Ballard and Steichen are safe

[Oldcolt]

I don't know where to take this. Nothing new Colt to talk about, unless you got something. I'm sick of arguing about Ballard, don't give a shit about the playoffs and find it fascinating what other people have become experts at.

[IndyNorm]

I started up a new thread on the General Discussion board.

https://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=207595

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

Not my point.

o


I know what your point was.

I was making a joke with a meaningless, Ballard-related statement because of the thread derailment.

o

[Puck]

Locked On Colts Podcast
@LockedOnColts
·
2h
GOOD CALL: Why Indianapolis Colts Retaining Shane Steichen Was the RIGHT MOVE


https://youtu.be/4jGD4jHOWNM

[Colts And Orioles]

o


The 9 Lives of Chris Ballard ...... How the Colts GM Has Survived for So Long in Indianapolis

(By James Boyd)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/757...on-nine-lives/



If nothing else, Chris Ballard is a survivor. Over the past decade, the coaches, players and even owners have changed within the Indianapolis Colts’ franchise, yet the general manager has remained the same. Ballard is entering his 10th season at the helm of the Colts, but his job security isn’t buttressed by his resume. In fact, as you’ll see in our table below, Ballard’s lack of success puts him in a league of his own in terms of the NFL’s longest-tenured GM's.

So why does he keep getting more chances ???

With the Colts days away from kicking off their 2026 season, The Athletic took a look back at the nine lives of Ballard, examining each of his nine seasons running the show in Indy to see how he cultivated a 10th. Hint ...... sometimes, it’s just good to be liked.



2017

Record: ll 4-12


What happened: ) Andrew Luck missed the entire season due to a shoulder injury. Without their franchise QB, the Colts traded wide receiver Phillip Dorsett to the New England Patriots in exchange for quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Brissett, a 2016 3rd-round pick, went 4-11 as the starter and threw 13 TD's against 7 INT's. He was also sacked a league-high 52 times. Indianapolis lost 6 of its last 7 games to finish with its worst record since 2011, which was the year before the team drafted Luck.

Why Ballard returned: ) Ballard was only in his first year at the helm, replacing Ryan Grigson, who went 49-31 in 5 seasons ...... Ballard still has yet to surpass Grigson's 3 playoff wins and 2 division titles.

Ballard's job security was never in doubt given the unique circumstances he walked into with Luck already being sidelined. The Colts expressed confidence that Luck would make a full recovery, but that didn't stop them from making a significant organizational change by firing coach Chuck Pagano and replacing him with Frank Reich, who was the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive coordinator and had previously worked with Peyton Manning as the Colts' quarterbacks coach.



2018

Record: ll 10-6


What happened: ) Luck returned from his shoulder injury, and the 2012 No. 1 pick quickly flipped the franchise's fortunes. He threw 39 TD's against 15 INT's en route to being named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year while leading the Colts to the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season. Indianapolis took down the Houston Texans in the wild-card round before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round. The win against the Texans remains Ballard's lone playoff victory.

Why Ballard returned: ) He wasn’t going anywhere after the Colts’ resurgent campaign. Luck once again looked like the franchise cornerstone they drafted him to be, and his performance throughout the regular season and the post-season sparked Indianapolis's hopes of rekindling the Manning glory days and becoming an annual championship contender. No one could’ve predicted what would come next.



2019

Record: ll 7-9


What happened: ) Luck shocked the NFL world by retiring just before the start of the season, which understandably changed the team’s trajectory. Indianapolis subsequently turned to Brissett, who steered the Colts to an impressive 5-2 start, highlighted by a road win over Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs. However, Brissett's play tapered off after he was hobbled by a knee injury. Indy lost 5 of its final 6 games, as it became abundantly clear that the team needed to upgrade at quarterback.

