I truly didn't have a favorite in this competition.

That said, didn't Steichen do exactly what he said he was going to do, and pick the most consistent guy.

How would it have been taken if Steichen went to the podium and said that, yeah, Daniel was more consistent, but we went with AR because he has more upside? Upside means nothing, and may never be achieved.

Also, I believe that this decision, almost definitively proves out that Irsay was AR's biggest backer, and pulling the strings for him to start, when Mishew was the better option. I don't believe that Carlie will make those same mistakes.

Yeah it would be a different story if through camp Jones was clearly the better option. I’ve not seen any report suggesting that and I haven’t seen it in the preseason games either. You have the one play that is an issue, but reverse that play with the Jones fumbled snap (give jones the sack and AR the fumble) and I feel like certain people would use the fumble as an example of ARs issues. Jones has not been clearly better than AR. Maybe marginally better as a 6 year vet. He is who he is.

Flacco was also more consistent the AR. His record was worse with the same team.

The team had no business drafting a QB they have no desire to develop.

For several years I criticized Ballard for not making win now moves to help support Rivers or Wentz or AR. I was constantly told it made sense to wait until they had a proven QB. Ballard was a genius doing the right thing. Now all of a sudden we apparently have the QB in Jones who has somehow shown more than Rivers or Wentz did in their careers. Now the team has to go into win now mode at the expense of their #4 overall draft pick. Have to love the logic. No wonder this team hasn’t won the worse division in the league in the last 10 years.

I’m not sure they don’t see Mitchell as Pierces in house replacement.

He wasn’t benched he got injured, I don’t consider his in season suspension a legitimate benching. I agree they botched the entire situation with AR, but they were trying to appease fans because at that point colts fans didn’t care they wanted a qb drafted at 4.

The logic is he’s regressed so you can’t keep forcing him out there to fail when you know he’s not ready. He hasn’t been the same since the shoulder injury in my opinion.

Ballard’s job is clearly on the line so maybe he’s taking an all in approach. I don’t know, I honestly don’t care, I’m sick of being so close to winning a lackluster Division when we have the talent.

Jonathan Taylor is a special back I don’t wanna sit here and watch him waste his career behind one of the best Olineman I’ve ever watched. Not to mention Jim passing away… fuck it the time is now!!!

Hopefully they aren’t here to make that decision.

He was benched for Flacco. I’m not sure how you can not count that. It was even the same “reason” as given now - supposedly Flacco gave them a better chance to win. AR only started again because Flacco sucked. The people defending the move said largely the same stuff you are saying now - he gives them a better chance to win and we need to make the playoffs.

Yes, I think Ballard’s job is on the line. That’s the only reason he signed any free agents and attempted to fill most holes. Didn’t do it in his other seasons in charge. Steichen’s is on the line as well. I’m sure that contributes to their decision to see Jones as the answer. It’s still a stupid decision and will help get them fired. That’s the only saving grace for me - finally moving on from them. Especially Ballard. Their best chance at retaining their job was development by AR. Going 8-9 with Jones will just show how inept they both are.

The team is wasting the careers of several really good players, but I’m not particularly a JT fan. Regardless, helping extend the mediocrity for the possibility of a couple extra wins doesn’t make sense to me. And hell, I’m not even sure Jones will win more than AR. For as bad as AR has been, he has a winning record as a starter. And that’s with the BS defense and TE room Ballard gave him.

Exactly. If we could definitely say that Jones outperformed AR and not just maybe by a little bit then going with Jones wouldn't be an issue. Since they're been pretty close then you would think it makes sense to go w/ the high upside guy.



Yeah, you're probably right. I was thinking he'll probably end up having a season similar to '23 w/ Jones throwing to him, but if that happens then he'll probably want to go someplace else on a show me deal to try have a big year to cash in from.

I'm sure they drafted Mitchell with that thought, but they can't be happy with his non-stop biz decisions his rookie year and his dumbfuckery in the preseason.

I mean, if the time is now, why not get a QB that's much better than Daniel Jones. Like go after Geno Smith or Justin Fields or someone. Hell, I'd rather them have got Drew Lock. Or why not at least go after a QB in the 2nd round of the draft or so.

Maybe Jones will prove me wrong. God I'm hoping he does, I want something to root for this year. But the Colts don't feel special enough to do a lot with just mediocre QB play, and it's hard to envision Jones being better than that. Hell, he got benched for Tommy DeVito in his career.

