It was Jim calling the shot

[Chromeburn]

Originally Posted by CletusPyle

The timing was lucky on Ryan, but he had other options and was willing to wait and not act impulsively, so I give him credit. Washington wanting Wentz was luckier than hell, I see no indication that other teams were interested and Washington was not the only team that NEEDED a QB. Maybe he got more for Wentz than other GMs could have, I don't know if that is true or not, but having someone willing to take Wentz off our hands after we totally shit the bed when we acquired him was pure luck in my opinion...but what does it really matter, I like how it worked out, I'm just not in awe of Ballard because of it.

People kept saying we were going to have to cut Wentz. But the guys is very talented. Coaching and GM egos are huge. I knew there would be no shortage of giant egos thinking they are the ones who will turn his talent around. If there is talent, someone is always willing to take a chance.

[CletusPyle]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

People kept saying we were going to have to cut Wentz. But the guys is very talented. Coaching and GM egos are huge. I knew there would be no shortage of giant egos thinking they are the ones who will turn his talent around. If there is talent, someone is always willing to take a chance.

I know you said that, and Rivera has a massive ego....I am actually looking forward to seeing what Washington can do with Wentz. I wish him well, and of all the teams in the NFC East I like Washington the best, so I'd love to see them have a great season. I can't stand Philly or the Cowboys!

[Chromeburn]

You guys should listen to Zach and Stephon’s recent podcast. It gives a lot of insight to what happened.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000555729048

[Chromeburn]

Originally Posted by CletusPyle

I know you said that, and Rivera has a massive ego....I am actually looking forward to seeing what Washington can do with Wentz. I wish him well, and of all the teams in the NFC East I like Washington the best, so I'd love to see them have a great season. I can't stand Philly or the Cowboys!

I don’t mind the commanders. But they had a fight on the sideline last year, not sure Wentz helps that. I expect he will have a similar year. Might even beat us. But it seems he needs a lot of things to be good on the team for him to succeed. They have certainly had a bad run at QB. Wentz is actually the best addition they have done in awhile. Which tells us our situation could be a lot worse.

[rcubed]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

You guys should listen to Zach and Stephon’s recent podcast. It gives a lot of insight to what happened.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000555729048

that was pretty good.

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by MeSayDayo

I agree. But in the NFL, any GM has to get a little lucky to bring a Lombardi to their franchise. You either have to shit the bed enough to land a Manning, Luck or Burrow- and the difference between the worst team in the league every year and 3rd or 4th worst team in the league is very minimal.
The other option, which also requires a perfect storm, is landing a savvy veteran whose team is ready to rebuild ala Manning, Brady, Ryan, Rivers, Wilson, etc. Your team has to have the roster AND cap room to bring in a guy like this or it isn't worth the effort. In our case, we may be close to having both so making the move for Ryan made sense. I also agree that if we didn't, Ballard and Reich's seat might both be very warm next offseason.

Of all the top guys, I think Reich's seat is unquestionably the warmest and if he doesn't have a good season- he's gone. I like him, I think he motivates decently- but also has shown BIG flags in this regard and how our team showed up to the most important 2 games of the season last year.
Reich coached some great games but for the most part had all of us scratching our head about personnel utilization and gameflow/aggression decisions. If he wants to cool his seat, he should have someone else calling his plays so he can blame them if it doesn't go well.
Most importantly, Reich became the poster boy for the Wentz' debacle. This alone was enough to make his seat hot (how could Reich's love for Jesus completely overshadow the red flags regarding Wentz' leadership inability to be coached?)
Reich and Ryan will have a good season together and I think that will settle this narrative down plenty anyway.

Ultimately, I think Ballard has done so admirably with his damage control job this offseason, he is more than safe in his role. At least straight through the swing at a new young franchise QB- and if he fails, I suppose all bets are off- but that won't be until around 5 years down the road.

I would venture to offer that the right QB would be able to know which of the two called plays would work best. If Ryan has success with the same playbook, then we know the problem was not the coach, but the guy who took the snap.

[Hoopsdoc]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

You guys should listen to Zach and Stephon’s recent podcast. It gives a lot of insight to what happened.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000555729048

I was just coming here to mention this. Those guys are always a really good listen. They’re pretty plugged in to the organization.

They were adamant that Wentz wouldn’t be back from the day after Jacksonville.

One interesting thing they mentioned today is that Ballard originally balked at giving a 3rd round pick for Ryan. He was offering a 4th and Atlanta wasn’t biting. Then, he and Irsay had a talk and he relented.

Also, pretty striking that they literally had no plan at all beyond getting rid of Wentz. So the idea that they got really lucky here has a lot of merit.

[Discflinger]

Still the best owner in the league.

[Oldcolt]

I found it interesting that Ryan spent so much time investigating the Colts.If this wasn't a well run organization that had put together an excellent squad and whose owner, GM and coach are very well respected throughout the NFL Ryan ain't here. Irsay has put together a good group

Also liked how Irsay admitted that Luck retiring screwed the big time. I believe it is the main reason Irsay has been and is so patient with Ballard/Ryan. He knows they got a tough hand to deal with. Not blaming Luck, just stating a fact.

[ChaosTheory]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

I found it interesting that Ryan spent so much time investigating the Colts.If this wasn't a well run organization that had put together an excellent squad and whose owner, GM and coach are very well respected throughout the NFL Ryan ain't here. Irsay has put together a good group

Also liked how Irsay admitted that Luck retiring screwed the big time. I believe it is the main reason Irsay has been and is so patient with Ballard/Ryan. He knows they got a tough hand to deal with. Not blaming Luck, just stating a fact.

That was my favorite part. The fact that Ryan was calling the Bears GM on his own to get some insight on Ballard and the Colts... I like the diligence.