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All this talk of patience……How’s Indy w/Ballard?


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With threads calling to fire everyone 5 games into a new season- lol - the notion of “PATIENCE” is an interesting one that is relative and unique as every Jets fan is individual. This article on Indy is rather pertinent. Enjoy!

 

Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard has preached patience, but fans are expecting wins

 

Although the Indianapolis Colts have made the playoffs twice during GM Chris Ballard's tenure, they're 33-35 overall and off to a rough 1-3 start to 2021. Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire

INDIANAPOLIS -- Patience.

That’s how Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard views building his roster.

He wants the 1-3 Colts to win, but he wants to do it his way, which has been building the roster through the draft and being selective when it comes to free agency and trades. Not an “instant coffee” approach.

But while patience is Ballard's approach, the Colts' fan base is left wondering when those efforts will be reflected in wins and a deep playoff run.

Since Ballard was hired in the winter of 2017, the Colts are 33-35, including 4-12 in his first season, when he had to clean up the roster left behind by the previous regime. The Colts have been to the playoffs twice during that span, but they have not come close to being Super Bowl contenders.

The pressure is staring at the Colts on a daily basis. Owner Jim Irsay has publicly said over the years that he wants to win multiple Super Bowl titles. Those are lofty expectations from an owner whose franchise has been to two Super Bowls since moving to Indianapolis in 1984.

“I truly believe this football team is on the doorstep of great things, and that’s because of the culture both [Ballard and coach Frank Reich] have cultivated in their time with the Horseshoe,” Irsay said in August. “Whether we are marching toward the playoffs or facing adversity, whether we are building our roster or making a difference in the community, we have the ideal leaders in Chris and Frank.”

This was supposed to be the start of something special for the Colts this season. They returned many of the key pieces of a defensive unit that finished in the top 10 last season. They replaced retired left tackle Anthony Castonzo by bringing in Eric Fisher to join what has been one of the top offensive lines in recent years. And they traded for quarterback Carson Wentz to provide stability at the position and handle a tough schedule to start the season.

The Colts’ first three opponents -- the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans -- are playoff contenders, and the Rams are a team that has a chance to reach the Super Bowl. Indianapolis lost to all three, and it took a matchup with the struggling Miami Dolphins last week for the Colts to get that first victory.

“This s--- sucks,” linebacker Darius Leonard said after the Colts fell to 0-3. “We talk about 1-0, 1-0, but at some point, you gotta get to 1-0."

But the lack of success goes deeper than playing tough opponents.

Is Wentz long-term answer at QB?

The Colts have been searching for a quarterback since 2012 overall No. 1 pick Andrew Luck shockingly retired two weeks before the start of the 2019 season.

Jacoby Brissett wasn’t the answer. Philip Rivers was a one-year stopgap -- who helped lead them to the playoffs -- last season at the end of his 17-year playing career while the Colts looked for their long-term answer at the position.

There was no way they could get by with having mediocre quarterback play, no matter how many times Ballard has said it’s not about one player on the roster. That’s why the Colts made a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for Wentz, a 28-year-old in the prime of his career who needed to fine-tune his game to be their present and future franchise quarterback.

“Let’s be honest about the situation: How well is Carson Wentz going to do? I think that is really going to dictate just how far we go,” Irsay said in an interview with Indianapolis radio station 107.5 FM in the spring.

Despite his injury and confidence concerns, Wentz was handpicked by Reich to be the team’s starting quarterback because the coach believed he could get him back on track after the two spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons together when Reich was Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator.

Wentz's start with the Colts has been anything but smooth. He missed three weeks of training camp after having left foot surgery. Then he severely sprained his right ankle when he tried to extend a play in Week 2 against the Rams. Wentz has been sacked 10 times and hit 48 times this season. The 48 quarterback hits is the fourth most among quarterbacks.

“On the play he got the ankle sprain, it was completely unnecessary,” former Colts quarterback and ESPN analyst Matt Hasselbeck said. “Know when to throw it away. This was avoidable.

