L'Jarius Sneed

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

Ballard manages a team in a very similar way to Polian. A lot of people didn't like Polian's style, but it proved successful. Further, it's not only been proven successful with the Colts, it's been proven successful across the league. The Chiefs will be going for a third consecutive Super Bowl in the 2024 season, and the biggest reason for that in my opinion was trading away Tyreek Hill. That trade allowed them to draft Trent McDuffie and gave them the cap space to retain Chris Jones. That was a tough trade to make, but the Chiefs have definitely reaped the rewards of making a difficult decision. A decision that if Ballard made, I'm certain most people here, certainly the ones upset with Ballard now, would be calling for his head over. Can I explain every bad decision Ballard has made? Not at all, the Matt Pryor decision was the most baffling decision I've seen a GM not named Ryan Grigson make. That said, Ballard gets more right than he gets wrong, and his draft record is incredible. Replacing him risks getting another Grigson. I'd be very hesitant to replace someone with Ballard's track record knowing that possibility exists.

I don’t at all see the connection you are trying to draw between Polian / Ballard and the Chiefs. Especially the trading of Tyreke Hill. That is a move I see neither Polian or Ballard making. Both of them would have paid and kept Hill. For one it was home grown talent and that alone is reason they wouldn’t have traded him. And secondly it was a huge risk for a well established team. Neither one of them are known for their risk taking. The Chiefs roster has changed significantly more than the Colts rosters with Manning did. They have been more aggressive and more adaptive. Which is exactly my complaint with Ballard’s style and the same complaint I had about Polian. I believe a more aggressive roster approach with Manning would have likely ended with less regular season success but more post season success. I’m sure you vehemently disagree.Regardless, I don’t see substantial success using their ultra conservative approach across the league. I see teams that are more adaptive and who take some calculated risks (like the Chiefs) coming out on top.

So let’s be clear, I’m not talking free agent frenzy. I’m saying identifying the major obvious weakness and taking real steps to address at least one of them - beyond planning to fix it in the draft over the next couple seasons. Stretching to get one key piece in Hunter or Sneed is not a frenzy. Another approach is bringing in multiple mid level (not bargain basement) free agents to get at least mid level play while the young guys develop in spots. Neither of those methods are abandoning the principles of building through the draft. And it doesn’t necessarily lead to cap hell.

The value of drafting talent and the need for it to be the primary source of talent is undisputed. And overall I agree Ballard is an above average drafter. The Colts could certainly do worse at that. However I also believe they can do better overall with someone who has a different, less rigid philosophy. My preference is for Ballard to learn and change. So far there is no evidence of that though. I advocate for a controlled aggressive approach from the GM so it makes sense I’d want the same for the owner. Ballard should be running out of rope soon if he’s not capable of adapting.