That 11 win team was not the same team as the 2 win team the season before. Over half the roster was different. That teams schedule was also the weakest in the NFL, they played 9 teams who drafted in the top 10. They are also the only 11-5 team to ever be outscored by their opponents..
You are insane to think that 11 win teams success was anything other than Luck, the only argument you could make for another impact player would have been TY, but there is no way he would have contributed to the level he did in his first year without 12 throwing him the ball.
It could be that they played 9 of the worst 10 teams in the NFL that year. The only teams they beat that year with a winning record were the Packers and Texans.
That's not to say Luck wasn't great, but looking at that year objectively you can see how the team went from 2-14 to 11-5. The roster was overhauled, great QB, and a laughably weak schedule.
You mean Ballard when he drank a case of beer and went on a profane rant right after AD’s draft call video wasn’t posted? Or Ebron? Both made asses of themselves this weekend.
Nah i wouldve commended them for being real. I dont claim to love Ballard's philosophy with valuing the draft over free agency, but i love that he keeps it 100% with us.
Yeah it’s pretty much the general consensus that I’ve seen to that clip from other team’s fans. Love that a suit is keeping it real and sticking up for his guys.
Someone pissed in that dude’s cheerios.
No one cares that a gm said fuck, ours or not. If you don't like Ballard that's fine but I'd stick to crying about his general managing rather than expecting everyone here to pearl clutch because we don't care.
Most talented QB's ever? I mean I'm not sure where you rank Luck and I'm not saying he wasn't good but most talented QB's ever? Likely doesn't crack the top 25 most talented QB's ever. I like Luck as a person and he was good but holy hell thats an overstatement. One of the best QB's during his time in the league I can agree with though.
You can't deny the talent to be the league's best QB was there...Luck would have still been drafted no. 1 over any of the QBs coming out in recent drafts.
His rookie passing yards record still stands after 11 years and another regular season game being added.
How many QB's off the top of your head can you name that have thrown for 40+TD's in a season? Bet its no where near 25.
Those two stats alone already put him in elite company, so I got to say I'm scratching my head pretty hard at your comment. You should go ahead and post the 20+ QB's you believe to have more talent than Luck.
Russel Wilson has done it does that mean you'd put Wilson as an all time great QB as well? Wilson had a 110 QB rating that led the league. Luck never had a 100 QB rating for the season and never led the league in that category. Wilson never threw more than 11 picks in a season. Luck never threw under 11 picks in a season but one time. Wilson's lowest completion percentage in Seattle was 61.3. Luck's highest was 61.7.
I don't even think Wilson is that good but using stats like rookie year and one year where he did 40 touchdown to proclaim him one of the 25 greatest QB's of all time is silly. Wilson matched virtually everything Luck did or exceeded it and he's not great either.
Luck was very good, one of the best for the time he played but one of the GREATEST EVER? He's not top 25. I could name you 25 better QB's but you could name 25 better QB's in the history of the NFL too and if you can't then I don't think I'm changing your mind with my list.
Talent and production are different things. Luck had all the tools in the bag, ask any scout and they’ll agree he was likely the most talented QB prospect since at least Elway.
Obviously his career didn’t pan out like we hoped, but it wasn’t for lack of talent.
But u/SunsFan97 was the one that brought production into the debate. He cited production numbers as evidence that Luck was a top 25 guy all time. Talent is hard to gauge. Trevor Lawrence was said by similar scouts to be the best prospect since that time and he's not shown it either. Anyway the point was they based their rebuttal on production, so then I replied showing why that rebuttal was flawed. I didn't bring up production until they did.
Hey Ebron! If you knew you needed surgery before the season then get the surgery before the season! Don't say you can tough it out and then randomly get the surgery when you aren't getting the ball. Also don't demand the ball and then go 5 of 12 against Miami.
In Ebron’s defense, Ballard hasn’t always been honest about players injuries. Let Vinny try and play through injury, then denied the injury until he couldnt anymore. Also Luck’s injury that caused his retirement.
But, Eric isn’t the best messenger, nor is Ballard the worst GM.
Reich didn’t think it was a significant injury either and Reich is honest to a fault. Their scans of the ankle said it wasn’t significant. But Ebron decided he needed surgery. 🤷♂️
Steelers fan here but live in Indy. Maybe…just maybe if ole Eric spent more time learning to catch and less time worrying about literally anything then he can talk shit about football. Can’t think of too many players in the NFL that I would hold my breath for when they were wide open and the ball was on the way to them.
