Colts FA - no news is good news

[dgambill]

Some people on this board don’t know what a rebuild looks like. Never seen so many delusional people in my life. Even when Ballard does sign a FA they will still complain. Even when this team was losing games last year I saw roster improvements over the previous regime. The roster wasn’t ruined in a single year and if you want it built back right it’s going to take more than a year. I like Amazon and Netflix etc and instant satisfaction as much as the next guy but the NFL isn’t like that. Let’s give Ballard a chance to do his job.

[JColts72]

57 minutes ago, Narcosys said:

Honestly, idk wth is going on. We're sitting here with upwards of $75M of cap space, and we haven't done jack squat. I understand not over paying, but not getting anyone at all is absurd. 

 

 

Most of whose left in FA is not worth overspending. Would have liked LB who went to Chiefs. At this point, should get Dion and Nelson. This team could be worse then last year.

[JColts72]

3 minutes ago, dgambill said:

Some people on this board don’t know what a rebuild looks like. Never seen so many delusional people in my life. Even when Ballard does sign a FA they will still complain. Even when this team was losing games last year I saw roster improvements over the previous regime. The roster wasn’t ruined in a single year and if you want it built back right it’s going to take more than a year. I like Amazon and Netflix etc and instant satisfaction as much as the next guy but the NFL isn’t like that. Let’s give Ballard a chance to do his job.

Well  he should start doing his job then.

[Coltfreak]

5 hours ago, threeflight said:

No one is saying you need to over pay for a bunch of free agents.

 

But paying Robinson, Norwell, and the Dallas LB a little more than they got was certainly what I would consider to be in the ball park of what they deserve. 

 

Especially someone like Norwell.  Even Robinson who is still super young.  I see people saying what is the point in signing really good free agents to higher contracts now when we aren't any good.

 

Two things.  

 

We won't be good unless we get good players, and relying on the draft is a crapshoot.

 

And two, OL is wayyyyyyyyy different than almost any other position considering the status of Lucks health.  He is the franchise.  And the franchise is hurt and has been for 2 years.  I don't care if the rest of the team completely blows.  The OL needs to be GREAT at this point to protect Luck.  So saying we shouldn't pay high for the OL because the rest of the team sucks is absolute craziness.  If we don't have an OL, there will be no more Luck in 2 years.  Not to mention, when Luck is good, that creates good vibes and the team does better and that makes more FA's want to come here.  If he struggles or is hurt?  They don't.

 

 

How do you know Ballard didn't offer more money?  It's not an auction!!!   It doesnt always go to the highest bidder

[Introspect]

2 minutes ago, JColts72 said:

Most of whose left in FA is not worth overspending. Would have liked LB who went to Chiefs. At this point, should get Dion and Nelson. This team could be worse then last year.

Both players will not sign with us. I believe a majority of difference makers believe that statement in bold.

 

 

[dgambill]

23 minutes ago, JColts72 said:

Well  he should start doing his job then.

He is...he is insuring the financial integrity of the Colts and I am sure he is identifying players in the draft and a limited few free agents to build this team. I’m not concerned in the least with how this offseason is going.

[OLD FAN MAN]

10 hours ago, Jared Cisneros said:

I don't care what he did or didn't offer. If he did offer it, he didn't close the deal. If he didn't offer it, he's an inept GM. He didn't get us Norwell who was a HUGE need to protect Andrew Luck. This isn't up for debate, Luck needs protection, and even if Ballard wants Nelson, he can't guarantee he'll get him unless he trades up. You basically had a chance to get a version of Quinton Nelson and fill that need with only money, and Ballard didn't do it. He also missed out on other targets, meaning he has trouble closing deals, or he's just cheap, which doesn't work in FA. We aren't a great destination, we have to pay more.

i concur

[aReggie7]

32 minutes ago, dgambill said:

Some people on this board don’t know what a rebuild looks like. Never seen so many delusional people in my life. Even when Ballard does sign a FA they will still complain. Even when this team was losing games last year I saw roster improvements over the previous regime. The roster wasn’t ruined in a single year and if you want it built back right it’s going to take more than a year. I like Amazon and Netflix etc and instant satisfaction as much as the next guy but the NFL isn’t like that. Let’s give Ballard a chance to do his job.

