2009 Colts Training Camp: Why benching Ugoh is really, REALLY stupid
by BigBlueShoe on Aug 11, 2009 10:34 AM EDT
in Training Camp
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I'm still seething over Caldwell's decision to bench Tony Ugoh. 18to88 thinks it's a ploy, a motivating tactic to get Ugoh upset (or something) so that he can play better. They may be right, but such tactics, in my opinion, are foolish and silly. Children and third world dictators play mind games. NFL head coaches are supposed to coach, and since we all know that Tony Ugoh is better than Charlie Johnson, it is Jim Caldwell and Howard Mudd's job to coach Tony Ugoh, not play games with his head. Aggravating the situation even more is that Johnson hasn't even earned the right to start. He hasn't out-played Ugoh. He hasn't out-performed him in camp. If Caldwell thinks Johnson has, then Caldwell is a complete idiot.
It's a stupid, stupid move that undermines the credibility of Caldwell.
I hope I'm wrong, but it is really hard for me to defend a coach who makes decisions like this based on... well, nothing. Yes, I know it is early. Yes, I know it is likely Ugoh will "win" his job back. But such silly distractions are unnecessary. Ugoh is better. Ugoh should get the job. I see no reason for this side show, circus silliness.
Also, few remember that it was Ugoh who beat our Charlie Johnson two years ago after Tarik Glenn retired. Ugoh was better than. He's better now.
I want to make something clear about this decision: This news stunned everyone. The consensus from people like John Oehser, Eric Hartz, and others at camp was that Tony Ugoh looked very, very good. Paul Kuharsky just did a piece on Ugoh's change from last year to this year. I'm willing to bet money that several players and other assistant coaches were stunned.
The general opinion was that Ugoh had the job, and that he knew he had the job. It was his desire to excel at the job that caused him perform better at camp. So, this B.S. from Caldwell that it was their plan from the beginning to move Charlie to LT most likely was not a plan they shared with Johnson and Ugoh. It certainly wasn't something they shared with the press, the fans, or even other players. You'll notice that Ugoh was not quoted by anyone yesterday, but Johnson was.
To summarize, regardless of the Caldwell's intentions, this situation was bungled. One better have a damn good reason for benching one's best LT, and so far Caldwell's reasoning doesn't make sense to anyone. Caldwell will continue to look silly if Charlie Johnson goes out there on Friday and struggles to contain Vikings DE Jared Allen. I shutter to think what would happen to Caldwell if this decision resulted in Peyton Manning getting hurt. The man literally would need a 24-hour armed guard throughout his remaining tenure as coach of the Colts.
I know several of you have chimed in on this, and your opinions have all been very good. Feel free to tear my opinion apart in the comments.
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I think
I just think Ugoh is a hair away from not being in the NFL anymore. He has this year and this year only to really prove something, otherwise no one will touch him.
mind games
I know you hold the position that these guys should need no other motivation beyond the enormous paycheck they receive. I think that makes sense from big-picture standpoint, but day-in and day-out I think it’s natural to get complacent and take your paycheck for granted and do your job in a manner that is adequate but not exemplary. I think there is merit to a motivation ploy such as this — I know that if my boss threatened to fire me, I would certainly work harder. I think at this point they are just trying anything they can think of to get this guy to play up to his potential. It could work, IMO.
Andy Reid benched McNabb and it worked.
"You can't defend the perfect throw, what can I say?" Peyton quoting Marino
you have a point
I just really freaking hope Ugoh totally beats out johnson. Johnson was horrible against jarred Allen last year and I have no doubt he will be terrible this friday against him.
by metal_militia on Aug 11, 2009 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions
that's exactly what's happening.
They need UGOH to be the next Glenn… We NEED an elite LT for the rest of Peyton’s career. This is just a ploy to try to get Ugoh to peform OUT OF HIS MIND, just to prove to himself that he can be that guy.
~SHaFF!~
The Little Sports Blog That Could:
http://www.thelittlesportsblog.blogspot.com/
This is a shot in the dark, but...............
