Chris Ballard

[waittilnextyear]

1 hour ago, Pacergeek said:

Yes. Exactly. Rock Ya Sin was a way better pick than DK Metcalf or Deebo Samuel.

 

 Someone is lost.
 So you are saying we should have kept our first rd pick and taken one of those two.
 Well i guess we will see going forward how Rock and those 2 compare.
  So if picks 16-40 usually grade about the same, why would one expect players taken in that group to be way better over the others? Or why would one expect that any or all would prove their end worth their rookie season? That would be nutts!
  In the meantime, Ballard will pick someone at pick 34 with that extra pick from trading back, that just might tip the scales one way or another. 
This stuff isn't supposed to be that hard to comprehend.

[Mitch Connors]

1 hour ago, Coffeedrinker said:

They both have made more of impact this year but it's too early to tell.

 

I remember people bad mouthing Polian when he took a receiver Wayne when Quincy Morgan, Chad Johnson and Chris Chambers were available.  Or for taking Freeney rather than Haynesworth.  In the long run, it was proven that Polian made the correct choice.  We need to wait and see if the same can be said for Ya-Sin.

 

IMO very few players talent transcends their situation (Julio Jones, Barry Sanders, LT, etc) its the situation that determines the result.

 

For example, Chris Chambers was, in my opinion, very very good but that's not necessarily reflected anywhere. He had a few great seasons with Gus Ferotte throwing him the ball. What would that look like if he were drafted here with Peyton throwing him the ball for 13 years?

 

Sure DK looks great - with Wilson throwing him ball.  

Sure Mack looks great running the ball - with this O line. 

Are those different results with different situations? 100% yes. 

[ClaytonColt]

I think Ballard get a lot of credit and while I not saying his results are bad by any means they are probably more mixed than you'd think by reading the positivity on here.

 

In essence his popularity comes down to three things; he's likeable and come across as honest, he nailed the Leonard pick (he gets credit for the Nelson pick too but if you pick a guard at #6 you almost expect them to be All-Pro) and he isn't the almost universally hated Grigson - that buys some credit.

 

Hes probably coming to a crucial off season though. He needs to nail it and make decisions that are perceived to be correct.

 

One thing that I've noticed that very rarely gets picked up on is that there are several players who we've released or let go for cheap who are contributing somewhat elsewhere where the bottom of our roster is basically useless. I wonder how good he is at self evaluating and getting that bottom end "churn" right?

[Coffeedrinker]

13 minutes ago, Mitch Connors said:

 

IMO very few players talent transcends their situation (Julio Jones, Barry Sanders, LT, etc) its the situation that determines the result.

 

For example, Chris Chambers was, in my opinion, very very good but that's not necessarily reflected anywhere. He had a few great seasons with Gus Ferotte throwing him the ball. What would that look like if he were drafted here with Peyton throwing him the ball for 13 years?

 

Sure DK looks great - with Wilson throwing him ball.  

Sure Mack looks great running the ball - with this O line. 

Are those different results with different situations? 100% yes. 

Yes, we can never do an apples to apples comparison because no two situations are exactly the same, for example, Chambers was the #1 receiver during his time in Miami, would Wayne have put up better numbers if he didn't have Harrison being the #1 the first 8 years of his career? The only thing we can do is look back at there careers.

 

 

[Coltsman1788]

1 hour ago, Dingus McGirt said:

Can't wait for the draft.  Ballard is going to absolutely stun some folks.  I'm already giddy.

Regardless of how well his upcoming draft picks are perceived to be this April, I will be more reserved in my excitement until I see how those players actually look playing in a Colts uni.  As much as I liked the last draft class, I was disappointed overall by what they showed on the field as a collective.  Paris was bit by the injury bug, Banogou wasn’t utilized as much as I hoped, Rock is still developing but doesn’t appear to possess shutdown corner ability, Okereke was ok but not the Leonard clone hoped for.  Best pick from last year thus far appears to be Khari Willis in my opinion.  Tough to judge a class on draft day and after only one year so I will keep that in mind next year too. 

