Again I will say, Ballard is not impressing me

[K-148]

48 minutes ago, Flash7 said:

Wins and losses are how GMs are measured.

 

Sure, we gotta give them time, but Ballard does not have a good W-L record. It needs to improve.

 

If you’re losing while Andrew Luck is your QB, you haven’t built a good team. Ballard does need to improve the overall talent of the team.

 

For 2019, we have a ton of cap space and many draft picks. For me, next year is his true test. If he can’t field a winning team next year, then I’d really start to question him.

Sorry, but Andrew was not Ballard's QB for 2017 season. Brissett was. Is it ok for GM to lose with Brissett?

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, threeflight said:

Nope nope nope.  If Bellichick and NE can bring a guy, a guy with a huge amount of talent and who flashed that tonight, into the organization?

 

Then certainly the Colts should not be thumbing their noses at a talent like that.

Consider tonight.  Gordon caught a TD pass that turned the game around, and we had a WR...pascal, who dropped a pass that turned the game around.

 

REVERSE the situation and we may have won.

 

That is on Ballard.

Nope nope nope?  No it's dope dope dope.  I don't care that Ballard didn't sign anyone who is mentally weak.

 

[K-148]

54 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

his first draft was bad, the second looks pretty good

 

hooker- meh, offenses avoid throwing deep around him and hes been invisible.  wilson bad, basham bad,  mack always hurt

Second year player after ACL and MCL injuries his first (lost) year... Position in need for speed... Nice timing to say "meh".

[Flash7]

Just now, K-148 said:

Sorry, but Andrew was not Ballard's QB for 2017 season. Brissett was. Is it ok for GM to lose with Brissett?

Of course he wasn’t the QB in 2017.

 

You can forgive a GM for not winning with Brissett, a QB that joined the team weeks into the season.

 

[K-148]

Just now, Flash7 said:

Of course he wasn’t the QB in 2017.

 

You can forgive a GM for not winning with Brissett, a QB that joined the team weeks into the season.

 

So Ballard is losing only 4 games. One of them was one Doyle's fumble away from a win. Look, 3 games is not even a statistic...

[aaron11]

Just now, K-148 said:

Second year player after ACL and MCL injuries his first (lost) year... Position in need for speed... Nice timing to say "meh".

i dont actually think he is bad, but the rest of the draft was.  he doesnt bring a lot of value against a qb like brady who wont ever test him deep either 

[threeflight]

4 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

i dont actually think he is bad, but the rest of the draft was.  he doesnt bring a lot of value against a qb like brady who wont ever test him deep either 

His two first round picks so far were a safety who plays 30 yards off the LOS and a guard.

 

Game changers they are not.  

[ColtV]

1 minute ago, aaron11 said:

i dont actually think he is bad, but the rest of the draft was.  he doesnt bring a lot of value against a qb like brady who wont ever test him deep either 

I have to concur. Malik gets the benefit of the doubt so far, but to get so little impact in year 2 is really concerning.

 

My frustrations are certainly magnified due to a bad loss, really the Colts first bad loss of the season, but the Jets game is now a must win. 

[threeflight]

I just feel really bad for Luck.  Great guy.  Better teammate.  Awesome player.

 

He got screwed over with a terrible coach in Pags.  I don't think Grigson was THAT bad.  Not great, but not as bad as Pags.

 

Now he is getting screwed over by a GM who is too cocky to bring in talent around Luck because they aren't 'his guys'.

 

Nonsense.

 

If he had even brought in a couple of talents?  We very easily could be 4-0 and most likely 3-1. 

 

Instead Luck is playing with guys names Pascal.

[threeflight]

15 minutes ago, ColtV said:

I have to concur. Malik gets the benefit of the doubt so far, but to get so little impact in year 2 is really concerning.

 

My frustrations are certainly magnified due to a bad loss, really the Colts first bad loss of the season, but the Jets game is now a must win. 

You have high first round picks?  You get game changers. Not a safety and a guard.

