WESTFIELD – The manner in which 2023 ended was a microcosm of the Chris Ballard era.
So close, yet . . .
The Indianapolis Colts once again were unable to get over the hump.
Instead of converting at fourth-and-1 at the Houston 15 with 1 minute remaining and completing a comeback that would have brought their first AFC South championship since 2014, the Colts fell short.
No division title. No playoff berth.
Nothing but another offseason to wonder how to fix what’s most definitely broken.
That brings us to Wednesday afternoon at Grand Park Sports Campus.
Players reported to training camp and hit the practice field for the first time Thursday morning.
Soon, there will be the Aug. 11 preseason opener at Denver. Then, then the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against those same Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium. That should give everyone an early indication if the Colts are capable of challenging the Texans and Jacksonville for divisional supremacy.
It all began Wednesday, and with an upbeat tone.
“I’m encouraged about where we’re going,’’ Ballard said. “The adversity we faced last year and overcame, that showed a lot about not only the team, but our coaching staff. It could have been easy to melt down last year and they didn’t.
“They gave us a chance at the end to get in and at the end of the day we didn’t get it done.’’
Ballard spent the offseason re-signing or extending his own – Michael Pittman Jr., DeForest Buckner, Kenny Moore II, Zaire Franklin, Grover Stewart, etc. – and using the draft to add the best pass-rush threat of his board (Laiatu Latu), a speedy deep threat wideout (AD Mitchell) and offensive line depth (Tanor Bortolini and Matt Goncalves).
And there’s the not-so-insignificant fact he’s convinced quarterback Anthony Richardson has fully recovered from surgery on his right shoulder. The No. 4 overall pick in the ’23 draft was limited to four starts, 173 snaps and 84 pass attempts by a concussion and a sprained shoulder.
“I’m not expecting any limitations,’’ Ballard said. “None.
“There’s a naïve confidence with him. For a guy that hasn’t played a lot of snaps, he just believes he’s pretty freaking good. And that’s a good thing. It’s not a bad thing.’’
So much seems in place for the Colts to finally achieve so much more than they have. In Ballard’s seven seasons as general manager, they’re 54-60-1, have reached the playoffs twice and won just once in the postseason.
They’ve failed to make the playoffs in three straight seasons, and four of the last five.
Twice, they faced a win-and-in scenario, and failed to deliver: in 2021 with Carson Wentz in Jacksonville and last season with Gardner Minshew II against the Texans.
“It sucks,’’ Ballard said. “I think you know me well enough. I’ve never once set up here and made an excuse. When it’s not good enough, it’s one me. That’s just how I roll.
“I won’t make excuses and I’m not afraid of the criticism. And look, when you don’t win the Super Bowl or win a division, you’re going to take some heat. That’s OK.
“We think we’ve got a really good football team and now we’ve got to go earn it. We’ve got a long way to go. It’s a long season. We feel like we’re in a pretty good position right now.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.