NFL

[slappybrown]

who is good on the colts

real question here, as I do not play FF anymore so I have no reason to care for an andrew luck-less irrelevancy like the colts

is there some pipeline of pieces on the way or in place already that merely needs andrew to be healthy and even 80% of his old self to turn them into a contender? I dont think I know a guy on the colts right now other than Luck and the guy who just tragically passed due to the DUI dckhead

[mikey]

Haha, oh yeah, no, don't worry about it...the team is a circus...we still need most of an offensive line to be assembled, a linebacker corps, a non-geriatric running back (Mack? maybe) and we still can't figure out if Andrew Luck's breast augmentation was a success or not...our doctors put him down for the Tara Reid and, eesh, he is not happy about it...

One thing that the missed years of Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck showed is that the team is entirely dependent on their respective greatness to be relevant. Some players are calculated out to be 0.6 wins or 2.3 wins or whatever above replacement. It's clear that in Indianapolis, the coach is only relevant to the defense a little bit and Manning and Luck were worth at least 9-12 wins a piece depending on the season...that's...re-assuring? Good...value...? Frightening...? Not sure how to categorize it...

[willeyeam]

I think Marlon Mack is good but not sure because Pagano gave him 2 touches a game.

[slappybrown]

it is strange that after years of how ever many GMs, they cant build a competitive team seemingly ever without a generational talent at QB. The steelers were competitive and winning playoff games with Bubby Brister, Neil O'Donnell, Kordell Stewart before Benjamin, but other than the Jim Harbuagh blip in the mid-90s when they lost to the Steelers in the 95 AFCCG, its healthy generational QB or bust.

[slappybrown]

JACK TRUDEAU

[mikey]

@slap

The secondary really performed well over expectations last year. Malik Hooker (first rounder from AN ohio state university) has walked right into the NFL and looked good. The defensive line showed improvement, but probably needs a piece. Notably a strong pass rusher (Chubb?).

The o-line has Ryan Kelly at center and then no one who can string together several good games in a row it seems...I'm not an o-line expert by any means, but Kelly seems like the guy I'm least pissed off at after games...whereas everybody else is tied for last...

Moncrief was horrific this year, but I can't entirely fault him...fake Tyrod Taylor was throwing him the ball (well, sometimes, Brisket loves to incubate the football until it's ready to hatch)...

We need o-line, we need a pass rush, we need linebackers...everything you can kind of look at as NFL caliber (no idea what free agents are leaving off the top of my head, though)...hell, even Rigoberto Sanchez stepped right in for Pat Mac and did a really good job with big shoes to fill...he also got plenty of practice as I can't imagine too many teams punting more than the Colts last year...

It's Luck -> Hilton vs the world still...but with an increased chance that our secondary gets an interception. That didn't seem to be the case in the 11-win seasons where it was just Luck -> Hilton vs the world with no support...

[mikey]

Mack progressed well this year. He doesn't hold the ball like it's a water balloon that's about to burst and he doesn't want to get wet. That was his main flaw, he just didn't know how to hold the football while running his style. This has improved. But as you note, he never really got to get on a roll, the better the series he had, the more likely it was that he wouldn't play in the next three...

[slappybrown]

Malik Hooker is from Western PA -- New Castle -- so I did know him. I recall reading he was good, but he blew out his ACL this year, right? He wasnt a speed guy (that was his knock in HS and college IIRC) so maybe it doesnt matter too much for him but like a good yinzer I wanted the Steelers to nab him, but he blew up in the months leading to the draft.

TY Hilton I know, obviously, so thats a good piece.

[mikey]

Yeah, Hooker got hurt...but he looked really good for a short amount of time. Hopefully this isn't another Bob Sanders type deal. He played like 16 games over the course of 10 seasons and the Colts were like 16-0 when he played...I completely made that up, but Bob got hurt a ton but he was an absolute monster...I think the only two seasons he even reached the 10-game mark he was First-Team All-Pro in both of them...

[slappybrown]

Yea Sanders is a one of those what could have been guys but he could never stay healthy

[mikey]

He probably could have been in the Pro Football Hall of Fame presented by Karl Joseph®

[shafnutz05]

TY Hilton is one of the most talented receivers in the league, IMO. Doesn't really rack up the TDs, but consistent year over year

[mikey]

[dodint]

Is he celebrating being down by two possessions late in the game against the Texans? Yowza.

[mikey]

That was actually part of a natural hat trick for T.Y. that rallied the Colts from 24-6 down with 15:05 left to winning 27-24 on the road. The gif was a 58-yard TD catch and run to get the Colts to within striking distance. He'd win it for them five minutes later...

[dodint]

You'd have to watch a Colts game to know that.

C'mon, man.

[mikey]

It was a rare non-NFC East prime time game, I thought you would be all over it...you only get one a season...

[tifosi77]

Garoppolo signs 5-year/$137.5 mil deal with 9ers.

[Dickie Dunn]

That seems excessive.

[tifosi77]

The richest contract in NFL history for a guy with seven career starts? It's a bold move, Cotton.

[columbia]

[skullman80]

The 49ers have cap space to burn and they think they have their guy. It may blow up in their face, but I'm fine with it. At least gives them some stability at the QB position and someone to build around.

[mikey]

That's a good player.

[slappybrown]

is that a toronto blue jays windbreaker

[columbia]

He was scouting Russell Wilson for TOR.