I come to praise Chris Ballard, not to bury him.

[Kray007]

First of all, apologies to William Shakespeare for plagiarizing Julius Caesar.

Second, I know that there’s a lot of anger and hostility flowing in the direction of the Colts front office. Somewhere east of the White River, crowds are gathering, heating up tar and feathers, and passing out torches and pitchforks.

Most of the angst Centers around Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones, and the quarterback position. Let me be the first to say that I join you in your unhappiness. So far in his career, Anthony has disappointed. Some of the blame, of course, falls on Chris Ballard’s shoulders. He drafted the man and he entrusted Shane Steichen with the responsibility of developing the young man’s vast potential. Ultimately, we have no idea of how the Richardson experiment will play out. The Colts aren’t cutting ties anytime soon, and there is still a glimmer of hope that things will work out.

But, even if they don’t, I’m not ready to crucify the general manager. Drafting a quarterback might well be the biggest crapshoot in the NFL. The majority, no matter how talented, will fail. That’s a simple fact of life. The Colts spent the better part of a quarter century looking for a replacement for Bert Jones. In the interim between Jones and Manning, we saw a host of quarterbacks lining up under center, the likes of which included names like Don Majkowski, Chris Chandler, Marty Domres, Blair Kiel, and Dan Orlovsky. One first round draft choice was spent on Art Schlichter, another on Jeff George. If Anthony doesn’t work out, we simply have to suck it up, move on, and take a shot in a 2026 draft class that Mel Kiper says is six deep.

I’m not sure that there’s any potential GM hire I trust more than Chris Ballard to make the call. No less an eminence than Bill Polian peered out over the draft landscape in 1998 and, save for the intervention of a stiff necked Jim Irsay, would’ve gifted us with Ryan Leaf.

At the end of the day, after all the grumbling, we face the stark fact that our perception of this club is shaped by Anthony Richardson‘s struggles. Last year‘s club was on the cusp of the playoffs even though they were helmed by a quarterback who completed less than 50% of his passes. That is a testament to the kind of team that Chris Ballard puts on the field. As I see it, this is a team with at least a dozen pro bowl quality players…Pittman, Pierce, Downs, Raimann, Nelson, Warren, Taylor, Buckner, Franklin, Bynum, Ward, and Moore.

There is nothing wrong with Chris Ballard’s ability to identify talent. There’s no reason to burn the organization to the ground and start over from scratch with another GM, especially when you consider that finding another Bill Polian is almost as elusive as finding another Peyton Manning.

[ChaosTheory]

Drafting a quarterback might well be the biggest crapshoot in the NFL.

Agree. Apparently, not everyone does.

When they come for you (and they will shortly), ask them who is good at finding quarterbacks.

[rm1369]

Agree. Apparently, not everyone does.

When they come for you (and they will shortly), ask them who is good at finding quarterbacks.

My top issues do not include not finding a QB. It’s with a philosophy that was all but guaranteed to result in mediocrity. Something I’ve been saying since he had Luck and said he was going to waste years with an elite QB building slowly. I blame Ballard for signing Rivers and doing jack shit with the rest of the roster. I blame him for acquiring Ryan and then trusting a 3rd round rookie who had only played LT for 2 yrs in college, and a journeyman guard to play LT. I blame him for acquiring Wentz and then trotting out a DE group with no player with double digit sacks COMBINED for their CAREERS. And I blame him for drafting the rawest rookie QB ever, starting him game 1 and then benching him, starting him again, and benching him again - in basically two calendar years.

He is a decent talent evaluator but he has no plan besides "next year" and no idea how to construct a team to win. None. He seems to believe a journeyman QB is sufficient to win, but he has never assembled a complete team to make that possible. Every team has had a major obvious hole that he has been continent to wait to fill 1-3 yrs down the line.

It’s hard as fuck to find a QB. IMO if you don’t have a franchise guy you have two options 1) be aggressive in finding that guy or 2) build a complete team that can support a journeyman. To this point Ballard has done neither. The only reason they were in the position to draft a QB high was because of Irsay. And this is the best team he has ever put together and it is only because he is finally scared for his job. Otherwise CB and safety would have continued to wait like we’ve seen every other year under Ballard.

So combine my complete disagreement with his team building philosophy, with his gifting players spots and his belief that veterans don’t matter, and I can’t wait for Ballard to be gone. I’m not scared of finding a worse GM, because honestly what Ballard has done is worse than swinging big and losing. He’s made me and the fanbase apathetic. I’m turning in my season tickets at the end of this year regardless of the results. I’m tired of spending my money on a team that clearly has had no plan.

[Hoopsdoc]

For all the good Ballard has done, and he’s done a lot, he’s also had some pretty egregious brain farts.

For instance, Ballard was convinced that Danny Pinter and Matt Freaking Pryor were competent starters on the offensive line.

That decision alone basically cost us an entire season and would have been enough to get him fired in most places.

[ChoppedWood]

He fucking sucks, one of the most incompetent ass clowns in the history of the NFL. Has snuck by on the grace of a very distracted and overly loyal owner.

That time is rapidly coming to an end and soon he will be gone, and that will be a great day for this franchise.

[Racehorse]

The roster is decent. Ballard has found talent in the late rounds. I think a lot of the talent on defense was wasted under Bradley, and injuries got a few.

As to the QB, and the idea that Ballard does not want a complete team, preferring a slow build, I will give my thoughts. First, I think Irsay (may he rest in peace) had a lot to do with the QB situation, both with the Ryan, Wentz, and Rivers experiments, and how the AR situation played out He was impatient to get a guy in there, and said get the vets, and then said start the rookie. He was also the catalyst for Grigson trading for Trent Richardson. Second, Ballard said he wanted a complete team that was not 100% dependent on a Manning or Mahomes type to bail them out. I think the fact Irsay's fortune was not as liquid as most played a part in free agency, ashas been mentioned in previous years. Third, I think he made it clear that he was planning to build from the lines first, and then work out from there. He has invested a lot of capital on both lines. Yes, edge rushers don't seem to have been a hit, but Bradley's scheme was a big factor in that. Glad that guy is gone. I think it was a year too late. Last year's team could have won the division despite poor QB play if the defense was not so soft in coverage, leading to death by 1000 paper cuts. There was no Maniac to create the turnovers any longer.

This is not to say Ballard is blameless, but it puts a lot into perspective. This roster is talented enough that average QB play would win the division, and possibly get us to 11-12 wins.

[ChaosTheory]

I blame Ballard for signing Rivers and doing jack shit with the rest of the roster.

Give me a break. He signs two FA this offseason and everyone loses their minds like he's had some awakening... But in 2020 him bringing in Rivers, Xavier Rhodes, and trading a 1st for Buckner is "jack shit."

By the way, without a first he still got Pittman, Taylor, Blackmon, Pinter, and Rodgers in that draft. Top-10 in both offense and defense that year.

I blame him for acquiring Wentz and then trotting out a DE group with no player with double digit sacks COMBINED for their CAREERS.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/_/year/2021/position/ed/type/ufa

There you go, big dog. It's even sorted for you. Show me the move you were clamoring for Ballard to make. Was it Carl Lewis? Romeo Okwara?

I somehow doubt the difference between your criticism and acceptance is the highly fussed-over Denico fucking Autry.

Top-9 in scoring for both offense and defense that year, too.

I blame him for acquiring Ryan and then trusting a 3rd round rookie who had only played LT for 2 yrs in college, and a journeyman guard to play LT.

Yes, bad move. But he wasn't relying on Raimann. He wasn't supposed to go in yet, although, unlike with Richardson: baptism-by-fire worked well for him.

Pryor was supposed to be the bridge, and he never looked anything like he did in 2022 prior (heh) to that. Pinter also never looked like that before or since. 2022 was fucking bizarro world.


And I blame him for drafting the rawest rookie QB ever, starting him game 1 and then benching him, starting him again, and benching him again - in basically two calendar years.

The whole team benched him. Sorry, tapping out of a game, turns out, rubs guys the wrong way. Buckner, Nelson, and whoever else had words with him. It wasn't a small thing. That's not even considering the 47%.

AR was not benched this summer, Jones beat him out. They said it since January that they tried the baptism-by-fire route, and he was drowning. They're trying an alternate route. I'm sorry you and most others didn't believe them.


And this is the best team he has ever put together and it is only because he is finally scared for his job. Otherwise CB and safety would have continued to wait like we’ve seen every other year under Ballard.

That's great. We haven't seen a down played, but you'll say this is the best team? I guess he did sign two FA's, which is goal. I know it doesn't occur to people... but consider that we brought in, not just a new DC, but one that is radically and fundamentally different than the previous.

This one has a particular type of DB room he wants which, maybe, factors into what the GM looks for and prioritizes.

It’s hard as fuck to find a QB. IMO if you don’t have a franchise guy you have two options 1) be aggressive in finding that guy or 2) build a complete team that can support a journeyman. To this point Ballard has done neither.

1.) I don't see how drafting AR wasn't aggressive. If you listen to every pundit out there today, apparently everyone knew AR never should have been drafted at #4 (except that whole consensus top-3 QB label).

2.) This is outcome bias. There's no other way to put it. Ballard has kept his job for a decade precisely and ONLY because of what he puts around the QB. I mean, 9 years... He doesn't have Epstein files on the Irsays despite what Chopped will tell you. It's his rosters.

[YDFL Commish]

The roster is decent. Ballard has found talent in the late rounds. I think a lot of the talent on defense was wasted under Bradley, and injuries got a few.

As to the QB, and the idea that Ballard does not want a complete team, preferring a slow build, I will give my thoughts. First, I think Irsay (may he rest in peace) had a lot to do with the QB situation, both with the Ryan, Wentz, and Rivers experiments, and how the AR situation played out He was impatient to get a guy in there, and said get the vets, and then said start the rookie. He was also the catalyst for Grigson trading for Trent Richardson. Second, Ballard said he wanted a complete team that was not 100% dependent on a Manning or Mahomes type to bail them out. I think the fact Irsay's fortune was not as liquid as most played a part in free agency, ashas been mentioned in previous years. Third, I think he made it clear that he was planning to build from the lines first, and then work out from there. He has invested a lot of capital on both lines. Yes, edge rushers don't seem to have been a hit, but Bradley's scheme was a big factor in that. Glad that guy is gone. I think it was a year too late. Last year's team could have won the division despite poor QB play if the defense was not so soft in coverage, leading to death by 1000 paper cuts. There was no Maniac to create the turnovers any longer.

This is not to say Ballard is blameless, but it puts a lot into perspective. This roster is talented enough that average QB play would win the division, and possibly get us to 11-12 wins.

You Sir have put the whole situation in the proper context, that most of fandom disagrees with.

Jim became Robert, in his last few years, and was a detriment to winning. Don't get me started on Bradley though. He made Eberflus look like Belichick.

[Oldcolt]

The bottom line is winning. Ballard has what, two playoff appearances and one playoff win in 9 years. We win 9 games or so a year yes, but we wouldn't if we didn't play in the worst division in football, which we cannot seem to win. How many years do you give a guy to show you who he is? None of his teams have ever won an opening game (we aren't close to the record, it's 29 straight games without a win by the Cardinals). He chose the coach and the players for these teams. He is a mediocre talent evaluator if you go by results.

[ChoppedWood]

The bottom line is winning. Ballard has what, two playoff appearances and one playoff win in 9 years. We win 9 games or so a year yes, but we wouldn't if we didn't play in the worst division in football, which we cannot seem to win. How many years do you give a guy to show you who he is? None of his teams have ever won an opening game (we aren't close to the record, it's 29 straight games without a win by the Cardinals). He chose the coach and the players for these teams. He is a mediocre talent evaluator if you go by results.

Well said.

[Colts And Orioles]

The roster is decent. Ballard has found talent in the late rounds. I think a lot of the talent on defense was wasted under Bradley, and injuries got a few.

As to the QB, and the idea that Ballard does not want a complete team, preferring a slow build, I will give my thoughts. First, I think Irsay (may he rest in peace) had a lot to do with the QB situation, both with the Ryan, Wentz, and Rivers experiments, and how the AR situation played out He was impatient to get a guy in there, and said get the vets, and then said start the rookie. He was also the catalyst for Grigson trading for Trent Richardson. Second, Ballard said he wanted a complete team that was not 100% dependent on a Manning or Mahomes type to bail them out. I think the fact Irsay's fortune was not as liquid as most played a part in free agency, as has been mentioned in previous years. Third, I think he made it clear that he was planning to build from the lines first, and then work out from there. He has invested a lot of capital on both lines. Yes, edge rushers don't seem to have been a hit, but Bradley's scheme was a big factor in that. Glad that guy is gone. I think it was a year too late. Last year's team could have won the division despite poor QB play if the defense was not so soft in coverage, leading to death by 1000 paper cuts. There was no Maniac to create the turnovers any longer.

This is not to say Ballard is blameless, but it puts a lot into perspective. This roster is talented enough that average QB play would win the division title, and possibly get us to 11-12 wins.





o


Posts like this are so reactionary, biased, and irrational ...... I prefer the more objective and articulate takes, such as this one.

o





He fucking sucks, one of the most incompetent ass-clowns in the history of the NFL. He has snuck by on the grace of a very distracted and overly loyal owner.

That time is rapidly coming to an end, and soon he will be gone ...... and that will be a great day for this franchise.

[rm1369]

Give me a break. He signs two FA this offseason and everyone loses their minds like he's had some awakening... But in 2020 him bringing in Rivers, Xavier Rhodes, and trading a 1st for Buckner is "jack shit."
…….

2.) This is outcome bias. There's no other way to put it. Ballard has kept his job for a decade precisely and ONLY because of what he puts around the QB. I mean, 9 years... He doesn't have Epstein files on the Irsays despite what Chopped will tell you. It's his rosters.

I started to type out an individual response to your points, like who the leading WRs were the Rivers year and how everyone except apparently Ballard knew it was an issue. How long everyone knew the secondary was an issue but we always liked our guys. How low balling Autry is a prime example of Ballard’s conservatism that keeps the books looking good but loses games, and an example of his stated disregard for the value of veteran leadership. Etc. But then I read Oldcolts post and thought better of it. None of it matters. Ballard’s fans consistently see a genius and find excuses for his consistent failures. I’ll just ask this - why has such a well run team filled with so much talent never won the worst division in football under his brilliant leadership? They aren’t in a division with a power house. In fact all three other teams in the division have finished first. Houston and Jacksonville have finished last in the division and turned around and won the division all within Ballard’s tenure with the Colts. Tennessee finished last in the division a year before Ballard and won the division during his tenure. So every other team in the division has faced adversity and won. But not a Ballard led team. Seems strange for such a good GM….

[Dam8610]

My top issues do not include not finding a QB. It’s with a philosophy that was all but guaranteed to result in mediocrity. Something I’ve been saying since he had Luck and said he was going to waste years with an elite QB building slowly. I blame Ballard for signing Rivers and doing jack shit with the rest of the roster. I blame him for acquiring Ryan and then trusting a 3rd round rookie who had only played LT for 2 yrs in college, and a journeyman guard to play LT. I blame him for acquiring Wentz and then trotting out a DE group with no player with double digit sacks COMBINED for their CAREERS. And I blame him for drafting the rawest rookie QB ever, starting him game 1 and then benching him, starting him again, and benching him again - in basically two calendar years.

He is a decent talent evaluator but he has no plan besides "next year" and no idea how to construct a team to win. None. He seems to believe a journeyman QB is sufficient to win, but he has never assembled a complete team to make that possible. Every team has had a major obvious hole that he has been continent to wait to fill 1-3 yrs down the line.

It’s hard as fuck to find a QB. IMO if you don’t have a franchise guy you have two options 1) be aggressive in finding that guy or 2) build a complete team that can support a journeyman. To this point Ballard has done neither. The only reason they were in the position to draft a QB high was because of Irsay. And this is the best team he has ever put together and it is only because he is finally scared for his job. Otherwise CB and safety would have continued to wait like we’ve seen every other year under Ballard.

So combine my complete disagreement with his team building philosophy, with his gifting players spots and his belief that veterans don’t matter, and I can’t wait for Ballard to be gone. I’m not scared of finding a worse GM, because honestly what Ballard has done is worse than swinging big and losing. He’s made me and the fanbase apathetic. I’m turning in my season tickets at the end of this year regardless of the results. I’m tired of spending my money on a team that clearly has had no plan.

I agree with you about the handling of Richardson, but as Racehorse said, I think that's the result of ownership meddling in part. I strongly felt AR should sit for a year. It sounds like the coaches and scouts may have also felt that way. But pressure from ownership can change those opinions.

In regard to the issues you bring up with the team building philosophy, he inherited Grigson's mess when he came in, he knew those teams overachieved because Andrew Luck drug them to success. He wanted to build slowly because he wanted to put a talented roster around his franchise QB. Then his franchise QB did the unthinkable and retired at 30. So there was a roster of talented players with no QB. The QB position had to get settled first, and after 1 successful experiment, 1 failed experiment, and 1 colossal failure of an experiment, the Colts finally had a top 5 pick and Irsay insisted on drafting a QB with it. That was Richardson. As far as the secondary issue in 2023, why invest in a position when you expect to be bad? In 2024, he found Womack off the street who played like a starter.

The OL issue I can't really say anything about other than I hope he learned from it, because trusting Matt Pryor as your LT was far from ideal.

For all the good Ballard has done, and he’s done a lot, he’s also had some pretty egregious brain farts.

For instance, Ballard was convinced that Danny Pinter and Matt Freaking Pryor were competent starters on the offensive line.

That decision alone basically cost us an entire season and would have been enough to get him fired in most places.

Ballard came from KC, and his team building philosophy is nearly identical to Brett Veach's, the latter of whom just came 1 game short of winning 3 consecutive Super Bowls. The only tangible differences I can find between their team building styles is that Veach drafted Mahomes, and Veach had an opportunity to get a haul of draft picks for a player he didn't want to sign long term.

The roster is decent. Ballard has found talent in the late rounds. I think a lot of the talent on defense was wasted under Bradley, and injuries got a few.

