POLL: How are we feeling about Chris Ballard now?

[hoosierhawk]

3 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I think we'll do something for depth at OL, I think they worked out a couple players last week. But I don't know if it will be meaningful. 

 

I'm not worried about Leonard's desire, at all. He's been seriously injured ever since he got his new contract, trying to play through these injuries, while medical staff has been figuring out how to help him. I think it's overly cynical to attribute his issues to him being complacent because he got paid. He dragged himself around on one leg all of 2021, and was still our best defensive playmaker at probably 50% physical capacity. The only thing I'm worried about is him deciding to retire because his injury can't be overcome, but a big part of that worry is influenced by the Luck situation.

 

Richardson, I think 50/50 is fair. I lean toward the "no" side for Week 1 because I think it would be better to work him in judiciously, and there's no rush. But I absolutely expect him to get reps in games right away, just not as the starter. And if he looks great in camp or preseason, then sure, start him in Week 1. But that remains to be seen.

I hope you are right about Leonard. I am probably am overly cynical about him getting the big money. As my wife would say I always find something to worry about. I hope to heck I'm wrong and would love to eat my words. Obviosly the FO believes he will be ok or they wouldn't have let Okereke go. When Leonard is on he is a huge difference maker even when not 100% as you pointed out.

[PRnum1]

The best thing that could happen for the Colts and Leonard is for Leonard to improve and be productive this season.

 

Cutting him this season would incur a 24 million dollar cap hit.

 

If he does not improve, then cut him next season when the cap hit is only 8 million.

[Btown_Colt]

1 hour ago, sb41champs said:

I've long felt that IF individuals - in the media - on our message boards - or - elsewhere - feel that THEY can assemble the "perfect roster" for any sport - and - any team - I invite them to fill out an application to be a General Manager.

 

That way - we could compare apples to apples - and - not apples to the Statue of Liberty.

Something tells me there aren’t applications for GM jobs, but if you find one go ahead and post it here!

[RunTheBall]

What will the offense be now?  We were supposed to be a power team with Taylor, then the line went down the sewer.  Now we are adding light OL.  What are we going to do with Taylor?  Can anyone explain why our only pass rusher is Buckner despite tons of picks.  Why did we not get the line around Nelson to make Taylor unstoppable?  Why do we have no depth at CB behind rookies?  What exactly has Ballard done to make you guys so happy?  Any other GM with that much time would have gotten the ax.  

[AKB]

3 hours ago, Superman said:

 

Ultimately, the only conversation that would have mattered is one involving Irsay, right? After looking back at what's happened since Reich was fired -- Irsay said 'Ballard isn't going anywhere' at the presser, he said it again after the season, they didn't hire Irsay's friend at HC, they didn't draft one of the more polished QB prospects -- it's not hard for me to just take Irsay at his word. He said he believed in Ballard, and he's supported that statement with actions.

 

I know there's been plenty of speculation, but it mostly seems baseless at this point. And I'm not separating myself from that group; in the past, I have questioned whether Ballard was on the hot seat. I questioned everything after Reich was fired. But looking back with the benefit of more information and results, I think Ballard was always safe, despite what people outside the building may have thought. JMO.

 

As for the Frank factor, I think they acquiesced to Reich's QB preference over the last couple of years, and ultimately that played a big role in him getting fired. I don't think Ballard held back from drafting a QB because he didn't believe in Frank.

I don't really disagree with what you're saying, but I think it isn't really relevant to my OP. 

 

there was certainly a conversation about Ballard not being here.  Rather or not you consider that hot-seat or not, is your own prerogative. Many people thought it was a possibility he either got fired, or mutually separated. 

 

And anything colts related can always go to this statement --> "Ultimately, the only conversation that would have mattered is one involving Irsay, right?"

 

Kind of like someone saying, "It's a beautiful day today, I love the rain".

 

--> "Well actually, we'd have to ask God because only he truly knows the intent of weather and beauty" 

 

But uh... yeah, you can just look at the poll difference. Which is the point of the thread. There really isn't a discussion to be had rather or not there was a conversation about Ballard potentially not being with the Colts. That's why Irsay specifically came out and stated he was indeed staying, due to those conversations. 

