SB Nation User Blog: slash196

Stop the silliness

slash196 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:23:42 -0000

Now that the Colts have a division title in hand, the playoff scenarios are pouring in. And just like every year, like clockwork, the same silliness starts:

Gotta play the starters, even if there's nothing to win. Gotta keep em out there, keep em sharp. Gotta keep momentum.

Kravitz may be riding that train, but Polian isn't, and I'm DEFINITELY not, and it should really be obvious why.

As Polian said in this week's radio broadcast, there are plenty of theories about pre-playoff rest. Does is help the players take a blow, or does it allow them to get complacent? How does it impact sharpness? What where who why how?

Theories are nice, but as Polian points out, that's just what they are: THEORIES.

NOW, let's have some facts. Fact number one: The NFL season is a physical grind. Every game is a car wreck, in a way that you can't appreciate if you haven't played football before. By the time the end of the season rolls around, players have been in 20 games. Every player on every team is physically exhausted. But to win the Super Bowl, you have to have enough juice for that final push, three or four games against the best teams the league has to offer. If you don't have that juice, if your legs aren't fresher, if your body isn't stronger, if you don't have that extra physical edge, you are going to lose. Plain and simple. Why do 350-carry backs always suck in the playoffs? Because they did their best running in Week 8. Rest and freshness is HUGE as the season goes down the stretch, for every player at every position.

Fact number 2: Polian said it best - sharpness is great, but the most important thing is "availability". That means having your star players on the field when it matters the most - the playoffs. We Colts fans should know that better than ANYBODY. All I need to say is Gary Brackett and Dwight Freeney. The Colts Super Bowl chances depend on about a dozen pairs of knees on that football field; Wayne, Saturday, Clark, Brackett, Powers, Freeney, Mathis, Addai, Hayden, P-Money, and, yes, Charlie Johnson. Risking those guys, putting them in the line of fire when ANYTHING can go wrong on any play and wreck the season, is not gutsy, not helpful, not good in any way. It's STUPID.

But I hear, "If we're undefeated, we have to go for it!" And as Colts fans, you should REALLY know better than that. You know who else went undefeated? That Patriots. And then they ran out of gas right when it mattered the most, and that 16-0 didn't cushion the blow or earn them any points in the history of the game; it just made them the most hilarious and ignoble failures in the history of the game. 16-0 is not the goal. The Super Bowl is the goal. Playing for 16-0 hurts that goal.

The thing is, I know that you all know this. I know that, if Freeney goes down in Week 15, you won't say "Well, Caldwell was just trying to keep him sharp." You'll scream and holler and ask God why, why, why was Freeney out there playing for nothing more than a meaningless win. And you'll be right.

Rest, protect, regroup. Get the bye, and have a seat. There is no opposing argument. It's called playing smart, and it wins championships.

Poll

Rest the starters?

Why was Johnson cut? The mystery solved.

slash196 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:31:23 -0000

In retrospect, this move was a bigger surprise than it should have been. At the time we figured Ed had been caught with a blunt the size of an arm in his locker or something of that nature. Then there was speculation about a possible trade move that required him to be cleared off the roster. And now we're in the middle of questioning Ed Johnson's performance.

But the simplest (and by Occam's razor, the best) answer is something a little more mundane: Big Ed was the victim of a bad call by management and wound up as the odd man out.

I'm not gonna fault Polian and Caldwell for cutting Ed. But I AM going to fault them for their most glaring mistake this season:

Adam Vinatieri should have been IRed.

It was pretty clear that an aging kicker coming off of major surgery might not be ready to go by the beginning of the season. However, Vinny and management clearly thought they could rush him back.

This was clearly a mistake in judgement.

The other kicker that WAS brought in, Shane Andrus, showed he could be serviceable. More importantly, he's only 29 and was NOT coming off major surgery. Instead, Andrus was cut, and Vinatieri aggravated an injury that was definitely affecting his kicks.

