Week 1 NFL conspiracy report: Chris Ballard is planning to have a bad defense Youth Quincy Wilson Jersey , or one of my opponent scouting reports, or even a Colts-centric article you’ve arrived at the wrong place. Welcome to the weekly conspiracy report where I, Chris Shepherd, will examine nefarious plots around the league and expose them for what they are. Now sure, I won’t be able to provide you any “proof” and no I don’t have any sources (that you know of). What follows should be treated purely as entertainment that include plausible (and not so plausible) scenarios that no one employed by NFL teams would ever admit to, I accept no responsibility for anything you do with the information I’m about to give you. In fact I accept no responsibility for anything you’re about to read, at all.In this inaugural expose of NFL conspiratorial glory we’re going to take a look at Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard and his plan to destroy the 2018 Colts defense. Theory: Chris Ballard has intentionally destroyed the 2018 Indianapolis Colts defense. There are some important questions that need to be answered so we might get to the bottom of the mystery that has been the building of this defense and I intend to answer them.The Colts added almost no one in their defensive backfield despite having the cap space and plethora of picks, why?Did Chris Ballard really believe he could trust Quincy Wilson, Malik Hooker and a ragtag group of DB’s and make something special? Of course not, no one could believe that. He didn’t add anyone in the draft despite having 11 picks and even if you look at the Colts DB’s and you like them more than you would like to be a Browns fan, you have to admit there is very little depth. If any one of the starters is injured it’s going to create a huge issue for the defense and with so many resources available, not adding talent seems inexplicable. Having cut John Simon and Jonathan Hankins the defensive line is younger but it sure looks worse, why cut two of your best defensive linemen?We’ve heard that both guys were a bad scheme fit and in Hankins’ case he was a bad fit due to the money he was owed, which is amazing considering the Colts will play nearly $50 million under the cap this season. So why cut two guys who have played well? Is it to give young guys more playing time? That could be, but you don’t cut a good player so you can give a worse player his spot, not unless you’re planning on being bad. To go one step further http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-clayton-geathers-jersey , we know the defensive backfield is suspect. So, to help them out it’s common knowledge you should have a good pass rush. If the Colts aren’t planning on having a bad defense why did they cut Hankins who could push the pocket inside and Simon who was an effective, active, second-effort kind of pass rusher? Why not have all hands on deck if you aren’t planning on giving up a lot of points?The linebackers were the weakest position group of the 2017 Colts, yet the only real draft capital was spent on Darius Leonard, why?Okay, so the Colts didn’t add any real help in the defensive backfield, they cut a couple of the best players from their defensive line, surely that means they must have focused on adding talent to their linebacking corps, right?Wrong. The Colts went out and drafted Darius Leonard, I assume because they knew they couldn’t actually start Antonio Morrison again without starting a riot. After Leonard, there was nothing more than two seventh round draft picks and undrafted free agents. It’s almost like Chris Ballard didn’t want the defense to be good, but why?Why would Chris Ballard want the defense to be bad?Simple, this guy:Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY SportsAnd also this guy:Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesNo not Reggie Wayne. Chris Ballard had a lot of problems going into 2018 but his biggest problem probably doesn’t seem like a problem to most people, but considering the objective given to him by Jim Irsay, a healthy Andrew Luck presents a real problem. See Jabaal Sheard Jersey , you don’t want Luck to get hurt again, you need him for the future, but you can’t add all of the defensive pieces you need in a single offseason. So what’s a guy to do? Well you protect your quarterback better than he’s ever been protected and you throw your defense in the garbage, but why?Jim Irsay said the following:So Chris Ballard had three major problems: The first, Jim Irsay wants to win multiple championships and he’s willing to lose (to get better draft picks one would assume) to get there.The second, he just fired one losing coach, the only way he can retain his new hire is if he loses early, you can’t have a coach go 8-8 and then 4-12 in his first two seasons without moving on from him, not for a franchise with only 4 losing seasons in 20 years. The third, Andrew Luck if healthy, with even a below average supporting cast and defense gets you to 10 wins, 11 if Bruce Arians is on your coaching staff. So how does Chris Ballard ensure he can accomplish his boss’ objective of multiple Lombardy trophies via a few losing seasons, while not firing his newly hired coach and trying to account for Luck’s greatness? Simply put, he had to build a historically bad defense. Fitting The Pieces TogetherOne man is going to take the heat for the defense that takes the field for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday but Chis Ballard didn’t have much of a choice. An Andrew Luck