Are all colts fans this delusional?

[PatsFanInVa]

It's time for that trend to change, starting next season...ya catch my drift?

96 Tears?.....

 

[PatsFanInVa]

But seriously, folks...

Fans are just that, fans - derived from the word "fanatic." We're exactly the same. None of us have any objectivity. The Colts are talking like this one year where they are paying the piper, cap-wise, is just a year where they're shedding some unnecessary, overrated cap baggage. Last year they lost Edge, and to an Indy fan, that is fine, because they see Addai as all things to all people. Now Rhodes is gone... but he was insurance anyway, right?

Eerily... we didn't lose an Edge last year, but this year we lose Corey Dillon, and we feel okay with it, because hayull, that's why you draft a featured back. Time to sink or swim! I agree with this... but I also agree we're in pretty much the same shape as Indy on that front.

There are parallels to earlier Pats' offseasons, in this year's Indy offseason. During those times I've drank the kool-aid here in Patsland, and I honestly think the Colts fans owe it to their team to do likewise. However much we admire our front office, theirs has kept their team at a high level for 7 years running (at least.) And now they finally got over the hump. Good for them!

Of course, that does mean it's time to put our collective cleat back on the neck of Colts Nation, which should be made to lick flying-Elvis-shaped lines in the dirt. I think in part that's what this offseason is about... although it might also be about the smartest moves in an environment of accelerated inflation, in the world according to the Pats Brain Trust.

Either way, I would dearly love to see Coltdom with a collective blank look on their faces, as they head home to watch the Pats rule the post-season. If not, however, sending them home a game before the Super Bowl has worked for me in the past.

PFnV

 

[captain stone]

96 Tears?.....

Eggs-actly, plus a healthy Rodney, plus a couple of young studs from the draft who want to establish themselves...

 

[Oswlek]

Well done,oswlek......I wish you had kept going.
p.s.for all who think we overpaid for Welker.....
If the Colts had done the same to replace Stokely,
what would we have thought?

(I believe the optimive phrase is:YIKES!)

If you are serious, I will oblige.

Rereading my initial post, it sounds like I am down on the Colts. I suppose some latent animosity towards them for knocking my beloved Pats out may be rearing its ugly head, because I am really not. Manning has progressed to the point that he is really now who everyone proclaimed him to be since 1999. I am on record that his performance in the Nov game was the best I have ever seen him play, and I stand by that still. He was under consistent pressure and he still made plays, many of which being on the run where he has really struggled in the past. I would like to see how he performs with that amount of pressure*and* with NE's CBs playing as well as they did in the AFCCG, but it is possible that they two affect one another.

Indy's offense is definitely among one of the best all time. The only concern that I have is the fact that Harrison has to slow down sometime. He keeps proving everyone wrong who think that "this will be the year", but Indy's offense becomes much easier to defense with only one all-pro WR. Add the loss of a true slot guy (unless you want to move Clark over - but then the TEs are diminished) and this is why I think that Indy might surprise many by picking a WR on the first day. Indy fans: what is going on with Utech? He looks promising, but I believe that he is a RFA.

I believe that Manning's improvement has been the key for Indy overtaking the Pats. NE was able to trick him into calling the wrong play by shifting the D pre and post-snap. Post-snap reading, IMHO is the biggest growth area in Peyton's game since the first Indy/NE AFCCG. If he had a read on what the D was doing at the line, you were toast, but if the D was a little different, he became tentative and nervous. This led to happy feet and holding onto the ball too long, pressure and, unltimately, bad decisions and throws.

Not since the 2004 Div game has Manning appeared flustered in any way by NE's defense. Even in this past AFCCG, most of the decisions were sound, it was just that NE was defending well for the first 25 minutes.

I know it is blasphemy, but even as a Pats fan, I find it hard to argue that Manning is not the best QB in the game right now.

I love Addai's game. He is a tough runner and his blocking and receiving are very sound for a rookie. I do think that Maroney would have looked less tentative if he was running into a nickle D all the time, but Addai is the real deal.

I have even more, but I have to get going right now. If this thread doesn't die I will put the rest in later.