As to the QB, and the idea that Ballard does not want a complete team, preferring a slow build, I will give my thoughts. First, I think Irsay (may he rest in peace) had a lot to do with the QB situation, both with the Ryan, Wentz, and Rivers experiments, and how the AR situation played out He was impatient to get a guy in there, and said get the vets, and then said start the rookie. He was also the catalyst for Grigson trading for Trent Richardson. Second, Ballard said he wanted a complete team that was not 100% dependent on a Manning or Mahomes type to bail them out. I think the fact Irsay's fortune was not as liquid as most played a part in free agency, ashas been mentioned in previous years.

Third, I think he made it clear that he was planning to build from the lines first, and then work out from there. He has invested a lot of capital on both lines. Yes, edge rushers don't seem to have been a hit, but Bradley's scheme was a big factor in that. Glad that guy is gone. I think it was a year too late. Last year's team could have won the division despite poor QB play if the defense was not so soft in coverage, leading to death by 1000 paper cuts. There was no Maniac to create the turnovers any longer.

This is not to say Ballard is blameless, but it puts a lot into perspective. This roster is talented enough that average QB play would win the division, and possibly get us to 11-12 wins.

I think this is pretty much accurate. Owners typically have more say in QB decisions than we realize, because ultimately they're the ones dishing out the ridiculous contracts attached. Are there things I feel could've been done differently, both with regard to the QB position and general roster building? Yes, the primary one being that I think the "moving heaven and earth" talk from Ballard should've been followed through by trading whatever it took to get to 1 and take Stroud. That said, everyone has their pet QB move that should've been made, whether it's Stafford, Mayfield, Hurts, Love, Herbert, etc. They ultimately went with Richardson, and the book isn't fully closed on him yet. It's not a good look for him to lose a QB battle with Janiel Dones, but he's 23. He could come back next year, or maybe even later this year, and have everything click.

The bottom line is winning. Ballard has what, two playoff appearances and one playoff win in 9 years. We win 9 games or so a year yes, but we wouldn't if we didn't play in the worst division in football, which we cannot seem to win. How many years do you give a guy to show you who he is? None of his teams have ever won an opening game (we aren't close to the record, it's 29 straight games without a win by the Cardinals). He chose the coach and the players for these teams. He is a mediocre talent evaluator if you go by results.

So would you say Ryan Grigson was a better GM?

[ChaosTheory]

He is a mediocre talent evaluator if you go by results.


So would you say Ryan Grigson was a better GM?

Beat me to it. But, yeah, it's a dead horse. It's not about comparing Ballard to Grigson. It's the flaw in the reasoning.

It's the same approach I see people take in the Manning-Brady debate where they point to 2008 when the Patriots went 11-5 without Brady... "they missed the playoffs without him."

Or the Seahawks winning the division and a playoff game at 7-9 in 2010.

Two HC/GM's in these examples. I guess the former is Belichick failing without Brady and the latter is Carroll getting "results." Outcome bias, same as poker.

[Oldcolt]

Dam, not sure how I felt about Grigson has anything to do with how I feel about Ballard. I am not upset because of any one QB I think he should have gotten. He just has not gotten anyone. Nine years is enough to find at least one competent QB. As far as excuses for why you lose, every loser has a ton of them. What ifs abound with teams like ours.

[rm1369]

I agree with you about the handling of Richardson, but as Racehorse said, I think that's the result of ownership meddling in part. I strongly felt AR should sit for a year. It sounds like the coaches and scouts may have also felt that way. But pressure from ownership can change those opinions.

In regard to the issues you bring up with the team building philosophy, he inherited Grigson's mess when he came in, he knew those teams overachieved because Andrew Luck drug them to success. He wanted to build slowly because he wanted to put a talented roster around his franchise QB. Then his franchise QB did the unthinkable and retired at 30. So there was a roster of talented players with no QB. The QB position had to get settled first, and after 1 successful experiment, 1 failed experiment, and 1 colossal failure of an experiment, the Colts finally had a top 5 pick and Irsay insisted on drafting a QB with it. That was Richardson. As far as the secondary issue in 2023, why invest in a position when you expect to be bad? In 2024, he found Womack off the street who played like a starter.

The OL issue I can't really say anything about other than I hope he learned from it, because trusting Matt Pryor as your LT was far from ideal.



Ballard came from KC, and his team building philosophy is nearly identical to Brett Veach's, the latter of whom just came 1 game short of winning 3 consecutive Super Bowls. The only tangible differences I can find between their team building styles is that Veach drafted Mahomes, and Veach had an opportunity to get a haul of draft picks for a player he didn't want to sign long term.



I think this is pretty much accurate. Owners typically have more say in QB decisions than we realize, because ultimately they're the ones dishing out the ridiculous contracts attached. Are there things I feel could've been done differently, both with regard to the QB position and general roster building? Yes, the primary one being that I think the "moving heaven and earth" talk from Ballard should've been followed through by trading whatever it took to get to 1 and take Stroud. That said, everyone has their pet QB move that should've been made, whether it's Stafford, Mayfield, Hurts, Love, Herbert, etc. They ultimately went with Richardson, and the book isn't fully closed on him yet. It's not a good look for him to lose a QB battle with Janiel Dones, but he's 23. He could come back next year, or maybe even later this year, and have everything click.



So would you say Ryan Grigson was a better GM?

As I pointed out, the three other teams bottomed out and then won the division in less time the Ballard as been GM. The team Ballard inherited was not significantly worse than those teams. Believing they were is the result of the same outcome bias Chaos is accusing people of using.

Is Ballard a better GM than Grigson. Yes, maybe? IMO Grigson has the correct philosophy for the modern NFL, Ballard’s philosophy is antiquated. Grigson’s primary issue was that he sucked at a talent evaluator. In that regard, Ballard is certainly superior, no argument. But I don’t believe Ballard will ever win a SB, and I believe that even if he had Luck at QB. Why? Because he’s too risk adverse to ever make the moves to help his team peak. Ballard supporters always talk out of both sides of their mouths on this point. They claim that he’s not been aggressive only because he hasn’t had the QB. They say he didn’t move up to get the QB because it was too risky without drafting high. Then they defend his decisions that kept the team from bottoming out and drafting high. Irsay’s decision is the only reason the team was in a position to draft AR.

Rivers wasn’t a successful experiment, he was an example of Ballard’s failed philosophy. I don’t know how anyone can defend signing rivers and not going all in. He was a 1-2 yr QB max. Either swing for a deep run or don’t sign him.

Everyone talks about how talented the team has been over this run, but every single year it has had some aspect that is bottom of the league that he just does nothing with. Of course pointing that out does no good because it gets in to what I mentioned before - “why solve CB (or DE or TE, or LT, etc) when the team doesn’t have a QB…” And yes the DC sucked,but how was he ever brought here? Ballard.

I see plenty of differences between KC and Ballard. How did they draft Mahomes? They made a risky move and went and got him. The exact thing Ballard has not done for a QB, always stating it was too risky. There are plenty of other things they have done that are completely unlike Ballard.

[ChoppedWood]

As I pointed out, the three other teams bottomed out and then won the division in less time the Ballard as been GM. The team Ballard inherited was not significantly worse than those teams. Believing they were is the result of the same outcome bias Chaos is accusing people of using.

Is Ballard a better GM than Grigson. Yes, maybe? IMO Grigson has the correct philosophy for the modern NFL, Ballard’s philosophy is antiquated. Grigson’s primary issue was that he sucked at a talent evaluator. In that regard, Ballard is certainly superior, no argument. But I don’t believe Ballard will ever win a SB, and I believe that even if he had Luck at QB. Why? Because he’s too risk adverse to ever make the moves to help his team peak. Ballard supporters always talk out of both sides of their mouths on this point. They claim that he’s not been aggressive only because he hasn’t had the QB. They say he didn’t move up to get the QB because it was too risky without drafting high. Then they defend his decisions that kept the team from bottoming out and drafting high. Irsay’s decision is the only reason the team was in a position to draft AR.

Rivers wasn’t a successful experiment, he was an example of Ballard’s failed philosophy. I don’t know how anyone can defend signing rivers and not going all in. He was a 1-2 yr QB max. Either swing for a deep run or don’t sign him.

Everyone talks about how talented the team has been over this run, but every single year it has had some aspect that is bottom of the league that he just does nothing with. Of course pointing that out does no good because it gets in to what I mentioned before - “why solve CB (or DE or TE, or LT, etc) when the team doesn’t have a QB…” And yes the DC sucked,but how was he ever brought here? Ballard.

I see plenty of differences between KC and Ballard. How did they draft Mahomes? They made a risky move and went and got him. The exact thing Ballard has not done for a QB, always stating it was too risky. There are plenty of other things they have done that are completely unlike Ballard.

When I hear Ballard pontificate, there is no way any team in the NFL can be any good, just not possible. Every team should be very tightly banded together in a 7 to 10 win window and that is the very best any team could accomplish because it is SO DAMN HARD.

Yet every single year I seem to see multiple teams that win 12,13,14, and even an occasional 15 games, some of them even do this for several years in a row. I am sure they must be cheating or something because I believe in Ballard and by God, 8 wins is pretty damn good, he should get a raise!

[ChaosTheory]

Yet every single year I seem to see multiple teams that win 12,13,14, and even an occasional 15 games, some of them even do this for several years in a row.

Aside from the scarce true elites, these are short bursts. When you compare a team against the field rather than another team... There's always going to be a different slant to it.

I wonder how many people realize that since 2018, when Pagano left and the new regime started, the Colts have the best record in the division.

Colts 58-57-1
Titans 57-59
Texans 52-63-1
Jaguars 37-79

[apballin]

Ballard isn’t solely making decisions, clearly Jim would intervene when he felt necessary and clearly he gives his coaching staff creative control based on players they like for whatever reason.

Certain moves have Ballards name written on them and you can tell, certain moves were specifically for a coach and at the time it was obvious, and then hiring a guy off ESPN set, obviously the owner.

I think Ballard does a good job of balancing it all

[Hoopsdoc]

When I hear Ballard pontificate, there is no way any team in the NFL can be any good, just not possible. Every team should be very tightly banded together in a 7 to 10 win window and that is the very best any team could accomplish because it is SO DAMN HARD.

Yet every single year I seem to see multiple teams that win 12,13,14, and even an occasional 15 games, some of them even do this for several years in a row. I am sure they must be cheating or something because I believe in Ballard and by God, 8 wins is pretty damn good, he should get a raise!

The 12+ win teams, without exception, have great quarterbacks. The nfl is a never ending search for a good quarterback. Without that, you have nothing and you’re better off winning 1 game than 9, because the only real way of GETTING a good quarterback is through the draft.

And even then it’s a crapshoot as Colts fans know all too well.

[rm1369]

Aside from the scarce true elites, these are short bursts. When you compare a team against the field rather than another team... There's always going to be a different slant to it.

I wonder how many people realize that since 2018, when Pagano left and the new regime started, the Colts have the best record in the division.

Colts 58-57-1
Titans 57-59
Texans 52-63-1
Jaguars 37-79

I did. It’s an example of my issue with his philosophy. Best record and not a division title to show for it. Just year after year of middle of the road finishes. Mediocrity. The numbers would be even “better” (worse) if not for Irsay’s intervention. You can crow about it, but it’s exact what I hate about Ballard’s style. And I expect a similar outcome this year.

[rm1369]

Ballard is solely making decisions, clearly Jim would intervene when he felt necessary and clearly he gives his coaching staff creative control based on players they like for whatever reason.

Certain moves have Ballards name written on them and you can tell, certain moves were specifically for a coach and at the time it was obvious, and then hiring a guy off ESPN set, obviously the owner.

I think Ballard does a good job of balancing it all

You can probably convince me Irsay added pressure to start AR. After year after year of reclamation projects I could see it taking its toll on Jim’s patience. It did with the majority of the fan base. I’m sure that played into the one thing we know was Irsay’s decision- hiring Saturday and tanking the season to actually be in a position to draft a QB. Everything else is Ballard. You likely can’t convince me otherwise. Signing an aging QB and doing a slow rebuild with the rest of the roster is exactly Ballard’s philosophy at work.

[Dam8610]

Dam, not sure how I felt about Grigson has anything to do with how I feel about Ballard. I am not upset because of any one QB I think he should have gotten. He just has not gotten anyone. Nine years is enough to find at least one competent QB. As far as excuses for why you lose, every loser has a ton of them. What ifs abound with teams like ours.

Because firing Ballard isn't the end. He has to be replaced. He could be replaced by a talentless hack that Lucks into a franchise QB and gets him killed to the point that said franchise QB retires because of his injury history.

There haven't been many opportunities to add a franchise QB since Luck's retirement.

Current starters drafted 2020 or later: Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Brock Purdy, Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, Cam Ward

Eliminating the ones that were drafted before the Colts had a pick, we are left with: Jalen Hurts, Brock Purdy

Current starters acquired via trade or free agency since 2020: Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, Sam Darnold

So, realistically, the current starting QBs the Colts had the opportunity to acquire were: Jalen Hurts, Matthew Stafford, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield, Brock Purdy, Geno Smith, and Sam Darnold

Jalen Hurts: The Eagles sat Hurts for the better part of a year, and that was after he had over 40 college starts. Given what happened with AR, do we think the Colts would have done the same, or that he would have turned out to be as good here?

Matthew Stafford: Many Colts fans wanted him, but three 1s was far too high a price for Stafford.

Jared Goff: Offloaded in the Stafford trade, was thought to be on his way out of the league at the time he was traded. I will say this was an opportunity missed, but it may have been a completely unknown opportunity to the FO.

Baker Mayfield: Also thought to be on his way out of the league when he was a free agent, he appeared to be a bridge signing for the Bucs after Brady retired.

Brock Purdy: The whole league missed on him, including the 49ers, who luckily stumbled into him.

Geno Smith: Was considered a bust as a free agent and an aging league average starting QB when traded to the Raiders this offseason.

Sam Darnold: Started for two different teams and performed horribly before having a career renaissance under Kevin O'Connell last year.

MAYBE three of those guys (Goff, Mayfield, Purdy) would've been as successful with the Colts, and it's questionable for each. What this exercise tells me more than anything is that being patient with AR is the right move since the Colts chose to draft him instead of trading up for Stroud.

As I pointed out, the three other teams bottomed out and then won the division in less time the Ballard as been GM. The team Ballard inherited was not significantly worse than those teams. Believing they were is the result of the same outcome bias Chaos is accusing people of using.

Is Ballard a better GM than Grigson. Yes, maybe? IMO Grigson has the correct philosophy for the modern NFL, Ballard’s philosophy is antiquated. Grigson’s primary issue was that he sucked at a talent evaluator. In that regard, Ballard is certainly superior, no argument. But I don’t believe Ballard will ever win a SB, and I believe that even if he had Luck at QB. Why? Because he’s too risk adverse to ever make the moves to help his team peak. Ballard supporters always talk out of both sides of their mouths on this point. They claim that he’s not been aggressive only because he hasn’t had the QB. They say he didn’t move up to get the QB because it was too risky without drafting high. Then they defend his decisions that kept the team from bottoming out and drafting high. Irsay’s decision is the only reason the team was in a position to draft AR.

Rivers wasn’t a successful experiment, he was an example of Ballard’s failed philosophy. I don’t know how anyone can defend signing rivers and not going all in. He was a 1-2 yr QB max. Either swing for a deep run or don’t sign him.

Everyone talks about how talented the team has been over this run, but every single year it has had some aspect that is bottom of the league that he just does nothing with. Of course pointing that out does no good because it gets in to what I mentioned before - “why solve CB (or DE or TE, or LT, etc) when the team doesn’t have a QB…” And yes the DC sucked,but how was he ever brought here? Ballard.

I see plenty of differences between KC and Ballard. How did they draft Mahomes? They made a risky move and went and got him. The exact thing Ballard has not done for a QB, always stating it was too risky. There are plenty of other things they have done that are completely unlike Ballard.

Each of those teams has drafted a QB at 1 or 2 in that time as well. That makes a huge difference. If the Colts had Joe Burrow, C.J. Stroud, Caleb Williams, or Jayden Daniels, they'd be running away with this division every year.

Ballard is unquestionably a better talent evaluator than Grigson, and I would wholeheartedly disagree with the idea that "Try to cover talent evaluation and drafting deficiencies by throwing a bunch of money around in free agency" is a winning roster building philosophy in the modern NFL.

Rivers got the Colts to the playoffs and retired a year earlier than expected. His time here was a success (and I hate Rivers, so I don't like admitting that), it was just shorter than expected. As someone else pointed out, I think Wentz could've been a success had he not been an idiot and gotten the COVID vaccine. Everyone here knows I would've traded whatever it took to get to 1 and draft Stroud, but AR isn't necessarily done. Again, if you get rid of Ballard, you have to replace him. I know I would be pissed if 5 years from now, we're talking about how another Ryan Grigson type has destroyed the team while we watch top 10 QB AR start for the Rams or Raiders or Seahawks.

The team has had a lot of talent with no QB, it's a truth that anyone who knows football can recognize. You don't get to near .500 with bad QB play if your roster sucks. Those teams typically pick 1 or 2. The 2011 Colts earned the #1 pick because the roster around Manning was bad or aging, and Manning got hurt. Not fixing the CB position in 2023 makes sense because it allowed for a lot of the players the Colts just drafted to get PT, which allowed Jaylon Jones to develop into a starter, and in 2024, Ballard found a starter off the street in Womack. I agree that Matt Pryor as starting LT was a terrible decision, I won't defend that, but you can find bad decisions on any GM's resume. As for hiring Bradley, was that Ballard’s pick, or Reich's? That said, firing Reich was an opportunity to fire Bradley that Ballard didn't take.

I see two major differences between Veach and Ballard as team builders:

1) The Chiefs lucked into a franchise QB being available at 10 and traded up to get him. They also sat him for the first year and he credits that for a great deal.of his NFL success.

2) Veach was able to trade Tyreek Hill for an extra half of a draft in 2022 and 2 extra picks in 2023. That trade has been the catalyst of their recent success.

The Colts have not had the level of good fortune to have a franchise QB available at 10 or to have a player that another team would trade as much as the Dolphins traded to get Hill. They have Taylor, but the RB position is devalued in the modern NFL and I doubt anyone would trade a 1, let alone a package of picks like the Dolphins traded, for him.