"When ... you’re continuing to take more hits and more hits, maybe it would be wise to play a little bit more like Philip Rivers played. Get the ball out of your hands -- protects the team from sacks, helps your completion percentage, it helps everybody.”

Wentz is holding the ball longer this season (2.88 seconds) than he did in his final three seasons with the Eagles (2.76 seconds). The quarterback acknowledged recently it’ll be a challenge for him to change the way he plays after so many years of that style.

“It’s always a fine line, and I’ll probably be answering that question probably my whole career," Wentz said Sept. 22. "Just trying to find that delicate balance of being aggressive, extending plays and knowing when to just say die and let the play die."

Comments like that should be worrisome for the Colts.

“That makes you nervous,” ESPN analyst Ryan Clark said. “Makes you think to yourself, ‘Will this guy ever get it, and how long can we wait?’ You gave up draft picks for Wentz because you believe he’s the quarterback that can elevate the team to the next level. Then you hear him say it’s going to be hard to fix the things needed for this team to be good, for him to be productive. That makes you nervous because you don’t have five weeks, much less three years, to wait for it.”

If Wentz doesn’t work out, the blame is squarely on the shoulders of Irsay, Ballard and, especially, Reich.

'Injuries have decimated this team'

 

The Indianapolis Colts have had some rough luck early this season, dealing with myriad injuries, including a pair of lower-leg injuries to guard Quenton Nelson. Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Colts have had bad luck with injuries, which makes it hard to win.

“Chris has done an exceptional job,” former Colts center and ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday said. “A good job of building the football team. Injuries have decimated this team this season. But ultimately it’s all about wins, and right now, they’re not getting enough wins.”

The blame can be spread around to other areas with the Colts. One of the key areas that was supposed to help Wentz this season was the offensive line, which has been a strong suit since the middle of 2018.

That hasn't been the case thus far, largely due to injuries.

It started in training camp when All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson missed three weeks with the same foot surgery Wentz had. Now he'll miss at least two more games after being placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Center Ryan Kelly missed two weeks in camp with an elbow injury. Fisher missed all of training camp recovering from a torn Achilles and didn’t play until Week 2. Right tackle Braden Smith has been out since Week 1 with a foot injury.

Also, the offensive line reserves have come up short. Veteran Sam Tevi, who is now out for the season with an Achilles injury, played poorly when trying to fill in for Fisher at left tackle. Will Holden wasn’t much better. And Julie’n Davenport has been shaky playing both tackle positions.

Receiver T.Y. Hilton has been on injured reserve with a disk injury. Hilton, despite being 31, is the team’s best downfield threat in the passing game. The Colts have two completions of more than 40 yards on the season. And, oh yeah, the Colts are 2-13 when Hilton has missed games.

Pair all of those injuries with Wentz's health issues and securing wins gets difficult.

“What this team is now, they’re incomplete,” Clark said. “The offensive line, which was a huge strength, isn’t dominating in ways that you would expect they would with all the injuries. You combine that with Carson Wentz not making the adjustment of getting the ball out of his hand. He really hasn’t done the things he needs to do to protect himself, as well as still having some of those bad habits.”

When will Ballard’s moves lead to wins?

Ballard has made some moves to put the Colts in position to have success. Selecting Nelson, Smith, Leonard and running back Nyheim Hines in the 2018 draft. Giving up a first-round pick to trade for DeForest Buckner, one of the NFL’s best interior defensive linemen.

It’s impossible for any team to go 100% when it comes to draft picks, so there have been some misses by Ballard and his staff, like safety Malik Hooker and cornerback Quincy Wilson, who were selected in the first and second rounds, respectively, of the 2017 draft.

One of the most puzzling moves by Ballard occurred this past offseason.