 

[SamBam39]

Nobody passes over Indy until atleast week 1 of the 2007 season is played my friend.

um, yeah, actually, when discussing offseason moves and chances for success in the new, upcoming season, the pats have clearly moved ahead of the colts. they were pretty close to begin with and now the pats have obviously done much much more to get better while the colts have regressed.

you were the champs last year.
this year, your already getting beaten, and very badly.

 

[workhorse]

I hate to nitpick, but if Keiaho wasn't good enough last year to unseat June while the defense was terrible, what makes you think he's going to be a huge upgrade this year? They need a lot of work on that defense, and putting in the second stringers isn't exactly a sure-fire plan.

Wasn't Brady stuck behind Drew?

 

[danny88]

Wasn't Brady stuck behind Drew?

Tom brady is a hall of fame player, and a once in a lifetime QB. How many backups turned out to be one of the greatest qb's ever? How many back up's turn out to be hall of fame players? For every Tom Brady there are a million backups who come and go.



There is no comparison to Tom brady. Keiaho may be a good player in time, but he will never be in the hall of fame, or considered by many the best ever at his position. Comparing the two, or insinuating that a Tom Brady type of player is not extremley rare is dumb.

 

[workhorse]

Tom brady is a hall of fame player, and a once in a lifetime QB. How many backups turned out to be one of the greatest qb's ever? How many back up's turn out to be hall of fame players? For every Tom Brady there are a million backups who come and go.



There is no comparison to Tom brady. Keiaho may be a good player in time, but he will never be in the hall of fame, or considered by many the best ever at his position. Comparing the two, or insinuating that a Tom Brady type of player is not extremley rare is dumb.

Favre did it before Brady, but that's beside the point. I never insinuated that Kieaho was the same type of player that Brady is, you did. I just pointed out the fact that both were on the bench behind an entrenched starter. So there is a comparision to Brady.

 

[danny88]

Favre did it before Brady, but that's beside the point. I never insinuated that Kieaho was the same type of player that Brady is, you did. I just pointed out the fact that both were on the bench behind an entrenched starter. So there is a comparision to Brady.

So werent a million other players. Kieaho will be lucky if he does a "good" job.

 

[coltsfan]

Add the loss of a true slot guy (unless you want to move Clark over - but then the TEs are diminished) and this is why I think that Indy might surprise many by picking a WR on the first day. Indy fans: what is going on with Utech? He looks promising, but I believe that he is a RFA.

I agree that at this point it looks like Indy could take a WR on day one.

Utech will be a RFA next year, I believe. He's under contract this year.

 

[workhorse]

So werent a million other players. Kieaho will be lucky if he does a "good" job.

He won't be lucky, he will be doing what the Colts expected of him when they spent a 3rd round pick on him. They would not have let June go if they didn't feel confident in Freddy.

 

[coltsfan]

Kieaho will be lucky if he does a "good" job.

That's just dumb. There are plenty of LBs who emerge in a second season after not playing in the first.

 

[workhorse]

I agree that at this point it looks like Indy could take a WR on day one.

Utech will be a RFA next year, I believe. He's under contract this year.

I think the Colts will add a receiver day one not so much because of Stokely, but because of the failure of Moorehead. The Colts have always like the two tightend set. It forces defenses to play more from a base package. Dallas creates all kinds of mismatches. He is bigger than the DBs and quicker than the LBers. Stokely hasn't played a whole lot the past two seasons and the Colts were dealing with life without him already, but they did not have anyone behind him stepping up. Moorehead was supposed to be that guy, but he has been really inconsistent. The Colts have depth at TE with Clark, Fletcher and Utech. Wide receiver is another matter right now. I would not be shocked if the Colts add a WR through free agency as well.

 

[coltsfan]

I think the Colts will add a receiver day one not so much because of Stokely, but because of the failure of Moorehead. The Colts have always like the two tightend set. It forces defenses to play more from a base package. Dallas creates all kinds of mismatches. He is bigger than the DBs and quicker than the LBers. Stokely hasn't played a whole lot the past two seasons and the Colts were dealing with life without him already, but they did not have anyone behind him stepping up. Moorehead was supposed to be that guy, but he has been really inconsistent. The Colts have depth at TE with Clark, Fletcher and Utech. Wide receiver is another matter right now. I would not be shocked if the Colts add a WR through free agency as well.

