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Why Wentz is gone. From Peter King

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ia-peter-king/

Quote:

It’s a marathon, not a sprint. At times in the first three months of 2022, the Indianapolis Colts looked like they were headed to the bottom of the AFC instead of rebounding to make another playoff run this fall. But when they signed 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore to a two-year deal Friday, Indianapolis actually continued a very strange, but good post-season heading into the draft.

The Colts booted Carson Wentz to Washington (for a better second-round draft position and a third-round pick), and it’s now pretty clear why they had to give up on Wentz after one year. His refusal to get vaccinated led to a positive test in Week 17, zero practice time the week of a huge game against the Raiders, and a stale, tired Wentz playing poorly in a 27-24 loss. That was followed by a desultory Wentz performance in a 15-point loss to the worst team in football, Jacksonville, that knocked the Colts out of the playoffs. The Colts slunk back to Indianapolis and immediately retreated to a very dark place, with an owner, Jim Irsay, clearly furious about the collapse—and about his quarterback.

The Colts replaced Wentz with a better player and leader (and with a chip on his shoulder), Matt Ryan. They buttressed a mediocre pass rush with the acquisition of the well-traveled Yannick Ngakoue (9.5 sacks per year, on average, over the last five years). And Gilmore not only gives the Colts a far better option than the young Isaiah Rodgers at one corner against a schedule with Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott and Derek Carr, but he provides the kind of veteran counsel a young secondary can learn from.

A general manager is often judged by who he drafts, and the high-priced free-agents he imports. But more often, a GM earns his stripes when he faces a crisis and manages his way patiently out of it. Time will tell if Chris Ballard of the Colts can overcome overpaying for Wentz last offseason by the moves he’s made since the disastrous end of the Colts’ season. But so far, the Colts have rebounded steadily from the worst finish to the 2021 season of any NFL team. They’re one of the most improved teams of 2022. Now Ballard’s got to find a receiving weapon in this draft, from a rich pool of wideouts, to help the Colts stay competitive with the explosive offenses of the deep, deep AFC.

Ehh, I don’t think it was about the vaccine. That might have been part of it. But he was declining before he got Covid. We had other leaders who also didn’t get vaxed. There were reportedly other issues as well but they haven’t surfaced yet. I’ll go with the local reporters and their views over national guys like King and Cowherd.

King managed to say a lot without actually saying anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chromeburn (Post 228934)

I don’t think it was ONLY or even PRIMARILY about the vaccine, but I certainly think it was a factor. Throw out the politics and the vaccine was a competitive advantage. No way Manning or Luck don’t get it. There were plenty of other factors, but to me (and I’d bet to Irsay) it showed a lack of commitment to winning from the most important position on the team.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rm1369 (Post 228968)

I agree about Manning and Luck. I also got it because I did not want to cost my team any of their competitions because I would get quarantined. The rules for those vaccinated were less restrictive, and you try to maintain the competitive balance.

I don’t think it was a decision based solely on him not getting the vaccine. I believe it was the injury, then not getting vaxed, crumbling late in the big games, and Irsay talking to The “team leaders “ sealed his fate

Back to football. Wentz is gone, and we are better for it. The dude shit the bed with the playoffs on the line, and also at times when games were on the line. Ryan is a leader, and cool under pressure.

We are in the perfect situation, we have no bandwagon to get on. I think we will have a much better TEAM than many so called experts think. If you didn’t watch our games last year you cannot fathom how bad Wentz was. He didn’t play with a team mentality. By that I mean he didn’t make sure that he got the ball into playmakers hands (Hines etc) often enough. He seemed to see himself as the playmaker, not the facilitator Ryan understands the position so much better that I’m not sure any of us can fathom the difference he is going to make. We will be so much better but in more subtle ways that lose themselves to gross evaluations. Ballard is building a damn good team. He is showing growth as a GM. I’m getting excited about the season. I love catching people by surprise.

Thank God the NFL got rid of all the covid shit for next year. It'll be like when they stopped broadcasting the National Anthem and have the sideline reporter read off the list of players who did/didn't kneel as if it was the injury report or something vital.

We can just watch football instead of arguing over who's Rorschach test is the accurate one. Blue dress or gold? Yanny or Laurel?

**Incoming: No! One side is correct and the other side is stupid**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racehorse (Post 228986)

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I have a feeling that Wentz will have a good season with the Redskins/Commanders, and that Ryan will have a good season with the Colts.

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