Serious Question Regarding Ballard.

[bleevit]

I believe it speaks to the integrity of the Colts' organization that once they determined Hankins didn't fit the new 4-3 scheme they released him soon enough to easily find another job. I am eager to see who is available at 6 and sincerely looking forward to the 2nd round.

[bluephantom87]

2 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Oh Dear God......    

 

Another clueless drama queen.   How many can one website have?  

 

Really?! I thought more highly of you than that NCF. I am FAR from clueless when it comes to the game of football. That's what makes these forums cool you never know who's on the other side of the keyboard. Take you for instance and your media background who knew but does that mean you're all knowing? I tend to think not ESPECIALLY considering you were one of the MAIN ones who made every EXCUSE for the previous regime so I expect nothing less from you with your NEW bff Ballard. You are consistent. My opinion is based on what I see so far from Ballard and I didn't even touch on the hiring of assistants for a hc that wasn't even under contract yet. Bill Polian stated at the time it was a BIG no no and one of the BASIC fundamentals is get you're guy signed FIRST!!! 

 

I can act like a little kid and call you names too or say let's settle it at the gym but that's childish. Although some on this board make you want to go there NOT because of their opinions but because of the stupid name calling in which if seen in person probably wouldn't say it anyway. I made a post on another topic and you came at me in a similar fashion which I ignored now I'm wondering what gives NCF? Everyone is NOT going to be all in on Ballard or some of his moves to this point. The way I see it of the many marginal guys that Ballard did bring in the few that showed something he let walk.

 

I stand by my post and stated the reasons why I felt that way. I didn't make up how the team finished nor did I have anything to do with their subpar stats nor talent level in which Ballard had a hand in because he flipped half the roster. I know this is not a quick fix but his lack of any type of urgency will make this a 4yr project and that's concerning to me. Everyone under the sun predicted that the Colts would trade down to acquire more picks considering that from day one Ballard has talked about building through the draft and the team has MANY needs so the trade with the Jets wasn't surprising nor does it hide the fact that some of his moves or non moves have been puzzling to say the least. I will say again he can have ALL the picks he wants BUT unless he's nailing the draft this team will become the "new" Browns sooner than  you think.

[Mr.NotSoCreative]

Who is it that keeps saying thay we are so defficient in talent, with holes everywhere, and we need a major rebuild? Is that coming from Ballard? Or the media and ourselves? If it is coming from Ballard he is telling his guys they arent good and I would have a problem with that. You dont go around telling your team you stink. As for his "plan", we need to see how it plays out, and come fall judge then.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

7 minutes ago, Mr.NotSoCreative said:

Who is it that keeps saying thay we are so defficient in talent, with holes everywhere, and we need a major rebuild? Is that coming from Ballard? Or the media and ourselves? If it is coming from Ballard he is telling his guys they arent good and I would have a problem with that. You dont go around telling your team you stink. As for his "plan", we need to see how it plays out, and come fall judge then.

...and  he's responsible for bringing them here...I think I read he's flipped half the roster.... Our best players are still from last regime, Luck, TY, Doyle, Kelley, Constanzo.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

50 minutes ago, bluephantom87 said:

 

Really?! I thought more highly of you than that NCF. I am FAR from clueless when it comes to the game of football. That's what makes these forums cool you never know who's on the other side of the keyboard. Take you for instance and your media background who knew but does that mean you're all knowing? I tend to think not ESPECIALLY considering you were one of the MAIN ones who made every EXCUSE for the previous regime so I expect nothing less from you with your NEW bff Ballard. You are consistent. My opinion is based on what I see so far from Ballard and I didn't even touch on the hiring of assistants for a hc that wasn't even under contract yet. Bill Polian stated at the time it was a BIG no no and one of the BASIC fundamentals is get you're guy signed FIRST!!! 