 

I see a ton of people trying to justify Nelson and make him seem better than he is, but I watch him.  He has very few plays where he dominates his opponent. Many times he gets beaten.  Most of the time he plays to a standstill.  Nothing super impressive.  I also notice he seems to get tired very very easily.  Watch him after a play.  He always looks completely gassed walking back to the huddle.

 

I don't know what is playing weight was in college compared to now, but I wonder if the coaches made him put in weight once he got to the NFL.  He just looks 'blobby' to me.   Not the athlete I saw in college.

[#12.]

I was thinking about the offense we put out there tonight.  Has anyone on that offense started, played 16 games, a full season, with Luck?

 

Hines - no

Wilkins - no

Rogers - no

Grant - no

Pascal - no

Ebron - no

Clark - no

Nelson  - no

Kelly - no

Slauson - no

Smith - no

 

In nearly every case, it's just a few games.  Kelly would be the most with 13 or so.  Hell, a majority of them only have a handful of NFL starts, period. 

 

When you think about it like that, Luck and the offense have performed pretty admirably the past 6 quarters.  We need an infusion of talent, yes, but we also need some experience and stability.

 

 

 

 

[NewColtsFan]

1 hour ago, threeflight said:

So far I have seen him bungle the QB and coach situation last year, have what is turning out to be a TERRIBLE draft last year, do next to  nothing in FA the last 2 years despite having more money than Soros, and now....this years draft is turning out to be middling at best (drafting a guard that early was pointless for example), and he has completely FAILED at helping Luck with offensive help.  

 

We have a plethora of average RBs, and our Wrs, even with Hilton, are below average.  Due to injuries Luck has Ebron as his # 1 target.

 

Cmon.

 

Either he is totally tanking this year, or he has no idea what he is doing.  Either way....I don't like it.

 

Again I say...     you don’t seem to know or understand what Ballard is doing.

 

He’s not even halfway through a 3-year rebuild.   We’re not supposed to win games like this.    We’re not ready to win games like this. 

 

As for Josh Gordon, the two ideograms are no where near each other.   Belichick has a long established culture.   He can afford to gamble on someone like Gordon.   Ballard has said repeatedly he’s waiting a little longer before he brings some like Hirdon into his locker room.  So look for that to happen around 2020.   Ballard wants to build and establish a strong culture before he brings in questionable pieces for big money.

 

There’s nothing to stop you from taking a break and checking back in around 2020.    The team will be better next year.   But it will be much better by the year after...  2020.    You’ll be happy then.   But odds are you won’t be happy until then...   so why torture yourself?

 

Life is too short...   be happy.

 

[Jackie Daytona]

Not an excuse for last year's draft, but do keep in mind, the awkwardness of those picks, while not directly Pagano's fault, might be partially attributed to Ballard having to rely on the existing scouting staff at short notice..... Ballard and Pagano's guys, Jimmy Raye, et all had evaluated that years draft for over a year, Ballard got hired, had some of his own opinions sure, but likely focused on tons of differing guys when with the chiefs the year prior.... also, Chris is one man, he had to rely on scouting directors and on down, who were old holdovers..... he fired most of those guys immediately following the draft, if I recall correctly......

[aaron11]

7 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Again I say...     you don’t seem to know or understand what Ballard is doing.

 

He’s not even halfway through a 3-year rebuild.   We’re not supposed to win games like this.    We’re not ready to win games like this. 

 

As for Josh Gordon, the two ideograms are no where near each other.   Belichick has a long established culture.   He can afford to gamble on someone like Gordon.   Ballard has said repeatedly he’s waiting a little longer before he brings some like Hirdon into his locker room.  So look for that to happen around 2020.   Ballard wants to build and establish a strong culture before he brings in questionable pieces for big money.

 

There’s nothing to stop you from taking a break and checking back in around 2020.    The team will be better next year.   But it will be much better by the year after...  2020.    You’ll be happy then.   But odds are you won’t be happy until then...   so why torture yourself?

 

Life is too short...   be happy.