[apballin]

You can probably convince me Irsay added pressure to start AR. After year after year of reclamation projects I could see it taking its toll on Jim’s patience. It did with the majority of the fan base. I’m sure that played into the one thing we know was Irsay’s decision- hiring Saturday and tanking the season to actually be in a position to draft a QB. Everything else is Ballard. You likely can’t convince me otherwise. Signing an aging QB and doing a slow rebuild with the rest of the roster is exactly Ballard’s philosophy at work.

He’s 28 and I’m sure Steichen had a say in this. If Ballard just called shots and slammed the gavel we would have Jordan Love right now

[Oldcolt]

If I understand you Dam you're perfect for this team. You do not want to get rid of Ballard because there would be a chance we get someone worse. So let's play this safe and stay with proven mediocrity. The issue is that there are teams out there that don't play it safe. Yes, most of them fail (like this 'safe' team has the last decade) but every once in a while they hit, and when they do you cannot compete with them by being safe and mediocre. In addition Ballards philosophy has never worked and never will. He believes you buy physical talent and ignore how they play football. He believes his coaches can coach them up. They have failed miserably at that. So yes I want him gone (if he hit on one physically talented guy-AR for instance- I would change my mind, but he hasn't)

[rm1369]

He’s 28 and I’m sure Steichen had a say in this. If Ballard just called shots and slammed the gavel we would have Jordan Love right now

I’m talking about Rivers, not Jones. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of the DJ decision, but I think it was a completely stupid move to sign rivers and not go all in with him. All Ballard’s supporters will point out (like Dam is) that Ballard hasn’t drafted high enough to get a franchise guy. The reason he hasn’t drafted high enough is because of moves like that. I would have been fine going all in for 1-2 years with Rivers origins with starting a complete scrub and bottoming out. I wasn’t fine with splitting the middle like Ballard did. Moves like that are why the team is where it is - the only team in the division to not have a division title in Ballard’s tenure.

[Racehorse]

I’m talking about Rivers, not Jones. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of the DJ decision, but I think it was a completely stupid move to sign rivers and not go all in with him. All Ballard’s supporters will point out (like Dam is) that Ballard hasn’t drafted high enough to get a franchise guy. The reason he hasn’t drafted high enough is because of moves like that. I would have been fine going all in for 1-2 years with Rivers origins with starting a complete scrub and bottoming out. I wasn’t fine with splitting the middle like Ballard did. Moves like that are why the team is where it is - the only team in the division to not have a division title in Ballard’s tenure.

I feel this is the year that ends. I know a lot of you don't want that to happen, because of irrational hate for Ballard, but I think our roster is good enough, if we can get solid QB play out of Jones. Houston is not as good as some think, and neither is Stroud. Jaguars are in the same boat, although Hunter might be a huge help. Lawrence is JAG at QB. Titans are the Titans, talentless, and starting a rookie QB. Maybe one of those three surprises me, but I think we have just as good of a shot as anyone in the division, with solid QB play. Heck, we were close with the 55th ranked QB last year.

[rm1369]

If I understand you Dam you're perfect for this team. You do not want to get rid of Ballard because there would be a chance we get someone worse. So let's play this safe and stay with proven mediocrity. The issue is that there are teams out there that don't play it safe. Yes, most of them fail (like this 'safe' team has the last decade) but every once in a while they hit, and when they do you cannot compete with them by being safe and mediocre. In addition Ballards philosophy has never worked and never will. He believes you buy physical talent and ignore how they play football. He believes his coaches can coach them up. They have failed miserably at that. So yes I want him gone (if he hit on one physically talented guy-AR for instance- I would change my mind, but he hasn't)

The best thing that ever happened to Ballard was Grigson. It has allowed Ballard to be Teflon with certain portions of the fan base. Guys like Dam are scared to change because it could be worse. The crazy thing is that when you point out how other teams have rebuilt quicker that the Colts, they will point out (like Dam has) that they were able to do it because they had higher draft picks than the Colts have had. That’s the whole point! Ballard’s philosophy helps keep them in mediocrity. His conservatism limits their valleys but it also clips their peaks. And you don’t win without peaks. Evidenced by the constant 2nd and 3rd place division finishes in each year.

The other thing you notice is that when other teams make a move it was always that they got lucky. It’s never that they went and made something happen, it’s always that they are lucky. Now when Ballard hits a franchise LT in the 3rd it’s an example of his genius, not luck that bailed him out like other teams. But fuck it, what’s the saying- Better to be lucky than good. I guess I’d prefer a “lucky” GM then. According to his supporters he’s had the worst run of luck in the history of the NFL. Time to move on from Bad Luck Ballard.

[Oldcolt]

Racehorse not sure who you meant this for but for me I have supported Ballard until this year. I don't hate him and it is certainly not irrational to want change after 9 years of mediocrity. We have been mediocre so long that your dream scenario is us making the playoffs. It is a dream probably only possible in our division.

[Racehorse]

Racehorse not sure who you meant this for but for me I have supported Ballard until this year. I don't hate him and it is certainly not irrational to want change after 9 years of mediocrity. We have been mediocre so long that your dream scenario is us making the playoffs. It is a dream probably only possible in our division.

No, the ones who have been griping for the past 6 years.

[Oldcolt]

I think Ballards idea of drafting for physical talent and trying to coach them up was an interesting one and was worth the attempt. I supported him in trying this method. At some point I think most would have to admit it just doesn't work at this level.

[ChaosTheory]

I did. It’s an example of my issue with his philosophy. Best record and not a division title to show for it. Just year after year of middle of the road finishes. Mediocrity. The numbers would be even “better” (worse) if not for Irsay’s intervention. You can crow about it, but it’s exact what I hate about Ballard’s style. And I expect a similar outcome this year.

I'm not crowing. I don't think I've ever even brought that stat up, let alone bragged about it. I'm just pointing out that the "no division titles" narrative has a particular connotation and I would wager that most fans would be surprised to learn that the Colts have the best record.

Division titles aren't meaningless, but they're also not binary like they're being presented. Like any stat, there is context. Nobody here cared too much about a division title in 2018 when we beat the division champs twice on the road, including the playoffs. Neither did the Texans.

Congrats to JAX for taking the division in 2022 at 9-8 while the rest of the division was imploding. We were 11-5 in 2020 and lost a tie-breaker. Steichen was a bad 4-yard pass away from the division title with Gardner fucking Minshew at QB in '23.

The Texans earned the 3rd, 3rd, and 2nd overall draft picks consecutively from '22-'24 after two overrated years with Watson. And then the retarded Browns gave HOU THREE more 1st-rounders, a 3rd, and two 4ths in that same stretch. And they barely got by the Colts the past two years with Gardner fucking Minshew and a 47% passer.

TEN was in a similar boat with a solid roster and underwhelming QB play until Ryan Tannehill was available. They had four straight 9-win seasons, but by chance, that resulted in two playoff berths. Both of our 9-win seasons sent us home.


I think it was a completely stupid move to sign rivers and not go all in with him.

What does that mean?

[ChaosTheory]

Guys like Dam are scared to change because it could be worse.

Not to speak for him, but I've read him say it, and I agree... It's not so much fear of something worse.

It's fear of booting a guy who puts out a good roster and THEN landing a QB. He's right. If we had one of those QB's listed, the Colts would run away with this division yearly.

[rm1369]

No, the ones who have been griping for the past 6 years.

That would be me. Actually I’ve criticized him since his 2nd offseason when he cut vets, rolled out his long term rebuild plan with a franchise QB in place, made statements minimizing the importance of the QB (IMO), and started minimizing the importance of veteran leadership on a team (coaches job). None of my criticisms have been hindsight. I said then that his methods would lead to mediocrity. I went so far as to do an analysis of the turnover starters on SB winning rosters to show how the little continuity there actually is year to year in the NFL. What in the world has he done that has proven me wrong or should make me rethink my position?

I haven’t always wanted him fired. I even stated early that he needed time to fully prove out his philosophy. I recognize that starting down a path and switching quickly usually isn’t productive. I also constantly heard he’d flip a switch and become aggressive - next offseason. Season after season it didn’t happen and I heard all the excuses. This is the first offseason where maybe it’s true, but only because he’s finally about to be fired. IMO his philosophy has been proven out. It’s lead to exactly what I thought it would- a consistent record that doesn’t bottom out but never reaches anything higher either. Give Ballard a franchise QB and certainly the bar is raised some. But the team IMO would never peak due to his philosophy. I loved the Polian Colts, but Bill had a very similar philosophy that saw the greatest QB ever IMO win only one SB. I’ve seen a similar philosophy play out in GB with the same results. I’m simply not a fan even when paired with a historically great QB. Paired with mediocre QB play and it has me turning in my season tickets.

[Oldcolt]

Why on earth does everyone think we have such a great team? The only quasi all pro on this team is a guard. We have zero difference makers on defense, unless you count Buckner, who wasn't even drafted by us.

[omahacolt]

You can probably convince me Irsay added pressure to start AR. After year after year of reclamation projects I could see it taking its toll on Jim’s patience. It did with the majority of the fan base. I’m sure that played into the one thing we know was Irsay’s decision- hiring Saturday and tanking the season to actually be in a position to draft a QB. Everything else is Ballard. You likely can’t convince me otherwise. Signing an aging QB and doing a slow rebuild with the rest of the roster is exactly Ballard’s philosophy at work.

starting Gardner minshew wouldn't have really inspired much confidence in the fan base

[Racehorse]

That would be me. Actually I’ve criticized him since his 2nd offseason when he cut vets, rolled out his long term rebuild plan with a franchise QB in place, made statements minimizing the importance of the QB (IMO), and started minimizing the importance of veteran leadership on a team (coaches job). None of my criticisms have been hindsight. I said then that his methods would lead to mediocrity. I went so far as to do an analysis of the turnover starters on SB winning rosters to show how the little continuity there actually is year to year in the NFL. What in the world has he done that has proven me wrong or should make me rethink my position?

I haven’t always wanted him fired. I even stated early that he needed time to fully prove out his philosophy. I recognize that starting down a path and switching quickly usually isn’t productive. I also constantly heard he’d flip a switch and become aggressive - next offseason. Season after season it didn’t happen and I heard all the excuses. This is the first offseason where maybe it’s true, but only because he’s finally about to be fired. IMO his philosophy has been proven out. It’s lead to exactly what I thought it would- a consistent record that doesn’t bottom out but never reaches anything higher either. Give Ballard a franchise QB and certainly the bar is raised some. But the team IMO would never peak due to his philosophy. I loved the Polian Colts, but Bill had a very similar philosophy that saw the greatest QB ever IMO win only one SB. I’ve seen a similar philosophy play out in GB with the same results. I’m simply not a fan even when paired with a historically great QB. Paired with mediocre QB play and it has me turning in my season tickets.

Again, you have to consider the markets. Green Bay and Indianapolis are small markets. It takes them a generational quarterback to get them into elite territory. We had manning, GB had Favre, and then Rodgers. KC has Mahomes. Small markets do not attract free agents like the big ones do, and their owners do not have cash to overpay signing bonuses. Then we had Luck to mask deficiencies and get us to 11-5 nearly every year. Do I wish Ballard had dome some things differently? You bet I do, but I understand why a lot of things we wanted did not happen. The only real miss I see at QB was not getting Baker. I remember most here were against it, too. It seemed like an illogical choice, and it took him three teams to find success. Maybe Jones can do that for us.

I will give you props for coming and admitting your position.

[omahacolt]

Why on earth does everyone think we have such a great team? The only quasi all pro on this team is a guard. We have zero difference makers on defense, unless you count Buckner, who wasn't even drafted by us.

it is a solid roster. that is a problem with Ballard that I see. he gets a lot of B players and very few super stars. not really been killing the 1st round

[YDFL Commish]

I feel this is the year that ends. I know a lot of you don't want that to happen, because of irrational hate for Ballard, but I think our roster is good enough, if we can get solid QB play out of Jones. Houston is not as good as some think, and neither is Stroud. Jaguars are in the same boat, although Hunter might be a huge help. Lawrence is JAG at QB. Titans are the Titans, talentless, and starting a rookie QB. Maybe one of those three surprises me, but I think we have just as good of a shot as anyone in the division, with solid QB play. Heck, we were close with the 55th ranked QB last year.

I honestly don't know how a team with the 55th ranked QB and 28th ranked defense wins 8 games? Statistical anomaly, a credit to offensive coaching, or a better than average roster?

I sincerely doubt that this has ever happened in the NFL before.

[rm1369]

I honestly don't know how a team with the 55th ranked QB and 28th ranked defense wins 8 games? Statistical anomaly, a credit to offensive coaching, or a better than average roster?

I sincerely doubt that this has ever happened in the NFL before.

Because the toughest strength of schedule this team has had in the Ballard era is 23rd. Divisions play a huge role in that and the AFC South has also been the worst division in football over Ballard’s tenure. That’s how good he has been. Imagine if he played in an actually competitive division.

[Dam8610]

Not to speak for him, but I've read him say it, and I agree... It's not so much fear of something worse.

It's fear of booting a guy who puts out a good roster and THEN landing a QB. He's right. If we had one of those QB's listed, the Colts would run away with this division yearly.

I mean that would suck as well, but my biggest fear is another Grigson, whether or not he gets a franchise QB. Ballard can build a roster. If you replace him, will the new guy be able to build a roster?

Why on earth does everyone think we have such a great team? The only quasi all pro on this team is a guard. We have zero difference makers on defense, unless you count Buckner, who wasn't even drafted by us.

What does it matter how talent was acquired? If the Colts signed a QB no one here had ever heard of off the street tomorrow and he won 2025 NFL MVP, would you care that the Colts didn't draft him? Also, you realize there are less than 50 All-Pro players every year in a league of 2,240 players, right? If you just do a per team average, it works out to 1.56 All-Pros per team, and that's first and second team, by the way. Oh, and the Colts had 2 All-Pros last year, and while Franlin probably shouldn't have made it, Buckner should have over Zach Allen.

Regardless, how can we say the roster is good? Because with bad QB play, it's still a ~.500 team. All that's needed is good QB play.

starting Gardner minshew wouldn't have really inspired much confidence in the fan base

Why not? 2023 was supposed to be a down year, and starting Minshew would've meant sitting AR for the year, which would've been good for his development.

[Oldcolt]

Dam, it doesn't matter how you get players but that isn't what I was pointing out. Buckner required almost zero evaluation. He was an established player who was flirting with all pro. That isn't who Ballard gets paid to evaluate. My point was he has evaluated and drafted very few perennial top 100 type impact defensive players over the past 9 years. All pros are hard to find and to draft. Somehow you think that gives Ballard a pass. I just don't get that. It is damn hard to find that GM that can do that but it doesn't mean we should be satisfied with ok. I sure hope new ownership isn't.

Oh and I don't give a shit who you think or don't think should have been all pro.

[IndyNorm]

I was out of town this weekend (saw Oasis in Chicago then in Indy for a couple of days visiting family), but I did follow the topic on my phone and have been somewhat chomping at the bit to put in my .02.

I don't think anyone on here is upset w/ Ballard selecting AR. He took a big swing for the fences, and if he ends up striking out then so be it. Where we (or at least I) have issues is with the clear lack of vision in the development plan for AR. They draft one of if not the rawest QB prospects in history, hand him the starters keys from the get go, and just 2 years and 15 starts into his career they've pretty much given up on him. So maybe the issue is more Steichen than Ballard, or maybe there's something to Jim pressuring them to start AR. But Ballard was pretty quick to say that Irsay didn't do this in his presser last week. Of course he could be just saying that to avoid any additional controversy, etc.

I'm guessing that if DJ struggles (which despite what a lot of you believe is a distinct possibility) combined w/ AR not improving both Ballard and Steichen will be gone, since one of the two will in all likelihood have to play well for us to make the playoffs.

I have plenty more thoughts on everything discussed, but it's late so will post more tomorrow.

[YDFL Commish]

I was out of town this weekend (saw Oasis in Chicago then in Indy for a couple of days visiting family), but I did follow the topic on my phone and have been somewhat chomping at the bit to put in my .02.

I don't think anyone on here is upset w/ Ballard selecting AR. He took a big swing for the fences, and if he ends up striking out then so be it. Where we (or at least I) have issues is with the clear lack of vision in the development plan for AR. They draft one of if not the rawest QB prospects in history, hand him the starters keys from the get go, and just 2 years and 15 starts into his career they've pretty much given up on him. So maybe the issue is more Steichen than Ballard, or maybe there's something to Jim pressuring them to start AR. But Ballard was pretty quick to say that Irsay didn't do this in his presser last week. Of course he could be just saying that to avoid any additional controversy, etc.

I'm guessing that if DJ struggles (which despite what a lot of you believe is a distinct possibility) combined w/ AR not improving both Ballard and Steichen will be gone, since one of the two will in all likelihood have to play well for us to make the playoffs.

I have plenty more thoughts on everything discussed, but it's late so will post more tomorrow.

Irsay, handed AR the starters keys. I hope that nobody on this forum believes that AR beat out Minshew after a week of TC, and then 2 years later, couldn't beat out Daniel Jones? He didn't beat out Minshew and probably wouldn't beat out Minshew today.

[Racehorse]

I honestly don't know how a team with the 55th ranked QB and 28th ranked defense wins 8 games? Statistical anomaly, a credit to offensive coaching, or a better than average roster?

I sincerely doubt that this has ever happened in the NFL before.

Jonathan Taylor is good, but not THAT good. Maybe the 55th ranked QB was not actually the 55th best QB, but still not solid enough to manage a team well.

[IndyNorm]

Irsay, handed AR the starters keys. I hope that nobody on this forum believes that AR beat out Minshew after a week of TC, and then 2 years later, couldn't beat out Daniel Jones? He didn't beat out Minshew and probably wouldn't beat out Minshew today.

Not sure how you got that I was saying or suggesting that AR beat out Minshew in '23. He was clearly handed the starter job from pretty much day one. As far as Irsay pressuring the FO and coaches to start AR here's what Ballard said about it:

Ballard said earlier this offseason that he regretted playing Richardson right away as a rookie, a revelation that prompted a question to Ballard on Wednesday about whether the front office and coaching staff were pressured by late owner Jim Irsay to play the rookie immediately.

