General off-season news thread

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by rcubed

similarly you dont seem to take into account that ballard has been in on many FAs that eventually went to another team. ballard has a value for a player and once the price goes beyond that he is out. that shows diligence in sticking to his process. I guess you could say that maybe his threshold is too low, but its not like he does nothing, and in the mean time he hasn't strapped the team with bad players with bad contracts.

I understand Ballard has tried on some players he missed on. That happens with all GMs. Yeah I think Ballard was more fiscally conservative than he should have been when Luck was (or was supposed to be) the QB. However, that’s not the only part of the argument. It was also the forced youth movement. However you want to cut it Ballard was playing more for the future than I think he should have been. If you were happy with what he did in 2018 and was doing for 2019 (before Luck retired) then great. I wasn’t. Now that the team has no QB and possibly no LT, and huge question marks on the pass rush I’m in agreement with everyone - there is no rush. But when Luck was on the roster I simply believed there should have been a sense of urgency that most here don’t seem to agree with.

[Chromeburn]

Originally Posted by rcubed

similarly you dont seem to take into account that ballard has been in on many FAs that eventually went to another team. ballard has a value for a player and once the price goes beyond that he is out. that shows diligence in sticking to his process. I guess you could say that maybe his threshold is too low, but its not like he does nothing, and in the mean time he hasn't strapped the team with bad players with bad contracts.

However, Ballard has entered each season with glaring holes that end up hurting the team. Reserving spots for developmental players because your draft method values top athletes that need coaching and skill technique. Now we missed a window because he doesn't have any sense of urgency. Dynasties are very rare and just assuming you are going to build one with your prescribed method is a little arrogant. How many dynasties has everyone seen just in their lifetime?

Whatever your prescribed method for acquiring talent (FA, draft, trades), you have to hit on it. He helps mitigate the failure rate of the draft by using a volume approach, which is smart, but he also picks a lot of projects. Turay, Banagu, Ya-Sin, Cambell, Lewis, Fountain, Cain, etc. He could get resonable FA's to fill those spots, but he doesn't want FA guys taking snaps from his picks which could hurt their potential. We missed out on several rookie WR's that could have contributed NOW, not in three years of coaching; Brown, Metcalf, Samuel, McLaurin. You can't tell me they didn't have those guys scouted. They chose Ya-sin because he was the only guy that was able to slow down Samuel and McLaurin at the senior bowl. They were torching everyone! Still we drafted a guy that had great physical traits and worked out of the slot, but also had just a few catches past 10 yards the entire year. Last year was a strong DT draft and he ignores the position, passes on a DE due to health concerns who ended up having a great year. Now we need a DT more than ever in a weaker DT draft, but QB, LT, and DE are still sitting there.

Ballard doesn't have to sign every huge FA out there, but he shuts down too early for his bargain shopping method. That is the nature of FA, you over spend some. Does he think his own upcoming FA's will be bargain signings as well? Some of his best talent acquisitions have been FA signings.

Also dynasties start at the QB position. Unless you have that, you aren't building anything.

And yes the Luck retirement was out of the blue, but his injury history was not. His career was in danger from an lengthy injury history which was kinda ignored. Plenty of careers have been cut short by injury. Maybe we thought he would be fine bc Peyton was an iron man. But we spent the lowest amount of capital on the QB postion of just about any team in the league since we drafted Luck. Other teams were investing in the position, we acquired Brisset and that was it. Bad foresight. Now the writing is on the wall with Hilton, will they pay attention?

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

Also dynasties start at the QB position. Unless you have that, you aren't building anything.

This is really the crux of it all. With a franchise QB you are never really far away. Without one you are simply treading water (at best) long term.

[Chromeburn]

Originally Posted by rm1369

This is really the crux of it all. With a franchise QB you are never really far away. Without one you are simply treading water (at best) long term.

Right, you might be able to build a team despite not having one, be competitive, and win one SB. But you need HOF players at a lot of other positions, and those teams usually just win once. Want a dynasty with multiple SB's? QB is your building block you base that off of. Doesn't mean you have to be a passing dominant team, you can build a team in different ways, but you need that piece.

[Chromeburn]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

He throws a great deep ball, but he's not the most accurate on some of the short to intermediate throws, and struggles against pressure. He's not going to have those 4+ second pockets he was in constantly at Alabama in the NFL.

I will disagree with that. I think accuracy and decision making are his best traits, plus he is familiar with RPO. I really like him for us.

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

I will disagree with that. I think accuracy and decision making are his best traits, plus he is familiar with RPO. I really like him for us.

