Just go read this Indy Star story on Darius Leonard.
 

It's great.

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...medium=twitter

Fantastic article on a fantastic player.

“When the ball is in the air, I want it. When I play football, whoever got the ball, I want it. That’s my ball. I’m taking it from you.”

That attitude, and the fire he's shown week in and week out, is what this defense has been missing for some time. I've hesitated to say this throughout the season, but this kid just keeps getting better and better: Ballard may have found the next Ray Lewis.

I read another story about hos Ballard was buisy with the Frank Reich Hire and the fallout from Josh McDaniels shit and he arrived in the draft room and his team had Leonard in the second round. Ballard was very hesitant and watched film and became convinced.

I cant seem to find the original article. My bad.

It's brilliant that many balked at getting him in the second and in several stats he leads all rookie LBs as well as all NFL LBS.


PFF did not even rate him in their top 28 linebackers pre-draft. Last week they ranked him behind vander Esch, but also said this:

"Leonard currently ranks sixth among the 120 linebackers who’ve seen at least 50 defensive snaps this season in terms of overall grade, and he’s the only linebacker in football who owns a grade of at least 75.0 in both coverage and run defense. Much has been made about Leonard’s lofty tackle totals, but if you look a bit deeper into that total it’s even more impressive: Leonard leads all linebackers with 34 total stops and his 4.4 missed tackle percentage ranks seventh-best among the 68 linebackers who’ve made at least 20 tackles this season."

Ballard allowed his people to do their jobs, confirmed their assessment and pulled the trigger.

He needs to put some weight on if you want Lewis. If he turns into Derrick Brooks, then look out.

I honestly think that he's got a chance to better than both of them.

That was a great read, thanks for the link. It is nice to find such a talented athlete, that has so much drive and focus. He is going to be very good for a long time.

The comparison there is more in the productivity, leadership, and mentality than it is in the body type, though I believe Lewis was 6'2" 240, which is right about the weight at which Leonard plays. Brooks was never the leader of the Bucs defense, that was Sapp. One of Leonard's best traits is his leadership from everything I've read on him. That's why the comparison to Lewis makes more sense to me.

There were a handful of players I wanted the Colts to draft before Leonard, mostly because I never really heard of him. Glad I don't make the decisions for the Colts. He's the best 2nd round pick the Colts have made in ages.

It is almost like you do not have a bunch of scouts that spend all their time watching games and film, talking to coaches and players full time. Slacker.

So long as his murdering has to do with the guy with the ball...

Hopefully by the end of the season, we can have that debate about whether Leonard or Smith is the best 2nd round pick the Colts have had in ages! :)

2017 - CB Quincy Wilson
2016 - FS T.J. Green
2015 - None
2014 - OL Jack Mewhort
2013 - None
2012 - TE Coby Fleener
2011 - OT Ben Ijalana
2010 - LB Pat Angerer
2009 - DT Fili Moala
2008 - OG Mike Pollak
2007 - OT Tony Ugoh
2006 - CB Tim Jennings
2005 - CB Kelvin Hayden
2004 - SS Bob Sanders
2003 - SS Mike Doss
2002 - DT Larry Triplett
2001 - FS Idrees Bashir
2000 - LB Marcus Washington
1999 - LB Mike Peterson
1998 - WR Jerome Pathon

Holy Crud, there is some BAD value in those 2nd round picks.

Pro bowler Bob Sanders

Solid starters in Peterson, Washington, Bashir, Doss, Hayden, Fleener and Mewhort

But only one "hit" in the last five draft classes in Mewhort.

Bad value by Polian and Grigson.

Hopefully, Ballard makes up for all that mess!

Walk Worthy,

Ugoh? That's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

Only about a 5lb difference if that. Overall production has nothing to do with size anyways.

Hopefully he will have the career that one day teams are hoping to find the next Darius Leonard:cool:

Lewis didn’t shoot his first person until year 4, so there is still time for Leonard. Let’s not call him a bust yet.

