The thrill is gone. The good vibes and tough nosed, no nonsense energy Chris Ballard brought to the table nearly a decade ago have long faded. Talk is cheap, but it appears to still hold some value because
that is all Ballard has to offer to new ownership of the Indianapolis Colts. It worked, as Carlie Irsay-Gordon is bringing him back, and it has me singing the blues.
What’s the standard? Where is the bar set? I am not going to spend my time running down the list of Ballard’s shortcomings as GM. You know them well enough and for every one I give, someone in the comments will have a counter and excuse. Ballard has had some tough breaks and good moments. This isn’t to say he hasn’t done anything of value for this team, but at some point, a change is needed. The last three seasons have hovered near .500. That has been bad enough but unfortunately, not even the worst of it. With no first round picks, huge questions at quarterback, and a roster in flux, do we think it is going to get better?
I am honestly hard pressed to understand what Ballard has to and can put on the table this year to make it successful because I don’t know the metric for success. We haven’t seen it in a decade. I’m not surprised that Irsay-Gordon made this decision, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be disappointed. The man has more lives than a cat. In a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, can you help me fill in the blanks? Legitimately, how has he been able to retain employment as the general manager of one of only 32 NFL teams?
There were so many things I wanted to talk about in the first post-season article that didn’t involve Chris Ballard. The waters are muddied now, and I can’t get past the fact that the Colts are bringing him back. Ballard will have a closet full of blues for yet another year. All I can do is express my hardship by singing them.
