#12.

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.

I do have to say that people in the organization were acting weird about this. If someone is simply physically ill with something, you generally get a different response - wishing him a quick recovery, etc.

Sounds like Leonard might retire. Not sure if he was active last night.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a team fall this fast. They were 10-1, and in the previous 5 weeks had beaten the Chiefs, Bills, Cowboys and Dolphins(when they were healthy and hot). In the final 7 weeks, they looked like the worst team in the league.

Who knows about Love and the Packers. It's Dallas is in the playoffs. The 49ers might destroy the Packers.

Outside of 2022, Ballard's generally made smart decisions when it comes to the O-line. He's also done fairly well with LBs and RBs. Everything else could be better. On defense, he's arguably better in free agency/trades than he is in the draft, so he shouldn't shy away from it.

I'm trying to remember. Didn't we try that for a minute last year?

It's the whole Indiana Jones "choose wisely" thing. In going all out to emulate Hurts and the Eagles, I'm not sure Ballard chose wisely.

Brady was holding Tampa back.

I was mostly joking, but he and Steichen did make a good combo. Who knows.

It will be nice to have Siriani back as OC in 2025.

Care? I thought it was hilarious. Lol

In 2018, we had made the playoffs in 17 of 24 years? Something like that. I don't remember his name, but there's a Lions fan on YouTube who makes Colts videos. Why? Because he feels sorry for us. According to him, we're a down and out franchise that never gets any media attention, so he wants to shine a light on some of our players. It was playoffs in 17 of 24 years, and now "Lions" fans are making pity videos for us.

Across all of Colts social media, it felt like Richardson in a landslide. It took on a life of its own.

I'm glad. I don't want to see the Texans get a cheap AFC Championship at home. The Ravens are somewhat like the Cowboys. Against the Steelers, a division rival, they could lose next week.

Nothing gets you pumped for football like a Monday afternoon battle.