Chris Ballard Praise (Merge)

[ricker182]

I'll wait until I see the results until I judge.  

 

 

You guys need to at least wait until the draft.  

  

Also if he gets rid of Moncrief, I'll never forgive him.

[Yoshinator]

Definitely like what Ballard has done so far. Lackluster day 1 somewhat, but day 2 we have picked up steam. 2 very solid signings in Simon and Sheard. We'll probably get 1 or 2 more and then have a nice draft. Can't wait to see how it goes.

[JColts72]

Will be more encouraged once he cuts jones.

[jshipp23]

20 minutes ago, CheezyColt said:

Of course a super bowl is the goal. You have to be smart about it though. Using every last drop of salary cap space just because you have it and hoping that it's enough to win a Superbowl is extremely dangerous. Say Luck gets injured again and we basically lose our chance... with your strategy we spend the next few years in cap hell because we went balls out trying to win in free agency and building a dream team or greatest shoe on turf scenario.... all for nothing. The less extreme way at least allows us to keep building because we know, realistically, that while Luck gives us a shot, we're not likely to take home that trophy this year. Same reason why most people don't walk into a casino, throw their entire salary on one number on the roulette wheel, and let it ride. It's dumb and will mess your entire life up.

I like Simon and Sheard, now give me Hightower and and Poe...It is really difficult to get in cap hell anymore to be honest, most contracts are short and the cap goes up every year, times are a changing. ..You need to maximixe your chances when you have an elite QB..If we begin drafting well and having to resign our own guys then it will make sense to be more conservative..Right now we only have Mewhort and Moncrief as possible guys we have to keep..By the time our future draft picks develop most free agents we sign to contracts now will be up..We have the ability to be aggressive in free agency next few years before we have to worry about that scenario so why not try and still go all out now?

[BOTT]

5 hours ago, cbear said:

I wonder if he is building the team in Pags image.  I would hope so as that would mean these two guys are truly on the same page.

I'm not going to touch that softball lol

[Coltsfanforlife12]

40 minutes ago, JColts72 said:

Will be more encouraged once he cuts jones.

I agree with you on this statement but, at the same time I see his reason for keeping him.  Parry is in trouble and could be cut, Langford is older and coming off injury, and Anderson hasn't been the same since the knee injury.  Need depth at the position.  The defensive line starters potentially being Anderson, McGill and Ridgeway sounds awesome to me.  They'll probably restructure his contract or just let him make his money and let him hit FA next year.  7.4 mil is a lot to pay a back up but, we also aren't hurting for cap space either. 

[Coltsfanforlife12]

43 minutes ago, jshipp23 said:

I like Simon and Sheard, now give me Hightower and and Poe...It is really difficult to get in cap hell anymore to be honest, most contracts are short and the cap goes up every year, times are a changing. ..You need to maximixe your chances when you have an elite QB..If we begin drafting well and having to resign our own guys then it will make sense to be more conservative..Right now we only have Mewhort and Moncrief as possible guys we have to keep..By the time our future draft picks develop most free agents we sign to contracts now will be up..We have the ability to be aggressive in free agency next few years before we have to worry about that scenario so why not try and still go all out now?

I would like Hightower and in cautious on Poe.  Keep in mind the Ballard knows Poe and if he's not going after him it says a lot about him.  He struggled last year after his back surgery and may not be the same dominate player he was his first couple of years in the league.  

[NewColtsFan]

5 hours ago, lennymoore24 said:

I know the trolls will have to remind me "The season hasn't started yet" or "winning the offseason means nothing".

 

However, I love what Ballard has done so far.  I thought even last year Dwayne Allen should be traded away while he had value.  He is too inconsistent and hurt too often.  So getting a 4th out of Allen in a year that is strong in defense and RB, too Colts needs, is a good move.   I like how he has released/not resigned some vets we had.  They were just too slow to inconsistent.  As far as free agents, I had hoped the Colts would sign John Simon.  He is a perfect weakside LB to take Waldens place.  Very good against the run.   We have also gotten a punter and a flyer on Mingo.  But most importantly, none of these guys are costing the Colts much as far as free agents go.  After watching Grigson open up the checkbook for too many over the hill players or part time starters who never amounted to anything, I have real optimism that Ballard is going to turn this defense around quickly.  Simon is a very high character, high intensity guy.  We need more of them in the locker room.

 

As long as people here remember that everyone was happy with Grigson 5 years ago at this time.

 

And a year later,  Grigson was hailed as the Executive of the Year for 2012.    And his draft class was called the 9th best class of ALL-TIME.

 

How'd that work out?

 

As long as people understand that the path toward success is not always a straight line in a positive direction --- fine.     So far so good for Ballard.     But it was so far so good for Grigson too....

 

Keep that in mine and your expectations should be reasonable.....