Ballard bristled at the question.

“No, not at all,” Ballard said. “We made the decision. You learn sometimes with decisions that didn't go the way you wish they would have gone and so – but no, there was no pressure.”

The article then goes to state that Irsay did say he thought AR would get better by playing right away, but that was aligned w/ what Steichen had said from the point right after we drafted AR. So based off of all of their comments it seems like Irsay, Ballard, and Steichen were all aligned in starting AR from day 1.

I honestly don't know how a team with the 55th ranked QB and 28th ranked defense wins 8 games? Statistical anomaly, a credit to offensive coaching, or a better than average roster?

I sincerely doubt that this has ever happened in the NFL before.

Jonathan Taylor is good, but not THAT good. Maybe the 55th ranked QB was not actually the 55th best QB, but still not solid enough to manage a team well.

You guys are really underestimating how soft our schedules have been, especially last year. We played 6 games against the bottom 4 teams in the league, another 2 against bottom 10 teams, and 1 against a Tua-less Phins which is a bottom 5 team. 7/8 wins in '24 came in those games.


Some other thoughts I have based on the discussion:

On Ballard - yes, he's a good GM, but IMO he's not a great GM. He's a pretty good talent evaluator and for the most part has drafted well, but his phobia of top tier FAs has handicapped his effectiveness and has been a big factor in our mediocrity over the past 5 seasons. I agree w/ rn that his decision to bring in win now QBs and slow play other parts of the roster is not a winning strategy. It was really good to see him finally step out of his comfort zone this offseason, so if we have a good season and he keeps his job then hopefully he doesn't go back into his shell.

Also, I don't think the fear of bringing in someone worse should be the reason we keep Ballard. If we think we can go get someone better then we should go get them.

On Grigson - Yeah he was god awful, and his incompetence has definitely made Ballard look better than he actually is. Something I've always found interesting about Grigson's tenure is that he made a lot of really good moves when we were backed up against the cap in '12, but once the cap handcuffs were taken off things went to shit. We lost Tom Telesco after the '12 season, so I think a lot of the success from the Grig's first offseason probably came from Telesco.

[rm1369]

Again, you have to consider the markets. Green Bay and Indianapolis are small markets. It takes them a generational quarterback to get them into elite territory. We had manning, GB had Favre, and then Rodgers. KC has Mahomes. Small markets do not attract free agents like the big ones do, and their owners do not have cash to overpay signing bonuses. Then we had Luck to mask deficiencies and get us to 11-5 nearly every year. Do I wish Ballard had dome some things differently? You bet I do, but I understand why a lot of things we wanted did not happen. The only real miss I see at QB was not getting Baker. I remember most here were against it, too. It seemed like an illogical choice, and it took him three teams to find success. Maybe Jones can do that for us.

I will give you props for coming and admitting your position.

Sorry man, I’m not buying the small market thing. First, being aggressive doesn’t just mean in free agency. You mentioned Mahomes and KC. That’s a great example. How did KC get Mahomes? They had a QB that had gotten them to the playoffs 3 of 4 years and was a pro bowl alternate several times, but it wasn’t good enough to get them over the hump. So they traded UP in the first round to get Mahomes. From 27 to 10. And then they traded Alex Smith after another playoff and Pro Bowl alternate selection to give the keys to Mahomes. All of that seems like a no brainer NOW because it’s Mahomes, but that wasn’t the case at the time. Mahomes was another unproven QB with question marks. Now be honest - do you see Ballard making those moves? I sure as hell don’t.

Second, Irsay seemed to pride himself in handing out big contracts. The signing bonus is still real money regardless if it’s resigning your own guy or paying an outside free agent. And Grigson didn’t have much issue signing free agents. He spent money. Some well, a lot poorly. Regardless it’s proof to me the small market isn’t as big an issue as many pretend.

Third, even when talking about being free agency most of us criticizing Ballard’s approach aren’t necessarily calling for the top free agents. We are asking for competent avg level players at obvious needs. Look at the secondary over a couple years. The team had an obvious glaring need that Ballard threw a collection of 1st and 2nd yr UDFA and 6th and 7th rounders at. Because he was content living with a shitty secondary until he could fix it in the draft. “We like our guys.” Of course the game that’s always played is to give a list of free agents, say why any that were known good wouldn’t sign here, disregard any that unexpectedly played well as nobody could have known, and then presenting the remaining list and saying “so what great player should he have signed”. Great isn’t the point. Often average or even a little below average would have improved the team. A mediocre vet in the secondary is often going to make less mistakes than a mediocre (at best) 1st or 2nd yr player. And we saw it often. But Ballard needs to keep spots open for his draft picks and he doesn’t believe in the value of vets.

Go back to that Mahomes question - think Ballard would have pulled the trigger? Hell no he wouldn’t. Now go look at what KC did after their SB loss to the Bucs where their OL let them down. Do you see Ballard aggressively fixing the line the way KC did? Again, Hell no. They used the draft, free agency and trades to fix an issue. You know exactly what Ballard would have done - “we like our guys”. I just laugh when I hear people say Ballard shares the KC front office philosophy. I’m sure there are some similarities and things he learned there, but aggression wasn’t one of them. His teams have consistently had glaring holes that have cost them in season. He’s always been content to deal with it later.

[Oldcolt]

I think Green Bay just threw your small market argument a curve with being able to acquire and pay Parsons almost 50 million a year

[Discflinger]

I was out of town this weekend (saw Oasis in Chicago...

Blocked

[Racehorse]

I think Green Bay just threw your small market argument a curve with being able to acquire and pay Parsons almost 50 million a year

I considered that argument would come up. I am not sure how GB does some things they do, as they are a publicly owned team. It is a unique arrangement, so I am not sure how they do signing bonuses. Care to educate me on their structure? Google does not explain it well.

[Colts And Orioles]

I considered that argument would come up. I am not sure how GB does some things they do, as they are a publicly owned team. It is a unique arrangement, so I am not sure how they do signing bonuses. Care to educate me on their structure? Google does not explain it well.





o


The Green Bay Packers are the only publicly-owned professional sports franchise in North America in which the team CANNOT move to another city and/or other part of the country, because the team is owned by stockholders. I actually met a woman at my gym here in Brewster, NY who owns 1 share of the Packers (she is originally from Wisconsin.) There are 539,000 stockholders overall.

Mark Murphy, who was the President and CEO of the Packers from 2007 through 2025, called the shots as to who gets hired and fired for the team's head coach and General Manager positions ...... Murphy just retired a little over a month ago, and the Packers share-holders voted for Ed Policy to be their new President and CEO.

o

[Oldcolt]

I considered that argument would come up. I am not sure how GB does some things they do, as they are a publicly owned team. It is a unique arrangement, so I am not sure how they do signing bonuses. Care to educate me on their structure? Google does not explain it well.

I'm not sure, but obviously it can be done. I've heard that some believe that because they pay no dividends there is no real pressure to make money for the shareholders. Most owners feel like it is their own money that is being spent so paying someone $50 million of your money sits in some craws. All the Packers care about is winning, nobody who owns shares makes any money off of the team.

[Oldcolt]

The top 100 players as voted on by NFL players are finally out. Zero Colts. Again voted on by their peers.

[Racehorse]

The top 100 players as voted on by NFL players are finally out. Zero Colts. Again voted on by their peers.

I have not seen the list, but I am very curious which 100 players were considered better than Nelson, Taylor and Buckner.

[Oldcolt]

I have not seen the list, but I am very curious which 100 players were considered better than Nelson, Taylor and Buckner.

Maybe true (I wouldn’t put Taylor there but I like well rounded backs that block and are part of passing game) but what does it say that after 9 years this is the argument we give back? Three bottom 100 players, one of which wasnt scouted or developed by us. Ballard hits on the occasional mid to late round where hitting means you get an average player with a 7th rounder. You need to hit on high draft choices which Ballard does not do

[ChaosTheory]

I have not seen the list, but I am very curious which 100 players were considered better than Nelson, Taylor and Buckner.

Well, for one: Joe Mixon. The guy who is also notoriously bad in pass-pro and also played in 14 games like JT. And he didn't squeak in... he was 58th.

Mixon: 72.6 rush ypg, 4.1ypc, 94.6 scrimmage ypg, 12 tds

Taylor: 102.2 rush ypg, 4.7ypc, 111.9 scrimmage ypg, 12tds

----


To have him above JT at all, let alone a minimum of 42 guys between them, is silly. These aren't coaches or analysts.

[Colts And Orioles]

I have not seen the list, but I am very curious which 100 players were considered better than Nelson, Taylor, and Buckner.








o


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_Top_100_Players_of_2025

o
o


ESPN l has their own Top-100 ......

Jonathan Taylor is at #69, up 21 spots from 2024 when he was at #90.

Quentin Nelson is at #61, down 1 spot from 2024 when he was at #60.


*********************************************


69) l Jonathan Taylor

RB | Colts

Age: 26

2024 rank: 90

When Taylor's healthy, he usually has a fantastic season. He is coming off a healthy offseason after a 2024 campaign in which he rushed for 1,431 yards in 14 games. He still possesses the sudden acceleration that makes him so dangerous in the open field, and he had an impressive training camp. ------ Stephen Holder

Signature Stat: l Taylor's 11 rushing TD's last season tied his 2nd-most in a season (18 in 2021, 11 in 2020), and matched his combined total from 2022-2023.

2025 Projection: l 342 carries, 1,578 yards, 11 TD's


*********************************************


61) l Quenton Nelson

G | Colts

Age: 29

2024 rank: 60


Nelson has been key to an offensive line that ranks seventh in rushing yards per game (126.2) since he entered the league in 2018. Notably, he hasn't missed a game since 2021 and has missed only four in his career. That durability figures to continue, given the feedback from his coaches, who say he is as well-prepared for 2025 as he has been for previous seasons. ------ Stephen Holder

Signature Stat: l Nelson has played and started in 51 games in the past three seasons, tied for the most among interior linemen in that span.


*********************************************


2025 NFL Rank: Predicting Top 100 Players for This Season

(ESPN NFL Staff)

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46043463/nfl-rank-2025-ranking-top-100-players-predictions-stats

o

[Indystu2]

If we think we can go get someone better then we should go get them.


If only Ballard operated with that same philosiphy. How ironic Ballard could die by that sword.

[HoosierinFL]

Well, for one: Joe Mixon. The guy who is also notoriously bad in pass-pro and also played in 14 games like JT. And he didn't squeak in... he was 58th.

Mixon: 72.6 rush ypg, 4.1ypc, 94.6 scrimmage ypg, 12 tds

Taylor: 102.2 rush ypg, 4.7ypc, 111.9 scrimmage ypg, 12tds

----


To have him above JT at all, let alone a minimum of 42 guys between them, is silly. These aren't coaches or analysts.

Has Mixon ever dropped the ball at the 1/2 yard line?

[Dam8610]

Dam, it doesn't matter how you get players but that isn't what I was pointing out. Buckner required almost zero evaluation. He was an established player who was flirting with all pro. That isn't who Ballard gets paid to evaluate. My point was he has evaluated and drafted very few perennial top 100 type impact defensive players over the past 9 years. All pros are hard to find and to draft. Somehow you think that gives Ballard a pass. I just don't get that. It is damn hard to find that GM that can do that but it doesn't mean we should be satisfied with ok. I sure hope new ownership isn't.

Oh and I don't give a shit who you think or don't think should have been all pro.

Ballard absolutely gets paid to evaluate NFL players as well as college players. His job is to assemble the most talented roster possible. By definition, that will include some acquisitions that are not draft picks. Trading for Buckner was a big risk as well. He gave up the 13th pick, and that was a home run in terms of value. Of course in hindsight it seems obvious that it was the right move, but Buckner could've come in and been terrible, and everyone would've said he never should've traded away such a valuable asset for Buckner. That's what everyone said about the Trent Richardson trade, and rightfully so, because Trent Richardson was awful. Once again, this highlights the difference good talent evaluation makes.

I understand that sometimes change is a necessary catalyst, but change for its own sake is how you become the Cleveland Browns or the New York Jets.

[Dam8610]

Not sure how you got that I was saying or suggesting that AR beat out Minshew in '23. He was clearly handed the starter job from pretty much day one. As far as Irsay pressuring the FO and coaches to start AR here's what Ballard said about it:



The article then goes to state that Irsay did say he thought AR would get better by playing right away, but that was aligned w/ what Steichen had said from the point right after we drafted AR. So based off of all of their comments it seems like Irsay, Ballard, and Steichen were all aligned in starting AR from day 1.





You guys are really underestimating how soft our schedules have been, especially last year. We played 6 games against the bottom 4 teams in the league, another 2 against bottom 10 teams, and 1 against a Tua-less Phins which is a bottom 5 team. 7/8 wins in '24 came in those games.


Some other thoughts I have based on the discussion:

On Ballard - yes, he's a good GM, but IMO he's not a great GM. He's a pretty good talent evaluator and for the most part has drafted well, but his phobia of top tier FAs has handicapped his effectiveness and has been a big factor in our mediocrity over the past 5 seasons. I agree w/ rn that his decision to bring in win now QBs and slow play other parts of the roster is not a winning strategy. It was really good to see him finally step out of his comfort zone this offseason, so if we have a good season and he keeps his job then hopefully he doesn't go back into his shell.

Also, I don't think the fear of bringing in someone worse should be the reason we keep Ballard. If we think we can go get someone better then we should go get them.

On Grigson - Yeah he was god awful, and his incompetence has definitely made Ballard look better than he actually is. Something I've always found interesting about Grigson's tenure is that he made a lot of really good moves when we were backed up against the cap in '12, but once the cap handcuffs were taken off things went to shit. We lost Tom Telesco after the '12 season, so I think a lot of the success from the Grig's first offseason probably came from Telesco.

I will say that if you can get someone better, I'm 1000% on board with that. The only problem is Howie Roseman and Brandon Beane already have jobs, and hiring one of their underlings doesn't mean they'll be any good. IIRC we got Grigson from Philly.

[IndyNorm]

Well, for one: Joe Mixon. The guy who is also notoriously bad in pass-pro and also played in 14 games like JT. And he didn't squeak in... he was 58th.

Mixon: 72.6 rush ypg, 4.1ypc, 94.6 scrimmage ypg, 12 tds

Taylor: 102.2 rush ypg, 4.7ypc, 111.9 scrimmage ypg, 12tds

----


To have him above JT at all, let alone a minimum of 42 guys between them, is silly. These aren't coaches or analysts.

Yeah, Mixon's a head scratcher. Not just ahead of JT, but guys like Bijan Robinson and Kyren Williams as well.

Also, FWIW there are no OGs on the list.

[YDFL Commish]

Yeah, Mixon's a head scratcher. Not just ahead of JT, but guys like Bijan Robinson and Kyren Williams as well.

Also, FWIW there are no OGs on the list.

I like Mixon's NFL game, but still, he couldn't carry JT's jock. Don't forget I'm a JT hater, and I still believe this to be true.

[ChaosTheory]

Has Mixon ever dropped the ball at the 1/2 yard line?

No, but he did drop a girl in that restaurant in Oklahoma.

[Oldcolt]

Ballard absolutely gets paid to evaluate NFL players as well as college players. His job is to assemble the most talented roster possible. By definition, that will include some acquisitions that are not draft picks. Trading for Buckner was a big risk as well. He gave up the 13th pick, and that was a home run in terms of value. Of course in hindsight it seems obvious that it was the right move, but Buckner could've come in and been terrible, and everyone would've said he never should've traded away such a valuable asset for Buckner. That's what everyone said about the Trent Richardson trade, and rightfully so, because Trent Richardson was awful. Once again, this highlights the difference good talent evaluation makes.

I understand that sometimes change is a necessary catalyst, but change for its own sake is how you become the Cleveland Browns or the New York Jets.

We have totally different memories of the Buckner trade. I remember everyone on this board as well as every single article praising this deal and pointing out that it was only possible because there were two stud tackles in SF and they couldn't pay both. There was only real the risk of injury. I do understand how valuable Ballard and apparently you feel that thirteenth pick was, especially after the stud Malik Hooker we got at 15. My point being that draft choice was a much bigger gamble than Buckner was (it turned out to be that other stud Tristan Wirfs was taken at 13). My larger point is that the primary and by far most important evaluation made is trying to project how college players will play in the NFL. That is still the basis for building teams. Of course you evaluate NFL players but that isn't where you make your money as a GM.

[apballin]

We have totally different memories of the Buckner trade. I remember everyone on this board as well as every single article praising this deal and pointing out that it was only possible because there were two stud tackles in SF and they couldn't pay both. There was only real the risk of injury. I do understand how valuable Ballard and apparently you feel that thirteenth pick was, especially after the stud Malik Hooker we got at 15. My point being that draft choice was a much bigger gamble than Buckner was (it turned out to be that other stud Tristan Wirfs was taken at 13). My larger point is that the primary and by far most important evaluation made is trying to project how college players will play in the NFL. That is still the basis for building teams. Of course you evaluate NFL players but that isn't where you make your money as a GM.

Anyone can evaluate these guys from birth til draft what nobody can account for or predict is what these guys will do once they get lottery ticket money.

[Dam8610]

We have totally different memories of the Buckner trade. I remember everyone on this board as well as every single article praising this deal and pointing out that it was only possible because there were two stud tackles in SF and they couldn't pay both. There was only real the risk of injury. I do understand how valuable Ballard and apparently you feel that thirteenth pick was, especially after the stud Malik Hooker we got at 15. My point being that draft choice was a much bigger gamble than Buckner was (it turned out to be that other stud Tristan Wirfs was taken at 13). My larger point is that the primary and by far most important evaluation made is trying to project how college players will play in the NFL. That is still the basis for building teams. Of course you evaluate NFL players but that isn't where you make your money as a GM.

