When I first started my career, I worked for a consulting firm that prided itself in its active alumni group. In that world, it was understood that people eventually wanted to transition from the long hours, un-glamorous travel and general brow-beating of bitter partners, to a cushier job working "in industry" - normal business hours, no missed connections late on a Friday night, understanding spouses. People who deposited mounds of blood, sweat and tears on behalf of their clients were given a firm handshake and a congratulations as they walked out the door and on to their next careers.
Of course the real hook is that former consultants often go to companies that become clients of the firm, so alumni represent a source of future revenue, and not just some altruistic sense of community. Still, imagine if the firm shunned its alumni... not only is the potential revenue source compromised, but those dollars could go to a detested competitor and be lost forever! Although I don't know why you would want to attract flies in the first place, they do say that it is easier to attract flies with honey than with vinegar.
But seriously, it is in a similar vein that I congratulate Brett Mock ("bamock") on his successful start-up of Coltzilla, a "one-stop location for informative analysis on the current state and future of the Indianapolis Colts franchise." Now while we hope that Stampede Blue is at least another stop for everyone, we recognize that everyone benefits if we support the community members who have actively and positively contributed to this blog. So please stop in to his site, take a peek and maybe add a comment or two of your own.
Now before I regress even further into a Berkeley-inspired kumbaya moment, here are today's links:
FROM THE SADDLE
Official Team News
- John Oehser (Colts.com): Ray Fisher is focused on earning the returner role, Blair White is used to earning his way onto teams
GREEN APPLES AND ROAD APPLES
Positive and Negative Analysis
- John Oehser (Indy Football Report) takes a pre-OTA look at the defensive tackles and linebackers, and looks at some comments made about Manning and Ugoh
- Brett Mock (Coltzilla) continues his "Summer Showdown" series with Silva v. Caldwell, and starts a "Something to Prove" series looking at Kelvin Hayden
- Matt Williamson (Scouts, Inc.) thinks the Colts need to improve their run blocking
- Allen Yousif (special to 18to88.com) reviews the Colts' draft picks from 1998-2010 to see what additional trends emerge
- Nate Dunlevy (18to88.com) responds to concerns that Thad Turner may be too "grabby"
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Mike Chappell (Indy Star) Manning would stop playing football if he couldn't play for the Colts; one of the young corners may have to develop in a hurry
OUTSIDE THE STABLE
Around the League
- Richard Miller (The Jacksonville Observer) offers five pre-season focal points for the Jaguars
- Jim Wyatt (The Tennessean) Players, coaches and staff came out in force to help flood victims
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Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) The story around Texans' Brian Cushing can't get stranger, can it?
- Alan Schwarz (NY Times) The House Judiciary Committee continues to look at concussions in football
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Brian Burke (Advanced Football Stats) considers a new way to measure defensive play