Ballard is a genius

[Lef]

I love his discipline and how he is building this team for the long term. He is very calculated. It will take another year or two but his style is how teams remain contenders for years. Best young GM in the league and the rewards will manifest in the near future.

 

Love the journey that we are on as colt fans. Go Colts!

 

 

[CR91]

We still have some work to do especially at RT, CB, and Pass Rush

[Jaredfor3]

1 minute ago, CR91 said:

We still have some work to do especially at RT, CB, and Pass Rush

And WR

[Flash7]

I think we should stay neutral on this. If we can’t say that Ballard is a BUST, then we certainly cannot say he’s a genius. Let’s be neutral.

 

Let’s wait to see how this plays out.

[CR91]

1 minute ago, Jaredfor3 said:

And WR

 

im a fan of Rogers. Just needs to stay healthy

[Shadow_Creek]

18 minutes ago, Lef said:

I love his discipline and how he is building this team for the long term. He is very calculated. It will take another year or two but his style is how teams remain contenders for years. Best young GM in the league and the rewards will manifest in the near future.

 

Love the journey that we are on as colt fans. Go Colts!

 

 

i'm not expecting much this year but i'm really hoping we go defense heavy next year along with the addition of another RB, RT and Wr

[Scott Pennock]

I do like the direction, the fortitude and the discipline and I do believe in the process - but genius has not been earned yet. As a poster said, lets stick a bit more in the middle!

[P'Son]

Prove it.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

31 minutes ago, Lef said:

I love his discipline and how he is building this team for the long term. He is very calculated. It will take another year or two but his style is how teams remain contenders for years. Best young GM in the league and the rewards will manifest in the near future.

 

Love the journey that we are on as colt fans. Go Colts!

 

 

 

Lol

[Coltsman1788]

37 minutes ago, Lef said:

I love his discipline and how he is building this team for the long term. He is very calculated. It will take another year or two but his style is how teams remain contenders for years. Best young GM in the league and the rewards will manifest in the near future.

 

Love the journey that we are on as colt fans. Go Colts!

 

 

He also almost hired Josh McDaniels.  Thank God fate intervened.  Go easy on the premature genius labels.  He has a solid plan but the jury is still out on if he can execute it successfully.

[Mr.Debonair]

16 minutes ago, P'Son said:

Prove it.

Thank you! People so happy for Grigson to be gone that they are just blindly loving everything Ballard does

[LockeDown]

 He said best young GM.  Definitely make a case for that.  

[NewColtsFan]

52 minutes ago, Coltsman1788 said:

He also almost hired Josh McDaniels.  Thank God fate intervened.  Go easy on the premature genius labels.  He has a solid plan but the jury is still out on if he can execute it successfully.

 

You're not the only poster to say this.    And for the life of me,  I don't understand why anyone here is holding the McDaniels fiasco against anyone other than Josh McDaniels.    He is the only person who did anything wrong. 

 

Not Chris Ballard.

 

McDaniels was the number one HC candidate this off-season.     Thought to be the next Sean McVey or Kyle Shannahan.    JM could've gone to any team he wanted and Ballard went after him and got him to agree to terms.    No one in football thinks Ballard did anything wrong.    They think McDaneis did.  

 

Almost hiring McDaneils should be viewed as a good thing on Ballard's resume,  not a bad thing.   Yes, it sucks the way things went down,  but none of that is Ballard's fault.   It's all on McDaneils.  

 

[NewColtsFan]

2 hours ago, Lef said:

I love his discipline and how he is building this team for the long term. He is very calculated. It will take another year or two but his style is how teams remain contenders for years. Best young GM in the league and the rewards will manifest in the near future.

 

Love the journey that we are on as colt fans. Go Colts!

 

 

 

I consider myself as big an admirer of Chris Ballard as anyone on this website.    Love the guy.

 

Think the Colts are heading in the right direction.    

 

But I'm not ready to anoint him a "genius".     It's way too soon.     Need I remind everyone that most everyone thought Grigson was a genius at this same point in his tenure. (2013).    Things can change fast in the NFL.

 

I'm impressed with Ballard's vision and plan.   I'm impressed with his incredible discipline.   I'm impressed that he appears completely oblivous to all the white noise that flies around in the NFL.  

 

But genius?     We have to see some results on the field first.    Otherwise,  talk is cheap.    We need to deliver on the field. and this season is going to be challenging.

 

[IinD]

If they don't go huge in FA next year and jump into the top 10 in terms of overall good teams, then I'll start to wonder if Ballard is the right guy.

