Colts offseason discussion / Ballard Grievances (merge)

[Rhodelesstraveled]

44 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

My only reasoning as to why he went for so cheap compensation is that KC was scared of his medicals with his knees and simply wanted to part with him. Why else would KC deal him away for 0 return in 2024 when they are trying for a 3peat?

Because the market is soft. That is why.  Look what Burns was moved for.  Carolina turned down two ones for the guy last yr.  

Timing matters.  KC was dumb in how they handled this.  They should have signed Sneed and then played hardball with Jones.  Jones would have caved to stay in KC.  Sneed is a young stud's number-one CB.  Jones is an elite DL who is long in the tooth.

[MikeCurtis]

2 hours ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

 

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.

Man..... be nice to Chloe.......

 

Is she wrong some times..... yep

(Just like us)

 

 

[jskinnz]

49 minutes ago, Jason_ said:

 

 A truer gif has never been created. 
 

 

[NewColtsFan]

32 minutes ago, w87r said:

I brought this over from my salary cap thread.

 

 

What does everyone think of the remaining options and what course would you attack it.

Two points jump out at me….   No DL or OL in the first three picks.   I know Ballard did it in 2020 when he went Pitt, Taylor and Blackmon, so I recognize there is precedent.  But it’s hard for me to believe there won’t be pass rush in R1 or 2 and that we wouldn’t have a WR in R’s 1 or 2.  This is more hunch than I’m confident I’m right, I’m not.  
 

Im also very curious if Ballard might go linebacker on Day 2 to try and find a Shaq Leonard 2.0?    That might blow up lots of predictions.  
 

Some years I’m very confident about what we’ll do (by position, not the player) but this is NOT one of those years.  This year feels like 2019 when I was repeatedly surprised.  
 

Last thought.  Thanks for these long detailed updates you’ve been doing.  They’re extremely helpful.  They offer the big picture 30,000 foot view that I always crave.  Much appreciated!  

[#12.]

1 hour ago, adubb84 said:

I’ve been all aboard the Ballard train for a long while but I’m about ready to hop off.

 

Hop off and take a horse and buggy.  The Ballard train is going nowhere.  

[Zoltan]

1 minute ago, NewColtsFan said:

Two points jump out at me….   No DL or OL in the first three picks.   I know Ballard did it in 2020 when he went Pitt, Taylor and Blackmon, so I recognize there is precedent.  But it’s hard for me to believe there won’t be pass rush in R1 or 2 and that we wouldn’t have a WR in R’s 1 or 2.  This is more hunch than I’m confident I’m right, I’m not.  
 

Im also very curious if Ballard might go linebacker on Day 2 to try and find a Shaq Leonard 2.0?    That might blow up lots of predictions.  
 

Some years I’m very confident about what we’ll do (by position, not the player) but this is NOT one of those years.  This year feels like 2019 when I was repeatedly surprised.  

Edgerrin Cooper in the 2nd round, I'll continue to pound the table for him lol

[w87r]

7 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

Two points jump out at me….   No DL or OL in the first three picks.   I know Ballard did it in 2020 when he went Pitt, Taylor and Blackmon, so I recognize there is precedent.  But it’s hard for me to believe there won’t be pass rush in R1 or 2 and that we wouldn’t have a WR in R’s 1 or 2.  This is more hunch than I’m confident I’m right, I’m not.  
 

Im also very curious if Ballard might go linebacker on Day 2 to try and find a Shaq Leonard 2.0?    That might blow up lots of predictions.  
 

Some years I’m very confident about what we’ll do (by position, not the player) but this is NOT one of those years.  This year feels like 2019 when I was repeatedly surprised.  

Don't get me wrong. I'm just throwing out options for what I perceive as the biggest needs at the moment and the majority of the conversation going on in regards to secondary.

 

 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if one of the big three OTs slip to #15, if Ballard selected them.

 

Smith is coming off surgery and Freeland didn't play great last year. Although I think the experience he got will help propel him into being a productive member of the line.

 

Im not seeing DT though. Maybe Edge, but IDK?

 

As far as round 2. I would love Cooper or Wilson if we could land them.

 

5 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

Edgerrin Cooper in the 2nd round, I'll continue to pound the table for him lol

And Payton Wilson 

[ColtStrong2013]

4 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

Edgerrin Cooper in the 2nd round, I'll continue to pound the table for him lol

I like him. 

[NewColtsFan]

Just now, w87r said:

Don't get me wrong. I'm just throwing out options for what I perceive as the biggest needs at the moment and the majority of the conversation going on in regards to secondary.

 

 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if one of the big three OTs slip to #15, if Ballard selected them.

