This is my first FanPost here in many many moons.  But I had an idea tonight that I could NOT refrain from putting out on to the Interwebz.  I was trying to think of a way that the league could accomplish their most important goals:

• Create more league revenue
• Provide a longer season for fans
• Mitigate the effect of player injuries
• Increase the level of on-the-field play
• Add some aspects to please the player's union

Part I:  The New, Longer Schedule

First off, I realized that 18 games could very well mean the end of the NFL.  Not immediately, but over time.  But the league says fans want to enjoy the NFL for longer each year.  Makes sense, and I believe that.  But fans want a longer, more enjoyable season without endless injuries.  So here is my compromise:  a 19 week season with each team receiving three byes.  In order to accommodate this, for 13 weeks, from Week 3 to Week 15, 12 teams get a bye.  Six teams from each conference.

Now, you might ask, "Why the hell would the networks go along with this?"  One might say that for the majority of the season each network would have three less games, and that means less money, right?  I don't think so.  The NFL is one of the few sports that people watch even when they don't have a horse in the race.  And with a slightly less games, this means that those football eyes on any one weekend tune into the other games.  What does that mean?  Higher ratings for those games.  And remember, there is still the same amount of games in the season.  It's just drawn out a couple of weeks more.  So, on balance, I believe we have the same amount of revenue at a minimum, if not a good percent more.

This also allows more time in the season for coaching, resting, and making adjustments.  The result will be a better on-the-field product.

Part II:  Say Hello to the Injured Reserve and Practice Squad

So how do we allow teams to do what's best for injured players but still allow the team to compete?  Create a more flexible system for dealing with injuries.  First off?  Complement Injured Reserve as we know it with a Rehabilitation Squad.  How would it work?  A team could put a player on the RS at any time during the regular season.  The player does not count against the active roster but receives his full pay.  The team may promote a player from the practice squad, sign a free agent, or make a trade to fill the roster spot.  When the player is ready to return to the field, the team has to wait until a bye week or the end of the regular season to add the player back to the roster.  If the player that was added to the roster for the injured player came from the practice squad, he may return to the practice squad without clearing waivers.

The practice squad also grows to 15 players.  Teams can also tender practice squad players up to a fourth round tender.  The highest tender would pay the player 75% of the rookie minimum, this amount does count towards the salary cap.  This allows teams to plan better for possible injury situations and have the right player in place in case of an injury.  Tendered players that are signed to the active roster can be demoted to the practice squad on their original tender without clearing waivers.

Part III: Rookie Pay Structure

The last step to make (nearly) everyone happy, let's change the rookie pay structure.  First off, a player entering the league can receive no signing bonus.  Salary can be no more than the mean salary of a third year player at his position, and can only increase year-over-year the same as any other player's salary.  The initial contract for all players is three years.  An extension can be reached only after the second season.  Roster bonuses may not be used the first year, and can not exceed the player's salary in the proceeding years.  Performance incentives may not total more than the player's salary for the same year.

This step could transfer a huge amount of money from rookies to proven veterans and therefore allow non-superstar veterans to increase their pay.  It would also mitigate the disastrous effect missing on a high draft pick can have on a team already struggling to compete.  This increases parity and therefore overall fan interest in the sport.

 

Some of the other things I would like to see addressed would be prorating salary cap hits for playing time missed due to injury and league using a percent of league profits to fund construction of new stadiums up to a certain level.  Beyond that, I believe that the above steps could change the future prospects of the league for the better if they were all implemented in the new CBA.  Please feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think of this concept.

I don't have a lot of time to research this, so I'm going to throw out a few suggestions for what the Colts should do now that they have placed WR Anthony Gonzalez on the Injured Reserve.  It is obvious that the Colts have been just fine without this roster spot being utilized, but it is small moves like this that solidify a team heading into the postseason.

The question is, do the Colts look to elevate a player from the practice squad, or do they look outside the organization for a contributor?  There are very few players out there seem to make much sense for the Colts to sign.  I know that many people say that we should go get Keiwan Ratliff due to his outstanding play in a few games for the Colts last year(namely the Steelers game, where he played lights out).  I also know that most fans are just dying for someone, anyone, to leapfrog Tim Jennings on the depth chart.

