[Are we basically the jags when they had leftwich?]

1 hour ago, Flash7 said:

As far as talent is concerned, on offense, we have a good O-line, led by Q. Nelson, AC, Kelly and B. Smith. Doyle at TE is good, and that's about it really on offense.

 

T.Y. has had a below average year for a starting WR. I think his star is fading (back-to-back years of missing games due to injury). Our RB corps. with Mack is good when he's healthy, which is the problem.

 

On defense, we have D. Leonard. Done with that side of the ball.

 

We are far from being a talented team.

 

Here's a talented team: - Manning, E. James, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Marcus Pollard, Ryan Diem, Tarik Glenn, Jeff Saturday, Jake Scott, R. Lilja.

 

Defense: Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Gary Brackett, Antoine Bethea, Bob Sanders.

 

 

Exactly.  A lot of people sing Ballard's praises and talk about how talented the team is due to his drafting, but I don't see it.

 

I listed it last night.  There are 2 game changers on the team that he drafted in 3 years.  Nelson and Leonard.    Other than that?  There are a few good players but nothing outstanding.  And after that?  Scrubs.

 

So I really fail to see how this guy is a draft guru who has no need or want for Free Agency. 

 

OVERHYPED.

 

Tons of money available.  And what happens?  Nothing.

[Ballard]

115Malik HookerFSOhio State

246Quincy WilsonCBFlorida

380Tarell BashamOLBOhio

4137Zach BannerOTUSC

143Marlon MackRBSouth Florida

144Grover StewartDTAlbany State

5158Nate HairstonCBTemple

161Anthony Walker Jr.ILBNorthwestern

 

16Quenton NelsonGuardNotre DameFrom NY Jets

236Darius LeonardLinebackerSouth Carolina State

37Braden SmithGuardAuburnFrom NY Jets

52Kemoko TurayDefensive endRutgersFrom Baltimore via Philadelphia

64Tyquan LewisDefensive endOhio StateFrom Philadelphia via Cleveland

4104Nyheim HinesRunning backNC State

5159Daurice FountainWide receiverNorthern IowaFrom Kansas City via Cleveland, New England, and Oakland

169Jordan WilkinsRunning backOle MissFrom Philadelphia

6185Deon CainWide receiverClemsonFrom Oakland

7221Matthew Adams LinebackerHouston

235Zaire Franklin LinebackerSyracuse

 

34Rock Ya-SinCBTempleFrom New York Jets

49Ben BanoguLBTCUFrom Cleveland Browns

59Parris CampbellWROhio State

389Bobby OkerekeLBStanford

4109Khari WillisSMSU

5144Marvell TellSUSCFrom Cleveland Browns

164E. J. SpeedLBTarleton State

6199Gerri GreenDEMississippi State

7240Jackson BartonTUtah

246Javon PattersonCOle Mis

 

Right there are Ballards first 3 drafts.

 

Stars/game changers?

 

Nelson

Leonard

 

 

Solid NFL players

 

Hooker

Mack

Smith

Turray

Hines

Walker

Willis

 

Potential good players

Basham

Steward

Hairston

Turray

Ya Sin

Banagou

Campbell
Tell

 

The rest are all meh to below average to injured.

 

 

So there you have it.  For being a draft guru, you cannot tell me that those 3 drafts are super, awesome, better than average.

 

They aren't.

 

So I think we need to put to rest that Ballard can build a super bowl team via mainly the draft. Based on his record so far, he is  average to slightly above average drafter ONLY,.

 

 

 

[Colts @ Buccaneers Game Day thread]

Colts are better off in the long run to lose this game.

[2016 Lindy's review of Brissett]

2 hours ago, LockeDown said:

So why the love from Parcells, Reich and Ballard? Must be his personal character and leadership they like so much. They never talked about Luck that way...that I know of.

IF Ballard and Reich still think JB is the answer at this point, then we need to start thinking about who is running what at Colt world HQs.

[2016 Lindy's review of Brissett]

5 hours ago, John Hammonds said:

I know this post will probably wind up getting folded in with another thread, but I was so wow'ed, that I had to share.

I still have my 2016 Lindy's Draft Guide.  Here is their evaluation of JB:

 

Jacoby Brissett, NC State  6-4, 236  projected 4th round

In Our View:  Brissett sat out the 2013 season as a transfer from Florida and earned the starting job in '14, opening eyes with his performance against Florida State as NC State almost pulled the upset.  He finished the 2014 season with 26 total touchdowns (23 passing, three rushing), 2,606 passing yards and only five interceptions.  Set career-bests in 2015 with 237 completions and 2,662 passing yards, earning All-ACC honorable mention and a spot on the Senior Bowl roster.