 

Smith is coming off surgery and Freeland didn't play great last year. Although I think the experience he got will help propel him into being a productive member of the line.

 

 

As far as round 2. I would love Cooper or Wilson if we could land them.

 

And Payton Wilson 

By the way, while you were writing your response to me, I was writing an addition to you.  A big shoutout to you.  Hope you’ll take a look!   

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Ballard isn’t taking a OT at 15 lol. 

[stitches]

Ben Solak and Sheil Kapadia absolutely nail the Colts and Ballard(starts at about 1:00:20):

 

 

[richard pallo]

23 minutes ago, Rhodelesstraveled said:

Because the market is soft. That is why.  Look what Burns was moved for.  Carolina turned down two ones for the guy last yr.  

Timing matters.  KC was dumb in how they handled this.  They should have signed Sneed and then played hardball with Jones.  Jones would have caved to stay in KC.  Sneed is a young stud's number-one CB.  Jones is an elite DL who is long in the tooth.

Since you brought up Burns and the Colts reportedly tried to sign Hunter I wonder if Ballard would call the Eagles about Reddick who is the same age as Hunter.  He was obviously interested in an ER and Reddick is available and the trade compensation would not be exhorbatant.

[NewColtsFan]

5 minutes ago, w87r said:

Don't get me wrong. I'm just throwing out options for what I perceive as the biggest needs at the moment and the majority of the conversation going on in regards to secondary.

 

 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if one of the big three OTs slip to #15, if Ballard selected them.

 

Smith is coming off surgery and Freeland didn't play great last year. Although I think the experience he got will help propel him into being a productive member of the line.

 

Im not seeing DT though. Maybe Edge, but IDK?

 

As far as round 2. I would love Cooper or Wilson if we could land them.

 

And Payton Wilson 

Two more thoughts….  This would appear to be a very poor year for linebacker.  Everyone always mentions the same names.   So even if Ballard likes them, they may be in such demand league wide that the Colts can’t get one of them.  
 

On a more personal note, I’m a little worried that if we don’t go DL/DE in the first two rounds @Superman might show up at my front door screaming “you promised me pass rush!   You PROMISED me MORE pass rush!!!”   That wouldn’t be fun.    

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

9 minutes ago, stitches said:

Ben Solak and Sheil Kapadia absolutely nail the Colts and Ballard(starts at about 1:00:20):

 

 

They nailed it on the head. It’s not one of the other.

[1959Colts]

9 minutes ago, stitches said:

Ben Solak and Sheil Kapadia absolutely nail the Colts and Ballard(starts at about 1:00:20):

 

 

Calls the Colts players boring and mediocre. Makes Ballard sound dumb. 

[Solid84]

4 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

Fans deciding the Colts have to win big this year or Ballard is fired.  Spoiler I don’t think Irsay sees it that way.

 

I agree. I think it’s all about getting AR ready. But I think we have to see improvement from AR over the season and I think 2025 will be a big year for the team and Ballard could get fired if it’s not good enough. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

I agree with what they said about Grover.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

3 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

I agree. I think it’s all about getting AR ready. But I think we have to see improvement from AR over the season and I think 2025 will be a big year for the team and Ballard could get fired if it’s not good enough. 

If this team has less wins then last season he is gone after this season.

[w87r]

1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

Last thought.  Thanks for these long detailed updates you’ve been doing.  They’re extremely helpful.  They offer the big picture 30,000 foot view that I always crave.  Much appreciated!

 

 

47 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

Two more thoughts….  This would appear to be a very poor year for linebacker.  Everyone always mentions the same names.   So even if Ballard likes them, they may be in such demand league wide that the Colts can’t get one of them.  
 

On a more personal note, I’m a little worried that if we don’t go DL/DE in the first two rounds @Superman might show up at my front door screaming “you promised me pass rush!   You PROMISED me MORE pass rush!!!”   That wouldn’t be fun.    

Yeah, Wilson and Cooper might not make , #46, more likely they won't.

 

 

 

That's what Charlie Partridge is for.

 

Did I get his name right? Been trying to work on remembering it.

[stitches]

Just now, 1959Colts said:

Calls the Colts players boring and mediocre. Makes Ballard sound dumb. 

It's like they are reading my mind. I called them boring last year before AR's drafting and I was hoping AR will bring in some of the missing excitement back... and he did to a degree while he played... but the rest of the roster is painfully unmistakably boring. And boring is not necessarily bad... you can have a boring machine of a team that destroys every opponent, but when the boring is married with mediocre... then the product is almost unwatchable.

