Importance of "Veteran Presence"

[rm1369]

I don’t believe it’s all that important to Ballard. He certainly seems to put a lot of emphasis on how guys will fit culturally and schematically, but I don’t think guys have been kept or acquired to provide a “veteran presence.” Those that have been signed and provided it (Slauson, Mitchell) have primarily been signed to address short term roster holes, not necessarily to provide leadership. It’s an area where I disagree with Ballard as I don’t believe the Colts would have started 1-5 last year if they weren’t so young everywhere. Regardless it will become a moot point very quickly as Ballard’s draft picks become vets. This has always been a 3-4 year rebuild for Ballard anyway - no matter how much everyone likes to claim it wasn’t.