Ballard Presser
 

Watched it. He says it's so hard to win in the NFL. He waxed poetic about those years we made the playoffs and seemed to say getting back to those glory years (you know 2018, 2020) were the goal. First off it isn't that hard to make the playoffs as 44% of NFL teams do it every year. And setting up a one and done as our goal makes me sick. Anyway takaways (I copied and pasted):

-Insert "I'm disappointed" quote

-Ballard feels good about the talent we have but we need to figure out why we aren't finishing seasons strongly historically (weak finishes from 2023-2025)

-Buckner will be back

-It sounds like there is a good chance that Ward retires but they're holding out hope that he comes back

-They want Pierce back

-Richardson has really stepped up as a teammate even after his injury

-Ballard felt good about Riley Leonard and he is being considered as the QB2

-If they like a QB at the right value in the draft, they'll take them

-Acknowledged that he's received a lot of patience and grace from the Irsay family over the last 10 years

-He thought Zaire and Pratt had solid years at LB

-He acknowledged that he's pretty good at scouting and draft LBs

-Carlies needs to stay healthy and hasn't been able to do that

-Defense needs to be faster

-Latu had a good year (8.5 sacks and 3 picks) and just needs to work on finishing on some plays

-The Front 7 needs help overall though

-Defense needs youth

-Ballard being on a contract year doesn't change anything for him

-Walley and Woehler looked really good and the team were expecting big things from them before they got hurt.

-Sounds like Woehler could potentially be taking Cross' role if we don't re-sign him.

-Braden Smith looked good before his injury and Jalen Travis looked really good when he stepped in at RT

-Had a lot of good things overall to say about the offensive line as a whole

-Goncalves needs to work on some things but Ballard noted improvement at the end of the season

-Not reaching out to John Harbaugh, Shane is their guy


I want him gone more than ever

Wait, what, you weren't blown away with that amazing display of charisma and confidence? I WAS! The man just overflows with tremendous energy and is such a testimony to intensity! LOL!

I was able to listen to a bit of it while driving, and there's no other way to characterize this other than TIRED. You could just put the little recorder with last years presser up to the mic, put a cardboard cut out of him at the table, and it would have been just as effective.

For those out there who question WHY this team constantly folds, why we buckle when any form of adversity hits, look no further than this agonizingly sad reflection of what he is made of:


"getting back to those glory years (you know 2018, 2020) were the goal"

Just close your eyes, close them, and play that snippet on loop- I fucking guarantee your tranquil mind will automatically insert Bruce Springsteen waxing poetically as the backing track. You will fall asleep, and you will likely hate life just a tiny bit more when you wake up and realize your dreams of being a wild card team and almost winning a playoff game- those were the times Billy Joe Armstrong was longing for some 30 years ago!

Then this part:

-Latu had a good year (8.5 sacks and 3 picks) and just needs to work on finishing on some plays
-The Front 7 needs help overall though
-Defense needs to be faster

Latu- is JUST A FUCKING GUY! He will sing his praises because he is HIS guy, but the reality is, that dude is just your random 55-60 other dudes at the position in the NFL. He is NOT an impact player, he DOES NOT need to FINISH some plays, he needs to fucking INITIATE some plays- the plays he makes are just finishing when there's like 6 seconds in the backfield because the QB held the ball for eternity. We need someone who explodes off the line and gets home in 2 -2.5 seconds.

So, with him making all those statements, he's implying he will make us faster up front, meaning he will select a DE with the 2nd rounder, which translates to us putting another notch on the wall where he marks the never ending list of ineffective DE's he has landed--- we are so fucked here!

Man, if you listened to this thing and didn't come away feeling like this dude is pretty fucking comfortable with just being middle of the pack, you didn't listen to his words and tone. This dude is the very reason we collapse, because this is HIS culture, this is a cultivator of mid!

Ballard is full of shit.

I’ve never been less confident in the organization. He inspired zero confidence with his press conference. In fairness though, there isn’t much he can say at this point. Pointing back at his one and done playoff run is about all he’s got to hang his hat on.

Thanks for the breakdown. I haven't listened to one of these for like 3 years now. He always just says the same shit.

He answered every question the reporters asked. He answered them honestly and didn't dodge anything.

Does it sound like same ole same ole? Maybe. But just like you play the teams on the schedule, You answer the questions asked by the reporters

Why are you pissed at Ballard and not the reporters for not asking better questions?

I never listen to anyone who screams there thoughts and can't talk rationally. I dismiss their thoughts as soon as I start reading the tone.

