Colts offseason discussion / Ballard Grievances (merge)

[ColtStrong2013]

1 minute ago, BlackTiger said:

This started because sneed went to the titans...  There is a narrative here that the team and Ballard are waiting to see what we have at qb before spending big on outside free agents. 

 

I think some of you forgot what we were even talking about.  The titans have a more experienced qb who didnt get hurt every game so they are making moves.

 

I brought this up because there was a lot of talk about AR and Levis here last year.  I guess some people didnt like me bringing that up but the two were compared a lot.

 

I don't think that is the narrative. It certainly isn't for me. I just don't think Ballard likes to spend on guys outside the organization. And his reasoning makes sense. When you draft guys, you have a good feel for them. But you don't truly know what kind of worker, teammate, etc. you are getting. That's why it's less risk focusing on the draft. You get them for a cheaper contract. When you dish big contracts out, you better know what kind of guy you are giving them to. If they come in, flaunt their money and aren't good teammates/hard workers, then you are going to create problems in the organization. This is why he rewarded Pittman, Stewart, Moore, Franklin, etc. Because they have established themselves as leaders in the club and have respect. Not one player in the locker room is going to be upset that those guys earned big money. It could be entirely different with a newcomer, no matter the talent.

[DougDew]

4 minutes ago, BlackTiger said:

This started because sneed went to the titans...  There is a narrative here that the team and Ballard are waiting to see what we have at qb before spending big on outside free agents. 

 

I think some of you forgot what we were even talking about.  The titans have a more experienced qb who didnt get hurt every game so they are making moves.

 

I brought this up because there was a lot of talk about AR and Levis here last year.  I guess some people didnt like me bringing that up but the two were compared a lot.  ARs lack of experience is making the team wait.  

Perfect.  

[ColtStrong2013]

2 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

It also ends up costing you a lot of money in the long run if you have high turnover.

 

It ends up costing you in a lot more than just money...

[MikeCurtis]

22 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Bengals will be back this year . Steelers have improved at QB. Texans titans jags will all be improved. Colts have done not one thing to improve this defense in fact have gotten worse. 

In some ways I agree with this

 

We have LESS in the safety group than last year, as of today

We did gain depth at DL backup

 

FA isnt done yet of course and we havent drafted yet

[ColtStrong2013]

Just now, MikeCurtis said:

In some ways I agree with this

 

We have LESS in the safety group than last year, as of today

We did gain depth at DL backup

 

FA isnt done yet of course and we havent drafted yet

 

We have less currently. But Chloe is under the assumption (or at least seems to be) that what we have is what we get. Lol. There is no way this safety group is what we are going to get. No chance.

[NFLfan]

5 minutes ago, BlackTiger said:

ARs lack of experience is making the team wait.  

 

I don't believe that to be true. Every off-season Ballard shows that he prefers to wait before signing high-priced players. He has done this every year despite having had lots to spend in earlier years. This is the first free agency period in which he has had Richardson. (AR had not been drafted yet this time last year.)

[richard pallo]

The Chiefs just picked up more cap space.  Watch them go out and sign Simmons or Diggs or even Blackmon.  That should add a dozen pages to this thread.

[BlackTiger]

Just now, ColtStrong2013 said:

I don't think that is the narrative.

A lot of people do feel that way bud.  You keep quoting me because you dont but others really do.  

 

 

[JediXMan]

Just now, richard pallo said:

The Chiefs just picked up more cap space.  Watch them go out and sign Simmons or Diggs or even Blackmon.  That should add a dozen pages to this thread.

I don’t get why the Colts don’t also restructure contracts to help with Cap space.

[ColtStrong2013]

2 minutes ago, BlackTiger said:

A lot of people do feel that way bud.  You keep quoting me because you dont but others really do.  

 

 

 

I'm not sure why they feel that way. It's certainly not the narrative Ballard puts out. He's been pretty outspoken about not paying outsiders big money...

[richard pallo]

It’s the 3rd week of FA and we have not added one new starter to the team.  We actually might be down one if Blackmon doesn’t return.  Right now that pretty much satisfies the definition of running it back with what you have.