Give Polian a break. Picking at the bottom of the 2nd is like picking at the top of the 3rd. He found two gems

2005 - CB Kelvin Hayden
2004 - SS Bob Sanders

I wonder how his video game career is going.

Mike Peterson and Tim Jennings actually ended up fairly productive NFL players as well, just not with the Colts for most of it.

Wasn't it Quinn Pitcock who quit over video games?

Yes

It is picking in the 2nd round. It is not anything like picking in round 3. Picking in round 3 is like picking in round 3. Picking in round 2 is exactly like picking in round 2.

I read somewhere, that Leonard said his actual playing weight was closer to 225.

I believe you mean Colts legend Pinn Quitcock

215

Fan-fucking-tastic post.

Yeah it gets real tiresome reading dumb bullshit like that. For any GM.

Polian - it’s soooooo harrrrrrrd picking at the end of the round

Grigson - yeah the players were bad, but at least their contracts were easy to get out of

Ballard - 2017 wasn’t really his draft so any bad picks aren’t his fault

FFS where is the love of personal accountability that boomers are supposedly so fond of? You don’t have to carry these guys’ water for them. Sometimes GMs and other NFL pros make bad decisions.

o


Some more emotional hurt for Darius Leonard ...... he stated that he was kicked out of a Chipotle restaurant after being racially profiled.

There is a 5-minute video in the article, in which Leonard speaks about the incident, and about what it's like to be Black in our society overall.



Colts Star Darius Leonard says He was Racially Profiled, Kicked Out of a Chipotle

(By Jim Ayello)

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...le/3261278001/

o

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...le/ar-BB1622Td

ndianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard experienced something this week that many African-American men, women, and children face every day — racial discrimination.

a baseball player wearing a helmet: Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard has experienced racial discrimination.
© Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard has experienced…
Leonard says he was kicked out of a South Carolina Chipotle restaurant this week following a dispute, according to ESPN, and he discussed the incident on "First Take" on Friday.

The 24-year-old Leonard also addressed the matter via Instagram on Thursday and said he was dining at the restaurant with his family and friends, all of whom aren't white, when a manager ordered them to leave the premises, stating a white customer claimed they were being verbally abusive.

The allegation made by the customer was a lie, Leonard states, and he also noted he, his family, and friends did nothing wrong.

A witness, who spoke anonymously to TMZ, confirmed that Leonard never talked to the other patron who complained that he and his family were being abusive. After leaving the restaurant, Leonard even went back inside to peacefully explain to the manager why he believed the situation was unfair and racially motivated.

Leonard says the Chipotle manager who addressed him had a terrible attitude and threatened to call the police if Leonard's group didn't leave. The manager's attitude changed once he found out Leonard was an NFL star, and Leonard admitted that was discouraging, too.

Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol has reportedly suspended the manager while the company investigates the incident, noting that the restaurant chain has a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of discrimination

I think it’s not going to end well for this manager. Now if we could identify the white guy who made the complaint.

Or if people could just stop being fucks in general...


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Good luck with that. Sincerely.

At least this thread won’t be closed the moment someone says something uncomfortable like they are doing at Colts.com

o


(END OF REGULAR SEASON, 2020)


Leonard has been in double-digits in tackles (solos plus assists) in 5 out of the final 6 games this year.


https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/game...darius-leonard

o

o


Darius Leonard: ‘Everybody is Counting Us Out’

(By Phillip B. Wilson)

https://www.si.com/nfl/colts/news/co...ounting-us-out

o

I am so glad that Ballard found this stud for this team.

Sapp may have led in stats he was NOT the leader. That was Brooks

Anyone now what happened to FatDT?

I was wondering that myself. Haven't seen BigSmooth around in ages either.

Smitty can find them. You on it Smitty?

o

He's from South Carolina State, a 1-AA school.

The Rooneys found players like John Stallworth out of Alabama A&M, and Mean Joe Green out of North Texas State. A few years earlier than that, Hank Stram of the Chiefs found a plethora of talent from Historically Black, I-AA schools ...... perhaps Ballard can do the same.

o

Fingers got to fat to type?


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