Ballard

[CurBeatElite]

1 hour ago, Jdubu said:

If you honestly believe the crap you just typed, I don’t know what to tell you. JB has not performed well all season, except a few parts of games this year. Every metric a QB gets rated by has to be near the bottom for JB, with the exceptions of int’s perhaps, I’ll give him that. No matter what excuse you put on him, he just is what he is, a back up QB, he is NOT a starter and hopefully after this season, he gets placed back on the bench where he does his best work. Great guy and teammate I’m certain. Good QB, extremely debatable. 

 

Brissett isn't the Luck or Peyton that we're used to, that's for sure.  That said, he's playing with back ups all around him and still keeping us in almost every game.  Literally, this week we'll have Chad Williams who was a 3rd rounder (and has been a bust so far), and then all other UDFA guys at TE and WR.  I guarantee you we're the only team in the league that between their tight end and WR group has only 1 drafted player.  

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

1 minute ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

Brissett isn't the Luck or Peyton that we're used to, that's for sure.  That said, he's playing with back ups all around him and still keeping us in almost every game.  Literally, this week we'll have Chad Williams who was a 3rd rounder (and has been a bust so far), and then all other UDFA guys at TE and WR.  I guarantee you we're the only team in the league that between their tight end and WR group has only 1 drafted player.  

We have had two 100 yard WR that were undrafted. That says a lot. Jacoby might be struggling but the hate for him is overrated. We have had double digit leads the last three games. It’s not just the offense struggling in the fourth. It’s also the defense. The 4th quarter struggles have been on both sides of the balk. The accuracy issues I think can be corrected with a entire offseason knowing he will be the starter next year. The deep ball stuff seems to have been maybe just a confidence issue. He clearly has touch once in awhile. He showed it Sunday.  It just needs to get more consistent. WE will probably draft the future but I am not giving up on him next year if he starts. If  WR stay healthy and we add a couple weapons I can see him improving next season.  When your missing playmakers like a TY it is going to hurt you in the 4th quarter. You need those kind of guys down the stretch of games.

[Jdubu]

19 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

Brissett isn't the Luck or Peyton that we're used to, that's for sure.  That said, he's playing with back ups all around him and still keeping us in almost every game.  Literally, this week we'll have Chad Williams who was a 3rd rounder (and has been a bust so far), and then all other UDFA guys at TE and WR.  I guarantee you we're the only team in the league that between their tight end and WR group has only 1 drafted player.  

Dude, he didn’t play well when he had the starters playing. Face this fact, he can’t get past his first read, regardless of the time his oline gives him. He isn’t Manning or Luck and that’s always been clear,  ever felt he would be. I always thought he would be capable of reading more than 1 and maybe sometimes 2 reads but he hasn’t and at this stage, don’t think he can. He isn’t the guy this team risks the “with time he will get it”. He hasn’t shown growth in that area. Solid bench guy. Great team morale guy. Awful awful starter. 

[CurBeatElite]

2 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

We have had two 100 yard WR that were undrafted. That says a lot. Jacoby might be struggling but the hate for him is overrated. We have had double digit leads the last three games. It’s not just the offense struggling in the fourth. It’s also the defense. The 4th quarter struggles have been on both sides of the balk. The accuracy issues I think can be corrected with a entire offseason knowing he will be the starter next year. The deep ball stuff seems to have been maybe just a confidence issue. He clearly has touch once in awhile. He showed it Sunday.  It just needs to get more consistent. WE will probably draft the future but I am not giving up on him next year if he starts. If  WR stay healthy and we add a couple weapons I can see him improving next season.  When your missing playmakers like a TY it is going to hurt you in the 4th quarter. You need those kind of guys down the stretch of games.

 

Going into the season, I thought we had a very formidable 1-2 WR group with TY and Funchess.  I had higher hopes for Cain and thought Campbell would really blossom as the season went on.  

 

Funchess got hurt for the year after it looked like he and Jacoby had nice chemistry week 1.  Cain wasn't the Cain the colts.com documentaries were making him out to be.  TY has been banged up for a good chunk of the season.  Campbell has shown flashes, but he's been hurt or injured almost all season.  

