Ballard presser starting in a couple minutes

[shasta519]

52 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

You are acting like a fan.   You've never seen him in practice or film study.  It's silly to act like you can evaluate players on nearly zero info.   You certainly aren't the only one that does it.   But it's comical

 

Ok. But if we have nearly zero info, then how can we evaluate them as good? If we just took the team and media's word for it, then how do we criticize any player that is on an active roster?

 

We have disagreed, but this is a surprisingly narrow stance. We are all fans here...that's all we can be. In the case of Franklin, they paid him early, so we have even less info because we didn't get to see his market value in FA. But based on the position and other players who have been paid, it's a fair opinion that he might not get that contract.

 

Maybe he is just more valuable to the Colts than another team, but that doesn't really change an opinion based on watching him, which between that and metrics is all we have to go on.

[OLD FAN MAN]

3 hours ago, Dobbinblitz said:

Yes, press conference semantics aside, Ballard is 54-60-1 in seven seasons with no division titles. That is what is relevant.

we have to face reality under ballard we are a below break even team

[Superman]

5 minutes ago, stitches said:

 

Let me put it like this - this whole conversation started from how Ballard is saying every chance he gets that players get overpaid in FA. Whatever he means is what I mean. B money for C players, A money for B players... etc. We have all heard his rants on this. If he means that Azeez Al-Shaair is overpaid, the same way I mean that Franklin is overpaid... If he means that DJ reader is overpaid, this is the same way I think Grover is overpaid... etc. 

 

This is a fair way of making your point. And now the question is whether you think the Colts would have been better off signing Al-Shaair or Reader than keeping Frankin and Stewart. Or is the real issue that people just want the excitement of signing different players in free agency? 

 

What I think you really believe is that the Colts should find replacement level ILBs and NTs, and pay real premium money at Edge, WR, CB. And rather than continuing in the weeds of 'Ballard is a hypocrite because he keeps his own second tier guys rather than signing second tier free agents,' I think it's a much better argument to talk about positional resource allocation. And that's something where I think Ballard's viewpoint is flawed, because I'd rather pay the premiums at those priority positions than keep our second tier guys who I don't think will change our team's outlook. But that's a much bigger conversation.

[stitches]

2 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

This is a fair way of making your point. And now the question is whether you think the Colts would have been better off signing Al-Shaair or Reader than keeping Frankin and Stewart. Or is the real issue that people just want the excitement of signing different players in free agency? 

In reality I would have just kept Franklin on his contract and would have been looking to replace him via draft pick, especially since Ballard has shown good eye for talent at LB. And on Stewart... it's not the end of the world or anything like that. There are players I would rather get at that money(Reader for example), but overall... that contract is... whatever. 

2 minutes ago, Superman said:

What I think you really believe is that the Colts should find replacement level ILBs and NTs, and pay real premium money at Edge, WR, CB. And rather than continuing in the weeds of 'Ballard is a hypocrite because he keeps his own second tier guys rather than signing second tier free agents,' I think it's a much better argument to talk about positional resource allocation. And that's something where I think Ballard's viewpoint is flawed, because I'd rather pay the premiums at those priority positions than keep our second tier guys who I don't think will change our team's outlook. But that's a much bigger conversation.

Yep! This is the thing. This is more along the way of my thought process(although I do think there is certain level of hypocricy or inconsistency within Ballard's professed views). We are paying HUGE money on interior linemen and most of them are not even for pass-rushing DTs... it's for run stuffers. Why did we need both Davis AND Grover? AND Taven Bryan? All the while we are returning the EXACT SAME defensive backs unit that got destroyed by sub-par QB play for most of last year.  We are returning the same room of uninspiring TEs... 

[Rhodelesstraveled]

This presser was a disaster for me. 

[Dingus McGirt]

3 hours ago, Superman said:

 

I really like that hat...

I think it’s the way he wears it — so low it’s hard to see his eyes.

[Superman]

6 minutes ago, stitches said:

Yep! This is the thing. This is more along the way of my thought process(although I do think there is certain level of hypocricy or inconsistency within Ballard's professed views). We are paying HUGE money on interior linemen and most of them are not even for pass-rushing DTs... it's for run stuffers. Why did we need both Davis AND Grover? AND Taven Bryan? All the while we are returning the EXACT SAME defensive backs unit that got destroyed by sub-par QB play for most of last year.  We are returning the same room of uninspiring TEs... 

 

I mostly agree. We had this conversation in March. 

