Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Examining the best moves of the Chris Ballard era thus far

Episode Date: June 25, 2020

On today's episode, Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue joins as we go over the Chris Ballard era. Putting it under a microscope, what's the best moves Ballard has made so far in Indianapolis?Lots of forward-thinking trades have put Indy ahead for the long-term. From Quenton Nelson to DeForest Buckner, plenty of pillars to the organization have been added through draft trades.Even though it was a windy road to get there, adding Frank Reich as head coach has been an outstanding move from Ballard. Without Reich, would Indy be in the spot they're positioned in right now?Ballard also sticks to his values. Not spending big on outside free agents while looking ahead to future salary cap flexibility has kept Indianapolis in a win-now position. In 2020, Ballard finally cashed in some of those chips before big paydays for the likes of Darius Leonard and Nelson arrive soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back into your latest episode of Locked On Colts Party, Locked On Podcast Network. Today's guest is Evan Sutter and Joe Maia Bristow, which is today's show. Steven, Rita, Stan, Pete, Blue. We're going to talk about the best moves of Chris Ballard's tenure so far as Colts GM. It is his birthday, so might as well do it on the big day for Ballard. How are you doing today, Steven? I'm doing well, Evan. How are you doing? Doing well, doing well. Appreciate the time. And I know our listeners always enjoy having you on here now. And I wanted to talk with you, like I mentioned at the top of the show, about Chris Bauer and his tenure so far.

And we had you on before talking about the Ryan Grixen era and all that went wrong there in our what-if scenario. But looking just from a microscope, Bauer to Grixen, it seems like a huge difference as far as you really go from the worst of the worst to the cream of the crop. Yeah, it really is night and day in terms of the two of those guys. And if you look beyond wins and losses, they are just markedly different in how they manage the organization,

the quality of players that they draft because guys that Ryan Gregson drafted, the majority of them didn't last through the average number of years in the league. And he just was terrible at drafting, was terrible in free agency, obviously tore down the whole organization. Chris Ballard is the opposite of that. And you see him day in and day out show just the character and what you really want to see from somebody that is running an organization that you cheer for. We put together a list here, Stephen and I, of the best moves that Ballard's

made so far. We'll start off with the first one. No particular order here because there's definitely a lot of great moves Ballard's made in his first three or four years as the closest general manager. But I think the first one takes the cake for me, at least, when you look back on hindsight two years later. That trade down with the New York Jets from number three overall to number six. They'll get Quentin Nelson in a two-time off-row. Braden Smith is your book-and-write tackle. Kamoko Ture, who I think is a poise for breakout years,

we talked about before on the show, Stephen. You also get Jordan Wilkins and Rakia Sen, who I think is going to be your top-flight corner, at least for the next couple of years on this roster. And the Jets in return, of course, get Sam Darnold they trade up for. Looking back on that move now, Stephen, it seems like the Colts almost committed a highway robbery. Yeah, when you look at it in hindsight,

it really is just dramatic how well the Colts did. And honestly, you look at it from the Jets' standpoint, too, is they were looking for a franchise quarterback, and they were able to get that. And that was their big goal of that trade, because there were three guys that they felt comfortable with. But having Chris Ballard to sit there and have the foresight to make that trade and the timing that they made the trade was also big.

Because they made this trade a of days after free agency started, a couple of days after the league year started. So we had two months to sit there and talk about our month and a half to sit there and talk about the trade and, and the different options that might be available to the Colts with that to get an all pro two-time all pro in, in Quentin Nelson, and then you get your starting right tackle in Braden Smith.

Kimoko Ture showed just how well he can play with his length and his explosiveness being put. He's really played out of position at Rutgers, and having Chris Ballard really see that and see his abilities and how they can use him in their defense it really kind of shows again what they're looking for Jordan Wilkins obviously has been a quality backup running back it's a guy that you get in the fifth round and hope that he sticks and so far he has and then you get a cornerback like Rocky Haseen who everybody likes to remember that that Denver game from last year.