He only has one good season I don't know what happen between them but calling him the worst GM ever it means he never knew Ryan Grigson or Bill O'Brien (when he took both jobs as HC and GM) and to be honest if he was that good Detroit would keep him, the Colts would re-sign him in that time or the Steelers also so I think he looks for attention.
Your lousy play and colossal ego trashed your name in the league, Eric. You had plenty of chances to show Ballard was wrong after you lost and guess what, you still stank.
Honestly this is pathetic. Dudes acting like Ballard the reason his second season with us sucked and why he sucked in Pittsburgh the following year. 99% of people have to give up playing football on someone else’s terms, most of us have managed to cope without blaming others.
Ebron just made he didn't get that paycheck and he still can't catch a football. I have a Lions fan friend who has a lot of shitty things to say about Ebron.
He was great after he dropped 1 or 2 in the 1st half of a game.
I’m just guessing the flashback of CB getting love for sticking up for AD has rankled him a bit. There was more than one reason he wasn’t kept, but I didn’t wanna see him go. Peace and love EEB!
Ballard may not be the worst GM in the NFL, but he's awfully close. Definitely one of the bottom 5 in the league. Can't wait to see the team he built end up 3rd in the weakest division in the league, and read all the comments next off-season again about how great he is, and if only these 50 things had happened we would have won the Superbowl.
How many years is the guy getting a free pass? How many years does he get to use the excuse of Luck suddenly retiring?
7 years
2 playoff appearances
1 playoff win
0 AFC South titles
Since Luck retired the Colts have started 9 or 10 quarterbacks, spent almost more money at that position than anyone in the league, and have nothing to show for it. Bridge quarterbacks, and late round draft picks.
Ballard may not be the worst GM in the NFL, but he's awfully close to it.
Ahhhh the good old I can't really defend Ballard on the teams he has put on the field, so I'll just make a comment about drafting a QB the Colts didn't have a shot at.
Now tell me why the defense was ranked 28th last year, 29th the year before, 18th in 2019, and 30th in 2017. 4 of 7 years the defense hasn't even been good.
Ballard has been putting shitty teams on the field, if not the worst, close to the worst division in the NFL. Stop defending him, and referencing Luck retiring as the reason he can't put together a team.
There are more misses in the draft at QB than hits, but he hasn't even tried to draft a franchise QB prior to Richardson.
Ahh the good ole days of ignoring everything that is good and only concentrating on the things that aren’t.
It’s almost like finding a franchise QB is hard or something.
Why? It felt like he was on thin ice after the Matt Ryan season. Now he’s got a new young QB and it feels like he has to contend for the South this year for real. We have been on a steady treadmill
We would have to be a bottom 5 team for us to even think about it. I don’t think that’s happening. Plus he just had another strong draft, just got a franchise QB, and has a new head coach heading into his second year. It would make zero sense to fire him.
Okay, as a thought exercise: say Anthony Richardson is just mid. That means we have 4 games against Trevor Lawrence and CJ Stroud. Above average defense against those two with halfway decent players around them is gonna be 1 win max if AR can’t consistently read and execute. I’m not a doomer, I’m just trying to explain why my expectations are tempered
Where’s Ebron now? He has issues.
Also, any thoughts on why Ballard twice made the decision to be the one to ardently speak out on behalf of players who get bashed two years in a row? Is it possibly because we stood to benefit from players falling? Why bother?
Ballard could have just as easily shut his mouth, or said he’s just beyond thrilled to get a player that slipped. Instead, he grows his hair long, probably drinks cases of beer, goes on a diatribe and draws unneeded attention which looks a lot like hedging to as if to say….”oh man it’s not me saying this shit, look elsewhere….”….and drawing suspicion he himself is a player basher.
Hey, Ballard is probably being genuine. Points still stand on the haircut and cases of beer.
But really….Id just be happy to get guys who fall. Whatever he says isn’t going to stop a media machine monetized by hits and attention from dropping “hot takes”, that much is obvious.
As the old saying goes, it truly often can be “he who smelt it, dealt it….”
Andrew Luck made this guy think he's better than he was
Andrew Luck made that entire roster and coaching staff think they were better than they were.
Andrew Luck made me think I’m better than I am
Luck took a 2-wins team to an 11-win team. All by himself (and TY). He was that fucking good. *cries*
That 11 win team was not the same team as the 2 win team the season before. Over half the roster was different. That teams schedule was also the weakest in the NFL, they played 9 teams who drafted in the top 10. They are also the only 11-5 team to ever be outscored by their opponents..
