Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Recapping Chris Ballard's season-ending press conference

Episode Date: January 15, 2021

On today's episode, Evan and Stampede Blue's Stephen Reed talk through Chris Ballard's season-ending press conference on Thursday afternoon. Speaking for over an hour to the local media about the 2019-20 season, Ballard went in-depth on a multitude of topics.Evan and Stephen covered all of the Ballard bases on the following: quarterback (Philip Rivers, Jacob Eason), wide receiver (T.Y. Hilton), tight end (Trey Burton), EDGE rusher (Justin Houston, Ben Banogu), cornerback (Xavier Rhodes, Rock Ya-Sin), free agency (Allen Robinson, Kenny Golladay JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chris Godwin, Richard Sherman, etc.), and the 2021 NFL DraftStay tuned for a jam-packed episode as the Colts' very important 2021 offseason begins now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome back to your latest episode of Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today's always your host, Evan Setter, enjoyed by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue here on a Thursday evening to recap Chris Bauer's season ending press conference, something I always look forward to every year. I imagine a lot of Colts fans do as well. So many good nuggets to take away from this, looking ahead to the offseason, looking back

on the season as well. Stephen, how are you doing tonight? I'm doing well, Evan. How are you? I'm doing well, Evan. How are you? I'm doing good. We're here, like I mentioned, to recap Chris Ballard's in-game press conference. We're going to go about 30 or so minutes here talking through the big bullet points of Thursday's event with Ballard. I mean, let's start off with the first one here. This is the biggest takeaway I saw

because it was one of the first questions asked was about how the Colts are going to go about replacing Anthony Costanzo moving forward here in 2021 and beyond. And he didn't directly say this, Stephen, because he kind of walked around the question a little bit. But at least from what I could gather from – I don't know about you, Stephen, but I feel like Quentin Nelson moving to left tackle is off the table. I think they're going to keep their all-pro Hall of Fame left guard exactly where he should be.

Yeah, I think so too. I think he was – he didn't say it, like you said, explicitly, that Quentin Nelson was going to stay there, but he talked about having his best five there and he's got four good players and a couple that are really special. The fact that he mentioned Danny Pinter and Holden right off the bat makes you kind of think that that might be where they go at least short term you got to say that the interesting thing i thought about that is is for those that just listen to the press conference you didn't get like the whole the whole um scenario from ballard if you watched him he had like a little smirk on his face the whole time which i thought was

interesting this is why i like to watch the videos of it. So it makes me feel like he's got a definite plan in his head as to where they're going at the left tackle position. He just doesn't want to obviously tell anybody because, you know, got to keep cards close to your vest. But yeah, I don't think that Quentin Nelson is going to be moving out to left tackle. I think that they're going to try to work on the depth of the offensive line as a whole,

and they're going to address that left tackle position either in free agency or through the draft. I'm right there with you. Whether it be free agency or draft, I imagine that's where they're going to go. Whether it be a plug and play guy in free agency like Trent Williams or Russell Okung or go in the draft with a guy like Liam Eichenberger or Dane or Dylan Radun from North Dakota State, Sam Cosme of Texas. There's a lot of good guys in that mid to late first round who could be available for the Colts if they stay where they are at 21

and don't move for a quarterback. Speaking of quarterbacks, Stephen, it sounds like right now, I mean, Ballard did mention that he told Phillip Rivers to reconvene with him in a month about what they're going to do. So we'll probably know around the combine exactly what's going to happen with Rivers moving forward. But Rivers did mention that Ballard is not 100% sure yet if they're going to do. So we'll probably know around the combine exactly what's going to happen with Rivers moving forward. But Rivers did mention that Ballard is not 100% sure yet if he's going to return. Not surprising at all after how emotional he was on Saturday

after their loss in Buffalo. But from the Colts' side of things, it sounds like if all goes well, Phillip Rivers will be back as the Colts start in Quebec in 2021. He did mention that he would like for him to return. It just all depends on age with Rivers. He mentioned as well if this is a 30-year-old Phillip Rivers or 35-year-old Phillip Rivers, this wouldn't even be a conversation right now with how well he played this year.

Did you get the same feeling, Steven? Like if Rivers does want to come back in 2021, they will get him back as their quarterback? Yeah, I think so. And he was – I mean, he's straight up said he was noncommittal to it, which, you know, he wanted to take a month to really kind of weigh their options because he talked about finding the long-term option for the quarterback and his line in there about the quarterback stirs the drink.

And he wants to find out over the next month what sets them up best for the long-term success. And so looking at that, I do think option one is Phillip Rivers and bringing him back. It's something that I've said ever since the season ended this past weekend, I've said, look, I think that they're going to run with Phillip Rivers and have Eason as the backup because they really haven't gotten a chance to see what Jacob Eason can do. And that was a big point throughout the press conference, bringing up Jacob Eason. But going back to Rivers, he seems like he's their first option. And if Phillip Rivers is 100%

ready to go, then I think that the Colts will bring him back. Chris Ballard made an interesting point when somebody asked him directly with regards to the draft, the quarterbacks in the draft. And he said, you know, he doubts there's going to be one there at 21. And he said, there's some good ones in this draft.