But if you look at the rest of the season, he really showed that he could be a true number one cornerback in this defense. And so to, to take one pick and turn it into four starters and a quality backup, that's, that's a no brainer. And yeah,

looking back on it does look exactly like you said. It looks like highway robbery. Also, another trade I can trade on, too, because, of course, this one is maybe not as notable because, obviously, you get Quinn Nelson to deal and you get a lot more players involved in this one. But the Redskins trade back I think was another big one, too, just because it just shows Chris Bauer's savviness playing the board right.

Still get Rocky Asin in that same draft at 34 overall, be the Jets pick. But you move back, again, another future second-round pick, which turns to the Mike Pittman Jr., Stephen. Another move that Chris Bowers showed he was about three steps ahead of everyone else because the Redskins, aggressive middle for Montez Sweat. He was doing pretty well for himself in Washington. But what all the Colts got out of that, Ben Banigou as well. You also get, like I mentioned, Mike Pittman Jr. a year later. It seemed like a really savvy move.

Yeah, and again, it shows the foresight that Chris Ballard has, and you notice exactly the type of player that he's looking for. Ben Banigou is another one of those athletic guys that they weren't really taught up well at TCU. They didn't, as Banigou has said, they didn't really go over like pass rush moves. They just kind of said, go get it. And they played him at an outside linebacker position.

It looks like he's going to be just an absolute beast once he gets some reps, given his pressure percentage, his QB hit percentage, everything that goes along with it. And then the Michael Pittman pick adds into the fact that if Chris Ballard doesn't have that pick 34, I'm not sure he makes another move that I think we're going to talk about here a little bit later in trading for DeForest Buckner, because number 34 is basically like a first round pick. And so you sit there and without that pick, I'm not certain that he makes that trade for deforest buckner because he's not sure he's going to get somebody of the quality of a michael pitman or somebody that that he all he would have liked they could jonathan taylor

there at 34 and he would have had to had to move back a couple times and kind of play that gamble so i think that washington trade is underrated and that you've got a quality pass rusher, but then it also gave you the flexibility to move around in this most recent draft. At this point, Steve, if you're an opposing GM and you get a call from a 317 area code during draft day, you just ignore that call at this point. It seems like every trade Chris Bauer makes, he ends up winning pretty big. Well, yes and no, because here's the thing is each of those teams went up and got the player that they wanted and so far those players have been pretty good you know sam darnold has been off and on because he really hasn't had like a great head coach you can see the talents there

um same thing with montez sweat is washington they needed a pass rusher and they went up and got him so they got their guy, you know, you just got to be careful as an opposing GM, how much you give up. But for the most part, like I wouldn't necessarily say that now, now here's the other, other side of the coin is if Chris Ballard's calling you to move up, then maybe you second guess and you're like, all right, who does he want? Cause there's somebody up here that's going to be good. But yeah, you know that Chris

Bowie is going to make a move that's for the best of his organization. So maybe you think twice about it. But at the same time, all these guys know that he's willing to make a deal. And there are some GMs like, you know, Dave Gettleman over at New York Giants. He doesn't trade. You know, I think the Panthers GM doesn't trade. They just don't trade out of the first round at all. So if somebody really wants a guy, they know they can call Ballard and make a deal.

It's just how much are they willing to put up. So, yeah, I see your point, though. It does always seem like Chris Ballard always ends out on top, which is, which is great for his fans. But yeah, as another GM, it would definitely make you a little nervous.

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Yeah, definitely good point you brought up there. Just because, like just because like you mentioned darn old and sweater no slouches but when you look back on just from the trade machine standpoint i think ballard definitely was a little forward thinking it has a few steps ahead i think this one is a really the crown jewel of this rebuild so to say for the ballard era with the colts and one that really caught us by surprise steven when i first time because my jaw dropped when it first occurred and that was the forestForest Buckner trade. The final trade we're going to hit on in this show talking about the best moves of the Bauer era so far because you trade number 13 overall pick for DeForest Buckner, an all-pro defensive tackle entering his prime.