 

I can act like a little kid and call you names too or say let's settle it at the gym but that's childish. Although some on this board make you want to go there NOT because of their opinions but because of the stupid name calling in which if seen in person probably wouldn't say it anyway. I made a post on another topic and you came at me in a similar fashion which I ignored now I'm wondering what gives NCF? Everyone is NOT going to be all in on Ballard or some of his moves to this point. The way I see it of the many marginal guys that Ballard did bring in the few that showed something he let walk.

 

I stand by my post and stated the reasons why I felt that way. I didn't make up how the team finished nor did I have anything to do with their subpar stats nor talent level in which Ballard had a hand in because he flipped half the roster. I know this is not a quick fix but his lack of any type of urgency will make this a 4yr project and that's concerning to me. Everyone under the sun predicted that the Colts would trade down to acquire more picks considering that from day one Ballard has talked about building through the draft and the team has MANY needs so the trade with the Jets wasn't surprising nor does it hide the fact that some of his moves or non moves have been puzzling to say the least. I will say again he can have ALL the picks he wants BUT unless he's nailing the draft this team will become the "new" Browns sooner than  you think.

Man, I think I'm going to jave to start calling you 'hammer' 'caus you keep nailing these threads. Lol

[richard pallo]

4 hours ago, Four2itus said:

 

To the bolded, I disagree totally. 

He moved quickly on the trade today thank God.  But he has been too slow in FA. He let all the top OL slip through our fingers because his analysis of what he thinks overpaying is.  Does he consider all FA's mid tier. You can overpay for mid tier players but you have to pay the market value or even set the the new bar for the top FA's therefore the loss of Norwell.  If you target a top tier FA  then you have to pay if you're serious.  If your up against it with the cap that could have an effect but when you're flush with space there really isn't an excuse. You just set the new bar and move on and be happy.  Every year the bar is raised regardless. 

[crazycolt1]

2 hours ago, richard pallo said:

He moved quickly on the trade today thank God.  But he has been too slow in FA. He let all the top OL slip through our fingers because his analysis of what he thinks overpaying is.  Does he consider all FA's mid tier. You can overpay for mid tier players but you have to pay the market value or even set the the new bar for the top FA's therefore the loss of Norwell.  If you target a top tier FA  then you have to pay if you're serious.  If your up against it with the cap that could have an effect but when you're flush with space there really isn't an excuse. You just set the new bar and move on and be happy.  Every year the bar is raised regardless. 

Just how do you know what Ballard offered Norwell? He may have matched or even offered more but Norwell went with another team.

He said before all of this started he was not going to use free agency to build this team. He has shown exactly that.

Going into this season the goal is to make the Colts a better team. His goal is the long goal just as Irsay wanted. He is not looking at next year. He is looking into the future.

[richard pallo]

2 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Just how do you know what Ballard offered Norwell? He may have matched or even offered more but Norwell went with another team.

He said before all of this started he was not going to use free agency to build this team. He has shown exactly that.

Going into this season the goal is to make the Colts a better team. His goal is the long goal just as Irsay wanted. He is not looking at next year. He is looking into the future.

That's obvious.  There is nothing you can do if they don't want to come here.  No one wants to build the team through FA alone that's obvious too.  But you can supplement the draft with quality young starters who have many years ahead of them.  There is nothing wrong with using FA's that can plug a hole especially when you have the money.  Norwell, Jensen, Pugh, Fulton gone.   Our OL is not looking good right now and that should be our top priority.  It's not over so we will probably add a couple of linemen.  Maybe we can find another Vuj.  BTW you can also trade picks for a player and we have quite a few 2nd.rd. picks now.  We know Ballard is not afraid to trade.  That wouldn't shock me either. 

[MacDee1975]

19 hours ago, DarkSuperman said:

If we learned anything from today it's that Chris Ballard is as stubborn as they come and he doesn't give in to other peoples demands. But after the dust settled I started to sit and ponder if this is something that could eventually hurt Ballard and the Colts chances of landing future free agents. We all know free agency works and it can easily make or break a team rather quickly. Is anyone else on here worried that if Chris Ballard continues to bring guys in here and one by one they continue to walk and sign elsewhere that eventually both agents and players won't even bother coming to Indianapolis because of Ballard?

