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Old 08-04-2018, 11:05 AM
JAFF JAFF is offline
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Default IndyStar Ballard screwed up the O line

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...ine/902030002/

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Chris Ballard is in his second season as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts. His method of building the franchise is through the draft and he acknowledges he has made mistakes along the way.

He said Friday he paid too little attention to the offensive line in the 2017 offseason, and watched as injuries decimated the unit. Colts quarterbacks were sacked 56 times and the team averaged just over 100 yards rushing per game, 22nd in the league.

"I screwed it up last year," Ballard told 1070-WFAN AM host Dan Dakich from Colts camp in Westfield. "I should’ve addressed it last year. I didn’t address the depth. … It taught me a great lesson that we’re gonna fix it."


The Colts added guard Quenton Nelson with the No. 6 overall pick in this year's draft, and guard Braden Smith (who has tried tackle in training camp) in the second round. Indianapolis also added veterans Matt Slauson and Austin Howard. Center Ryan Kelly is healthy after playing in just seven games in an uneven second season.

If the interior of the line performs, Ballard said, the tackles improve, too.

"It makes a huge difference," he said. "It makes a huge difference in your tackles’ play, too. They just gotta push guys by."

On Andrew Luck

Ballard said Luck isn't all the way back from the shoulder injury that sidelined him last year, but the quarterback has regained his most important attribute.

"(Throwing accuracy), being able to anticipate throws, knowing when to let go when a guy is coming out of his break," Ballard said. "That’s more important than arm strength."

Ballard added he is confident Luck's arm strength will soon return.



Are the Colts talented enough?

"Not yet," Ballard said. "We’re not there yet. We’ve got some young, athletic talent and some guys who have some upside, but you want to get to a point where you don’t have any concerns about any part of the roster not being talented enough."

Why he decided to build through the NFL Draft

Ballard said accumulating young players with talent and who are willing to take responsibility will change the team's culture over time.

"Coaching can take you so far," Ballard said. "The locker room takes you over the top. You’ve gotta have a locker room that can challenge each other, not being average. … They’re the police officers. They’ve gotta be the ones that solve the problems."

On Malik Hooker and Clayton Geathers

The safeties were taken off the physically unable to perform list, but they won't be running full speed immediately. Ballard said getting them on the field now for walkthroughs and individual work is important.

New helmet rule

Ballard said he likes the NFL's new rules designed to lessen helmet-to-helmet contact. The Colts' approach is teaching the "hamstring tackle." It's a "low-style tackle with the helmet to the side."







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Old 08-04-2018, 11:21 AM
ChoppedWood ChoppedWood is offline
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A couple recent cryptic comments about arm strength and "confidence" it will return. Accuracy is great, but the most important throw in the game is the sideline out and if you can't throw that on a rope- it's a pick 6... here's to hoping these prognostications of the return of strength come to fruition...
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Old 08-05-2018, 10:21 AM
albany ed albany ed is offline
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A couple recent cryptic comments about arm strength and "confidence" it will return. Accuracy is great, but the most important throw in the game is the sideline out and if you can't throw that on a rope- it's a pick 6... here's to hoping these prognostications of the return of strength come to fruition...
Luck hasn't been throwing that long, so I do expect the strength to improve significantly. If it doesn't, Luck will become a well paid second stringer.
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Old 08-06-2018, 12:26 PM
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Ha. What will all the Ballard nut swingers say to this? I remember bitching about the lack of OL (not here necessarily), especially in FA, and getting an avalanche of shit dropped on me. About how Ballard knows what he's doing, he sets his price and doesn't budge, he's being smart in FA and building the team "the right way", he has thought of everything and it's in his binder, he purposely didn't make the OL better because he was focused on other parts of the team, blah blah blah. A bunch of bullshit from dummies that should know better.

I'm glad to hear Ballard say he screwed up and that he has learned from it. Better than unjustified arrogance and refusal to be accountable.
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Old 08-06-2018, 02:07 PM
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Originally Posted by FatDT View Post
Ha. What will all the Ballard nut swingers say to this? I remember bitching about the lack of OL (not here necessarily), especially in FA, and getting an avalanche of shit dropped on me. About how Ballard knows what he's doing, he sets his price and doesn't budge, he's being smart in FA and building the team "the right way", he has thought of everything and it's in his binder, he purposely didn't make the OL better because he was focused on other parts of the team, blah blah blah. A bunch of bullshit from dummies that should know better.

I'm glad to hear Ballard say he screwed up and that he has learned from it. Better than unjustified arrogance and refusal to be accountable.

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Old 08-06-2018, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by FatDT View Post
...
I'm glad to hear Ballard say he screwed up and that he has learned from it. Better than unjustified arrogance and refusal to be accountable.
...
I glad as well, this is nearly the exact opposite of something Grigson would say, and any GM trait that is the exact opposite of Grigson is positive.
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Old 01-02-2019, 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by JAFF View Post


IndyStar: Ballard Screwed Up the O Line


https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...ine/902030002/



o


Talk about learning from your mistakes ........

In addition to having one of the best overall offensive lines in the NFL in 2018, Ballard was named the Executive of the Year by a MMBQ/Sports Illustrated panel of 13 sportswriters.



MMQB Names Andrew Luck Comeback Player of the Year, Chris Ballard Executive of the Year

(By Matthew Van Tryon)

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...qb/2457579002/

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