Colts making more major cuts: Brackett, Addai, Clark, Bullitt

[Banjo]

looks like their plan is to tank 2012, end up with the 1st pick, hope that Matt Barkley has a great season, and then trade the pick for a bunch of 1's like the Rams did.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I think it's realistic that Luck may be going to a Colts team that is less talented and less to work with than the Colts team that Manning joined over a decade ago.

And worse relative to the competition than the Patriots team Jim Plunkett joined and got shell shocked.

Sorry for the Wayback Machine.

 

[Deus Irae]

$38 million in dead money as a result of all this....

Including Manning and Friday's cuts, the Colts freed up approximately $10.6 million under what is expected to be a $120 million salary cap in 2012. However, the deletions, along with previous player moves, leave the team with nearly $38 million in dead money, which is remaining prorated bonuses that have been paid but not yet applied to the cap...

...Also, this week's transactions saved Irsay significant cash: about $50 million, which includes 2012 base salaries and the $28 million option bonus Manning won't be getting.

Grigson: Colts let go were 'cap casualties,' $10.6M savings needed long term | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com

So, what do we see here? $50 million straight to pocket, with millions more to come back to his pocket in the future because "dead money" is that much less real money that will have to be spent moving forward. Irsay just saved $80 million to hedge against income drop from the loss of Manning.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

$38 million in dead money as a result of all this....

Grigson: Colts let go were 'cap casualties,' $10.6M savings needed long term | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com

$50 million straight to pocket, with millions more to come back to his pocket in the future because "dead money" is that much less real money that will have to be spent moving forward. Irsay just saved $80 million to hedge against income drop from the loss of Manning.

An astute observation
Take note MBA dweebs posting here

On a side note I expect to see Gary Guyton starting for the Colts this fall.

 

[RIpats88]

I just dont get Irsay's thinking here...he is Gutting a roster of any NFL talent...

is this the way to bring up your "franchise QB" surrounding him with a bunch of scrubs and then throwing him to the lions??

This whole fostering a "losing" mentality throughout the organization will IMO backfire on them. there is no pride in the Colts organization.

the Bengals on the other hand, just rebuilt their team last year and ended up going to the playoffs..

Irsays plan is to go to the basement for 5years and hope Luck stands by them and develops properly in a dysfunctional organization

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I feel bad because this is really sad, but it made me involuntarily chuckle... Between impending UFA and cuts they don't even know who they have on the roster any more...

Gonzo? - Unofficial Indianapolis Colts Fan Forums

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I just dont get Irsay's thinking here...he is Gutting a roster of any NFL talent...

is this the way to bring up your "franchise QB" surrounding him with a bunch of scrubs and then throwing him to the lions??

This whole fostering a "losing" mentality throughout the organization will IMO backfire on them. there is no pride in the Colts organization.

the Bengals on the other hand, just rebuilt their team last year and ended up going to the playoffs..

Irsays plan is to go to the basement for 5years and hope Luck stands by them and develops properly in a dysfunctional organization

I think they will be active in FA, they certainly have the cap space to be whether they trade Freeney or not, they just aren't interested in their own for what they are asking. Think they can do better talent wise, and they are probably right. This is what you do when you undertake a top to bottom rebuild of the organization and the culture and the roster. It's what Bill did. And he won in year 2 although that was something of a stroke of good fortune...

 

[malenurse2010]

They should just ignore the defense this year, essentially punt on the season get the number 1 pick and trade it for multiple asset's. What they need to do this year is use a good amount of the created cap space on a line to keep Luck from getting crushed. They can go fancy on someone young and good like Carl Nicks, expect him to still be elite when their team isn't so putrid 3 years from now. Or they can pay over market values for guys like Vernon Carey for 1-2 years and grow guys behind them through the draft. But going into this year and pocketing the money created from the cuts is jeopardizing their most prized assets career going forward.

 

[Ring 6]

I just dont get Irsay's thinking here...he is Gutting a roster of any NFL talent...

is this the way to bring up your "franchise QB" surrounding him with a bunch of scrubs and then throwing him to the lions??

This whole fostering a "losing" mentality throughout the organization will IMO backfire on them. there is no pride in the Colts organization.

the Bengals on the other hand, just rebuilt their team last year and ended up going to the playoffs..

Irsays plan is to go to the basement for 5years and hope Luck stands by them and develops properly in a dysfunctional organization

You don't rebuild with aging and injured players.
Addai has rushed for 2300 yards IN FOUR YEARS and less than 500 in each of the last 2. He sucks.
Clark has played 17 games in 2 years and caught 34 passes in 11 games last year and will be 33. Most of this board thinks we shouldn't include a 3rd year in Welkers contract because he will be 33.
Brackett played 1 game, is turning 32 and very likely not a fit in any defense other than the Tampa 2 that they probably wont be playing.
Bullitt has played 3 games in 2 years.