[Superman]

1 hour ago, AustinnKaine said:

I don't really disagree with what you're saying, but I think it isn't really relevant to my OP. 

 

there was certainly a conversation about Ballard not being here.  Rather or not you consider that hot-seat or not, is your own prerogative. Many people thought it was a possibility he either got fired, or mutually separated. 

 

And anything colts related can always go to this statement --> "Ultimately, the only conversation that would have mattered is one involving Irsay, right?"

 

Kind of like someone saying, "It's a beautiful day today, I love the rain".

 

--> "Well actually, we'd have to ask God because only he truly knows the intent of weather and beauty" 

 

But uh... yeah, you can just look at the poll difference. Which is the point of the thread. There really isn't a discussion to be had rather or not there was a conversation about Ballard potentially not being with the Colts. That's why Irsay specifically came out and stated he was indeed staying, due to those conversations. 

 

Does your definition of 'on the hot seat' mean some fans/media think he should be fired? 

 

To me, being on the hot seat means the decision maker(s) above you have started thinking about firing you. So when I say I don't think Ballard was/is on the hot seat, I mean I don't think Irsay is dissatisfied with Ballard, I don't think he was on the way to being fired, and I don't think he is on the way to being fired. 

 

If you're asking whether we think there are fans/media that are dissatisfied with Ballard, that's another story, but it's not what I thought the question meant.

 

Edit: By the way, that's not meant to be a vote of confidence by me, nor a seal of approval. Basically I'm saying that I don't think Ballard's job was in danger, and I don't think it's in danger now, even if there were/are people who are dissatisfied with him.

[shasta519]

1 hour ago, RunTheBall said:

What will the offense be now?  We were supposed to be a power team with Taylor, then the line went down the sewer.  Now we are adding light OL.  What are we going to do with Taylor?  Can anyone explain why our only pass rusher is Buckner despite tons of picks.  Why did we not get the line around Nelson to make Taylor unstoppable?  Why do we have no depth at CB behind rookies?  What exactly has Ballard done to make you guys so happy?  Any other GM with that much time would have gotten the ax.  

These are fair points. 

[shasta519]

On 5/18/2023 at 5:01 PM, sb41champs said:

Last season was a train wreck - but - not all of the blame can be traced to GM Chris Ballard.

 

Every one needs to remember just that.

Sure. But that doesn’t mean he gets none of it either. Yet it seems like all of that blame went to Reich, Ryan, Saturday and Irsay. They all lost their jobs or took a ton of heat.
 

Meanwhile, Ballard gets to hire a new HC to a 6-year contract and draft a QB that will buy him 3 more years. He basically got a mulligan (a breakfast ball to be more specific) on the past half decade. 

 

 

[crazycolt1]

27 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

Sure. But that doesn’t mean he gets none of it either. Yet it seems like all of that blame went to Reich, Ryan, Saturday and Irsay. They all lost their jobs or took a ton of heat.
 

Meanwhile, Ballard gets to hire a new HC to a 6-year contract and draft a QB that will buy him 3 more years. He basically got a mulligan (a breakfast ball to be more specific) on the past half decade. 

 

 

I can understand your point of view but imo Ballard has done a good job when you look at the biggest picture.  He has drafted very well and we have some very impressive and talented players on the roster.  Of course the things that didn't work out gets amplified because of the teams lack of success.  

Like I said earlier, Ballard is thought of as one of the better GMs in the league. With the talent this team has I believe coaching had more to do with the poor performances.  

[AKB]

7 hours ago, Superman said:

 

Does your definition of 'on the hot seat' mean some fans/media think he should be fired? 

 

To me, being on the hot seat means the decision maker(s) above you have started thinking about firing you. So when I say I don't think Ballard was/is on the hot seat, I mean I don't think Irsay is dissatisfied with Ballard, I don't think he was on the way to being fired, and I don't think he is on the way to being fired. 

