Colt.45

He'll probably be fired before he gets the chance to step down if things continue at this rate.

Jim Irsay is a hands-off owner for the most part. He knows more about the sport than any of the other owners yet lets his guys do their thing. Tepper? I remember watching All or Nothing in 2019, shortly after Tepper bought the team, and even back then it was clear he was going to be hands-on. I dont feel sorry for Frank because if I knew this, there's no way he didnt'. Dude looks exhausted.

Colts by 10

AR has had some terrible luck this season but for all those fans who thought he should spend the year as backup, this is the best of both worlds. He plays some, gets to watch and learn some. Gets to learn lessons. Glad this coaching staff get 'it'. They've been well prepared the whole way....this is why we kept Ehlinger

27-24 to the good guys

Not a peep in the media about this. The Colts rolled the entire media on this. Congratulations to Chris Ballard for running a tight ship.

They showed him the money. No pouting, no faked injuries coming, no more drama. Welcome back Jonathan Taylor!

Those 20minutes were worth getting late to my next appointment. This generation was destined for brilliance. They gave the franchise clout. They gave us pride as fans. They gave us glorious memories. This lesson was the one of persistence as fans and a reminder that we had something special at QB, those guys who can carry you thru the rough times and do it when you really need them to, those superheroes who deliver in clutch moments. This was another reminder moment. Fast forward 9 years to 2012. Andrew Luck versus the Detroit Lions. The team played like dog doo, Luck completed like 40% of his passes, he'd just had a day where the NFL kicked him yet when the team was down 12 with 3mins to go, he gave that clutch moment. Luck had a come back in Green Bay and while that was clutch, it is the end game moments can really define just how special a player you have. And this moment was that....Andrew Luck carried that team to a place they had no business being. That was my personal moment when i realized we had a superhero QB, those guys who go to the hall of fame. 11 years later, tying this to the present, the Rams defense isnt at the level Tampa was back then, but they have a player who's somehow even better than any of those Tampa guys or the Lions guys. Our current young QB's 23 point comeback moment isn't quite the same as Luck's or Peyton's because of the end result but in his 3rd game, he's shown me the lesson - You do not give up when you've got this guy. The end result wasnt the same because he never got the ball, in 2003, we all became experts on the 'leaping' rule because we knew we could have lost that game but the comeback still would have been legit. I'd still have known just how special our guy was. Currently, I'm feeling that vibe again, we have one of those special guys. He dont look or play like the other two but Luck didnt look or play anything like Peyton, it's just the vibe and the moments. 3 games in, I think I'm there with Anthony Richardson. Players like that give you a chance when you got no business having one. It doesnt matter what it looks like, they just deliver. That's special. Might be the desperation of post-Luck years but 11 years is a long time to experience those blossoming moments like this again with a young franchise quarterback. I recognize what i am seeing. Again, maybe i'm desperate but folks, most young QB's dont produce these moments.

Exactly. JT is going to wait to BLOW up but once that's done, the moment he gets the slightest little niggle, he's going to make himself unavailable if the Colt dont put that contract out there. I'm betting that'll be his play. Zack Moss needs to stay ready lol. This thing aint done, i'm sorry for us all.

With the way our politics go, I'm bout to find a bookie who'll take this bet cos it's not a bad call at all

Yup. That's exactly what the player is doing while also rightfully/legally angling wanting a raise. He's playing within the rules so far, he aint Chris Jones-rich just yet and even Jones backed off that talk once the money started squeezing, and like JT he saw that the team was filling his role just fine albeit not at the ELITE level.

They've always said they want to keep Wilson (who just had the best game of his career). That's not a realistic situation. Anywhere else?

Where should Minshew be instead?

In what regard? As the starting QB as a whole? Yeah.

Right, like I said earlier when you made the comment about 'shocking'... You're closing your mind to how or why someone could see this differently. Certainly not interested in the player's side or logic. So while I won't throw that line back at you, i will say I smell a lot of naivety. Great talk!

Exactly. At this point, this is all one big dance and we all know the moves. What we dont know is how it ends. I suspect the Colts dont know either....that's the scary bit.

