GREAT READ : Breaking Down Colts Draft Film With Chris Ballard

[smitty46953]

Breaking Down Colts Draft Film With Chris Ballard
INDIANAPOLIS – The laptop was open, the projector was on and the pointer was in hand.

Chris Ballard was in his element.

Back in the room he spent the better part of the last 3 months---busier than busy, analyzing prospects down to a board of 216 draftable prospects.

That number---after 4 trades---became an 11-man draft class for the 2018 Colts.

Earlier this week, Ballard invited members of the local media into his other office to take an inside look at what went into one of the most critical drafts this franchise has ever seen.

For 2 hours, the film was dissected by the second-year general manager, tossing out gobs of tidbits into why the Colts went about their business the way they did over the weekend.

Here is a behind the scenes look at what Ballard had to say:

Draft Philosophy: Chris Ballard walked into the room on Monday and didn’t waste much time explaining how the Colts build their board.

“We evaluate for our team,” he said. “We don’t evaluate for the league. We evaluate for our fit schematically and coaching wise. The value of the player is to us, not to anybody else.

“What’s the value to our team? That’s what is critical to us when we are making decisions on players. I could care less what public perception is.”

It was almost like Ballard was speaking about the selection of a Darius Leonard or a Kemoko Turay. In a different defense, those 2 prospects might have been much lower on the board.

Or how about Braden Smith? For a team without the holes up front, unlike the Colts, Smith could have been a fringe 2nd or 3rd round selection.

Value to the team is the sole belief when assembling the draft board in Indianapolis.

“We like ‘em big,” was another quote of Ballard’s that shows how this staff had some clear measureables they wanted to achieve with this draft. Nearly all of the Colts’ 11 picks are near the top of their respective position group when it comes to athleticism.

In February, Ballard brought his scouts in for 17 days of watching type on every prospect. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the personnel department looked at every prospect.

Then in March, with area scouts back on the road at Pro Days, Ballard and his in-house pro scouting department re-watched every prospect.

One last tape examination came in April, when the area scouts returning to Indianapolis, and the staff going over every prospect---from 1st rounders to undrafted free agent.

The board was adjusted accordingly.

In 2018, the Colts had 216 potential draftees on the board. Ideally, they would have around 150-to-175---a number Ballard thinks will be more realistic going forward with the scouting staff more on the same page of the prospect grading system for the GM.

Next up, Ballard pulled up tape of some of the draftees---looking at film from the combine, pro days, games this past fall and All-Star games.

Analyzing Quenton Nelson

With film rolling on Nelson going through a variety of combine and pro day drills, here are some interjections from Ballard:

“For being 6-5, he’s got some freaky flexibility, freaky bend.”

“God just made him a little differently than the rest of us.”

“He’s pretty rare.”

“To me O-line is O-line. I just believe that you can’t win if you don’t win up front. It’s hard. It makes it hard in the winter months when you get into December, January football and you’ve got to go play outdoors. Big men, athletic men up front, it wins.”

Ballard showed impressive flexibility clips of Nelson next to fellow Notre Dame OT-Mike McGlinchey, who went 9th overall to the 49ers.

Notre Dame was the lone Pro Day that Ballard went to this year.

Why only one? Because it was kind of busy at West 56th Street this spring.

Ballard wasn’t afraid that his hand was tipped by watching Nelson in person. The next day, Ballard returned to the Colts Complex and broke down the Notre Dame’s guard film again to confirm everything he saw at the pro day.

Any hesitancy to taking a guard at No. 6 when weighing position value?

“No,” Ballard said. “Number 1, I thought he was a unique talent for the position. If he was just an average guy, yeah I’d be a little more worried about it. But there’s no wideout (in the top-10). There’s one (running) back. There was one rusher. The quarterbacks, they went. I thought this was a unique year in the top-10, because you have an inside backer that usually never goes in the top-10 (Roquan Smith No. 8 to Chicago), and you had a guard go in the top-10.

“I just thought the value of Quenton versus the tackles, was great. I thought the upside of (Nelson) is greater than the other players.”

Ballard did admit that had Bradley Chubb been there at No. 6 overall---Chubb went the pick before to Denver---the Colts would have waited a little longer to turn in that card.

“There would have been a discussion, because of position value,” Ballard said of the Chubb/Nelson debate. “(Chubb) checked all the boxes. Chubb is a great player, an absolute tremendous player, but this kid (Nelson) is really unique and his makeup is unique. This tells your locker room what you stand for. When he walks in and they watch him work and they watch him play and they watch him practice, this is the standard we hold. They have to come to this standard.”

