What is your blame target?

[Four2itus]

Poll is public.

[Thunderbolt]

GM as well, he should be partly to blame on the demise of this franchise.

[aReggie7]

I voted owner.

 

Both Ballard and Reich have their faults and where things currently stand has me in favor of moving on from both come January. 

 

I also suspect there are much deeper issues besides talent and play calling. Not saying I don't think there are issues in those areas. It's that the way this team ended last season and started this season looks like when people give their 2 weeks notice and stop caring.

 

Now, I know there are guys who do care but when the team performs as it has to end last season and start this season it makes me suspect there are deeper issues besides what we see on the field.

 

Ultimately I think the responsibility lies with the owner. I think the issues are wide enough ranging that it's not just about a single individual or approach in a specific area. When that's the case I think the blame falls on ownership. 

[Indyfan4life]

Frank for the plays and scheming.

Gus for the cruddy defensive schemes.

Ballard for trying to be smarter than everyone and not address obvious issues with real, proven talent.

 

Jim for allowing Ballard to continue his approach as normal and not forcing his hand.

 

All in all, it's a complete failure and blame falls on everyone in the FO for not being smarter, able to adapt and willing to make necessary changes required for this league. It's not 1990 anymore. Stopping the run is important, but not being able to consistently get to an opposing QB will get you killed.

 

Look at Brady yesterday. He was under pressure most of the game, and it wasn't until the 4th quarter before any points were scored. Rodgers was in trouble a lot earlier on in the game until they managed to change protection and take the LB out of rushing and stopping everything.

 

This team, until they pull their heads out of their * and make some REAL changes, will continue to be mediocre, regardless of JT and Leonard. I really hope Sunday is a wake-up call when Chris/Frank/Jim see the stands and hopefully the crowd letting them have it.

[MPStack]

Ballard and Frank

 

[OLD FAN MAN]

12 minutes ago, Thunderbolt said:

GM as well, he should be partly to blame on the demise of this franchise.

nailed it

[RollerColt]

I'll take D. for all of the above, Steve.

[OLD FAN MAN]

13 minutes ago, Indyfan4life said:

Frank for the plays and scheming.

Gus for the cruddy defensive schemes.

Ballard for trying to be smarter than everyone and not address obvious issues with real, proven talent.

 

Jim for allowing Ballard to continue his approach as normal and not forcing his hand.

 

All in all, it's a complete failure and blame falls on everyone in the FO for not being smarter, able to adapt and willing to make necessary changes required for this league. It's not 1990 anymore. Stopping the run is important, but not being able to consistently get to an opposing QB will get you killed.

 

Look at Brady yesterday. He was under pressure most of the game, and it wasn't until the 4th quarter before any points were scored. Rodgers was in trouble a lot earlier on in the game until they managed to change protection and take the LB out of rushing and stopping everything.

 

This team, until they pull their heads out of their * and make some REAL changes, will continue to be mediocre, regardless of JT and Leonard. I really hope Sunday is a wake-up call when Chris/Frank/Jim see the stands and hopefully the crowd letting them have it.

you said the real reasons!!!!!!!!

[#12.]

When you have the same pattern every year -  the slow starts along with in game and end of season collapses, it's mostly coaching.  

 

Ballard isn't perfect, but you could do a lot, lot worse than Ballard.  

[Chrisaaron1023]

Lol I'll be that guy.. Luck!  good for him, do what you need to personally. From a team standpoint, totally but this franchise behind. 

[stitches]

With the GM IMO it's not about the draft or FA/trade. It's about overall philosophy of what should be valued and emphasized and what could be taken a bit less seriously. I think Ballard has it completely wrong in the areas he invests the most. His philosophy is building from the inside out on both sides of the ball. IMO in modern football this is the completely wrong model to follow. In this league the pass game is king and thus the positions that should be heavily emphasized are QB, pass catchers(WR. TE), secondary(especially outside corners), pass-rushers. 

 

What stings the most in the case of Ballard is that even in the self-proclaimed areas of importance this team struggles heavily - this DL has incredibly hard time creating pressure and our OL has been on a downward spiral for a few years now(ever since AC retired). I'm willing to give some leeway and freedom for a regime to get their guy at QB and I can understand them missing on a draft or two, but IMO ultimately this has been a mistake - the moment Luck retired, acquiring our QB of the future should have been our no. 1 priority and instead we turned into a retirement home and reclamation project land for old or failed QBs. This is no recipe for long-term success and Ballard should have known that. 