 

If you're asking whether we think there are fans/media that are dissatisfied with Ballard, that's another story, but it's not what I thought the question meant.

 

Edit: By the way, that's not meant to be a vote of confidence by me, nor a seal of approval. Basically I'm saying that I don't think Ballard's job was in danger, and I don't think it's in danger now, even if there were/are people who are dissatisfied with him.

yes, you're correct.  that's how i was thinking about it

 

'on the hot seat' mean some fans/media think he should be fired? 

 

edit: also okay if the question means something different to you. otherwise conversation would get boring quick

 

 

[MikeCurtis]

19 hours ago, sb41champs said:

I've long felt that IF individuals - in the media - on our message boards - or - elsewhere - feel that THEY can assemble the "perfect roster" for any sport - and - any team - I invite them to fill out an application to be a General Manager.

 

That way - we could compare apples to apples - and - not apples to the Statue of Liberty.

You make a great point....... We are fans with opinions......  Nothing more

 

But......

 

In my job, where I am (I believe) good at it........   I would be fired if the business that I am responsible was not doing well

 

Most folks on the board here have some pressure to succeed in the job that they have.

 

So far......  the Colts recent record says that we need improvement - From Ballard

 

Ballard ultimately owns

All coaching decisions

All player decisions

 

It hasnt worked so far

 

Do I have all the answers to fix the team?..... Nope

 

But even I as a fan, can see the results

 

 

 

[sb41champs]

4 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:

You make a great point....... We are fans with opinions......  Nothing more

 

But......

 

In my job, where I am (I believe) good at it........   I would be fired if the business that I am responsible was not doing well

 

Most folks on the board here have some pressure to succeed in the job that they have.

 

So far......  the Colts recent record says that we need improvement - From Ballard

 

Ballard ultimately owns

All coaching decisions

All player decisions

 

It hasnt worked so far

 

Do I have all the answers to fix the team?..... Nope

 

But even I as a fan, can see the results

 

 

 

You failed to mention that Jim Irsay is well known for jumping in to the fray and making decisions himself - without necessarily having the support of the GM - for those decisions.

 

Jim Irsay forced the departure of Marcus Brady.

 

Jim Irsay forced the in-season QB carousel.

 

Jim Irsay forced the firing of Frank Reich - AND - the hiring of Jeff Saturday.

 

Decisions which did not have the support of Chris Ballard for happening during the regular season.

[MikeCurtis]

36 minutes ago, sb41champs said:

You failed to mention that Jim Irsay is well known for jumping in to the fray and making decisions himself - without necessarily having the support of the GM - for those decisions.

 

Jim Irsay forced the departure of Marcus Brady.

 

Jim Irsay forced the in-season QB carousel.

 

Jim Irsay forced the firing of Frank Reich - AND - the hiring of Jeff Saturday.

 

Decisions which did not have the support of Chris Ballard for happening during the regular season.

So your point is that Ballard has no ownership in the poor record and the team falling apart?

 

Respectfully, There us MUCH more to this team than the points that you brought up before. (From this year)

 

And Ballard has been here much longer than a year.   

 

Irsay HAS had his hand in on the team But..... to give a pass to Ballard doesnt seem right

 

I love Frank Reich the man..... but this team was NEVER prepared..... we seemed to always be surprised

and always behind

 

That's on Reich AND Ballard

 

The QB changes for the Colts (For all of the seasons) has NEVER been seen in the NFL........  EVER

 

College teams seem to have more stability at QB than the Colts

 

That's on Reich AND Ballard

 

Ballard has has some nice "hits" on this team in the draft......  But his MISSES are almost as impactful

 

I would agree that Irsay can be a pain in the keester, but he jumps in when the ship is sinking......

 

This ship was sinking    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hoosierhawk]

7 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:

You make a great point....... We are fans with opinions......  Nothing more

 

But......

 

In my job, where I am (I believe) good at it........   I would be fired if the business that I am responsible was not doing well

 

Most folks on the board here have some pressure to succeed in the job that they have.

