Ballard is right

[crazycolt1]

1 hour ago, Bravo said:

 

Hoping he isn’t here but he probably will be. Dude doesn’t believe in having a #1 game changing receiver and can’t get his QB figured out.

It's easy to think that Ballard needs firing but the bigger problem is finding a GM better than him. Personally I think coaching has played a bigger part of our problems than what Ballard has done or hasn't done. 

[IndyEric07]

5 hours ago, bleed blue4life said:

The more I think about it he is right the games are won upfront. Look at this year we cannot run the ball because teams know we cannot pass over  15 to 20yards because of the oline not giving the Qb enough time . What I do fault him for is not fixing the rg and Lt positons. All the so called experts give him heck for not signing a one receiver.Would that really help with this line. I say no . thoughts ?

[Superman]

2 hours ago, Indyfan4life said:

This is the first year his seat is hot. If he wants to keep his job, which I think he does, then he’ll be forced to change his drafting and FA habits.
 

I’m sure Jim will have a talk with him when the season ends about the plan for draft and FA. 

 

If the owner has to try to convince the GM to change his philosophy and approach, it's probably time for a different GM. 

 

Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing wrong with Ballard's strategy, outside of QB. Building through the draft is tried and true, but you have to hit on your draft picks. The problem is that the young players have not performed well enough to fill the holes left by the veterans. Letting go of Houston and Autry shouldn't have drastically affected our pass rush, but Turay, Lewis, Paye, etc. were unable to step up. These are first and second rounders, not UDFAs. 

 

Losing Chris Reed, Mark Glowinski and Eric Fisher should not turn our OL upside down, but Pryor, Pinter, etc. have not been able to fill the void. 

 

And that's probably a systemic failure, from scouting and evaluation to development and coaching. After five years, we should have a solid pipeline of players who are ready to contribute, and losing aggressively average veterans shouldn't be crippling entire units of our team. But over time we're seeing that the drafting hasn't produced a deep enough roster, and the coaching probably hasn't been effective at developing the young players. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

14 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

If the owner has to try to convince the GM to change his philosophy and approach, it's probably time for a different GM. 

 

Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing wrong with Ballard's strategy, outside of QB. Building through the draft is tried and true, but you have to hit on your draft picks. The problem is that the young players have not performed well enough to fill the holes left by the veterans. Letting go of Houston and Autry shouldn't have drastically affected our pass rush, but Turay, Lewis, Paye, etc. were unable to step up. These are first and second rounders, not UDFAs. 

 

Losing Chris Reed, Mark Glowinski and Eric Fisher should not turn our OL upside down, but Pryor, Pinter, etc. have not been able to fill the void. 

 

And that's probably a systemic failure, from scouting and evaluation to development and coaching. After five years, we should have a solid pipeline of players who are ready to contribute, and losing aggressively average veterans shouldn't be crippling entire units of our team. But over time we're seeing that the drafting hasn't produced a deep enough roster, and the coaching probably hasn't been effective at developing the young players. 

What really is sad, imagine had Andrew Luck not retired? Ballard's way of team building would have been perfect. Get a Great RB, Solid O.Line, good Defense. We will never know what might have been. It is ashame.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

24 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

If the owner has to try to convince the GM to change his philosophy and approach, it's probably time for a different GM. 

 

Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing wrong with Ballard's strategy, outside of QB. Building through the draft is tried and true, but you have to hit on your draft picks. The problem is that the young players have not performed well enough to fill the holes left by the veterans. Letting go of Houston and Autry shouldn't have drastically affected our pass rush, but Turay, Lewis, Paye, etc. were unable to step up. These are first and second rounders, not UDFAs. 

 

Losing Chris Reed, Mark Glowinski and Eric Fisher should not turn our OL upside down, but Pryor, Pinter, etc. have not been able to fill the void. 

 

And that's probably a systemic failure, from scouting and evaluation to development and coaching. After five years, we should have a solid pipeline of players who are ready to contribute, and losing aggressively average veterans shouldn't be crippling entire units of our team. But over time we're seeing that the drafting hasn't produced a deep enough roster, and the coaching probably hasn't been effective at developing the young players. 