 

Also, Ballard didn't push the envelope with a few offensive linemen who visited the Colts this week.  He brought in good players who fill our biggest need right now and that is to protect Andrew Luck. You have the money but you stick to your guns and allow them all to walk but the last offseason he signed Hankins to a three year $30 million dollars deal? Hankins is a solid player but he wasn't anything to brag about. So does he value the defensive lineman more than the offensive? I dunno. I have no idea but I sincerely hope this guy can make enough positive changes to make me feel at least a little bit better sending Luck back on the field next season.

 

Would love to hear what some of you think about all of this as maybe someone can shed a little light on what Ballard's logic is.

 

 

I didn't learn this.

 

I have no idea if Ballard is stubborn.  I've never met him.

[MacDee1975]

11 hours ago, aaron11 said:

not an over reaction

 

we had the worst team in the division and we are getting worse

 

No, we didn't.  The Texans had the worse team in the division.  

 

We beat them twice and finished above them in the standings.  

[TheMarine]

Never throw bad money at bad contracts for mediocre players. The start of free agency is rife with that. Never worth. 

[Alex22]

19 hours ago, DarkSuperman said:

If we learned anything from today it's that Chris Ballard is as stubborn as they come and he doesn't give in to other peoples demands. But after the dust settled I started to sit and ponder if this is something that could eventually hurt Ballard and the Colts chances of landing future free agents. We all know free agency works and it can easily make or break a team rather quickly. Is anyone else on here worried that if Chris Ballard continues to bring guys in here and one by one they continue to walk and sign elsewhere that eventually both agents and players won't even bother coming to Indianapolis because of Ballard?

 

Also, Ballard didn't push the envelope with a few offensive linemen who visited the Colts this week.  He brought in good players who fill our biggest need right now and that is to protect Andrew Luck. You have the money but you stick to your guns and allow them all to walk but the last offseason he signed Hankins to a three year $30 million dollars deal? Hankins is a solid player but he wasn't anything to brag about. So does he value the defensive lineman more than the offensive? I dunno. I have no idea but I sincerely hope this guy can make enough positive changes to make me feel at least a little bit better sending Luck back on the field next season.

 

Would love to hear what some of you think about all of this as maybe someone can shed a little light on what Ballard's logic is.

 

 

This is just nonsense. There weren’t any great players in free agency that could take us to the super bowl.

 

Hankins is just a fat man in middle and an odd man out in the Tampa 2. 

 

We have 4 picks in the top 50 who could even be more talented than the free agency pool. 

 

Id much rather have young draft picks than free agents who want record contracts. 

 

Free agency should be used used to sign depth players and for competition unless their is an exceptional talent which there wasn’t this year.

 

overall I think In the end chris Ballard will build a really good team and have us in the Super Bowl again. 

 

Just be patient with him.

[Farns01]

12 minutes ago, TheMarine said:

Never throw bad money at bad contracts for mediocre players. The start of free agency is rife with that. Never worth. 

 

Throwing starter money at journeyman players is the Grigson principle. 

 

[reidaj1812]

11 hours ago, aaron11 said:

not an over reaction

 

we had the worst team in the division and we are getting worse

I agree with this

CB has only open more holds in our D. the 3 better players on our D was loss to fa or let go Melvin Hankins and Mingo.

the one thing Ballard should have done this off season was fixing the OL and the fa were there for the taking at least get one of the good ones (so what if you overpay)  we need to protect Luck

the good FA will not sign with the colts because of this (we need somebody like Peyton Manning) in our system to help draw some FA in.