So how does this relate to Ed Johnson? Unfortunately, management was now a prisoner of its own blown call. Andrus was signed elsewhere, and the kicker market was now so thin that their was no clear replacement for Vinny. They were forced to bring in Matt Stover, who is even older than Vinatieri, to plug the gap, but they still could not afford to IR Vinny. So essentially, they needed a roster spot; more specifically, they needed someone who had been a healthy scratch to step into the gameday 45 so Vinny could sit.

You can see where this is going.

2nd round pick Fili Moala has been a healthy scratch all season. Caldwell clearly thinks that he's ready to step onto the field (and for the record, Moala has shown great enthusiasm for taking advantage of playing time, which I love in a player). He also frees up a spot on the "healthy scratch" list for Vinatieri to occupy. The only problem is that this move requires cutting a DT who has dressed for the past few games. And as much as we all like Big Ed, we've seen more out of Mookie, Muir, Foster, and Brock than we have out of Ed.

And that's how you get your third wheel.

Unlike others, I don't see this as a huge indictment of Big Ed. He wasn't playing up to his 2007 level, but the guy had been out of football for a year; it was frankly unrealistic of us to expect him to fit right back in where he left off. I ALSO don't see this as a big disaster for the defense; Larry Coyer has CLEARLY improved the defensive scheme and made the entire unit more effective. Johnson was unlucky because his production (eleven tackles in four games) is eminently replaceable, especially because there's a talented, highly-drafted rookie drooling for his spot on the field.

One last thing we all may not want to hear, and that is this move does not speak well of the health of Bob Sanders. He has been a scratch since day 1, and if management thought that he would be ready to dress on gameday, they could have released Aaron Fransisco, who frankly DEFINES "lack of production" and been fine for safety depth. This move says that they feel better about their DT depth than their safety depth, which is troubling to say the least.

This whole episode has left a bitter taste in our mouths; we were all rooting for Ed to make up for his many mistakes. His teammates clearly thought the world of him. But this time, rather than screwing it up for himself, Big Ed Johnson may have simply been a victim of circumstance. As they say, this game is a business, and if there's one thing that's always been true, it remains the NFL: Not For Long.

Post Script: Big Ed, we're sorry things worked out the way they did. But you should take this as an opportunity to pursue your other passions. In all seriousness, maybe you could move to California and open a dispensary, to help the sick and dying ease their pain. Living well is the best revenge. Best of luck big guy.

"A classy crowd, a classy organization"

slash196 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:47:20 -0000

This hasn't gotten much mention that I've seen since Sunday's game, but I really wanted to bring it up.

When Edge touched the ball, the crowd stood up and cheered. When they played the tribute video, he got a standing ovation. Of course, as Colts fans, we expected this, but I was most interested in how it affected the announcers.

I can't remember their names, or the exact quotes, but the Fox announcers noted the reception Edge was getting by saying it was very "classy" for the fans to recognize the contributions Edge made and to still cheer even though he was on an opposing team. One of the announcers recounted the story of Jim Irsay sending Edge a Super Bowl ring, saying (paraphrasing) "The Colts are a classy organization".

To me, that's what the Colts are all about: Winning with class. They play hard. They play to win. But when you get to the end zone, you act like you've been there before (Marvin taught us that one). No taunting, no mouthing off, no disrespecting your opponent. You win, but you win in the RIGHT WAY. No spiking balls at midfield, no stomping on towels. Beating the living hell out of your opponent, but giving him a hand off the turf and a firm handshake when the game is over. Respecting and appreciating your star players, even when they're in a different uniform.

Winning in the RIGHT way.

That's why I'm a Colts fan.

>Phillip Wheeler shows up

slash196 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:25:34 -0000

I missed the game last night, was away from home for my GRE test (1530 for those of you wondering), but in the highlights I saw something I'm not sure I believe.

Was that Phillip Wheeler playing a down lineman on Jackson's interception? He brought great pressure off the edge and forced an early throw. For a standup guy, he looked pretty comfortable with his hand on the ground and beat two guys around the edge. Maybe this is why they let Howard go?