[ColtStrong2013]

3 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

It’s the 3rd week of FA and we have not added one new starter to the team.  We actually might be down one if Blackmon doesn’t return.  Right now that pretty much satisfies the definition of running it back with what you have.

it isn’t though. Because the most important position on the field will be upgraded (whether AR or Joey Flacco is under center) and I think it could be understating things. 
 

and- a big and at that- we have a draft upcoming, if you didn’t know. We’ve had some good fortune with impact from players in their rookie years. Downs last year especially. 

[DougDew]

6 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Right now that pretty much satisfies the definition of running it back with what you have.

Right now its less than we have.  A congratulatory feeling of Blackmon being signed would then be running it back with what you have.

[BlackTiger]

At least Purdue won

[Yoshinator]

11 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

it isn’t though. Because the most important position on the field will be upgraded (whether AR or Joey Flacco is under center) and I think it could be understating things. 
 

and- a big and at that- we have a draft upcoming, if you didn’t know. We’ve had some good fortune with impact from players in their rookie years. Downs last year especially. 

We don't know this though. AR may be worse than Minshew win-wise. So may Flacco. We may not get 9 wins with either of them without upgrading the team. That is an assumption. AR is still a raw rookie by all accounts, and Flacco was on a much better Browns team last year and is a year older now. 

 

Yes, we have the draft. So does every other team though. We also only have a middle-of-the-road pick and only 7 picks as of now. Ballard is a solid drafter, but we have no significant advantage right now except maybe position need fits the draft. Our division is better. The AFC is the tougher conference. We did nothing to get better as of now. 

[Shive]

13 minutes ago, JediXMan said:

I don’t get why the Colts don’t also restructure contracts to help with Cap space.

I think it's an option if they need to clear space to sign another FA or 2, but you don't want to do it if you can help it. All it usually does is push the cap hit to later years, which is what we saw with the Chargers where they had to shed vet contracts that they had restructured. Depending on how you structure things, like maybe extending Buckner, can definitely help though.

[richard pallo]

1 minute ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

it isn’t though. Because the most important position on the field will be upgraded (whether AR or Joey Flacco is under center) and I think it could be understating things. 
 

and- a big and at that- we have a draft upcoming, if you didn’t know. We’ve had some good fortune with impact from players in their rookie years. Downs last year especially. 

I wasn’t talking about the draft.  I said right now three weeks into the new year we have done zilch except run it back with our own players.  Which I am extremely happy about by the way.  But no new veteran starters to help this team.  I’m happy we got an impact player in the 3rd rd.  Better than nothing.

[DougDew]

1 minute ago, Yoshinator said:

Yes, we have the draft. So does every other team though.

Offseason resources are designed to be pretty equal among teams.

[adubb84]

3 hours ago, Indeee said:

I'm sure you are just fixating on the "understand" part of the response, however you kind of do this often towards those you disagree with or suggest things that you don't agree with either.

 

I think it might be time for you to read the room, as the room has now gotten larger with those who are finally waking up to what some of us have been saying about Ballard for years. 

 

He may understand, however there truly is a miss somewhere in his thinking/philosophy/approach. Whatever that may be, (fill in the blank)...it is hurting this team. 

 

I for one am pleased to see that a lot of the forum members really are starting to wake up. I'm just sad that it has taken 4-5 years for those fans to do so. 

 

 

 

 

As soon as I saw the trade I knew things were about to get a bit spicy. Twitter (X) was exploding last night and I’m seeing forum members this morning who are generally even keeled sharing their grievances now too. I’ve been all aboard the Ballard train for a long while but I’m about ready to hop off. It’s not about waiting for AR to show what he has before going all in. It’s about making obvious improvements to the team in areas of glaring need. I know we have a bit to go but hopefully this season is mildly successful. If not the angst will be even louder, especially after doubling down on the same players and defensive coordinator. 