Why Ballard returned: ) Ballard was thrown one of the craziest curveballs in professional football history, and arguably in all of sports history. Luck, the player who had successfully filled the giant shoes left by Manning, walked away from football at just 29 years old. The 4-time Pro Bowler cited a cycle of injury, pain, and rehab for his abrupt retirement, which gave the Colts no time to find a long-term replacement. All things considered, Indianapolis fared pretty well in the first year of Luck's absence, and the franchise felt good about the rest of the roster that Ballard had put together.



2020

Record: ll 11-5

What happened: ) Indianapolis signed Philip Rivers (the first time!) to a one-year deal, and the eight-time Pro Bowler delivered for Ballard and the Colts. Rivers threw 24 touchdowns against 11 interceptions to lead the Colts to the playoffs alongside breakout star Jonathan Taylor. The rookie running back totaled 253 rushing yards in a regular-season finale win over the Jacksonville Jaguars to punch Indy's ticket to the postseason. The Colts narrowly lost to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round, falling just short of a fourth-quarter rally.

Why Ballard returned: ) The Colts' playoff berth completed a remarkable turnaround in the wake of Luck's retirement, and late team owner Jim Irsay made sure to commend Ballard for his team-building, highlighted by the acquisition of Rivers. Even after Rivers retired (the first time !!!), Irsay said that the Colts were "capable of competing for the Super Bowl very soon," so long as Ballard found a suitable replacement. About that ......

(It's also worth noting that just ahead of the 2021 season, Irsay furnished Ballard and Reich with contract extensions that carried them through the 2026 season.)



2021

Record: ll 9-8


What happened: ) After Rivers retired, the Colts traded a 2021 3rd-round pick and what ended up being a 2022 1st-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Carson Wentz. Wentz, the 2016 No. 2 pick, threw 27 TD's against 7 INT's. His performance was aided by Taylor, who exploded for a league-high 1,811 rushing yards en route to a first-team All-Pro selection. But when the Colts needed to win at least one of their last two games to make the playoffs, Wentz struggled mightily in back-to-back losses to the lowly Las Vegas Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars. His lackluster performance drew the ire of Irsay.

Why Ballard returned: ) Irsay placed most of the blame for the Colts' end-of-season collapse on Wentz, not the man who traded premium draft capital to acquire him. The owner blasted Wentz at the league's annual off-season meetings, saying in part, "I think that the worst thing you can do is have a mistake and try to keep living with it going forward." One could argue that it was unfair for Ballard to escape Irsay's wrath unscathed, but the owner made it clear through his words and actions that he held Wentz most responsible for his disappointment, and wanted the QB gone.



2022

Record: ll 4-12-1

What happened: ) Irsay was so fed up with Wentz that after just one season, the Colts traded him to the Washington Commanders and replaced him with Matt Ryan via a trade with the Atlanta Falcons. But Ryan, the 2016 league MVP, turned out to be even worse than Wentz as the Colts' offensive line, and ultimately their season, fell apart. Ryan threw 14 TDs against 13 INT's, and was benched. Not long after, Reich was fired midway through the season and replaced by former Colts standout center Jeff Saturday, who had no prior coaching experience in either college or the NFL. Indianapolis ended the season losing its last 7 games under Saturday, including the worst collapse in NFL history in a game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Why Ballard returned: ) If there was ever a time for the Colts to move on from Ballard, this was it. To be clear, it was Irsay's idea to hire Saturday, not Ballard's, but the GM was far from blameless in the team's failures. Ballard admitted in his end-of-season news conference that he'd been "stubborn and dogmatic" in his roster-building approach and even said, "I fired myself 50 times this year." However, perhaps out of loyalty and fondness more than anything else, Irsay didn't fire Ballard. Instead, he gave Ballard another shot and allowed the GM to hire Eagles OC Shane Steichen to be the team's new coach. After that, Ballard turned his attention to one of the most pivotal drafts in franchise history.



