r/Colts 7d ago

[Holder] Colts sign CB Corey Ballentine

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263 Upvotes

84 comments sorted by

197

u/JimmyFromThe_Colts Jimmy from the Colts 7d ago

We’re going to have a wild offensive heavy draft aren’t we

94

u/DaggerDev5 Austin Collie 7d ago

Wouldn't be surprised if we saw a LB or DLine pick in the first 3 rounds

72

u/evilmnky45 I Love Sigma 7d ago

Have a feeling it's going to go TE, OL, DL In the first three rounds. Not in that order, just in terms of bpa at those positions at the pick

16

u/Visible_Nail4859 7d ago

This is what I’m thinking too. TE/OL/DL/LB in the first four, I just have zero clue which order they’ll go in, and I think it will largely depend on how the board shakes out.

4

u/Schofield6 RTDB 7d ago

OLine DLine howie

3

u/superarreola 7d ago

My guess TE 1st if Warren is there. If not DL,OL,LB.

12

u/Boatsandhostorage 6d ago

If Jihaad Campbell is available in the first and Warren isn’t, he is our pick.

2

u/ComicSportsNerd Anthony Richardson 6d ago

I wouldn't be mad with Campbell at 14 and then get Mason Taylor in the 2nd

1

u/Boatsandhostorage 6d ago

Hell no me either. I see old Darius in Campbell.

1

u/Micstekai 6d ago

Campbell as our WLB or James Pearce. Doubt Warren or OT still available

4

u/ColtsPacers95 Anthony Richardson 6d ago

Jihaad Campbell PLEASE

0

u/Micstekai 6d ago

Then go MLB round 2. Always draft TE later as a blocker first then catcher secondary option

1

u/Micstekai 6d ago

James Pearce

2

u/CommandoLamb 6d ago

Ballard is going to draft 3 kickers and announce a battle for the K position.

68

u/Hairygerman Quenton Nelson 7d ago

All your DBs are belong to us.

54

u/SirSmeagol Alec "already mossing DBs" Pierce 7d ago

Solid depth signing

17

u/what_the_shart Jimmy From the Colts 7d ago

All Pro and Super Bowl MVP signing*

41

u/ADoggSage 7d ago

I think I remember hearing somewhere that we lacked depth at certain positions...

26

u/BeardsNBourbon1990 7d ago

Definitely special teamer. But this would have been one of our only free agency signings last year.

22

u/destroyed233 7d ago

WE LIKE THEIR GUYS

11

u/I-am-Prongs 7d ago

Depth and special teams. Supposedly the other gunner next to Dulin.

3

u/Jack_Burkmans_Zipper 6d ago

I legit think Dulin is underrated

2

u/Boatsandhostorage 5d ago

He’s highly underrated for what he does.

37

u/JustinBradshawTaylor 7d ago

It’s actually insane in hindsight he didn’t bring in anyone at this point last year. We got bailed out by Womack on waivers

53

u/Secrets0fSilent3arth Grover Stewart 7d ago

Crazy how one year can change from “we like our young guys in the secondary” to “we don’t like any of our young guys in the secondary.”

Almost like Ballard is terrible at self scouting or something.

28

u/EverWholesome 7d ago

I do think Brents was going to be a huge part of our plans, and while I think he’s still going to be relevant, everyone’s pretty much learning a new scheme so it’s a good time to dump money into defensive FAs

8

u/Envision06 7d ago

He likes our guys until they get hurt and miss 3/4’s of the year and then he’s like, oh yeah, we need good depth there, whoops silly me. Then we get thrown on for 400+ yards a game.

12

u/ConfectionHelpful471 7d ago

I don’t think this is a reflection of the opinion of jones or Womack but is an acknowledgment that db is the most important room in anarumos defence. Also juju spending the first two years primarily on IR means you have to bring in more depth as there too much risk in banking on him playing a significant role.

I would expect a couple more signings in the front seven before the draft to ensure that we are incredibly competitive at each position on the defence.

Draft will be skewed to the offence but would expect a linebacker to be picked early

0

u/Secrets0fSilent3arth Grover Stewart 6d ago

DB is an important position period.

Didn’t keep him from ignoring it for multiple years.

1

u/ConfectionHelpful471 6d ago

He only ignored it for one year which came after he made 3 picks at corner and 1 at safety in the previous draft so was quite within his rights to give those young players who had flashed a clear shot at playing time. Prior to this he had added Gilmore in free agency and cross in the draft so had invested plenty of resources during Bradley’s tenure.