Ballard compared it to his Chicago days when Brian Urlacher was not only the Bears’ best player, but also their hardest worker.

“When your best player is your hardest worker and has an intolerance for anything that got in the way of winning that sets a culture in the locker room where people would usually blend in, that’s when you get the culture right…”

Ballard called Nelson the easiest pick any team he’s been a part of has ever made.

“To me, Nelson was an easy pick, because he’s everything we stand for,” he said. “And the locker room knows it now. He’s everything we stand for.”

Analyzing Darius Leonard

First, Ballard showed Leonard working out at the Combine, where the 22-year-old linebacker pulled his hamstring in the 40-yard dash.

Scouts wanted Leonard to work out at his Pro Day, so he did at around 85 percent. When healthy, Leonard ran a 4.53 40-yard dash last spring, an impressive number for a guy who is 6-2 and 234 pounds.

“This is one of my favorite guys,” Ballard said of Leonard.

When talking about ideal scheme fits, Leonard is that for the Colts.

In this new 4-3 defense, the Colts will have Leonard at the WILL position, with a defensive tackle directly in front of him, covering up Leonard from the offensive line.

That will allow Leonard to have some clean air around him and showcase that speed.

“He has the one trait that you can’t coach,” Ballard said. “He can really run.”

Ballard likes the comparison of Leonard to Telvin Smith from Jacksonville.

Leonard looks like Leonard Fournette actually in the face. Leonard is a long, rangy guy.

While academic reasons contributed to Leonard going to South Carolina State, he had an impressive outing against Clemson in 2016. It was Clemson where Leonard wanted to go to college originally before a late test score sent him to SCSU.

Leonard finished that game against Clemson with 19 tackles. Another strong outing from Leonard in the Senior Bowl (11 tackles), was enough for Ballard to believe that this linebacker could make the significant jump in competition.

“We will live with some boo boos,” Ballard said in acknowledging the growth necessary for Leonard.

But… “Can’t go wrong with the unique athlete.”

Analyzing Kemoko Turay

Turay might have been the longest film session of the night.

Ballard showed tons of Senior Bowl film on Turay. That week sold the Colts GM on the Rutgers defensive end.

At 6-5 and 253 pounds, Turay looks the part and is a guy who runs in the 4.6 range.

Turay is becoming a full-time defensive end in the NFL, which is different from him standing up as an outside linebacker in college. Ballard believes such a transition is easier than the other way around---going from having a hand in the dirt to standing up.

Ballard lauded the bendability from Turay and the Senior Bowl film showed a variety of moves from the Big Ten rusher.

“Is he a little raw?” Ballard asked. “Yeah, he’s got some rawness to him. But there’s two things on tape I thought I always saw. He’s got some natural pass rush, and he plays really hard.

And what Ballard saw in Mobile, left a major impression.

"This is where it showed up for me,” the GM said with the Senior Bowl film rolling. “I remember sitting out there watching, I’m like, ‘Wow.’ I didn’t even know who he was, to be honest with you. Our scouts had a good grade on him, but I hadn’t watched him yet. And I watched him right when I got back.”

That translated into the 52nd pick of the draft.

Ballard was steadfast in believing that Turay would have been selected in the next 10 picks, had the Colts chose to pass on him.

The GM knows Turay must work on his hands and counter moves to become a proven pass rusher in this league.

Ballard reiterated on Monday how the Colts were very intrigued by the percentage of pass rushing numbers that his scouting staff found during the process. In terms of ‘affected rushes (i.e. hurries, pressures and sacks against opposing quarterbacks) per snap’ Turay had the highest percentage of those compared to the other top pass rushers in this draft class.

Turay will miss Saturday of rookie minicamp because he has graduation from Rutgers and will become the first member of his family to graduate from college.

Speaking of defensive ends, Tyquan Lewis (pick No. 64) should be thought of as more of an inside rusher for the Colts. Ballard thinks Lewis could grow into a 3-technique, defensive tackle for this team. Turay is more of a pure edge guy, whereas Lewis as the ability to play a little more inside.

Analyzing Nyheim Hines

Hines was one of those rare prospects where both the personnel department and coaching staff was completely sold on the prospect, Ballard said.

“He doesn’t run like a small guy,” Ballard said when showing inside runs from Hines.

