Grover Stewart suspended six games for PED violation (merge)

[DougDew]

55 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Zero percent is it Ballards fault.

It helps to have experience in following NFL players, GM and coaches comments, and how they look at players.  I understand if you don't have much. @NewColtsFan

 

Anecdotal:   Ron Meyer, HC of the NE Patriots at the time, was disappointed when he was shut out of the Pats 1st round QB selection process in 1983 when they picked Tony Eason, QB, Illinois.   Its on the ESPN 30/30 show about the Elway/Marino draft.

 

Meyer said"  I didn't want Eason because he wasn't a very strong guy, and I questioned if he would be able to stand up to NFL punishment".  Eason was 6'4" and 212 lbs...very good sized for a QB in 1983.  But not very tough-bodied.  And Eason pretty much got beaten up out of the NFL.

 

So see, NFL personnel guys do think about stuff like that. 

 

If....IF...it turns out that AR is simply..."not a very strong guy that can't stand up to NFL punishment" ....then I'd wonder if Ballard thought about AR the way Meyer thought about Eason. 

[Superman]

9 minutes ago, Peter Nova said:

No, because after 7 years and 1 playoff win, it's time for a front office change.  There is a GM out west, who wins with Jimmy G and Brock Purdy, because he's constructed a very good roster. The Colts aren't just a franchise QB a way. This roster is not that good. 

 

I think people tend to be overly critical of Ballard, and I especially think the wins/playoff success argument is devoid of context.

 

But if you want to talk about Ballard coming up short, just compare this roster to the Niners. They started the same year, the Niners have been through a ton of QB change, and they've had some bad seasons. But they have maybe the best roster in the league, and the Colts really aren't close. They've also lost several good assistant coaches and front office guys, but they keep rolling. They gave up a ton of draft capital to get Trey Lance, he didn't work out, and they're still doing okay. They made the SB with a flawed QB, and they've been to the conference championship again.

 

Lynch has some misses, everything hasn't been perfect, but the results are so drastically different at this point. I know Ballard has been dealt a raw hand in a lot of ways, and I don't agree with the general sentiment that he's bad, or holding the team back, or even that he gets a pass. I think some people have an agenda to be critical of him, and it goes back to before he ever even showed up. I really like Ballard. But at some point, we have to start seeing the product come together.

 

And before anyone misinterprets what I'm saying, I think he's back in 2024. And I'm fine with that.

[husker61]

10 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I'm not exactly co-signing his point, but the Colts had one of the lowest rates of vaccination (maybe the lowest) in the league. And in contrast with other teams, whose coaches and execs and especially best players were strong advocates for vaccination, four of the Colts best, most prominent players were openly against vaccination, and may have dissuaded other players on the team. By the time the coaches and execs started talking about it, the Colts were way behind the rest of the league, and it was too late.

 

This is not to take a side pro or against. But stitches point is that other teams leadership and locker rooms showed an ability to unite around a difficult topic in an uncertain time, and the Colts were unable to do the same. 

 

I don't think I agree with him about this reflecting a problem in the current locker room. And I don't even think the Grover suspension is necessarily a reflection of a locker room problem. But it's certainly been a rough stretch of time for this team, we've been lurching from one crisis to another since 2015. 

i missed the vaccination post. I don’t see why someone choosing not to take an experimental vaccine that could cause harm is an issue! I don’t want to get into a vaccination discussion, just think it is a stupid thing to bring up. 

[Superman]

Just now, husker61 said:

 I don’t want to get into a vaccination discussion

 

Neither do I. It was just one point among many in a post about the culture of the locker room.

[husker61]

10 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I think people tend to be overly critical of Ballard, and I especially think the wins/playoff success argument is devoid of context.

 

But if you want to talk about Ballard coming up short, just compare this roster to the Niners. They started the same year, the Niners have been through a ton of QB change, and they've had some bad seasons. But they have maybe the best roster in the league, and the Colts really aren't close. They've also lost several good assistant coaches and front office guys, but they keep rolling. They gave up a ton of draft capital to get Trey Lance, he didn't work out, and they're still doing okay. They made the SB with a flawed QB, and they've been to the conference championship again.

