Needs
 

It’s early to be looking forward to the offseason; with any luck, January will roll in and see the Colts with a wild card berth.

That having been said, with 4 games left, I think we have a pretty good idea of the path that Chris Ballard or whomever is in charge needs to blaze.

First off is a real, honest to God, elite, scheme versatile Cornerback. Someone who’s equally at home playing zone or one on one on an island; someone who can give Gus Bradley or whoever the confidence to blitz without worrying about disaster if the pressure doesn’t get home. If it were me, I’d move heaven and earth to get Jim to open his wallet, shake out the moths, and ante up for a DJ Read or Charvarius Ward.

Then, I’d move on to Safety and do another un Ballard like thing and trade up in the draft to get this year’s version of Troy Polamalu…Malaki Starks.

Third on my list of needs has me torn between WR and TE. I’d love to add a dynamic, game changer on the outside, but there’s a heck of a lot of value in a Rob Gronkowski/Travis Kelce/George Kittle kind of guy who gets open, moves the chains, doesn’t drop the ball, and can actually, like, plant a defender in the ground when asked to block.

Next up, a Linebacker tough enough to snuff the run and who can actually cover a Tight End over the middle.

Then, a Running Back to spell Taylor on fifteen plays a game, someone who runs well, poses a threat as a receiver, and can stone a blitzing Safety.

Somewhere in there you can slot a gobsmacking Defensive Tackle, someone to ensure that whenever Grover Stewart exits the game, the middle of the D doesn’t turn into a total shitshow.

Then, of course, you can never have enough bodies on the Offensive Line.

Sounds about right. I think CB/TE are our biggest needs, while some of the rest are difficult to find, kind of like four leaf clovers in the late fall.

DT is high on the priority list for me. Buck and Grove are both on the wrong side of 30, and there is very little depth behind them. TE is definitely a more needed position, but Idk if I would rank any other need above DT.

I would put a new DC above and beyond any player acquisitions. Bradley is a negative contributor.

100% agree.

Watching this Broncos vs Browns game, with the way they push the ball down the field, Nix could go for 4 bills easy against that scheme. They will confuse the ever living shit out of Gus.

The problem with criticism of Bradley is that he doesn’t have the personnel to play the kind of scheme all of us would prefer. Sam Womack will never remind anyone of Richard Sherman, and there’s no Earl Thomas or Kam Chancellor in that locker room.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not joined at the hip with Gus. But, I’ve been a Colts fan since 1967, and sometimes it seems like the last time we had a tough, hardnosed defense, Ted Marchibroda was stalking the sidelines.

o


The 1975 Baltimore Colts "Sack Pack" set was then a record of 60 sacks in a 14-game season.


John Dutton

Fred Cook

Mike Barnes

Joe Ehrmann

o

I remember them well. Joe Thomas built a pretty good team, then got run out of town on a rail. Took us a quarter century to find another GM anywhere near as good.

I don't see Ballard going after a CB as a FA.

I like Starks, but is he too similar to Cross? Cross and Blackmon are both best at SS, and Blackmon is likely gone.

Man, I'm right up there with you on TE. Every TE we have is replacement level.

We need JT's replacement soon. He got paid to be everything Barkley is doping for the Eagles and he's half the player.

I thought that Raekwon Davis was the answer. But he can't play football. DT is definitely a need.

You should tell that story to all the people that want Ballard canned.