 

They must have a plan with the psychotic amount of cap they'll have next year.

 

If his vision was to create solid young depth across the board and then go big in FA while being a little frugal his first two years, then I might start thinking genius.

[tvturner]

Ballard can't fix an entire roster that's been plagued with bad talent, washed up players, and failed draftees in 2 years

 

He's done excellent so far

[GusFring]

I wanted Mack, but u give up multiple 1s when you're 1 player away.  Bears will still finish last in the division. But now they dont have 1s for 2yrs. 

[Surge89]

1 hour ago, IinD said:

If they don't go huge in FA next year and jump into the top 10 in terms of overall good teams, then I'll start to wonder if Ballard is the right guy.

 

They must have a plan with the psychotic amount of cap they'll have next year.

 

If his vision was to create solid young depth across the board and then go big in FA while being a little frugal his first two years, then I might start thinking genius.

This is exactly how I'm approaching it. I'm not ready to label him anything. 

 

I love his vision and his plan and the things he says but the execution has been lackluster and seemingly with a lack of foresight. I'm hoping that it is I that lacks the foresight and he creates a contender by next year but we will see. 

[Peterk2011]

3 hours ago, Coltsman1788 said:

He also almost hired Josh McDaniels.  Thank God fate intervened.  Go easy on the premature genius labels.  He has a solid plan but the jury is still out on if he can execute it successfully.

 

Bill Polian didn't want Tony Dungy, it was also an 'accidental hire. Sometimes you have to be lucky to be good.

 

(Altough I have more question marks regarding our new coaching staff, than regarding Ballard. Ballard - though not perfect .. but who is - seems to be on track. Reich, Eberflus, the new offensive & defensive scheme are big. big question marks yet. Especially, the defense. I can see it ultimately be a huge success, but I can also see it flop completely. We have to wait probably a year or two to judge the defense, but regarding the offense, the moment of truth will come soon. That multiple, fast paced offense sounds very promising, but it's just a promise yet. We will see how much of it converts on to the field.)

[ReMeDy]

Five years from now, if we look back on this topic, I wonder if "genius" is how we will still describe him, or will it be some other word...

[Lef]

OK, genius may be too bold of a word to use at this point in his gm campaign. I think he is very calculated and disciplined in his building of the team and am a big supporter of his style. Hopefully the genius word will be appropriate in the future. 

[i am yoda]

4 hours ago, Surge89 said:

This is exactly how I'm approaching it. I'm not ready to label him anything. 

 

I love his vision and his plan and the things he says but the execution has been lackluster and seemingly with a lack of foresight. I'm hoping that it is I that lacks the foresight and he creates a contender by next year but we will see. 

 

More realistically, I think the roster is 2 years away from playoff/division contention.  AND I'm unsure if he has a strong enough partner in Frank Reich.  It helps a GM tremendously to have a coach with a strong vision of the kinds of players he's looking for to build a team.

[jskinnz]

4 hours ago, Surge89 said:

This is exactly how I'm approaching it. I'm not ready to label him anything. 

 

I love his vision and his plan and the things he says but the execution has been lackluster and seemingly with a lack of foresight. I'm hoping that it is I that lacks the foresight and he creates a contender by next year but we will see. 

 

I am so confused.

[masterlock]

7 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

You're not the only poster to say this.    And for the life of me,  I don't understand why anyone here is holding the McDaniels fiasco against anyone other than Josh McDaniels.    He is the only person who did anything wrong. 

 

Not Chris Ballard.

 

McDaniels was the number one HC candidate this off-season.     Thought to be the next Sean McVey or Kyle Shannahan.    JM could've gone to any team he wanted and Ballard went after him and got him to agree to terms.    No one in football thinks Ballard did anything wrong.    They think McDaneis did.  

 

Almost hiring McDaneils should be viewed as a good thing on Ballard's resume,  not a bad thing.   Yes, it sucks the way things went down,  but none of that is Ballard's fault.   It's all on McDaneils.  

 

 

Disagree. Every year, there's a coaching favorite who's hyped, and last year it was McDaniels. Add me to the list of people who never liked the dude. What was there to like? The fact that he fizzled out in Denver with an 8-8 record, with half the team hating/not respecting him? Or was it all the success he had with New England which cannot be separated from the fact that Bill Belichick is the HC and Tom Brady as QB? And as I alluded to earlier, there were plenty of red flags when it came to character. Of course, all these criticisms and concerns were ultimately vindicated when he reneged. The fact that none of this was apparent to Ballard, to me IS concerning. It reflects on his ability to judge character and other important predictors of success.

