Indy showing what happens when you spend premium picks on O-line

[Guest]

@Jor-El said:

@MarkSP18 said:

@PapaScott said:

@MarkSP18 said:

@Ralphie said:
From a CBS Sportsline article on today's game. Change can be immediate when you get the right personnel....

Be very afraid of this Colts teamUnlike previous versions of this team, which relied mostly on the offense to do the heavy lifting because the defense was rarely good enough to hold onto a lead, this group is completely different. It starts with general manager Chris Ballard, who spent the offseason fixing the offensive line. No. 6 overall pick Quenton Nelson is already the best guard in football. No, really. He's an animal who dominates on a weekly basis.
How good has this offensive line been? A season ago, the unit ranked 32nd in pass blocking, according to Football Outsiders, after giving up 56 sacks. In 2018? They improved to second, allowing just 18(!) sacks.

Colts deserve praise for this season.  But all these reviews never mention that they absolutely SUCKED in 2017.  This allowed them to have the #3 overall pick and trade down with the Jets and select Nelson.
Kind of nice for a GM to have that kind of draft ammo.
Any of us who post here could have selected Nelson.
The Darius Leonard pick turned out very well.  I bet he thinks about Brian O'Neill instead of Braden Smith though.
The other thing a lot of places are giving him credit for is because all the draft picks made the final 53.
It's like the Vikings in 2011 & 2012.  The depth was so terrible that the draft picks had a hard time NOT making the team!

They also didn't have Luck last year (the quarterback)

Well that explains their being terrible for sure.  But it is just fortunate for them to be terrible and then end up with the #3 overall pick and then trade down getting an extra early 2nd and still being able to take a once in every 10 years type of offensive guard.

So: in 2016, should we have let Shaun Hill play out the season at QB, and kept the draft picks we exchanged for Sam Bradford (14th overall if Hill had achieved the same 7-8 Bradford did, lower pick if not)? That's the closest opportunity Vikings have recently had to the Colts' "formula". I was excited by the Bradford trade when it happened, but it may have been a mistake.

Yes they should have just stuck with Hill.
Then drafted Patrick Mahomes in 2017.
Use the Sam 1st RD pick for O line and his salary for free agent O line, 
Plus the now 84 mill for Kirk for o line improvments.

[Guest]

Patriots:
LT - 7th Round (2015) 49ers cast-off
LG - 3rd Round (2016) highest drafted on OL
C - Undrafted (2015)
RG - 4th Round (2015)
RT - 5th Round (2011)

Maybe the guy behind center affects how the OL works?

[Guest]

Lions:
LT - 1st Round (2016)
LG - 1st Round (2018)
C - 3rd Round (2016)
RG - Undrafted (2011) cast-off
RT - 5th Round (2013) Ravens cast-off

Lions just need to draft a RG and RT in the 1st and 2nd round and they'll take the NFL by storm?

[Guest]

@silverjoel said:
Patriots:
LT - 7th Round (2015) 49ers cast-off
LG - 3rd Round (2016) highest drafted on OL
C - Undrafted (2015)
RG - 4th Round (2015)
RT - 5th Round (2011)

Maybe the guy behind center affects how the OL works?

It also helps to have one of the best regarded O-Line Coaches in Dante Scarnecchio. I wonder if he has a coaching tree Minnesota can mine.

[Guest]

@Jor-El said:

@MarkSP18 said:

@PapaScott said:

@MarkSP18 said:

@Ralphie said:
From a CBS Sportsline article on today's game. Change can be immediate when you get the right personnel....

Be very afraid of this Colts teamUnlike previous versions of this team, which relied mostly on the offense to do the heavy lifting because the defense was rarely good enough to hold onto a lead, this group is completely different. It starts with general manager Chris Ballard, who spent the offseason fixing the offensive line. No. 6 overall pick Quenton Nelson is already the best guard in football. No, really. He's an animal who dominates on a weekly basis.
How good has this offensive line been? A season ago, the unit ranked 32nd in pass blocking, according to Football Outsiders, after giving up 56 sacks. In 2018? They improved to second, allowing just 18(!) sacks.

Colts deserve praise for this season.  But all these reviews never mention that they absolutely SUCKED in 2017.  This allowed them to have the #3 overall pick and trade down with the Jets and select Nelson.
Kind of nice for a GM to have that kind of draft ammo.
Any of us who post here could have selected Nelson.
The Darius Leonard pick turned out very well.  I bet he thinks about Brian O'Neill instead of Braden Smith though.
The other thing a lot of places are giving him credit for is because all the draft picks made the final 53.
It's like the Vikings in 2011 & 2012.  The depth was so terrible that the draft picks had a hard time NOT making the team!

They also didn't have Luck last year (the quarterback)

Well that explains their being terrible for sure.  But it is just fortunate for them to be terrible and then end up with the #3 overall pick and then trade down getting an extra early 2nd and still being able to take a once in every 10 years type of offensive guard.

So: in 2016, should we have let Shaun Hill play out the season at QB, and kept the draft picks we exchanged for Sam Bradford (14th overall if Hill had achieved the same 7-8 Bradford did, lower pick if not)? That's the closest opportunity Vikings have recently had to the Colts' "formula". I was excited by the Bradford trade when it happened, but it may have been a mistake.

Absolutely.  They had Hill as the backup for a reason and if they did not trust him then he should not have been the backup at all.  When Tom Brady got hurt the Patriots went with Matt Cassel all season.  They did not panic and trade for an oft injured QB who was now being traded by a second team.
At the very least Spielman should have given Hill at least 3 or 4 games to see how he looks and to negotiate better terms with the Eagles.  The price had to get lower as you got closer to the trade deadline.  If not then he should have said no thanks.
I would guess the Vikings might lose an extra game or two with Hill starting.  That would put them at 6-10 and drafting 8th or 9th.
But even if they only lost one other game and finished 7-9 then they would have picked 11th after the Bills due to SOS.
DeShawn Watson went 12th.  Maybe the Vikings would not have been interested in Watson and make the trade with the Texans.  Two first rounders in 2018 would have been nice.  They still could have taken Ryan Ramczyk too.
I think the Vikings were actually closer in 2011.  But they let Joe Webb go crazy and win a meaningless game and ended up with the 3rd pick. If they had the 2nd pick they could have got that package from the Redskins that the Rams got.
The art of tanking is underrated.