 

Another thing Ballard should take responsibility for is the DC and the scheme he seems to be in love with to the point he's not even considering coaches/DCs who don't have experience with this scheme. I waited and waited to hear what the huge differences between Gus Bradley's scheme and Eberflus' scheme were and in the most important big picture philosophical areas of this defense noone could give me a good answer. For all intents and purposes it's the same scheme. Everything we hated about Eberflus's scheme is the exact same now - we get destroyed on short passes.... super high completion % for opposing QBs. Rushing 4. Relying on those 4 to create pass rush... EVEN LESS BLITZING or complex disguising than Eberflus' defense... And lets not forget that Gus Bradley came with his own pet players that he put in the starting lineup and expelled our very promising CB to the bench for about as mediocre of a rotational players as you can get in Facyson. Oh... and BTW, Yannick Ngakous has been horrendous in both games. He's currently rated at 34.6 by PFF. He shouldn't be getting any snaps whatsoever right now. But he's starting for us. 

 

With the coach... I have serious issues with his playcalling and the general conservative nature of the playcalls. I also think there is not a very high level of creativity with this offense. I have issue with the preparation of this team, too. They had 8 months since the complete fiasco in Jacksonville and all they talked about was how we cannot repeat that failure and here comes the start of the season and this team is AGAIN completely and utterly flat. And this is against the holders of the no. 1 and no. 3 picks in the draft. Those are two of the worst teams in the league and you can argue both completely outplayed us for most of those games. Have the players tuned Reich out? Has he lost the locker room? I have no idea but this start of the season has dealt serious blow to his reputation as a leader of men and this was supposed to be one of his strong suits. 

 

The players should not go blameless here too. They are paid millions to prepare and be ready. And after the humiliation in week 18, they didn't even have the self-respect and hunger to come out ready to play in week 1. This was embarrassing. 

 

Sorry about the long post and I realize you asked for a main culprit but I really cannot separate them. IMO in the immediate the biggest culprit is probably Reich and his inability to prepare the team and call a good game. But in the big picture, we will have very hard time being competitive at the highest level if Ballard doesn't considerably change his philosophy about what wins in the league in 2022. 

[GoColts8818]

I don’t have one target.  It’s a combination of just about everything on the list.  

[Four2itus]

4 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

I don’t have one target.  It’s a combination of just about everything on the list.  

I get that......that is why I acknowledged at the top of the poll and highlighted the MAIN reason. It would have been impossible to list all the combination of reasons that folks have pointed out. 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

10 minutes ago, stitches said:

With the GM IMO it's not about the draft or FA/trade. It's about overall philosophy of what should be valued and emphasized and what could be taken a bit less seriously. I think Ballard has it completely wrong in the areas he invests the most. His philosophy is building from the inside out on both sides of the ball. IMO in modern football this is the completely wrong model to follow. In this league the pass game is king and thus the positions that should be heavily emphasized are QB, pass catchers(WR. TE), secondary(especially outside corners), pass-rushers. 

 

What stings the most in the case of Ballard is that even in the self-proclaimed areas of importance this team struggles heavily - this DL has incredibly hard time creating pressure and our OL has been on a downward spiral for a few years now(ever since AC retired). I'm willing to give some leeway and freedom for a regime to get their guy at QB and I can understand them missing on a draft or two, but IMO ultimately this has been a mistake - the moment Luck retired, acquiring our QB of the future should have been our no. 1 priority and instead we turned into a retirement home and reclamation project land for old or failed QBs. This is no recipe for long-term success and Ballard should have known that. 

 

With the coach... I have serious issues with his playcalling and the general conservative nature of the playcalls. I also think there is not a very high level of creativity with this offense. I have issue with the preparation of this team, too. They had 8 months since the complete fiasco in Jacksonville and all they talked about was how we cannot repeat that failure and here comes the start of the season and this team is AGAIN completely and utterly flat. And this is against the holders of the no. 1 and no. 3 picks in the draft. Those are two of the worst teams in the league and you can argue both completely outplayed us for most of those games. Have the players tuned Reich out? Has he lost the locker room? I have no idea but this start of the season has dealt serious blow to his reputation as a leader of men and this was supposed to be one of his strong suits. 