I agree with this. I admittedly don’t watch a ton of college ball, but everything I’ve seen on Tua makes me think he’s a great fit. As you noted accuracy and decision making are routinely two of the strengths I’ve seen from him. And, IMO, those are the two most important qualities for a QB. Know where the ball should go and being able to throw accurately enough to get it there. Other qualities are important as well but without those two I don’t think you can be elite. It’s going to be interesting to see where Ballard goes with this. The supposed infatuation with Love, his involvement in selecting Mahomes, and his known emphasis on measurable for other positions leaves me a little concerned about what he’s looking for in a QB.

[Chromeburn]

Originally Posted by rm1369

I agree with this. I admittedly don’t watch a ton of college ball, but everything I’ve seen on Tua makes me think he’s a great fit. As you noted accuracy and decision making are routinely two of the strengths I’ve seen from him. And, IMO, those are the two most important qualities for a QB. Know where the ball should go and being able to throw accurately enough to get it there. Other qualities are important as well but without those two I don’t think you can be elite. It’s going to be interesting to see where Ballard goes with this. The supposed infatuation with Love, his involvement in selecting Mahomes, and his known emphasis on measurable for other positions leaves me a little concerned about what he’s looking for in a QB.

We will likely have to move into the top ten to get him. We have the draft capital to do it. Will Ballard do it though?

In 2018 Tua was rated the most accurate passer in the power 5 conferences. In 2019 I think he was rated 4th. I believe Burrow has the bets season ever and Fromm fwas over him. Still very very good and his deep ball was rated the best I believe.

His turnover passing rate is about 3.1% which is inline with the top ten QB picks over the last couple years.

I think he is fine in the pocket and has faced the best pass rushers in the country in the SEC. They usually have the best defensive linemen.

The injury is the only concern of mine. If drafted he could sit and heal behind Brisset. I think it is a no-brianer.

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

We will likely have to move into the top ten to get him. We have the draft capital to do it. Will Ballard do it though?

In 2018 Tua was rated the most accurate passer in the power 5 conferences. In 2019 I think he was rated 4th. I believe Burrow has the bets season ever and Fromm fwas over him. Still very very good and his deep ball was rated the best I believe.

His turnover passing rate is about 3.1% which is inline with the top ten QB picks over the last couple years.

I think he is fine in the pocket and has faced the best pass rushers in the country in the SEC. They usually have the best defensive linemen.

The injury is the only concern of mine. If drafted he could sit and heal behind Brisset. I think it is a no-brianer.

I think they’d likely have to go to 4 to get him. 5, 6, and 7 are likely QB spots. If his hip injury doesn’t throw up major flags then I don’t see him making it past those 3, and really I doubt Miami passes at 5. Giants are also a team that a trade back seems to make sense for. Trade value chart shows the 4th pic being worth 1800 points and the the 13th and 34th combine for 1710. So 13th, 34th + ? I’d guess they’d at least want 44 too. Possibly more. Knowing how much Ballard values picks I just don’t see him pulling the trigger on that.

[Chromeburn]

Originally Posted by rm1369

I think they’d likely have to go to 4 to get him. 5, 6, and 7 are likely QB spots. If his hip injury doesn’t throw up major flags then I don’t see him making it past those 3, and really I doubt Miami passes at 5. Giants are also a team that a trade back seems to make sense for. Trade value chart shows the 4th pic being worth 1800 points and the the 13th and 34th combine for 1710. So 13th, 34th + ? I’d guess they’d at least want 44 too. Possibly more. Knowing how much Ballard values picks I just don’t see him pulling the trigger on that.

I agree, 4 is the spot you target. And hope the Dolphins don't catch wind because they have been interested in Tua for a long time.

Well a franchise QB is worth that. If you hit, in a couple years you don't care. If he misses, he likely will be out of the job by that point. But a couple more picks don't usually add up to the value of a franchise QB. Sure they could be all pro's like Leonard, or they could be Quincy Wilson's. Need thazt building block though, it influences so many things. FA interest, fanbase interest, marketing and advertising, game and schedule exposure. I think it is completely necessary for a small market team. So yeah, to me, one or two less picks is worth it.

Ballard has said he likes the draft to come to him. However, if you need a QB and you are picking in the middle of the draft, you have to be aggressive. I think he knows this though. Question is does he like Tua enough to do it. Rumor was they liked Jeffrey Simmons last draft, I wish they had moved up for him. He fell because of injury, but not as far as some had hoped.

[DragonTails]

Originally Posted by rcubed

So the rumor-mill/what-if generators have been spewing a lot of tom brady to the colts. I highly doubt that would come to fruition, but I was wondering what if it actually did. How would that be accepted in colts land? If tom-terrific signed a two year deal and we draft someone to sit behind him. Would there be full riots in the streets? Would fans eventually calm and then root unconditionally?

gfy for posting that.