best red-zone TE in football

still don't like it. you are correct in that the throw was bad, but why put luck luck in that situation to begin with. in the superbowl when you need a TD for a win and no one is expecting it, ok. playing the fins when you are 5-5 and trying to get a first down, not the best choice imo.

No he isn't. 11 games, 11 TDs is a 16 TD pace.

Fair enough... I stand humbly corrected.

But fuck Gronk.

Agreed on a few things already posted:
- Mack going down too easily - arm tackles really?
- T.Y. not reaching for the 1st down on that early drive. All he had to do reach the ball out.
- Tackling reverted back to stupid
- running into a player does not constitute a tackle! wrap the F up!
- our D seems to go into a "prevent" at the end of the half, we all know what that does
- Stick to the run when it is working, went away from it for a while there

SO glad we eeked that win out. Jeez.

He could score more than one TD in a game. Not exactly a reach.

Hasn't he scored 5 in the last 2?

No, the last 2 games are:

2 receiving TD's vs. Miami - Week 12
0 receiving TD's vs. Tenn (wasn't even targeted the entire game) - Week 11

He did have 2 receiving TD's and 1 rushing TD the week before vs JAX - Week 10.

Last three, he was a distraction against the Titans. Losing Doyle will hurt though because Doyle allows Ebron to be the h-back that he is and not have to block so much.

Why didn't their defense see that. Good catch by Luck though. Maybe he can throw to himself when the other guys get the dropsies.

Easy to say this, but a lot harder to prove. Can't we just be happy that the Colts are much better than most here expected this year? Free agency may have helped, but may have hurt too. No way to really say how signing "a cornerback" or "a wide receiver" would have impacted the games played this year. Who did you have in mind?

Minkah thought it was a run play and bit on going to the RB/QB. This left Luck (almost) wide open.

Free agency is not a magical button to push to get an instant upgrade at a position.

Signing Norwell might have helped solve our problems at OG....but instead we ended up solving that issue with two much lower priced free agents (Slauson and Glowinski) whom, quite honestly, were having much better years than Norwell did before Slauson and Norwell headed to IR.

While I too did want another "splash' free agent or three this off season, I will put some faith in Ballard. So far, he has built a team that is exceeding my expectations for the season.

Let's see what he does in 2019 free agency. If we still end the off-season with $40m + left in the bank, I will be a bit peeved at that point.

Walk Worthy,

I will add that much of those dollars will likely be pushed into future years to pay for upcoming FA players from our own team, which is wise. In reality, it will give us a shot at keeping a very good team intact for a small window of sustained excellence.

However, we will likely add a piece or two this offseason to try to put us over the top next year.

I agree with almost everything you said, except that I think you may be disappointed on your last point - I'm guessing we'll still have a sizable amount of cap room after the offseason.

From what I've read, and as Racehorse alluded to, Ballard is planning on keeping the cap room available to sign our own free agents. Since we don't have any major free agents scheduled to hit the market this offseason, I think we're in for another offseason like the last one - a few mid-market guys, and an outside chance at a larger signing - but likely conservative overall.

Maybe he'll make an effort to resign Kelly to a longer term deal, since if I'm not mistaken he'll be a free agent in 2020. The injury history worries me a little, but he's certainly played well enough to earn a second contract.

Of course you can’t prove it. Not at this point. Pretty easy to see that Inman was a vast improvement. Mike Mitchell? Yep. Great add.

Maybe I am wrong but I can’t imagine we would be worse off by adding better talent. Usually that works out.

Haha - funny. Of course adding better players usually improves a team. My point is this: most of the free agents people here were pining for have underperformed, so adding them may not have helped at all. Imagine if we had signed Norwall - how would that have played out for us? Would we have drafted Nelson? How would Norwall's underperformance (if we assume he'd perform similar to how he performed in JAX) have affected our offensive line performance, and by extension, our entire offensive production? Yes, we'd have less cap space available, but would we have been better off?

Theorizing about adding "good' players is tempting, but ultimately foolhardy because there's no way to know how it would have played out, how the player's involvement would have affected the overall team performance, player development, and team chemistry.

I'm just saying that I'm happy with how things have turned out. If the team was 1-10 at this point and the draft picks had flamed out, then I guess I'd be ok with this type of criticism. But given what's happened this year, and the dramatic change in team perception, I'll disagree with it.

Didnt Steve Young do this one time? Threw the ball and it was tipped. He ran up and caught his own pass. I may be thinking of someone else.

I think Ballard is cautious in this regard and is very cognizant of dollar valuye as well as cultural value.

Look at some guy like Glowinski. Solid lineman, 26 years old his role and does his job. Our staff has managed to get more from him than his last season in Seattle, and he signed a 1 year deal for minimum. There is value in signing him again in 2019.