 

Lynch has some misses, everything hasn't been perfect, but the results are so drastically different at this point. I know Ballard has been dealt a raw hand in a lot of ways, and I don't agree with the general sentiment that he's bad, or holding the team back, or even that he gets a pass. I think some people have an agenda to be critical of him, and it goes back to before he ever even showed up. I really like Ballard. But at some point, we have to start seeing the product come together.

 

And before anyone misinterprets what I'm saying, I think he's back in 2024. And I'm fine with that.

people thought New England gm/coach was the best thing since sliced bread for a long time. Well, how is that going now? There is a lot of luck involved in having success in the nfl!

[coltsblue1844]

31 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

 

Agreed with all of this.

 

From what I'm reading in the policy, the threshold for the T:E ratio is 4:1. A normal level is 1:1, with some variance. So basically you have to be four times higher than the "normal" amount. That's a significant amount of leeway, which makes sense for pro athletes. The Tour de France has historically been considered a dirty sport; they lowered their thresholds from 8:1, to 6:1, and now to 4:1. I'm thinking it's a reasonable level.

 

Also, we don't know what Grover tested positive for, and probably never will. I don't really care. Like I said, I'm not a strict moralist on this topic. I just know that, in a sport with some of the greatest pound for pound athletes in the world, they all get tested, but only a handful ever get popped for PEDs, so it's probably not difficult to avoid a suspension. 

Testosterone to Epitestosterone (could be confuse with testosterone to estrogen)

 

But the HIGH end of normal is around 800-1000 total Testosterone... 4x that or up to 4000 total testosterone is as much as a full blown steroid cycle (were you inject testosterone for 12 to 20 weeks usually followed by oddly enough taking the things that these guys are testing positive for when you come off for 4 to 6 weeks to cause your body to start producing naturally again)

As a 40 something man who admits to taking TRT, I inject 10mg of testosterone daily with an insulin needle (70mg weekly) and that puts me around 700 total testosterone ...so basically these Pro athletes can take roughly 500mg per week...

 

Just for reference sake there are numerous studies that show taking 300 mg per week results in growing muscle and losing fat if you lay on the couch and don't exercise. Now imagine taking 500 mg per week and already being a gifted athlete who eats and trains accordingly! But just like WWE most sports in a court of law admit to being sports entertainment and not actually an athletic event so having bigger stronger faster participants makes more money for them

[Painterman]

5 minutes ago, husker61 said:

people thought New England gm/coach was the best thing since sliced bread for a long time. Well, how is that going now? There is a lot of luck involved in having success in the nfl!

Luck... AKA Tom Brady, nothing lucky about it, dude could play.

 

[Peter Nova]

1 minute ago, husker61 said:

people thought New England gm/coach was the best thing since sliced bread for a long time. Well, how is that going now? There is a lot of luck involved in having success in the nfl!

There's also a time stamp, unless ownership runs the show. I don't know how much more time Ballard gets, but 7 years is enough time to field a playoff team and win a division title. I think Richardson bought Ballard more time, but 2023 is basically a red shirt year now and he's virtually a rookie again in 2024. Colts football has just been like stale bread under Ballard the past 7 seasons.  Very uninspiring football.

[NewColtsFan]

6 minutes ago, DougDew said:

It helps to have experience in following NFL players, GM and coaches comments, and how they look at players.  I understand if you don't have much. @NewColtsFan

 

Anecdotal:   Ron Meyer, HC of the NE Patriots at the time, was disappointed when he was shut out of the Pats 1st round QB selection process in 1983 when they picked Tony Eason, QB, Illinois.   Its on the ESPN 30/30 show about the Elway/Marino draft.

 

Meyer said"  I didn't want Eason because he wasn't a very strong guy, and I questioned if he would be able to stand up to NFL punishment".  Eason was 6'4" and 212 lbs...very good sized for a QB in 1983.  But not very tough-bodied.  And Eason pretty much got beaten up out of the NFL.

 

So see, NFL personnel guys do think about stuff like that. 

 

If....IF...it turns out that AR is simply..."not a very strong guy that can't stand up to NFL punishment" ....then I'd wonder if Ballard thought about AR the way Meyer thought about Eason. 