So it makes me feel like they're not going to move up for one. Or, or if they do get a quarterback, they're going to have to move up for one. But yeah, I feel like option one is philip rivers and it's all dependent on how philip rivers is feeling and then also what kind of feelers chris ballard can set out like if he's able to you know we talk on twitter um a lot of

people talk on twitter about the opportunities to acquire a quarterback um so you know sam darnold might become available matt stafford might So Sam Darnold might become available. Matt Stafford might become available. Matt Ryan might become available. Chris Ballard has to weigh those options. So he can't really commit to a 39-year-old Phillip Rivers when you can get a 32-year-old Matt Stafford or a mid-20-year-old Sam Darnold.

That would set you up much better for long-term success. So I think both sides are going to go through the process and really figure out where they want to go and where they want to be. And so I think they're going to leave Phillip Rivers as that first option. But I don't think they're going to close the book on anything else from their standpoint. Because if they don't do their research and let's be real we all know Chris Ballard does his research but if they don't do their research and all of a sudden Philip Rivers decides that he doesn't want to come back and play again his

heart's not in it he wants to go coach high school football then you know Colts are kind of up a creek at that point so I think the Colts are going to try to figure out what's best for them long-term. And if all else fails, Phillip Rivers is, is their guy and they feel really comfortable with him coming back next season. Chris Bauer was asked during the press conference and went about an hour and 15 minutes. So I love how Bauer always goes very long with these underseason press

conferences. You can get a lot of information out of it. One quote about finding the future of quarterback for those stats. And you still going to read it in full here. Quote, I promise you we get the importance of the quarterback position, but the difference between drafting one and taking the right one is the key in our minds.

We'll explore it. We'll examine it. We'll go A to Z on it, I promise you. That position never leaves my mind, and it's something we want to get fixed. There's also got to be a little bit of timing and luck that comes into play. It is not an exact science. Everybody thinks you can just take one and you're going to fix their problem. Look, take one will get you off my ass for a little bit,

but the second that guy doesn't play well, I'm going to be the first one outside running out the door. That really shows you. I mean, that's straight on the money there about what Chris Bauer says. I think that clip is going viral on Twitter today, and that quote just because of how direct and honest Bauer is about the situation. If Bauer does screw up in the draft in the next year or two, and this quarterback claims that, whoever it may be,

even if it's Jacob Eason, if he lets Eason play in 2022 and 2023, and he's not good, he'll get run out the door. And then, too, just the bluntness and truthfulness from Chris Bauer on that quote, Stoney, and what stands out most to you from that quote about Bauer, where it seems like, to me, he's not just going to appease Colts, or he's not just going to appease Colts fans, he's going to take it slow and methodical because you can't mess this up. Yeah, and I wrote down the same – portions of the same quote where, you know,

I said the difference was between taking one and taking the right one is key, basically, you know, paraphrasing what he said. But that's it. That's the – what do we say? That's the tweet, right? Like, it's – that's it. That's the – what do we say? That's the tweet, right? That's it. You got to take the right quarterback. You can't just take one.

I mean, he brought up a point of mentioning all the round one quarterbacks that have been taken over the past decade. And how many of them fail because you didn't take the right one? I mean, shoot, you have three, four or five quarterbacks taken in every draft. And very rarely do you have, no, you're, you're up there at like a 40, maybe 50% success rate of those quarterbacks taken in around one. And of those quarterbacks that are, that fail, those GMs are out of the job. So the fact that he was blunt and he understands it really is,

is calming. I think for Colts fans, there should be calming for Colts fans because he's not just going to take a guy to take a guy. He's not going to give in to the Twitter mob as, as they mentioned to the press conference, just to, just to go and get a guy just to get everybody off the,

off his back. They're going to do their, their process that they do every year at the quarterback position for both quarterbacks in the draft and quarterbacks around the league. And they're going to try to find the right quarterback for them. And I think that's key. And one thing that I thought was interesting,

they brought up at the tail end of the press conference, talking about quarterbacks and the mobility part of quarterbacks. And Chris Ballard brought up this point, which I thought was interesting. Effectively, at one point in their career, every quarterback has to become a pocket quarterback. It's just having one that's a little bit more mobile kind of gives you, it expands your universe that you can create with. And so I think that when you read that quote,

I do think that they are kind of looking for a quarterback. If they do look for a quarterback in the draft, they're going to look for somebody that maybe isn't like a Mac Jones where he's just stationary there. Maybe somebody more like we've talked about before, Trey Lance or Zach Wilson if they fall. Maybe those are one of the guys that he goes up and gets because they both have a great amount of talent. I thought it was interesting because

he put it all out there. You have to take the right quarterback and if you don't take the right quarterback, you're out the door. It's going to take me about a minute to read through, Steve. I went through and actually crunched the numbers on these quarterbacks since 2010, a few minutes before we started recording here. 34 total quarterbacks on this list, and you can see the first six, seven years of this list is pretty awful, but the last few years is really good.