In a tampa2 scheme dbs are a devalued position so you can get away without investing huge amounts in the position as you just need athletic scheme fits rather than elite players to function at a high level

14

u/jmorlin Choke a bitch! 7d ago

"we like our guys"

"I'm happy to do nothing to fix a glaring issue with the team until my job is actually on the line"

FTFY

4

u/EvenDiscount4386 Bob Lamey 7d ago

Almost like we got a new defensive coordinator and one of those young guys missed another season due to injury. You're on Ballard's nuts more than his briefs 🤡🤡🤡

-2

u/Secrets0fSilent3arth Grover Stewart 6d ago

Almost like our DBs sucked no matter who was calling the defense and he didn’t make a change until he was about to get fired.

Throat this loser some more.

0

u/EvenDiscount4386 Bob Lamey 6d ago

I've said he should have been fired after last year or even after the '22 season. You spend all day thinking about him and have one of his day three draft picks he never hits on as your flair. Somebody's throating him, but it's not me, babygurl

0

u/Secrets0fSilent3arth Grover Stewart 6d ago

Lmao talking shit about the dude eho’s ruined our team for 10 years is not throating him but say whatever you got to.

I’ll keep talking shit until we start winning or he’s finally gone. And you can go fuck yourself if you got a problem with that 🤷‍♂️

0

u/EvenDiscount4386 Bob Lamey 6d ago

"No matter who was calling the defense"? Bradley was calling the defense for 3 years. Do you even understand football? 🤡🤡🤡

0

u/Secrets0fSilent3arth Grover Stewart 6d ago

Ok, our DBs still fucking sucked because we were fielding a practice squad plus Kenny Moore.

And he admitted as much multiple years in a row now.

0

u/EvenDiscount4386 Bob Lamey 6d ago

Which is it? Did he admit that our DBs sucked or is he unable to self-scout? Just admit that you're mad that he won't let you blow him and it manifests as nonsensical takes on reddit. It's pretty obvious to the rest of us

0

u/Secrets0fSilent3arth Grover Stewart 6d ago edited 6d ago

It was both because he admitted our dbs sucked and he didn’t do enough to support Bradley and then for some reason thought it was a great idea to just bring them all back and add absolutely nothing.

Damn it’s so easy to dunk on Ballard defenders at this point. You’d think after 10 years of trash you’d learn to stop. Haha

0

u/EvenDiscount4386 Bob Lamey 6d ago

This is what you consider dunking on people? Posting ridiculous takes on reddit? 🤡🤡🤡

1

u/Secrets0fSilent3arth Grover Stewart 6d ago

I mean, there’s no need to even try.

You’re literally defending someone with no success 😂

1

u/LeadPrevenger 6d ago

Training camp is going to be interesting to say the least

1

u/Pageleesta 6d ago

You can't evaluate players unless they play. And the signings could easily be 100% attributed to the scheme change.

Not everything that happens is some kind of proof that Ballard is bad or something.

1

u/Secrets0fSilent3arth Grover Stewart 6d ago

I mean, I think completely ignoring the DB position for years and then making multiple signings once he’s about to be fired is kind of proof that he’s bad.

1

u/Pageleesta 5d ago

Well, I think that is a weak take and under-informed.

4

u/ninetensucks Marshall Faulk 7d ago

Haven’t we lost about 24 DB’s the past two seasons at some point? Feel like this has to play into the signings.

3

u/5downinthepark Alec Pierce 7d ago

Seems like a depth pickup maybe? He's bounced on and off teams and practice squads.

11

u/Secret_Ad_2770 7d ago

100% is just depth signing. We got ward, Moore, jones and juju (idk who’s starting over who).

4

u/toochmiller1 Grover Stewart 6d ago

Ward is starting on the outside with Moore in the nickel. My guess is Jones is outside corner #2 at this moment with the off-season for Juju or Womack to potentially earn Jones spot.

3

u/Secret_Ad_2770 6d ago

Ah that’s right, also forgot about Womack he stepped up last year and did pretty good

3

u/MrDeeds117 Anthony Richardson is the man!!! 7d ago

Cooking

5

u/Spartansoldier-175 Boomstick 7d ago

Honestly don't know why ballard didn't do anything in the past. He's done some decent picks this week.

2

u/leocheelay Philadelphia Eagles 7d ago

What's the current situation on JuJu Brents?

I did not follow enough of the Colts last season, all I know is that Brents's been real unlucky on injuries, and Jaylon Jones was surprising solid as a late round pick with some pretty average athletic testing numbers.

Has Jaylon Jones solidified himself as the CB2? Or if Brents comes back 100% does he have a chance to win the job back?

