Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc (Post 289900)

I think Grover and Pitt are the most important to keep.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Braden Smith is released. Been nothing but hurt and they seem to like Freeland.

Originally Posted by omahacolt (Post 289986)

i would be irate if they just cut smith.

Originally Posted by CletusPyle (Post 289880)

After a good night's sleep, I still hate the way that game ended! But now the thing troubling me the most is I see the Colts as the third best team in the AFC South next season too! You know Houston is going to get a stud RB and add another quality WR next season. Jaguars are already a very good team and will only be better next year. So even if we improve and AR stays healthy, we could be a better team and still finish third again!

Originally Posted by Racehorse (Post 289889)

Last night was an exception for me. Usually, when we lose close games with that much at stake, I rerun the mistakes in my head and can't sleep. Last night, I was upset with the last offensive play, but went to bed and was able to get to sleep quickly. This team vastly overachieved, given the circumstances. AR will return, and that will be an upgrade. Taylor should be ready to pair up with him immediately, instead of having no snaps together. Downs proved he was the right pick, and will only get better. AR will be able to get the ball to Pierce, making the run game open up even more. The young guys on the Oline should get better. The young secondary now has a season of experience, and should get another piece through the draft. Have to extend Pittman Monday. Have to get another WR and Edge rusher in the draft. Maybe sign Tee Higgins.

As Ed would always say, the future is bright, so :cool::cool::cool:

Originally Posted by Indystu2 (Post 289892)

OK, I slept and...I am still mad. When the game was on the line and you HAD to have ONE yard, they got cute with the pay call. Your best offensive weapon, a RB, was not on the field on a day when the pass game was ridiculously bad and a RB who NOT been on the field for a single play was in the game, not even RB2, but RB3/4! I am sure the thinking was the other team would not expect the ball to go to RB3. Keeping the ball on the ground and out of the QBs hands was CLEARLY working. So on the most important play of the game, they left it to a QB with maybe 100 yards passing. I get it, it was a short pass, but COME ON! They got cute and outsmarted themselves. That is all.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 289893)

Possible silver lining is that Hou just barely beat us w/ our back QB, and they needed to make some great plays along w/ some really bad mistakes from us to do so. Makes me think that if AR had stayed healthy and continued to progress through the year that we very well could have beat them handily.

Hou will probably get better in the offseason as they have plenty of cap space and due to the Watson trade and another trade w/ Philly pretty much have their normal allotment of draft picks.

The Jaguars probably won't be able to add anything in FA and might have to release some guys. They don't have much cap space and have to pay Josh Allen along w/ some other players like Ridley. Also, they need to figure out what to do w/ Lawrence.

Ballard's going to have his work cut out for him this offseason. Not only do we have plenty of our own we need to re-sign (MPJ, Grover, Blackmon) and possibly extend (Defo, Franklin, Speed), but we need some serious improvement in the secondary at both CB and S, more pass rush, and more weapons for AR.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 289895)

The only way drafting Jayden Daniels makes any sense whatsoever is if either AR's rehab takes a horribly wrong turn or AR starts indicating that he's going to pull a Luck on us.

Originally Posted by omahacolt (Post 289896)

you will always question richardson. because you are more worried about being right than you are about being honest or the colts winning.

its why people don't take you seriously

Originally Posted by Dewey 5 (Post 289898)

Ballard has to change his thinking about free agency.

Originally Posted by Dewey 5 (Post 290015)

I'm not sold that we will ever win the division with Ballard manning the wheel.

Originally Posted by Brylok (Post 290035)

There has to be something to this. He's going into year eight and we haven't even won the division. Houston was a dumpster last couple of years and they win the division? Just like that? There has to be an answer somewhere.

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 290034)

Don't worry about the Jaguars, they're going to fade away with their QB that still can't read a defense 3 years in. I'm worried about Houston, but I do think the Colts still have the better roster, so if the QB position is even close, the Colts will be the better team.



I sure hope you're right. Hopefully a quality edge rusher is available at whatever mid first round pick the Colts have and they take him. I could also see Ballard prioritizing DB, even after last year's draft of DBs. First thing first, though, really hoping they re-sign Pittman and Blackmon.



That is a disturbing tendency Steichen had at the end of the season, taking Taylor out for crucial plays, especially fourth down plays. Hopefully it was just a "Taylor hasn't practiced much" thing and won't be a trend going forward.



