wrong as usual

but sure. lets pretend it takes years to learn a defense

I think it takes a season playing in one to really learn one. But I think part of the problem is that cover 2 funneled the action to the weak side lb. He could then make a play also he was allowed some range and freedom to flow to the action and his instincts took over. The cover 3 has much more responsibilities for the lbs, you can’t free roam like you can in the cover 2. And the action spot is more the middle lb spot.

But he has lost a step in his pursuit. He would always catch guys before.

He made Zeke look like he was 22 again.

It's over.

That was more taking a bad angle than getting burnt. He should have broken down before he got there instead of trying to do a flying hit on a vet like Zeke. He was more worried about impressing than playing sound ball.

Maybe it’s over, or he could heal with another off season. Either care his colts career is over.

Exactly…. Bad angle…. Which was taken to avoid the head on full speed collision. He’s playing scared… there’s two sides of being a maniac out there… it’s great while it lasts and it’s a fuckin blast to watch but ….. its not sustainable

We’ve seen this before—- Bob Sanders

Who said it takes years to learn a defense? Not me. That said, Leonard spent his first 18 months in this defense injured. So he didn't have a chance to physically learn it until he was on the field. Knowing the defense on the chalkboard is different than knowing it on the field.

Also, random aside in part thanks to thread necromancer C & O, but I'm starting to think Ballard's conservatism will be his downfall. This is a perfect example. Last offseason, Shaq Leonard likely had some trade value, especially with the Bears. But in a situation that required Ballard to swing for the fences and creatively use his assets, he sat on his hands and let other teams decide his fate. If you think Jonathan Taylor wouldn't have had as much or more value than D.J. Moore, you're crazy. The Colts likely could've gotten the #1 pick without giving up 2 1st round picks by trading Leonard and Taylor, and could've had the QB that looks like he's going to haunt the AFC South for the next decade. The Colts then could've resigned Okereke for the same contract he got with the Giants, and the Colts could be back on top of the AFC South for the next decade. Now, the Colts got nothing for Leonard, and Taylor is great, but I'd trade him and a lot more for Stroud right now.

Nobody was going to trade for Leonard. If they were likely to have done so back then, they would have claimed him off waivers.

You love playing what if type of GM, are full of shit about what you 'know' is the right track but I love your fucking passion for being right (most of us don't think you are even close). I want to give you props for call C & O a 'thread necromancer'. He is (nobody can find old posts an resurrect those suckers like you can C & O), it was a positive take in my opinion and that was a great use of the word.

AR will have a better career than that POS Stroud.

You don't think he's lost value in the last eight months?

It’s not about value with the Colts… it’s simple really…. They want guys that wanna be here and wanna play for the shoe

Leonard sealed his fate by going to the media and complaining about coaching and playing time

And I’m sure more was said in that meeting with Bradley when he told him he’d be inactive. That was probably the final straw

My heart is with you, but my head says a glass cannon only fires once and the best ability is availability.

What does this have to do with my post? Not trying to be a smartass, I just honestly don't know how to respond to this in a way that furthers the discussion. The Colts are building a good culture, great. They should. What does that have to do with Leonard's value decreasing (or not) between the end of last season and now?

o


A side note in regard to "attitude", and "leadership" ......

Playing well almost always overshadows all of that criteria/philosophy. I don't think that there was a single ColtFreaks poster that would refer to Jonathan Taylor as a "leader" and/or that he had a "good attitude", and/or that he was "a good presence in the locker room" when he was holding out at the beginning of the season, and making it clear that he thought that he deserved more money than what the Colts were offering ...... but when Taylor was rushing for 7.9 yards-per-carry against the Saints, catching 5 passes in the 2 games against the Jaguars and the Panthers, and scoring the only TD of the game against the Patriots, I would fathom to guess that there were very few Colts fans that were thinking, "Man, he's an excellent player, but I just wish that he had a better attitude and was more of a leader in the locker room. I wish that he had more loyalty to the Shoe."

o

They weren’t trading him that was my point, he forced his way out.

As far as value they should’ve let him walk when he was a free agent because after the back injury he’s played like shit

What trade value do you think he had? A sixth?

We will have to see how much glass AR is made of. Injuries happen. When they happen early in a career the pall of 'is this a view of the future' runs over it. Most of the time that is not the case. You liked Stroud better than AR but if my memory serves me I don't remember you ever, not even once, say that it was because AR was injury prone. To me AR wasn't injury prone then nor is he now. He has been unlucky and still has the mental and physical tools that seem perfect for a modern NFL QB. One last advantage AR has, and it is huge, is Steichen. I'll couch this in nobody really knows what will happen as we go forward. Fun to speculate though.