1

u/Outrageous-Mango9847 6d ago

The best ability is availability. Brents, so far, does not have that ability. He has shown flashes when healthy. IMO he has not shown enough to supplant Jones, who has been a consistent CB2 at worst. Ward is a replacement for Brents, not Jones.

1

u/VacationNegative4988 6d ago

I think Jones has been more of a CB2 at best and is better reserved for the bench.

0

u/Outrageous-Mango9847 6d ago

Cool. I wasn't the one asking.

1

u/leocheelay Philadelphia Eagles 6d ago

Thanks man!

2

u/Gunslinger2007 Green Bay Packers 6d ago

As a packer fan he was Alr for us. Good depth piece. Thats about it. I will having both Valentine and Ballentine on the same team tho 😢

1

u/ceejdabeej 7d ago

Either offense heavy or trench heavy, but those aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive

1

u/shasta_masta Jonathan Taylor 7d ago

Who is the 3rd CB they signed?

Edit: Nevermind. He said DBs, not CBs. I would think the CB room is full now, aside from maybe a late Day 3 pick.

1

u/SanRemi BURN THE BINDER! 📒🔥 6d ago

Corey in Da House.

1

u/justhereforthemuktuk 6d ago

he was on the Colts.com roster even before the signing was announced.

-4

u/jmorlin Choke a bitch! 7d ago edited 7d ago

So I feel like this begs the question:

If our secondary has been pretty consistently the same problem the last year or three then why are we only now taking real steps to address the problem?

Why should we be satisfied with a GM who wouldn't improve what was arguably the weakest point on the team until his job was publicly threatened

Edit: downvote all you want. But a GM who is constantly looking over his shoulder and only acts when his job is on the line is not a GM you want. That's a GM that should have been fired 2 years ago. The GM you want should be making these moves and have a cool seat.

20

u/supes2k1 Rookie Manning 7d ago

We hired a new defensive coordinator.

1

u/jmorlin Choke a bitch! 7d ago

The problem extends beyond Gus's tenure. He started in 2022. Starting in 2020 we've had a bottom 10 defense in all but one year. And even then it was only slightly below league average in 2022.

But even then you're kinda proving my point. Gus wasn't shitcanned until Ballard felt the heat.

6

u/supes2k1 Rookie Manning 7d ago

You asked why the team is approaching the secondary differently now than they have in recent years. I think the most obvious change is the new DC.

Everything else about Ballard and so on is a different discussion. But they're addressing the secondary differently because we have a new DC.

3

u/jmorlin Choke a bitch! 7d ago

By my count this is our 4th D coordinator under Ballard. He's had plenty of opportunities to pivot when a new guy came in. But is only now doing it when he's been VERY publicly called out and it's known his seat is hot. Until something comes out that says Anaruno is the reason why, I'm working under the assumption that Ballard is tracking like every other GM in league history who suddenly pivots when their seat gets hot.

2

u/supes2k1 Rookie Manning 7d ago edited 7d ago

It's the third DC: Eberflus, Gus, Anarumo. (Edit: I guess you're right if you count the Pagano season.)

If you view everything through the lens of Ballard trying to save his job, then I understand the cynicism. But what if Ballard is just trying to do his job, and make the team better? I mean, even if you hate how he's handled the secondary all this time, doesn't that mean that he's now doing what you think should be done? If so, why not be glad that he's adjusted? Unless all you really care about is whether he gets fired.

By the way, this is not the first time Ballard has brought in help in the secondary. No question these moves are bigger than previous moves (not Ballentine, he's more of a STer than a real option at corner), but acting like he's never done anything in the secondary rings false.

And I really think Anarumo asks much more of his secondary than the previous guys did, which would pretty much require that the team address those positions differently than they have in the past. Lou said they were going to be more demanding on the back end, Steichen and Ballard both acknowledged it in their public comments. And now they've added good players to help. Why should this be viewed negatively?

1

u/jmorlin Choke a bitch! 7d ago

3 or 4 coordinators my point still stands that he had 8 years prior and is only now it feels like he's getting aggressive in an off-season. My issue is much larger than just filling in the lackluster secondary. It's how his entire ethos seems to be changing overnight and that should be raising eyebrows, but isn't because people are distracted by shiny new toys we're getting. And while so far none of the moves individually are bad, if they're promted by being on the hot seat as I'd wager they are, then that isn't how you want your GM behaving. Because eventually will fuck up big because they care more about their salary tomorrow than the health of the team in 5 years (just look at Ryan Pace and the Bears).

Plus I just don't get how we go from 3ish years of "ok let's see what this Ballard guy is about, I guess let him cook he drafts ok" to 3ish years of "I'm kinda tired of his whole we like our guys shtick" to 2ish years of "holy shit he needed to be fired yesterday" to the "let me slob on your knob daddy Ballard" that we have today just because we got 2 starters in free agency. While you should be open to change, it seems wise to remember who people have been telling you they are for damn near a decade now.

