Ryan Grigson: Colts Have Had 'Nose To Grindstone' Since Playoff Loss To Ravens

Second-year Colts G.M. Ryan Grigson had one goal this offseason: Make the 2013 Colts better than the 2012 version

For now, I think it's safe to say that the Indianapolis Colts front office did a fantastic job upgrading the roster.

Sure, there have been mistakes. They overpaid for Erik Walden and Gosder Cherilus. They stupidly traded A.Q. Shipley. They kept Samson Satele's unnecessary contract.

However, when you step back and look at what this team was in January - coming home from a bad playoff loss in Baltimore - and where they are now, they are simply more talented today. In the end, that is the goal of any front office: Make the squad next year better than the one last year.

Never stagnate. Never regress. If you do, it'll probably cost you your job.

Grigson seems please with what he and his staff have done, and he conveyed that to Indianapolis radio station WFNI last week:

We've had our nose to the grindstone since we came back from Baltimore. Just everyday, really simply, just get better every day. Trying to plug any type of holes. Just trying to get better.

Grigson also spoke glowingly about recent free agent acquisition Ahmad Bradshaw.

He knows how to carry the rock. He's got really good instincts and natural vision.

The think I like best about him, the first time you mention his name to anyone, even just through the process of acquiring him, doing our due diligence, was warrior. The guy plays like a warrior. He has the mindset of a warrior. He runs angry.

When the offseason began, we targeted the offensive line and the running backs as two areas that this team needed to get better in if they were to take the next step. Fast forward five months, and the Colts have added Bradshaw, Cherilus, and Donald Thomas via free agency.

Like us, Grigson also saw the offensive line as the biggest priority:

We knew we needed to have, an excellent offensive - it only makes good football sense - to have an excellent offensive line around Andrew.

There are lots of reasons to like Grigson, and we have said from the very beginning that he strikes us as someone you'd have to try not to like. Personally, I think his best trait as a G.M. is his objectivity. He is able to look at his roster, identify problem areas, and make moves to fix them.

His predecessor had difficulty doing those three things, especially in the later years of his career in Indianapolis.

The Colts organization has never brought in this many veteran free agents, ever. The closest year comparable to this was 1999, when Bill Polian used the offseason to sign from Carolina many of the players he'd drafted there prior to him getting traded to Indianapolis.

Yes, that's right. Bill Polian was traded to the Colts from the Panthers. Use that tidbit on trivia night at your local bar.

Indianapolis has inked eleven veteran free agents and made trades for two more, bringing the total to thirteen new, veteran NFL players. Of those thirteen, ten are projected starters:

• RB Ahmad Bradshaw
• WR Darrius Heyward-Bey
• RT Gosder Cherilus
• LG Donald Thomas
• DE Ricky Jean-Francois
• NT Aubrayo Franklin
• OLB Erik Walden
• ILB Kevin Sheppard
• SS LaRon Landry
• CB Greg Toler

Of course, what I truly mean by spewing all this praise is that I want Ryan Grigson fired. He's awful and terrible and deserves to be tarred and feathered.