 

On top of that, I thought Ebron and Doyle would be one of the most formidable TE groups in the league.  Ebron had multiple bad drops along the way and is now on the IR.  Doyle's had an all right year, but the rest of our TE's are nothing better than mediocre (at least at receiving).  

 

While J. Williams also had a couple of good games, our running attack was without our #1 for a couple weeks and our team didn't win with Mack on the injury report.

[Jdubu]

14 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

We have had two 100 yard WR that were undrafted. That says a lot. Jacoby might be struggling but the hate for him is overrated. We have had double digit leads the last three games. It’s not just the offense struggling in the fourth. It’s also the defense. The 4th quarter struggles have been on both sides of the balk. The accuracy issues I think can be corrected with a entire offseason knowing he will be the starter next year. The deep ball stuff seems to have been maybe just a confidence issue. He clearly has touch once in awhile. He showed it Sunday.  It just needs to get more consistent. WE will probably draft the future but I am not giving up on him next year if he starts. If  WR stay healthy and we add a couple weapons I can see him improving next season.  When your missing playmakers like a TY it is going to hurt you in the 4th quarter. You need those kind of guys down the stretch of games.

The “hate” or what rational people call facts, is that JB is not very good. Maybe your 4th Q defense would do better if the offense didn’t leave them out there hanging so frequently. JB wasn’t good with TY, Ebron, Doyle, Mack and the entire starting oline all season, he just is overblown as a kid with potential and he hasn’t even come close to reaching the low level fruit plateau in terms of potential. He had probably the best 3 quarters of the season yesterday with deep attempts and some touch. Outside of those 3 quarters, he had to play the fourth and that’s where he derailed. Again! He went back to missing open receivers. Throwing behind his guy and all his other bad traits. I’m hopeful the coaching staff is ready to wash their hands of him as well as the starter and ready to see what the new chapter looks like without JB staring down a single first read receiver. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

13 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

Going into the season, I thought we had a very formidable 1-2 WR group with TY and Funchess.  I had higher hopes for Cain and thought Campbell would really blossom as the season went on.  

 

Funchess got hurt for the year after it looked like he and Jacoby had nice chemistry week 1.  Cain wasn't the Cain the colts.com documentaries were making him out to be.  TY has been banged up for a good chunk of the season.  Campbell has shown flashes, but he's been hurt or injured almost all season.  

 

On top of that, I thought Ebron and Doyle would be one of the most formidable TE groups in the league.  Ebron had multiple bad drops along the way and is now on the IR.  Doyle's had an all right year, but the rest of our TE's are nothing better than mediocre (at least at receiving).  

 

While J. Williams also had a couple of good games, our running attack was without our #1 for a couple weeks and our team didn't win with Mack on the injury report.

I still think there is a chance Ballard decides to take a stud DT and WR and see what a offseason can do for Jacoby. It’s almost unfair to judge him with all the weird things that have happened.  Not to mention given the starting job 2 weeks before the season. Especially the kicking game. He might decide to see what he can do with healthy and upgraded weapons and a offseason where he is the starter. I can imagine he will do a lot more to improve his game in the off season knowing he is the starter.  I won’t be surprised if Kelly gets some playing time the last two games to see if he is backup material. If he can earn the backup spot that creates some competion with Jacoby. The forum will explode if he passes on a couple of these quarterbacks. 

[NannyMcafee]

On 12/8/2019 at 9:26 PM, Pacergeek said:

This is my beef with Ballard. He's created a narrative, amongst Colts fans, that he is an expert at the draft. Narrative that we can trust him to nail the draft every year. This isn't true. Draft picks are 50/50, and Ballard has not shown us he is capable of exceeding this percentage. For every Darius Leonard, there will be Quincy Wilson. 

 

Ballard hasn't created a narrative that hes a draft expert. He has even stated more than ones, you're going to miss on picks, therefore he likes collecting more darts (picks) for the board. You act like you arent happy unless he actually meets this narrative that you claim he has created, and does in fact hit every pick. 

