NewColtsFan

If the scouting department had some bad people — and that’s a very BIG IF by the way — wouldn’t you think those people are long, LONG gone? They shouldn’t be hard to identify. Any decent GM should be able to spot the weakest link in a department full of people.

Sorry…. But you lost your right with me on how to be a “decent dude.” You now behave toward me in a way you’d never let your children or in a way you’d advise your students. When I made a mistake with you I apologized not once, but twice. And your response has been radio silence. So lecturing me at any time and pretending to be sincere is not going to cut it. Period. There are plenty of other comments I could make but they’d be inappropriate if made public.

Regarding the strength of the center/guard class…. Recently ESPN came out with their ranking of positions. 12 listed. Guard was 12th, dead last. And center was 10th. At center there were Zero with a first round grade and only 3 ranked in the top 100 total players. So the rest are viewed as Day 3 picks. Not sure which website is calling this a great class of centers but ESPN’s view is the opposite. Again…. FWIW.

How nice of you to write a whole post about me without giving me a heads up. Maybe you wanted me to find this on my own. Maybe you didn’t care either way. But being subtle isn’t your gift. Remember our last exchange when I stated you take great delight in giving me a hard time as often as you can. You denied it and defended yourself by saying it’s not personal between us, after all, you invited me to participate in the Annual Gavin’s draft. And now you turn around with this…. stunt. There’s plenty more I could say, but I’d like to avoid getting suspended. As much as you love you, you’re not worth it.

Again, not telling you what to say or think. Trying to emphasize that the specific comment you made hurts you. It does not help you. And it’s an example of why you’ve been getting so much pushback here.

Im trying to tell you that writing the phrase “it’s just that simple” is doing yourself no favors. Nothing is simple about the NFL. And you saying so doesn’t help your cause at all. You’re free to say what you want. But spouting nonsense is why you’re getting so much pushback around here.

Doug…. Apologies in order. I was trying to infer something and did so poorly. My bad. I’ll try to clarify. The reason we don’t know what type of receiver Steichen prefers is he’s only been our HC one year, the sample size is just too small. He wanted Downs and McKenzie, he signed off on both. But SS signed off in keeping Pittman and Pierce. Plus, SS also had great success in Philly with big bodied AJ Brown (6’ 230) and lean Dwight Smith (6’ 165). So it’s not clear he has a type. Who knows what kind of WR Steichen will want this year? Split end, flanker or slot? With Frank we had 5 years of data. With Steichen we have only one year with the Colts. But I was trying to emphasize that I believe Ballard as the GM tries to serve his HC by trying to get the players he wants within reason. So instead of seeing players as Ballard-type players, we might recognize there are times that the type of players Ballard is acquiring are players the coach wants and not necessarily players Ballard might pick. Not in all cases, but in the case of Frank and Shane getting them the offensive pieces they want. Sorry about the confusion. I hope this has clarified things a bit. I’m here if you have questions.

Have you ever noticed that most years many of the same teams are picking in the top half of the draft. Why is that. If things were as simple as you just posted they are those perennially bad teams would figure things and they would always be bad. My point is there’s almost nothing about football that’s simple, and when you find yourself writing that it is just that simple you should stop yourself. Because you’re wrong.

Could you out that into English. I don’t follow Moose lingo. There’s either a word or two too many or too few in this post. So I’m not following. Bottom line no one has any idea of what Ballard or the coaching staff are thinking.

Is it hard to believe that Ballard tries to get his head coach the players they really want? Frank wanted Parris Campbell Frank wanted Kylen Granson Frank wanted Pittman Frank wanted Taylor. And these are just the guys that we know about. I’m sure there were others. And Ballard got them. Now Ballard has Steichen. Is there any reason to think he won’t get his new head coach the players he wants? He’s already demonstrated that he’s willing to draft or sign smaller, quicker receivers: Downs and McKenzie. I think that demonstrates those tall receivers that Ballard acquired were Frank-types, not Ballard-types. Ballard tries to get his HC the players he wants if at all possible and within reason.

The NFL is a multi multi BILLION dollar business. The league has EVERYTHING to lose and NOTHING to gain by fixing games. And all it would take is one former league executive to confess. Just one, and the league’s credibility would implode. And yet it hasn’t happened. The opinion of a guy like Bubba Smith is worthless because he offers no proof, just an opinion. And it doesn’t help his cause that the next year heavily favored Minnesota lost to KC. And no one from the Vikings says they lost because the game was fixed for KC. They accept that they got outplayed. So Smith just looks like a sore loser. The idea that the NFL is somehow equal to WWE is beyond silly. One is theater, sold as entertainment. The other is a game with top athletes and coaches who are as competitive as anyone on the face of the earth. There’s no upside to fixing games, only downside.