But, at the end of the day, does a Ratliff signing ensure that this happens?  Probably not.  The Colts coaching staff obviously like what they have in Jennings.  He general keeps his man in front of him and does not allow yards after the catch do to sure tackling and good closing speed.  He just doesn't have the instincts and cover technique to use that speed to make a play on the enough.  He is also usually just plain out-sized by the receivers he covers.  Ratliff doesn't offer a whole lot more than this, and has no time in Larry Coyer's new defensive scheme.  One thing you could argue is that Ratliff will not be expected to perform at a high level for almost a month, and in theory should be able to absorb the changes rather quickly.  And, of course, he may be one of those players - like Clint Session and Gary Brackett - who thrive in this system.

Considering that, my best suggestion would be to elevate one of three players to the active roster.  Those three are:

• WR Samuel Giguere #14 - A tough, physically imposing receiver that has not got time due to his need to adjust from the Canadian game to the American game.
• WR Taj Smith #10 - A quick, shifty receiver with soft hands that showed a lot of ability in the preseason and camp.  Might also be a possible return man.
• DB Terrail Lambert - Dime and Quarter packages might be more common in the playoffs, and I don't know how much the Colts trust Francisco or TJ Rushing to step on the field and defend in crunch time.  Haven't seen much info on this guy, but he's on the PS for a reason

All of these guys have been in the organization for a while and know our schemes.  Probably the best overall option would be Taj Smith since he is pretty much a known commodity.  I believe that is the way they go unless they are interested in another veteran free agent at some position, or if health becomes an issue somewhere.  There just doesn't seem to be a lot of talent out there.
Post your thoughts on what should happen below.

Here's a little open thread for those of you with nothing better to do while listening to the Bill Polian show tonight, and to talk before the Game tonight.  This should be a great show with all the records we set yesterday.

Make sure to go here if you want to listen to the show online.(tip to thebossuzzi).

Let's keep it classy and keep the LOLCats to a minimum, at least until after the show.  Thanks a lot.

Below I've added the player for the show for the late comers....

 

I'm trying to help ou t shake and BBS tonight, and give my sick self something to do.  So, here is your Thursday night open thread!  Please note that I have spent the majority of the past 36 hours sleeping, coughing, and reading ICanHasCheezburger FAILBlog and upnextinsports.  So I am all the way LOLed up.

 

Bring your A game tonight folks.

 

Also, I still lack proper internet facilities in the new abode, so I am connected at the astonishing speed of an EDGE cellular network.  Therefore, I will not be watching the game itself.   Let's have a good, clean open thread tonight and may all be merry and cheerful!

Well, this will probably be rolled into something on the front page (right you are -shake), but I'm bored now so I wanted to start the open thread now.  Please feel free to talk about basically anything, even football if that's your fancy.  Some people might ask that you limit pictures of cat's and other memory killers.  I'm not one of them.  We have one of the best open thread communities in all of SB Nation and therefore anywhere, so let's stick with what got us here.

It'll be up to Sticky Ricky and Pat White to run the Phins wildcat with Ronnie Brown IR'ed

 

 

Also on the docket are our game against the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday, and there seems to be plenty to talk about.  Injuries, matchups, smack talk, Baltimore whining about losing a team they acted like they cared about but really didn't, Mayflower trucks, and more.

 

So guy's, let's get ready for some LOLCatsFootball!

Well, the evening is upon us and it is time for us to discuss the day's news.  And, since it is Friday, we have the opportunity to look forward to this weekend's events.

Don't know what to talk about?  Here are some talking points:

- You favorite college program and their prospects for this weekend in College Football

- Jim Caldwell stating that Bob Sanders will indeed suit up for the Rams game this weekend

- Baseball, America's Pastzzzzzzzzzzzzz......................................

- NBA Preseason

-Your plans for the weekend

- The Platypus

- The fact that excepting the Miami abortion, this Colts defense is 3rd in YPG, 2nd in PPG, 2nd in Rush Defense(68.3 YPG, 3.55 YPC), and 9th in Pass Defense.

