Why is Ballard not improving his Secondary?

[throwing BBZ]

 

  Irsay said during the game that he is sitting in the discussions of the roster.

Logically, If, Steichen, Gus and his staff thought someone, anyone that had been available was someone we really needed, Ballard with Irsays hearty approval would have invited them here to negotiate. 

 So No, Ballard won't be held accountable for our DB's. I like our rookie DB draft picks.

 My eye test says look to upgrade the Harrison role. I wonder how our staff grades him as a tackler. 

[NewColtsFan]

38 minutes ago, luv_pony_express said:

Explain what you mean by “moves.”  You mean FA signings?

 

Have you looked at who’s left in free agency?  Have you looked at who he’s passed up on….and how much they signed elsewhere for?

Yes.  And this community has been talking about a deep number of safeties and corners for months.   PLUS, we don’t know who will be avail after the massive cutdowns.   There are always surprises.  

[John Hammonds]

In related news, Stephon Gilmore signed with the Vikings.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40904282/vikings-cb-stephon-gilmore-agree-one-year-contract

[CR91]

Colts finally played Cross at SS. Hopefully this continues vs the Bengals 

[richard pallo]

54 minutes ago, John Hammonds said:

In related news, Stephon Gilmore signed with the Vikings.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40904282/vikings-cb-stephon-gilmore-agree-one-year-contract

Time to pull the trigger on the Budda trade.  Blackmon is our best SS.  He proved that last year.  Cross would be a good backup this year at both positions.  I think we need a real accomplished FS to compliment Blackmon.  The corners I’m not worried about.

[jvan1973]

24 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Time to pull the trigger on the Budda trade.  Blackmon is our best SS.  He proved that last year.  Cross would be a good backup this year at both positions.  I think we need a real accomplished FS to compliment Blackmon.  The corners I’m not worried about.

Buddah is a SS

[cdgacoltsfan]

1 minute ago, jvan1973 said:

Buddah is a SS

Someday he will figure that out.

[GoColts8818]

18 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

Buddah is a SS

Is he even being reported to be available for trade or is this something made up on the forum that fans will get mad at when it doesn’t happen even though it was never a real thing to start with?

[MikeCurtis]

It’s clear Ballard likes his current DB room

 

I wanted Simmons but it wasn’t to be

 

I will say this….  If Stroud and Lawrence pass for 400 yards and beat us both games and

we are ranked near last again on defense and miss the playoffs again because we couldn’t stop the pass

 

IF this happens…..i would fire Ballard and Gus at the end of the year

 

my hope is that he is right, though……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GoColts8818]

2 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

It’s clear Ballard likes his current DB room

 

I wanted Simmons but it wasn’t to be

 

I will say this….  If Stroud and Lawrence pass for 400 yards and beat us both games and

we are ranked near last again on defense and miss the playoffs again because we couldn’t stop the pass

 

IF this happens…..i would fire Ballard and Gus at the end of the year

 

my hope is that he is right, though……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gus getting fired is more realistic as I think the way he plays the secondary is really the root problem more than the players or Ballard but that’s just my opinion.

[MikeCurtis]

5 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

Gus getting fired is more realistic as I think the way he plays the secondary is really the root problem more than the players or Ballard but that’s just my opinion.

Player choices are Ballard

Coach choices are on Ballard

 

How many years does he get of no AFC South championships ?
We have had years of a poor defense.

We had a window to improve the DB room that appears to have closed

 

he chose to not act……

 

I HOPE HE IS CORRECT

 

I will be the first to say I was wrong….

 

 

Again….. I hope that we have done enough to improve the team

 

I will be a fan until the good Lord takes me home

 

 

[holeymoley99]

Anyone notice how Denbow,Tutsie and Dabo played last night ? Think Dabo had his roster exemption extended 1 more season.

[richard pallo]

39 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

Buddah is a SS

I think he plays FS primarily.  Yahoo sports and pro football reference list him as FS.  I’ve seen just S listed as well on other sites.  Either way it looks like he’s played FS and has played it very well.

[GoColts8818]

2 minutes ago, MikeCurtis said:

Player choices are Ballard

Coach choices are on Ballard

 

How many years does he get of no AFC South championships ?
We have had years of a poor defense.

We had a window to improve the DB room that appears to have closed

 

he chose to not act……

 

I HOPE HE IS CORRECT

 

I will be the first to say I was wrong….

 

 

Again….. I hope that we have done enough to improve the team

 

I will be a fan until the good Lord takes me home

 

 

DC is chosen by the head coach or at least agreed to by the head coach.  If Shane didn’t want Bradley he wouldn’t be here.

[DiogoSales]

By now we all agree that Ballard and the FO is taking the risk with the secondary we have.

 

Would I do it? No, if there's anything screaming "short of playoffs" it's the DB room.

