Frank Reich Still the Problem?

[omahacolt]

Originally Posted by MeSayDayo

Well what would you do if you were a GM making millions in the NFL working for a team in QB purgatory?

Take a stupid swing at a QB that isn't worth it and you're gone in 3 years instead of the six that Ballard has managed to pull off. He knew that the second Luck retired and found ways to prove his value just enough while treading water.

What really fucked everything up was Q, Leonard, Smith, Taylor, and Pittman ALL playing above where they were drafted (And that's saying a lot for Q who was #6 overall for a G). Paying Smith was justified at the time, and the same goes for Leonard and Nelson. He absolutely had to pay them, and they earned it.
How could anyone have forecasted the obscene regression from almost everyone on O? None of us did, nobody in the media did, and I don't think the coaches did either. If the line was that bad wouldn't we have heard more chatter in the preseason? I would like to believe that Ballard or Grigson or my 6 year old daughter would have made a move before the season if they foresaw the line being this big of a dumpster fire.
Hell we could have traded Leonard for a LT straight up before the season started.
Now we are saddled with Shaq's payday and mental health tweets for the next full season before it actually becomes feasible to dump him. Don't get me wrong- he has been an unbelievably productive player for us...but something never sat right with me having our 225 pound linebacker making 130 tackles a season. At some point, that Hyundai was gonna break down.

As for the other guys- I think we will get Smith and Q on track and they will stick around. Kelly has pretty well played himself off the team- and it sucks because of the shit he has had to endure- but I have full confidence that a change of scenery will actually do wonders for him and his wife, and he could have a nice ending to his career with another team. Total trade candidate there for us.

Hines? Yah we kinda fucked that one up too- Not worth the contract, incredibly replaceable player...glad we got something for him and someone that would take his shitty contract.

im not so mad about the qb situation as i am always having the same major issues and always having a ton of cap space. i have no interest in winning the most cap in the nfl award.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by omahacolt

im not so mad about the qb situation as i am always having the same major issues and always having a ton of cap space. i have no interest in winning the most cap in the nfl award.

https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/indianapolis-colts

If you click on the 2023 tab it says the cap space for next year is:

$33,956,686

So, is that a ton of space? Its a serious question.

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by JAFF

https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/indianapolis-colts

If you click on the 2023 tab it says the cap space for next year is:

$33,956,686

So, is that a ton of space? Its a serious question.

Not really. We have just 39 players under contract for next year. Means we have to fill 12-14 spots with that $39M. If we add 12 players at 1.5M per, that leaves $21M to use to bid on free agents. You might get one real stud, or two almost at that level with that money. By real stud, I mean a top 5 player at his position, and those rarely even make it to free agency without being tagged.

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Racehorse

Not really. We have just 39 players under contract for next year. Means we have to fill 12-14 spots with that $39M. If we add 12 players at 1.5M per, that leaves $21M to use to bid on free agents. You might get one real stud, or two almost at that level with that money. By real stud, I mean a top 5 player at his position, and those rarely even make it to free agency without being tagged.

The team doesn’t need a “real stud” in free agency. They need to shore up the weak areas with average level players. Major weaknesses get exposed. That has always been my issue with Ballard’s use of free agency and his roster management. Every year they have one of two major holes that he expects to be filled with a rookie or a basement level player until he can fill it in the draft. And damn near every year it bites them.

The team also has the least amount of prorated money owed in the future in the league. They straight line their contracts more than every team in the league. You can argue that’s a good thing. But it comes at a cost - leaving major holes year after year.

[ChoppedWood]

Originally Posted by rm1369

The team doesn’t need a “real stud” in free agency. They need to shore up the weak areas with average level players. Major weaknesses get exposed. That has always been my issue with Ballard’s use of free agency and his roster management. Every year they have one of two major holes that he expects to be filled with a rookie or a basement level player until he can fill it in the draft. And damn near every year it bites them.

The team also has the least amount of prorated money owed in the future in the league. They straight line their contracts more than every team in the league. You can argue that’s a good thing. But it comes at a cost - leaving major holes year after year.

Pryor at LT, alone, is an offense worth termination, without debate, you are THAT bad at assessing weakness that you permit that dude to represent the blind side protection- no dude, you gotta go.

[omahacolt]

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood

Pryor at LT, alone, is an offense worth termination, without debate, you are THAT bad at assessing weakness that you permit that dude to represent the blind side protection- no dude, you gotta go.

you can't really argue this is wrong tbh

[IndyNorm]

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood

Pryor at LT, alone, is an offense worth termination, without debate, you are THAT bad at assessing weakness that you permit that dude to represent the blind side protection- no dude, you gotta go.

At the very least Ballard should agree to no more ricockulously stupid experiments with his reclamation projects at super important positions like LT.

Also, whoever does the OL evaluating on his staff probably needs to be shown the door. On top of the Pryor shit storm we also had the Pinter debacle. They had 2 years to evaluate him and still thought it was a good idea to start him at a position he was nowhere near capable of handling.

[omahacolt]

Originally Posted by JAFF

https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/indianapolis-colts

If you click on the 2023 tab it says the cap space for next year is:

$33,956,686

So, is that a ton of space? Its a serious question.

no

but i am talking in general. we have had holes on the team and a lot of cap space.

[YDFL Commish]

Originally Posted by omahacolt

im not so mad about the qb situation as i am always having the same major issues and always having a ton of cap space. i have no interest in winning the most cap in the nfl award.

I so much agree. I look at what Howie Rozeman does with Eagles. He identifies a problem at DT and goes out and signs Joseph and Suh, who came up big vs the Colts.

He realizes he made a mistake drafting Raegor at WR, move on and trades for AJ Brown.

Ballard doesn't do that. The young guys gotta play mantra gets old, when the young guys don't produce.

[Oldcolt]

I prefer a head coach that has a general control of the team and is involved on the sidelines, encouraging players and having a 'feel' for what is going on during the game. Having the play calling responsibility made that impossible for Frank to do.