 

Specific to the DL and pass rushing, there's some hope that the new DL coach will have an impact there. But how much good could he do with players who have actually shown some ability to rush the passer in the past? I'm not a huge fan of the Stewart, Davis, and Franklin decisions, and I've said so from the beginning. I still think there's some hope for the pass rush to be better moving forward, though.

 

James Boyd is on Twitter now acting like he asked Ballard to explain his roster building philosophy. What happened is he asked Ballard to defend his record as a GM, and that's fine. I think that's the question Ballard answered. I think your questions are legit as well.

[stitches]

1 minute ago, Superman said:

 

I mostly agree. We had this conversation in March. 

 

Specific to the DL and pass rushing, there's some hope that the new DL coach will have an impact there. But how much good could he do with players who have actually shown some ability to rush the passer in the past? I'm not a huge fan of the Stewart, Davis, and Franklin decisions, and I've said so from the beginning. I still think there's some hope for the pass rush to be better moving forward, though.

 

James Boyd is on Twitter now acting like he asked Ballard to explain his roster building philosophy. What happened is he asked Ballard to defend his record as a GM, and that's fine. I think that's the question Ballard answered. I think your questions are legit as well.

Well... lets hope him or some of the other reporters will do their jobs and ask some more pointed questions the next time they get the chance to talk to Ballard... 

[shasta519]

5 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

The top three ILBs average $19m/year. The next three average under $12m/year. Saying Franklin is 6th on the list leaves out some critical context.

 

 

What makes him better? And if that's general consensus, how much do you think that player is going to command when his contract expires after this season? 

 

Whether the position is hard to fill or not, I don't think it's a premium position, and I would have been fine with finding a Franklin replacement rather than extending him. But his contract makes sense in the market.

 

I mean...he's 6th on the list. Wasn't trying to misrepresent that. It will likely change at some point, but the LB market hasn't exactly ballooned like other positions.

 

The (3) $19M players are Warner, Edmunds and Smith. Warner is an elite player who signed that deal in 2021. He and Shaq were considered 1-2 at the LB position. I don't think anybody would complain about paying Warner that money.

 

The other two are Roquon Smith and Tremaine Edmunds. Smith is an All-Pro and might be the best ILB in the NFL. Edmunds was a PBer in BUF before going to CHI. Even if CHI overpaid Edmunds (probably), that doesn't mean Franklin is a good market deal.

 

Oke also signed his deal last year, which now pays less AAV than what Franklin will get for the next 3 years. This offseason, a 25 year-old Patrick Queen signed for $13.7M AAV coming off an AP year. Oluokon re-signed with JAC for less than Franklin signed for with IND.

 

And while PFF isn't gospel, they are all much higher-graded players.

 

Same with Jones. But Jones is also a former R3 pick and only 25, coming off a really good year. And by the end of his third year, he had started 34 games. Franklin started 4 games in his first 3 years. With the age difference, I think it's fair to think Jones has more upside and value going forward. But they have to pay him, so we'll see.

 

Zaire's deal doesn't start til next year, in his age 29 season. We will have more comps then, including Jones. But for the player Franklin is right now, I think he's overpaid. And it's not a premium position. So paying a top 10 contract for a non-premium player at a non-premium position is questionable.  

 

 

[Superman]

17 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

I mean...he's 6th on the list. Wasn't trying to misrepresent that. It will likely change at some point, but the LB market hasn't exactly ballooned like other positions.

 

Like every other position, I think the proper way to present it is with tiers. Franklin is in the second tier. The first tier is so elite that those players are being paid 60% more than the players in the next tier. There's a huge breakpoint between the top three and everyone else.

 

Quote

Oke also signed his deal last year, which now pays less AAV than what Franklin will get for the next 3 years. This offseason, a 25 year-old Patrick Queen signed for $13.7M AAV coming off an AP year. Oluokon re-signed with JAC for less than Franklin signed for with IND.

 

These guys all make up the second tier, which starts with Queen at $13.7m/year. Franklin is at $10.4m/year. I don't think he's overpaid. 

 

Quote

Same with Jones. But Jones is also a former R3 pick and only 25, coming off a really good year. And by the end of his third year, he had started 34 games. Franklin started 4 games in his first 3 years. With the age difference, I think it's fair to think Jones has more upside and value going forward. But they have to pay him, so we'll see.

 

Zaire's deal doesn't start til next year, in his age 29 season. We will have more comps then, including Jones. But for the player Franklin is right now, I think he's overpaid. And it's not a premium position. So paying a top 10 contract for a non-premium player at a non-premium position is questionable.  