Im not sure how I got pulled into this other than I have used a good number of emoji’s to respond to you in this thread and others today.  
 

Believe it or not several of them were in agreement with you.   From time to time I thought you made strong arguments and I gave positive feedback.   But most of your posts were confusing to me.   Either I couldn’t make heads or tails of what you were trying to say or I disagreed entirely.   I don’t share most of your viewpoints.   
 

You've been opposed to the Richardson pick since close to Day One.   You openly mocked the comments about calling him a Unicorn and was sprinkled with extra magic dust that Morocco Brown made.  
 

You’ve been hostile toward AR when you’re you’re not being passive-aggressive toward him.   I’m not surprised about any of the injuries AR has suffered.  A concussion.   A knee bruise.  A damaged shoulder.   All football plays where his lack of experience is the key factor, not his toughness.   
 

Suffice to say we disagree completely about many things, this is just the latest.   Sorry, wish it wasn’t so.  

[coltsblue1844]

32 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I'm not exactly co-signing his point, but the Colts had one of the lowest rates of vaccination (maybe the lowest) in the league. And in contrast with other teams, whose coaches and execs and especially best players were strong advocates for vaccination, four of the Colts best, most prominent players were openly against vaccination, and may have dissuaded other players on the team. By the time the coaches and execs started talking about it, the Colts were way behind the rest of the league, and it was too late.

 

This is not to take a side pro or against. But stitches point is that other teams leadership and locker rooms showed an ability to unite around a difficult topic in an uncertain time, and the Colts were unable to do the same. 

 

I don't think I agree with him about this reflecting a problem in the current locker room. And I don't even think the Grover suspension is necessarily a reflection of a locker room problem. But it's certainly been a rough stretch of time for this team, we've been lurching from one crisis to another since 2015. 

It could also be said that the leadership in our locker room did unite around a difficult topic and just came to a different conclusion than some of the other teams.

[Superman]

5 minutes ago, husker61 said:

people thought New England gm/coach was the best thing since sliced bread for a long time. Well, how is that going now? There is a lot of luck involved in having success in the nfl!

 

Are you talking about the dude whose team basically went to the SB every other year, won six of them, was in the AFCCG something like 13 times in 18 years? The Patriots have as many SB appearances since 2017 as the Colts have playoff appearances. They made the playoffs in 2021 with rookie Mac Jones, who right now looks like one of the five worst QBs in the NFL.

 

Belichick definitely gets a pass for a little while. And to be honest, there's a decent chance he's not with the team next year.

 

Not the greatest example, I think.

[life long]

33 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I'm not exactly co-signing his point, but the Colts had one of the lowest rates of vaccination (maybe the lowest) in the league. And in contrast with other teams, whose coaches and execs and especially best players were strong advocates for vaccination, four of the Colts best, most prominent players were openly against vaccination, and may have dissuaded other players on the team. By the time the coaches and execs started talking about it, the Colts were way behind the rest of the league, and it was too late.

 

This is not to take a side pro or against. But stitches point is that other teams leadership and locker rooms showed an ability to unite around a difficult topic in an uncertain time, and the Colts were unable to do the same. 

 

I don't think I agree with him about this reflecting a problem in the current locker room. And I don't even think the Grover suspension is necessarily a reflection of a locker room problem. But it's certainly been a rough stretch of time for this team, we've been lurching from one crisis to another since 2015. 

Seems like a stretch to connect these things together to me. Professional athletes get suspended regularly for PED usage. 

[Superman]

3 minutes ago, coltsblue1844 said:

It could also be said that the leadership in our locker room did unite around a difficult topic and just came to a different conclusion than some of the other teams.

 

I don't think it could be said that the locker room was united, which I think was the point. And those prominent players were definitely not on the same page as the coaches and execs.

[Zoltan]

Man the hits just keep coming

[Hawkeyecolt]

2 hours ago, husker61 said:

because Ballard made Stewart take ped’s and tackled Richardson.

Don’t forget he made Rodgers gamble too. 

[throwing BBZ]

45 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

Man the hits just keep coming

 

 A whole lot of wallowing in the mud.

