Colts hire Chris Ballard as GM [Merge]

[LockeDown]

Grigson was able to find diamonds in the rough, he just wasn't able to make the easy picks (1st round...Werner, Trent, Dorsett)  and he didn't build a team with identity and chemistry.  Or maybe he and JR3 and Pagano didn't have good chemistry together.  Ballards experience shows he has been a key part of 2 very successful teams.  Both of which had good chemistry and identity.  Plus he has lots of peers cheering this as a good get.  That's about all we can go by.  I am thrilled by this choice.

[Coltsman1788]

6 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

2 or 3 years.....??     Please.  More like 2 or 3 months.....you know how we are here

 

Speak for yourself then.

 

Grigson officially lost me in year 4.  I suspected we were trending in the wrong direction in year 3 because it seemed the Colts kept getting blown out by physical teams with balanced offenses (Dallas, Pittsburgh, New England...and then there was the AFCC deflate gate debacle.)  But all the stuff that leaked out in year 4 about him being an organizational cancer and conflicting with Pagano along with his inability to build a line to protect Luck...pushed me over the edge. I thought he should have been fired last offseason.

[oldunclemark]

1 minute ago, Majin Vegeta said:

    Everybody will be very happy until he drafts his first 7 guys.

...and then he'll have made 'so many mistakes' 

 

That's negative. And you also said something about this "sounds just like when we hired Grigson." Mark just be happy, smile.

That's only negative to you....In fact....That's the way we fans are..

 

\\Majin..maybe you haven't been with us for a long time...That's okay

Everyone here has a good idea of who they want us to draft....we talk a lot about it..

If the GM doesn't draft those guys...you'll see here how many 'mistakes' we feel he has made

 

We do it here.

We do it every year.

I think I heard it called 'the circle of life'

[krunk]

I don't know what to say about the Dave Toub rumors.  If we are indeed keeping Chuck for 2017 and the Toub stuff ain't real then it's a good hire from the stand point that this guy will or should have a strong idea about what kind of players and talent fit Chucks defensive system seeing that it's the exact same thing that they ran with the Chiefs.  I have no idea what his thoughts are on Monachino, Chud, and Philbin but we'll see what happens.   Wanted Jimmy Raye, but this guy has a strong resume as well so welcome to Colts Nation!

[oldunclemark]

3 minutes ago, Coltsman1788 said:

Speak for yourself then.

 

.

Its not about our old GM...

We always get all up in the draft..

Coltsman..you're saying you wont be commenting on who you thought we should get in the upcoming draft and how the picks made were wrong.?

 

..we all do.....

 

 

[Andrew Luck fan club]

2 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

That's only negative to you....In fact....That's the way we fans are..

 

\\Majin..maybe you haven't been with us for a long time...That's okay

Everyone here has a good idea of who they want us to draft....we talk a lot about it..

If the GM doesn't draft those guys...you'll see here how many 'mistakes' we feel he has made

 

We do it here.

We do it every year.

I think I heard it called 'the circle of life'

Saying his first picks will be a mistake is negative and just silly. And I've been reading these forums since 2012, and joined in 2014 so I'd say that's a decent amount of time. But alright, then carry on with your "circle of life" 

[oldunclemark]

2 minutes ago, krunk said:

I don't know what to say about the Dave Toub rumors.  If we are indeed keeping Chuck for 2017 and the Toub stuff ain't real then it's a good hire from the stand point that this guy will or should have a strong idea about what kind of players and talent fit Chucks defensive system seeing that it's the exact same thing that they ran with the Chiefs.  I have no idea what his thoughts are on Monachino, Chud, and Philbin but we'll see what happens.   Wanted Jimmy Raye, but this guy has a strong resume as well so welcome to Colts Nation!

Toub is very highly thought of....his background is unique

[Coltsman1788]

4 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Its not about our old GM...

We always gte all up in the draft..

Coltsman..you're saying you wont be commenting on who you thought we should get in the upcoming draft and how the picks made were wrong.?

