Chris Ballard

Everyone's raving about him.

I saw something today about how Chris Ballard really didn't want to part with him, but I think he's going to have a really good year.

Six or 700 yards, eight touchdowns will be an awesome year for A.D. Mitchell.

Garrett Wilson will probably lead the team in receiving yards, assuming he's healthy.

I think a lot of fans were calling for change from the top down.

You know, Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard.

Management stuck with it.

They said we really need to lean into what made us great in the first half.

The only time I've paid attention to Kimes is when she has talked about the Colts, and she couldn't be more wrong.

She talked about the greatness of Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen.

We all know who and how that has worked out.

All right, to add some background to what I'm talking about, ESPN reported earlier, citing anonymous sports reporters who claim the scandal has caused them to navigate their jobs differently.

You got Lamar Jackson and company coming to town.

And you have Chris Ballard going into his 10th season at the helm.

And so just to give a quick rundown of the podcast, we will go through kind of the Chris Ballard era.

I know people are probably like, oh, my God, this guy again.

Yes, this guy again because he is – And then we'll give our season predictions, which I think some of you might be a little surprised at where I'm leaning.

I know I've given probably like 10 different predictions at this point, but this will be my official official one because nothing is official until I say it is until we get to the regular season week.

And so I think that whatever decision I give or prediction I give at the end of this podcast, I think you all will have to hold me to that for the rest of the season.

So without further ado, I do want to start with this, Jim, and I think this is where a lot of people, at least some of the feedback I've gotten in person, online, the graphic that you made to kind of put into perspective Chris Ballard and how he compares to those who are on par with his tenure in the league, other GMs.

And you talk about, you know, the pressure in Baltimore.

I mean, there's enormous pressure here because basically Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen are coaching and They're playing for their jobs.

Carly Ursae Gordon has made it abundantly clear that if they don't make the playoffs, and I would say if they make the playoffs and get run in their first game, I think either way Ballard is done.

I think Steichen might be done.

I hate the idea of bringing in a new GM with the old coach.

I think that's a recipe for disaster for But, yeah, they're playing for their employment lives around here in Indianapolis.

This is an enormously important season for Indy and Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen.

You know, in your market, women's basketball explosion, right? I mean, Indiana's always there for basketball and now they're there for football.

And if they're not, he's going to be the first fall guy.

If we're in agreement that the product on the field has the potential to be great, then Chris Ballard's done his job.

His job is to give the coaching staff a team that they can win with.

And I think he's done that.

Justin Wally is going to have people forgetting about Moore very quickly, at least on the field.

Moore will never be forgotten in the locker room or in the community as he was a great teammate and an even better citizen of Indy, but Wally's ceiling is higher than Moore's ever was.

Finally, Ben Dicola joined the Comets for the first time, and Ben, like many of you, is not a fan of Chris Ballard.

He does agree that Slayton would be a good fit with the Colts, but he thinks that Ballard will never make the deal.

They did not go with the longtime backup quarterback of Cole Ballard.

Learned this last night, son of Chris Ballard, Colts GM.

Oh.

Right? Yeah.

Yeah, so I think that is really indicative of the whole problem with this team.

We have addressed this already, but I just think the depth everywhere is a little rough, and I think because of that, we could even see, my bold prediction is that Chris Ballard gets fired on or before Black Monday this season.

So, you know, when you talk about the defensive injury risks with DeForest Buckner, Sauce Gardner, all these guys, the wide receiver depth is being tested.

Daniel Jones is coming off an Achilles.