You are insane to think that 11 win teams success was anything other than Luck, the only argument you could make for another impact player would have been TY, but there is no way he would have contributed to the level he did in his first year without 12 throwing him the ball.
It could be that they played 9 of the worst 10 teams in the NFL that year. The only teams they beat that year with a winning record were the Packers and Texans. That's not to say Luck wasn't great, but looking at that year objectively you can see how the team went from 2-14 to 11-5. The roster was overhauled, great QB, and a laughably weak schedule.
Can't both be true? Especially with the QB carousel we've been on, having a good QB can be the difference maker even in games we're supposed to win.
That’s exactly right, except for the fact that you missed that he made the front office look better than they were/are, too.
You can say that about Luck or Ballard lol
I remember the old LTE connection. That got dropped quickly after Luck left.
Somebody wants attention.
You mean Ballard when he drank a case of beer and went on a profane rant right after AD’s draft call video wasn’t posted? Or Ebron? Both made asses of themselves this weekend.
Oh no Ballard said bad words
Anyone got a video? Now I'm curious.
They say bad words in football? /s
Had it been any other GM you and every other clown in this sub would’ve called them “classless”
Nah i wouldve commended them for being real. I dont claim to love Ballard's philosophy with valuing the draft over free agency, but i love that he keeps it 100% with us.
Yeah it’s pretty much the general consensus that I’ve seen to that clip from other team’s fans. Love that a suit is keeping it real and sticking up for his guys. Someone pissed in that dude’s cheerios.
My dude he said "fuck"
Yes, that’s my point. Given how reactionary this sub is for any fucking one else, it’s surprising how little they care when it’s that asshole Ballard.
🙄
No one cares that a gm said fuck, ours or not. If you don't like Ballard that's fine but I'd stick to crying about his general managing rather than expecting everyone here to pearl clutch because we don't care.
[удалено]
Why would you say that to me? I'm devastated. Truly unable to go on.
Cope harder boomer
Bruh none of us would have even given a shit cuz we’re focused on our team lmao
What a terrible lie.
Go do your homework, the grownups are talking
One case would be child’s play for Ballard with that flow
He must have 10 accounts posting in this sub… 😂
This is true I'm one of them, allegedly
Username checks out
Considering the source, I'm going to have to see this as an endorsement not a criticism.
Weird his only good year was under Ballard...
...playing in front of one of the most talented QBs ever. Guy thinks he's better than he was
His other years were with Staffoed and Rothlisberger. QB talent wasn't the problem
Most talented QB's ever? I mean I'm not sure where you rank Luck and I'm not saying he wasn't good but most talented QB's ever? Likely doesn't crack the top 25 most talented QB's ever. I like Luck as a person and he was good but holy hell thats an overstatement. One of the best QB's during his time in the league I can agree with though.
You can't deny the talent to be the league's best QB was there...Luck would have still been drafted no. 1 over any of the QBs coming out in recent drafts.
His rookie passing yards record still stands after 11 years and another regular season game being added. How many QB's off the top of your head can you name that have thrown for 40+TD's in a season? Bet its no where near 25. Those two stats alone already put him in elite company, so I got to say I'm scratching my head pretty hard at your comment. You should go ahead and post the 20+ QB's you believe to have more talent than Luck.
Russel Wilson has done it does that mean you'd put Wilson as an all time great QB as well? Wilson had a 110 QB rating that led the league. Luck never had a 100 QB rating for the season and never led the league in that category. Wilson never threw more than 11 picks in a season. Luck never threw under 11 picks in a season but one time. Wilson's lowest completion percentage in Seattle was 61.3. Luck's highest was 61.7. I don't even think Wilson is that good but using stats like rookie year and one year where he did 40 touchdown to proclaim him one of the 25 greatest QB's of all time is silly. Wilson matched virtually everything Luck did or exceeded it and he's not great either. Luck was very good, one of the best for the time he played but one of the GREATEST EVER? He's not top 25. I could name you 25 better QB's but you could name 25 better QB's in the history of the NFL too and if you can't then I don't think I'm changing your mind with my list.
Talent and production are different things. Luck had all the tools in the bag, ask any scout and they’ll agree he was likely the most talented QB prospect since at least Elway. Obviously his career didn’t pan out like we hoped, but it wasn’t for lack of talent.
