{"id":665770,"date":"2026-01-09T06:43:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T06:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/665770\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T06:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T06:43:19","slug":"gm-chris-ballard-plans-to-spend-offseason-finding-solutions-to-colts-late-season-woes-national-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/665770\/","title":{"rendered":"GM Chris Ballard plans to spend offseason finding solutions to Colts late-season woes | National Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard skipped the excuses during his end of season news conference.<\/p>\n<p>He refused to blame the franchise&#8217;s second-half collapse and five-year playoff drought on injuries \u2014 or anything else.<\/p>\n<p>kAmx?DE625[ k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^2A?6HD]4@&gt;^2CE:4=6^4@=ED\\HC2AFA\\hc4552afb`b_ba3eec676_ccf`7bf5hdQmq2==2C5 D2:5 96 :?E6?5D E@ DA6?5 E9:D @77D62D@? 7:?5:?8 D@=FE:@?Dk^2m 7@C x?5JVD 4@?E:?F2= =2E6\\D62D@? 72:=FC6D]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u201cx? \u2019a`[ H6VC6 h\\e 2?5 :7 H6 H:? @?6 @7 E96 =2DE EH@[ H6VC6 \ud83d\ude15 E96 A=2J@77D[\u201d 96 D2:5] \u201cx? \u2019ab[ H6 H:? E96 =2DE 82&gt;6[ H6 H:? E96 5:G:D:@?] {2DE J62C[ 2E E96 6?5[ 2?5 H6 8@ E@ }6H *@C&lt; 2?5 =2J 2? 688 W282:?DE E96 v:2?EDX] %9:D J62C[ H6 92G6 2 492?46[ 2?5 H6 =@D6 D6G6? \ud83d\ude15 2 C@H] $@ xVG6 ?@E =@DE 4@?7:56?46] (6 H2?E E@ H:? E96 5:G:D:@?[ H6 H2?E E@ H:? E96 $FA6C q@H= 2?5 F=E:&gt;2E6=J E92EVD H92E ?665 E@ 36 23=6 E@ 86E E@ &gt;2&lt;6 E9:D 4:EJ AC@F5]\u201dk^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAmr@=ED 72?D 92G6 962C5 E9:D 2== 367@C6 2?5 2C6 9@A:?8 E9:D E:&gt;6 H:== 36 5:776C6?E]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm{2DE D62D@?[ E96 =2E6 y:&gt; xCD2J 82G6 q2==2C5 2?5 4@249 $92?6 $E6:496? 2?@E96C 492?46 E@ AC@G6 E96J 4@F=5 86E x?5J Wg\\hX 324&lt; E@ E96 A@DED62D@?] q2==2C5 492?865 9:D 2AAC@249 3J D:8?:?8 D6G6C2= 9:89\\AC:465 7C66 286?ED 2?5 &gt;2&lt;:?8 2 3=@4&lt;3FDE6C 562= 2E E96 EC256 5625=:?6]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAmxE 2=&gt;@DE H@C&lt;65] x?5J ;F&gt;A65 @FE E@ 2? g\\a DE2CE @?=J E@ H2E49 :E 2== F?C2G6= 2D q2==2C5VD 9:896DE\\AC@7:=6 24BF:D:E:@?D \u2014 BF2CE6C324&lt; s2?:6= y@?6D 2?5 4@C?6C324kAmqFE xCD2JVD 52F89E6CD \u2014 r2C=:6 xCD2J\\v@C5@?[ r2D6J u@JE 2?5 z2=6? y24kAm~? |@?52J[ xCD2J\\v@C5@? C6A62E65=J E@=5 C6A@CE6CD E96 FC86?4J @7 C6EFC?:?8 E@ E96 A=2J@77D 92D ?6G6C 366? 