 

The players should not go blameless here too. They are paid millions to prepare and be ready. And after the humiliation in week 18, they didn't even have the self-respect and hunger to come out ready to play in week 1. This was embarrassing. 

You nailed it 100%! 

[GoColts8818]

12 minutes ago, Four2itus said:

I get that......that is why I acknowledged at the top of the poll and highlighted the MAIN reason. It would have been impossible to list all the combination of reasons that folks have pointed out. 

That’s the thing I am not sure there is a main issue.  Say you remove Frank well they still don’t have enough talent at WR and some other key positions.  Say you remove Ballard then Frank is still going to make strange/dumb decisions etc.  that’s why I just think it’s a combination of everything.  The Colts are in a bad spot.  Hopefully they have hit rock bottom and start climbing out of it.  As bad as they were Sunday if the guys dig deep they can still save this season.  That’s the only silver lining.  Like I said I question their heart after the game yesterday.  I expect a much better effort Sunday but if the Colts don’t do that then buckle up it’s going to be very long season that’s going to end in a total rebuild after the year as it should.  

[jbaron04]

1 hour ago, Thunderbolt said:

GM as well, he should be partly to blame on the demise of this franchise.

Yea I think Frank has a bigger share cause we have players that has proven to be good , brought in players that was good and he doesn’t maximize their ability and constantly has them unprepared for games. 

[chad72]

Like Magic Johnson said after losing to the Bulls by 20, "whether you lose by 2 or lose by 20, it still counts as only 1 loss". That is all I can hold on to.  

[jbaron04]

1 hour ago, Indyfan4life said:

Frank for the plays and scheming.

Gus for the cruddy defensive schemes.

Ballard for trying to be smarter than everyone and not address obvious issues with real, proven talent.

 

Jim for allowing Ballard to continue his approach as normal and not forcing his hand.

 

All in all, it's a complete failure and blame falls on everyone in the FO for not being smarter, able to adapt and willing to make necessary changes required for this league. It's not 1990 anymore. Stopping the run is important, but not being able to consistently get to an opposing QB will get you killed.

 

Look at Brady yesterday. He was under pressure most of the game, and it wasn't until the 4th quarter before any points were scored. Rodgers was in trouble a lot earlier on in the game until they managed to change protection and take the LB out of rushing and stopping everything.

 

This team, until they pull their heads out of their * and make some REAL changes, will continue to be mediocre, regardless of JT and Leonard. I really hope Sunday is a wake-up call when Chris/Frank/Jim see the stands and hopefully the crowd letting them have it.

I’ve been saying this Frank and Gus schemes are both dated to this point , and Ballards philosophy is also dated on team building. Frank doesn’t have any scapegoats left and this is his last year we gonna end up with top 3 pick if this level of play doesn’t improve 

[chad72]

7 minutes ago, jbaron04 said:

I’ve been saying this Frank and Gus schemes are both dated to this point , and Ballards philosophy is also dated on team building. Frank doesn’t have any scapegoats left and this is his last year we gonna end up with top 3 pick if this level of play doesn’t improve 

 

Polian sure was ahead of his times on the skill positions and pass rushers front. All GMs have their flaws. Polian's Top 22 were landslide winners over Ballard. Polian's 53 however, had inferior depth with 23-53 being worse than Ballard's, IMO.

 

But then, 9 days out of 10, you typically win with your first 22.

 

If you ask a Redskins fan, they are now saying they would rather lose with a puncher's chance on offense but a sub-par defense than a sub-par offense that did not give them a chance with an above average defense. It definitely is more interesting to watch, shootouts that you lose closely like the Falcons have the last 2 games, than to go down 3-20 and 0-24 in games. Offense wins in the current NFL. The Broncos of 2015 were probably the last great "once or twice in a decade" defense that were allowed to mug WRs, rules definitely have favored offense since then.

 

Ballard and his Seattle linkages are not going to build a Legion of Boom again like the 2013 Seahawks, nor will they have pass rushers like Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware like the 2015 Broncos. Focus on offense, offense, offense...

