I think Ballards idea of drafting for physical talent and trying to coach them up was an interesting one and was worth the attempt. I supported him in trying this method. At some point I think most would have to admit it just doesn't work at this level.

I'm not crowing. I don't think I've ever even brought that stat up, let alone bragged about it. I'm just pointing out that the "no division titles" narrative has a particular connotation and I would wager that most fans would be surprised to learn that the Colts have the best record.

Division titles aren't meaningless, but they're also not binary like they're being presented. Like any stat, there is context. Nobody here cared too much about a division title in 2018 when we beat the division champs twice on the road, including the playoffs. Neither did the Texans.

Congrats to JAX for taking the division in 2022 at 9-8 while the rest of the division was imploding. We were 11-5 in 2020 and lost a tie-breaker. Steichen was a bad 4-yard pass away from the division title with Gardner fucking Minshew at QB in '23.

The Texans earned the 3rd, 3rd, and 2nd overall draft picks consecutively from '22-'24 after two overrated years with Watson. And then the retarded Browns gave HOU THREE more 1st-rounders, a 3rd, and two 4ths in that same stretch. And they barely got by the Colts the past two years with Gardner fucking Minshew and a 47% passer.

TEN was in a similar boat with a solid roster and underwhelming QB play until Ryan Tannehill was available. They had four straight 9-win seasons, but by chance, that resulted in two playoff berths. Both of our 9-win seasons sent us home.


What does that mean?

Not to speak for him, but I've read him say it, and I agree... It's not so much fear of something worse.

It's fear of booting a guy who puts out a good roster and THEN landing a QB. He's right. If we had one of those QB's listed, the Colts would run away with this division yearly.

That would be me. Actually I’ve criticized him since his 2nd offseason when he cut vets, rolled out his long term rebuild plan with a franchise QB in place, made statements minimizing the importance of the QB (IMO), and started minimizing the importance of veteran leadership on a team (coaches job). None of my criticisms have been hindsight. I said then that his methods would lead to mediocrity. I went so far as to do an analysis of the turnover starters on SB winning rosters to show how the little continuity there actually is year to year in the NFL. What in the world has he done that has proven me wrong or should make me rethink my position?

I haven’t always wanted him fired. I even stated early that he needed time to fully prove out his philosophy. I recognize that starting down a path and switching quickly usually isn’t productive. I also constantly heard he’d flip a switch and become aggressive - next offseason. Season after season it didn’t happen and I heard all the excuses. This is the first offseason where maybe it’s true, but only because he’s finally about to be fired. IMO his philosophy has been proven out. It’s lead to exactly what I thought it would- a consistent record that doesn’t bottom out but never reaches anything higher either. Give Ballard a franchise QB and certainly the bar is raised some. But the team IMO would never peak due to his philosophy. I loved the Polian Colts, but Bill had a very similar philosophy that saw the greatest QB ever IMO win only one SB. I’ve seen a similar philosophy play out in GB with the same results. I’m simply not a fan even when paired with a historically great QB. Paired with mediocre QB play and it has me turning in my season tickets.

Why on earth does everyone think we have such a great team? The only quasi all pro on this team is a guard. We have zero difference makers on defense, unless you count Buckner, who wasn't even drafted by us.

starting Gardner minshew wouldn't have really inspired much confidence in the fan base

Again, you have to consider the markets. Green Bay and Indianapolis are small markets. It takes them a generational quarterback to get them into elite territory. We had manning, GB had Favre, and then Rodgers. KC has Mahomes. Small markets do not attract free agents like the big ones do, and their owners do not have cash to overpay signing bonuses. Then we had Luck to mask deficiencies and get us to 11-5 nearly every year. Do I wish Ballard had dome some things differently? You bet I do, but I understand why a lot of things we wanted did not happen. The only real miss I see at QB was not getting Baker. I remember most here were against it, too. It seemed like an illogical choice, and it took him three teams to find success. Maybe Jones can do that for us.

I will give you props for coming and admitting your position.

it is a solid roster. that is a problem with Ballard that I see. he gets a lot of B players and very few super stars. not really been killing the 1st round

I honestly don't know how a team with the 55th ranked QB and 28th ranked defense wins 8 games? Statistical anomaly, a credit to offensive coaching, or a better than average roster?

I sincerely doubt that this has ever happened in the NFL before.

Because the toughest strength of schedule this team has had in the Ballard era is 23rd. Divisions play a huge role in that and the AFC South has also been the worst division in football over Ballard’s tenure. That’s how good he has been. Imagine if he played in an actually competitive division.