Because I don't feel like opening up an 800+ comment post and sifting through it.  And I haven't made a FanPost in awhile.

"Look, it’s one thing to lose a game that you tried to win and and had your faults exposed. It’s only by losing while trying that you actually become a better team. Why even show up and have the Jets fly to Indianapolis? Just forfeit the game if you believe that losing, for the sake of losing, is the way to go.

It honestly almost seems like he did this on purpose because he couldn’t handle the pressure. But that wasn’t only a big middle finger to the fans, how do you think Curtis Painter felt? Yeah, I understand getting your rookie playing time in case gasp Peyton goes down, but you just put the kid in a situation where the game was almost a “Here you go Jets!”

Here is the apparent logic we maroons can’t understand : Well, if we go 16-0 like we easily should or could have, all the fans will EXPECT us to win the SB! That’s crazy gibberish. This is what we’ll do; we’ll throw the game so that we lose to a lesser team and everyone will know in the back of their minds that we should have won that game. So then we’ll be 15-1 or we’ll really go out of our way and just play the marching band in the second half and throw the game to the Bills and be 14-2. That way the pressure’s off and if we lose in the playoffs people can’t freak out!

That’s the “problem” with football. The “problem” is that anything can happen on (I hate to use a cliche that they made a bad movie out of but whatever) on any given Sunday. The difference is, playing and having a weakness exposed allows you to work on it.

Think of it like any college class or any sort of training. You get 100% on every assignment, every pop quiz, every test etc.. but you decide to skip the last three weeks of class. (Three weeks due to the first round bye). You pack it in, turn your mind off and just daydream about holding your diploma and getting the blonde cheerleader named Susie away from that asshole Fernando! You have the degree now! Everyone will laud you and shower you with affection and the praise you so rightly deserved for so long! They will bow down like MINIONS! MINIONS I SAY! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!

You hunker down into your desk and the professor hands out the test packets. You have a smug smile on your face and you turn around to Susie and keep mouthing “Elephant Juice” to her and winking slyly. It doesn’t matter that your overall grade has dropped to a B or a C from missing the last 3 chapters, you’ve got this. I mean, you got 100% on your tests like it was nothing.

So you start filling in your bubble sheet, your inner monologue telling you how amazingly and overwhelmingly awesome you are. You make up your mind that Susie will refer to you as Mr. Awesome, half man, half amazing while she cooks in nothing but an apron. You turn the page over to the second part of the test and….“OH SHIT! I didn’t know they were going to ask THAT!” Frantically you flip through the last part of the test, only now realizing that you have absolutely NO CLUE what the difference is between yams and sweet potatoes is! None of this makes sense!

You start sobbing into your hands as the time runs out. Hands shaking with tremors or guilt and shame, you hand the tear soaked pages into Professor Dangle. He was your biggest fan, he knew you should have gotten 100% on not only the test, but the entire class if you had only shown up. He doesn’t understand why you’re sitting there weeping like a little girl so he flips through the test book and notices something strange… Apparently your subconscious mind had taken control and clear as day, when the bubble sheet is turned sideways it spells out “I AM A DOUCHE”.

Sniffing back your pride, you wipe your tears away and see Susie chatting it up with Fernando. Totally unaware that the good professor has pulled out a summer school remedial Home Economics form for you. You don’t even realize in your haze of confusion that Fernando taped a piece of paper to your back that said “Punch me in the back of the head.”, until you round the first corner and everything goes black…

Sorry Bill, I know why you did it. And it wasn’t to rest players. All I can say is that you’ve just raised the pressure on the Colts and yourself to win to the 10th degree. That’s all I have to say."

I just needed to get this off my mind, but I'd just like to ask if anyone else is getting tired of the man-crush the media has on the Patriots?  I didn't really speak out before today about the drivel King put out concerning his "power" rankings.

I would really like to look up to see how many of these "journalists" (and I use the term very loosely) are from Boston or are just New England fans because this isn't even reporting, it's homerism. 

I try to contain my homerism when talking about the Colts, and I know at times I fail, but I at least try to look at it objectively even if it's just for a fleeting instant.  Sometimes I understand that I'm vehemently defending the Colts on something I don't absolutely agree with, but there's enough shred of truth for me to put up a fight. 

That's really for another topic, and one I'll probably get into in the near future (about how I actually see the team and try to eliminate as much subjectivity as possible), but my point is that people are human and subject to their own biases and emotions that can jade their "objective" opinions to seem quite the opposite.  However, if you claim to be a journalist for an unbiased news organization, you should either make certain that your homerism doesn't ooze through, or if it does, there isn't much room to argue.  Or at the very least, be able to defend your argument with an intelligent counterargument that doesn't sound ridiculous.