- The sucktitude of Diet Sunkist

And anything else that comes to mind.  Open thread time baby.  It's time to start a daily tradition of loserdom!

Alright Colts Fan - Let's do the chit chat random-ass thing right here.  Let's go Meteor!

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I just got done reading an article on Shutdown Corner entitled "Baltimore backstabber Irsay comes out against Limbaugh's Bid".    Who the hell rights this drivel.  This quote is what drives me wild:

Here's a guy who was part of perhaps the most contemptible ownership moment in recent NFL history -- lying to the city of Baltimore for months before taking the team, without notice, to the Midwest -- and he's going to lecture others on ethics and comportment?

Wait a minute here?  Does this guy know that Jim Irsay was in college at the team and has no part in running the team?  That his dad was a drunk and overall lousy person according to most accounts?  That he at no time was "lying to the city of Baltimore" and that he didn't take the team anywhere?

Continue reading this post »

I know that BBS is totally up to his head with draft related stuff, so I thought that I would take the time to kind of relay what the draft party was like for those who chose not to come and those who couldn't make it do to distance or other obligations.

First off, I've been to the Ram a couple of times before

and I think it is a great place to drink, eat, and watch sports.  It's a little pricey, but well worth it if you have some discretionary income.  There is really nothing distinctive about the place on the inside, but they do carry quite a few microbrews that I hear are quite tasty.  When we walked in to the place, I was kind of surprised at how small the turnout was.  We got there a little before 4, and the place still had a number of open tables and bar seats.

As we walk in there is a table there with some registration.

n cards to win some Colts swag, which we of course fill out and turn in.  We then followed a sign that led to the back banquet room, and inside were some Colts proshop people, some memorabilia, and a table with Phillip Wheeler(who I somehow instantly recognized) and Keyunta Dawson(who I wasn't sure about at first).  Luckily for me, before we went up to get autographs, i noticed that there were only two game photos available for sale, and since I'm a dork and know just about every Colts player's number, I confirmed that the other guy was in fact Keyunta.

Knowing that, I walked up to the table they were both kind of just looking at me and I'm like, how do I choose which one to have sign my hat?  So I just walked up to Wheeler since he's closest to the door and hand him the hat off my head(2008 blue sideline) and ask him to sign it.  He was very nice, but didn't look very comfortable doing the autograph thing yet.  But I shook his hand and went out to the bar while my buddy got Keyunta's autograph, just happy because I have NEVER gotten an autograph from an athlete of any sort before.

At the bar, we set up shop at the end facing the largest TV in the house and take a look around.  Sitting four seats away from me is Blue in a XXXXL Manning pro bowl jersey, at the other side near the windows is a bunch of tables with Jeffery Gorman, (magically) Phillip Wheeler, Keyunta, Forrest Lucas, Joe Stayzniak, and that other guy from 1070.  Pretty sweet.  So we get a drink and order the "Golden Mozzarella" and settle in to watch the first few picks.  After Al Davis' epic fail of a pick, a Colts PR guy comes over and asks my friend if he would like to do a trivia game.  My friend says yes and goes over to Jeffery's table.  They turn up the sound and JG asks my buddy Taco what is the first name of the man who Lucas Oil Stadium is named after, and then tells him he should get it right because he's right in front of him.  Luckily, my buddy knew that it was Forrest and just like that my friend won not only two preseason tickets, a zip-up hoodie, a t-shirt, a hat, a laniard, a blanket, and a roller cooler with built-in radio, but also his first contest ever.  Awesome.

We finished the day out finishing off our drinks and talking to a few random people and that crazy "Colts Super Fan".

Overall, very nice experience, though I was THOROUGHLY disappointed at the lack of cheerleaders(which we may have missed).  On the bright side, they have plenty of attractive waitresses and bartenders, so that was nice.  The Ram has great food, great drink selection, and pretty good service.  And the Colts did a pretty good job at getting their message out there and holding an event that a real Colts fan will remember for a long time(especially on a beautiful day like today - wow).

And here is my pic of me and Keyunta Dawson(whom I did eventually have sign my hat as well).  He was a nice guy and definitely more used to the sign and take photos grind than Wheeler.  You can see the autographs on the white part of the bill.  The picture sucks because my BlackBerry has a 1.3 MP camera that has noise at pretty much any level of brightness.