The best GMs use all avenues of talent acquisition consistently to build the best possible roster. I know everyone here thought Ballard was "afraid" of free agency prior to this past offseason, but Ballard had up to that point used free agency to get the only good year of Eric Ebron's career, starting caliber pass rushers in Denico Autry and Justin Houston, a #1 corner in Stephone Gilmore, and if you count the waiver wire, used it to pick up players like Kenny Moore, Samuel Womack, Pierre Desir, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Zach Pascal, Mark Glowinski, etc., including Chad Muma this year. In order to not end up like Grigson blowing tons of free agent dollars on very little production, or to be able to make waiver wire acquisitions that can be valuable starters, a GM has to be able to effectively evaluate NFL talent. Ballard has higher than average success rates in every avenue of talent acquisition. If you're going to get rid of that, you should be certain that you're going to get someone who can do the job better.

In regard to the Buckner trade, I wasn't saying Buckner was considered a risky acquisition at the time, but similarly Trent Richardson wasn't considered a risky acquisition when he was acquired. Clearly those two trades went very differently.

[YDFL Commish]

Okay, I want to ask this question...What result from this season will get the Ballard haters off his ass?

Will 10-7, and 1 win in the playoffs do it?

Will a division title do it?

Will winning the opener, beating the Jags in Jacksonville, but missing the playoffs at 9-8 do it?

What are you're measurements of success, that will convince you that Ballard is the man for the job?

[Thorgrim]

I don’t think expecting a playoff win is unreasonable. This is taking into account injuries, bad calls, and some bad bounces that all teams must contend with. I also expect them to show up prepared to play and be competitive in every game. Even a playoff win followed by a shit-show would be unacceptable.

[Colts And Orioles]

OK, I want to ask this question ...... what result from this season will get the Ballard haters off of his ass?

Will 10-7, and 1 win in the playoffs do it?

Will a division title do it?

Will winning the opener, beating the Jaguars in Jacksonville, but missing the playoffs at 9-8 do it?

What are you're measurements of success that will convince you that Ballard is the man for the job?





o


My guess would be that their criteria would be 14-3, an AFC Championship, and the Colts' first trip to the Super Bowl since 2009 ...... but then he'll be back hot-seat the following year if the Colts don't win it all in the 2026 season.

o

[Oldcolt]

Development of young players into impact players (like Latu), continued development of AR and our young players. A team that is coached well enough not to shoot themselves in foot. I don’t even ‘need’ playoffs. I just want to see enough progression that I have something to root for that has what looks like a positive future.

[Dam8610]

I don’t think expecting a playoff win is unreasonable. This is taking into account injuries, bad calls, and some bad bounces that all teams must contend with. I also expect them to show up prepared to play and be competitive in every game. Even a playoff win followed by a shit-show would be unacceptable.

Unless the Colts win the division, expecting a playoff win is unreasonable, because then you're expecting the team to go on the road against one of the division winners and beat them in their own stadium. Are you saying if the Colts went 10-7, ended up as, let's say, the 6 seed, and lost a close game on the road, that you'd want the whole front office replaced?


o


My guess would be that their criteria would be 14-3, an AFC Championship, and the Colts' first trip to the Super Bowl since 2009 ...... but then he'll be back hot-seat the following year if the Colts don't win it all in the 2026 season.

o

I doubt anyone is that unreasonable. That said, if that does somehow happen, that would mean actual good QB play from Daniel Jones, and I would want to know how that came to be.

Development of young players into impact players (like Latu), continued development of AR and our young players. A team that is coached well enough not to shoot themselves in foot. I don’t even ‘need’ playoffs. I just want to see enough progression that I have something to root for that has what looks like a positive future.

Now this I can get behind. If the team is in the hunt all year, Latu has 12+ sacks and looks like tge disruptive force he was in college, Warren looks like a true TE1 and matchup nightmare, several of the young players make significant contributions, even if they don't make the playoffs, that sounds like a promising future. Since it sounds like they're trying to basically do a reset with AR and give him the Mahomes treatment, all I'm expecting there is health and no reports that he’s slacking off behind the scenes. If he then comes out gangbusters next year, we'll know it worked.

[Oldcolt]

Now this I can get behind. If the team is in the hunt all year, Latu has 12+ sacks and looks like tge disruptive force he was in college, Warren looks like a true TE1 and matchup nightmare, several of the young players make significant contributions, even if they don't make the playoffs, that sounds like a promising future. Since it sounds like they're trying to basically do a reset with AR and give him the Mahomes treatment, all I'm expecting there is health and no reports that he’s slacking off behind the scenes. If he then comes out gangbusters next year, we'll know it worked.

If this happened Ballard/Steichen would have proved I don't know shit and I would gladly crawl into their corner

[Colts And Orioles]

OK, I want to ask this question ...... what result from this season will get the Ballard haters off of his ass?

Will 10-7, and 1 win in the playoffs do it?

Will a division title do it?

Will winning the opener, beating the Jaguars in Jacksonville, but missing the playoffs at 9-8 do it?

What are you're measurements of success that will convince you that Ballard is the man for the job?






o

My guess would be that their criteria would be 14-3, an AFC Championship, and the Colts' first trip to the Super Bowl since 2009 ...... but then he'll be back hot-seat the following year if the Colts don't win it all in the 2026 season.

o





I doubt that anyone is that unreasonable.





o


"Unreasonable" and ColtFreals posts are synonymous concepts.

o

[IndyNorm]

Okay, I want to ask this question...What result from this season will get the Ballard haters off his ass?

Will 10-7, and 1 win in the playoffs do it?

Will a division title do it?

Will winning the opener, beating the Jags in Jacksonville, but missing the playoffs at 9-8 do it?

What are you're measurements of success, that will convince you that Ballard is the man for the job?

For me it's not so much just this year, but IMO it's going to take a few years of sustained success to convince me that Ballard is the man for the job.

I do think a decent year this year at 10+ wins or at the very least the team shows clear signs of improvement should get him a stay of execution.

Something I'd really like to see this team do is not play down to the level of competition and certainly not shit the bed against really bad teams (@Jagoffs and NYG last year).

[Dam8610]

For me it's not so much just this year, but IMO it's going to take a few years of sustained success to convince me that Ballard is the man for the job.

I do think a decent year this year at 10+ wins or at the very least the team shows clear signs of improvement should get him a stay of execution.

Something I'd really like to see this team do is not play down to the level of competition and certainly not shit the bed against really bad teams (@Jagoffs and NYG last year).

At this point, it all comes down to one question: Can they make AR into a franchise QB? And it seems like they've found a way to buy another year of time to answer that question. Ballard has effectively adopted Dorsey's model 2 years late, with his hope being that Janiel Dones can play the part of Alex Smith. For our sakes, I hope it works, because I'm tired of watching bad football and not dominating this shit division.

[rm1369]

For me it's not so much just this year, but IMO it's going to take a few years of sustained success to convince me that Ballard is the man for the job.

I do think a decent year this year at 10+ wins or at the very least the team shows clear signs of improvement should get him a stay of execution.

Something I'd really like to see this team do is not play down to the level of competition and certainly not shit the bed against really bad teams (@Jagoffs and NYG last year).

I agree, I’m less concerned about the single season outcome than seeing something real and sustainable being built. My issues with Ballard have been with his team building philosophy so seeing (and believing) he has changed that philosophy is what it would take for me. It will be hard to convince me at this point that I was wrong in my criticisms of his philosophy because I have so many seasons of mediocrity to reinforce my beliefs. I will say, this is the most complete team I have seen him put together. Right now I believe it’s only because his job depends on it. If they have a good enough season to save his job I still won’t start believing until I see a continuation of the somewhat more aggressive approach.

[Voosh]

I've been down on Ballard for a while, but if the team shows improvement and has a winning record I would be fine with rolling with him another season. I don't think we have an answer at QB right now and wouldn't mind seeing what he could build with a good young QB.

Wouldn't it be nice if Riley Leonard caught fire? I don't know... at this point I just want us to not lose the opener or to the Jags.

[Kray007]

I agree, I’m less concerned about the single season outcome than seeing something real and sustainable being built. My issues with Ballard have been with his team building philosophy so seeing (and believing) he has changed that philosophy is what it would take for me. It will be hard to convince me at this point that I was wrong in my criticisms of his philosophy because I have so many seasons of mediocrity to reinforce my beliefs. I will say, this is the most complete team I have seen him put together. Right now I believe it’s only because his job depends on it. If they have a good enough season to save his job I still won’t start believing until I see a continuation of the somewhat more aggressive approach.

It’s hard to build a team when your Quarterback is completing less than 50 percent of his passes and has no clue how to run an NFL Offense. This year, Chris Ballard rolled the dice, hoping that Daniel Jones can rediscover the spark that propelled the Giants into the playoffs a couple of years ago. If Jones succeeds, no one will ask questions about Ballard’s team building ability.

[rm1369]

It’s hard to build a team when your Quarterback is completing less than 50 percent of his passes and has no clue how to run an NFL Offense. This year, Chris Ballard rolled the dice, hoping that Daniel Jones can rediscover the spark that propelled the Giants into the playoffs a couple of years ago. If Jones succeeds, no one will ask questions about Ballard’s team building ability.

That’s a cop out. For one, there’s been one season for Ballard that fits that description. And Ballard owns the QB situation on this team. His philosophy has been part of the issue. Two, the team building aspect goes way beyond the QB. If you haven’t seen the holes that he has left at various positions over the years then we just aren’t going to see things the same. If you’ve seen them and excuse them that’s fine, but then the issues extend a lot further than the simplistic excuse you are trying to make for him. I get that he’s teflon for a certain section of the fanbase though.

[Hoopsdoc]

I think yesterday showed us that there is plenty of talent on this roster. We just desperately need a quarterback.

Whether Jones can be that quarterback remains to be seen but he’s off to a good start.

[Kray007]

That’s a cop out. For one, there’s been one season for Ballard that fits that description. And Ballard owns the QB situation on this team. His philosophy has been part of the issue. Two, the team building aspect goes way beyond the QB. If you haven’t seen the holes that he has left at various positions over the years then we just aren’t going to see things the same. If you’ve seen them and excuse them that’s fine, but then the issues extend a lot further than the simplistic excuse you are trying to make for him. I get that he’s teflon for a certain section of the fanbase though.

For the most part, the Colts performance, under Ballard, has been pretty much a reflection of their Quarterback play.

In 2017, Andrew Luck went down, Jacoby Brissett played, and it was 4-12
2018, Luck was back, so were the Colts…10-6
2019, back to Brissett and back to 7-9
In 2020, went for a vet in Rivers and went to the playoffs at 11-5
2021, the Wentz expriment fell apart after week 13, just missed the playoffs at 9-8
2022, Ryan convinced them of the futility of trying to milk an aging vet for whatever glimmer of magic remained in his arm…4-12
2023-2025, the Richardson/Minshew/Flacco experience.

Taken individually, none of those moves at Quarterback were unreasonable. The signing of Wentz and the drafting of Richardson were met with enthusiasm. Rivers worked. The inking of Ryan was probably the worst decision, but Ballard succumbed to the siren song of his Quarterback whisperer’s assurance that there was nothing wrong with the aging veteran that couldn’t be fixed once Reich got him under his wing. Richardson was a gamble on greatness.

[YDFL Commish]

To this point it looks like Ballard made the absolute right call on letting Kelly and Fries walk and riding with Bortolini and Goncalves.

[Colts And Orioles]

OK, I want to ask this question ...... what result from this season will get the Ballard haters off of his ass ???

Will 10-7, and 1 win in the playoffs do it ???

Will a division title do it ???

Will winning the opener, beating the Jaguars in Jacksonville, but missing the playoffs at 9-8 do it ???

What are you're measurements of success that will convince you that Ballard is the man for the job ???





o


Daniel Jones is looking good early in the season ...... so does the team overall.

o

[Colts And Orioles]

o


Daniel Jones is looking good early in the season ...... so does the team overall.

o

o


I've been saying for years that Chris Ballard was not just giving us lip-service when he said that he wanted to put together a complete-team when he first took over the job, not just a team that was overly-dependent on an all-world QB such as Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck ...... I believe that he has been doing that prior to this season, which is why the Colts had multiple mediocre seasons (instead of bad seasons.)

Since the retirement of Andrew Luck, the Colts have had one good season (2020), one bad season (2022), and 4 mediocre seasons ...... and I believe that a big part of that is because Ballard was doing what he told us that he was going to try to do, not just putting all of his efforts and resources into looking for that Hall-of-Fame caliber QB.

o

[YDFL Commish]

o


I've been saying for years that Chris Ballard was not just giving us lip-service when he said that he wanted to put together a complete-team when he first took over the job, not just a team that was overly-dependent on an all-world QB such as Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck ...... I believe that he has been doing that prior to this season, which is why the Colts had multiple mediocre seasons (instead of bad seasons.)

Since the retirement of Andrew Luck, the Colts have had one good season (2020), one bad season (2022), and 4 mediocre seasons ...... and I believe that a big part of that is because Ballard was doing what he told us that he was going to try to do, not just putting all of his efforts and resources into looking for that Hall-of-Fame caliber QB.

o

Well, I would say that we have a complete team, and the Ballard nay sayers are due healthy dose of crow!

[Colts And Orioles]

Well, I would say that we have a complete team, and the Ballard nay sayers are due healthy dose of crow !!!





o


And as I said in my post, I don't think that it's just this season ...... those mediocre Colts teams were nearly complete teams, sans a very solid quarterback. If they weren't, they would not have been mediocre, they would have been flat-out bad.

o

[YDFL Commish]

o


And as I said in my post, I don't think that it's just this season ...... those mediocre Colts teams were nearly complete teams, sans a very solid quarterback. If they weren't, they would not have been mediocre, they would have been flat-out bad.

o

Agreed, but the 2022 team was flat out bad, due to Ballard mismanaging the O-Line and Reich's incompetence. I forgot that Bradley had something to do with that as well.

[Racehorse]

o


I've been saying for years that Chris Ballard was not just giving us lip-service when he said that he wanted to put together a complete-team when he first took over the job, not just a team that was overly-dependent on an all-world QB such as Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck ...... I believe that he has been doing that prior to this season, which is why the Colts had multiple mediocre seasons (instead of bad seasons.)

Since the retirement of Andrew Luck, the Colts have had one good season (2020), one bad season (2022), and 4 mediocre seasons ...... and I believe that a big part of that is because Ballard was doing what he told us that he was going to try to do, not just putting all of his efforts and resources into looking for that Hall-of-Fame caliber QB.

o

Everyone misunderstood what he meant, and now they see it. Glad we got to see the results before the pitchfork crew got their wish.

[CletusPyle]

o


I've been saying for years that Chris Ballard was not just giving us lip-service when he said that he wanted to put together a complete-team when he first took over the job, not just a team that was overly-dependent on an all-world QB such as Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck ...... I believe that he has been doing that prior to this season, which is why the Colts had multiple mediocre seasons (instead of bad seasons.)

Since the retirement of Andrew Luck, the Colts have had one good season (2020), one bad season (2022), and 4 mediocre seasons ...... and I believe that a big part of that is because Ballard was doing what he told us that he was going to try to do, not just putting all of his efforts and resources into looking for that Hall-of-Fame caliber QB.

o

I believe that Ballard has always intended on building a solid team and I do not consider myself a Ballard hater, but I also believe there are not many GMs that could have survived the Carson Wentz followed by Matt Ryan debacles without being fired!

[Colts And Orioles]

o


After Another Colts Rout, It’s Time to Acknowledge Them for What They Are: Contenders

(By James Boyd)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6692076/2025/10/05/colts-contenders-raiders-daniel-jones-jonathan-taylor/


**********************************


INDIANAPOLIS — Braden Smith remembers how things used to be and the scars those failures have left behind. So often recently, the Indianapolis Colts would start slow and spend the whole season trying to claw their way back into the playoff picture. Most of the time, those campaigns ended in agony, with Indianapolis now four years removed from its last playoff berth.

But this season feels different, Smith said Sunday following Indianapolis’ 40-6 shellacking of the Las Vegas Raiders. More hopeful. More promising. More serious. As the Colts’ starting right tackle stood in a joyous locker room at Lucas Oil Stadium and looked around, he took a deep breath to compose himself before explaining why.

Smith pointed to his team’s humility and lack of ego. Then, his tone shifted a bit.

“We’re tired of just being mediocre,” Smith said. “Everyone’s just putting in the work. It’s the work that it takes every day to kind of push past that.

“To be a contender.”

Excuse me, a what ???

If someone had called the Colts a contender before the start of the 2025 season, they likely would’ve been laughed at. That’s a word that hasn’t been synonymous with this franchise since the days of quarterback Peyton Manning and, for a brief stretch, Andrew Luck. But after a 4-1 start, with Daniel Jones playing at a near-MVP level, running back Jonathan Taylor looking like an early favorite to win NFL Offensive Player of the Year and the new-look defense generating eight turnovers in five weeks, this no longer feels like an anomaly. It feels like the standard.

And being a contender feels like a reality.

According to The Athletic’s Austin Mock’s NFL Projection Model, following Sunday’s beatdown of the Raiders, the Colts now have a 90 percent chance of making the playoffs, a 14 percent chance to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC and an 8 percent chance to win the Super Bowl. The only AFC team with better odds in those three categories? The Buffalo Bills, led by some guy named Josh Allen.

Of course, there’s still a lot of season left, and Smith couched his “contender” talk by noting that it’s only Week 5. But to his point, how else should this year’s team be described? Save for kicker Spencer Shrader sustaining a knee injury, which Colts coach Shane Steichen said after the game, “doesn’t look good,” there were hardly any lowlights for Indianapolis on Sunday.

The Colts were simply dominant — again.

The Dolphins were no match for them in the season opener. The Titans had nothing for the Colts in Week 3. On Sunday, it was the Raiders’ turn to look outclassed. Those lowly teams have a combined record of 3-12, so now isn’t exactly the time to start planning the parade route through downtown Indianapolis. But a roadmap to the postseason and the team’s first AFC South title since 2014? That seems as real as ever.

Last year, all eight of the Colts’ victories were by one possession. On Sunday, Indianapolis notched its third victory this season by at least 20 points. The Raiders’ six points marked the second time this year Indianapolis kept its opponent to single digits.

Linebacker Zaire Franklin could not care less about the Colts’ strength of schedule. From his perspective, strength is subjective — until someone else feels it.

“That’s what shows up on film,” said Franklin, who tallied one of Indianapolis’ four sacks Sunday. “I think regardless of the level of competition that we play, I think we play to a certain standard. And it’s either you’re gonna get to that standard, or you’re gonna get ran off the field.”