The Colts didn’t add an experienced backup quarterback despite knowing Wentz’s injury history. They thought second-year quarterback Jacob Easoncould be the backup, but he has fallen so far down the depth chart that he was a healthy inactive against the Dolphins in Week 4.

This is the first time that the Colts started 0-3 since Reich became coach in 2018. The clock isn’t necessarily ticking on Ballard and Reich after Irsay gave the two contract extensions through the 2026 season. And the positives have outweighed the negatives in the roster Ballard has constructed the past four years, but at some point, the Colts will have to take the next step of being a contender again.

“People felt like the first five games would be a struggle either way for them,” Clark said. “I’m not surprised by their record. But there’s no consolation, because an ‘L’ is an ‘L.’ The more you lose, the further you get away from an opportunity to win the division, which gets you in the playoffs. That’s the first goal of every team, every year. There’s a lot of football left to be played in the season, but there’s work for the Colts.”

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1 hour ago, Zachtomims47 said:

Ballard needs to get some balls and draft a QB high. I understand fans getting tired of waiting. 

 

35 minutes ago, GreenFish said:

100%. I get his point about not wanting his job tied to just one player, but at some point, he has to take a big swing at the QB spot. 

 

31 minutes ago, Jets Voice of Reason said:

I think Ballard is fine, i just don’t think you can punt on drafting a qb forever without being in trouble. 

Chicken or the egg?
 

So do you build the team as a foundation, as he has in Indy, and plug in the QB?

Or select the QB and build a team around him within a 5 year rookie salary window like the Jets have failed to do?

Either way Patience and LUCK are the only material factors. :-( 

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this is actually a good comparison to us. im sure the JD haters will say he is better and maybe he is...NOW.. but when he first got hired?

lets look at he 1st draft in 2017

1. S Malik Hooker .started 35 games in 4 years...including only 6 in his 1st year... is now on Dallas..

Jet fans would have killed him for this pick.. a 1st rd pick only playing 6 games...

2. CB Quincy Wilson.... remember this guy? if you blinked last year you missed him. he played 3 games with us. started only 5 in his 1st year...

Jet fans.... OMG his snd rd pick played 5 games.. fire him NOW!!!!!

3. DE Terrell Basham....i know you remember him.. played 2 years for us. now he is on Dallas.. 3 team in 5 years.

Jet fan.... dont ever let him draft for us again...... 1st 3 picks are busts..

4, T Zack Banner... never played for them. went to Clev and now on Pitts IR

Jets fans..... how do you mess up on your 1st 4 picks....worst GM ever!!!!!

4. RB Marlon Mack .... 1st year was nothing special. .had a good 2nd and a really good 3rd year but now looks like he s been injured for 2 years. played only 3 games in 2 years.

Jet fans.... 1st year only 358 yds ...my guess you guys kill him on this too....

4.  DT Grover Stewart... now hes the only player from this draft still on the team. and it looks like he got this right...but started 1 game his 1st 2 years.. played 24 and 28% of the snaps those years....

Jet fans.....another bust....you would be wrong eventually in his 3rd year....

5. CB Nate Harrison.... started 4 games 1st year.. played with us and now with Denver..

Jet Fans..... another bust

5. MLB Anthony Walker..... started just 2 games his first year....has started every game since..in on Cleveland now..he hit this one but...

Jet Fans would be calling this a bust cause he only played 2 games his 1st year.

so just to recap.. he hit on one guy.. Walker.. which didnt do anything his 1st year...and Mack who and good 2-3 years but has disappeared 4-5 

either way this draft is a bust.... and hes better than JD? 

i will just say this, if he is better than he didnt show it in his 1st draft, and if he drafted for us you guys would have killed him. 

 

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20 minutes ago, doitny said:

this is actually a good comparison to us. im sure the JD haters will say he is better and maybe he is...NOW.. but when he first got hired?

lets look at he 1st draft in 2017

1. S Malik Hooker .started 35 games in 4 years...including only 6 in his 1st year... is now on Dallas..

Jet fans would have killed him for this pick.. a 1st rd pick only playing 6 games...

