Colts GM Chris Ballard Talks Indy's Offseason, Anthony Richardson's Development & More | GM Shuffle

[@gregc.4117]

As a long-time Colts fan (1969) I’m soooo glad we have this GM, these coaches and this team. Looking forward to 2024!!!

[@RoyTheMetalhead]

I'm not glad we have Gus Bradley as our DC, but other than that I'm with you. If AR can stay healthy, and now with Laiatu Latu on our D-line, I'm really looking forward to seeing what this team can do this season.

[@HippieHeadOfficial]

Ballard is a idiot for not addressing the Colts secondary

[@Trel2x]

@@HippieHeadOfficialI think it’s because our secondary doesn’t have a identity yet, I liked the draft pick we picked up

[@kingkracker1998]

yup me too. crazy to me the young fans dont like chriss, but the young fans dont seem to understand team building or even football in general lol

[@kingkracker1998]

@@HippieHeadOfficial lol he did, its called beef up the D line. lol if u dont know how that helps ur secondary than i cant help ya! we also got our starters back in the secondary that werent there most of the year. they dont wanna get older either.

[@Cracktune]

In Ballard we trust! LETS GO COLTS

[@wingsandstrings6626]

trust a guy with 0 division titles in 10 years

[@DraftKings]

🐴

[@AbsoluteE82]

@@wingsandstrings6626 the arrogance is mind blowing and I hope it finally will happen That said to not sign a veteran in the secondary and have the money you can’t be serious about winning and banking on your pass rush and a very young secondary when veteran safeties and corners available

[@nateriley4067]

@@wingsandstrings6626 Such a dick post. and one that lacks all context. Ballard arrived in 2017 expecting to have Luck at the helm, not having him retire prior to the 2019 season. Since then, we’ve just been trying to get by with Free Agents and backups. It’s only because of Ballard’s roster construction have we been even competitive, despite not having much under center. Most teams would have bottomed out and had a Top-5 pick well Ballard experienced his down season. Brisset was a situational backup at best in 2019, Rivers played well but retired after only playing the 2020 season, Wenz in 2021 was a nightmare (but that was Reich’s call and resulted in his firing), Matty Ice sucked in 2022 (that was surprising, and that was the one that could be blamed on Ballard) in 2022. Even last year, playing for a playoff spot in week#18 with having your backup QB having played the vast majority of the season, shows how strong this roster is constructed. This is the year, if Richardson can avoid the injuries, the Colts should experience success. We have a front-loaded schedule, but I’m expecting a 10 to 11 win season and a AFC South title. GO HORSE!!!

[@SteveoDuhh]

@@wingsandstrings6626it’s his fault Luck retired out of no where? After Luck Retired they had to rebuild immediately and rebuilds take time lmao, they got their star QB while building the Offense and Defense. Reminder the Colts only lost last year because of a dropped pass, that’s also without AR playing 95% of that season.

[@liamcarlen8929]

Everything Ballard said were things Michael has said before - Evals don’t matter until pads come on, can’t overpay a great player, etc. Cool to see confirmation that Michael shows how GMs around the league actually think.

[@SplitSauce2289]

Say what you want about Ballard, he is consistent in his approach. Hopefully the results aren't consistently mediocre.

[@isitsustainable820]

Insightful comment. Also: the game starts up front - something Michael has said consistently that Chris says here.

[@Artemis88446]

when draft kings post more content on your GM than your own team

[@BhBraaq]

A lot of fans shit on Chris, even the Colts media. Look at what he went through : losing Luck to an unexpected retirement after year 1, the coach he wanted backing out last minute and making a last minute hire with Reich, having a solid team drafted so he was never a high enough pick to get a top tier talent at QB until last year, etc. This is why Irsay is loyal to him, he’s made mistakes, some bad hires and drafts but he’s done a great job at making chicken salad out of some real shitty situations and now this team is on track. We have a solid roster, incredible coaching staff, etc. LETS GO!

[@mr_num_numz]

Yessir 👍

[@scottytoohottysmith6991]

i call BS, Local Indy media greases Ballard's pole. Especially Zach and Holder.

[@BhBraaq]

@@scottytoohottysmith6991 not the media I listen to. They hold his feet to the fire constantly

[@lashonnacrayton3645]

Let's go COLTS NATION team Ballard

[@wynandoberholster2772]

The whole Colts organization is obsessed with the word 'continuity'. But I love it

[@kingkracker1998]

cause thats a good thing. maybe just look at all the best teams. they keep their core guys and coaches and gm. now look at the wrost teams. THEY DONT!

[@jacobstonebraker1556]

Thats a sign we're creating a culture and I'm here for it

[@jonalbertson10270]

Chris Ballard had the shittiest start to a GM'S tenure.. Luck retiring so abruptly. The QB ferris wheel. He's built the roster the right way. Through the trenches out. He's got them on the right track.

