ColtsSpeak: Chris Breining
PhilB: What’s on your mind about the Colts today?
Chris: Why haven’t we signed wide receiver Zach Pascal to at least a mid-level contract? He’s going to step up and probably be our second wide receiver, and he’s been like second or third for the whole entire two or three years he’s been on the team. Why haven’t we locked him up yet? He produces. He doesn’t get any credit for what he’s been doing for the team. I would have thought (GM Chris) Ballard would notice that by now.
PhilB: Zach is about to become more important, isn’t he?
Chris: Oh yeah, since Parris Campbell went out. Man, I feel bad for that kid. Him and (running back) Marlon Mack. Mack was supposed to get a big pay raise after this year. Now he might have just cost himself $20-to-$30 million easily because of his injury. And then Parris, he hasn’t even got off his rookie contract yet. He was supposed to take T.Y. Hilton’s spot, and I don’t think he’s going to be able to take T.Y.’s spot.
PhilB: And Malik Hooker, too.
Chris: Oh yeah, I read that today.
PhilB: He got placed on IR. They’re dropping like flies around here.
Chris: I’m surprised we didn’t get (tight end) Delanie Walker in free agency. I know we signed the guy from Chicago, Trey Burton. But if we didn’t sign him, why didn’t we sign Walker for one year? Maybe he doesn’t fit in the locker room? Maybe there’s baggage we don’t know? I don’t know, but he was pretty solid for the Titans. At least get him for the ‘intel.’ The Titans are who we’re probably going to have to challenge for the division this year.
PhilB: Did you like tight end Mo Alie-Cox on Sunday?
Chris: Oh yeah, he looked good. He’s another kid we need to sign, to like a Jack Doyle-like contract, that’s what he deserves.
PhilB: You’re into the signings. You want to shell the money out.
Chris: That’s what professional sports is. I understand the culture of a small-market team, but there’s a point where you just have to build a team that’s competitive. Just like the Pacers. They could be amazing, but their ownership doesn’t put enough money forward to get that next player that’s going to put them over the edge. But that’s a whole different subject in itself.
PhilB: What else jumps out at you about this team, good or bad?
Chris: Well, we can start with the bad. Right now, I notice there’s not a consistency on both sides of the ball. Between the two games, we’ve seen how poorly they can play when they played against the Jaguars (27-20 loss). We can see what the team can do when they played this past week (28-11 home win over Minnesota). In all facets, we won. All facets of that game, that’s why we won. Special teams stepped up. Defense finally stepped up. The offense was moving fluently, if that makes sense. Like I tell everybody out here when I talk Colts football, I hope (quarterback) Philip Rivers has more touchdowns than interceptions, and when he does throw interceptions, hopefully, it doesn’t cost us points or the game like it did in the first game. I don’t know if that made him rethink how he’s going to approach the year or if he will go, ‘It’s just one game’ and not worry about it. He’s always had that mentality that interceptions are OK because he’s a very aggressive player, which is good, but sometimes it costs his team the game. That’s what I’m worried about.
PhilB: What’s the good?
Chris: I liked how they got after the quarterback. I’d like to see more of it. The (Julian) Blackmon kid from Utah looks like he’s going to replace Hooker in the rotation. I think Hooker will be let go, and they’ll probably draft another defensive back or safety. I would like for us to find at least, I don’t care if it’s a linebacker or defensive end, one more player to get pressure on the quarterback, maybe one of the other guys, like Ben Banogu to step up. Before you know it, people are going to put two or three guys on DeForest Buckner. That should free up everybody else to get more sacks this year. Hopefully, they can do that.
PhilB: Who’s your favorite player?
Chris: I did get a Deforest Buckner jersey this year. I like what he brings. I like him when he was with the 49ers. Everybody likes ‘Q’ (Quenton Nelson), ‘Q’ is a good guy. I want to see more of Blackmon. Maybe he can be a young Bob Sanders if he doesn’t beat himself up.
PhilB: What did you think of the rookie class?
Chris: It’s paying off already. Look at (running back) Jonathan Taylor, he might win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year if he keeps carrying the team like he does. (Wide receiver) Michael Pittman Jr. hasn’t gotten into the end zone, but I haven’t been able to focus on him.