I'm excited about the Grover news. Need a few more hits like that 😀.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Not much really for me to comment on here, regarding this thread. You guys covered it all. Next man up, Go Colts.

[stitches]

5 hours ago, life long said:

What does the pandemic response have to do with this current team? That was one player who has not been a colt long enough to disprove your point. 

The leaders of the team are the same. And it's not one player. Ryan Kelly was the one that lied to Zak Keefer about being vaccinated. Leonard was another vocal leader... There was a reason this team was the least vaccinated team in the league. It was not just Wentz. 

[colts89]

Not a great week to be a Colts fan...

[stitches]

4 hours ago, Superman said:

 

I'm not exactly co-signing his point, but the Colts had one of the lowest rates of vaccination (maybe the lowest) in the league. And in contrast with other teams, whose coaches and execs and especially best players were strong advocates for vaccination, four of the Colts best, most prominent players were openly against vaccination, and may have dissuaded other players on the team. By the time the coaches and execs started talking about it, the Colts were way behind the rest of the league, and it was too late.

 

This is not to take a side pro or against. But stitches point is that other teams leadership and locker rooms showed an ability to unite around a difficult topic in an uncertain time, and the Colts were unable to do the same. 

 

I don't think I agree with him about this reflecting a problem in the current locker room. And I don't even think the Grover suspension is necessarily a reflection of a locker room problem. But it's certainly been a rough stretch of time for this team, we've been lurching from one crisis to another since 2015. 

It's not a "problem in the locker room" in the traditional sense. But there is a distinct lack of positive leadership IMO. All on their own those things might not mean much and are more about personal responsibility, but when they start piling up and when you have problem after problem after problem with players that impact your ability to compete in the league, IMO there is something lacking. 

[IrsaysArmy]

10 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

One of the greatest lines my wife has used in my 60 plus years on this earth and being Obsessive Compulsive over the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts. she said this “As much love that you show the Colt’s, they have never truly loved you back.” I would debate that as I was in Miami having the champagne rain fall on my face vs. Chicago. It’s these moments where things go bad, that I believe the football Gods will eventually smile on us. 
I see so many great fans on this forum, of course there are people on here that think they are much smarter than 99% of us, I smile and realize that 1% is like that in their Real life. We all have them in our life, “the know it all” with an opinion on everything. The best remedy is ignore them. I will be a Colt’s fan forever. Go Blue!

 

That’s a nice post. You’ll have to introduce me to these football Gods you speak of. I’d like to have a word

[lollygagger8]

14 hours ago, stitches said:

 

This locker room has been complete and utter failure for a while now. Lack of leadership(or nagative leadership) on multiple levels. This whole thing started to disintegrate with their response to the pandemic - the worst team with their response to the pandemic, a team captain lying to media about being vaccinated, then they all got sick for the most important games and % the bed in TWO "win and you're in" games for the playoffs... then the %show of a season last year... then a player caught betting... on his own team, then another player caught with PEDs... 

 

There is just something lacking in this locker room.  

[lollygagger8]

This is odd. 

 

How did Grover Stewart taking PEDs turn into a Ballard bashing thread? 

[Peter Nova]

2 minutes ago, lollygagger8 said:

This is odd. 

 

How did Grover Stewart taking PEDs turn into a Ballard bashing thread? 

 

Why does it have to be labeled bashing? 

 

The Grover incident is a clear indication there are some leadership issues within the organization.  

[lollygagger8]

5 minutes ago, Peter Nova said:

 

Why does it have to be labeled bashing? 

 

The Grover incident is a clear indication there are some leadership issues within the organization.  

 

I'm not necessarily defending Ballard here, but let's put blame where blame is due. 

 

Grover taking PEDs is Grover's fault. 

 

Rodgers getting busted for gambling is Rodger's fault. 

 

Drafting Ben Banogu, that's Ballard's fault. 

 

etc 

[Yoshinator]

7 minutes ago, lollygagger8 said:

 

I'm not necessarily defending Ballard here, but let's put blame where blame is due. 

 

Grover taking PEDs is Grover's fault. 

 

Rodgers getting busted for gambling is Rodger's fault. 

