I'd rather they tank this season.

[Coltsalr]

Originally Posted by Indiana V2

I disagree, if Luck is healthy you don't shelve him for the season, I don't see the benefit there. Besides, Chuck is still the coach, so they won't win many games anyway.

But will they win enough games for Irsay to keep him around?

[bertjones]

I'm torn. Unless you're the Spurs you never get the stink of tanking
out of you, it shows up somewhere. On the other hand I shudder at the
thought of entrusting Andrew's recently repaired shoulder to this
miserable offensive line, incompetent coaching staff and testicle challenged
receiving corps.

[albany ed]

Originally Posted by Coltsalr

But will they win enough games for Irsay to keep him around?

No.

[sherck]

Considering that Luck is not yet practicing with the team, I find it a stretch that he will be ready for even the Week 4 CLE game in 2 weeks.

As such, he will be looking at joining a team that is 1-3 at best and quite possibly 0-4 as Cleveland is actually showing some signs of life as a team even though they are also 0-2 right now.

That is a pretty hard hole for him to dig the team out of in order to make the playoffs or have a winning record. Going 8-4 or 9-3 for the rest of the season will be a big chore. I hope Pagano is done in Indy.

I also hope that Ballard is smart enough to have come in, realized how bad the roster is, knew that a total rebuild was in order and also knew that if he kept Clappy McWoodchopper for 1 more season in which we were going nowhere anyway, he could then fire him and burn off much of the excess anger from the fan base while getting his star QB healthy and having a 2nd off-season of talent acquisition to further rebuild the team.

I hope that is the case rather than Ballard being convinced that Clappy was a quality NFL Head Coach and that Tolzien was an NFL quality #2 QB. If he believed that, then this franchise is doomed.

Walk Worthy,

[Pez]

Cleveland is next week (week 3), I dont see Luck playing in that one if he hasnt practiced, and I am not sure they will want to start him against the Seahawks in week 4 either. Maybe against the 49ers... at which point we could very easily be 0-4.

[Indystu2]

Colts are underdogs to the Browns? Holy **** Batman!

[Coltsalr]

I could see us beating the Browns, in the same sense that I saw us potentially winning yesterday. I don't think this is going to be like 2011 where we're just getting laughed out of the building every week. Had we stuck with Tolzien then yes I think it would've been (in the same sense that we idiotically stuck with Collins/Painter for far, far too long in 2011), but with Brissett at the helm, I truly think every game is going to be competitive.

This really isn't a tough schedule at all. If we were better in just a few areas (namely coaching, but we're obviously all aware of our various position deficiencies as well) and had a healthy Luck, then we really could roll through the schedule and the division without too much trouble at all.

[Lov2fish]

You say that like there is a chance they won't. lol. Inept coaching, lack of talent in key positions and it was set in stone before the season started. How bad we were going to be was the only unknown.

[1965southpaw]

I can't believe we are having this conversation. If these young guys are led to think it's ok to lose now for a better draft pick you will NEVER turn that thinking around. A culture of losing breeds more losing. With good talent assessment and a smart approach to free agency Ballard will have plenty of opportunity to rebuild this roster in the next few years. It's not going to be a quick fix. I see NO scenario where Pagano is back next year. I think the ONLY question is if he's a mid season fire. As for Andrew I hope he's back for the 49s week 5. It's not like he doesn't benefit from playing just because it's a weak roster. He still needs to work on his decision making and can take the next step in his development. He's got some pretty considerable rust to work off. It may be a crappy season but this fan girl will continue to watch every crappy minute. I admit it. I'm addicted.