ColtStrong2013

No. I wasn't. I was only happy with the performance of Andrew Luck. I get what you are saying. I also think it could be a big reason Ballard's been given a second chance by Irsay. He might have wanted Frank to be a short term makeshift deal, but he had a good 2018 run and then Irsay tied him up with him for too long. We don't know that it was Ballard's decision to keep him that long, just like we don't know that it was Ballard making the decisions on qb's. I think the fact that he's been given a second chance, and this time Irsay stepped out of the picture and let him entirely conduct the coaching search/decision as well as draft the qb speaks volumes.

I don't disagree at qb. And I would say that he probably would agree with you, in hindsight. At the time, they had Phil Rivers coming in on what they all thought would be 2 years. It was probably the right time to make that move. Dodds scouted Herbert pretty hard and they ended up trading for Buckner. I really liked the idea of Jordan Love, and in hindsight, he could have worked out sitting for a year behind Rivers and then taking his lumps for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, which were miserable anyways. But that's all in hindsight, so it doesn't do much good discussing the what-if. What if Ty Goodson caught that ball, and we beat Houston and are still in the playoffs right now? See- I just don't like playing that game. It's not living in reality. We have our qb. We need to get him healthy and throwing again. We need to protect him and help him protect himself. And we need to be aggressive in putting weapons around him/shoring up the defensive side of the ball. Next year is a big year for the Indianapolis Colts. I won't sugarcoat it more than it needs to be said.

@shasta519 I don't expect you to read that post. Considering you just said you think I jerk off in a Ballard sock puppet. And I'm not sure you can actually read comprehensively. But you should try...

Anyone with a brain can realize the qb play is the difference between being on the edge of the playoffs and actually getting there. We win 11 games with a more competent qb in 2021 (remember we had a league-leading probowl nominated roster that year). We nearly won the division with Gardner. Minshew. at qb and half this forum won't even appreciate that fact. All anyone does on here is bash Ballard while praising CJ Stroud. And I get it to an extent. CJ's a hell of a football player, and it may very well be always a "What-if" situation for us regarding him. I went and looked at the poll from April that started circulating, and while I didn't participate for some reason, I like many, thought CJ was likely the best candidate, I just didn't think we would get him. I'm pretty high on Richardson's potential, and I'm of course concerned about injuries. What team isn't concerned about losing their franchise qb. This one especially is, or should be, considering we ruined the greatest young qb in the history of the game. But AR was Ballard's pick. The Irsay's were patient enough to give him that opportunity, one of which we will never know the true behind the scenes reason it took this long, although I have my beliefs and it's more to do with Irsay/Reich than it ever was Ballard. I can understand the frustration of his record up to this point. I can understand his frustration too. As miserable as it has been for us as fans, can you imagine how he feels? I "white-knight" for him because I feel that not defending him on things that are logical, like having a qb issue (there's a lot of teams that do and haven't been near as successful, even with multiple tries at top 5 qb picks) is not supporting him. And the fact is, he's our GM. He's going to continue to be, regardless of how big of a fit you people throw on this forum. Or how many articles Greg Doyle writes that no one reads because the Indy Star sold out like every other newspaper. I support him because I like the guy, genuinely like him. And I'm not alone in that. By all accounts, everyone that works with him and that has worked with him do too. Can't say that for our last GM. Total * that ruined a generational qb. All I ever see on here is stanning over his record like he accomplished anything. He accomplished selecting the easiest draft pick in the world in Andrew Luck, and then doing nothing while this franchise rode his back for several years. I didn't blame him for retiring. I would have quit a long time before he did. I'm an eternal optimist, to a fault. I'm very optimistic about a young, black super-stud athlete at Quarterback for this team, after everything this franchise has been through over the last decade. I think there is some really strong talent across the roster. Are there holes? obviously. Every team has them. The team's that hide them better than we have are the ones that are getting consistent qb play, and it makes all the difference. CJ Stroud is showing it... I'm hopeful Ballard grows as a GM. Just like you would hope your coach learns from mistakes early in his career and doesn't continue making them like Pagano and Reich did. I hope Steichen works wonders. As long as Chris Ballard's our GM, I am going to support him, and hope for his success. I don't have a timetable for that support. A lot of folks on here lost it a long time ago it seems. And I don't blame anyone, necessarily. It's just not the type of fan I'm going to be.

They were pretty close. I remember reading something some time ago about John Dorsey being pretty unorganized with stuff and after Ballard left, who many say was ultra-organized almost to a fault, it became more noticeable, and problems started coming up quickly. I'll see if I can find the article. Found it: https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/06/29/kansas-city-chiefs-john-dorsey-fired-nfl-notebook

“Shane we need to inform you that we’ve fired Chris Ballard.” -Jim Irsay “what? Why?” - Shane “it’s time to move on.” -irsay ”Mr. Irsay, Chris hired me, you let him handle that entire process remember?” “yeah it doesn’t matter now. We’ll be naming a gm soon.” - Irsay “I don’t know what to say. Chris and I were aligned on what the goals were going forward. We were close to exceeding every expectation with minshew, which wasn’t the plan as you know.” -Shane “listen, @shasta519, @OLD FAN MAN , turtle man @PRnum1, and the gang on the colts forum wanted him gone… and he’s gone so it’s time to move on Shane…” - Irsay “The colts forum, are you kidding me?” “no Shane… they know football. Let me tell you. turtleman not only didn’t want us to NOT pick cj stroud or Anthony, he didn’t want us to pick anyone at all last draft. I think he’s brilliant. I’m actually thinking about naming him assistant co-owner.”