[csmopar]

6 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I consider myself as big an admirer of Chris Ballard as anyone on this website.    Love the guy.

 

Think the Colts are heading in the right direction.    

 

But I'm not ready to anoint him a "genius".     It's way too soon.     Need I remind everyone that most everyone thought Grigson was a genius at this same point in his tenure. (2013).    Things can change fast in the NFL.

 

I'm impressed with Ballard's vision and plan.   I'm impressed with his incredible discipline.   I'm impressed that he appears completely oblivous to all the white noise that flies around in the NFL.  

 

But genius?     We have to see some results on the field first.    Otherwise,  talk is cheap.    We need to deliver on the field. and this season is going to be challenging.

 

Agreed

[smittywerb]

6 hours ago, IinD said:

If they don't go huge in FA next year and jump into the top 10 in terms of overall good teams, then I'll start to wonder if Ballard is the right guy.

 

 

You're setting yourself up to be disappointed.  This isn't that type of rebuild.  And tbh, I wouldn't want that type of rebuild.  We need to get more young future studs in place before we can start throwing money into FA.  If there's that good talent that will not break the bank, that's ok.  But spending our cap just because we have it is a sure fire way to become the Dolphins.

[cdgacoltsfan]

9 hours ago, Lef said:

I love his discipline and how he is building this team for the long term. He is very calculated. It will take another year or two but his style is how teams remain contenders for years. Best young GM in the league and the rewards will manifest in the near future.

 

Love the journey that we are on as colt fans. Go Colts!

 

 

He sure is! We have caught up with the Browns and we will have the number one pick for years to come. Not many could have pulled that off.

[Coltsman1788]

7 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

You're not the only poster to say this.    And for the life of me,  I don't understand why anyone here is holding the McDaniels fiasco against anyone other than Josh McDaniels.    He is the only person who did anything wrong. 

 

Not Chris Ballard.

 

McDaniels was the number one HC candidate this off-season.     Thought to be the next Sean McVey or Kyle Shannahan.    JM could've gone to any team he wanted and Ballard went after him and got him to agree to terms.    No one in football thinks Ballard did anything wrong.    They think McDaneis did.  

 

Almost hiring McDaneils should be viewed as a good thing on Ballard's resume,  not a bad thing.   Yes, it sucks the way things went down,  but none of that is Ballard's fault.   It's all on McDaneils.  

 

Not everyone was drinking the Josh McDaniels kool aid that most of the media and even NFL front office personnel were drinking.  One of the Indy Star writers (I forget which one now) was against the hire of McDaniels from the outset and wrote several pieces warning of his red flags. Several players from his Denver team gave less than glowing critiques of him as a head coach.  Then there was his track record and limited experience as a head coach and the fact that he never achieved any success away from Belichick and Brady in New England.  There were even reports that he was mimicking his master Belichick in the art of spygating while coaching the Broncos.  

 

Many fans on this forum saw character red flags all over Josh McDaniels and wanted no parts of him.  Some were on the fence and eventually enticed by the oversold narrative that he was the next wonder boy because of his “offensive genius”.  They imagined him with Andrew Luck and started to dream.  Thus they held their nose and welcomed the notion of hiring this man as coach once it became apparent that Chris Ballard too was buying the kool aid.  He was ultimately hood winked and bamboozled along with the throng of professionals, media and fans that believed in Josh McDaniels.

 

 But not everyone was fooled.  Some were exclaiming that there were too many red flags.  No one could know what McDaniels would ultimately do.  But there were enough signs that he was not the right man for this franchise.  Several fans here saw that. Some were more vocal than others and somewhat ostracized for their views.   Chris Ballard did not see it and fortunately, ironically was saved by  McDaniel’s dubious character from leading us off a cliff.

 

 Sometimes the road less traveled is the best one.  People thought Ballard was different from the rest.  That he was somehow smarter but even he was fooled.  

 

I brought Mc Daniels up not to bash Ballard per se or even to blame him but as a retort to the poster labeling him as a genius prematurely.  He isn’t that and is capable of being blinded just like any of us when we want something bad enough.  The good news is Ballard strikes me as someone who can learn from his mistakes and grow from them. 

[Cynjin]

I assume this thread is in response to the other equally dumb thread about Ballard.  Why doesn't everyone let things play out BEFORE they draw conclusions.  