It's good to show you the insurgence of these young quarterbacks since 2018, but I'll start off here through 2010 and go through, like I mentioned, just take about a minute here. Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, then Andrew Luck, RG3, Ryan Tannehill, Brandon Whedon, E.J. Manuel, Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Paxton Lynch, Mitchell Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones, Dwayne Haskins, then Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, and Jordan Love. That's about a 30% to 35% hit rate on those quarterbacks the last 10 years. And Chris Bowery even mentioned it in his press conference today.

Since 2010, go back and look through that, and I actually did that for you guys. That hit rate is a lot lower than I thought it would be, Steve. That's around 30% to 35%. So really, he's right on the money there. You can't really force it. Yeah. Well, once you started running through that list, I sat there and go, wow, I was right.

It's about 40%. Like when you started going through, I'm like, dang. Boy, there must have been some really bad quarterbacks. And the thing that follows when you take a bad quarterback, like as a general manager, you get one shot really at a first round quarterback and that's it um if you don't hit on that first round quarterback you're done um and so that's i mean that's it like he's got to take the right quarterback and he's got to be be very very sure of it and i with the way that ch Ballard does things with, with how they have,

and Brian Decker wasn't mentioned at all during this press conference, which I thought was interesting because he gets mentioned every year with, in terms of their, their evaluation process. Maybe that comes up more, more towards the draft. But he being able to have all the tools that Chris Ballard has at his disposable disposal gives them an opportunity to really hone in and get that right quarterback. I'm, I'm still thinking that Jacob Eason could be a solid option.

And I know that that's not a huge he doesn't have a huge following on Twitter, but Chris Ballard made the comment about Jacob Eason, and he had during one of the games this season had an opposing coach that he's got a relationship with came up to him while Eason was throwing wide receivers on the sideline. He said, wow, that's – who's that guy? And, you know, Chris Ballard, you know, said that, you know,

that's, that's Jacob Beeson, you know, he's the backup quarterback, you know, still learning the process kind of thing. But it really shows that they have some confidence in Eason, but also Ballard still wants to see what he's got when, what he said, the, when the bullets are really flying, because they didn't have a training camp. Normally, like Chris Ballard said, you've got a mini camp in May. You've got some practices. You've got a full training camp. You get some preseason games.

So you can really see him in live action. This year, they didn't have that. They just kind of had to go and see what they had. And for the Colts, losing that week one game to Jacksonville really kind of set them back in the entire season because if, say, per chance, week 16 or 17, the Colts have already got the AFC South locked up and their position in the playoffs is pretty well set,

then maybe you see Jacob Eeson active for week 17. Maybe you get to see him with some live action. And so that's really kind of the tough part for the front office right now is you really are kind of flying blind with Jacob Beeson. He certainly has talent. You saw that on tape last year when he was at Washington, you saw he can make, I mean, shoot, he can make all the throws got a cannon of an arm. But you want to see his decision-making in, in live action.

And one of the other things that Chris Ballard brought up about Jake Beeson was how much he had really soaked it in and absorbed, or he thought soaked it in and absorbed being around Phillip Rivers and Frank Reich and Jacoby Brissett and Mark Spray and everybody, the whole group, and being able to be around all those guys and learn from them, which I think was huge for Jacob Eason. And I hope it's going to be good for his growth and development because I'm not super sold on the Colts going and trading up for a quarterback this offseason.

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Again, write Locked On, at Luke CKDON, in the Howdy Your Balance box, sending a Locked On cold sending you over there. I'm starting to feel that way, too, so the way Bauer talked about today. I'm still at the camp that they should trade up into the top 10 at the camp for a guy like Trey Lance. I think he fits a lot of the boxes they're looking for. I know Ed Dodds is at the game as well for another coach this year. Could have been for Domer Dunes as well, the left tackle prospect against first-round buzz.