These are good football decisions, regardless of whether you recognize their names or not and think they may have been good once.

 

[micronin127]

Even though the cuts are severe and pre-June 1, there are provisions in the CBA that allow the Colts to designate up to two contracts to be treated as if they were terminated post-June 1 to spread the dead money out more evenly between 2012 and 2013.

I think that Chuck Pagano from the Ravens isn't going to play the Dungy style Tampa-2 and that a lot of the cuts make sense.

Seems similar to Sam Bradford joining St. Louis without any real weapons and a lousy defense. He got 7 wins as a rookie and that was a miracle. At least Luck gets to play Jacksonville twice a year and will have Cleveland on the schedule too.

I think they will be drafting in the top-10 for a few more years, just like the Rams, but probably not historically gruesome.

 

[Ring 6]

Unless they turn Andrew Luck into David Carr.

Which is very possible

 

[Deus Irae]

I just dont get Irsay's thinking here...he is Gutting a roster of any NFL talent...

is this the way to bring up your "franchise QB" surrounding him with a bunch of scrubs and then throwing him to the lions??

This whole fostering a "losing" mentality throughout the organization will IMO backfire on them. there is no pride in the Colts organization.

the Bengals on the other hand, just rebuilt their team last year and ended up going to the playoffs..

Irsays plan is to go to the basement for 5years and hope Luck stands by them and develops properly in a dysfunctional organization

Young players are cheap players, and the Colts are going to be very young. Luck will take 2012 and 2013 to develop, the Colts will be drafting very high this year and next and, when the 2014 revenues jump up, the Colts will probably be in position to still draft high while adding some legitimate free agents. If they do things right, and Luck is the real deal, the Colts should become perennial contenders again in about 3 seasons.

 

[rabidfireweasel]

Unless they turn Andrew Luck into David Carr.

As someone who lived in Houston for the David Carr years, I have to note two things about David Carr.

1) The Texans tried, bringing in Tony Boselli, but he was shot. I will grant you their pass protection was poor, in fact, it was quite poor.

2) David Carr never, ever had the mental make-up to step up in the pocket when there was pressure coming from the edges. From day one, he would drift laterally, which often would put him under direct additional pressure and lead to bad hits. Sometimes his athleticism and scrambling would mask this tactical flaw, but he had it from the very beginning. He was the cause of many of his own sacks.


Luck illustrated more examples of stepping up in the pocket in his redshirt Freshman year that Carr did in years of play with the Texans.

 

[ausbacker]

As someone who lived in Houston for the David Carr years, I have to note two things about David Carr.

1) The Texans tried, bringing in Tony Boselli, but he was shot. I will grant you their pass protection was poor, in fact, it was quite poor.

2) David Carr never, ever had the mental make-up to step up in the pocket when there was pressure coming from the edges. From day one, he would drift laterally, which often would put him under direct additional pressure and lead to bad hits. Sometimes his athleticism and scrambling would mask this tactical flaw, but he had it from the very beginning. He was the cause of many of his own sacks.


Luck illustrated more examples of stepping up in the pocket in his redshirt Freshman year that Carr did in years of play with the Texans.

Not that I disagree with your second point, but if the Colts fail to provide Luck (we'll assume he's going #1) with a stout O/L, it won't matter how poised he is in the pocket as you can't throw from the ground going or being slammed backwards. Carr's issues were compounded from the very beginning. A bad trait became worse.

 

[supafly]

Not that I disagree with your second point, but if the Colts fail to provide Luck (we'll assume he's going #1) with a stout O/L, it won't matter how poised he is in the pocket as you can't throw from the ground going or being slammed backwards. Carr's issues were compounded from the very beginning. A bad trait became worse.

Exactly. Another aspect is the overall position of the team itself too, on both offense and defense. A bad team with some bad breaks can take its toll on a new and somewhat green/nervous QB; especially one that comes with such high expectations as the #1 overall pick under a microscope.

I think there is a very realistic shot at Luck becoming nothing more than mediocre. It's not like we haven't seen it before a thousand times. One could even argue that the odds are against him succeeding, which is in direct contrast with the general consensus that he will surely be the coming savior of the franchise.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

FYI this is apparently the latest Colts roster including the cuts and assuming none of the UFA are re-signed. They tried to extend Garcon, but he declined their offer. Cupboard is pretty bare pending FA and the draft. Of course their 1st will add to the QB depth...