 

No less than 2 years is not long enough to draw any conclusions.

[MikeCurtis]

4 hours ago, ReMeDy said:

Five years from now, if we look back on this topic, I wonder if "genius" is how we will still describe him, or will it be some other word...

Great point

 

I am in the "middle" on Ballard

 

He REALLY hasn't accomplished ANYTHING yet

 

He doesnt deserve the "genius" title as of Sept 2018, IMHO, nor does he

deserve the "failure" title that some folks want to assign him

 

This is a work in progress, that is EASILY measured in wins and losses (over a few years)

 

Not last year, not this year...........  (but 2019 season...... we should start to see some true

impact)

 

Its still WAY TOO early to assign success or failure

 

He has drafted some folks who I THINK will be good in the long run

 

He has laid an egg or two (Banner, McDaniels, etc),.......  but EVERYONE that actually DOES ANYTHING in life will fail at some point.

 

He seems to have a plan... and he follows it... This is a change!

 

I had a manager, early on in my career, that stated,

 

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail..................  in life or sports

 

Some of the fundamentals that I see that I like, that SHOULD produce an improving team... if the goal is to get better every year, we will have a championship team at some point

 

1) Building a correct culture

 

- Have you noticed that you don't see public whining and griping from Colts players?

- Have you noticed that you don't see DUIs, and other infractions from this Colts team?

- Do you see ANY public personality of ME-First on this team?

- Every time I see a Colts player interviewed, you can see a passion.

  (This is the starting point of the correct culture to build)

 

He is trying to build a team of "team first" players.  ...... I'm sure it wont be perfect

(I am glad there werent cameras on me 100% of the time when I was 22)

 

2) Patiently building a young team

 

There were players that I wished that we would have brought in via FA

What I dont see from Dallas Texas, is how well these FAs fit our culture, in Indy

 

A Me-first attitude, by a leading player, can infect and kill a roster

 

I have to trust CB

 

If he builds this team, with the goal to get a little better every year,

the odds of us having a successful team...... FOR A LONG PERIOD of time would appear

to be higher.

 

I would MUCH rather have a team that is good for a longer amount of time, rather than a 

multi rebuild mode that some teams seem to be in

 

Lastly, sorry for the book.......... 

 

Last point

 

In business, I have set up many teams , over multiple geographic locations, over my career........ I ALWAYS had more success with team members that were "home grown"  (internally developed) vs hiring a SUPERSTAR..........  

 

The SUPERSTARS were many times, HR nightmares, and ultimately left my team for 10% $ more.... (Me-first) from another organization

 

I think we are on a good path.....

 

CB hasn't had enough time to be labeled.........    But the man is working a plan

 

 

 

[needanoline63]

He cut most of our best defensive players . I really wanted to keep Anderson! I’m skeptical still

[Surge89]

2 hours ago, jskinnz said:

 

I am so confused.

 

Could have worded it better but I mean in what he says I love his vision. But in his actions it seems there is no foresight.  Shouldn't post when I'm near sleep.

[DougDew]

In the late 1970s, there was a TV show called WKRP in Cincinnati.  It was about an AM radio station that switched formats from a older-school style to playing modern rock n roll.  It was a comedy, with a cast of characters.

 

The manager of the station, Andy Travis, was a young smart up and comer who piloted the format change.  After their first year of the change, the station moved up in ratings from like 28th to 14th.  Everyone was estatic, except Travis.  He said, that the results were not a good sign of anything because "the format change alone" brought the success, not necessarily anything he did as the general manager.

 

The Colts have labored with outdated offensive and defensive schemes for years, and switching the offense to a quicker paced format is something many fans here have been wanting for about three years. 

 

The format change alone should create success compared to previous years. 

 

I don't see where CB is a genius at this point for simply recognizing the obvious and doing away with the old schemes and changing to the schemes that have had recent success.  So far, he has simply shown to not be incompetent, and should ride the success of the scheme change for a few more wins next season and the next.

 

Obviously, the players retained will fit the scheme change, and they will look better than the previous players simply because of that, but lets see what happens when the scheme change seasons a bit and we have to start churning players within the scheme and see how well we upgrade some positions without regressing in others.

 

As far as Josh.  It was a bad hire from the beginning.  And more than that, the Colts bungled the announcement, which CB even admitted to.  I believe they made an unofficial/official release that Josh was hired before he actually was.

