ColtStrong2013

I will absolutely give a lot of credit to Steichen. and btw- Irsay wasn’t involved really at all in Steichen’s hire. His daughters were. But they let Chris drive it. Frank was a last minute makeshift that worked out initially better than anyone expected. He was recommended by Irsay, Polian, etc. I’m not an exclusive Frank blamer. I admit that Ballard was a major part of the equation to not solve the qb issue. I don’t think Frank was a good development coach and that he lost the locker room with Wentz and accountability. The pendulum swung hard the other way when we hired Steichen. I think Steichen is a better coach. I think coaches can grow, just like I think players and executives can grow. This organization is banking on that, which is why Frank needed to be gone at the end of 2022. He was clearly not growing nor leading the team in the right direction.

of course it would. Because there is a very high probability they don’t replace him with even close to the same level of talent. They could easily be in the same qb shuffle we experienced.

I think he has plenty of influence. I think Frank did too… which is why I’m quick to defend Ballard. I think the start of Steichen’s career is the turning point. The draft, last season’s performance above expectation, bringing a lot back—> this draft is big for this franchise. No way to sugarcoat it. If stacking drafts is the key, then we need to hit big on this draft like I believe we did last year, and we need 2022 class of Pierce, Woods, and Cross to elevate. Raimman already has. Going back further, the 2021 class, mainly Paye , Dayo, and fries need to elevate as well in contract years. I don’t think Granson will be here past this season. If we luck into Brock Bowers, then I think he’s done before the season even starts.

We don’t know if we aren’t keeping up with them yet… We beat them in Houston with half of AR and lost by what might be just a few plays at home with the division on the line, and a backup qb going head to head with wonderboy CJ stroud. They’ve made moves. But this isn’t Madden. They aren’t guaranteed to work better. It’s now a 1 year deal for Diggs. A more expensive one now too. He may re-sign. He may not. We don’t know at this point. This is the year to judge, imo. We’ll have a pretty good idea by Thanksgiving where this team’s standing in the division/league is. im hopeful some of our young guys elevate this year. I’ve seen some glimpses to know it’s possible. I want to see Jelani Woods healthy and on the field. I want to see Pittman’s potential with qb stability, and another year with Steichen. I want to see JT healthy and back to 2021 form. That’s just on offense. I agree the defense has some work to do. But I don’t think they’ll get worse, I think they’ll improve quite a bit this year. Just in growth on the backend, a new defensive line coach to tweak things up with a couple ends in contract years. We’ll see what we do in the draft/ remaining free agency. I think Bradley’s going to be coaching for his job. I think moving the ball better on offense will help defensively. I’m hopeful things come together more this season than ever. Might not lead to the success you need to see to be satisfied. But I think we have a winner at the helm in Shane Steichen. He’s certainly not going to want to disrupt things by bringing a new GM in. He didn’t accept this job with that understanding… He bought in to where the team is headed under his leadership and influence/working relationship with Ballard and co.

Sounds like that’s what you hope for. The more you talk, the more it sure feels like it. You didn’t see any positives last year to give you hope that things will improve going forward?

i have. They say Ballard’s the best we’ll get.

like i said earlier. Colts fans have been spoiled. Those born in the ‘90s only knew winning until they were in their twenties…

damn. It’s almost like Chris Ballard did that in year 2 with Andrew Luck too… and then he retired. Wonder how things would go in Houston if CJ Stroud retired next season.

cmon old fan man- you know 8 years is not THAT long… Football fans have to be the most impatient people in sports.

But it’s all rigged, so it’s calculated. 😂

“ You ever hear of Wally Pipp?”

I thought that was LJ but couldn’t remember for sure, so I didn’t say anything. 😂

the prior general manager wrecking a generational qb. The success rate of the majority of GM’s. The wins this franchise has had with mediocre qb play, and a different qb for every single season opener of Ballard’s career. I just want to see what his teams look like with above average, and most important stable, qb play. I want to see 2 seasons of what his qb can do. I’m betting we get it too.

If the overall fanbase was upset in unison to the comment section of youtube, there would either be a) less fans at games or b) more fans with pitchforks at games. There is neither. That Houston game was electric. I think you are correct. I've noticed it on here plenty.

if you can… We’ve seen KC and NE win with shuffled pieces at receiver. They both benefited from a discounted pass catcher at tight end. KC has their defensive line anchored at tackle with Jones. But a continuous pipeline of pass rushers otherwise.

I think you need qb and left tackle set, but otherwise agree on keeping them rolling in the pipeline.

2014 compared to 2018 would be interesting to break down. Cold playoff games on the road against really good teams. I’d say there is an argument for comparing 2014 Denver to 2018 Houston and 2014 New England to 2018 Kansas City. I give the edge to New England, but that playoff game in 2018 was tough. There was a big difference between 2014 Andrew Luck and 2018…

…because we are spoiled. 😂 Same reason Houston is trying to win with their rookie I suppose. I never said he left a mess. Mike Bluem’s pretty dang good his job and has been here for a while. The lessons I speak of are more of a mindset than anything. Irsay watched Grigson spend some big dollars on free agents that didn’t pan out. That doesn’t mean they left us in a mess (unless of course you view it as the amount put towards the o-line that assisted our franchise qb to early retirement). I think Irsay bought into Ballard’s concept on building internally instead of trying to buy a roster, especially in the trenches. Grigson spent a lot of money up front on both sides of the ball.

I think Franklin’s attitude online is just influencer talk to grow his presence online.

preferably in a game wrecker at the edge?

I don’t disagree with what you posted. It sounds like a leadership issue from the coach though. “Had to be Steichen.” Yeah… that’s the coach’s job to keep a locker room together. Frank lost them a long time ago. it all worked out to get where we are though…

In 2017 when Ballard came to Indianapolis the Colts value was about $2.3 billion. It’s roughly $4.3 billion now. In a league of 32 franchises, winning is important, but let’s not confuse it with the most important aspect… That’s not me crediting Ballard with anything on the financial end (although I do think he’s been a good salesman for the Irsay’s.) But rather me saying when things are working from a financial standpoint, you just don’t care as much about winning like you did it when it was worth billions less…

obviously he had pressure from Irsay… given he failed in 4 years. He spent big in free agency. I think the lessons from Grigson is largely why Ballard is still here driving a great deal of this forum crazy with his process…