[Dingus McGirt]

41 minutes ago, Coltsman1788 said:

Regardless of how well his upcoming draft picks are perceived to be this April, I will be more reserved in my excitement until I see how those players actually look playing in a Colts uni.  As much as I liked the last draft class, I was disappointed overall by what they showed on the field as a collective.  Paris was bit by the injury bug, Banogou wasn’t utilized as much as I hoped, Rock is still developing but doesn’t appear to possess shutdown corner ability, Okereke was ok but not the Leonard clone hoped for.  Best pick from last year thus far appears to be Khari Willis in my opinion.  Tough to judge a class on draft day and after only one year so I will keep that in mind next year too. 

Didn’t judge.  Just excited for the draft.

[Korey]

I believe that Ballard is one of the best GM in the NFL. 

 

With that being said isn't Ballard that one on record saying Brissett is a top 20 QB? Now after another season under his belt he did't perform to the level of this at all. Maybe this is where people are trying to come after Ballard for. IMO when people link players to GM's or coach's the players performance outweighs all the positive that GM or Coach has done. 

[compuls1v3]

4 hours ago, Coffeedrinker said:

They both have made more of impact this year but it's too early to tell.

 

I remember people bad mouthing Polian when he took a receiver Wayne when Quincy Morgan, Chad Johnson and Chris Chambers were available.  Or for taking Freeney rather than Haynesworth.  In the long run, it was proven that Polian made the correct choice.  We need to wait and see if the same can be said for Ya-Sin.

Some receivers take a few years to catch on, and so do some DBs.  Some receivers are first year studs, so are some DBs.  I have a feeling Ya-Sin has the tools and will catch up to the talent level of DBs that can cover receivers like Metcalf.  Just my gut feeling.  We shall see.

[GoColts8818]

15 minutes ago, compuls1v3 said:

Some receivers take a few years to catch on, and so do some DBs.  Some receivers are first year studs, so are some DBs.  I have a feeling Ya-Sin has the tools and will catch up to the talent level of DBs that can cover receivers like Metcalf.  Just my gut feeling.  We shall see.

I also think sometimes we under sell what was asked of Rock this year.  He was pretty much the number one corner most of the season.  That’s a big ask of any rookie.

[Moosejawcolt]

I get hammered for being critical  My biggest cristisim of Ballard is that he is drafting players for a scheme that I think is not functional when u run it over 80% of the time. Plus the players he has drafted  on D haven't really lit it up.  They r undersized and we play zone to much.

 

People come back  at me that Leonard is 2nd team all pro and  Nelson is 1s team. Every fan here was jumping off their chairs when he was available at 6, I don't give him credit for that pick. I see Leonard as a light undersized linebacker.  Sure he does make plays but gets blown up against the run. Watch the tape.  It is typical of this D to basically have safeties playing the lb position. 

 

Now if Ballard manages to beef up the D line, he may change my view. 

However,those guys r hard to find.  History has shown that we plug in D ends at tackle. I hated it under Dungy and now even more with the evolution and sophistication  of today's  QBs and offensive coordinators.

 

I mean Hooker was going to be that great safety; not so far. Wilson has been a bust and Basham is gone. Sin scares me as he gets beat a lot unless he mugs his guy. I like Oerekee (spelling) but once again he is light.  Touray looks great and is hurt.  I think that was a knock on him coming out of college. Banagou is young and light so we shall c. That's a lot of guys to miss on if u r rebuilding the D. 

 

 My brother in law  played at the college level, coaches a lot and he is a Tennessee fan. He jumped for joy when he heard we were going back  this style of D.  My son played ball for the CFL and he is  not a fan of this style of D.  I could b totally wrong and I hope I am.

 

The one thing I was so disappointed in last year was not grabbing Simmons.  This D is predicated on the 3 technique position.  Without those DT's, it is useless. I even banged the table for Suh; we had the money.  My fav draft guy last year was Simmons; check my posts. I said back then that if u can get a top 5 talent in the 20's, u move up to take him. Luck was our expected qb and I thought we would not have a chance at a guy like Simmons for a long time. Plus, this D does not run unless u have a guy like him.  The rumour was that is why the Colts  moved back to the 2nd because Simmons was gone. Simmons going to the Titans really irked me.  

