drafting startegy or our scouting teams are poor. It just means he (the player) was a wasted pick. It's not being full of hindsight either, just a fact. Every team has busts every single year, it is part of the game. Clearly the higher the pick, the severity of 'bustness' goes up.

The draft is a crapshoot. To me, the designation of bust carries a very negative connotation, and is reserved for woefully underperforming draft picks for which the team has high hopes. I don't think Chandler Harnish will ever be a bust. But Andrew Luck could be ten times better than Harnish and still be a bust. Once you get into the third and fourth round, the idea of someone being a bust is kind of gone. And when a player gets hurt and doesn't pan out, calling him a bust is a stretch, especially if he wasn't selected at the top of the draft.

I said earlier, everyone has their own definition of the term. To me, a bust isn't simply a draft pick that doesn't work out. That term is for highly rated players who are drafted early, but never live up to their draft status.

By your definition, Brandon Burlsworth was a bust.

Although this does cement Polian's legacy as a 'One Pick Wonder'

Now you're playing both sides. If you believe you can throw the bust label on any draft pick, then I'm curious how you can call Polian a One Pick Wonder when he's made tons of really good draft picks, both in Indy and elsewhere.

[Superman]

Quote from Dan Dakich to Mike Chappel - Dakich: I was told last year by a great source, not a good one, that Ben Ijalana "can't play dead."

Dakich "Great source, not good" is really a connection to an unreasonable blogger? I live in SW Florida, so don't know intricate things like the central IN folks, but I do research people and their background and employment. I've seen nothing that leads me to believe Dakich would throw untrVths out there, but I can be enlightened if one feels the need.

Who said Ijalana "can't play dead"? People are assuming it was Howard Mudd, in which case, that means something to a Colts fans, as he was a long-time and highly respected line coach here. But it very well could have been an area scout that no one knows or respects, in which case, who cares?

My point is that this so-called quote is being attributed to Howard Mudd, most aggressively by Brad Wells of Stampede Blue, but no one knows what the actual source of the quote is. I'm not saying Dakich made it up. I'm saying that it makes a big difference who said it. Howard Mudd is credible. Joe Blow from Cocomo isn't.

The Peyton quote comes from a Colts beat writer he was conversing with... is his reputation spotty as well?

The Peyton quote is not a quote. That's my primary problem with it. Peyton could have said something unflattering about Ijalana, but that doesn't mean one comment reflects his feeling about him as a player. As a matter of fact, it's unlike Peyton to denigrate a teammate to a member of the media, especially on the record.

Secondly, Peyton is not an authority on whether Ijalana is a good prospect or not. Not even close. If he expressed his opinion on Linkenbach or Pollak or someone he actually had the opportunity to practice and play with, that would be different.

Maybe it would be nice to see a written post that has names and their reputations of Radio hosts, newspaper writers, and internet bloggers for out of towners... a 'filter' for our reading so to speak.

I'm an out of towner myself. I pay attention to Indy media because of the Colts, and since 2009, it's become painfully obvious that several of them have a problem with Bill Polian. That's mostly Polian's fault, but it's to the point where, even when he's gone, they keep twisting the knife. Their bias colors practically everything they say about the team.

[oldunclemark]

I didnt know that Ben Ijalana had five surgeries...

..makes me wonder what else our insiders..and bloggers dont know...

[RGIII]

Never said he was going to Pro Bowl, just said he it shouldn't be easy for him to get pushed into the backfield. And when you're talking about linemen size does have a factor in how effective you can be. You're absolutely right about technique, but you can have all the technique in the world and if you're a small guy you're going to get ran over. Like I said Grigson played on the oline so he ought to have a good idea what it takes and if the player has enough of the fundamentals to make it or not. You can coach technique you can't coach size.

A 6'4", 300 pound OT with adequate strength, superior technique, and good quickness simply is not going to get run over very often, if ever. Bigger guys with flaws in their technique are going to fare much worse on average despite the advantages offered by their larger wingspan and additional mass. Throw in the fact that size correlates negatively with speed and quickness and things get complicated further. You also have to remember that not every player in this league finds a way to master technique, it's darn difficult to be consistent enough to be great at that level of the game and a lot of guys just don't have it in them even with a ton of raw physical ability.