[r a y s k i]

17 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I think it was said that the cupboard was bare when he got here, implying that he would fill it.  I get that a GM can fill a cupboard after 7 years more than if he got fired after 4, but the core player definition that he used isn't all that well stocked.  The cupboard wasn't all that bare.  Gore vs JT,  TY vs Pitt, Mathis vs Buckner,  AC vs Nelson, Luck vs AR.   Kelly still here.  Doyle vs. ?    Ballard certainly has a few more little pieces here and there after 3 more years of trying, but stating there is a glaring difference, its just not there, IMO.  Agreed to disagree.

Buckner, Stewart, Franklin, Paye, Speed.....the list isn't as bad. Also I'd say the OL is in a good position too. AR will be the make or break for him.

[ColtStrong2013]

5 minutes ago, Yoshinator said:

We don't know this though. AR may be worse than Minshew win-wise. So may Flacco. We may not get 9 wins with either of them without upgrading the team. That is an assumption. AR is still a raw rookie by all accounts, and Flacco was on a much better Browns team last year and is a year older now. 

So you think Minshew won us games ? lol… Is that an assumption too? If we are worse off win wise, it will not be because minshew isn’t on the roster… 

 

5 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

I wasn’t talking about the draft.  I said right now three weeks into the new year we have done zilch except run it back with our own players.  Which I am extremely happy about by the way.  But no new veteran starters to help this team.  I’m happy we got an impact player in the 3rd rd.  Better than nothing.

 

but the season doesn’t start for months, so what is the point in saying we are running it back? Right this minute? Lol

 

[w87r]

I'm not even upset at not getting Sneed.

 

 

Would it of been a nice piece in the CB room, yes, but paying him $19m AAV isn't needed to improve the room. 

 

 

 

Not even upset at divisional opponents spending in FA, they will end up releasing these guys in a couple years and be stuck with some dead cap.

 

 

 

How many players did the jaguars have to release this season? Almost year after year as well.

 

Yeah, sure the Texans brought in guys, but they lost them too:

Hunter - lost Greenard

Autry - lost Rankins

Al-Shaair - lost Cashman

Townsend - lost Johnson

 

Lost - Perryman, Singletary, Fant, Josh Jones and Thomas

 

Added - Okudah(3rd team since drafted), Settle, CJ Henderson, Johnson, Edwards 

 

Titans:

Awuzie - lost Murphy-Bunting 

Al-Shaair - Murray

Pollard - lost Henry

Day - lost Autry

Cushenberry - lost Brewer

 

 

Lost - Moore, Wallace and Fulton

 

Added - Sneed, Ridley, Rudolph and Charles 

20 minutes ago, JediXMan said:

I don’t get why the Colts don’t also restructure contracts to help with Cap space.

For what, they aren't in cap trouble?

[NFLfan]

25 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

 

I'm not sure why they feel that way. It's certainly not the narrative Ballard puts out. He's been pretty outspoken about not paying outsiders big money...

 

That seems to always be his approach. I like his approach. I don't like to see a mass turnover of players every year. I do think he should sign a free agent here and there. It would have been nice to sign Hunter. He tried. But he has a budget and won't go over it. I agree.

[Yoshinator]

4 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Offseason resources are designed to be pretty equal among teams.

I agree. Which is why when people make the excuse that we still have the draft as an excuse for not signing Sneed, it really doesn't fly as everyone participates in the draft and a lot of teams have higher picks or more picks than us. We don't have a significant advantage. It was up to us to create an advantage by trading for Sneed and Ballard failed in that regard. Now we have to play the draft game and hope for luck that A.) The players we want fall to us and B.) The position we need fall to us. 

 

Not a guarantee by any means the draft works out.

[ColtStrong2013]

Just now, Yoshinator said:

Not a guarantee by any means the draft works out

not a guarantee that Sneed works out for $55 million either…

[Yoshinator]

5 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

So you think Minshew won us games ? lol… Is that an assumption too? If we are worse off win wise, it will not be because minshew isn’t on the roster… 

 

 

but the season doesn’t start for months, so what is the point in saying we are running it back? Right this minute? Lol

 

We won 9 games with Gardner Minshew at QB. That's not an assumption, that's a fact. Assuming we will be better with Richardson is an assumption as of now until proven otherwise.

[ColtStrong2013]

Just now, Yoshinator said:

We won 9 games with Gardner Minshew at QB. That's not an assumption, that's a fact. Assuming we will be better with Richardson is an assumption as of now until proven otherwise.

