Ballard Out For Season (merge)

[throwing BBZ]

yes, despite the moment with Peyton it has grown into one of the stronger parts of his game and several experts this off-season said he's better at pass blocking than Ballard was.

 

He is weak as a pass blocker. As bad as Ballard was last season at pass blocking they still played him ahead of Brown, and on many 3rd down passing situations.

 Wait and see.

Ballard was excellent last Sunday.

[lollygagger8]

Ballard is out for the season.....

 

[Dustin]

I wonder if we grab another back...

 

Willis McGahee maybe.

[Larry Horseman]

See Donny block. See Donny run. Bet seeing Donny changes the spread, and the season forecast.

 

He's had his flashes over the last few years. I'll be positive until he shows otherwise. Him and Ballard actually had pretty much the exact same stats until DB was injured. I suppose the biggest knock is he is always getting injured. His pass blocking was much improved last year. We shall see!

[Thewholefnshow28]

I hope Bradshaw is ready carry the load because it is not DB is able to do that.

 

Hopefully Bradshaw can carry the load and we can sprinkle DB in with some screen plays and draws to get him into the open field where he is pretty good.

 

The problem is our offensive line appears to not be fixed so this forces Luck to pass more and we already have protection problems.

[Kenny]

[Jason_]

Yeah, just sucks it took an injury to one of our top player's to wake Pep Hamilton up and realize we should pass more smh

 

Well BloodontheTracks already addressed this but, when did we get any indication that Pep has "woken up" or that the playcalling will change?  

 

Ballard is the only big bruising back on the team will still run but will be in more 3,4,and 5WR sets. Pep trying to force feed Ballard is why we almost loss to the Raiders, if we would have kept passing we would have blew them out. Luck passing for 178 yards will never happen again should be 250+ from now on.

 

 

I rewatched the game again last night and I can honestly say that no, no that's not the reason AT ALL.  Pep didn't try to force feed Ballard.  They still kept calling a lot of passing plays.  The problem was that the passing plays from the 2 back packages did not work.  In some cases there were blocking scheme issues, in others there were blitz pickup issues, and in some there were issues with the WRs/TEs simply not being able to get open.  

 

This is why I really don't get people saying that Pagano is too conservative.  They weren't really conservative at all.  They never stopped trying to pass the ball, the offense simply stopped being able to execute.  They never got conservative on defense, they were trying all manner of blitzes against Pryor, they simply couldn't get to him and bring him down.  

[UKColt13]

Damn, I had him in 2 different fantasy teams.

Anybody think Willis McGahee might be a viable option?

[HtownColt]

Is this a real question? (Not trying to be smart***)

If so, that's Brown's biggest weakness.

Yea in 2009, he has really worked hard at it and is fairly good pass blocking now 2013 Brown > 2009 Brown

[GoColts8818]

He is weak as a pass blocker. As bad as Ballard was last season at pass blocking they still played him ahead of Brown, and on many 3rd down passing situations.

Wait and see.

Ballard was excellent last Sunday.

disagree again do I think he is what Addai or Edge was in pass protection no but I think a lot of people under value that skill from Brown.

I think we played Ballard on third downs because they wanted the option to run on third down or didn't want to use a third down back. Not every team does.

[Slick_Rick]

Willis McGahee maybe.

That wouldn't be terrible. I just don't see him putting the whole load on AB and DB

[GoColts8818]

darn, I had him in 2 different fantasy teams.

Anybody think Willis McGahee might be a viable option?

pagano already said the signed Williams from the PS so if we make another move it probably wont be till after Sunday. Which makes sense asking a guy to learn a new offense and game plan on a Friday before you play in Sunday is near impossible.

[coltsfanatic24]

Well BloodontheTracks already addressed this but, when did we get any indication that Pep has "woken up" or that the playcalling will change?  

 

 

 

I rewatched the game again last night and I can honestly say that no, no that's not the reason AT ALL.  Pep didn't try to force feed Ballard.  They still kept calling a lot of passing plays.  The problem was that the passing plays from the 2 back packages did not work.  In some cases there were blocking scheme issues, in others there were blitz pickup issues, and in some there were issues with the WRs/TEs simply not being able to get open.  

