Stampede Blue on Ballard's lack of spending

[ericdcoltsfan]

1 hour ago, K-148 said:

Cooper had 680 yards on 48 receptions in 2017, good for 14,2 yards per reception... but 87 yards (12,79%) came on one reception! So it's basically 12,7 yards per reception. This season Cooper has 22 receptions for 280 yards, good for... 12,7 yards per reception. He is on pace for 747 yards. So you want to trade one of our 1st round picks (second 1st round pick for Bell, of course) for Ryan Grant 2.0.

Your comparison only works in a vacuum.  It's not like he gets the choice of throwing himself the ball and Carr sure isn't able to do it behind his oline. I have a coworker who is a huge Raiders fan and he has seen every game this year. His take is that Cooper is getting open a lot, even while being double teamed, but Carr is having to throw to the check down receivers. They aren't able to get off many passes past 5 yards. Cooper is obviously frustrated but could come here and flourish within this offense. It is hard to find talent like Cooper, so if you are to dip your toes in free agency then I would have done it with Gordon first, low risk/high reward, and then with Cooper. Throw out a third rd pick and see if they bite. The issue will be with extending his contract and how you structure that, but it would take pressure off of the draft to have to find a wideout. 

[cdgacoltsfan]

9 hours ago, Luck 4 president said:

We’re a few plays/players away from being 5-1. Who knows, but if Ballard had done more in FA we could easily be 5-1 with a few difference makers. 

That's crazy talk.That would screw up the 3 to 4 year re-build plan. Why win now instead of maybe win 3 to 4 years from now?

[Reidm]

Someone I would be interested in trading for is Jordan Howard. I Know during the off season he removed all of the Bears Pictures from his Instagram. Now he has taken the back seat to Tarik Cohen in Matt Nagy's Offense. Just a Pipe dream and i know its probably not realistic, but i think he would compliment mack and Hines pretty well.

[Rackeen305]

From the go seeing how this team has performed and considering the Colts have I believe at least 2 second round picks, I wanted and now fully believe the Colts will tank this season. Colts will get a top 3 overall pick, 1st round position of need (cough cough LT, WR, or Man CB), then the 2nd round comes with 2 or 3 picks to round it off.

 

 

 

[Smoke317]

I have a few questions.  Who are the free agents that you guys think Ballard should have pursued this past offseason?  I assume Norwell and Allen Robinson most likely?  And maybe a few others?  Please list them and then list their stats or PFF ranking from this season? 

 

I remember reading somewhere that Norwell (who I must admit I wanted us to sign) is looking middle of the pack despite being the highest paid guard in league history and Jax is also struggling at the moment...  I would just like to see some stats from this past free agent class to see what exactly we're missing out on...

[jameszeigler834]

15 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

Or they could turn out to be Andre Johnson.  I have no problem spending money in free agency if you have the right guy targeted but just spending money because you can is never a good idea.

That's just what happens when you overpay a guy that's past his prime.

[K-148]

2 hours ago, ericdcoltsfan said:

Your comparison only works in a vacuum.  It's not like he gets the choice of throwing himself the ball and Carr sure isn't able to do it behind his oline. I have a coworker who is a huge Raiders fan and he has seen every game this year. His take is that Cooper is getting open a lot, even while being double teamed, but Carr is having to throw to the check down receivers. They aren't able to get off many passes past 5 yards. Cooper is obviously frustrated but could come here and flourish within this offense. It is hard to find talent like Cooper, so if you are to dip your toes in free agency then I would have done it with Gordon first, low risk/high reward, and then with Cooper. Throw out a third rd pick and see if they bite. The issue will be with extending his contract and how you structure that, but it would take pressure off of the draft to have to find a wideout. 

"Is getting open a lot, but Carr is having to throw to the check down"? So you want to say Cooper is getting open... just not quick enough? What a great WR to have! You know, Colts have a lot of WR, who are getting open a lot, but Luck is having to throw to check down.

And why do you name Raiders' OL bad?! Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson, Kelechi Osemele, Kolton Miller... Believe PFF or not, but these guys were #3 overall unit and # 1 pass blocking last year. And this year they are in same category as Colts.

[Jason_]

31 minutes ago, Rackeen305 said:

From the go seeing how this team has performed and considering the Colts have I believe at least 2 second round picks, I wanted and now fully believe the Colts will tank this season. Colts will get a top 3 overall pick, 1st round position of need (cough cough LT, WR, or Man CB), then the 2nd round comes with 2 or 3 picks to round it off.

 

 

 

 

Why would they spend a top 3 pick on a man CB considering we're primarily a zone team now?

[ericdcoltsfan]

24 minutes ago, K-148 said:

And why do you name Raiders' OL bad?! Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson, Kelechi Osemele, Kolton Miller... Believe PFF or not, but these guys were #3 overall unit and # 1 pass blocking last year. And this year they are in same category as Colts.

Carr was just sacked 5 or 6 times last game and Carr is not Luck so once again your comparison is worthless. Not to mention we just got Costanzo back and our oline is going to improve. It's one thing if a QB is going through progressions but another when they have to instantly dump to the safety valve. Cooper is not a bad receiver just in a bad offense right now. So i'm not sure what point you are trying to make it but you're most definitely not making it. But go ahead...try again.