Think about the people in the world that scream their opinion all the time. No one takes then seriously because they are just not ver smart people

This 'goal' of making the playoffs and complaining about how hard it is a big part of the problem to me. He may be correct that all things considered that is realistically all we can shoot for this year. He is right that he has had a very hard time putting together a playoff team. It is why we need new talent and leadership that is naive enough to think the Super Bowl is a reasonable goal. I just don't know that Ballard actually believes in himself anymore. If you have any self awareness this run of mediocrity has got to affect you. He admitted he has no idea of how they so totally collapsed (it is almost like the team is looking for an excuse to fold. we lost a QB and the entire team went south) and obviously doesn't know how to fix it yet that is what he is supposed to do. This team has a 'woe is me' feeling big time to me.

God I hope he doesn't actually believe that.

Yeah, not very inspiring. Kind of like the owners' letter to the fans that says they believe we can compete for the division and a playoff birth next year. Haven't we already been doing that the last couple of years?

I hate to say it, but most of the Indy media does not understand the Colts weaknesses. Or, they are pussies and won't ask the tough questions.

I agree. they talk a big game on X or other socials and then fold like tacos when the pressure is on.

I think they don't want to get a rep like Dickitch, where the Colts don't even want to talk to him.

Ballard will sometimes but Dickitch is never as aggressive as he tells everyone he is.

He is a TERRIBLE sports talk person. Bitches about all these players and coaches etc and is the worst coach in IU history.

Great, let me know when I am supposed to worry about whether or not I appear smart on a fucking Colts msg board. I come here to talk this shit how I feel about talking- which I applaud you for setting it up this way so that can be done.

In terms of being pissed at the media, man, the media here has never had teeth. Doyle will occasionally go on the offensive but generally speaking, these guys are all afraid they are gonna get their wings clipped if they go hard- it's just to be expected sadly. That said, Ballard, man, dude just isn't it, he just isn't.

Who cares? Not all of us work up a blood clot over a fucking game

o


When the Colts started the 2011 season with a record of 0-13, I continued to proudly wear my Colts jerseys, Colts hats, and Colts jacket every day, just like I did when they made it to 2 Super Bowls in a 4-year span between 2006 and 2009 ...... it's a game, it's meant to be fun for fans.

In my rat's ass of an opinion, if you are treating your favorite team's failures as though your girlfriend just told you that she's been fucking your best friend, you're not only wasting your time, you're wasting your life.

o

Finally watched the entire thing, I didn’t like hearing that Carlie asked him if he’s still got “juju” for the job and don’t like the amount of faith they have in Jones but whatever I guess we’ll see.

I like how he said they’d be aggressive to improve the team

Hopefully Wohler can stay healthy because hearing their expectations for him was exciting

To some extent, this is petty quibbling. Does he really have to say that the goal is winning championships? He most likely believes that that is obvious.

Also, it’s obvious why they “collapsed.” They didn’t just lose a Quarterback; they lost their starter and Anthony Richardson. Any rational person knows that you don’t win football games when you lose the Quarterback room. In sports, there seems to be a reluctance to use injuries as an excuse, as if the old saw about next man up is anything more than hokum. But, sometimes, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s a duck. Sometimes, when your Quarterback is a turd, you stink.

As far as not knowing how to fix it, if you’re talking about finding an answer after we lost Jones, it’s unfixable. If losing Quarterback 1 and 2 had any answer, Kansas City would have waved a magic wand after Mahomes and Minshew went down. They wouldn’t have lost 3 straight behind a Quarterback who managed a grand total of 33 points and 250 passing yards.

If by fixing it you mean building a better roster, he seemed to be clear and rational. He’s happy with the Offense, and, on D, they’re looking to fortify the D Line and get faster and more athletic overall.

o


I wouldn't feel the slightest bit better if Ballard had said that the Colts plan on winning the Super Bowl next year ...... in fact, I always point out that there are 3 major steps in winning the Super Bowl.


1) Make the playoffs

2) Make it to the Super Bowl

3) Win the Super Bowl


You can't win the Super Bowl if you don't make it to the Super Bowl.

And you can't make it to the Super Bowl if you don't make it to the playoffs.

I'm looking forward to the Colts making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and as far as I'm concerned, any talk about winning a Super Bowl before that first step is achieved is a lot of bluster and hot air.

o

C and O and kray. I'm sick of being a mediocre team and I am not afraid of change because 'we might get worse'. Year after year some of us say this isn't working, you say it will work this year, it doesn't and you make excuses just like every losing team has done my entire life. Now both the owner and the GM have said that the goal is competeting for a playoff spot but you both know that they actually meant that the goal is a Super Bowl. I wish I had your capacity to believe whatever.

