Colts cuts to 53

[DragonTails]

Originally Posted by JesusChrist

You mean the VISION to take project players in the draft when there are starting quality players available? What great VISION!

Exactly. Why do 80% of our drafts picks the last 5 years have to be a reach.

[YDFL Commish]

RB Jeremy McNichols added to the PS.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by JesusChrist

You mean the VISION to take project players in the draft when there are starting quality players available? What great VISION!

By your definition for a starting player or ESPN's or some one on an internet web site for draft picks?

Read Moneyball. It's about baseball, but it's also about pro sports. EVERY team can put a value on any player, what that player is worth to THEM. And unless you have inside information, there is very little any fan can know about who they value.

Every team has a VISION to get to the Superbowl. HOW they get there is the mission and teh mission statement is the plane of how to get there.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by omahacolt

I think people just expect Ballard to improve the team. This team looks to me to be one of the worst colts rosters I have ever seen. At least since 2000

We won't know that until the end of the season.

[Maniac]

Originally Posted by JAFF

By your definition for a starting player or ESPN's or some one on an internet web site for draft picks?

Read Moneyball. It's about baseball, but it's also about pro sports. EVERY team can put a value on any player, what that player is worth to THEM. And unless you have inside information, there is very little any fan can know about who they value.

Every team has a VISION to get to the Superbowl. HOW they get there is the mission and teh mission statement is the plane of how to get there.

Just quit with the stupid CAPITALIZATION already.

Every team has a vision huh? Thanks for pointing that out, otherwise no one would have figured that gem out.

Many people here were calling for the Colts to take Kareem Hunt last year. We passed on him and took Basham instead. If we picked him last year, we wouldn't have needed to draft more backs this year, but hey, great vision by Ballard. 20 years from now hopefully some of these reach draft picks develop.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by JesusChrist

Just quit with the stupid CAPITALIZATION already.

Every team has a vision huh? Thanks for pointing that out, otherwise no one would have figured that gem out.

Many people here were calling for the Colts to take Kareem Hunt last year. We passed on him and took Basham instead. If we picked him last year, we wouldn't have needed to draft more backs this year, but hey, great vision by Ballard. 20 years from now hopefully some of these reach draft picks develop.

Well I finally figured out you really arent jesus, or you wouldnt be asking these questions, since jesus would already know. You have the benifit of hindsight. If you had the power of foresight, you should apply to colts for a job. Dont tell them you go by the name Jesus Christ, it may hurt your chances

[smitty46953]

We have claimed S Corey Moore and DE Al-Quadin Muhammad off waivers and waived DE Ryan Delaire and CB Lenzy Pipkins:

I hoped Delaire would stick

[Maniac]

Originally Posted by JAFF

Well I finally figured out you really arent jesus, or you wouldnt be asking these questions, since jesus would already know. You have the benifit of hindsight. If you had the power of foresight, you should apply to colts for a job. Dont tell them you go by the name Jesus Christ, it may hurt your chances

The whole hindsight argument is dumb when a lot of Colts fans were wanting Hunt prior to and during the draft, not after seeing what he did for the Chiefs.

If enough of these hindsight arguments keep happening, it's because Ballard is drafting like shit. Hopefully he stops taking project players.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by JesusChrist

The whole hindsight argument is dumb when a lot of Colts fans were wanting Hunt prior to and during the draft, not after seeing what he did for the Chiefs.

If enough of these hindsight arguments keep happening, it's because Ballard is drafting like shit. Hopefully he stops taking project players.

Colts fans want a lot of things, but that doesn't mean they should be done. You can cherry-pick star players from any draft and say the Colts should have drafted them, but the reality is that it's not that clear at the time. Just as many "Colts Fans" were down on the idea of taking ANY running back so early in the draft, and the prevailing wisdom on this board was that running backs are largely interchangeable and there's no need to "waste" a high pick on them anyway. If Hunt was such an obvious choice, he wouldn't have lasted until the end of the 3rd round. And what's more valuable - a premium pass rusher or a premium RB? And who's to say Hunt would have performed anywhere near as well behind the Colts' OL anyway?

If Basham flames out, then it's on Ballard - no doubt - but it's still only a third round pick and probably doesn't merit all of the attention that particular pick gets. Lots of "project" players are taken in the third round because the sure things are long gone by then. If he was a first rounder, I'd understand. Ballard got some useful pieces in his first draft - Hooker (a pick, I might add, which everyone here loved), Mack, Hairston - and has a few guys who are still trying to prove themselves (Wilson, Basham, Stewart). From your post, you'd think the draft was a complete failure.

I might also add that 10 of his 11 draft picks this year survived the final cut as well (all except Fountain), and two (Nelson and Leonard) are showing early signs of stardom (if you can say that about any guard). And I really don't think that Ballard's just keeping all these guys around to save face, given his demonstrated willingness to cut bait on his own draft picks and free agents without hesitation.

Again, I really think all of the criticisms of Ballard boil down to his lack of spending in free agency. That will be remedied at some point by necessity.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by Chaka

Colts fans want a lot of things, but that doesn't mean they should be done. You can cherry-pick star players from any draft and say the Colts should have drafted them, but the reality is that it's not that clear at the time. Just as many "Colts Fans" were down on the idea of taking ANY running back so early in the draft, these the prevailing wisdom on this board was that running backs are largely fungible and there's no need to "waste" a high pick on them anyway. If Hunt was such an obvious choice, he wouldn't have lasted until the end of the 3rd round. And what's more valuable - a premium pass rusher or a premium RB? And who's to say Hunt would have performed anywhere near as well behind the Colts' OL anyway?

If Basham flames out, then it's on Ballard - no doubt - but it's still only a third round pick and probably doesn't merit all of the attention that particular pick gets. Lots of "project" players are taken in the third round because the sure things are long gone by then. If he was a first rounder, I'd understand. Ballard got some useful pieces in his first draft - Hooker (a pick, I might add, which everyone here loved), Mack, Hairston - and has a few guys who are still trying to prove themselves (Wilson, Basham, Stewart). From your post, you'd think the draft was a complete failure.

I might also add that 10 of his 11 draft picks this year survived the final cut as well (all except Fountain), and two (Nelson and Leonard) are showing early signs of stardom (if you can say that about any guard). And I really don't think that Ballard's just keeping all these guys around to save face, given his demonstrated willingness to cut bait on his own draft picks and free agents without hesitation.

Again, I really think all of the criticisms of Ballard boil down to his lack of spending in free agency. That will be remedied at some point by necessity.

There were more sure things than some of Ballard's second round picks. My biggest problems with this draft were the loss of value from not trading down from 6 and the use of picks 52 and 64 on Turay and Lewis. If I'd been running the draft, when the Broncos selected Chubb, I'd've taken the Bills offer of 12 and 22 and done the following:

12) LB Tremaine Edmunds
22) OG Isaiah Wynn
36) LB Darius Leonard
37) OG Braden Smith
52) DE Lorenzo Carter
64) DE/DT Rasheem Green

I feel like that would have given the team the foundation of a strong defensive core, as well as still providing the OL help that was needed. We'll see how Ballard's group turns out.