[richard pallo]

30 minutes ago, K-148 said:

"Is getting open a lot, but Carr is having to throw to the check down"? So you want to say Cooper is getting open... just not quick enough? What a great WR to have! You know, Colts have a lot of WR, who are getting open a lot, but Luck is having to throw to check down.

And why do you name Raiders' OL bad?! Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson, Kelechi Osemele, Kolton Miller... Believe PFF or not, but these guys were #3 overall unit and # 1 pass blocking last year. And this year they are in same category as Colts.

Gruden's first year , new offense and new OC, and Carr has regressed.  Gruden is openly unhappy with Carr.  Cooper would flourish with Luck plain and simple.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's traded to the Colts the day after we play them.  We have the picks to get it done.  If they can trade Mack they can trade Cooper.  Then all we have to do is sign Bell when he becomes a FA and we're contenders before the draft has even begun.  

[IinD]

1 hour ago, Smoke317 said:

I remember reading somewhere that Norwell (who I must admit I wanted us to sign) is looking middle of the pack despite being the highest paid guard in league history

It's funny I asked someone I know who's a Jags fan and he literally said 'he's ok, nothing special so far'...

 

Definitely not worth what he's getting paid so far it seems.

[K-148]

40 minutes ago, ericdcoltsfan said:

Carr was just sacked 5 or 6 times last game and Carr is not Luck so once again your comparison is worthless. Not to mention we just got Costanzo back and our oline is going to improve. It's one thing if a QB is going through progressions but another when they have to instantly dump to the safety valve. Cooper is not a bad receiver just in a bad offense right now. So i'm not sure what point you are trying to make it but you're most definitely not making it. But go ahead...try again.

People thinking only their opinions are "worthful" make me laugh every time. Romo was killed behind Frederick's, Martin's, Smith's backs, so what? Why are you so sure with Castonzo our oline is going to improve? Is it a given? Or didn't Castonzo have down years? Why do you blame Raiders OL in one sentence just to state in other Gruden's scheme is not a fit for Carr (bad offense)? Sure, it can be both, but it's not common 5 linemen to regress in 1 year together.

[K-148]

31 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Gruden's first year , new offense and new OC, and Carr has regressed.  Gruden is openly unhappy with Carr.  Cooper would flourish with Luck plain and simple.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's traded to the Colts the day after we play them.  We have the picks to get it done.  If they can trade Mack they can trade Cooper.  Then all we have to do is sign Bell when he becomes a FA and we're contenders before the draft has even begun.  

Do you remember beginning of this thread? "Ballard doesn't want to spend big in FA."

I don't believe even Gruden has power or balls to cut or trade all Raiders' best players. He can be unhappy with Mack, Carr, Cooper and everyone else, but he will keep them. Some of them. Even his new QB has to have some targets! So Carr has better chances to be traded somewhere (Giants, anyone?), than Cooper.

And now back to topic: do not spend BIG on Cooper. That was my opinion. Sure, when people see headlines "Raiders willing to trade Cooper, former 1st rounder with back-to-back 1000-yards seasons!" they become like "Give me two!" But right now Cooper isn't a sure thing. Not for the price Raiders would ask. Now he is like Dwayne Allen: promising rookie, underachieving veteran. 5th round. Max.

[jvan1973]

47 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Gruden's first year , new offense and new OC, and Carr has regressed.  Gruden is openly unhappy with Carr.  Cooper would flourish with Luck plain and simple.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's traded to the Colts the day after we play them.  We have the picks to get it done.  If they can trade Mack they can trade Cooper.  Then all we have to do is sign Bell when he becomes a FA and we're contenders before the draft has even begun.  

It would be stupid to give much for Cooper,   and certainly not a 1st.  He 1 year left on his contract.   That would be horribly dumb

[Mr.NotSoCreative]

15 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

None of this is a surprise to Chris Ballard.     The kids he has have to play.

 

He's willing to lose games this year so he can win more games down the road.   2018 was never in the plans.    But 19 and 20 and 21 and beyond very much are.

 

Media writing these stories literally do not understand what he's doing.     But just because they don't get it,  doesn't mean we shouldn't get it.      

 

You don't have to like it,   but at least understand it.   Ballard has explained himself on multiple occasions.    He's not keeping this a well guarded secret.

 

No big spending until he's established the locker-room culture that he wants.....

 

One more off-season,  then things will change in 2020.     If they change this coming year,   then Irsay has changed his view and has ordered Ballard to speed up the timeline....

 

Irsay will say something when ratings, ticket sales, and money in his pocket start to go down hill. The Colts arent willing to put their hard earned, extra money out to produce a good team this year, so I wont put my hard earned, extra money out to make it to a game. Listened to the last 3 games on the radio.

[Mr.NotSoCreative]

6 hours ago, threeflight said:

Cooper is worth every penny and draft choice (2nd?).

 

He is a fast, big body WR who would match perfectly with Hilton.  We would be very lucky to get him.

 

Bell?  I mean cmon of course he is a great back. Maybe the best in the NFL right now.  To say he is not worth trading for, when we have SO MUCH cap space?

 

I just have to lol at that.