 

[richard pallo]

2 hours ago, jshipp23 said:

I would prefer to try to win at ALL costs every year, instead of wasting a couple more years of Andrew Luck's prime....I'm sure the slow process can work IF you hit on draft picks and they avoid injuries, but it's not guaranteed..I think with our offense we should make trades for impact guys if the opportunity is there, and go after playmakers in free agency even if they are expensive.. The thought of going into a season without a Super Bowl as the goal when Andrew Luck is your QB isn't the best strategy in my opinion...Why not go all in now? Pay what it takes to bring in Hightower, Poe, Claiborne, and Barwin..        Draft a franchise RB, OLB, IlB, and G in draft who can make impacts and we would be instant contenders...Instead, it looks like we are gonna go for mid level guys in FA, let 2 of our most reliable defensive players go and hope we nail it in the draft and wait for them to develop for 3 years..                                              Luck will be in his 30's with this strategy..That's what you do when he is 22 not when he is 27 getting ready to hit his prime...I don't understand the attraction to this philosophy?  If we didn't have a QB I'd understand it, but it seems like a flawed plan for our situation..Sure eventually it may payoff, but what about the years we are throwing away?

I think we will be going all in to win a SB this year.  We just finished 24 hrs. of FA. That's all.  We have plenty of cap space and could free up more.  There are plenty of quality players still available who could be impact players for us.  He already made one trade that caught everyone off guard and he could do it again. And then there's the draft of course.  I think he will use all avenues at his disposal to improve the team significantly this year.  I think he is off to a great start.  I think he could really surprise us when all is said and done.  It's still early and he's still hunting and working the phones.  I'm feeling pretty good right now.  Can't wait to see what his next move will be. 

[braveheartcolt]

5 hours ago, Rackeen305 said:

The only thing that sucks is that he doesnt have that special team Ace in Pat McAfee. Pat McAfee is highly underrated and would have even better numbers had our special teams spotted the ball within 5 yards of the goal line, instead of fumbling, pushing, or tapping their feet inside the inzone. 

You need to change you handle to 'Ray of Sunshine'. 

[Dustin]

Yall would have said this no matter what he did kr who we signed who are you kidding

[jvan1973]

5 hours ago, indyagent17 said:

As I have said before Ballard is running with Scissors and putting his stamp on the team

He really hasn't done much in the way of adding talent.   We will find out in the coming days,  and of course after the draft.   Way too early to know either way yet.   I'm glad he didn't go nuts on the big names though

[AZColt11]

I would agree with OP but with caution.  I do like how he has signed 4 guys in their prime years.  Mingo and Simon are 26 and Sheard and Locke are 27.  He is getting rid of guys that are older.  I like that so far.  The only thing I would caution on is at this point most people were happy with Grigs as well.  It's a long road ahead and there is much work to do.  Let's see how it all pans out.  But yeah so far everything looks good from my point of view.

[LockeDown]

For those wait and see people, we just had the cream of the crop interview for the GM position and CB won out.  Don't you think it's okay to be optimistic about our situation?  If he can't take Luck to a Super Bowl, then we are in big trouble as a franchise.  

[Lawrence Owen]

I do see where you are encouraged..a little scarey also.  This defense is NOT going to look the same.  

Gone:

Mike Adams

Patrick Robinson

D.Q.

Josh McNary

Zack Kerr

 

???'s:  

Darius Butler

Erik Walden

Trent Cole

 

New bodies so far:

Jeff Locke

 Barkevious Mongo

John Simon

Jabaal Sheard

 

We've got a LOT of new bodies on the linebacker front so far..(which we needed badly), but our CB and Safety front looks VERY thin so far.  It's still early, so i expect a DB signing or two before draft.   But with all the new guys we'll have, they are going to be inconsistant because of being unfamiliar with each other this upcoming year.  Do not expect much this year...i fully expect a lot of missed assignments.  I still hold hope,...but i am a realist.

[gacoop1]

Things are looking up.....

[indyagent17]

3 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

He really hasn't done much in the way of adding talent.   We will find out in the coming days,  and of course after the draft.   Way too early to know either way yet.   I'm glad he didn't go nuts on the big names though

???

[Mr. Irrelevant]

12 hours ago, Valpo2004 said:

I'm encouraged that he's clearing out Grigson's mistakes.  And with Dwayne Allen getting a pick for it. 

 

But you don't know til the games how good his signings and draft picks are.  

 

The offseason always feels more optimistic then the actual season. 

 

LOL, I always feel exactly the same way! 

[Coltsfanforlife12]

12 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

As long as people here remember that everyone was happy with Grigson 5 years ago at this time.

 

And a year later,  Grigson was hailed as the Executive of the Year for 2012.    And his draft class was called the 9th best class of ALL-TIME.