because, uh, news flash… Steichen came here because of Ballard. Their ideals are aligned. If you think Steichen wasn’t massively influenced by the vision of drafting Anthony Richardson, I’m not sure what to tell you. Steichen could have told Ballard no, you do realize that right? He would have had plenty of other opportunities. And according to you and half of this board, plenty of opportunities to go to a place with a better GM. Except he didn’t. He chose to come to Indianapolis and work with Chris Ballard.

I just saw your name on the poll back in April for who you wanted the colts to draft at qb… you said none of the above. I don’t think you are a credible poster. lol. And the turtle talk is just weird. So I don’t think you are a serious poster either. have a good night turtle man

This is true. Good point. But that is a rare situation. and I think @Superman is correct, there was more than that was told leading to his abrupt firing.

Ballard 3-2-1 against Caserio head to head… one had a higher draft pick last year, with both taking qbs. Both teams had the same type of turnaround, except one had their drafted qb on IR and the other’s played mvp level. Division came down to a head-to-head matchup and the Texans won on a 4th down stop. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were being sarcastic, but you aren’t. You are totally serious and think you are “reasonable” to think Caserio runs circles around Ballard. lol.

Don't disagree. I think it's maybe more likely that there is dysfunction at the team level and changes there could be made before Brown is dealt. I read an interesting bit earlier that said the exit interview from Jason Kelce, and a discussion with AJ Brown could be the pieces that start a shakeup in the organization. It's certainly something to watch moving forward.

If you are stating that favoring disposing of Pagano and Reich more quickly, then I would suppose Jim Irsay would argue that he learned being patient and keeping the emotional stuff out of professional decisions was from the way his father ran things, which was on the opposite end of the spectrum.

I'd like to see it, but it's not visible.

I don't think they'll sit on him if he is willing to play hard ball and hold out. Especially if there is issues, but I doubt it's just with him. Eagles seem like they fell apart, and now that they are losing a leader in Jason Kelce, there's a lot of question marks. That o-line could be vastly different come training camp... I don't disagree that there might be concerns with the personality... And Ballard's also spoke of the ability to add explosive players in this draft, so it might be a massive reach, even if he were available. But if Vegas is throwing odds out there that he's likely gone, then it's worth paying attention to.

He said if they identify a game changer, then they will make it happen. He just said that last week… If Steichen says do it, then I think he’ll do it. AJ Brown would dramatically alter the offense. I doubt Ballard cares if his two biggest game changers were brought in by trading 1st round picks.

that’s more Jim Irsay’s philosophy on coaching than anyone… Ever heard the story of his dad firing the head coach after a preseason game? Jim was a kid and was humiliated. Sat and cried on the bus with the players he was so embarrassed. Swore he would never run the team like that. He’s been more than generous with coaches. It’s a large reason why Ballard is still handling things.

Zero chance. Again, there is no justification to firing Ballard and keeping everything he brought to the organization in tact. If you are firing the gm, you are moving in a different direction than the one they brought, not just kicking the tires on a fresh person making the final decisions that they were heavily involved in to begin with.

it is if we are looking for a year with them together for evaluation before a longterm deal…

tag Pittman and decide if it’s worth keeping him. AJ Brown is the WR1 everyone on this forum should want…

https://www.si.com/nfl/colts/news/indianapolis-colts-among-favorites-land-eagles-aj-brown Here we go…

yada yada. It’s the same thing with you too… works both ways. “There’s no winning… but while I’m here, I might as well say something” lol. What a 🤡

Why? Those are Ballard's guys... They were involved in the decision-making and scouting process. Firing Ballard and hiring from within is saying "We like what you've done, especially the personnel you have brought in the front office and coaching staff which we are retaining, as well as a good deal of the roster you have drafted/assembled, as well as the overall philosophy you have implemented here... But it's just not working out" That doesn't make much sense to me. Again, I have yet to hear a reasonable take on what happens after he's fired. A new outside GM comes in and works wonders with Shane Steichen, who came here to work with Chris Ballard? I'm not sure. Do they feel they need to blow up a great deal of the roster? That's not moving in the right direction after nearly winning the division with the starting qb on the sideline.

No one can answer that question. The ones calling for his removal can’t even entertain the concept that the replacement could be really bad… I’m thankful those individuals aren’t making the decisions for the company I work for and those that I’m invested in, that’s for sure.

I can’t say regarding Ryan. But it’s well known and documented on Reich’s apology for Wentz. I think Ballard obviously was hopeful, but if he had his hands tied when he preferred to look at the draft for a qb that offseason, then it’s 100% on Irsay. Even looking back at those years, they were really weak qb classes. 2022 especially. There wasn’t many options, that’s for sure.