There're no goalposts being moved. They've done the same thing albeit in different ways i.e. They've both been deflecting. The player wants to get paid and Ballard never answered when that would happen nor did he give conditions on it otherwise we wouldn't be having all this drama. Yeah, he deflected. He didnt answer the question. Chris Ballard was asked about paying the player and he went on about four games. What's that got to do with the player??! It's as much a deflection as JT going on about his health. Yeah but saying it's a tool doesnt answer the question does it? Will you franchise tag the player or not - yes or no. Is that not what deflection is or am i missing something? Similarly, JT deflected. Not as skillfully sure but same deal. It's a deflection because we know Pitt will get paid. Isn't that clearly obvious? Pittman and JT are not in the same boat at all. Surely you know and see that. Why does that get brought up at all? WRs are the pearl of the league, Pitt is good cos he knows he got ZERO worries. JT on the other hand, well i feel crazy even comparing the two. Not the same at all. That's why the whole CBA conversation must be excruciating to JT, going by the CBA, JT is going to get run over. Again duh. I agree. We are seeing totally different things. I'm seeing the player's side, you're seeing another side. That's fine. Lets see where this all is at the end of the trade window, and again at the end of JTs deal. I wish Jonathan Taylor the very best, he's a heckuva player. I think he's not the one to carry this running back cross he's carrying but that's another conversation for another time.

Ballard gave a press conference, acted professionally, said all the right things, said he loves the player and all that jazz about how the situation stinks as if he aint the guy responsible for it. If you're holding Taylor responsible for deflecting the direct questions about the situation then why shouldn't the person responsible for the situation held to an even firmer standard? Chris Ballard did not answer questions about franchise tagging, didnt directly answer questions about why this star player was not getting paid. We all know the line about four games was nonsense, and we know the line about new coach and system is also a deflection. For me, I got the same from both. They're both acting in their interest. I expect JT to be traded if a good offer comes in. If it doesnt, then we see where it all goes. Either way, Ballard has not answered anything about the conditions for keeping the player long term AND paying him - if he has show those answers to me, everything else is carefully worded deflection. Irsay's CBA comments simply put stuff out there in public and inflamed the situation but that comment shows everything. Hold the Colts and Ballard to THAT and the direct payment questions not all this other stuff. Nice words are nice when you hold the winning hand. This seems straightforward. The player wants to get paid, the Colts have given no answer or guarantee on that yet the one who's being asked for guarantees is the player. Deflection is deflection. Did Ballard answer any direct questions? Did you leave his press conference thinking he was a guy who would definitely pay the player and meet the player's needs? Nah, he deflected. His stance is correct, he shouldn't pay a RB big money but he isnt coming out and saying that though, is he? JT has done same, albeit less eloquently and convincingly. Again, losing hand.

They're both serving their own selfish views and purposes. I don't think that's that different at all. Ballard gave the professional Colts line. JT has given his own professional signal. That first question was a double barrel loaded question. I know it, and i suspect you know it too. If he says he still wants to be a Colt, he's lying. If he says he doesnt want to, he's isolating teammates and probably lying too (since he apparently doesnt care who pays up). It's an extremely loaded question so he deflected which is exactly what Ballard did when asked pointed loaded questions (like questions about franchise tags, or even just general questions about whether the Colts would pay up instead iirc he said Indy won four games last year....as if that were JTs fault. Please, lets be fair here. This is a deflection. 100%. Might have worked out differently if the first question out the gate was whether he'd use the franchise tag on JT. Heck the last question of Ballard's presser was about why they wouldn't pay JT and Ballard said that stuff about 4 games i.e.deflecting the payment question and acting as if the player was the reason for 4gm win, does that mean no one gets paid if the Colts win 4 games for the next 4 years? Silly answer. As silly as JTs. In fact the journalist who asked that took heat for asking that and folks were saying the journalists are too much on the player's side. Maybe JT should have given a statement and answered zero questions. JT deflected. How is that surprising? He already said he wasnt talking of contract stuff which is similar thing Ballard said when pointed questions about payment came up. Yes i get it, it means the whole press conference was meaningless. Well yeah duh. It's a silly dance. You're saying it's shocking anyone thought it went well, i'm demonstrating why i think it did. Maybe he should have said his truth i.e. the condition for RBs in the NFL stinks and he wants to get paid what he's worth etc. Maybe. However, that's a losing argument. Jonathan Taylor has always held the losing hand in this situation. To me, Ballard failed to answer the question on guarantees which is what I think the player's camp wants. JT has done exact same and failed to answer any serious questions too. Both deflections. What else was Ballard gonna say?

