2012 NFL Offseason Needs: Indianapolis Colts
by Matthew Fairburn on Feb 20, 2012 10:00 AM EST
in Mocking the AFC South
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Print2011 was a dismal year in Indianapolis. Once Peyton Manning was declared out for the season, which took quite a while, the team went completely south. The Colts did manage a burst of energy at the end of the season to avoid a winless campaign, but there is a lot of work to be done in Indy this offseason.
The first and potentially most controversial order of business is what to do with the aforementioned Manning. The future Hall of Famer's future in the league is uncertain. It's unclear whether or not he will ever return to 100 percent health or be able to play at the same level he once did. Meanwhile, a once and a generation quarterback prospect is starting the Colts in the face, so it's an interesting dilema.
Jim Irsay has already to started to clean house, ushering in a new era of Colts football. The new regime plenty of needs to address in the offseason, so let's get to it after the jump.
Offense
Red - Glaring Need
Yellow - Need
Green - No Need
Quarterback: Quarterback is a good place to start with the Colts. Will they bring back Peyton Manning? That's the question on everyone's ind, but regardless of what they decide to do with No. 18, the quarterback position must be addressed in the draft, and the team has to pick Andrew Luck. It would be ideal if Manning would stay on to ease Luck's transition, but Indy has to make the pick regardless.
Wide Receiver: Both Pierre Garcon and Reggie Wayne are free agents this offseason. Wayne is getting up there in age and will likely look for one last contract, while it seems feasible that Garcon will test the open market. Both will either need to be retained or replaced.
Offensive Line: All three of the starters on the interior of the offensive line for the Colts will be free agents. The group also didn't perform particularly well this season, so you can count on the Colts beefing up in the trenches either through free agency or the NFL Draft.
Defense
Note: New coach Chuck Pagano runs a hybrid defensive scheme that is mostly focused on the 3-4, but for now, I thought I would diagram what the Colts struggled with a season ago, and that is the 4-3 scheme.
Secondary: Cornerback is the most glaring need on Indianapolis's putrid defense. The team was torn apart in the secondary all season long. Indy would also be wise to replace the injury prone Melvin Bullitt at strong safety. I noted that the Colts have glaring needs at two corner spots, but that was more to emphasize the need for depth. It is not a slight on Jerraud Powers, who played well
Defensive Tackle: Regardless of the defensive scheme the Colts choose, the team will need to find some interior lineman to beef up their defensive front. There is not a true nose tackle on the roster, and very few of the Colts draft picks have panned out at the position.
Outside Linebacker: I only list this position because Phillip Wheeler is a free agent. The Colts would be wise to retain his services.
Defensive End: Robert Mathis is a free agent. If the two sides don't agree to a contract, the pass rush will take a big hit.
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You've been reading PFF, haven't you?
Phillip Wheeler is another one of those grades they’ve given out which hasn’t ever borne out on the field. Wheeler offers little, aside from some scratchy potential in pass rushing situations.
On a wider note, I don’t see how OLB is more of a priority than DT.
I don't have a right to an opinion, apparently.
Writer at ColtsAuthority.
Wheeler has gotten much better since he first arrived in Indy
he’s nothing special imo, but pretty solid. He doesn’t make plays behind like line with regularity like Conner, but he’s also much less lost in coverage.
Choke/Clutch is the fetishization of the small sample size.
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
—Hanlon's Razor
by shake n bake on Feb 20, 2012 10:43 AM EST up reply actions
until this year wheeler has been pure trash
and he was only decent this year
by BLOODontheTRACKS on Feb 20, 2012 4:12 PM EST up reply actions
Wheeler was pretty solid this year.
After playing that well this year I’d resign him.
by James Broschat on Feb 20, 2012 7:12 PM EST up reply actions
I'd disagree completely.
Wheeler has been one of the most consistent tacklers, and has done well consistently against run and pass situations. His defense rate against passes is good, his YPC allowed when tackling RBs is good, his broken and missed tackles are low, and he does a very good job keeping his gap assignments.
Conner and Session presented the same problems as each other. Poor tackling technique, and while they can make explosive plays, they miss about as many big plays as they make. Give me Wheeler over either guy any day.
No man should escape our universities without knowing how little he knows.
Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man.
-Julius "Robert" Oppenheimer
Pagano has coached up worse CBs (see Baltimore)
They sucked more because of the scheme.
FS, RB aren’t needs and if Ijalana has to play G, that’s set too. Reitz wasn’t bad at G either.
Yeah, I think they can get a decent nickelback out of the crop of guys they have behind Powers
so only really need 1 CB and some UDFAs there. I mean, even Lacey was pretty solid when he was just the nickel.
Choke/Clutch is the fetishization of the small sample size.
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
—Hanlon's Razor
by shake n bake on Feb 20, 2012 10:45 AM EST up reply actions
Lacey is pretty solid under Mike Murphy.
A lot will depend on the coach, but we seems to be set in that respect.
by Peter Storgaard on Feb 21, 2012 9:30 AM EST up reply actions
Lacey was solid when he was allowed to play Man coverage.
Lacey has never played Nickle. That has always been Powers, Johnson, or Thomas this year, and was Powers and Brown last year.
