Ballard Presser

[IndyNorm]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


I wouldn't feel the slightest bit better if Ballard had said that the Colts plan on winning the Super Bowl next year ...... in fact, I always point out that there are 3 major steps in winning the Super Bowl.


1) Make the playoffs

2) Make it to the Super Bowl

3) Win the Super Bowl


You can't win the Super Bowl if you don't make it to the Super Bowl.

And you can't make it to the Super Bowl if you don't make it to the playoffs.

I'm looking forward to the Colts making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and as far as I'm concerned, any talk about winning a Super Bowl before that first step is achieved is a lot of bluster and hot air.

o

Thanks Captain Obvious. But the point is the goal shouldn't be to just make the playoffs next year. It should be at least win the division and make a playoff run.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by IndyNorm

Thanks Captain Obvious. But the point is the goal shouldn't be to just make the playoffs next year. It should be at least win the division and make a playoff run.

o


OK, Captain Ambitious. That's great. And if Ballard had said just that, I'm sure that all of the pessimistic Colts fans whom are fed up with Ballard would think, "Hey, this guy gets it ...... maybe he is our guy, because he has the right attitude, and the right mindset."

You can say that the Colts' goal in 2026 is whatever you want it to be ...... Ballard can say that the Colts' goal in 2026 is whatever he wants it to be ...... but for a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2020, any talk about anything other than making the playoffs is all hot air and blustery bullshit.

o

[omahacolt]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


OK, Captain Ambitious. That's great. And if Ballard had said just that, I'm sure that all of the pessimistic Colts fans whom are fed up with Ballard would think, "Hey, this guy gets it ...... maybe he is our guy, because he has the right attitude, and the right mindset."

You can say that the Colts' goal in 2026 is whatever you want it to be ...... Ballard can say that the Colts' goal in 2026 is whatever he wants it to be ...... but for a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2020, any talk about anything other than making the playoffs is all hot air and blustery bullshit.

o

winning the division is the 1st goal. being a wc team should not be the goal.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by omahacolt

Winning the division is the 1st goal. Being a WC team should not be the goal.

o


And the Colts have not done either since 2020.

More significantly, I would rather be a Wildcard team with a record of 12-5 or 11-6 than be a division winner with a record of 9-8 or 8-9 ...... having a team that is a bona-fide contender (like the 2020 Colts were when they went 11-5 and took Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills right down to the wire on their homefield in northwestern New York State in the playoffs) is much more preferable than a team with a mediocre record that has almost no chance to do anything of significance in the playoffs winning the division (like the 2022 Buccaneers who went 8-9 did.)

Yes, generally speaking, winning the division is more important that getting a Wildcard. But more important than that is having a team winning 11 or 12 games (regardless of whether or not that nets them a division title or a Wildcard berth) and being a bona-fide contender.


Splitting hairs over what Ballard said at the press conference in regard to what the goal of the team is for next year isn't going to change the fate of the 2026 Indianapolis Colts at all ...... Ballard's actions in the draft, in re-signing players that are eligible for free agency, and any potential off-season trades that he makes will.

o

[IndyNorm]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


OK, Captain Ambitious. That's great. And if Ballard had said just that, I'm sure that all of the pessimistic Colts fans whom are fed up with Ballard would think, "Hey, this guy gets it ...... maybe he is our guy, because he has the right attitude, and the right mindset."

You can say that the Colts' goal in 2026 is whatever you want it to be ...... Ballard can say that the Colts' goal in 2026 is whatever he wants it to be ...... but for a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2020, any talk about anything other than making the playoffs is all hot air and blustery bullshit.

o

Considering we were 8-2 before the collapse setting the bar to win the division and 1-2 playoff games is very much a realistic goal. With the FO and ownership saying the goal is to make the playoffs makes me believe that they'll be happy with a 7 seed one and done playoff team, which they shouldn't be.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by IndyNorm

Considering the fact that we were 8-2 before the collapse setting the bar to win the division and 1-2 playoff games is very much a realistic goal.

o


I completely agree with that. In fact, I am one of the Colts fans who believes that it is highly likely that the 2026 Colts will be one of the best teams in the NFL, and that with a healthy Daniel Jones the team is much closer to the one that went 8-2 before he broke his leg than the one that went 0-7 after he broke it.

That wasn't the overall point of what I said in my original post that you quoted, though. The overall point is that Ballard's wording of what the team's goal is has little to no significance in my confidence in him. What Ballard does in the upcoming draft, what he does in regard to keeping big-time free agents on the roster while somehow keeping the salary cap intact, and what he does overall to improve that team's biggest weakness (the pass-rush) is what will tip the scales in regard to whether or not I will continue to have confidence in Ballard in 2026 and beyond.

o

[Oldcolt]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


I completely agree with that. In fact, I am one of the Colts fans who believes that it is highly likely that the 2026 Colts will be one of the best teams in the NFL, and that with a healthy Daniel Jones the team is much closer to the one that went 8-2 before he broke his leg than the one that went 0-7 after he broke it.

