2011 Colts Preseason thread: Week 1 @ Rams 8/13

[UKfan]

All the cuts are out, from IndyStar

DB-Al Afalava
P-Travis Baltz
WR-Chris Brooks
DE-John Chick
LB-Chris Colasanti
OG-Kyle DeVan
TE-Tyson DeVree
DT-John Gill
WR-David Gilreath
DB-Michael Hamlin
DT-Tommie Harris
RB-Javarris James
DB-Brandon King
OL-Jake Kirkpatrick
DT-Ricardo Mathews
TE-Michael Matthews
OG-Jacques McClendon
WR-Larrone Moore
LB-Kerry Neal
DT-Ollie Ogbu
QB-Dan Orlovsky
WR-Taj Smith (Waived/Injured)
OT-Mike Tepper
OT-Michael Toudouze, LB-Nate Triplett, LB-Vuna Tuihalamaka, and WR-Marshall Williams.

Pick the bones out of that...

[RCAChainGang]

If Donald Brown and Hughes get cut I will be happy. Chad Spann although isn't proven has much more upside than Donald Brown. I can't believe they cut Harris. He was actually playing well.

[UKfan]

See above, Brown and Hughes weren't cut

[killxswitch]

QB's (3) Manning, Collins, Painter - Fine, though Painter is a joke.

RB's (5) Addai, Brown, Carter, Evans, Spann - Still think Brown gets traded, we don't need 5 RBs

WR's (5) Wayne, Collie, Garcon, Gonzalez, White - Boom or bust, depends on health. Surprised Gonzo is still there.

TE's (4) Clark, Tamme, Eldridge, McNeil - I said a few weeks ago they should trade Tamme and use McNeill. I wonder if that's the plan.

OL (8) Castanzo, Linkenbach, Diem, Ijalana, Pollak, Reitz, Saturday, Richard - what a sorry-ass list. Cutting Devan, Tepper, and even Kirkpatrick and keeping Pollak and Richard is the dumbest roster move since drafting Donald Brown.

DE's (5) Freeney, Mathis, Anderson, Brayton, Hughes - Fine, solid depth.

DT's (4) Johnson, Moala, Nevis, Foster - Needlessly thin here. Maybe dumber than the OL cuts. Cutting Mathews, Ogbu, and Harris and then keeping Foster is so, so stupid.

LB's (7) Angerer, Brackett, Conner, Sims, Glenn, Moten, Wheeler - Good decisions here, I'm glad they kept Moten. I think he will be a good player.

S's (4) Bethea, Bullit, Lefeged, Caldwell - Really thin here, maybe Merriweather improves things.

CB's (6) Powers, Lacey, Tryon, Johnson, Thomas, Rucker - Depth is alright but talent level is low. As always Lacey should not start.

K (1) Vinatieri

P (1) McAfee

LS (1) Snow

[falloutboy14]

Very shocked that we let Harris go. Was hoping he and Nevis would tear things up. Definately think we could us a 5th DT more than 5 RBs. Surprised Anderson made the team over him.

[killxswitch]

Supposedly it was an issue with his attitude. He thought he was better than everybody or some nonsense. But Mathis tweeted that he was sorry to see him go and that he learned some good things from him in the short time Harris was on the team. I think Harris just wasn't impressed with the ******** coaching and didn't kiss someone's ass.

[V.I.P]

Having a debate on the Bucs forum with a dumb fan who thinks Mathis isn't a Top 10 DE. Give me a good response to tell him. Here's what he said...

2 things with Mathis. 1st, I agree with what you all see in him. He's a very good PASS RUSHER. Don't expect much against the run at all. Don't expect him to redirect anything or create for others. 2nd, when Freeney isn't playing, he's invisible. I view him as a beneficiary of Freeney's presence on the field, similar to Ray Edwards with the Vikings, only Mathis is a better at exploiting the 1 on 1 matchups he faces.

[killxswitch]

Sorry VIP but I agree with a lot of that. He does use his quickness and various pass rush moves to get around blockers and make a few plays here and there in the run game. More than you'd expect from a guy his size. But there's a reason that up until recently he only played on passing downs. With Jamaal Anderson making the team they will probably go back to that some.

edit: as for top 10 DEs, I haven't thought about this before but here are the 4-3 guys I rank above him.

