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Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
I think he got caught in between.
Early on in his tenure there, they had a ton of cap space but hadn't built a foundation around Luck. Then Ballard steps in and gets that foundation built damn near overnight....and Luck walks away.
He was tip-toeing forward last season w/ stuff like the Houston deal and then got more aggressive this season w/ a move like Buckner. But I think if he had Luck still you'd have seen a similar off-season in 2020 to what Veach did in 2019.
Where I give a slight edge to Ballard is that I think he's the best pure eye for talent around right now. I look at that 2018 draft and am just in awe of the thing. And I think Turay is just scratching the surface and could be a force this year if he has recovered from his injury against us.
DeCosta is another guy who deserves a nod here, but the track record is still too short. He ran that scouting department before he took over last year as GM in Baltimore and I think he's been the driving force behind their success for about a decade now. We'll see if he can continue that run with all the additional administrative burdens, but he's a damn good front office guy.
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Different circumstances, too, though.
Veach has had QB stability, Ballard had an unprecedented lost season with Luck in 2017 and a surprise retirement before the season started.
Veach was developed through the organization, culture, and coach that he took over for, while Ballard has had to forge his own path while taking over for a team with a QB and absolute dogshit at the other positions. He also had to hire a new head coach and navigate the team through that Josh McDaniels ****ery.
Veach is employed by a stable owner with a smoking hot daughter. Ballard is employed by a 60-year alcoholic and drug addict.
It's all well and good that Ballard has assembled young talent AND saved cap space in three years, and yes, circumstances are clearly different from one another, but if the roles were reversed and Veach got the Colts job and Ballard got the Chiefs job back when each guy was hired, would Ballard be aggressive like Veach? Would we have all the WR weapons we do on offense for Mahomes, or would we look more balanced? Would we be spending that cap space and going for all the marbles with aggressive moves? Would we have a Super Bowl right now? Likewise, we can assume Veach's aggression in KC would lead to misfires in Indy and when combined with the instability of the franchise would lead to some pretty bad seasons, but would Veach actually take that approach if he were in charge of the Colts?