ESPN is reporting that the Pro Bowl is finally going to change.  Now, the Pro Bowl is going to be played the week BEFORE the Super Bowl - at the same site as the Super Bowl.  This is effective 2010.  What do you guys think about this?

Here's the link: ESPN

Personally, I think this could be a major coup for Indy.  When we host the Super Bowl, now we also get the Pro Bowl?  That is a guaranteed, solid two weeks of NFL Mania in our town fellas.  Can't wait to see how this turns out.

Alright, for the first time since I have been contributing/reading this site, I am living in Indianapolis.  I have never done more than turn on the TV to watch the Colt's game, and would like to find a good spot to get with other Colts fans and tailgate and/or watch the game.  If anyone has any suggestions or has an event with an open invitation, let me know.  I might be getting tickets(find out tommorrow), and this would be my first time going to not only a Colts game, but a professional sports event(Do the Texas Rangers really count?).  So let me know, and thanks.

Also, a big shout out to zkmavz.  Thanks for hanging out, and sorry to leave you stranded again back in Dallas.

Hey all, it's been a long time since I've been able to access the full site.  I'm in the process of moving from Dallas to a much more depressing part of Texas(Wacky Waco), and wrapping up my business here in DFW.  My BlackBerry is my sole link to the connected world and StampedeBlue, which I have been reading religiously.

Before I get on my soapbox, let me give some major props to BBS, shake, mgrex03, Jake, and all the long time posters - as well as the newcomers - for making Stampede Blue the best place to go for Colts news and insight.  I would feel cold and alone without it.

Now that that is out of the way, can we smack down the "Worldwide Leader" once again?  As I said, my Blackberry is my link to the world and therefore I have am forced to visit mobile versions of most sites, including ESPN.  On the top of the home page, they have a link to an MVP poll.  Naturally, I was willing to take a few minutes out of day to put a vote in for my boy Peyton to counteract all the Kurt Warner stupidity going on.  But, to my disgust this is the complete list of choices:

James Harrison, Steelers
Eli Manning, Giants
Adrian Peterson, Vikings
Michael Turner, Falcons
Kurt Warner, Cardinals

Seriously?  First off, a defensive player has not won the award since Lawrence Taylor(am I right here?), and Lawrence Taylor James Harrison is not.  The real LT was a singular force and forever changed his position and the entire defensive game.  Eli is only completing 60% of his passes with a 2:1 TD-INT ratio and is merely managing the game.  Without his No. 1 target and Brandon Jacobs to smash into defenses, he is vulnerable.  Adrian Peterson is a legitimate star, though play-by-play is very inconsistent - but his team rides his legs into the playoffs if they make it.  Michael Turner is similar to AP, but he is one part of a balanced attack, not a game-changer.  I think BBS has covered enough ground on why noone should be still talking about Kurt Warner and the MVP.

But my biggest gripe is, HOW IS PEYTON NOT EVEN ON THE LIST?  Our receiver play has not been incredible this year, Dallas has not been as productive as usual, the O-line is a shambles, and we have the 31st ranked rushing attack, yet Peyton has found a way to pull this team from 3-4 to win 7 straight while playing brilliant football.  And he isn't even mentioned by these schmucks.  How does this organization still have any credibility left?

Anyway, do you think that the ESPN writers that do have an MVP vote are actually using this as their short list?  Because if so, this might be one of the most controversial - and meaningless - MVP selections in the history of the award.

So, give me your thoughts.  I might not be able to reply, but I will keep reading.  And BBS, tell Tre to get mobile comment posting up and running!