We won 9 games -in spite- of Gardner minshew being at qb. What did he do other than manage games? 

[Yoshinator]

Just now, ColtStrong2013 said:

not a guarantee that Sneed works out for $55 million either…

Nope, but he has proven sample size in the NFL and he helped the Chiefs win a SB. He's more likely to hit than any CB in the draft, and he would have only cost a 3rd round pick in 2025 and possibly a late pick this year. You must not have liked the Buckner trade with that logic.

[w87r]

Just now, NFLfan said:

 

That seems to always be his approach. I like his approach. I don't like to see a mass turnover of players every year. I do think he should sign a free agent here and there. It would have been nice to sign Hunter. He tried. But he has a budget and won't go over it. I agree.

Hunter went home to Houston.

 

Was reported that he took less $ to do so.

 

So if the Colts were the other team, they might of offered him more than the Texans.

 

 

Texas - no state tax

Indiana - state tax(although they are considering eliminating it, that would help in attracting players here)

 

 

So even if the Colts did offer more money, he still might of made more in Texas with no state tax.

[ColtStrong2013]

1 minute ago, Yoshinator said:

Nope, but he has proven sample size in the NFL and he helped the Chiefs win a SB. He's more likely to hit than any CB in the draft, and he would have only cost a 3rd round pick in 2025 and possibly a late pick this year. You must not have liked the Buckner trade with that logic.

I liked Buckner in that the team was devoid of talent and needed help on the d-line. Using him as example is relying on hindsight and the success he brought. Had he went down with major injuries, no one would have liked it. 
 

If sneed regresses or has injuries (which he does have concerns btw) it won’t look so good, because they didn’t just give up a 3rd pick as you mentioned.. they gave up $55 million guaranteed. 

2 minutes ago, w87r said:

Hunter went home to Houston.

 

Was reported that he took less $ to do so.

 

So if the Colts were the other team, they might of offered him more than the Texans.

 

 

Texas - no state tax

Indiana - state tax(although they are considering eliminating it, that would help in attracting players here)

 

 

So even if the Colts did offer more money, he still might of made more in Texas with no state tax.

and then there is the possibility that he would have never even came here over anyone else to begin with… 

[Yoshinator]

1 minute ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

We won 9 games -in spite- of Gardner minshew being at qb. What did he do other than manage games? 

We had a middle of the road offense with him. He was a solid game manager. Richardson couldn't stay healthy. Again, you are assuming A.) He'll stay healthy with his reckless style and B.) He'll win more than 9 games when he's a raw QB with poor accuracy and we haven't improved the secondary at all. 

 

There's no guarantee Flacco will be better either. The NFL obviously thinks Minshew is better as he is getting paid a lot more than Flacco. 

[RollerColt]

2 minutes ago, w87r said:

Hunter went home to Houston.

 

Was reported that he took less $ to do so.

 

So if the Colts were the other team, they might of offered him more than the Texans.

 

 

Texas - no state tax

Indiana - state tax(although they are considering eliminating it, that would help in attracting players here)

 

 

So even if the Colts did offer more money, he still might of made more in Texas with no state tax.

Sad to say, but the state leaders don’t seem to like or care about the citizens that much… a lot companies and organizations will have a hard time bringing in talented individuals when there are much better states to live in… about all we have going for us is that it’s super cheap to own a home here, and even that’s starting to teeter out of control… and that’s all I’ll say about it. 

[Zoltan]

7 hours ago, Solid84 said:

They were 18th against the run?

They held McCaffrey to 3.64 yards per carry when in the regular season he was averaging 5.36 yards per carry. The 49ers offense ran through McCaffrey and they took him away as much as you really can, their ability to stop the run won them that super bowl because 49ers weren't able to sustain their run game to run out the clock.

[adubb84]

1 hour ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

It didn’t have to be sneed. There were a bunch of corners Ballard could have got to improve this team. It’s not about not getting him. It’s about not caring to improve this team.