With that said, and subject to your own analysis, I give you Peter King's response to thousands of "WTF were you thinking?!" responses to his Monday edition of MMQB :

"Let's start with the Steelers being behind the Patriots. Abdul Abdulbarr of Washington writes: "Can you please explain in detail why you feel New England should be No. 1-overall and not Pittsburgh, the Super Bowl champs who beat the crap out of the Patriots in the regular season, and who return basically the same team from last year and Tom Brady is a big question mark for New England. So please, on God's green earth, tell me how can you put New England No. 1''

What would you say, Abdul, if I told you recent history tells us there's a 12-percent chance the Steelers will repeat? Let's look at the Super Bowl winners this decade, and what happened the following year:

2000: Baltimore beat the Giants 34-7, then went 10-6 and lost a divisional playoff game the next year.
2001: New England beat St. Louis 20-17, then went 9-7, out of the playoffs the next year.
2002: Tampa Bay beat Oakland 48-21, then went 7-9, out of the playoffs the next year.
2003: New England beat Carolina 32-29, then went 14-2 and won the Super Bowl the next year.
2004: New England beat Philadelphia 24-21, then went 10-6 and lost a divisional playoff game the next year.
2005: Pittsburgh beat Seattle 21-10, then went 8-8, out of the playoffs the next year.
2006: Indianapolis beat Chicago 29-17, then went 13-3 and lost a divisional playoff game to San Diego the next year.
2007: The Giants beat New England 17-14, then went 12-4 and lost a divisional playoff game to Philadelphia the next year.

One for 8. One Super Bowl winner. One conference champion.

That's my point: History says Pittsburgh's got a steep hill to climb here, and the Steelers may well do it. But the more I watch this game, the more I realize there's a reason teams don't repeat. I love the Steelers, I love everything about the Rooney/Tomlin regime, and I love the leaders on their team. But I respect history, too. And this New England team comes back with a quarterback who I think will be healthy, and a quarterback and a team that will come back hungry to prove they're still a champion. Just my opinion."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/05/12/mail/index.html

Yes, you read that right, his argument is that "History says that Pittsburgh will not repeat so I won't put them at #1 and I'm a firm believer in history.  With that said, history says that the Patriots are super awesome, and the Patriots used to be really good and wouldn't normally miss the playoffs after having a laughable schedule like they did last season, so I'm going to put them at #1." 

That is why I felt the need to write anything at all about the subject.  It's not the fact that he ranked the Patriots at #1, you can rank whatever team you want at #1.  But this is the best argument he could come up with?  Really?  Do they not check anything he writes before he posts it?  I was beyond the point of bashing King for some of the idiotic things he writes because it's pretty much the norm and would be a full time job just to keep up, but at least put some effort into a response when you're a "journalist" from a news organization that most people take seriously and having employees with half a brain.  Yeah, it may just be your opinion, just as this entire fanpost is MY opinion, but I'm willing to back stuff up or admit when I'm wrong over "Just my opinion."

So, in summation, get ready for the Patriot crotch jockeys to be in full force until late December.  As the old saying goes "If you don't have anything intelligent to say, shut the hell up."  This was really just to get a few things off my chest.

This isn't my mock, it's a mock based on what could happen looking at the players the Colts have shown interest in.

"

Looking at the way it’s breaking down with the visits, and where the dudes are projected to go, it’s looking (and this is just hypothetical from what I’m seeing from who they’ve shown interest in) like it could be something like (who they’ve shown official interest above just watching them in parenthesis):

1. DT (Hood, Moala, Brace, Harvey, Doolittle, Vaughn Martin, Irvin, King)
2. O-line (Mack, Loadholt, Oher, Samuel Allen)
3. S/LB (LBs – J. Williams, Freeman, Follet, Sintim, Ramon Humber, Andy Schantz, Safeties – Vaughn, Hamlin, Bruton, Afalava, Mitchell, Pegues)
4. WR (Nicks, Williams, JaRon Harris, Guice, Johnny Knox, Brandon Tate)
4. CB (A. Smith, Joe Burnett, Steven Jackson)
5. Nate Davis (sort of kidding, but wouldn’t be shocked)
6. RB (Andrew Johnson, Devin Moore, Gartrell Johnson, Marcus Thigpen)
7. BPA/DE (Cody Brown, Dan Skuta, Barwin, Skolnitzsky)

Pro days attended :

PSU – Josh Gaines, Maybin, D. Williams, Butler, Norwood

OSU – Robiskie, M. Freeman, Laurinaitis, M. Jenkins, Wells, Boone, O’neil

USC – Maualuga, Cushing, Matthews, P. Turner, Moala… just go read their roster.

Missouri – Hood, Maclin

That’s not who I’m telling them to look at, that’s who they have looked at and have shown interest in. And just based on that, and knowing they’ve probably looked at 20 more dudes that nobody knows about yet because that’s how they roll, this could be a potential outcome :

1. Hood
2. Loadholt
3. M. Freeman
4. Bruton
4. Butler
5. King
6. Andrew Johnson
7. Afalava/Pegues (they both returned kicks in school)

Just from looking at that list, I don’t see them taking a RB before the 6th round or a WR. I only put the WR at the 4th spot because of Nicks, but did anyone find out if that was true or not? It just goes from Nicks, then plummets to 7th round and UDFAs. The only other receivers they showed interest in was the collective group of PSU ones. And an interview with Williams. It’s looking like they’re targetting receivers for return ability. I’m not certain about them looking at O-lineman. They didn’t put alot of effort into that. But like I said, that’s just from the list."

I picked you guys for the StampedeBlue mock draft because, well because I've liked the Eagles for awhile and I love your defense.  With that said, I already have some things in mind for how I would pick, but would like to hear from you guys on what you're looking for.  I'm pretty familiar with the team, but I'm not nearly as competent as I am with the Colts.  I'm figuring you have a couple fanatics like we do over on our site.  How would you rank your needs specifically and what players are showing signs of those traits?  Basically, if you feel it worth your time, argue for your guy.