2. CB Quincy Wilson.... remember this guy? if you blinked last year you missed him. he played 3 games with us. started only 5 in his 1st year...

Jet fans.... OMG his snd rd pick played 5 games.. fire him NOW!!!!!

3. DE Terrell Basham....i know you remember him.. played 2 years for us. now he is on Dallas.. 3 team in 5 years.

Jet fan.... dont ever let him draft for us again...... 1st 3 picks are busts..

4, T Zack Banner... never played for them. went to Clev and now on Pitts IR

Jets fans..... how do you mess up on your 1st 4 picks....worst GM ever!!!!!

4. RB Marlon Mack .... 1st year was nothing special. .had a good 2nd and a really good 3rd year but now looks like he s been injured for 2 years. played only 3 games in 2 years.

Jet fans.... 1st year only 358 yds ...my guess you guys kill him on this too....

4.  DT Grover Stewart... now hes the only player from this draft still on the team. and it looks like he got this right...but started 1 game his 1st 2 years.. played 24 and 28% of the snaps those years....

Jet fans.....another bust....you would be wrong eventually in his 3rd year....

5. CB Nate Harrison.... started 4 games 1st year.. played with us and now with Denver..

Jet Fans..... another bust

5. MLB Anthony Walker..... started just 2 games his first year....has started every game since..in on Cleveland now..he hit this one but...

Jet Fans would be calling this a bust cause he only played 2 games his 1st year.

so just to recap.. he hit on one guy.. Walker.. which didnt do anything his 1st year...and Mack who and good 2-3 years but has disappeared 4-5 

either way this draft is a bust.... and hes better than JD? 

i will just say this, if he is better than he didnt show it in his 1st draft, and if he drafted for us you guys would have killed him. 

 

I mean the Colts are a treadmill team since Luck left. Not sure what the point is here? He's drafted poorly too...got a playmaker in Taylor finally.

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1 hour ago, 92ShaunEllis92 said:

 

 

Chicken or the egg?
 

So do you build the team as a foundation, as he has in Indy, and plug in the QB?

Or select the QB and build a team around him within a 5 year rookie salary window like the Jets have failed to do?

Either way Patience and LUCK are the only material factors. :-( 

They’ve had a solid supporting cast for a couple years now. Since the 2018, you can say they’ve had a supporting cast that can support a rookie QB.

I think he’s a solid GM. He’s just been really conservative at the QB position. 

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3 hours ago, Zachtomims47 said:

Ballard needs to get some balls and draft a QB high. I understand fans getting tired of waiting. 

 

3 hours ago, GreenFish said:

100%. I get his point about not wanting his job tied to just one player, but at some point, he has to take a big swing at the QB spot. 

 

Hard to do that when you're typically picking in the 20s or so and don't have the ammo to move up, but yeah, eventually they need to be finding their QB in the draft.  D**king around with Wentz was always going to be a waste of time.

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49 minutes ago, Matt39 said:

I mean the Colts are a treadmill team since Luck left. Not sure what the point is here? He's drafted poorly too...got a playmaker in Taylor finally.

point is some people think he is a good GM... that may be true, i didnt go thru 5 years of draft picks and FA signings.

but his 1st drafted sucked and if he was GM of the Jets in the same spot as JD half this board would want him fired.. so Jets fan would have him fired after his 2nd draft and he would never have a chance to show anyone how good he was.

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21 minutes ago, doitny said:

point is some people think he is a good GM... that may be true, i didnt go thru 5 years of draft picks and FA signings.

but his 1st drafted sucked and if he was GM of the Jets in the same spot as JD half this board would want him fired.. so Jets fan would have him fired after his 2nd draft and he would never have a chance to show anyone how good he was.

I don’t think Ballard is a good GM though 

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11 hours ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Ballard's first 2 picks in the 2018 draft alone (Quenton Nelson, Darius Leonard) are reason enough to keep Ballard firmly off the hot seat.  Those guys are studs.  He's also drafted several other useful pieces over the last few drafts.  