[BleedBlue4Shoe86]

36 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

I still think there is a chance Ballard decides to take a stud DT and WR and see what a offseason can do for Jacoby. It’s almost unfair to judge him with all the weird things that have happened. Especially the kicking game. He might decide to see what he can do with healthy and upgraded weapons and a offseason where he is the starter. I can imagine he will do a lot more to improve his game in the off season knowing he is the starter.  I won’t be surprised if Kelly gets some playing time the last two games to see if he is backup material. If he can earn the backup spot that creates some competion with Jacoby. The forum will explode if he passes on a couple of these quarterbacks. 

Holy crap do I agree with this. I actually believe that Ballard really likes Brissett and wants to move forward with him as the future QB. 
 

THIS FORUM WILL IMPLODE if he passes on a QB. 

[Dogg63]

6 minutes ago, BleedBlue4Shoe86 said:

Holy crap do I agree with this. I actually believe that Ballard really likes Brissett and wants to move forward with him as the future QB. 
 

THIS FORUM WILL IMPLODE if he passes on a QB. 

Same here, pretty sure the front office grabs a low round QB (because they need one to replace CK - they've paid their respects to his uncle, time to cut him loose) and because JB is their guy.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

10 minutes ago, BleedBlue4Shoe86 said:

Holy crap do I agree with this. I actually believe that Ballard really likes Brissett and wants to move forward with him as the future QB. 
 

THIS FORUM WILL IMPLODE if he passes on a QB. 

Everyone wants to blame Jacoby for the fourth quarter issues. But the truth is the defense has been just as bad in the fourth quarter. Jacoby has showed enough flashes that he really just needs some consistancy. He wasn’t this inaccurate to start the season. He wasn’t throwing deep. Sunday he threw deep and had accuracy issues I am even going to say the inaccuracy issues the last few weeks might even be the knee still not 100%.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

7 minutes ago, Dogg63 said:

Same here, pretty sure the front office grabs a low round QB (because they need one to replace CK - they've paid their respects to his uncle, time to cut him loose) and because JB is their guy.

I think there is a good chance CK gets the backup job next year. They are keeping him in the roster for a reason. I still think he will get some playing time before the end of the season to see what he can do.

[BleedBlue4Shoe86]

Can I just say that it is nice to hear from some people who still believe in JB and have a level headed arguement. 

[CurBeatElite]

1 hour ago, Chloe6124 said:

I still think there is a chance Ballard decides to take a stud DT and WR and see what a offseason can do for Jacoby. It’s almost unfair to judge him with all the weird things that have happened.  Not to mention given the starting job 2 weeks before the season. Especially the kicking game. He might decide to see what he can do with healthy and upgraded weapons and a offseason where he is the starter. I can imagine he will do a lot more to improve his game in the off season knowing he is the starter.  I won’t be surprised if Kelly gets some playing time the last two games to see if he is backup material. If he can earn the backup spot that creates some competion with Jacoby. The forum will explode if he passes on a couple of these quarterbacks. 

 

Frankly, I don't really see a QB in the draft or a young FA who will come in and be better than Jacoby.  Where we will likely be picking won't get us (without significant trade) up high enough to get a guy like Burrow of Herbert.  Maybe we take someone like Jordan Love with our extra second round pick or in the 3rd and try to develop him for a year under Jacoby... I'm just not really blown away by any of the QB prospects coming out this year, at least not right off the bat.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

6 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

Frankly, I don't really see a QB in the draft or a young FA who will come in and be better than Jacoby.  Where we will likely be picking won't get us (without significant trade) up high enough to get a guy like Burrow of Herbert.  Maybe we take someone like Jordan Love with our extra second round pick or in the 3rd and try to develop him for a year under Jacoby... I'm just not really blown away by any of the QB prospects coming out this year, at least not right off the bat.

I don’t think love last to the second round. There is a chance though we could use our WA pick and move back into the first and select him as our second pick. A couple of these QB might not even come out. Eason, Love, Fromm might all stay in school.

[EastStreet]

16 hours ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

Never called him great... just saying he's played well enough for us to win just about every week.  While his time to throw is high, he's the 26th least sacked QB in the league. 

This is credit to the OL, which he is making it much harder on.....

A slow trigger is also not what Reich's O calls for.

16 hours ago, CurBeatElite said:

I know he's missed a few reads throughout the season, but he's not turning the ball over or taking many sacks. 

He's missed a lot more than a few. 

Not turning the ball over is not the only thing that goes into a QB. He's barely good in that stat given his low attempts. 