 

Let's hope we're all wrong, even considering we were all right with 21/22 OL decisions... 

[csmopar]

https://www.nfl.com/news/free-agent-cb-stephon-gilmore-signing-with-vikings-on-one-year-10-million-deal
 

guess that puts the lid on the Gilmore suggestions

[Defjamz26]

1 hour ago, csmopar said:

https://www.nfl.com/news/free-agent-cb-stephon-gilmore-signing-with-vikings-on-one-year-10-million-deal
 

guess that puts the lid on the Gilmore suggestions

Yeah so pretty much any notable DBs who would be an upgrade are signed at this point. Reminds of the year before the 2021 season when we didn’t make any moves at edge rusher. We ended up just drafting Kwity and Dayo. Thats the vibe I’m getting here. He’s going to see how they do and then probably just draft some DBs high. May be a long season.

[Hoose]

2 hours ago, MikeCurtis said:

Player choices are Ballard

Coach choices are on Ballard

 

How many years does he get of no AFC South championships ?
We have had years of a poor defense.

We had a window to improve the DB room that appears to have closed

 

he chose to not act……

 

I HOPE HE IS CORRECT

 

I will be the first to say I was wrong….

 

 

Again….. I hope that we have done enough to improve the team

 

I will be a fan until the good Lord takes me home

 

 

I’m with you Mike. I’m shaking my head but hoping Ballard is right. He’s gambling big time on a previously low performing  D-backfield with absolutely no quality depth. So here’s hoping the youngsters grow up quickly, stay healthy, and prove us doubters wrong. 

[CR91]

I honestly think we'll be fine if the colts stick with Cross at SS and Blackmon at FS. 

[MikeCurtis]

12 minutes ago, CR91 said:

I honestly think we'll be fine if the colts stick with Cross at SS and Blackmon at FS. 

I hope neither get hurt

 

 

[jvan1973]

4 hours ago, richard pallo said:

I think he plays FS primarily.  Yahoo sports and pro football reference list him as FS.  I’ve seen just S listed as well on other sites.  Either way it looks like he’s played FS and has played it very well.

He plays SS primarily. 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=budda+baker++"strong"+safety&client=ms-android-verizon&sca_esv=4d69d7027f1defd9&sca_upv=1&biw=360&bih=617&sxsrf=ADLYWILg7DOpRJaDr0RXHQvoCl4Kfiup5g%3A1724012930739&ei=glnCZoHmLO-yptQP6KbF0A8&oq=budda+baker++"strong"+safety&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIhxidWRkYSBiYWtlciAgInN0cm9uZyIgc2FmZXR5SJUyUOgeWI0ocAF4AZABAJgBsgGgAaAGqgEDMy40uAEDyAEA-AEBmAIEoAKqA8ICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAgcQIxiwAhgnwgIKECEYoAEYwwQYCsICCBAAGIAEGKIEwgIIEAAYogQYiQXCAggQIRigARjDBJgDAIgGAZAGCJIHAzIuMqAHsxg&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp

[GoColts8818]

4 hours ago, DiogoSales said:

By now we all agree that Ballard and the FO is taking the risk with the secondary we have.

 

Would I do it? No, if there's anything screaming "short of playoffs" it's the DB room.

 

Let's hope we're all wrong, even considering we were all right with 21/22 OL decisions... 

I don’t think anyone has ever doubted this is a risk.

[Solid84]

To me, this reads as Irsay saying it's time to win. I'm not saying SB or bust, but the slow team-building process through the draft is over. The Colts need to start to matter again.

[CR91]

34 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

To me, this reads as Irsay saying it's time to win. I'm not saying SB or bust, but the slow team-building process through the draft is over. The Colts need to start to matter again.

 

You can also look at it as, you have a window to compete without having to commit the majority of your salary paying your QB

[ColtStrong2013]

38 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

To me, this reads as Irsay saying it's time to win. I'm not saying SB or bust, but the slow team-building process through the draft is over. The Colts need to start to matter again.

 

2 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

You can also look at it as, you have a window to compete without having to commit the majority of your salary paying your QB

 

I think that ultimately is the plan, and they dabbled with it some this offseason by going after at least one big free agent in Hunter.  But they also know they need a full good year by AR and ideally to win the division/make the playoffs to really go after it. It’s the only way free agents are going to come here. 

[richard pallo]

44 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

To me, this reads as Irsay saying it's time to win. I'm not saying SB or bust, but the slow team-building process through the draft is over. The Colts need to start to matter again.

The fact they tried to get Hunter says they were trying to get a difference maker to help achieve that goal and of course they reworked Buckner’s contract too. They still have plenty of cap space to still make a move this year.  It just depends on how close they think the roster is after the preseason.

[CR91]

21 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

The fact they tried to get Hunter says they were trying to get a difference maker to help achieve that goal and of course they reworked Buckner’s contract too. They still have plenty of cap space to still make a move this year.  It just depends on how close they think the roster is after the preseason.