 

So far......  the Colts recent record says that we need improvement - From Ballard

 

Ballard ultimately owns

All coaching decisions

All player decisions

 

It hasnt worked so far

 

Do I have all the answers to fix the team?..... Nope

 

But even I as a fan, can see the results

 

 

 

You may be good at your job but I doubt you have a 1/2 million people critiquing you every move. He has drafted some really good players and we have failed to win with them. I fault him to an extent for going along with Reich's desire to bring in Wentz but at the time he and many others thought that Reich could get the most out of him. You say Ballard ultimately owns all coaching decisions and all player decisions. That's the ultimate interpretation. I guess you can say he ultimately did act on that by scanning Reich. Has he made mistake?, certainly as I am sure have in your job.

[AKB]

compared to the last poll, most people seem to support riding with Ballard for at least another 2-3 years. 

[AKB]

1 hour ago, hoosierhawk said:

You may be good at your job but I doubt you have a 1/2 million people critiquing you every move. He has drafted some really good players and we have failed to win with them. I fault him to an extent for going along with Reich's desire to bring in Wentz but at the time he and many others thought that Reich could get the most out of him. You say Ballard ultimately owns all coaching decisions and all player decisions. That's the ultimate interpretation. I guess you can say he ultimately did act on that by scanning Reich. Has he made mistake?, certainly as I am sure have in your job.

i think his main point was that most people get held responsible when they do poorly at their job.

 

depending on what metric you use, an argument can easily be made that Ballard hasn't performed well as a GM..

 

Ballard is an amazing scout, but that isn't the only responsibility of a GM.

 

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

On 5/19/2023 at 5:53 PM, Superman said:

 

Ultimately, the only conversation that would have mattered is one involving Irsay, right? After looking back at what's happened since Reich was fired -- Irsay said 'Ballard isn't going anywhere' at the presser, he said it again after the season, they didn't hire Irsay's friend at HC, they didn't draft one of the more polished QB prospects -- it's not hard for me to just take Irsay at his word. He said he believed in Ballard, and he's supported that statement with actions.

 

I know there's been plenty of speculation, but it mostly seems baseless at this point. And I'm not separating myself from that group; in the past, I have questioned whether Ballard was on the hot seat. I questioned everything after Reich was fired. But looking back with the benefit of more information and results, I think Ballard was always safe, despite what people outside the building may have thought. JMO.

 

As for the Frank factor, I think they acquiesced to Reich's QB preference over the last couple of years, and ultimately that played a big role in him getting fired. I don't think Ballard held back from drafting a QB because he didn't believe in Frank.

If anything, I think that Ballard and Reich was too aligned on their thinking on how to construct the team and that ended in a stalemate, not enough fresh ideas and challenges to offset the status quo, and the blood basically stopped running through the veins of the team, so to speak. 

 

When Reich was fired, it was practically only Irsay talking at the presser about it, Ballard was just sitting there , like he was almost not a part of it. Very telling.

 

I just think Irsay had enough of Frank and wanted to send some shock waves through the dying team with the hire of Saturday. Not sure he really was thinking he would be the HC, long term, no matter what he said. He basically held Ballard out of firing Frank and finding the interim HC, but was doing this as a favor to Ballard, not the other way around.

[Dingus McGirt]

On 5/18/2023 at 5:55 PM, RunTheBall said:

Our roster has more holes than Swiss cheese.  Next year we will have more holes than Swiss cheese.  The beauty of Ballard, is that he adds talent, and somehow, few if any holes get filled.  It is like magic.  Guy needs to go.

Hmmm.  This POST needs to go.

[Superman]

On 5/21/2023 at 7:37 AM, Mr. Irrelevant said:

If anything, I think that Ballard and Reich was too aligned on their thinking on how to construct the team and that ended in a stalemate, not enough fresh ideas and challenges to offset the status quo, and the blood basically stopped running through the veins of the team, so to speak. 

 

When Reich was fired, it was practically only Irsay talking at the presser about it, Ballard was just sitting there , like he was almost not a part of it. Very telling.

