Chris Ballard Training Camp Notebook Recap
INDIANAPOLIS – On Tuesday afternoon, Colts general manager Chris Ballard had his pre training camp press conference.
Year 9 is here for the Colts GM, with major questions about the future of the organizational pillars in GM (Ballard), head coach (Shane Steichen) and quarterback (Anthony Richardson).
Training camp practices start on Wednesday, with 4 straight sessions to start the week.
What were the takeaways from Ballard on report day?
-Anthony Richardson’s only restrictions in camp will be more in the “volume” area vs. the “lack of participation” he had to end the spring. Chris Ballard said on Tuesday that Richardson has been throwing for 3 weeks. Some scaled back throwing workload for Richardson though is likely in the first couple of weeks. Specifically, Ballard pointed to this 4-day stretch of practice (Wednesday-Saturday) to start camp, with that Richardson volume dialed back a bit around Thursday or Friday.
-When pressed a bit on this being a “make or break” season for Richardson, Ballard wasn’t going there. “Do you think people regret Baker Mayfield’s timeline? Sam Darnold’s timeline? How about a little patience with the guy and let him grow through things. Now if you just know, no he can’t do it. But if you feel he’s on the right trajectory, why are you going to flush him? Just because people from the outside think you should flush him. I don’t agree with that. I think we need to give Anthony every chance to be the best he can be. And I think he can be really good, but things have to come together.”
-Here was Ballard’s response when asked about his impressions on veteran QB-Daniel Jones: “Good dude. Really good guy. Centered. He’s been through a lot. Being in New York and the scrutiny on being a top-10 pick, it’s not for everybody. But I thought he handled it with grace and respect and that’s who he is. And Daniel is a very talented player. It’ll be a fun competition to watch between these two guys. Both are very talented.” Ballard did say it is critical to get Richardson and Jones both some game reps during the preseason (3 games long).
-Zaire Franklin (ankle) starting training camp on sidelines list isn’t the most shocking news of camp, but that doesn’t lessen the significance of it. May ankle surgery has Franklin still on the mend with practice starting on Wednesday. While Franklin said on Tuesday he’s back running, his return to actual practice will be put on hold for a bit. The Colts thought Franklin could miss some time to start camp back when surgery was announced at the start of May. So, while this news isn’t entirely surprising, it still means the further installation of Lou Anarumo’s new defense will continue without the quarterback of the defense, and one of the most indispensable players on the team. That means more (great) starting opportunities for the likes of Joe Bacci, Cam McGrone and Segun Olubi. Chris Ballard said Franklin’s absence shouldn’t be too long, hence the reason he won’t start camp on the physically unable to perform list. Fellow starting linebacker Jaylon Carlies (shoulder) should be good to go after missing the entire spring offseason program due to off-season surgery.
-Per usual, Chris Ballard wasn’t too expansive when asked if a contract extension for left tackle Bernhard Raimann was a priority before the start of the season. “Contracts, you know I won’t talk about that,” the GM said. “But he’s a really good player and we think a lot of him.”
-Expect a more physical training camp after what Chris Ballard had to share on Tuesday. “This will be a pretty physical training camp. Shane (Steichen) and I have had long talks about that. This game is still, toughness still wins. It does. We are limited enough as it is without pads. I think football in general has done an unbelievable job taking the head out of the game. They are teaching much different than they did 15 years ago. They have taken the head out of the game. But it is still a physical game and to be physical, I think you have to practice physical. I think you will see a little switch there..” The question was in regards to Ballard pointing out the struggles the Colts have had in closing out seasons (to go along with the Week 1 drought dating back to 2013). Earlier in his Tuesday press conference, Ballard had stressed the need for the Colts to be a better tackling team.
-For the most part, Ballard deflected any questions regarding “increased pressure” given his resume lacking notable success. The Colts are in the midst a 4-year playoff drought, which is the longest for the franchise in more than 30 years. Currently, only 3 NFL teams have a longer playoff drought than the Colts. When asked about that, Ballard offered this answer: “(Expletive), yeah it sucks, man. First time in my career I’ve ever gone 4 years without making (the playoffs). It’s a bothersome thing especially with the expectations we have here in Indy. That’s the one thing with Jim (Irsay) that I always appreciated, he didn’t want to be average. He wants to be great. And Carlie (Irsay-Gordon), she always says, ‘I don’t want to be good. I want to be great. That’s always the goal going in. 2022 (season) was ’22 (4-12 record). ’23 season, last game of the year we were right there. Even last year at the end, we didn’t play as good as I thought we should have but we were still in the mix. And going back to ’21, we were in the driver’s seat and pissed it down our legs. We have got to finish better. At the end of the day, we have to finish the seasons better. We have had some really good football teams that just haven’t gotten it done.”
-Chris Ballard acknowledged quite a few position battles on Tuesday. Those included quarterback (Anthony Richardson vs. Daniel Jones), center (Danny Pinter vs. Tanor Bortolini), backup swing tackle (Blake Freeland vs. Jalen Travis), 3rd cornerback (Jaylon Jones, Justin Walley, JuJu Brents) and linebacker. Ballard also signaled out a few interior defensive line depth pieces he likes in newcomer Neville Gallimore, Adetomiwa Adebawore and rookie Tim Smith.
-On the injury front, it sounds like the Colts are in pretty good shape heading into the start of camp. Along with the names mentioned above, Chris Ballard said DE-Samson Ebukam (Achilles) is cleared, but the veteran defensive end might have a ramp up period for his individual workload.