I don't think the roster is nearly as bad as you make it out to be. I think a lot of the improvement in the secondary can come internally from better health and more experience, but also would not be surprised to see Ballard draft a CB in the first round if the value isn't there at pass rusher. Also wouldn't be surprised to see a WR there, only because there are some very talented WRs beyond Marvin's son in this draft. I'd love to see Malik Nabers as a Colt, for example. Whoever the Colts add in Round 1 this year, I'm hoping for an elite talent at a premium position (WR, CB, DE), because I'm also hoping this is the last time for a long time that the Colts pick above 20.



Or if you think Daniels is better. But it appears he's already in the Top 5 conversation, so the point is probably moot.



Absolutely not. If Richardson comes out next year, stays healthy, and leads the Colts to a high seeded playoff berth, I'll wholeheartedly believe in him. The problem I have is there was a franchise QB available and the Colts didn't move heaven and earth to get him, like they said they would. I am right about Stroud (my comp was Rodgers, he led the league in TD:INT ratio as a rookie), and while I'll probably be annoyed about that until he's out of the league, there's no need to harp on it. Hopefully Houston will botch it with him like they did with their last franchise QB.



Don't know that I agree with that. Maybe slightly. If the elite edge rushers make it to free agency, I hope Ballard will move away from his traditional free agency stinginess.

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 290034)

I am right about Stroud (my comp was Rodgers, he led the league in TD:INT ratio as a rookie), and while I'll probably be annoyed about that until he's out of the league, there's no need to harp on it.

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc (Post 290051)

Again, and I’ve pointed this out to you MULTIPLE times, there was NO WAY the Colts were going to be able to get into position to draft Stroud.

The Bears weren’t interested in Pittman, so they traded with Chicago.

There was no way in hell the Texans were ever gonna trade with the Colts.

So Stroud was NEVER going to be a Colt.

You should stop implying that the Colts had the option to get him.

They didn’t.

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc (Post 290051)

Again, and I’ve pointed this out to you MULTIPLE times, there was NO WAY the Colts were going to be able to get into position to draft Stroud.

The Bears weren’t interested in Pittman, so they traded with Chicago.

There was no way in hell the Texans were ever gonna trade with the Colts.

So Stroud was NEVER going to be a Colt.

You should stop implying that the Colts had the option to get him.

They didn’t.

Originally Posted by Racehorse (Post 290053)

The problem is that you DO harp on it. Just drop it, and people will stop giving you shit for harping on it.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290057)

Dam knows this. In fact he's told us god knows how many times that the Bears wanted Leonard and JT along w/ the #4 pick for the #1 pick. I think there was another injured, high priced Colts player that the Bears wanted as well, but I can't think of who that was.

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 290074)

What I heard is the Colts didn't want to trade Pittman which is why they didn't end up moving up. Either way, the Colts could have put a better offer together than the Panthers did if they wanted to get to 1.



It's an incredibly frustrating situation. It's easy to say what should be done with hindsight, I said what needed to be done with foresight. Hopefully Richardson comes out next year and lights the world on fire. That would make me forget about it.

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 290074)

What I heard is the Colts didn't want to trade Pittman which is why they didn't end up moving up. Either way, the Colts could have put a better offer together than the Panthers did if they wanted to get to 1.



It's an incredibly frustrating situation. It's easy to say what should be done with hindsight, I said what needed to be done with foresight. Hopefully Richardson comes out next year and lights the world on fire. That would make me forget about it.

Originally Posted by Chromeburn (Post 290103)

We have Carolina’s owner Bidwell to thank for Stroud ending up in the division. If he had listened to Reich he would be in Carolina. I wonder who the Texans would have drafted if Stroud was off the board though.

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc (Post 290085)

What I heard is that the Bears wanted a number 1 receiver to pair with Fields and they preferred Moore because they felt he was a better player than Pittman and he was also signed long term.

If that is true, then the Colts had no shot at trading to 1.

Originally Posted by Racehorse (Post 290094)

There you go harping again

Originally Posted by Chromeburn (Post 290103)

We have Carolina’s owner Bidwell to thank for Stroud ending up in the division. If he had listened to Reich he would be in Carolina. I wonder who the Texans would have drafted if Stroud was off the board though.

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 290043)

That's what a franchise QB does.

Originally Posted by Brylok (Post 290035)

There has to be something to this. He's going into year eight and we haven't even won the division. Houston was a dumpster last couple of years and they win the division? Just like that? There has to be an answer somewhere.

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 290114)

The #4 pick was more valuable than #9 in part because it could've been flipped again to another QB needy team to get into that same range. In this hypothetical scenario, after trading with the Colts to move to 4, if the Bears liked DJ Moore so much, they could've flipped from 4 to 9 and got him. You can say it was impossible, if they wanted it badly enough, they'd have found a way to make it happen.