16 hours ago, CurBeatElite said:

I think it's worth keeping in mind that after Campbell went to IR,  we currently have three TEs who were all undrafted free agents in the past, and one healthy WR who was drafted (in the 3rd round by AZ in 2017, Chad Williams), the rest are UDFAs until TY gets healthy.  He's not really surrounded with much talent to get the ball to when he's not handing it off.  

We've had a pro bowl TE all year, and a TE that lead the league in TDs for most of the year. We also had Luck's #2 WR most of the year, and his X that started half the year. If you compare snap counts and production from this year to last, JB had more talent than Luck did last year through the same games.

 

But.... Let's take injury away and look purely at healthy time and stats in common.....

 

Even a guy like Hines who is a great check down option, has regressed significantly in YPG, and he's been played every game. Doyle has regressed significantly in YPG and played every game. TY even in healthy games, has regressed significantly. The only WR to increase his production/YPG is Pascal, and it nothing to write home about....

 

In short, if all you hang onto is low INT%, then you're in denial. Luck is gone, and you could say he's special and we shouldn't expect as much from JB... but the level of regression of most pass catchers, in addition to pretty mediocre or bad stats makes it pretty clear he's just not a franchise guy.

[richard pallo]

2 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

This is credit to the OL, which he is making it much harder on.....

A slow trigger is also not what Reich's O calls for.

He's missed a lot more than a few. 

Not turning the ball over is not the only thing that goes into a QB. He's barely good in that stat given his low attempts. 

We've had a pro bowl TE all year, and a TE that lead the league in TDs for most of the year. We also had Luck's #2 WR most of the year, and his X that started half the year. If you compare snap counts and production from this year to last, JB had more talent than Luck did last year through the same games.

 

But.... Let's take injury away and look purely at healthy time and stats in common.....

 

Even a guy like Hines who is a great check down option, has regressed significantly in YPG, and he's been played every game. Doyle has regressed significantly in YPG and played every game. TY even in healthy games, has regressed significantly. The only WR to increase his production/YPG is Pascal, and it nothing to write home about....

 

In short, if all you hang onto is low INT%, then you're in denial. Luck is gone, and you could say he's special and we shouldn't expect as much from JB... but the level of regression of most pass catchers, in addition to pretty mediocre or bad stats makes it pretty clear he's just not a franchise guy.

Yet he resigns Doyle to a very nice new three year deal.  Maybe Ballard knows something we don't know.   Hmmm. 

[EastStreet]

13 hours ago, deedub75 said:

I’m not being disingenuous at all. Only speaking the truth. Luck has lost his share of games that most thought he’d easily win. The Jags at their worst have gotten him on a few occasions. I don’t subscribe to revisionist history. 

He's lost at times while also playing behind a horrid OL and bad running game. It was all on him... and much easier to game plan against. You take none of that into consideration.

 

Sure he lost to Jax. He had about 250 yards if IIRC, and we couldn't even run for 50 yards. Ramsey also shut down TY. It was one of the worst game plans I've ever seen. It was also a game that was 99% on Reich, who went for it on 4th and short 3 times, and all three times we were in FG range. That's leaving 9pts on the field. 

 

You are disingenuous as you stress your narrative while acting blind to everything counter.

[Dogg63]

1 minute ago, EastStreet said:

You are disingenuous as you stress your narrative while acting blind to everything counter.

[EastStreet]

8 hours ago, DEFENSE said:

i think our fs position could be upgraded, hooker is below average

LOL... He may not be a pro bowler, but he's well above average. He's had a rating of 75-80 most of the year. He's only been targeted 12 times, and only given up like 8 receptions. And some of those receptions could be argued blown coverage by others.

[Pacergeek]

3 hours ago, NannyMcafee said:

 

Ballard hasn't created a narrative that hes a draft expert. He has even stated more than ones, you're going to miss on picks, therefore he likes collecting more darts (picks) for the board. You act like you arent happy unless he actually meets this narrative that you claim he has created, and does in fact hit every pick. 

Ballard's reluctance to buy star players leads me to believe that he feels he is capable of drafting star players. In his third season, I would say Ballard has drafted only 2 star players, Nelson and Leonard, which is not close to being good enough. 