I wish I could give you multiple LIKES for this comment. Pretty much exactly what seems to be happening.

Yeah there've been some rumblings about his habits. I take them with a pinch of salt of course, rumors are all about driving agendas. He's a potential beast of a player. My rule of thumb for TEs is I expect their main production to come starting year 3. He's so gifted that i thought year 2 might be all it takes for him. He's a weapon in waiting for sure

He said the city deserves a championship and he aims to help them win one. He said its been a health thing and he's back (sneezing out BOOOOLCHAITE). So basically, he said everything you want but the media had many more detailed questions and he was never going to be able to answer without deflecting or being recalcitrant like Marshawn would have been, and JT chose to deflect instead. Also why would he commit to a long term relationship when the Colts are not saying or doing that? I really feel bad for the fanbase. This was a fan fave who seemingly went rogue out of the blue. In truth his villain act started when he watched how things went with Marlon Mack and got to understand firsthand how fungible his professional career was. I dont agree with JTs strategy but totally understand it. Bitter reminder that loyalty isnt a thing....if circumstances align then loyalty is bandied around. Fans though, we stay loyal....it's our curse.

Yes but maybe you're looking at things from your fan perspective which is absolutely normal and legit, and not peeping it from his view. While he may not have been required to speak. Now directly from his lips, every team in the league has heard that he is 100% healthy and raring to go. Every potential trading GM will have seen that he fronted up to the media and didnt yell and cuss and cause a ruckus, every GM will have seen that he cares about the TEAM i.e. the players, and they've heard that the players care about JT, they'll have seen he was media-friendly i.e. spoke when he didnt need to and wasnt aggressive and you know BAD i.e. the big bad wolf. So if he does play, and show the burst that teammates and coaches have said he absolutely still has then he'll have shown physical evidence he's still the same ole JT to go along with the words. All along i've said that the only real victims of this saga are us good and kind Colts fans , the other parties are all in it for their own selfish reasons - the front office, the GM, the owner, the other teams, the other fanbases, the media, the agent, JT. Every word from JT is showing a man about his selfish (i dont mean that in a derogatory or negative way, selfishness isnt necessarily evil) interests. Think of it that way and it's easier to see why he spoke. I understand that fans are unhappy because the dude didnt say anything most of us want to hear but this is a business dance put on view for the public, and so i pay attention to see how each party is executing their part. I also know JT has always held the losing hand and so the Colts control this. Lets remember that.

When you say it's shocking that others think it went well, you're closing your mind to understanding how they might have come to that view. JT said clearly that he would not speak about anything contract related. The entire drama was contract related (we can all agree on this) so he avoided those questions and instead talked of health i.e. playing the party line. Call it gaslighting if you like but consider the situation....a presser with on one side the guy who clearly still wants to be paid and probably wants to play elsewhere as the likelihood is thats where the big payday could come from; and on the other side, the media who want to talk solely about the contract stuff. Seeing how he has said he won't talk of contract stuff, what else was he supposed to do? You say Ballard was direct and sincere, i disagree. When it came to speaking on whether he'd pay up (you know, the side the player probably wants), he also deflected. There were no guarantees given (and rightly so BTW). I like hearing Ballard speak but the reason we all wanted to eagerly hear JT's side is because the Ballard presser gave little into the story as far as JT remaining a long time Colt. For instance, will he franchise tag JT? He dodged answering that. I thought the presser went well because it went precisely as I thought it would. When Ballard gave his, he played the party line from his GM perspective. JT has done the exact same from his side. The FACT is the Colts will remain and maintain as the Colts for the foreseeable future while next month JT could be a Ram for all we know...just like Irsay was saying. I learned nothing new from this except getting confirmation that JT is orchestrating this and totally onboard with everything his agent did. Was there ever a doubt about that? The presser was a farce...yes but only if you went into it expecting something tangible. Why would I expect something tangible when the Colts have not offered a deal Status quo maintained, the play keeps acting out and dragging on.