I’m not suggesting, for a moment, that you reward him with a fat, long term deal. I recognize that he isn’t a strength, that he’ll eventually have to be replaced. But, I have other, more immediate, priorities I want to address before I get around to LB. Sign him to a chump change contract, draft a guy in the 4th round, and let him, Carlies, and the draft choice compete for the starting position in camp.

I'm in the same place with Franklin.

I wanna see some legit competition at LB. Fanklin and Speed would both probably be very good special teams guys for us, where they belong.

If I were inside the organization and had a better handle on what’s going on with Braden Smith, I’d be a lot more comfortable with charting a course forward on the line.

To me, one of the highest priorities is to create a safe place for Anthony Richardson to ply his wares. It’s going to be hard enough for him to develop without turning the pocket into a 21st century version of Fort Apache The Bronx. To that end, I value certainty. I like a veteran with the smarts and experience of Kelly directing the line when Houston starts crowding the box with 8 guys, trying to sow pre snap confusion.

Clearly, Ryan is not a long term solution, and I wouldn’t sign him to any contract that locks him in for 4 or 5 years. With any luck, Bortolini is the long term solution, but signing Kelly gives us insurance in case he’s not.

Part of the frustration is Franklin’s utter inconsistency. At his best, he plays at a pro bowl level. But, there are stretches/games when he seems to be a step away from where he ought to be if he’s going to make an impact. No idea how the new D Coordinator is going to see things, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see new faces at the position before too very long.

IMO the culture of the franchise is likely a bigger issue currently than even the talent level. To change the culture you are going to have to change a decent amount of the players, especially considering the top two supposed leaders of the team are returning (GM and HC). And you have to start showing some accountability. Resigning him even to a chump change contract isn’t accountability. That makes it an easy call to replace Speed, I’m not worried about a slight drop in performance at the position if it means helping change the culture.

Franklin was never a dynamic LB. He's not a coverage guy, he's not a turnover guy. At his best, he translated that ST mindset and was an absolute missile to the ball carrier. He had moments, even games, like that this year, but inconsistent for sure. Personality shit tips the scales and I'm ok dumping him, I just haven't looked at the contract situation to know if that's realistic.

Also, unless there is an issue with his leg recovery, Will Fries has to come back. That dude worked himself into a premier guard and there was a big drop-off when he went down.

Kelly is better than Bortolini, but the gap is mainly mental and is closer than Fries-Tucker or even Fries-Glowinski.

On Franklin - it sure seems like he's the biggest problem w/ the team culture, at least player wise. If this is correct then we really need to release him. Per OTC he'll count $9.5M in dead money which is ($2M) in pressure towards the cap, which isn't too terrible and will be worth it to get the locker room turned around.

On Speed - seems like he's possibly the 2nd biggest problem as he's in lock, stock w/ Franklin. The question is whether or not he's just going along w/ Franklin and his attitude will improve if we make an example of his leader, or if he'll continue to be a douche. If those in the know think it's the latter then just let him go. If it's the former then maybe re-sign him on the cheap, but don't just hand him a starting job. Have some real competition for this spot.

On Kelly - I can see both sides. The OL plays better with him, but he's hurt like half the time now. IMO if he's willing to take a decent pay cut and sign a 1-2 year deal then it's probably worth keeping him around.

On Fries - Agree that we should re-sign him as long as it doesn't look like his injury is going to be a long term issue. I made the comment earlier, but w/ his injury we could maybe sign him to a 1 year show it deal or 2 year reasonable contract.

On Fries I agree 100 percent. As long as the knee injury wasn’t career ending, bring the guy back.

It shouldn’t cost to much, assuming other teams don’t covet him.

[QUOTE=IndyNorm;318173]On Franklin - it sure seems like he's the biggest problem w/ the team culture, at least player wise. If this is correct then we really need to release him. Per OTC he'll count $9.5M in dead money which is ($2M) in pressure towards the cap, which isn't too terrible and will be worth it to get the locker room turned around


Franklin posted this apology to the fans an hour ago. Call me cynical but it doesn’t convince me.

https://x.com/ziggysmalls_/status/18...HB0f4Z_lhj_lFw

o


Cynical.

o

I just saw a sort of apology from Franklin on Facebook. Maybe he has learned a thing or two.

[QUOTE=1965southpaw;318205]Looks like you beat me to it.

Luckily it wasn't his knee... he just snapped his fucking leg in half.

I think that's better? At least less complex. His bone could be healed by now (maybe another month) and then it's a matter of building back strength and reversing atrophy.

I am also not convinced Ashton Dulin warrants the money he is being paid, he is a special teams stud, but is the 4th or 5th receiver and shouldn't be paid more than veteran minimum for that role. I do like him as a player, and don't really want to lose him, but that figure is just too high for what he does.

Denbow, McGrone, Stuard, Lammons, are all just bodies that are easily replaced by low end draft picks or UDFA year after year. It is not as if our special teams was anything special to begin with!

Ultimately, at Linebacker, Franklin and Speed’s fate rests in the hands of Lou Anarumo. He’s got to decide if their skills fit his system; whether or not the weird 4-2-5 scheme favored by Bradley didn’t play to their strengths. To be honest, I didn’t pay enough attention to the Bengal’s D to reach many conclusions about how Speed fits in. But, my gut tells me that they’re gonna want/need to add someone who excels in coverage, and Speed is described as serviceable at best.

The good news is that there are a few prospective free agent Linebackers out there who can cover. The problem is that not many of them are the kind of big names that a disaffected fan base will stand up and applaud Ballard for signing.

Speed is a FA and won't be back. If Ballard brings him back he should be fired on the spot.

Letting him walk would send a strong message to Franklin.

Personally, if I’m GM, my attitude is simple. If Anarumo and Steichen want him, I sign him…even if I have doubts.

It took me 5 minutes and I did Ballard's for him.

Attachment 164

Braden has now shared that he was suffering from a mental health issue last season.

It appears he went to an out-of-state treatment facility to help deal with it.


https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profoo...re-ocd-in-2024

holy shit.

IndyStar actually had a really good article on this, if you can believe it. It was not a hatchet piece, but one that showed the humanity of Smith, and the compassion of the Colts organization.

Of course, Doyel did not write it, just in case there was some confusion.

Something like this, i am guessing, is an issue that could become a problem again, but at least he now has the right coping mechanism in place to better deal with it.

From a Colts fan perspective, it isn't a physical injury that impairs his production and he can get back to his former high level of play, so long as he is in a good place mentally.

Really glad that he managed to get the help he needed and didn't go down the awful route he spoke about regards suicide. I am sure the entire Colts organisation will be working closely with him to help maintain his current state of mind. Jim Irsay might be fairly closely working with him as it feels like it has been reported he has dealt with similar issues in the past.

Here's hoping that Braden is truly feeling like he is ready to come back and play ball and more importantly enjoy his family and future life.