2023

Record: ll 9-8

What happened: ) After landing the No. 4 pick, Indianapolis finally bucked its trend of acquiring veteran retread QBs and drafted Anthony Richardson. The dual-threat signal caller showed promise early on, but he only appeared in 4 games after suffering a severe AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder that required season-ending surgery. Richardson was replaced by veteran Gardner Minshew, who kept Indianapolis in the playoff hunt. The Colts were just one TD-drive away from knocking off the Texans in the regular-season finale and securing a post-season berth, but an errant pass from Minshew on 4th-and-1 spelled the end of their season.

Why Ballard returned: ) The belief within the Colts' organization was that with a healthy Richardson, who was much more explosive than Minshew as a passer and runner (though one could argue that Richardson was more erratic), they would've made the playoffs. Of course, Richardson's rookie sample size was small, but he'd flashed enough potential to at least make Ballard look like he'd pointed the team in a better direction with the hope of Richardson someday blossoming into the face of the franchise.



2024

Record: ll 8-9

What happened: ) The Colts ran it back with a healthy Richardson, though his sophomore campaign was a roller-coaster that featured a lot more low points than high points. One of the biggest mistakes that Richardson made was "tapping out" of a game against the Texans because he was tired. He was subsequently benched for what Steichen cited as a lack of game preparation and maturity, only to return to the starting lineup 2 games later after veteran Joe Flacco played poorly in his stead. Richardson played arguably the best game of his career in his return, scoring 3 total TD's in a tight win over the New York Jets. However, his inaccuracy remained an issue, evidenced by his single-season franchise-low 47.7 completion percentage. Richardson was unable to finish the season due to back spasms, and the Colts missed the playoffs yet again.

Why Ballard returned: ) Again, Irsay showed more patience than most owners would (or should) have toward a GM whose highest-drafted player was benched because he didn't have the right work habits. Asked why Richardson had to be removed from the starting lineup before the magnitude of his role sunk in, Ballard compared him to a child being told to clean their room ...... "They don't do it," he quipped in his end-of-season news conference. That was a damning admission from Ballard, especially after he lauded Richardson's dedication shortly after bringing him to Indianapolis. But even that missed pick wasn't enough for Irsay to move on from the GM he once compared to Michael Jordan. (Yes, that really happened.)



2025

Record: ll 8-9


What happened: ) Indianapolis signed Daniel Jones to compete with Richardson for the starting job, and Jones won the QB-1 title by the end of training camp. It was a huge risk for the Colts to hand the keys to Jones, who was jettisoned from the New York Giants just months earlier while simultaneously pulling the plug on Richardson. But it paid off in a big way, as Jones led the Colts to an 8-2 start that placed them atop the AFC standings. Jones, however, fractured his left fibula and tore his right Achilles tendon, which derailed the Colts' campaign amid a slew of other key injuries. Indianapolis coaxed Philip Rivers out of retirement to try to save its season, though he went winless in his 3 starts, as the team failed to reach the post-season for the 5th straight year.

Why Ballard returned: ) Jim Irsay died in May of 2025, thus allowing his eldest daughter, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, to take over as the team's principal owner. She quickly backed Ballard and Steichen at the end of the 2025 campaign, and later stated that she believed that the healthy version of the Colts is who they truly are. She even compared last season to hitting pause on a movie (due to all of the injuries), and believes that this year the Colts will be able to resume it with a much happier ending. Some may argue that is a naïve way to think, while others may think that she's right to keep that faith.

One key difference from years past, however, is that for the first time in Ballard's tenure he's entering the final year of his contract. Irsay-Gordon has stressed that "the sense of urgency has never been higher," but only time will reveal what that truly means for the GM whose longevity is unmatched for those with his track record.

o

[Kray007]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


The 9 Lives of Chris Ballard ...... How the Colts GM Has Survived for So Long in Indianapolis

(By James Boyd)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/757...on-nine-lives/



If nothing else, Chris Ballard is a survivor. Over the past decade, the coaches, players and even owners have changed within the Indianapolis Colts’ franchise, yet the general manager has remained the same. Ballard is entering his 10th season at the helm of the Colts, but his job security isn’t buttressed by his resume. In fact, as you’ll see in our table below, Ballard’s lack of success puts him in a league of his own in terms of the NFL’s longest-tenured GM's.