Expecting rookies to start and be as good as veterans is where Ballard went wrong and never gets ahead.  Very few are ready. For every rookie you draft you should probably have a vet starter so there isn’t so much pressure on a rookie. Then in a year or two the rookie is ready and you can move on from the vet. He also for the most part has failed to fill holes in FA that can help the team. Then like you mentioned letting both DE go at the same time was just wrong.

 

I think Ballard probably needs to draft some more oline in say middle rounds so he has adequate backups. If he isn’t going to do that he has to go find them in FA. Like everything Ballard does he is so slow to react. There never should of been a wait and see with Pryor and Pinter. He also had 7 weeks before trade deadline to try and fix it. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Ballard can’t chew gum and walk at the same time. He seems to only be able to fix one thing at a time. His comments after Reich was fired show that. Just because you drafted a wide receiver doesn’t mean he should of ignored the oline.

[crazycolt1]

12 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Ballard can’t chew gum and walk at the same time. He seems to only be able to fix one thing at a time. His comments after Reich was fired show that. Just because you drafted a wide receiver doesn’t mean he should of ignored the oline.

Seriously? He made attempts to fix the needs. Coaching has played a bigger part in players under performing than Ballards inability to do his job. All you have to do is look at the defense to know that Ballard knows how to build a team. Ballards mistakes have been directly related to Frank. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

5 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Seriously? He made attempts to fix the needs. Coaching has played a bigger part in players under performing than Ballards inability to do his job. All you have to do is look at the defense to know that Ballard knows how to build a team. Ballards mistakes have been directly related to Frank. 

He was not serious on how he handled the oline. He did some good things on defense then ignored other things.  That’s what I mean. We are better in the pass rush department but still not where we need to be. Watch if he is still here next season he will do some things to fix oline but will do something dumb to severely weaken something else. It’s his MO. No one can defend how he handled the oline. Wentz covered up a lot of the oline issues last season and they still didn’t fix it. You are right maybe it’s more they are bad evaluators but that still doesn’t excuse it. 

[VikingsFanInChennai]

45 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

What really is sad, imagine had Andrew Luck not retired? Ballard's way of team building would have been perfect. Get a Great RB, Solid O.Line, good Defense. We will never know what might have been. It is ashame.

But, that's where GM needed to make adjustments. 

 

It's like saying if the game had gone in the way we had game planned, we'd have won it. No, it doesn't go the way we want always.

 

These guys are paid handsomely to be prepared and make alternate plans that are sound and that works, and if it doesn't work try other tested methods like spending money in FA on quality positions, not on QBs hoping one of the choices would work some other year. 

[crazycolt1]

Oh woez me. The sky is falling and the world is ending. Ballard is the worst GM in NFL history.  

[jbaron04]

10 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Yet he let two starting  caliber guards go and thought a career backup could be a  starting LT. He failed to do what he preached.

He is the GM and made some bad evaluations paye over darrisaw(one of the best tackles in football) saying he saw him as a RT. Taking fisher over Leno who was elite last year and playing well this year. Going into the season with Matt Pryor as LT and Pinter at RG. That is a colossal fail on his part and not cause they didn’t pan out but because he didn’t bring in compilation for the positions 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

1 hour ago, jbaron04 said:

He is the GM and made some bad evaluations paye over darrisaw(one of the best tackles in football) saying he saw him as a RT. Taking fisher over Leno who was elite last year and playing well this year. Going into the season with Matt Pryor as LT and Pinter at RG. That is a colossal fail on his part and not cause they didn’t pan out but because he didn’t bring in compilation for the positions 

You couldn’t go wrong with either. DE is just as important at LT. But since this is such a offensive league maybe they should have went with the LT and kept Autry. Paye is very good. Seems to be a little injury lt or though.

[John C.]

1 hour ago, crazycolt1 said:

Oh woez me. The sky is falling and the world is ending. Ballard is the worst GM in NFL history.  

Not at all. Just a mediocre one, like his record. 

[Moosejawcolt]

7 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Dump the best lineman we have?? Yes you deserve the heat. 