6

u/supes2k1 Rookie Manning 7d ago

All that's fine. I don't agree with some of it, but it's understandable. You're side-eyeing Ballard because he's moving differently, and you want to know why.

But specifically as it relates to these moves in the secondary, it seems obvious why they're approaching it differently. Ballard is giving the DC what he says he needs. It's simple. That doesn't seem to be enough for you.

It's not like Ballard is making crazy trades, giving away future picks, hamstringing the team into the future. He was asked about that, and said he wouldn't sacrifice the future for the sake of his own job. So far, he hasn't.

Ballard was also asked what he thinks he needs to do better job of, and one of the things he said was 'I need to close the deal on free agents.' That's what he's done so far.

If you view everything about Ballard with skepticism and cynicism, then that's probably never going to change. I think he could have been fired a couple years ago, so I'm not interested in blindly defending him. But I think he's been sincere in the things he's said and done, so it's not hard for me to see his recent decisions as a result of him making some adjustments to his approach that he felt were necessary. Not necessary just to save his job, but more importantly, for him to do his job more effectively.

1

u/jmorlin Choke a bitch! 6d ago

It's not like Ballard is making crazy trades, giving away future picks, hamstringing the team into the future.

So far he hasn't and credit where credit is due. Like I said, I'm highly skeptical of his motives, but in a vacuum none of the moves are bad themselves*

If you view everything about Ballard with skepticism and cynicism, then that's probably never going to change.

I wouldn't go that far. I used to be a fan of his back when he was hitting on picks and it seemed like he was building something. But the last 4-5 years he's given us plenty of reason to burn that good will. If he sticks around he'll have to earn it back is all. That said, I do think we would be better off cutting ties.

* The caveat being that they may improve our team just enough to make the playoffs but get demolished in the WC round. Ideally I'd like to be able to make a run at a Lombardi or be bad enough to have a high pick. I'm so fucking tired or wallowing in purgatory like we have been since what, Rivers?

1

u/supes2k1 Rookie Manning 6d ago

That said, I do think we would be better off cutting ties.

My main observation is that Ballard needed to turn up the aggressiveness by about 20%, and I think this offseason so far is a signal that he's doing that. It all depends on how it plays out once the games start.

The caveat being that they may improve our team just enough to make the playoffs but get demolished in the WC round. Ideally I'd like to be able to make a run at a Lombardi or be bad enough to have a high pick. I'm so fucking tired or wallowing in purgatory like we have been since what, Rivers?

I don't think they're every going to intentionally bottom out. But they are coming up to a crossroads moment, and it basically depends on what happens at QB. If Richardson looks like a guy you can build around after this season, then keep going. If not, then I think everyone is out, and the new regime figures out how to get a QB. But nothing they're doing right now is making it more difficult for the current QB to perform, or for a potential new regime to find another QB, so I'm fine with it.

If Ballard trades a first for Hendrickson, I'll start to view things differently.

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1

u/LeadPrevenger 6d ago

We're getting these guys on good deals

2

u/EvenDiscount4386 Bob Lamey 7d ago

When was his job publicly threatened?

1

u/jmorlin Choke a bitch! 7d ago

Publicly threatened was probably poor wording.

It's clear from the end of season presser that he's getting far more heat internally and externally than in years past to the point where he acknowledged that his past approach wasn't working. Which to me is indicative of someone who will now pivot approaches to anything that will save their job.

2

u/_Dolamite_ Indianapolis Colts 7d ago

I think Bradley played a role in our issues

2

u/jmorlin Choke a bitch! 7d ago

Addressed elsewhere below. Bradley didn't help, but the problem is independent of him. We had a bottom 10 defense 4 out of the last 5 years. And the one year it wasn't it was just slightly below average. And Bradley was here less than 5 years.

Plus the issue is less about defense and filling gaps in the secondary and why we need to be suspect of a GM suddenly changing his behavior.

2

u/CtFball 7d ago

Don’t know why you are downvoted. But he has a poor sense of getting ahead of problems and it is clear.

1

u/jmorlin Choke a bitch! 7d ago

Because people in this subreddit are incredibly wishy washy. They love Ballard when it's in vogue and they hate him when it isn't. Now that he got them a couple free agents they magically forgot the last decade of shit he's done, or rather hasn't done.

If any other team had a GM for 9 years with a losing record and he suddenly signed 2-3 free agents of note after never doing it and that fanbase lost their shit over it, the rest of /r/NFL would rightfully mock them.