Here are the notes that I jotted down while listening to the Bill Polian show last night.  Feel free to comment about Bill's thoughts:

- Nothing lost yet
- Worst night since Patriots playoff loss in '03 - mentions that it was same ref
- First drive should have been Peyton in third preseason game
- Made alot of plays down the stretch
- Special Teams best performance so far
- We finished the game when I watch the tape
- Only 50 offensive plays
- Lots of bright spots
- We have time to shore up issues(just a couple of things)
- Lost four key players on defense
- No QP, EJ, TH, BS - no fault of team
- Ad Hoc replacement
- Liked Melvin's performance
- Liked LaJuan Ramsey
- Dan Muir, 315 lbs, ready to step in
- NO PEOPLE FIT OUR SCHEME that are available(or are old or injury-prone)
- "This is a marathon, not a sprint"
Caller asks how we fix the defense until our players come back
- Getting run on is not fun, but it's points that matter
- TOP mattered for this game because D got wore down
- No need to speak about the refs
Caller asks about the end of game time management
- Sometimes you have to go against strategy and manage the clock more than you would normally like to get points
- We finished the game, but it broke for them at the end
Caller rambles on breathes really loud says something about defense and Marvin
- Bill won't talk about interception cause its a family show
- Not worried about Marvin
- Media is for the fans, not the professionals
Caller asks about ref calls and no challenge in last two minutes
- League didn't want "eye in the sky" to interfere with the flow of the game
- But Al Davis(calls him great football man) says that if coach is out of challenges, needs a way to challenge in the last two minutes
- DPI not challengeable call
Caller liked the 4 and 2 conversion to Marvin, but says that he that R. Mathis made a great play at first, but then looked back at it and saw the foul.
Asks Bill to talk about the lack of pass rush against JAX.  He thinks Melvin had trouble tackling.  Comments on our rush defense philosophy.
- Missed Tackles: We had 7 missed tackles.  Majority in late 3rd and 4th Q when we were tired.
- Pass Rush:  We had no pass rush.  Couldn't rest starters, so they got beat up.  Freeney did good on last drive, and there were at least a couple missed holding calls.
Caller asks about Dallas "head shot", and about officiating
- Dallas is fine, the hit was not finable
- College game is not in the same neighborhood as the NFL, so the NFL should have its own officiating system.
- Bill doesn't trust "eye in the sky" officials
- This is an important week
- No pads this week, weekend off
- Get new guys into the system
END

I don't know if anyone else pays attention to it, but while perusing the updated roster page, I happened across the Injury Report.  This is my first time seeing this page, which is odd since I go to Colts.com pretty much every day.

Reading it today was a little eye opening.  Let me see if I can port the format of it over here.

 

There you go.  A few interesting things to me are:  Roy Hall not practicing because of a knee injury, Saturday doing full practice both days, Kelvin Hayden, Daniel Muir, and Jacob Tamme being held out of practices for injuries.

I would have never this had I not happened upon this info source.  Is there anyway we can get a injury report widget on the main page so we can all have access to this every time we come here?  Just a thought for the SBNation web geniuses.

UPDATE 9/12/08 6:37PM EDT:

 

Here is the final injury report for this weekends game:

Clark (knee, questionable), wide receiver Roy Hall (knee, out), cornerback Kelvin Hayden (hamstring, questionable), defensive tackle Daniel Muir (knee, out), guard Mike Pollak (knee, out), Saturday (knee, questionable) and tight end Jacob Tamme (ankle, out).

via Colts.com

There is definitely some surprises here.  No Roy Hall, No Muir, and No Tamme.  Clark and Saturday might play, Hayden might not.  There is something going on at West 56th St., just wish I understood it

I thought I would just drop this nugget on you guys, and highlight a few things that stuck out to me.  You can read the full article here.

Going out of order, I would like to point out this section:

Colts will be better than you think if ...

Marvin Harrison can mount any kind of comeback to his old form. Harrison missed 11 games last year with a knee injury and caught only 20 passes in the five games he did play. He hasn't done much in camp to change the feeling that, at 36, his days as an impact player are numbered.(emphasis added)

 

Now I don't know what this guy saw, but everyone else I know who actually went to camp said that Marv looks like the old Marv, and that he has a chip on his shoulder to boot.  I guess look for the Colts to be better than you think.

The second nugget is about my man Anthony Gonzalez:

On the hot seat

Wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez had a solid rookie season with 37 catches, 376 yards and 3 touchdowns but he dropped a lot of balls. That has to stop if he's to take over as the No. 2 target in Indianapolis' passing game.