Yes. I said yea  and u can look at my previous  posts. I would never have signed him till after the season . That was a fireable  offence by Ballard. Now if u did what I said to do,  u still think he gets 20 a year and 60 guarantee? Thanks. I also said to trade Leonard. I said this defencec would be fine without him. I don't value linebackers that high especially in this  defense. Is the D playing well without him? The  D has never played better. But yes,  u Ballard minions hang on to Ballard's words. Nelson is a transcendent talent and makes the Oline better. The position Leonard plays is the 2nd most important behind the 3 tech. And yes, I would so a better job than Chris. What 6 years has taught me about Ballard is that he really doesn't know what he is doing when it comes to building a team. It is kind of funny yet sad. This team has done a complete 360. 6 years ago Grigson was fired due to his failure in  not being able build an Oline. Ballard was hired to fix that but it appears we are tight back where we started from. Kind of sad actually. Kind of like being on a merry gi around. If Irsay keeps Ballard , I am out next year. I don't trust him and honestly, I cannot even listen to the guy talk anymore. It is all smiles and laughs with the media. Plus his comments during the press conference about his inability to build an Oline because people wanted hom to draft a receiver. That showed me who he truly is and I have been telling u for years he's a sales  man at best.

[Moosejawcolt]

7 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

He does deserve credit for a few things regardless of your never ending ragging on him. 

Well if he can call out Wentz when he left town,  he can sit back and take what I have to offer. 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

12 hours ago, bleed blue4life said:

 All the so called experts give him heck for not signing a one receiver.Would that really help with this line. I say no . thoughts ?

 

Two Wrongs don't make a Right. He failed to get a #1 WR which is much needed in today's game... And he has assembled one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL despite making it the most expensive. 

Gross incompetence.

[jbaron04]

1 hour ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

You couldn’t go wrong with either. DE is just as important at LT. But since this is such an offensive league maybe they should have went with the LT and kept Autry. Paye is very good. Seems to be a little injury lt or though.

I Agree it just highlights our issues more cause the oline and what he doing with the Vikings. But yes made be having paye would have been the difference in the commanders or eagles games when they had all day with no pass rush. 

[K-148]

I still don't understand what people want Ballard to do with OL. Resign Glowinski? He allowed 3 sacks and got 63,5 PFF grade as seasoned RG. Raimann allowed 4 sacks and got 61,5 PFF grade as rookie LT. Resign Reed? He is not even playing this season. Sign hi-end LT and RG? And how much did the Colts invest in OL already? Smith 11,6M, Nelson 10,2M, R.Kelly 9,8M. So it is 31,6M for 3 OL, LT not included! And this number will rise to 43,4M in 2023. Let's spend more?

[ShuteAt168]

5 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Seriously? He made attempts to fix the needs. Coaching has played a bigger part in players under performing than Ballards inability to do his job. All you have to do is look at the defense to know that Ballard knows how to build a team. Ballards mistakes have been directly related to Frank. 

Who cares what he attempted to do. You don’t get credit for trying in the NFL. Building a good D means Ballard knows how to build a team? This logic escapes me. He’s below average (45-46-1) after nearly six seasons and this team is a mess, lacking in the most important positions in the game. Ballard’s all talk — how can a GM talk incessantly about the trenches and give his coach Pryor for LT. How many more years does he get? 

[ShuteAt168]

39 minutes ago, K-148 said:

I still don't understand what people want Ballard to do with OL. Resign Glowinski? He allowed 3 sacks and got 63,5 PFF grade as seasoned RG. Raimann allowed 4 sacks and got 61,5 PFF grade as rookie LT. Resign Reed? He is not even playing this season. Sign hi-end LT and RG? And how much did the Colts invest in OL already? Smith 11,6M, Nelson 10,2M, R.Kelly 9,8M. So it is 31,6M for 3 OL, LT not included! And this number will rise to 43,4M in 2023. Let's spend more?

Maybe get an adequate player at the most-important spot on the offensive line? I’d like him to do that. 

[MikeCurtis]

18 hours ago, csmopar said:

Not disageeing with of that, but what young QB are you suggesting?