That wasn't the point of what I said in my original post that you quoted, though. The point is that Ballard's wording of what the team's goal is has little to no significance in my confidence in him. What Ballard does in the upcoming draft, what he does in regard to keeping big-time free agents on the roster while somehow keeping the salary cap intact, and what he does overall to improve that ream's biggest weakness (the pass-rush) is what will tip the scales in regard to whether or not I will continue to have confidence in Ballard in 2026 and beyond.

o

Therein is why we disagree. We judge the man on different scales. I now judge him on winning. I used to judge him, like you, on how I personally perceived he was doing. It took me 8 years to recognize that the results were not jibing with my judgements. So now I will judge him on one thing only, our record. After a decade his excuses ring hollow to me. I just don't believe them anymore because I've heard them year after year after year and they always are proven to be incorrect. I'll believe when Ballard says/predicts are actually correct. And, ass that I am, I will need more than one lucky year to be totally back on his bandwagon.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

Therein is why we disagree. We judge the man on different scales. I now judge him on winning. I used to judge him, like you, on how I personally perceived he was doing. It took me 8 years to recognize that the results were not jibing with my judgements. So now I will judge him on one thing only, our record. After a decade his excuses ring hollow to me. I just don't believe them anymore because I've heard them year after year after year and they always are proven to be incorrect. I'll believe when Ballard says/predicts are actually correct. And, ass that I am, I will need more than one lucky year to be totally back on his bandwagon.

o


Fine, you can judge him on winning, and that is legitimate ...... ultimately, the Colts have only had one season as bona-fide contender (2020) in his 9-year tenure as the team's GM (2017 through 2025.)

That wasn't the gist of my original post on this topic, though. The gist of my original post was in regard to Ballard's wording of the team's goal in 2026, which I believe has very little (if any) value in regard to the team's future fate.

o

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

Therein is why we disagree. We judge the man on different scales. I now judge him on winning. I used to judge him, like you, on how I personally perceived he was doing. It took me 8 years to recognize that the results were not jibing with my judgements. So now I will judge him on one thing only, our record. After a decade his excuses ring hollow to me. I just don't believe them anymore because I've heard them year after year after year and they always are proven to be incorrect. I'll believe when Ballard says/predicts are actually correct. And, ass that I am, I will need more than one lucky year to be totally back on his bandwagon.

I applaud your honesty here. You are one of the few detractors that has the ability to be swayed by evidence. Most just have hated Ballard since the first year, or shortly thereafter. They seem to dislike his personality. To me, personality is the least of my worries. Their dislike of him from the onset makes me think they are our version of Dickitch, who thinks Grigson was a great GM because he was lucky to have Andrew Luck at QB to save his ass every year. The team was clearly a corpse when they fired that clown, and Ballard had to fix that corpse. Has it taken longer than I hoped? You are absolutely right that it did. However, I do not see the roster declining every year like it did under Grigson, who I supported early on.

[ChoppedWood]

Originally Posted by Racehorse

I applaud your honesty here. You are one of the few detractors that has the ability to be swayed by evidence. Most just have hated Ballard since the first year, or shortly thereafter. They seem to dislike his personality. To me, personality is the least of my worries. Their dislike of him from the onset makes me think they are our version of Dickitch, who thinks Grigson was a great GM because he was lucky to have Andrew Luck at QB to save his ass every year. The team was clearly a corpse when they fired that clown, and Ballard had to fix that corpse. Has it taken longer than I hoped? You are absolutely right that it did. However, I do not see the roster declining every year like it did under Grigson, who I supported early on.

Nope, Grigson was a buffoon, stooge, tool. Just because Ballard sucks (and he does no matter how many settings are applied to the lens), does not mean Grigson was good.

Us "detractors" are looking at empirical evidence and stating that there is nothing to substantiate any objective rationale that he has been 1- "good" or 2- he will be "good" going forward. His tenure has provided nothing, absolutely nothing, to provide any reason to believe so.

As for his personality- yes, I absolutely hate his personality. He presents as a haughty, stubborn, know it all who for all his hubris seems like he's really kind of a coward and cannot handle criticism. He constantly clings to what in the grand scheme of things are small and infrequent pieces of an overall larger puzzle that he seems to really struggle to comprehend. He seems very much a trees vs the forest person, and as a GM, that's not fucking good.

And C&O, as for your statement that CF's hasn't been "good" during the 0-7 stretch. What in the fuck does that mean? Us meanies should have been going to the complex with home baked cookies and warm towels for our beloved Colts, as they week after week fell flat on their face???? What in the fuck are you talking about. The other day you more or less told me I should leave, perhaps you would be better suited to go over to Colts.com where the circle jerk is the play of the day. Sorry, you don't like seeing the criticism, dude, we just experienced the worst collapse in the history of the NFL- there is PLENTY of criticism warranted!