I  hindsight, Gordon would have been worth the risk. But Cooper is not. Bell, hell no, hes wanting Antonio brown money and cares about nobody but himself. Not a "Colt culture" fit. At this point with cap capital and draft capital in the back pocket, next offseason things will happen. 

[hoosierhawk]

How about trading Brissett for Cooper if Carr is in Gruden's doghouse.

[ThorstenDenmark]

15 hours ago, Luck 4 president said:

We’re a few plays/players away from being 5-1. Who knows, but if Ballard had done more in FA we could easily be 5-1 with a few difference makers. 

 

We are miles away from being 5-1, yes the games have been close, but the only game we came close to winning, was against the texans and we blew that one. 

 

here are some numbers people should look at before saying we are so close on being 5-1

 

Indianapolis colts are the 3rd most penalised team in the NFL with 49 penalties for 447 yards. 

We have 11 fumbles, 4 lost. (5th worst in the league)

We allow 30 points pr game, which is 3rd worst and overall our defence is ranked #31 in the league.

 

So people telling me we are so darn close on being a 5-1 team needs to wake up or quit smoking whatever you are smoking.

 

no other 1-5 team have such bad numbers as the colts across the board, not even John Gruden's Raiders can match our miserable defensive numbers.

 

and i havn't even tried to look for the number of dropped passes and int's.

 

I might be from Denmark and only watch the games on my TV through gamepass, but I do know a thing or two about football, and when I have watched the Colts games, and rewatched some of them, the tape just dont lie. The numbers might, but whats on tape and from what I can see, the colts 2018 team is one of the worst when it comes to crunch time and the games are on the line.

 

I don't even think Khalil Mack, Allen Robinson and a star RB could have helped us. They might have helped us win the Texans game, but people who still thinks or believes that we are so close to being a 5-1 team, needs to watch the bengals, patriots, eagles and jets game once more, before telling me, that we were so close on being a 5-1 team.

 

I do believe Chris Ballard is a smart GM... a 1-5 record might not show it right now. And the Josh McDaniels episode didn't make things much easier for him or Frank Reich, as Reich couldn't select his own staff. 

 

Furthermore this were the starters from the 2016 colts

Andrew Luck

RB Frank Gore - Gone

WR T.Y. Hilton

TE Dwayne Allen - Gone

TE Jack Doyle

LTAnthony Castonzo

LGJack Mewhort - gone

C Ryan Kelly23

RG Denzelle Good

 

Defensive Starters

DTArthur Jones - Gone

NT David Parry - Gone

MLB D'Qwell Jackson - Gone

LB Edwin Jackson - Gone

LB Robert Mathis - Gone

LB Erik Walden - Gone

CB Vontae Davis - Gone

SS Mike Adams - Gone

FS Clayton Geathers

 

Special Teams Starters

K Adam Vinatieri

P Pat McAfee* - Gone

 

Thats a lot of starters that gone, and nearly 80% of the team is new players, that he had to get rid of, because of the former GM.

 

He couldn't fire Pagano in his first year, as he was promised another season due to Lucks injury, and that he was told Pagano would be the HC. 

So in a way, this is his 1st year as the GM, were he´s more in control of whats going on and have the power to decide what he want's to do.

 

As I have stated in another post on this forum, I do believe in what Chris Ballard is doing, though I would have done things a bit differently IF I were the GM.

But when Ryan Grigson became the GM of the year or what ever price he won, and things looked destined to be great and only a matter of time before we would win a super bowl with him, people were living on a pink cloud. Then things went wrong and we later found out that Andrew Luck had been seriously injured during the Grigson era and his career was on the line. 

 

So now we are 1-5 and among the worst teams in the league, but I still do believe in Chris Ballard and I do believe he´s a much smarter GM than Grigson. 

 

Will he one day hoist the Lombardi trophy with Irsay and Luck... maybe. But before we can start dreaming about that again, we need more players all over this depleted roster. 

And of those players he has brought to indy in free agency... well. 

 

Ebron has never been better.

Jabal Sheared is pretty good.

Margus Hunt is a beast, before he was a Bengal fighting for playing time.

And Jacoby Brissette could become a very attractive QB for teams after this season, and we could get a good draft pick for him or a skilled position player in a trade for him.

 

Yes this became a pretty long post, but I do believe in Chris Ballard and that he will turn this franchise around. 

 

The question is... do YOU?

 

 

[Dingus McGirt]

19 hours ago, NDcolt said:

Ballard never believed in this 2018 colts team which is why we have the worst roster!  2nd most cap space yet didn’t sign one difference maker!  Maybe he wasn’t sure that LUCK would come back 100% or Darious Leonord would turn out to be an ALL American but one thing is sure they didn’t go all in for 2018!  I get that, to many unknowns for this season but little did he know we’re a few plays from being 5-1 instead of 1-5.  If we only spent some cap on playmakers but it’s obvious we don’t want to win in 2018??  Colts forfeited 2018 & Fans should be ANGRY

Easy, big fella.

[Btown_Colt]

24 minutes ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

 

We are miles away from being 5-1,

 

 

So people telling me we are so darn close on being a 5-1 team needs to wake up or quit smoking whatever you are smoking.

 

I don't even think Khalil Mack, Allen Robinson and a star RB could have helped us.

 

 

I agree with the bolded.