Nobody gives a shit if you are “ok” with the criticism.

Some free agents are misses. Like Howard. Some are good. Like Inman and Mitchell. Like glowinski. Being on the outside of the playoffs with 60 million in the bank is valid criticism. Whether you like it or not.

Worst case, a healthy Luck is going to get you 8 wins. Every time. Give that man as much talent around him as you can. Anything else is dumb

Mariota did against the chiefs for a td in the playoffs

We shouldn't have signed Ebron since he underperformed with the Lions... oh wait!

Seriously you dont really know how someone will perform where. But to stand pat when he could have made the team better is unacceptable. It's his job to make the team better sooner not later... he has done some good things dont get me wrong. But there is a short window in the NFL.... Dont wait if you have the resources to do it now!

If Quincy Wilson is a Pro Bowl caliber corner in 2020 and is a major part of the Colts winning the Super Bowl that year, would he have gotten there if a veteran was taking his snaps in 2018?

Can't we just listen to Ballard and accept that 2018 was never about putting the absolute best team on the field? It was about development of the young talent on the roster to better set up the team for 2019-->. Some of you can complain about that approach, but compare this team to the likes of KC, NO, and LAR. No moves this offseason would have put the Colts in that class. The foundation of the team needed more time. Maybe they're in that realm in 2019 with more experience, another solid draft, and some key free agent acquisitions.

I agree that it seems like we should spend some of the money we have to get a WR or a some help on defense (perhaps a TE now that Jack is IRd).

The things we need to be careful of is again, value, not just dollars but value within our system and within our culture.

The Patriots have this bullshit cult of personality around BB and TB, despite everyone hating it outside of New England, it works. They cultivate it with personnel that are content with scraps of approval from BB's table and the chance to win another championship.

Andre Johnson wanted to win a championship, almost as bad as Grigson wanted to prove he was the smartest guy in the room.

So we signed Johnson and paid him 7.5 million for 42 catches and 4 TDs.

Ebron is a guy that wants to have an opportunity to start and get a fresh start someonwhere other than the toxic environment that Detroit became for him.

We sign Ebron and paid him 6.5 million for 44 catches and 11 TDs.

Look, there’s a long term plan in place which, for some reason, you seem intent on torpedoing. You’re preferred approach has been proven incorrect over and over again, but you still insist on whining about the Colts’ free cap space. I gave you a perfectly good real-world example of this, but you ignore it because it doesn’t fit your world view and then you whine even more.

Yes, it’s easy enough to identify the good moves the Colts made after the fact (Mitchell, Glowinski, Inman, etc.), but how about providing some specific recommendations going forward? I’ve invited you to do this repeatedly, and you just ignore it. I get that this seems to be your shtick here, but who did you advocate the Colts use their cap space to sign this last offseason? Let talk about how those moves would have played out.

The Colts have exceeded nearly everyone’s expectations so far. That’s a fact. Yet you still criticize and complain that they should have done things differently. Yes, of course it is good to surround Luck with “as much talent around him as you can” – but I’ve challenged you to explain what talent you are referring to, and whether it would be any better than what we currently have. All I hear in response is crickets.

I'm sorry if I was not clear - I was not saying the Colts shouldn't have signed any free agents. Ebron was a great signing, no question. My point is that I'm happy with where the Colts are now - the players, draft picks and free agents they have signed.

My point is that it's simplistic and foolish to say that we could now be a contender by signing some "good" free agents. My example of Norwall was to illustrate that changing the Colts approach last season would have a domino effect on other areas of the team that Colts fans might not like so much. Would we have Nelson? Would we have Leonard? These are valid questions, and all thing considered, I'm happy with how things turned out.

I give a shit that Chaka is ok with criticism. And on this point I think he is absolutely correct. I understand that you think we should not have this much cap space available. You are wrong. Just look at the team that we have put on the field and where they are heading. I am saying that there were exactly zero players available in free agency last year who I can point to who would have definitely improved our win total. There were zero free agents I would have wanted to sit one of our young guys down for and impede their development. Our cap space will be used to sign real impact players, our own (nobody, nobody ever lets their impact players hit free agency except in incredibly rare instances). Show me the error of my thinking so I can join you in not giving a shit about Chaka.

Colts lead the league in snaps by 1st and 2nd year players at 42% (next is 39% in SF)

A 14 point solo play in fantasy... 6 for the TD pass, 6 for the TD catch, 1 for the reception and 1 for the rec yards. Other than that, fuck Mariota.