So why does he keep getting more chances ???

With the Colts days away from kicking off their 2026 season, The Athletic took a look back at the nine lives of Ballard, examining each of his nine seasons running the show in Indy to see how he cultivated a 10th. Hint ...... sometimes, it’s just good to be liked.



2017

Record: ll 4-12


What happened: ) Andrew Luck missed the entire season due to a shoulder injury. Without their franchise QB, the Colts traded wide receiver Phillip Dorsett to the New England Patriots in exchange for quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Brissett, a 2016 3rd-round pick, went 4-11 as the starter and threw 13 TD's against 7 INT's. He was also sacked a league-high 52 times. Indianapolis lost 6 of its last 7 games to finish with its worst record since 2011, which was the year before the team drafted Luck.

Why Ballard returned: ) Ballard was only in his first year at the helm, replacing Ryan Grigson, who went 49-31 in 5 seasons ...... Ballard still has yet to surpass Grigson's 3 playoff wins and 2 division titles.

Ballard's job security was never in doubt given the unique circumstances he walked into with Luck already being sidelined. The Colts expressed confidence that Luck would make a full recovery, but that didn't stop them from making a significant organizational change by firing coach Chuck Pagano and replacing him with Frank Reich, who was the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive coordinator and had previously worked with Peyton Manning as the Colts' quarterbacks coach.



2018

Record: ll 10-6


What happened: ) Luck returned from his shoulder injury, and the 2012 No. 1 pick quickly flipped the franchise's fortunes. He threw 39 TD's against 15 INT's en route to being named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year while leading the Colts to the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season. Indianapolis took down the Houston Texans in the wild-card round before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round. The win against the Texans remains Ballard's lone playoff victory.

Why Ballard returned: ) He wasn’t going anywhere after the Colts’ resurgent campaign. Luck once again looked like the franchise cornerstone they drafted him to be, and his performance throughout the regular season and the post-season sparked Indianapolis's hopes of rekindling the Manning glory days and becoming an annual championship contender. No one could’ve predicted what would come next.



2019

Record: ll 7-9


What happened: ) Luck shocked the NFL world by retiring just before the start of the season, which understandably changed the team’s trajectory. Indianapolis subsequently turned to Brissett, who steered the Colts to an impressive 5-2 start, highlighted by a road win over Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs. However, Brissett's play tapered off after he was hobbled by a knee injury. Indy lost 5 of its final 6 games, as it became abundantly clear that the team needed to upgrade at quarterback.

Why Ballard returned: ) Ballard was thrown one of the craziest curveballs in professional football history, and arguably in all of sports history. Luck, the player who had successfully filled the giant shoes left by Manning, walked away from football at just 29 years old. The 4-time Pro Bowler cited a cycle of injury, pain, and rehab for his abrupt retirement, which gave the Colts no time to find a long-term replacement. All things considered, Indianapolis fared pretty well in the first year of Luck's absence, and the franchise felt good about the rest of the roster that Ballard had put together.



2020

Record: ll 11-5

What happened: ) Indianapolis signed Philip Rivers (the first time!) to a one-year deal, and the eight-time Pro Bowler delivered for Ballard and the Colts. Rivers threw 24 touchdowns against 11 interceptions to lead the Colts to the playoffs alongside breakout star Jonathan Taylor. The rookie running back totaled 253 rushing yards in a regular-season finale win over the Jacksonville Jaguars to punch Indy's ticket to the postseason. The Colts narrowly lost to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round, falling just short of a fourth-quarter rally.

Why Ballard returned: ) The Colts' playoff berth completed a remarkable turnaround in the wake of Luck's retirement, and late team owner Jim Irsay made sure to commend Ballard for his team-building, highlighted by the acquisition of Rivers. Even after Rivers retired (the first time !!!), Irsay said that the Colts were "capable of competing for the Super Bowl very soon," so long as Ballard found a suitable replacement. About that ......