Richardson may give you horrible QB play. In fact, the odds are he probably will. But I'd rather roll the dice on the off chance you hit snakeyes and he goes out there and throws 60 yard bombs to players or runs for 200 yards a game.

I felt that way early on and hoped a fresh start would bring out some of the potential I have saw from him at times in the past, but this preseason has brought me back to Earth. He has looked really mediocre so far, and that is being kind! He could still prove everyone wrong, and maybe he is killing it in practice? I’m still excited for the season, I just hope I still feel that way by mid season!

To quote Bill Parcells, "You lose with potential, you win with performance".

The best one from Parcells is, "Potential means you haven't done anything yet".

I'd rather trade Daniel Jones, there's no upside or hope with him. Roll will AR, Leonard and Bean. I hate this decision so damn much. Just a middle of the road bullshit team again. I love the Colts, but I really hope this blows up in Ballard's and Steichen's faces. I hope the fans boo the hell out of them at games. I have literally no excitement or enthusiasm for this team now. What a piss poor regime the Colts have become. AR has played 39 games total in college and the NFL. Give him a chance this year. See how he does cowards. Daniel Jones is a boring ass QB and not going to take the Colts far at all. Again, medicoricy is all that Ballard and Steichen have given us. Fuck them!
First time in many years I am not looking forward to watching my Colts, thanks Ballard and Steichen, shitheads.

The bad part about Richardson is that the style he is best suited to play is the style his brittle body will not allow him to play.

Sure, he makes amazing plays now and then but he will INEVITABLY end up getting hurt. It’s impossible to build any sort of continuity with him at quarterback.

It’s a never ending cycle of he shows potential, makes a breathtaking play, sucks ass, and then gets hurt.

First time I've seen Nelson whine. It reminds me of Kelly. NBC

No indication here that he thinks it's the wrong decision, but for a guy that is usually all business and doesn't share much, I find his response curious. Perhaps even resentful?

I preferred AR as a starter to help him develop. That said, I hope Jones can be the next Sam Darnold and the next Trent Dilfer/Brad Johnson.

There is no way you can be a member of this organization, a player in particular, one that has numerous years under your belt and is regarded as one of the cornerstones of the franchise, and not look at this train wreck and just fucking HATE the guys in the corner offices. These two fuckheads have completely trashed this fucking org. They seem to have zero strategic thinking capabilities and just go with a "fuck it, let's just see what this looks like tomorrow" approach. When it doesn't work, one just blabbers and speaks condescendingly toward anyone and everyone while the other one just spews layers and layers of non-specific buzz word bullshit over and over!

I have had my share of bitterness and resentment toward numerous people with this organization stretched across the long ass time I have been a fan. I have NEVER had this much contempt for two people as I have for Ballard and Steichen. It makes me sick to say that they are the shot callers for this once proud team, they are a disgrace! The day they are both gone, which I predict will be in November, will be a fucking great day for the shoe!

I was hoping they would go after Will Howard or Dillion Gabriel, they could have had either. Gabriel is a fun guy to watch and a hell of a competitor, short in stature but I think he will have a nice career.

I think Steichen thinks Jones is capable, with JT and Giddens, of running a ball control offense that can score enough points to win lots of close games and if the defense is improved enough he may be right? That was something I thought Matt Ryan could do and we know how that worked out. Maybe Jones can do what Ryan couldn't?

What do you call Ballard and Steichen ??

The " March for Arch " has officially begun !!!

No other QB in football plays like Steichen had AR playing those first years. A combination of rb/qb with plays called where AR actually is the primary running back where you guarantee he gets hit. Running backs do not have the mindset of protecting themselves. It must be tough to switch that on and off, impossible for an inexperienced dude. The more you get hit, the greater the chance you get hurt.

And since when has this Jones guy been this consistent precise QB? If he was he would still be in NY.

When Jonathan Taylor dropped the ball at the goal-line last year, you wanted him immediately cut from the team.




And when asked whom should replace him with, you said that it didn't matter, and that you didn't care.




Your resentment toward almost anything and everything that ever goes wrong for the Colts knows no limits, and no bounds ...... your rage is equally spewed for all of them, whether it's a current player, a former player, a head coach, an assistant coach, or the guy selling soda in the upper deck of Lucas Oil Stadium.

o

Had to be a QB that wanted to sign here, Fields didn’t wanna take ARs job. Fields was also a gamble, what’s he ever won on the NFL?

