Ballard 2024 end of year presser

[IndyNorm]

I read the RATS 10 thoughts on Ballard's presser article earlier this week. Not much was mentioned that hasn't been hashed out on this thread so not going to post the whole thing, but the below section really stuck out to me, especially the stat included at the end. Hope Ballard read that

4. Ballard used the term "competition" 10 different times in nearly 50 minutes at the podium. It was the theme he took away of why this year's team fell short.

I think that's right to a degree: The starters he rolled back with major extensions on defense didn't face any threat to playing time. He had some other unproven players who didn't feel a legitimate push to the role they had, from running back Trey Sermon to the tight ends to outside cornerbacks JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones.

But the primary issue right now is still talent. Free agency isn't the primary avenue to add talent at a number of positions, but it can fill a void on the roster, and the Colts needed that at running back, tight end and in the secondary.

The draft cannot find all of the answers and certainly not the immediate ones. Using that alone to address the secondary was a good indication the Colts weren't going to improve on last year's 9-8 finish.

That's how every playoff team wound up adding at least one starter through free agency, and the Colts added none.