I am totally surprised and feel much like BBS on this. Here, after a lot of thought, is a possible take on this. Last year, I thought Ugoh was benched because his head got screwed wrong due to the pressure of being nicked up from the get go and knowing that he was responsible for the protection of a totally immobile quarterback. This, coupled with the pressure of replacing an all pro LT amounts to a load for a young player. I think his confidence was undermined, and the coaching staff wanted to give him time to get his head right. Could it be that they don’t want him to face Jared Allen so soon after his problems last year? Or is it possible that Johnson is expected not to handle Allen, and that Ugoh could come in with a chip on his shoulder and take care of Allen, thus boosting his confidence? I know this is a reach, but man, I can’t understand why else sitting your best LT makes any sense.
All of those points make sense, but like BBS said, this is football, not chess. There are some times when things really aren’t that complicated. You aren’t going to make someone great by playing mind-games with them and expecting some inner flame to turn on and make them fantastic.
I really don’t know what to think of this. Unless Ugoh is being punished for some reason, or unless they expect Chaz Johnson to be really, really fantastic based on something we’re not seeing, it could just be a….legitimately bad coaching decision.
I don't know at all
But this whole thing seems to me like a tempest in a teapot. It’s just after the first week of camp. No, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but Caldwell and the assistants have been around this organization and its players, they’re not utterly clueless. And lets not forget the elephant in the room: Peyton Manning. If Manning didn’t want a change to his protection lineup, it wouldn’t happen. I have to think that he was in the loop on this.
If Ugoh is really so much better, he’ll get his job back and we’ll forget this whole thing.
It would be different if...
Ugoh’s coaches and teammates, including Jeff Saturday and Ryan Lilja, had not spent the entire offseason RAVING about Ugoh’s attitude, work ethic, and IMPROVEMENT . This has “no need to panic, I know what I’m doing” written all over it, but sense we are not used to Caldwell’s way of doing things yet, I am a little anxious. Remember when Johnson filled in for Ugoh during his rookie year, and we all thought he was going to get Peyton hurt? That can’t happen this year. We are not the patriots, we can’t win 11 games without our quarterback. Peyton can’t be replaced by Matt Cassel, he is actually important to our squad.
Overreaction
Let Caldwell do his thing man. He is the head coach of the Colts, has worked for years under Dungy, Polian, and Big Jim…not to mention the incredible talent he has at O-line coach and the other offensive coaches, as well as Tom Moore. You really think they are gonna let 18 get sacked in a preseason game? They will protect the man come game time.
Lucas Berridge
by Firebird on Aug 11, 2009 11:12 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
i agree
This early in the year this kind of thing means NOTHING. Maybe Caldwell is just playing head games with the media, not with the players at all. Wait and see what the preseason brings…
An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing...
Ditto
And one more comment about BBS’s great choice of phrasing (third world dictators): Bill Parcells (talk about a tin pot dictator), for all of his good and bad, has a notorious reputation for motivating and getting the most out of his players, some of that with mind games. I grew up in his shadow (sort of) in NJ and my whole family is Giants fans, but I never liked him. He is, however, quite effective, at least in the short-term (before he jumps to a better situation, leaving acrimony in his wake). Parcells tends to be polarizing with folks loving or hating him. Not quite what we’re used to in Coltland, but a couple more SB wins and we may be happy to forgive and forget.
Dungy saw coaching as largely teaching, and maybe Caldwell does too, but maybe he also sees motivating guys to reach down for their best as a big part of it too. Maybe Dungy felt that if you give them all the pieces they’ll put the puzzle together themselves. And Maybe Caldwell sees a need to nudge Ugoh as to where the pieces should go. We really won’t know for a while, and maybe never. Frankly, if Caldwell ever admits to it as a ploy, then all future ploys will be weakened. So if it IS and he’s SMART, we may not know for decades.
I hate Joe Namath. That's how long I've been a Colts fan.
Nick Harper
I remember BBS that you hammered home a point about one of Nick Harper’s quotes when he went to Tennessee. Something to the tune of him not wanting to compete for the job and how it didn’t sit well with you.