Segun Olubi set the tone early.

With the Colts already leading 7-3 in the second quarter, the linebacker knifed through the Raiders’ protection unit and blocked a punt by Las Vegas’ AJ Cole. Four plays later, Taylor scored on a 3-yard touchdown run that was the start of an offensive avalanche. After going three-and-out to start the game, Indianapolis scored a touchdown on its next six possessions, which is tied for the team’s longest streak since at least 1993, according to Colts PR.

Taylor was held to a season-low 66 yards on 17 carries, but still tallied three rushing touchdowns. Entering this season, Taylor had just two career games with at least three total touchdowns. Through just five weeks this season, he already matched that total.

Not to be overlooked, Jones was nearly flawless on Sunday, completing 20 of his 29 passes for 212 yards and two TDs, both in the second quarter. One play after Steichen dialed up a trick play for tYler Warren, in which the rookie tight end was the passer but wisely threw the ball away when he saw the Raiders snuffed it out, the coach went back to his star — yes, star — quarterback. Jones delivered with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Warren that marked the first receiving TD of his career.

“I didn’t see Tyler’s pass,” Jones said through a grin when asked to grade Warren’s QB skills. “Looked like they covered it up pretty good, but I like the play.”

The Colts’ defense had its highlights as well, as four different players recorded a sack. Defensive end Laiatu Latu also picked off Raiders quarterback Geno Smith in the second quarter, marking Latu’s second interception of the season. Cornerback Mekhi Blackmon intercepted Smith in the third quarter, as the Las Vegas passer finished the game with his second-worst passer rating of the season (63.2.)

But perhaps the best argument for why these aren’t the same old Colts is how the team handled wide receiver AD Mitchell. Following last week’s blunders against the Rams, in which Mitchell’s mistakes cost the team two touchdowns, he was effectively benched until garbage time in the fourth quarter. It didn’t matter that starting receiver Alec Pierce missed his second straight game due to a concussion. Steichen wanted to send a message.

“I told you guys AD has got to earn it,” the coach said afterward.

Steichen had been noncommittal about Mitchell’s role all week and opted instead to play Ashton Dulin, a core special teamer, over the 2024 second-round pick. Dulin, who went undrafted in 2019, responded by notching two catches for a team-high 55 yards, in addition to doing his usual jobs as a gunner and return man.

“He’s as gritty as they come,” Steichen said. “He’s as tough as they come.”

That’s the mindset Steichen wants his whole team to embody in a conference that, outside of the 4-1 Bills, feels wide open. The Ravens, with an injured Lamar Jackson, are 1-4. Patrick Mahomes and the reigning AFC champion Chiefs look more vulnerable than in years past and are just 2-2 entering Monday night’s game against the Jaguars. And Justin Herbert and the Chargers, who started 3-0 with a resounding victory over the Chiefs in their season opener, are now 3-2 after back-to-back losses to the Giants and Commanders.

Franklin, who fully acknowledged that it’s still early in the season, doesn’t see why the Colts can’t be in the “contender” conversation at the end. That’s what they’re building toward and, for the first time in years, they may finally have the right tools.

“Respectfully, I feel like we gave (the Rams) too much credit,” Franklin said, reflecting on how Indy responded after its first loss of the year. “I think after we played L.A., we realized we’re that team.

“We’re the team that’s a test for everybody else.”

o

[Pez]

Good article, love the end, “We’re the team that’s a test for everybody else.”

I cant imagine there is anyone that really wants to play us.

[Oldcolt]

Saw both Mitchell and AR celebrating with teammates on the sideline and not showing any signs of pouting. Somehow the whole mental attitude of this team seams to have changed. Nice

[Colts And Orioles]

o


The Colts' Most Stunning Redemption Story Is Already Breaking Franchise Records

(By Lee Vowell)

https://horseshoeheroes.com/indianapolis-colts-most-stunning-redemption-story-breaking-franchise-records


***********************************


The Indianapolis Colts were right ...... general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen clearly knew what they were doing this off-season, even when others around the NFL doubted them. After six games, Indy sits atop the AFC South at 5-1.

Obviously, there are several reasons for this. Some of the players fans already knew were great, or likely to be so, have been just that. Running back Jonathan Taylor, for instance, has long been one of the best backs in the league. This year, he has been the best so far.

But very few expected quarterback Daniel Jones to be as terrific as he is. He likely can continue his elite run, as he appears to be a perfect fit in Shane Steichen's system. The quarterback tends not to make careless mistakes, and is the excellent point guard QB Steichen needs.


Daniel Jones Is the Latest Redemption Story for the Indianapolis Colts


Jones, in fact, isn't simply a fantastic redemption story; but he is playing like a Pro Bowl quarterback. He just needed to rid himself of being a part of the awful New York Giants organization, spend some time with the Minnesota Vikings, and join Indy, a team that has a wonderful core of offensive weapons.

The Colts' QB1 is completing 71.7 percent of his passes (third in the NFL), has a quarterback rating of a career-high 104.4 (10th in the league), and has augmented his 8 touchdown throws with 4 rushing touchdowns. He's made the argument of Anthony Richardson ever starting again moot.

But Jones has also done something that not even Peyton Manning could do. Through 6 games, Indianapolis has scored 194 points. That is the most in franchise history. Daniel Jones isn't the only reason Indy is scoring so much, but without him, the team doesn't reach the same level.

Clearly, the quarterback deserves a lot of credit for his play. He doesn't just make smart throws, but he prepares exceedingly well. He is a smart guy on and off the field, and it shows in the way that he runs the offense. That isn't going to change, barring an injury.

But Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen deserve credit, too. They took a chance on Jones being the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts when maybe no other team would have. Those teams have a right to be jealous now. The only drawback for Indy is that next off-season, Jones is going to want to be signed to a huge new contract ...... and he's earned it.

o

[Colts And Orioles]

o


(vs. SEAHAWKS, 12/14)


Even though the Colts lost the game today, I am no longer afraid of the thought of facing the 49ers, the Jaguars, or the Texans to finish out the season ...... in addition to the way that they started the season before Daniel Jones broke his left fibula, I believe that this game is further evidence that Ballard has put together a complete team ...... they came within a hair of beating what may be the best team in the NFL on their homefield with a 44 year-old quarterback who hasn't played in 5 years.

o

[Oldcolt]

Ballard has put together another mediocre team. It will never be a 'complete' team until he finds the ability to scout and sign the most important positions in football, pass rush and QB. Every year we have this 'great' team that somehow always misses the playoffs. Always. Maybe, just maybe, this is ,has been and will continue to be an average NFL team. Or maybe our record just lies. I'm sick of this, as are most of us and have no idea of where to go from here. I can only hope Carlie does.

[Oldcolt]

I would also like to point out that since Luck retired there are a total of 5 starting QBs that were then on their current team that are starting for that current team: Mahomes, Allen, Jackson, Prescott, and Murray. Everyone else had a player starting that was not on the team at that time.

[Kray007]

Ballard has put together another mediocre team. It will never be a 'complete' team until he finds the ability to scout and sign the most important positions in football, pass rush and QB. Every year we have this 'great' team that somehow always misses the playoffs. Always. Maybe, just maybe, this is ,has been and will continue to be an average NFL team. Or maybe our record just lies. I'm sick of this, as are most of us and have no idea of where to go from here. I can only hope Carlie does.

What sheer and utter nonsense.

By the time the whistle blew to end the game in Seattle, the Colts had 6 pro bowlers out of action. Their starting Quarterback had undergone season ending surgery on Tuesday and plan B at the position was nursing a bizarre eye injury. That left a 44 year old grandfather who had, charitably, 3 days of practice with the team.

If you want to complain that Ballard has a hard time finding high quality pass rushers, okay. That’s valid. But Quarterback? Sometime in the next 4 months, Daniel Jones is going to sign a blockbuster contract. He’s generally considered to be one of the top 3 players available, and only God knows how much it’s going to cost to bring him back.

Were they as good as they seemed over their first 10 games? Maybe not. But, playing through more injuries than I’d wish on anyone…except perhaps the New England Patriots…they lost to Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh, in a game in which they held the steelers to 224 yards. They lost to the defending AFC champions by 4 after a trademark Patrick Mahomes comeback. By 4 to Houston, and by 2 to Seattle.

The bottom line is that they were good enough to win every game they played, and there are damned few teams in this, or any other league, who can say the same.

[Oldcolt]

If this was one season I might agree. The record never changes. year after year. Always middle of the pack. Glad you think this .500 team is fabulous.

[Colts And Orioles]

o


In the short-term, what happened with Daniel Jones and the 2025 Colts was the ideal storm for disaster ...... Jones broke his fibula and continued to play on it, which affected his play, which affected the Colts' W-L record. And of course after Jones went down with a torn Achilles tendon and the Colts had to rely on 44 year-old Uncle Phil to carry the offense, that also affected the Colts' W-L record.

In the long-term (2026 and beyond), Jones' broken leg and the subsequent collapse of the 2025 Colts may wind up inadvertently being the best thing that could have happened to the Colts for their plight in 2026 and beyond ...... the Colts will certainly not have to give Jones for a premium, long-term contract because of his injury(s) and the team's subsequent collapse of the 2025 season. For myself and a few other starry-eyed dreamers, we believe that this 2025 Colts team was much closer to the team that started the season at 7-1 than to the team that limped to a 1-7 record in their 8 most recent games. Prior to Jones breaking his fibula, the Colts weren't just beating bad teams when Jones was healthy, they were stomping them ...... they won by a score of 33-8 over the Dolphins, 41-20 over the Titans, 40-6 over the Raiders, 38-14 over the Titans ...... yes, those were bad teams that the Colts were beating, but previous Colts teams would almost always play down to their competition and either barely beat the bad teams, and sometimes lose to them. Additionally, the Colts spanked the Chargers on their homefield in Los Angeles ...... the Colts had a 38-17 lead in the 4th quarter, and coasted to an easy 38-24 win ....... and the Chargers are one of the best teams in the NFL with a record of 11-4 outside of that loss to the Colts. Finally, the schedule itself was absolutely brutal going down the stretch, which coincided with Jones' injury(s) which severely affected and ultimately ended his season.


FINAL VERDICT FOR THE 2025 SEASON: ) The Colts are 8-8, and neither Kray nor myself can dispute the fact that that is a mediocre/middling record for the 8th time in Chris Ballard's 9 year tenure as the team's GM ...... the lone exception was the 2020 Philip Rivers season, when the Colts made the playoffs with an 11-5 record and took Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills right down to the wire in the post-season game which was played on their home-field in northwestern New York State.


THE COLTS IN 2026 AND BEYOND: ) Neither Kray nor myself can prove for a fact that the Colts' 7-1 start to the 2025 season is necessarily going to be what the team will become in 2026 and beyond ...... but that happens to what we both believe, and so we'll stand here on this lonely island, continuing to support Chris Ballard and our beloved Colts in the foreseen future.

o

[Oldcolt]

Ballard has become a shitty drafter who gives way way to much to RAS as an indicator of being good. Polian used to say you needed 5 difference makers on your team. Looking at the defense, beside Leonard (lb), can you name one difference maker Ballard has drafted. The two best players we have on defense were not scouted or drafted by him. He gave up 3 firsts and a newish 2nd rounder to get those 2 players, who had already proven who they were in NFL. Tough to build a winner that way. None of the defensive guys he has drafted can 'take over' a game in crunch time. On offense he has drafted all pro at guard/running back (maybe Warren but he isn't there yet)-two positions that have minimal impact in today's NFL (don't believe me? look at our record). We have no number one receiver and no QB (either starter or backup that is waiting in the wings learning) in a league that constantly makes rules to benefit the passing game and hinder the running game. The best argument is that we came close for half a year? And those 8 games are who we really are? I would like to point out that Miami looked unbelievable a few years ago before defenses started figuring them out. It is much more likely (we have seen it time and time again in the NFL) that we surprised teams early and they figured out how to stop us. Good team have this happen but they respond with changes of their own that mitigate what others are doing. We just fell apart. I don't think this is as cut and dry as it sounds when I write this. Giving it one more year has a certain logic to it I agree. I just don't think it will work.

[Hoopsdoc]

I think it’s pretty simple. Ballard has built a good enough roster that we can be really really good with decent quarterback play.

We just have not been able to find that quarterback.

I think it would be dangerous to fire Ballard because the next guy would most likely be worse at his job than Ballard is. IE, we would be much more likely to get the next Ryan Grigson than the next Howie Roseman.

[apballin]

He definitely puts too much weight on RAS score

Also drafting a team full of Man of the year candidates has its downside,

As much as they’re hated having a Jalen Carter, Ndomunkung Suh, or Aqib Talib brings an edge to a defense that this team has lacked since Robert Mathis retired

[Dam8610]

I think it’s pretty simple. Ballard has built a good enough roster that we can be really really good with decent quarterback play.

We just have not been able to find that quarterback.

I think it would be dangerous to fire Ballard because the next guy would most likely be worse at his job than Ballard is. IE, we would be much more likely to get the next Ryan Grigson than the next Howie Roseman.

This is the exact reason you don't fire him, especially if, as an organization, you believe Daniel Jones is a long term answer at the QB position.

[ChoppedWood]

This is the exact reason you don't fire him, especially if, as an organization, you believe Daniel Jones is a long term answer at the QB position.

So you don't fire personnel that over the course of 10 years have proven to you they suck, because there's the possibility you could get an even worse loser.

Fucking insane.

So at what year after proving long term suck, do you fire someone? 12 years, 15, do they get a solid 20 years of proving they are shit before you fire them????

Most organizations have a damn 90 day trial period, at end end of 90 days if you suck, you are told to go home.

Motherfucker has had 10 years proving to you that he is awful---- but you don't believe him?

What an insane fucking world view...

[Oldcolt]

I cannot argue with your logic for keeping Ballard. It would be insane to get rid of him if you are happy where this team is at talent wise except at QB. Obviously we disagree on what kind of team Ballard has put together. I think it is a team bereft of top (ie superstar) talent. No player capable of elevating his play in critical times. I believe you need that to consistently travel with other teams who have it. Hope I am wrong.

[Kray007]

So you don't fire personnel that over the course of 10 years have proven to you they suck, because there's the possibility you could get an even worse loser.

Fucking insane.

So at what year after proving long term suck, do you fire someone? 12 years, 15, do they get a solid 20 years of proving they are shit before you fire them????

Most organizations have a damn 90 day trial period, at end end of 90 days if you suck, you are told to go home.

Motherfucker has had 10 years proving to you that he is awful---- but you don't believe him?

What an insane fucking world view...

No, insanity is firing a General Manager when a third of his team, the best third, is stuck in the training room, rehabbing.

Insanity is trashing a roster simply because you don’t like the guy who assembled it.

Insanity is expecting an Offense to flourish with a Quarterback who’s gutting out a broken leg.

Insanity is expecting a GM to pull a viable Quarterback out of his butt when number 1 and number 2 go down.

Insanity is demanding wins when you’re starting a 44 year old Grandfather who hadn’t seen the field in 5 years.

[YDFL Commish]

Ballard and Steichen aren't going anywhere. At least not this off-season.

Ballard, mostly because of the Sauce trade and the Ward signing, never got to see the fruits of those signings. Carlie will wanna see how that plays out.

Steichen will stay for a similar reason. Carlie will wanna see what Steichen can do with Daniel Jones for another season.

IMO, Charlie Partridge may be on the hot seat though.

[ChoppedWood]

Just heard this stat on the radio. Last 2 years, we are 3-14 against teams with a 500+ record.

Holy shit. And yet there are still people on here that think we should keep either of these fucking bottom barrel losers.

My God the standards and expectations for this team are so ridiculously low.

FIRE THEM ALL!

[Kray007]

I cannot argue with your logic for keeping Ballard. It would be insane to get rid of him if you are happy where this team is at talent wise except at QB. Obviously we disagree on what kind of team Ballard has put together. I think it is a team bereft of top (ie superstar) talent. No player capable of elevating his play in critical times. I believe you need that to consistently travel with other teams who have it. Hope I am wrong.

I don’t think you can underestimate the impact of the injury to Daniel Jones. The team was 8-2 when he broke his leg.

Even after the injury, they didn’t fall apart. Compare that with Kansas City which, after Mahomes and Minshew went down, has managed a total of 272 total yards in 2 games, 133 vs the dreaded Titans and 139 against Denver.

As far as superstar talent is concerned, I think this team is bubbling with it. Jonathan Taylor is the best RB in the league. Pierce is the best deep threat in the league. Tyler Warren is Tyler Warren. DeForest Buckner is an elite DT, the engine that drives the Defense. Laiatu Latu is 11th in the league in sacks, 13th in pressures. Gardner and Ward are elite Corners.

[ChoppedWood]

No, insanity is firing a General Manager when a third of his team, the best third, is stuck in the training room, rehabbing.

Insanity is trashing a roster simply because you don’t like the guy who assembled it.

Insanity is expecting an Offense to flourish with a Quarterback who’s gutting out a broken leg.

Insanity is expecting a GM to pull a viable Quarterback out of his butt when number 1 and number 2 go down.

Insanity is demanding wins when you’re starting a 44 year old Grandfather who hadn’t seen the field in 5 years.

I sure do wish we could be like all the other teams in the NFL and not have injuries.

I sure do wish that every backup was a pro-bowl player like all the other teams in the NFL have on their rosters.

I sure do wish our backup QB was a future first ballot hall of famer like Mac Jones, Malik Willis and Davis Mills are!

I will absolutely agree with you that demanding wins out of a 44 year old grandpa who hasn't played in 5 years---- IS INSANE! Thank you for fucking making my point with that one!

Every single year Kray you basically repeat the same post, providing cover for what is clear malpractice by the Colts GM and coaching staff, every fucking year. Damn it has to get old at some point right?

[Kray007]

Just heard this stat on the radio. Last 2 years, we are 3-14 against teams with a 500+ record.

Holy shit. And yet there are still people on here that think we should keep either of these fucking bottom barrel losers.

My God the standards and expectations for this team are so ridiculously low.

FIRE THEM ALL!

