What will Chris Ballard's approach be in Free Agency? (Merge)

[ColtsStrong86]

Now that Ballard is the GM of the Colts, let's start talking about Free Agency. Do you think he will be aggressive, and go after big names, or be patient? The Colts' have money to spend, and lots of needs, so it will be interesting to see how he approaches it. Two names that make sense to me are Eric Berry and Dontari Poe, given Ballard's ties to KC. What do you guys think?

[CR91]

This is Ballard's first time running the show so there is no past experience to say how he will approach free agency, but we do have plenty of money to play with. One thing I am sure of, we're gonna have a roster overturn coming soon.

[SuperJoe33]

I would think that if anybody knows what Kansas City is going to do with Berry & Poe would be this guy. Also he should have a real good handle on the type of person type of work ethic and what drives them. Obviously that doesn't guarantee us anything but we know more now than the other 30 teams

 

[Smonroe]

Hopefully he'll be smart (which I'm sure he is) and find players that fit our system.  Obviously we need LBs.  

[Fisticuffs111]

I'm curious to see what will happen.

I think what our former GM said about not wanting to overspend in free agency and to mostly hit on the draft will still be in play. Ballard's a smart guy too, I think he'll try to go for areas that he missed out on in the draft.

[tvturner]

Spend the $$ we have

Bring me Berry/Poe

[BProland85]

I'm sure most on this board are happy with the decision to hire Ballard as GM, me included. Just don't be too disappointed if he doesn't go out and break the bank on players. He seems to be the type of guy who builds through the draft, which is smart if you've done your homework and have quality scouts to select the best players available.

 

I could see Ballard bringing in a few guys to help this defense, but not expecting any big names unless they possibly come from KC.

[Solon]

I could see him reaching out to players he has on a list somewhere.

[Indyfan4life]

If I see "Colts sign Eric Berry" I'm going to flip out. 

[GoColts8818]

What free agents does KC have, start looking there.

[MrNLM]

Just ignore Knile Davis, Mr. Ballard. Thanks!

[Carlos Danger]

Hopefully his FA approach will emphasize youth and playmaking ability... 

 

I know that one of the few bright spots of the Grigson regime was to sign players to contracts that wouldn't hurt our cap flexibility should they not pan out. It would be nice to keep some of that mindset... However, you have to have a high success rate if you are plugging holes with older vets. Otherwise, you end up with cap room and no talent.

 

Fingers crossed for Poe...

[esmort]

With so many needs do we really want to pay the kind of money Poe is going to cost especially with the way his price is going to be driven up because of the ridiculous amount of money some teams have to spend. 

 

No doubt he would be a great addition, but I don't know if I want to allocate so much money to the NT position when many other positions are in greater need of resources/upgrade, and where we would probably see a bigger bang for our buck.

[Tmoney]

7 minutes ago, esmort said:

With so many needs do we really want to pay the kind of money Poe is going to cost especially with the way his price is going to be driven up because of the ridiculous amount of money some teams have to spend. 

 

No doubt he would be a great addition, but I don't know if I want to allocate so much money to the NT position when many other positions are in greater need of resources/upgrade, and where we would probably see a bigger bang for our buck.

I think it would be worth the let's say 8-10 mil/yr. A dominate NT would let any new ILB Ballard brings in shine instead of getting eating up by lineman. Also gives the thought of dropping Clayton to backer consideration, as of now we dont have anyone domanding doubles like Dontari does. Also he does need some work with technique and creativity with moves, but we all know you come to Indy to perfect that spin move all our young talented D-linemen got it. Think with his strength/athleticism a spin move could change his game

[GoColts8818]

45 minutes ago, Carlos Danger said:

Hopefully his FA approach will emphasize youth and playmaking ability... 

 

I know that one of the few bright spots of the Grigson regime was to sign players to contracts that wouldn't hurt our cap flexibility should they not pan out. It would be nice to keep some of that mindset... However, you have to have a high success rate if you are plugging holes with older vets. Otherwise, you end up with cap room and no talent.

 

Fingers crossed for Poe...

I am guessing the Chiefs will franchise Poe if they have too.

[I'm mad, bro]

3 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

I am guessing the Chiefs will franchise Poe if they have too.

You think they let Eric walk then?

[GoColts8818]

4 minutes ago, I'm mad, bro said:

You think they let Eric walk then?

It will be a hard call but I think a guy like Poe is harder to find than a safety like Eric. There is also the chance they could extend one before they have to tag one and then tag the one they don't extend.

[Bluefire4]

Don't know why everyone wants Eric Berry. Not paying a safety that much money with so many other positions to address.

[Chucklez]

1 hour ago, Bluefire4 said:

Don't know why everyone wants Eric Berry. Not paying a safety that much money with so many other positions to address.

I somewhat agree.... Safety isn't exactly shored up, but our D has so many holes in it, by comparison it does look shored up... Just re-sign Butler and potentially Adams, spelling with Geathers and Green and we should be fine there... at least for now...

The focus, first and foremost, needs to be on Linebackers and Corners. I mean, you can address other positions while focusing on something else, but lets get the priorities straight.

[superrep1967]

7 hours ago, ColtsStrong86 said:

Now that Ballard is the GM of the Colts, let's start talking about Free Agency. Do you think he will be aggressive, and go after big names, or be patient? The Colts' have money to spend, and lots of needs, so it will be interesting to see how he approaches it. Two names that make sense to me are Eric Berry and Dontari Poe, given Ballard's ties to KC. What do you guys think?

 

I think he needs to pursue A. J. Bouye free agent corner from the Texans he's only 25 and has played very well. He'd be great alongside Davis.  

[Indyfan4life]

1 hour ago, Chucklez said:

I somewhat agree.... Safety isn't exactly shored up, but our D has so many holes in it, by comparison it does look shored up... Just re-sign Butler and potentially Adams, spelling with Geathers and Green and we should be fine there... at least for now...

The focus, first and foremost, needs to be on Linebackers and Corners. I mean, you can address other positions while focusing on something else, but lets get the priorities straight.

Geathers stays injured, and Green is a liability. Adams, while still a good player is showing his age and lack of speed. Butler played great for being hurt all season. 

 

I think bringing in a guy like Berry will resolve a lot of issues, but obviously the psss rush needs fixed. 

[superrep1967]

Just now, Indyfan4life said:

Geathers stays injured, and Green is a liability. Adams, while still a good player is showing his age and lack of speed. Butler played great for being hurt all season. 

 

I think bringing in a guy like Berry will resolve a lot of issues, but obviously the psss rush needs fixed. 

 

Yeah, I would rather see us spend the money on an elite pass rusher. 

[Chucklez]

1 minute ago, Indyfan4life said:

Geathers stays injured, and Green is a liability. Adams, while still a good player is showing his age and lack of speed. Butler played great for being hurt all season. 

 

I think bringing in a guy like Berry will resolve a lot of issues, but obviously the psss rush needs fixed. 

It's a bit premature to say that Geathers is always going to stay injured.

Green was a rookie who had only played safety for a single year in college. To be honest it's amazing that he was able to keep up with the Pros in any capacity at all. He will only get better as he learns.

I agree on Mike, but his Vet presence is important and he still has something left... Hence why he needs to be spelled regularly.

I know Berry would walk straight into our starting lineup and make it better, but the priorities have to be elsewhere.

[Crunked]

7 hours ago, Smonroe said:

Hopefully he'll be smart (which I'm sure he is) and find players that fit our system.  Obviously we need LBs.  

The above statement is true and factual in every way but it struck me funny when I hit the bit about "our system" .......for some reason Rick Venturi's voice popped into my head that "Grigson is fielding a defense of Morse Reservoir all-stars" and we don't want that not at all lol....sorry please feel free to carry on and talk amongst yourself.

[SaturdayAllDay]

4 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

It will be a hard call but I think a guy like Poe is harder to find than a safety like Eric. There is also the chance they could extend one before they have to tag one and then tag the one they don't extend.

I dont know if they have the cap to do so with only 4.6 Million. They will have to trim their roster just to keep one of the two. 

[BigQandTheManiac]

Me, I don't think it really matters what his ties are with Poe/Berry. I think ultimately it will depend on if they want to stay with the Chiefs or not. If I'm not mistaken, they both were playing for the Chiefs before he was even with the team.

[Patagonia Chris]

8 hours ago, Fisticuffs111 said:

I'm curious to see what will happen.

I think what our former GM said about not wanting to overspend in free agency and to mostly hit on the draft will still be in play. Ballard's a smart guy too, I think he'll try to go for areas that he missed out on in the draft.

 

Judging by Kansas City's history in FA over the past four years, I think this statement is right o the money. Other than Jeremy Maclin I can't think of a big name free agent they've signed recently. With all of the Colts holes, I think this may also be the best approach moving forward. The real interesting aspect of this to me is whether or not Pagano stays and how much will Balard be willing to spend on players who fit into a lame duck coach's scheme. If he starts signing players that Dave Toub likes then maybe that's a tell.

[Colts1324]

His approach: WIN 

[lollygagger8]

Does a new coach qualify as free agency? 

 

[Myles]

Lots to consider.   With a QB like Luck under center, I would hate to see the team only build through the draft.   With the holes the Colts have, it would take a few years.   The benefit with signing a proven player (Poe) is that it would, in turn, make other players better.  

[Smonroe]

1 minute ago, Myles said:

Lots to consider.   With a QB like Luck under center, I would hate to see the team only build through the draft.   With the holes the Colts have, it would take a few years.   The benefit with signing a proven player (Poe) is that it would, in turn, make other players better.  

 

No doubt.  And NT is definitely a position of need.  (Along with OLB and ILB)

[csmopar]

32 minutes ago, Grigson's Gaffes said:

 

Judging by Kansas City's history in FA over the past four years, I think this statement is right o the money. Other than Jeremy Maclin I can't think of a big name free agent they've signed recently. With all of the Colts holes, I think this may also be the best approach moving forward. The real interesting aspect of this to me is whether or not Pagano stays and how much will Balard be willing to spend on players who fit into a lame duck coach's scheme. If he starts signing players that Dave Toub likes then maybe that's a tell.

I was wondering the same thing.  It's gonna be an interesting next 6-8 weeks

[Valpo2004]

57 minutes ago, Myles said:

Lots to consider.   With a QB like Luck under center, I would hate to see the team only build through the draft.   With the holes the Colts have, it would take a few years.   The benefit with signing a proven player (Poe) is that it would, in turn, make other players better.  

 

I don't think he's going to go full out Green Bay packers and just ignore free agency.  But generally teams that build through the draft don't usually spend a lot of money going after super star free agents.  Instead they get middle of the road free agents to fill holes and try to find the stars through the draft.

 

Problem with signing stars in FA is they create the largest bidding wars and so they end up walking away with insane contracts that their play just doesn't justify.  

 

For example look at Suh's contract with the Dolphins.  They gave him more money then JJ Watt got.

[Myles]

16 minutes ago, Valpo2004 said:

 

I don't think he's going to go full out Green Bay packers and just ignore free agency.  But generally teams that build through the draft don't usually spend a lot of money going after super star free agents.  Instead they get middle of the road free agents to fill holes and try to find the stars through the draft.

 

Problem with signing stars in FA is they create the largest bidding wars and so they end up walking away with insane contracts that their play just doesn't justify.  

 

For example look at Suh's contract with the Dolphins.  They gave him more money then JJ Watt got.

I understand what you are saying.   I think it varies depending on the teams needs.  I'm not sure that the Colts would improve much with "middle of the road" fillers.   A star at NT would make the current Colts players seem much better.   I'm just afraid that this current team has too many needs to fill with the draft.  

[rockywoj]

I could see Ballard taking a bit of a different approach than Grigso did in free agancy.   Ergo, rather than waiting and filling up with inexpensive second tier FAs, maybe instead go out there aggressively and grab one or two big name, still young FAs.

 

Hence, if KC does not tag or come to terms with Berry, I say go HARD for him!  With ADams being a free agent, why not significantly upgrade the position with one of the leagues best game changers?  Eric Berry w/Geathers should form a great inside defensive backfield, with Green being the primary fill-in.  Draft a corner high and all of a sudden the secondary is solved!

 

"2) Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs safety: Berry checks every conceivable box. He's a superstar at a scarce position (practically every team is looking for a safety). He's a locker-room leader and squarely in his prime at 28 years old. Retained with a franchise tag that created acrimony before the 2016 season..."

 

Secondly, also go hard for one of the young premier pass rushers available.  If it turns out he's really available, my choice, I think, would be to bring in Melvin Ingram from the Chargers.

 

"7) Melvin Ingram, Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker: Don't just look at the sack total. Ingram slowly evolved into one of football's most disruptive, complete outside linebackers in 2016. ..."

 

Then BOOM!  Just like that the secondary and linebacking core has an injection of two young, elite, impact players, immediately correcting two of Grigson's most glaring failures.  The Colts have the coin to do this.  I say just gitter done!

 

Then augment this with a defense heavy draft and you might just see an immediate defensive turnaround like the Giants had last year.  Easy Peasy.

[Valpo2004]

1 hour ago, Myles said:

I understand what you are saying.   I think it varies depending on the teams needs.  I'm not sure that the Colts would improve much with "middle of the road" fillers.   A star at NT would make the current Colts players seem much better.   I'm just afraid that this current team has too many needs to fill with the draft.  

 

Your team needs the right combination of stars and middle of the road guys who act as role players.  