This is the same issue in my opinion. No matter how much raving his offensive line teammates have done and no matter how many writeups Ugoh has gotten, Mudd and Caldwell do not see the improvement and he needs to EARN his job just like you thought Nick Harper needed to earn his job.
I agree that something isn’t right as we all know that Ugoh is way better than CJ. But I think that Ugoh will win back the job as he will EARN it. This will blow over.
+1
Right on – forget mind games, just go earn your spot.
by Colts Syndrome on Aug 11, 2009 8:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Overreaction Agreed
My thought is that possibly the thought is to list him as the backup durring the preseason to get Ugoh more reps, see how he holds up. Hard to leave one starter along the offensive line after the first series and pull the rest of the starters out. Even if this is not the reason of moving him to the backup position he needs to get the work load durring the preseason he has a long way to go.
You and Desean
Need to take a deep breath and relax. I’m with you 100%, but we haven’t given this coaching staff, or this offensive line for that matter, a chance. I know it’s scary, and seems inexplicably stupid, but we’ve got to calm down for the good of our sanity, or else we’ll be seething for a month while we wait for the opener to get here. Let it work itself out.
On a side note, given all the reaction this thing has gotten (and it’s gone WAY beyond the local range; I saw it on Inside the NFL last night), shouldn’t the Star be beating down Caldwell, Mudd and Polian for more info on this? I know the Colts are highly-inaccessible, but damn, I need some hard questions to at least be asked. Where’s Kravitz’s snarky, poorly-researched column? Isn’t there going to be any public outcry from this that doesn’t come from the blogs?
"You're hitting the wrong person. Don't you know you're hitting Ron Artest?"
Re Indy Star
They’ve just given in to the dark side, you can follow their Colts coverage on Twitter @indystar_colts.
"You can't defend the perfect throw, what can I say?" Peyton quoting Marino
Ask and ye shall receive:
Key quote from Kravitz:
“I knew coming into (training camp) that that’s the move (starting Johnson) they wanted to make,” Ugoh said evenly. "I found out back in late March, early April. They told me I had a chance to prove myself again. I felt like I practiced well and things were going well for me, but unfortunately, I can only control what I do.
“They said it wasn’t done for motivation; they didn’t tell me anything like that. But I’ve just got to keep working.”
Now a proud annoyance on Stampede Blue, 18to88, Indy Football Report, and Phil B's blog.
Man, I need a life...
Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: Cursed players this year (via my autograph curse): Donald Brown, Fili Moala, Jerraud Powers, Austin Collie, Terrence Taylor, and Curtis Painter.
innocent until proven guilty
i say have a little faith in the coaches who’ve been doing it for how long now? some people went from thinking Caldwell was a great choice to thinking he’s making horrible decisions. based on what? These guys are PAID to evaluate talent, and make decisions like this. If who-ever is named the starter goes out there and does a terrible job, by all means lay into the coaches horrible decisions.
even though i have my doubts. i dont want to become a nay-sayer and pretend i know more than Howard Mudd and JC.
+1
Let’s all see what happens on Friday before we start picketing outside of the Colts complex.
I bet Peyton plays one series and if he throws the ball, it will be to his left so there isn’t a chance of being blindsided even if Charlie whifs at Jared Allen.
Let nature take its course. If Ugoh outperforms Johnson, Ugoh will be the starter.
"I'm looking for Ray Finkle....and a clean pair of shorts."
Wow
Your overreacting just a bit. Caldwell makes one controversial move and you immediately start to bash the guy. What about his controversial moves to bring in a new defensive coordinator, QB Coach and ST coach? No one was complaining then, and were in fact, praising the moves. Now Caldwell is testing out Charlie Johnson over overall disappointment Tony Ugoh and people start making crazy assumptions like we’ll miss the playoffs or have a losing record.
Let’s get something straight. Ugoh is hands down better than CJ. This is a fact, and an obvious one. He is far more talented and physically gifted. He also has been very disappointing since we gave up what could have been Matt Forte or Chris Johnson for him, as you wisely pointed out earlier in the week. Who’s to say that Charlie isn’t just outworking Ugoh, and although he lacks Ugoh’s talent and physical assets, he makes up for in heart and work ethic. Talent doesn’t always (in fact rarely) beat out less talented hard workers.