I see for next year our D will be worst and the O will be horrible and Luck will be on IR again.

and if this happens CB should be let go or be in a different role next season 

[crazycolt1]

47 minutes ago, CanuckColt said:

No kidding!

Let's just let the man do his job for a while.....jeez!

 

Exactly.  If anyone thought this was going to be easy and a quick turnaround they are not seeing the reality of what is going on.

Starting at the ground with a whole new coaching staff all the way to players who want to be football players for the Colts.

How we can deal with it is up to each individual. 

I chose not to be so impatient.  

 

[superrep1967]

15 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Irsay is not going to fire Ballard no matter what is done in this up coming draft. With a whole new coaching staff it's just not going to happen.

Irsay, like the rest of us are just going to wait it out. 

Making 25 threads of over reactions is not going to change anything.

I agree it's a waiting game a long waiting game but I guess that's how it goes in a rebuild. I have no doubts this team has a bright future but it's going to be a long wait in the process. 

[superrep1967]

I mean it's hard enough waiting for this season to start let alone waiting until 2019 to start and thereafter. 

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, superrep1967 said:

I mean it's hard enough waiting for this season to start let alone waiting until 2019 to start and thereafter. 

Yes it is but that is the reality of it. There is no instant gratification in rebuilding.

[Dark Superman]

What am I going to wake up to tomorrow? Luck traded?

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, DarkSuperman said:

What am I going to wake up to tomorrow? Luck traded?

Personally I don't think so but it has been said it's not about one player.

That may be to drawing line for Irsay if it even comes down as a suggestion?

[horseshoecrabs]

Oh the sky is falling! Sounds like an episode of twilight zone where all the neighbors suspected everyone as being an alien from another planet 

[The Oopty Oop]

His logic has been the same since Day 1. He isn't gonna pay for someone who's overrated. Hankins and Woods graded out about the same except Woods is getting paid change compared to Hankins...he's gotta go. Guys like Jensen becoming highest paid center? Vomit. And we wanted him to pay that? I'm darn proud Ballard sticks to his words, it makes listening to him speak that much more exciting knowing it's not hot garbage spewing out like most of the league! 

[aaron11]

12 hours ago, MacDee1975 said:

 

No, we didn't.  The Texans had the worse team in the division.  

 

We beat them twice and finished above them in the standings.  

texans are better at full health. that was in response to someone that said we would have made the playoffs if luck played

 

well if everyone is at full health the colts do have the worst roster

[aaron11]

18 hours ago, strt182 said:

Because todays world is a NOW NOW NOW world. 

luck wont be around forever

[aaron11]

20 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Horse dung. Had Luck been on the field not only would we have made the playoffs we more than likely would have won the division.

the colts would have been better  with luck, but the texans would have been better still with watson and jj watt healthy

 

if every team is at full health the colts do have the worst roster and its not close.

[crazycolt1]

14 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

the colts would have been better  with luck, but the texans would have been better still with watson and jj watt healthy

 

if every team is at full health the colts do have the worst roster and its not close.

Well they wasn't at full strength were they?  The Colts had how many starters on IR ? OH, that's right 11 out of 22.

[GoColtsWin]

On 3/17/2018 at 10:43 AM, aaron11 said:

we cant stop their running game

This we have never seemed to be able to accomplish. Granted, Fred Taylor was no slouch in his time(big fan of him), but we made him look Canton worthy every time he played us for the most part. Ditto for Jones-Drew. 

[crazycolt1]

1 hour ago, aaron11 said:

luck wont be around forever

Ballard has said it's not about one player and that includes Luck.

Ballard is building for the future, not this year.

You want quick wins? It's not happening.

[aaron11]

8 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Ballard has said it's not about one player and that includes Luck.

Ballard is building for the future, not this year.