 

Assuming he has a good year, Jones probably winds up at the top of the second tier, right? Maybe he fills in the gap between Edmunds and Queen.

 

This is where I don't think the top 10 designation is important. Franklin's average salary is 4% of this year's cap. He's a starter who plays every defensive snap, and despite his shortcomings, he's a pretty good player. Maybe he could be replaced for less money, or with a player with more upside. But the bolded makes it seem a lot more spicy than it actually is. 

[Happy2BeHere]

Yes I think that signing a big name player here would do a lot to change the mind of some colts fans….and the argument is: is that good enough to get us over the hump? My answer is definitely not. I don’t care who we sign even if it is guys from our own team so long as they are proven and plenty serviceable with upside. 
 

It’s kind of like watching the Lakers overpay for Lebron James (side note he is a great player but not a great person IMO)…the lakers have been dismal and a disappointment since signing him…part of that is just people expectations are a bit unreasonable…like championship or bust.

 

Its so different with an NFL team obviously because you’ve got double the guys on the field compared to basketball and a roster that is 4-5x’s more than the NBA.

 

I am sure as the day is long you can point to MORE instances of teams going all out for free agents and paying through the nose all for less than achieving a championship than you can point to teams who do go all out and actually win a championship.

 

It’s a tough balance…and for whatever reason in my opinion ALL of these players are overpaid because there is always a team willing to overpay for a player that another team isn’t willing to. We unfortunately just have a more conservative GM who approaches FA much more reserved than we’d like.

[ColtStrong2013]

1 minute ago, Happy2BeHere said:

It’s kind of like watching the Lakers overpay for Lebron James (side note he is a great player but not a great person IMO

 

Interesting take. 

[DougDew]

7 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

that was a awful response by Ballard too. Shows how stubborn he is.

You are correct.  If...and I say if... he actually said something like "I believe in what I've been doing and if it gets me fired so be it", it's is a horrible answer.

 

A GM gets fired for producing a losing team.   "Fired" is synonymous with "losing".

 

So, he basically said  "I believe in what I've been doing, and if we lose, so be it".  Awful.

 

Um, no.  What a GM should say is ...no not that he will do what the fans want...or commit on the spot to doing anything differently.....but he should say something like" my job is to produce winning football, and I want the fans to know that I will do whatever I can to produce the team results this fan base deserves.  If I have to change some things I've done in the past, learn and grow where I can, then I'll do that if it means winning".

[csmopar]

29 minutes ago, DougDew said:

You are correct.  If...and I say if... he actually said something like "I believe in what I've been doing and if it gets me fired so be it", it's is a horrible answer.

 

A GM gets fired for producing a losing team.   "Fired" is synonymous with "losing".

 

So, he basically said  "I believe in what I've been doing, and if we lose, so be it".  Awful.

 

Um, no.  What a GM should say is ...no not that he will do what the fans want...or commit on the spot to doing anything differently.....but he should say something like" my job is to produce winning football, and I want the fans to know that I will do whatever I can to produce the team results this fan base deserves.  If I have to change some things I've done in the past, learn and grow where I can, then I'll do that if it means winning".

Yeah taking a paraphrased quote minus the full context and paraphrasing it a second time, doesn’t do much…

[csmopar]

23 hours ago, Happy2BeHere said:

Yes I think that signing a big name player here would do a lot to change the mind of some colts fans….and the argument is: is that good enough to get us over the hump? My answer is definitely not. I don’t care who we sign even if it is guys from our own team so long as they are proven and plenty serviceable with upside. 
 

It’s kind of like watching the Lakers overpay for Lebron James (side note he is a great player but not a great person IMO)…the lakers have been dismal and a disappointment since signing him…part of that is just people expectations are a bit unreasonable…like championship or bust.

 

Its so different with an NFL team obviously because you’ve got double the guys on the field compared to basketball and a roster that is 4-5x’s more than the NBA.

 

I am sure as the day is long you can point to MORE instances of teams going all out for free agents and paying through the nose all for less than achieving a championship than you can point to teams who do go all out and actually win a championship.

 

It’s a tough balance…and for whatever reason in my opinion ALL of these players are overpaid because there is always a team willing to overpay for a player that another team isn’t willing to. We unfortunately just have a more conservative GM who approaches FA much more reserved than we’d like.