 

But if we did get Hunter, we wouldn't have Latu who's younger, cheaper, and can have a longer impact.

[ColtStrong2013]

7 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

But if we did get Hunter, we wouldn't have Latu who's younger, cheaper, and can have a longer impact.

That’s possibly true. We might have a stronger secondary or really swung for the fences at moving up for one of Nabers, Odunze, Bowers… who knows what the initial plan A was. Things change 

[ColtStrong2013]

I firmly believe landing one big free agent can have a domino effect. They quickly start recruiting to help the plan and sometimes that is another big player or two. I think this season is big for future roster building as the two main pieces might be in place in HC/QB combo that free agents undoubtedly want to see when comparing opportunities. We haven’t had stability in years… 

[CR91]

21 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

That’s possibly true. We might have a stronger secondary or really swung for the fences at moving up for one of Nabers, Odunze, Bowers… who knows what the initial plan A was. Things change 

 

Well we already know the Colts tried to get to 6 

[Solid84]

To be clear, I don’t think this is the year, but we need to capitalize on our QB being on a rookie deal. The Colts can’t wait it out for 3 years. 
 

If AR proves he can win this season next season needs to be “all in”.

[Jz0204945]

On 8/15/2024 at 6:13 PM, 4daUColts said:

And thats easiest place to see whats going on. Why would we have trouble there?

Are you watching this secondary with alot of these guys going in to year 2 after playing alot during rookie season/1st year in this scheme and if its still that bad then it is then its abysmal.

[Happy2BeHere]

1 hour ago, Solid84 said:

To be clear, I don’t think this is the year, but we need to capitalize on our QB being on a rookie deal. The Colts can’t wait it out for 3 years. 
 

If AR proves he can win this season next season needs to be “all in”.

Yes the ridiculous amounts these QB’s are getting paid is ridiculous. You really have a hard time building a good team when your QB is going to take $50+million a year…just egregious that the QB salary has ballooned so significantly. I think if I was running a franchise no matter how good the QB is I think I’d opt for a more reasonable contract with a very decent QB and build the team more evenly. But that’s just my opinion. It’s all about the QB in this league unfortunately.

[CR91]

28 minutes ago, Happy2BeHere said:

Yes the ridiculous amounts these QB’s are getting paid is ridiculous. You really have a hard time building a good team when your QB is going to take $50+million a year…just egregious that the QB salary has ballooned so significantly. I think if I was running a franchise no matter how good the QB is I think I’d opt for a more reasonable contract with a very decent QB and build the team more evenly. But that’s just my opinion. It’s all about the QB in this league unfortunately.

 

Makes the chiefs look like geniuses 

[richard pallo]

3 hours ago, CR91 said:

 

But if we did get Hunter, we wouldn't have Latu who's younger, cheaper, and can have a longer impact.

That’s correct.  One problem solved just opened up another opportunity to find another missing piece.  

[NewColtsFan]

9 hours ago, Solid84 said:

To me, this reads as Irsay saying it's time to win. I'm not saying SB or bust, but the slow team-building process through the draft is over. The Colts need to start to matter again.

I don’t know how you concluded the slow team-building process is over.  I don’t see Ballard ever changing his way of of doing business all that much.  

 

I think the comment speaks to having a very good roster and having AR taking the team to the next level.  To me,  it’s all about AR.
 

 

[Solid84]

2 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

I don’t know how you concluded the slow team-building process is over.  I don’t see Ballard ever changing his way of of doing business all that much.  

 

I think the comment speaks to having a very good roster and having AR taking the team to the next level.  To me,  it’s all about AR.
 

 

“”It’s critical” for the team to win big while QB Anthony Richardson is on his rookie deal”.

 

Are you telling me you don’t think that quote is about capitalizing on our capspace not being dominated by a big QB deal?

[Superman]

3 hours ago, Solid84 said:

“”It’s critical” for the team to win big while QB Anthony Richardson is on his rookie deal”.

 

Are you telling me you don’t think that quote is about capitalizing on our capspace not being dominated by a big QB deal?

 

I think it means the team will have greater cap flexibility while Richardson is on his rookie contract. I don't think it means Irsay is going to pressure Ballard into being more aggressive with roster building.

[RollerColt]

7 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I think it means the team will have greater cap flexibility while Richardson is on his rookie contract. I don't think it means Irsay is going to pressure Ballard into being more aggressive with roster building.

I agree. If Irsay was against Ballard's philosophy of team building, it would've changed by now. 

[Superman]

1 minute ago, RollerColt said:

I agree. If Irsay was against Ballard's philosophy of team building, it would've changed by now. 

 

Agreed. And I think, more fundamentally, if Irsay felt like he needed to prompt Ballard to change his philosophy or methods, then it would be better to find a different GM.