[jbaron04]

8 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

Polian sure was ahead of his times on the skill positions and pass rushers front. All GMs have their flaws. Polian's Top 22 were landslide winners over Ballard. Polian's 53 however, had inferior depth with 23-53 being worse than Ballard's, IMO.

 

But then, 9 days out of 10, you typically win with your first 22.

 

If you ask a Redskins fan, they are now saying they would rather lose with a puncher's chance on offense but a sub-par defense than a sub-par offense that did not give them a chance with an above average defense. It definitely is more interesting to watch, shootouts that you lose closely like the Falcons have the last 2 games, than to go down 3-20 and 0-24 in games. Offense wins in the current NFL. The Broncos of 2015 were probably the last great "once or twice in a decade" defense that were allowed to mug WRs, rules definitely have favored offense since then.

 

Ballard and his Seattle linkages are not going to build a Legion of Boom again like the 2013 Seahawks, nor will they have pass rushers like Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware like the 2015 Broncos. Focus on offense, offense, offense...

Yea I agree , you build the best offense you can and out score the opponents and hope your defense can make a play once in a while. The current colts offense is worst than the defense in these past 2 games the defense have been in very bad situations with the turn overs , fumbles , miss kick , botched kickoffs , failed 4th downs etc… frank need to stay out his own way and give up play calling and focus on managing the team 

[DougDew]

51 minutes ago, Four2itus said:

I get that......that is why I acknowledged at the top of the poll and highlighted the MAIN reason. It would have been impossible to list all the combination of reasons that folks have pointed out. 

Understood:

 

My choice is not there, so I did not vote.  As @stitchessaid, Its not so much the GMs drafting, its the apparent idea that all positions on an offense except QB are equal.  He does more than draft that way.  He drafts, signs FAs, and talks like he believes it.   

 

I think Frank is not far behind in that philosophy.  Very little apparent emphasis on dynamic vertical threats and seemingly satisfied with a bunch of possession Xs, but not even any appreciation for short yardage or goal line personnel packages.  He's got two pretty one dimensional players in Hines and Granson, and yet again, these are still more possession type of targets  (at 6'1", Granson is not really a long seam route guy, IMO.)

 

I don't think that either Frank or Ballard expects or wants JT to be the focus of the O.  Its just worked out that way because of necessity.  

 

The result is a team with no identity.  It can't be a running team...it has no spare muscle runners and only one heavy TE.  It can't be a dynamic passing O because it has no players for that.  Pitt, Strach, Patmon, Woods, Cox, Hines, and Granson are all possession type of guys.  There is Dulin and Campbell, two average talented guys.  There are some debate whether AP is a Z or another X.

 

The defense is neither stout nor athletic.  Just small and fast.  I think I know what the O is trying to be, and I don't totally disagree with it (too concentrated in the dinks too much). 

 

I have no idea what the D is trying to be.

 

In the end, for the blindspots Frank has, I think Ballard has the same ones.  And he's higher up the chain, so its more on him than the HC.  JMO.

[sb41champs]

I think the trust that the "brain trust" put in a revamped O-line was misplaced.

 

We should have brought back - or - brought in veteran linemen.

[IrsaysArmy]

Ballard 50.5% Frank 49.5% blame. 

[Moosejawcolt]

2 hours ago, aReggie7 said:

I voted owner.

 

Both Ballard and Reich have their faults and where things currently stand has me in favor of moving on from both come January. 

 

I also suspect there are much deeper issues besides talent and play calling. Not saying I don't think there are issues in those areas. It's that the way this team ended last season and started this season looks like when people give their 2 weeks notice and stop caring.

 

Now, I know there are guys who do care but when the team performs as it has to end last season and start this season it makes me suspect there are deeper issues besides what we see on the field.

 

Ultimately I think the responsibility lies with the owner. I think the issues are wide enough ranging that it's not just about a single individual or approach in a specific area. When that's the case I think the blame falls on ownership. 

Everyone in that building......top bottom.

[Indy87]

Jim Irsay. How do you give a GM and a Coach an extension and expect them to act like they have to try hard? They have their feet up and are laughing to the bank. 
 

You know why Ballard took this job? Because Irsay gives you a ton of time. He has even said as much when he got hired here. 