That's not "harping", that's frustration. Ballard talked the talk then did not walk the walk. Could've won the division for the first time since 2014, instead the Colts have an injured QB and a lot of "what if"s.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290184)

You're assuming that Ballard had Stroud rated higher than AR. Considering how Ballard tends to value traits over polish and production in his draft picks it's not unlikely that he had AR rated higher than Stroud. At the very least he obviously had AR rated close enough to Stroud to where he didn't think it was worth spending the capital to trade up to #1.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290184)

We all know this is BS. If Stroud ends up having the better career of the 2 then you'll continue to remind us about it every step of the way. If AR manages to live up to his potential and ends up being better than Stroud then you'll come up w/ some BS as to why that happened, similar to what you do when anyone on here brings up how bad Mac Jones and Zach Wilson are.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290184)

I distinctly remember you being high on Young. Not as high as you were on Stroud obviously, but still high on him. Are you admitting that you were wrong?

Originally Posted by CletusPyle (Post 289413)

I'm not sure how Minshew missed him so badly!

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 289427)

That right there? Why I wanted Stroud.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290219)

There you go with your hindsight harping again.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290219)

See, you still can't admit that you were wrong about Wilson and Jones (neither of which can read a defense to save their lives either). Just admit that you were wrong. It'll be healthy for you, and people on the board will respect you more.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290219)

Also, who said anything about Lawrence? I don't know if it's b/c he banged your mom or something, but the dude has been living rent free in your head for the past 3 years now. Whatever it is that's causing this you should let it go.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290219)

I wasn't trying to compare Stroud and Young. Stroud is clearly better, and few (if any) of us thought differently going into the draft. What I was trying to convey is that you were high on Young, and at least as of now he looks like an epic bust.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290219)

Agree that you can't give up on Young even though he was god awful this year, but clearly the signs are there that he's a possibly bust.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290219)

Not sure the narrative needs to be flipped on AR. Dude got hurt. It happens in the NFL. But what we saw when he played was VERY promising. Although you seem to want the Colts to give up on him since you've been bringing up that we should draft Jayden Daniels.

Originally Posted by albany ed (Post 290226)

Yeah, you say that now.

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 290247)

You need to go back and read, then. I was the only one on this board that had Stroud above Young, and most draft experts had Young ahead as well. The biggest criticism of Stroud was that he couldn't improvise (lol) and that was what put Young ahead of him for most people. Lots of people had Young and Stroud on the same tier, with Young ahead of Stroud. I eventually had each of the top 3 QBs in their own tier, with Stroud being the highest, and Levis in the "not a starter" tier with several other QBs.

Originally Posted by Racehorse (Post 290275)

One of the main reasons Stroud was rated lower was his cognitive score was rumored to be equal to a small rock. We now Know that he actually can process better than they predicted.

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 290276)

I also said at the time that that result didn't match up with the film. If you watched the film, you knew he could process well.

Originally Posted by omahacolt (Post 290277)

me me me

I I I


do you even know how much of a cunt you sound like all the time.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290287)

I really wish we could hit the thanks button multiple times, b/c this post definitely deserves multiple thanks.

Originally Posted by Spike (Post 290289)

Dam, there was a poll done on this board, and only 1 individual voted for Bryce Young ...... only 1.

Most votes were for Stroud or Richardson ...... but hey, don't let facts get in your way.

Originally Posted by Racehorse (Post 290288)

It's a shame he acts like that, because he actually makes some good posts here. Humility is just not his strong suit.

Originally Posted by omahacolt (Post 290277)

me me me

I I I


do you even know how much of a cunt you sound like all the time.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290286)

You were just harping, so I didn't feel like it needed much of a response. But since you insist: it's stupid to say that Ballard was wrong on his evaluation after 1 season. With a raw talent like AR you need to give him 2-3 years to develop before making an accurate comparison. Also, when the proper time comes you just can't compare Stroud vs. AR. You need to compare Stroud vs. AR, Brents, Ade, at least our 2nd round pick from '24 (if not our first), and possibly someone like ~MPJ.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290286)

LOL seriously? If the Jets had listened to you then Wilson would have turned out ok? Do you really not know how ridiculous these type of comments are?