Will CJ eventually start permanently? Truly doubt it. And if this is a ploy, I am firmly behind it. It worked for Donovan McNabb and has worked for many others. I don’t know Ugoh personally, but do know that some players are mentally immature and lazy and respond better to benchings. These type of players have always been babied due to their potential and talent and never had to work as hard as guys like Charlie Johnson. Hard work is what drives guys like CJ and “time outs” are what turn on the lights of immature players, like Ugoh may be. I highly doubt Ugoh will not start and do not think Johnson, although I admire his work ethic, is an NFL quality starter.
Caldwell bringing in a new QB coach wasn't controversial,
because he had to bring in a new one. Caldwell was the old QB coach. He’s not going to be both the head coach and the QB coach. That would be too much work.
Now a proud annoyance on Stampede Blue, 18to88, Indy Football Report, and Phil B's blog.
Man, I need a life...
Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: Cursed players this year (via my autograph curse): Donald Brown, Fili Moala, Jerraud Powers, Austin Collie, Terrence Taylor, and Curtis Painter.
Ugh
I think it is a bit early to really understand what Jim Caldwell is trying to do. However, I do agree that if Caldwell is trying to motivate Tony Ugoh by using this tactic, he’s out of his mind. It’s not fair to toy with players’ minds and feelings. Secondly, if Charlie Johnson can’t handle Jared Allen, which I’m expecting, then Peyton Manning BETTER not get hurt. If anything happens to Peyton, I will make a huge scene outside the Colts facility the following day.
I'll be the DJ, tell me what to play. No, I won't even play, just keep it on replay.
twitter.com/natknowsports
youtube.com/natknowsports
I'm more concerned at the reports yesterday
that Ugoh didn’t dress for practice (or did I misunderstand that?). Could this switcheroo on the depth chart be somehow intended to – dare I say it? – mask something a bit more insidious here?
How can you not love a team that does this?
"concerned about" not "concerned at"
sheesh I need more caffeine
How can you not love a team that does this?
Much Ado About Nothing
Ugoh is better than CJ. Everyone (including Caldwell) knows that. It’s still VERY early in training camp. Let them (coaches, players, etc.) do their thing and we’ll see where things stand on September 13th. I also think that it is a bit premature for Caldwell bashing.
by TouchdownMonkey on Aug 11, 2009 12:46 PM EDT reply actions
I'll tell you what bothers me about this...
Is that BBS is so upset about it….BBS has been a real bell weather for my Colts outlook for the last several years, and I agree 89% of the time with his viewpoint.
It almost makes one think that Ugoh didn’t attend the “new bosses” celebration party or didn’t RSVP for his birthday. It seems like a very risky move to play a game with the SECOND most important member of the offense. Let’s face it…Charlie Johnson just isn’t good. I really enjoyed it when we could have beaten the Ptriots in their undefeated season, yet CJ got dominated at the point of attack…..You are going to risk the franchise on CJ? I think not….Ugoh MUST return….but believe me..I bet he and Caldwell aren’t super tight…..
Also I think this highlights something abotu Caldwell’s personality….He holds grudges potentially and may be difficult to work with….Just saying…He did overhaul the coaching staff….he may have personality issues…..
Wow
Too soon for that, no? Caldwell didn’t necessarily “overhaul” the staff. I think the writing was on the wall for Meeks, and Purnell, well, who else was there to blame for such horrible special teams play in recent years? Aren’t we glad that he made those moves, given recent struggles? Don’t get me wrong, I was always fine with Meeks when we were running up points and forcing teams to pass, because his scheme and personnel were particularly good at stopping the pass; but he never even tried to address the run with package mix-ups like Coyer seems to be employing. I think Caldwell may have a stronger personality than Dungy, and he’s probably a little more vindictive (but let’s face it, Dungy was a saint). But that’s human nature and it’s normal. I doubt he’s as hard to work with as Josh McDaniels, who would’ve run out Peyton Manning for Matt Cassel and alienated every other important member of the team.