[MPStack]

5 minutes ago, Indy87 said:
 

You know why Ballard took this job? Because Irsay gives you a ton of time. He has even said as much when he got hired here. 

Hard to argue, seeing Ballard is on year 6 of mediocreville, and Grigson was fired after back to back 8-8 seasons, even though he’s had more success where it matters most. WINS

[Moosejawcolt]

2 hours ago, MPStack said:

Ballard and Frank

 

Irsay needs to give up duties and his daughter needs to fire Frank and Ballard.

[ColtsGermany]

THERE'S ONLY ONE THING TO BLAME : THE SCRIPTED NFL!!!

 

They're setting up a nice story, where the colts go 0 - 3-1 to start the season, get somehow a wildcard and win SB in OT! Can't wait to see all those faces when Matty Ice rides into the sunset with a ring on his finger at the end of the season! 

[chad72]

8 minutes ago, ColtsGermany said:

THERE'S ONLY ONE THING TO BLAME : THE SCRIPTED NFL!!!

 

They're setting up a nice story, where the colts go 0 - 3-1 to start the season, get somehow a wildcard and win SB in OT! Can't wait to see all those faces when Matty Ice rides into the sunset with a ring on his finger at the end of the season! 

 

If this happens, I will gladly change my user name to "MattyIceIsMyDaddy".  

[Indy87]

18 minutes ago, MPStack said:

Hard to argue, seeing Ballard is on year 6 of mediocreville, and Grigson was fired after back to back 8-8 seasons, even though he’s had more success where it matters most. WINS

Grigson was easy to hate for sure. But his record was better yes. 

[MPStack]

1 minute ago, Indy87 said:

Grigson was easy to hate for sure. But his record was better yes. 

By the Colts fans who are foolish enough to think the man wanted A. Luck hurt. 
 

Nonsense 

[csmopar]

3 hours ago, Four2itus said:

Poll is public.

75 percent on Reich for the yearly lax attitude crap including the crap playcalling. 
 

25 percent of Ballard split between not taking the play calling away from Reich and for not getting some better, more immediate impact targets for our 38 year old QB. 

[BlackTiger]

Its a number of things, players not performing should be an option.

 

Smith and Moore are getting paid a lot and both have been awful.   

 

Matt has made a lot of mistakes and doesnt look like the answer to me.  We need better WRs 

 

We might be looking for a QB and coach very soon.

[ruf]

3 hours ago, Four2itus said:

Poll is public.

i did not vote because the Oline was not on there

[John Hammonds]

When it comes to the Jacksonville game, my main blame goes to the head coach holding out Leonard and Pittman for the game.

 

We were supposed to approach this game with an All Chips In mentality.  If we win only one game all year, this is gonna be it.  This one.  Above all.  Sure, neither guy is at 100%.  And during the game, we only play them 50% of the time.  Or even less!  But having them suit up, having them enter the field of play, having them say the rest of the team, "I may not be perfectly fine, but there's no way I'm missing this game!"

 

Instead we built up over the course of the week this feeling of "Well, just how many hands can we tie behind our back and still have a chance to win?  Leonard?  Leonard and Pittman?  Leonard, Pittman, and Buckner?  How about more?  There was no sense of There Is No Tomorrow.  There was no sense of All Chips In.  And we played like it.  No sense of urgency.  No desire for vindication or vengeance.  We lined up with less than our best.  Intentionally.  And got slaughtered.  As we should have.

 

And that decision lies with the head coach.  If I'm gonna blame anybody, there's where I put the blame.

[Four2itus]

34 minutes ago, ruf said:

i did not vote because the Oline was not on there

Gotcha. So curious, do you feel that is the fault of Reich's personnel choices and or coaching choices, Ballard's drafting or signing them, or just their efforts?

[dw49]

2 hours ago, stitches said:

With the GM IMO it's not about the draft or FA/trade. It's about overall philosophy of what should be valued and emphasized and what could be taken a bit less seriously. I think Ballard has it completely wrong in the areas he invests the most. His philosophy is building from the inside out on both sides of the ball. IMO in modern football this is the completely wrong model to follow. In this league the pass game is king and thus the positions that should be heavily emphasized are QB, pass catchers(WR. TE), secondary(especially outside corners), pass-rushers. 