 

I wonder if there are metrics about how much new fans every team attracts. If I had to guess, the Colts would be around the bottom of the league during Ballard's tenure. If you are not already a fan of this team, is there any reason to tune in and watch a Colts game? 

 

So yeah... again... here's to hoping AR can stay healthy and changes some of this... 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

The stuff they said about the dline had me crying it’s so right. You pay Buckner big bucks then go get David after paying Stewart big bucks. None of it makes sense.

[Zoltan]

11 minutes ago, stitches said:

Ben Solak and Sheil Kapadia absolutely nail the Colts and Ballard(starts at about 1:00:20):

 

 

While I agree on the Franklin contract, I think they have some bad takes on the others like the Pittman and Stewart signing. Run defenders are important, it's not a flashy position and isn't stat heavy where you can see someones worth in stat numbers. So when it comes to podcasters, I think they really undervalue the position. The Pittman take was just bad, keeping him on the franchise tag makes it nearly impossible to resign him the following year without him reaching free agency and most likely getting a way larger contract elsewhere.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Hs ha. Those guys said they would take Caleb over Richardson because he hasn’t seen enough of Richardson. But Caleb hasn’t played a down. lol 

[ColtStrong2013]

 

5 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

If this team has less wins then last season he is gone after this season.

 

Says who?

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Just now, Zoltan said:

While I agree on the Franklin contract, I think they have some bad takes on the others like the Pittman and Stewart signing. Run defenders are important, it's not a flashy position and isn't stat heavy where you can see someones worth in stat numbers. So when it comes to podcasters, I think they really undervalue the position. The Pittman take was just bad, keeping him on the franchise tag makes it nearly impossible to resign him the following year without him reaching free agency and most likely getting a way larger contract elsewhere.

Run defenders are important. But they are paying Buckner then want and paid David after paying Stewart. None of that makes sense. A NT is not going to win you a SB.

[stitches]

3 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Hs ha. Those guys said they would take Caleb over Richardson because he hasn’t seen enough of Richardson. But Caleb hasn’t played a down. lol 

There is more film of Caleb in college. Much more... and at higher and more consistent level. I don't know how you can fault them for that take... I'd take Caleb over RIchardson... and I'm probably Richardson's biggest fan here. 

 

IMO the very fact that they are having that discussion is showing just how high they are on Richardson, rather than being disrespectful in any way. 

[Solid84]

10 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

If this team has less wins then last season he is gone after this season.

Not likely no. It’s all about AR and evaluating him. Example: If we go 6-11, but AR improves and looks legit by the end of the season, he’s not getting fired. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 minutes ago, stitches said:

There is more film of Caleb in college. Much more... and at higher and more consistent level. I don't know how you can fault them for that take... I'd take Caleb over RIchardson... and I'm probably Richardson's biggest fan here. 

Yeah maybe that’s where they were getting at. But we still haven’t seen him play a down so their argument was dumb.

Just now, Solid84 said:

Not likely no. It’s all about AR and evaluating him. Example: If we go 6-11, but AR improves and looks legit by the end of the season, he’s not getting fired. 

The team was 15 yards away from a division win. Yeah taking a step back with less wins is not going to make Irsay happy and it’s a terrible look for Ballard.

[stitches]

5 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

While I agree on the Franklin contract, I think they have some bad takes on the others like the Pittman and Stewart signing. Run defenders are important, it's not a flashy position and isn't stat heavy where you can see someones worth in stat numbers. So when it comes to podcasters, I think they really undervalue the position. The Pittman take was just bad, keeping him on the franchise tag makes it nearly impossible to resign him the following year without him reaching free agency and most likely getting a way larger contract elsewhere.

Run defense is important. It's not important enough to spend 35M on it this off-season while almost entirely neglecting the pass-defense part. 

 

On Pittman, I agree with you kind of(meaning, I don't mind that contract)... but I also see their point. When it comes to highly paid receivers... paying 23M to a possession receiver, who again IMO fits the "boring" label, is probably more than most teams would spend. 

[Zoltan]

Just now, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Run defenders are important. But they are paying Buckner then want and paid David after paying Stewart. None of that makes sense. A NT is not going to win you a SB.

Yes it does actually you want depth and players to rotate in, otherwise you have to make Stewart play the whole game and be gassed at the end of every game and being gassed at the end of the season or you have a player like Taven Bryant be in the game and the run defense gets a lot worse. Being able to rotate players in helps keep the team fresh throughout the year and playoff run, and like I previously said yes a NT is going to help you win a SB. The run defense of KC in the super bowl held McCaffrey to 2 yards less per carry, If KC didn't have their run stuffers they don't win

[Solid84]

4 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

The team was 15 yards away from a division win. Yeah taking a step back with less wins is not going to make Irsay happy and it’s a terrible look for Ballard.