I’ve said it time and time again,

we are the chiefs before Mahomes… we have a solid enough roster that can compete and are fringe playoff contenders. That fact has been proven with the bandaids at QBs we’ve had. Even the Matt Ryan and Jeff Saturday era, we still had shots at beating good teams. We just blew those shots for various reasons. 
 

the fact that Minshew took this team to one play from winning the division last year speaks to that. 
 

AR> Minshew (if healthy)

Flacco > Minshew.

I can see this team going 3-13 or 10-7 or better just as easily. 

 

Edited August 30 by Superman

[NFLfan]

44 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

You agree?

 

Sorry for diverting the conversation.

 

What was the presser about?

Did the Colts claim anyone off waivers?

[csmopar]

42 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

 

Sorry for diverting the conversation.

 

What was the presser about?

Did the Colts claim anyone off waivers?

Just the DB from the 49ers so far

[NFLfan]

Did the Colts bring back Treadwell?

[csmopar]

2 hours ago, Happy2BeHere said:

Yes I think that signing a big name player here would do a lot to change the mind of some colts fans….and the argument is: is that good enough to get us over the hump? My answer is definitely not. I don’t care who we sign even if it is guys from our own team so long as they are proven and plenty serviceable with upside. 
 

It’s kind of like watching the Lakers overpay for Lebron James (side note he is a great player but not a great person IMO)…the lakers have been dismal and a disappointment since signing him…part of that is just people expectations are a bit unreasonable…like championship or bust.

 

Its so different with an NFL team obviously because you’ve got double the guys on the field compared to basketball and a roster that is 4-5x’s more than the NBA.

 

I am sure as the day is long you can point to MORE instances of teams going all out for free agents and paying through the nose all for less than achieving a championship than you can point to teams who do go all out and actually win a championship.

 

It’s a tough balance…and for whatever reason in my opinion ALL of these players are overpaid because there is always a team willing to overpay for a player that another team isn’t willing to. We unfortunately just have a more conservative GM who approaches FA much more reserved than we’d like.

What it sad is how many people forget how we tried that approach. Or they say Irsay doesn’t wanna pay up or whatever. 
 

they completely ignore the fact that Ryan Grigson was 100 percent the opposite of Ballard. Grigson had FA being fun cause he tossed money around and landed big name FAs,  Andre Johnson, Frank Gore, Laron Landry and the list goes on. Yet he couldn’t draft worth crap and got our stud QB not only hurt but hurt so bad that he retired early from a mental health perspective(understandably so after the beating he took)

 

there has to be a balance but there also has to be an incentive outside of just spending loads of cash. I’ve said all along, Ballard will likely spend more on FAs when he knows he has the QB position solved. In fact Ballard himself has pretty much said the same thing for 3 years.

7 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

Did the Colts bring back Treadwell?

On PS, along with Bean and Hull amongst others 

[NFLfan]

2 minutes ago, csmopar said:

On PS, along with Bean and Hull amongst others

 

Good. I'm happy for Treadwell. I don't know if he will ever make the 53-man roster but you never know.

[CR91]

Well I'll give it to Ballard, he's either got unbreakable conviction in his guys and coaches or he's a compulsive gambler. Either Ballard is either gonna look like a genius or an * not addressing the secondary at all. 

[Dingus McGirt]

16 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Yep. Especially when it hasn’t worked. Then he said if there is someone out there wd think can help we will do it. Umm no you don’t. He didn’t get sneed. It was a deep safety FA  market and he did nothing.

Does that mean he sat on his hands, or does it mean he/they don't think the available players could really help...given the cost to acquire them?

[DougDew]

9 hours ago, csmopar said:

Yeah taking a paraphrased quote minus the full context and paraphrasing it a second time, doesn’t do much…

That's fair, but only if the paraphrase is substantially inaccurate.   Did his answer lean towards saying that he was going to continue to do what he thinks is the right way even if it gets him fired, or lean towards saying he will do things however he has to in order to win? 

 

Maybe it was a combo of both so anybody could see into it what they wanted.

[shasta519]

12 hours ago, Superman said:

 

Like every other position, I think the proper way to present it is with tiers. Franklin is in the second tier. The first tier is so elite that those players are being paid 60% more than the players in the next tier. There's a huge breakpoint between the top three and everyone else.

 

 

These guys all make up the second tier, which starts with Queen at $13.7m/year. Franklin is at $10.4m/year. I don't think he's overpaid. 

