Agreed that next year is key. I'm not in love with Ballard, I just think that right now the rebuild is going about as well as I would have thought (and I am not talking about our record). No matter what happens he won't be shown the door next year. Not by Irsay.

Gimme a break - you're talking about showing Ballard the door? Why, because he's improved virtually every facet of this team while saving tons of cap space for the future? What would you have done differently? Please be specific with player names.

Let me list for you the things he's done off the top of my head in the short time he's been here:

2017 Draft - Using an inherited scouting staff, and on short notice, still picked up three starters (Hooker, Mack, Walker), three backups (Wilson, Hairston, Stewart). Two ugly misses (Basham and Banner), but unlike most he didn't keep them around making the situation worse in the hope of saving face. When all is said and done, most teams will have at least two ugly misses in any given draft. Ballard just acknowledged his sooner than most.

2018 Draft - Nearly every pick has made serious contributions, except Lewis/Cain (injured) and Fountain (practice squad). I doubt any other team had a better batting average. Seven games in and we already have two high level starters (Nelson and Leonard) from this draft.

2018 free agency - Signed Ebron, Autry and Miller to cap friendly deals. Jury still out on Grant. Struck out on Howard, but again damage was small ($1-2 million) and cut bait quickly to minimize damage.

Traded for Jacoby Brissett in exchange for an underperforming WR from the prior regime (Dorsett)

Cut/traded multiple mediocre vets (Hankins/Anderson/Simon) in favor of much cheaper youth that are now outperforming those vets.

Kept several vets who have performed at or above their contracts (Hunt, Woods, Sheard, Desir), while not resigning others who are now disappointments with their new teams (Melvin, Moncrief)

Rebuilt two critical areas (offensive line and linebackers) into a strength, after years (and years) of underperformance.

Utilized team-friendly contract structures which incentivized performance and gave the team the flexibility to move on without consequence if things didn't work out.

Jettisoned Pagano, brought in Reich and new coaching staff. Notable embarrassment when McDaniels reneged on informal agreement, but Ballard accepted blame and rebounded well in getting Reich.

Jettisoned multiple failed draft picks/projects from the prior regime (TJ Green, Dorsett, Bond, George)

Those are the things I can think of off of the top of my head. The bottom line is that most of his moves have improved this team, and those that haven't didn't cause much damage. And you're talking about getting rid of this guy?

I think the major rub on Ballard is the HUGE amount of cap space we are sitting on doing nothing. Many fans wanted more of it spent on free agents.

I get it. I also get what Ballard is trying to do in establishing an identity before dropping a ton of cash on "high level" performers. We have signed 4 guys (2 per year) so far to "starter level" contracts (over $5m a year) and one more at $5m a year (Grant).

Of those four over $5m (Hankins, Sheard, Ebron, Autry), Hankins is the only one who has not worked out so far. Sheard and Ebron are delivering starter level performance and so has Autry when heathy.

I fully expect 2019 to be a bit different assuming that this trend continues for the rest of the season of a rising defense of talent (Leonard, Walker, Turay, Hunt, Hooker) and an offense that re-estabilishes itself as a top ten offense.

Those two things happen by the end of 2018, I fully expect the checkbook to be opened in 2019 with us bidding aggresively on veterans who will fit the culture and another draft class hopefully like 2018.

Anyway, I am glad Ballard is here and I am good with his plan. However, if he sits on $50m of cap space in 2019, my opinion will probably start turning.

Walk Worthy,

I think something people are forgetting is that the big splash contracts usually require money up front. Irsay just paid Grigson to go away and then Pagano. Maybe he doesn't have much liquidity left to go after the top guys, but will have more flexibility next off-season.

Also, businesses that throw around money "just because they have it" do not last very long. That is an awful business model.

This offensive line is on its way (hopefully) to being one of the most dominant in the league. It is changing everything about this team. I love the Nelson pick and think, in my mind, he would have been worth the #1 for this team as a guard. Undervalued position my ass. Seeing Luck have a clean pocket two games in a row (not to mention actual holes opening up for the running game) is worth every bit of investment we have in this line. Freaking loving it.

I did not love the pick, but was ok with it. Especially with Chubb off the board already. And when it happened, I wanted Ballard to really commit and get a 2nd lineman early to knock the OL out as a big need. So the Smith pick was a good thing IMO. We have 3 1st rounders and a 2nd rounder as our starters. That is more than enough investment in terms of draft capital. With Castonzo back, it appears to be paying off. Now Ballard just needs to maintain it rather than build it. Watching a 220 yard rushing effort was a real treat.

I didn't love it at first either. Because I listened to all the so call experts saying that you can't pick a guard at 6 because of it being a 'low value' position. Maybe for some teams, but not for this one. I'm not putting everything on Nelson (Coaching has a huge impact. There was a recent article that stated the Colts start breaking down opponents blitzes on the Thursday 10 days before the game. When we finish a game the coaches have every blitz that the team we are about to face has done in the last 2 years set up on a film ready to be studied) but this offensive line is gelling into something special and I never want to go back to the shit show we have lived with for the last umteen years' Great pick because the line is playing so well. It’s taken forever to get here.

Well said, I think Ballard has done a ton already to prove he deserves time. Just hitting on draft picks is a huge step in the right direction.

I really am glad we got Reich over McDaniels. A former QB, a great offensive mind, a much better leader for a head coach. McDaniels is such a worm, reneging on his word just shows what his character is like. I was in Denver when he was there, he rubbed ALL the players wrong. All of them. No one liked him, guys didnt want to play for him. I remember talking to one of their players out one night, a DB I think, and he said McDaniels was a dodgy pos who would duck you in hallways rather than talk to you. You can come up with all the great routes and schemes you want, but if your players hate you, you’re not doing much. Gruden is the only other coach I can think of that is so despised by his players.

Any talk of firing Ballard next year (or whenever) is crazy. I’ve been a critic of some of his moves, but even I see the good in what he has done. And you have to give a GM a chance to implement their plan and their vision.

Anyone calling for Ballard to be fired anytime soon are just ridiculously impatient.