Ah, winning. Supporting a winning team increases dopamine and pushes fans to seek more input regarding their favorite team: social media, sports talk radio, analysts coverage, and just watching more sports in general.
Instead of having to hide from the world for an entire week to forgot about a bad team, winning just makes everything that much better. The Indianapolis Colts have been winning. Being 4-1 to start the year has been an incredible change in direction from previous seasons, and Chris Ballard deserves credit. Has there been enough winning to make him feel comfortable, though?
The start the Colts have had is great, but it doesn’t guarantee them of anything. There is a solid chance they make the playoffs, but there is still a chance they don’t. Everything could fall apart, but right now, things are looking pretty dang good. The recent broadcast mentioned how this roster has been drafted and built as a direct cause for this success. While there are many factors at play, that is simply true. Injuries have played a factor but when healthy, the defense is made up of a lot of homegrown talent, and when turning the mirror around, the offense is even more so. Outside of Daniel Jones and a couple undrafted players, that offense was specifically drafted by Chris Ballard and his team. Ballard has had plenty of misses in his career, but it is looking like his master plan is coming into focus.
Not only are the players he directly drafted paying dividends, but his other shrewd moves are coming into play as well. Look no further than the aforementioned Jones. Is any quarterback playing better than him? That will be left for others to debate but much more couldn’t be asked. Ballard saw the potential and brought him in. He made the biggest trade of his career to acquire DeForest Buckner who has been nothing short of phenomenal in the blue and white. Cam Bynum and “Mooney” Ward have been excellent pick-ups to shore up the secondary. That was one Ballard’s greatest weakness; being unwilling to use free agency to build a roster. His first major venture into that arena has proven to be worthwhile. It has taken years but Ballard seems to be pressing the right buttons now.
The question is whether this success relieves the pressure he had to be feeling as the season approached. The answer is yes. Yes, with a caveat. The pressure is reducing with each win, but that doesn’t mean it is gone or should disappear completely. Chris Ballard has had nine years to get this right and has made plenty of mistakes getting to this point. We are finally seeing some of the fruits of his labor, but that is a long germination period. The other side of the coin is whether it continues, not just this season but into next. Success in 2025 will most likely mean another year of Ballard, and that is fine. If he shows he can build a winning roster, there is zero reason to move on from him. If the Colts dissolve down the stretch or fall back to the mean next year, it might mean bye-bye Ballard, however.