[EastStreet]

56 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Yet he resigns Doyle to a very nice new three year deal.  Maybe Ballard knows something we don't know.   Hmmm. 

Doyle is very solid. I thought his deal was pretty team friendly. Not to high, not to low. He'll be in the middle of the pack in starting TEs after the off season and all the re-ups are done.

[EastStreet]

55 minutes ago, Dogg63 said:

Yes, I do ignore sloppy/lazy anecdotal stuff.

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

1 hour ago, EastStreet said:

LOL... He may not be a pro bowler, but he's well above average. He's had a rating of 75-80 most of the year. He's only been targeted 12 times, and only given up like 8 receptions. And some of those receptions could be argued blown coverage by others.

in the last game he played way off and blew coverage and looked lost

[NannyMcafee]

1 hour ago, Pacergeek said:

Ballard's reluctance to buy star players leads me to believe that he feels he is capable of drafting star players. In his third season, I would say Ballard has drafted only 2 star players, Nelson and Leonard, which is not close to being good enough. 

 

Ok. So how many stars should he have drafted in 3 drafts? Stars dont grow on trees. This past draft, we wont know until next year or possibly even the one after that. 

 

Did you know Reggie Wayne was the king of drops his first season? I wonder how many thought he would become a star. 

 

the jury is still out on his latest draft, therefore, you are asking for more than 2 stars out of 2 drafts. Nearly every star that Polian acquired was also from the draft, and they didnt become stars immediately. In fact, they needed supporting players in order to be the stars that they were. 

 

Ballard is drafting a culture right now.  Without which, a star player may be a cancer If you havent already established said locker room. I think you have room to complain if he remains inactive in FA the next 2 years. As for now, it is a bit premature. 

 

Also, dont forget, polian was already a HOFer before he became the Colts GM. Ballard is a brand new GM, who should be given time to learn from his mistakes. 

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

1 hour ago, EastStreet said:

LOL... He may not be a pro bowler, but he's well above average. He's had a rating of 75-80 most of the year. He's only been targeted 12 times, and only given up like 8 receptions. And some of those receptions could be argued blown coverage by others.

bucs threw in his direction all day sunday , maybe didnt go in stats as a target because he was lost in space to far from the receiver, imo ballard will upgrade this position in the draft, stats can be very misleading

 

[EastStreet]

29 minutes ago, DEFENSE said:

in the last game he played way off and blew coverage and looked lost

So one bad game makes him below average. I'd say the soft coverage calls were as much at fault.

[EastStreet]

25 minutes ago, DEFENSE said:

bucs threw in his direction all day sunday , maybe didnt go in stats as a target because he was lost in space to far from the receiver, imo ballard will upgrade this position in the draft, stats can be very misleading

 

Bucs were throwing to gaps in the zone all day, something Winston is known for doing. And the zone called was deep. 

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

6 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Bucs were throwing to gaps in the zone all day, something Winston is known for doing. And the zone called was deep. 

spot on the deep saftey should have the coverage, he was late all day, he was playing to far off

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

10 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

So one bad game makes him below average. I'd say the soft coverage calls were as much at fault.

he has been late to help the corners all season

[EastStreet]

2 minutes ago, DEFENSE said:

spot on the deep saftey should have the coverage, he was late all day, he was playing to far off

him playing far off is part of the play call.

where he starts the play is dictated by scheme.

2 minutes ago, DEFENSE said:

he has been late to help the corners all season

I think you need to lay some blame at Eberflus's feet here. 

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

2 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

him playing far off is part of the play call.

where he starts the play is dictated by scheme.

I think you need to lay some blame at Eberflus's feet here. 

i said in another post it could be coaching making him look bad, but he is to far off

[EastStreet]

10 minutes ago, DEFENSE said:

i said in another post it could be coaching making him look bad, but he is to far off

Eberflus is bend but don't break. He's been gumby, stretch armstrong, and humpty dumpty several times this season. I'd prefer more man mixed in, and more blitzing (not just predictable 3rd down).

[CurBeatElite]

4 hours ago, EastStreet said:

This is credit to the OL, which he is making it much harder on.....

A slow trigger is also not what Reich's O calls for.

