#12.

Guess the title of Frank's book.

Yeah, he showed some signs, and it might all work, but it still feels like we're doing everything the hard way.

The Texans have the much better blueprint. We're doing the things the hard way. Hey, let's take an athletic QB who isn't a great passer and hope he turns into a passer. Let’s draft a receiver who can run go routes and hope he can turn into a route runner. Let's draft an edge in the middle of the first who can stop the run and is a hardworker and hope he can turn into a pass rusher.

This is the playoff game that Manning did beat the Pats in '06. Manning won the 3rd one. After 3 playoff games, it was 2-1 Brady, and Manning finished with a winning postseason record vs. Brady/Belichick.

Mahomes to another Super Bowl. That should make everyone happy.

I'm not too worried about it either way. If it includes play calling duties, Steichen might let him walk.

I was talking early on, being a 6th round pick. He was basically an afterthought until he got ring #2.

People forget that now, but it took Brady several Super Bowls to get any respect.

Starting at about 2:00 remaining in the 3rd, Love either did or looked like he was ready to throw an INT on every drive. That was a winnable game they p1ssed away.

Yeah, they have been to date in 2023-24, but I still don't fully trust them. I kinda think they're going to lose next week.

Prognosticators probably had them with more than 3 points on offense.

34-10 beatdown, Texans offense scored 3 points. No INTs by Stroud, no turnovers by the Texans. It's not like Stroud and the Texans were making rookie mistakes. Study that blueprint.

I thought they might win today.

Texans offense - 3 points.

Here's the thing about the Colts cycling through QBs that rarely gets mentioned. I'm sure no one will admit it, but internally for several years, I would bet there were people in the organization hoping and thinking that Luck might still return. It sure seemed like Irsay was holding out hope. That might have been a factor in deciding on what to do at QB. At the beginning of 2022, while Wentz was still on the team, Ballard was asked what he would say if Luck wanted to return. Ballard: Welcome back. That must have made Wentz feel good.

Ballard absolutely needs someone to push him at times. Hopefully, Steichen pushes him the right way. Irsay's attempt to push Ballard, his meddling in 2022, was obviously the wrong way.

Regardless of what they do with it, it's hard to to see the combine becoming a huge money-making event. That said, if they can somehow make 4 more dollars, they will. The combine is something that, if you're trying to do it every 5 years or so, it might be a pain more than anything. If you're not getting it every year, you might not want it. It's one thing to have a structure in place annually for the medical testing and whatnot. It's another to put it together once every 5-6 years, or more.

Trust me, I defended Ballard much longer than most did, but I'm sure everyone knows what the score is, including Ballard. Either Richardson stays healthy and they compete or the Ballard era is coming to an end. There are no 10 year plans in the NFL. Outside of some miracle performance from another QB, if Richardson returns and is again knocked out for the season, Ballard is done. If they go 6-11, he's done.

You thought enough of him to enlist in his army.

I can't imagine that would be a factor in anything 40 years later. It's not as though Colts fans would immediately turn around and start following and going to Bengals and Lions games. If anything, Chicago is large enough to support a second team. The Bears aren't struggling in any way because of the Colts' presence in Indy.

They're not leaving. They have it made here. The team is almost entirely subsidized by the city and state, and fan support, even in down seasons, is more than adequate. It's not 1998. Nationwide, public funding for stadiums has dried up. If they went elsewhere, they would have to foot most of the bill for a 2 billion dollar stadium themselves. They will be refurbishing and playing in Lucas Oil for a long time.

This reportedly happened only two weeks after Irsay threatened to sue ESPN over Stephen A. Smith saying he had drugs in the car, or whatever, at the traffic arrest years ago.

Ballard: "He's stable." Next question. That's not the kind of response you generally get when someone has pneumonia.

I'm not commenting on Brown specifically, as I don't see it happening, but Ballard absolutely needs someone to push him. Irsay tried to push him with Wentz and whatnot, but judging by how it all went off the rails in 2022, Irsay was the wrong man for the job. Hopefully, Steichen is the right man for the job and can get Ballard to wake up. It's year 8 - one playoff appearance in 5 years, no division titles in 9 years. No more delayed gratification. No more turning over an entire area of the team to rookies and inexperienced players. As PFF puts it, no more "whack a mole" every year with the roster.

A concerning thing about Ballard is, in watching With the Next Pick and listening to him, many of his favorite players, the ones he personally seems highest on, turn out to be busts or underachievers. If Ballard pumps up a guy, I start to get worried.