"You're hitting the wrong person. Don't you know you're hitting Ron Artest?"
Agreed
I’m sure the Tampa fans weren’t overly happy with Gruden when he was first brought in but they won a Super Bowl that year with Dungy’s players.
I think we have a good shot of doing the same.
"I'm looking for Ray Finkle....and a clean pair of shorts."
Personality Issues?
Nothing that has happened since the end of last year has lead me to believe that Caldwell has any kind of personality issues.
His coaching changes are merely par for the course with new head coaches. I’m surprised he didn’t do even more.
If none of us completely buy into the quotes we see about how much the players love Coyer, or Caldwell, or anything new that has changed since last year, then why do we completely buy into this depth chart change as Caldwell losing his mind? Can we at least wait until one or two preseason games are played before we rush to these judgements?
"I'm looking for Ray Finkle....and a clean pair of shorts."
This whole Matt Forte and Chris Johnson thing...
It honestly doesn’t work. What you people are suggesting is that the Colts would not have drafted a LT in 2007, leaving them high and dry once Glenn retired. I understand that he probably wouldn’t have hung up his cleats knowing that Colts had no legitimate replacement behind him, but what good would Tarik Glenn have been if half of his heart would have been in the team? He wanted to retire and knew it was time, and once he did, we were all bowing at the feet of Polian for being prepared for this by drafting Ugoh
All we know is that if the Colts had drafted Forte or Johnson last year instead of picking Tony Ugoh in 2007, Charlie Johnson would have been the LT in the first place! Then, in this year’s draft, the Colts would have bypassed Donald Brown for a LT. But guess what? At their position, no legitimate ones were left!
I know Ugoh’s progress so far has been disappointing for some, but don’t blame Polian for this. He made the right move for the good of the team, regardless whether or not Ugoh turns out to be a bust.
by Aerostar193 on Aug 11, 2009 1:50 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I agree
Except for the no legitimate OTs being left part. Britton would’ve been fine…barely a reach. But yeah, it’s a little silly to say that we would have even drafted an RB in 2008, given how good of a season Addai was coming off of. I mean, at that point, the Colts had no need for another starting-caliber RB. Addai’s injuries were ticky-tack.
The other thing is that everybody keeps talking about how deep that RB class was, but no one knew it was deep until the season was half-way over. The two best players from the class came in the 2nd and third round. None of the first rounders except Chris Johnson is a proven star yet.
Are we mad that the Colts didn’t draft Maurice Jones-Drew in 2006? That was a deep class too.
In 2008 everybody thought Forte would be good, but not as awesome as he was as a rookie, and Steve Slaton was a regarded as too small and too slow. I don’t think you can blame a talent evaluator, even one as good as Polian, for not giving up his opportunity to draft an RB in ‘08 when A. he didn’t need one, and B. the class was clearly underrated by everyone else.
And yeah, there was plenty of first round talent in 08, but the Colts would’ve had no shot at any of the five RBs drafted in the first (McFadden, Stewart, Mendenhall, Johnson and Felix Jones) barring a trade. They could’ve reached on Forte or Ray Rice, but again, they didn’t have a need.
I know we’ve been spoiled by Polian’s flawless drafting, but this pick may end up going down as his worst. Everybody has a worst pick. It’s not going to kill our chances, and it’s not time to even write Ugoh off yet.
"You're hitting the wrong person. Don't you know you're hitting Ron Artest?"
If all we do is complain...
then we suck as a fanbase. Might as well be jets or eagles fans. Coaches coach, players play, and fans cheer & jeer. It’s training camp, for crying out loud.
@lefpsyd
wasn't ugoh benched last year, for a game or two?
Didn’t shake have a post up that indicated that CJ was a better run blocker than Ugoh? I read somewhere, today, that Ugoh gave up the most sacks, 3 of any of the starting lineman last year.
There is an argument that Ugoh has regressed, and it seems to have some validity. There is also an emphasis on running the ball this year, Maybe Caldwell thinks CJ is a more complete OT then Ugoh and he is making the change based on what he has seen in the film room.