 

As to the next paragraph, I’m not one saying that but it’s called  marijuana and no I will not stop smoking it!!!

 

The third paragraph is pure crap. You really don’t think the best defensive player in the NFL and a star RB wouldn’t help this team? REALLY? Never mind adding in Allen Robinson who, I wouldn’t of paid what he got but, is better than any other receiver on the Colts not named TY.

 

I mean if you honestly think adding Khalil Mack, a star RB and Allen Robinson wouldn’t have helped this team win some of those games...maybe you should smoke some of what I am smoking?

[smittywerb]

20 hours ago, WarGhost21 said:

Personally, I was hoping last off-season would be slow for us. We certainly weren’t anywhere near contending then, we clearly needed another offseason to finish up. By saving our money, we are allowing ourselves a better draft pick and saving money for next years loaded free agency class. I applaud Ballard for not listening to the media and knowing how to handle himself. Now if he doesn’t get stuff done next offseason, I’ll start to get worried, but for now, he’s perfectly in line with my expectations

 

This is how I'm viewing it.

 

Our drafts so far have looked good.  We are starting to see who are OUR young studs.  Another good year of drafting and hopefully a splash in FA and I believe we'll be set up for long term success.

[ThorstenDenmark]

20 minutes ago, Btown_Colt said:

I agree with the bolded.

 

As to the next paragraph, I’m not one saying that but it’s called  marijuana and no I will not stop smoking it!!!

 

The third paragraph is pure crap. You really don’t think the best defensive player in the NFL and a star RB wouldn’t help this team? REALLY? Never mind adding in Allen Robinson who, I wouldn’t of paid what he got but, is better than any other receiver on the Colts not named TY.

 

I mean if you honestly think adding Khalil Mack, a star RB and Allen Robinson wouldn’t have helped this team win some of those games...maybe you should smoke some of what I am smoking?

Of course Khalil Mack would have made us better, but compared to the Bears team and roster they already had before he came, the colts roster is no wear near being such a good defence. Yes he would have given us a better chance of winning a game or two more, but I honestly dont think our record would have been better. okay, we could have been 2-4, but not more.

 

Let´s say we had both Mack and a star RB... yes we would be a better team, but no better than 2-4. I just don't think that would have been enough.

 

So sorry, i don't agree  

[smittywerb]

22 minutes ago, Btown_Colt said:

 

I mean if you honestly think adding Khalil Mack, a star RB and Allen Robinson wouldn’t have helped this team win some of those games...maybe you should smoke some of what I am smoking?

 

I see it turning us from a 1-5 team to a 2-4 or 3-3 team.  A lot of our problems are due to injury, execution, and mistakes...not talent. 1 or 2 players on either side of the field would make a difference, but we would go from top 5 in draft to middle of the draft.  And I don't think we are in the position to be a middle of the draft team.  We are not a couple of players away from a playoff team, let alone a SB team.  Putting 1 good player around bad players will do nothing.

[Btown_Colt]

2 minutes ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

Of course Khalil Mack would have made us better, but compared to the Bears team and roster they already had before he came, the colts roster is no wear near being such a good defence. Yes he would have given us a better chance of winning a game or two more, but I honestly dont think our record would have been better. okay, we could have been 2-4, but not more.

 

Let´s say we had both Mack and a star RB... yes we would be a better team, but no better than 2-4. I just don't think that would have been enough.

 

So sorry, i don't agree  

By star RB I assume you mean a Bell, Gurley, Elliot, Barkley type running back. Allen Robinson, IMO, is a low tier #1 top tier #2 receiver. So this offense would have Luck, TY, Robinson, one of those RB’s, Ebron, and Doyle. Umm, yea that would have most definitely played a difference in our games this year.

 

Mack is the best defensive player in the NFL and a sack machine. He is EXACTLY what this defense is missing. He is a game changer. He most definitely changes the way those games are played. 

 

 

2 minutes ago, smittywerb said:

 

I see it turning us from a 1-5 team to a 2-4 or 3-3 team.  A lot of our problems are due to injury, execution, and mistakes...not talent. 1 or 2 players on either side of the field would make a difference, but we would go from top 5 in draft to middle of the draft.  And I don't think we are in the position to be a middle of the draft team.  We are not a couple of players away from a playoff team, let alone a SB team.  Putting 1 good player around bad players will do nothing.

We aren’t talking about 1 or 2 “players” on either side of the ball. The best defensive player in football, a star RB (Bell, Barkley, Gurley, etc) and low tier #1 high tier #2 WR.

 

If adding the best defensive player in the NFL, a star RB and a top of the line #2 WR doesn’t help this team win games then the Colts should probably just trade Luck and start over because there is no hope. Heck even drafting 1st overall next year, we would be lucky to get a Khalil Mack, yet alone a Mack, Bell/Barkley, and Robinson. Give me a break.

[smittywerb]

13 minutes ago, Btown_Colt said:

 

We aren’t talking about 1 or 2 “players” on either side of the ball. The best defensive player in football, a star RB (Bell, Barkley, Gurley, etc) and low tier #1 high tier #2 WR.

 

 

And how possible do you think that is?  We can't just throw money at someone an expect them to come.  We can't afford to overpay in the rebuild phase either.  This isn't Madden.  Just because you throw money and say come means they are going to come. 

