Colts first UFA WR Devin Funchess

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Chaka

Since Ballard is shooting for a long term, winning organization - rather than to charge at a single SB appearance - he needs to plan ahead so he can maintain this momentum once it starts rolling. Because we can roll unused cap space forward, it make sense to bank some of our abundant cap space now so it can be used when we need it later - hence, we we've got lots of cap space but we won't use it.

I used to believe that the best way to a title was to be really good for as long as possible and things would break your way. But I’ve been both a Colts and a Pacers fan for a long time, so I no longer believe that. Trying so hard to maintain success means shorting yourself now for the ability to sustain the success in future years. I now believe that teams that take this approach rarely reach their potential. It’s almost impossible to. You couple getting worse drafts picks with making decisions not to fill this year’s needs because of the ramifications 3 years from now. 3 years is a fucking eternity in sports. Especially one where the average players career isn’t much longer than that. You are rarely able to put the best version of your team on the field because every year you are making concessions to keep the window open.

I’m sure you will point to NE and say they disprove my belief. They’ve been good for forever and have won multiple titles. I disagree. NE does want I advocate, they just do it so damn well (and cheat and are the luckiest SOBs alive) that they don’t suffer the down years. They take risks on players all the damn time. Besides Brady their core changes faster than most teams. They both maximize the players they have and take risks to fill the holes in their roster. They look to win now pretty much every damn year. And every year we are proclaiming them dead because they are going to loose this or that player. And then they go out and find a way to plug the hole. They change their offensive or defensive philosophy to better match the talent they have. They take a risk on a Randy Moss. Or they surprise everyone and uncharacteristicly spend big money on one of the top CBs on the market. Their biggest concern doesn’t seem to be how are we going to keep the window open, it’s how are we going to win it all this year.

Let’s be clear - I fucking hate NE, but the one thing I will grudgingly admit I admire is that they seem to prioritize winning it all now over being really good for a long time. They peak better than any team in the league. They just do it consistently.

So when I hear all this talk about building for the long haul and when I see Ballard make decisions based more on two years from now than on today what I see is sustained goodness. What the Peyton led Colts achieved was not sustained greatness. It was sustained goodness. Every single Colts fan down to the owner of the team knows that they should have won more than one Super Bowl. They were very, very good for a long time but they weren’t great for a long time. I don’t believe Ballard’s team will achieve sustained greatness because it’s nearly fucking impossible in the modern NFL. And the only team that has done it has taken numerous risks on players and are pretty much never conservative. Oh yeah and they are also lucky as fuck and cheat every chance they get.

So unlike you I don’t see in 6 year windows. I see in 2-3 year windows. I don’t see the need for every position to be filled with 25 yr old recent draft picks. I don’t believe in gifting rookies playing time. I believe in competing now and the following year. With a minor concern for 3 yrs from now. I perfectly understand that that means that the team is going to have a down year every now and then but I also recognize how quickly things can turn around to start the new window - especially with an elite QB.

Basically we are going to agree on very little when it comes to the teams direction because I don’t believe in the vision Ballard has and you subscribe to. I don’t doubt at all that Ballard is and will turn the team around from the Grigson / Pagano era. But I don’t believe his methods (as I see them and hear them now) will lead the Luck era Colts to maximize their potential as measured by the measure I use - Championships. I think there is a high probability that his methods will lead to sustained goodness. Which I admit isn’t bad. Just not what I’d prefer as a fan.

And before some jack ass comments about just signing every available FA or trading all your future draft picks to win now, that is obviously not what the hell I’m talking about so save it.