2026 Off-Season Thread

[Hoopsdoc]

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory

The entire Colts universe just shit their pants for a month at the thought of Alec Pierce being lost to free agency. Are we going to act like he's a mediocre cog now?

And Daniel Jones did not lead us to 8-9. We were 8-2 before the leg break and just about every advanced metric had him at least top-5, if not leading.

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As far as the supporting cast - I agree, we lost some guys that I hated to see go. Particularly Pittman, Cross, Smith, and even Paye (run D will be missed).

But saying "let" implies something that isn't there. Keep in mind, this is the GM and FO that constantly gets mocked for the "we like our guys" mantra. Not like don't try to keep them. It's a zero-sum game and QB/WR are two of the big-3 paid positions.

Not directed at you, but I do find it amusing to read a lot of guys who like to mock the "we like our guys", but are now complaining when we have to let our guys go.




I think the natural thinking makes it feel counterintuitive to consider them "additions"... but neither Jones nor Pierce were on the team after the season ended. That's your starting point.

Without that starting point, all of the subtractions and comparatively smaller signings are out of context. Then it looks like you just let a bunch of starters walk out the door for no reason other than to sign a bunch of smaller contract guys. That's not the case.

I wish I had your optimism. Jones was playing well last year, that’s true, but he was playing better than he ever had before. And it was 7 years of mediocre play. Odds are he wasn’t going to continue to play that well.

Then he got hurt. Well, guess what, that’s what he does. He’s only ever finished one complete season healthy. That’s just who he is.

I just feel like we’re headed for another mediocre season.

[Hoopsdoc]

Olubi signed with the Raiders.

[ChaosTheory]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

...Keeping the best players on your team is now what we cheer for?

I would say so, yeah. That's kind of my main point - people act like we're just entitled to keep our same roster from one year to the next. We're not. And signing those free agents is ultimately no less an achievement than signing guys from other teams.

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc

I wish I had your optimism. Jones was playing well last year, that’s true, but he was playing better than he ever had before. And it was 7 years of mediocre play. Odds are he wasn’t going to continue to play that well.

Then he got hurt. Well, guess what, that’s what he does. He’s only ever finished one complete season healthy. That’s just who he is.

I just feel like we’re headed for another mediocre season.

I don't know that I'm overly optimistic. I'm just not the morbid kid from Kingergarten Cop who tells Arnold that his headache is probably a tumor. That kid exists in abundance online.

And I fully realize the players we've lost and the challenge of replenishing and upgraded. I just see the rationale behind the moves. Doesn't mean it's a slam dunk - it's obviously still a risk, but that goes without saying.

[Oldcolt]

Chaos. Has there been a great player since Reggie White who has escaped their team in their prime? With the tools that modern GMs have at their disposal that is a rarity now. I really cannot give any serious props for that. We have been a middling team for 9 years. I fail to see how just keeping the same team intact gets us anywhere but middling. I actually think if we were having this conversation in person we would find a lot of common ground

[Thorgrim]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

Chaos. Has there been a great player since Reggie White who has escaped their team in their prime? With the tools that modern GMs have at their disposal that is a rarity now. I really cannot give any serious props for that. We have been a middling team for 9 years. I fail to see how just keeping the same team intact gets us anywhere but middling. I actually think if we were having this conversation in person we would find a lot of common ground

We face no challenges that are unique. The measure of the front office is have they improved the roster by a measurable amount from the year before. I recognize this is quite a difficult task when you have a talented bunch that perform well and payoff in wins. Your players become more coveted and therefore more expensive. However, that can’t be said for a middle of the pack team that lacks talent. Every year a full quarter of the league will play in the divisional round. I’m not including the wild card round because some may argue that one and done does not qualify as success. How long has it been since we’ve played and won a divisional round game? I don’t care to even look because this team has been mired in mediocrity for so long that a wild card appearance would probably garner a ticker tape parade. The fact is teams build good rosters that are sustainable for reasonable lengths of time. We make bullshit excuses for this team and I have no idea why. Maybe since the Irsays don’t promote accountability we feel it’s illogical for anyone to. I don’t have much that would qualify me to do their job. But sometimes it’s what you don’t have that qualifies you. Those running the show on W 56th st. have a condition known as willful blindness. They seeming refuse to watch and learn what does and doesn’t work. The body of evidence speaks for itself. We’ve found success before and can do it again but it will require sound judgement and a willingness to adjust. My hope right now is that we somehow catch lightning in a bottle and we catch all the breaks for a year. I’d be happy to cheer for the blind squirrel at this point but I also hope that I never become satisfied with an inferior product.