 

What stings the most in the case of Ballard is that even in the self-proclaimed areas of importance this team struggles heavily - this DL has incredibly hard time creating pressure and our OL has been on a downward spiral for a few years now(ever since AC retired). I'm willing to give some leeway and freedom for a regime to get their guy at QB and I can understand them missing on a draft or two, but IMO ultimately this has been a mistake - the moment Luck retired, acquiring our QB of the future should have been our no. 1 priority and instead we turned into a retirement home and reclamation project land for old or failed QBs. This is no recipe for long-term success and Ballard should have known that. 

 

Another thing Ballard should take responsibility for is the DC and the scheme he seems to be in love with to the point he's not even considering coaches/DCs who don't have experience with this scheme. I waited and waited to hear what the huge differences between Gus Bradley's scheme and Eberflus' scheme were and in the most important big picture philosophical areas of this defense noone could give me a good answer. For all intents and purposes it's the same scheme. Everything we hated about Eberflus's scheme is the exact same now - we get destroyed on short passes.... super high completion % for opposing QBs. Rushing 4. Relying on those 4 to create pass rush... EVEN LESS BLITZING or complex disguising than Eberflus' defense... And lets not forget that Gus Bradley came with his own pet players that he put in the starting lineup and expelled our very promising CB to the bench for about as mediocre of a rotational players as you can get in Facyson. Oh... and BTW, Yannick Ngakous has been horrendous in both games. He's currently rated at 34.6 by PFF. He shouldn't be getting any snaps whatsoever right now. But he's starting for us. 

 

With the coach... I have serious issues with his playcalling and the general conservative nature of the playcalls. I also think there is not a very high level of creativity with this offense. I have issue with the preparation of this team, too. They had 8 months since the complete fiasco in Jacksonville and all they talked about was how we cannot repeat that failure and here comes the start of the season and this team is AGAIN completely and utterly flat. And this is against the holders of the no. 1 and no. 3 picks in the draft. Those are two of the worst teams in the league and you can argue both completely outplayed us for most of those games. Have the players tuned Reich out? Has he lost the locker room? I have no idea but this start of the season has dealt serious blow to his reputation as a leader of men and this was supposed to be one of his strong suits. 

 

The players should not go blameless here too. They are paid millions to prepare and be ready. And after the humiliation in week 18, they didn't even have the self-respect and hunger to come out ready to play in week 1. This was embarrassing. 

 

Sorry about the long post and I realize you asked for a main culprit but I really cannot separate them. IMO in the immediate the biggest culprit is probably Reich and his inability to prepare the team and call a good game. But in the big picture, we will have very hard time being competitive at the highest level if Ballard doesn't considerably change his philosophy about what wins in the league in 2022. 

 

Don't apologize for the long post as you totally nailed it. I'm so sick of watching QB;s take a 3 step drop and hit a wide open receiver 6-7 yards down the field. They just plain and simply play catch. If you think about 2 of the best games the Colts had last year , it was against 2 teams ( Buffalo + AZ)  that never do this. It's the same thing over and over again. No pass rush , our Wr's not getting separation . Our best coverage CB could be Rodgers and he hasn't seen a snap ? Jesus....

[ruf]

22 minutes ago, Four2itus said:

Gotcha. So curious, do you feel that is the fault of Reich's personnel choices and or coaching choices, Ballard's drafting or signing them, or just their efforts?

I think their playing in the wrong positions

maybe at one time Smith was ok at RT but it is painfully obvious he no longer is and should be moved to what he was drafted at which is RG that would remove Pinter who should be a backup C== now the problem becomes what should we do at both T positions.

we could try Q at LT and the Rookie or Pryor at RT--we could then try Dennis Kelly at LG or RT

so it could be Oline Coaching too--but the Oline is the major problem---hurts the qb, wr's and even the D

[Indy87]

1 hour ago, MPStack said:

By the Colts fans who are foolish enough to think the man wanted A. Luck hurt. 
 

Nonsense 

He is still available… Grigson that is.

[MPStack]

1 minute ago, Indy87 said:

He is still available… Grigson that is.

 

He’s Senior Vice President of Personnel for the Vikings!