Love in 2020

Fields/Lance/Mac Jones in 2021

Matt Corral/Pickett in 2022

 

Will all work out?  Nope

 

But you have to TRY to get your developing QB in the draft

 

Some of these guys were within range WITH A TRADE UP for the Colts to take

 

Our weak QB attempts have been in the 4th and 6th 

 

 

[Solid84]

17 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

It's easy to think that Ballard needs firing but the bigger problem is finding a GM better than him. Personally I think coaching has played a bigger part of our problems than what Ballard has done or hasn't done. 

No it isn’t. The difficulty of finding someone better shouldn’t be an excuse to fire an average GM. 
 

Same with HC

Same with QB

… LT

… DE

 

If you are not good enough at a position within the franchise you start throwing darts until tou get it right. Sitting on your hands won’t change anything. 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

36 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

No it isn’t. The difficulty of finding someone better shouldn’t be an excuse to fire an average GM. 
 

Same with HC

Same with QB

… LT

… DE

 

If you are not good enough at a position within the franchise you start throwing darts until tou get it right. Sitting on your hands won’t change anything. 

Yep.

I think it would be difficult to hire a GM that would do worse than ballard.

[OLD FAN MAN]

22 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:

Thats a fair point

 

However..... and respectfully...

 

The lack of viable long term LT and QB, possibly the most important spots on offense, were not addressed

 

He also has the HC reporting to him

 

Every year we started slow

Almost every game we started slow (It seems like we were unprepared)

 

These are coaching issues that a GM ULTIMATELY OWNS

 

As a highly imperfect believer in the BIG GUY upstairs, myself ......I love what Frank R, stands for......  However ...

I think it was clear (A LONG TIME AGO) that Frank was better suited to do a OC, or QG coach levels..... not HC

 

Did you notice that the Colts team started to play in Q1 against the Raiders?   They were ready, and it came from a coach that wasnt really ready

 

I think its criminal that we haven't take a swing at a young QB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

he drafted nelson when josh allen was available, luck missed the 2017 season and who knows if he would come back from the injuries

[MikeCurtis]

2 minutes ago, OLD FAN MAN said:

he drafted nelson when josh allen was available, luck missed the 2017 season and who knows if he would come back from the injuries

IMHO, you may be right

 

But the team didnt know that Luck was going to retire at this stage

 

The Q has been mediocre since he signed his contract.

 

Thats painful

 

I would rather be paying an average LG average money than paying a LG thats playing average, like a star QB

 

 

[crazycolt1]

1 hour ago, Solid84 said:

No it isn’t. The difficulty of finding someone better shouldn’t be an excuse to fire an average GM. 
 

Same with HC

Same with QB

… LT

… DE

 

If you are not good enough at a position within the franchise you start throwing darts until tou get it right. Sitting on your hands won’t change anything. 

Ballard is not going to be fired this season nor next season because of fan pressure. 

[throwing BBZ]

19 hours ago, Indyfan4life said:

This is the first year his seat is hot. If he wants to keep his job, which I think he does, then he’ll be forced to change his drafting and FA habits.
 

I’m sure Jim will have a talk with him when the season ends about the plan for draft and FA. 

 

 I'm sure Jim has been deeply involved with all the big decisions that Ballard/Reich proposed for his team.  Particularly with the Brissett/Wentz fiasco's, and bringing in Ryan. And i have no doubt they discussed giving Pryor his payday and that Pinter could replace Glow. 

 To me, Frank and Strausser would have had to sell this idea that those two could be solid. What a mess!! 

[2006Coltsbestever]

39 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Ballard is not going to be fired this season nor next season because of fan pressure. 

I can't see him getting fired, so I agree. This off season will be interesting though regarding who the Coach will be. It could be Saturday but then again it could be anyone?

[John Hammonds]

16 hours ago, Superman said:

 

If the owner has to try to convince the GM to change his philosophy and approach, it's probably time for a different GM. 

 

Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing wrong with Ballard's strategy, outside of QB. Building through the draft is tried and true, but you have to hit on your draft picks. The problem is that the young players have not performed well enough to fill the holes left by the veterans. Letting go of Houston and Autry shouldn't have drastically affected our pass rush, but Turay, Lewis, Paye, etc. were unable to step up. These are first and second rounders, not UDFAs. 

 

Losing Chris Reed, Mark Glowinski and Eric Fisher should not turn our OL upside down, but Pryor, Pinter, etc. have not been able to fill the void. 