He's only 26 years old. The 49ers, of course, end up selecting his replacement, Javon Kinlaw, at 13 overall, who I think many people expect the Colts are going to take at 13 if they stayed there. Just from a 1v1 standpoint, Stephen, you get an already all-pro talent. You have to wait for a couple years for Javon Kinlaw to grow into his body. This trade, I know Buckner has not played a single snap for the Colts yet, but we know the impact he's going to make on this defense from all levels. We know the impact personally Buckner's going to have on this entire roster. I think this is a home-run move by the Colts looking back on it.

Yeah, looking back and looking forward, I think that is a home run move by the Colts looking back on it. Yeah. And looking back and looking forward, I think that Colts fans are going to be really excited. And this is going to go in another one of those win categories. Not often are you able to trade for an all pro player and only give up a single first round pick that, I mean, you look at Stefan Diggs, who I don't think has ever made an all pro, but you know, the Buffalo bills had to give up a first, a second, and I think a fourth to move up to get him.

Now, you also have the Houston Texans, but you never know what Bill O'Brien's going to do with that. But yeah, training for DeForest Buckner, having him as a known quantity, I think is a really savvy move. And I think it's something that Colesmiths are going to look back on and say, this was a great move for this defense. Because we've talked about this before in how DeForest Buckner not only changes the defensive line,

he makes things easier. And this is actually repeated by Matt Ibraflux on one of the calls that he changes not only the defensive line, but he changes the linebackers. He gives them more space to run because the offensive line is going to have to pay attention to DeForest Buckner. He gives the secondary less time. He gives that quarterback less time. So he's prone to make mistakes. There's prone to be tip passes. And so you're going to have the secondary likely going to be better this year

because of DeForest Buckner. And like we've said before, Chris Ballard said all along that the three technique drives this thing, and DeForest Buckner is one of the best in the game. And that is – everybody seems to agree with that. Aaron Donald, DeForest Buckner, and that was the all pros this past year at that defensive tackle position and so i think this is going to be an underrated move and that you know what you're going to get versus like you said javon kinlaw you hope that

he gets to there that he gets to even close to there and you consider that a win versus getting a guy that's already going to exceed that is likely to already going to exceed what Javon Kinloch could be. It's crazy to say, Stephen, just knowing football season is just around the corner. We're about four or five weeks away from training camp officially opening on, on time. At least that's what those reports mean. That train camp will open on time. Obviously we know fans as you're a coronavirus,

but in their own facilities and getting closer and closer to that start date and we see actual action on the field, Stephen, I think still that Colts fans are underrating just how big of an impact sports partners are going to make because I don't think Colts fans have ever seen a dominant inside presence on the front four before. I know Booger McFarlane was a really good piece in the 06 run, but Buckner is head and shoulders, I think maybe multiple head and shoulders, above a player like Booger McFarlane because I think Colts are going to be pretty shocked

just the amount of impact it's going to make every single play in every single game. Yeah, I think you're exactly right. Booger McFarlane was a great player for the Colts, but he's nowhere near the player that DeForest Buckner is at any point in his Colts tenure. DeForest Buckner has that ability to, and I don't want to oversell this, but it's Warren Sapp-esque in that that's the ability that he has to affect a game. He's not quite as, he's bigger than Warren Sapp in terms of height, length, probably faster. And so that's one of those guys that you're potentially getting somebody that could really, really improve every aspect of this defense and Colts fans.

We've never had that here in Indianapolis. You hope that guys end up that way, but we just haven't had it. And I think that you're right. I think they're going to really open up some fans eyes with how well Forrest Buckner plays and how much he changes his defense just by himself. Going off the trade route for a second, Stephen, for our next one on the list for the best Bauer move so far,

and it's one that obviously it's Frank Wright. You hire Frank Wright as your head coach. So, we brought up a good point before we started recording, Stephen. It seems like it ended up in a weird way, of course, with Josh McDaniels backing out. Looking back on it, it was horrible what McDaniels did to the organization, leaving him hanging like that. But, you know, like that. But getting the right coach in the very end there in Frank Reich. A tumultuous time for the Colts when Ballard