To continue to beat a dead horse, Norwell was the one guy I think we all thought we needed to sign. If we signed him we would have had a lot less cap space (he makes 13 mil a year). Our team would also be worse than it is now. Before his injury he was not playing at all pro level. Average or a little below. One of our guards is all world and getting better and the other one is well above average. Both cost way less than Norwell. Good move not signing him Ballard.

Omaha, man it’s a lost cause. When the team is 1-5 it’s evidence of how far away the team is and proof a few vet free agents wouldn’t have helped. When the team is 6-5 and Ballard is surprised at where the team is it’s proof that his methods worked - even better than expected. You can’t win.

It’s amazing to me how well the mantra has stuck. I reread the off-season free agency thread a month or so ago and I couldn’t find one person saying the team should shun free agency because you had to build a core first, etc. Not one. But now it’s so ingrained that even suggesting that a few vet free agents would have amplified the good work Ballard has already done is basically blasphemy. It’s amazing that the team found 3 throw away free agents that have significantly helped when apparently no other vets could. Lucky I guess.

I’m amazed at some of the arguments. If Wilson turns in to a pro bowler would he have got there with a vet in front of him? That’s crazy to me considering Wilson fell on the depth chart because of his poor play after being basically gifted a spot. And that he attributes his recent better performance to things he’s learned from Mitchel! The exact type of vet that I believed the team needed more of. If Wilson had pro bowl corner potential and wasn’t unlocking it because a mediocre vet was in fromt of him then you have the wrong damn coaches or a player with a shitty mindset. Players learn a lot from being able to pick vets brains and see the work ethic, film study, and how they take care of their bodies. I find it amazing that that’s now seen as a negative. All because the mantra that’s been preached: build a culture thru the draft. I didn’t see one of you preaching it prior to free agency though.

Please name those few free agent vets that would have amplified his work. And yes I wanted more free agents to be signed. I now believe that Ballard actually understood the situation better than me. I was wrong then (and yes I could be wrong now). I've changed my mind because the facts before me have changed. Ballard was correct when we were 1-5 and he is correct now.

You sign two high caliber UFAs at corner last offseason and there's a good chance Wilson gets cut earlier this year.

Except Ballard DIDN'T "avoid" big name players in FA. He just wouldn't pay them what they wanted, so they went elsewhere. This was not a rigid plan. He pursued multiple FAs (as many here have said previously in their defense of Ballard), but wasn't willing to pay top dollar.

This narrative isn't even Ballard's. It's something some fans push because they want to hold Ballard up as infallible. Which makes no sense.

Again. Criticism isn't hate. No one is saying "Ballard is the worst GM and should be fired" or even saying he's doing a bad job. No one is perfect or above criticism.

Same goes the other way. Not everyone defending the few UFA additions last offseason are claiming Ballard is the best GM and should get a lifetime contract.

All I've been saying is that it doesn't matter that he didn't sign an Allen Robinson or an Andrew Norwell last year. The team would still be out of the playoffs in the first or second round. Now, Ballard can go into 2019 with a clearer picture of his roster and more cap space to help turn next year's (or 2020's) team into a real contender. 2018 is about development and evaluation. If they win in the process, then that's icing on the cake.

I don't hold him up as infallible in the least. I do think he has done a better job than most would have. I would love to discuss his mistakes. The complaint seems to be he should have signed some really good players. OK Who?

sorry to get in the way of the latest free agency pissing match...but I'm just getting caught up from traveling and wanted to clarify what was planned on that 4th down based on what we heard from Reich and Luck pressers after the game......

The plan was NOT for Brisset to throw to Luck. The plan was for Brisset to run for the first down. Luck was in as a decoy figuring that the Phins scouted that play from the prior week. When their defense didn't bite and lined up w/no body covering Luck Brisset and Luck changed the play.......pretty sure it was a player decision and not a coaching decision. Pretty sure they both heard about it later,

I accept that is what he is doing. I just think it is wrong.

And I'm not claiming it's "right." I'm just saying you and rm are getting your panties in a twist for no good reason. Only championships matter and no big UFA signings last offseason would have made a material difference in this team's odds to win their next Super Bowl, this season or in the future.

The cap space has to be used at some point. Why not use it when it maximizes the team's chance to win a title?

They did that with Pagano and Grigson. Threw money and picks around and it didn't work well.

I like what Ballard is doing. He has HIS guys as a foundation. When there is a free agent he thinks will work here, he's going to go get him. He didn't flinch going after McDaniels as a coach. He didn't hesitate when McDaniels screwed us, (thank you Jesus) he was decisive and Reich was perfect.

And while hindsight is perfect, what top name, top of his game player was going to sign in Indy with Luck's health a major mystery. Luck's play is going to increase interest in this next off season.