Yeah, but we’re essentially playing a rookie. 

[w87r]

2 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

The team was 15 yards away from a division win. Yeah taking a step back with less wins is not going to make Irsay happy and it’s a terrible look for Ballard.

Don't you remember, we played trash QBs.

 

 

That's the only reason we had 9 wins.

 

 

 

Side bar:

Was just looking at the opponents.

We might be playing (5)/ of the (6) potential 1st round QBs.

Bears

Patriots

Vikings

Broncos

Giants 

[RollerColt]

14 minutes ago, stitches said:

It's like they are reading my mind. I called them boring last year before AR's drafting and I was hoping AR will bring in some of the missing excitement back... and he did to a degree while he played... but the rest of the roster is painfully unmistakably boring. And boring is not necessarily bad... you can have a boring machine of a team that destroys every opponent, but when the boring is married with mediocre... then the product is almost unwatchable.

 

I wonder if there are metrics about how much new fans every team attracts. If I had to guess, the Colts would be around the bottom of the league during Ballard's tenure. If you are not already a fan of this team, is there any reason to tune in and watch a Colts game? 

 

So yeah... again... here's to hoping AR can stay healthy and changes some of this... 

That’s probably an issue for those who live away from the team. But Indianapolis has over 1 million people in the area and a good number of them support the local teams. Go further out and a large portion of the state supports the team. 
 

By that metric, the Chiefs are the most popular team in the nation and picked up a large amount due to a pop singer dating the tight end. 

[stitches]

3 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

That’s probably an issue for those who live away from the team. But Indianapolis has over 1 million people in the area and a good number of them support the local teams. Go further out and a large portion of the state supports the team. 
 

By that metric, the Chiefs are the most popular team in the nation and picked up a large amount due to a pop singer dating the tight end. 

That's kind of true... but if I had to guess the Chiefs were getting a lot more new fans even before Swift and Kelce got together, simply because they had some of the most exciting players to watch. 

[stitches]

14 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Yeah maybe that’s where they were getting at. But we still haven’t seen him play a down so their argument was dumb.

The team was 15 yards away from a division win. Yeah taking a step back with less wins is not going to make Irsay happy and it’s a terrible look for Ballard.

 

Caleb is considered a generational prospect by a lot of people in the league. There is a high level of certainty that he will be good even before he takes a snap in the league. This wasn't true with AR and that's why they needed to see a few more games of his progression and a few more games of him looking like a good NFL QB. And I think that's fair... I think I'm right about there with them on this one... 

[Zoltan]

7 minutes ago, stitches said:

Run defense is important. It's not important enough to spend 35M on it this off-season while almost entirely neglecting the pass-defense part. 

 

On Pittman, I agree with you kind of(meaning, I don't mind that contract)... but I also see their point. When it comes to highly paid receivers... paying 23M to a possession receiver, who again IMO fits the "boring" label, is probably more than most teams would spend. 

How did you get the 35 Million number?

Stewart is 10.3 this year and Davis is 5 million cap hit this year.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/indianapolis-colts/cap/

 

I don't care about boring label. He's a fantastic 3rd down WR, who has had 3,159 yards over 3 seasons with 3 different average at best QBs and being the focus of the passing game. He would have gotten paid more if he made it to FA.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

 

[RollerColt]

2 minutes ago, stitches said:

That's kind of true... but if I had to guess the Chiefs were getting a lot more new fans even before Swift and Kelce got together, simply because they had some of the most exciting players to watch. 

Yes. It’s pretty natural and common for championship winning teams to gain bandwagoners. 
 

I don’t think we’re at a point where the team itself is going to cause local fans to be less interested. Too many of us have suffered much worse years of football compared to now. The biggest threat to home game attendance is ridiculous pricing on tickets.

[stitches]

6 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

How did you get the 35 Million number?

Stewart is 10.3 this year and Davis is 5 million cap hit this year.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/indianapolis-colts/cap/

 

I don't care about boring label. He's a fantastic 3rd down WR, who has had 3,159 yards over 3 seasons with 3 different average at best QBs and being the focus of the passing game. He would have gotten paid more if he made it to FA.

I was ballparking it 10.5+7.5(Davis - 5 this year, but he has 2.5M dead cap for next year too), Taven Bryan(3.5M... that's what we paid him last year... haven't seen the new number), Franklin(10M)... 

[NFLfan]

49 minutes ago, stitches said:

Ben Solak and Sheil Kapadia absolutely nail the Colts and Ballard(starts at about 1:00:20):

 

 

 

Are these reputable folks?