Peter King's MMQB

by AussieColtsFan on May 12, 2009 10:28 AM EDT Comment 10 comments

In this week's edition of MMQB our favourite writer (*sarcasm*), Peter King, ranks all 32 teams based on how they stack up after the draft and free agency period. He ranks the Colts fifth, behind the Patriots, Steelers, Giants and Bears. I fail to see how any of these teams have improved more then the Colts as each have glaing needs:

Patriots - Tom Brady coming back from serious knee injury, aging defense, thin LB corp

Steelers - I could actually accept them being higher then the Colts because after all they are the reigning superbowl champs, however they did very little to improve their O-line, which allowed 49 sacks last year.

Giants - rookie wideouts typical take 2-3 years to become legitmate threats to opposing defences and as such they are still looking very thin at the wideout position.

Bears – Yeah, sure they got Jay Cutler, but who is he going to throw to???

Colts – We all know how the Colts have gone this offseason. To reiterate they improved their two biggest weakness, addressing the running game (Donald Brown and likely improvement from a young O-line), run defence (DT additions Moala, Taylor, Big Ed, Grady, etc will greatly improve the Colts run-D), increased WR and LB depth, plus Peyton will be starting the season healthy.

So please explain Peter how the Colts did not improve more then the aforementioned teams?

Here is what he had to say about the Colts:

5. Indianapolis
As long as Peyton Manning walks, talks and leads the way he does, the biggest question about the Colts is what they do in January, not October. I'll be interested, as we all will be, to see what kind of tweaking takes place on the defense, with a more aggressive style now that Tony Dungy and defensive coordinator Ron Meeks are gone and the more aggressive Larry Coyer has been hired to run that unit. I don't expect an overhaul of the Tampa 2, but I do expect the secondary to be more aggressive, particularly in some blitz situations, and I expect emerging star safety Melvin Bullitt to be used more, even with Bob Sanders in the game.

Discuss

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.

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If they start blitzing

we’ll see less Tampa 2 coverage. we’ll see how they change coverages to adapt more aggressive play…..im excited to see what happens.

by MARVININDY on May 12, 2009 11:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

New England and Pitsburge do scare me. Brady is gonna be fully healthy and Pitsburgh is coming off a superbowl title. But to say the bears are the fourth best team is a joke. First of all Jay cutler is vastly overrated. He had a stud in Brandon Marshal to throw to anad he had a good line. Who is Cutler going to trhow to is Chicago? The last time I chrecked Hester and Earl Benett aren’t stars in this league

by Bleed Blue and White18 on May 12, 2009 4:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't know.

Bennett was a rookie last year, so it is hard to judge him, especially with that inept passing game the Bears had last season. You may recall that Bennett looked pretty studly in college when he was catching passes from…Jay Cutler. In fact, Cutler, Bennett and Chris Williams are all reuniting in Chicago.

Hester ran some great deep routes, but Orton couldn’t get the ball to the open receiver. Still, Hester adjusted back a couple of times to make great catches. I suspect that Cutler will be able to make those throws, if Hester continues to get separation.

Forte is a stud. He is one of the key guys on that team. He is a Colts dream RB. Pass blocks well, receives extremely well, and runs better than our boys. Forte will be a force. He led the team in receptions last season with sixty-three, which is as much an indictment against the passing game as a compliment to Forte. Cutler will get the ball to these receivers, but will thoroughly enjoy his talented backfield option.

Greg Olsen will emerge this season as a premier TE. Count on it. He had the second most team receptions behind Forte. He looked very tough in his sophomore campaign, and I expect will break out this year.

The Bears have long possessed an elite defense, but they wear down because the offense can’t stay on the field, as any defense would. This year the Bears will have the best offense they have probably ever fielded, and the defense will be rejuvenated. I believe they will win the NFC this year. We will see.

by coltsfanawalt on May 13, 2009 1:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

By the way,

Who lets a young, NFL proven, pro bowl QB (have I mentioned young yet?) get away from their franchise? The Denver Broncos blew it. This isn’t old man Favre, who was great but well past his prime. This is one of the best QBs drafted in the past few years.

The Bears were smart in paying any price to get him. No wondering over a rookie QB like Stafford or Sanchez. NFL experienced and successful, and at the age of twenty-five. Denver blew it, and Shanahan is somewhere laughing as we speak.

by coltsfanawalt on May 13, 2009 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Shit doesn't just happen, arseholes cause it!

by AussieColtsFan on May 13, 2009 6:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well for one

Peter King is a moron.

But you have to remember that when most people look at our draft, they see us taking a RB when we’ve already got a young Pro-Bowl RB, a couple of DTs that a lot of people had at best mixed feelings about, a bunch of free agents at one of the most critical positions on the field and, er, yet another young receiver.

We’re homers, we’re absolutely sure every guy the Colts sign is going to be a major player – the reality is half of the guys we’ve signed this season will be gone in two years. That’s just the life of a modern pro in the NFL. So when you see a side relying on a run defense featuring free agents and rookies, a receiving corps that is, to most people in the media, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and a bunch of scrubs, one of the worst running offenses in the league “reinforced” by a guy who is not a big guy and lacks breakaway speed…

Every team in the NFL has weaknesses if you look at them the right way.

by eltharion_doa on May 14, 2009 3:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

True

However some teams have greater weaknesses then others. What King was basing his power rankings on was what teams did to address their weaknesses through the draft and free agency. I believe that the Colts were better at addressing their weaknesses then most of the teams above them on King’s list

the reality is half of the guys we’ve signed this season will be gone in two years

I agree that it is likely that half the guys we have obtained will fail to get anywhere, however Polian’s strike rate is much higher then other NFL GM’s so there is reason for optimism

relying on a run defense featuring free agents and rookies

From memory Ed Johnson is pretty good against the run. Antonio Johnson wasn’t too bad either. And surely you must agree that, even though they are unproven, 300 pound lineman are more likely to be better at defending the run then 265 pound linemen? Either way, the best two guys will play regardless of size, and with plenty of DTs on the roster, the competition will be intense and therefore whoever the starters are that emerge from this group will likely be an upgrade over last year.

receiving corps that is, to most people in the media, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and a bunch of scrubs

If you listen and believe everything you hear in the media I feel for you. “and a bunch of scrubs” – I think Gonzalez would take offence to that statement. I guess you could consider Garcon, Hall, Collie, etc, scrubs, although from what we’ve heard from Polian regarding each of these player’s, things sounds pretty promising: Garcon-most improved second year player, Collie – similar to stokely, Hall – well not much has been said but hes been on the list for a while now so the colts must see something in him.

one of the worst running offenses in the league "reinforced" by a guy who is not a big guy and lacks breakaway speed

I would have to agree that this is probably our greatest weakness as we did little to address the o-line. Although Brown may not be a large, physical “power-back” or a “home-run hitter”, neither are Colt’s type backs. He is a jack-of-all-trades back and it would appear that he will fit very well into the Colts offence.

So yeah sure every team has their weaknesses but I believe the Colts are in a better position to address thier weakness then the other teams on King’s list.

Shit doesn't just happen, arseholes cause it!

by AussieColtsFan on May 14, 2009 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs