"THE RIVALRY IS BACK ON"

[indyagent17]

I'll tell you this when Belichick finally retires the Patriots are going to go in the crapper for several years. And I can't wait

[BlueRedZone]

6 hours ago, JColts72 said:

Great! no more love feast with Pats. Hope Brady gets injured, Kraft chokes eating  Boston clam chowder while  watching the Colts play, and McAfraid gets rolled on the sideline by a Colts player to bust his knees. 

 I know it’s still early February. But this must be the post of the year. 

[GwinnettColt]

I was impressed with Ballard's poise in the press conference.  He showed confidence and leadership ability.

[chrisfarley]

would be great to beat Pats in their own back yard next year but we MUST shore up our secondary, otherwise McDaniels will torch us with a mixture of play-action and darts all over the field. and that is just unacceptably frightening.  I realize there are other areas that must be improved as well.  The more I think about all the areas that have to be bolstered, the more I feel queezy.  McDaniels is more feared as an OC, not so much HC.

[King Colt]

Lesson to Ballard: Bill Polian said this morning you never announce it if it is not signed.

Another lesson to Ballard: "The rivalry is back on." Really? You don't even have a team and your owner is well, questionable. You have three assistant coaches with no HC! Rocky start for you.

[NorthernBlue]

Lotta Pats fans saying it's not a rivalry. They really do think they're super above us.

 

But if NE didn't hate the colts, why have they seemingly made it priority number 1 to * us off?

 

All this talk of NE just 'retaining a guy under contract', if that were the case, why wait till he was hours away from his presser to convince him to stay (rather than, say the 2 weeks prior that it was unofficially official)? Nah I guarantee if McD was going to any other team, Kraft doesn't wait this long to talk to him.

 

So let the Pats enjoy the crumbling of their empire. We're not the ones who lost the sb to a backup, and are about 2 years away from being irrelevant for the next 15.

[deedub75]

2 hours ago, Luck 4 president said:

Do you not understand what “back on” means?

 

It was a very lopsided rivalry. 

[dgambill]

4 minutes ago, deedub75 said:

 

It was a very lopsided rivalry. 

Hey...there was a point when Peyton was so in Belichicks head he was going for it 4th and 2 from like his own 30....and Brady was deflating footballs for a better grip to beat us (even if he didn’t need to). They care...trust me they care.

[2006Coltsbestever]

On the field lately it hasn't been a Rivalry because they have beat us 6 straight times going back to 2010. Having said that the hatred between the organizations goes way back to the AFC East days so it is always going to technically be a Rivalry of ours. We had a stretch between 2005-2009 where we were 5-1 against them which wasn't a long time ago - Peyton owned them for 5 seasons. Then the Deflategate thing happened in the 2015 Title Game where the 2 teams played to see who was going to the SB. Now McTurd just did what he did, it technically is 2 teams that hate each other, we just need to get Good again.

[csmopar]

13 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

On the field lately it hasn't been a Rivalry because they have beat us 6 straight times going back to 2010. Having said that the hatred between the organizations goes way back to the AFC East days so it is always going to technically be a Rivalry of ours. We had a stretch between 2005-2009 where we were 5-1 against them which wasn't a long time ago - Peyton owned them for 5 seasons. Then the Deflategate thing happened in the 2015 Title Game where the 2 teams played to see who was going to the SB. Now McTurd just did what he did, it technically is 2 teams that hate each other, we just need to get Good again.

yep

[Two_pound]

ofcourse the national media have been making jokes about Ballards brilliant statement. Kudos to Chris Ballard. What did people want Ballard to say? I'll give some examples: "gee, they put it to us again" or maybe"the Krafts are awesome,ignore all the cheating and classlessness" or how about"we didn't get mcsuckles so we have no chance for the next ten years". Ballard is moving forward as he should. The only downside to this situation is still the fact Ballard should have never even considered mcsuckles as has now been proven. But the upside is instead of having one of the absolute WORST canidates as our head coach we will have a much better one. Ballard will find the right man for the job. I am confident.

[Cynjin]

14 hours ago, King Colt said:

 

Another lesson to Ballard: "The rivalry is back on." Really? You don't even have a team and your owner is well, questionable. You have three assistant coaches with no HC! Rocky start for you.

 

I doubt you could teach Ballard much of anything.

[2006Coltsbestever]

26 minutes ago, Two_pound said:

ofcourse the national media have been making jokes about Ballards brilliant statement. Kudos to Chris Ballard. What did people want Ballard to say? I'll give some examples: "gee, they put it to us again" or maybe"the Krafts are awesome,ignore all the cheating and classlessness" or how about"we didn't get mcsuckles so we have no chance for the next ten years". Ballard is moving forward as he should. The only downside to this situation is still the fact Ballard should have never even considered mcsuckles as has now been proven. But the upside is instead of having one of the absolute WORST canidates as our head coach we will have a much better one. Ballard will find the right man for the job. I am confident.

We will be fine, I wouldn't worry too much. If Luck comes back 100% that automatically gives us 4 more wins. Lets see how the Draft and Free Agency plays out. I think ESPN is going to be shocked at how much better we are next season - assuming Luck is 100%.

[2006Coltsbestever]

15 hours ago, King Colt said:

Lesson to Ballard: Bill Polian said this morning you never announce it if it is not signed.

Another lesson to Ballard: "The rivalry is back on." Really? You don't even have a team and your owner is well, questionable. You have three assistant coaches with no HC! Rocky start for you.

Come on man . It's been a rivalry since the caveman days.

[King Colt]

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Come on man . It's been a rivalry since the caveman days.

So are you saying the Browns and the Steelers are a "rivalry"? How about the Texans &Colts when the Texans could not tie their shoes? You have to be able to compete to be a rival.  Ballard simply said that as he was leaving and obviously * off. A grudge maybe but no rivalry until the Colts improve.

[2006Coltsbestever]

4 minutes ago, King Colt said:

So are you saying the Browns and the Steelers are a "rivalry"? How about the Texans &Colts when the Texans could not tie their shoes? You have to be able to compete to be a rival.  Ballard simply said that as he was leaving and obviously * off. A grudge maybe but no rivalry until the Colts improve.

The Pats vs Colts has been back and forth over the years. We have never been the Browns or Texans. In 1987 we won the AFC East with Jack Trudeau as QB by beating the Pats who had been to the SB in 85. From 2005-2009 we dominated the Patriots 5-1 and beat them in the Title Game. They now have the upper hand, I get it, but they maybe have 1 or 2 years left where they are great.

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

15 hours ago, King Colt said:

Lesson to Ballard: Bill Polian said this morning you never announce it if it is not signed.

Another lesson to Ballard: "The rivalry is back on." Really? You don't even have a team and your owner is well, questionable. You have three assistant coaches with no HC! Rocky start for you.

 

 

Why is the owner questionable? From a football standpoint what has Jim Irsay done? Granted, he held onto Grigson and Pagano longer than he should have, but other than that what has he done? So the guy like to Tweet? Big deal! I know I go to the Bill Polian well a lot, but Bill said yesterday on ESPN Radio that in all his years with the Colts that Irsay never had a cross word for him. He said that yes there were times they disagreed but that Jim was respectful and loyal. He was asked if working for Irsay was a negative and he said that if he had to put the attributes he wanted from on owner in man the man would be alot like Jim Irsay. Jim Irsay loves football, he loves the Colts, is loyal, and does all he can to put a winner on the field. Other than Twitter and his battle with substance abuse what is wrong with him? God help us all if we have to continually live our lives being judged by our worst moment. ALL of us have made mistakes. I'm the first to admit that the Colts have issues that need addressed, but Jim Irsay is not one of the issues! 

[King Colt]

9 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

The Pats vs Colts has been back and forth over the years. We have never been the Browns or Texans. In 1987 we won the AFC East with Jack Trudeau as QB by beating the Pats who had been to the SB in 85. From 2005-2009 we dominated the Patriots 5-1 and beat them in the Title Game. They now have the upper hand, I get it, but they maybe have 1 or 2 years left where they are great.

I was referring to the Browns vs. the Steelers and yes, ask any Texans fans there IS a rivalry with the Colts. When Ballard said it is back on that implies it was OFF does it not?I

[2006Coltsbestever]

14 minutes ago, King Colt said:

I was referring to the Browns vs. the Steelers and yes, ask any Texans fans there IS a rivalry with the Colts. When Ballard said it is back on that implies it was OFF does it not?I

He used the term "back on" because most dufus's have said it isn't a Rivalry because the Pats have beat us in the Luck era 6-0. Let me ask you this, was the Celtics/Lakers a rivalry from 1987-2007 when the Celtics won 0 Titles and LA won 5 Titles in that time frame? YES was the answer to that. In Baseball the Cardinals fans absolutely hate the Cubs. Cubs hadn't won a WS in 108 years and were/are their biggest Rival - now get my point. Now that the Cubs won 1, it is 10X

[King Colt]

37 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

He used the term "back on" because most dufus's have said it isn't a Rivalry because the Pats have beat us in the Luck era 6-0. Let me ask you this, was the Celtics/Lakers a rivalry from 1987-2007 when the Celtics won 0 Titles and LA won 5 Titles in that time frame? YES was the answer to that. In Baseball the Cardinals fans absolutely hate the Cubs. Cubs hadn't won a WS in 108 years and were/are their biggest Rival - now get my point. Now that the Cubs won 1, it is 10X

Golic & Wingo just brought this quote up and laughed like I did at it. Golic said it is a story of the hammer and the nail. He pointed out the Colts are are 0-7 vs, the Pats since 2010 with a point difference of +19.0. I guess that confirms my point.  You simply can't separate grudge and rivalry. As far as the Cards/Cubs you are wrong on that as well. Unlike the feud between the Red Sox and Yankees the Cards/Cubs fans are very, very friendly. The Red Sox fans sit on separate sides of the stadium when they play the Yankees while the Cubs & Cards all sit together. I grew up in Chicago and went to many Cards games when they came to town.

[2006Coltsbestever]

9 minutes ago, King Colt said:

Golic & Wingo just brought this quote up and laughed like I did at it. Golic said it is a story of the hammer and the nail. He pointed out the Colts are are 0-7 vs, the Pats since 2010 with a point difference of +19.0. I guess that confirms my point.  You simply can't separate grudge and rivalry. As far as the Cards/Cubs you are wrong on that as well. Unlike the feud between the Red Sox and Yankees the Cards/Cubs fans are very, very friendly. The Red Sox fans sit on separate sides of the stadium when they play the Yankees while the Cubs & Cards all sit together. I grew up in Chicago and went to many Cards games when they came to town.

I am huge Cubs fan and Cardinals fans hate us in general unless you are Jay from this Site. The rapper Nellie literally looked like he was going to die after we beat the Indians. Nellie is a lifelong Cards fan. I work with someone who is a Cards fan too and he hates the Cubs.

[Gigc]

23 hours ago, Mel Kiper's Hair said:

For those who think that Chris Ballard shouldn't have said "The rivalry is back on" , I want to ask why? Why not say it? This is sports, this is drama, this is ENTERTAINMENT. I enjoy good entertainment. I want my GM to have a pair and be willing to say bring it on New England. Now if this were politics, I would want someone more diplomatic, but this is football. Give me a guy with stones EVERYTIME!

because, as the immortal Johnny U used to point out, 'talk's cheap; let's play ball." 

it's just one more thing to get slapped around with. the only thing that matters is kickin their butt on the field. Period.

[bluephantom87]

Loved Ballard's response!!! Now it's time for him to do HIS part to ensure that it becomes a true rivalry by upping the pitiful talent level on BOTH sides of the ball. Ballard must nail the new search for hc after the high profile "snub" by one of the "Evil Empire's" own at the last second which many didn't see coming. Make sure that dotted line is signed though JUST in case. The Pats proved once again starting from the top with that always smiling Robert Kraft that the smell IS what you think it is!!

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

19 minutes ago, Gigc said:

because, as the immortal Johnny U used to point out, 'talk's cheap; let's play ball." 

it's just one more thing to get slapped around with. the only thing that matters is kickin their butt on the field. Period.

 

In 2018, that isn't the only thing that matters though. Back in Johnny U's time many players had to work jobs in the offseason. Football wasn't king of the American sports landscape. There weren't as many entertainment options. Like it or not professional sports are about more than just the actual games. If it were just about the game itself, there would be no need for stadiums with Hi-Def Jumbrotrons, Wi-Fi , Cheerleaders, and fireworks. The NFL is in the entertainment business. The drama brings in the casual fan who may have no real outside interest in the Indianapolis Colts. The only thing that matters to the old school football fan may be what takes place on the field, but for the NFL and the Colts to survive going forward there has to be more than just the game on Sunday. I'm not saying I agree with it, but that's the way that it is.

 

But if you want to look at it from an old school perspective maybe this will encourage everyone involved with the Colts franchise to "put their money where their mouth is". This could be exactly what our team needs to motivate to be more than a whipping boy on the field. 

[B~Town]

I have more faith  in Ballard now than ever he seems to be handling the situation very well . Better to know now that McDaniels is the same guy who failed as a HC not years later wasting more of Luck career . One a bright side I very much look forward to the day he turns NE into the Browns . 

 

 

 

 

 

[John Waylon]

Unpopular opinion:

 

I’m not a fan. 

 

The severe dislike for the Patriots is still there. For some it never left. For some it’s been renewed. But rivalry? Let’s reign it in. We’re the Coyote, they’re the Road Runner. We’ve lost 7 straight to them. The last time we beat them was 2009. 4th and 2. Most of the players who played in that game are no longer in the league.

 

Rivalry implies some sense of regular competitiveness. 

 

It also implies both sides seeing it that way. 

 

And I guarantee that the vast majority of the Patriots and their fans do not see us as rivals. We are a non threat and a non-issue. 

 

I remember a time on this very board where we used to make fun of the Texans and their fans for this very thing. They got so hyped up when it came time to play us. They treated it like a playoff game and as Colts fans we went “Aw, that’s cute, but kinda sad.” We never took it seriously or treated it as a rivalry despite the fact that they did. 

 

It shows that Ballard is more burnt by what happened than he lets on. If he really wasn’t concerned about what happened the way he implied, why does the rivalry need to be back on? Why wouldn’t we just go about our business as usual and worry about the ultimate goal?

 

If we want a rivalry we have to start it. And not by saying it’s on. By actually proving that we can beat them, and that they have a reason to keep us in their minds. 

 

Continuing to lose to them does not constitute a rivalry. Being a threat to them does.  

 

I appreciate the bravado and the desire to compete with them, but let’s not crown it something it’s not. We just have a renewed hate for them. 

[Coltsfan1953]

26 minutes ago, John Waylon said:

Unpopular opinion:

 

I’m not a fan. 

 

The severe dislike for the Patriots is still there. For some it never left. For some it’s been renewed. But rivalry? Let’s reign it in. We’re the Coyote, they’re the Road Runner. We’ve lost 7 straight to them. The last time we beat them was 2009. 4th and 2. Most of the players who played in that game are no longer in the league.

 

Rivalry implies some sense of regular competitiveness. 

 

It also implies both sides seeing it that way. 

 

And I guarantee that the vast majority of the Patriots and their fans do not see us as rivals. We are a non threat and a non-issue. 

 

I remember a time on this very board where we used to make fun of the Texans and their fans for this very thing. They got so hyped up when it came time to play us. They treated it like a playoff game and as Colts fans we went “Aw, that’s cute, but kinda sad.” We never took it seriously or treated it as a rivalry despite the fact that they did. 

 

It shows that Ballard is more burnt by what happened than he lets on. If he really wasn’t concerned about what happened the way he implied, why does the rivalry need to be back on? Why wouldn’t we just go about our business as usual and worry about the ultimate goal?

 

If we want a rivalry we have to start it. And not by saying it’s on. By actually proving that we can beat them, and that they have a reason to keep us in their minds. 

 

Continuing to lose to them does not constitute a rivalry. Being a threat to them does.  

 

I appreciate the bravado and the desire to compete with them, but let’s not crown it something it’s not. We just have a renewed hate for them. 

If the Colts beats NE for the next six times, would we not consider it a rivalry and NE would?

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

Funny. The NFL is now marketing this as the BIGGEST rivalry in the league. 

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000915484/article/new-and-renewed-nfl-rivalries-for-2018-coltspatriots-tops-list

[Nadine]

46 minutes ago, John Waylon said:

I appreciate the bravado and the desire to compete with them, but let’s not crown it something it’s not. We just have a renewed hate for them. 