In 2024, the Colts were trying to play through bad Quarterbacking. Anthony Richardson struggled with immaturity and inaccuracy. Joe Flacco succumbed to age. He’s managed to play this year, but put together a 2-8 record and dwells at the bottom of almost every QB metric.

In 2025, they got off to a blazing start, but were buried under an avalanche of injuries.

Did you really expect Riley Leonard to beat Jacksonville? Are you surprised that a hobbled Jones came up a smidge short vs KC and Houston? A 45 year old Grandpa going mano a mano vs Seattle and loses by 2, then loses by less than one score vs the Jags…those performances were little short of heroic.

[Kray007]

I sure do wish we could be like all the other teams in the NFL and not have injuries.

I sure do wish that every backup was a pro-bowl player like all the other teams in the NFL have on their rosters.

I sure do wish our backup QB was a future first ballot hall of famer like Mac Jones, Malik Willis and Davis Mills are!

I will absolutely agree with you that demanding wins out of a 44 year old grandpa who hasn't played in 5 years---- IS INSANE! Thank you for fucking making my point with that one!

Every single year Kray you basically repeat the same post, providing cover for what is clear malpractice by the Colts GM and coaching staff, every fucking year. Damn it has to get old at some point right?

First of all, happy holidays. This discussion is a testament to the passion of Colt fans, and even though I disagree with you, I salute you.

I know that every team deals with injuries, but we’re down to a 3rd string Quarterback. Our RT is gone for the season. Ditto one of the best Defensive Tackles in the league. On the back end, they’re down a couple of pro bowlers and the third best Corner on the roster.

In one game, the RT was playing on the left side, the RG was playing RT, and backups were manning 2 other spots.

As far as backup QB is concerned, we don’t how our backup stacks up vs Jones, Willis, or Mills. Our backup is nursing an injury that threatens his career.

As far as the insanity of reaching out to Rivers, by the time Jones and Richardson bit the dust, the pickings had gone from slim to nonexistent. If you think that Leonard was a viable option, I urge you to go to NFL plus and watch a rerun of the game. Leonard’s performance sent Ballard scurrying for someone, anyone, to step in. Without the injuries on Defense, they might have won 2 of Rivers games.

As far as my defense of Ballard; last year I said that time was running out for him. He had to produce better results in order to keep his job. As far as I’m concerned, he delivered. If Jones is playing, this is an 11 win team, even with the injuries that decimated the Defense.

[YDFL Commish]

On the back end, they’re down a couple of pro bowlers and the third best Corner on the roster.


Other than the Daniel Jones injury, this is biggest determining factor in the collapse. Blackmon, Edwards and Mitchell, are basically street free agents thrown into starter roles. Edwards is an undrafted rookie at that.

I actually thought that Mitchell had a pretty good game on Sunday though. It seems like Anarumo has absolutely no use for Jaylon Jones, for whatever reason.

[Puck]

Other than the Daniel Jones injury, this is biggest determining factor in the collapse. Blackmon, Edwards and Mitchell, are basically street free agents thrown into starter roles. Edwards is an undrafted rookie at that.

I actually thought that Mitchell had a pretty good game on Sunday though. It seems like Anarumo has absolutely no use for Jaylon Jones, for whatever reason.

Jones has really rubbed Lou the wrong way that is for sure. So I guess more behind the scene things we dont see

[ChoppedWood]

First of all, happy holidays. This discussion is a testament to the passion of Colt fans, and even though I disagree with you, I salute you.

I know that every team deals with injuries, but we’re down to a 3rd string Quarterback. Our RT is gone for the season. Ditto one of the best Defensive Tackles in the league. On the back end, they’re down a couple of pro bowlers and the third best Corner on the roster.

In one game, the RT was playing on the left side, the RG was playing RT, and backups were manning 2 other spots.

As far as backup QB is concerned, we don’t how our backup stacks up vs Jones, Willis, or Mills. Our backup is nursing an injury that threatens his career.

As far as the insanity of reaching out to Rivers, by the time Jones and Richardson bit the dust, the pickings had gone from slim to nonexistent. If you think that Leonard was a viable option, I urge you to go to NFL plus and watch a rerun of the game. Leonard’s performance sent Ballard scurrying for someone, anyone, to step in. Without the injuries on Defense, they might have won 2 of Rivers games.

As far as my defense of Ballard; last year I said that time was running out for him. He had to produce better results in order to keep his job. As far as I’m concerned, he delivered. If Jones is playing, this is an 11 win team, even with the injuries that decimated the Defense.

Happy holidays to you as well Kray! Hope you have been able to spend time with those you cherish.

I just choose to look at the very large picture and to me that picture isn't very pretty. Regardless of injuries other teams have suffered their teams have persevered, and in the case of the 9ers, THRIVED. What they have done, basically without both their 1 and 1A receivers from a year ago, - both of which are starters on ANY OTHER TEAM in the NFL, Kittle being in and out, Warner out, etc... to see them do this, to see them put up 42 last night basically using a RB and a "meh" WR as their only weapons, is ludicrous.


Comparatively the Colts have just completely collapsed. Shane does not seem to have been able to make ANY meaningful adjustments. Instead, his singular solution seems to have been to call an old man that knows his plays- which to me, says he isn't doing very good in developing his roster. Fair to compare Shane to Shanahan, fair to expect two teams to do what the 49ers are doing in the same year, probably not. But I think it only fair to look at them and conclude your team DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY HAVE TO SUCK due to injuries.

So I have a real problem with the coach not being able to get more out of what he has. Then I look at Anarumo- definitely a SS directed hire. Dude essentially both caused Joe Burrow to have an MVP level season last year because his D was that shitty, while also COSTING Joe an MVP because the league won't give the MVP to a member of team that is THAT FUCKING bad! So we bring him in, and essentially we play the same kind of defense that we played last year- just laying back, letting completions happen in front of us over and over and over again. Yeah, Ward basically was injured but in the games he wasn't, he certainly wasn't playing this hyper aggressive sticky press we were all hearing about. We so seldom blitzed that when we did you almost jumped out of your chair at just the foreign nature of it. WHY did we hire Lou- the DC with the league's worst D last year?

Then you get to Ballard, and we have a guy on one edge that I am not sure I have ever seen a blocking sled more skilled at eating blocks than this dude! There were plays yesterday, I swear to God he has to hear voices in his head telling him to try to climb inside the OL's jersey vs trying to get away from him. He is AWFUL! So the guy that we drafted in the 2nd round, that you would think could easily move such a stiff out of the way---- he was a healthy scratch about half the year and probably averaged what, 6 snaps a game on total? Seriously----- WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT?

Linebackers- are you kidding me? Franklin, man that is what we went into the season being okay with? I KNOW I could fucking beat him on a slant or a 10 yard crosser! Fucking EJ Speed is playing special teams for fucks sake! Pratt, okay, decent, but that's as far as you can go in assessment and he really has nothing to do with Ballard and is here because of the worst DC in the NFL last year- that's real encouraging. After that, it's a ghost town! How in the fuck can a GM have this little in the cupboard at perhaps the easiest position to fill in the NFL?

Secondary. Well, at least Ballard went for it, I will give him that. However, he swung and missed. Yes, injuries were brutal in the backfield, but still, those were players acquired by Ballard that got hurt. And as far as the talent of the backup backfield---- holy shit! I watch football 24/7, I see no other team as bereft of talent as we are, not even close. Week after week it's just a completion fest against these guys.

Ballard is NOT a good talent evaluator! He isn't! And I am tired of the fucking same press conference we are going to see again next Monday afternoon. I am tired of the "I SUCK but I'll be better this year" bullshit. He is right, he sucks, and he isn't going to be better! The mantra that when someone tells you who they are, believe them, is applicable, he has told us he sucks, and I fucking firmly believe him!

[ChoppedWood]

Jared Verse with the punt block and 76 to the crib. LOL!

[Oldcolt]

This team has the feel of a team that is just about to make the leap. For me the problem is this team has felt like this for a decade and never makes the leap. This may be a great group of players but they have had a mediocre record for a decade. The interesting thing is that what both sides say is true. Nobody argues the facts, just the interpretations of them. The women that count will let us know how they see it very soon.

[ChoppedWood]

Here's a depressingly sad thing to consider...

In the last 8 drafts we have invested 7 first or 2nd round draft picks on DE's.

Mentally re-watch the last couple years and try to convince yourself Chris Ballard belongs in the NFL as a GM... YOU CAN'T!

[Kray007]

Happy holidays to you as well Kray! Hope you have been able to spend time with those you cherish.

I just choose to look at the very large picture and to me that picture isn't very pretty. Regardless of injuries other teams have suffered their teams have persevered, and in the case of the 9ers, THRIVED. What they have done, basically without both their 1 and 1A receivers from a year ago, - both of which are starters on ANY OTHER TEAM in the NFL, Kittle being in and out, Warner out, etc... to see them do this, to see them put up 42 last night basically using a RB and a "meh" WR as their only weapons, is ludicrous.


Comparatively the Colts have just completely collapsed. Shane does not seem to have been able to make ANY meaningful adjustments. Instead, his singular solution seems to have been to call an old man that knows his plays- which to me, says he isn't doing very good in developing his roster. Fair to compare Shane to Shanahan, fair to expect two teams to do what the 49ers are doing in the same year, probably not. But I think it only fair to look at them and conclude your team DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY HAVE TO SUCK due to injuries.

So I have a real problem with the coach not being able to get more out of what he has. Then I look at Anarumo- definitely a SS directed hire. Dude essentially both caused Joe Burrow to have an MVP level season last year because his D was that shitty, while also COSTING Joe an MVP because the league won't give the MVP to a member of team that is THAT FUCKING bad! So we bring him in, and essentially we play the same kind of defense that we played last year- just laying back, letting completions happen in front of us over and over and over again. Yeah, Ward basically was injured but in the games he wasn't, he certainly wasn't playing this hyper aggressive sticky press we were all hearing about. We so seldom blitzed that when we did you almost jumped out of your chair at just the foreign nature of it. WHY did we hire Lou- the DC with the league's worst D last year?

Then you get to Ballard, and we have a guy on one edge that I am not sure I have ever seen a blocking sled more skilled at eating blocks than this dude! There were plays yesterday, I swear to God he has to hear voices in his head telling him to try to climb inside the OL's jersey vs trying to get away from him. He is AWFUL! So the guy that we drafted in the 2nd round, that you would think could easily move such a stiff out of the way---- he was a healthy scratch about half the year and probably averaged what, 6 snaps a game on total? Seriously----- WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT?

Linebackers- are you kidding me? Franklin, man that is what we went into the season being okay with? I KNOW I could fucking beat him on a slant or a 10 yard crosser! Fucking EJ Speed is playing special teams for fucks sake! Pratt, okay, decent, but that's as far as you can go in assessment and he really has nothing to do with Ballard and is here because of the worst DC in the NFL last year- that's real encouraging. After that, it's a ghost town! How in the fuck can a GM have this little in the cupboard at perhaps the easiest position to fill in the NFL?

Secondary. Well, at least Ballard went for it, I will give him that. However, he swung and missed. Yes, injuries were brutal in the backfield, but still, those were players acquired by Ballard that got hurt. And as far as the talent of the backup backfield---- holy shit! I watch football 24/7, I see no other team as bereft of talent as we are, not even close. Week after week it's just a completion fest against these guys.

Ballard is NOT a good talent evaluator! He isn't! And I am tired of the fucking same press conference we are going to see again next Monday afternoon. I am tired of the "I SUCK but I'll be better this year" bullshit. He is right, he sucks, and he isn't going to be better! The mantra that when someone tells you who they are, believe them, is applicable, he has told us he sucks, and I fucking firmly believe him!

Shanahan’s 49’ers faced the easiest schedule in the league, this year, facing only 4 playoff teams from last season. In games vs teams over .500, they rolled to a 3-3 record.

Now, I know that the schedule is out of your control, and you play the guys they put in front of you, and Mac Jones was able to carry them. But, I wonder if they would have sniffed even one win had their third stringer, Adrian Martinez, been called to start or if they had tried to call Trent Dilfer out of retirement.

Unfortunately for the Colts, the schedule maker backloaded their season, and after Jones got hurt, they faced a string of 7 consecutive games with teams with a cumulative record of 77-35.

As far as Anarumo is concerned, injuries to the back end have really impacted what he can do, schematically. It’s tough to assess Ward because he’s been in and out of the lineup so much.But, in his last game, vs Jacksonville, PFF gave him a grade of 87.6. Sauce left the game vs Jacksonville early, but he had a grade of 79.8. When Lawrence threw in his direction, Lawrence had an NFL grade of 39.6.

I think that, early in the game, you got a glimpse of what might be when Anarumo stacked the box and had 7 guys blitz. After Sauce went down, we no longer had the personnel to pull that off. But, If you have two shutdown Corners, it frees you up to run some really exotic schemes.

As far as Latu is concerned, you can’t call him a bust. PFF credits him with 11 sacks and 54 pressures. As far as Tuimoloau is concerned, I’m intrigued. Against the Chargers, he was in on 20 snaps and deivered 3 pressures. Vs Pittsburgh, he had 1 pressure on 6 snaps. Against Atlanta, 2 on 12. 2 on 13 vs Houston, 2 on 10 vs Jacksonville, and 3 on 16 vs Seattle.

Zaire Franklin has been a disappointment, but there aren't many people who expected him to go from a pro bowler to pedestrian in a single season. At the other spot, I expect the plan was for Jaylon Carlies to step in and play. In 250 snaps in 2024, he earned a PFF grade of 90.3, which was 3rd highest in the league. You might add that to the litany of injuries that turned what was shaping up to be a three hour cruise into an evening on the Titanic. I suspect that, somewhere in the wreckage of this season, you’ll find Leonardo DiCaprio clinging to a dining room table.

As far as the Secondary is concerned, come on. Nobody expects to find much more than dross when you dig down to 4th and 5th place on your depth chart. The Texans have a great secondary, but they’re not doing it with Tremon Smith or Alijah Huzzie.

To me, Ballard’s scouting acumen is the most impressive part of his resume. I am hard pressed to find more than a couple of weaknesses. The roster screams for a pass rusher opposite Latu. If Carlies doesn’t step it up, Ballard has to find someone there. Beyond that, the roster’s solid at:

Quarterback
Running Back
Offensive Line
Wide Receiver
Tight End
One Defensive End
Defensive Tackle
Cornerback
And Safety

[Oldcolt]

Strangely I agree with you that it is a solid roster and you could do much worse. It is hard to move on from that when you know you are close. Until last year I was with you on this but now I wonder just how many more years we will be solid because solid doesn't cut it. It's a .500 team, give or take a few. I know what it is like to be the laughing stock of the NFL, it sucks. But so has the last decade. I would like ownership to say and act like the only thing that counts is winning Super Bowls. It is why I liked then and still like swinging for the fences with Sauce. If it signals a new more aggressive mindset I'm all in, but it doesn't feel that way quite yet.

[sherck]

I think Chris Ballard is a GREAT evaluator and drafter of talent.....for every position besides QB and DE.

Sadly, those two positions are the most important on an NFL team and greatly dictate the success or failure of the team.

[apballin]

I think Chris Ballard is a GREAT evaluator and drafter of talent.....for every position besides QB and DE.

Sadly, those two positions are the most important on an NFL team and greatly dictate the success or failure of the team.

15 QBs brought in by Ballard...

19 DEs brought in by Ballard...

Sure, some of those were low round picks or street free agents but still, those numbers...

He has tried; I give him all the credit in the world. He has tried....and failed.

And I still don’t believe he’s ever forced his hand and gotten the QB he solely wanted. He leaves a lot of creative control of QB choice up to the coach because they want this harmonious work place unlike they had with Grigson

[sherck]

And I still don’t believe he’s ever forced his hand and gotten the QB he solely wanted. He leaves a lot of creative control of QB choice up to the coach because they want this harmonious work place unlike they had with Grigson
Alas, that does not matter.

In the end, he is the one who green lit whatever acquisition the Colts did...the buck stops here as they say.

I am on the fence about keeping him or firing him. He does SO many things well...except find QBs and DEs.

[Oldcolt]

And I still don’t believe he’s ever forced his hand and gotten the QB he solely wanted. He leaves a lot of creative control of QB choice up to the coach because they want this harmonious work place unlike they had with Grigson

If this is true than we are in more trouble than I ever thought. Of course he takes what the coach wants into consideration, I am sure he also runs it by the owner, but if he doesn't make the final decision who does? He kept Banogu on the team for years and the coaches kept making him a healthy scratch. That doesn't scream to me letting the coach make decisions on players. In the scenario you postulate, where decisions are made by multiple people, nobody is in charge and we are essentially rudderless. I am not saying you are wrong but if you are correct, jeez.

[apballin]

If this is true than we are in more trouble than I ever thought. Of course he takes what the coach wants into consideration, I am sure he also runs it by the owner, but if he doesn't make the final decision who does? He kept Banogu on the team for years and the coaches kept making him a healthy scratch. That doesn't scream to me letting the coach make decisions on players. In the scenario you postulate, where decisions are made by multiple people, nobody is in charge and we are essentially rudderless. I am not saying you are wrong but if you are correct, jeez.

So you’re telling me he wanted to sign,

Xavien Howard

Mike Hilton

Germaine Pratt

I’m guessing Anarumo went to him and said this is what I need if you want my system to work because none of these are moves that would match Ballards tendencies

[Oldcolt]

I am not saying that GMs don't let coaches sway them on certain players. I am saying when it is the most important position on the team, a position that affects the entire organization and how it is perceived the buck does not stop with the coach that 'loves' some QB for whatever reason. The GM makes that call, most likely in close consultation with the owner. Unless he is overuled by the owner he owns it in my view. Quarterbacks are different than other positions.

[Kray007]

I think Chris Ballard is a GREAT evaluator and drafter of talent.....for every position besides QB and DE.

Sadly, those two positions are the most important on an NFL team and greatly dictate the success or failure of the team.

After years of trying and striking out, Ballard found a Quarterback in Daniel Jones. He might not be the next Patrick Mahomes or Josh Taylor, but if that’s your metric for judging talent, most NFL GM’s come up short.

At DE, Latu seems to be developing into a solid pass rusher, a 10-12 sack a season guy. We could use another presence on the other side, someone who offers more sudden impact. Those guys are hard to find; I suspect that the answer is going to be Trey Hendrickson.