 

2 or 3 years

 

 

 

Mark just because I might not agree with all of his picks doesn't mean that I will call for his immediate dismissal.  Come on man!  lol

[oldunclemark]

Just now, Majin Vegeta said:

Saying his first picks will be a mistake is negative and just silly. And I've been reading these forums since 2012, and joined in 2014 so I'd say that's a decent amount of time. But alright, then carry on with your "circle of life" 

Again..Majin..you're having trouble reading.....

I said that when he makes seven picks..folks who wanted seven different guys be right here talking about what mistakes those Ballard kicks were.

That's just the way it is....come on....be honest

 

[richard pallo]

17 minutes ago, superrep1967 said:

I like it that he believes everything starts up front. 

And BPA regardless of position or need.

[RockThatBlue]

9 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Some will want Ballard fired next year at this time if we're 8-8. True?

 

No. It will be his first season. If someone wanted him fired after one year, they are being highly ridiculous, to say the least. 

 

Lets let the guy draft and sign free agents before the firing talk starts.

[dgambill]

Omg....we are a bunch of miserable SOBs...the past is the past. Time to look ahead and a little optimism wouldn't hurt. This guy has been around the block and been a valuable asset to every team he has been at. It's time to change the culture around here....starting with this message board. In a couple years we will be able to reflect back on things but there is nothing to gain right now by beating dead horses or being Debbie downers. It's a new day and we are going to get ready for 2017. Get on board this train or get off the next stop...but don't bring the negativity on this train because we aren't making a stop until we get to our destination...Lombardiville.

[oldunclemark]

1 minute ago, Coltsman1788 said:

Mark just because I might not agree with all of his picks doesn't meant that I will call for his immediate dismissal.  Come on man!  lol

Obviously, I never said////Immediate dismissal..

..again..if he doenst pick who we want..we'll call those picks mistakes..

You know how much time everybody here puts into reading up on the draft..

 

I don't call that negaitve. as mjuch as its just the way fans are...

[richard pallo]

4 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Toub is very highly thought of....his background is unique

Just a rumor with no exact proof.

[Andrew Luck fan club]

2 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Again..Majin..you're having trouble reading.....

I said that when he makes seven picks..folks who wanted seven different guys be right here talking about what mistakes those Ballard kicks were.

That's just the way it is....come on....be honest

 

Well yeah but I mean isn't that common sense? As long as he drafts players that start for us(and play good ball), I think the majority will be happy even if he doesn't get "their guys".

[oldunclemark]

1 minute ago, RockThatBlue said:

No. It will be his first season. If someone wanted him fired after one year, they are being highly ridiculous, to say the least. 

 

Lets let the guy draft and sign free agents before the firing talk starts.

I hope that's the way it works out

This new guy sounds like a good man....

 

[OffensivelyPC]

28 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

True but the GM has final say....those are the GM's picks

I don't think that ..good or bad...you can assign the quality of draft selection to the VP of Player personell.

Its impossible to say, much like its impossible to say what Raye and Grigson disagreed on. While the blame/credit doesnt go directly to the underling, its a reflection on them in some degree.  Thats about all anyone can say without being in the war room on draft day and FA.

[SaturdayAllDay]

11 minutes ago, krunk said:

I don't know what to say about the Dave Toub rumors.  If we are indeed keeping Chuck for 2017 and the Toub stuff ain't real then it's a good hire from the stand point that this guy will or should have a strong idea about what kind of players and talent fit Chucks defensive system seeing that it's the exact same thing that they ran with the Chiefs.  I have no idea what his thoughts are on Monachino, Chud, and Philbin but we'll see what happens.   Wanted Jimmy Raye, but this guy has a strong resume as well so welcome to Colts Nation!

Well we still have Jimmy raye, so i think having two guys with strong resumes is going to really help this team. Im excited!! 

[oldunclemark]

1 minute ago, Majin Vegeta said:

Well yeah but I mean isn't that common sense? As long as he drafts players that start for us(and play good ball), I think the majority will be happy even if he doesn't get "their guys".

Many will be.....if we're 8-8 again though.././.many wont be...

That's all I said.