[Btown_Colt]

8 minutes ago, smittywerb said:

 

And how possible do you think that is?  We can't just throw money at someone an expect them to come.  We can't afford to overpay in the rebuild phase either.  This isn't Madden.  Just because you throw money and say come means they are going to come. 

LOL I knew that was going to come next, and now your moving the goal post. 

 

I never once said it was realistic, but that wasn’t the argument. Go back and read the conversation again. He was talking about the Colts being 1-5 and added that he didn’t think having Khalil Mack, a star RB, and Allen Robinson would of changed the 1-5 record. That’s what I called bull on. Thanks though.

[smittywerb]

2 minutes ago, Btown_Colt said:

LOL I knew that was going to come next, and now your moving the goal post. 

 

I never once said it was realistic, but that wasn’t the argument. Go back and read the conversation again. He was talking about us being 1-5 and added that he didn’t think having Khalil Mack, a star RB, and Allen Robinson would of changed the 1-5 record. That’s what I called bull on. Thanks though.

 

And I stand by those 3 wouldn't turn us into what you think they will.  Filling 3 positions out of the many positions of need we have doesn't move the needle that much.

 

You don't become a great team by surrounding good players with crap players (Us).  You become a good team by surrounding good players with good players.  The teams that have stuck around have always had solid players at almost every position.  It is very rare to see an NFL team make it with a couple of good players.

[ThorstenDenmark]

17 minutes ago, Btown_Colt said:

By star RB I assume you mean a Bell, Gurley, Elliot, Barkley type running back. Allen Robinson, IMO, is a low tier #1 top tier #2 receiver. So this offense would have Luck, TY, Robinson, one of those RB’s, Ebron, and Doyle. Umm, yea that would have most definitely played a difference in our games this year.

 

Mack is the best defensive player in the NFL and a sack machine. He is EXACTLY what this defense is missing. He is a game changer. He most definitely changes the way those games are played. 

 

 

We aren’t talking about 1 or 2 “players” on either side of the ball. The best defensive player in football, a star RB (Bell, Barkley, Gurley, etc) and low tier #1 high tier #2 WR.

 

If adding the best defensive player in the NFL, a star RB and a top of the line #2 WR doesn’t help this team win games then the Colts should probably just trade Luck and start over because there is no hope. Heck even drafting 1st overall next year, we would be lucky to get a Khalil Mack, yet alone a Mack, Bell/Barkley, and Robinson. Give me a break.

 

If Chris Ballard had accomplished to get Mack, and let's say hed indeed did go after him, which I don't think he did, as there were no chatter about us being seriously after him.

But let's say we had Mack.

I don't think that would have changed that much.

 

We sack the QB over and over this season, with Leonard and Hunt having 4 sacks each and Ward and Sheard having 3 each, but we are still one of the worst defences. So adding Mack wouldn't have made us that much better, as our problems are in the passing and run stopping game.

 

But hell yeah, we would have been better with Mack.

 

We just have many more holes to fill, and one player like Mack wouldn't have made us better than a 2-4 team.

 

Again, take a closer look at those games we lost and were behind due to dropped passes and so on, and tell me what the addition of Mack would have helped?

 

Yes, in the perfect world where we had playmakers on both side of the ball, we could have had a better record. but this is the real world, and we are a very bad 1-5 team.

[Btown_Colt]

Just now, smittywerb said:

 

And I stand by those 3 wouldn't turn us into what you think they will.  Filling 3 positions out of the many positions of need we have doesn't move the needle that much.

Ok..so how many blue chip players do you think a team needs? How many do you expect to get next year with the benefit of drafting in the top 5 vs middle of the rounds?

 

Seriously, if adding a game changer RB and solid #2 receiver on offense and the best defensive player in the NFL on defense doesn’t bring this team in to contention, then Ballard is going to need to his extend his 3 year plan.

 

There is no way a team can have stars at every position. In this unrealistic scenario we are discussing, they would have 3-4 stars on offense at the skill positions with another 2-3 above average players. The line would be solid and full of mostly 1st and second rounders. The O would be almost unstoppable. The defense would have the best player on that side of the ball in the league, which would change the way every team schemed against them. The D would have several other several key pieces (Hooker, Leonard, Hunt, Autry). Turey  would be an after thought so his job just got easier and he is already showing some progress as a rusher. The only thing the D would be missing is a star CB, that this defensive scheme isn’t really even dependent on. I think you are really underestimating what a game wrecker sack machine could do for the D.

 

 The Colts can only hope and dream the team would look like that after next years high draft picks. 

 

 

[smittywerb]

1 minute ago, Btown_Colt said:

Ok..so how many blue chip players do you think a team needs? How many do you expect to get next year with the benefit of drafting in the top 5 vs middle of the rounds?

 

Seriously, if adding a game changer RB and solid #2 receiver on offense and the best defensive player in the NFL on defense doesn’t bring this team in to contention, then Ballard is going to need to his extend his 3 year plan.

