I want to see John Thorton gone.

[walshfan]

IF they can find upgrades at DE, DT, S, CB, C, and TE in one offseason -they could be in business.

thats allot of upgrading in one year...

Priority is SS and DT...

[Kazkal]

So you want to have 0 DE's on the team geathers hasen't proven himself as fulltime DE yet...Keep justin don't sign him to insane contract till he gets his double deggit sacks....Ask Bsimmons to restructure his contract to around 2million ayear and keep KK for depth

[rwalling]

I blame him specifically for the defensive struggles against the run. I think he was talking about Odell when he said guys were being "selfish", but it seems to me that if your D-line is never doing anything than it would be natural for the linebackers to try to make plays that you are not making. I know it's not just him, but he thinks he's better than he is. I say get rid of him, move B. Rob to 2nd string and cut

B. Simmons

O. Ohalete

KK

J. Smith

J. Thorton

D. Clemons

That's basically 5 new starters on defense. They have to draft a DT, SS, and DE. I think Landon can fill in for Simmons.

As usual, the right general idea and an overreaction from you.

Cut Simmons? No, train his replacement for a year YES!

Cut Ohalete - Abso-friggin-lutely

Cut KK? No, just move hime back to his backup role in case of injuries

Cut Justin? No way, works to hard, does a nice job against the run as an end.

Cut Thornton? Nope, but move him down the rotation by adding better talent. He and Askew may be cometing for the last DT spot.

Clemons - buh-bye!

Schobel - if you can't block well enough to get on the field as a TE in this division we don't need you - buh-bye!

We don't need drastic changes just continued upgrading and pruning away of the parts of the defense that can't produce.

[derekshank]

I believe this defense gets light years better even if we only get a good SS. Having Madieu back, and getting a good SS will be exactly what we need to keep from getting burned in the air while we are playing hard against the run (which we have done very well for most of the year).

The other problem is a lack of pass rush. I still think SS should be our biggest goal this off-season... but a good pass rush also helps our pass defense greatly. If we can manage both somehow, we'll be a top 10 defense. (That is a fairly big 'if' though)

[HoosierCat]

I believe this defense gets light years better even if we only get a good SS. Having Madieu back, and getting a good SS will be exactly what we need to keep from getting burned in the air while we are playing hard against the run (which we have done very well for most of the year).

The other problem is a lack of pass rush. I still think SS should be our biggest goal this off-season... but a good pass rush also helps our pass defense greatly. If we can manage both somehow, we'll be a top 10 defense. (That is a fairly big 'if' though)

Pretty much agree. I fully expect a safety in round 1; a top prospect will almost certainly be on the board in the mid-20s (Darnell Bing? Ko Simpson?). Defensive line, we'll likely have to take a shot on a FA or two and hope we get this year's version of Kyle Van Den Bosch or Chris Hovan. I do expect them to draft another prospect circa 3-5 rounds to replace the obviously failed Askew.

Beyoond that, the ony thing I'd add is that Ratliff hasn't exacatly set the world on fire and James is getting old fast, so a corner would be nice. Since a vet with any ability would cost a ton and we can prbably squeeze one more season out of James, I'm thinking round 2.

[Whur CHad At?]

TNBT, you judge people just by there stats. In No way in Corey Simon overrated. He did an fantastic job this year. He helped free up Freeney and Mathis, and even Reagor. They all had a hell of a year, just because of him. He is a major reason why the Colts D is ranked in the top ten and not dead last. John Thorton doesn't do any of that for us. He needs to go.

[schweinhart]

I believe this defense gets light years better even if we only get a good SS. Having Madieu back, and getting a good SS will be exactly what we need to keep from getting burned in the air while we are playing hard against the run (which we have done very well for most of the year).

The other problem is a lack of pass rush. I still think SS should be our biggest goal this off-season... but a good pass rush also helps our pass defense greatly. If we can manage both somehow, we'll be a top 10 defense. (That is a fairly big 'if' though)

Pretty much agree. I fully expect a safety in round 1; a top prospect will almost certainly be on the board in the mid-20s (Darnell Bing? Ko Simpson?). Defensive line, we'll likely have to take a shot on a FA or two and hope we get this year's version of Kyle Van Den Bosch or Chris Hovan. I do expect them to draft another prospect circa 3-5 rounds to replace the obviously failed Askew.

Beyoond that, the ony thing I'd add is that Ratliff hasn't exacatly set the world on fire and James is getting old fast, so a corner would be nice. Since a vet with any ability would cost a ton and we can prbably squeeze one more season out of James, I'm thinking round 2.

A hard-hitting safety with lots of speed and the ability to cover either a TE or slot receiver in man to interchange at the position with Madieu would be worth a 1st rounder. Anything less would not IMO. After Mike Huff, that type of player looks like a stretch in the 1st. However, Bing and KO both look solid to me and I wouldn't be disappointed if the Bengals take either with that pick.