[@tonyrobertson2428]

Best GM in the league! Period.. And COLTSNATION we bout to c the building and drafting he been doin over the years finally take form cause Richardson is gonna allow the team to maximize the potential on this roster and it's gonna be sooooo fun to watch.. Let's mf go Ballard! COLTSNATION this our year! I been a colts fan since 96 and I never been soo happy about a season since Manning but I see potential for this team to be a whole lot more talented then those days.. I can't wait! Let's get it.. Love Lombardi being on here I love his questions and insights just like on Macafee show when he comes on.. Great job Elliot! And you got that right ELLIOT.. FOR THE SHOE!

[@Slindyy]

Seek help. This guy stinks and his track record shows it.

[@bobbysmith8836]

If colts put richardson, back he's going to put the game on fire ...😊😊

[@Slindyy]

How can anyone like Chris Ballard at this point? He hasn’t won the AFC South in his career, he has a sub-.500 record as a GM, and have won 1 playoff games in 7 years. Accepting mediocrity is crazy to me.

[@mr_num_numz]

It’s crazy to you? 1 year with Luck then it was shit after that. Jacoby, Phillip, Matt, Gardner….Cmon dude how can you expect to win a division with backups and over the hill guys? And they were a dropped pass away from winning the division last year.

[@Slindyy]

@@mr_num_numz Your acting like it wasn’t his decision to sign those players. He had plenty of opportunities to pick up other QBs

[@stephenredcross1552]

@@Slindyy Like who?

[@Slindyy]

@@stephenredcross1552 Drafting a QB is always a thing. Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts are both late picks.. Let’s not act like Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Phillip Rivers (again because he was good on the colts) weren’t there either.

[@jordankelley9181]

​@@mr_num_numzdon't forget Wentz I don't like him the most

[@jesselund360]

I feel like AR5 could have been the best LB of all time with that build and explosion.

[@SplitSauce2289]

A LB that can throw the pigskin a quarter mile. He could be a TE or RB a lot easier if QB doesn't work out. It's going to work out though.

[@SeanSingleton-m8s]

Instead he has an opportunity to be the best Qb if all time

[@kingkracker1998]

but he gets hurt, so no

[@jacobstonebraker1556]

​@@kingkracker1998fluke injury

[@nateriley4067]

@@kingkracker1998 Tom Brady tore his achilles in Week #1 one season, that didn’t stop anyone from saying he was the greatest. This is a violent sport. Anybody could get hurt on any play. Stafford got hurt and lost like the first 3 years of his career but has since played the last decade without any issues. Choke on a dick.

[@scottbolander8137]

One of the best GMs in football, interviewed by one of the . . . . I've actually had conversations with Michael. I still have the emails where he said Pat White and Steve Slaton were going to be good (I disagreed). You ever heard of those guys?

[@Slindyy]

“One of the best GMs” is the craziest label I’ve heard for Chris Ballard to date.

[@scottbolander8137]

@@Slindyy I bet you know very little about what GMs do. That seems to be a very strong trend amongst Ballard doubters.

[@Slindyy]

@@scottbolander8137 just say you don’t know ball. Chris Ballard has won the AFC South ONCE in his 7 YEARS as the colts GM. He has a sub .500 win record, and has won 1 playoff game in his entire career as a colt. Don’t think about giving me the “Andrew Luck” excuse. He had countless opportunities to sign quarterbacks and he failed over and over again. He gave Jacoby Brissett a contract extension of 2 years 30 mil (flop), he tried with Phillip Rivers (I liked him but apparently Ballard wanted more from a 40 year old and didn’t re-sign), Carson Wentz (flop), oh yeah and his 3 QBs that he’s drafted. His draft picks are largely mediocre, but I will say he excels at finding talent late in the draft. Nonetheless he has continued to underperform with the colts.

[@Slindyy]

@@scottbolander8137 on that note, if Chris Ballard is “one of the best GMs”, I’m curious to know who your top 5 are in the nfl.

[@waltmcfarland5929]

Why didn’t you let Taylor run the ball on 4th and 1. ???

[@rhymes3658]

54-60-1 with one playoff win in 2 appearances. Maybe the law of averages will finally swing in Ballards favor this year

[@codeymartindale2195]

I gotta call Horsesh!t on Ballard being a good GM. 54-60-1. He punted for years on addressing the QB position after Luck retired. He prioritized other positions. He passed on other than really good QB talents that could have been and should have been our QB's. Stroud was within reach and Levis was available the year that he took Richardson. But instead Ballard took a kid It is missed most of two of the last three seasons because he's injury prone. Despite Ballard's gaslighting Richardson is not a good passer. (ranked 114th out of $125 coming out of college for catchable passes thrown, and ranked 40th in several categories out of 32 starting QBs last year) Let's also talk about Head Coaches. Ballard's first choice was McDaniels and the Las Vegas experience shows that would have been a mistake Then Reich, also a mistake. Ballard is the reason we have not won our division, a soft division, since he's been here. The man has ONE playoff win from a team he kind of inherited way back in '18. He's the Jeff Fisher of GMs and needs to be replaced desperately.