He's missed a lot more than a few. 

Not turning the ball over is not the only thing that goes into a QB. He's barely good in that stat given his low attempts. 

We've had a pro bowl TE all year, and a TE that lead the league in TDs for most of the year. We also had Luck's #2 WR most of the year, and his X that started half the year. If you compare snap counts and production from this year to last, JB had more talent than Luck did last year through the same games.

 

But.... Let's take injury away and look purely at healthy time and stats in common.....

 

Even a guy like Hines who is a great check down option, has regressed significantly in YPG, and he's been played every game. Doyle has regressed significantly in YPG and played every game. TY even in healthy games, has regressed significantly. The only WR to increase his production/YPG is Pascal, and it nothing to write home about....

 

In short, if all you hang onto is low INT%, then you're in denial. Luck is gone, and you could say he's special and we shouldn't expect as much from JB... but the level of regression of most pass catchers, in addition to pretty mediocre or bad stats makes it pretty clear he's just not a franchise guy.

 

We have 2 guys who used to be pro bowl TEs.  Ebron struggled with his drops this year more so than last year.  

 

Reich also made it very clear in the off-season (before Luck retired) that he was going to put much more emphasis on the run this year.  With 3 games left, we have surpassed our total from all of last year.  We're playing a different style of ball this year.  I'm sure some of it's due to a decline in QB performance from Andrew to JB, but the plan was to run the ball a lot more before Luck went down.  

 

I beg to differ regarding Luck having less talent than JB last year.  TY's missed games and in several games he has played, he's been banged up.  Funchess went down week 1.  After that, our WRs are really not good (not that Luck's were last year, either, but we didn't have a running game and Luck hasn't had to deal w/ near as many injuries to his supporting cast as Jacoby has).  

 

I'm not hanging on to his low INT% as the only thing why I don't think JB is a horrible QB.  JB found out he'd be the starter ~2 weeks before the season and his team has been banged up.  His kicker has lost at least 5 games.  He's doing fine at what he's asked to do.  Ballard made it clear from day 1, we're not going to expect him to be Andrew... there are almost no QBs in the league you could expect to be Andrew.   And no, JB is not in Andrew's league, but he's not a bad, terrible  QB like  you seem to insist.

 

4 hours ago, EastStreet said:

He's lost at times while also playing behind a horrid OL and bad running game. It was all on him... and much easier to game plan against. You take none of that into consideration.

 

Sure he lost to Jax. He had about 250 yards if IIRC, and we couldn't even run for 50 yards. Ramsey also shut down TY. It was one of the worst game plans I've ever seen. It was also a game that was 99% on Reich, who went for it on 4th and short 3 times, and all three times we were in FG range. That's leaving 9pts on the field. 

 

You are disingenuous as you stress your narrative while acting blind to everything counter.

 

Not sure Luck was easier to game plan against.  Jacoby has been throwing to a banged up TY, lost his #2 WR, lost his #1 TE, and now he's got guys coming up from the practice squad or off the street who he gets to throw to.  

 

3 hours ago, Pacergeek said:

Ballard's reluctance to buy star players leads me to believe that he feels he is capable of drafting star players. In his third season, I would say Ballard has drafted only 2 star players, Nelson and Leonard, which is not close to being good enough. 

 

Hooker has been very good for us when healthy.  Mack has been very good for us when healthy.  Andrew Walker is a good player.  Stewart is coming into his own.

 

Nelson and Leonard are bonafide studs.  B. Smith is a very solid player for us.  Turay was playing very nicely prior to his injury.  Hines and Wilkins have been solid for us as change-of-pace backs.  Fountain looked like he was really coming into his own before his injury this year.

 

Ya-Sin has been solid, for the most part, and he'll get better.  Banogu is showing a lot of signs of being a good player (he was drafted as an athlete who they'd coach to develop into a footballer).  Campbell has been bitten by the injury bug, but he showed a lot of flashes when he was on the field (he was also drafted as kind of a project).  Okerere is looking like he can be a very solid NFL guy.  Willis has been solid, as has Tell.  

 

While a few guys are on other teams or on the IR, every single player Ballard has drafted since becoming a GM is still in the league after 3 years.  I would highly doubt there are more than 2-3 (if any) other GMs in the league that could say that.