Thanks Captain Obvious. But the point is the goal shouldn't be to just make the playoffs next year. It should be at least win the division and make a playoff run.

o


OK, Captain Ambitious. That's great. And if Ballard had said just that, I'm sure that all of the pessimistic Colts fans whom are fed up with Ballard would think, "Hey, this guy gets it ...... maybe he is our guy, because he has the right attitude, and the right mindset."

You can say that the Colts' goal in 2026 is whatever you want it to be ...... Ballard can say that the Colts' goal in 2026 is whatever he wants it to be ...... but for a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2020, any talk about anything other than making the playoffs is all hot air and blustery bullshit.

o

winning the division is the 1st goal. being a wc team should not be the goal.

o


And the Colts have not done either since 2020.

More significantly, I would rather be a Wildcard team with a record of 12-5 or 11-6 than be a division winner with a record of 9-8 or 8-9 ...... having a team that is a bona-fide contender (like the 2020 Colts were when they went 11-5 and took Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills right down to the wire on their homefield in northwestern New York State in the playoffs) is much more preferable than a team with a mediocre record that has almost no chance to do anything of significance in the playoffs winning the division (like the 2022 Buccaneers who went 8-9 did.)

Yes, generally speaking, winning the division is more important that getting a Wildcard. But more important than that is having a team winning 11 or 12 games (regardless of whether or not that nets them a division title or a Wildcard berth) and being a bona-fide contender.


Splitting hairs over what Ballard said at the press conference in regard to what the goal of the team is for next year isn't going to change the fate of the 2026 Indianapolis Colts at all ...... Ballard's actions in the draft, in re-signing players that are eligible for free agency, and any potential off-season trades that he makes will.

o

Considering we were 8-2 before the collapse setting the bar to win the division and 1-2 playoff games is very much a realistic goal. With the FO and ownership saying the goal is to make the playoffs makes me believe that they'll be happy with a 7 seed one and done playoff team, which they shouldn't be.

o


I completely agree with that. In fact, I am one of the Colts fans who believes that it is highly likely that the 2026 Colts will be one of the best teams in the NFL, and that with a healthy Daniel Jones the team is much closer to the one that went 8-2 before he broke his leg than the one that went 0-7 after he broke it.

That wasn't the overall point of what I said in my original post that you quoted, though. The overall point is that Ballard's wording of what the team's goal is has little to no significance in my confidence in him. What Ballard does in the upcoming draft, what he does in regard to keeping big-time free agents on the roster while somehow keeping the salary cap intact, and what he does overall to improve that team's biggest weakness (the pass-rush) is what will tip the scales in regard to whether or not I will continue to have confidence in Ballard in 2026 and beyond.

o

Therein is why we disagree. We judge the man on different scales. I now judge him on winning. I used to judge him, like you, on how I personally perceived he was doing. It took me 8 years to recognize that the results were not jibing with my judgements. So now I will judge him on one thing only, our record. After a decade his excuses ring hollow to me. I just don't believe them anymore because I've heard them year after year after year and they always are proven to be incorrect. I'll believe when Ballard says/predicts are actually correct. And, ass that I am, I will need more than one lucky year to be totally back on his bandwagon.

o


Fine, you can judge him on winning, and that is legitimate ...... ultimately, the Colts have only had one season as bona-fide contender (2020) in his 9-year tenure as the team's GM (2017 through 2025.)

That wasn't the gist of my original post on this topic, though. The gist of my original post was in regard to Ballard's wording of the team's goal in 2026, which I believe has very little (if any) value in regard to the team's future fate.

o

o


The fact that some of us (myself included) are arguing over Ballard's wording of the team's future goal in a press conference tells me that ColtFreaks is having as bad of a 2026 off-season as the Colts did in their 0-7 collapse to end the 2025 season ...... the Colts sucked in that 0-7 collapse, and so do we here at ColtFreaks.

o

None of us like mediocrity. It is preferable to being the perennial Jets/Browns/etc., however. Those franchises are without hope year after year because they are poorly run. They are constantly turning over front office people and coaches. The Titans seem to be following in their footsteps under their new owner. She is as reactive as Robert Irsay was. Usually, continuity in the front office pays off long term. I know you will say Ballard has had a long term, and I agree. Where we disagree is whether or not Ballard can get us over the hum into perennial contender status. Outside of local fans, most people think he can do it, but just needs to figure out the QB situation. This is where I fall, too, as I see teams with a Brady, Manning, Brees, Rodgers, BigBen, etc. were always in contention because if the QB. History has shown us that this is the best way to sustain success, but it also shows that a team that is solid in most other areas can carry a Brad Johnson or Trent Dilfer to the SB victory. That is why I understand what Ballard said when he said he wanted a team that is not totally dependent on a superstar QB to save the day every week, because that works for maybe 80% of the games, until you run into another superstar QB with a better overall roster (think Cheats rosters versus those Manning had), or until the superstar is out (see the years Brady, Manning, and now Mahomes were out; the teams could not get there without them.)

