I wonder, just how much time does Irsay, Pagano and Ballard think the Colt's have ??? Year 6 of the franchise QB, with how may more before the Colt's are contenders again ??

I expect some signings today and in the next few days. Too many holes at LB NT CB S and RG, RB to try to fix in the draft.

No way we get 6 starters in the draft. Let me re phrase that. No way we get 6 starter quality players in the draft. They may start, but they shouldn't be.


Heard a stat that only 30% of draft picks actually become starters in the NFL

SO we should get one maybe two this draft and I am sure we will have to force at least 2 more to be starters.


Maybe Ballard will makes some trades... All I know is this team is depleted and depleted even more after DQ, Mathis, and Adams are gone, Butler not resigned.

Wow it really looks worse the more you think about just the average players we lost and were counting on

Budget???? What the hell is this suppose to mean???


http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...ing-the-colts/

Need to start making trades with Cleveland. These are just the top 65 picks.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...xt-two-drafts/


The number of draft picks they have in the next two years is crazy!!!

We haven't lost Butler yet. And if we do, this is a great DB class. I expect we'll use one of our earlier picks on CB or S.

There are plenty of needs obviously. But there are still some options out there. I think the only area that Ballard has potentially misstepped so far is guard. I think he should've paid Zeitler or Warford whatever it took to get them here. Our options now are TJ Lang and in-house competition.

At NT there is still Poe and Hankins. At ILB Hightower and Brown are there. There never were any premier OLB options, the best we're going to get is an Erik Walden replacement. Jabaal Sheard, John Simon, Connor Barwin (doubt it), Datone Jones. I could also see them go after a corner like Prince Amukamara or Morris Claiborne.

Overall I don't mind not overpaying some of the guys signed yesterday, minus Zeitler or Warford.

@MikeReiss
I'm told that free-agent DE Jabaal Sheard is scheduled to visit the Colts. Had visited Miami on Thursday.

Yay, two Patriots linebackers!

This one has actually produced in the past and has a track record (albeit one in which he saw his playing time scaled back some last year), but he'd assuredly instantly become our best pass rusher.

@pfrumors 19s20 seconds ago
While you were (probably) sleeping, the #Dolphins acquire DE William Hayes in trade with #Rams:

Does this give the Colts the upper hand at signing Jabaal Sheard now? He's from S. Florida, but doubt he'd like splitting time with Hayes....

A rebuild does not have to take many years, acquiring a few solid free agents can speed up the process. We have money to spend, I'd rather overpay for guys that will definitely be key contributors, than sit on our hands, and overpay for the scraps that are left, or pay for the "bargains" that don't normally work out, all the while leaving quite lot of money on the table.

You must have a huge boner of this

Or huge for you anyway

Sam Sheilds, Prince and Claiborne all available but after what AJ got these guys are going to get paid, even if they aren't as good.

Gonna have to address a couple of these positions in FA because there isn't enough picks to get all new starters in the draft. Unless your Cleveland.


I am settling in to this being a 2-3 yr rebuild and not a we can win it this yr year

He'd arguably be a better pass rusher than your boy Grigson ever acquired ever. I'm sure that makes you flaccid, but the rest of us I'm sure would be fairly happy over that improvement.

Mathis.

Hankins... or ....Poe?

Who do you want?

@HolderStephen 51s51 seconds ago
Former Texans LB John Simon signs a three-year deal with the Colts. Three years, $13.5 million, $5.5 guaranteed.

@HolderStephen 1m1 minute ago
Colts are putting some weight behind this. Simon will make about $6 million this year. This is not an afterthought signing

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/houston-t...ats-valuation/


Thoughts?

I admittedly don't know much about him, OSU Alum, 4 years in the NFL, NFL.com lists him as a DE, but everyone else says OLB.

Anyone have an opinion on him?

http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/53/55/10.../3/920x920.jpg

It looks like he and Luck have some familiarity atleast

These are the kind of signings I expected He has played pretty well the last couple of years, but hopefully our LB coach ... who is suppose to be outstanding... can improve him

Here's the PFF blurb (if you hate PFF, by all means drive thru, no need to stay and bitch):

https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro...rprise-upside/

Also, arguably, possibly the best pass rusher we've acquired in 5 years.

