Are the Colts panicking? (or the excellence of BB and SP)

[PittPatriot]

The greatest thing about this whole offseason is the fact that we have stole the spotlight from the superbowl winning Colts. Every year the media talks about how its there year......

So they finally win it.....and only get to enjoy the spotlight for a few months. Its understandable the frustration the Colt fans are going through. They got to the top of MT. Monadnock....and instead of being able to enjoy the view for awhile....they were thrown off.

I agree that it is gratifying to put Colt-talk on the back burner...but we Pats fans know better than anyone: the game is played on the field. If we falter this season, we'll look just as silly as the Colts for the past 4 years (all talk, no championship).
They are still King of the Mountain until be beat them down in the reg season match up and 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs. I can't wait to watch the Karl Ruprecht Kroenen-like surgical decimation of that secondary. It'll be a thing of beauty.

 

[upstater1]

A couple of items here. Ugoh was part of the line for one of the best rushing attacks in the country. I didn't see the all-star games, so I'll have to take your word on it. But, I haven't seen him universally panned. Just one quick example is that Vic Carucci said, "They used the second-round pick they acquired from San Francisco to land one of the top offensive tackles in this year's college crop, Tony Ugoh, formerly of Arkansas." Not to mention the fact that Howard Mudd has him at least a year before they need him and Mudd is one of the best line coaches in the league.

You need to follow things more. Ugoh was considered a top OL prospect, until people got a close look at him this spring. He was panned by everyone for his play and skill level. There's a reason this former top 10 pick dropped so far down.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

Trust me most of us Colt fans are just fine with the Pats having all the pre season hype. We're used to being the favorites almost every year and you see how that ended for the most part. So you all go ahead and take ALL the attention and let the Champs fly low under the radar....

NO. You trust us. As soon as the Colts win their first 5 -6 games like always everyone will be back on your boat and people will look at the Patriots and say look at that scum filled team even though there will be no distractions someone in the media will say it and the hate parade will reign on.

That is money in the bank.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I think we're all in violent agreement that Bob Kraft, Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli didn't get where they are today by habitually pushing the panic button.

My view on last season is that the Patriots overcame significant odds to get within a First Down of going back to the SB (and thumping the Bears, who were clearly not ready for Prime Time). We all know how high and treacherous a mountain there is to climb for a team to put itself in that position in the NFL today. Just ask the Chargers.

I also think that the consensus among Patriots' friends and foes alike is that the Patriots lost too much in last year's offseason and, as a result, put TB and the offense behind the eight ball too often. Now that they've added Moss, Stallworth and Welker, it's awesome to realize how they accomplished what they did last year.

So, I think of the outcome of last season as an incredible achievement and a significant missed opportunity.

I don't think it's a sign of "panic" for the Patriots' brain trust to have come to the same conclusion, by knowing that TB is the best QB in the game and locked in for several more years, that his OL is in its prime and also locked in for several years, that they have the best DL in football, but at the same time to realize that next season could still be a repeat of last season without some significant changes.

I think that Kraft and Belichick and Pioli decided that this team with this core has one or two more SB's in it, but that they had to act in an urgent manner now to assure that they achieved that goal.

Now that they have made these moves, I think we'll see them return to a focus on slowly and thoughfully morphing the LB and Defensive Secondary cadre into their next generations and to watching Maroney carefully this season to decide whether he is indeed the back of their future.

 

[coltsfan]

I don't think Polian said that Ugoh is the best LT in the last five years. That would be foolish. What he said is that this is the first legitimate left tackle that the Colts have had a chance to draft in five years, that all the other LT prospects have been picked before the Colts could grab one. I think Ryan just misunderstood what he said. The quote is in the interview of him over on the Colts website.

And it's good to hear that Ugoh did well against Spencer in the Senior Bowl. From watching Ugoh against Jarvis Moss in the SEC Championship Game, he looks like a bit of a project to me. He has the measurables, but has a lot of work to do. I expect the Colts to 'redshirt' him for a year, and we'll see him replace Tarik Glenn in 2008.