That OL is scary. Castonozo showed a little promise last season but Iljalana couldn't crack a weak starting lineup and when he finally went in due to injury he landed on IR. The rest are jags and backups. No starting center or guards to speak of.

WR and RB not looking much better. Collie and the Blair White experiment. No viable TE'-----------------------

Quarterbacks
-- Trevor Vittatoe

Running Backs
31 Donald Brown
34 Delone Carter
32 Darren Evans
47 Ryan Mahaffey FB

Wide Receivers
17 Austin Collie
12 Quan Cosby
16 Jarred Fayson
10 Jeremy Ross
15 Blair White

Tight Ends
81 Brody Eldridge
49 Chris Gronkowski FB

Offensive Linemen
74 Anthony Castonzo T
79 Ben Ijalana G/T
-- Jake Kirkpatrick C
72 Jeff Linkenbach T
60 Matt Murphy G/T
73 Seth Olsen G
76 Joe Reitz G/T
-- A. Q. Shipley C
67 Mike Tepper G/T

Defensive Linemen
99 Antonio Johnson NT
91 Ricardo Mathews DE
95 Fili Moala DE
94 Drake Nevis DE
64 Ollie Ogbu DE

Linebackers
97 Mario Addison OLB/DE
51 Pat Angerer ILB
53 Kavell Conner ILB
52 A. J. Edds ILB
-- Jerrell Freeman ILB
93 Dwight Freeney OLB/DE
-- Mario Harvey ILB
-- Justin Hickman OLB/DE
92 Jerry Hughes OLB/DE
56 Scott Lutrus ILB
98 Robert Mathis OLB/DE
-- Brandon Peguese OLB/DE

Defensive Backs
41 Antoine Bethea FS
30 David Caldwell SS
23 Terrence Johnson CB
26 Jermale Hines SS
20 Mike Holmes CB
37 Brandon King CB
35 Joe Lefeged SS
38 Mike Newton FS
25 Jerraud Powers CB
36 Chris Rucker CB
21 Kevin Thomas CB

Special Teams
1 Pat McAfee P
48 Justin Snow LS
4 Adam Vinatieri K

 

[Ring 6]

FYI this is apparently the latest Colts roster including the cuts and assuming none of the UFA are re-signed. They tried to extend Garcon, but he declined their offer. Cupboard is pretty bare pending FA and the draft. Of course their 1st will add to the QB depth...

That OL is scary. Castonozo showed a little promise last season but Iljalana couldn't crack a weak starting lineup and when he finally went in due to injury he landed on IR. The rest are jags and backups. No starting center or guards to speak of.

WR and RB not looking much better. Collie and the Blair White experiment. No viable TE'-----------------------

Quarterbacks
-- Trevor Vittatoe

Running Backs
31 Donald Brown
34 Delone Carter
32 Darren Evans
47 Ryan Mahaffey FB

Wide Receivers
17 Austin Collie
12 Quan Cosby
16 Jarred Fayson
10 Jeremy Ross
15 Blair White

Tight Ends
81 Brody Eldridge
49 Chris Gronkowski FB

Offensive Linemen
74 Anthony Castonzo T
79 Ben Ijalana G/T
-- Jake Kirkpatrick C
72 Jeff Linkenbach T
60 Matt Murphy G/T
73 Seth Olsen G
76 Joe Reitz G/T
-- A. Q. Shipley C
67 Mike Tepper G/T

Defensive Linemen
99 Antonio Johnson NT
91 Ricardo Mathews DE
95 Fili Moala DE
94 Drake Nevis DE
64 Ollie Ogbu DE

Linebackers
97 Mario Addison OLB/DE
51 Pat Angerer ILB
53 Kavell Conner ILB
52 A. J. Edds ILB
-- Jerrell Freeman ILB
93 Dwight Freeney OLB/DE
-- Mario Harvey ILB
-- Justin Hickman OLB/DE
92 Jerry Hughes OLB/DE
56 Scott Lutrus ILB
98 Robert Mathis OLB/DE
-- Brandon Peguese OLB/DE

Defensive Backs
41 Antoine Bethea FS
30 David Caldwell SS
23 Terrence Johnson CB
26 Jermale Hines SS
20 Mike Holmes CB
37 Brandon King CB
35 Joe Lefeged SS
38 Mike Newton FS
25 Jerraud Powers CB
36 Chris Rucker CB
21 Kevin Thomas CB

Special Teams
1 Pat McAfee P
48 Justin Snow LS
4 Adam Vinatieri K

They only have 1 need: EVERYTHING