 

And that's probably a systemic failure, from scouting and evaluation to development and coaching. After five years, we should have a solid pipeline of players who are ready to contribute, and losing aggressively average veterans shouldn't be crippling entire units of our team. But over time we're seeing that the drafting hasn't produced a deep enough roster, and the coaching probably hasn't been effective at developing the young players. 

Agreed.  If you're going to build through the draft, you need to hit on your draft picks.  He blew the 2019 draft.  And his decisions regarding the 2021 free agents were poor.  Those two things have overshadowed the good things he did (2018, 2020).

 

Imagine what this team would be like if he simply made these decisions:

2019 round 2 pick 34 - WR Deebo Samuel instead of CB Rock Ya-Sin

2019 round 2 pick - WR AJ Brown instead of DE Ben Banogu

2021 Re-sign DE Denico Autry

2021 Re-sign G Mark Glowinski

2021 round 1 pick 21 - LT Christian Darrisaw instead of DE Kwity Paye

2021 round 2 pick 54 - TE Pat Freiermuth instead of DE Dayo Odeyingbo

 

It was Ballard's 2019 and 2021 decisions that are having negative effects in the current team.

[throwing BBZ]

1 hour ago, MikeCurtis said:

IMHO, you may be right

 

But the team didnt know that Luck was going to retire at this stage

 

The Q has been mediocre since he signed his contract.

 

Thats painful

 

I would rather be paying an average LG average money than paying a LG thats playing average, like a star QB

 

 

 

 I would rather be paying an average LG average money than paying a LG thats playing average, like a star QB.

  Profound stuff right there.

 

  Howard Mudd did not like playing Rookie o-lineman. 

 lol Raimann and my boy Fries. Hopefully this Baptism by fire makes them better for 2023. It is UGH now for sure!!!

 

[EastStreet]

Ballard had to roll the dice. Especially with Hines' and Q's contracts. 

 

Pinter graded, but at OC, and they gambled.

Pryor graded well, and drafted Raimann, and they gambled. 

 

And remember... Glow, who I liked (not loved, but was consistent), got slam dunked a bunch on the board over the years. 

 

And RKelly is one of the biggest issues right now. I don't totally fault (Philly game) as their middle DL (Suh/Hargrave/Joseph) is one of the best in the NFL now. 

 

My biggest gripe whoever pushed for Hines' contract. And not going after Leno two seasons ago... 

[Superman]

17 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Expecting rookies to start and be as good as veterans is where Ballard went wrong and never gets ahead.  Very few are ready. For every rookie you draft you should probably have a vet starter so there isn’t so much pressure on a rookie. Then in a year or two the rookie is ready and you can move on from the vet. He also for the most part has failed to fill holes in FA that can help the team. Then like you mentioned letting both DE go at the same time was just wrong.

 

I think Ballard probably needs to draft some more oline in say middle rounds so he has adequate backups. If he isn’t going to do that he has to go find them in FA. Like everything Ballard does he is so slow to react. There never should of been a wait and see with Pryor and Pinter. He also had 7 weeks before trade deadline to try and fix it. 

 

Turay was in his fourth year, Lewis was in his fourth year. (Banogu, who I didn't mention, was in his third year.) Pinter is in his third year, Pryor is in his fourth year. The only rookie I mentioned was Paye, and he was a first rounder who actually had a decent rookie season, but would have been in a rotation with those other more seasoned guys.

 

And we're not talking about Pro Bowl level players. We're talking about slightly above average, at best, journeyman level players. We weren't asking the young edge players to replace prime Justin Houston. We were asking them to combine to reproduce the production and impact of 32 year old, 8 sacks/year Justin Houston (who, by the way, did not want to stay in Indy). We're not asking Pinter to replace Joel Bitonio, just Mark Glowinski. These are the types of players that you should have a succession plan for, so you're not throwing cap space at replaceable, over the hill players.

 

Again, the strategy is not the problem. The fact that the young players in the pipeline couldn't fill the void is the problem. 

[Superman]

49 minutes ago, John Hammonds said:

Agreed.  If you're going to build through the draft, you need to hit on your draft picks.  He blew the 2019 draft.  And his decisions regarding the 2021 free agents were poor.  Those two things have overshadowed the good things he did (2018, 2020).