 

Drafting Ben Banogu, that's Ballard's fault. 

 

etc 

I think generally why people are giving Ballard crap here is because he brags about bringing in high character guys from the draft. He has been so-so from a talent level, but at least until recently we've never had any character problems. The busts have been because of talent or injury concerns. Now there are cracks in the armor where maybe the character players that we've applauded Ballard for getting over the years, may not be as squeaky clean as we think.

 

So it just makes Ballard into an average GM in the draft that's not very aggressive in FA and he's no longer special anymore, even in the draft. He's just a JAG GM.

[cdgacoltsfan]

1 minute ago, Jared Cisneros said:

I think generally why people are giving Ballard crap here is because he brags about bringing in high character guys from the draft. He has been so-so from a talent level, but at least until recently we've never had any character problems. The busts have been because of talent or injury concerns. Now there are cracks in the armor where maybe the character players that we've applauded Ballard for getting over the years, may not be as squeaky clean as we think.

 

So it just makes Ballard into an average GM in the draft that's not very aggressive in FA and he's no longer special anymore, even in the draft. He's just a JAG GM.

[Peter Nova]

9 minutes ago, lollygagger8 said:

 

I'm not necessarily defending Ballard here, but let's put blame where blame is due. 

 

Grover taking PEDs is Grover's fault. 

 

Rodgers getting busted for gambling is Rodger's fault. 

 

Drafting Ben Banogu, that's Ballard's fault. 

 

etc 

 

Who drafted Grover and Rodgers? 

[csmopar]

19 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

I think generally why people are giving Ballard crap here is because he brags about bringing in high character guys from the draft. He has been so-so from a talent level, but at least until recently we've never had any character problems. The busts have been because of talent or injury concerns. Now there are cracks in the armor where maybe the character players that we've applauded Ballard for getting over the years, may not be as squeaky clean as we think.

 

So it just makes Ballard into an average GM in the draft that's not very aggressive in FA and he's no longer special anymore, even in the draft. He's just a JAG GM.

Okay, so can you tell me right now, without looking, every single ingredient in everything you put in your body on a daily basis? Does your boss stand over you night and day and check to make sure you’re only pointing ingredients he approves into your body? 

 

Grover is an adult, it is his responsibility as a professional athlete to watch what he puts in his body. But that is hard and some things aren’t clearly labeled and if you aren’t a pharmacist, I can see how you might think supplement A is okay but end up not being. Still your fault but I can see the plausibility of him unknowingly and unintentionally doing it.

 

it could also be a mixing of medicines or supplements that creates a new substance within the body too. About 5 years ago, we had a soldier pop hot for LSD. There was no way he was on drugs let alone LSD, they retested, he was clean. Couple weeks later, pops hot again, same levels of LSD . Come to find out, the base dr had prescribe him a medication for one thing for a stomach problem and then prescribed him some light dosage pain killers for his shoulder his injured in a jump. Apparently, there’s ingredients in both medications that when taken together, produce a substance that while not affecting the body, shows up on some drug tests as LSD. 

[richard pallo]

Curious does he get paid while suspended?  

[Yoshinator]

22 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Okay, so can you tell me right now, without looking, every single ingredient in everything you put in your body on a daily basis? Does your boss stand over you night and day and check to make sure you’re only pointing ingredients he approves into your body? 

 

Grover is an adult, it is his responsibility as a professional athlete to watch what he puts in his body. But that is hard and some things aren’t clearly labeled and if you aren’t a pharmacist, I can see how you might think supplement A is okay but end up not being. Still your fault but I can see the plausibility of him unknowingly and unintentionally doing it.

 

it could also be a mixing of medicines or supplements that creates a new substance within the body too. About 5 years ago, we had a soldier pop hot for LSD. There was no way he was on drugs let alone LSD, they retested, he was clean. Couple weeks later, pops hot again, same levels of LSD . Come to find out, the base dr had prescribe him a medication for one thing for a stomach problem and then prescribed him some light dosage pain killers for his shoulder his injured in a jump. Apparently, there’s ingredients in both medications that when taken together, produce a substance that while not affecting the body, shows up on some drug tests as LSD. 