We can disagree all year long, and if we get over the hump, those on this side will crow about how our patience was rewarded, while the other side will continually complain until we win it. To me, it is sad to see SB or bust as the only mark of success, given that only one team gets that every year. If that is your mentality, I would have to assume you are also employed by one of the Fortune 500 companies, possibly as CEO. Otherwise, holding others to a standard that you do not hold yourself to in your personal life is hypocrisy.

Bottom line: Ballard and Steichen are coming back next year whether it is a popular move or not, and we do not get to make that decision. I get it that people use this forum to vent their frustrations, but some of us get tired of the continual beating of the proverbial dead horse, especially a horse like me.

I applaud your honesty here. You are one of the few detractors that has the ability to be swayed by evidence. Most just have hated Ballard since the first year, or shortly thereafter. They seem to dislike his personality. To me, personality is the least of my worries. Their dislike of him from the onset makes me think they are our version of Dickitch, who thinks Grigson was a great GM because he was lucky to have Andrew Luck at QB to save his ass every year. The team was clearly a corpse when they fired that clown, and Ballard had to fix that corpse. Has it taken longer than I hoped? You are absolutely right that it did. However, I do not see the roster declining every year like it did under Grigson, who I supported early on.

Good points! After all how many Super Bowls have Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson been to?

o


Actually, when Tom Brady went down in 2008, the Patriots went 11-5 with Matt Cassel at quarterback ...... they were a bona-fide playoff team that didn't make the playoffs because the AFC was stacked that season ...... they were one of only 2 teams in history to have a record of 11-5 and not make the playoffs (the 1985 Denver Broncos were the other one.)

We were fucked when Bert Jones went down and missed more than half of the 1978 and 1979 seasons.

We were fucked when Peyton Manning missed the entire 2011 season, and the Colts went 2-14 with Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter, and Dan Orlovsky at QB.

The Chiefs lost to the lowly Titans by a score of 26-9 when Patrick Mahomes went down, and are very likely fucked if Mahomes goes down for most or all of an entire season.

In my rat's ass of an opinion, it was largely excellent teams with solid depth that were assembled and coached by Bill Belichick that kept the Patriots afloat in those days. Tom Brady put them over the top from a team that was a contender to a team that was either a conference champion (9 Super Bowl appearances) or a world champion (6 Super Bowl wins.) Brady was great, one of the greatest QB's of all-time, but I don't think that he was as great as Manning or Mahomes, whose teams completely collapsed without them.

o

Nope, Grigson was a buffoon, stooge, tool. Just because Ballard sucks (and he does no matter how many settings are applied to the lens), does not mean Grigson was good.

Us "detractors" are looking at empirical evidence and stating that there is nothing to substantiate any objective rationale that he has been 1- "good" or 2- he will be "good" going forward. His tenure has provided nothing, absolutely nothing, to provide any reason to believe so.

As for his personality- yes, I absolutely hate his personality. He presents as a haughty, stubborn, know it all who for all his hubris seems like he's really kind of a coward and cannot handle criticism. He constantly clings to what in the grand scheme of things are small and infrequent pieces of an overall larger puzzle that he seems to really struggle to comprehend. He seems very much a trees vs the forest person, and as a GM, that's not fucking good.

And C&O, as for your statement that CF's hasn't been "good" during the 0-7 stretch. What in the fuck does that mean? Us meanies should have been going to the complex with home baked cookies and warm towels for our beloved Colts, as they week after week fell flat on their face???? What in the fuck are you talking about. The other day you more or less told me I should leave, perhaps you would be better suited to go over to Colts.com where the circle jerk is the play of the day. Sorry, you don't like seeing the criticism, dude, we just experienced the worst collapse in the history of the NFL- there is PLENTY of criticism warranted!

o


I said myself included, and I specifically said that we sucked (myself included) because we are arguing over Ballard's wording of the team's goal at the press conference, not because we're arguing over the team's monumental 0-7 collapse to ends the 2025 season, or arguing whether or not Ballard is a good GM, or arguing over whether or not the team will have yet another mediocre season in 2026.