 

This is why I really don't get people saying that Pagano is too conservative.  They weren't really conservative at all.  They never stopped trying to pass the ball, the offense simply stopped being able to execute.  They never got conservative on defense, they were trying all manner of blitzes against Pryor, they simply couldn't get to him and bring him down.  

Exactly, having a fullback on the field gives Luck one less offensive weapon to throw to. Instead of Havili, Fleener or Allen should be out their catching passes it would have made a huge difference. If Arians was still the OC Luck would have threw for 300 yards, 4TD's and we would have beat the Raiders by 21. The thing is Pep has some great creative passing plays in his playbook from Stanford where Fleener lines up as a WR in 4 WR sets, hopefully will see more of that instead of the power running game.

[Dustin]

RIP "Better Backs Bureau."

 

2013-2013.

[atapcl]

Hope the best for Ballard. It took Edge a full year to get back and he said another 6 months after that to be completely healthy.  Hopefully Ballard will fare better.

[Jason_]

Exactly, having a fullback on the field gives Luck one less offensive weapon to throw to. Instead of Havili, Fleener or Allen should be out their catching passes it would have made a huge difference. If Arians was still the OC Luck would have threw for 300 yards, 4TD's and we would have beat the Raiders by 21. The thing is Pep has some great creative passing plays in his playbook from Stanford where Fleener lines up as a WR in 4 WR sets, hopefully will see more of that instead of the power running game.

 

No, not really.  Havili is a pretty good receiver too so having him on the field doesn't necessarily take away a weapon to throw to.  If it had been Fleener or Allen on the field instead of Havili then it would have been Fleener or Allen blocking instead of Havili.  They HAD to keep extra protection in to account for all of the blitzes Oakland was throwing at Luck.  If Arians had still been here, it is just as possible that Luck would have been sacked 10 times instead of 4.

[BOTT]

Ballard is the only big bruising back on the team will still run but will be in more 3,4,and 5WR sets. Pep trying to force feed Ballard is why we almost loss to the Raiders, if we would have kept passing we would have blew them out. Luck passing for 178 yards will never happen again should be 250+ from now on.

Bradshaw is probably more of a bruising back than Ballard.

Luck threw for 178 because of breakdowns in protection....and having a mere 7 possessions.

[alawai]

I'm not putting humor in this situation but we still have the "Killer B's" but down to two Killer B's, we'll do fine.

[futballmom13]

Hope Ballard comes out of this better than 100%. God Bless

[Goodtimes]

Is Brown any good in pass protection?

 

No. He is the absolute worst at pass protection.

[Kyle]

whats Michael Turner up to these days?

[Moose Of Woe]

Well, this blows.

[HtownColt]

No. He is the absolute worst at pass protection.

Where is your fact/source behind that statement. Maybe in 2009 yea but now he is good at it.

Here is a little something saying he is good in pass protection based off his 2011 season:

Snaps: 72

Reads: 62 good, 4 bad

Blocks: 52 positive, 4 poor, 4 missed

Pressure: 2 hits, 0 hurries, 2 sacks

NO PROMOTIONAL POSTING ON THE SITE2012-archives/july/running-back-pass-protection-donald-brown-is-the-biggest-bust-of-all-time.html

[TKnight24]

Well BloodontheTracks already addressed this but, when did we get any indication that Pep has "woken up" or that the playcalling will change?

I rewatched the game again last night and I can honestly say that no, no that's not the reason AT ALL. Pep didn't try to force feed Ballard. They still kept calling a lot of passing plays. The problem was that the passing plays from the 2 back packages did not work. In some cases there were blocking scheme issues, in others there were blitz pickup issues, and in some there were issues with the WRs/TEs simply not being able to get open.

This is why I really don't get people saying that Pagano is too conservative. They weren't really conservative at all. They never stopped trying to pass the ball, the offense simply stopped being able to execute. They never got conservative on defense, they were trying all manner of blitzes against Pryor, they simply couldn't get to him and bring him down.

