Colts fans roast Chris Ballard after the team’s Week 18 meltdown
General manager, Chris Ballard, was one of the many receiving blame after the Indianapolis Colts loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
When a team suffers a devastating loss like the one the Indianapolis Colts did on Sunday, there’s usually a lot of people to blame. Following the game, Colts Nation did its best to appropriately cast blame on all those at fault.
Many fans took to social media and they had smoke for everybody involved in the Indianapolis franchise. From players to coaches to the front office, they wanted everyone to take some of the responsibility for what happened.
One common target of Indy’s fans wrath was general manager Chris Ballard. While it was the Indianapolis players that ultimately lost the game, many felt Ballard was to blame for the players he acquired.
This is on Chris Ballard and Frank Reich as much as it’s on Carson Wentz.
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) January 9, 2022
The #Colts made the playoffs with Philip Rivers last year!
Colts fans blame Chris Ballard for his role in Week 18 disaster
The blame of Ballard came by way of fans’ frustrations with Carson Wentz. In the biggest moments of the season, Wentz didn’t deliver for Indianapolis.
It’s a tough pill for fans to swallow knowing their talented team doesn’t have a reliable quarterback. That becomes even tougher when the quarterback was acquired by trading away a first-round pick and the team took on his massive contract.
Since Ballard orchestrated the deal, fans believe it’s his time to face the music that the transaction hasn’t been paying off.
As someone (myself) who LOVES Chris Ballard, who believes he is the backbone of this Colts organization and who believes he is an Elite General Manager in the NFL, I have to be honest, he finessed himself with that Carson Wentz trade.
— Triple J (@JonathonJonJ) January 9, 2022
In Sunday’s game, Wentz finished 17-of-29 for 185 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. This was a week after his underwhelming performance against the Las Vegas Raiders.
However, Wentz wasn’t much of an issue for the majority of the season. He had made strides in protecting the football and limited his head-scratching decisions. This growth was often attributed to being reunited with Frank Reich.
Reich and Wentz have a strong relationship, going back to their time together in Philly. It appeared as if Reich was the Wentz Whisper and he knew how to get the best out of him.
That was the case throughout the season, but it was only in game-managing roles. The question was always how would Wentz perform in the biggest moments.
Those moments came and even Reich wasn’t able to help Wentz thrive. That’s why some fans feel the onus is now on Ballard to evaluate the quarterback position, regardless of Reich’s feelings.
If you're Chris Ballard, you can't let Frank Reich make a "belief" case for Wentz Year Two. You have to objectively evaluate, and then use all (limited) resources to find any other alternative.
— Collin McCollough (@cmccollo) January 9, 2022
Some fans feel Colts should explore moving on from Carson Wentz
The loss is still fresh, and while Ballard and Indianapolis will have plenty of personnel decisions to make, it’s too soon to tell what direction the franchise will be going in.
Ballard, Reich, and Wentz are all under multi-year contracts, so they may be locked into figuring this out together. It will be a story that will be monitored all off-season.