 

I just think Irsay had enough of Frank and wanted to send some shock waves through the dying team with the hire of Saturday. Not sure he really was thinking he would be the HC, long term, no matter what he said. He basically held Ballard out of firing Frank and finding the interim HC, but was doing this as a favor to Ballard, not the other way around.

 

I think Ballard and Reich were well aligned on a lot of things, but it seems pretty clear that they had some separation on how to handle the QB position. There's no concrete evidence, but it's my working theory that Reich's influence over the QB decisions ultimately cost him his standing in Irsay's eyes, and eventually cost him his job. This is based on the comments and actions of all three guys over the last year and a half. I don't think Ballard held back from drafting a QB because he didn't want to entrust the development to Reich.

 

At the presser, it was mostly Irsay talking, and I think there's more than one reason for that. But I always thought Ballard was against firing Reich at that point of the season, and probably also against making Saturday the interim HC. That was Irsay inserting himself, and that's when I really started questioning Ballard's standing. But through the coaching search, free agency, and the draft process, all indications are that Irsay has stepped back into his usual role, and it's been Ballard's show, with Steichen heavily involved.

 

I guess you're saying Irsay jumped in because he knew Ballard would have a hard time deciding to fire Reich, and I can see that. I think Ballard was asked at that presser whether he thought Reich should be fired, and his answer was 'not at this time,' and that's heavily paraphrased btw. Even if that's the case, Irsay said Ballard was his guy, and repeated it multiple times in the following weeks, and since the end of the season it's seemed like standard business for the Colts. So while fans and media were speculating about Ballard's standing, it seems Irsay was sincere, and Ballard was never in trouble.

 

We agree, the team was basically dying, and Irsay had had enough of Reich.

[Mitch Connors]

I'm happy Ballard finally drafted a QB but I'm more than tired of the constant trading down. I understand the concept of accumulating more picks but sometimes a 2nd round player is just better than two 3rd round players.

 

Itd be different if this team had a solid foundation of core players but it doesnt and the results are showing that. Itd be nice if we started drafting playmakers instead of just accumulating more players. 

[Superman]

1 hour ago, Mitch Connors said:

sometimes a 2nd round player is just better than two 3rd round players

 

Statistically speaking, I'm not sure it's even true that a 2nd round player is better than one 3rd round player. It's probably a wash.

 

Edit: This year, the Colts wound up drafting in the middle of the 2nd round, plus ultimately picking up an extra 4th (which turned into Adetomiwa Adebawore) and an extra 5th (which turned into a lower 5th and an extra 6th, used on Daniel Scott and Titus Leo, respectively). So trading down nine spots in two separate trades netted us three additional players, and they still got a 2nd round prospect that everyone really liked. 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Superman

[sb41champs]

On 5/20/2023 at 2:04 PM, MikeCurtis said:

So your point is that Ballard has no ownership in the poor record and the team falling apart?

 

Respectfully, There us MUCH more to this team than the points that you brought up before. (From this year)

 

And Ballard has been here much longer than a year.   

 

Irsay HAS had his hand in on the team But..... to give a pass to Ballard doesnt seem right

 

I love Frank Reich the man..... but this team was NEVER prepared..... we seemed to always be surprised

and always behind

 

That's on Reich AND Ballard

 

The QB changes for the Colts (For all of the seasons) has NEVER been seen in the NFL........  EVER

 

College teams seem to have more stability at QB than the Colts

 

That's on Reich AND Ballard

 

Ballard has has some nice "hits" on this team in the draft......  But his MISSES are almost as impactful

 

I would agree that Irsay can be a pain in the keester, but he jumps in when the ship is sinking......

 

This ship was sinking    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ballard DOES bare some responsibility - I agree.  

 

However - on any NFL team you have a trio of decision makers - not just one.

 

In our case - Jim Irsay - Chris Ballard - Frank Reich/Shane Steichen.

 

In our case - ALL THREE bare responsibility - NOT just Ballard.

[COLTSS]

If Ballard had traded up to number 1, given away all those future picks for this QB class, then I was ready to jump on the fire Ballard bandwagon.  

[NFLfan]

How could anyone not like this draft class? Even if Richardson was not drafted, this would have been a very good draft class.

