Chris Ballard’s Message to Fans

[TKnight24]

 

[compuls1v3]

For some reason I just like Chris Ballard's presence.  Maybe I'm naive.  But I hope my intuition is right about him.

[Superman]

2 hours ago, compuls1v3 said:

For some reason I just like Chris Ballard's presence.  Maybe I'm naive.  But I hope my intuition is right about him.

 

He has a great presence, if you ask me. This 20 second video is a good example of it, like he just gets how to engage with the fans and the media. He's likable, outgoing, gregarious, seems to shoot straight, doesn't make excuses, etc. The way he handled the presser after the McDaniels treachery was top notch, IMO, and not just the 'rivalry' comment. Even better than that was huddling with the beat writers after the draft to sell his players. He just gets it.

 

That said, having a great presence doesn't make him a great GM. Time will tell whether he can draft, whether he has an eye for talent, how he handles free agency, etc. I have no great complaints about how he's handling player acquisition so far, but he definitely hasn't been perfect. A couple years down the line we'll have a much better idea of whether he's a good GM. But it's easy to see why he was so highly regarded around the league. 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

3 hours ago, compuls1v3 said:

For some reason I just like Chris Ballard's presence.  Maybe I'm naive.  But I hope my intuition is right about him.

Ballard has a great presence, it's off the charts. Just like everything else about him.

[TheMarine]

I think we need... 5 years to see what kinda GM that Ballard is. Just watched the documentary about the 1995 Browns, real perspective on what it took to start build what became the 2000 Ravens.

Way too soon look at 2017 Draft
Hooker: When on the Field, A+
Wilson: Incomplete. Flashes, something (himself?) holding him back
Basham: Incomplete. Was playing out of position last year
Banner: F
Mack: C+. See how he does with an O-Line and a healthy shoulder
Grover Stewart: C. Currently listed as a backup/rotation player. Good value in 4th round
Nate Hairston: C: still on rooster, contributing
Anthony Walker: C: Slated currently as starting MLB due to injury, still contributing

Worst case, 2 F's and 1 A+ Playmaker, the rest solid contributors at minimum (Mack non withstanding)
 

This years draft class was IMO even better
Nelson: All arrows point to stud
Leonard: Listed as a Starter
Braden Smith: Great interior depth at minimum, is slotted into RT to fill for injury
Turay: Listed as Starter
Hines: Friggin swiss army knife, obvious contributor in camp
Cain: Cant stop hearing great things

And all the others have flashed at times. While these guys have yet to appear against real competition, at the least they're contributing early. It just seemed like the years of Grigs, many 2-7th round picks were backups to vets

[Jackie Daytona]

Good post.  Couple of things I might not be on the same wavelength with, but pretty spot on otherwise, in my opinion.  

 

1. - Hairston - 5th round pick who starts in the slot all season long is a C?  I'd say solid B for a fringe starter in round 5

 

2. - Anthony Walker a C?  he's our starter at MLB, not because of injury though.  Due to a lack of talent? maybe, but even then, a  starter at MLB going into year 2 out of your other 5th round pick..... seems solid.

[southwest1]

Like many have already said about Ballard in the past, Chris has a proven track record of winning in Kansas City, he's a straight shooter meaning what you see is what you get: Consistency; and he knows building a Championship contending roster takes to construct & gel. 

 

I just love his authenticity. He owns his mistakes & he has a very genuine laugh when you throw a question his way that he didn't expect. Hard to believe he worked with Barry Alvarez at UW-Madison & he has nothing but glowing terms regarding his working relationship there. I'm not the President of Barry's fan club & I will never be as a Badger Alumni myself. 

 

I will concede though that perhaps working so closely with Alvarez showed Ballard a different side of the Athletic Director than most of the student body saw outside of the Football Dept. Enough said. 

[Four2itus]

3 hours ago, Shafty138 said:

Good post.  Couple of things I might not be on the same wavelength with, but pretty spot on otherwise, in my opinion.  

 

1. - Hairston - 5th round pick who starts in the slot all season long is a C?  I'd say solid B for a fringe starter in round 5

 

2. - Anthony Walker a C?  he's our starter at MLB, not because of injury though.  Due to a lack of talent? maybe, but even then, a  starter at MLB going into year 2 out of your other 5th round pick..... seems solid.

I agree with you, and add that Mack deserves more than a C+. We'll see why this season. 

[lollygagger8]

Ballard is my GM!

[Lawrence Owen]

Polar opposite of Grigson personality wise.  Outgoing, personable, 'jeans&tee-shirt' kind of guy who is very public on what he says/does.

I buy what he teaches, Build a 'home grown' team, starting from the inside out.  I even get him not spending excess $$ on FA's.  You'd need that $$ in the long haul resigning your own players.