Quick hit thoughts:My five

slash196 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:58:43 -0000

Everyone's gonna have their thoughts, so I just wanted to chime in. It's 7 am here in Germany so I'll be brief.

1. The O-line did a pretty good job. The Garcon screen was textbook: Saturday got the linebacker, and Pollak got the safety. It's a pretty safe bet than any time you have an guard blocking on a safety, you're gonna have a touchdown. Also: Don't look now, but the Colts averaged over 5 yards a carry.

2. The D isn't as bad as it looks. Their weakness has always been over-pursuit, and that's a weakness the Wildcat is designed to exploit. It's also a weakness that is easily fixed.

3. For as bad as the Colts D looked, the Phins D might as well have not been on the field. They've got much, much bigger problems.

4. Donald Brown is a home-run first-rounder. Between his nice pass catch and a bruising TD run, he's definitely legit. And with two options at back, we can trust him to stay fresh (Plus: his awareness and body control makes it less likely for him to get nicked up).

5. Robert Mathis: Beyond clutch. That strip-sack didn't cause a three and out. What it did was set them back ten yards and burn their last TO. It also probably won the game. And that was after a 245-pound speed rusher had been on the field for 45 minutes. What a player.

Everyone will have their own thoughts, so fire away. What do you think?

10 reasons why the Colts will win the Super Bowl this season

slash196 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:45:55 -0000

Let's get one thing straight:

I'm a Homer with a capital H. In my mind, there has never been a better quarterback than Peyton Manning, and every year the Colts are the best team in football, and the only thing keeping them from the Lombardi Trophy is a conspiracy of bad trainers and corrupt officials, and possibly a jealous Zeus. So this ain't gonna be an unbiased FanPost. But I think you'll forgive me the indulgence when I say this year's Colts team is the best team in a LONG time, and only a hurricane or other supernatural intervention will deny them the Super Bowl. After the jump, I'll give you the rundown.

"But slash196" I can hear you saying, "training camp hasn't even started. There are a million different variables that will affect this season, and it's impossible to predict a Super Bowl winner before the season even starts. Why make such a prediction so early"

To that I say, first: turn in your Colts fan badge. A true fan BELIEVES; the Colts are my religion. As I've said before, I'm a homer and the Colts are by definition the best team ever.

Secondly, prestige. WHEN the Colts go all the way this year, I'll get to point to this post and say "I called it". You will all have to bow to my powers of prognostication.

But more important than these points is the simple fact that the Colts are STACKED this year. They have the best team in years and they are gonna surprise a lot of people. Let's run it all down:

1. Depth

It is a common lament in Indy that the Colts have been RAVAGED by injuries. Injuries kept us from beating the Chargers in 07; the lack of Freeney and Mathis cost us the game, as Billy Volek can attest. 08 was a litany of injuries, from Sanders to Peyton to Addai and the O-Line. The difference is, this year Polian has built this team to withstand injury. Every unit has been stocked against injury, from safety to WR to LB to DT and beyond. I will come back to this point, but it bears stressing: unlike previous years, when our starters were solid but our backups were a dropoff, Polian has made great moves and shored our team against the inevitable.

One example: The linebackers. Last year, our backers had proven talent but no depth. When the inevitable happened, we were forced to play one Buster Davis at MIKE and were almost embarrassed by the 0-16 Detroit Lions. With the addition of Adam Seward and the fortuitous re-signings of Keiaho and Hagler, we now have proven starting talent as BACKUPS behind the projected LB starters. When (and I do mean "when") we lost a starting LB to injury, we will have a baller to be the next man up. The importance of this cannot be understated.