 

Imagine what this team would be like if he simply made these decisions:

2019 round 2 pick 34 - WR Deebo Samuel instead of CB Rock Ya-Sin

2019 round 2 pick - WR AJ Brown instead of DE Ben Banogu

2021 Re-sign DE Denico Autry

2021 Re-sign G Mark Glowinski

2021 round 1 pick 21 - LT Christian Darrisaw instead of DE Kwity Paye

2021 round 2 pick 54 - TE Pat Freiermuth instead of DE Dayo Odeyingbo

 

It was Ballard's 2019 and 2021 decisions that are having negative effects in the current team.

 

We can always go back and imagine the best case scenario. Judging draft picks this way isn't totally fair. But the point is obvious, we didn't exactly get the most out of those drafts, and the coaching staff probably didn't do a great job of developing them. It's just one fringe example, but whatever they had planned for Banogu was obviously flawed, and maybe that's an insight into some of the other player development issues over the last 2-3 years... or maybe it's a stretch. But obviously those guys the decision makers thought so highly of have not panned out.

 

And when you go back and look at those drafts, it's obvious there was talent available all over the place. 

 

Good drafting is always the key to sustained success in the NFL. If your roster starts falling apart because you let a couple of average FAs walk, then the real problem is probably that you haven't been drafting well enough. Ballard's staff obviously has a blind spot at DE at this point. 

 

I don't think they have a blind spot at OL, they've done a reasonably good job of drafting and playing young OL. What's happened since late 2021 is the rock solid veterans have fallen off.

[John Hammonds]

32 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

We can always go back and imagine the best case scenario. Judging draft picks this way isn't totally fair. But the point is obvious, we didn't exactly get the most out of those drafts, and the coaching staff probably didn't do a great job of developing them. It's just one fringe example, but whatever they had planned for Banogu was obviously flawed, and maybe that's an insight into some of the other player development issues over the last 2-3 years... or maybe it's a stretch. But obviously those guys the decision makers thought so highly of have not panned out.

 

And when you go back and look at those drafts, it's obvious there was talent available all over the place. 

 

Good drafting is always the key to sustained success in the NFL. If your roster starts falling apart because you let a couple of average FAs walk, then the real problem is probably that you haven't been drafting well enough. Ballard's staff obviously has a blind spot at DE at this point. 

 

I don't think they have a blind spot at OL, they've done a reasonably good job of drafting and playing young OL. What's happened since late 2021 is the rock solid veterans have fallen off.

Yup, I agree.  It's always easy to pick and choose with hindsight the draft picks that succeeded, and then say, here you could have drafted this guy instead of the guy you chose.  Therefore, normally I don't do it.  For the very reason you stated.

I only bring it up this time because those were arguments that were made at the time that they happened, and not in retrospect.

 

Anyway, Superman, I'm looking forward to evaluating the draft with you this upcoming March.  I intend to be at the scouting combine when the QB's throw.  That's gonna be a doosie!

[Solid84]

2 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Ballard is not going to be fired this season nor next season because of fan pressure. 

Of course not, lol. Fan pressure has nothing to do with it. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Ballard is not going to be fired this season nor next season because of fan pressure. 

Ballard has done enough on his own to get his butt fired.

[csmopar]

6 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:

Love in 2020

Fields/Lance/Mac Jones in 2021

Matt Corral/Pickett in 2022

 

Will all work out?  Nope

 

But you have to TRY to get your developing QB in the draft

 

Some of these guys were within range WITH A TRADE UP for the Colts to take

 

Our weak QB attempts have been in the 4th and 6th 

 

 

Perhaps, but again, who do you propose in THIS COMING draft.

[bluephantom87]

22 hours ago, Indy87 said:

You can preach whatever you want. You’re judged on wins and losses, and Ballard is average. 

 

His BELOW .500 record suggests that he's not even average. I put the state of this team strictly at his feet. He talks like the Colts have invented the wheel with his philosophy when it fact the team has slowly fallen behind in not only the AFC but also in the lowly division known as the south too!! SIX YEARS in and this team is closer to ANOTHER rebuild than it is to becoming a SB contender. Yeah the defense is decent (not dominant) but STILL lacks a consistent pass rush. The non EXPLOSIVE offense is hard to stomach on a regular with its low point totals unless you like old school between the tackle runs.