 

 

Assuming he has a good year, Jones probably winds up at the top of the second tier, right? Maybe he fills in the gap between Edmunds and Queen.

 

This is where I don't think the top 10 designation is important. Franklin's average salary is 4% of this year's cap. He's a starter who plays every defensive snap, and despite his shortcomings, he's a pretty good player. Maybe he could be replaced for less money, or with a player with more upside. But the bolded makes it seem a lot more spicy than it actually is. 

 

I think we disagree on the player then.

 

He has value as a team captain on defense and a good ambassador/extension of the Colts brand with his podcast. And taking care of that guy always sends a good messag0e in the locker room, which we have known Ballard to do.

 

But as a player, I see a mostly average player...closer to replaceable than not. He's a solid tackler who can't really cover. And outside of IDP fantasy football, tkl stats don't really matter. His PFF grades the past two years he's started have largely lined up with him being an average to slightly above average player too.

 

From a football standpoint, I just didn't understand the urgency to give him that extension, especially at what I consider above his market value. But don't mean to put it all on Franklin...he was just one part of a questionable offseason plan and direction moving forward.

[csmopar]

5 hours ago, DougDew said:

That's fair, but only if the paraphrase is substantially inaccurate.   Did his answer lean towards saying that he was going to continue to do what he thinks is the right way even if it gets him fired, or lean towards saying he will do things however he has to in order to win? 

 

Maybe it was a combo of both so anybody could see into it what they wanted.

To me it read that he believes the sustained approach will work out long term in the end and if it doesn’t, then he’ll get fired. Seemed pretty straight forward in that regard

[DougDew]

21 minutes ago, csmopar said:

To me it read that he believes the sustained approach will work out long term in the end and if it doesn’t, then he’ll get fired. Seemed pretty straight forward in that regard

That's nothing more than restating the paraphrases you criticized.  He'll keep doing what he's doing, and may get fired for it.   It sounds more bullheaded than it tells the fans why they should have confidence in that approach.  

[NewColtsFan]

21 hours ago, stitches said:

I thought it was a mistake at the time and said it was a mistake. It's not malpractice, but it's just one small part of a series of similar decisions. Every single one of which was a mistake... Rivers, Wentz, Ryan. And you can argue none of them were malpractice. But they all were mistakes(at the time they were happening, not in hindsight) and he kept making the same mistake. 

 

 

It's because this is popular enough absolution of Ballard's responsibility for what happened and putting it all on Reich. And I just fundamentally disagree with that view. No matter how much Reich was behind that move and how much he wanted it. It's still the GM's job to set the path for his team and to make the final decisions. And he kept making the same decision 3 years in a row until Irsay pretty much forced him to take a QB in the draft and Reich's firing was the proverbial setting of the example. 

 

I don't mind that. 

Sure, doubt many GMs in the league would go against that. 

 

This is one thing that I think he's way too invested in. I wish someone asked him if he thinks our own players are some special unicorns. Because apparently all the other players in the league get overpaid in FA. But our own? Nope! We pay our own. So... everybody else gets overpaid... but Colts own players don't? He pretty much has decided to limit his pool of FA almost exclusively to our own FAs. 

 

Yep... he does. I disagree with this. 

 

Yep... I disagree with this emphasis... and BTW... even if he was right, it's kind of peculiar how mediocre his trenches have been when you consider how much assets and money he's put in them. But that's another question. Lets hope this year they are indeed what he imagines they will be. 

Yep. And I disagree with this, too... 

Although, I am not the biggest fan of this defensive philosophy... I still think the lack of high end talent at key positions is the main culprit to our defensive woes, rather than the philosophy itself. 

Overall, I don't mind his disciplined approach... but I would like to know that IF/WHEN this team is ready to compete, he will actually be more selectively aggressive in supplementing this team with high level talent. I am not certain we actually know whether he would change anything if he thoguht we were close. At the time he said he thought we were close in 2020 and 2021... his approach didn't seem too different to any other year at the time. 

 

That's OK, but I still would have liked to hear what makes him think this approach is what wins(and specifically at the highest level) in 2024. Does he have any data that actually suggests that a LG or RT is more important than a WR for example. Or why DT is more important than an outside corner, for example...  And maybe there are some internal studies they are doing that suggest that. Maybe their internal studies suggest our own players are better than outside FAs and are the only players on the market that don't get overpaid... I'd like to actually hear it from our GM. Maybe this wasn't the right setting for such an answer and maybe a more long-form interview is better... but then again... I doubt he gives those answers even with a full hour of time. And of course I doubt any of the local beat reporters are up for the task of actually getting him to talk about any of this. 

