One thought on “Indianapolis Colts – How does Chris Ballard solve the quarterback issue? Stafford? Rodgers? Brissett?”
Adam
Kent,
I think you are pretty accurate on this analysis. Honestly, I think Rodgers could force his way out of Green Bay if he wants. And the Colts do have Pat McAfee championing them on the side to Rodgers almost weekly on his podcast when they have their conversations. Beyond the off-chance that Rodgers does that and wants to come to Indy, I really do not like the other options we have right now. There are not many elite-level QBs out there worth selling a series of picks to get. Pundits are saying Stafford will cost 1 or 2 1st rounders, possibly a 2nd rounder, and maybe even a player. Given that, you have to assume Rodgers is going to be 3 1st rounders, a couple Day 2 picks, and probably a solid player, likely on Defense given how terrible that Defense is in Green Bay. But, if you believe Rodgers has 4-5 good years left, is it worth it? Heck, if he has 3 good years left, is it worth it? The Colts are set up to have most of the key players in place for a number of years and could potentially challenge for the Super Bowl every year he would be in Indy.
All that said, your final point hits home and should be on the minds of every analyst out there. Ballard is never going to mortgage the future without a real sense of what the next 3-4 years will be in Indy. He knew the 13th pick this year wasn’t close to the value of Buckner at $20mil for the next 4 years. Proved right! He preferred to give Rivers a 1-year deal at $25mil over Brady asking for the same for 2 years because he couldn’t bet the house on Brady. While the Colts might be playing in two weeks had he picked Brady (very debatable because I firmly believe the NFC is far weaker than the AFC and that’s why Brady went to the NFC), it works out that Ballard now has over $60mil to play with and can afford to consider his picks as assets to bring in key guys now or use them to strengthen the depth of the squad (a-la Jonathan Taylor despite having Marlin Mack or Julian Blackmon despite having a talented, yet oft-injured Malik Hooker).
Let me close with a crazy few options (one that’s been mentioned a lot until this week) that you didn’t mention and to potentially get your take: 1) Wentz/Hurts (pick ’em), 2) Trubisky, 3) Darnold, 4) Cam, or 5) Teddy. None are proven winners, but all have unique things they might bring to the table with a talented offense like Indy has. Could Ballard see something in any of them that leads him to believe that they need a change of scenery (e.g. Ryan Tannehill) to begin producing to their capabilities?
Kent,
I think you are pretty accurate on this analysis. Honestly, I think Rodgers could force his way out of Green Bay if he wants. And the Colts do have Pat McAfee championing them on the side to Rodgers almost weekly on his podcast when they have their conversations. Beyond the off-chance that Rodgers does that and wants to come to Indy, I really do not like the other options we have right now. There are not many elite-level QBs out there worth selling a series of picks to get. Pundits are saying Stafford will cost 1 or 2 1st rounders, possibly a 2nd rounder, and maybe even a player. Given that, you have to assume Rodgers is going to be 3 1st rounders, a couple Day 2 picks, and probably a solid player, likely on Defense given how terrible that Defense is in Green Bay. But, if you believe Rodgers has 4-5 good years left, is it worth it? Heck, if he has 3 good years left, is it worth it? The Colts are set up to have most of the key players in place for a number of years and could potentially challenge for the Super Bowl every year he would be in Indy.
All that said, your final point hits home and should be on the minds of every analyst out there. Ballard is never going to mortgage the future without a real sense of what the next 3-4 years will be in Indy. He knew the 13th pick this year wasn’t close to the value of Buckner at $20mil for the next 4 years. Proved right! He preferred to give Rivers a 1-year deal at $25mil over Brady asking for the same for 2 years because he couldn’t bet the house on Brady. While the Colts might be playing in two weeks had he picked Brady (very debatable because I firmly believe the NFC is far weaker than the AFC and that’s why Brady went to the NFC), it works out that Ballard now has over $60mil to play with and can afford to consider his picks as assets to bring in key guys now or use them to strengthen the depth of the squad (a-la Jonathan Taylor despite having Marlin Mack or Julian Blackmon despite having a talented, yet oft-injured Malik Hooker).
Let me close with a crazy few options (one that’s been mentioned a lot until this week) that you didn’t mention and to potentially get your take: 1) Wentz/Hurts (pick ’em), 2) Trubisky, 3) Darnold, 4) Cam, or 5) Teddy. None are proven winners, but all have unique things they might bring to the table with a talented offense like Indy has. Could Ballard see something in any of them that leads him to believe that they need a change of scenery (e.g. Ryan Tannehill) to begin producing to their capabilities?