 

History is easily forgotten.

 

People expect a quick turnaround and to be at the top of the AFC South like they were in the 2000s. However, Bill Polian inherited Marshall Faulk, Tarik Glenn, Marvin Harrison, and drafted Peyton Manning in his first year in Indy. Ballard inherited an injured Andrew Luck and TY Hilton. Polian didn't build good teams by signing expensive free agents. He did it by building around great players that the team drafted.

 

Grigson was agressive in free agency. Some of the players brought in did help but it didn't set the team up for long-term success and his poor drafting left this team with a lot of holes.

 

We have seen the right way to build a team for long-term success and the wrong way. Ballard is on the right track. We all know the Colts have a lot of cap space, and he almost has to spend some of it, but just because he doesn't sign the most expensive free agents doesn't mean the guys he will sign are bad. The real key is the draft. This team needs to start drafting well so that they have players worth giving second contracts to and not ending up with a bunch of cap space.

 

 

[AntonMcG]

8 minutes ago, ar7 said:

 

History is easily forgotten.

 

People expect a quick turnaround and to be at the top of the AFC South like they were in the 2000s. However, Bill Polian inherited Marshall Faulk, Tarik Glenn, Marvin Harrison, and drafted Peyton Manning in his first year in Indy. Ballard inherited an injured Andrew Luck and TY Hilton. Polian didn't build good teams by signing expensive free agents. He did it by building around great players that the team drafted.

 

Grigson was agressive in free agency. Some of the players brought in did help but it didn't set the team up for long-term success and his poor drafting left this team with a lot of holes.

 

We have seen the right way to build a team for long-term success and the wrong way. Ballard is on the right track. We all know the Colts have a lot of cap space, and he almost has to spend some of it, but just because he doesn't sign the most expensive free agents doesn't mean the guys he will sign are bad. The real key is the draft. This team needs to start drafting well so that they have players worth giving second contracts to and not ending up with a bunch of cap space.

 

 

 

No he wasn't.

[OLD FAN MAN]

9 hours ago, Flash7 said:

I understand your point, but let's look at this with the small sample we have. Here is Ballard's first draft:

 

Round 1 - Malik Hooker. A good guy to build around. Can be here for the long term.

Round 2 - Quincy Wilson - Looks promising but not sure yet. We'll have to wait and see.

Round 3 - Basham - I don't see him sticking past his rookie contract.

Round 4 - Banner - Gone.

Round 4 - Mack - I see a future in Indy, but here we are still looking for a RB to pair with him.

Round 5 - G. Steward - I don't see him lasting past his rookie contract.

Round 5 - N. Hairston - Good rookie. Someone to help with the rebuild.

Round 6 - Walker Jr. - has potential, but currently a back up and here we are looking for a off-ball LB. Need has not been met.

 

We can only build through the draft if we pick guys that we can build around. Looking at Ballard's draft, taking this approach will take far too long.

the draft is a very slow way to build and if players work out and become good they many times move on for big money. then we start over again in the draft

[azcolt]

4 hours ago, dgambill said:

Some people on this board don’t know what a rebuild looks like. Never seen so many delusional people in my life. Even when Ballard does sign a FA they will still complain. Even when this team was losing games last year I saw roster improvements over the previous regime. The roster wasn’t ruined in a single year and if you want it built back right it’s going to take more than a year. I like Amazon and Netflix etc and instant satisfaction as much as the next guy but the NFL isn’t like that. Let’s give Ballard a chance to do his job.

Ok. As long as he promises to stop sitting on Irsay’s wallet.

[crazycolt1]

1 hour ago, azcolt said:

Ok. As long as he promises to stop sitting on Irsay’s wallet.

Irsay's wallet and the Colts cap space are two different things.

[Peterk2011]

12 hours ago, MightyLucks said:

This realllllyyyyy grinds my gears. I get not going out and signing every big time free agent but if we drafted Norwell ( or signed him as an undrafted free agent) then it would be ok to pay him big money? Why does that have to be a prerequisite to pay someone big money? If they are good, pay them. Who gives a damn where they were drafted originally because these guys are 23 and 24. They arent old past their prime vets

 

Because if you drafted the guy, you know the guy. You worked with him day by day for years, you KNOW he performed well in your team, in your own system, so you KNOW he will perform well in the future. When you sign a free agent, you know nothing. You assume.

