colts89

How? Did I insult someone? I just said that it seems people in this thread seem to be fine with Ballard doing what he's always done, despite a lack of success. That's just an opinion, and one that others share. You could retort: "Yes, despite his record, I feel like this team is in good shape considering the franchise QB didn't play last year and we had an above .500 record. We should trade back in order to deal with depth in a ton of positions where it's incredibly thin such as LB, CB and Safety". Or you could just post a condescending gif. That's on you though.

He just posted a gif of a dude making a stupid face to my original post. That isn't sharing an opinion. I'd very much prefer someone telling me why they disagree with me or telling me why I might be incorrect lmao. I don't hold my opinion sacred or anything I promise but the point of the forum is to discuss things amongst fellow fans and not make snide, surface level replies. We aren't in high school.

Okay then. I'm sorry for sharing my opinion on my favorite football team that others also seem to share (probably for a good reason) on a football forum.

I'd imagine he's going bald. Most men his age usually are when they start sporting the caps 24/7.

Did I say something dumb? Maybe give reasons why one should trust and agree with Ballard's team building philosophy going into his 8th season. He's been pretty average to, dare I say it, below average so far into his tenure.

I see most of this forum is fine with Ballard doing what Ballard's always done. So I'll just remind everybody that he is 54-60-1 and he doesn't have the QB excuse anymore. If he thinks that playing conservative with trading back for more picks and the cap are always the way to go, then I just hope the fan base, and Irsay especially, make no excuses for how those picks work out (and how the top prospects that he didn't make moves for worked out). It's going to be incredibly easy to compare how his strategy works vs what the Texans and Jags have done in FA this year, and it'll be very easy to follow how MHJ,Nabers,Odunze and Bowers perform.

The closer it is to Draft Day, the more I want the Colts to give up whatever it takes to get MHJ. Hope that Irsay feels the same.

Do it Ballard. Go crazy and trade up.

This isn't an absolute, but I'm basing it on the NFL Trade Value chart. https://www.drafttek.com/NFL-Trade-Value-Chart.asp If you want an immediate example, Arizona traded the #12 pick, a second and a fifth rounder for Detriot's #6 pick and a third rounder last year. A similar package is probably required to trade up from #15 to #6-#10. Some teams have receiving threats on their roster. Some teams need to find answers for more than one hole in the draft, and are willing to go for more picks in order to do just that. I think the Colts roster is solid enough overall that we can afford to not have a few third rounders on the chance that we can get the right guy paired up with AR.

What a stupid comparison. I didn't imply giving up multiple firsts and the best weapon on your roster to get a guy that has to carry an awful roster from the get go with a new HC that got fired for being incompetent at his prior spot. The Colts are nowhere near as bad as the Panthers were last year, and we wouldn't be giving up as much either if we wanted to reasonably trade up a few spots. If we can trade up to 6-10, which requires a few mid round picks in addition to our first to get one of the elite receiving talents that this draft has to offer, then call me crazy but I want the Colts to go for it. Ballard's generally conservative draft philosophy isn't infallible and moving up sometimes to get a guy who you think can be special is risky, but certainly can be worth it. Playing risky at times, but coming up correct more often than not is something I want to see from my team's GM.

Unless we sign or trade for a veteran CB, I'm willing to bet we trade down, pick a DB in the 20s, and pick a WR in the second. Ballard will die by his conviction of being scared to make big moves. At least he's consistent, and if it doesn't work out and the Wrs that he could of traded up for ball out in the league, may it be one of his last move as the Colts GM.

Tom Brady, Michael Jordan and Manning were great, no doubt, and their greatness helped elevate their team. They also have fantastic marketing teams that make particularly egotistical fans who like to believe they are like them actually believe a large portion of their team's success stemmed only from them, and it usually results in the GM/coach of the team (Belichick, Polian, Krause) getting downplayed excessively as a result. And those marketing teams are damn good at their jobs. Polian >> Ballard at drafting. Not really close tbh.

They should have gotten a veteran CB in FA this year (and they still might), but the young DBs on the roster are very likely only going to be better. The D had bad spots last year, but they had good moments as well that they can build off. They weren't this consistently awful squad that couldn't 'stop anyone' imo. We'll see I suppose.

Compare Polians Draft classes with Ballard's and who he resigned vs who Ballard resigned. Manning had nothing to do with how talented a ton of the players Polian drafted were. Clark and Wayne would have been elite wherever they went or played for. Same with Mathis and Freeney amongst others.

I will say that Ballard is firmly building his potential coffin here when contrasting his moves and what his divisional rivals are doing. I thought that he might have a bit more time with AR, but if results aren't borderline great this year after playing it incredibly conservative again, and the contrasting moves that the other AFCS teams potentially get them ahead, then he might be cooked. I'd also remind everyone that big FA moves have a tendency to fail even more than they work, so absolutely nothing is guaranteed here for the divisonal rivals. But not playing somewhat in that market at all is usually not a recipe for success either. Teams like the 2000-2010 Colts could get away with primarily signing their own guys because of the actual elite talent Polian drafted. Ballard has proven he isn't that good at drafting as Polian at the very least.

I'm not a fan of Ballard's off-season either, but that's a bit much.

Ballard better get a FA CB still. There are a few guys still out there. I don't care if it's Sneed, but going young again at CB with our first rounder would be dumb. Primarily because if we go DB in the first, we are relying on his mid round picks for what he himself labeled a concern on the roster of 'explosive' playmakers. I don't trust that he just won't pick Alec Pierce v2 if that's his only choice, an athletic prospect who can run one route well... AR needs a more talented receiving room (WR/TE) if we want to see him have to rely on his feet less. Most great young QBs in this league have been paired up with a great receiver early on in their career. The Colts don't have that yet, and it would be stupid if they don't take advantage of a draft that have multiple potential blue chip receiving threats at the top of the draft... I'm okay with whatever happens though. If Ballard wants to play it safe with 'his guys', and he trades down and drafts a CB, he doesn't hold the excuse anymore of not having his franchise QB. It's put up or shut up now and if his philosophy fails again, get him out of here.

If we get Sneed, you think we will also draft an additional CB at #15 AND sign a safety? Are you ready to give up on Brents and Jones after a year?

If not Sneed, then they just need to get a solid vet CB, many of whom are still in the market. The rookies struggled last year, but most DBs improve their second year if they get starting experience. Unless they think the DB prospect is a blue chip prospect, don't use #15 on another young guy who is probably going to go through the same early struggles.

He'd be a great addition.

Snead would make getting a receiving threat the primary need for the Colts in the draft. That alone makes me hope that Ballard gets him. I really don't want to add another young CB from a high draft pick to an already incredibly young DB room. Especially considering the consensus that there are plenty of good, but no top tier CB talents. If we don't get Snead, or another CB of that caliber, I'm fully expecting Ballard to trade down into the early 20s and getting a DB there...

Our DT depth was abysmal behind Buckner/Stewart last year. Don't know nothing about this guy but hope he's good depth at least.

I've liked the resignings so far. Hope Ballard gets a vet CB in FA this year, and maybe resigns Blackmon or signs a better FA Safety.

He probably wasn't trying to predict what Ballard is gonna do. We all know that there's a pretty high chance that he either stays at 15 put or trades back.