L'Jarius Sneed

[Hoopsdoc]

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood

I characterize it as- playing as if every year offers a chance. Injuries to opponents, lack of chemistry, etc... this is the NFL, you just never know- and the Colts of 23-24 are a prime example with the loss of AR but right there until the very final play of their season with a career backup.

To me, that's the difference betwen a good GM and a bum, not planning 27 fucking years downstream, instead putting all the eggs in a basket looking to win each year. Ballard's still strategizing for 2027 being "the year" --- his strategy fucking doesn't work, the proof is in the results. 1 PO win in 8 years, no division titles.... he fucking sucks.

Yeah, I prefer Ballards method of continuously building the roster through the draft to what the Titans are apparently doing, which is going all in and rolling the dice.

The odds that Levis is any good are not good and if he isn’t, they’re screwed for a while.

[YDFL Commish]

Originally Posted by apballin

I was thinking the same thing until Mitchell’s pro day and he said he’s not met with the Colts, almost makes you wonder if they might go Chop Robinson or Latu

Do not prioritize the Colts lack of visits with a potential draftee as anything other than hyperbole.

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by rm1369

Definitely look at Ballards drafts and not his results, because nothing in the results say he’s anything but mediocre. I guess you are technically correct though - better than Grigson. Not exactly high praise. The single smartest decision Ballard has ever made was following Grigson. 8 years in to a rebuild where he’s had more coaching searches than playoff appearances and many fans think he’s doing good because he’s not Grigson.

How many coaching searches has he had? I count 2. How many playoff appearances? I also count 2.

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Racehorse

How many coaching searches has he had? I count 2. How many playoff appearances? I also count 2.

Searched after Pagano and picked McDaniels. Got stood up (thankfully) and then opened it back up and met with new candidates and landed on Reich. Then the search for Steichen. His first search was such a disaster he got an immediate redo. And it wasn’t just that McDaniels backed out, his performance since proved Ballard’s choice was shitty from the get go. I count 3.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by rm1369

Definitely look at Ballards drafts and not his results, because nothing in the results say he’s anything but mediocre. I guess you are technically correct though - better than Grigson. Not exactly high praise. The single smartest decision Ballard has ever made was following Grigson. 8 years in to a rebuild where he’s had more coaching searches than playoff appearances and many fans think he’s doing good because he’s not Grigson.

I think he's doing good because he's a better drafter than Polian, and unlike both Polian and Grigson, his tenure did not begin with the blessing of a franchise QB falling into his lap at #1 overall. Quite the opposite, 3 years into his tenure, the franchise QB he thought he had retired in shocking and unexpected fashion. He worked through that and still somehow got the Colts to the playoffs once despite having no solution at the NFL's most important position. He finally was able to draft his guy in 2023, and that guy got hurt at the beginning of the season. Anthony Richardson will play his age 22 season in 2024, and we're going to act like the guy that put a roster together than nearly won the division without him isn't doing enough? Ballard finally has his franchise QB in place, he should have more than 4 games with him before we're saying he can't succeed with him.

[YDFL Commish]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

I think he's doing good because he's a better drafter than Polian, and unlike both Polian and Grigson, his tenure did not begin with the blessing of a franchise QB falling into his lap at #1 overall. Quite the opposite, 3 years into his tenure, the franchise QB he thought he had retired in shocking and unexpected fashion. He worked through that and still somehow got the Colts to the playoffs once despite having no solution at the NFL's most important position. He finally was able to draft his guy in 2023, and that guy got hurt at the beginning of the season. Anthony Richardson will play his age 22 season in 2024, and we're going to act like the guy that put a roster together than nearly won the division without him isn't doing enough? Ballard finally has his franchise QB in place, he should have more than 4 games with him before we're saying he can't succeed with him.

Holy fuck no....he's not a better drafter than Polian. This is not even a di csussion.

[sherck]

Originally Posted by Dewey 5

Who cares? The point is that we're not.

Translated:

Who cares because Ballard is not being active in free agency and EVERYONE knows that being active = winning free agency!