 

Not everyone on the team can be a star player.  

 

Signing too many big name free agents is the quickest road into cap purgatory where you can't afford to do anything at all.

 

80% of fans look at the FA list and scream for the top 2 or 3 guys at every position of need in free agency.  

 

But you can't have a star player at every position.  

[loudnproudcolt]

One thing to think about is because of Grigson's drafting, we are not going to have many draft picks of our own who we are going to be extending, and those we do except for a few won't be anything massive. Only two I can think of are Mewhort and Montcrief off the top of my head. This is how missing draft picks hurts because it can force you into FA, which if you don't understand how many players were good due to their system fit, you are going to get bit by FA.

If you assume DQ and Jones are gone which I do, you have over 60M in cap space. Next year, 2018, before carryover we will have around 79M and I still see very few of our players who we have to extend. The fact is because of the bad drafting we are going to have to spend some dollars in FA to make this team better. I don't like the fact that FA is a risk, and you are paying big money, but we have to make it part of the team building right now. Otherwise the cap space is going to be in SF/Cleveland territory in two years. What we need are quality FA's. I know NYG spent a ton of money last year, but almost each player they paid for was a quality player who was a fit. It took awhile, but there defense got a lot better quickly. That was due to the signing of 3 key players. Snacks Harrison, Jenkins and Vernon, plus bringing back JPP on a one year prove it deal. All quality. If we pursue players, I want young and quality, not quantity like Grigson loved to do.

 

[Colts_Fan12]

4 minutes ago, rockywoj said:

I could see Ballard taking a bit of a different approach than Grigso did in free agancy.   Ergo, rather than waiting and filling up with inexpensive second tier FAs, maybe instead go out there aggressively and grab one or two big name, still young FAs.

 

Hence, if KC does not tag or come to terms with Berry, I say go HARD for him!  With ADams being a free agent, why not significantly upgrade the position with one of the leagues best game changers?  Eric Berry w/Geathers should form a great inside defensive backfield, with Green being the primary fill-in.  Draft a corner high and all of a sudden the secondary is solved!

 

"2) Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs safety: Berry checks every conceivable box. He's a superstar at a scarce position (practically every team is looking for a safety). He's a locker-room leader and squarely in his prime at 28 years old. Retained with a franchise tag that created acrimony before the 2016 season..."

 

Secondly, also go hard for one of the young premier pass rushers available.  If it turns out he's really available, my choice, I think, would be to bring in Melvin Ingram from the Chargers.

 

"7) Melvin Ingram, Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker: Don't just look at the sack total. Ingram slowly evolved into one of football's most disruptive, complete outside linebackers in 2016. ..."

 

Then BOOM!  Just like that the secondary and linebacking core has an injection of two young, elite, impact players, immediately correcting two of Grigson's most glaring failures.  The Colts have the coin to do this.  I say just gitter done!

 

Then augment this with a defense heavy draft and you might just see an immediate defensive turnaround like the Giants had last year.  Easy Peasy.

If we can get a pass rush improvement that woukd also allow Vontae to shine his elite ability!

[Colts_Fan12]

6 minutes ago, Valpo2004 said:

 

Your team needs the right combination of stars and middle of the road guys who act as role players.  

 

Not everyone on the team can be a star player.  

 

Signing too many big name free agents is the quickest road into cap purgatory where you can't afford to do anything at all.

 

80% of fans look at the FA list and scream for the top 2 or 3 guys at every position of need in free agency.  

 

But you can't have a star player at every position.  

We have 1 star player on D that's it 

[Valpo2004]

1 hour ago, Colts_Fan12 said:

We have 1 star player on D that's it 

 

If that.  Davis wasn't really much of a star this year.

 

However that still doesn't disprove my point.  Go look at all the threads on free agents and count how many seriously list as a guy they would like someone who isn't considered a big name star player.  And because I'm pointing it out, I would exclude any of my posts.

 

I even started a thread on Jan. 16 "Less costly FA's to consider" specifically talking about role players to bring in.  That got zero replies.  No one cared the slightest big about role players we could bring in for a moderate cost.

 

Instead everyone focused on the star players.  The 32 quality young players thread which was entirely about star players got 64 responses.  That was based almost entirely on the top 32 free agents who where under 30.  Basically all of the guys you would have to break the bank for.  

 

This is what I'm talking about.  GM's who build through the draft as a general strategy use FA to augment their team mostly with middle of the road guys who are role players.  But very few fans understand this strategy because every time FA comes up they immediately go to the top 2 or 3 names at every position of need and start screaming for those guys.