But Trey Lance does check a lot of those boxes they're looking for as far as mobility goes. And this is upsized very much there. But with a guy like Jacob Eason, here's a quote from Bauer, like you mentioned, Stephen. Quote, let me tell you this about Jacob Eason. He kept his mouth shut and he worked. He was in a great quarterback room with a ton of experience. He got to take that all in. We still got to find out a lot more about Jacob Eason. We think he's got

really good talent. And like you mentioned the story about him bringing up at a game and pregame, this coach from our post team walking up and saying, like with the arm talent, like he has a bazooka on him. It's a howitzeritzer like the ability he can make any throw on the blade of grass steven and that makes me think like how important i mean honestly if they don't trade for corey this year i think it does say a lot about their potential with jacob eason and kind of like rolling the dice to them a little bit because i honestly feel like if they don't draft correct in april steven i think it's going to be very important in otas and early on in training camp to see if jacob eason has it or not because he'll probably be the primary backup I can't imagine they're going to re-send Jacoby Brissett to take away those reps from Jacob Eason I think he'll be the primary backup next year

if they don't draft a quarterback but I think this OTA training camp here is going to be really where they're going to see if Eason has the stuff or not right Steven yeah that's I'm you don't have much more to say on that I I think that that's exactly right. Let's move on here to the next topic, one that shouldn't really surprise a lot of Colts fans, Stephen, because I forget who the reporter was who asked about it, but Marlon Mack, Anthony Walker, are both brought up on separate occasions,

upcoming free agents this offseason. We already know guys like Malik Cook or Jacoby Bursette are probably going to be out the door anyways. But with Walker and Mack, it was more up in the air. I think personally we both are on the same page as far as probably neither of them were unlikely to resign and he was the emergence of Bobby Okereke, Jonathan Taylor, Naeem Hines but pretty much Chris Bauer put that to bed today saying he it was heartbreaking to see Marlon Mack and Ender week one but kind of the expectation was his role next year will be very much depleted with the way Hines and Taylor broke out this year same Same goes for Anthony Walker.

I did the snap counts for the last six weeks of the season. Walker only had around 35% of the snaps in the linebacker role. Bobby Okereke almost doubled it around 65%, 70%. I think it's fair to say the way Chris Pratt spoke about both players today, Stephen, that neither of those guys are going to come back, and maybe they're going to try to benefit off some comp picks with those guys. Yeah, I think it's pretty cut and dry that Marlon Mack isn't likely to be resigned unless it's a minimum one-year deal, which would be heartbreaking for Marlon Mack

because he does deserve a contract with how he played last year or two years ago. But, yeah, it just seemed like that door was closed with Mack. When it came with Anthony Walker, I think there's a possibility that he comes back just because of the leadership that he brings. But I do think that that possibility is pretty slim. I think that Chris Ballard, and Chris Ballard said this throughout the press conference,

is that what he wants to do is not just what's best for the Colts, but also what's best for the players. And so if the player can go out and get paid somewhere else and the Colts just, it's above their number, like the Colts want them to get paid. Like that's one of the great things about this organization is Chris Ballard's got a mark in mind, a baseline ceiling that he's going to pay for a player.

And if you can get above that, great, awesome. Go for it. There's no, there's no ill will. There's no, you know, he's not super upset. You know, of course he wants to keep his own guys. And he said that, but at the same time, he wants them to succeed. And I think that that's what makes the Colts organization pretty unique in that every organization wants their players to succeed, but really there's no ill will towards them when they go elsewhere. They recognize that it's a business, and he recognizes that as players, your careers are short, so you need to get as much money as you can

when you can. And I think that was a really cool comment from Chris Ballard because a lot of general managers won't just flat-out say that. It's one of the great things, I think, about Chris Ballard as a general manager, period, is that he'll just just flat out tell you what he's thinking he doesn't sugarcoat it he doesn't really beat around the bush too often he's just going to tell you straight up and when it comes to Marlon Mack and Anthony Walker it just it just sounds like he's going to let them both test the market and most likely Marlon Mack won't be back which I

mean you understand that with how deep that running back room is. I tweeted this out earlier today, Stephen, but when you look over Chris Barrett's tenure so far, 2017 through now, he's never had the opportunity to stockpile comp picks. I don't think they've ever had hired a six-round comp pick before. But with all the upcoming free-ins this year, with how much people around the league are going to have a little bit of cast space, not a lot, just with the way the market market is but at least enough to where a lot of

Colts players can be near the top of their market their positions guys like Justin Houston, Xavier Rhodes, even Anthony Walker, Marlon Mack, Malik Hooker this feels like an opportunity Stephen where if the Colts want to they can really start to get like three or four even more than that maybe possibly five comp picks in 2022 and Chris G Ballard's never had that chance before, and we know he loves those picks. Yeah, I think that this was the year that Chris Ballard really kind of planned for letting guys go in free agency. Like Jacoby Brissett, you know, quarterbacks obviously get paid.

