2026 Off-Season Thread

[Puck]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

I hope there is a plan to back up Jones. There is a damn good chance we will need to have someone QB us to a win or two this year besides Jones. Relying solely on Leonard seems dangerous. He showed enough to be intriguing but not enough, in my opinion, to warrant having him be the primary back up on a team wanting the playoffs starting a QB with Jones injury history.

Oldcolt. I like you You are no nonsense and say what you think. I am not directing all of this straight at you. directly,


Did Manning have a backup plan?

How about Luck ?

THERE IS ONLY SOOOO MUCH you can do.

There is NOT A BETTER OPTION FOR THE COLTS this season! NONE!!!!!!!


BITCH ALL YA WANT. but you cant argue that fact



SO WHY???? The doom and gloom??

Yea Leonard is next in line. Do you really want to send him into the fire.. like we did AR? NEITHER ARE READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What other option do the Colts have? Not mythical options. Legit options??


But it is a constant on this board that Ballard should be some kind of magician and should be able to get Mahomes and JJ Jefferson with a click of a mouse

I speak from experience I own multiple businesses. If I thought like some of the folks on here I would be broke in MINUTES!


There is SOOOO much that goes on behind the scenes that you me and my dog don't know about. RELAX

Ballard. as much as some hate him... knows WAY more than
any of us

Just like I do with my companies


And again. IT'S A GAME. no reason to lose your shit over this

[Oldcolt]

Puck don't worry about making me feel bad. Its football, I have opinions but I recognize its a game means zilch in the end. Having said that you miss my biggest point. Luck, Manning never approached the injury history that Jones has. The guy has made it through one entire season in his career and is coming off a horrendous injury. It doesn't take a genius to anticipate that this man will most likely not make it through the year without missing time. Ballard has known Jones was the man for a long time. When Jones get invariably hurt or has a setback people will say 'injuries' doomed Ballard. I think it is lack of foresight. We have no better options, I agree. Why the hell is that?

As far as the doom and gloom I could ask why live in a fantasy pollyanna world. The doom and gloom is, for me, living in the reality of the last 9 years and the belief I am looking at the damn same thing this year.

Still rooting for the Colts and hope Jones leads us to glory as I believe that this is the best that can be done under the circumstances. I just happen to hate the circumstances and blame the people who have been managing us for the last 9 years for putting us in them.

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

Puck don't worry about making me feel bad. Its football, I have opinions but I recognize its a game means zilch in the end. Having said that you miss my biggest point. Luck, Manning never approached the injury history that Jones has. The guy has made it through one entire season in his career and is coming off a horrendous injury. It doesn't take a genius to anticipate that this man will most likely not make it through the year without missing time. Ballard has known Jones was the man for a long time. When Jones get invariably hurt or has a setback people will say 'injuries' doomed Ballard. I think it is lack of foresight. We have no better options, I agree. Why the hell is that?

As far as the doom and gloom I could ask why live in a fantasy pollyanna world. The doom and gloom is, for me, living in the reality of the last 9 years and the belief I am looking at the damn same thing this year.

Still rooting for the Colts and hope Jones leads us to glory as I believe that this is the best that can be done under the circumstances. I just happen to hate the circumstances and blame the people who have been managing us for the last 9 years for putting us in them.

This rationale is why I don't understand trading AR.

[sherck]

Originally Posted by Racehorse

This rationale is why I don't understand trading AR.

Because AR is bad at football?

Look, all the physical gifts in the world will not make up for the fact that NFL QBing's most important muscle is the 8" between a QBs ears.

Jacoby Brissett, IMO, is a perfect example of that. He had every physical skill in the world but I am convinced that his problem was that he made decisions just 0.1 of a second slow. However, when you add up all the tasks that are needed to deliver a perfect NFL strike, those tenths of a second added up to where he was consistently delivering the ball a half second late and in the NFL, that gives defenders time to adjust.

AR, again IMO, does not have the mental traits needed to be a top NFL QB. Perhaps he will prove me wrong if allowed to go to a team who has an expereinced starter and allowed to sit for a season or three (same as both Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love) and then be able to come out and show us we were wrong and he was right.

But, I don't think that is going to happen. Right now, AR is bad at football.

[Hoopsdoc]

Originally Posted by sherck

Because AR is bad at football?

Look, all the physical gifts in the world will not make up for the fact that NFL QBing's most important muscle is the 8" between a QBs ears.

Jacoby Brissett, IMO, is a perfect example of that. He had every physical skill in the world but I am convinced that his problem was that he made decisions just 0.1 of a second slow. However, when you add up all the tasks that are needed to deliver a perfect NFL strike, those tenths of a second added up to where he was consistently delivering the ball a half second late and in the NFL, that gives defenders time to adjust.

AR, again IMO, does not have the mental traits needed to be a top NFL QB. Perhaps he will prove me wrong if allowed to go to a team who has an expereinced starter and allowed to sit for a season or three (same as both Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love) and then be able to come out and show us we were wrong and he was right.

But, I don't think that is going to happen. Right now, AR is bad at football.

Even if he does figure out the mental part and somehow manages to get to 60 percent completion rate, he’ll still be incredibly injury prone.

It’s not impossible that he becomes great, but the odds are very slim.

Either way, he’s done in Indy because Steichen is done with him.

[Oldcolt]

I agree about AR not being very good at football right now. I do, however, believe he gives us a chance to win games. Leonard may do the same but I would like to keep options open, especially at QB were my trust in management is low from how they have managed the position the last decade.