I think that's 75 words.  Thanks.

Alright, so I went to check any updates, and I found my first piece of amusement for the day.

Alex Marvez, of FOXSports.com, reports free-agent WR Reggie Williams (Jaguars) was arrested Sunday, April 5, on a felony drug charge in Houston. Williams was charged with possession of a controlled substance that police believe is cocaine following an altercation at a nightclub. Police spokesman Victor Senties said Williams was tasered during a confrontation with two off-duty officers working security at the Open City Bar and Lounge.

Anyway, Cushing and Matthews are clean apparently. 

Jason Cole, of Yahoo! Sports, reports the doctor who administers the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs told Southern California LB Brian Cushing and LB Clay Matthews that neither tested positive for banned substances, including steroids, according to sources close to both players. Cushing and Matthews were included in previous reports indicating that up to six prominent players had tested positive for performance-enhancing or recreational drugs in tests administered at the NFL Scouting Combine.

I guess Raji, Mathews and Cushing decided it was too slow this offseason.

NFL | Cushing, Matthews tested positive for steroids

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Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:23:40 -0700

Rick Serritella, of NFLDraftBible.com, reports Southern California LB Brian Cushing and LB Clay Matthews tested positive for steroids at the NFL Scouting Combine, according to various sources, including one NFL team.

These three developments are definitely going to change the mocks.  The Raji one could slide, but this is pretty serious.  Think they can dole out 4 game suspensions to rookies?  Ouch.  Good job morons. 

Jesus, I guess I should've scrolled down a little more.  I guess it doesn't matter since everyone decided to fail their drug tests.

NFL | Three players fail drug tests at NFL Combine

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Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:35:02 -0700

Rick Seritella, of NFLDraftBible.com, reports Texas-El Paso PK Jose Martinez, University of Illinois CB Vontae Davis and University of Florida WR Percy Harvin failed drug tests for marijuana at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Guess I can stop talking about Matthews and Percy.  Damn.  Don't really care about Matthews, but damn you Percy, damn you.  On the bright side, maybe he'll definitely be there at 27 now eh?  So we can pass on him for "character" issues.

Few more dudes are being shown interest by the Colts.

Dan Skuta ILB Grand Valley State - 6-2 1/2, 249 pounds

"Skuta, who also worked at linebacker, fullback and halfback, had times of 4.76 and 4.72 seconds in the 40-yard dash, a 35-inch vertical and a 9-foot, 9-inch broad jump. He had a 4.42 short shuttle and a 7.05 three-cone drill, and he did 20 repetitions on the bench press."

"Skuta was the big guy at the little school –- Grand Valley State –- whose domination on the football field was profound enough to help draw 18 NFL scouts to his recent pro day and merit him enough credence to possibly get drafted in late April. Skuta fits right into this draft of hybrid defensive players, except his possible position change wouldn't necessarily be related to his versatility. At 6-foot-2, 249 pounds, Skuta was big enough to play –- at one point he was listed at 270 pounds -- along the defensive line at small college level. When it comes to the pros, Skuta projects as a linebacker, maybe a defensive end, and definitely, a special teamer –- if he makes it."

Andy Schantz ILB Portland State - 6-1 7/8, 235 lbs

"Fifteen teams showed up to watch eight players work out. The two most notable players were LB Andy Schantz and CB Reginald Jones.

Shantz (6-0 3/4, 234 pounds) ran 4.71 and 4.75 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had a 34-inch vertical jump, a 9-foot, 8-inch broad jump, a 7.48-second three-cone drill and a 4.34-second short shuttle and did 19 bench-press repetitions." 

Billy Malone QB Abilene Christian - 6'2 232

"Strengths
One of the all time greatest DII Quaterbacks to ever play. Holds school and conference record for most passing yards ever in a career. Basically has been a 4 year starter, and has had a great TD/Int ratio. Senior year threw for 3213 yds, 62.5% accuraccy, 36 TDs and only 8 Ints. Has shown great maturity, leadership, and perform successful all 4 years. Has a decent height, and good frame to him. Has the arm strength and accuracy to throw at the NFL level.

Weaknesses
His 40 time is around 5 seconds flat, and he is not very mobile going away from pursuit and pressure. Played in DII and is not use to top notch quality defenders. Has a lot to improve on his mechanics and footwork. Will take a few years to develop into a fine back up Quarterback. Another negative is that he is 25 years old."

He's 25 years old because :

"Tulane backup quarterback Billy Don Malone, 6'2 190, who redshirted as a true freshman last fall, and emerged from spring practice as the backup to 5th year senior J.P. Losman, 6'3 215, underwent surgery recently to correct a crink in one of the major arteries feeding his heart.

Unofficial sources close to the Tulane football program report that Malone's college football career is over."

Hell yeah, finally some damn good news.  I wasn't sure "damn" would get BBS in trouble for cursing in a tittle, so I skipped "This is some pretty fucking awesome news".  Anyway, looks like Caldwell gave out some updates.  Some of you may have seen it already, but I didn't see it posted.  If it was, screw you if you make a big deal out of it.

http://indyfootballreport.com/index.php/archives/641#more-641

The part I really like? 