 

Just compare the success rate of resigned own players vs signed free agents. You'll have hard time finding examples of resigns that went south (there are some, but not many), while there are tons of examples of free agent acquisitions which didn't end well.

[dgambill]

12 hours ago, AntonMcG said:

 

No he wasn't.

I'm not going to go through the long list of FAs Grigson went after to speed up the process. It wasn't all his fault either as it has been reported several times that Pagano preferred to work with veterans because of their professional approach and easier to work with....but Gore, Bradshaw, Cherilus, Johnson, Nicks, DHB, Walden, Trent, A. Jones, DQ, Landry, Toler, Robinson etc etc....you can go to the Colts.com transaction page and see for yourself. Lots of FA activity including some pretty big names and money. We even supposedly won free agency the year we got Frank and Andre and Trent. Quite different than Polian and Ballard...maybe not as bad as GMs in Miami but pretty darn active.

[gspdx]

14 hours ago, threeflight said:

I am telling you flat out what this is.

I am a pretty good judge of character, and I can tell from watching Ballard that he thinks he is the cats meow.  That he is smarter than everyone.  So he thinks he can sit back, not spend jack, and get scrubs for "value" that he thinks will turn into world beaters.

 

He is just one of those guys that thinks they are better than everyone else.  Grigson was too, but he did it in a much more apparent way and non authentic way.  He did it partly because he was insecure and deep down didn't really believe it.

 

Ballard actually believes it.

 

So you know Ballard?  You know what is going on in his head?  

 

This is a team in rebuild mode.  You pay to get the top FAs and you will pay too much.  That is a reality.  The only way to maximze value and build in a sustainable manner is to avoid these top tier high priced guys.  Once you are on the verge of competing for a championship OK, fill the glaring hole.  

[Freenyfan102]

On 3/13/2018 at 9:57 AM, ThorstenDenmark said:

Okay, no "big" signings yet, why? 

Answer:

Would you rather play on a team going to the playoffs or just go for/ after the money?

 

Yes we have a ton of money available for signing big name players, but Luck and the team first need to prove they are not an 4-12 team. 

Lucks is returning this season, which instantly makes our team better, and thereby indirectly more attractive for big time players, willing to take less money to play for the colts.

As of right now, only money hungering big free agent players want to sign for the colts. And Ballard dont want them on our team. He want players like sheard, simon, bostic, Hunt etc. 

Players who believe they can win with us, regardless of how much money they are paid. Players who love the game and wants to play for a TEAM, not themselves.

 

So are we signing big time free agents, yes we are, but only those players who are all in and wants to play for the colts and whos willing to take less money.

 

I would have loves Norwell, Robinson and Hitchens, but then we would have ZERO money to spend on the rest.

 

In Ballard I trust so dont go into panic mode yet guys.  

 

 

I do not think the players are that stupid thinking that is Luck is back he going to make the team better. He the player also know that luck been out for two year out of 5 years and missed a couple games here and there and yet have remotely came close to signing an Lineman or gotten him any help what so ever. So yeah you may have luck but how long is he playing next year.

 

[Luck 4 president]

If only this was like the NBA where a team can buy draft picks from other teams to give them an increased salary cap 

[dodsworth]

On 3/13/2018 at 7:47 AM, Jaric said:

Remember when Ryan Grigson would attempt to sign all the free agents and we ended up with a bunch of dead weight and dead cap space?  Remember when Bill Polian would hardly ever sign an outside free agent (and the one time he did he got burned on Corey I'd rather get fat than play Simon)?  Which scenario yielded better fruit?

 

I'm perfectly fine if they take a less is more approach to free agency.

Thanks for bringing up Cory Simon's name, almost forgot about that

piece of dog lawn furniture.

[Chet Pinkney]

We need to commence a campaign for Suh! Reich is adapting a 4-3 defense. Hence, who’s better than Suh? Talk to me!