(It's also worth noting that just ahead of the 2021 season, Irsay furnished Ballard and Reich with contract extensions that carried them through the 2026 season.)



2021

Record: ll 9-8


What happened: ) After Rivers retired, the Colts traded a 2021 3rd-round pick and what ended up being a 2022 1st-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Carson Wentz. Wentz, the 2016 No. 2 pick, threw 27 TD's against 7 INT's. His performance was aided by Taylor, who exploded for a league-high 1,811 rushing yards en route to a first-team All-Pro selection. But when the Colts needed to win at least one of their last two games to make the playoffs, Wentz struggled mightily in back-to-back losses to the lowly Las Vegas Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars. His lackluster performance drew the ire of Irsay.

Why Ballard returned: ) Irsay placed most of the blame for the Colts' end-of-season collapse on Wentz, not the man who traded premium draft capital to acquire him. The owner blasted Wentz at the league's annual off-season meetings, saying in part, "I think that the worst thing you can do is have a mistake and try to keep living with it going forward." One could argue that it was unfair for Ballard to escape Irsay's wrath unscathed, but the owner made it clear through his words and actions that he held Wentz most responsible for his disappointment, and wanted the QB gone.



2022

Record: ll 4-12-1

What happened: ) Irsay was so fed up with Wentz that after just one season, the Colts traded him to the Washington Commanders and replaced him with Matt Ryan via a trade with the Atlanta Falcons. But Ryan, the 2016 league MVP, turned out to be even worse than Wentz as the Colts' offensive line, and ultimately their season, fell apart. Ryan threw 14 TDs against 13 INT's, and was benched. Not long after, Reich was fired midway through the season and replaced by former Colts standout center Jeff Saturday, who had no prior coaching experience in either college or the NFL. Indianapolis ended the season losing its last 7 games under Saturday, including the worst collapse in NFL history in a game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Why Ballard returned: ) If there was ever a time for the Colts to move on from Ballard, this was it. To be clear, it was Irsay's idea to hire Saturday, not Ballard's, but the GM was far from blameless in the team's failures. Ballard admitted in his end-of-season news conference that he'd been "stubborn and dogmatic" in his roster-building approach and even said, "I fired myself 50 times this year." However, perhaps out of loyalty and fondness more than anything else, Irsay didn't fire Ballard. Instead, he gave Ballard another shot and allowed the GM to hire Eagles OC Shane Steichen to be the team's new coach. After that, Ballard turned his attention to one of the most pivotal drafts in franchise history.



2023

Record: ll 9-8

What happened: ) After landing the No. 4 pick, Indianapolis finally bucked its trend of acquiring veteran retread QBs and drafted Anthony Richardson. The dual-threat signal caller showed promise early on, but he only appeared in 4 games after suffering a severe AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder that required season-ending surgery. Richardson was replaced by veteran Gardner Minshew, who kept Indianapolis in the playoff hunt. The Colts were just one TD-drive away from knocking off the Texans in the regular-season finale and securing a post-season berth, but an errant pass from Minshew on 4th-and-1 spelled the end of their season.

Why Ballard returned: ) The belief within the Colts' organization was that with a healthy Richardson, who was much more explosive than Minshew as a passer and runner (though one could argue that Richardson was more erratic), they would've made the playoffs. Of course, Richardson's rookie sample size was small, but he'd flashed enough potential to at least make Ballard look like he'd pointed the team in a better direction with the hope of Richardson someday blossoming into the face of the franchise.



2024

Record: ll 8-9

What happened: ) The Colts ran it back with a healthy Richardson, though his sophomore campaign was a roller-coaster that featured a lot more low points than high points. One of the biggest mistakes that Richardson made was "tapping out" of a game against the Texans because he was tired. He was subsequently benched for what Steichen cited as a lack of game preparation and maturity, only to return to the starting lineup 2 games later after veteran Joe Flacco played poorly in his stead. Richardson played arguably the best game of his career in his return, scoring 3 total TD's in a tight win over the New York Jets. However, his inaccuracy remained an issue, evidenced by his single-season franchise-low 47.7 completion percentage. Richardson was unable to finish the season due to back spasms, and the Colts missed the playoffs yet again.