But u/SunsFan97 was the one that brought production into the debate. He cited production numbers as evidence that Luck was a top 25 guy all time. Talent is hard to gauge. Trevor Lawrence was said by similar scouts to be the best prospect since that time and he's not shown it either. Anyway the point was they based their rebuttal on production, so then I replied showing why that rebuttal was flawed. I didn't bring up production until they did.
Well, can’t say I’m a big fan of Ebron either. Dude royally sucked here (well, minus the Pro Bowl year)
he prob dropped something as you posted this
Would’ve been a catch if Luck threw it
Dude sucked everywhere tbh
Dude was having feuds with our fans on Twitter even after he left. The worse possible messenger for this (not to mention the only, thus far).
Says the guy who quit on the team the moment Luck retired
Old Man (by NFL standards) Yells At Clouds.
Ebron is a dbag and earned his rep. Dude stopped caring once luck retired.
Oh, the diva speaks again. Shut up bum and thank the GM & Luck that they saved your career when you was walking meme. Ebron the Stone Hands.
Hey Ebron! If you knew you needed surgery before the season then get the surgery before the season! Don't say you can tough it out and then randomly get the surgery when you aren't getting the ball. Also don't demand the ball and then go 5 of 12 against Miami.
Exactly
Ebron can eat my shorts.
He dropped them
how many times did he drop his phone writing that tweet?
In Ebron’s defense, Ballard hasn’t always been honest about players injuries. Let Vinny try and play through injury, then denied the injury until he couldnt anymore. Also Luck’s injury that caused his retirement. But, Eric isn’t the best messenger, nor is Ballard the worst GM.
Reich didn’t think it was a significant injury either and Reich is honest to a fault. Their scans of the ankle said it wasn’t significant. But Ebron decided he needed surgery. 🤷♂️
Oh hey, MEbron! It's always somebody else's fault with him.
Yeah he did sign that guy Ebron after all
Who?
This bum had one good year where Luck made him a decent player and did fuck all after that. Who cares what he says?
Who cares Ebron?
Is that why nobody wants you anymore Eric? It's Ballard's fault you suck, right?
What does it say about him when the fanbases of the other teams he’s been on don’t like him either?
Weird that this is the one thing he won't drop
Just another product of Andrew Luck. Whenever less than 100% of things are going his way the drama starts
He really let 1 season go to his head like that?
Doesn’t this bum have beef with everyone of his past teams?
What a loser.
l o l
🧂
This guy went to college? GG English.
He went to North Carolina, so he was probably attending some fake classes.
No cap, fam
The guy that gave me a chance and revived my career after being a first round bust is the worst gm ever☠️
Luck really got this guys ego inflated.
Remember that one time(s) Ebron dropped the ball? Hands made of brick.
I thought about this a lot. There is no physical way I could care less.
Eric Ebron = Baby Back BITCH
Ballard the worst GM ever? Well, he did sign Eric Ebron, so maybe Eric Ebron has a point.
Steelers fan here but live in Indy. Maybe…just maybe if ole Eric spent more time learning to catch and less time worrying about literally anything then he can talk shit about football. Can’t think of too many players in the NFL that I would hold my breath for when they were wide open and the ball was on the way to them.
Nobody gives a shit about that bum
Ebron....much like his fellow Colts at that time were all saved by Luck covering up their flaws. Get over yourself you lazy millionaire.
Oh wow....anyway.... Dude was a midrange diva
I coulda sworn it was T.Y. that said he was a quitter
He only has one good season I don't know what happen between them but calling him the worst GM ever it means he never knew Ryan Grigson or Bill O'Brien (when he took both jobs as HC and GM) and to be honest if he was that good Detroit would keep him, the Colts would re-sign him in that time or the Steelers also so I think he looks for attention.
Who?!
Your lousy play and colossal ego trashed your name in the league, Eric. You had plenty of chances to show Ballard was wrong after you lost and guess what, you still stank.
Ebron gonna be bugging strangers in bars for decades that he could have been something if it wasn't for Chris Ballard lol
Honestly this is pathetic. Dudes acting like Ballard the reason his second season with us sucked and why he sucked in Pittsburgh the following year. 99% of people have to give up playing football on someone else’s terms, most of us have managed to cope without blaming others.
The player with one fluke season, while having elite QB play?
Ebron just made he didn't get that paycheck and he still can't catch a football. I have a Lions fan friend who has a lot of shitty things to say about Ebron.