You don’t build culture by trading a four time all pro because you suspect he might not live up to his contract.

Thats not how any of this works.

These guys are human beings. They’re not just assets.

Or better yet we should have traded our 1st and Marlin Mack in '21 to jump ahead of the Cheats for Mac Jones.

In the right situation, I could see him having carried equivalent weight to a late 2 or early 3 last offseason. Not that he would've gotten a pick like that in a trade, more like how DJ Moore was used as a substitute for a 1st round pick by the Panthers.

He did have an injury history, and not a particularly light one, either. He has a Netflix documentary where he suffers the exact same injury that ended his season this year in high school, and he had a pretty bad knee injury at Florida in 2021. One of the areas that can severely impact a projection of a player is injury history, and it's nearly impossible to know if you're not in one of the 32 war rooms. All the tape in the world won't give you anything on a player's medicals, and that is a huge part of a player evaluation.

Tell that to Howie Roseman. He'd offload a player like that in exactly the way I suggested so fast it would make your head spin. In fact, you don't have to hypothetically consider it, he did it with Carson Wentz.

I'd prefer to trade up for Stroud in a scenario of hypothetical druthers, but Mac Jones is a great example of what a bad set of circumstances within a franchise can do to a good QB prospect, especially if they are more circumstance dependent. Couldn't have happened to a better franchise, but I feel bad for the kid.

Yes I understand that this shoulder has been injured before. An injured AC joint weakens that joint and makes that joint more prone to injury. It has been repaired and should not be an issue going forward, one of the reasons surgery was the best options. It means nothing else. It certainly doesn't mean he is injury prone.

Again, my heart is with you, my head will need to see evidence.

No. He was coming off an injury that cost him a huge chunk of games. There was no guarantee he would return to form. Had the Colts shopped him then, the league would have thought we knew something about his recovery, and stayed away.

Dam thinks we could have packaged him and Taylor to move up and get Stroud. He thinks the NFL is just like Madden.

I think they are pieces that could've been moved as part of a deal that could have lowered the draft capital cost of the trade. 4, 36, Taylor, and Leonard for 1 isn't exactly a Madden trade, but IMO would've beaten the Panthers offer.

There was doubt then, now there's certainty that he's been released. At the very least he's lost value to the Colts in that time, possibly the whole league.

Dallas is showing interest in Leonard.

Keep saying you are the only one right on every thread. Nobody will think you are an arrogant fella at all.

You're WAY overestimating Leonard's trade value last year. He was completely ineffective coming off a major back surgery, so he had to have a 2nd major back surgery. With his contract he likely would have garnered a conditional late round pick, not the 2nd/3rd you seem to think he was worth.

Also, you seem to be forgetting that Ballard priorities physical traits over everything else w/ his draft picks. So it's pretty likely that he had AR rated higher than Stroud on his draft board to begin with.

I didn't say that.

Agree to disagree I guess, he did still have 3 All-Pro seasons leading up to the injured year, including back to back selections prior to 2022. Say Fred Warner was coming off a similar situation to Leonard at the end of this season. You'd be upset at the Colts giving up a 3 to get the chance that he returns to prime form?

o


Jim Irsay sent him out in style ......



Recently Cut LB Shaquille Leonard Gets Tribute From the Colts

(By Stephen Holder)

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-tribute-colts

o

Total class move by Irsay and Leonard. Irsay is a complicated man, as is Leonard.

I SO wish that he could still play
https://youtu.be/tSX1QiUM44s?si=UiA02TztUSYf_OH4

Surprisingly the strip from behind on Watson as he entered the end zone was not in the reel.
However, that lateral to Rodgers was unreal.

Per Rapoport, it appears that Leonard is reuniting with Sirianni in Philly.

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1731760280999207230

Wish him well in Phili. Hope he gets a ring this year, next year is ours.

o


Wouldn't it be something if the Eagles and the Colts played each other in the Super Bowl next year after Anthony Richardson got back ???

o

Good, didn't want to see him with the Cowgirls.

Yeah. I can root for him as an Eagle, but not as a Cowgirl.

o


Breaking Down Shaquille Leonard and His Potential Impact on the Eagles’ Defense

(By Brooks Kubena)

https://theathletic.com/5112620/2023...-shaq-leonard/

o

Leonard seeing some playing time with the Eagles....haven't seen him make a play yet!