When asked about comparing Marlon Mack’s in-between the tackle running in college to Hines, Ballard said you can’t really make that comparison. Hines did much more of that than Mack did at South Florida, which ran a spread offense.

Ballard pointed out that Hines is nearly 200 pounds (5-8, 198 pounds), so the lower body strength needed for that type of running is there.

The pass catching routes on film from Hines out of the slot looked smooth. Hines had 70 catches from the slot in his collegiate career before becoming a full-time running back this past year.

“We just didn’t have enough explosive players,” Ballard said of wanting a versatile playmaker like Hines.

Ballard says guys like Eric Ebron and Hines can take some of the playmaking pressure off the shoulders of T.Y. Hilton.

Another note from Ballard, he believes in drafting a team for where a majority of your games are played (aka in an indoor surface).

So, Hines’ speed---4.38 40-yard dash, the fastest for any NFL running back---should be seen again inside of Lucas Oil Stadium.

“This is what gives Hines a (leg up). He can do so much in the passing game. You can line him up as a slot, you can line him up with another back, and all of a sudden now he’s in the slot and you’ve got to choose from a defensive standpoint.”

Analyzing Deon Cain:

I still have no idea why Deon Cain fell all the way to the 185th overall pick.

Chris Ballard said Cain has Round 2 talent, and was pretty surprised the guy with 20 touchdowns for Clemson the last 3 years fell to the 6th round.

Ballard then went on a bit of a wideout rant.

“I’ll tell you this though, wideout is the most over-graded position in the draft,” Ballard said. “There’s a million of them. You look at a draft board, and every wideout gets a damn grade. Because they’re all catching balls. To me, there’s 2 things you need to look at. One, can you find enough press snaps and rolled-up coverage snaps that they can handle getting off? And then, anybody can make the wide-open (catch). It’s the contested catches---the tough, competitive contested catches. Can they make those? If they can make those, they’ve got a real shot.

“You’re going to look at yards after catch, all those are important things. But to me, the first things are can he get off press? And then can he make those hard, competitive contested catches? And there were some guys in this draft that I had questioned if they could do it. I mean, I dug to try to find it, and if I can’t find it, I’ll let somebody else (pick them).”

Ballard needs to see Cain become a better catcher as he now walks into a position group with reps certainly up in the air.

“He’s got to work. He’s got to become a better catcher of the ball. The No. 1 thing a wideout does is catch. He had some drops (in 2017) that I thought both, from a concentration point and maybe a frustration point, you’re coming off a really good sophomore season, you’re a junior, you think you’re coming out (to the draft), and then you hit that wall where all of a sudden it starts building and you’re pressing. And I thought he had some press drops in there where he would press a little bit.

“But if you just take a look, he’s got height, weight and speed and he’s produced one yea. He had the same amount of yards, but he was 19 yards a catch the year before. But he’s got a lot of big-play potential. Sixth round, you take a shot on the traits and let’s see if we can get on him. He’s not a bad kid. Now, it’s just how does he handle being asked to play on (special) teams? He’s got the height, weight and speed to do it.”

Other Ballard Nuggets

•If Ballard could do it over again, he would have signed a quarterback in March of 2017 as an insurance policy for Andrew Luck. Ballard also didn’t like the lack of resources he applied to the offensive line last season.

•Ballard says the Colts haven’t found the ideal 3-techinque (defensive tackle) for their new 4-3 defense.

•The GM wasn’t happy with all the hamstring injuries that flared up during training camp last year. He’s hoping that new strength coach Rusty Jones will help quiet that. Don’t think for a second Ballard wants to lighten up the physicality of camp. “You’ve got to spar,” Ballard reiterated.

•Among the reasons for the defensive changes, Ballard thinks it’s very taxing on the cornerback position to play press-man coverage for 60-some snaps in a game.

•The draft depth in 2018 at guard (4 guards going in the first 37 picks) was a reason why, when the asking price for free agent Andrew Norwell got really high, he backed off.

•Ballard definitely had his scouting hat on during this film session. He was even critiquing the size of the cones that Auburn used for their pro day. Ballard felt like the cones were too small, so guys could go a little quicker around the cones.

•The Colts will mix up their blocking schemes (zone and gap) throughout the regular season.

•The athleticism of Nelson and Braden Smith (pick No. 37) is something that stood out to Ballard. Smith’s get-off the ball is something that impressed the Colts GM.

•Ballard is still waiting for T.J. Green to emerge. Ballard admitted it was his decision, and not a coaching one, to move Green to corner at the start of last season. Remember, several teams during the draft viewed Green as a potential corner in the pros, including Ballard (when he was with Kansas City). Once that experiment failed, Green is now sticking at safety.