2. D-Line

I almost don't need to write anything here; we are all kissing the ground Polian walks on for drafting a starting-caliber nose tackle AND under tackle, not to mention the intelligent re-signing of Ed "I keep my stash in my Escalade" Johnson. Less-heralded, however, are the additions at DE, Marcus Howard and Curtis Johnson. These two got almost no snaps last season, but still managed to embarrass Vince Young and the Titans, and Howard accumulated 1.5 sacks in VERY limited playing time. Besides the obvious strengths at DT, and the talent of the Pro-Bowl pair of Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, there's enough depth and talent in this unit to withstand injury, something that wasn't true in past seasons.

One last point regarding Dwight Freeney. Some people may be thinking that after injury, and after 7 seasons in the league, Dwight Freeney might be on the downside of his career. I just feel obligated to mention that Michael Strahan broke the sack record at the age of 30. Freeney turns 29 this year.

Look for a BIG year from the great number 93.

3. WR

Again, much has been said about this unit. Wayne is Wayne. Gonzo is a stud and anyone who might disagree doesn't know jack. But there's another point that I want to make, and it's this: In 07, Gonzo was fairly productive as the #2 WR after the legendary Marv went down (a moment of silence for our fallen hero). The important difference between now and 07 is that in 07, Gonzo was 3rd on the depth chart. This season, he's the #2, and that means the guy behind him isn't Aaron "Oh, so THAT'S where the sideline is" Moorehead. We haven't seen much of The Waiter, but Pierre Garcon has impressed in camp, and so has Austin Collie. WR is deeper and more talented than it has been since the Super Bowl, period. This will be a strong point this season.

(PS: Get Gonzo in your fantasy league. He's going for 1100 yards this year, count on it).

4. Peyton effing Manning

Manning may have had the quietest MVP season in NFL history last year. There aren't enough superlatives to heap on this guy, so I'll make it quick. Anyone who says a QB coming off an MVP season is on the downslope of his career is huffing glue. With a full offseason to prepare, Manning will be even better this season, a prospect which is both exciting and terrifying.

5. The D

With the addition of some big boys at DT, the previously-mentioned strengthening of the LB corps, and the re-signing of Kelvin "Screw you Rex Grossman" Hayden, the D is looking scary. The last time the D was this good, they won a Super Bowl. The loss of Dungy does hurt this unit, but the addition of Larry Coyer is unquestionably an asset. Dungy, as good a coach as he was (and he is a Hall of Famer, with a ring as both a player and a coach), was predictable. Stop the DEs and you stop the Colts D. Coyer is looking to bring pressure from non-obvious places, and he's a great coach to boot. The D will be unpredictable and fierce, and the players are behind him (which might be the most important fact of all). Add the presence of that guy who was Defensive Player of the Year in 07 (more on him below) and this D is gonna turn some heads.

6. The Running Backs

I don't know about you, but I keep forgetting about Donald Brown. I think about the draft, Moala, Collie, Taylor, even Jaimie Thomas, and somehow Brown falls through the cracks. But this should not be overlooked. BBS has said it, the boys at 18to88 have said it: the days of the "feature back" are OVER. The game is too punishing, the hits are too fierce. Joe Addai is no pansy, his running style is aggressive. But he can't take 350 carries in a season and be fresh in the playoffs; even Purple Jesus can't work that miracle. So having two first-round talents in the backfield is huge. HUGE. I can't think of many other teams that have two top talents to split carries, and Minnesota is one of them. And lets not forget the "backups": Hart and Ball have both shown great skills. In short, this is a unit that can and will make it work in the postseason.

7. The Schedule

The Colts schedule, outside of the (very strong) AFC South is as follows:

Enough said.

8. The Zombie

For those of you who have forgotten, Bob Sanders was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2007. He hungers for brains, and he will not be stopped. You may also have noticed that, unlike last year, he did NOT have arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason. Also, like Star Trek in reverse, the odd-numbered years are Sanders’ years to dominate. With bigger bodies and more depth on the D-Line to keep the guards and tackles off him, look for Sanders to dominate again.

