Well we got are big FA, Matt Gay for a record breaking contracts.
 

https://www.si.com/nfl/rams/news/ind...ay-record-deal
Ok, then we took care of that thing I guess.

Why? Chase McLaughlin was fine. This makes no sense.

Wasn't on my radar. You? I suppose he's got the numbers...

After his rookie season with TB, he's had three seasons with LAR:

- 74 out of 80 FGA (92.5%)

- 12 out of 15 50+yds (80%)

- 95 out of 97 XPA (98%)

He's a top five kicker in the league. Chase was 20-25

For once we agree. Seems like a weird spot to overpay.

Was really hoping that the first big signing would have been a guard to help protect the rookie QB that the Colts will be, might be, probably will draft !!!

This isn't 2006. Signing Vinatieri back then made sense because they were jettisoning Vanderjagt (for good reason) and it was the only real weak spot on the team. This roster has far more holes, including the QB position. All of that needs to be solved before getting the highest paid kicker in the league.

We are a better team today than we were yesterday. We have lost several games over the past two years due to shitty kicking, couldn't make a 50+ yard kick to save our souls. Kicker of this proven caliber rarely hit the market. It has impacted our game hugely over the last few year, not only in missed field goals but even whether to punt, try field go or go for it. We improve but not how you would prefer to improve first so we fucked up. You are really so full of yourself it is quite amusing.

It's a bit of a bizarre early signing, and I hope it wasn't an overpay, but it's a position of need and we got the best available. Rookie head coach, new offensive coordinator, rookie QB, O-line changes coming...
He's probably going to have to make a LOT of kicks this season. Now let's shed some dead weight and add some more pieces.

Its beer nuts compared to the entire cap. Gay has greater range, and a better percentage. The Colts passed up on some FG attemps, last year that will be in range this year.

Colts lost 7 games with a difference of 3 points.

They arent giving him Qb money, but someone who could win some games.

He’s the highest paid kicker from free agency. Which changes every year because the cap keeps going up. That’s what FA does, reset the salaries every year or two.

One of the reasons we’ve missed the playoffs the past two of three seasons is directly attributable to kicking.

A record number of games are being decided by the kicker at the end. It’s a very important position in today’s NFL.

Finally, just because they improved this position doesn’t mean they don’t address others. And they might still use a vet QB to start even if they draft a rookie in order to be competitive.

Agreed. Kicker wasn’t a top need IMO, but the overall money is pretty minimal when compared to other positions and it is without a doubt an upgrade. I find it a little curious, but I don’t see anything to complain about.

The importance of a kicker is often overlooked. McLaughlin done a decent job, especially from 50+ but he was a bit sketchy on intermediate range kicks. If a game comes down to a kicker I would want someone who is consistent at any range. We now have that at a minimal cost considering the return it can produce. Definitely wasn't at the top of my needs board, but not disappointed in the upgrade.

o


Whenever the Colts do something that might seem somewhat strange to some of their fans, it makes me feel like they know what they are doing.

My first reaction to this news was that our kicking situation improved after we cut Blankenship and brought McLaughlin on board, so why do this ??? And then I remembered that I would be a millionaire if I had a nickel for every time that I was wrong about something, and I would be a multi-millionaire if I had a dime for every time that I was wrong.

o

I was always meh about kickers like any other fan I think, yeah yeah they're important. Then I came to the conclusion of their importance after something my dad said. After a game, lost last season bc of a missed kick at the end, my dad said to me "you know everyone puts down the kicker, but it seems like every game is decided by them at the end now." And that kinda stuck with me and I started thinking about it. Yeah, they are deciding a lot of games.

https://www.wkbn.com/sports/close-ca...-decided-late/

Parity is rampant throughout the league. Every game is close now. No lead is safe and teams come back all the time. 3 points can be the difference between playoffs and not, everyone being fired or not. It's hard for people to dump their old biases, but kickers are a more important weapon than ever now. Plus it's less than 6 million a year, hardly a contract worth arguing about. I came to this conclusion and I don't have an analytics dept around to do the actual research for me.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...ser-heres-why/

The "overpay" issue is pretty small potatoes, IMO.

Gay will average $5.6m per season.

Four kickers now average over $5m a year.

Ten kickers average between $4m - $5m a year.

Another ten kickers average between $2.5m - $4m a year.

At "worst," the Colts are "overpaying" their kicker about $1.5m a season over the average NFL PK cap hit.

$1.5m will buy you.....very little in today's salary cap.

Gay is a quality kicker. He is probably worth the "risk" of overpay.

I have my fair share of gripes with Ballard and free agency, but I like this move. Perhaps I was just spoiled with AV (at least until the last year or so) and what a luxury having a reliable kicker is.

I wanted the Colts to draft Matt Gay in the 7th round of the 2019 draft. He eventually was picked in the 5th rd. by the Bucs.

My initial reaction was "huh?" since I just figured we'd keep McLaughlin and didn't really need to invest in a kicker. But after reading some of your posts I agree that it's a good signing. We upgraded and stabilized a really important position, and when we're hopefully ready to win in a couple of years we'll be damn glad to have a really good kicker under contract.

Great...we have a Gay guy on our team now!:D

Yea I’m good with this move