Point taken, but when has Jones actually performed well?

It's not typical, but AR isn't the only QB whose been used like that. Lamar Jackson has averaged 9.8 carries/game, Hurts 8.8, and AR 7.4.

I have a hard time considering that whining. He was asked a direct question, and he answered it honestly.

Yeah C&O, I deplore the appreciation and acceptance of mediocrity, and by God Chris Ballard is deserving of having that Manning statue smashed into pieces and a humongous fucking statue erected instead honoring his lifelong dedication to mediocrity put in its place. The dude is a piece of shit at his job and in turn the team is a piece of shit. Not my fault, I type on a message board and spend my money on this shit, his fucking lame ass gets paid to suck- crazy!

Film breakdown on how Jones outperformed AR:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1obpRS_Mz-M

Will they trade AR?

I am not sure that Jones was the real problem with the Giants, they were just a truly terrible roster from top to bottom in his last few seasons. I don't think Mahomes would have been able to get that roster to above 500. I like Chris Simms and he is a massive Giants fan, he was always saying that Jones was a long way down the list of reasons why the Giants were so bad.

I am not saying Jones is some superstar QB, but he had no weapons besides Barkley, and an offensive line that could barely block against thin air.

I also believe that AR doesn't allow Steichen to run the playbook that is needed for the players on offense at our disposal. Tyler Warren looks like he is going to be a special player, but i am not so sure that AR is or will ever be able to utilise that skillset. He just can't read a defense properly and predict when players are about to become open, and throw in the middle of the field. He wants the players to be wide open before he throws the ball. He has very limited anticipation skills.

Pierce may very well take a hit as AR was good at the deep ball, but i think Jones will give a huge hike in the production of Downs and Pittman because his ball placement is just better, and will allow more RAC yardage.

In terms of being able to "win now" this is a no brainer of a decision to go with Jones and the Colts have a roster that when healthy, looks as if it could be fun to watch on both sides of the ball and should be competitive.

My biggest fear is our offensive line. It looks as if Braden Smith hasn't been his usual self. We are bedding in both Bortolini and Goncalves. If any of those three become an issue, where do we turn? If Smith struggles, do we shift Goncalves to tackle, and bring in Tucker, or do we go with the rookie 4th rounder. We are one injury or poor performance from it not really mattering who starts at QB.

I like the starting lineup on paper, but we are then relying on Tucker who really struggled and was benched for Glowinski, and then a rookie and Pinter as our next men up.

This is my hope.

Great analysis by PFF. I would also like to add the commentators that actually, know football, such as Pat Kirwan, Jim Miller, and Chris Simms are adamant that Jones should be the starter.

Poor word choice on my part.

Nevertheless, typically he is not that transparent.

At least in my opinion.

o


Actually, it is your fault ....... all your fault.


A) l Nobody is putting a gun at your head, and forcing you to post on a Colts message board.

B) l Nobody is putting a gun at your head, and forcing you to buy tickets to Colts games, spend money on Colts memorabilia, and/or buy food and drinks at Lucas Oil Stadium.

C) l Nobody is putting a gun at your head, and forcing you to invest your emotions into Indianapolis Colts games to the point of being a raving madman, foaming at the mouth.



Your constant and incessant rage is not Anthony Richardson's fault because he completes less than 50% of his passes. It's not Jonathan Taylor's fault because he drops the ball at the goal-line like an imbecile. It's not the cornerback's fault, who gets burned on 3rd-and-long late in the 4th quarter of a crucial game. It's not the tight end's fault, who whiffs on a block and allows a blitzing linebacker to demolish the Colts' quarterback. And it's not Chris Ballard's fault, because he doesn't make the roster moves that you want him to make. It's your fault. Take some responsibility for your behavior ...... you're a fucking nutcase, which coincidentally allows you to fit right in here with the rest of us here on ColtFreaks.

o

Yet guys like Tommy Devito and Drew Lock were able to outperform Jones w/ the same players surrounding them :cool:

Well, I appreciate you pointing out my madness, which is legit.
However, the not my fault point is valid, pretty much every thing that goes on with this team is Chris Ballard's at some level, and over a 10 year period, there's been a LOT go on with this team that is just not good.