[SOMDColtsfan]

Stink big or go home! Not much difference in odor from a 3-13 record to a 6-10..follow the Jacksonville mould and pick early top 5 for about 5 years and rise to the top. 

[Crunked]

I don't know that I can give Ballard genius status yet. Although he exudes a confidence that "there is a plan" and "everything will be alright" ....which is a good thing, as we appeared rudderless in years past. Some of his moves I look at with the head tilt of the family pet. Hankins release, Anderson trade, Simon cut, not going after FA O line aggressively enough....a couple of his draft picks.........look its too early to pass judgment on all those things, I am just looking at some of those moves and thinking, I am not sure that was a good idea, and it puts him on one side of the fence or the other (and time will tell which side) for now, as a fan, I am giving him some slack to win or lose my support......but in a situation where we are void of talent defensively, I would hang on to the players I have that can contribute until I can acquire there scheme fit replacements....Maybe we have, I haven't seen evidence of it yet, again time will tell.

[throwing BBZ]

11 hours ago, Lef said:

I love his discipline and how he is building this team for the long term. He is very calculated. It will take another year or two but his style is how teams remain contenders for years. Best young GM in the league and the rewards will manifest in the near future.

 

Love the journey that we are on as colt fans. Go Colt!

 

 

When Irsay hired the guy he said he was prepared for a couple tough seasons.
The Plan is simple and clear and D-olts here struggle with the reality of it. 
 What a surprise.

May the football gods deliver us a top 5 2019 draft pick and we add our Julio, Donald like Great player. We still need a bunch of excellent prospects on Rookie contracts. Plain & Simple

[ColtStrong2013]

26 minutes ago, Crunked said:

I don't know that I can give Ballard genius status yet. Although he exudes a confidence that "there is a plan" and "everything will be alright" ....which is a good thing, as we appeared rudderless in years past. Some of his moves I look at with the head tilt of the family pet. Hankins release, Anderson trade, Simon cut, not going after FA O line aggressively enough....a couple of his draft picks.........look its too early to pass judgment on all those things, I am just looking at some of those moves and thinking, I am not sure that was a good idea, and it puts him on one side of the fence or the other (and time will tell which side) for now, as a fan, I am giving him some slack to win or lose my support......but in a situation where we are void of talent defensively, I would hang on to the players I have that can contribute until I can acquire there scheme fit replacements....Maybe we have, I haven't seen evidence of it yet, again time will tell.

Which team is Hankins on? Nor did he want to be here after the change...

 

Anderson was never going to fit with this defense. Ever. He wasn't the same after his injury either. 

 

What did you prefer Ballard do in FA with the o-line? Throw a higher record amount at Norwell? He brought in Slauson (a very solid player) and what happened to be a bust in Howard, which wasnt expected by anyone.... and he went into the draft with a higher priority on offensive line than anyone possibly ever in draft history. 

 

I am just amazed people on here revert to these moves as if they were bad questionable decisions. They were solid moves. Simon is interesting to me because he was a playmaker. But he's injury prone and doesnt fit. It was him or Delaire as the odd man out. It makes sense when you look at it that way. He isn't going to "hang on" to anybody. He's going to try and develop the talent and potential that is on this roster, just as he said he was going to. 

[bananabucket]

This blind faith in the face of dumb decisions is pretty funny. 

 

I'm not giving up on him yet but he sure is piling up the head scratchers.

[Peterk2011]

3 hours ago, Coltsman1788 said:

I brought Mc Daniels up not to bash Ballard per se or even to blame him but as a retort to the poster labeling him as a genius prematurely.  He isn’t that and is capable of being blinded just like any of us when we want something bad enough.  The good news is Ballard strikes me as someone who can learn from his mistakes and grow from them. 

 

Geniuses do make mistakes too ;) I'm not saying Ballard is genius, but being flawless in decision making is not a requirement to be one.

 

Other than that, I agree with you. Ballard looks to be a guy, who has a knack for scouting talents, finding useful pieces in the dirt, and also a sense of making good businesses. Plus, he treats people around him the right way. At least so far. We will see how the story continues.

 

I am more worried about the coaching staff right now. I like Reich, I am on his bandwagon. But ... at the same time I am a bit scared too. First, I am not a big fan of tampa 2 (this is an understatement, lol ), and "bend but not break", because in my experience it is more often "bend, then break" than not. And I want to see that "multiple attack, up-tempo offense", before I get too excited. I hope it will be as good as it sounds...

[dodsworth]

Mad scientist applies as a label better than genius at this point.

In Ballard I trust.