Shake wrote a POST today that pointed out Dungy had tendacy to leave under preformers in there too long, it’s not unbelievable that Caldwell belives that CJ is the best option right now. He didn’t come out and say Mookie was the starter while Muir was taking snaps with the first unit, it is totally arguable that Caldwell had this planned since reviewing film in the off-season.
Defense is more important than breathing.
The number adjusted for opponent said
With CJ at LT (and a backup LG in the game) the Colts ran for more yards, but with the same efficiency (YAC), and gave up significantly more sacks.
It's shocking what you can miss sometimes. The amazing color changing card trick.
by shake n bake on Aug 11, 2009 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions
link
http://www.stampedeblue.com/2009/2/6/751181/player-review-tony-ugoh
It's shocking what you can miss sometimes. The amazing color changing card trick.
by shake n bake on Aug 11, 2009 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions
Surprises me
Because I thought Ugoh was known as a run-blocking specialist in college. I could be wrong, but I remember him being touted that way, I think.
"You're hitting the wrong person. Don't you know you're hitting Ron Artest?"
I didn't run the splits for 2007, but he didn't seem to have any issues run blocking that year
just some pass pro lapses. The general consenus I remember is that Ugoh was actually an upgrade in the run game from Tarik, but obviously wasn’t nearly the pass blocker.
Last year he seemed to have some problems run blocking as well.
It's shocking what you can miss sometimes. The amazing color changing card trick.
by shake n bake on Aug 11, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Caldwell
I take this as a great sign for Ugoh. If Ugoh’s confidence wasn’t high and he wasn’t performing really well, Caldwell wouldn’t have felt comfortable enough to make this move because he would have been afraid of shaking his confidence. I bet Caldwell is trying to keep Ugoh from getting overconfident. Which is fine with me. It’s the preseason. If the preseason depth chart isn’t for playing psychological games with players, what is it for?
Re: paragraph 5 and money
I’ll take that bet.
You focus on Caldwell here but essentially you’re coming out and calling Howard Mudd stupid. No head coach goes over the position coach’s head and benches one of his guys. The decision is made largely based on what the position coach sees in meetings, drills, and what everyone sees in the full practices. These coaches know a lot more about the players than all of us put together. I know you don’t think Mudd is dumb. Let’s wait til we see both LTs play substantial minutes in the preseason. Maybe we’ll start to see what they saw.
On the bright side, just think of how Ugoh could turn out with the proper motivation and training…
by colts fan in moscow on Aug 11, 2009 6:30 PM EDT reply actions
I was stunned
yesterday when I heard this news! It ruined my whole damn day off. And, I can’t believe the lack of national punblicity this move has gotten. PFT.com mentioned it, but thats it. I was pumped for a Super Bowl win this year, but I got to be honest….I don’t see Charlie Johnson as a Super Bowl winning starting left tackle. I have tremendous confidence and respect for Calwell, but this is his first big decion and will have major implications going forward
BBS's comment on the Possibilty of Manning getting hurt
If Peyton Manning was hurt the first preseason game and lost for the season because our LT whiffed on Jared Allen, you can rest assured that Caldwell wouldn’t just have his job on the line for next season, he would be out of one PERIOD. As would Johnson.
"Pressure is something you feel if you don't know what the hell you're doing."-Peyton Manning
by P0RKINS2 on Aug 12, 2009 2:37 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Eh
Hardly CJ’s fault if Caldwell’s playing him way out of position. I wouldn’t really blame Reggie Wayne for whiffing on a block if we stuck in in C either.
by eltharion_doa on Aug 12, 2009 5:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Seems to me
Like is this the kind of mind game you might play with a 20 year old college kid starting to think he’s a bit big for his boots.
Out of place in a professional league, IMO.
Overreacting
I got no problems with mind games…if that’s his coaching style, give him a chance…ugoh has not made the LT spot his, maybe this will cause him to do that
and Dungy basically did the same thing last year with Ugoh, and no one had a problem then
"Albert hits good pitches hard and bad pitches even harder. And when he gets in the batter's box, if you pray, then you start praying. And if you don't pray, you think about starting."--Brian Bannister
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