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290286)

As for Mac Jones - granted I didn't watch the Cheats much this year, but he sure as shit didn't know how to read a defense when they played us. Also, it wasn't just Chase's late year push that factored into Jones not winning OROY. Jones sucked down the stretch his rookie year, which very much foreshadowed things to come.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290286)

Just be a man instead of a little cunt (as well stated by omaha) and admit that you were wrong. It's not that hard. Let me give you an example: I at one point agreed with you that the Colts should have traded up to draft Mac Jones instead of drafting Paye. I was clearly wrong about that.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290286)

Those draft "experts" get paid to make statements like that. You don't. As far as general fans go I don't think anyone outside of Jagoffs and Clemson fans are too upset that Lawrence regressed this year and might not pan out.

Like I said before: you need to quit letting him live inside your head rent free.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290286)

This is total BS. There are plenty of us on here (myself included) who stated that we didn't want the Colts to draft Young b/c of his size.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290286)

You may have stated his size was a risk factor, but you were still high on him.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290286)

That's your narrative. Most of us on here are pretty optimistic now with AR's shoulder being repaired and hopefully some focus on him avoiding big hits where possible that he'll stay healthy.

Originally Posted by IndyNorm (Post 290286)

Also, if the Colts do indeed draft another QB in the 1st round this year it means they have given up on AR. It's not that hard to figure out. We all know that they won't do this though, so there's really no point in speculating on it.

Originally Posted by Racehorse (Post 290288)

It's a shame he acts like that, because he actually makes some good posts here. Humility is just not his strong suit.

Originally Posted by Spike (Post 290289)

Dam, there was a poll done on this board, and only 1 individual voted for Bryce Young, Only 1.

Most votes were for Stroud or AR. But hey, don't let facts get in your way.

Originally Posted by Dam8610 (Post 290299)

There's only one perspective any of us have. Can't say what your perspective or anyone else's is. Mine is that a franchise QB was there for the taking and Ballard did not move heaven and earth to get him as he promised.



How do you think Chiefs fans feel about not having a 2018 1st round draft pick? Do you think they care?

Barring injury, C.J. Stroud is well on his way to being a franchise QB, and he's not a Colt. I think we can agree on those things at the very least. You don't have to be frustrated about that, but I am. I'd rather have the sure thing than the chance.



Each player is different and it's not really possible to know what development path will work best for each one. That said, clearly throwing him into the fire didn't work out for the Jets and Zach Wilson. Does that mean a redshirt year would've turned Zach Wilson into a world beater franchise QB? Not necessarily, but Patrick Mahomes credits his redshirt year with allowing him to be the QB he is today. I do wonder what would've happened with Wilson had he been given that redshirt year, but we'll never really know now.



Mac Jones had 3 OCs in 3 years, one of which made his name in the NFL as a DC. Everything that Belicheat did to aid Tom Brady's development, he did AT LEAST that much to destroy Mac Jones's development. Jones would've been better off in literally any other situation, and might be a better version of Brock Purdy had the 49ers actually drafted him.



Everyone was wrong about the 2021 QB class, I said that already. The previous two paragraphs I feel are far more interesting discussion than the above sentence.



He doesn't, but as several people here said at the time, it was a pretty bold call to call Lawrence a bust at the time he was being anointed as the future of the NFL. I think getting things like that right when going against all conventional wisdom lends credibility to my evaluations going forward.



That particular part was about rankings. Most had Young ahead of Stroud in rankings.



I still think his poise, accuracy, and ability to improvise give him a chance to succeed and his size gives him a chance to fail. He appears to be hampered by a less than ideal organizational situation as well.



Yes, it's a chance. A damn near guarantee was passed up for a chance.



Daniels likely won't be there at 15, so the point is probably moot, like I already said and it seems you agree. I also haven't watched enough film of him yet to have a real opinion on Daniels, I just very much like what I've seen so far.



I appreciate the compliment portion, but I'm not going to "admit" I'm wrong if I don't feel I am (Yes, lots of "I" there, don't know another way to express the point). You know what I will say I was wrong about? Taylor's fumble problem negating most of his value. I still hate fumbles from RBs, but Taylor has reduced his fumbling quite a bit in the NFL and he produces far too much positive value for it to be negated by his fumbles, especially considering how much less he's done it in the NFL.



Let's be real, as C & O already illustrated, most votes were for Richardson. Only 3 votes (including my own) were for Stroud. Levis got as many votes as Stroud. Most were also likely taking draft position into consideration when they voted. So I don't think that was as representative of "Which QB do you want?" as it was "Which QB do you want at 4?" I did not make that consideration in my vote, as I believed Ballard was correct when he said that if a franchise QB was available, heaven and earth should be moved to get him.