RollerColt

And that's truly what it boils down to. They won the ring. The Bengals didn't. It's very hard to win it all, we all know this. And like I said in another post, the Rams already had a strong foundation before they went "all in" for free agency. They did get to the Super Bowl a few years prior after all... The more I think about it, it's a similar situation to the Broncos losing in 2013, and then going after defensive players to get another shot. Now here's where I find things get interesting when talking about sustainability: The Bears have 1 ring to brag about and should be happy, right? No. The fans are *. Chiefs fans up until Mahomes were thirsty for another. Eagles fans want another. Cowboys, Steelers and 49ers fans are hungry for another. Over time, even having 1 championship doesn't seem to be... enough... for the common everyday football fan.

Alright so: Hooker - Played 11 games so far this year and starting. Walker Jr. - Played 10 games so far for the Browns, he's contributing. Adams - Played 11 games so far for the Browns, just 7 total tackles. Ya Sin - Played 11 games so far for the Ravens, 6 tackles, 2 passes defended. Campbell - Played 12 games so far for the Giants, 20 receptions, 104 yards. Okereke - Played 12 games so far for the Giants, 113 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions What a beast! That's the main ones who are actively playing in the games. The others are either practice squad or backups. I will say, keep an eye on Rodgers returning for the Eagles. He could be a contributor in the future. I think all of these stats tell us this: It's really, really hard to get Hall of Fame players, regardless of how talented the GM is at finding talent. I love that the 2022 players are nearly are playing and making an impact with the team. That bodes well for the future to have such experienced players. Also, I didn't count the players who we still have on the team, who are also making major contributions with us, so probably add them to the consideration as well.

It'll take a moment but I'll research.

45 players were drafted by Ballard from 2017-2021. Of those, 28 are currently playing on another team, or over 60%.

So the team or mark immediately following the dash indicates where they are currently. The teams in parenthesis are past teams they used to play for besides us. Lots of free agents, but a good portion are still playing on teams as well.

I was talking about getting Brents back, but yeah walkthroughs this late in the season are very welcome to players. By December the body is really shot from the grind. So a day like today is good to get as fresh as possible.

I thought about including 2022, but they're all still too green. Oh what the heck here goes: 2022 Pierce - Colts Woods - Colts Raimann - Colts Cross - Colts Johnson- Colts Ogletree - Colts Brooks - Commanders (Titans) Thomas - Colts

2017 Hooker - Cowboys Wilson - FA (Jets, Giants, Dolphins, Steelers) Basham - FA (Jets, Cowboys, Titans, Bengals) Banner - FA (Browns, Panthers, Steelers) Mack - Cardinals (Texans, 49ers, Broncos) Stewart - Colts Hairston - FA (Broncos and Jets) Walker Jr. - Browns 2018 Nelson - Colts Leonard - FA (About to join Cowboys or Eagles) Smith - Colts Turay - FA (49ers, Falcons) Lewis - Colts Hines - Bills Fountain - Lions (Chiefs, Bears) Wilkins - FA (Jaguars, Titans, Browns) Cain - FA (Steelers, Ravens, Eagles) Adams - Browns (Bears) Franklin - Colts 2019 Ya-Sin - Ravens (Raiders) Banogu - FA (Cowboys) Campbell - Giants Okereke - Giants Willis - Retired Tell - FA (Bengals) Speed - Colts Green - FA (Patriots, Commanders, Raiders, Titans, Bears) Barton - Cardinals (Chiefs, Giants) Patterson - FA (Giants, Browns, Broncos) 2020 Pittman - Colts Taylor - Colts Blackmon - Colts Eason - Giants (Seahawks, Panthers, 49ers) Pinter - Colts Windsor - XFL Rodgers - Eagles Patmon - FA (Bills, Panthers) Glasglow - FA 2021 Paye - Colts Odeyingbo - Colts Granson - Colts Davis - FA (Packers) Ehlinger - Colts Strachan - Panthers Fries - Colts

That would really help our defense.

I get it, but we need to let this hate go. The 2019 season is 100% Luck's fault no doubt. But I'm honestly putting more of the blame on Reich, Ballard and Irsay for 2020-2022. They chose to go after recycled QBs, and while Rivers was great for us we should've went aggressively after a QB following Philip's retirement and never should've picked up Wentz and especially not a clearly aging Matt Ryan.

I think it also depends on the status of the team itself too. Looking back, the Rams did build a championship caliber team prior to that season. They were just missing the key ingredient: Stafford. It worked for the Rams by getting a franchise QB in Stafford and pairing him with Donald. Include Kupp and of course McVay and you've checked off all the boxes of the necessary ingredients to win a championship. QB, DE, WR, LT and an innovative head coach. Now mind you, even with all of that, they nearly lost to the Bengals who built through the draft. So perhaps both strategies are correct in achieving the end goal. Or even a healthy mix of the two.

Yeah. I'll counter by saying they proved it works but only as a 1 time solution. Since then, they've struggled with injuries and keeping that roster in tact. Going all in on FA historically has backfired for most teams. It's just not really that sustainable.

There’s a narrative across the media right now that Frank was the victim in all of this with Tepper to have all the blame. I’m not even a fan of Tepper, but it’s false to think that Frank didn’t have a hand in his own downfall. I think he even knows he is to at least partly blame for how bad the team was playing, as evident from his interview immediately after getting fired: https://amp.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article282370333.html

Yep… It was pretty bad. Of course not all Ravens fans are like that, but those types of people always seem to be the loudest.

I think a major selling point for free agents coming to Indy is having: 1. A franchise QB who always gives his team a chance for winning. 2. A stable, winning head coach who has the faith of the locker room. 3. A front office willing to pay money. There are other external factors but I think if you have those three above covered you’ll have players wanting to come to the team.

I was expecting an extensive response, and you didn’t disappoint for sure. I don’t personally view Taylor as being a non impact player. He scored 2 touchdowns for us this past weekend. He’s held up his end of the deal up until this point this season. Money wise, I’ve never really cared enough on how much someone makes. I’ve never been into business and corporate dealings. So I normally defer official salary things to those more knowledgeable. But I will admit I still have biases and misinformed opinions that I’ll share time from time (you’ll see my rants on the wealthy for example). You should know, I actually agree with a lot of your posts throughout the years, including which positions are most important for long term success.

There was a time earlier this year that you believed being neutral was a waste of bandwidth and no good for discussion… what changed?

More recently the Ravens fans cheering and chanting at Burrow after getting injured.

Not to mention that was years and years ago… both the Chiefs and Colts are way different.

Any chance Odunze from Washington would be available by picks 15-20?

Oh I see it now. I was missing the information on them wanting to trade with Houston to move down. That’s interesting.

@Superman Tepper spoke with media and didn’t really clarify the Stroud rumors…

There are also fans like you and I who still love him as well. Despite what happened, I can’t help but have fond memories of 2012-2014. And I have Andrew to thank for that.

I’m okay with it if we end up in the playoffs, but if we just miss out and sit at like 17, yeah that will suck… And that’s a very likely scenario.