I'm calling it #Grudge2

[2006Coltsbestever]

4 minutes ago, Mel Kiper's Hair said:

Funny. The NFL is now marketing this as the BIGGEST rivalry in the league. 

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000915484/article/new-and-renewed-nfl-rivalries-for-2018-coltspatriots-tops-list

We get Luck back, the games will begin.

[2006Coltsbestever]

21 minutes ago, Coltsfan1953 said:

If the Colts beats NE for the next six times, would we not consider it a rivalry and NE would?

It's been a rivalry since the 80's.

[P'Son]

In my opinion, all the Colts opponents are considered rivals.  What makes the * more interesting is their disgusting, trolling fan base that just can't seem to keep out of our newspapers, forums and assorted national articles.  I think they secretly wish they could abandon their miserable, liberal east coast lives and move here to Indianapolis to live in the heart of God's country.  To bad, * fans!

[2006Coltsbestever]

11 minutes ago, P'Son said:

In my opinion, all the Colts opponents are considered rivals.  What makes the * more interesting is their disgusting, trolling fan base that just can't seem to keep out of our newspapers, forums and assorted national articles.  I think they secretly wish they could abandon their miserable, liberal east coast lives and move here to Indianapolis to live in the heart of God's country.  To bad, * fans!

Really since 1995, the only 2 teams I consider a rival are the Pats and Steelers. We have been better than everyone else since the 95 season in the AFC except for Denver and Baltimore. Having said that we have owned Denver and Baltimore in head to head matchups over the last 20+ years.

[King Colt]

6 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I am huge Cubs fan and Cardinals fans hate us in general unless you are Jay from this Site. The rapper Nellie literally looked like he was going to die after we beat the Indians. Nellie is a lifelong Cards fan. I work with someone who is a Cards fan too and he hates the Cubs.

You are making things up. Sighting a rapper as a source closes this discussion. 

[John Waylon]

2 hours ago, Coltsfan1953 said:

If the Colts beats NE for the next six times, would we not consider it a rivalry and NE would?

 

They can consider it a moonshot or whatever they want. 

 

Just like when the Texans couldn’t handle us it won’t be near as important because it doesn’t present an actual threat. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

20 minutes ago, King Colt said:

You are making things up. Sighting a rapper as a source closes this discussion. 

I am not making anything up, Cards fans hate us more than any other fan base. I know I have been a Cubs fan since the early 80's

[IinD]

2 hours ago, John Waylon said:

Unpopular opinion:

 

I’m not a fan. 

 

The severe dislike for the Patriots is still there. For some it never left. For some it’s been renewed. But rivalry? Let’s reign it in. We’re the Coyote, they’re the Road Runner. We’ve lost 7 straight to them. The last time we beat them was 2009. 4th and 2. Most of the players who played in that game are no longer in the league.

 

Rivalry implies some sense of regular competitiveness. 

 

It also implies both sides seeing it that way. 

 

And I guarantee that the vast majority of the Patriots and their fans do not see us as rivals. We are a non threat and a non-issue. 

 

I remember a time on this very board where we used to make fun of the Texans and their fans for this very thing. They got so hyped up when it came time to play us. They treated it like a playoff game and as Colts fans we went “Aw, that’s cute, but kinda sad.” We never took it seriously or treated it as a rivalry despite the fact that they did. 

 

It shows that Ballard is more burnt by what happened than he lets on. If he really wasn’t concerned about what happened the way he implied, why does the rivalry need to be back on? Why wouldn’t we just go about our business as usual and worry about the ultimate goal?

 

If we want a rivalry we have to start it. And not by saying it’s on. By actually proving that we can beat them, and that they have a reason to keep us in their minds. 

 

Continuing to lose to them does not constitute a rivalry. Being a threat to them does.  

 

I appreciate the bravado and the desire to compete with them, but let’s not crown it something it’s not. We just have a renewed hate for them. 

I liked the 'swag' aspect of it, but I also thought the same thing. It's not really a rivalry at all lately. They've curb stomped us lately.

[coltsva]

There are rivalries, and there are

one-sided rivalries. Currently, Colts/Patriots is the latter. Hopefully, it soon becomes the former. But I’d still call it a rivalry. 

[BloodyChamp]

Well played Ballard. I hope Luck comes back and tears them up.

[chrisfarley]