First off, you're assuming he had no idea that he took it. He may have known. We don't know. He could easily be trying to gain a competitive advantage. He's getting a bit older now, there's more competition, and he's trying to win. Second, when you're getting paid millions of dollars to do what you do, it's your responsibility to know this stuff. It can be tedious, but it's a job requirement. You never know when you can be tested. 

 

Either way, it's his fault.

 

Yes, doctors can be unqualified as well. Generally, they are an investment that you get what you pay for in an athletes case. I don't necessarily believe he's the victim anyway. Generally, in these cases, the athlete is in cahoots with the doctor to take this type of stuff. The apology at the end is just to save face.

[DougDew]

10 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

Im not sure how I got pulled into this other than I have used a good number of emoji’s to respond to you in this thread and others today.  
 

Believe it or not several of them were in agreement with you.   From time to time I thought you made strong arguments and I gave positive feedback.   But most of your posts were confusing to me.   Either I couldn’t make heads or tails of what you were trying to say or I disagreed entirely.   I don’t share most of your viewpoints.   
 

You've been opposed to the Richardson pick since close to Day One.   You openly mocked the comments about calling him a Unicorn and was sprinkled with extra magic dust that Morocco Brown made.  
 

You’ve been hostile toward AR when you’re you’re not being passive-aggressive toward him.   I’m not surprised about any of the injuries AR has suffered.  A concussion.   A knee bruise.  A damaged shoulder.   All football plays where his lack of experience is the key factor, not his toughness.   
 

Suffice to say we disagree completely about many things, this is just the latest.   Sorry, wish it wasn’t so.  

It wasn't a pull for a confrontation.  I wanted you to read the stuff about Ron Meyer and how he never warmed up to Tony Eason because he thought he wasn't "a strong guy" and would have a problem absorbing NFL punishment.  You reacted to my previous post so I just wanted to fill you in.  I'm sure you have seen the ESPN 30/30 show about the 1983 QB draft.

 

I should have said why I included you, but my posts tend to be long as it is.

 

I know nothing about AR in this regard.  I'm simply saying that stuff like that is typically considered by NFLs FO....if they don't just go off the stat sheet and RASs.  

 

And the only possible connection to this topic and AR is that AR has gotten hurt enough to miss multiple games by what look like fairly non-extreme hits.  Does his college experience suggest that he has the body to withstand NFL punishment...which could be the difference in drafting him pick 4 and starting him right away or drafting him in the second round and sitting him a year to get stronger...or did he play so little as to not have a decent data set on the matter?  So a part of ARs injury situation could track back to Ballard and the decisions to make AR the starter, IMO.  

 

Questions that we'll have to wait until next year to answer.  I hope he recovers quickly and hits the weight room to the extent necessary, and comes back better next year.  I like him as our QB aside from the injury bug.

[csmopar]

41 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Curious does he get paid while suspended?  

Nope

[csmopar]

28 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

First off, you're assuming he had no idea that he took it. He may have known. We don't know. He could easily be trying to gain a competitive advantage. He's getting a bit older now, there's more competition, and he's trying to win. Second, when you're getting paid millions of dollars to do what you do, it's your responsibility to know this stuff. It can be tedious, but it's a job requirement. You never know when you can be tested. 

 

Either way, it's his fault.

 

Yes, doctors can be unqualified as well. Generally, they are an investment that you get what you pay for in an athletes case. I don't necessarily believe he's the victim anyway. Generally, in these cases, the athlete is in cahoots with the doctor to take this type of stuff. The apology at the end is just to save face.

I clearly said it was his responsibility and his alone. 
 

im just saying there’s other explanations out there that exist, not that any of them are the cause in this matter.
 

Irregardless, my entire point and you just proved it yourself with your own words, is that this is not on Ballard nor the locker room. It’s on Grover himself

[cdgacoltsfan]

11 minutes ago, csmopar said:

I clearly said it was his responsibility and his alone. 
 

im just saying there’s other explanations out there that exist, not that any of them are the cause in this matter.
 

