Colts signing Justin Houston

[omahacolt]

Originally Posted by FatDT

I've stayed aloof about him and Ford. Both are obviously talented, and Houston is more proven, but I didn't know how well they'd make the transition to 4-3 DE. But few are in a better position to know what Houston can do than Ballard.

We have a shit ton of cap space so money doesn't matter here. Houston appears to still have gas in the tank.

I hope, in addition to being productive himself, that he does for Turay and Lewis what Mitchell did for Wilson last year.

4-3 de or 3-4 olber doesn’t really matter at this point does it with Houston? I don’t think he will be an early down player much. If he is primarily rushing the passer then he can do that from any stance he wants. He can fucking somersault to the qb for all I care if he gets home

[E.M.H.]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what Houston's cap hit is? On a 2 year contract it doesn't feel like it'd be terrible, but I don't know this part of the NFL very well.

Outside of cap talk: I like this move. He's still got gas in the tank, and he'll be asked to stick with his core competency: Pass rushing. This just feels good all around.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by rcubed

What is your point? Ballard wasn't gm in KC.

he worked in the front office at KC aroung 2012-2016 i think

[Oldcolt]

Chaka I appreciate your concern but do not share it. Yes Houston has some red flags. I'm assuming everyone in free agency does. His are not that large and even though he is changing position he has played quite a bit with his hand in the dirt. He should be a big help on pass rush. As far as Ballard changing his approach with this I'm not so sure. Everything I've read about Houston says he is great in the locker room. It is a two year deal that does nothing to hinder the build for this team. He helps out in one of our greatest needs. He does't fix it but he helps. It seems like a good signing.

[FatDT]

Originally Posted by omahacolt

4-3 de or 3-4 olber doesn’t really matter at this point does it with Houston? I don’t think he will be an early down player much. If he is primarily rushing the passer then he can do that from any stance he wants. He can fucking somersault to the qb for all I care if he gets home

He was supposedly effective as a run defender though as recently as last year. I don't know what Ballard and Reich's plans are for him, maybe he will not start. But if he's the best overall DE on the team, and he might be, then I'd expect him to play more than just obvious passing downs. It's not like Sheard/Turay/Lewis/whoever is so great that they're guaranteed a starting spot.

[VeveJones007]

Originally Posted by E.M.H.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what Houston's cap hit is? On a 2 year contract it doesn't feel like it'd be terrible, but I don't know this part of the NFL very well.

Outside of cap talk: I like this move. He's still got gas in the tank, and he'll be asked to stick with his core competency: Pass rushing. This just feels good all around.

I don't think we've gotten any more detail than 2/$24MM. However, pretty much any 2 year NFL deal is structured with little to nothing guaranteed after year 1.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

Chaka I appreciate your concern but do not share it. Yes Houston has some red flags. I'm assuming everyone in free agency does. His are not that large and even though he is changing position he has played quite a bit with his hand in the dirt. He should be a big help on pass rush. As far as Ballard changing his approach with this I'm not so sure. Everything I've read about Houston says he is great in the locker room. It is a two year deal that does nothing to hinder the build for this team. He helps out in one of our greatest needs. He does't fix it but he helps. It seems like a good signing.

I think signing Houston makes sense:

1 it addresses a need and there are few unknowns
2 maybe ballard is concerned about what DE will fall to them in the draft.
3 they take a De in the first round. Depth with ability cant hurt
4 hand up or doesnt matter, he knows how to play. Even freeney didnt start a game immedately.
5 it puts pressure on the young guys to step it up or get less playing time

[Chromeburn]

Originally Posted by Chaka

Since you asked so nicely, I’ll tell you. The terms of the contract matter because we have a salary cap, and a good general manager needs to consider cap implications no matter how much cap space is presently available. I suspect you’ll say that we have so much cap space that we shouldn’t worry about it. It’s the same logic that drives lottery winners bankrupt a few years after winning. You ALWAYS have to consider the cap when evaluating a contract. While it is nice to have lots of cap space, a few bad deals and you’re back struggling against the cap like everyone else. I’ve explained this in detail in other threads, and won’t repeat it here, but essentially, the playing field is level as everyone has the same salary cap. It’s how you spend your allotted money that makes all the difference (and please don’t tell me that it’s all about drafting well or having a good QB – those are simply the other side of the same coin).

It seems to me that Houston is a risky signing. The degree of risk is in large part a function of the contract price. The guy is past his prime, he’s been plagued by injuries over the last few years, and he’s now changing teams and being asked to change his position. Not saying that it’s not a risk worth taking, given his history, but the risk is much greater if, for instance, his contract is fully guaranteed Kirk Cousins-style contract. If the Colts have the option of exiting after the first year (like with Hankins) then the risk is reduced.

This is not the type of signing that Ballard has made in the past. While he has brought in some veterans, they’ve mostly been low cost, serviceable role players. Ballard has emphasized youth and development. So it also concerns me that this is a departure from what I thought was his gameplan. Now, I realize he has a history with Houston, and that 30 is not over-the-hill for a pass rusher, so I remain hopeful. It also might be that Ballard is not satisfied with Turay’s development progress, and doesn’t foresee getting anyone in the draft who can immediately help. I don’t know. It’s just a striking departure from Ballard’s past strategy, so I expressed some concern.

Are you an accountant/money manager?

[Chromeburn]

Originally Posted by FatDT

I've stayed aloof about him and Ford. Both are obviously talented, and Houston is more proven, but I didn't know how well they'd make the transition to 4-3 DE. But few are in a better position to know what Houston can do than Ballard.

We have a shit ton of cap space so money doesn't matter here. Houston appears to still have gas in the tank.

I hope, in addition to being productive himself, that he does for Turay and Lewis what Mitchell did for Wilson last year.

The biggest concern I would have in that type of switch is the ability to defend the run. But from what I know Houston is very good against the run. He can’t be any more of a liability than Turay.

But most of the time we are in sub packages. He will pretty much just have to rush the passer.

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Chaka

This is not the type of signing that Ballard has made in the past. While he has brought in some veterans, they’ve mostly been low cost, serviceable role players. Ballard has emphasized youth and development. So it also concerns me that this is a departure from what I thought was his gameplan. Now, I realize he has a history with Houston, and that 30 is not over-the-hill for a pass rusher, so I remain hopeful. It also might be that Ballard is not satisfied with Turay’s development progress, and doesn’t foresee getting anyone in the draft who can immediately help. I don’t know. It’s just a striking departure from Ballard’s past strategy, so I expressed some concern.

I think it’s entirely possible that Ballard simply saw a guy on the market that fit an immediate short term need that he knew wouldn’t upset the locker room culture he wants. Pass rushers typically take time to develop so Houston adds some current ability with little risk. In this case, it’s not really a departure from his previous method. More like a rare exception.

What I hope is that Ballard is actually tweaking his methods to match the current team situation and make up. He made comments late last season that the team developed a lot quicker than he expected. And in a recent radio interview he mentioned the team needing to learn to win and alluded to some of the early season losses as not about talent. The optimistic side of me wants to combine those two things with the Houston signing and say Ballard realizes the team can win now and that you shouldn’t waste that always playing for tomorrow. That a more even balance between now and the long term is needed.

The reality is that it’s probably just the first one - a rare exception and not a shift in philosophy.