9. The O-line (???)

I know we’re all freaking out about the O-Line this year, and such fear is warranted. But it is also misguided. Jeff Saturday has been resigned and will be back to cue the defense. Lilja claimed he would be ready on day one LAST year, and was MIA the whole season; nevertheless, he looks to be back and in playing form (fingers crossed). Tony Ugoh will be playing healthy, with a huge chip on his shoulder, and frankly has not been as bad as his rep. Charlie Johnson won’t have to start. Jaimie Thomas provides the physical talent for another late-round Mudd masterpiece. And Mike Pollak and Jamie Richard will be making the sophomore leap, building on promising rookie seasons (Pollak did well given the crappy circumstances and Richard shone despite the adversity). It’s safe to say that the O-line is deeper, stronger, and just plain better than last-year’s unit.

By the way, it should be noted that the Steelers had one of the worst O-Lines in the league last year. I can’t remember how it worked out for them.

10. The Gods

Yes, Tony Dungy is gone. He was a fantastic coach, and I don’t want to sound like I don’t appreciate what he did for the players and this team. But Jim Caldwell has the Dungy stamp of approval, and other Dungy coaches *coughcoughMikeTomlincough* have done pretty well in their careers. But let’s talk some astrology. Can anyone remember how the last team to lose Dungy as a coach did in the following season? And can anyone remember how the Colts did the last time they took a RB in the first round?

Oh yeah, Zeus is on our side too.

(Disclaimer: If Peyton goes to IR, this FanPost is rendered null and void. Keep those fingers crossed)

Madden 10 Colts revealed

slash196 — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:53:57 -0000

The official player ratings for Madden 10 have been revealed over on ESPN.

http://espn.go.com/videogames/features/madden/madden10?teamId=10

We'll go through a couple of the more notable ones; who gets props and who gets snubbed?

For those of you who may not know, this years Madden has been ratings-adjusted, to counteract the "ratings inflation" that has been going on. In years past, a player that might have been an 83 would now be around a 75. A player that might have been a 70 will now be in the 55 range. So keep in mind that, unlike in past years, a rating in the mid-to-high 70s is not necessarily a bad rating. These players won't be elite, but they won't be utterly horrible either.

With that out of the way, lets get into it.

The Studs

1. Peyton Manning - 99 overall, 99 throw accuracy

Pretty hard to argue with this one.

2. Reggie Wayne/Dallas Clark - 95/91 overall, 98/92 catch

All good here, Clark and Wayne are both studs with elite hands.

3. Freeney/Mathis/Brock - 94/92/85 overall

EA gives Mathis the love he deserves, but also surprising to see Brock with such a high rating. Freeney is a beast, as usual.

4. Gary Brackett - 82 overall, 91 tackle

As one of the most underrated players in the league, it's surprising to see Brackett getting his due here. He's completely crucial to the middle of our D.

5. Sanders/Bethea/Hayden/Jackson - 95/88/87/82 overall

Much love for a fierce Colts secondary. They should be one of the top units in the game.

6. Jeff Saturday - 93 overall

Saturday gets his due as well, he should be a force in the running game. The O-line as a whole is pretty solid, all above 80 (except for a certain lineman whose name rhymes with "Hugo").

The Snubs

1. Anthony Gonzalez - 75 overall, 84 catch

Given his raw numbers, a person who has never seen Gonzo's DVOA could be forgiven for thinking he's a middling receiver. EA is going to look very silly in about three months.

2. Joseph Addai - 85 overall, 66 toughness

Wow, sure didn't take Addai long to get the "brittle" label. Still, an 85 ain't peanuts, but if you like Addai it would probably be best to play with injuries off.

3. The Linebackers

Brackett gets props, everyone else gets the shaft. Besides Brackett, no Colts backer rates above a 65. Even with the new system, those are pretty weak numbers.

4. Tony Ugoh - 76 overall

Put it this way: Charlie Johnson is five points higher than him.

5. Melvin Bullitt - 64 overall, 65 tackle

Anyone who watched Bullitt last year could not possible come to the conclusion that the colts were 30 "Madden Points" worse with him in the game for Sanders.

The ???