had to scramble to find his guy, but he landed on the exact right person in Frank Reich. Yeah, and that's, like you had mentioned, we talked about this a little bit before recording. I brought up agreeing. One of Ballard's best moves was looking back on it now agreeing to a contract with joss mcdaniels because when you think about it and i know it's kind of off the wall to think like that but when you think about it if not for agreeing to contract terms with joss mcdaniels uh chris ballard likely hires somebody else in that timeframe because the Patriots made that run to the Super Bowl. And so Josh McDaniels couldn't sign up until that point.

And Frank Reich wasn't going to interview with anybody until after the Super Bowl. And so it really was kind of just perfect timing in terms of Josh McDaniels. And yes, it left egg on Chris Ballard's face, but it also showed the fans and sort of the organization, the type of person that Chris Ballard is. And I think that that helps cement him in Indianapolis and within that organization. So yeah, I think agreeing to terms with Josh McDaniels, how kind of twisted it is was one of Ballard's best moves

because it allowed him to hire the perfect candidate in Frank Reich. Because I can't think of any better coach for the Indianapolis Colts than Frank Reich. And he's just such a home run. You just feel his energy. You want to get behind him. You want to root for him. It's very similar to how players, I imagine, felt about Tony Tunchy in that you didn't want to get behind him. You want to root for him. It's very similar to how players I imagine felt about Tony Tunchy in that you

didn't want to disappoint him. You had faith in him that he was going to do what was best for the team was going to support his players no matter what. And he was going to find a way to work it out. And yeah, like I said, Frank Wright being, being the coach, I think that was one of the Chris Ballard's best moves. But also the fact that he agreed to it with Josh McDaniels in a backwards way was one of his best moves as well.

Yeah, when you look back on it, Stephen, this move with Frank Wright, just through his first two years, what's been your thoughts on his overall tenure so far? Because I know Ballard and Ruck will be tied to him for a very long time together, probably over a decade in Annapolis if all goes well. But when you look back at the game in 2018 against Houston, Texas, when they lose in overtime, but he galvanized the locker room, going for a fourth and three, going for the win instead of going for the tie there,

really helped solidify his standing in the organization as being a respectable coach and one of the players really bought in for after that. Because as we saw, the Colts won a huge run after that. They went into the playoffs, steamrolled Houston, ended up losing an arrowhead. But with Andrew Luck, the bombshell of retirement, I think the Colts will have built on what they did in 2018 with Reich at the helm. What's been your overall opinion of Reich so far

through his two years? I think he's been a steadying force for the organization. And it shows that he is fully behind his players. He believes in his players. And like you mentioned at the Houston game, people forget that when they went for it on fourth down there, the likelihood of Houston scoring at that point was pretty slim. The fact is DeAndre Hopkins had a big play after that,

which now the Colts fans don't even have to worry about DeAndre Hopkins after, after Bill Bryan's trade. But the fact that he was able to galvanize the locker room, even in a losing effort, in a heartbreaking loss in a divisional game at home, and then they were able to make that run and you felt the players believe in him. And the players afterwards talked about how much, like you'd said, it galvanized the locker room and really helped cement his status within the organization. And to see Frank Reich, you see him every day. Like when you listen to him in his press conferences and everything, he gets it. He was a player.

And so players have that respect for him because he was a veteran for so many years, played in some of the biggest games, the biggest comeback in NFL playoff history. It might be NFL history, period, with the Bills. And then having his experience that he has and just seeing how he interacts with the players and with the fans and everything it's one of those things where you you really get behind the guy and you love what he does and his he's so calm on the field his demeanor's flat he doesn't get like crazy out of control like John Gruden or guys like that. And he's also not aloof.