[crazycolt1]

On 5/22/2023 at 1:00 PM, Mitch Connors said:

I'm happy Ballard finally drafted a QB but I'm more than tired of the constant trading down. I understand the concept of accumulating more picks but sometimes a 2nd round player is just better than two 3rd round players.

 

Itd be different if this team had a solid foundation of core players but it doesnt and the results are showing that. Itd be nice if we started drafting playmakers instead of just accumulating more players. 

I can't agree with this draft. This draft was a thing of beauty.  

[MikeCurtis]

1 hour ago, NFLfan said:

How could anyone not like this draft class? Even if Richardson was not drafted, this would have been a very good draft class.

On paper I am very excited by this draft

 

as you know this years draft will be proven out the next 2-3 years

[Blueblood23]

On 5/20/2023 at 6:02 PM, AKB said:

i think his main point was that most people get held responsible when they do poorly at their job.

 

depending on what metric you use, an argument can easily be made that Ballard hasn't performed well as a GM..

 

Ballard is an amazing scout, but that isn't the only responsibility of a GM.

 

 

Maybe the roster isn’t all that good.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/colts-roster-ranked-fourth-worst-123032813.html

[crazycolt1]

13 minutes ago, Blueblood23 said:

Maybe the roster isn’t all that good.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/colts-roster-ranked-fourth-worst-123032813.html

I'm not a expert in assessing nfl teams but the Colts roster has more talent than any other team that picked in the top ten.  You can disagree but I wouldn't take any pole seriously before a game is even played yet.  

[Blueblood23]

35 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

I'm not a expert in assessing nfl teams but the Colts roster has more talent than any other team that picked in the top ten.  You can disagree but I wouldn't take any pole seriously before a game is even played yet.  

I really don’t think the roster is all that great either. If it was, they wouldn’t have drafted forth this year. 

[NewColtsFan]

1 hour ago, crazycolt1 said:

I'm not an expert in assessing nfl teams but the Colts roster has more talent than any other team that picked in the top ten.  You can disagree but I wouldn't take any pole seriously before a game is even played yet.  

Never mind….   I understand now….  
 

[AKB]

5 hours ago, Blueblood23 said:

Maybe the roster isn’t all that good.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/colts-roster-ranked-fourth-worst-123032813.html

i think he was recently ranked as the 17th best GM, forget which outlet the ranking was from though. 

 

found it, it was NBC, check out this article on stampede blue

 

https://www.stampedeblue.com/2023/5/22/23733110/nbc-sports-ranks-colts-gm-chris-ballard-as-the-nfls-17th-best-gm-before-2023-season

[DougDew]

8 hours ago, AKB said:

i think he was recently ranked as the 17th best GM, forget which outlet the ranking was from though. 

 

found it, it was NBC, check out this article on stampede blue

 

https://www.stampedeblue.com/2023/5/22/23733110/nbc-sports-ranks-colts-gm-chris-ballard-as-the-nfls-17th-best-gm-before-2023-season

Yes, Ballard is ranked in the bottom half. 

 

Sure, its influenced by the recent 4-12 record, by why wouldn't it be?  The record reflects a culmination of decision making over recent years.

[NFLfan]

9 hours ago, AKB said:

i think he was recently ranked as the 17th best GM, forget which outlet the ranking was from though. 

 

found it, it was NBC, check out this article on stampede blue

 

https://www.stampedeblue.com/2023/5/22/23733110/nbc-sports-ranks-colts-gm-chris-ballard-as-the-nfls-17th-best-gm-before-2023-season

 

Thanks for sharing the article. I don't give much importance to rankings. What are they based on? They are not objective. If all of us had to create our own list of rankings, all would be different. That list has some of what I believe are the top GMs ranked much lower than I would have ranked them (Eric DaCosta, John Schneider, Joe Douglas and more. Yeah, Ballard is rated much too low in my opinion). I do like Howie Roseman.

