When the Colts played the Giants on Sunday, most fans probably knew how it would end.
The Colts were playing the 2-13 Giants, who needed to lose more than they needed to win. But true to form, Indianapolis let Drew Lock look like prime Eli Manning, and on the other end, Joe Flacco — well, he was nearly 40-year-old Joe Flacco. “We [expletive] the bed,” defensive tackle Deforest Bucker said. Yep. That sounds about right. But that’s become the culture for the Colts. Pooping the bed is what they do.
They’ve been doing that for eight seasons under general manager Chris Ballard. It doesn’t matter who the quarterback, coach or coordinators are; the results are always the same. Under his tenure, the Colts have one playoff win and zero division titles. But if you ask owner Jim Irsay, everyone else doesn’t know what we’re talking about. “You guys can try to diminish him all you want. But that’s just your words. They have no substance to it because there’s no truth in it,” he told media members in 2022 when the murmurs about Ballard’s lack of results started growing louder.
But he wasn’t done chiding anyone questioning his reluctance to move on from Ballard. “The guy’s a winner, and he’s been immensely successful,” he continued.
“We all lose a lot in this league. You know how many shots Michael Jordan’s missed? You know how many games Michael Jordan’s lost…You know, sometimes you don’t understand how fortunate you are when you’re around success because you think that’s the norm, but it’s not.”
Frankly, Ballard’s time with the Colts has been anything but successful. It’s been mediocre at best. When measured against the franchise’s previous championship standards, Indianapolis is a walking dumpster fire. From issues at the quarterback position for multiple seasons to the team’s inability to play consistent, complimentary football, the lack of accountability from the top down is practically oozing at the seams.
Truthfully, this lies at Irsay’s feet. Unfortunately, it appears he would rather dig his heels in than wipe the slate clean, a flaw that might set his team back decades. While the rest of the division (and the league, for that matter) continues progressing, there’s Irsay, stuck in his ways, probably still blaming Peyton Manning and his Star Wars numbers for why his team looks like a shell of itself.
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