 

It’s not about Sneed! lol. Folks are upset because there were a good number of solid CB’s taken in FA that we could have had. So, naturally there were many that pinned their hopes onto sneed. With that reality now gone we’re faced with some average to bargain bin type players to fill a position of need. 

 

The anger is exacerbated by the fact that we need weapons for AR to help get him developed, not getting even younger in the secondary. 

[NFLfan]

1 minute ago, w87r said:

Hunter went home to Houston.

 

Was reported that he took less $ to do so.

 

So if the Colts were the other team, they might of offered him more than the Texans.

 

 

Texas - no state tax

Indiana - state tax(although they are considering eliminating it, that would help in attracting players here)

 

 

So even if the Colts did offer more money, he still might of made more in Texas with no state tax.

 

I don't think it is a big deal that Hunter did not sign here, but I would have liked to see him. I don't follow the Texans much.  It is a bigger deal for me that he is no longer on the Vikings, as I like continuity (I think like Ballard). But I'm okay about that.

 

I think folks over-emphasize this no taxes thing. I think all the best players would go to Texas (Cowboys, Texans) and Florida (Dolphins, Jags, Bucs) if that was always the case. Have the Dolphins done much this offseason?

 

 

[ColtStrong2013]

Just now, Yoshinator said:

We had a middle of the road offense with him. He was a solid game manager. Richardson couldn't stay healthy. Again, you are assuming A.) He'll stay healthy with his reckless style and B.) He'll win more than 9 games when he's a raw QB with poor accuracy and we haven't improved the secondary at all. 

 

There's no guarantee Flacco will be better either. The NFL obviously thinks Minshew is better as he is getting paid a lot more than Flacco. 

my argument against minshew is that he had better production in Jacksonville in 2020 and only won 1 game that year… He was not responsible for winning games here. 
 

the nfl is strange when it comes to qb’s. His age and position is the reason he is making more. Flacco was brought on as a qb2. Minshew possibly might be qb1. It’s not a knock against minshew, I’m happy we had him. And yes I am assuming Richardson will do better, because he is better. 

[Zoltan]

7 hours ago, Solid84 said:

A little disappointed we didn’t get Sneed, but much more disappointed we haven’t done anything for the secondary at all. 
 

If we end up in the same area in points allowed (28th) for a 3rd year in a row it’s not about “playing young guys” - it’s negligence. 

I mean I expect our defense to be bad regardless of our talent because it's still Bradley calling plays.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Ballard going after a 31 year old psss rusher instead of improving the secondary is all you need to know about how bad his team building is.

[Yoshinator]

4 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

I liked Buckner in that the team was devoid of talent and needed help on the d-line. Using him as example is relying on hindsight and the success he brought. Had he went down with major injuries, no one would have liked it. 
 

If sneed regresses or has injuries (which he does have concerns btw) it won’t look so good, because they didn’t just give up a 3rd pick as you mentioned.. they gave up $55 million guaranteed. 

and then there is the possibility that he would have never even came here over anyone else to begin with… 

90% of the forum liked the Buckner trade at that time. We were getting an elite player to help the team, and that was a 1st rounder we were giving up in addition to paying him immediately. This is a 3rd round pick essentially we would be giving up in addition to paying him. Again, the guaranteed money is nothing. Yes, he has injury concerns. Who cares. He's as close to a guarantee as you can get for a 3rd round pick. 

 

The only competition for Sneed was the Titans. If the Chiefs kept him and Sneed said he'd rather stay, it'd be different. That wasn't the case though. He went to an inferior team in the Titans. I'm pretty sure he would come here if given the opportunity. 

[jvan1973]

8 minutes ago, w87r said:

Hunter went home to Houston.

 

Was reported that he took less $ to do so.

 

So if the Colts were the other team, they might of offered him more than the Texans.

 

 

Texas - no state tax

Indiana - state tax(although they are considering eliminating it, that would help in attracting players here)

 

 

So even if the Colts did offer more money, he still might of made more in Texas with no state tax.

The no state tax thing is only good for home games and other games in states where there is no state tax.  For example. When the Texans play the Colts in Indy, they have to pay 3% state tax to indiana.   If they play in California it can be a much as 12%.   They have to file in every state they play in that has state tax.