[@abdultaylor6571]

The Falcons drafting an accurate, strong, armed QB was a genius move. They have someone in case Cousins isn't 100% all season. And the rookie has time to add muscle. Older people have no common sense when it comes to QBs.

[@kingkracker1998]

lol, if ur drafting to overcome randoms injuries, u already lost! that was dumb cuase they had a chance to draft someone to help cuzzins win now. lol howed jordan love help the packs win games with Rogers? lol he didnt. and rogers has what, 1 SB?

[@nateriley4067]

@@kingkracker1998 I hate to admit it, but @kingkracker1998 actually made good points on this take. The window to win in the NFL is so short, you must maximize a Top-10 pick if you’re the Falcons. Since getting Cousins, this was the last time they’ll be drafting in the Top-10 for the next few years (as long as Cousins plays and stays healthy), so get that playmaker or pass rusher to put them over the top. Penix is already 24, he’s an old rookie. And now you expect him to sit for another 3-4 years? I’d be pissed if I were him, he already lost so much time in college to injuries.

[@Me-You-and-TheShoe]

For the shoe!!!!!!

[@RoyTheMetalhead]

As a big Colts fan, I really hate the defensive scheme that Ballard wants for his team, which is that shitty, soft, generic Gus Bradley scheme that even below-average QBs have shredded since he's been with us, and Eberflus ran the same scheme and it got shredded time and time again with him as our DC too. But outside of that, I really like having Ballard as our GM. I think he's done a good job and I totally agree his team-building philosophies of needing to be strong on both the O-line and D-line. Hopefully with Laiatu Latu rushing the edge now on our D-line, we'll get more consistent pressure so our defense won't get shredded as much as it has in the past. And if AR can stay healthy, and with Shane Steichen calling the plays, I think this team has a lot of potential.

[@kingkracker1998]

well, he wants the front 4 to dominate the game. EVERY TEAM WANTS THAT lol. if we ever get that pass rush champ, this hole team changes. do u remember how the sea hawks looked when they was winning? that was Guss as DC

[@jacobstonebraker1556]

What's so bad about it? A 4-3 D with waves and waves of fresh pass rushers all game has always been Ballard's desire. And we're finally getting the right bodies for it. It's built to play with the lead tho so they can pin their ears back.. it hasn't worked the best so far because we've had subpar QB play. Hopefully AR changes that.

[@lilmitch9319]

Eberflus defense was really good in Indy I mean the guy got a head coach job

[@nateriley4067]

I’m not trying to debate you, do you really think that it's Ballard’s call what type of defense we play? I honestly dunno if that’s an Irsay call, a Steichen call or if the Colts are just looking for the best candidate at interview time and then Ballard goes to shop for the groceries- he goes and gets the defensive players to fit that scheme. Generally, I would prefer our corners play more press and not always give up that easy 5-7 yard out route that feels like is there whenever the offense wants it. But I also don’t want to give up the deep ball either. Our secondary last year managed to do both, and not take either away. Hopefully with a little more experience and health, our secondary will be vastly improved. That’s the only aspect of our defense holding us back, as Front-7 has to near the Top 5 in the league now with Laitu.

[@wingsandstrings6626]

its one thing to emphasize being strong up front. but its borderline malpractice what this man is giving his coach in the secondary.

[@kingkracker1998]

u dont understand then. front 4 can hide a bad secondary. and u forgot that all the starters were out last year. give a qb 5 seconds and he kills u, give him 3 seconds and he throws INTs and gets sacked, ALSO huge dif from guarding a guy for 5 seconds vs 3. game changer. now do it make since?

[@Rader79]

Snake oil salesman with a horrible football philosophy.... Hes taken a dominant team and turned them into a mediocre laughing stock.... #FIRECHRISBALLARD

[@stephenredcross1552]

Dominant team? Since when? Colts hasn't been a dominant team since Peyton, Freeney, and Mathis days.

[@tomgarcia1354]

Good luck but you'll never be my 49ers.😂

[@jordankelley9181]

Y'all haven't won since the 90s niners ain't shit

[@tomgarcia1354]

The Dolts have won how many superbowls 😂yeH you keep trusting you keep making excuses. 😂

[@Steve-Willie]

Try and keep the colts owners nose powder free

[@JC-ce7ud]

Chris you might wanna get your blood pressure checked my brother.