Why Ballard returned: ) Again, Irsay showed more patience than most owners would (or should) have toward a GM whose highest-drafted player was benched because he didn't have the right work habits. Asked why Richardson had to be removed from the starting lineup before the magnitude of his role sunk in, Ballard compared him to a child being told to clean their room ...... "They don't do it," he quipped in his end-of-season news conference. That was a damning admission from Ballard, especially after he lauded Richardson's dedication shortly after bringing him to Indianapolis. But even that missed pick wasn't enough for Irsay to move on from the GM he once compared to Michael Jordan. (Yes, that really happened.)



2025

Record: ll 8-9


What happened: ) Indianapolis signed Daniel Jones to compete with Richardson for the starting job, and Jones won the QB-1 title by the end of training camp. It was a huge risk for the Colts to hand the keys to Jones, who was jettisoned from the New York Giants just months earlier while simultaneously pulling the plug on Richardson. But it paid off in a big way, as Jones led the Colts to an 8-2 start that placed them atop the AFC standings. Jones, however, fractured his left fibula and tore his right Achilles tendon, which derailed the Colts' campaign amid a slew of other key injuries. Indianapolis coaxed Philip Rivers out of retirement to try to save its season, though he went winless in his 3 starts, as the team failed to reach the post-season for the 5th straight year.

Why Ballard returned: ) Jim Irsay died in May of 2025, thus allowing his eldest daughter, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, to take over as the team's principal owner. She quickly backed Ballard and Steichen at the end of the 2025 campaign, and later stated that she believed that the healthy version of the Colts is who they truly are. She even compared last season to hitting pause on a movie (due to all of the injuries), and believes that this year the Colts will be able to resume it with a much happier ending. Some may argue that is a naïve way to think, while others may think that she's right to keep that faith.

One key difference from years past, however, is that for the first time in Ballard's tenure he's entering the final year of his contract. Irsay-Gordon has stressed that "the sense of urgency has never been higher," but only time will reveal what that truly means for the GM whose longevity is unmatched for those with his track record.

o

Most owners would, indeed, have fired Chris Ballard somewhere along the way. The thing is, though, Jim Irsay wasn’t a typical owner. His 13 years serving as GM instilled in him an understanding of the importance of having a premium Quarterback and the difficulty in finding one.

He wasn’t going to blame Chris Ballard for shuffling through Matt Ryan and Carson Wentz because he had shuffled through Jack Trudeau and Chris Chandler. A man who swung and whiffed on Jeff George wasn’t going to fire a GM for striking out on Anthony Richardson.

If Jim had lived and the Daniel Jones experiment had failed, a parting of the ways might have happened. There’s no way to know.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Kray007

Most owners would, indeed, have fired Chris Ballard somewhere along the way. The thing is, though, Jim Irsay wasn’t a typical owner. His 13 years serving as GM instilled in him an understanding of the importance of having a premium Quarterback and the difficulty in finding one.

He wasn’t going to blame Chris Ballard for shuffling through Matt Ryan and Carson Wentz because he had shuffled through Jack Trudeau and Chris Chandler. A man who swung and whiffed on Jeff George wasn’t going to fire a GM for striking out on Anthony Richardson.

If Jim had lived and the Daniel Jones experiment had failed, a parting of the ways might have happened. There’s no way to know.

o


Carson Wentz was not as awful as many Colts fans remember him to be.

Wentz' raw stats were 27 TD's, 7 INT's, and a 62.4% Pass Completion rate.

The team had a record of 9-6 for their first 15 games before shitting the bed in the final 2 games of the season against the Raiders and the Jaguars ...... yes, Wentz himself shit the bed in those last 2 games, but so did the entire the Colts team ...... they got annihilated on both sides of the ball in a 26-11 loss to an awful Jaguars team.