 

I don't want us to judge him  for 2 or 3 years....but thats not the real world

[RockThatBlue]

4 minutes ago, dgambill said:

Omg....we are a bunch of miserable SOBs...the past is the past. Time to look ahead and a little optimism wouldn't hurt. This guy has been around the block and been a valuable asset to every team he has been at. It's time to change the culture around here....starting with this message board. In a couple years we will be able to reflect back on things but there is nothing to gain right now by beating dead horses or being Debbie downers. It's a new day and we are going to get ready for 2017. Get on board this train or get off the next stop...but don't bring the negativity on this train because we aren't making a stop until we get to our destination...Lombardiville.

I agree. I'm excited. I don't see why or how anyone can be negative about this. 

[oldunclemark]

Just now, RockThatBlue said:

I agree. I'm excited. I don't see why or how anyone can be negative about this. 

I hope everyone still will be in June

[OffensivelyPC]

10 minutes ago, Coltsman1788 said:

Mark just because I might not agree with all of his picks doesn't mean that I will call for his immediate dismissal.  Come on man!  lol

Then what was everyone complaining about Grigson for? Because it was noisy here...for years...

[deedub75]

1 hour ago, 21isSuperman said:

If he has his heart set on Toub already, I wonder if this year is just a technicality or Pagano is just here because it's what Irsay wants.  It could be a situation where anything less than 12 wins and making it to the conference championship game (not very likely with the state of the roster) means Pagano's gone

 

If he really prefers Toub, get him now before he becomes a hot commodity next season. 

[oldunclemark]

1 minute ago, SaturdayAllDay said:

Well we still have Jimmy raye, so i think having two guys with strong resumes is going to really help this team. Im excited!! 

WE have highly regarded people...I;m preaching patience.

[krunk]

7 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Toub is very highly thought of....his background is unique

Overall I'm saying I'm okay with the hire if his intentions in 2017 are to keep Chuck.   If his intentions are really to fire Chuck then they need to do that immediately I think.  If you want a good GM and Head Coach relationship I think that's harder to do when the guy who is over you really wants you fired.   Don't know if the Toub rumors are real or not.   If Chuck is really staying in 2017 and Ballard is down with it then there's elements there that I like.  If he's really not down with it and he wants Toub then.............

[oldunclemark]

1 minute ago, deedub75 said:

 

If he really prefers Toub, get him now before he becomes a hot commodity next season. 

as much as I like Chuck...I agree....

....If Ballard wants Toub.....that needed to be a condition of his hiring

[krunk]

6 minutes ago, SaturdayAllDay said:

Well we still have Jimmy raye, so i think having two guys with strong resumes is going to really help this team. Im excited!! 

Not sure about that yet.  If Ballard has power to change the Scouting and Player Personnel people then maybe we won't have Raye.   I don't exactly know, but I think that's a solid front office with Raye and Ballard together.  If Raye stays then I don't see Peyton Manning being hired for Rayes role.  We'll see!

[Colts_Fan12]

23 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Some will want Ballard fired next year at this time if we're 8-8. True?

 

No we still have Chucks outcoached *** on the team.

[SaturdayAllDay]

1 minute ago, krunk said:

Not sure about that yet.  If Ballard has power to change the Scouting and Player Personnel people then maybe we won't have Raye.   I don't exactly know, but I think that's a solid front office with Raye and Ballard together.   We'll see!

This is true. That being said i think raye is here for 2017. Not going to get anyone better to replace him at this point in the scouting process. I dont think we will really see any major personnel changes til at least after the draft, and even then it will only most likely be new scouts to get started on the 2018 draft class. 

[SaturdayAllDay]

8 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

WE have highly regarded people...I;m preaching patience.

Obviously, Rome wasnt built in a day. Im not expecting a top 5 defense for next yr but im excited to see a new approach to free agency and the draft. 

 

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

4 minutes ago, SaturdayAllDay said:

This is true. That being said i think raye is here for 2017. Not going to get anyone better to replace him at this point in the scouting process. I dont think we will really see any major personnel changes til at least after the draft, and even then it will only most likely be new scouts to get started on the 2018 draft class. 

Peyton? Just joking.