 

There is no way a team can have stars at every position. In this unrealistic scenario we are discussing, they would have 3-4 stars on offense at the skill positions with another 2-3 above average players. The line would be solid and full of mostly 1st and second rounders. The O would be almost unstoppable. The defense would have the best player on that side of the ball in the league, which would change the way every team schemed against them. The D would have several other several key pieces (Hooker, Leonard, Hunt, Autry). Turey  would be an after thought so his job just got easier and he is already showing some progress as a rusher. The only thing the D would be missing is a star CB, that this defensive scheme isn’t really even dependent on. I think you are really underestimating what a game wrecker sack machine could do for the D.

 

 The Colts can only hope and dream the team would look like that after next years high draft picks. 

 

 

 

First Paragraph:

We need: 2nd WR, 3rd WR, I think our corners could be upgraded, defensive line, another pass rusher or 2, another LB next to Leonard, a nickel corner, and I could live with replacing Geathers.  That's at least 10 players and not including those we need for rotational depth. 

 

Second Paragraph:

It will not, and if you think this was a 3 year plan when he took over, then you were setting yourself for failure.  Next year with a good draft and splash in FA, I see us at anywhere from 7-9 to 9-7.

 

Third Paragraph:

I did not mean to have star at every position, but you have to have solid players at almost every position if you want to last.  We are far from that.  Once again, you named 2-3 players in an unrealistic situation that once again is NOT going to make us a SB contending team.  I don't think it's wise to tie our money up into 2-3 players only to become at best a Wild Card team.

[Btown_Colt]

17 minutes ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

 

If Chris Ballard had accomplished to get Mack, and let's say hed indeed did go after him, which I don't think he did, as there were no chatter about us being seriously after him.

But let's say we had Mack.

I don't think that would have changed that much.

 

We sack the QB over and over this season, with Leonard and Hunt having 4 sacks each and Ward and Sheard having 3 each, but we are still one of the worst defences. So adding Mack wouldn't have made us that much better, as our problems are in the passing and run stopping game.

 

But hell yeah, we would have been better with Mack.

 

We just have many more holes to fill, and one player like Mack wouldn't have made us better than a 2-4 team.

 

Again, take a closer look at those games we lost and were behind due to dropped passes and so on, and tell me what the addition of Mack would have helped?

 

Yes, in the perfect world where we had playmakers on both side of the ball, we could have had a better record. but this is the real world, and we are a very bad 1-5 team.

Come on, don’t go changing your original comment on me now. It doesn’t matter if Ballard went for him or not, that’s not what we were discussing. And your original comment didn’t just include Mack. You said even if  they had Mack, a star RB, and Allen Robinson.....not just Mack. And you used it in the past tense as to say that if they had those 3 all season, it wouldn’t of made a difference, they would still be 1-5. That’s what I called out. Your the one that said it, not me. 

 

I’ve watched each game several times. I have that cool game pass thing you have. So I watch each game live, either on tv or at Lucas Oil Stadium, and then I watch them again on game pass. Cool story huh? After watching the games, I still 100% say that Mack, Saquon Barkley, and Allen Robinson DRASTICALLY changes the out come of the games this year and it’s not even close. They might not be undefeated, but they have a winning record and are contending in the play offs. The other teams would have to totally change the way they played against the Colts. And the Colts could have picked their poison on offense.

 

And yes this is a stupid, unrealistic conversation.

[Btown_Colt]

36 minutes ago, smittywerb said:

 

First Paragraph:

We need: 2nd WR, 3rd WR, I think our corners could be upgraded, defensive line, another pass rusher or 2, another LB next to Leonard, a nickel corner, and I could live with replacing Geathers.  That's at least 10 players and not including those we need for rotational depth. 

 

Second Paragraph:

It will not, and if you think this was a 3 year plan when he took over, then you were setting yourself for failure.  Next year with a good draft and splash in FA, I see us at anywhere from 7-9 to 9-7.

 

Third Paragraph:

I did not mean to have star at every position, but you have to have solid players at almost every position if you want to last.  We are far from that.  Once again, you named 2-3 players in an unrealistic situation that once again is NOT going to make us a SB contending team.  I don't think it's wise to tie our money up into 2-3 players only to become at best a Wild Card team.

1st paragraph:

You want 10 additional blue chip players, plus solid depth, plus the players already on the team? Any your gonna get all that next year by drafting top 5 instead of middle of the rounds and a few splashes in FA? LOL now THAT is unrealistic. You have a better shot at getting Mack, Barkley, and Robinson LOL. 

 

2nd paragraph:

Well, Ballard is the one that said it, so I guess he sat us all up for failure. 

 

3rd paragraph (and most important so perk up):

I didn’t bring * up or name any players. The person I originally responded to did....you are the one that jumped in without reading what he said.

 

Your whole post is about what this team needs WITHOUT those 3 players he brought up, when we were talking about what this team would be WITH those three players.  Try to let that sink in for a moment because your not quite grasping it. I tried to tell you that in my previous post, but you seemed to ignore it.

 

Here one more time just for giggles, yes it’s unrealistic. No I didn’t expect Ballard to get Mack, Robinson, and a star RB last offseason. But this whole conversation started because a person said that even if the Colts had those 3 players, they would still be 1-5. That is the debate. Not if it’s realistic or not. Got it yet? Now get off my lawn please, thanks.