And so he's like a perfect fit for Indianapolis and for the Colts organization. And that's one of those things that it was just kind of a match, a match made in heaven right there. Colts fans, do you want to save money on your car? I imagine you do because if you use rockauto.com, you're going to save a lot of money and keep that in your pocket all throughout the year. Rockauto.com really helps you out. It's a family-owned business that keeps the best parts of your car and keeps it on a cheap price for you. Compared to the competitors out there, for a fuel pump assembly, for example, at Advanced Auto Parts

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Antonio Brown was forcing his way out of Pittsburgh. And a lot of national insiders pointed to the Colts because they had all this cap space. And even I remember Eric E. Brown with his Instagram account was commenting on all Le'Veon Bell's posts saying, come to the Colts. You'll be a beast here. And Le'Veon Bell was commenting back to Eric E. Brown with the eye emoji and stuff like that. It was all over Colts social media at that point that it said the Colts are going to go after Le'Veon Bell. And also with Antonio Brown for a cheap price, a lot of teams were mentioning the Colts needed a while to go to.

I held him, and Brown and Hill had history there back in Florida, and that could have worked. But Bauer would hold off. He was never interested in either of those players in the first place. And we see now with Le'Veon Bell in New York, he's looked like he's gone off a cliff physically. This is by far his worst year, his precarious year of his career so far

after sitting out in Pittsburgh that one year. Then we see what happened, of course, to Antonio Brown, Stephen, where he's not even in the NFL anymore. So kudos to Bauer for holding his stone, so to say, and not listening to the internal and external voices there. Yeah, and like you said, it's one of his biggest moves or one of his best moves are the ones he doesn't make. Like you kind of laid it out right there you know for us you know not overspending on left bell like really taking that culture of the locker room into account and recognizing the types of players

you're going to pay versus just paying players because they they performed well on the other team that doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to be a good fit for you and for your organization. It's why we were all kind of shocked when they traded for DeForest Buckner and gave him a huge contract because that's the really the first big contract the Colts have ever really given out to an outside free agent. And so he really picked his spots. He gave a big contract to Phillip Rivers, and if you've listened to Phillip Rivers, you love that guy. It's so easy to see, to hear, to feel how people got behind Phillip Rivers in San Diego and Los Angeles.

And then on the counter side of it, seeing the moves he didn't make, like Lev Bell, who has clearly been kind of a locker room issue, Antonio Brown, that guy's a nutcase. I don't think we can say anything beyond that. Rashawn Melvin, Colts fans might not necessarily remember him, but he played a really good year that one year. And then you tried to police one over on the Colts. And he's now,

I think on his third team since I think he signed with Oakland and then ended up being, I think he's on the Jaguars right now, you know, and then making good signings, you know, signing, you know,

for all the, all the, the negative stuff about Eric Ebron, who's good signing. He was a cheap signing when he signed. He played well that first year with Andrew Luck. Then the second year, I don't know what happened there, but everything went downhill.

But, yeah, I think those signings that Chris Ballard didn't make played just as important of a role as the signings that he did. And so I think that's one of his better moves is the ones that he doesn't sign. Last one on the list that I had Steven was his cap management and the way of course compared to Griggs in the past where he was short short-circuited kind of the rebuild going out for free ends like Laurent Landry others that didn't work at all the kind of egg on the face of the Grigson era in the Colts and we see the exact opposite approach Chris Bauer where like we mentioned Le'Veon Bell big money for aging doesn't throw cash at Landon Collins the Redskins overbid he

has not continued to get in that bidding war with the Redskins just lets him go to Washington he has a plan he sticks to it and we see now the cast base once again Stephen three straight years now entering the 2020-2021 they're going to have again over 100 million dollars of cast base it's going to go away though eventually because this Colts team is going to have to pay players that Darius Leonard is upcoming here, Quentin Nelson here after that, and Braden Smith as well. It's going to be paying your own guys. And I think he had the foresight three or four years ahead of time, Stephen,

to see that, you know what, I shouldn't go and make these moves for these big-name players because if that happens, I'm going to be able to pay my own players who are the most important guys. Yeah, exactly. And the moves that he does make like signing a justin houston to a relatively cheap deal signing xavier roads for a very cheap deal um signing guys that are kind of reclamation products i mean eric ebron like we just mentioned um signing him to a cheaper deal he really does have that foresight to look out into the cap to see how it's going to affect

him down the road and seeing you know where can i invest and now with everything going on with the potential of not having fans in stadiums there are real discussions about whether the salary cap may retract um and and go down for the first time in i don't know how long. First time that I can remember in at least a decade to have it decrease. And the Colts are in prime position to be one of the only teams that can actually pay their own players. And if they want to get good talent for cheap, they're able to go ahead and make some signings in free agency, really load up.