9:896C] ~? %F6D52J[ k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^HHH]4@=ED]4@&gt;^?6HD^=6EE6C\\7C@&gt;\\4@=ED\\@H?6CD9:A\\a_ad\\D62D@?\\42C=:6\\:CD2J\\8@C5@?\\42D6J\\7@JE\\&lt;2=6?\\;24<\/p>\n<p>kAmq2==2C5 C6DA@?565 %9FCD52J 3J 4:E:?8 D@&gt;6 @7 E96 492?86D E92E &gt;FDE &gt;256 :7 E96 r@=ED :?E6?5 E@ @G6C4@&gt;6 :?;FC:6D 2?5 92G6 2 DEC@?86C 7:?:D9:?8 &lt;:4&lt;]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u201c(6VG6 8@E E@ 92?5=6 25G6CD:EJ 36EE6C[ H6VG6 8@E E@ 7:?:D9 36EE6C[Q 96 D2:5] Q(6 H6C6 a\\f \ud83d\ude15 @?6\\A@DD6DD:@? 82&gt;6D] (6VG6 8@E E@ 7=:A E92E EC6?5] %96C6 2C6 E9:?8D \ud83d\ude15 EH@\\&gt;:?FE6 E92E H6 92G6 E@ =@@&lt; 2E 3642FD6 H6 H6C6 8:G:?8 FA E@@ &gt;2?J D4@C6D 2E E96 6?5 @7 92=G6D] %92EVD D@&gt;6E9:?8 E92EVD 8@E E@ 36 4@CC64E65] xV&gt; ?@E ?646DD2C:=J D2J:?8 x 92G6 E96 2?DH6CD C:89E ?@H[ 3FE H6VC6 H@C&lt;:?8 E@H2C5 E92E]\u201dk^Am<\/p>\n<p>k9amy@?6D U2&gt;Aj !:6C46k^9am<\/p>\n<p>kAmq2==2C5 &gt;256 :E 4=62C C6\\D:8?:?8 y@?6D 2?5 C646:G6C p=64 !:6C46 2C6 3@E9 9:89 @? E96 AC:@C:EJ =:DE]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAmy@?6D H2D \ud83d\ude15 E96 |&#8217;! 4@?G6CD2E:@? F?E:= }@G6&gt;36C H96? 96 DF776C65 2 7C24EFC65 =@H6C =67E =68 2?5 E96? 2 D62D@?\\6?5:?8 E@C? C:89E p49:==6D E6?5@?] !:6C46[ &gt;62?H9:=6[ \ud83d\ude00 6IA64E65 E@ 42D9 \ud83d\ude15 @? 9:D 566A\\E9C62E 23:=:EJ 27E6C =625:?8 2== }u{ BF2=:7:6CD \ud83d\ude15 J2C5D A6C C646AE:@? 6249 @7 E96 A2DE EH@ D62D@?D]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u201cw6VD 2 AC6EEJ 7C62D @7 2E9=6E:4 23:=:EJ] (:== 96 36 E96 G6CD:@? J@F D2H C:89E 2H2Jn |2J36 ?@E[ 3FE 96 DE:== 4@F=5 36 AC6EEJ 8@@5 C:89E 2H2J] x E9:?&lt; s2?:6= 92D 2 G6CJ 3C:89E 7FEFC6 \ud83d\ude15 x?5:2?2A@=:D[Q q2==2C5 D2:5[ C676CC:?8 E@ y@?6D 367@C6 255C6DD:?8 !:6C46] QuC@&gt; E96 52J H6 H@C&lt;65 9:&gt; @FE 2E E96 &amp;?:G6CD:EJ @7 r:?4:??2E:] H6 925 2 8C62E 36=:67 \ud83d\ude15 p=64 !:6C46] x E9:?&lt; 96VD 366? 2 8@@5 A=2J6C 6G6CJ J62C]Qk^Am<\/p>\n<p>k9am#:492C5D@?\u2019D 7FEFC6k^9am<\/p>\n<p>kAm%96 3:886DE @77D62D@? BF6DE:@? &gt;:89E 36 H92E x?5J 5@6D H:E9 BF2CE6C324&lt; p?E9@?J #:492C5D@?]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAmx? 255:E:@? E@ 562=:?8 H:E9 2? 2CC2J @7 :?;FC:6D D:?46 36:?8 D6=64E65 H:E9 E96 }@] c @G6C2== 5C27E A:4&lt; \ud83d\ude15 a_ab[ #:492C5D@? 92D DECF88=65 H:E9 9:D 244FC24J 2?5 E9C6H @?=J EH@ A2DD6D \ud83d\ude15 a_ad 27E6C y@?6D H@? E96 DE2CE:?8 ;@3 \ud83d\ude15 EC2:?:?8 42&gt;A]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u201cv@:?8 :?E@ EC2:?:?8 42&gt;A[ x E9@F89E p?E9@?J 925 &gt;256 8C62E DEC:56D[\u201d q2==2C5 D2:5] \u201cw6\u2019D 2 8C62E E62&gt;&gt;2E6] x E9:?