Does Ballard speak more to the media?

[AwesomeAustin]

One thing I have noticed is Ballard is almost the face of our team. I would still put Luck out front but Ballard is verybinvolved with the media.  Is this normal?  Is Ballard any more involved than the average GM?  Not a complaint bc I like hearing from him, just wondering.  

[SouthernIndianaNDFan]

4 minutes ago, AwesomeAustin said:

One thing I have noticed is Ballard is almost the face of our team. I would still put Luck out front but Ballard is verybinvolved with the media.  Is this normal?  Is Ballard any more involved than the average GM?  Not a complaint bc I like hearing from him, just wondering.  

 

Could be that he just axe murdered last years draft, and is riding a wave of success. He is also the reigning GM of the Year, and these things come with a certain notoriety. 

[AwesomeAustin]

1 hour ago, SouthernIndianaNDFan said:

 

Could be that he just axe murdered last years draft, and is riding a wave of success. He is also the reigning GM of the Year, and these things come with a certain notoriety. 

Wasn’t there a movie in the 80s or 90s about marrying an axe murderer?  I believe it had that guy from Wayne’s World. 

[SouthernIndianaNDFan]

6 minutes ago, AwesomeAustin said:

Wasn’t there a movie in the 80s or 90s about marrying an axe murderer?  I believe it had that guy from Wayne’s World. 

 

Lol yes, it was called "So, I Married An Axe Murderer"

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

I think ballard just loves to talk football. Plus he is a young GM. Sometimes I think he could go on for hours talking football.

[lollygagger8]

I don't mind listening to him, so speak away! 

[DougDew]

I think it has to do with personality.  Both he and Polian seem to like it whereas Grigson hated it, and it showed.  I don't think liking it or hating it is an attribute that moves the needle for me, but I think it plays a part in how well they get along with the media.

 

Even though Polian  seemed to like it and was available, he was always a bit gruff.  I think he liked being gruff in front of the media where as Grigson simply hated being in front of it altogether.  Bill Tobin was a lot like Polian too.

 

I like Polian and Tobin's style.  I think Ballard is too respectful to them, considering that most of them outside of Mike Chappell seem to write stories that harbor a grudge if you don't treat them how they want.   If you show some disrespect early, they hold a grudge and won't let it go.  That was how I saw the Grigson years.

 

I don't think the media liked Polian or Tobin either, because of they way they treated them, but the writers knew they'd look like petty fools if they showed dislike for two guys who had substantial credentials in the NFL before getting to Indy.  OTOH, they could beat on Grigson and neither he nor anybody was in the position to challenge their petty hate.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Ballard is a young good looking guy who has a great personality with tons of charisma. I can see why the media gravitates towards him.

[DerekDiggler]

Ballard is doing exactly what he should do.  Be the face of the franchise.  Otherwise we get Jim doing the talking.  And the fans love him unlike the previous #er.   He is very eloquent and the media loves him.  This is one reason we get more national press now.  He’s not condescending and doesn’t say uh um every other word like the previous * 

 

What i I like is he tells us what he is going to to then does it.   Which is shocking to most people.  Because they think he’s gonna do something else and it’s just GM speak.  

 

Thats why why I think people are shocked in FA and will be in the draft also.   They aren’t listening to what he is saying. 

 

So so far he’s a fantastic GM and I couldn’t be happier he runs the Colts 

[Boiler_Colt]

With Mr. Irsay taking a step back from being the one that always talks to the media I think he's given Ballard full authority to be the figure head of the organization. When he first started you could tell he wasn't quite used to talking with the media but he really came into his own. He seems likeable and relatable to both younger and older generations.

 

More importantly I think he feel's he needed to restore some goodwill to the fanbase and right some of the wrongs of the previous administrations. Grigson was pompous and rude and would only talk with his BFF Dan Dakich and Polian at the end of his tenure was kind of a secretive crank.

 

 

 

[Superman]

Ballard is comfortable explaining his process and decisions, and does a good job of it. I also think part of the reason he was hired is because he excels at communicating and building relationships, and his reputation throughout the league was already established in that regard. The organization seems to have a mandate to be more fan and media friendly, specifically with regard to content and access. Ballard embraces that, and his post-draft meeting with the locals was a great move.

 

By the way, Grigson acknowledged that he retracted from the media as the years went on in Indy. He suggested he intended to be more accessible, but he didn't really get the chance to change any perceptions, and I don't think he would have been able to do so. I also don't think he would have been as open as Ballard has been. 

 

Prime example: Grigson got raked over the coals for blaming Luck's contract for the bad defense, even though that's not what he said or meant. But his inartful delivery left the door open for a media and fanbase who already didn't like him, and his lack of awareness about how that comment would be received was fully betrayed. 

 

On the other hand, Ballard came out last offseason and took blame for the OL, saying he misread the state of the line, even though we could all argue that the coaching staff was fully behind guys like Haeg, Clark, etc., who didn't play well. But Ballard not only took the blame, he then did something about it. 