 

its just frustrating because we are wasting a surprisingly good year by luck with a bad team around him.  i hope hes still around when the the roster catches up

 

2 minutes ago, Shafty138 said:

Not an excuse for last year's draft, but do keep in mind, the awkwardness of those picks, while not directly Pagano's fault, might be partially attributed to Ballard having to rely on the existing scouting staff at short notice..... Ballard and Pagano's guys, Jimmy Raye, et all had evaluated that years draft for over a year, Ballard got hired, had some of his own opinions sure, but likely focused on tons of differing guys when with the chiefs the year prior.... also, Chris is one man, he had to rely on scouting directors and on down, who were old holdovers..... he fired most of those guys immediately following the draft, if I recall correctly......

chuck had to give some input on draft picks, and apparently it sucked lol

[Steamboat_Shaun]

Our practice squad gave the Pats a little bit of a scare tonight in Foxboro. I’d say we’ve come a long way since the 45-7 AFCCG curb stomping.

[Tsarquise]

5 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

Our practice squad gave the Pats a little bit of a scare tonight in Foxboro. I’d say we’ve come a long way since the 45-7 AFCCG curb stomping.

But we were actually in the AFCCG...

[aaron11]

7 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

Our practice squad gave the Pats a little bit of a scare tonight in Foxboro. I’d say we’ve come a long way since the 45-7 AFCCG curb stomping.

that patriots team had a top 5 defense 

[Zoltan]

I'd say calm down with the hate, we are going through another transition year (which sucks since we literally are having back to back transition years). I think we got the right Coach and the right DC, I mean transitioning from 3-4 to 4-3 wasn't easy but they are doing surprisingly well thanks to Leonard and a couple other playmakers.

 

As for last years draft picks, Hooker still isn't 100%, but still is a good player just less playmaking then last year, Hairston was a good pick, Wilson and Basham were bad picks but no GM hits on every guy. Not to mention that after that first draft Ballard fired a lot of guys and brought in his own Front office peeps, so I think this year is a better look at his draft ability than the first.

 

Although we need another WR for this year

[Steamboat_Shaun]

20 minutes ago, Tsarquise said:

But we were actually in the AFCCG...

 

Did you think we were gonna make a deep playoff run this year?

[Four2itus]

Ballard is impressing me. Some of the fanbase...however...is not. 

[Four2itus]

2 hours ago, MPStack said:

Ballard can’t fix everything in less than two seasons. Patience!

 

2 hours ago, runthepost said:

You expected a superbowl contender in year 2 of a rebuild? Lol patience. Philly was terrible during Doug first year then made that leap the next year.

 

2 hours ago, love the shoe said:

Give the man time , I see a lot of improvement , you cant do it all in one year, another good draft and some fa and we will be there 

 

 

2 hours ago, ColtsAC said:

I like this year's draft. Thought the trade paid good dividends. That's what I want out of a GM....and assembling a good staff like Reich and the DC..Eberflus(sp?)

 

55 minutes ago, #12. said:

I was thinking about the offense we put out there tonight.  Has anyone on that offense started, played 16 games, a full season, with Luck?

 

Hines - no

Wilkins - no

Rogers - no

Grant - no

Pascal - no

Ebron - no

Clark - no

Nelson  - no

Kelly - no

Slauson - no

Smith - no

 

In nearly every case, it's just a few games.  Kelly would be the most with 13 or so.  Hell, a majority of them only have a handful of NFL starts, period. 

 

When you think about it like that, Luck and the offense have performed pretty admirably the past 6 quarters.  We need an infusion of talent, yes, but we also need some experience and stability.

 

 

 

 

 

53 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Again I say...     you don’t seem to know or understand what Ballard is doing.

 

He’s not even halfway through a 3-year rebuild.   We’re not supposed to win games like this.    We’re not ready to win games like this. 

 

As for Josh Gordon, the two ideograms are no where near each other.   Belichick has a long established culture.   He can afford to gamble on someone like Gordon.   Ballard has said repeatedly he’s waiting a little longer before he brings some like Hirdon into his locker room.  So look for that to happen around 2020.   Ballard wants to build and establish a strong culture before he brings in questionable pieces for big money.