 

How'd that work out?

 

As long as people understand that the path toward success is not always a straight line in a positive direction --- fine.     So far so good for Ballard.     But it was so far so good for Grigson too....

 

Keep that in mine and your expectations should be reasonable.....

 

I don't remember anyone calling that draft class the 9th best of all time... Luck was the center piece he hit on Hilton and Allen and Fleener are ok pieces but nothing special.. 

[Dark Superman]

I know it's early, but I can see why many people around the league respect Chris Ballard and have nothing but high praise for the guy.

I love his approach and for him to step in and make a statement by trading Dwayne Allen (Because let's face it, he got paid by us and failed to produce) That's on Grigson. I always valued Fleener over Allen for the fact that he had a connection with Luck and the guy stayed on the field.

- Cutting Jackson and Robinson. (Jackson was a no brainer, but not many people saw Robinson being cut, especially with the situation we have going on with Darius Butler)

 

He already filled a few holes and addressed some needs and didn't need to break the bank. (Poe could change that, but the guy is a beast and we have yet to have a DT on our team that can match his talents) I believe Ballard will give him a fair offer, but he knows Poe as good as anyone and I'm sure he will make the right decision regarding Poe and his future with the Colts.

 

The guy did a tremendous job in scouting and drafting talent for KC. I'm curious to see his approach in this years draft and I'm sure he's not done dealing in free agency and cutting players that we no longer need.

 

If Ballard can nail this draft and get this team back to the playoffs I will give the guy all the credit in the world.

- He has Andrew Luck and that's something you can build around.

 

- The ONLY concern I have about this season is our coaching staff. I'm not sold on Pagano and I would much rather see us move on from him and allow Ballard to bring in his own people. (but that's just me) They seem to be getting along well, but Pagano and his staff is going to need to make big things happen in order for him to be the HC of the Indianapolis Colts in 2018.

 

I personally think this will be Chuck's last year here and I can honestly say if it is, that I can't wait to see who Ballard chooses as his next HC. (I wish Jim Harbaugh) and I wish Peyton Manning returned back to Indy in some type of role. (That's still a real possibility down the road)

 

Could you imagine Chris Ballard, Jim Harbaugh (or whoever you guys want as a HC) and Peyton Manning running the ship in Indianapolis? Oh. and of course we have that Luck guy too.

 

A lot will need to go our way, but there's a real chance that we can have a new HC next season and possibly the return of Peyton Manning. Meanwhile, we can continue to build around Luck and in 2-3 years I can definitely see the Colts being the top team in the AFC.

 

I apologize for the rant. BUT.. I'm just trying to give out POSITIVE thoughts about the future of this team.

 

- Bill C.

[ManningGM]

If not Jim Harbaugh, I hope Dave Toub from Kansas City gets the HC offer.

[Coltsfanforlife12]

Great post and I agree with you on all of it!  I'm so excited for the draft and can't wait to see his approach.  Especially with some glaring holes still to fill at corner, safety, running back (yes we have Gore but, he's going to be 34 at the start of the season), and we need to solidify the offensive line.  Personally, with the moves he's made at outside linebacker seems to be setting himself up to take secondary or one of the top running backs if they are available.  His philopshy seems to be similar to Chucks with the run the ball and stop the run.  I use his rhetoric of being strong up front to back that up.  

[Coltsfanforlife12]

1 minute ago, ManningGM said:

If not Jim Harbaugh, I hope Dave Toub from Kansas City gets the HC offer.

I don't know much about Toub.   What makes you believe he can be a head coach in the NFL?

[Dustin]

He could have traded TY Hilton for a 3rd round pick and yall would have praised him for being bold lol.

[Defjamz26]

It's actually Lord Ballard. 

 

Seriously though, he's been on a role. He's made all the moves I thought he should make in terms of cuts and trades. He won't settle for mediocrity. And you can already see the mentality transferring to the fans. Before people were saying that he just said everything that our last GM. But now we see that he's way better than Grigson.

 

Cant wait to see his draft.

[Dark Superman]

12 minutes ago, Dustin said:

He could have traded TY Hilton for a 3rd round pick and yall would have praised him for being bold lol.

That would be a lie.

[Dark Superman]

19 minutes ago, Coltsfanforlife12 said:

I don't know much about Toub.   What makes you believe he can be a head coach in the NFL?

Ballard seems to have a lot of trust and faith in him. I don't know much about the guy, but he seems like he would be the favorite to be our next HC when Pagano is gone.

 

 

[MPStack]

• I`d say it`s a little premature to label Ballard some type of genius yet! His approach to FA so far greatly differs from Grigson`s. However, we don`t know how these HOF signings of his will pan out and the draft hasn`t happened yet. I`m optimistic, but not overly excited YET!