You're looking at even as a backup quarterback, he's probably going to make $12 million a year as a solid, $10 million, something like that. Xavier Rose balled out. I do think that there's a high probability that they bring Justin Houston back for the Colts, but I don't think they bring both Justin Houston and Danico Autry back. Blue League Hooker obviously is going elsewhere. Yeah, I just think that this is really kind of the offseason that Chris Ballard really was hoping to have all his players go out. The issue will be, though, as you mentioned,

is the cap reducing this year. So there's going to be a lot of teams that are going to have to make a lot of tough decisions. Now, that also could play in pretty well for the Colts because, you know, if they're going to have to cut some players that maybe they didn't want to cut but are going to be an upgrade, if they have to cut players based on salary that they don't necessarily want to cut other teams, then the Colts can bring those in and it doesn't affect the comp pick,

the compensatory pick calculation. And so this is a year that I do think that Chris Ballard was really kind of looking forward to, you know, being able to recoup some comp picks in 2022. Yeah. It's something to definitely watch out for this year. And another hot topic I posted as well on Twitter today on at locked on Colts. And I got a very interesting response to it. Just as far as how the Colts are going to buy a wire seer move forward. Michael Pittman, Jr. Paris Campbell,

Bauer had heavy praise for both those guys today. They're part of the young core, hopefully going to be a part of this wide receiver group for the next six, seven, eight years and beyond. Campbell obviously got hurt the last two years, but very high potential with him out of the slot. Michael Pittman, when he gets a lot of targets, he's shown that he's a very capable wide receiver one in the future, but not obviously right now.

He's still a little bit raw in that sense, and I don't know if he's – he might be a very reliable wide receiver two in the next three or four years. It brings me to the question, Stephen, about T.Y. Hilton, because Chris Ballard really didn't commit one way or another about T.Y. Hilton, his long-term future this year with the Colts. Ballard did say that T.Y. obviously is still a valuable member of this Colts team. He's not the level he was in the last three or four years.

But he also did mention before the Buffalo game he hugged him saying, I love you, like kind of almost like, I don't know if I got this. Maybe. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know.

I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know.

I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know.

I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. I don't know if I got the same sense as I know. next year. He's obviously lost at the last couple years. And you have guys in the wide receiver bracket like Juju Smith-Schuster. You have, obviously, guys like Chris Goddard. Allen Robinson. Allen Robinson. Kenny Galladay. Especially to make a trade for Matt Stafford. I think Galladay makes a lot of sense there. All these four or five top

wide receivers this year are better options than T.Y. Hilton right now. They're four, five, six, seven years younger than T.Y. Hilton, too. And it really begs the question, Stephen, if you're going to move on from T.Y. Hilton, it's going to be very controversial. Obviously, you want to see him retire as a Colt, but I don't want to get flamed by Colts fans for saying this, but I think it's in the smart investment of this Colts team.

With the win-now window they're in with Buckner, Nelson, Leonard, and their primes, Phil Burris can be like for one more year. I think all four of those guys I mentioned there, Stephen, are significant upgrades over T.Y. Hilton. As far as being explosive playmakers, being able to be legit wide receiver ones and not really disappear in games. I think Allen Robinson or Kenny Galladay

make a lot of sense for this team. I would pursue them over T.Y. Hilton. Obviously, we'll have to see about T.Y. Hilton's market, how much he'll make. If it's on a cheap deal, it could make sense. But I just can't see him signing a big name like Robinson or Galladay and then bringing back T.Y. Hilton

and then limiting roles for Paris Campbell or Michael Pippen Jr. in 2021 it begs the question Stephen I really do believe that we might have seen the last game for T.Y. Holden if the money doesn't line up and if guys like Galladay or Robinson are available want to come in and do it yeah I'm I'm honestly right there with you on it it sounded like from the way again i go a lot into like the person and how like their facial expression when they're they're telling these stories um and chris ballard it sounded it felt like it was a goodbye um and his his story about going down to T.Y. before the game in Buffalo, all that, it kind of compounded and makes you think that that probably was T.Y.'s last game. And quite honestly, T.Y. hasn't really played like a number one wide receiver this year.

And I love T.Y. Hilton. I've been a huge fan of him ever since he was drafted in 2012. And it's just part of the game is like, you know, Chris Ballard even said, you know, it's father time is undefeated. Um, and this, it's one of those, one of those situations where, you know, he's, he's very clearly lost a step. Um, he still has a little bit of juice left, but he's no longer number one. And if he wants to get paid as a number one, then it's not going to be here with the Colts. And so I think, you know, Alan Robinson, I've been, goodness, you can go back and check my

tweets from that draft. I think it was like 2013, 2014, whatever, maybe i don't remember which draft it was but i was like pining for ryan gregson to take alan robinson and of course he did something stupid and and took somebody else um but uh you know i've been a huge fan of alan robinson and i think he would be he's wide receiver one i think for me in terms of free agency um but yeah, Kenny Galladay, Juju Smith-Schuster, both of those guys make a lot of sense. Chris Godwin, if he becomes available. All those guys make a lot of sense for the Colts as a wide receiver one upgrade over T.Y. Hilton.

