Highlights from Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell's press conference on drafting Jerry Hughes in the 2010 NFL Draft

by Brad Wells on Apr 23, 2010 1:22 AM EDT in Colts News

Here's a quick overview of Bill Polian's press conference on the team selecting Jerry Hughes with the 31st pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Hughes always on Colts radar.
Lots of versatility
Colts have been searching for a "third rusher" for a long time
When Freeney and Mathis are healthy, Colts defense is very good. When Freeney and Mathis aren't healthy, team results not good. Adding a third rusher helps keep Freeney and Mathis healthy.
Polian thinks Hughes can play right now
Hughes will likely play on special teams
He will not be used like Raheem Brock (i.e., like a rush tackle), but Polian said Hughes does fill the void left by Brock
Hughes was last player on Colts board graded as a "first rounder."
If Hughes was gone, Colts probably would have traded out of first round.
Colts received several offers to trade out of first round
With Hughes, the "need line" crossed the "talent line" by a hair.

Wow. Interesting that Polian essentially states that if Hughes were gone, the Colts would not have drafted Saffold or Brown at 31. Can't wait for rounds 2-3 tomorrow. Will the Colts trade up to get a tackle in round two?

Tweet Comment 28 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I really see the Colts

trading up tomorrow to get a Tackle. In fact, I would be shocked if they don’t.

Our heads may be bloody, but they are unbowed. We will be back next year better than ever!
Indianapolis Colts News and Updates

by coltsfan723 on Apr 23, 2010 1:27 AM EDT reply actions

I don't see it at all.

They had their shot at Campbell, Saffold and Brown and they passed. If they sit tight, there is a chance that at least one of those guys makes it to #63 or they should have a decent DB class to pick over. I just don’t think the value is there to grab an OT in the 2nd round. I would look to the 3rd round for Jason Fox or Ed Wang.

by invisibulman on Apr 23, 2010 8:33 AM EDT up reply actions

Jason Fox = injury prone

Rather draft that guy Jared Veldheer from Hillsdale with our 2nd round pick

Love learning, hate studying

by trOOly on Apr 23, 2010 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions

Not necessarily. My understanding is Fox had one injury his senior year, but was very durable his first three years.

by 2ndBlueGeneration on Apr 23, 2010 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Consider yourself shocked.

"I am in favor of censorship ‐ not against what is supposed to be sexy or dirty, but against what is idiotic." -Jean Renoir

Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: After waiting seemingly forever, it is finally draft week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and the schedule for next season is being released or something like that this week.

by Cassieper on Apr 25, 2010 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

If they do trade up it will not be to the top half of the round but only up like 5 or 10 picks.

My Big Board
Lead organizer of the annual 7 round live mock draft at MtD and Moderator on Anaheim Calling

by TheAngelsColts on Apr 23, 2010 1:42 AM EDT reply actions

^^^^This

I have a hard time seeing them move up any higher than early to mid 20’s.

"Winning isn't everything, but it beats anything that comes in second."
--Paul "Bear" Bryant

"All winning teams are goal-oriented. Teams like these win consistently because everyone connected with them concentrates on specific objectives. They go about their business with blinders on; nothing will distract them from achieving their aims."
--Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame football coach

by cscott5527 on Apr 23, 2010 3:12 AM EDT up reply actions

What worries me (but apparently not Polian)

Is their grades for the remaining OTs. Everybody else on the planet sees three guys who were potential 1st rounders, but not Bill P.

Would he be stubborn enough to IGNORE need and stick to his board? So when Saffold or Brown go at pick 20 Polian would say “We were interested at 31, but at 20 that was a reach.” Please, Bill, I hope not. Please trade a 3rd/4th plus our 2nd to move up 15 spots or so….

I hate Joe Namath. That's how long I've been a Colts fan.

by Bobman on Apr 23, 2010 4:32 AM EDT reply actions

Polian has bet the farm on a second-round tackle before

I’m not necessarily a fan of seeing it happen again.

by slash196 on Apr 23, 2010 7:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Here is the problem: No team would take a 2nd and a 3rd or 4th to move up. That’s not the system. To move up in a round more than 10 spots, you have to give up your pick for the round above in next years draft. Essentially then, for Polian to take Brown or Saffold he’d be using another first round pick. I just don’t see that happening.

by 2ndBlueGeneration on Apr 23, 2010 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions

OLINE

Traded up to get

Tony. Not good. His record for OLINE not good. Please trade for a proven player.

by RvHauler1 on Apr 23, 2010 7:16 AM EDT reply actions

Is it really a track record

if it only happened once? The freak out mill is still working furiously I see. I trust the man, this isn’t his first time doing the draft.

by 18forPrez on Apr 23, 2010 7:27 AM EDT up reply actions

Wow. Interesting that Polian essentially states that if Hughes were gone, the Colts would not have drafted Saffold or Brown at 31. Can’t wait for rounds 2-3 tomorrow. Will the Colts trade up to get a tackle in round two?

Why is this so surprising? I’ve been saying the same thing since January. Charles Brown, and especially Saffold, were not first round worthy tackles. People always seem to think that the biggest team need equals a must draft in the first round and they’re always wrong.

There's a new blog in town, the 12th HorseMan.

by KingRichard on Apr 23, 2010 7:49 AM EDT reply actions

I agree...

Judging by Polian’s comments it was easy to infer that he was not sold on either of the OTs. When Wilson went at #29, Hughs became the obvious choice. I don’t see any reason the Colts will try to trade up tomorrow.

by invisibulman on Apr 23, 2010 8:39 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed. There's zero reason to, and it would be too costly. Having the picks available is better than moving up.