 

If I had to make my list, Ballard would be in the top ten, possibly top 5, as he is the kind of GM I prefer. He builds through the draft and does not sign a whole bunch of high-priced free agents. Fans who like high-priced free agents would rank him low. That is why I don't put much value on these kinds of rankings. They are too subjective.

[DougDew]

13 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

 

Thanks for sharing the article. I don't give much importance to rankings. What are they based on? They are not objective. If all of us had to create our own list of rankings, all would be different. That list has some of what I believe are the top GMs ranked much lower than I would have ranked them (Eric DaCosta, John Schneider, Joe Douglas and more. Yeah, Ballard is rated much too low in my opinion). I do like Howie Roseman.

 

If I had to make my list, Ballard would be in the top ten, possibly top 5, as he is the kind of GM I prefer. He builds through the draft and does not sign a whole bunch of high-priced free agents. Fans who like high-priced free agents would rank him low. That is why I don't put much value on these kinds of rankings. They are too subjective.

I suspect the ranking is based upon overall success, probably weighted to the recent, than the ability to get what a GM can by sticking to an ideology.  I assume others have won through the draft and also signing players via FA, maybe a few high priced FAs. 

 

If the ranking was based on what GM sticks to a rigid unyielding ideology, and not so much about doing what it takes to win in any given year or window, or having any deep playoff seasons, I'd put Ballard in the top 5 or 10 for sure.

 

I think this board is probably more biased than rankings from a published article.  Just a guess.

[gspdx]

My opinion hasn't changed just based on the draft.  Overall my opinion is based on team performance.  I was a pretty strong supporter of Ballard until last year.  I would say at this point I am neutral.  Obviously the big miss over the last few years was the QB position.  The retreads were a failed experiment.  I understand he isn't 100% responsible for those decisions, but that is how it works when you are the guy at the top. 

 

Other than the QB position I would say Ballard has built a good - but not great - roster.  There have been some really good decisions and some bad decisions.  That's going to be true of any GM.  

 

For me in the end it comes down to Wins and Losses.  This year won't matter that much as we need to give the new HC and QB time.  But after year three if this team isn't at least competing for the AFC South then it would seem Ballard has had his opportunity and it would be time to try something different.

[BProland85]

14 hours ago, Blueblood23 said:

I really don’t think the roster is all that great either. If it was, they wouldn’t have drafted forth this year. 

They drafted 4th this past draft because basically everything that could go wrong did go wrong for them in 2022. They had the worst coaching staff in the NFL, an OL who couldn't gel together the first month or so, and an older QB who clearly needed great protection to be effective. Oh and they were also missing arguably their best defensive player in Leonard and best offensive player in Taylor most of the year. 

[Blueblood23]

17 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

They drafted 4th this past draft because basically everything that could go wrong did go wrong for them in 2022. They had the worst coaching staff in the NFL, an OL who couldn't gel together the first month or so, and an older QB who clearly needed great protection to be effective. Oh and they were also missing arguably their best defensive player in Leonard and best offensive player in Taylor most of the year. 

As of today, no one knows if Leonard will be close to what he was or not. Given his injury most would bet against it in the long run. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 hour ago, NFLfan said:

 

Thanks for sharing the article. I don't give much importance to rankings. What are they based on? They are not objective. If all of us had to create our own list of rankings, all would be different. That list has some of what I believe are the top GMs ranked much lower than I would have ranked them (Eric DaCosta, John Schneider, Joe Douglas and more. Yeah, Ballard is rated much too low in my opinion). I do like Howie Roseman.

 

If I had to make my list, Ballard would be in the top ten, possibly top 5, as he is the kind of GM I prefer. He builds through the draft and does not sign a whole bunch of high-priced free agents. Fans who like high-priced free agents would rank him low. That is why I don't put much value on these kinds of rankings. They are too subjective.

"They are not objective". Here is why because when ranking players, many people let their hate for a team/player to get in the way. You can't do that and do a legit list. I don't do it. I have Tom Brady rank as the best QB of all-time and hated him as a football player. I love Peyton, he is my favorite QB and player of all-time but I have him ranked the 3rd best QB ever (Montana was 2nd). 

