I’ve been offline for a few years now. A lot happening in my world. But Ballard’s moves are always my radar.
Still a lot of football left in ‘23 and the Colts hold their playoff destiny with games against the Steelers and Texans, as well as Bengals/Raiders. My feeling on Ballard is that he was given a second chance with the mid season firing of Frank and his offseason plan, which I can’t imagine didn’t go pretty well how he presented. Land Steichen as HC and draft AR at #4.
My question is how long of a leash does he have with this second chance.
It seemed to me that Reich had more influence in the qb conversation with Irsay, especially with Wentz which was reported that he apologized to Irsay (in a move signaling desperation to keep his job.) Hindsight’s always fun, but the Ryan move seems wild to me. Falcons fans were laughing on twitter telling us to enjoy the statue, which turned out to be exactly that. Ironic that a coaching and qb change turned a horrible o-line into its old form overnight.
I like Ballard. I agree with Irsay’s statement last year that we were fortunate to get someone of his caliber. I think his draft process is top tier. He just didn’t hit on the key positions early on. Qb, LT, WR1, CB and pass rush are the premier positions, and we seemingly didn’t have a single one the last few years. Things look a little more promising now, and to see the way AR played early on, how Downs looks as a rookie and how Pittman and Raimann have developed is promising at those positions. The pass rush disruption is from our 3tech trade in Buckner, and the d-line isn’t a liability to us, but we still need a premier edge rusher. Perhaps Dayo could develop into that. I like Paye but he’s not what he needs to be. Cornerback is the liability but I’m hopeful that as young as this group is that one or two emerges.
Overall, the roster isn’t bad. Bad luck with AR’s injury hampered what could be an even better start to the season. I hope Leonard’s release isn’t a crusher to the locker room, and I don’t think it will be. It shouldn’t be. It should be a statement of being accountable for your play on the field, and perhaps keeping your commentary in a tight locker room during the season. No one in the media is a friend of a locker room mid season. Not one.
Here’s to hoping for continued development and a strong finish to an already encouraging season of competitiveness compared to last seasons’s atrocity.