I mentioned in another thread the 2011 Top-100 Players list when Manning was ranked 50th. It made me realize that the perception of the Colts going into 2026 strikes me the same way.
If you thought Manning's neck was his demise, he was omitted from your ranking. If it wasn't, you probably ranked him top-5 as he always was. I doubt anybody seriously ranked him like 17/20 on their cards. With that formula... he ends up at 50th which is a nonsense ranking.
Juxtapose that with the perception of the Colts going into '26. Most expect a 7-8 win season. Some say it's because they're uncertain about Jones returning to form from the Achilles. But in that case... shouldn't the projection be bottom feeders?
And others think that even if he does return to form... still an 8-win team. Which implies that the 0-7 finish was more-or-less expected. Regardless of Jones' broken leg and eventual Achilles or Buckner missing the second half of the season or Ward and Gardner being fucked up, etc.
I mean, to me, that seems like a goofy ass take, but what do I know? I do think people pretend we played the Titans 8 times to start the season and didn't light up the #2 and #5 defenses in the NFL... not to mention, despite Adonai Mitchell's two suicide plays, LAR still needing our 6th option at CB to trip on his own feet and allow a WR his sole catch of the game to be an 88-yard game-winner.
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I agree that Pittman is probably the biggest impact we'll feel. All things considered, that's probably the best spot to absorb a big hit because we still have Pierce, Downs, and Warren.
Even though I like Travis and it was the right move... I also feel worse about losing Braden Smith than most people. Particularly in the run game, where he was a monster, that's just an oak solid RT we're losing. People have talked about him approaching that point of diminishing returns for a couple of years... I hope that the Texans get that version.
Before we drafted Haulcy, Nick Cross would have been my biggest impact loss. Haulcy is still my favorite pick of the draft. I loved Cross, so I'm surprised I feel as good about Safety as I do. But fit-wise, Haulcy will allow Anarumo interchange responsibilities with Bynum more and disguising will have more potential.
I know Walley is unproven, but it's hard to deny the word of mouth from the coaches. Between him, Allen, and Haulcy + Buckner, Ward, and Gardner returning... I'm excited to see the defense.
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