You want quick wins? It's not happening.

i want to win before luck retires 

[aaron11]

13 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Well they wasn't at full strength were they?  The Colts had how many starters on IR ? OH, that's right 11 out of 22.

i know but the texans actually have a really good team when at full health.  luckily for us they never seem to be there

 

we need more than luck to compete in a division that is suddenly good, and we do have the worst roster by far.  we have not gotten any better this off season either while others have

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, aaron11 said:

i want to win before luck retires 

Well somehow I don't think Ballard is worried to much about what you want.

He is starting from scratch. You either have to be patient  or not.

I seem to remember our hall of fame GM took 9 years to get a ring in Indy with Manning.

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, aaron11 said:

i know but the texans actually have a really good team when at full health.  luckily for us they never seem to be there

 

we need more than luck to compete in a division that is suddenly good, and we do have the worst roster by far.  we have not gotten any better this off season either while others have

So? That is what happens when your team rebuilds.  You might as well get off the instant gratification wagon now.

[aaron11]

19 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Well somehow I don't think Ballard is worried to much about what you want.

He is starting from scratch. You either have to be patient  or not.

I seem to remember our hall of fame GM took 9 years to get a ring in Indy with Manning.

this is what we do on message boards. talk about gms when we know they dont give a flying * about us

 

ballard needs to make something happen or he wont be around forever either!  its on him to not waste the rest of lucks career, and luck is the more important of the two by far  

[aaron11]

1 minute ago, crazycolt1 said:

So? That is what happens when your team rebuilds.  You might as well get off the instant gratification wagon now.

im like this because i dont expect luck to play until 40.  we are in real danger of wasting the rest of his career

 

i know ballard says its not about one player, but if we dont get better soon it wont be about him anymore either.  it will be about the next gm 

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, aaron11 said:

this is what we do on message boards. talk about gms when we know they dont give a flying #### about us

 

ballard needs to make something happen or he wont be around forever either!  its on him to not waste the rest of lucks career, and luck is the more important of the two by far  

Really?  Luck is one player. Ballard has said a few times the Colts were not about one player.

What part of rebuilding don't you understand?

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

im like this because i dont expect luck to play until 40.  we are in real danger of wasting the rest of his career

 

i know ballard says its not about one player, but if we dont get better soon it wont be about him anymore either.  it will be about the next gm 

You don't know Irsay very well do you?

[bluephantom87]

11 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I don't even know where to begin?

 

This is going to be a lost response....    so, buckle up,  it's going to be long bumpy ride for you!

 

But I'll tell you that this is almost entirely an opinion piece.   There are almost no facts,  and the facts that are here are twisted by you.     You clearly have an agenda and that's what this ridiculous rant is about.    Your agenda.   Almost every sentence here is wrong or ridiculous.

 

So, for example...   Ballard becomes a GM at the age of 43 and you use that as a negative.    Look at the all the young head coaches,  why didn't Ballard get a job sooner?     So to you, this was a red flag.    Except it shows your ignorance.    You don't compare HC jobs to GM jobs.    They're not the same!     Hello?     Do you know how many GM's under 40 there are?      One.      Do you know how few one is?     One is exactly one more than ZERO!   All the other GM's are in their 40's,  50's and 60's.     So, Ballard gettting the job at 43 is a great accomplishment despite your pitiful attempt at trying to imply he's incompetent is wrong.  

 

So, for example....   You say Ballard is my new BFF and you try to make it seem like it's wrong because I once supported Grigson and Pagano.   Guess what?     I had to start supporting them after the 2013 season.   Several posters asked why the Colts weren't in the Super Bowl yet.    Two years.    Then, after the next season,  people started calling for their firing.    After a better 2014 than 2013, so we were improving,  people called for their firing.

 

At this point is when I started calling fans here passionate,  but spoiled,  uneducated and ignorant.    And they were,  and they still are.     I stopped supporting Grigson at the end of the 2014 season because of too many misses in FA and the draft.   Irsay was going to fire one or the other,  and instead he extended both.  And when we reached the end of 2015,  I again said I was OK if we moved on from them.    And Irsay fired Grigson and kept Pagano.    I had to defend the idea of a HC who had never had a losing season in his 5-years.    I had no problem with that then,  and I still had no problem with that.     You're the right guy right up until the moment you're not.    So, Grigson and Pagano were the right guy right up until the moment that they weren't.    It was time for them to go and they went.    I had zero complaints.