And like you said, if the Colts really are in a win-now mode, and Chris Ballard made the comment about having a three-year window that he looks at in terms of salary cap ramifications. But if this is really a win now mode and you've got, you know, Darius Leonard, Brayden Smith, Quentin Nelson all coming up for big contract extensions within the next couple of years, you're going to need to, you know, if you're going to give a guy a bunch of cash, you're going to need to, you know, if you're going to give a guy

a bunch of cash, you're going to have to give it to him now. So then you have that money to, to play with down the roads based on, on how they finagle the cap. And so you, you really have to look at, you know, where they're at, where, where they want to go and, and how they're going to, what they're going to do to get there. And so really they do need a wide receiver one because Paris Campbell is a monster in the slot. You know, Michael Pittman is a great player and I think that he's going to do great things. I think Michael Pittman is going to end up becoming basically a one B in

terms of the wide receiver position for the Colts. You know, kind of like Reggie Wayne was to Marvin Harrison. That's where I picture Michael Pittman in his development. That's how confident I am in his ability. And I think he's a faster version of Reggie Wayne. And so this is where having a legitimate wide receiver one to pull coverage off of Paris Campbell, off of Michael Pittman, off of the tight end position, I think would be great for the Colts, at least going forward. And I think T.Y. Hilton, he's not that anymore.

And it's sad to come to that realization, but you really have to look at the facts. And he clearly has lost his step. Are you ready for playoff football or even NBA basketball? BetOnline.ag is the place to go. There's one place that has you covered, and it's BetOnline.ag. Sign up today for a free account at BetOnline.ag and use that promo code LOCKEDON for your 50% off welcome bonus. Whether it be games of the week, current headlines in sports,

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He said, quote, Xavier had a heck of a year, really bought into what we were doing. We'll wait and see how it works in free agency. We like Xavier. Really shortened to the point there on Xavier Rhodes. Pretty much saying, in my opinion, that if the money's right, we'll bring back Xavier Rhodes. But if Xavier Rhodes wants to cash out one last time on a big contract, which I imagine he will. He played on a better minimum this year, really proving himself in Indy. He did exactly that.

I have to imagine, Steven, if they do lose Xavier Rhodes, that puts cornerback right at their left tackle, maybe an above quarterback, honestly, just because we saw how important Xavier Rhodes was this year and how really the struggles of Rocky Ascend really put the Colts in a predicament here and also losing Marvell Tell opting out this year. We don't really know what his future is as far as his development.

You have to imagine if they lose Xavier Rhodes to him, whether it be a first-round pick or second-round pick in the draft or you go out and get a guy, a cheaper option like a Richard Sherman in free agency, cornerback all of a sudden, if they lose Xavier Rhodes to a big contract, it's going to be a big need. And it really got the sense to me that from Ballard's perspective that they'll bring Xavier Rhodes back as long as the money's right. Yeah, this is kind of where I think that Chris Ballard was talking about guys getting paid

and trying to do what's best for the player because their careers are short. And this is kind of the guy that I had in mind. And I think maybe the guy that Chris Ballard was talking about in this situation is they're going to allow Rhodes to test the market. It seems pretty clear that that's kind of the plan. And Xavier Rhodes put out a tweet within the past couple days talking about moving and how much he hates it. So it kind of makes me think that it's not really in the term or in the cards long term unless the money's right. And based on how well Xavier Rhodes played this past year, the Colts probably aren't going to want to pay him that much.

And he deserves that money. So he absolutely deserves to go get paid, and he did great for the Colts this year. But I do think that cornerback is a position of need for the Colts. Now, I will echo kind of what Chris Ballard said during the press conference and what I've really said about Rocky's team all year is that people need to stop freaking out about a play here or there and Chris Ballard even made a point to mention it where he's like it's almost impossible to play

cornerback this year because if you bump a guy they call it pass interference and that's exactly what you know go back and listen to the tapes I've said this all year where your Rocky's scene has played pretty well during stretches. He's just had one or two plays where he happens to not get his hips around. He ends up bumping a guy and they make just a really inconvenient penalty call given the time of the game. You know, if it was earlier in a game, then maybe it's not as big of a deal. But the fact is it's really at an important time on a third down, you know, in the second half, something there.

So I think with the proper given another year, because remember Rocky scene didn't really get a training camp this past year either. He got that first one and he played pretty well in spurts. Didn't get one this year along with everybody else. And really that second year is when you grow as a corner. Like you kind of get pushed in that first time. You're not able to get in the weight room.

