What Can Colts Fans Expect From Vick Ballard in 2015?
After suffering back-to-back season-ending injuries in 2013 and 2014, Indianapolis Colts running back Vick Ballard feels as if he now has something to prove come the start of the 2015 season.
After a promising rookie season in 2012 that saw Ballard rush for 814 yards on 211 carries with two touchdowns, his next two years in the league would be cut short due to the hard-knock nature of injuries in the NFL.
Ballard only played in one game with the Colts in 2013 before tearing his achilles in a team practice following the Colt’s week two match-up with the Miami Dolphins.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, just a few days later in 2014 during the team’s yearly training camp practices Ballard was carted off the field with what appeared to be a left ankle injury. MRI’s would later reveal that he had suffered a torn achilles tendon in his left foot, thus ending what was supposed to be his 2014 comeback before it even started.
But the question still remains to be clear: what exactly can Colts fans expect from Vick Ballard this coming season?
With the acquisition of veteran running back Frank Gore last month in free agency, it is highly unlikely that Ballard is the team’s starter at the running back position come week one. He’s currently sitting at third on the Colt’s depth chart with Dan Herron being the No. 2 guy and Gore at the obvious No. 1 spot.
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As good as Herron played last season, he might just remain as the backup to Gore for the entirety of the season. It may also be wise for the staff to keep Ballard at that No. 3 spot for precautionary reasons and in order to preserve Ballard’s health for the entirety of the year.
Ballard has shown that he has the capability of being a productive back in the league, and his numbers from 2012 back him up rightfully so. He showed flashes of potential and of being a power-back, but we can’t bank on the idea of Ballard being the same type of player that fans saw in 2012.
So, for the reason that Ballard suffered two major injuries in as many years that have claimed the careers of many, Colts fans should expect the team and its staff to play it safe and keep Ballard as the teams No. 3 back throughout the course of the season.
Although anything is possible and he very well could beat out Dan Herron for the No. 2 spot before the regular season’s start, it just seems unlikely with his injury history.
Whatever happens though, it will be refreshing to see Ballard make his return to the field this season after only appearing in one total game the past two seasons regardless of his position on the team’s depth chart.