Are you willing to admit you don’t like Chris Ballard and you’ll be happy the day he’s fired and will say this should have happened years ago?
 

This is my takeaway from this incredibly long exchange you’ve had with Superman.  
 

Are you ready to own that?  

[stitches]

27 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

Are you willing to admit you don’t like Chris Ballard and you’ll be happy the day he’s fired and will say this should have happened years ago?

 

No on the first part, yes on the last part. I do think he should have been fired in at the end of 2022(January 2023). But once he was not fired I do not think firing him now will be a good decision. I want him to see his vision around AR through. Also, my opinion on Ballard is much more nuanced than you'd like to admit. I like a lot of things he does(how he runs the draft, draft trades, focus on athleticism, I like that he's not reckless with the team's resources, I think he runs a very tight ship and I think the team overall is very well built organizationally)... but I also dislike a lot of things he does(how he handles FA - internall vs external FAs. positional value, focus in roster building... and although I do like that he's not reckless, I do think he needs to take more chances, especially with high value positions, etc.). I think his overall strategy is more likely to put us in perpetual mediocrity rather than in prolonged contention(or prolonged suffering for that matter).

 

My worry with Ballard is not that the Colts will be bad, it's that they will be mediocre. My worry with Ballard is not that he will put us in cap hell or that he will mortgage the future(picks), my worry is that he will forever be too conservative to fight against the teams that in that particular year have decided to go all in. It's really hard to be highly competitive with the regular spending and draft pick investment, when any given year there are at least a few teams who focus their resources on a short period of contention and spend a ton more in money and picks at the same time that you are just doing the regular balanced spending. 

 

27 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

This is my takeaway from this incredibly long exchange you’ve had with Superman.  
 

Are you ready to own that?  

See above. I've never hidden my opinion on Ballard and I am not sure what exactly there is to own here...

[BProland85]

All I’m saying is if we let a crappy team like the Titans have been catch up or surpass the Colts, Ballard deserves to be fired. To let a bottom dwelling team catch up or surpass you purely off of being much more aggressive in FA and player acquisitions outside of the draft is inexcusable. 

[Arydery]

35 minutes ago, BProland85 said:

All I’m saying is if we let a crappy team like the Titans have been catch up or surpass the Colts, Ballard deserves to be fired. To let a bottom dwelling team catch up or surpass you purely off of being much more aggressive in FA and player acquisitions outside of the draft is inexcusable. 

We were one play away from beating the Texans and going to the playoffs last year without our MVP caliber running back for a few games and our first round quarterback for the majority of the season. That play was designed well and should have been executed. If Baker throws a little better of a ball and Sermon makes that catch, the entire narrative this past offseason is completely different. I do agree that if we cant handle the Titans this year then it's probably time to part ways with Ballard, but overall he has done a great job. Sometimes you just don't get the bounces. Let the season play out. 

[Superman]

7 hours ago, shasta519 said:

 

I think we disagree on the player then.

 

He has value as a team captain on defense and a good ambassador/extension of the Colts brand with his podcast. And taking care of that guy always sends a good messag0e in the locker room, which we have known Ballard to do.

 

But as a player, I see a mostly average player...closer to replaceable than not. He's a solid tackler who can't really cover. And outside of IDP fantasy football, tkl stats don't really matter. His PFF grades the past two years he's started have largely lined up with him being an average to slightly above average player too.

 

From a football standpoint, I just didn't understand the urgency to give him that extension, especially at what I consider above his market value. But don't mean to put it all on Franklin...he was just one part of a questionable offseason plan and direction moving forward.

 

I don't think we disagree that much on the player. Maybe a little, but I'm not really that worried about whether he's average, or above average, or pretty good... He's not great in coverage, which is what limits him and his impact to our defense. 

 

I think my main disagreement is with the characterization of his pay. But I take a very granular viewpoint on player contracts and rankings, and you're mostly talking about a wider perspective. And even though I don't think it's correct to call him overpaid, or to say that his contract is above market value, we agree that extending him wasn't necessary. (We'll never know, but maybe things were getting noisy after the JT situation, and with MPJ waiting.)

 

And that's something I said back in March, when I voiced my displeasure with the direction of the offseason. I've made my peace with it, but the way the Colts doubled down, especially on defenders who don't make the pass defense better, is something I don't think they should have done. But like you said, the Colts take care of their own, which is good for culture, but it might restrict progress. 