As far as Oline.... if there is any coach on this team that I trust its Philbin... maybe he sees what he needs with Clarke Haag.

I don't have any knowledge of the guy from tape but it stands to reason he was a solid rotational guy in Houston and the fact that he had 5 sacks at 60% snaps played. It also looks like he was on the upswing as he missed five games in 2016 and played only 120 fewer snaps than the year before.

He probably wont be great but I foresee a Walden level impact, which is nice because we don't have to pay Walden for those 11 sacks.

Good, now go get Brown and don't let Sheard get out of the building without a contract in hand.

https://twitter.com/nfldraftscout/st...06366132310016

Matt Miller: "This is a low key very good signing."

@MikeWellsNFL
Colts new linebacker John Simon is more of a run-stopping LB, which likely means the odds of Erik Walden being re-signed are slim

Our next OLB [EDGE] guy. Simon is one of the guys I wanted us to sign from day one so I like this. The price is excellent.

Simon as the EDGE guy with Sheard as the RUSH guy backed up by rookies and whichever of our guys make depth is solid.

Cheers,

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

John Simon Video
 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/wa...ix-for-texans/

And here is a video of our new guy picking off AZ and outrunning the TE for a pick 6.

@HolderStephen 2m2 minutes ago
So, to clarify, John Simon hasn't signed his deal yet. He's en route to Indianapolis now. Source also adds that final deal is $14M, $17M max......

Does this change your opinion at all on how good of a signing it is for us?

I like the simon deal. If we can land sheard and get a nice LB in the draft that will go a long way toward fixing a major problem on D

Brown is still out there too Still hoping for Poe or Hankins to shore up the middle then can get the best CB available with pick one

The people I listen to/read really liked Simon last year, FWIW. Thought he and DJ Reader were the guys more people should have been talking about on that Houston defense.

They improved the Walden spot. They still need rushers & ILBs.

The very first step I'd take towards fixing the D would be to find a real, live NFL quality Nose Tackle, someone like Vince Wilfork, who shuts down the run up the middle, and keeps OL'men away from our Linebackers.

Grigson's failaure to address the position is a complete and utter mystery. You can't run a 34 Defense without a rock at NT, and David Parry is barely a speed bump.

Until we fix the NT position, we'll never get good play at ILB. Ballard's gotta know this, and the only possible reason I can see that he hasn't jumped on Dontari Poe is that, either he figures that Poe is on the downside of his career or he's waiting for the initial free agent frenzy to settle in order to sign him to a more reasonable 2nd or 3rd day contract.

Good post

I was hoping to land bouye and get pass-rusher with #1

yes, a fatty in the middle would be nice. I assume ballard is waiting to see what the market does with those guys. hopefully we can get one on the cheap.

FA CB's are getting ridiculous money I'd roll with a draft pick here

If we do get a FA NT I think it'll be a short prove it contact, market seems pretty soft for interior DL.

2017 = $4m roster bonus (no pro-rate unlike signing bonus). $1.5m salary (guaranteed) and up too $500k in "likely to be earned" incentives per season play bonus if he plays in all 16 games (Doyle had the same clause...must be a Ballard thing ) for a "likely to be earned" cap hit of $6m.

In years 2 and 3, he has an "unlikely to be earned" bonus of up to $1.5m each year for Pro Bowl appearances and # if sacks.

Year 2 cap hit = $3.5m + possible $1.5m in ULTBE incentives.

Year 3 cap hit = $4m + possible $1.5m in ULTBE incentives.

Love this contract.

Cheers,



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Is this Ballard or is someone else the contract guy from the Grigson era?

The $31,250 per game played bonus adding up to $500k for the season is new.

The front loading the contract in the first year with roster bonus (not pro-rared) instead of signing bonus which is then pro-rated as cap hit in future years is new.

The "unlikely to be earned" bonus is something Grigson only did once I believe on Cherlius' contract I believe.

The first year guaranteed salary is not new nor is the level or decreasing cap hit over the years. Those both look like they did under Grigson.

Cheers,

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

In your opinion is this better? Or could it be why guys are chossing other teams if they were in negotiations with the Colts?