"Caplan also touched on the Colts’ running back situation, reporting that Caldwell said second-year veteran Mike Hart is *ahead* of schedule rehabilitating from a torn anterior cruciate ligament."

And at least now I know one thing.  Jerry's moved to 3rd behind Hood/Gilbert (I just can't decide, I still think I like Gilbert though) on my list :

"DL Peria Jerry (6-1 7/8, 290 pounds) posted only one 40-yard dash time of 4.98. Jerry also recorded a 31-inch vertical jump, a 9-foot, 6-inch broad jump, 4.64 short shuttle, 7.30 three-cone drill and 28 bench press reps."

I mean, not bad numbers, but Hood and Gilbert's are much much better.  Gilbert's 6'5 288 and had his 4.76 40 the other day.  And Hood's numbers are much better in my opinion.  I still really like him, and I expected him to run slower than the two, but he went down to 290.  Hood's at least 10 lbs heavier and Gilbert's only 2 lbs less.  I was hoping he'd put that up weighing 310.  And Gilbert has 37" arms and put up 28 reps and Ziggy put up like 35.  Not to mention Gilbert had a 37" vertical and a 10'7" broad jump.  I was still waiting to pass judgement because I think they're all different.  But a 290 lb NT over a 300-305 UT or a 288 lb UT with insane speed didn't do it.  If he weighed 310-315 it would.  The 25 thing just doesn't work in his favor either.

Dang, I got all worked up for his numbers for nothing.  He's still really good on film, but I think he weighed more.  If not, he really doesn't carry that 290 lbs well.  Gilbert and Hood both look much more athletic.  Hood is solid.  Like a Warren Sapp who stayed in shape.  He kind of has a Tommie Harris look to him.  Man, I hope he's Tommie Harris.  Tommie Harris is really good, he's just had a couple injuries. 

Anyway, there you go.

You'll be interested in this one Richard.

Another player benefitting from positional coaches coming to watch him work out was Liberty’s Rashad Jennings, who also opened eyes at the combine. He worked out Tuesday in front of six teams, including the Panthers and their RB coach Jim Skipper. He worked out on an indoor track. He weighed 231 pounds, ran a 4.52 in the 40 and a 6.79 in the three-cone drill.

This one's from kffl:

JJ Pesavento, of NFLDraftBible.com, reports Liberty RB Rashad Jennings ran between 4.42 seconds and 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard yard dash at his Pro Day. The Washington Redskins, the Tennessee Titans, the Denver Broncos, the Indianapolis Colts, the New Orleans Saints, the New England Patriots, the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers attended the Pro Day.

Defensive tackle Evander ‘Ziggy’ Hood kept his 40 time from the combine, but did do the other drills. He ran the short shuttle in 4.45 seconds and the three-cone drill in 7.32 seconds. He had 35 reps in the bench press, jumped 34 1/2 inches in the vertical and leaped 9-feet, 8-inches in the broad jump.

http://blogs.nfl.com/category/pro-days/

Well guys, looks like Marvin might actually be going.  The ONLY mainstream media outlet guy I trust, Adam Schefter, announced that he'll be cut so they can franchise Hayden.  I'll let the emotions ensue, but I do want to point out that Hayden is NOT worth 9.whatever number it is to franchise him.  I'm sorry, he just isn't.  I like him, but forcing our hand in the matter sort of leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  I'll get over it, but it'll linger.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&hl=139445&id=1502

http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/02/18/harrisons-indy-days-are-done/

"

Everyone keeps focusing on WR Terrell Owens‘ future with the Cowboys. But the more pressing issues surround Colts WR Marvin Harrison.

It’s no longer a question of if Harrison, 36, will be let go. It has become a question of when. It will happen in the coming days, certainly before the new league year starts a week from Friday, but few are sure exactly when.

But make no mistake: It is happening. The Colts no longer can afford to carry Harrison, who is scheduled to have a $13.4 million number for an Indianapolis team that is starving for more salary-cap room to deal with free-agents-to-be such as CB Kelvin Hayden.

If the Colts were to release Harrison, his $13.4 million number instantly would come off the books, saving the team $7 million against the cap. Harrison still would count $6.4 million in dead money, but more importantly, there would be the $7 million savings.

Plus, the Colts have been bracing for this day, drafting Anthony Gonzalez in the first round and grooming young WRs Roy Hall and Pierre Garcon.

The Colts’ first-round draft pick in 1996, Harrison will finish his Indianapolis career with 1,102 catches for 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns.

It was a great career. The last chapter soon will be written."

http://www.colts.com/sub.cfm?page=article7&news_id=029ae915-b97c-47cd-9114-33bf7e3bec4b

Pieces were already in the IndyStar article, but there's a couple more tidbits.

On Hayden -

“We have started talks with Kelvin, and they’re slow. That’s probably a charitable way to categorize it. That’s the linchpin,” said Polian. “If that one does not come out satisfactorily for us, and we have to take other measures, then that’s (scenario) ‘A,’ which leads to ‘B’ and ‘C.’ We’ll see. There’s still a long way to go, but I’m not optimistic at this point.”

On free agency and being "spectators" -

“That would be our choice. We don’t think the answers lie there. The results of veteran free agency in the spring don’t match up with the results that take place in the real season. We always focus on the real season.”