I'm glad that Speedy is now in the "hot seat" in his second NFL season, after putting up a good rookie season for a WR despite missing games due to injury.  Gonzalez, as a third receiver, was rated 1st in DVOA amongst all receivers and 14th in DYAR.  He also caught 37 cautches for 576 yards and 3TDs.  His catch rate was 73%, higher than all other receivers in the top ten in DVOA and all but one in the top ten in DYAR.  So saying that he is on a hot seat is a little ridiculous.

The last bit, which I think is positive, is the following:

And the defense that finished third in total yardage allowed and second in pass defense despite producing only 23 sacks.

...

Despite it all, the Colts' pass defense allowed only 8.9 yards per reception (second in the NFL) and had 22 interceptions to only 16 touchdowns allowed. Imagine what they'll do if they actually start to get to the quarterback again?

Indeed, imagine us with our more experienced safeties and corners, with The Fright back 100%, Mathis back 100%, Brock back 100%, Ed Johnson with a year under his belt, an interesting prospect at DT in Eric Foster, and Marcus Howard and Curtis Johnson in the DE rotation?  Sounds like QBs and WRs should be scared...

A few months back, the Colts organization started their "Design a Horse" competition, with $1000 cash and two lower level season tickets up for grabs.  The Colts say that they received several hundred submissions, some from professional graphic artists.  But last month, the Colts posted the top five, and it was obvious they were looking for a more amateur bent.  It looks like they got it.  The winner, Brian Carpenter, spent one day sketching it and putting it in a graphic design program, and another tweaking it.  He was told about the contest two weeks before the deadline.  So now that I have blabbed my way to 75 words, here is your new Horse!

via www.colts.com

There you go.  Look to see this on official apparel soon.

Jason Whitlock is a writer who perplexes me.  He usually banters on and on about race ssues, and usually gives a good bum-licking to the Patriots whenever he gets chance.  But since he is a Naptown native, I try to find something to like about him.  Well, he finally seems to have given me something to work with.

In his first "NFL Truths" article for FoxSports.com, he writes a few things that will surprise anyone who has read the man's work.  First off, about the Pats:

I think the Patriots are going to take a big step back this year. There's going to be a hangover from that Super Bowl loss and their 18-0 run.

...

The last month of the 2007 season, the Patriots were mentally drained, and they weren't a great team. The team we saw at the end of last season is the team we will see this season. The Pats are still tired.

They'll win 10 games and lose in the first round of the playoffs.

Amazing, isn't it?  Someone finally recognizing that the Pats might actually have a  post-Super Bowl-loss hangover?  Like pretty much every other team in that position?  No way!  It's amazing to think that teams can change over the course of a season(Kind of like the 06 Colts), with one OK team becoming a champion and a prematurely-crowned Champion falling short.

Then, Whitlock decides to give some love to everyone's favorite new Wolverine to wear the Speed Blue and White,  Mike Hart:

I loved running back Mike Hart when he was at Michigan. A sixth-round pick for the Colts, Hart will be the steal of the draft.

Hart fell to the sixth because he ran a 4.6 40-yard dash. He runs faster on the field because he runs decisively and with purpose. A fast guy who doesn't know where to go runs slower than Hart.

Hart won't beat out Joseph Addai. But Hart will be a starter in this league before the end of his career. He reminds me of Michael Turner, LaDainian Tomlinson's old backup.

Once again, he proves that he does in fact have a brain by actually watching the DAMN GAME and seeing that Hart is special - despite his measurables.  Good job Jason, keep it going.  And keep it going he does, by listing as his #1 truth this fact, which will make us all very happy:

Right now, I like the Colts to win the Super Bowl.

I know it's not a sexy prediction. It's just what I really think. Tony Dungy is going to christen Lucas Oil Stadium with a Super Bowl champion and then immediately retire.

Of course I hope the latter prediction does not hold true, but I can not believe a media head is allowed to even say Colts and Super Bowl in the same sentence.

Overall, this is an excellent article almost throughout, even including the love he throws the way of my could-have-been Alma Mater, Ball State.  He says they are stacked and figure to be this year's Boise State.  Awesome, and I wish the Cards all the luck in the world as they beat some Big 12 "powerhouse" in a BCS bowl.

Check the article out at FoxSports.  It's worth the read.