But I keep reading here that 1st and 2nd round picks should be automatic for any GM, and it's the later rounds and UDFA where a GM really makes it (or not). ;-) 

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15 hours ago, 92ShaunEllis92 said:

Although the Indianapolis Colts have made the playoffs twice during GM Chris Ballard's tenure, they're 33-35 overall and off to a rough 1-3 start to 2021. Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire

I'm jealous. That's a win 50% of the time. And he made the playoffs. Whoa....sign that beast. 

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The goal of the GM is to win games.  Its not to save cap space, hit on draft picks (potentially at non-premium positions), find FA bargains, etc.  Its to win games.

Ballard like JD work for owners who inherited their money (or team).  They both are respected, but they are not winning games.  They try to hard to score GM points, not game points.

You have to hand it to the GMs of the Browns and Bills.  They have figured out how to win games.  It took a season for Josh Allen to have a decent OL. They traded for WRs.  They added good coaching and good draft picks.  

In retrospect, the Jets clearly should have picked Creed Humphrey over Elijah Moore.  They needed OL help.  They can’t pick an OL/year, when the first one was Becton.   Moore “could have been the better value,” but the Jets OL clearly needed help in the interior.   Look at how they are playing.  The 2020 draft was clearly a value play without thinking about the big picture.  JD should have picked 6 OL in that draft.  Take a lot of swings.  The Jets would be 10x better if JD did that as opposed to taking the picks that he did (Davis, Zuniga, Morgan, Perine).

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Chris Ballard

Year Tm Lg Job Title W L T W-L% W plyf L plyf Playoff Result
  Total   5 Years 33 36 0   1 2  
  Indianapolis Colts   2017-2021 33 36 0   1 2  
2017 Indianapolis Colts NFL General Manager 4 12 0 .250 0 0  
2018 Indianapolis Colts NFL General Manager 10 6 0 .625 1 1 Lost Div
2019 Indianapolis Colts NFL General Manager 7 9 0 .438      
2020 Indianapolis Colts NFL General Manager 11 5 0 .688 0 1 Lost WC
2021 Indianapolis Colts NFL General Manager 1 4 0 .200      

 

Joe Douglas

Year Tm Lg Job Title W L T W-L% W plyf L plyf Playoff Result
  Total   3 Years 10 27 0        
  New York Jets   2019-2021 10 27 0        
2019* New York Jets NFL General Manager 7 9 0 .438      
2020 New York Jets NFL General Manager 2 14 0 .125      
2021 New York Jets NFL General Manager 1 4 0 .200      

The 2019 Jets were mostly Mike Maccagnan team because he was the one who signed players at the start of free agency and ran the Jets 2019 draft.  Not counting the 2019 team's record Joe's true record with the Jets is 3-18 for a win percentage of .143. 

 

If Indy fires Chris Ballard this coming off-season he's got a good chance at becoming a GM again. On the other hand if Joe Douglas were fired at the conclusion of this season I doubt he's getting offers to be the GM for another NFL team ever again after his tenure with the Jets. Joe's transaction and picks in free agency and the draft respectively leave a lot to be desired. 

 

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2 hours ago, playtowinthegame said:

I'm jealous. That's a win 50% of the time. And he made the playoffs. Whoa....sign that beast. 

Yeah that's a solid rate.  And when they don't make the playoffs they tend to bottom out.  That's the way to do it.  Strive for the playoffs or tank.  Then draft a QB.

More NFL teams need to operate like NBA teams.  No one likes tanking but it can be effective, and the rules are set up to reward it.  

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Ballard is the biggest coward in the NFL.  He's on record being scared to draft a QB early because he doesnt want to lose his job.  So, he'd rather be a middling franchise who is constantly looking for a QB.

I'd rather suck trying then never even swing the bat.

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