On Marvin (no determination has been made) -

“That’s (his return) is a function of how we manage the cap…It’s entirely possible (that he will return). I can’t give you odds on that because I don’t know what the numbers ultimately will look like. I suspect we’ll go a long way toward the beginning of the league year (later this month) before we have a handle on it. I thought he had a good year (in 2008). By my count, I think we missed five or six touchdowns on deep balls. In some cases, you had a good play by a defender, such as the case in Tennessee. In other cases, Peyton (Manning) could not step up and had to put too much on the ball rather than be able to “touch” it in there. In one case, he was interfered with. But for those five or six plays, statistically it would have looked a whole lot better. But there were explanations for what happened other than for lack of talent, or lack of skill or speed, or whatever you want to call it. If four of those six had connected, it’s a great year.”

On defense -

“They will see the same system and the same scheme. There always will be adjustments, depending on who the players are. Essentially, we’ll be the same scheme with the same types of players and the same approach. Jim Caldwell, when we began discussions last year in terms of how we were going to structure should this (change) come about, made it clear he wanted to retain the same offensive and defensive system. There will be obvious tweaking depending on who the players are, but the broad base of the system will remain the same.”

This has absolutely nothing to do with who we need or best available etc.  Well, I mean, if Jerry and whatnot are gone, I think it'd be a good pick, but what I want to hear when Goodell comes out to the podium in April is;

"With the 27th pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts pick....OOOohhuuughhhh WHAT A RUSH"  That's right people, James Laurinaitis, son of one of my favorite wrestlers ever.  I'm sure at least Nideak knows, but a tribute came on the other night and I remembered how awesome his dad, The Road Warrior Animal was.  Now all we have to do is get him to gorilla press someone or put Sproles on his shoulders so Mathis can pull the Hawk clothesline.  It just makes sense.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZaeL5tgxbQ 

And everytime he makes a play the crowd can go "OOOghhgoough WHAT A RUSH".  And kids could be running around with the LoD shoulder pads with spikes again.  Bringing back the 80s and early 90s baby, that's what I'm talking about.

What can I say, they had James J. Dillon on Sirius this morning talking to Shannon Sharpe and reminded me about it. 

I'm already going to include shake because I can tell I intrigue him.  Just kidding, but I know he'll be helping me out in this.  What I want to do is, at least to a certain degree, figure out what is really going on with the salary cap.  I know that I initially, along with other people here, generally looked at coltscap.net for information regarding the cap.  However, it's unofficial at best, and while compiled well (and at this point, since I'm still trying to fully understand the cap, far better than what I could do) it's still compiled by a fan.  I think there's enough football heads here where we wouldn't have to go outside of the blog to find at least a solid foundation for the salary cap. 

Anyway, as to what I've found out so far:

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/messages/chrono/13297188

"

First, the 2009 salary cap is going to be 85% of the average revenues from all 32 NFL teams. That will be approximately $123m for the 2009 season. Secondly, the Colts are currently at roughly $126.7m toward that cap. Here's the good news. The Colts have 67 players under contract currently. And although the final roster number for all NFL teams is 53, only the top 51 salaries count toward the cap. If we take and cut the bottom 16 players (to the 51 player limit), and subtract out all of them at the minimal salary allowed of $475K each, we clear up $7.6m in cap space. If we don't renegotiate the contract of Marvin Harrison and we cut him before June 1st, he will count $5,4m this year and nothing in the future years. After June 1st, he counts $4.4m this year and $1.0m next season (a more likely scenario if no renegotiation takes place). Peyton Manning's contract will cost the Colts about $72m over the last four years of his contract (through 2012). It's prorated from $21m this year to $19m to $15m (the last two seasons). The Colts can renegotiate that and probably add a year and get another $5.0m in cap space. If this happens, and I admit it's very possible that it goes down exactly like this, the Colts will be about $20m or so under the cap. The dead cap of Corey Simon ($5.8m+) alone can pay for 12 players at the league minimum this year. So. perhaps the Colts are in better shape than we thought."

This next site lists the free space as of January 23rd (I'm not sure if the Ball 2..87 figure was included because Bav announced it as a January 28th news update, but I'd assume so.)

http://www.askthecommish.com/salarycap/numbers.asp

This next site, which is askthecommish section on explaining the salary cap, is provides a ton of information.

http://www.askthecommish.com/salarycap/faq.asp

I skimmed over this and I'll go over it again thoroughly later, but this stood out and easily explains why there's the "Wow, Polian really screwed up and let this get out of hand." opinion and why it's false.  This is in direct reference to Peyton's last two voided years and why his cap number next year is ridiculous.

This is Scout.com's breakdown of the candidates that could come from Pittsburgh or Arizona.  One I already went over, Teryl Austin.

http://ind.scout.com/2/836973.html

"Teryl Austin, Cardinals Defensive Backs Coach:

At almost 44 years old, he certainly fits the bill for the young side of things and has been instrumental in helping a talented but often underachieving Arizona secondary grow up.  The Cardinals have improved considerably in his two years with the team and his abilities as a coach, motivator, and teacher are not under question.