&lt; E:&gt;6 H:== E6==[ 3FE :E H2D 8C62E E@ 86E 9:&gt; 324&lt; @FE E@ AC24E:46 7@C E92E =2DE E9C66 H66 :?G@=G65 H:E9 E96 E62&gt; 2?5 &gt;@G:?8 282:?]Qk^Am<\/p>\n<p>k9ams676?D:G6 492?86Dk^9am<\/p>\n<p>kAm%96 5676?D6 4@F=5 36 \ud83d\ude15 =:?6 7@C 2 &gt;2;@C @G6C92F= H:E9 3:8 &gt;@?6J E:65 FA \ud83d\ude15 @=56C G6E6C2?D[ D@&gt;6 &lt;6J A=2J6CD 9:EE:?8 7C66 286?4J 2?5 2D (2C5 4@?E6&gt;A=2E6D C6E:C6&gt;6?E 7@==@H:?8 E9C66 4@?4FDD:@?D E9:D D62D@?]k^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u201cx E9:?&lt; @FC 286 D9@H65 2 =:EE=6 3:E[ 2?5 H6VG6 8@E E@ 86E J@F?86C[Q q2==2C5 D2:5] (6VG6 8@E E@ 86E 72DE6C @? E96 5676?D:G6 D:56]Qk^Am<\/p>\n<p>kAm%H@ G6E6C2?D H9@ 5@ 7:E :?E@ E96 r@=EDV =@?8\\E6C&gt; A=2?D 2C6 E9C66\\E:&gt;6 !C@ q@H= 5676?D:G6 E24&lt;=6 s6u@C6DE qF46C 2?5 v2C5?6C[ 2 EH@\\E:&gt;6 p==\\!C@] q@E9 32EE=65 :?;FC:6D @G6C E96 =2DE EH@ &gt;@?E9D @7 E96 D62D@? 3FE 2C6 6IA64E65 E@ 36 &lt;6J =@?8\\E6C&gt; 3F:=5:?8 3=@4<\/p>\n<p>kAm\u201cx D2:5[ \u2018{@@&lt;[ H@F=5 H6 86E E9:D 8FJ \ud83d\ude15 E96 5C27En\u2019 (6==[ ~z[ &gt;2J36 H:E9 2 =:EE=6 =F4&lt;[Q q2==2C5 D2:5 H96? 2D&lt;65 23@FE EC25:?8 EH@ 7:CDE\\C@F?5 A:4:6C 8FJ H9@VD ac J62CD @=5 2?5 E96 4@?EC24E[ H6 E9@F89E[ H2D 25G2?E286@FD] w6VD 8@E 2 3C:89E 7FEFC6 2?5 96VD 8@:?8 E@ 36 2 4@C6 A:646 7@C FD 96C6 7@C 2 H9:=6]\u201dk^Am<\/p>\n<p>k9C ^m<\/p>\n<p>kAmp! }u{i k2 9C67lQ9EEADi^^2A?6HD]4@&gt;^9F3^?7=Qm9EEADi^^2A?6HD]4@&gt;^9F3^?7=k^2mk^Am<\/p>\n<p>        &#13;<br \/>\n                                &#13;<\/p>\n<p>        &#13;<br \/>\n                            &#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n                            &#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n                            &#13;<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\n                            &#13;<br \/>\n                                &#13;<br \/>\n                            &#13;<br \/>\n                        &#13;<br \/>\n                        &#13;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard skipped the excuses during his end of season news&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2059],"tags":[2005,7,2004,392,2381,404,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-665770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-colts","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-indianapolis","11":"tag-indianapolis-colts","12":"tag-indianapoliscolts","13":"tag-national_sports","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115863788335273814","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}