 

 

 

[EastStreet]

18 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

We have 2 guys who used to be pro bowl TEs.  Ebron struggled with his drops this year more so than last year.  

Ebron struggled with drops last year. Nothing new.

18 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

Reich also made it very clear in the off-season (before Luck retired) that he was going to put much more emphasis on the run this year.  With 3 games left, we have surpassed our total from all of last year.  We're playing a different style of ball this year.  I'm sure some of it's due to a decline in QB performance from Andrew to JB, but the plan was to run the ball a lot more before Luck went down.  

He also said he wanted to be around 60% pass / 40% run, and that you could be top 5 in runing with that ratio.

 

We've surpassed last year because Mack was out the first third of the season last year, and our OL was musical chairs the first third as well. Mack's average per carry is actually down due to teams keying on the run.

18 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

I beg to differ regarding Luck having less talent than JB last year.  TY's missed games and in several games he has played, he's been banged up.  Funchess went down week 1.  After that, our WRs are really not good (not that Luck's were last year, either, but we didn't have a running game and Luck hasn't had to deal w/ near as many injuries to his supporting cast as Jacoby has).  

Luck was without Doyle most of the year. TY missed 2.5 games and was pretty hobbled in 3 more and ineffective (only 9 games with typical snap counts, and even some of those he was playing injured). His #2 WR all year was Rogers (the guy JB can't see). Grant was supposed to be his #2 (like Funch this year) but was gimpy a lot of the season and pretty much abandoned. His #3 was a tag team of Inman and Pascal. Hines was his 4th leading pass catcher as a rookie. JB has had Doyle and Hines all year, Ebron most of the year (who had the same drop issues last year), Pascal all year, and rarely utilized deep threat in Cain that was more or less a waste because JB could see downfield and or was unwilling to throw deep. 

 

It's a push IMO. I could probably make snap count case vs production. 

 

18 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

I'm not hanging on to his low INT% as the only thing why I don't think JB is a horrible QB.  JB found out he'd be the starter ~2 weeks before the season and his team has been banged up.  His kicker has lost at least 5 games.  He's doing fine at what he's asked to do.  Ballard made it clear from day 1, we're not going to expect him to be Andrew... there are almost no QBs in the league you could expect to be Andrew.   And no, JB is not in Andrew's league, but he's not a bad, terrible  QB like  you seem to insist.

He got pretty much all first team reps, and started every pre-season game. He played the 2017 season. He's not a rookie. He had more time in the O scheme than Luck did last year. His kicker has nothing to do with his missing open WRs, high time to throw, struggles with reading Ds, slowness in going through progressions.

18 minutes ago, CurBeatElite said:

Not sure Luck was easier to game plan against.  Jacoby has been throwing to a banged up TY, lost his #2 WR, lost his #1 TE, and now he's got guys coming up from the practice squad or off the street who he gets to throw to.  

Luck was easier to game plan against when he had no rushing game, and bad OL. Luck didn't have his #1 TE (Doyle was replaced by Ebron) while JB had both most of the year, his #2 WR (Grant) was an injury and performance failure (think Funch), and his #1 WR only played 9 games with his usual snap counts (and that's being generous). He was also showing good chemistry with Cain before he was injured (think Campbell). He ended up having PS and late waiver claims as regular options (Pascal/Inman/Johnson)

 

 

[Myles]

My guess (and my fear) is that JB is the starting QB next year.   I'm not ready to prepare for another season of close games where we go .500.   

I was on board with Jacoby earlier in the season, but he hasn't shown improvement and his faults are still so obvious.  

[ColtStrong2013]

On 12/10/2019 at 8:15 AM, Myles said:

In early August, the Colts were the 5th best odds to win the Super Bowl.   That is how far Ballard had brought us until Luck quit.   

I haven't seen a Colts team this good in a long time.   Great O-line.   Good RB group.  Good TE group of Doyle Ebron and Cox.  Good WR group of Hilton, Funchess, Campbell, Pascal, Rogers and Fountain.  A much improved defense that is right in the middle in YPG and PPG despite having a poor passing offense.  

This team would be in the hunt for a 1st round bye with Luck or another good QB.