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PhilB: Who else do you want to talk about?
Chris: I’m kind of curious about how the Colts are going to sign a lot of these players in the next year. As you know, T.Y.’s contract is up. He said he wants to stay with the Colts for the rest of his life, which I think he will because he’s that kind of character. But is his contract going to really hurt us in the future? I really don’t understand why the team spent like $50 million on quarterbacks this year. I understand (Jacoby) Brissett might be a good guy and everything else, but there’s a point where football is a business also. So what are the Colts going to do after this year for quarterback?
PhilB: That’s the big question. We don’t know if Rivers is going to earn another one-year deal or not. Either way, Jacoby’s $21.4 million comes off the books. You’re going to have that. They wanted to have a backup plan if Rivers sucked. They thought this team could make the playoffs. That’s why they did it. I’m not saying it’s right that they have $46 million spent on quarterbacks, or $50 million if you count (rookie) Jacob Eason, I’m just saying that’s why they did it. They signed center Ryan Kelly to a $50-million extension.
Chris: I like that. He’s one of the most underrated centers in the league. I think he gets lost along that line, even though he pushes that line.
PhilB: So you’ve got T.Y. Hilton. Justin Houston is looking to get paid. You have Denico Autry. You have Anthony Walker. I don’t think they can re-sign Marlon Mack or Malik Hooker now after the Achilles injuries.
Chris: I think Anthony Walker, I don’t think he’d get a high-end contract. He might be lost in free agency possibly. He plays really well next to Darius Leonard, but Leonard is the guy they focus on and gets all the attention. I’d like for him to sign a team-friendly deal to stay. I know that first draft class of Chris Ballard, they’re up for their next contract. Speaking of that, I’m wondering when we could see an extension for Chris Ballard. Isn’t his up in a year or two?
PhilB: Good question. That’s one I don’t know. Let me look. He signed a five-year contract when he was hired in 2017.
Chris: So he’s got two years left. Next year is when they’re going to start talking about an extension for him.
PhilB: Yeah, this is his fourth year. He’s got one year left. I would think owner Jim Irsay would extend him before next season because you don’t want your GM going into the final year of a contract and making him sweat.
Chris: I think he’s done enough to warrant five more years.
PhilB: He took over and it was a bit of a mess.
Chris: We’re back where we need to be. Even though we don’t have that franchise quarterback, at least the culture is back where it needs to be and players want to come and play for Indy again.
PhilB: Andrew Luck retired unexpectedly, and that kind of messed it up.
Chris: Yeah, we were supposed to be a powerhouse in the AFC because of Andrew.
PhilB: I don’t blame that on Ballard. First, he gets a cupboard that’s bare. Then his quarterback is hurt. His quarterback comes back and has one good year with (head coach) Frank Reich, and then Andrew Luck retires and you’re left with trying to recover from that.
Chris: In a way, I know this is really evil, I kind of wish the Colts would tank this year and go after the kid from Clemson (quarterback Trevor Lawrence). I don’t watch much college football, but they say he’s the next generational quarterback coming out of college next year. Wouldn’t that be crazy?
PhilB: I think they’re probably out of that already. They’ve got one win already and you’d have to finish 2-14 like they did before they got Luck to get Lawrence, who is going to be the No. 1 overall pick. The Colts are trying to make the playoffs this year.
Chris: They need to. They have the talent to do it. It’s just whether they’re able to push through. We could easily be the third-best team in the AFC. Or maybe even the fourth.
PhilB: Behind Kansas City and Baltimore.
Chris: Don’t forget about the Bills. They’re supposed to take over the AFC East.
PhilB: And Pittsburgh looks good again.
Chris: The thing about Pittsburgh, though, ‘Big’ Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t have anybody to throw to. He’s relying on that defense. That defense might carry him to fourth or fifth, but I’d put the Steelers sixth.
PhilB: Anything else you want to say about the Colts?
Chris: Hopefully we do well this year. Let’s think positive, guys, and let’s at least get to the second or third round of the playoffs, maybe the AFC Championship.
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