Before joining Arizona with Ken Whisenhunt prior to the 2007 season, he coached another fine young secondary that took shape before our eyes in Seattle from 2003-2006.  Before that, though, he spent 12 years in the collegiate ranks with Penn State, Wake Forest, Syracuse, and Michigan. However, he may be the man the Colts are looking at the closest, since Jim Caldwell was the one who hired him at Wake Forest, so he knows what kind of man and coach he would be getting.

He has experience and is younger than any coach on this list with the exception of Davis, who is six months younger.  However, he also has not held a position higher than defensive backs coach in his career, so no one can be sure how he would respond if given that opportunity."

From the article http://profootball.scout.com/2/834635.html :

And in reference to if/who we franchise (Saturday or Hayden);

Offensive Linemen

Franchise
$8.451m

Transition
$7.744m

Cornerback

Franchise
$9.957m

Transition
$8.374m

I guess they could try to get sneaky and list Hayden as a safety.

Safety

Franchise
$6.342m

Transition
$5.130m

Anyway, the article explains the difference and options involved in tagging someone.  I'm really just trying to get the 75 words in right now. 

This is how someone becomes a non-exclusive franchise tagged player (which I think would be a good option for Saturday, unless he thinks he's going to make more than this somewhere else)

"If the player is offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries of last season at his position, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, he becomes a “non-exclusive” franchise player and can negotiate with other team. His old team can match a new team's offer, or receive two first-round draft choices if it decides not to match."

The difference being that the average of the top five salaries is based off the previous season as opposed to the upcoming one.

Saturday's current salary  $5,184,669 would end up being $6,221,602 at 120%.  I think that the "non-exclusive" tag would probably be the best one to try to put on him since it ends up $2,229,398 less against our cap.  It's also $1,522,398 less than the "transition" tag.  And placing the "non-exclusive" tag as opposed to the "transition" tag allows us to recoup 2 first round draft picks for compensation if the Colts decide not to match.  If the Colts don't match under a transition tag, the other team doesn't owe anything as compensation. 

Definitely seems doable to be able to sign Hayden and tag Saturday.  I'll make sure to spend some significant time looking into this.  As of now, it seems as if we could save ~ 6.5 million simply by spreading Dallas' roster bonus over the remaining time of his contract as opposed to putting it all on next year.  And there's no way Hagler makes $1,417,000 next year.  I think it's likely he's gone.  I think Peyton might not restructure his contract and instead might completely redo it.  Since the last two years are voided, I'm sure this is something they're thinking of since they'll have to completely redo it later anyway.  There's probably about 1-2 million from working on that.  And, as we all know, we're more than likely going to be saving between 3-5 by reducing Marvin's 9 mil base salary for 09.  

So why did I go through all this?  Well, I believe this has serious implecations regarding the draft.  Considering Keiaho reached the point where he's now a RFA, we'll have to offer him a tender at least to either keep him or get a pick for him.  The tender amounts this year are:

Low tender - right of first refusal & original draft pick - $1.01 million

Middle tender - right of first refusal & 2nd round pick - $1.545 million

High tender - right of first refusal & 1st round pick - $2.198 million

Highest tender - right of first refusal & 1st and 3rd round picks - $2.792 million

Since Keiaho was initially drafted in the 3rd round, I could see the Colts putting the 1.01 mil tender on him and seeing if they get the pick back.  They MIGHT go up to 1.545 to get a 2nd round pick, but I don't think they'll jump the 2.198-2.792 unless they actually think he's worth giving the salary to.  And I'm not sold yet.  So we basically have to let Hagler go so that we can at least offer a tender to Keiaho.  And then if Keiaho leaves as well, we save 2,053,000.  But it'd also mean we would be forced to take at least one LB in the first couple rounds.  It'd also mean we'd either have to resign Brackett or sell our souls and cross our fingers that one of the young LBs (Session or Wheeler) has a breakout year and we can lean on them at Mike. 

The proverbial wrench has been thrown into our LBing core with this Keiaho situation.  I could actually see someone shelling out 2-4 million for him, although the 4 might be a bit high, so we might be banking on some serious prospects coming to fruition. 

So I could see us freeing up around 10 million without hurting too many peoples feelings or cleaning house.  I do see our LB situation as shaky at this point.  The free agency period will be taking up alot of my interest in the upcoming months.  DT might HAVE to be a 2nd round pick if things don't go well.  And we might be trying to pull off moving up the draft to make sure we can secure a legit 1st round LB considering they'll probably be forced into significant playing time from the start.

Anyway, I hope I got my 75 words in.  Like I said, I'll keep looking into this.  Add anything you find interesting or substantial.

Remember when I was talking in that 4-2-5 thread about how Teryl Austin was Caldwell's secondary coach at Wake Forest?  Well I went to the colts.com forum and someone over there mentioned the reason we haven't announced Coyer as DC is because the job is between Coyer and Austin.  Not sure what his source is, but if anything pops up, or if someone finds something out....keep an eye out.  It could quite possibly be that we haven't announced it because, yes, we might actually be trying to get a coach from the Cardinals.  Maybe...

Btw, this isn't a pro 4-2-5 thread.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFL/AFC/AFC+South/Indianapolis/Transactions/2008/transjan.htm

Travis Key - DB/FS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCsktUnzx1U

http://www.thefootballexpert.com/traviskeyinterview080001.html

Positives:  Tough, productive, overachiever who merits a look as a Cover-2 zone corner.  Solid open-field tackler and hard hitter.  Makes plays.  Extremely hard worker.  Very determined and focused on improving and succeeding.  Sound character.

