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Originally Posted by Chromeburn
What specifically is wrong with the building strategy? I hear this all the time from the local media guys and I don't think they know what they are talking about.
Ballard has specifically said we are not going all out till we get the QB in place.
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So why in the world do you even acquire Rivers or Ryan? Both had very short windows. Are you really suggesting you have no problem wasting one of those years making sure they were an acceptable answer? That makes absolutely no sense. Or is it that they won’t do it until they have a young QB in place? If that’s the case why get those guys anyway? At best, without full roster support, they make you playoff competitive and lower your draft position- making it harder to acquire the guy you do identify. It makes no fucking sense. It’s the same thing the Pacers did - they tried to ride the middle of the league, keep the fan based inline and strike gold somehow. They failed. Ballard is doing the same thing and I don’t know how in the world you can say it is anything but a failure. You are either pushing to win or rebuilding. He’s trying to ride a line between those two. It has and will fail.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chromeburn
He also thinks teams that skirt and manipulate the cap like the Saints are crazy and it will come around to get them. Saints are about to face that. League may also start to close those loop holes bc they want parity.
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This is a big issue I have. He is always going to have a hard time winning titles without accepting the up and down process that even you have mentioned. Teams that manipulate the cap CAN have an advantage in a given year. Yes it’s dangerous, but always worrying about your cap situation 3-4 years from now also comes at a cost. And the down year helps you reload talent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chromeburn
Ballard thinks the team was ready to win now, that is why they were going the vet route. He is right, the team can win now with solid QB play.
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He didn’t think they were good enough to go all in. Or he’s never going all in. Either answer is damning IMO.
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Originally Posted by Chromeburn
I have been criticizing Ballard for years on here for some of his flaws. But I do think the positives outweigh those flaws. He did botch the LT situation. Not saying he didn't. But he has also done a lot of good things as well. This defense is good. I think the oline will get better with a LT in place. The weapons are young and explosive. He continually knocks it out of the park in the draft. A GM's primary job is to find talent and he does that well. That is not easy to find. We have had two good GM's at it in 38 years.
It doesn't matter. Ballard looked pissed yesterday, he may resign, and he will get another job immediately. Meanwhile, we will have trouble finding a good candidate because of this shitshow.
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I understand it can get worse. I want to like Ballard. He does acquire talent. Where I disagree with you is that I believe a GMs primary job is to construct a team, not acquire talent. Acquiring talent is certainly part of that, but the NFL is the ultimate league where you can be more or less than the sum of your parts. Ballard’s teams will always be less until he prioritizes certain positions and, most importantly, understands that huge weaknesses will be exploited and diminish the strengths he built. He has to understand that average isn’t a dirty word in this league.