People overrate Ballard so much just because we wanted him. All I see in Indy so far is him not signing or even trying to sign free agents and just signed Phillip Rivers, a stopgap at best and a brokedick at worst.
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
How did he not 'saddle our cap'?
Clark, Mathieu and Hitchens are hauling around MASSIVE deals. Deals made possible by a cheap QB contract and a generational WR who had to take an ass-kicking in contract negotiations because he was stuck in a legal mess. Not to mention about $8 million in under-market surplus on his Left and Right tackles who were already here when he got here.
He hasn't put us in cap hell, no, but he paid the 2 marquis additions he brought in contracts that were at/near record levels. What's the 'finesse' in that? Where's the 'genius'? Especially when one of them also cost a hell of a lot of draft capital.
The finesse is sticking with a strategy. Mathieu, Watkins, etc. were paid huge money because that's how you get a player to accept a shorter-term deal you can easily get out of. It may seem common sense to do lots of these deals with an elite QB on a rookie contract but Veach did it with remarkable consistency. Including a bold decision to wipe out Houston & Berry's cap charge. The Chiefs aren't saddled because Veach built in enormous flexibility because outside of the big 3, we barely have any long-term dead money to worry about. For a Super Bowl roster.
He did enough for a Super Bowl (the defense was no small accomplishment) and he's given us a great window for another 3-4 more years. And he built tremendous flexibility in 4 years when Mahomes' contract kicks in because we won't be saddled with any dead money. Sure, it makes for some hard decisions then. But we have a few years to build up young talent and we'll have tons of cap wiggle room by then, not to mention that Mahomes also has wiggle room to restructure his contract to get more talent around him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Kiimosabi:
People overrate Ballard so much just because we wanted him. All I see in Indy so far is him not signing or even trying to sign free agents and just signed Phillip Rivers, a stopgap at best and a brokedick at worst.
His drafts haven't been great either
I would rank Veach over him at this point because of the Super Bowl, but Ballard's done a great job in Indy. He took over from a completely inept front office and completely retooled the team. They were a mess at offensive line and he turned it into the best OL in the league. He completely re-did the defense into a top 10-15 unit, and found value at every level of the draft.
Veach was definitely given a much better team, but was behind the big move that kicked us over the top. Ballard rebuilt the Colts, and now they're basically a QB and pass rusher away, which to be fair are the two most important areas. He got kind of screwed by Luck. He basically needs to find a real franchise QB in the draft, and he'll finish the job. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Kiimosabi:
People overrate Ballard so much just because we wanted him. All I see in Indy so far is him not signing or even trying to sign free agents and just signed Phillip Rivers, a stopgap at best and a brokedick at worst.
His drafts haven't been great either
He got dealt a significant blow when Luck suddenly retired. The Colts are going to be the team we will be battling. Rivers behind that OL may be deadly for a year or two. [Reply]
Every decision Veach has made can be justified. We won the SB after cutting bait with some high end players and signing some. He found Mahomes as well. He is the man to trust. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Red Dawg:
Every decision Veach has made can be justified. We won the SB after cutting bait with some high end players and signing some. He found Mahomes as well. He is the man to trust.
One of the many things I really respect about him. He means what he says (so far). he said he was going to sign Mahomes to a long-term deal that would make Pat a KC Chief for the duration of his career.
Done.
He said he was going to find a way to keep Sammy Watkins around over the off-season.
Done and done.
He said he had every intention of keeping CJ in KC for the foreseeable future.
Done and done and done.
So far he's been a man of his word, and I love that. No negotiating double-speak or other nonsense. Just honest statements and 100% integrity. We can just sit back and relax with this guy running the FO. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
One of the many things I really respect about him. He means what he says (so far). he said he was going to sign Mahomes to a long-term deal that would make Pat a KC Chief for the duration of his career.
Done.
He said he was going to find a way to keep Sammy Watkins around over the off-season.
Done and done.
He said he had every intention of keeping CJ in KC for the foreseeable future.
Done and done and done.
So far he's been a man of his word, and I love that. No negotiating double-speak or other nonsense. Just honest statements and 100% integrity. We can just sit back and relax with this guy running the FO.
Well fucking said!!! Veach is gonna go down as one of the greats as well. He’s super young and knows exactly what he is doing [Reply]
I would go as far as saying the Chiefs are currently the best run franchise in the NFL. Clark is a great owner who is just hands off enough but has let it be known that if you aren’t getting it done GTFO! He’s smart enough to know he doesn’t have all the answers but tries to put the right people in place. I don’t think he gets enough credit for that full court press to get Andy to KC back in the day. [Reply]
Originally Posted by PunkinDrublic:
I would go as far as saying the Chiefs are currently the best run franchise in the NFL. Clark is a great owner who is just hands off enough but has let it be known that if you aren’t getting it done GTFO! He’s smart enough to know he doesn’t have all the answers but tries to put the right people in place. I don’t think he gets enough credit for that full court press to get Andy to KC back in the day.
Clark’s the fucking man and his wife and daughter are HOT. [Reply]
Originally Posted by MAHOMO 4 LIFE!:
Lamar has gotta be shedding a year looking down at him being so proud of him. Clark is a fantastic owner!!
That’s why we’re so lucky. So many franchises are doomed from the start by bad ownership and worse hires like the Bengals. Some of the other teams owners are just vanity projects. I think Clark wants to further cement his families legacy on the league. Lamar played a big part in innovation and now Clark has a chance to make the Chiefs one of the storied winning franchises. [Reply]