I absolutely agree with you that, all other things equal, size is a serious positive. I just wouldn't use it to say anything about a guy you haven't yet seen on the field at this level.

[braveheartcolt]

I'm not. It's just an arbitrary thought. I'm not making a firm designation. But the further you get toward the end of the first round, the wider the platform becomes. You have more players on the same level of talent, and "best player available" becomes a more fluid concept. Just my opinion.

But there's no denying that you're more likely to miss at the end of the first round, where the Colts were picking for many years, than at the beginning or toward the middle.

The draft is a crapshoot. To me, the designation of bust carries a very negative connotation, and is reserved for woefully underperforming draft picks for which the team has high hopes. I don't think Chandler Harnish will ever be a bust. But Andrew Luck could be ten times better than Harnish and still be a bust. Once you get into the third and fourth round, the idea of someone being a bust is kind of gone. And when a player gets hurt and doesn't pan out, calling him a bust is a stretch, especially if he wasn't selected at the top of the draft.

I said earlier, everyone has their own definition of the term. To me, a bust isn't simply a draft pick that doesn't work out. That term is for highly rated players who are drafted early, but never live up to their draft status.

By your definition, Brandon Burlsworth was a bust.

Now you're playing both sides. If you believe you can throw the bust label on any draft pick, then I'm curious how you can call Polian a One Pick Wonder when he's made tons of really good draft picks, both in Indy and elsewhere.

Not playing any sides Super, just showing my disdain for Bill. We all know our 10 season of greatness was Peyton's doing, yet Polian is given half the credit, which is a joke.

[Superman]

Not playing any sides Super, just showing my disdain for Bill. We all know our 10 season of greatness was Peyton's doing, yet Polian is given half the credit, which is a joke.

I disagree with the One Pick Wonder moniker.

[Jason_]

I disagree with the One Pick Wonder moniker.

I agree with your disagreement. He also brought us Wayne, Edge, Freeney, Mathis, Bethea, just to name a few. He certainly had his misses, but they weren't all because he didn't do his homework. There are other factors that can come into play that a GM simply can't foresee...such as video game addiction. lol

[dgambill]

I agree with your disagreement. He also brought us Wayne, Edge, Freeney, Mathis, Bethea, just to name a few. He certainly had his misses, but they weren't all because he didn't do his homework. There are other factors that can come into play that a GM simply can't foresee...such as video game addiction. lol

Agree whole heartedly...and thats leaving out Jake Scott, Ryan Diem, and Rick DeMulling who all played very well for a number of years and Dallas Clark, Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon receiving the ball. We've had some good LBs like Mike Petterson, Marcus Washington, David Thorton, and Cato June, decent defensive backs who played well for a short time like Sanders, Hayden, and Jackson...trust me...he did a good job for a long time...just when the wheels fell off....we hit hard the last 3 years or so. Trust me.....our record of draft picks (with many many higher than after Polian came) was WAY WORSE!!! Lets pray we don't go back to those days.....I think people just forget and are incredibly SPOILED. We had one of the worse front offices in sports before Bill got here....and you know what...probably would have messed up a ton of those picks....INCLUDING PEYTON. I hate people that run down others because of what have you done for me lately. I will agree 100% that Bill let things fall off in the end (result of Chris I reckon) but he did a lot to get us here.

I also don't think you can fault a GM for guys getting injured like Gonzalez, Sanders, and Ijalana when they didn't have serious injury histories....thats just bad luck!

[uniquicity]

Paul Kuharsky has just tweeted that Ben has cleared waivers and has gone onto Indy IR

[Gavin]

Good I think at least for this year

[TKnight24]

It sucks that it happened to him

[OLD FAN MAN]

I will have to look the guy up, But I watched some arena league this year and man that is not football

i think kurt warner played in the arena league and he wasnt too bad

[Gavin]

i think kurt warner played in the arena league and he wasnt too bad

Not at all, There certainly some good ones in the arena football league but many of them arent playing in the NFL for a reason