 

So yeah, when this conversation gets pushed out to the margins, we can find stuff to disagree on. But bigger picture, I think we're pretty much on the same page. And end of the day, we'll all judge the decisions on the results.

[AKB]

2 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

Are you willing to admit you don’t like Chris Ballard and you’ll be happy the day he’s fired and will say this should have happened years ago?
 

This is my takeaway from this incredibly long exchange you’ve had with Superman.  
 

Are you ready to own that?  

are you willing to admit you love chris ballard and are biased therefore.

[RollerColt]

3 hours ago, DougDew said:

That's nothing more than restating the paraphrases you criticized.  He'll keep doing what he's doing, and may get fired for it.   It sounds more bullheaded than it tells the fans why they should have confidence in that approach.  

Yeah. I mean he’s always had this viewpoint. He could care less what the fan base wants in terms of roster decisions. Not like it’s groundbreaking how he responded. 

[AKB]

2 hours ago, stitches said:

No on the first part, yes on the last part. I do think he should have been fired in at the end of 2022(January 2023). But once he was not fired I do not think firing him now will be a good decision. I want him to see his vision around AR through. Also, my opinion on Ballard is much more nuanced than you'd like to admit. I like a lot of things he does(how he runs the draft, draft trades, focus on athleticism, I like that he's not reckless with the team's resources, I think he runs a very tight ship and I think the team overall is very well built organizationally)... but I also dislike a lot of things he does(how he handles FA - internall vs external FAs. positional value, focus in roster building... and although I do like that he's not reckless, I do think he needs to take more chances, especially with high value positions, etc.). I think his overall strategy is more likely to put us in perpetual mediocrity rather than in prolonged contention(or prolonged suffering for that matter).

 

My worry with Ballard is not that the Colts will be bad, it's that they will be mediocre. My worry with Ballard is not that he will put us in cap hell or that he will mortgage the future(picks), my worry is that he will forever be too conservative to fight against the teams that in that particular year have decided to go all in. It's really hard to be highly competitive with the regular spending and draft pick investment, when any given year there are at least a few teams who focus their resources on a short period of contention and spend a ton more in money and picks at the same time that you are just doing the regular balanced spending. 

 

See above. I've never hidden my opinion on Ballard and I am not sure what exactly there is to own here...

some here have a propensity to oversimplify their "opposition's" opinion to engineer a narrative or to try and assign a tonality to one's opinion. Often time this is done here by pigeonholing one premise, using absolutes from non-absolutes, or straight-out character assassination to remove credibility from your logical post. 

 

the thing is, as days go by, more and more people, not just Colt's fans are questioning Ballard and his overall tendencies, not individualistic successes. 

 

 

and what is ballard's response? "if it gets me fired, so be it"

 

so the overall narrative tha the is inddeed stubborn regardless of being less than .500 over his tenure, is now fact, no longer opinion., 

 

[jvan1973]

34 minutes ago, AKB said:

some here have a propensity to oversimplify their "opposition's" opinion to engineer a narrative or to try and assign a tonality to one's opinion. Often time this is done here by pigeonholing one premise, using absolutes from non-absolutes, or straight-out character assassination to remove credibility from your logical post. 

 

the thing is, as days go by, more and more people, not just Colt's fans are questioning Ballard and his overall tendencies, not individualistic successes. 

 

 

and what is ballard's response? "if it gets me fired, so be it"

 

so the overall narrative tha the is inddeed stubborn regardless of being less than .500 over his tenure, is now fact, no longer opinion., 

 

I bet Ballard and his boss have had countless conversations on how they want to build the football team.  Ballard's approach is the approach Jim Irsay wants.   If you were a fan during the Polian years you should know this.   When Polian was fired I'm guessing Irsay wanted to take the Luck,  sign a bunch of FAs and take a shot.   It didn't work.   It looks like Mr Irsay has gone back to his roots.   If you think Irsay and Ballard don't have the same vision you aren't paying attention 

[RollerColt]

21 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

I bet Ballard and his boss have had countless conversations on how they want to build the football team.  Ballard's approach is the approach Jim Irsay wants.   If you were a fan during the Polian years you should know this.   When Polian was fired I'm guessing Irsay wanted to take the Luck,  sign a bunch of FAs and take a shot.   It didn't work.   It looks like Mr Irsay has gone back to his roots.   If you think Irsay and Ballard don't have the same vision you aren't paying attention 

I figured the end of 2022 made it clear Irsay was okay with Ballard’s philosophy.