But I gotta think the best value in the 1st will be at corner. My choice would be Demario Minter from Georgia. He can cover, he can bump, and he's the best run defender at CB I've seen this year in college. Safety can be addressed in the 3rd -- Marcus Hudson of NC State is a great special teams player who is physical against the run, and has shown he's a skilled cover man at corner this year. He's a poor man's Mike Huff. There still should be some decent interchangeable safety types left on the board in the 5th and I like either Harrison Smith of Cal or Wesley Smith of Memphis State in that round to give a rotation to go with Madieu and K2 and maybe one of the three vets (Herring, Ohalete, or Mitchell) since both Hudson and Smith are experienced corners and could play zone there if needed.

Thornton should be safe this year, but we'll see. I thought he was much more effective at RDE than left and he's as an above average DT in run pursuit. The free agent market doesn't look very appealing but maybe a cap casulaty crops up who might be worth it. Still doesn't look like the route they'll take. But I'd like to see a DT rotation of real DTs -- no more of this Carl Plowed or Jumpy Jr. crap. As such I like Shaun Smith, B Rob, Thornton, and like Joisey says a 3rd to 5th rounder who I'd like to see be a low-to-the-ground heavy type who's gonna be hard to move out of a gap and maybe add some solid bullrush -- LeKevin Smith in the 4th.

Then there's better speed rush at the end -- they've got to do something about this. If it comes down to the draft then the 2nd round ought to address this. Right now I'm liking Stanley McClover from Auburn.

That would pin rounds 1 to 5 for defense but something has to be done. TE would have to be dealt with in Rounds 6 and 7. This looks like such a good draft year at TE that enough talent should be left that late -- arguably no worse than Schobel and Stewart.

[HoosierCat]

That's as good a plan as any I've seen, schweiny. Minter in the first wouldn't bug me at all. To me, a speed rusher vs. a safety is a toss-up; take the best available in the second and fill in the other hole later. Ideally, I would love to see them fill one of those holes in FA, they wouldn't be too expensive, at least not vs. CB or DT.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

TNBT, you judge people just by there stats. In No way in Corey Simon overrated. He did an fantastic job this year. He helped free up Freeney and Mathis, and even Reagor. They all had a hell of a year, just because of him. He is a major reason why the Colts D is ranked in the top ten and not dead last. John Thorton doesn't do any of that for us. He needs to go.

Yet the same guy saying Simon rules is saying cut Justin Smith. Smith plays well and frees up others who aren't getting it done.

Mathis, Freeney, and June are teh reasons for the improvement in the Colts D, not Simon.

[Stripes]

Mathis, Freeney, and June are teh reasons for the improvement in the Colts D, not Simon.

And the argument is that Simon's presence is what allowed those players to play well. Freeney was back to his normal business as one of the best ends in the league. His presence opened things up for Mathis. Simon's presence allowed for a complete line, and he redirected rushing threats to the outside where guys like Cato June and Bob Sanders could rack up the tackles.

Thornton always struggles to hold his own on the line of scrimmage, and so Smith has to bail him out (he always has very high tackle numbers for an end). I guarantee that if we had a player like Simon, then we'd see tackle production from guys like Odell Thurman and Madieu Williams skyrocket.

[HairOnFire]

And the argument is that Simon's presence is what allowed those players to play well. Freeney was back to his normal business as one of the best ends in the league. His presence opened things up for Mathis. Simon's presence allowed for a complete line, and he redirected rushing threats to the outside where guys like Cato June and Bob Sanders could rack up the tackles.

Yeah, but the Colt defense was playing outstanding football before they added Simon. Don't get me wrong, adding him didn't hurt, but it's a bit of a stretch to say that signing the fat guy was the thing that freed up other defenders to their jobs. It had already happened.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

And the argument is that Simon's presence is what allowed those players to play well. Freeney was back to his normal business as one of the best ends in the league. His presence opened things up for Mathis. Simon's presence allowed for a complete line, and he redirected rushing threats to the outside where guys like Cato June and Bob Sanders could rack up the tackles.

Yeah, but the Colt defense was playing outstanding football before they added Simon. Don't get me wrong, adding him didn't hurt, but it's a bit of a stretch to say that signing the fat guy was the thing that freed up other defenders to their jobs. It had already happened.

Exactly. The guy was just standing around on most plays. WATCH HIM.

[Whur CHad At?]

Going ranked 30th in the league to 4th makes pretty big difference. They weren't playing good D before Simon.

And he did not just stand around on plays, I have watched him.

[Whur CHad At?]

Simon standing around doing nothing....

oh wait he is making a tackle for a loss...what a worthless player.

[HairOnFire]

If you really want to impress me find a picture of Corey Simon in a Colt uniform sacking the QB.

Simon standing around doing nothing....oh wait he is making a tackle for a loss...what a worthless player.

Hey, you wouldn't happen to have pictures of the other tackles he made against the Titans? Because I'm pretty sure he made two other stops that day. Which makes a grand total of three, right?

Not a bad days work for the highest paid DT in the NFL.