You're not able to get the strength and conditioning over the off season. So it's usually that transition from year one to year two. And that off season is where you really get your growth as a cornerback position. And he didn't get that this year. So I'm really hoping for big things from Rocky scene coming up here in year three. And I I'm interested to see Marvell tell and whether he's been able to stay in shape and what they expect from him. Cause he, I think he was going to be the starting corner opposite of,

of Rocky scene. You know, or he was going to at least fight fight for that starting cornerback excuse me opposite of xavier rhodes um this past year once he he decided to sit out it really kind of put the colts in a bind so i'm excited to see what he brings to the table this next season and i do think the colts will probably look to address uh the cornerback position in the draft a guy like paulson adebo is a guy that i've been on for literally since like september And I do think the Colts will probably look to address the cornerback position in the draft. A guy like Paulson Adebo is a guy that I've been on for literally since like September. The cornerback out of Stanford makes a ton of sense for this defense and what he can bring to it. And so that's just a guy to throw out there that they can probably get in in round two round three range um and would still allow

them to address other positions of greater need like edge the edge rusher or the offensive tackle the left tackle position in rounds one or two i have just a one or two questions left steven and this is a quick one just about like you mentioned the draft and like you mentioned paulson adiba stanford actually put him out my latest mock draft today on Twitter that I think he makes a lot of sense around. So you can go maybe if let's say they don't go quarterback early, like Liam Eikenberg round one on Notre Dame, you go Adibo round two. Maybe go get an edge rusher on late day two, early day three as well to get some depth behind Trey Bannego in Houston if they do resign him. But I think one interesting point about Bauer, what he said today was tight end, which I think maybe a lot of Colts fans are scratching their heads as to why that was brought up a little bit. But Jack Doyle is up there in age.

He had a great game against Buffalo, but he's up there in age, very inconsistent. He's a great run blocker, but he's definitely a non-explosive playmaker. Trey Burton, the same thing. He's approaching 30 years old. He was on a one-year contract. Molly Cox, he's shown flashes here and there, but he's not really a break the top off defense type of tight end he's almost like similar to jack doyle in a sense where very reliable

blocker very reliable pass catcher but he's not really going to do much outside of that ballard brought an interesting point just about the way this offense maneuvers and we saw impactful eric ebron was in 2018 as a athletic move tight end in this offense he had a record amount of touchdowns in the tight end position for the Colts in franchise history that year. And I, and Val even mentioned today, like, that's one position they're looking at whether it be in a draft or free agency.

I imagine the draft with the way the tight end class looks right now, Steven, I would not shock me at all. If they let Trey Burton walk, they keep Jagdoyle around a restructures contract, or maybe they let Jagdoyle walk. That would not surprise me. they cut him a little bit because it's almost a seven million dollar per year contract in 2021 for jagdoyle the mali cox as well i can keep them around but i think that there's a legit chance steven whether it be round two round three round four i think a tight end is

going to be one of the colts top options they're looking for in the draft yeah it's funny because i as with i think all of us once we get into like draft season we start to play on on mock draft simulators and I always end up whether it's through the PFN the pro football network or the draft network um doing those those mock draft simulators and I always seem to end up with a tight end in the first four rounds for the Colts. And, gosh, it's been for the past month I've been doing that. And what Chris Ballard said today, and this is one of the few positions that he talked about that they really lacked on the roster, was the F tight end. So you have a Y tight end, which is basically your in-line blocker tight end, your in-line tight end.

And then your F tight end, which is the guy that can move around the formation, goes to the halfback. You know, what they did with Eric Ebron a lot, where they moved him around and they had him in the slot, they had him out wide. He's able to play a lot of different positions, but that's more so your athletic tight end. And so guys that really kind of fit that mold in this draft, there's a couple of them. Brevin Jordan, the tight end out

of Miami, is one that's in the second round that I could really see the Colts going after because he's a smart player. He's a willing blocker. And so he's not like an Eric Ebron, a diva that, you know, only wants to catch passes and that's it. You know, a guy like Ruckert from out of Ohio State is another one that's got terrific hands. And then like a Nick Eubanks out of Michigan, you get him really late. But I definitely see the Colts drafting a tight end this off season to try to address that, because I think ideally that's kind of what Frank Reich really envisioned when he pushed Chris Ballard to try to get Trey Burton in. And that F tight end, that one that's able to move out, because Trey Burton, that's what he did.

He was moved around the formation, but at 30 years old, Trey Burton's not as athletic as what they really want in that ideal F tight end. And so, yeah, I see that the Colts really looking to address that here this offseason and try to really fill out this offense because it is such a mismatch machine to be able to have that athletic tight end that can really stretch the field. And it forces defenses to either play that tight end with a linebacker that's too slow or play him with a safety that's too small and so it really gives you such such an advantage you

saw that with eric ebron when he caught the passes um he was a huge mismatch for the colts and if you can get somebody that's got more reliable hands in that athletic tight end position. This offense is just going to – I'm mixing up my words. I was going to say sore. Yeah, it's going to just skyrocket. Yeah, that's something you have to watch out for this offseason. I think it will be round two, round three, round four, maybe even round one if Kyle Pitts falls from Florida. A consensus top 10, top 15 prospect.

Man, if you've got Kyle Pitts in this offense, that would be very fun to watch. But last one I had for you, Stephen, unless you wanted to add anything else, I'll give you the four here at the end. But Bauer talked about Frank Reich and his aggressiveness in this press conference today. He's all aboard Frank Reich. He did not really say anything bad about Frank Reich. And there's times here and there where the play calling is a little questionable.