And a lot of it has to do with the way that Chris Pollard has managed his cap and the way that he hasn't overspent free agency. He's had his line, and he just won't go above it. I mean, you saw that with Preston Smith, the defensive end from Washington that ended up signing with Green Bay last year, and he played really, really well. You saw that with a linebacker from the Ravens that ended up signing with the Jets.

DJ Mosley. Yeah, Mosley. He was in on Mosley and didn't just got to a point where he was like, no, sorry, I'm out. Same thing with Landon Collins. One of his better abilities is just sticking to his guns, not getting in a bidding war, not getting into the heat of the moment. And he's just level-headed and cool, and that's Chris Ballard.

And that's a guy you want to have leading your franchise. It just is. You want somebody that's level-headed, cool, makes the right decisions, and is not going to make spur of the moment, random big signings, not going to trade first-round draft picks for positions that don't really matter. He's going to really kind of look at the bigger picture in terms of every move he makes. Last one I have for you, Stephen, just a general overall thoughts

as we wrap up here on the best moves of the Chris Ballard era so far. We're entering into the 2020-2021 season now, and throughout the next decade, I think the first four years of the ballard era have shown that he can really fight through adversity of course you have your franchise court retire right before the regular season starts last year deals with multiple other things on the side that he didn't really have to do with in the first place but he had to because that's the way the business how it goes sometimes but you see chris ballard and just the way he's been able to draft the ways they would manage the cap and hold himself accountable

is there a better option steven out there i mean it's already been kind of nationally recognized Chris Bauer and just the way he's been able to draft, the ways they would manage the cap and hold himself accountable. Is there a better option, Stephen, out there? It's already been kind of nationally recognized that Chris Bauer is already a top five, top three GM in the NFL. But I think Colts fans realize, too, like they really lucked out getting this guy on board. Yeah, yeah. And Colts fans are – it really is like Bill Polian-esque in terms of the way that he's built through the draft.

It's the exact same plan that Bill Polian had. And Chris Ballard in what his first four – his four first-round picks have been Malik Hooker and now Quentin Nelson and then trading it back and getting all of those picks at the Quentin Nelson trade, then trading back with Washington and getting Ben Banigou and getting Michael Pittman and then getting DeForest Buckner. Like just the haul and making the right move at the right time is something that Colts fans should be really,

really refreshing about. Not reaching, not listening to ghosts and not listening to rumors like the previous GM did and overdrafting players, knowing that other GMs would just take advantage of the fact that you might've heard a rumor. And so having Chris Ballard just stick to his guns, stick to his board, draft as well as he has, and be able to build from the ground up from this franchise and giving the Colts franchise players that you can really get behind. So like you said, he wants the stadium, when fans are back in the stadium, he wants that stadium filled with players that they've drafted. He doesn't want to see necessarily 18s walking around or 87s walking around. He wants to see, you know, Quentin Nelson. He wants to see that 56.

He wants to see Kamoka Ture at 57, Michael Pittman, and maybe Jacob Eason if he ends up being a great player, or Jonathan Taylor. He wants to see Darius Leonard 53s out there. He wants to see these homegrown talents just filling the stadium and seeing those jerseys up there. And I think that he's doing the right thing to make that culture and making it become a franchise that the city, the community,

everybody nationally can even get around. Steven, always joy talking Colts ball with you. You can follow him on Twitter at nice read Steven, go read his work and listen to his podcast all over at Stampede Blue. Stephen, appreciate your time, man. Thanks, Evan.