 

There’s nothing to stop you from taking a break and checking back in around 2020.    The team will be better next year.   But it will be much better by the year after...  2020.    You’ll be happy then.   But odds are you won’t be happy until then...   so why torture yourself?

 

Life is too short...   be happy.

 

 

40 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

Our practice squad gave the Pats a little bit of a scare tonight in Foxboro. I’d say we’ve come a long way since the 45-7 AFCCG curb stomping.

I seriously thought of not coming here tonight. You folks, those I quoted, made it worth it. Thank you for seeing the truth of things. Read these folks...there is wisdom here...

[NewColtsFan]

53 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

its just frustrating because we are wasting a surprisingly good year by luck with a bad team around him.  i hope hes still around when the the roster catches up

 

chuck had to give some input on draft picks, and apparently it sucked lol

 

Not only is there ZERO proof of that....   but the very idea that Ballard made picks heavily influenced by Pagano who he knew he was going to fire in a year....   and that those picks wouldn't fit his program,  his scheme,  is counter intuitive in the extreme.

 

It makes no sense.    Ballard picked guys for 2017 and 18 and 19 and beyond...

 

If they work out or not,  it has no bearing on Chuck Pagano.    Good or bad,  this is ALL Chris Ballard.

[esmort]

29 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Not only is there ZERO proof of that....   but the very idea that Ballard made picks heavily influenced by Pagano who he knew he was going to fire in a year....   and that those picks wouldn't fit his program,  his scheme,  is counter intuitive in the extreme.

 

It makes no sense.    Ballard picked guys for 2017 and 18 and 19 and beyond...

 

If they work out or not,  it has no bearing on Chuck Pagano.    Good or bad,  this is ALL Chris Ballard.

 

I don't think it's unreasonable to think there is a possibility that Pagano and company had some input in the draft. 

[NewColtsFan]

Just now, esmort said:

 

I don't think it's unreasonable to think there is a possibility that Pagano and company had some input in the draft. 

 

Some input,  sure.    Not unreasonable at all.

 

But if you look at some of the comments,  they begin to go off the rails.

 

The class is struggling and fans here think it's because Pagano picked so therefore they SUCK!

 

At some point,  it's just silly nonsense.

 

Draft Capital,  aka DRAFT PICKS, is the single most important asset Chris Ballard has.    He didn't pick guys in 17 that he didn't thing could play in 18, 19 and 20....    He didn't pick guys exclusively for Chuck Pagano.    

 

I appreciate that frustration is running high....    but at some point,  the conspiracy theories have to go away....

 

[K-148]

FS is not a game changer position?! Really?! Ronnie Lott, Ed Reed, Earl Thomas were/are not game changers because they are free safeties? Whoa... If Hooker is forcing opposing QBs stay away, he IS a game changer. And he's playing position requires speed less than 1 year from tearing both ACL&MCL!

Nelson is not impressive because he "doesn't dominate" DLs?! So he has to "dominate" J.J. Watt (11th pick 2011), Jadeveon Clowney (1st pick 2014), Whitney Mercilus (26th pick 2012), Fletcher Cox (12th pick 2012), Derek Barnett (14th pick 2017), Brandon Graham (13th pick 2010), Ryan Kerrigan (16th pick 2011), Daron Payne (18th pick 2018), Jonathan Allen (17th pick 2017), Malcom Brown (32th pick 2015), Danny Shelton (12th pick 2015), Geno Atlins, Carlos Dunlap... Hell, these are elite seasoned vets, even top-10 rookie guard can't "dominate" them!

Everyone can be a game changer. Even Vujnovich was a game changer, just not in a good way. Pretty average Wilkins has 6,5 yards per carry against Patriots. That's more than 2 yards more their average. And his best run was to the left.

[DaveA1102]

3 hours ago, threeflight said:

Two first round picks....early picks.  You have Hooker and Nelson.  Not exactly game changers.

 

You need game changers to win in the nfl.  Other than Luck....and Hilton, and maybe Leonard down the line, we dont have them.

 

Last years draft looks worse and worse.  