But with the way Frank Reich's been, he's taken over as a Coltech coach, he's been pretty damn good in my opinion. It seems like to me, honestly, Stephen, this is maybe just looking ahead long-term here in the next like five, six, seven, eight, ten years. But I feel like Chris Bauer is tied to the hip with Frank Reich. I feel like if Bauer goes down, he's taking Frank Reich with him and vice versa.

I just feel like those two guys, how close their relationship is, how they're able to talk to each other about really anything on and off the field. It just feels like to me that as long as Chris Ballard's GM, Frank Reich's going to be the head coach unless some cash drop happens there. He really vouched for his head coach today as far as his aggressiveness goes to not play out game on Saturday. Yeah, and he made the point to bring up that he likes the aggression because it's not just being aggressive to be aggressive. There's a method to the madness. And so he really supported Frank Reich, which I thought was good,

and it was the right thing to do. And I don't want to say they're tied to the hip because for Colts fans, that has a weird thing with the whole last regime that was in that ended up being tied to the hip. Um, but yeah, I look at that and I say, yeah, Chris Ballard has his full throated support for Frank Reich. He loves him as a coach, loves him as a leader of men. And that's a huge thing, huge thing because you're going to get

a locker room that is going to respect Frank Reich and what he brings and and the way that he teaches and so that's I don't think that there's any way that this team is really unless Frank Reich decides to retire it's Frank Reich and Chris Ballard and they've got a great working relationship so I feel really confident that as Colts fans or as a Colts fan, and so should everybody else in terms of how well this franchise is going to be, how simpatico they're going to be from here on out. Last one here for you, Stephen. Is there anything else?

We kind of ran the gamut there as far as all the topics they covered in that hour post conference, but anything else down to looking forward ahead to the offseason after Chris Broward spoke? Yeah, one thing that I want to, a couple things I wanted to bring up was talking about the edge position and the defensive line. So one of the things that he brought up was, because you're talking about Justin Houston and Kamoka Ture and Tanika Autry and Al-Qadi Mohammed.

And Houston, Autry, and AQM are all, I believe, free agents. So they're going to probably look to re-sign a couple of those. And Chris Ballard talks about having depth along the D-line and having nine guys. You want to have four or five interior defensive linemen that can play and four or five defensive ends that can play and the one thing he's talks about you know having patience with those edge rushers and and how kamoko ture took you know two two and a half years to really develop until he got hurt um and then has been slow to develop how you know you have to have patience with ben banigou because he's only been

in the league for now this is his second season and yeah okay he he had some some rough stretches but when you have guys like danico atri and taekwon lewis who again took two years two full years to develop into what taekwon lewis is now um to where at the beginning of the season you and i talked and said you know is he even going to make the roster? But you know, the Colts developed him and were able to bring him along. And so I've got similar hopes for that for Ben Vanigo. And one of the quotes that Chris Ballard I thought was, this is really telling it was a little bit of a shot at the previous regime,

but he said, you know, they traded away a guy who had like one sack or I don't know how many he had to Buffalo. And the guy turned into a rusher in year four. So you got to have some patience and keep developing these guys. And it just showed that, you know, the other team, the other regime didn't have patience and just didn't know what they were doing when it came to developing players. And so I think that that's a key thing that Chris Ballard has talked about this entire time is the ability to draft the right players and then stack drafts on drafts. And so he talked

about drafting an 18, how it's stacked on 19, how it's stacked on 20, and how getting the right guys in helps build that culture and helps them develop. And if you can develop that core group of players, which he talked about how great it is to have that core group of players, and he ran off a list of, gosh, nine or ten different guys that are all young and under the age of 25 on this team and not even mentioning DeForest Buckner in that group and how having such a young group that is, you know, draft on draft to be able to come in and,

and work together and build that culture and build that core and how much of a benefit that is for this team and how it helps to develop those players and how the patients that both, you know, we have as fans need to have with the team and the coaches in developing. And also the last thing I want to really bring up is, is Chris, by the way, talked about how he hated Twitter. I think he definitely has a Twitter account based on his responses to it and how much he hates the instant evaluation that, that Twitter does. And again, it goes on, it kind of ties all into this too.

We have to have patience because not every guy that they draft is going to come in and be just game busters from the start. You have to develop them. The speed of the game is different in the NFL and you have to have patience with these guys. And I can't help but preach that enough to fans is to have patience with these players, with the coaches. So you can really see

what they can bring to the table here in year two year three really went in depth there steven we really cover all the bases there from chris bauer she's in any press conference on thursday you guys can go follow steven on twitter if you're not already at nice read steven go reading let's do his work as always over on stampede blue steven appreciate the time man all right thanks evan