 

Ballard has done great.  Think about how thin and poor this team was when he took over.   

 

This team competes. That alone makes me happy to see. Ballard has built a competitive locker room. He'll continue to do so. We'll look at this season in a few weeks and realize we were one play away in several games from being a division champ.

 

He just needs to put a playmaker under center and get some weapons around him. I still have confidence in his scouting and ability to do that. He's going to be sitting on some cash and in a good position come draft time to make some moves he wants to. He's still in a good spot as a GM. Irsay isn't pulling the plug on him anytime soon. 

[gspdx]

18 hours ago, Pacergeek said:

Ballard's reluctance to buy star players leads me to believe that he feels he is capable of drafting star players. In his third season, I would say Ballard has drafted only 2 star players, Nelson and Leonard, which is not close to being good enough. 

 

So this isn't about a narrative Ballard is trying to sell - it is about your assumptions based on his behavior as a GM.  Glad you cleared that up.

 

Let's remember buying star players is also not a sure fire solution to creating a championship team.  But it will create a financially unsustainable roster over time.  You don't agree with his approach but that doesn't make you right.  I am not saying Ballard is a genius or the best GM in the league, but he has a plan and is executing on it.  Lots of other variables this year have seriously impacted this teams ability to win.  

[lennymoore24]

I am surprised at the lack of football knowledge exhibited by some people on here.  How long will you make excuses for Brissett?  I said before the season, and check my posts, that Brissett is a mediocre QB at best who will never get better.  Why do I say this?  First of all, I am coming from a coaching perspective as I have coached for over 15 years.   Brissett only has success when a strong running game sets up play action and wide open receivers.  When a receiver is challenged, Brissett almost always avoids throwing the ball.  He locks onto his first read and if that player isn't open, he looks to check down.  He holds the ball far too long.  He is very inaccurate on plays where accuracy is most apparent.  Remember, even 3rd string QBs in the NFL can usually hit wide open receivers.  He seems like a really good person and people like him.  But to give him another year as starting QB, I would expect pretty much the same thing next year.  And that is just another year of wasted talent around him.  Now, the problem is, I don't know if there is a better option coming out of college considering where we draft.  And there are no free agents worth signing.  I would actually rather have a combination of Nick Foles as a bridge QB with a developmental QB then another year of Brissett.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

10 hours ago, Myles said:

My guess (and my fear) is that JB is the starting QB next year.   I'm not ready to prepare for another season of close games where we go .500.   

I was on board with Jacoby earlier in the season, but he hasn't shown improvement and his faults are still so obvious.  

There is no guarantee next year would have the same outcome as this year. There was a lot of things that went wrong in this season and Jacoby isn’t the only reason. Chances are even if we draft the future Jacoby will be the starter next year. A lot of strange things have happened this year that has  lead up to our record. Just look at the turning point. We were 5-2 going into the Steelers game. What happened Jacoby got injured and our WR stated dropping like flies. You can’t underestimate the importance of Ty. Pascal has done great but he isn’t what you would call a playmaker. The things TY can do to fake out defenders ect makes him a great player.  We are missing actual playmakers in the 4th quarter of games. No matter what they do at QB I am excited if Jacoby starts next season and to see what he can do with heathy and upgraded weapons. Plus not having all the drama with Luck two weeks before the season.  Yes he has had some issues but to me I give him a incomplete with everything that has happened.

[esmort]

12 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

There is no guarantee next year would have the same outcome as this year. There was a lot of things that went wrong in this season and Jacoby isn’t the only reason. Chances are even if we draft the future Jacoby will be the starter next year. A lot of strange things have happened this year that has  lead up to our record. Just look at the turning point. We were 5-2 going into the Steelers game. What happened Jacoby got injured and our WR stated dropping like flies. You can’t underestimate the importance of Ty. Pascal has done great but he isn’t what you would call a playmaker. The things TY can do to fake out defenders ect makes him a great player.  We are missing actual playmakers in the 4th quarter of games. No matter what they do at QB I am excited if Jacoby starts next season and to see what he can do with heathy and upgraded weapons. Plus not having all the drama with Luck two weeks before the season.  Yes he has had some issues but to me I give him a incomplete with everything that has happened.

 

I think you are part of a VERY small minority.