 

Ballard likes his picks,  but sometimes u just have to go for it. Now u can start swinging at me hahaha.  

[Pacergeek]

14 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

I get hammered for being critical  My biggest cristisim of Ballard is that he is drafting players for a scheme that I think is not functional when u run it over 80% of the time. Plus the players he has drafted  on D haven't really lit it up.  They r undersized and we play zone to much.

 

People come back  at me that Leonard is 2nd team all pro and  Nelson is 1s team. Every fan here was jumping off their chairs when he was available at 6, I don't give him credit for that pick. I see Leonard as a light undersized linebacker.  Sure he does make plays but gets blown up against the run. Watch the tape.  It is typical of this D to basically have safeties playing the lb position. 

 

Now if Ballard manages to beef up the D line, he may change my view. 

However,those guys r hard to find.  History has shown that we plug in D ends at tackle. I hated it under Dungy and now even more with the evolution and sophistication  of today's  QBs and offensive coordinators.

 

I mean Hooker was going to be that great safety; not so far. Wilson has been a bust and Basham is gone. Sin scares me as he gets beat a lot unless he mugs his guy. I like Oerekee (spelling) but once again he is light.  Touray looks great and is hurt.  I think that was a knock on him coming out of college. Banagou is young and light so we shall c. That's a lot of guys to miss on if u r rebuilding the D. 

 

 My brother in law  played at the college level, coaches a lot and he is a Tennessee fan. He jumped for joy when he heard we were going back  this style of D.  My son played ball for the CFL and he is  not a fan of this style of D.  I could b totally wrong and I hope I am.

 

The one thing I was so disappointed in last year was not grabbing Simmons.  This D is predicated on the 3 technique position.  Without those DT's, it is useless. I even banged the table for Suh; we had the money.  My fav draft guy last year was Simmons; check my posts. I said back then that if u can get a top 5 talent in the 20's, u move up to take him. Luck was our expected qb and I thought we would not have a chance at a guy like Simmons for a long time. Plus, this D does not run unless u have a guy like him.  The rumour was that is why the Colts  moved back to the 2nd because Simmons was gone. Simmons going to the Titans really irked me.  

 

Ballard likes his picks,  but sometimes u just have to go for it. Now u can start swinging at me hahaha.  

Completely agree with this take. Ballard has had too many misses on defensive players. Heading into the 4th year, this Defense is still bad. Best case: Turay breaks out and gives our pass rush a formidable 1-2 punch with Houston. Ballard must find premier DT as well. Cover 2 will not work without pass rush from front 4. 

[Two_pound]

I think Ballard has done a great job drafting and finding free agents. Kenny Moore and George Odum were rookie free agents, both have made significant contributions. Milton was a free agent and he was a special teams demon for 2 years. Dulin really came on at the end of this season both on special teams and receiver, (he was wide open a few times but the ball never went his way, not his fault) He did have a few catches though. Banner is on the Steelers(but I don't think he is any good), Basham and Hairston are on the jest(probably should have kept Hairston). This team is solid, we gave up fewer points this year than the Texans, and we gave up fewer yards than the Titans. What's kind of funny is the Titans gave up over 4000 yards passing yet all I hear about is how phenominal that Titan defense is! Just an "average" qb and this team will be in the playoffs next year. 

[Moosejawcolt]

37 minutes ago, Two_pound said:

I think Ballard has done a great job drafting and finding free agents. Kenny Moore and George Odum were rookie free agents, both have made significant contributions. Milton was a free agent and he was a special teams demon for 2 years. Dulin really came on at the end of this season both on special teams and receiver, (he was wide open a few times but the ball never went his way, not his fault) He did have a few catches though. Banner is on the Steelers(but I don't think he is any good), Basham and Hairston are on the jest(probably should have kept Hairston). This team is solid, we gave up fewer points this year than the Texans, and we gave up fewer yards than the Titans. What's kind of funny is the Titans gave up over 4000 yards passing yet all I hear about is how phenominal that Titan defense is! Just an "average" qb and this team will be in the playoffs next year. 

I agree, he has picked up some very good free agents.  However, u can't build a team hoping to hit on free agents.  U build a team hitting on early picks.  They hopefully become the core of your team.