 

I trust Chris Ballard because he's given me no reason not to.  The 4-12 mess of last season was due to the roster mess that he inherited from Grigson, plus the loss of Andrew Luck.    

And everyone knows it, except for people here who only know they don't like Ballard.   I tire of people who may love football,  but are clueless how it works.   They know they're happy when the Colts win and are looking for someone --- anyone --- to blame.    So Chris Ballard is the guy in the cross hair now.

 

And the reason why we didn't do more to address the line last year is two-fold.   One,  the previous year we had spent FOUR of our draft picks on the OL and we had to give them time to see what they were.   There was input from Joe Philbin.    Do you remember that Jim Irsay publicly proclaimed the OL is fixed,  I promise!    Do you remember that?    Plus,  it was an historically bad class for OL in the draft.    Then everything went wrong and it sucks for us and we're back to trying to fix it.    But there were good, solid, reasonable reasons for not doing more last year.   This was talked about extensively last year.     Apparently you've forgotten all that.   Hmmm?    Not at all surprising.

 

You say you think you see Ballard as a stubborn guy that is going to turn players off and they won't come here.    You say that because that's what YOU think.   So you project that as a reasonable view and every other reasonable person must also agree with that.    Except for the part where it's complete nonsense.    Ballard signed 10 players in his first FA class.    And he'll wind up signing more.    No, this year's group won't be the sexy names you were hoping for.  But they won't hurt the team  and if they don't pan out,  Ballard can trim them and sign new guys.    But this idea that players will never want to come here is complete nonsense based on your ignorance and lack of understanding.

 

Ballard didn't like the prices the top players were going for.   So, ultimately he was only willing to go so high.  It takes incredible discipline and guts to hold your to your vision.    By the way,  Irsay is on board with this.    If he wasn't he could have easily said....   "Throw a few more million at Norwell.   Throw another year and more millions at Hitchens.  Throw more at Jensen.    He could've done that.    But he didn't.    What does that tell you.

 

Your anti-Ballard agenda is so transparent,  that you've now tried to make Josh McDaniels out to be the reasonable person in leaving the Colts at the end.    It's Chris Ballard's fault.   According to you,  McDaniels decided he didn't like the things that YOU don't like so he's not to blame leaving us.    It's ALL Chris Ballard's fault.    It's that kind of transparency that shows your true intentions here.    It's complete nonsense -- again.    And do you know who said that?   Bill Polian. 

 

And one of the things he cited was that McDaniels talked to and recruited these assistant coaches and then left them at the alter.   THAT was the thing that Polian talked about.    You either heard it wrong, or twisted it in your mind.  Those assistants were signed with McDaniels approval and he personally spoke to ALL OF THEM.    So, it's not on Chris Ballard,  it's on McDaniels.   And Tony Dungy said the exact same thing.

 

You even tried to turn today's masterful trade into nothing,  a no-brainer.   "Everyone knew we were going to make a trade...."     Like it was nothing.    Like any 20 year old could've done it.  You're just working so hard on downplaying the things that Ballard has done right,  and blowing up the things you think he's done wrong.    You've made it way too obvious.

 

Congrats....   these are only a few examples.   But as a professional writer,  I think this is one of the 10 worst things I've read here in my nearly six years as a member.    And that takes some doing!     You're in the top-10 of our little Hall of Shame of Nonsense!   