Irregardless, my entire point and you just proved it yourself with your own words, is that this is not on Ballard nor the locker room. It’s on Grover himself

Checkmate

[coltsblue1844]

It's my opinion that any professional athlete that fails a drug test for peds, it falls squarely on them and their trainer. They've all got personal trainers and dietitians and all of that who are supposed to figure all this out for them... Truth is nearly every single if not every single player in the league is taking something that they're not supposed to but as I stated earlier they set the level so high that there are allowed to test at that it's hard to fail a test.

This is not Ballard's fault, however he's far from perfect just not to blame for this.

[RollerColt]

10 hours ago, Superman said:

 

I think people tend to be overly critical of Ballard, and I especially think the wins/playoff success argument is devoid of context.

 

But if you want to talk about Ballard coming up short, just compare this roster to the Niners. They started the same year, the Niners have been through a ton of QB change, and they've had some bad seasons. But they have maybe the best roster in the league, and the Colts really aren't close. They've also lost several good assistant coaches and front office guys, but they keep rolling. They gave up a ton of draft capital to get Trey Lance, he didn't work out, and they're still doing okay. They made the SB with a flawed QB, and they've been to the conference championship again.

 

Lynch has some misses, everything hasn't been perfect, but the results are so drastically different at this point. I know Ballard has been dealt a raw hand in a lot of ways, and I don't agree with the general sentiment that he's bad, or holding the team back, or even that he gets a pass. I think some people have an agenda to be critical of him, and it goes back to before he ever even showed up. I really like Ballard. But at some point, we have to start seeing the product come together.

 

And before anyone misinterprets what I'm saying, I think he's back in 2024. And I'm fine with that.

And sometimes you have to move on from a good man because sometimes change is a necessity. There's a fine line between being patient and being aggressive, and I generally feel Irsay walks that line well. He only steps in when it's absolutely needed. 

 

I think Chris will be tied to Shane and will therefore be with us for a while. I don't see Irsay going the same route as 2017 where the new GM has a leftover coach. 

 

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

How many years did niners  have a top pick to build that dline. Colts did not have that many top picks. Colts stayed average. Not a good comparison.

[DougDew]

10 hours ago, Superman said:

I think some people have an agenda to be critical of him, and it goes back to before he ever even showed up.

I may be included in this group, or some may think you are including me in this group.  So to set the record straight about what when on before Ballard got here as it pertains to me.

 

I have been accused of being RGs son, because I basically defended him over what I thought were attacks about stuff that didn't matter.  He got beat up for the performance of our #2 corner (when we had a shutdown guy on the other side) and a couple of interior lineman (when we had an excellent LT).  RG took a lot of attacks over having average players in positions that didn't matter, meanwhile, having a QB, LT, #1 and #2 WRs, an EDGE, and a shutdown corner.  Yes, he inherited some of those, and all GMs have legitimate bad decisions, but attacking him over Samson Satele, Mike Magoo, Greg Toler, and Erik Walden seemed like unjustified attacks to me.

 

Compare that roster to the Corners, Edges, and WRs we have now and the attacks seem even more petty.  And look at how much investing money into the interior oline, (what Grigs was mainly criticized for not doing), has gotten us closer to the SB.  Its been 7 years, and I'm still waiting to see proper talent at the positions that matter.  Yawning as I turn the channel to another game.  Jax turned it around quickly when they got a franchise QB, two Wrs, and an edge.  How fun.

 

This is the way I would say what you said. (not including you in the group)

 

I think some people have an agenda to praise Ballard, and it goes back to before he ever even showed up.

[chad72]

11 hours ago, husker61 said:

people thought New England gm/coach was the best thing since sliced bread for a long time. Well, how is that going now? There is a lot of luck involved in having success in the nfl!

 

If you hit on the right QB, and that QB is kept upright, good things generally happen to those teams.

 

The GM can have all the good supporting pieces but until that QB arrives, the team doesn't take that next step. Yes, some key FA moves are needed to bolster the support for the QB too.

 

Seahawks before and after RW for the first few years, Bengals after Burrow for the first few years (though they added the most via FA), Chiefs before and after Mahomes, Bills before and after Allen are all examples. If the Texans succeed with Stroud to win this division over the Jaguars, that would be just another addition to that point. Not earth shattering by any means, having a good franchise QB leading to winning football.