 

3 hours ago, threeflight said:

If I'm Gm?  I spend money on OL free agents first of all.  That is priority number 1.

 

I then spend money on a WR. Even with him blowing it last off season by doing nothing other than Grant... I absolutely bring in Gordon for example.  That is a total win/win can't lose situation.  He didn't even make an effort.  Gordon would be huge with Luck.  Instead we have.....no one.

 

 

 

Post 1: Why pick an Offensive Linemen so early in the draft, they make no difference!

 

Post 2: If I was GM I would pay £15m a year as priority number 1 for offensive linemen who's team don't want them any more.

 

[DaveA1102]

2 hours ago, ColtV said:

I have to concur. Malik gets the benefit of the doubt so far, but to get so little impact in year 2 is really concerning.

 

My frustrations are certainly magnified due to a bad loss, really the Colts first bad loss of the season, but the Jets game is now a must win. 

 

I don't pretend to be a film junkie, but how many times have we been beaten over the top, even with backup CB's in there?  It has been quite rare and I believe a lot of that is down to Hooker covering a lot of the field and QB's not wanting to test him.

 

That in itself brings a lot of value.

 

Our defense is built on "bend don't break" and Hooker is a key part of that ability to not be broken.

 

Just because he isn't averaging an interception a game doesn't mean he is not playing well.

[Yoshinator]

Just watched the game finally as I had previously watched the Rockies and Braves lose in the NLDS (real fun start), and this game wasn't as horrible as I thought in some cases. Look at Ryan Tannehill last week Vs the Pats in Foxboro. His stat line was something like 100 yds, a fumble and a INT. Now look at Luck's with nobody receivers and you'll see how hard he tried. 39/59 365 3 TD's and 2 INT's. Not too bad at all. 

 

I do agree that our 2017 draft class has been pretty bad for the most part, but I will also agree that Ballard didn't have his own scouts at the time. He couldn't have as he just got hired months before the draft, after the combines and pro days begun, and he didn't have time to get all new scouts to derive new info from a whole new class of kids. I'm willing to somewhat give him a pass as the his 2018 class is miles ahead of where the 2017 is right now. Even some of the guys who aren't lighting it up, have an injury excuse (Cain and Lewis). 

 

Anyway, Ballard gets another year from me. Next year Ballard gets an extra 2nd to finish off the Jets trade, and an extra 4th from a compensatory pick. We'll go 2 out of 3 and truly see if knows what he's doing. Also, he should spend money in FA next year as well, so we'll see a big uptick in talent. I hate telling everyone here to wait a year of their life to see this team turned around, but that's how the puzzle fits in this case in both the draft and FA. Wait one more year before judging Ballard, if we have similar results, then judging him will be justified if he can't do something about it with another big draft and the most cap space in the NFL.

[K-148]

Patriots are great not because they draft or sign free agents well. They are great because they are fast to admit they draft or sign free agents bad. Ballard waiving Basham gives me a lot of hope.

Let's compare 2017 draft of Colts and Patriots. Patiots had 4 picks, 2 of them are already gone (Antonio Garcia and Conor McDermott). They keep Rivers (13 snaps all season = 4.9%) and Wise (126 snaps = 47,2%). That's it. Only 50% still with the team just as backups or rotation.

BTW, Patriots spent 1st and 3rd round pick for 1 season Brandin Cooks rental and 2nd round pick on Kony Ealy... just to cut him after preseason!

We keep Hooker, Wilson (NFL), Mack, Stewart, Hairston, Walker (was injured his rookie season also). 2 sure starters (Hooker, Walker), 3 quality depth (Mack, Stewart, Hairston). That's 5 of 8 (62,5%). Not only depth, but starters also.