 

Biggest difference is that Ballard has done a good job building the roster so far, and has some good will built up because of it. I think that's a good thing, all around.

[shasta519]

That's Ballard's style. He is very adept at PR and trust and relationship building.

[Dark Superman]

I can listen to Chris Ballard talk football all day long!

[Four2itus]

He get's ahead of the message. In a vacuum, doubts and opinions begin. He has a very real way of designing, sharing, and following his own plan....which creates very little space for doubt. 

 

Unless of course, one is on an internet board....dying to blame something...

[csmopar]

I'll just say this, Ballard sold me the way he handled the media and press conference after the whole Mc Flake situation a year ago. Not just with the ending line, but the whole thing. After serving nearly 15 years in the military, I've seen my share of good and bad leaders.  Some are good folks but not good leaders.  Others, have a commanding presence and persona.  Ballard falls into the latter.  He's a natural leader, takes responsibility for it all even it is a shared responsibility.  That earns respect from players, employees, soldiers, the like. 

[Superman]

24 minutes ago, csmopar said:

I'll just say this, Ballard sold me the way he handled the media and press conference after the whole Mc Flake situation a year ago. Not just with the ending line, but the whole thing. After serving nearly 15 years in the military, I've seen my share of good and bad leaders.  Some are good folks but not good leaders.  Others, have a commanding presence and persona.  Ballard falls into the latter.  He's a natural leader, takes responsibility for it all even it is a shared responsibility.  That earns respect from players, employees, soldiers, the like. 

 

Yeah, I thought he owned that moment. 

 

I don't mean that in the sense that he took responsibility for the bad circumstance and put the blame on his shoulders, although that's true, and it was the best response.

 

I mean Ballard took control of the narrative, handled it as well as anyone could, offered tremendous perspective, was humble and gracious, said the right things the right way, gave his time willingly, spoke passionately, and by the end of that presser, I was as convinced as ever that he was the right kind of person to run a football operation. He absolutely nailed it.

 

And everything he's done since has reinforced that view, in my mind. I don't agree with everything he says and does, but I have no doubt that he's making thoughtful decisions, with the full support of his staff, the coaches, and ownership. And it doesn't hurt that his decisions have been working.

[csmopar]

1 minute ago, Superman said:

 

Yeah, I thought he owned that moment. 

 

I don't mean that in the sense that he took responsibility for the bad circumstance and put the blame on his shoulders, although that's true, and it was the best response.

 

I mean Ballard took control of the narrative, handled it as well as anyone could, offered tremendous perspective, was humble and gracious, said the right things the right way, gave his time willingly, spoke passionately, and by the end of that presser, I was as convinced as ever that he was the right kind of person to run a football operation. He absolutely nailed it.

 

And everything he's done since has reinforced that view, in my mind. I don't agree with everything he says and does, but I have no doubt that he's making thoughtful decisions, with the full support of his staff, the coaches, and ownership. And it doesn't hurt that his decisions have been working.

Completely agreed. and thats the stuff that sold me.

[Valpo2004]

On 4/4/2019 at 6:44 AM, SouthernIndianaNDFan said:

 

Could be that he just axe murdered last years draft, and is riding a wave of success. He is also the reigning GM of the Year, and these things come with a certain notoriety. 

 

I think it's this and that it's more his style.  But the fact that he just absolutely killed the last draft on a historic level is going to mean that there are going to be more media types who want to talk to him.

 

(On a historic level I am referring to the fact that he drafted 2 rookie all pros for the first time since the '60's)

[gspdx]

On 4/9/2019 at 11:32 AM, csmopar said:

I'll just say this, Ballard sold me the way he handled the media and press conference after the whole Mc Flake situation a year ago. Not just with the ending line, but the whole thing. After serving nearly 15 years in the military, I've seen my share of good and bad leaders.  Some are good folks but not good leaders.  Others, have a commanding presence and persona.  Ballard falls into the latter.  He's a natural leader, takes responsibility for it all even it is a shared responsibility.  That earns respect from players, employees, soldiers, the like. 

 

I agree.  Spent 20 in the military.  Some are natural leaders.  Over the years there were 2 traits that stood out to me.

 

1.  Leaders won't ask others to do what they won't do. 

2.  Leaders are completely invested in the success or failure.  They will go down with the ship.

 

Watching that little video "with the next pick" I thought it was interesting Ballard said they all "checked" their titles at the door.  Didn't matter if you are in intern or assistant GM everyone would get challenged.  That is awesome.  Everyone is valuable and everyone gets input.  

 

The leader should own the responsibility and delegate the authority to get stuff done.  Ballard sounds like that kind of guy.  Not just the GM (manager).  That is a title.  Grigson had that title, but didn't seem much like a leader in the way he treated people.