Yep, I agree. Now that Stokley is officially gone, it will be interesting to see if anything happens at WR before the draft.

 

[bradmahn]

Wasn't Brady stuck behind Drew?

None of the fans of the Pats were saying that Brady could come in and save an inept offense when/if Bledsoe went down. Colts fans have this mindset that the addition of Keiaho is going to automatically be an upgrade over June, who was a bigger part of that defense than most give him credit for. Wasn't he a Pro-Bowler the year before last? Weren't people proclaiming him as the next fantastic Colts LB after '05? In one season he becomes **** and expendable, able to be replaced by a second year player who couldn't even make it on the field in the playoffs when the defense was completely retooled. Give me a break. Maybe June wasn't just the problem, maybe it was the rest of the defense, which has gotten worse and/or you are banking on backups to save the day.

Or rookie draft picks.

Which raises the question: If the second coming of Lawrence Taylor (Keiaho) couldn't earn playing time in the Colts oh-so-confusing Cover-Two, what makes you think the next batch of draft picks are going to be able to do any better?

My original point is that it is shortsighted to assume that a second year player is going to be able to come in and replace the leading tackler of that D. It was also coupled with the problem that they have a lot of holes to fill, and are banking on draft to fill all of those holes. Good luck.

 

[Hok]

They have beat the Pats convincingly 3 out of the last 3.

The last two were each decided by a single score.

 

[coltsfan]

None of the fans of the Pats were saying that Brady could come in and save an inept offense when/if Bledsoe went down. Colts fans have this mindset that the addition of Keiaho is going to automatically be an upgrade over June, who was a bigger part of that defense than most give him credit for. Wasn't he a Pro-Bowler the year before last? Weren't people proclaiming him as the next fantastic Colts LB after '05? In one season he becomes **** and expendable, able to be replaced by a second year player who couldn't even make it on the field in the playoffs when the defense was completely retooled. Give me a break. Maybe June wasn't just the problem, maybe it was the rest of the defense, which has gotten worse and/or you are banking on backups to save the day.

Or rookie draft picks.

Which raises the question: If the second coming of Lawrence Taylor (Keiaho) couldn't earn playing time in the Colts oh-so-confusing Cover-Two, what makes you think the next batch of draft picks are going to be able to do any better?

My original point is that it is shortsighted to assume that a second year player is going to be able to come in and replace the leading tackler of that D. It was also coupled with the problem that they have a lot of holes to fill, and are banking on draft to fill all of those holes. Good luck.

Yes, if you play like **** for an entire season, I think people have the right to say that June is **** against the run. Just go on nfl.com and look at the highlights from the Jags game where they killed us. On Taylor's big run, June gets blocked by Ernest Wilford, a WR. On one of Jones-Drew's touchdowns, June gives a feeble attempt at tackling him near the line of scrimmage. Stuff like this happened all too frequently last year and is the reason that June got such little interest in free agency. The Colts could have gotten June back if they wanted to, his first year cap number with Tampa is only $1.67M. If Keiaho is as good as the Colts seem to think he is, he'll easily be an upgrade over June in the running game.

As for rookies, the Colts don't need to add any starters, just depth. We'll see what happens, the Colts do need to have a good draft.

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

What can you say when 4 or 5 of your starters sign elsewhere and you have no money to replace them? Depth is a concern for the Colts no matter how they try and spin it. The Colts must have a very good draft.

IMO, the only FA they'll miss is Rhodes. June and Harper were products of the C2 system. That's why I believe that Indy will draft Kenny Irons at 32.

 

[Kdo5]

Colts are the best right now. They have beat the Pats convincingly 3 out of the last 3. I have nothing else to say. They have our number. Peyton in the best QB in the NFL. Harriosn is the best WR as well. Sanders is the best run stuffing safety in the NFL and made a huge difference in turning around the defense. The rookie RB is looking to be better than player they let go.

The Pats have their work cut out for them.

I think most of us know that, need to kiss their butt cheeks anymore?

 

[CaColtsfan]

BTW danny every one at Indystar wants to welcome you as foxborosfinest

http://www2.indystar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192032


nice to see how obsessed you are with the Colts.:rocker: