The end of the Peyton Manning Era?

[ProfessaPackMan]

When Freeney and/or Mathis aren't healthy, it doesn't work but when those 2 along with Sanders are all healthy(which isn't often)then it definitely helps and in a Cover 2, that's exactly what you need for it to be effective. Otherwise, you take one of them out and Offenses will pick right thru that Defense.

I agree that their Draft's haven't been that good, but I don't judge a FO strictly on Draft picks because if that were the case, you'd see plenty of teams cleaning house every 2-3 years.

[kingkilla56]

Winning trumps all...most. So they win 11 games a year and people think their FO is tops.

But in reality, their FO is not that great. Drafting is big and they havent done it well recently. They plug in randoms at spots on both sides of the ball and it only works semi-well on one side of the ball, offense. The defense is predicated on their two defensive ends, thats not smart FO work right there.

[z Revis]

The Colts FO is one of the best in the league. They build their teams through the draft which is the best and most efficient way to go both on the field and financially. I'd like to see them sign FA's a little bit more though, 1 player here or there won't hurt. And to say they're not a good drafting team is laughable. They're one of the best talent evaluating teams in the league. You can pretty much pencil in 1 player from the late rounds each year, or collegiate free agency, that will pan out and become a key starter for us. Pierre Garcon(6th round), Austin Collie(4th round), Jeff Saturday(undrafted), Robert Mathis(5th round), Gary Brackett(undrafted), Antoine Bethea(6th round), Clint Session(4th round), Ryan Lilja(undrafted), Jake Scott(5th round).. the list goes on and on. Add in drafting players such as Peyton over Leaf, or Edge over Ricky Williams, and it's not even arguable.

The problem is their system. They keep drafting offensive players such as Anthony Gonzalez and Donald Brown when those positions aren't of need. We need defense. We need a big fat DT that can clog the middle and stop the run. Small quick defenses don't work. Put Peyton in a game management situation and he's unbeatable, which is the exact situation he'd be in if his defense could stop someone. They're a bend but don't break D which can get you beat. The Playoff game vs the Jets is a prime example. They only gave up 16 points, but they couldn't get off the field at all in the 2nd half and gave the offense just 3 possessions.

[SPTO]

Some more comments on the FO:

While it does seem at times like Polian just drafts guys "Peyton would work well with" you have to also look at the bigger picture. When Bill Polian came to Indy in December of '97 the team was in a shambles. He could've kept Jim Harbaugh as his #1 QB and use the free agent market but he wisely chose to build through the draft. He's had a ton of success (mostly in the first half of the 2000s) that has been the lynchpin of the Colts success for years now.

Just look at this:

'98: Edgerrin James (remember that was the Ricky Williams draft and everyone expected the Colts to take him)

'01: Reggie Wayne

'02: Dwight Freeney (remember he got a lot of flack for drafting someone who was deemed too small to play the pro game.)

'03: late round picks Robert Mathis and Cato June.

'04: Bob Sanders (though he's proven to be quite injury prone throughout his career)

'06: Joseph Addai (again he could've made a trendier pick when it comes to RBs that year)

As you can see Polian drafted quite well. Like I said before he's not had as much success in the latter part of the '00s and that's a little troubling but I still think his body of work is good enough that you can have some faith in the FO moving forward. Also let us not forget that Polian fixed what was a laughing stock in the Buffalo Bills in the mid '80s and he very quickly took the expansion Panthers and made them a credible franchise.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Quote: Originally Posted by kingkilla56

Winning trumps all...most. So they win 11 games a year and people think their FO is tops. But in reality, their FO is not that great. Drafting is big and they havent done it well recently. They plug in randoms at spots on both sides of the ball and it only works semi-well on one side of the ball, offense. The defense is predicated on their two defensive ends, thats not smart FO work right there.

And like I said, if Drafting was the ONLY thing we judged these dudes on, EVERY team would be cleaning house every 2-3 years.

But I'm sure if you ask the Skins/Cowboys/Bengals/Lions/Cardinals/Broncos if they would take the Colts "not so good" FO with the 11 wins every year as well, they'll take them in a heartbeat. I'm not saying their the best thing ever created, just that their not as bad as you think they are.

And just about every defensive system are predicated on a certain position. Just like the 3-4 is predicated on LBers and the Cover 2/Tampa 2 is predicated on you're D-Line/D-Ends.

[kingkilla56]

Quote: Originally Posted by ProfessaPackMan

And like I said, if Drafting was the ONLY thing we judged these dudes on, EVERY team would be cleaning house every 2-3 years. But I'm sure if you ask the Skins/Cowboys/Bengals/Lions/Cardinals/Broncos if they would take the Colts "not so good" FO with the 11 wins every year as well, they'll take them in a heartbeat. I'm not saying their the best thing ever created, just that their not as bad as you think they are. And just about every defensive system are predicated on a certain position. Just like the 3-4 is predicated on LBers and the Cover 2/Tampa 2 is predicated on you're D-Line/D-Ends.

Im sorry. I didnt want to imply that they were horrid. In no way shape or form. They just arent top in the game. I was just pounding what I thought they were bad at to show they weren't top. The Colts FO is certainly top 15 if not better. But the only amazing FOs that I can honestly say they are the reason for the success is New England and Pittsburg (shoot me now). Those two are out of this world. The Colts FO is not making thier team better. Thats just my opinion.

[Chrisksaint]

Colts FO is one of the best in the NFL right now end of story. Colts,Steelers, Pats are prolly top 3 right now. Ravens and Saints Front Offices are lurking around their at 4/5, although I think you could make the arguement just purely based on the past 5 years the Saints have the best FO.

[SPTO]

Quote: Originally Posted by Chrisksaint

Colts FO is one of the best in the NFL right now end of story. Colts,Steelers, Pats are prolly top 3 right now. Ravens and Saints Front Offices are lurking around their at 4/5, although I think you could make the arguement just purely based on the past 5 years the Saints have the best FO.

Gotta throw the Chiefs into the mix as well. They have a lot of young talent just ready to explode.