[Dark Superman]

21 minutes ago, Coltsfanforlife12 said:

Great post and I agree with you on all of it!  I'm so excited for the draft and can't wait to see his approach.  Especially with some glaring holes still to fill at corner, safety, running back (yes we have Gore but, he's going to be 34 at the start of the season), and we need to solidify the offensive line.  Personally, with the moves he's made at outside linebacker seems to be setting himself up to take secondary or one of the top running backs if they are available.  His philopshy seems to be similar to Chucks with the run the ball and stop the run.  I use his rhetoric of being strong up front to back that up.  

Thank you. It's gonna be a process and it's going to take time, but I do believe that we can turn this franchise around in 2-3 years if Ballard makes the right moves.

He got handed a team with a ton of cap space and a franchise QB. Plus we do have some solid players here on the offensive side of the ball.

Grigson made a mess out of this franchise, but Ballard is in a good position to turn our team around rather quickly.

Hopefully he can.

[B~Town]

I wonder if some of these guys were locker room cancer or not putting in the work . There were some tweets from Mathis last year made one wonder what was going on behind closed doors .

[dw49]

15 hours ago, jshipp23 said:

I like Simon and Sheard, now give me Hightower and and Poe...It is really difficult to get in cap hell anymore to be honest, most contracts are short and the cap goes up every year, times are a changing. ..You need to maximixe your chances when you have an elite QB..If we begin drafting well and having to resign our own guys then it will make sense to be more conservative..Right now we only have Mewhort and Moncrief as possible guys we have to keep..By the time our future draft picks develop most free agents we sign to contracts now will be up..We have the ability to be aggressive in free agency next few years before we have to worry about that scenario so why not try and still go all out now?

 

Totally agree with you. As long as you don't do contracts with tremendous guaranteed money , cap hell is a mirage. Spend to the hilt and if it gets a little tight a bit down the road , you might have to cut a good player.. big deal. 

[csmopar]

18 hours ago, Valpo2004 said:

 

Really the 2012 draft class was amazing regardless.  The problem was that they should have kept Fleener who's a solid receiving TE instead of Allen who has hands of stone, is injury prone, and PFF scores him lower on blocking then Jack Doyle.  

 

But ultimately Grigson got 2 pro-bowl players (Luck and TY) in one draft.  If you add in Fleener to that mix then it's 2 pro bowlers and a solid starter.  Plus you recall he also added Vontae Davis during the 2012 offseason as well.

 

The problems started with what came after that.  Bad drafting, bad free agency signings, and bad trades.  Very few good things that Grigson did came after the 2012 offseason.  

I've often wondered if winning that award didn't go to Grigsons head. Thinking to himself that he's smarter than he actually is. 

[Defjamz26]

If he trades Dorsett I'll be even more sold. That's the last glaring Grigson mistake on the roster. I say offer him for a 3rd but except no less than a 4th.

[TDewar1987]

[Dark Superman]

16 hours ago, ricker182 said:

I'll wait until I see the results until I judge.  

 

 

You guys need to at least wait until the draft.  

  

Also if he gets rid of Moncrief, I'll never forgive him.

He better extend Moncrief before he breaks out and commands a lot of money.

[adamthyst]

I personally like what he's doing. The guys we were supposedly after had high prices on them, and I'm glad he isn't sticking it out there to overpay for guys. Instead, we've got two quality picks for the front seven instead of paying $14M a year for a single guy. Besides, even if we don't get everything, needs can still be assessed via the draft since he wants the roster to be built through it. 

[NewColtsFan]

3 hours ago, Coltsfanforlife12 said:

I don't remember anyone calling that draft class the 9th best of all time... Luck was the center piece he hit on Hilton and Allen and Fleener are ok pieces but nothing special.. 

 

There was a story done by ESPN.com....   about the greatest draft classes of all-time.   The Colts were 9th on the list.     I think it was done roughly a year after the 2012 draft.    The rookie class had looked very good.

 

At the time, the list of Luck, Fleener, Allen, Hilton, Hilton, Ballard, Brazill and Chapman had a great look to it at the time.

 

 

[funktacious2]

On 3/10/2017 at 2:10 PM, chad72 said:

Let us come back and have this discussion in 2 years. A lot more will become clear by then.

 

Right. After Grigson's first offseason nearly everyone liked him. Didn't work out long-term, but I'll admit I'm optimistic about Ballard's moves so far. One of my biggest gripes during Grigson's tenure was how we forcefully hung on to "baggage". Ballard has parted ways with our old, underperforming vets, he re-signed the right TE and shipped away the underperformed. He got another mid round draft pick in the process. He's got us some pass rush depth and a solid run stopper in Simon and without breaking the bank. If he can get us another guy or two and nail the draft he'll have more than won me over.