After Okung, no one was a sure-fire talent at tackle. As much as I wanted Indy to get Bulaga, even I admit there’s a chance he would’ve been relegated to RT. Which wouldn’t have been tragic, but it would have been a misfire, if the intent was to upgrade the LT position.

And King Richard is right: A few folks here and there flipped the Freak Out switch because Polian didn’t draft offensive line in the first round. So what? I’m the first to say that the OL needs upgrading, but that doesn’t mean that you reach for a player if you judge that none is available at that level. There’s a reason such a concept as “reaching” exists, and it’s because the folly of doing so has been demonstrated over and over again (Case in point: Jacksonville). Whereas the wisdom of properly valuing picks has been proven time and time again.

Look, Polian’s been ripped for many other choices in the past. I fully understand that he missed on Ugoh, and Pollak appears to be heading in the direction of “mistake”. Yet, people complained about Wayne when he was drafted, they certainly were shocked at Freeney, and I recall a few even saying that Leaf was the better pick over Manning. Polian’s got more hits than misses. If he doesn’t see Brown or Saffold as first round talents, then I trust him. (Full disclosure: I actually did think Brown was a first rounder, although I wasn’t sold on Saffold). And looking at Hughes separate from all the baggage of offensive line expectations, I don’t see how anyone can call this a bad pick. We’ve been sweating for years now about Freeney going down for extended periods of time; now he and Mathis not only have a backup, but a successor. That may not be a home run pick, but it’s definitely way above a simple base hit.

------

"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."

Roger Ebert, Transformers review.

by E.M.H. on Apr 23, 2010 9:06 AM EDT up reply actions

except in 2006 when they went RB to replace Edge

Polian doesn’t ignore need, but he’s not going to ignore value to address the needs in their order of needy-ness

Luck is probability taken personally, clutch is probability attributed to individuals.
Just how deeply can your senses be wrong? With some VR goggles, a camera and a touch on the back researchers were able to overcome a person's sense of being inside their own body.

by shake n bake on Apr 23, 2010 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions

You need another need in there to really show the value of need.

by diagenesis on Apr 23, 2010 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Let's also not forget

that Polian denied in his press conference 2 days ago that the organization was going bigger on the O-Line. We have only heard this comment 2nd hand through Ryan Lilja’s agent, and then everyone ran with it. Perhaps he’s being honest when he says he’s happy with the type of line we have now.

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on Apr 23, 2010 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

And it's also

possible that he changed his mind on Oline being at fault in the SB after watching more film.

by diagenesis on Apr 23, 2010 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

and

then everyone ran with it

they couldn’t. the o-line wasn’t blocking well enough :D (rim shot)

by 18forPrez on Apr 23, 2010 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

lol

"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007

by peytonsthebest on Apr 23, 2010 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm very interested to see how this second round shakes out

There are a lot of teams that passed on tackles in the first round that are gonna be looking at them in the second round, I’m thinking specifically of Dallas and Buffalo. I think it’s gonna be pretty slim pickings all the way to number 63, a small jump has to be in the offing.

by slash196 on Apr 23, 2010 9:13 AM EDT reply actions

"the need line crossed the talent line by a hair"

What does that mean?

by shoein on Apr 23, 2010 10:37 AM EDT reply actions

I think it means

Hughes is not quite as good as what we need, but only by a little bit?

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on Apr 23, 2010 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions

I actually took it to mean

That third pass rusher wasn’t the most glaring need, but the talent was just enough that it made the pick necessary.

I also wish I had time and motivation to blog at Speed Blue Nation

by Bullard47 on Apr 23, 2010 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions

That's how I took it.

He was the bpa that was also a need.

by diagenesis on Apr 23, 2010 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Next Man Up

This pick illustrates how important the “Next Man Up” concept is to the Colts, and fills one of the few holes in their depthchart. The team actually had lots of injuries last year, but they didn’t have a huge impact because the backups stepped up so well. Gonzo went down and Garcon & Collie made us forget about him. Bullitt aptly filled in for Bobzilla. Jackson missed the year and Powers & Lacy stepped up. Ugoh and Pollack flop, Johnson & Devan prove at least adequate replacements. Wheeler replaced Hagler. Addai, Brown & Hart filled in for each other. All of these replacements proved at least comparable to the starters they replaced. They didn’t just fill a hole, they contributed the qualities that the team depended upon the starters to provide. But there was a big impact when Freeney or Mathis went down. Brock was solid, but couldn’t replace the starters’ pass rush. Now they’ve got someone who looks like he’ll be able to do that.

by ex-Viking fan on Apr 23, 2010 12:24 PM EDT reply actions

What I got from the press conferences

I say “conferences” because I am referring to the conference when they announced the pick and when Hughes was introduced. What I got out of them were this.

1.) Hughes favorite player is Dwight Freeney and he tries to emulate his style.
2.) Polian and Caldwell both felt confident, happy, and excited about having Hughes with the Colts.
3.) Hughes is the stereotypical Colt. Smart, morally conscience, faith-driven, information sponge, hard-working, zero ego, and lover of the game.
4.) There was not one person in either conference (the staff, family, press, Hughes himself, etc.) that was not extremely happy with this pick.

Teneo Haud Fines Finium (Know No Limits)

"Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure...Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Helen Keller

by TheAlphaColt on Apr 25, 2010 2:13 AM EDT reply actions