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

We face no challenges that are unique. The measure of the front office is have they improved the roster by a measurable amount from the year before. I recognize this is quite a difficult task when you have a talented bunch that perform well and payoff in wins. Your players become more coveted and therefore more expensive. However, that can’t be said for a middle of the pack team that lacks talent. Every year a full quarter of the league will play in the divisional round. I’m not including the wild card round because some may argue that one and done does not qualify as success. How long has it been since we’ve played and won a divisional round game? I don’t care to even look because this team has been mired in mediocrity for so long that a wild card appearance would probably garner a ticker tape parade. The fact is teams build good rosters that are sustainable for reasonable lengths of time. We make bullshit excuses for this team and I have no idea why. Maybe since the Irsays don’t promote accountability we feel it’s illogical for anyone to. I don’t have much that would qualify me to do their job. But sometimes it’s what you don’t have that qualifies you. Those running the show on W 56th st. have a condition known as willful blindness. They seeming refuse to watch and learn what does and doesn’t work. The body of evidence speaks for itself. We’ve found success before and can do it again but it will require sound judgement and a willingness to adjust. My hope right now is that we somehow catch lightning in a bottle and we catch all the breaks for a year. I’d be happy to cheer for the blind squirrel at this point but I also hope that I never become satisfied with an inferior product.

To say that those who don't have torches and pitchforks out are happy with the records of the past few years. We are not. However, we do not see it as much of a doom and gloom situation like some do on here and other fan sites.

[Oldcolt]

Originally Posted by Racehorse

To say that those who don't have torches and pitchforks out are happy with the records of the past few years. We are not. However, we do not see it as much of a doom and gloom situation like some do on here and other fan sites.

This makes sense to me as one of those doom and gloom people. I’m sick of being on this carousel as I’m sure everyone is

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Racehorse

To say that those who don't have torches and pitchforks out are happy with the records of the past few years. We are not. However, we do not see it as much of a doom and gloom situation like some do on here and other fan sites.

Honest question - you don’t see it as doom and gloom because you believe in what they have done and are doing? Or because you just always have a “this is our year” mentality and rarely criticize the team? I’m not saying that as a knock to that style of fandom. I’m just honestly trying to understand the continued Ballard support by some.

[Puck]

Originally Posted by rm1369

Honest question - you don’t see it as doom and gloom because you believe in what they have done and are doing? Or because you just always have a “this is our year” mentality and rarely criticize the team? I’m not saying that as a knock to that style of fandom. I’m just honestly trying to understand the continued Ballard support by some.

This is a great question and I will answer after Race. Since you directed it to him

[Racehorse]

Originally Posted by rm1369

Honest question - you don’t see it as doom and gloom because you believe in what they have done and are doing? Or because you just always have a “this is our year” mentality and rarely criticize the team? I’m not saying that as a knock to that style of fandom. I’m just honestly trying to understand the continued Ballard support by some.

I am a generally positive person. I think the best of most people and situations. However, I knew that Polian turning the reigns over to his son was a bad idea. I figured out Grigson was not a good GM. I knew when it was time for Pagano and Reich to go. I think Caldwell got a raw deal. I had high hopes for Wentz, until he started playing like Will Levis. I had high hopes for Matt Ryan. I was rooting for Jeff Saturday, but it became very obvious that he was brought in to tank the season.

As for Ballard, I like a lot of his draft picks. I even think the AR pick was a good idea, but the execution of his development was where they went wrong. The guy needed reps, but he also needed to learn how to be a pro QB by sitting behind a guy like Rivers, Manning, Luck, Brady.