It's kind of crazy to think that this is a team that not that long ago was lauded as one of the premiere teams / organizations in the entire NFL and now, man we are pretty much a trash ass joke of an organization that repeatedly steps on our own dick. At some point, just like any company in corp America, you stop looking at the workers and you look at the leadership as the company spirals. Our leadership is 100% terrible and it is impossible to refute that.

I doubt it. I am sure that in the back of Steichen's mind he sees some sliver of an opportunity for this to be another push for growth from AR. I would guess he believes that this will finally be the moment that he understands how much goes into being the QB1 of an NFL franchise and believes that there is an outside chance that when DJ gets hurt- and he will- AR will come in and be the phoenix that will lead us to a title and prove to everyone Steichen was smart to make him earn it.

However - the ONLY prudent decision is to move him! He's the backup, everyone loves the backup when things start looking bad for the incumbent- and this is DJ- that is GOING to happen. The fans are already restless, just wait for the first 10-27, 3 INT, 1 Fumble, 1 TD 38-10 loss, just wait. There will be riots in the streets demanding AR and lest we forget Steichen has already proven he is a puss when it comes to needing to quiet the voices. Look over his tenure, he has really shown himself to be a giant wussy.

They created this monster when they let him start right out of the gate, there is a large contingent of fans that will stand in AR's corner no matter. So do the smart thing, and move him to avoid this drama. Get whatever you can, doesn't even matter, just get something. He will go somewhere, hold the clip board, and by week 5 there won't be any talk of him until he comes in for whoever gets hurt---- but it will be drama for another team, not ours!

Someone made the comment about the Lose-Lose of DJ and the Win-Win with AR, and that point is so well made. This fanbase is furious at how poor this team has been top to bottom over the past 15 years. There is real apathy all stemming from the QB spin cycle, people are tired of it. DJ is a 6-11 to 10-7 range QB= continued mediocrity with no QB solution in sight. AR is a 2-15 to 15-2 QB= something gives at the end of the year no matter, you either suck so bad you can replace him with another high ability prospect (hell no Chris Ballard should never ever again in his life be given a chance to even say a QB's name let alone hire one), or you win the SB and your QB of the future is in place for another decade + (extremely unlikely but that is AR's potential).

MOVE HIM. DJ plays the season, we probably win 9-10 games and now we have a huge QB problem- can you imagine him either barely missing the PO's or sneaking us in, and the rage if we re-sign him to some big dollar contract? DJ gets hurt game 4 and AR comes in, we're probably headed toward another 7-10 win season (the dude does have a winning record despite all the shitty stats). That is by far the worst thing that could happen= continued QB purgatory. DJ gets hurt game 4 and Leonard comes in, we're probably looking at 4-5 total wins and we can start the whole QB process over with a high pick----- AND NO FUCKING BALLARD TO FUCKING RUIN IT!

The choice is a no-brainer---- MOVE AR!

We're all fans here and we're all entitled to express out feelings about this team. And speaking for me, I'm getting on in years and sometimes forgetful. So I find it refreshing to be reminded over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again

how much my favorite team is a trash ass joke of an organization that repeatedly steps on our own dick and how it's all Chris Ballard's fault. So keep it up, because speaking for me, it's important to be reminded, to be reminded

over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. ;)

My only real hope for this team is Carlee. Hopefully she can rebuild this organization and lead it to relevance again. When Steichen named Jones to state to me he needs to be fired. He was a huge fanboy of AR. He had one job, one. He was hired as a QB guru for AR and failed miserably. Ballard was just as horrible. Can you folks name me one person that had experience and was there in the QB room for AR to learn from. Minshaw was a cool dude but not teacher type and Ryan specifically said he wasnt' here to help mentor AR (WTF are you hiring him for then when the most important thing is to develop the young QB). Don't even get me started on the Cam Turner-his major accomplishment seems to be Norv Turners nephew. Who exactly was AR going to learn the ropes from? From what I have read and heard nobody really had a detailed plan as how to train AR. AR needed big time help. He played college football from 2020-2022 and his first year here was 2023. All those years were COVID years, anyone who tried to learn remotely knows how shittly that was. That is all Anthony got. This has been a shit organization recently.

Everybody acts like they benched Manning. Richardson sucked, period. You can put sprinkles on shit and call it ice cream, but its still shit. Jones just sucks a little less. I'm still gonna watch and go to the games my schedule allows, even if I know it is in despair with a predictable outcome!