[LockeDown]

I see a team that wasn’t intimidated by the Pats and was coming up on them fast at the end of the game in their stadium. Reich was correct, the dropped passes were lapses in concentration and I think it’s due to their inexperience. Luck had great protection the 2nd half .  Fighting for yards and letting the Pats strip the ball.  We got to secure the ball in other words 

[Yoshinator]

2 minutes ago, LockeDown said:

I see a team that wasn’t intimidated by the Pats and was coming up on them fast at the end of the game in their stadium. Reich was correct, the dropped passes were lapses in concentration and I think it’s due to their inexperience. Luck had great protection the 2nd half .  Fighting for yards and letting the Pats strip the ball.  We got to secure the ball in other words 

We definitely need another WR with sure hands. Whether that means drafting one somewhat early next year, or paying a pretty penny to acquire one in FA, something needs to be done. Without TY, this WR core looks helpless. It's difficult with him most of the time. Hines is a very good gadget back, but he can't do all the work. We need a big WR that can catch IMO.

[austriancolt]

What did you expect? Colts making a run for another ring? It was pretty clear before the season started that the Colts aren't a contender for anything this year. With so many holes in the roster it was clear we are looking at another negative season and low draft picks. I'm fine with that cause we could use some more low draft picks to build the team. The team is showing some promise and only problem right now are injuries. 

[needanoline63]

4 hours ago, Cynjin said:

 

I don't know if @threeflight had the dumbest post of the night, @needanoline63 had several really bad posts in the game thread.  It might be a toss up.

What are these dumb posts? 

[csmopar]

Ugh... it's gonna be a long season full of these posts. 

[Yoshinator]

3 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Ugh... it's gonna be a long season full of these posts. 

Yep. You know the saying though. Winning cures everything. A lot of people here are tired of losing, even though Ballard has only been here two years. It's personally been the injuries that have broken my spirit this year. When Leonard got hurt, that sent me over the edge. At least we do have some talent if we ever get healthy though. That's the best positive I can take out of this, and Ballard seems to be able to draft well (we'll figure that out as time passes).

[John Waylon]

5 hours ago, Luck 4 president said:

They were Ballard players. Do you think Ballard would let Pagano and his staff have a say in personnel decisions, knowing he’d be fired after the season?

 

I really cannot believe the amount of this I see. People think Ballard showed up here and it was his first day in the league. 

 

He was the head head of the scouting department in Kansas City. Every bit of draft knowledge they amassed on players in last year’s class he brought over here with him. Every. Single. Profile.

 

Come on folks, you think Ballard walked into his office on day 1 with a bare cupboard and started his draft prep from scratch?

 

Or more than that you really think he walked in and used Grigson or Pagano’s notes on the draft class? 

 

Come on. 

[ricker182]

6 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:

Dumbest post of the night goes to.......

 

Drum roll please.....

 

Threeflight.....

He pretty much whiffed on the 2017 draft.  

    

You cannot do that in a rebuild. Anyone saying he's been a good GM already is wrong. Still awaiting results. 

 

[mahagga73]

5 hours ago, threeflight said:

He has that record and I cannot say our talent level is any better than it was 2 years ago.

 

We are utterly devoid of game changers on both sides of the ball.

I think it's legit to question the draft picks, a lot of them.  Still, we need at least 2 more offseasons to judge Ballard. Hopefully Luck stays healthy . 

[K-148]

2 hours ago, Jared Cisneros said:

Yep. You know the saying though. Winning cures everything. A lot of people here are tired of losing, even though Ballard has only been here two years. It's personally been the injuries that have broken my spirit this year. When Leonard got hurt, that sent me over the edge. At least we do have some talent if we ever get healthy though. That's the best positive I can take out of this, and Ballard seems to be able to draft well (we'll figure that out as time passes).

Looks like a lot of people here remember that saying differently: whining cures everything.

[RollerColt]

I hate losing, especially to the Bengals and Patriots in the same year. But it is what it is. 

 

I can't blame this all on Ballard. You hire a player with the intention that they will play and be healthy. There's no way we can predict or prevent injuries. I truly think we're just cursed. 

 

I can relate to some worries though. As a Reds fan, we were told it would be a three year rebuild after firing Dusty Baker, and to expect the team to contend in 2018.

 

...

 

Yeah... 

 

It all comes down to next year honestly. Will the team improve? We all hope so for Reich and Ballard's sake.