[Dam8610]

After years of trying and striking out, Ballard found a Quarterback in Daniel Jones. He might not be the next Patrick Mahomes or Josh Taylor, but if that’s your metric for judging talent, most NFL GM’s come up short.

At DE, Latu seems to be developing into a solid pass rusher, a 10-12 sack a season guy. We could use another presence on the other side, someone who offers more sudden impact. Those guys are hard to find; I suspect that the answer is going to be Trey Hendrickson.

I would prefer it to be Jaelan Phillips as he is a longer term solution to the problem and he is almost certain to hit free agency.

[YDFL Commish]

I would prefer it to be Jaelan Phillips as he is a longer term solution to the problem and he is almost certain to hit free agency.

No...No...No! Maxx Crosby should be the target. I would be willing to trade 2 2nd rd. picks, Pittman and Richardson for him.

[IndyNorm]

Of the 7/9 times we've not made the playoffs under Ballard I think you can legitimately excuse 3 of those seasons: 2017 b/c of rebuilding and Luck not being available, 2019 b/c of Luck bailing right before the season started, and 2025 b/c of the ridiculous amount of injuries that have happened to key players.

Just for fun here are some tongue is cheek excuses from all of the other years:

2021 - It wasn't Ballard's fault that the QB he traded for couldn't do a 180 deg. turnaround to his career. It also wasn't Ballard's fault that a rookie w/ 11.5 sacks in his entire college career and another rookie coming off an a torn achilles couldn't adequately take over for the loss of pass rushing vets Justin Houston and Denico Autry. And finally, it definitely wasn't Ballard's fault that the Jagoffs actually decided to play to win the final week of the year and not roll over and play dead like they had for pretty much the 2nd half of the season. That was just not fair!!

2022 - It wasn't Ballard's fault that Matt Pryor didn't work out at LT. He had the one game where he started at LT in '21 and played ok, so this was a total shocker. It also wasn't Ballard's fault that Pinter sucked at ROG. He and his staff only had 2 years to evaluate Pinter, which just isn't enough time. It also wasn't Ballard's fault that Matt Ryan's arm was shot. It's not like there was any film showing this in Ryan's last season or 2 in ATL.

2023 - To be fair the Colts exceeded any realistic expectations this year. Although it can probably be said that it wasn't Ballard's fault that starting one of the rawest QB prospects in history who had no idea how to protect himself from hits in the NFL got hurt.

2024 - It wasn't Ballard's fault that a QB who had a completion percentage in college of 55% couldn't improve on this in the NFL. It also wasn't Ballard's fault that he couldn't figure out that said QB wasn't willing to put in the time to be a good NFL QB during the predraft interviewing process. And it definitely wasn't Ballard's fault that the defense he put together didn't show up against the 2 worst offenses in the league that year (@ Jagoffs and @ NYG).

[Colts And Orioles]

After years of trying and striking out, Ballard found a quarterback in Daniel Jones.





o


I would say that Ballard didn't strike out in 2020 also, when a 39 year-old Philip Rivers led the Colts to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth. The largely immobile 39 year-old Rivers was playing behind an excellent offensive line that season ...... Rivers was not sacked once and was literally untouched in the Wildcard playoff game against the Bills, a game which went right down to the wire on the Bills' homefield in northwestern New York State.

I wouldn't count the 2019 season against Ballard because of the fact that Andrew Luck retired abruptly only 2 weeks before the start of the regular season ...... Ballard had no choice but to roll with Jacoby Brissett that season.

So Ballard had 4 consecutive seasons of being unable to find a solid quarterback from 2021 through 2024, although Carson Wentz was close ...... Wentz gets blamed for shitting the bed at the worst time in the final 2 games of the lone season that he played for the Colts, as he should ...... but he also led that Colts to a 9-6 record prior to that late-season collapse, and had 27 TD's, 7 INT's, and a passer rating of 93.1 for that season.


So Ballard's inability to find a solid quarterback for the team spanned 4 seasons, from 2021 through 2024.



*******************************


On the other hand, I would put the disastrous 2022 season entirely on Ballard, as I thought that it was a minor miracle that Matt Ryan had the Colts with a record of 4-5-1 after 9 games with that atrocious line blocking for him. That offensive line was nothing short of awful that year ...... in fact, if Philip Rivers had had that same terrible offensive line "protecting" him, I think that that 2020 solid, playoff season would have resembled the disastrous 2022 season. Philip Rivers had the mobility of a statute at that point in his career, and there is almost no way that he would have survived that season without getting killed, let alone led the team to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth. Philip Rivers had one of the best offensive lines in all of football blocking for him in 2020, which is the complete opposite of the line that Matt Ryan had "blocking" for him.

o

[Puck]

Noah Compton
@nerlens_
·
3h
Bruce Arians on
@PatMcAfeeShow
yesterday discussing the fate of the Indianapolis Colts:

“I hope the Colts don’t make a change, because I think they’re close…be patient, you’re very, very close. Don’t let one or two injuries run you out of the whole damn thing.”

[YDFL Commish]

I will say this.

When Carlie has her end of season meeting with Ballard and Steichen, if either of them even insinuate that we should keep either Zaire or Kwity, her response should be; Here's a box get your shit out of my building.

[Racehorse]

I will say this.

When Carlie has her end of season meeting with Ballard and Steichen, if either of them even insinuate that we should keep either Zaire or Kwity, her response should be; Here's a box get your shit out of my building.

I would keep Kwity only if it were for a back-up role, and not as a starter. Zaire needs to kick rocks.

[Colts And Orioles]

I would keep Kwity only if it were for a back-up role, and not as a starter. Zaire needs to kick rocks.





o


We got a lot out of a 7th-round drafter pick from 2018.

Between 2019 and 2021, Franklin was excellent on special teams. He evolved into an excellent linebacker between 2022 and 2024, culminating in his 2024 All-Pro season when he led the league with 173 tackles.

After his sub-par 2025 season, he may be finished as a Colt.

o

[apballin]

o


We got a lot out of a 7th-round drafter pick from 2018.

Between 2019 and 2021, Franklin was excellent on special teams. He evolved into an excellent linebacker between 2022 and 2024, culminating in his 2024 All-Pro season when he led the league with 173 tackles.

After his sub-par 2025 season, he may be finished as a Colt.

o

He definitely earned his spot the hard way and he had a hell of a run but honestly he got outplayed by Pratt and he has no business out there covering anyone.

He can run and hit with the best of them but a totally glaring liability in coverage

[Kray007]

The shocking thing is that he went from the pro bowl to looking washed up in the course of less than a year.

In a perfect world, you have a hard time cutting a guy who’s been one of the faces of the team, a team captain, a beloved figure in the locker room, a fan favorite. You hate to be a Bill Belichick, who never saw a player he wouldn’t cut if his performance didn’t exceed his cap numbers.

If it were me, I’d be asking myself if, maybe, we spent the year trying to pound a round peg into a square hole. As far as I’m concerned, finding a Linebacker who can cover ought to be pretty much near the top of Chris Ballard’s honey do list this offseason. The question I then ask myself is whether I think that Franklin still has value lined up next to that guy.

The other question comes down to personnel and roster building. The team has six starters and three key backups whose contracts are expiring. Cutting Franklin adds to the number of positions you have to address. If you cut him, are you shooting yourself in the foot?

[YDFL Commish]

If you cut him, are you shooting yourself in the foot?

Absolutely not shooting yourself in the foot. Ballard has shown that he can draft LB's. Also this sends a a team message that with sub-par performance anyone can lose their job.

[Mr. Session]

I don't think Franklin regressed outside of his injury. I don't think he started the season at 100% and nobody finishes it at 100%. There's been multiple circumstances this year where I saw him take a long time to get up.

Anecdotally I initially felt like honestly this year was not the worst I'd seen out of Franklin but empirically speaking there is clearly a production drop.

I think he has more value with us as backup then just letting him go. Indianapolis has to find a guy that can beat him out on some snaps but if his health improves I think Franklin could have a better year next year as a run defender.

[YDFL Commish]

I don't think Franklin regressed outside of his injury. I don't think he started the season at 100% and nobody finishes it at 100%. There's been multiple circumstances this year where I saw him take a long time to get up.

Anecdotally I initially felt like honestly this year was not the worst I'd seen out of Franklin but empirically speaking there is clearly a production drop.

I think he has more value with us as backup then just letting him go. Indianapolis has to find a guy that can beat him out on some snaps but if his health improves I think Franklin could have a better year next year as a run defender.

It's mostly not Franklin's run defense that are the issue. I this atrocious pass defense. He's often not in the same zip code of receivers crossing into his zone. No spatial awareness or speed.

[Oldcolt]

Zack Hicks makes the case that Ballard should be fired. He isn't predicting it, nobody knows how Carlie is going to make decisions, but he believes it is time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhHtLwqLwsw

I tend to agree with Hicks on this and would like the opinion of our resident Ballard backers as to why his argument is incorrect. To be clear, I am not saying he needs to be fired, I trust Carlie on this, but I think it is a pretty convincing argument that Hicks throws out.

[Mr. Session]

It's mostly not Franklin's run defense that are the issue. I this atrocious pass defense. He's often not in the same zip code of receivers crossing into his zone. No spatial awareness or speed.

He's always been a liability in this regard. He's good to get toasted multiple times in a year and he'll make a small handful of plays like he did this year, within the context of pass defense.

I'd love to see him in a backup role (I've always felt that was his best role anyway) as a special teams contributor and someone that comes in to help defend the run or blitz.

[albany ed]

It's mostly not Franklin's run defense that are the issue. I this atrocious pass defense. He's often not in the same zip code of receivers crossing into his zone. No spatial awareness or speed.

I think it was Belichik who had the philosophy to put a player in a position to succeed. Franklin should never be on the field during obvious passing situations. It's not his fault he sucks at pass defense, he certainly makes the effort. He just sucks at it. Keeping him on the field during obvious passing situations is not on him, it's on the coaching.

[Racehorse]

Zack Hicks makes the case that Ballard should be fired. He isn't predicting it, nobody knows how Carlie is going to make decisions, but he believes it is time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhHtLwqLwsw

I tend to agree with Hicks on this and would like the opinion of our resident Ballard backers as to why his argument is incorrect. To be clear, I am not saying he needs to be fired, I trust Carlie on this, but I think it is a pretty convincing argument that Hicks throws out.

I will have to watch it later, as I am about to leave for a while, but I will say you could make a good argument either way. It depends on what one wants to hear.

[Thorgrim]

Zack Hicks makes the case that Ballard should be fired. He isn't predicting it, nobody knows how Carlie is going to make decisions, but he believes it is time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhHtLwqLwsw

I tend to agree with Hicks on this and would like the opinion of our resident Ballard backers as to why his argument is incorrect. To be clear, I am not saying he needs to be fired, I trust Carlie on this, but I think it is a pretty convincing argument that Hicks throws out.

It’s a pretty compelling case that he makes. On one hand I can talk myself into believing we can find success next year but it would require me to ignore the cumulative results of Ballard’s tenure. Having lost so much draft capital while facing some serious holes yet to fill it’s beginning to feel like next year will be another sub-par season, maybe just for different reasons. Teams go from last in their division to first and I won’t rule it out. After all even a blind squirrel…
But should we be putting all our eggs in that basket? Now I could see Carlie keeping him for another potentially lost season while she takes on greater control of the draft. It would allow her to see if Jones and other players return to form and produce. It would also give her a bit of time to consider a new coach and GM. But like you, I have to trust Carlie. What other choice do I have?

[YDFL Commish]

I think it was Belichik who had the philosophy to put a player in a position to succeed. Franklin should never be on the field during obvious passing situations. It's not his fault he sucks at pass defense, he certainly makes the effort. He just sucks at it. Keeping him on the field during obvious passing situations is not on him, it's on the coaching.

This is true. To the point that I've often wondered why the Colts keep two backers on the field in obvious 3rd and long situations. Eberflus did it, Bradley did it, and now Anarumo is doing it. It wasn't a burden when Eberflus did it, because Leonard and Okereke were excellent coverage backers.

[ChoppedWood]

Zack Hicks makes the case that Ballard should be fired. He isn't predicting it, nobody knows how Carlie is going to make decisions, but he believes it is time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhHtLwqLwsw

I tend to agree with Hicks on this and would like the opinion of our resident Ballard backers as to why his argument is incorrect. To be clear, I am not saying he needs to be fired, I trust Carlie on this, but I think it is a pretty convincing argument that Hicks throws out.

Well articulated with data to back up his position. The guy is not a good GM, he just isn't. His final parting shot of looking around at the turn around's for some of Indy's other franchises and then looking at the Colts with this prolonged period of just "meh"... YOU HAVE TO FIRE HIM!

[IndyNorm]

It’s a pretty compelling case that he makes. On one hand I can talk myself into believing we can find success next year but it would require me to ignore the cumulative results of Ballard’s tenure. Having lost so much draft capital while facing some serious holes yet to fill it’s beginning to feel like next year will be another sub-par season, maybe just for different reasons. Teams go from last in their division to first and I won’t rule it out. After all even a blind squirrel…
But should we be putting all our eggs in that basket? Now I could see Carlie keeping him for another potentially lost season while she takes on greater control of the draft. It would allow her to see if Jones and other players return to form and produce. It would also give her a bit of time to consider a new coach and GM. But like you, I have to trust Carlie. What other choice do I have?

No doubt he makes some great points. His 3rd point (ignoring position groups in the offseason) has always been one of Ballard's weaknesses, and we all know the QB story all too well. What's scary though is his 2nd point as Ballard appears to have lost his edge in the draft. Take 2023 for example - we drafted a whopping 12 players and in year 3 of that draft class only 2 players have made any sort of impact on the season (Downs and Ade Ade) with one of them being a rotational guy.

Like you I'm torn. Seems like our best chance to have success next year is to roll it back and hope Jones can stay healthy and that he and Steichen can figure out how to beat the defensive blue print Pitt put in place. But long term wise it's probably better to move on. If you're the owner of a company and under your current COO you've finished in the red for 5 straight years and 7/9 since the COO has been put in place then you'd be crazy to not replace him.

[Oldcolt]

No doubt he makes some great points. His 3rd point (ignoring position groups in the offseason) has always been one of Ballard's weaknesses, and we all know the QB story all too well. What's scary though is his 2nd point as Ballard appears to have lost his edge in the draft. Take 2023 for example - we drafted a whopping 12 players and in year 3 of that draft class only 2 players have made any sort of impact on the season (Downs and Ade Ade) with one of them being a rotational guy.

Like you I'm torn. Seems like our best chance to have success next year is to roll it back and hope Jones can stay healthy and that he and Steichen can figure out how to beat the defensive blue print Pitt put in place. But long term wise it's probably better to move on. If you're the owner of a company and under your current COO you've finished in the red for 5 straight years and 7/9 since the COO has been put in place then you'd be crazy to not replace him.


This is exactly how I feel. Not an easy decision and probably no right or wrong one. It will be interesting to see how Carley handles this.

[ChoppedWood]

Like you I'm torn. Seems like our best chance to have success next year is to roll it back and hope Jones can stay healthy and that he and Steichen can figure out how to beat the defensive blue print Pitt put in place. But long term wise it's probably better to move on. If you're the owner of a company and under your current COO you've finished in the red for 5 straight years and 7/9 since the COO has been put in place then you'd be crazy to not replace him.

Great points in here.

In the real world, there is typically an annual appraisal performed. That appraisal is a retrospective look at the year. When you have someone responsible for a department / sector, when they are the ONE person accountable for the totality of that area, that evaluation will look at the totality of the 12 months. If the year started hot, but ended with a thud, and the person in charge is fully responsible for the full 12 months performance, there is a severe consequence for the totality of the performance. In that situation as the ultimate evaluator you don't say "hey, you did great early on, but once Brad left, well the department collapsed and we failed to meet all our objectives as a company as a result and a bunch of employees are getting cut, but since you did good early on we are going to ignore what the final outcome was, here's your bonus, have a great time in Tahiti". It doesn't work like that. For some reason we seem to want to see that approach taken with Ballard and I just don't understand why?

I sure as hell would not retain this person when over the course of 10 years I look at their performance and conclude they have seldom, if ever, met the performance expectations. Why would you WANT to keep that person in place in that circumstance?

So why retain him?

[IndyNorm]

This is exactly how I feel. Not an easy decision and probably no right or wrong one. It will be interesting to see how Carley handles this.

Yeah, I won't be upset either way. Now if we roll it back next season and miss the playoffs for the 6th straight year (no matter the circumstances) then I'll be of the opinion that Ballard and SS absolutely have to go.

[DragonTails]

Both teams that drafted ahead of us in 2023 have since made the playoffs--and a bunch after us.

The downturn started when DJ broke his leg which we didn't find out until later. Rivers was a waste in so many ways.

I thought the play calling felt different in the KC game.

It seemed like all this team needed was a slightly mobile QB with slightly above average play. That was Jones until he got hurt. Could it have been Lenard after a game or 2 under his belt?

[apballin]

Ballard and Steichen will return next season

Carlie will speak to media tomorrow

[Colts And Orioles]

o


I come not to praise Chris Ballard ...... I come not to bury Chris Ballard ...... I come to congratulate Chris Ballard on having the most threads in his name on the ColtFreaks website for the 2025 season.




Ballard’s Presser From Today

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=200242&highlight=Ballard


Is Ballard a Buyer ???

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202520&highlight=Ballard


Ballard and Steichen Are Coming Back

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=193584&highlight=Ballard


I Come to Praise Chris Ballard, Not to Bury Him

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=200246&highlight=Ballard


What Hath Ballard Wrought …... A Look at the Roster

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=206825&highlight=Ballard


Ballard

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=203179&highlight=Ballard


Daniel Jones Saved Ballard’s Job

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=206894&highlight=Ballard


What Could Ballard Do ???

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=206968&highlight=Ballard


Ballard Presser

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=207074&highlight=Ballard


Ballard and Steichen Are Safe

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=206795&highlight=Ballard


Ballard’s Draft Record

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=206851&highlight=Ballard

o

[Oldcolt]

When your GM gets the most threads it is a bad sign