[@blessembreaks]

id actually think thats old turkey neck Lombo who might need to get it checked

[@noahbarnes9819]

😂

[@kingkracker1998]

called sun burn. happens when u stay outside for long periods of time lol

[@mikeymendez7060]

The Colts and the Jets are in the same boat. Their season relies on a quarterback playing good. So many questions on the quarterback room with Richardson and Flacco just like it is with Rodgers. It absolutely does not matter if you have weapons and defense. Once that QB does not show up or gets hurt expect a bad season without playoffs. I feel like the young people are so delusional that they cannot see this or how bad Ballard is for the team. He does the bare minimum every year and leave at least 3 position groups with tons of question marks untouched for two years before addressing it and will ignore another 3 position groups. His next 3 excuses for the 2025 off-season will be Gus Bradley, the young secondary, and Quarterbacks

[@RoyTheMetalhead]

Ballard is never gonna blame the team's failures on Gus Bradley. His shitty scheme is exactly the one Ballard wants for his team. That's my biggest complaint about Ballard, and the amount of excuses that he's made for Bradley and the fact that he can't see that Bradley's scheme blows drives me insane.

[@mikeymendez7060]

@@RoyTheMetalhead bro Bradleys bullshit 90's scheme is so bad for this days NFL play. Bradley was Ballard's pick. And he never takes blame for the bullshit draft picks he has had over the years. Getting rid of D line coaches back to back years to make you look like the picks have not been the problem. I really dislike Ballard and Bradley, more Ballard though. Red neck is full of excuses every damn year and fans have their nose so far up his ass and applaud him. I'm not the one to be fed bullshit. He should have been fired after the 2021 meltdown.

[@kingkracker1998]

The Colts and the Jets are in the same boat. Their season relies on a quarterback playing good.< EVERY TEAM IN THE NFL!

[@kingkracker1998]

@@RoyTheMetalhead get that front right, changes EVERYTHING! i mean EVERYTHING. dumb fans want ballard to trade every1 every year. they have no clue how shit works. cant do that. theres a reason why they win games with out a QB, with back up QBs. still winning games and competing. just missing the QB, like every nfl team without their QB. lol u guys lol

[@317Deven]

Every team depends on their QB to be healthy for a legit season.

[@stevenbentley895]

I believe Richardson will be replaced real quick, he can't run like you did in college. Look for Joe flacco to pick the duties up early. 🏈, Boo for the colt's backing pride. Read Romans 1 chapter.

[@jacobstonebraker1556]

Did you not see the throws he was making in the Rams game? Buddy has phenomenal arm talent. His accuracy isn't near as bad as ppl said it would be. And that's a very good sign for as raw as he is.

[@watchingthecrazyworld7761]

​@jacobstonebraker1556 You are so right. I couldn't see it before, but I can see it now. Anthony Richardson is taking the Colts to a SB this year.

[@mikeymendez7060]

Ballard is still top 3 worst GM's of the NFL. Worst GM we have ever had. Colts will not be great until he is fired

[@kingkracker1998]

lol u must be a new fan? lol cause the GM we had b4 chriss was trash. had the easiest ojb ever, draft luck, build a O line get him some weapons. instead he did shit u would prolly like. traded a 1rst round pick for a Trent Richardson that couldnt get a 2 yard average b4 the trade or after. lol oh ya, never protected luck and he retired at like 26!!!!! but sure, chriss is so bad. they only win games without having a QB lol. never picking high enough to draft the QB cause they win too much. thank gad for broken ass Matt Ryan so we could finaly draft a guy

[@ChristopherMcReynolds-kc1dz]

Ok bud. Should we bring grigson back too? You're not getting paid to give hot takes. So don't. You sound ignorant.

[@mikeymendez7060]

@@ChristopherMcReynolds-kc1dz I hate gay ass comments like that. You're part of the problem. Always comparing people to who we have had before...the comparisons have to be with the players around the league, GM's around the league. Wake up kids

[@carrite]

You're tripping, but we're used to it by now.

[@mikeymendez7060]

@@kingkracker1998 you sound like a clown. Ballard traded a 1st for Wentz and shipped him out the following year. The pay was way more than a bullshit running back contract too. You lose the argument kid. I have been a fan all my life. The Colts have been mediocre for the past 10 years. I'm not 15 and a sucker for this clown ass Ballard's bullshit he feeds you all.

[@Tez_So_Fly]

Best GM when it comes to talent evaluation. Ik there's been hits and miss, but u think about the roster he took from the beginning fast forward to now. 🫡 I just wish we had tgis HC and roster now when Darius Leonard was a manic and our defense was a top 5-10 defense.

[@juzd3609]

Thank you Colts staff an players an fans for the shoe Indianapolis Colts all the way 💙 🤍 👀💪🏉💪🏆💪🐎💪💙🤍