Okay I worded that wrong. I meant I'm "hoping" now we run more 3 WR sets to help set the run up And so forth. I believe having TY; Reggie and DHB on the field at once is more dangerous than just having Reggie & DHB. Hope Pep Hamilton realizes this as well and uses the 3 WR sets more and run out of them more as well to keep the defense off balance.

Hope that clears it up better for you

[Dustin]

Where is your fact/source behind that statement. 

 

I'm guessing John Clayton said it.

[a06cc]

Fair enough. We can agree to disagree?

I do agree however, you're not going to see Brown run anyone over. He's more likely to run around them with his speed.

I'd have to disagree with you. I seen Donald Brown run Ray Lewis over in 09 playoff game. Go and look at highlights. I'm not worried about Brown because if he was starting he would've had more yards vs Raiders if he touched the ball. Our Oline is world better then it was last season. It's still not great, but way better than last season.

[a06cc]

Also Donald can unlock DB's hands to break free from being tackled. Go back and watching 09 jags game or 2011 season. Only bright spot on team. If we get the blockers for him and he can get to the second level DB is a great runner

[Superman]

Where is your fact/source behind that statement. Maybe in 2009 yea but now he is good at it.

Here is a little something saying he is good in pass protection based off his 2011 season:

Snaps: 72

Reads: 62 good, 4 bad

Blocks: 52 positive, 4 poor, 4 missed

Pressure: 2 hits, 0 hurries, 2 sacks

NO PROMOTIONAL POSTING ON THE SITE2012-archives/july/running-back-pass-protection-donald-brown-is-the-biggest-bust-of-all-time.html

 

It's amazing how resistant people are to new information. Once an opinion is formed, that's just it, for all time?

 

Donald Brown was bad as a pass blocker as rookie, then he got better (one of the best in the league in 2011, as you mentioned). Guess what? Vick Ballard was bad in pass pro as a rookie, but was excellent last week. That's par for the course; rookie backs struggle. Joe Addai was one of the best in the league, but he struggled in pass pro as a rookie. And so on...

 

Brown is fine as a pass blocker. Before last Sunday, I'd have called him better than Vick Ballard. He's certainly not worse.

[Blackclouds]

I wanted to see more brown on the field anyways

[TKnight24]

Nothing good happens to the Colts anymore I swear.

Football God's, why do you hate the sooo much??!!!

[a06cc]

Brown is also a great pass catcher. Example is in 09 vs Cardinals. Nice catch and run for 70 from Manning

[HungarianColtsFan]

[braveheartcolt]

My first reaction was 'oh dear'. then it was 'injuries happen', then 'who cares'.....if we were going to lose a starter, then RB was probably the best positions for it to happen. Shame for Vic, he's good, but he'll be back.

 

And to those praying to the lord etc., really do need to get a sense of perspective. He'll limp for a while and keep accruing dollars. Keep those prayers for something a little more important.

[That Guy]

Good luck Vick!  Next year's comeback player of the year!

[Gavin]

Is Brown any good in pass protection?

He is pretty good in pass protection, He is not that big so it dont take much to go right through him, But he is usually pretty good on who to block, But if ya send more people then he can block then ya know........Andrew has to learn to get rid of the ball

[corgi]

My first reaction was 'oh dear'. then it was 'injuries happen', then 'who cares'.....if we were going to lose a starter, then RB was probably the best positions for it to happen. Shame for Vic, he's good, but he'll be back.

 

And to those praying to the lord etc., really do need to get a sense of perspective. He'll limp for a while and keep accruing dollars. Keep those prayers for something a little more important.

I don't think there is a limit.

[Bradley Prentice]

Worst Friday the 13th ever get better Vic

[OffensivelyPC]

Friday the 13th brings the boom once again.  Tough break. 

[corgi]

Worst Friday the 13th ever get better Vic

No. Not even close.

 

[braveheartcolt]

I don't think there is a limit.

What? You can have endless amounts? Right, I'm off to pray for 3 new O-Linemen, and great pass rushers, two sold DE's, Vince Wilfork junior, and that Jim Irsay's tweeter account gets a fatal corruption.