[ztboiler]

19 minutes ago, dgambill said:

Omg....we are a bunch of miserable SOBs...the past is the past. Time to look ahead and a little optimism wouldn't hurt. This guy has been around the block and been a valuable asset to every team he has been at. It's time to change the culture around here....starting with this message board. In a couple years we will be able to reflect back on things but there is nothing to gain right now by beating dead horses or being Debbie downers. It's a new day and we are going to get ready for 2017. Get on board this train or get off the next stop...but don't bring the negativity on this train because we aren't making a stop until we get to our destination...Lombardiville.

Whoa now...get rid of negativity on a message board?  Huge reduction in Internet traffic.  Massive job layoffs.  Global economic crisis.  Take it back, man....take it back!

[Colts_Fan12]

Just wish he had a new HC to work with cause if chuck isn't good enough after next season and is fired we just wasted an offseason getting players for his scheme seems kinda dumb 

[bababooey]

18 minutes ago, deedub75 said:

 

If he really prefers Toub, get him now before he becomes a hot commodity next season. 

Honestly who else would he choose over us that you see having an open position?

[SaturdayAllDay]

1 minute ago, Colts_Fan12 said:

Just wish he had a new HC to work with cause if chuck isn't good enough after next season and is fired we just wasted an offseason getting players for his scheme seems kinda dumb 

KC uses a similar scheme so with any luck Ballard would be looking to bring in someone who runs a scheme similar to the players he is used to scouting for. I wouldnt be too worried about him getting the wrong players. If he really wants Chuck gone then he will get the players he thinks will be good for him down the road, whether they work with Chuckles or not. 

[chad72]

28 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Many will be.....if we're 8-8 again though.././.many wont be...

That's all I said.

 

I don't want us to judge him  for 2 or 3 years....but thats not the real world

 

The typical expectation is first round picks are sure fire starters by year 2 which is the year they typically make the jump and second and third round picks are in the starting rotation at least for breathers in year 1, and possibly starters or subs with heavy minutes later. Beyond the third round, anything else is a bonus. 

 

Hitting on the early round picks is important. However, their usage, development and productivity would be purely up to the coaches. The leeway for the coaches does go up more if they are the new GM's picks, no doubt about it, IMO. If Dorsett still does not produce in year 3, are we going to continue to harp on Grigson or the coaches? Then, if we bring a new set of coaches and Dorsett starts producing, would it be because Grigson was right and the coaches didn't use him well in a revisionist fashion? It is going to be a "chicken" and "egg" thing constantly, that is just how it is with fans. The only thing that will mellow them down is possibly an AFCCG appearance every 2 or 3 years.

 

I don't subscribe to the theory that all fans don't know what they are talking about (there are a lot of fans here who have had valid points during the draft that come to light more in hindsight) but also realize that decisions don't need to be made to make fans happy, otherwise you'd be sitting with the fans like Polian has said before. 

[krunk]

3 minutes ago, Colts_Fan12 said:

Just wish he had a new HC to work with cause if chuck isn't good enough after next season and is fired we just wasted an offseason getting players for his scheme seems kinda dumb 

The Chiefs run the exact same defense as the Colts.  Just about all of our picks will be defensive so it really won't matter.  I don't see much changing about the defensive scheme even if we got rid of Chuck. 

[chad72]

Just now, krunk said:

The Chiefs run the exact same defense as the Colts.  Just about all of our picks will be defensive so it really won't matter.  I don't see much changing about the defensive scheme even if we got rid of Chuck. 

 

Agree, especially if we run the hybrid and mixed fronts. A very good DC can mix and match better.

[Stephen]

32 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Obviously, I never said////Immediate dismissal..

..again..if he doenst pick who we want..we'll call those picks mistakes..

You know how much time everybody here puts into reading up on the draft..

 

I don't call that negaitve. as mjuch as its just the way fans are...

I'll only be made if he picks project players in the first two rounds.

[Superman]

25 minutes ago, deedub75 said:

 

If he really prefers Toub, get him now before he becomes a hot commodity next season. 

 

Toub is already kind of a hot commodity. He's interviewed several times in recent years, and NFL people speak highly of him.