Brissett is well-built with physical traits for the next level with size, mobility and arm talent.  He can make NFL throws, but is also slow to read and showed gun-shy tendencies as a downfield thrower -- was the king of dink-and-dunk passes and checkdowns inflated his completion percentage.  Will get a chance as a backup but short of major improvement as a downfield passer that's his ceiling.

Strengths:  Built for the NFL with a filled-out frame.  Has some Houdini to him with his mobility and physicality to brush off contact and keep plays alive.  Natural body power in short-yardage situations (902 career rushing yards).  Functional movement in the pocket and square to his target to deliver on the run.  Strong arm to spin spirals and can execute the entire route tree.  Understands touch, controlling his ball speed to add juice or trajectory.  Experienced making decisions in NFL-style offense, anticipating windows and reading coverage.  Tough and durable.  Takes care of the ball with a career 45-to-15 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Weaknesses:  Not confident as a downfield thrower; inconsistent with deep ball accuracy.  Too comfortable throwing on the run or delivering with his momentum going backwards.  Shaky platform and needs to set his base when given the time.  Inconsistent footwork leads to inaccurate ball placement (59.5 percent career completion percentage).  Low career interception numbers because he is too careful, not consistently pushing the ball downfield or fitting throws into tight windows.  Not an explosive athlete and tends to be indecisive on non-designed runs.  Doesn't understand how to use his eyes, leading defenders with late throws.  Pressure disrupts his tempo and late to climb the pocket.

 

Is there anything in there that isn't still true, 3 years later?

Everything he wrote then, is still true today.

 

You simply are not going to win a SB with JB as a long term answer.

[Chad Kelly sued for Assault and Battery]

If the Colts lose one more game then need to play Chad.

 

They know what they have with JB and Hoyer.

 

Chad is a 'must find out' situation.

[Finding the Franchise]

I think we have seen enough of JB through 28 games or so that he is not going to be anything better than average.  The only way you win with an average qb is to have a knock out D, which we don't have.

 

I don't see any reason why the Colts can't draft a stud QB, pay him on his cheaper rookie contract, and try to build a knock out D at the same time.  To me that makes more sense than staying with JB for $20 M a year and still trying to build that D.

[Colts claim K Chase McLaughlin (Niners)]

11 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

 

So I've seen this a lot, including comments from the broadcast team during the game. Do people believe that AV had a bad game against the Titans?

 

He missed a 55 yarder. Then two kicks got blocked. I don't think that was a bad game by AV.

 

And I think this waiver claim is a matter of circumstance, not an indication that they're done with AV and he won't kick anymore this year. The Niners waived a guy who has looked pretty good because Robbie Gould is back. The timing is coincidental, IMO.

 

AV will get to 600 with the Colts, this year. 

 

Edit: By the way, the Colts wanted to sign McLaughlin to the PS earlier this year. 

The first kicked that was blocked had no shot of going in.  It was left of the upright by the time it was a 8 inches off his foot.  Would have wound up in row 25 of the left bleachers.

 

He has a very very bad habit of late of trying to guide the ball...much like a passer who does the same when their confidence is waning.  He also tends to drop his entire left side instead of standing tall and kicking through the ball.  That is why he has so many ugly looking kicks.

[Colts claim K Chase McLaughlin (Niners)]

25 minutes ago, Catloaf said:

There werent necessarily a pile of great kickers just waiting to be signed, so they were probably hoping Vinny got better.  Guess not.

 

Sad that his last game may have been the last god awful game against the Titans.  But stopping now prevents his amazing accomplishments from being forever tarnished.

I see tons of kickers in college who outkick some pros.  So imo this narrative that there aren't any kickers out there is kind of a false narrative.

 

There are tons of talented kickers out there.  The key is finding one who can kick, of which there are many, AND one who can handle the pressure.  Of which there are not nearly as many.

[Colts claim K Chase McLaughlin (Niners)]

33 minutes ago, ProblChld32 said:

It’s not strange, they have been saying that he’s been dealing with an injury for some time now. It could be a cop out it could be legitimate but we will never know. 

He isn't injured.

 

He just can't kick FG's any more.

[The white out celebration]

Ha nice.

[Looks like Wilson is gone or about to be]

Strange situation all around for sure.

[Offseason Discussion]

Colts need A LOT of help coming to be competitive IF Luck stays retired.

 

Ballard imo, despite the platitudes he receives, has done a very poor job this past year.

 

He needs to improve.