The short story is that 177 (71.66%) votes were cast that wanted the Colts to win, even if it meant retaining Ballard and Steichen. That left 70 (28.34%) voters who would seemingly prefer our current leadership to be gone, no matter this year’s results. 247 votes were cast, so the sample size is likely healthy enough for the results to be consistent with the wishes of the fan base that frequents this site. Troy might be able to confirm or rebuke that statement.
There was also some spirited conversation
among the 112 comments. Some were detailed and some offered just their two cents. I’d like to thank everyone for keeping it civil(ish), although it looks like a couple of comments have been pulled.
So, what did we find out? Here are few things:
Even those who chose the playoff run and retaining Ballard, are not happy with previous results and honestly think that he should have been fired by now, me included. Nearly all who voted for the playoff run, simply stated that they could not root for the Colts to fail. I’m not sure that for many fans, a great season is really enough to warrant a new three-year contract, but you have to believe that Carlie and her team would see it as such.
Some would point to a change of philosophy, however slight, in CB’s approach over the last two years, mostly towards a willingness to spend on players from other teams as a reason to say that one good season could be built upon. Also being less reliant on the RAS score compared to production, during the draft has been requested for some time. If we are good this year, there is reason to believe we could be good again the following year. We’d have some guys that were up to get paid, including Q, Buck, and Downs, but have shown the ability to keep or cut bait, depending on the player.
I also think a successful run can’t happen unless Steichen learns the balance between being head coach and OC. If he has shown a better ability to adjust to what the league wants to do against us, we will be better. He also needs to be better at clock management, but most importantly he needs to be the voice that each player responds to. Things like “wilting” and “not answering the bell”, can’t be associated with the Colts. Shane’s improvement would also bode well for the Colts being able to maintain success.
The poll included winning the division as part of the criteria for maintaining the staff. Make no mistake, winning this division would be an accomplishment. This is not the group that Luck fattened up on for the entirety of his career. Case in point, his overall record was a pretty sweet 53 – 33. Take away the 24 – 7 that he put up against division foes and you are left with that 29 – 26 record that everyone seems to hate. This is not Captain Andrew’s AFC South.
I monitored the voting for the entirety and it was quite consistent at between 70 – 75 for option one and 25 – 30 for option two. There are some who have had enough and do not believe that one good season is enough of a reason to keep a guy who has not won his division to this point. I sort of get it. I don’t think I could have voted to see the Colts miss the playoffs, but dang, if it meant another year of Reich, I would have been tempted.
Some in that group did not like the question at all and threw the accusation “click bait” around. I will assure you that has nothing to do with my topics. I have no “Grander vision” for increasing my profile. I do not have Instagram, Twitter (yeah, still Twitter to me), nor Tiktok. I actually had to look up how to spell tick tock. I do not expect Sports Illustrated or ESPN to come knocking. It was simply something that I was curious about, based on the negative comments submitted on our site.
Those who picked option two are not alone. I would guess that even the beloved Pat McAfee was hoping for an ouster, at least that is what I gleaned from a couple of his shows. Just Google “Blow it up” with Colts. You could do some rabbit holing. To their credit, you haven’t heard much from players concerning this, although you might from Franklin, Cross, Paye, and eventually from Kenny or AR. It is hard (and kind of dumb) to speak out against the people that write your very big checks. It could also put off the next group that wants to sign a check for you.
I’ll be honest, I expected it to be closer to 50 – 50. The article’s comments suggest that a fan could be a Ballard basher, but be unable to root for the team to lose. It is a little different than being 2 – 13 and wishing for two more losses to secure your QB of the future.
Thank you to all who participated and I appreciate the comments. I’m sorry that I couldn’t interact as much as I like, but I can’t read or respond to posts, here at school. For some reason, I can see and comment on The Feed, but not on the main site.
Go Colts!