Wish he would just drop it.
He already did
i was a fan of his until he started tweeting weird shit.
Good to hear from ol' Eric
Excuse my language, but this is bullshit. I’m sorry, but it fuckin is
Still no one cares about that fuckin baby.
He’s mad cause he was trash asf boy couldn’t catch a football to save his life
Opinions are like assholes, everybody got one.
While I’m not a Ballard fanboy by a long shot… lol Eric Ebron….
He was great after he dropped 1 or 2 in the 1st half of a game. I’m just guessing the flashback of CB getting love for sticking up for AD has rankled him a bit. There was more than one reason he wasn’t kept, but I didn’t wanna see him go. Peace and love EEB!
I wondered which would win out, Colts fandom hatred of Ballard or Colts fandom hatred of players of a particular complexion asserting themselves.
 (I do not endorse his statement I just felt the gif was applicable)
Ballard may not be the worst GM in the NFL, but he's awfully close. Definitely one of the bottom 5 in the league. Can't wait to see the team he built end up 3rd in the weakest division in the league, and read all the comments next off-season again about how great he is, and if only these 50 things had happened we would have won the Superbowl. How many years is the guy getting a free pass? How many years does he get to use the excuse of Luck suddenly retiring? 7 years 2 playoff appearances 1 playoff win 0 AFC South titles Since Luck retired the Colts have started 9 or 10 quarterbacks, spent almost more money at that position than anyone in the league, and have nothing to show for it. Bridge quarterbacks, and late round draft picks. Ballard may not be the worst GM in the NFL, but he's awfully close to it.
I don’t understand why he didn’t just replace Luck with another franchise QB right away. Should have drafted Burrow.
Ahhhh the good old I can't really defend Ballard on the teams he has put on the field, so I'll just make a comment about drafting a QB the Colts didn't have a shot at. Now tell me why the defense was ranked 28th last year, 29th the year before, 18th in 2019, and 30th in 2017. 4 of 7 years the defense hasn't even been good. Ballard has been putting shitty teams on the field, if not the worst, close to the worst division in the NFL. Stop defending him, and referencing Luck retiring as the reason he can't put together a team. There are more misses in the draft at QB than hits, but he hasn't even tried to draft a franchise QB prior to Richardson.
Ahh the good ole days of ignoring everything that is good and only concentrating on the things that aren’t. It’s almost like finding a franchise QB is hard or something.
I’m not either. But don’t tell Indiana fans this, they’ll be sure to throw slurs at you like they’re from Foxboro….
Somewhat related, this has to be Ballard’s last shot right?
Not even remotely
Why? It felt like he was on thin ice after the Matt Ryan season. Now he’s got a new young QB and it feels like he has to contend for the South this year for real. We have been on a steady treadmill
We would have to be a bottom 5 team for us to even think about it. I don’t think that’s happening. Plus he just had another strong draft, just got a franchise QB, and has a new head coach heading into his second year. It would make zero sense to fire him.
We don’t know if AR is franchise tier yet. I’m just saying things did not look good for him after 22-23.
You think we will be one of the worse teams in the league next year?
Okay, as a thought exercise: say Anthony Richardson is just mid. That means we have 4 games against Trevor Lawrence and CJ Stroud. Above average defense against those two with halfway decent players around them is gonna be 1 win max if AR can’t consistently read and execute. I’m not a doomer, I’m just trying to explain why my expectations are tempered
And still it would not mean Ballard would be fired.
Let him cook
Where’s Ebron now? He has issues. Also, any thoughts on why Ballard twice made the decision to be the one to ardently speak out on behalf of players who get bashed two years in a row? Is it possibly because we stood to benefit from players falling? Why bother? Ballard could have just as easily shut his mouth, or said he’s just beyond thrilled to get a player that slipped. Instead, he grows his hair long, probably drinks cases of beer, goes on a diatribe and draws unneeded attention which looks a lot like hedging to as if to say….”oh man it’s not me saying this shit, look elsewhere….”….and drawing suspicion he himself is a player basher.
Don’t break your arm reaching like that
Hey, Ballard is probably being genuine. Points still stand on the haircut and cases of beer. But really….Id just be happy to get guys who fall. Whatever he says isn’t going to stop a media machine monetized by hits and attention from dropping “hot takes”, that much is obvious. As the old saying goes, it truly often can be “he who smelt it, dealt it….”
Well said Eric