[Btown_Colt]

1 hour ago, smittywerb said:

 

First Paragraph:

We need: 2nd WR, 3rd WR, I think our corners could be upgraded, defensive line, another pass rusher or 2, another LB next to Leonard, a nickel corner, and I could live with replacing Geathers.  That's at least 10 players and not including those we need for rotational depth. 

 

Second Paragraph:

It will not, and if you think this was a 3 year plan when he took over, then you were setting yourself for failure.  Next year with a good draft and splash in FA, I see us at anywhere from 7-9 to 9-7.

 

Third Paragraph:

I did not mean to have star at every position, but you have to have solid players at almost every position if you want to last.  We are far from that.  Once again, you named 2-3 players in an unrealistic situation that once again is NOT going to make us a SB contending team.  I don't think it's wise to tie our money up into 2-3 players only to become at best a Wild Card team.

 

1 hour ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

 

If Chris Ballard had accomplished to get Mack, and let's say hed indeed did go after him, which I don't think he did, as there were no chatter about us being seriously after him.

But let's say we had Mack.

I don't think that would have changed that much.

 

We sack the QB over and over this season, with Leonard and Hunt having 4 sacks each and Ward and Sheard having 3 each, but we are still one of the worst defences. So adding Mack wouldn't have made us that much better, as our problems are in the passing and run stopping game.

 

But hell yeah, we would have been better with Mack.

 

We just have many more holes to fill, and one player like Mack wouldn't have made us better than a 2-4 team.

 

Again, take a closer look at those games we lost and were behind due to dropped passes and so on, and tell me what the addition of Mack would have helped?

 

Yes, in the perfect world where we had playmakers on both side of the ball, we could have had a better record. but this is the real world, and we are a very bad 1-5 team.

By the way, just an extra point to this conversation.

 

The Bears were 5-11 last year. Two of the players originally mentioned in this conversation are now playing for the Bears this year (Robinson and Mack), they already have a couple good running backs (I like Howard but wouldn’t call him a star RB) and this year they are now winning their division. They don’t have a TY Hilton or an Andrew Luck, but yet there they are...winning.

[Lawrence Owen]

22 hours ago, NDcolt said:

Ballard has exactly one more season or his head will be on a platter!!!!  If Colts don’t compete in 2019, fan base will be GONE

LMAO. ok. sure. 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you sir, are wrong. period.  Even if we lose 10 games next season we won't lose the entire fan base.  There are a LOT of fans like me who've been here since the Colts came to Indy.  With teams a WHOLE heck of a lot worse than now.  Frankly, if you're just here for the wins...you can go root for the Chiefs right now..I hear they are doing pretty decent.

Would i like the Colts to be 4-2, even 3-3? Sure..but we are not. I'm not flipping out.  I'm here for the long haul,...not hopping on a wagon train from the Manning years.  I have faith in the system,...I like what Ballard is preaching, and his actions are reflective of those words.  We're not going to win the super bowl this year...(psst,...not next year either) But as long as what he's doing makes us better year in and year out...i'm good.

[Lawrence Owen]

2 hours ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

 

If Chris Ballard had accomplished to get Mack, and let's say hed indeed did go after him, which I don't think he did, as there were no chatter about us being seriously after him.

But let's say we had Mack.

I don't think that would have changed that much.

 

We sack the QB over and over this season, with Leonard and Hunt having 4 sacks each and Ward and Sheard having 3 each, but we are still one of the worst defences. So adding Mack wouldn't have made us that much better, as our problems are in the passing and run stopping game.

 

But hell yeah, we would have been better with Mack.

 

We just have many more holes to fill, and one player like Mack wouldn't have made us better than a 2-4 team.

 

Again, take a closer look at those games we lost and were behind due to dropped passes and so on, and tell me what the addition of Mack would have helped?

 

Yes, in the perfect world where we had playmakers on both side of the ball, we could have had a better record. but this is the real world, and we are a very bad 1-5 team.

I'm going to disagree with you on needing that many holes to fill.

First off, our run stopping game is not bad...not even slightly. 

We are dead middle of the pack at 16th total rushing allowed at 106.8/game.  

And we are 4th...4th! in YPC allowed at 3.7/ypc.

You sir don't understand football if you think our run defense is bad.......

 

 

But yeah, we definitely need an upgrade in pass defense.  Problem is though,...i'm not sold our problems in that area are players...I'm pretty sure we get chewed up each week because of our system. 

 

But i would totally be on board with a blue chip CB, and maybe a DE.

[2006Coltsbestever]

6 minutes ago, Lawrence Owen said:

LMAO. ok. sure. 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you sir, are wrong. period.  Even if we lose 10 games next season we won't lose the entire fan base.  There are a LOT of fans like me who've been here since the Colts came to Indy.  With teams a WHOLE heck of a lot worse than now.  Frankly, if you're just here for the wins...you can go root for the Chiefs right now..I hear they are doing pretty decent.

Would i like the Colts to be 4-2, even 3-3? Sure..but we are not. I'm not flipping out.  I'm here for the long haul,...not hopping on a wagon train from the Manning years.  I have faith in the system,...I like what Ballard is preaching, and his actions are reflective of those words.  We're not going to win the super bowl this year...(psst,...not next year either) But as long as what he's doing makes us better year in and year out...i'm good.