•When Ballard walked into the building last season and started breaking down film, he thought the Colts needed 9 new starters on defense. Only Vontae Davis and Henry Anderson he thought could stick, and both of those guys are now off the roster.

•Why not wait until closer to the draft to trade out of pick No. 3? “I thought a long time about that, too. I didn’t want to get boxed in. We were at 3. To me, that was the 3rd best quarterback. So they had to be really driven to get up there and get the 3rd quarterback…And then you had the 2nd pick in the draft (the Giants), who I kind of had an inkling were going to stick with Eli (Manning), so if they weren’t going to take one, maybe they trade out. And maybe they trade out with a guy they just worked with (Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane). If (Beane) got to the punch, we have no market now.”

http://www.1070thefan.com/blogs/kevi...-chris-ballard

[smitty46953]

A lot of good explanations and insight behind Ballard's insight and thought process...

[Indiana V2]

Good stuff.

[Butter]

It is a really good read. Whatever we think he seems to a focused vision and is committed to it.

[Dam8610]

The one thing I don't get here is if he thought Anderson was a starter and didn't think the Colts had a 3 tech, why trade him for a 7th? Try him at 3 tech first at least.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

The one thing I don't get here is if he thought Anderson was a starter and didn't think the Colts had a 3 tech, why trade him for a 7th? Try him at 3 tech first at least.

Agreed, that is a question mark. I hate trading Anderson for only a 7 that will most likely be cut.

[Chromeburn]

Another thing about Smith, they ran a lot of RPO at Auburn and he is great at blocking for it. We will see in incorporated into our O. I wonder who the three tech is? Ridgeway, Johnson, Autry or Lewis?

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

Another thing about Smith, they ran a lot of RPO at Auburn and he is great at blocking for it. We will see in incorporated into our O. I wonder who the three tech is? Ridgeway, Johnson, Autry or Lewis?

Wasn't there talk that they might try Grover Stewart there?

[Maniac]

Ballard says the Colts haven’t found the ideal 3-techinque (defensive tackle) for their new 4-3 defense.

They had one they could have taken a chance on in Hurst and didn't do it. I know the medical issue, but he played without any issues in college. It was worth taking the chance there to get the perfect guy for that position late in the draft.

[sherck]

Originally Posted by Chromeburn

Another thing about Smith, they ran a lot of RPO at Auburn and he is great at blocking for it. We will see in incorporated into our O. I wonder who the three tech is? Ridgeway, Johnson, Autry or Lewis?

Looking at the D-Line bodies the way I see it:

NT = Al Woods, Grover Stewart
Both have shown good 1st step quickness in order to get into a gap before engaging. Both can accept the double team and ground rather than get put on skates. Neither are pass rush experts so they both fit the 1-tech NT well.

DT = Hassan Ridgeway, Marcus Hunt, Caraun Reid, Tomasi Laulile, Anthony Johnson
None are going to be great 3-tech DTs but Ridgeway, Reid, Laulile and Johnson all have the college experience at the spot and all have the right body types for it. Reid had a solid year at it in 2015 (29 tackles, 5 TFL, 2.0 sacks in 14 games) with Detroit prior to tearing his ACL early in 2016 and then starting his bouncing around the league. Hunt? If Anderson is not good for this defense then I have no ideal why Hunt is still on the roster either.

DE[Flex] = Denico Autry, Tyquan Lewis
Plays DE at the 7/8/9-tech on suspected running plays and kicks inside replacing the NT on suspected passing downs. I know that Ballard said in his interview that he sees Lewis as a possible future 3-tech DT but I don't know that he meant that as a full-time guy or just during passing downs or not as a rookie. I look at Lewis and I don't see a full time 3-tech body.

DE[Rush] = Jabaal Sheard, Terrell Basham, Kemoko Turay
Plays DE pretty much as a 9-tech and is playing the run on the way to the QB. Sprinting towards the QB on every play.

My guess at a final roster if set today:

DE[Rush] = Sheard, Basham, Turay
NT = Woods, Stewart
DT = Ridgeway, Reid
DE[Flex] = Autry, Lewis

Who is not on that list that Ballard said was moving to DE? John Simon.

No room for him anywhere. His only postion, IMO, is DE[Rush] and that spot is too crowded. I think he is moving "back' to SSLB because that is still where I see his skill sets.

Walk Worthy,