Negatives:  Lacks size and top-end speed.  Plays more like a safety but lacks the size you look for inside and the height and speed you'd ideally want at cornerback.  Needs to improve coverage technique.

Summary:  Has a little Antoine Winfield in him, in that pound-for-pound he is an impressive hitter and tackler.  Like most rookies, he will have to impress on special teams to differentiate himself in training camp, but he's a tough, productive, overachiever who fits the mold as a zone corner.

Apparently the Colts tried to get him as an UDFA before the season started along with the Browns.

Rufus Alexander -LB/SS

Tore an ACL for the Vikings, we picked him up in early December, cut him, now we gave him a contract.

"Compares To: IAN GOLD-Denver...Put Alexander in a Cover-2 defense, where he will play in space and utilize his speed and you will have a very effective player on the weak side. Some compare him to Derrick Brooks, but while he has that closing speed, he lacks the instincts and feel for the ball that Brooks displays. He could make like Seattle's Michael Boulware and shift to safety at the next level to compensate for a lack of bulk. He is best served playing on the move, as his recovery speed lets him make up for a lack of superb field awareness. "

Brannon Condren is back - SS/LB

This is his old analysis on scout.com

"

How he fits: I know what you're thinking. Condren is so strong, so good against the run and something of a liability in deep coverage, so why not make him a linebacker? He shares many of the same attributes as Cato June and is about the same size, somewhat stronger and much faster. It made June a Pro Bowl player, so it should help Condren as well, right?

While such a move would appear to make sense, I don't think it's going to happen. When the Colts drafted June, a safety out of Michigan, they referred to him as a linebacker on draft day and in all of their media afterwards. Conversely, Condren has never been called anything other than a defensive back. In fact, according to an interview with Condren after the draft, when the Colts called to tell him that he was their pick, they also told him that he was going to be their fourth safety.

And that's where he'll begin his NFL career. Condren played both free and strong safety in college, but there's not much difference in the Colts' scheme, so he'll be the fallback option at both behind Bob Sanders, Antoine Bethea and Matt Giordano. Condren is talented enough that he may be too hard to keep off the field, so expect to see him in various sub and blitz packages, especially in short-yardage and goal-line situations."

Brandon Foster - DB

Guy's been hanging around since May.

"It is not, though, too early to draw comparisons between Foster and current sub-package defender Tim Jennings, who stands 5 feet, 8 inches as well and tips the scales at the same 185 pounds. 

When given the chance to play, Foster certainly showed a nose for the ball, as evidenced by his five interceptions and three touchdowns.

He has tremendous speed, clocking a 4.31 time in the 40-yard dash, and you simply don't reach this level in the football universe with his dimensions without possessing a great deal of tenacity and will to succeed, no matter what the naysayers tell you."

Samuel Giguere - WR

Resigned, played on the practice squad.

Corey Hilliard - OT

Resigned, played on the practice squad.

"Ht: 6-4     Wt: 295     40: 5.24     Yr: 3Jr

Pos: Athletic lineman who displays good skill in pass protection.  Blocks with leverage, displays quickness throughout his game as well as footwork sliding out to protect the edge.  Easily moves about the field, jolts opponents with good punch and extends his hands, keeping defenders away.  Effectively uses angles and immediately picks up stunts or twists.

Neg: Technically gets sloppy and does not play with great balance.  Marginal run blocker who gets minimal movement.

Analysis: An underrated junior, Hilliard is a force when on his game.  Needs to better condition himself and improve his playing strength yet offers good upside for the next level."

Jamie Petrowski - TE

Signed off the Titans PS.

"At 6-feet-4 and 262 pounds, he is large for a Colts tight end.  He is very similar in size and stature to the departed Ben Utecht, so it is very possible that he is a replacement for Utecht.  He has the size to be a matchup nightmare for a slow linebacker or a considerably smaller safety.

But given the fact that he was brought up in the NFL with the Titans, he is more likely a blocking tight end that has some upside as a receiver.

______________________________________________________________

Though the Colts are currently fighting for their playoff lives in 2008, Petrowski represents a 2009 roster spot battle.  It will be between him and Robinson to decide who the blocking tight end/H-Back is next season.  The work that Petrowski does for the remainder of this season and the next offseason will determine what the Colts do at the position next season."

Taj Smith - WR

Signed him off the Packers PS, released him, signed him back after the season.

Brandon Sumrall -

Signed as UDFA to the Vikings.  Buccaneers got him, we had him on our PS at the end of the season.

"Positives:  Very good athlete.  Quick, tough and physical with good ball-hawking skills and hands.  Plays faster than he times.  Good Cover-2 prospect who does a nice job re-routing receivers at the line of scrimmage.  Is quick and agile and shows good short-area burst.  Plays smart, good awareness and can break on the ball and comes up quickly.  Strong tackler on run support.  Has some versatility (has also played safety) and should contribute on special teams.

Negatives:  Does not have great size, speed or pure, sustained man-on-man cover ability.  Might struggle to keep up with premier receivers down the field.  Will gamble and lose at times.