 

Let me roll my sleeves up for this one. I CLEARLY stated that the post was MY opinion just like your long response is YOURS!!!! I have NO personal agenda against Ballard. As a matter of fact I hope he can turn this thing around for the Colt's sake and especially for a talent like Luck. I didn't base my EARLY thoughts on the much "hyped" Ballard off his hiring alone. He now has a full season including a so so draft under his belt that garnered mixed reviews. As Ballard heads into his second season, I say let's pump the brakes a little. This is a forum right? A place to talk about Colt's football, the direction of the team etc.  To speak of someone's ignorance as it relates to football is amusing especially to me. Anyway let's break this down...

 

You said Ballard being hired as gm at 43 is a great accomplishment that I spun as a negative. I will tell you that getting any gm job in the NFL is a huge accomplishment in itself BUT Ballard is closer to 50. (born in 1969) So if you're preaching about FACTS, the minimum you can do is have yours correct!!! The point I was trying to make was that Ballard (who some think can do no wrong) has been around nearly 20 yrs and this was his first gm job. I ask again why? Does he rub some the wrong way? Maybe. I don't know and didn't state it as a fact because I DON'T KNOW HIM PERSONALLY just speculation. Same with McDaniels. Just my speculation on a message board but who cares because I LOVE that the Colts hired Frank Reich instead. Let's not forget it was reported that Irsay had to step in on that hire because Ballard wanted Dan Campbell. 

 

I saw and heard everything Bill Polian said. Beside what you stated Polian like Dungy did put most of the blame on McDaniels but Bill ALSO said assistants should not have been signed until your hc has signed his contract to avoid that type of situation. Josh bailing at the last second was dirty but it was Ballard who signed his staff AND announced the hiring BEFORE McDaniels even signed his contract. That is a fact. I didn't make it up.

 

Your point about the 2014 season and fans wanting the duo fired after IMPROVING from 2013. I remember that year also and what some were saying. Some looked at it as a mirage for a team that was in a woeful division and caught some breaks in the playoffs to make it to the AFCCG. A closer look revealed that against the top contenders that season they were blown out with lopsided losses a trend that I believe started the season before. So some could see the train starting to go off course as the division started showing life and as Luck started taking more big shots.

 

You can use the excuse all you want about what Ballard inherited but the fact remains the handful of its BEST players are Grigson holdovers. You can make the excuse about the o-line last season and even what Irsay said but from what some saw the year they were drafted it was clear that some looked suspect besides Kelly. We thought after last preseason that offense with Scott Tolzien and the woeful o-line would be terrible. They justified their play giving up a league high 56 sacks and forcing a last second trade for Brissett at qb. Ballard focused on the defense with marginal players that went out and finished NEAR the BOTTOM of the league in most of the major defensive categories. That's a FACT. Look up the numbers. Same for the offense but of course Luck was out and we all know that you can't POSSIBLY win any games with a backup qb.

 

So no I'm not that impressed with Ballard so far but that does not mean I won't change my mind. I look across the landscape at John Lynch for the Niners and Jon Robison for the Titans who both came in around the same time as first time gms and I see the needle moving. Even more amazing is how Lynch has flipped the Niners so quickly with no front office experience. 

 

[aaron11]

1 minute ago, crazycolt1 said:

Really?  Luck is one player. Ballard has said a few times the Colts were not about one player.

What part of rebuilding don't you understand?

i dont like that we are only building through the draft now.  thats the point of my rant

 

we let two of our good players walk and brought in essentially no one, while the division got better around us

 

luck could be gone by the time ballards draft picks pan out if they ever do, and thats why i hate this strategy 

[aaron11]

its not just all about luck, we do need to put a team around him

 

we also need to not waste his career, if ballard blows that then he is not a good gm 

[crazycolt1]

4 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

i dont like that we are only building through the draft now.  thats the point of my rant

 

we let two of our good players walk and brought in essentially no one, while the division got better around us

 

luck could be gone by the time ballards draft picks pan out if they ever do, and thats why i hate this strategy 

Well you might as well get used to it.

It should have been done years ago and Irsay finally realized it.