Chris Ballard on The Herd

[The Fish]

12 minutes ago, Myles said:

To be fair, many on this forum also predicted it a long time ago.  

 

pats self on back... but honestly, it was an easy prediction based on fit

 

 

[Creekside]

1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

Annoyed?   Seriously?   Over what?

 

people here get kissed when the media doesn’t ask enough questions, or the right questions.   Now you’re not happy because they asked too many questions.

 

Damned if they do.  Damned if they don’t. 

 

Maybe I shouldn't speak for Ballard, but personally I wanted to hear about the other players too.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

20 minutes ago, Myles said:

I agree that the BPA is the most likely to be drafted by a GM.   I'm just saying that it is not set in stone as it depends on the needs of a team.   Had the Colts O-line not been as bad, I don't think Nelson, a guard, would have been taken with the 6th pick.  Same with Smith in the 2nd round.  The need was there and Ballard knew it.

 

I will admit that some of my arguing is coming from a poster who was arguing that the Colts should have drafted Darnold instead of Nelson because he was the better player available.   

If we had just a good guard Ballard still probably would of drafted Nelson. Because like he says Nelson has unique traits most guards don’t have. Now if the guard we had possessed unique traits like Nelson then we wouldn’t of taken Nelson.

[Yoshinator]

1 hour ago, Coffeedrinker said:

I think I covered that.  But believe what you want.. I will believe Ballard and every other successful GM I've read or listened to... and that is you draft best player available regardless of need (and definitely not based on fan's perceived need).  The two reasons they always give are... because need is temporary and there are other ways to address needs., mainly free agency and trades, or you trade back, so the BPA lines up with the need..  Ballard even said that in the conversation on the Herd.

I agree with this. However, I believe Ballard drafts for need over BPA a lot more than you think. He can say every pick was on top of his board and was BPA and we can't technically prove him wrong, but most picks he's done are need picks even hearing Ballard say he was going after offensive playmakers this draft (which was a need).

[CheezyColt]

1 hour ago, Chloe6124 said:

If we had just a good guard Ballard still probably would of drafted Nelson. Because like he says Nelson has unique traits most guards don’t have. Now if the guard we had possessed unique traits like Nelson then we wouldn’t of taken Nelson.

I agree and think that's the correct way to look at things. Don't allow good to become the enemy of great (or however that saying goes)

[Jdubu]

5 hours ago, Myles said:

I look forward to watching/hearing this.   I'm such a Ballard fan.

 

So many GM's say take the best player despite need.   I don't really feel they truly believe that.  We all know that it depends on the desperation of the need.  The Colts desperately needed a D-lineman so they used their 13th pick on Buckner.  Great move to fill a position of need.   Maybe Buckner was also the best player they could get with that pick too.  

I would agree that "best player" is the go to for later round picks.  

They may actually take BPA every time, however, their BPA on the board is likely different than many. Also, is BPA is used and there is a guy that’s just close enough in a position of need, that will no doubt take precedent. Everything is always relevant to the situation. 

[NewColtsFan]

6 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:

I think ballard is trying to let fans know Eason isn’t ready. That’s why he says pump the breaks. He doesn’t want fans to think he is going to come in right away and be the savior. It just sounded really harsh the other night. 

 

4 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:

He could of just said we like his traits but has a lot of upside. There was no reason to say he still has to make the team and talk down to him by saying he is a 4th rd pick. Just say they like his traits and he has to work hard. 

 

Chloe....

 

You're reading way, WAY too much into Ballard's remarks.    He's not talking down to Eason, or trying to trash the player he just drafted.    He's trying to protect Eason.    He's trying to make sure the media has a bucket of cold water thrown on it to cool off expectations that could be red hot if not tamped down right away.   These kind of comments are said in all sports all the time.    Nothing that Ballard did was out of the ordinary.   Let's call it GM speak.    That's what the good ones do.

 

[NewColtsFan]

3 hours ago, egg said:

 

Maybe I shouldn't speak for Ballard, but personally I wanted to hear about the other players too.

 

Eventually, Ballard did talk about all his picks.     So, hopefully you got what you were looking for....

[AZColt11]

3 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:

His twitter Friday night before we took Taylor was telling. Right before the pick he goes come on Ballard pick Taylor. 

Yeah I saw that.  He was pretty charged up about it too, said Taylor was the steal of the draft and seemed excited that the Colts had picked him for whatever reason.  Maybe he's becoming a closet Colts fan?  Or just a Ballard fan?  I know he used to pimp Andrew Luck.

[DougDew]

9 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:

This is great. Should be up on YouTube later. Here are some highlights. 

 

He laughs at Colin was pumping up Pittman because he was afraid we would lose out on him.

 

Ballard talks again about Eason needing a lot of work. Say they feel good about the situation they are putting him into.

 

Always take the best player despite need.

 

Talks about Rivers. He is going to play to win. Feel the colts can protect him.

 

 

If he says he drafts BPA instead of need, he's lying through his teeth.

 

We drafted Pittman high at 34 because we need a big X to start immediately.

We need a second back and possible #1 RB if Mack leaves, its why we draft a RB high at 41

We need a S as insurance for Hooker's situation, so we draft a S at 85

We need a successor to Rivers, we draft a QB that needs time.

We need oline depth....the G from Ball State

We need DT youth, Windsor

 

Maybe the rest are BPA

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

25 minutes ago, AZColt11 said:

Yeah I saw that.  He was pretty charged up about it too, said Taylor was the steal of the draft and seemed excited that the Colts had picked him for whatever reason.  Maybe he's becoming a closet Colts fan?  Or just a Ballard fan?  I know he used to pimp Andrew Luck.

I think he has a man crush on ballard lol.