Summary:  Sumrall is a good fit in the team's zone scheme and could surprise and challenge for a roster spot if he stands out on special teams."

Anyway, that's sort of an updated list of what's been going on.

"The Colts have moved $2.85mil in salary cap space for 2009 by their yearly manipulation of bonuses.  The re-signing of Lance Ball was the intermediary allowing the team to move the space.

In short, the procedure by which bonuses are moved are writing a late-season contract for bonuses that are automatically deemed likely-to-be-earned by the type of bonus they are.  As such, they are included in the team’s salary cap calculations during year.  However, they are carefully constructed to ensure that the bonus will never actually be earned, meaning that at the end of the year when they are officially unearned, the team gets a cap credit for the following year.

Such a procedure is commonly used by all teams to move remaining cap space forward from one year to the next.

While such a manuever will ultimately help the Colts gain cap space in 2009, their options at this point based on my preliminary calculations remain quite limited in terms of signing anyone beyond rookies."

It's on coltscap.net

"Herm Edwards was well known for his soundbites while coaching the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets. Now he'll be taking his talking talents to ESPN.

Edwards, recently fired as head coach of the Chiefs, is joining ESPN as a NFL studio analyst and will start in mid-February.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to join the ESPN team and offer my insight as a former player and head coach. I'm going to be truthful with my opinions on all the issues that take place on and off the field of play," Edwards said in a statement.

Edwards had been an NFL head coach for the past eight seasons, leading the Jets and Chiefs to four playoff appearances. In addition, he is one of only four NFL coaches to lead two teams to playoff berths in his first season with a new team.

"Herm is well-liked and highly respected throughout the league, and his insights and opinions as a former coach will make a tremendous addition to our year-round NFL coverage," Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, production said in a statement.

Edwards, who also played 10 seasons in the NFL -- mostly for the Eagles, will appear on NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and other programs throughout the year. He also will contribute on ESPN Radio and other platforms."

One of the only stories I'll believe from them, and they still might have it wrong.

Alright, so, let me sum up some of the things I found out when I was researching the 4-2-5 today because I know my wall of text can be nonsensical.  I came to the idea, and knew it was just a pipe dream when I saw that the Colts were talking to Hamlin and was wondering "With Bullit, Bethea, Sanders, Giordano, why the hell would they be talking to a safety?"  And I know that it's just talking, but it struck me as odd.  And I remembered the buzz around Nic Harris, the safety who was being tested out as a LB at the Senior Bowl.  So driving in to work, I was listening to Ronde Barber and they were talking about Adrian Wilson from the Cardinals and Barber went on for a bit about how he thinks there will be an upcoming evolution of the type of player that plays safety.  And he used how Derrick Brooks was an evolution at the LB position that generated a new breed of LBs in the league.

So it went "Hamlin....Harris....Sanders....Bullit...deep safeties...Brooks....Dungy..." and then I remembered some of my old doodles about using 3 safeties, not knowing that it had been done before.  So I start looking around, and see that yes, it's an actual system, and one of the best defensive units (TCU) used it this year.  At this point it's still "it'd be kind of cool".  You can kind of get the timeline from my other post if you feel like reading all of that.  But this is the circumstantial evidence I've found out:

1) Caldwell and Polian both say they'll be "tweaking" the defense.

2) Ron Meeks let go

3) Coyer rumored as the replacement - I find out today that his "show me" blitz package is actually a 4-2-5.

4) There's been success not only in college, but the NFL with a 4-2-5.  The majority of the time teams don't have the safeties, speed, or rush to pull it off.  Traditionally, when a team does use it, they improve their defense.

5) Ray Rychleski hired as special teams coach - Find out USC ran a 4-2-5 this year.

4) Okwo - Just signed the guy, reading on the 4-2-5 there's alot of pressure put on the edges ( http://www.coachallen.com/PDFs/defense.pdf ).  And after reading a few scouting reports, and the one ColtsFanIL put up,

"Has excellent closing speed and does a fine job of staying low in his pads to take on and neutralize the lead blocks in attempts to plug the inside rush lanes."

"Has the hand strength to throw blockers to the ground and uses them well to protect his body from cut blocks"

"Players his size usually struggle to shed against offensive linemen, but Okwo is very efficient at shedding and splitting the double teams"

etc..

5) And lastly, for now - imagine for a second, these dudes wearing Colts blue and tell me it doesn't make sense - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj7gUZb_Zcs

Probably not going to happen.  I don't feel, like it's been said, that we're actually giving up size for speed.  I think it's easily possible to get a 220-230 lb safety or a LB that can play great coverage and use this system.  Any type of defense that we have to run, even the T2 we've been running for years, needs a DT.  So don't assume I'm saying "Let's just do this and fix everything."  Our safeties are the deepest position we have on defense.  Freeney/Mathis are sick, but who's behind them?  Our LBs have been inconsistent all year, it's arguable that our safeties are as good or better in tackling, and are significantly faster than they are.  There's about 7 or 8 safeties in the draft that are almost the same size, or bigger than our LBs.  There's also quite a few LBs that are bigger and faster than our current LBs. 

Anyway, you can throw it out for lack of evidence, but I find all these series of events intriguing.  Watch the draft, pay attention to who we pick as DC.  Too early to tell.