 

There are a lot of people who hate the Cowboys and many in here do so they just poo on Emmitt Smith. Barry Sanders was a lovable guy because he was a nice guy and played on some bad teams. So people just rank Barry ahead of him because they hate the Cowboys. That is no way to rank players. Barry was great but I would take Emmitt all day 7 days a week. People have to put their feelings aside and look at numbers, accomplishments, and all factors that go into ranking players.

 

When it comes to basketball, I could say Reggie Miller is the GOAT because I love him and I would be laughed at by everyone because as great as he was he basically just makes a Top 50 list. Top 50 is actually great in basketball considering there have been thousands of players that have come and gone.

[BProland85]

44 minutes ago, Blueblood23 said:

As of today, no one knows if Leonard will be close to what he was or not. Given his injury most would bet against it in the long run. 

I would probably agree. But everything else I said was valid as to why they struggled so much last year.

[shasta519]

On 5/19/2023 at 6:16 PM, crazycolt1 said:

I can understand your point of view but imo Ballard has done a good job when you look at the biggest picture.  He has drafted very well and we have some very impressive and talented players on the roster.  Of course the things that didn't work out gets amplified because of the teams lack of success.  

Like I said earlier, Ballard is thought of as one of the better GMs in the league. With the talent this team has I believe coaching had more to do with the poor performances.  

 

But without team success, why would we amplify the good things? Clearly, those things are either not as good as we think or they don't really impact the bottom line. 

 

Let me expand on this. (Not directed at you), but I have noticed this shift in recent years from this fanbase to value the process over results. It really all started with Ballard. And now, the process is what gets praised and the results are often met with a shrug.

 

You see it each offseason and across the many facets of this team:

 

Free Agency

While a (very vocal) minority want to Ballard be more aggressive in FA, the general consensus (from fans and the media) is that Ballard is being patient and shrewd when he won't overpay early in FA and give out "A money for B players." And by doing this, he is able to wait and get great value for cheap. Basically, he's doing FA the right way. And some results have been great (Houston, Rhodes and Gilmore), but it's not like this team couldn't have used FA talent the past few years.

 

Draft

Originally, the "Ballard Way" was targeting high-character players (often who had overcome challenges) because Ballard was building a strong culture with a great locker room.

 

Now, it's all about traits and RAS scores. The past two draft classes were both met with immediate praise, largely based on RAS scores and that overall approach. 

 

And then of course you have trading back. You would think Ballard invented this approach. That said, it can be very effective like 2018, but even that trade back was only a huge success because one of the gained picks happened to be either Leonard or Smith. The rest of that trade haul was Turay and RYS. And since then, what has trading back yielded from a results standpoint? I honestly don't know, but I also don't see people really talking about the great results. Yet, every offseason he is praised for trading back.

 

QB

Ballard was highly-praised after the Wentz trade because he supposedly made an offer and didn't budge, forcing PHI and Howie to cave. And everybody thought he took PHI to the cleaners with that negotiation. Now that we have the results of that move, and it was all Reich's fault apparently. 

 

Ballard took even more victory laps for the Ryan move. He was literally dubbed a genius for how he approached QB last offseason. The Wentz trade was great, no doubt. But it was Matt Ryan demanding a trade that resulted in Ryan falling into Ballard's lap for a R3 pick. But regardless of how it happened, Ballard had outsmarted everybody. The amount of awful takes from last offseason are too numerous to count. But the point is these bad takes were all based on overvaluing/overrating the process.

 

And now we have AR. Like 95% have wanted AR since the Combine, so I get that Ballard is praised for taking him. But the narrative is already here that Ballard had to swing for upside and a HR because the AFC is too strong with too many great QBs. Not only that, but AR just has too high of an upside to see it realized on another team.

 

Basically, Ballard HAD to draft AR if he was there. And based on the results, he's either going to be a genius or it just wasn't meant to be. But the process was sound, so I doubt he takes too much heat. And certainly not for years.

 

But in reality, drafting a college QB who only has 13 starts and accuracy issues at #4 isn't really a sound process.