1. Ed Johnson - not listed

I would hope that EA would be on top of this, it was a fairly early move and it's very important to the Colts as a team. He may be in the game as a free agent (Marv will be, as well, so everyone who wants to see the Colts with 88 this season will need to buy Madden. Rumor has it he's a very respectable 84).

2. Austin Collie - 68 overall/Pierre Garcon - 54 overall

Maybe Collie's college numbers skew this. Either way, the only people who have seen Garcon in real action are the coaches, and they love him.

3. Curtis Painter - 68 overall/Jim Sorgi - 47 overall

We all love to rag on the Clipboard, but the fact is he's thrown 8 TDs and only one pick in his limited action, whereas Curtis Painter has never played a snap, and will be lucky to make the practice squad. Madden has a pretty strong "rookie bias", whereby unproven players are more or less given the benefit of the doubt. That's clearly in play here.

Later today, the official EA site will have the full spreadsheets, as well as some screens of our virtual Colts in action. That can be found here:

http://maddennfl.easports.com/cover.action

That's it for my take. What do you see that you love? What do you see that you hate?

Grossman reportedly close to deal with Texans

slash196 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:07:12 -0000

http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/nfl_tracker/posts/67181-agent-rex-grossman-will-visit-houston-texans?eref=fromSI

File this one under "Please God let this happen". If you thought the Rosencopter was great, imagine Indy playing the Texans twice a year with Grossman under center.

Those of you who were alive three years ago may remember Rex Grossman as the Indiana native son who did his home state the greatest service in history by lofting two awful interceptions, earning many Colts fans' vote for MVP of the game. Chicago is sick of him, but here in Indiana we can't get enough of the guy. So this new deal sounds almost too good to be true.

You might as well put Hayden down for two TDs a year if this thing goes through. Fingers crossed...

Kuharsky with notes from minicamp

slash196 — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:40:23 -0000

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcsouth/0-10-38/Colts-notes-from-minicamp-practice.html

Kuharsky has some nice observations from Saturday's minicamp. Some important points:

1. Receiver order seems very much in flux, but everyone seems to be high on Garcon. The chief storyline of training camp, no doubt.

2. Charlie Johnson, Lilja and Mike Pollak were not working in the main line rotation. For the three guys who ought to represent the top of our guard depth, that's not a particularly great sign.

3. Jerraud Powers apparently made a nice break on a ball, showing good reaction and instincts. Corner depth is a big concern, so to see this guy work his way into the lineup would be great.

As Kuharsky says, you can't read too much into what goes on at minicamp. But since it's June, and between the Ko-Be-A Finals and baseball (snore), we're all dying for September. Anybody at Franklin College today with some other observations?

Polian's Secret Plan

slash196 — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:52:09 -0000

Like many, I was caught a little off guard by the Donald Brown pick. Don't get me wrong, I liked what I saw from him at the combine, and he's got some great moves. But I wasn't aware of him a really elite player. Of course, Polian is a pro and I'm certainly not arrogant enough to say that I'm a better talent evaluator than him. But I didn't see RB as a huge need.

But then a thought hit me, and I wanted to bounce it off the community, to get your thoughts.

Word is that Mike Hart is progressing really well, and the Colts love him. Joe Addai has been a great RB in the past and I like him too much to give up on him after a tough season. And Donald Brown has undeniable potential. So I think Polian's angle is this: Two out of three.

Addai, Hart, and Brown all have various levels of potential. Given the necessity of a platoon-back system, we really need TWO "the guy"s. So next season, we let Brown, Addai, and Hart go nuts. If Addai continues to trend downward, we keep Hart and Brown. If Hart can't get over his knee injury, we still have Addai and Brown. If Brown goes bust, Hart and Addai can split carries. In essence, we can survive the implosion of one RB and still have a viable 1A and 1B.

Naturally, if two RBs implode, we're in trouble. But I think this is a great way to minimize risk at a crucial and unstable position.

In Polian we trust...on to the second day.