Off-season moves

[omahacolt]

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood

Wholesale conversion of this pile of shit- get rid of all these fucking idiots! Give AR one more shot with some new people in charge.

GM= John Dorsey
HC= Ben Johnson
DC= Al Golden
QB= AR
RB= Najee Harris

najee Harris? fuck that

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

I think there are 2 choices here that make sense. One is what most of the fans want, while the other is what the most stable, consistently good franchises do.

1) Burn it all down. If you're firing Ballard, fire Steichen, and trade AR for what you can get. Ballard got saddled with a coach he didn't hir in his first season, and no head coach Ballard has had hired their own DC. This is an entirely clean slate for a new front office to go out and build what they believe to be a competitive team. They'll have to solve the QB problem, but there are solutions available.

2) Run it back with the same group one more time. Maybe Gus Bradley gets fired, but mostly keep the front office and coaching staff in tact. Bring in a DC Steichen wants that has a vision to compliment his offense, let that DC hire his own position coaches if he so chooses, and see if AR can develop into that franchise guy with a full offseason of being able to develop his passing rather than rehabbing his shoulder and a full training camp to learn what he needs to learn to grow and develop in this offense.

The first option is the option most Colts fans seem to want, but it reminds me of something the Browns, Panthers, or Jaguars would do. The second option is the one that would lead to incessant bitching from the fanbase, but is more reminiscent of what the Ravens, Steelers, or Eagles would do. I'd rather be in line with that second group of franchises.

Reminds you of something the Browns would do? Ballard has been here 8 fucking years. Firing him wouldn’t be a knee jerk reaction, a sign of unrealistic expectations, or constant changing of direction. We’ve seen what his “leadership” and vision builds. We know the end result. How many years do you give someone so that you appear stable like a good franchise? 10? 15? Might as well move the team now. All Ballard is building is an unlikable team and a disgusted fanbase.

[ChoppedWood]

Originally Posted by omahacolt

najee Harris? fuck that

Fair enough. Was just looking at RB's that:
- Can actually perform in all three phases
- Are available
- Aren't pussies
- Aren't known to be incompetent players that are a lock to make numerous stupid plays throughout the year
- Aren't gonna be real expensive
- Will be a player that 1-2 years from now can easily say "thanks for your services, our 2nd / 3rd round pick will now take the starting spot, good luck in the future, or you can stay here as a back up for $150 gift card going forward".

There are probably 10+ that meet these criteria and would be perfectly suited to replace a player that is WAY fucking over paid for what he really is.

[ChoppedWood]

Originally Posted by rm1369

Reminds you of something the Browns would do? Ballard has been here 8 fucking years. Firing him wouldn’t be a knee jerk reaction, a sign of unrealistic expectations, or constant changing of direction. We’ve seen what his “leadership” and vision builds. We know the end result. How many years do you give someone so that you appear stable like a good franchise? 10? 15? Might as well move the team now. All Ballard is building is an unlikable team and a disgusted fanbase.

I am just stunned by those that are somehow still either in Ballard's camp (prob like 15%) or are more comfortable with what you know vs what you don't (prob 85%). What we know, is he sucks, his record over a long duration of measurement, is proof of this. This is NOT something that is open for debate.

What is more confusing- there are a LOT of recent examples of drastic restructurings that have been successful. The Lions are a terrific example of it. Arguably the best team in football from being atrocious just a few years ago. They shook up everything and turned the entire culture around.

A lot of people scoff'd at Dion doing what he did 2 years ago at Colorado. Held a full team session and told a bunch of players they weren't good enough and they would be replaced. A lot of people said it would fail- they won 9 games this year and are getting huge recruits to come to their team. Hell Cignetti right in the back yard basically did the same thing.

I know, I know, college totally different, but the premise is not. It is time someone come in here, be given the latitude they need to assess and fucking just get rid of all the dead wood on this team. Ballard has proven HE WILL NOT DO IT! At some point, fuck man you have to rip off the band aid and fucking address the injury.

I saw a great piece with Belllicheat the other day talking about what it will be like at UNC now. Really simple statement; "we're going to have guys that love to play the game, if you don't love to do this, well then you probably need to find another place.". That message is very simple but very profound- he is looking for football players, guys that live for this shit. The Colts have way too many dudes that view this as a great way to make a living regardless of the W/L register. Fuck those guys- those are BALLARD guys!

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by rm1369

Reminds you of something the Browns would do? Ballard has been here 8 fucking years. Firing him wouldn’t be a knee jerk reaction, a sign of unrealistic expectations, or constant changing of direction. We’ve seen what his “leadership” and vision builds. We know the end result. How many years do you give someone so that you appear stable like a good franchise? 10? 15? Might as well move the team now. All Ballard is building is an unlikable team and a disgusted fanbase.

Ballard had Luck for 2 seasons, spent 4 seasons trying to find a solution at QB, then there's been 2 seasons of AR so far. If you give up on Ballard, you're probably giving up on AR as well. A new front office certainly wouldn't be tied to him. I think giving AR one more year is the best option, because I feel like he's either going to develop into the franchise QB that the front office envisioned or he'll do poorly enough to get the team a top 5 pick so that when they move on, the new front office will be in good position to get their franchise QB. To me, that also means giving Ballard 1 more year, because he is tied to AR, which makes him motivated to put the best team around him to allow him to succeed, moreso than a new regime would be.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood

- Aren't known to be incompetent players that are a lock to make numerous stupid plays throughout the year

This was one of your criteria and you picked Najee Harris? There's a reason Jaylen Warren plays so much in Pittsburgh, and it's not because Harris is reliable.

[ChoppedWood]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

This was one of your criteria and you picked Najee Harris? There's a reason Jaylen Warren plays so much in Pittsburgh, and it's not because Harris is reliable.

And why Warren will be in a Steeler uniform next year and Harris will be in another.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood

And why Warren will be in a Steeler uniform next year and Harris will be in another.

You give me a choice between Taylor and Najee Harris, I take Taylor 15 out of 10 times.

[ChoppedWood]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

You give me a choice between Taylor and Najee Harris, I take Taylor 15 out of 10 times.

Great. Terrific. And we'll be 8-9, 7-10, 9-8 for the next three years and he will then be completely washed and cut. This type of decision making, is driving Chris Ballard's 8+ year plan...

This TEAM sucks! He is part of the suck, but he has external value. We need to get value to rebuild with complete football players, not a player who can run the ball and do nothing else.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by ChoppedWood

Great. Terrific. And we'll be 8-9, 7-10, 9-8 for the next three years and he will then be completely washed and cut. This type of decision making, is driving Chris Ballard's 8+ year plan...

This TEAM sucks! He is part of the suck, but he has external value. We need to get value to rebuild with complete football players, not a player who can run the ball and do nothing else.

You think having more talented football players is not a winning strategy? I'm fairly certain 32 NFL GMs would disagree with your stance here.