led offense might score 30 points per game this year and Ballard needed a defense that would give up 32. So Colts fans, when the defense goes out and plays worse than any defense in the 35 year history of the Indianapolis Colts, we should all place blame where it belongs Authentic Margus Hunt Jersey , on the shoulders of a single player, too good to have his team lose without extraordinary measures:Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images*Once again, please note this article is purely meant for entertainment and the conversation it can create. Chris Shepherd may or may not actually believe anything above. By looking at current events through alternative viewpoints we hope to come away with a better understanding of what we’re seeing by considering something we’ve never considered. Worst case? We have a lot of fun with conspiracy theories and turn on old episodes of the X-Files while wearing our tin-foil hats. The Bengals have their offense revving in high gear.Cincinnati has put up 34 points in back-to-back games to open the season, although quarterback Andy Dalton said they haven't played a perfect game."We left some stuff out there," Dalton said. "We can definitely improve and get better. (But) if we're saying that and scoring 34 points, that's a good thing."Dalton and the Bengals will look to fix those "little things" and start 3-0 for the fifth time in coach Marvin Lewis' 16 seasons when they visit the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.The Panthers are coming off an uncharacteristically poor defensive performance in a 31-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, prompting coach Ron Rivera to say he wouldn't tolerate laziness on defense .The big change from last year's 0-3 start for the Bengals has been up front.The offensive line was a mess last season, the main reason they finished last in the league in offense.Coordinator Bill Lazor was given freedom to redesign the offense. He overhauled the line, and the Bengals have new starters at four positions. So far that line has meshed well together, allowing just two sacks — none in a 34-23 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 13."Anytime you have time back there you can step into your throws, and you can put the ball where you want it," Dalton said of the protection in the team's 2-0 start .Another adjustment has been lining up wide receiver A.J. Green in different spots on offense. Green caught three first-half touchdown passes from the slot against the Ravens. Cornerback James Bradberry will cover Green most of the time, but there will be occasions Green could face nickel back Captain Munnerlyn in the slot, where he'll have a significant height advantage."The reason they are moving him around is to try to create opportunities for him. You just got to have a package that can counter it," Rivera said of Green.Things to watch in the Bengals-Panthers game:HISTORY OF 3-0The Bengals also started 3-0 in 2005, 2006 Youth Al Woods Jersey , 2014 and 2015, making the playoffs in three of those years before losing in the first round each time.McCAFFREY'S CATCHESPanthers running back Christian McCaffrey only carried the ball seven times against the Falcons, but he had twice that many receptions. His 14 catches (for 102 yards) tied a franchise record and showed Cam Newton is willing to be patient and use check-downs to move the chains. Newton is completing a career-best 69 percent of his passes in his first year playing in coordinator Norv Turner's offense.Rivera said he anticipates more things will open up down the field once teams begin to honor McCaffrey coming out of the backfield."They (wide receivers) understand too that now all of a sudden those linebackers might not be dropping 12 to 15 yards deep anymore," Rivera said."They may be right at about 8 (yards). Those digs are going to start opening up, those post routes, those bang-eights across the middle — they are going to start flashing a little more."GIO'S TIMEThe Bengals will lean heavily on Giovani Bernard , their only healthy running back with experience in the system. Starter Joe Mixon tore cartilage in his right knee during the win over Baltimore and is out for a few weeks. Running back Tra Carson pulled a hamstring in practice on Monday, so the Bengals signed free agent Thomas Rawls. Bernard has three 100-yard rushing games in his career."It doesn't change for me," Bernard said. "I feel like people are freaking out, but my goodness, it's football."MORE MOOREPanthers rookie wide receiver D.J. Moore is expected to see more playing time this week after a 51-yard touchdown catch against the Falcons.The team's first-round draft pick played 17 snaps on offense, but Rivera said earlier this week that "it's time to put more on his plate." He also said he's noticed a swagger about Moore this week in practice.CLUTCH TURNOVERSThe Bengals' young defense has given up a lot of yards, but forced game-clinching turnovers in each of their wins. Third-year safety Clayton Fejedelem forced a fumble and returned it for a touchdown with 24 seconds left as Andrew Luck was driving the Colts for what could have been a winning touchdown in the season opener. Last week safety Shawn Williams hit Joe Flacco and forced a fumble as the Ravens were trying to drive for a tying TD late. Luck threw for 319 yards and the Colts piled up 380 overall. Flacco threw for 376 and the Ravens had 425 in all.AP Sports Writer Joe Kay in Cincinnati contributed to this report.
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