Believe it or not, even l Chopped Wood l was singing the praises of Carson Wentz and the trade in which he was acquired in after the Colts beat the Arizona Cardinals on their homefield in a nationally televised game to improve the team's record to 9-6, which put them in prime position to win the division with 2 games left to play.



The disastrous 2022 season when the Colts went 4-12-1 was much more the fault of the atrocious offensive line than it was Matt Ryan's ...... it's a minor miracle that Ryan somehow managed to guide the team to a 4-5-1 record before they completely collapsed and lost their last 7 games ...... if Philip Rivers had had that offensive line "blocking" for him when he led the Colts to an 11-5 record in 2020, not only would the team's record been about 5-11 or 4-12, but Rivers would not have survived more than 5 or 6 games before they would have had to carry him off of the field on a stretcher.

o

[omahacolt]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


Carson Wentz was not as awful as many Colts fans remember him to be.

Wentz' raw stats were 27 TD's, 7 INT's, and a 62.4% Pass Completion rate.

The team had a record of 9-6 for their first 15 games before shitting the bed in the final 2 games of the season against the Raiders and the Jaguars ...... yes, Wentz himself shit the bed in those last 2 games, but so did the entire the Colts team ...... they got annihilated on both sides of the ball in a 26-11 loss to an awful Jaguars team.

Believe it or not, even l Chopped Wood l was singing the praises of Carson Wentz and the trade in which he was acquired in after the Colts beat the Arizona Cardinals on their homefield in a nationally televised game to improve the team's record to 9-6, which put them in prime position to win the division with 2 games left to play.



The disastrous 2022 season when the Colts went 4-12-1 was much more the fault of the atrocious offensive line than it was Matt Ryan's ...... it's a minor miracle that Ryan somehow managed to guide the team to a 4-5-1 record before they completely collapsed and lost their last 7 games ...... if Philip Rivers had had that offensive line "blocking" for him when he led the Colts to an 11-5 record in 2020, not only would the team's record been about 5-11 or 4-12, but Rivers would not have survived more than 5 or 6 games before they would have had to carry him off of the field on a stretcher.

o

I remember watching a colts game with a couple dudes that werent colts fans and they asked me about Wentz towards the end of the year.

I remember saying "I don't care what happens during the offseason, this mother fucker needs to be off the team. That is all I want"

Wentz was fucking atrocious. fuck your stats

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by omahacolt

Wentz was fucking atrocious ...... fuck your stats.

o


Closing your eyes, plugging your ears, and screaming what you want to believe regardless of any facts presented to you .......I did that when I was 6 years-old......it's too bad that you're still at that stage.

Wentz was atrocious after he left the Colts. He was not atrocious when he was with the Colts. Wentz was awful in the last 2 games of the 2021 season, as was the entire Colts team. Those last 2 games don't define the entire 17-game season.

o

[Kray007]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


Closing your eyes, plugging your ears, and screaming what you want to believe regardless of any facts presented to you .......I did that when I was 6 years-old......it's too bad that you're still at that stage.

Wentz was atrocious after he left the Colts. He was not atrocious when he was with the Colts. Wentz was awful in the last 2 games of the 2021 season, as was the entire Colts team. Those last 2 games don't define the entire 17-game season.

o

The reason the Colts were, even, marginally competitive, in 2021, had nothing to do with Carson Wentz. He was broken when he arrived in Indianapolis, and no amount of coaching could salvage him. Somewhere in the first third of the season, they figured out that they could win by handing the ball to Jonathan Taylor. On the year, he gained more than 1800 yards, and the mantra became just run the damned ball.

By week 17 the jig was up. The Raiders and Jacksonville loaded the box, shut down the run, and Wentz wasn’t able to mount a passing attack to a receiving corps with TY Hilton and Michael Pittman.

As far as stats are concerned, he had only 2 games of 300 plus yards through the air, and 2 more over 250. Against New England, het totaled 57 yards. He had 106 vs Buffalo, and 150 against the Niners.