OK…. First, I don’t think you read my post very closely. Toward the bottom I literally wrote if Ballard and AR don’t have success then CB will likely be fired in 1-3 years. Your response was if the Colts don’t have a good year this year, Ballard could lose his job sooner than I think. Sooner than one year? I think Irsay is unpredictable, and it could happen next January. Or Jan of 26 or beyond. As to the roster, there are a lot of young players on this roster right now that should get better this year and next. Also, there is the matter of the draft in 3 weeks. And then the FA and draft in 25 and 26. You want answers now when many of the answers won’t come for 1-3 years. As to the quality of the roster, there’s a difference of opinion in the community. There’s a group that thinks the roster is poor and that’s why the Colts have struggled for years. And there’s another group here who believe the roster is actually pretty good, but as Ballard noted at his season ending press conference, we’ve struggled because he hasn’t gotten the QB right. And if we had, the Colts might be viewed very differently. Clearly, I’m in that camp. And that’s why we are in the Make or Break phase of Ballard’s career. Either he and AR have success in the next few years or Ballard’s time with the Colts could end in the next 1-3 years. Hope that clarifies.

“you think the season isn’t scripted like so many do now…” Define “so many do now”. Who are these people and how many of them are there?

I recently saw an interview with Ballard that was done by this website. Only I didn’t see it on this website, I happen to see it on YouTube. And there, you can leave comments. And the comments there were so hateful, I doubt they would have been allowed had they been made here. The mods would’ve deleted them and then suspended the posters. My point is, people who leave comments like that are often the extreme part of a fan base. That’s why many websites don’t have comment sections anymore. Takes up too much bandwidth and produces almost zero light, but tons of heat (read anger). As for why I support Ballard, that’s a horse that has been beaten to death. I have no problem with those who do not like Ballard. But I think we’re now in the key moment of his career. I think the vast majority here believe he’s tied to Richardson. If AR works out, and the Colts have success, then Ballard stays. If he doesn’t then Ballard will eventually be fired. And that will happen in the next 1-3 years. It’s all about AR and how much success he and Ballard can bring to the Colts in the near future.

You really want to form an opinion about anything based on the comment section?!? The comment section?!?!? I sure hope not.

What’s the expression…. Other. People’s. Money!!

Kelly literally laughed at reports he wants to retire. Smith? Nelson? Pittman? Taylor? I don’t know why these players are on your list. They’re still young. And even if Ballard would’ve been fired by the other 31 GMs, what does it matter? Irsay still believes in him. Isn’t that the only point that matters? Im on record as saying Ballard is tied to AR. If that works, Ballard stays. And if not, Ballard is gone. So, perhaps 1-3 years.

I think Diggs USED TO BE a top-5 receiver in the league. He may still be top 10 or 15 or 20. I’m sure he’ll be highly motivated to play well. He’ll want to show Buffalo they made a mistake. And he’ll want to show Houston he’s worth a new better contract. So I suspect he’ll have a very good first year. Let's what happens after that. Diggs has now been traded twice. He carries baggage everywhere he goes.

I don’t much enjoy defending Grigson, but he did do what you’re suggesting he didn’t. 2013, he signed FACkjneman Zgisdar Cherilus at RT and Samson at Center. Then in the draft he took a big guard to play LG and Holmes, a center from USC. So he acquired four OL to protect Luck. Grigson used to talk about having a nite in his desk saying Rule #1: Protect Andrew Luck. Rule #2: see Rule #1. So Grigson tried. He did. He just didn’t do a very good job of protecting AL.

No, Chloe, I didn’t know what I meant. I wasn’t trying to mess with you. But worse Chloe, I often think YOU don’t know what you mean, and that’s a problem. Your views often change day to day. But worse, on busy days, your views can change hour to hour. And when it’s pointed out to you by numerous posters that you often flip-flop without any awareness, you dismiss the issue like it’s no big deal. If I left this website and never posted here again, your credibility issue within the community would not go away. Plenty of people have issues with your approach to posting. You’ve brought this on yourself. I’ll stop now. I don’t want to go a step too far.

Ballard doesn’t tweet his approach. He has a year end press conference. He has a presser at the combine. He has a presser after the first few weeks of free agency. He’ll have one before the draft and another after each night of the draft and one about a week or so after the draft. And he does interviews with various national media throughout the year…. Like Rich Eisen, and Dan Patrick, etc. There’s plenty of opportunity to learn what Ballard is thinking throughout the course of the year if you’re interested.

The reason he hasn’t been fired is that Irsay, himself a former GM, knows how hard the job is. Decisions were made each year that Irsay signed off on. Maybe it’s a good thing that Irsay has been patient, and not a bad thing as you implied.

If it’s the same AR as he was a year ago. Less than 1000 snaps in college? I think he’d be behind the top 3 and maybe the top 4, including Harbaugh. So he’d be 4th or 5th. People are evaluating him based on what he did in 23. Some in this thread are comparing 23 AR against others. They should be using 22 AR. That was what was asked.

That I haven’t let go of since the Nelson pick?!?!? Dear God, you’ve led a cottage industry on how wrong the Nelson pick was. It started draft night 2018 and it’s been six years now. But you point the finger at me. How nice that you’re judge and jury and you’re always innocent and everyone else is always guilty.

Ok…. That’s a great non-answer answer. Just like yesterday’s non-answer answer when I told you Ballard says you’re wrong. Ok…. Whatever.