Sherck you may be correct about AR not having the correct mental traits. If you are iI think it is probably blind luck. I say this because it is hard enough to know what your own mental capabilities are, harder even to know the capabilities of someone else you happen to know (I am surprised all the time with people) and I would say impossible to know about someone you have never even had a conversation with. I get why you are done with him but think we should keep option open. I understand we will not go this route and management (who have met him) agrees with you.

[albany ed]

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc

Even if he does figure out the mental part and somehow manages to get to 60 percent completion rate, he’ll still be incredibly injury prone.

It’s not impossible that he becomes great, but the odds are very slim.

Either way, he’s done in Indy because Steichen is done with him.

If all. you can get for AR is a late day 3 pick, why bother? If Jones gets hurt and Leonard hasn't shown much, maybe AR comes in and does well. Then, his trade value goes up. Odds are a late day 3 pick doesn't make the final 55.

If you lose him to Free agency, won't they receive a compensation pick in the 2027 draft?

[Lov2fish]

Originally Posted by albany ed

If all. you can get for AR is a late day 3 pick, why bother? If Jones gets hurt and Leonard hasn't shown much, maybe AR comes in and does well. Then, his trade value goes up. Odds are a late day 3 pick doesn't make the final 55.

If you lose him to Free agency, won't they receive a compensation pick in the 2027 draft?

Leonard has shown more than AR even in a small sample size. Why hang onto a liability who has peaked? He is just not good at football. Look through history at talented guys who are driving trucks now. Life sucks sometimes. If he was smart he invested the several million he has made and can have an easy life without football.

[Oldcolt]

Originally Posted by Lov2fish

Leonard has shown more than AR even in a small sample size. Why hang onto a liability who has peaked? He is just not good at football. Look through history at talented guys who are driving trucks now. Life sucks sometimes. If he was smart he invested the several million he has made and can have an easy life without football.

You make good point. You cn also look at talented dudes that teams gave up on and made them regret it (we could start with Unitas but it also is a long list). I think there are decent arguments both ways. We have the cap space, AR doesn't appear to be a locker room cancer and I, weirdly considering how I feel about the direction of the team, find hope in his physical abilities and who he seems to be as a human being. I wish we would keep him.

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Puck

Oldcolt. I like you You are no nonsense and say what you think. I am not directing all of this straight at you. directly,


Did Manning have a backup plan?

How about Luck ?

….

THERE IS ONLY SOOOO MUCH you can do.

There is NOT A BETTER OPTION FOR THE COLTS this season! NONE!!!!!!!

BITCH ALL YA WANT. but you cant argue that fact

…..

Ballard. as much as some hate him... knows WAY more than
any of us.

"I've always said this: organizations win, teams win, coaches win — it's not just the quarterback". Among other quotes.

There was a distinct philosophy with Manning and Luck where it was clearly known that if they went down the team was screwed. Ballard pitched a different philosophy from the beginning. I’ve never believed in it, but he started this journey with that philosophy. That’s part of my frustration with people defending him because he’s not had a superstar QB. HE said the QB wasn’t everything for winning. HE has mostly treated the position accordingly. My two initial complaints about Ballard were his stated view on vets and culture, and his willingness to slow roll a rebuild with Luck on the roster.

So it’s particularly frustrating to hear him constantly described as some sort of victim. He’s only a victim of his own philosophy. I’ve never expected him to find the next Mahomes and Jefferson, that’s complete BS. I’ve expected him to either 1) recognize the importance of the QB position and do whatever it takes to find one (like most teams), or 2) follow his philosophy and build an actual complete fucking team. Instead I’ve watched him pussy foot around the QB position looking for any scrap that may be decent while leaving giant holes year after year on the rest of the roster. And then I have to hear him and his fan boys say how hard it is to win, how nothing is his fault, and if Luck hadn’t retired we’d be a dynasty by now. After year 5 or 6 it starts getting pretty damn frustrating as a season ticket holder to keep spending the money watching other teams ascend past the Colts. Hell at this point I’ve watched teams above us bottom out and pass us again. Yet to hear several on this board that’s impossible or simply luck. No skill in being a GM apparently.

Which brings us to you being right that Ballard knows more than me. I mean I’ve accurately predicted where the team was headed with him at the helm since he told us those two parts of his philosophy. And I’ve been right about many specific rosters moves. But I’ve been wrong as well and I can acknowledge he certainly knows more than me. Curtis Painter can throw the ball better than me, and can read a D better than me. That doesn’t stop me from knowing he’s not an NFL starting level QB. The idea we can’t be critical of him because he knows more is asinine when we clearly have the results of his “genius” to use as a guide.

DJ is the best option for the Colts this season and while I’m not convinced he’s worth the money they paid, I’m thankful the contract is largely escapable. That is one thing I did have confidence in Ballard on. But to ignore his injury history and the difficulty of the injury he’s recovering from would be classic Ballard. Remember HIS philosophy is that its organizations (meaning him, the GM), teams, and coaches that win. Pretty easy shit to say and believe when you inherit a franchise QB. It’s been a hell of a lot harder for him to live up to. Or he was simply right and the organization, teams, and coaches have been truly mediocre for the entire time he’s been here. I’m sure it has nothing to do with him or his philosophy though. Just more bad luck. Regardless asking what it looks like when the guy who has never played a full season and is coming off a major injury is your QB is a very valid question. One I’m sure Ballard won’t have a plan for because it will be completely unexpected if DJ gets injured. Or having the franchise QB is the only way to win. I’m not sure, I get so confused in the Ballard logic…