 

Our o-line is shakey yet is the highest paid. The kicking game is wishy-washy. Our pass rush is spotty. We have no LONG term answer at qb or LT. We have possession type receivers in a league of explosive ones but in Ballard we trust! Our offensive numbers are in the lower tier of the league and much of that came from the " offenSIVE minded" Frank Reich calling plays.

 

Things derailed to the point that Irsay stepped in and hired Saturday who had NO coaching experience EXCEPT for high school in which his record was an unspectacular 20-18!! Let that sink in. Jeff then picked a guy in Frazier who had NO playcalling experience at ANY level. This is the state of the Colts right now. Hopes are high because the bar is low. Yet some want Ballard to continue on this slow MINIMAL result path that has led this team far from the greatness that Irsay speaks about. Do I want CB to pick the next young franchise qb moving forward after years of his plug and play JAG type quarterbacks? The answer is an ASTOUNDING no!! Remember Sam has the sauce....  At least Saturday stepped right in and put the putrid Ehlinger where he belongs.

 

[Zoltan]

21 hours ago, Superman said:

 

If the owner has to try to convince the GM to change his philosophy and approach, it's probably time for a different GM. 

 

Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing wrong with Ballard's strategy, outside of QB. Building through the draft is tried and true, but you have to hit on your draft picks. The problem is that the young players have not performed well enough to fill the holes left by the veterans. Letting go of Houston and Autry shouldn't have drastically affected our pass rush, but Turay, Lewis, Paye, etc. were unable to step up. These are first and second rounders, not UDFAs. 

 

Losing Chris Reed, Mark Glowinski and Eric Fisher should not turn our OL upside down, but Pryor, Pinter, etc. have not been able to fill the void. 

 

And that's probably a systemic failure, from scouting and evaluation to development and coaching. After five years, we should have a solid pipeline of players who are ready to contribute, and losing aggressively average veterans shouldn't be crippling entire units of our team. But over time we're seeing that the drafting hasn't produced a deep enough roster, and the coaching probably hasn't been effective at developing the young players. 

 

To be fair a lot of the lack of pass rush was Eberflus scheme, As last year we were 31st in pressure percentage and this year we are 14th so far with Paye being out. It's amazing what a change in DL philosophy can do. I would imagine if we had Bradley earlier I bet we would have had a better pass rush with those 2nd rounders (except Banogu).

 

As for the OL I think it has to be a similar situation because the 180 that happened from late last year to this year just doesn't make sense, there are less talented Offensive lines in the league that are playing better. Fisher and Glow were not good last year and Reed wasn't consistent. Pryor and Pinter both played great, so I don't really blame the front office when they thought they were good adding an above average swing tackle like D. Kelly as the only addition.

 

Honestly with the right coach I think this team has the talent to come back next year and be 10+ wins, just because I think it is the coaching that has let this team down. I just hope with the coaching change they can retain guys bradley or atleast keep his style of defense.

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6 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

 

To be fair a lot of the lack of pass rush was Eberflus scheme, As last year we were 31st in pressure percentage and this year we are 14th so far with Paye being out. It's amazing what a change in DL philosophy can do. I would imagine if we had Bradley earlier I bet we would have had a better pass rush with those 2nd rounders (except Banogu).

 

As for the OL I think it has to be a similar situation because the 180 that happened from late last year to this year just doesn't make sense, there are less talented Offensive lines in the league that are playing better. Fisher and Glow were not good last year and Reed wasn't consistent. Pryor and Pinter both played great, so I don't really blame the front office when they thought they were good adding an above average swing tackle like D. Kelly as the only addition.

 

Honestly with the right coach I think this team has the talent to come back next year and be 10+ wins, just because I think it is the coaching that has let this team down. I just hope with the coaching change they can retain guys bradley or atleast keep his style of defense.

Difference was we had a mobile QB last season that covered up a ton and we had Doyle and pascal for blocking.  Then add Kelly is eminjured which he has been in the injury report for.