- Freeney
- Mario Williams
- Julius Peppers
- Jared Allen
- Justin Tuck
- Trent Cole
- maybe Elvis Dumervil
- probably Brian Orkapo

That's it, so I would still call him a top 10 4-3 DE.

[cmarq83]

Originally Posted by killxswitch

Sorry VIP but I agree with a lot of that. He does use his quickness and various pass rush moves to get around blockers and make a few plays here and there in the run game. More than you'd expect from a guy his size. But there's a reason that up until recently he only played on passing downs. With Jamaal Anderson making the team they will probably go back to that some.

edit: as for top 10 DEs, I haven't thought about this before but here are the 4-3 guys I rank above him.

- Freeney
- Mario Williams
- Julius Peppers
- Jared Allen
- Justin Tuck
- Trent Cole
- maybe Elvis Dumervil
- probably Brian Orkapo

That's it, so I would still call him a top 10 4-3 DE.

I'd still put a handful of guys ahead of him including: John Abraham, Osi Umenyora, Chris Long, and Charles Johnson. However, to me a DE needs to be a 2 way player. I'd rather have a 8 sack 2 way player than a 12 sack liability in the running game.

[MaxV]

Colts claimed FB Chris Gronkowski off waivers, put Chad Spann on IR.

http://www.indystar.com/article/2011...yssey=nav|head


I don't get some of these decisions. I hope there is a method to this madness.

[jjmt2500]

Heard a rumor that Peyton needs another neck surgury... Any truth to this???

[MaxV]

Nothing confirmed yet.

[RCAChainGang]

My prediction is we see him out for some time.
This might be a rough year guys.

[SolidGold]

I wonder if the Colts will try to establish some sort of run game w/out Manning. They picked up Gronkowski, when is the last time they had a pure FB. I think Addai and Delone Carter could at least establish a physical style of running for the Colts.

[MaxV]

If he misses more then a month, they might as well shut him down for the whole season.

They won't be able to come back from a 0-4 or 0-5 season anyway.

[falloutboy14]

At this point I think I'd rather he be IRd instead of coming back week 5-6 and finishing 8-8. With all the adjustments that Manning does & Manning's presence, we still can't run the ball. Without Manning, either we win the Luck sweepstakes, or we pick up a top DT/WR/whoever.

FWIW, Clayton says he'll start Sunday.

If we get the first pick, and Manning has 2-4 years left. Do you take Luck, or trade for a king's ransom? I'm leaning towards Luck. Would be sad to see Manning go early, let alone to another team. But Not For Long. Have a feeling the loyalty in the club wouldn't let that happen though.

[Bob Sanders Dreadlock]

If he is going to miss the first chunk of the season let it ride out. I just want to see how bad they can be without him manning(lol) the helm. Mostly a middle finger to the Polian family.

[Seamus2602]

Until whatever time the Colts deactivate him or the moment Kerry Collins walks onto the field on Sunday I am going to keep going by the assumption that Manning will play. This could all just be kidology. Lull the Texans into a false sense of security.

[killxswitch]

I don't think it's impossible for the Colts to win a couple games with Collins as the starter. With a new OL, a FB, two power runners in Carter and Evans, and lots of 2 TE sets (since everyone past Garcon on the WR depth chart is hurt anyway) I expect the Colts will run the ball a lot more. That will keep the defense fresh and Wayne and Garcon might get open more if the defense isn't in nickel all game long.

If Manning can't come back in week 6 it'll make less and less sense for him to come back at all. I have no interest in an 8 wins or less this season.

If Manning does miss the season and the Colts have the option to draft Luck, they should either just take him and be happy, or trade with another top 5 draft team for 2 first rounders and maybe some other picks. Then let either Matt Barkley or Landry Jones sit behind Manning for 2 or 3 years to learn and improve.

Make no mistake, and I've said this before, if Manning is so hurt that he can't come back this season, he will not be able to play out the rest of his contract. If he goes on IR, the Colts HAVE to draft a QB. And they should be in good position to do so.

[MaxV]

Colts' sign DeAndre McDaniel.

http://www.tigernet.com/view/player_update.do?id=2591

Well, we'll see if you guys were right about this guy.

[killxswitch]

I'm happy they signed him but it'll be hard to make the roster when he hasn't had camp or preseason games in the system. I think he's a good player but I'm not sure he has a chance this year. I hope he does.

[MaxV]

I've started the official regular season thread.

http://draftcountdown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48601