Most of the people that talk like him have only been a fan since the Manning era. I guess being from Indianapolis myself, I automatically became a Colts fan in 1984 when I was 13 years old. I have seen much worse Football than I have watched the last 2 years. In 1984 we were 4-12, in 1985 5-11, in 1986 3-13. In the early 90's we were even 1-15 with Jeff George at QB. 

 

-Regarding Ballard, I will be a bit disappointed if he doesn't hit on at least 2 good to great players in this upcoming Draft and if he doesn't spend some money in Free Agent on someone good. Having said that even if we go 4-12 next season I will still be a fan of the Colts. We have had so many Very Good to Great teams that the good outweighs the bad in my fandom lifetime. 1987, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002-2010 (8), 2012-2014 (3) - all were seasons worth bragging about and we have also won a SB within the last 15 seasons in 2006. 

[colt18]

There were some really good players I was hoping Ballard would sign. I was really surprised he let Malcolm Butler go to the Titans and Andrew Norwell to the Jags. Ryan Jensen could've helped too.

 

If he would've signed some quality OL, we could traded up and drafted Saquon Barkley....buuuuuut Ballard does have some logic behind his FA inactivity

 

Quote

It’s funny, because we were involved with some of the bigger name guys, but the value of what the price tag got, we backed out. We knew there was a chance we were going to be inactive the first 5, 6, even 7 days of free agency. I don’t want to act like we are opposed to free agency. There will come a point where we are going to need a piece and we will go buy one. We just felt like we had so many (missing) pieces, that going to add 2 or 3 big name pieces, they weren’t going to fill all the holes that we have.

 

He wants to have a foundation comprised of players who entered the league with Indy. I can't say I disagree with that. I think things will get very interesting in the next couple offseasons.

[Lawrence Owen]

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Most of the people that talk like him have only been a fan since the Manning era. I guess being from Indianapolis myself, I automatically became a Colts fan in 1984 when I was 13 years old. I have seen much worse Football than I have watched the last 2 years. In 1984 we were 4-12, in 1985 5-11, in 1986 3-13. In the early 90's we were even 1-15 with Jeff George at QB. 

 

-Regarding Ballard, I will be a bit disappointed if he doesn't hit on at least 2 good to great players in this upcoming Draft and if he doesn't spend some money in Free Agent on someone good. Having said that even if we go 4-12 next season I will still be a fan of the Colts. We have had so many Very Good to Great teams that the good outweighs the bad in my fandom lifetime. 1987, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002-2010 (8), 2012-2014 (3) - all were seasons worth bragging about and we have also won a SB within the last 15 seasons in 2006. 

Same,,But i'm from Marion...So yeah, '84 for me also...I was 8...lol

I expect him to hit next year as well.  We got a couple good o-linemen, A good linebacker, and some specialized pieces in this past draft.  This draft was good.  Next draft, we need to hit on at least 3 more IMO.

As for F.A.  If the player is young, and fits what he wants, (what's good for the team), he'll bite i'm sure.  But I honestly think this year he was trying to build a Locker room that can handle bringing other people from outside,..in. 

I like Ebron...He needs to work on his concentration when he's wide frieken open,...but when he can do that, he'll be stellar. 

Slausson was a good F.A. pick up also. Shame about him.

I hope we get a 'Ward' (CB)this coming year.  And a WR.  We might not have the superstar sackmaster on our team,...but i believe we've shown we have the talent front 7 wise to get pressure and sacks.  Better IMO to have that, than be dependant on a single superstar.

When T.Y. gets back, that will make us much better as a team.  Just sucks we don't have a reliable 2nd WR ATM.

 

[K-148]

For all people wanted Ballard to trade for Mack, Bell, Cooper.

July 2018: Ballard traded 1st round of 2019 and 1st round of 2020 for Mack, get 2nd round 2020. Sign Mack 141 mil. for 6 years.

August 2018: Ballard traded 2nd round of 2019 and 2nd round of 2020 for Bell. Sign Bell 70 mil. for 4 years.

September 2018: Ballard traded 3rd round of 2019 for Cooper.

October 2018: Colts are 6-0.

November 2018: Andrew Luck injured his repaired shoulder and retired.

April 2019: Colts trying to find franchise QB with 4th round pick, their first of the 2019 NFL Draft.

 

[Luck 4 president]

7 hours ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

 

We are miles away from being 5-1, yes the games have been close, but the only game we came close to winning, was against the texans and we blew that one. 

 

Did you even watch all the games? We were in position to win in almost all of our losses. The only game we really didn’t come close to winning was the patriots game.

 

just off the top of my head I can remember 1 play from each game that swung the result. 

Bengals- 40 seconds left in the red zone jack Doyle fumbles it and it gets returned 83 yards for a TD. 

Eagles- 4th down at the end of the game needing a stop to secure the win, Jabaal Sheard gets called for defensive holding (something that is never called on D linemen)

texans- end of the 4th, Luck is on fire and Marcus Johnson drops a wide open 6 yard pass in his hands on 3rd down. We settle for a field goal and go into OT.

jets- the pick 6 that bounced of Marlon mack’s Hands. 

 

Thats 4 plays right there that have defined our season so far. We have played terribly, but to say we weren’t even close to winning those games is false. All those games (except pats and jets) were nail biters and came down to the last drive.