Chris Ballard’s reticence to change his approach will end up losing him the job

“A mistake repeated more than twice, is a decision” Paulo Coelho

That is just one of many tweets seen this morning, as cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was traded to division rivals Tennessee Titans. Sneed was rumoured to be on the Colts’ radar and for a week it seemed like the trade would be announced at any given moment. Colts’ general manager was reportedly not sure about giving out a big extension to Sneed, and the rest is history.

It is deja-vu for us Colts’ fans, as once again we are irate at Chris Ballard in March for refusing to make big moves. He earned the benefit of the doubt for the rebuilding process he endured after Grigson’s mistakes and franchise quarterback Andrew Luck’s unexpected retirement, but patience is running thin. The Indianapolis Colts have a long history of success, and having made the playoffs just once in the past five years is certainly not good enough here. Even worst, the Colts have lost two win-and-in games in the final week of the season against divisional opponents.

Let’s rewind a couple of seasons, starting off with the 2020-21 year. Colts had just traded for quarterback Carson Wentz after making it to the playoffs the year before, and it looked like Indy was the perfect place for the former Philly player to revive his career. Before the season started, Colts’ fans were clamoring for the wide receiver position to be improved. The Colts had an incumbent MPJ, and not much more. Ballard drafted Mike Strachan in the 7th round of the draft, that is all he did to address the need, instead relying on an injury prone Parris Campbell, and aging T.Y. Hilton, and backup Zach Pascal. How did the story end up? MPJ led the team in receptions with 88. The second wide receiver after him was Pascal with 38.

After the Wentz’ experiment failing, and Ballard finally drafting a wide receiver high in the draft taking Alec Pierce in the second round, there was another glaring need starting to show in the Colts’ roster: The offensive line. Danny Pinter was the Colts’ choice at right guard, and there was just no viable backup plan in case the experiment failed. Keep in mind Pinter was a former college tight end with no experience whatsoever at guard. The other gamble was banking on Matt Pryor developing into a viable option at left tackle. I understand that sometimes trusting your own players to develop is the best course of action sometimes, but in the NFL, where there is a small degree of certainty, having a proper backup plan is imperative. The fans and writers were all pointing out the risk of going into the season with just Pinter at right guard and Pryor at left tackle, with no capable backups in case the plan failed. Once again it ended in disaster, as Pinter allowed 9 pressures in 180 snaps and was benched in the middle of the season, while Pryor was among the worst offensive linemen in the entire NFL with a whopping 31 pressures allowed and single handedly destroying Matt Ryan.

Now the same narrative repeated itself last year, with cornerback being the most clear position of need for the team, especially after Isaiah Rodgers Sr. was suspended the entire year for gambling. Ballard refused to do anything, instead trusting the development of Dallis Flowers and rookies Julius Brents and Jaylon Jones performing. Flowers tore his Achilles in Week 5, Brents was injured a big part of the season, and Jaylon Jones was mediocre at best. The Colts’ defense struggled, and had some terrible performances against quarterbacks like Taylor Heinicke, Jake Browning, and Derek Carr.

Cornerback is still a massive need for the team, which is why many Colts’ fans including myself were ecstatic about the possibility of adding a bonafide star like L’Jarius Sneed to the team. A cornerback with two rings, and one of the best in the NFL, entering his prime at 27-years old. The fit was perfect, Sneed would come in and form a tandem with Brents, immediately solidifying the backfield getting ready to play against C.J. Stroud twice a year. It seemed like the trade was about to materialize, but in the end it never happened, and L’Jarius Sneed will be a Titan instead.

Failure will not be tolerated, and Ballard is walking a fine line between being cautious and being a coward, refusing to swing for the fences. The Colts’ seem to have their franchise quarterback, and they have him on a rookie deal, which is the perfect time to take this sort of risks. With the second wave of free-agency and the NFL Draft in the horizon there is still plenty of time for Ballard to make some moves, but if the Colts end up missing the playoffs again next year, then CB’s seat will get hot beyond cooling, and changes will need to be made.