I didn't single out either side of the overall Ballard debate in regard to the ColtFreaks the suckitude, and I didn't insinuate that pessimistic Colts fans should stop complaining about the team's perennial mediocrity, I said that it was specifically in regard to everybody arguing about Ballard's press conference wording/language.

o

I could be misremembering, but most of us Ballard detractors (at least the sane ones) didn't really sour on him until the shit show that was the 2022 season. Not to say that we didn't criticize some of his moves (pretty sure I wasn't happy w/ all of the trading down and a loft of thee selections of the '19 draft for example), but for the most part we were all pretty happy w/ Ballard at least through the 2020 season.

And yes, Ballard is a MUCH better FM than Grigson. But that's not saying much considering my dog probably would have been a better GM for the Colts than Grigson was.

Life is nuance and it doesn't necessarily come across having discussions like this. I had put the conversationto bed in my mind but then folks like you comment on my being upset that I don't like what our owner/GM have set out as organizational goals. You are upset that this conversation is still going but still feel like you need to engage and keep it alive. I want our goal to be Super Bowl or bust, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy seasons we don't make it. I do in a big way. I just can't imaging Lombardi, Shula or our beloved Jim being satisfied with making it into a playoff game as a goal. This letter our owners wrote and what Ballard said are exactly the same. They didn't say it was a step on the way to the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl win. I believe they said what they mean.

One final stat to think about. There is a 44% chance that we make the playoffs each year (14/32). If there is a 44% chance you will achieve something each year and you try to achieve it for 5 years (our current non playoff streak) there is a 94.5% chance you will succeed. This isn't a difficult goal for a professional football team (44%). It is 3% per year and 14% over 5 years to win the Super Bowl-difficult and a worthy goal in my opinion.

Goal are aspirations. Aim high

I was high on him when first hired. I was also on board with the Nelson selection and the win from the inside out mantra. I was on board as we were building the "Run the Damn Ball" physical domination psyche. Something started to shift though. Reich was a HUGE part of the start of my disenchantment- and I was 100% thrilled when we hired him so this isn't rear view mirror shit.

It didn't take long to see that Frank was just not the right guy, that he was so fucking focused on this cerebral winning, this outthinking the other side bullshit, that the team was floundering. It was the 2021 retention of him despite him clearly being at the root of the team faltering, that's where I couldn't stand him- and I get there's the whole Jim, them tied together thing, etc... Nonetheless, as the GM his job is to see the coach is the problem and to remedy it. Then the debacle with Saturday and what I still consider to be the ultimate act of cowardice of not stepping down when it seemed very clear that Jim was saying "you suck, so I am taking control".

After that, man fuck this guy. Steichen, yep, again, very high on the hire. However, what I see now is basically just a repeat of the same thing. The team is mentally soft, the coach is not a real leader, the focus is on skills and measurements, and schemes, and the team is not really much of a team vs just a collection of guys that play football on Sundays and collect checks.

I can't stand what I perceive to be just a general overall acceptance of mid, from the very top to the very last roster spot, they seem to be pretty ok with just being a middle of the pack org- and that sucks!

o


Maybe you're right. Life indeed does have a lot of nuance.

My experience in all of my years as a sports fan is that press conferences (by players and/or coaches and/or GM's) are literally nothing more than words/conversation that pass the time. Great coaches such as Vince Lombardi and Bill Parcells never put any stake in them, whether it was they themselves that were giving the interview or one of their players. I have yet to see any empirical proof that a sports franchise's overall direction changed (that a team got "psyched up" and won games and/or that a team fell flat and went on a losing streak) because of the general theme of a press conference.

o

I agree with you on what press conferences normally mean. The letter is the thing that bugs the crap out of me. All three owners went over it, as I am sure others also did, with a fine tooth comb. Maybe it's nothing but I think how you talk is a reflection of how you are thinking. I think your point is valid also. It most likely comes down to I am negative about Ballard and you are not. I have a negative attitude and you don't But it isn't negative towards the Colts, it is negative towards the GM and maybe the owner. I've outlasted many of these people as a Colt fan as have you. Like you said we will see. Honestly, I am hoping you are right.

I have to take issue with the idea that the Colts have assembled a soft team. When soft teams face adversity, they fall apart.

Soft teams don’t have Quarterbacks who try to tough their way through broken legs.
Soft teams don’t play Kansas City to the last snap.
Soft teams don’t keep fighting when their starter goes down and they have to play the rest of the game with a kid who usually took snaps with the scout team.
Soft teams don’t take the best of the NFC has to offer down to the last minute with a 45 year old quarterback who had only one or two meaningful days of practice.