I only have 0.563% the football knowledge of Chris Ballard but since he is letting football players who are either too expensive or don't fit our system sign with other teams, that means he is bad, bad, bad and I hates him. No biscuit for you!

The door is ========> That way.....

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

I think he's doing good because he's a better drafter than Polian, and unlike both Polian and Grigson, his tenure did not begin with the blessing of a franchise QB falling into his lap at #1 overall. Quite the opposite, 3 years into his tenure, the franchise QB he thought he had retired in shocking and unexpected fashion. He worked through that and still somehow got the Colts to the playoffs once despite having no solution at the NFL's most important position. He finally was able to draft his guy in 2023, and that guy got hurt at the beginning of the season. Anthony Richardson will play his age 22 season in 2024, and we're going to act like the guy that put a roster together than nearly won the division without him isn't doing enough? Ballard finally has his franchise QB in place, he should have more than 4 games with him before we're saying he can't succeed with him.

Ballard is an above average drafter, but I don’t believe he knows how to actually win. Drafting talent and assembling a winning team are different things and I have seen exactly zero evidence he’s capable of the latter. If it weren’t for Irsay stepping in it is very likely AR would not be the Colts franchise QB. Without the shit show of Reich’s firing and the hiring of Saturday the team likely finishes middle of the pack again. Ballard’s history and his past comments say he wouldn’t have went and got AR. And I’m not positive the team ends up with Steichen. Does Ballard fire Reich? I don’t think so. I criticized Irsay heavily when things went down, but it’s clear he saw that the team needed something to change because Ballard was leading them no where. And Irsay was absolutely right. The team has hope now because of Irsay’s decision. Ballard made good choices when forced into the situation, but he didn’t see the big picture. Notice a trend? We’ll see how this off season ends, but it looks like it will go like it usually does - prioritizing future flexibility over solutions now, throw a bunch of young guys at a problem and hope. It has cost the team almost every year under Ballard. But at least the future cap looks good!

If they miss the playoffs again will you start to change your mind on Ballard’s ultra conservative approach? If they finish 3rd (or worse) in the division again? How many years or rebuilding become too many before you need a different approach? Or as long as he drafts a decent player or two, wins don’t matter? It’s easy to think that as long as he drafts well everything else will work out. But let’s remember the career of his greatest draft pick has already started, peaked, and pretty much ended. How many more years will DeFo remain a monster? How long does most RB careers last? How often is Nelson injured and how long does his back hold out? None of those are in Ballards control and it’s not his fault when they happen….but it will be his fault when this team never peaks with those guys because Ballard was always too worried about next year.

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by sherck

Translated:

Who cares because Ballard is not being active in free agency and EVERYONE knows that being active = winning free agency!

I only have 0.563% the football knowledge of Chris Ballard but since he is letting football players who are either too expensive or don't fit our system sign with other teams, that means he is bad, bad, bad and I hates him. No biscuit for you!

The door is ========> That way.....

I get tired of this argument. That everyone is bitching because he didn’t sign X or Y free agent. That’s not it for many. The issue is an overall philosophy that prioritizes next year. Always. Sign or trade for a 40+ yr old QB. No rush - we got time to deal with WR next year (Rivers) or time for a 3rd round rookie LT (who has only played the position for 2 yrs) to develop (Ryan). It doesn’t matter the QB situation (young, old) Ballard has time to wait. Time enough for the Texans to also lose their franchise QB, bottom out, rebuild, and win the division. Ballard keeps saying he sees his mistakes and I keep hoping he does. I want him to be good. I want to believe he will be aggressive and try to win. There is a lot of off-season left. Right now it’s looking a lot like Deja vu.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

Holy fuck no....he's not a better drafter than Polian. This is not even a di csussion.

Compare their drafts. The big advantage Ballard has over Polian is he doesn't waste what is now Day 2. Polian was great on what are now Days 1 and 3 and terrible on what is now Day 2. Ballard does well in all rounds.