Ballard and Steichen are safe

[Oldcolt]

Originally Posted by Kray007

Okay, name a team that’s deep enough to excel at Corner when the first 3 guys on the depth chart go down?
How many survive intact when they lose their best D’Lineman?
Have you checked out the Chief’s Offense since Mahomes and Minshew bit the dust?
How many survive the loss of a starting bookend Tackle without missing a beat? What happens when both first string Tackles go down and they have to cobble together a line out of spit and baling wire?

Again the best thing you can say is 'he had injuries to deal with'. Unlike other teams. Nobody ever lists all the fabulous players Ballard has drafted, the depth he has given this team or the incredible culture of winning he has developed. Nope. His best (and apparently only) defense is injuries.

If you are looking for a team that was injured but still survived and did well look no further than the 49ers. Lost Aiyuk for the season, Trent Williams (all pro tackle), Ricky Pearsall, linebackers Dee Winters (ankle) and Tatum Bethune (groin) , with Fred Warner (ankle) and Nick Bosa (knee) already out for the season and to top it off Brock Purdy missed 6 games with a toe (While our boy Jones missed 4) . They finished 12-5 without excuses.Imagine that.

[ChoppedWood]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

Again the best thing you can say is 'he had injuries to deal with'. Unlike other teams. Nobody ever lists all the fabulous players Ballard has drafted, the depth he has given this team or the incredible culture of winning he has developed. Nope. His best (and apparently only) defense is injuries.

If you are looking for a team that was injured but still survived and did well look no further than the 49ers. Lost Aiyuk for the season, Trent Williams (all pro tackle), Ricky Pearsall, linebackers Dee Winters (ankle) and Tatum Bethune (groin) , with Fred Warner (ankle) and Nick Bosa (knee) already out for the season and to top it off Brock Purdy missed 6 games with a toe (While our boy Jones missed 4) . They finished 12-5 without excuses.Imagine that.

I have played this card a few different times, yet to see any good counters to the play either. It's as if some don't accept the premise that it is his JOB to make sure we are good enough when adversity hits. Instead to some he is only gauged on how good he is when EVERY condition is primed for success. He isn't paid whatever millions of dollars to be successful when the temperature is 74, it is a cloudless day, humidity is 3% and the bar tender is 24 with a beautiful smile and an endless bottle of tequila. His JOB is to build something that can manufacture success when it is -12, the wind is blowing 60 miles and hour, there are predictions of a biblical avalanche and the only liquor left is a 1/4 full pint of McCormicks vodka.

I just don't get it, I really don't. By any meaningful assessment his tenure here has been a massive fucking failure yet some are applauding bringing him back. Me, yeah I don't expect we will suddenly have 74, sun, low humidity and a bombshell bar tender next year (which is apparently the belief among his supporters), that's a very rare thing in the NFL where the only certainty is if you play long enough, you won't play.

[Puck]

https://x.com/Colts_Law/status/2008199361075757070?s=20

Lawrence Owen
@Colts_Law
The teams the 49ers beat without their starting QB:
Saints
Rams (OT)
Cards
Falcons
Giants

They lost to almost every winning teams they faced during that span.

Quit giving me the #49ers as an excuse of why Ballard should have been fired.

[Oldcolt]

Wasn’t doing that. Was answering a question give to me to name a team with injuries as bad as ours that didn’t fold. Making it seem like injuries are an totally valid excuse. I had to search to see if he was correct and then came up with 49ers. I think and thought Ballard should go because of Ballards resume period. And furthermore please explain to this dullard why the fuck showing that other GMs are able to navigate injuries while ours can’t is somehow illegitimate.

[IndyNorm]

Something I read in one of the RATS articles that I didn't realize is that a majority of our high prices vets are set to become UFAs after the '26 season: Defo, MPJ, Nelson, JT, Grover, and Kenny Moore. So kinda makes sense to tie Ballard and SS to that. If things don't work out next year then you can give the new GM a pretty clean slate to work with.

[Kray007]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

Again the best thing you can say is 'he had injuries to deal with'. Unlike other teams. Nobody ever lists all the fabulous players Ballard has drafted, the depth he has given this team or the incredible culture of winning he has developed. Nope. His best (and apparently only) defense is injuries.

If you are looking for a team that was injured but still survived and did well look no further than the 49ers. Lost Aiyuk for the season, Trent Williams (all pro tackle), Ricky Pearsall, linebackers Dee Winters (ankle) and Tatum Bethune (groin) , with Fred Warner (ankle) and Nick Bosa (knee) already out for the season and to top it off Brock Purdy missed 6 games with a toe (While our boy Jones missed 4) . They finished 12-5 without excuses.Imagine that.

If Brock Purdy’s replacement had been a practice squad refugee, they wouldn’t have sniffed the playoffs. If the Colts hadn’t finished vs 6 straight 11 win teams, they might have.

[Oldcolt]

Originally Posted by Kray007

If Brock Purdy’s replacement had been a practice squad refugee, they wouldn’t have sniffed the playoffs. If the Colts hadn’t finished vs 6 straight 11 win teams, they might have.

Damn I wonder who is responsible for that?

[Kray007]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

Damn I wonder who is responsible for that?

Chris Ballard had a backup plan…Anthony Richardson. What he didn’t have, what no team has, is a high quality option at number three, much less four, on the depth chart.

[Kray007]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

Again the best thing you can say is 'he had injuries to deal with'. Unlike other teams. Nobody ever lists all the fabulous players Ballard has drafted, the depth he has given this team or the incredible culture of winning he has developed. Nope. His best (and apparently only) defense is injuries.

If you are looking for a team that was injured but still survived and did well look no further than the 49ers. Lost Aiyuk for the season, Trent Williams (all pro tackle), Ricky Pearsall, linebackers Dee Winters (ankle) and Tatum Bethune (groin) , with Fred Warner (ankle) and Nick Bosa (knee) already out for the season and to top it off Brock Purdy missed 6 games with a toe (While our boy Jones missed 4) . They finished 12-5 without excuses.Imagine that.

You keep saying San Francisco, San Francisco, San Francisco, and I say Kansas City, whose offense withered and died without Mahomes and Minshew. I say the Bengals who managed 1 win without Burrow. I say the Ravens who managed 13 points in their first 2 games without Lamar Jackson. I say Minnesota who, without JJ McCarthy managed 2 wins…1 against a wretched Browns team and one vs a Joe Burrow’less Bengals.

If Jones had never broken his leg, if he’d never gone down for the season, the Colts would have been a lot more competitive. Given they lost 5 of their last 7 games by a cumulative 16 points, it’s not unreasonable to imagine that they might have finished with 13 wins…even with all the injuries at other spots.

[Oldcolt]

I shouldn't get into the trees with folks about Ballard. He isn't a horrific GM and was excellent to start with so many of his moves can be seen and are very good moves. My bottom line is that a decade of not being able to produce a winning team should be enough. It isn't and we will be back here next year again watching the playoffs I fear. He isn't a winner in this long and now is going to lead us to the promise land. I hope so but man it is a hard sell.