But that is where the 'yet -to-be-seen' comes in.  For him to resign homegrown players, he has to draft well.  Like others say, it'll take a couple more years to be able to really pin down how good of a drafter he really is.  

[dodsworth]

It's early to make a solid judgement on Ballard's skills at GM yet, but he

has a lot of good qualities in check so far.

 

1. Emphasis on building from the lines out.

2. Control of salary cap.

3. Not overpaying for mediocre veteran talent.

4. Bringing in a 'move the chains' mentality of coaching staff. 

5. Not poo pooing the defensive side of the ball.

 

It appears this draft was a home run but his first draft seems a bit 

mediocre so we can't check that box quite yet.

 

Although it's early yet, he has a lot of good qualities of a very good GM.

[TheMarine]

11 hours ago, Four2itus said:

I agree with you, and add that Mack deserves more than a C+. We'll see why this season. 

 

I want to grade higher, but until we see how he runs this year with his shoulder being in place, I wouldnt give more credit

 

I gave Hariston a C for now, as he's limited potential wise IMO, but he's still contributing esp. as you noted in the slot. Value will rise/fall based on what we see when they're on the field

[Pacergeek]

Hooker as an A+ seems a bit high. Not a large enough sample size to warrant this grade

[NannyMcafee]

I have zero complaints with Ballard so far. But I want t see the end of season two with the current coaching staff. Everything “seems” legit. We will see. The Colts have an opportunity to have one of the only elite QBs in the league. Brady and Brees will be retired before long. Followed by Rogers at some point. 

 

Leaving who to stop Andrew? 

 

Ryan? Stafford? Newton? 

 

The only QB I see giving Andrew any issues is Rogers. 

[Jackie Daytona]

39 minutes ago, Pacergeek said:

Hooker as an A+ seems a bit high. Not a large enough sample size to warrant this grade

Yeah, considering his body of work was limited, a B+ or maybe an A seem more fitting.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

2 hours ago, NannyMcafee said:

I have zero complaints with Ballard so far. But I want t see the end of season two with the current coaching staff. Everything “seems” legit. We will see. The Colts have an opportunity to have one of the only elite QBs in the league. Brady and Brees will be retired before long. Followed by Rogers at some point. 

 

Leaving who to stop Andrew? 

 

A lot of good young QBs in the league... in AFC South Mariotta and Watson have both shown flashes of brilliance early in their career.  Carson Wentz was a legit MVP candidate before injury for the Eagles.  Jimmy Garapalo looks like an absolute stud.  Then there were 4 QBs taken in the top 10.  

 

I agree with you, if Luck is fully healthy, he should be an elite QB this year and it will be a great feeling when Brady retires.  Hopefully Andrew has another 8-10 (or more) years left in him to perform as an elite guy, but there is a lot of young QB talent spread across the league.

[NannyMcafee]

11 minutes ago, ColtsFanMikeC said:

 

A lot of good young QBs in the league... in AFC South Mariotta and Watson have both shown flashes of brilliance early in their career.  Carson Wentz was a legit MVP candidate before injury for the Eagles.  Jimmy Garapalo looks like an absolute stud.  Then there were 4 QBs taken in the top 10.  

 

I agree with you, if Luck is fully healthy, he should be an elite QB this year and it will be a great feeling when Brady retires.  Hopefully Andrew has another 8-10 (or more) years left in him to perform as an elite guy, but there is a lot of young QB talent spread across the league.

 

Completely agree. But most of these young guys have only had one good year. When they string along a few good seasons I’ll take them seriously. But until then there isn’t any competition. 

[ColtsFanMikeC]

Just now, NannyMcafee said:

 

Completely agree. But most of these young guys have only had one good year. When they string along a few good seasons I’ll take them seriously. But until then there isn’t any competition. 

 

Yea, certainly need more than 1 good year to be considered elite.  However, I expect at least a few of them to have strung together a few good seasons by the time Brees, Brady, Big Ben, Rogers, etc. all retire.

[NannyMcafee]

7 minutes ago, ColtsFanMikeC said:

 

Yea, certainly need more than 1 good year to be considered elite.  However, I expect at least a few of them to have strung together a few good seasons by the time Brees, Brady, Big Ben, Rogers, etc. all retire.

 

I hope so cuz I love a good rivalry!

[stitches]

14 hours ago, Pacergeek said:

Hooker as an A+ seems a bit high. Not a large enough sample size to warrant this grade

But Wilson on smaller sample is enough to be pronounced as a bust? 

[Cynjin]

1 hour ago, stitches said:

But Wilson on smaller sample is enough to be pronounced as a bust? 

 

Apparently,  @Pacergeek only goes to the extreme in a negative direction.