Do you think Ballard consults his players?

[Lucky Colts Fan]

The thought of drafting Tillery made me think of this.

 

Do you think Ballard would consult with Nelson about his former Notre Dame teammate if he was serious about drafting Tillery?

Would he ask Tyquan Lewis about Dre'mont Jones?  Wilkins about Metcalf?  Etc.

[chad72]

Absolutely!!! It does help from an "inside the locker room" information point of view. However, the sum of all pieces of information (game tape, info from coaches throughout their career, other teammates throughout their career etc.) trumps one individual nugget of information. 

[IndyD4U]

Agree with above. Probably more to find out what type of teammate he is more than anything.

[EastStreet]

If he respects the player (on the team already), then of course I think he would use every source available.

 

The Nelson/Tillery thing is interesting to me, because not only were they on the same team, they were also going up against each other across the line. Being the best two on the OL and DL during the last year Nelson played, they both impacted the other's talent level and help make them the player they are.

[Valpo2004]

I don't think consult is the right word.

 

But Ballard did say that he liked to talk to as many people as possible about the player.  So it's pretty likely he would talk to Nelson about him.  

[Superman]

He reportedly spoke with Jacoby Brissett about Josh McDaniels. I assume he would talk to players about their former teammates as well.

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

I'm sure that he does speak to players about their former teammates. He seems like the type of guy that leaves no stone left unturned. 

 

Right now, I hope he has someone on the OUIJA Board

 

And someone making a sacrifice to Jobu to make sure we get this draft right.

[NewColtsFan]

 

I think the consensus here is.....       absolutely yes.   

 

No one can come up with a reason why Ballard wouldn't.    He's drafting high quality kids,  so one would think he'd trust them.    He's only asking for an opinion.    

[Buck Showalter]

49 minutes ago, Superman said:

He reportedly spoke with Jacoby Brissett about Josh McDaniels. I assume he would talk to players about their former teammates as well.

Ha, so maybe he DOESN'T ask players stuff anymore!!!

 

You know, if Jacoby vouched for the guy, lol,..

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

I wonder how truthful they would be to ballard. I imagine they truat Ballard that what they say will stay private.

[Superman]

55 minutes ago, Buck Showalter said:

Ha, so maybe he DOESN'T ask players stuff anymore!!!

 

You know, if Jacoby vouched for the guy, lol,..

 

I know that's a joke.

 

Just wanted to say, while I'm sure Brissett had positive things to say about McDaniels, I'm also pretty sure that Ballard offering McDaniels the job wasn't solely based on Brissett's recommendation. I'd say that represented less than 5% of the equation. Ballard did A LOT of work on McDaniels, but McDaniels proved to be untrustworthy. I'm glad it happened when it did, and not a month or a year later...

 

And it would be the same if Ballard asked Nelson his opinion of someone like Tillery. I wouldn't expect that Ballard would say 'Q likes him, that's good enough for me.' 

[BigQungus]

2 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

The thought of drafting Tillery made me think of this.

 

Do you think Ballard would consult with Nelson about his former Notre Dame teammate if he was serious about drafting Tillery?

Would he ask Tyquan Lewis about Dre'mont Jones?  Wilkins about Metcalf?  Etc.

 

Absolutely!

 

It's very common for GMs to call their own players to ask about people they used to play with in college. Of course, that can be a little unreliable and they do more digging than that, but it definitely is a part of the process.

 

I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere but it's pretty hard to exactly find something that goes that in depth with the scouting process. Here is a link to an old article that talks a little bit about it. It doesn't specifically say that they consult their own players about their former college teammates, but it does say that some teams talk to their old kindergarten teachers, and if they do that, then I'd imagine that they definitely talk to their own players.

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000326374/article/nfl-draft-process-requires-teams-to-truly-know-prospects

 

I also think that offensive players are more likely to know other offensive teammates better than defensive teammates

[DerekDiggler]

In FA? Maybe but only on what kind of teammate is he from former teammates.    In the draft Hell no!!!!  He shouldn't listen to players or fans.  He has a pro scouting staff and a college scouting staff.  Pretty sure they have it covered.

[Lucky Colts Fan]

4 hours ago, Irish YJ said:

The Nelson/Tillery thing is interesting to me, because not only were they on the same team, they were also going up against each other across the line.

 

That crossed my mind too.

 

If they made each other better at Notre Dame, I'm all for bringing in Tillery and letting them continue to improve their game going up against each other.

 

Iron sharpens iron and all that jazz. 

[Lucky Colts Fan]

47 minutes ago, DerekDiggler said:

In the draft Hell no!!!!

 

Leave no stone unturned, right?

 

There might be things a former teammate would know but not be comfortable sharing with all the scouts of all 32 teams, but a guy like Nelson might be comfortable sharing with Ballard.

 

For example: "Were there any players-only meetings?  If so, what was he like in those meetings?"  That would be something only a former teammate would be privy to, but probably not willing to share with a stranger who is scouting said teammate.

[Creekside]

I remember Bill Polian  telling how one of the Colt's DT's had played against Jeff Saturday in college and convinced Polian to sign him as an undrafted FA. 

 

 

[Smonroe]

I’m hoping he asked about Grigson’s process...and then did the opposite.  

[Farns01]

4 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

That crossed my mind too.

 

If they made each other better at Notre Dame, I'm all for bringing in Tillery and letting them continue to improve their game going up against each other.

 

Iron sharpens iron and all that jazz. 

I agree they could help each other but practicing against aging vets could be better.  They will have more tricks up their sleeve to learn how to counter.

[GoDeep]

On 4/24/2019 at 4:56 PM, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

That crossed my mind too.

 

If they made each other better at Notre Dame, I'm all for bringing in Tillery and letting them continue to improve their game going up against each other.

 

Iron sharpens iron and all that jazz. 

He is obviously a horseshoe guy.