Quote:
Originally Posted by JAFF
Like Jerry Hughes? A douche bag here, and he figgured out if he didn't get his butt in gear he was out of the league after the Colts let him go. Its' a crap shoot on the draft. Antone Bethea is still playing, and he was a 6th rounder?
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Every team has to decide what to emphasize. Where to invest the limited resources they have. Polian chose to play to Manning’s strengths - skill position players on O and a D that was designed to play with a lead. On the surface it makes some sense. However the team would have been better off to put resources into areas that would have allowed them to win when Manning wasn’t brilliant. Building a D that didn’t need a two touchdown lead to be at its best would be the best example. A stronger offensive line that could move the pile to get a yard when needed is another.
That change in philosophy needed to be made early in the building process. Once they started drafting at the bottom of every round and the cap space was tied up in the core of skill position players it became much harder to change the teams direction and identity. I’m thankful that, so far, Ballard doesn’t appear to be repeating that mistake (although like a few others I’m a little worried about the size of the interior D line).