Lacey’s biggest problem recently has just been the scheme. Telling him to play 10 yards off (which all the CBs did, not just Lacey), and asking him to prevent short quick passes makes it unsurprising he allowed completions and first downs on short yardage plays. I’m not going to rag on any of the CBs for that. What I will say, though, is that Lacey allowed the fewest yards per attempt of the CBs we had this year, though.
No man should escape our universities without knowing how little he knows.
Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man.
-Julius "Robert" Oppenheimer
I was talking about in 2010
Choke/Clutch is the fetishization of the small sample size.
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
—Hanlon's Razor
by shake n bake on Feb 21, 2012 5:30 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed.
Take away the previous coaching staff’s requirement for the corners to play 10 yards off, and I think they can actually do all right. Not spectacular, mind you, but they’d be sufficient. Like Shake, I’d say that at most only 1 CB is truly needed.
My opinion: SS is far more of a need. I would’ve only yellowed one of the CB positions, and green’ed the FS (unless for some odd reason Bethea isn’t there. And I don’t think he’s a free agent, so he’s got no reason to leave). But SS definitely is a glaring need, IMO.
--------
"First they came for the ugly, and I did not speak out because I was not ugly.
Then they came for the nerds, and I did not speak out because D&D IS A RESPECTABLE GAME WITH A LARGE PLAYERBASE OK MOM???
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because let's be real they always come for the Jews.
Then they came for me, and I did not speak out because they actually came for me back when they came for the nerds."
--
"How can a pickup truck contain enough mass to unfold into a towering machine? I say if Ringling Brothers can get 15 clowns into a Volkswagen, anything is possible."
I would actually say RT isn’t a need. That’s where Ijalana is slotted to play. Reitz probably retains his position at LG because he played well (the line looked visibly better when he was in). So Indy needs to find a successor to Jeff Saturday and a RG.
I listed RT as a need
because there have been talks of kicking Ben Ijalana inside to guard. There is quite a bit of work to be done on the o-line regardless.
mockingthedraft.com
by Matthew Fairburn on Feb 20, 2012 12:01 PM EST up reply actions
I feel like most of that talk comes from outside the organization. All the indicators from Indianapolis are that Ijalana was drafted to play right tackle. Plus, in the limited action he saw at left tackle last year before tearing his ACL against Miami, he kept Adrian Claiborne in check.
Yes, this.
It of course is possible that the new “regime” in place will think differently, but I’m struck how all the talk about kicking Ben to the interior has come from everywhere else but the Colts. He seemed to do pretty well at tackle when he was called upon.
--------
"First they came for the ugly, and I did not speak out because I was not ugly.
Then they came for the nerds, and I did not speak out because D&D IS A RESPECTABLE GAME WITH A LARGE PLAYERBASE OK MOM???
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because let's be real they always come for the Jews.
Then they came for me, and I did not speak out because they actually came for me back when they came for the nerds."
--
"How can a pickup truck contain enough mass to unfold into a towering machine? I say if Ringling Brothers can get 15 clowns into a Volkswagen, anything is possible."
Just goes to show
the true greatness Manning and how he could mask these weaknesses for years. Polian made some good decisions but this goes to show how much he deserved to be fired.
C'mon, join us, there's plenty of koolaid on the Broncos bandwagon for everyone!
"Yea, well, you know, that’s just like, uh, your opinion, man"
-The Big Lebowski
by DBroncs1414 on Feb 20, 2012 3:19 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
No slot receiver?
I only count 10 positions on offense.
by SouthDakotaColt on Feb 20, 2012 7:13 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Austin Collie
is fine as slot receiver.
There's only 1 true friend in life. Jack Daniels.
My starting line-up will be something like this:
QB: 18/Luck
RB: RBBC (Carter/Brown/?)
WR: ?/Garcon/Collie
TE: Fleener
OL: Castonzo-Reitz-Saturday/?-Ijalana-?
DL: Anderson-?-Nevis or Mathis-Nevis-?-Freeney
LB: Kavell-Angerer-Wheeler or Mathis-Kavell-Angerer-Wheeler/Hughes
FS: Bethea
SS: Lefeged/?/Rucker
CB: Powers-?-Lacey
After drafting Luck, our priorities should probably be a WR1 (I don’t think Wayne will be back), a CB and a NT. I don’t like any of the SS, so Lefeged will probably have to step it up – or Rucker could be moved back.
A C (if Saturday retired) and a RT would be great as well, but we could address those needs in 2013.
by Peter Storgaard on Feb 21, 2012 9:37 AM EST reply actions
A few things. Fleener is good as a tight end, but I don’t think he’s there in the third and there are better options at 34. Fortunately there are other options.
I’m glad someone else agrees with me about the strong safeties in this year’s class.
I don’t see anyone special. I don’t think we’ll find a true #1 receiver unless Sanu somehow falls (I don’t see that happening) because those guys usually go early to mid first. I do think we need to draft at least one receiver in the middle rounds for depth though.
Finally, the Colts need at right guard, not a right tackle. Ben Ijalana was drafted to play right tackle and proved he could do it last year when he played very well at left tackle stepping in for Anthony Costanzo. All the talk about kicking Ijalana inside is coming from everyone BUT the Colts.
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