[crazycolt1]

After reading these comments I am perplexed.  

It's easy to sit at home and pass judgment on Ballard without looking into the future.  

Realty has shown that Ballard has built this team with top notch players but in the AFC, it's a very challenging and competitive conference.  

While I have been very sick and have not kept up as much as I used to, there is no one that comes to mind that can replace him and do a better job. 

Just my 2 cents. 

 

[NewColtsFan]

3 hours ago, stitches said:

No on the first part, yes on the last part. I do think he should have been fired in at the end of 2022(January 2023). But once he was not fired I do not think firing him now will be a good decision. I want him to see his vision around AR through. Also, my opinion on Ballard is much more nuanced than you'd like to admit. I like a lot of things he does(how he runs the draft, draft trades, focus on athleticism, I like that he's not reckless with the team's resources, I think he runs a very tight ship and I think the team overall is very well built organizationally)... but I also dislike a lot of things he does(how he handles FA - internall vs external FAs. positional value, focus in roster building... and although I do like that he's not reckless, I do think he needs to take more chances, especially with high value positions, etc.). I think his overall strategy is more likely to put us in perpetual mediocrity rather than in prolonged contention(or prolonged suffering for that matter).

 

My worry with Ballard is not that the Colts will be bad, it's that they will be mediocre. My worry with Ballard is not that he will put us in cap hell or that he will mortgage the future(picks), my worry is that he will forever be too conservative to fight against the teams that in that particular year have decided to go all in. It's really hard to be highly competitive with the regular spending and draft pick investment, when any given year there are at least a few teams who focus their resources on a short period of contention and spend a ton more in money and picks at the same time that you are just doing the regular balanced spending. 

 

See above. I've never hidden my opinion on Ballard and I am not sure what exactly there is to own here...

 

Not sure what there is to own here?   Really?
 

I just went through your long string of comments you had with Superman.  Here’s what jumped out at me….
 

That Irsay practically had to force Ballard to draft a quarterback last year.   Care to support or explain that?   Because I thought it was the widespread view here that the two good things about the 2022 season was that (1) we’d hire a new head coach and (2) finally draft a quarterback.  When was that ever a question that off-season?   What did Irsay do to make you say he had to order Ballard to draft a QB?   
 

Your complaints that we have the same mediocre TE and DB rooms?   Interesting.  Do you really want to argue that young players DON’T get better?  Because that’s a fact in all sports, not just football.  Ballard and his head coach believe their young players going into the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years will still get better.   Oh, your fear that our lines are mediocre.  Huh?  Other than 2022 the Colts OL’s have been ranked between 1 and 10 since 2018.  How is that mediocre?  
 

Your view that Ballard should’ve drafted a quarterback years ago.   I thought this had been put to rest years ago, but apparently not.  The franchise was young but loaded and built to win in 2020, 21 and 22.  They were not going to gut a draft or two to trade up to take a young quarterback that the team was going to have to grow with and tell young players like Nelson, Smith, Kelly, Leonard and others that the Colts were going to have growing pains for years.  Irsay and Ballard felt they had an obligation to try and win those years and tried to band-aid approach at QB.   
 

As Ballard himself said in his final comment of the Jan 24 season recap… the reason we haven’t won more is that we haven’t gotten the quarterback right.  Now, the hope is the Colts HAVE gotten the QB right.   And to remind: the approach the Colts took all those years was approved in real time by Jim Irsay.  
 

I think there were other things I could point to, but I think you’ve got plenty to respond to.   I look forward to it. 

[NFLfan]

Alright, let's move on. Some here like Ballard and some don't. It is what it is.

 

[RollerColt]

1 hour ago, crazycolt1 said:

After reading these comments I am perplexed.  

It's easy to sit at home and pass judgment on Ballard without looking into the future.  

Realty has shown that Ballard has built this team with top notch players but in the AFC, it's a very challenging and competitive conference.  

While I have been very sick and have not kept up as much as I used to, there is no one that comes to mind that can replace him and do a better job. 

Just my 2 cents. 

 

I was okay with tearing the whole thing up and starting over after 2022. But now, if God forbid we are in a position where Ballard is let go, it would mean the entire ship had sunk to the bottom of the White River… and that would mean yet another rebuild and even more years of instability.

 

I am pulling for Ballard and the entire organization to succeed. I want Richardson and Steichen to be here for the long haul, and that means Ballard by extension as well.