It’s been six years of Chris Ballard signing the Indianapolis Colts‘ checks, and barring some twists, it will be the sixth straight year with a different starter at quarterback when Week 1 rolls around. Stability is key in the most important position in the game, and Ballard’s many hits in talent identification suffer from the fact that he doesn’t get a definitive answer at quarterback.

It is obvious that a considerable part of the Colts’ quarterback problem is not Ballard’s fault. Andrew Luck’s whole situation in 2017 and 2019 left his hands tied these seasons, but you can’t close your eyes to the lack of solutions that came later – whether with Philip Rivers in an operation without any long-term planning or in a serious mistake named Carson Wentz.

Once again, Indianapolis enters an offseason with the need for a new starting quarterback, and now without a first-round pick in the next draft to at least shoot with a rookie. As much cap space they have, and as good as some recent drafts have been, it’s no use if the team doesn’t have consistency and a reliable player where it matters most. And if Ballard is so loved for how he manages the cap, he also needs to be criticized for not finding a definitive answer.

The general manager’s misses are hurting his team

First, it was Philip Rivers. With the veteran leaving the Los Angeles Chargers and with Jacoby Brissett not making enough of an impression in 2019, the Colts took the opportunity to a short-term fix. Rivers did well, as far as possible, and led Indianapolis to the playoffs, not far from an upset victory against the Bills. After the elimination, Rivers hung up his boots and the team ran out of options until the trade for Carson Wentz.

Wentz may have seemed like a competent quarterback in some rare moments of 2021, but if you have to put so much effort into your offensive plan to cover up his weaknesses, then he just doesn’t deserve to be in that position. And frankly, it was another pretty bad year for him; no one would care that much about his lack of leadership if the Colts had gone far in the playoffs. The failure of weeks 17 and 18 only accentuated problems he already had.

It came at an expensive price: first- and third-round picks. It was Ballard who pulled the trigger on the trade, encouraged by head coach Frank Reich, who had previously worked with the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. He didn’t even last a year, and no franchise would be willing to pay a first-round pick for the player.

The trade was a failure.

Ballard knows the situation is bad. “I wanted to stop band-aiding […] and find someone who’s gonna be here for 10 or 12 years. I can dream about it, wish for it, do everything to find the solution, but you do the best with what you can do it on the spot and make the decisions. That’s how you do it”. If Andrew Luck’s injuries and subsequent retirement greatly complicated the general manager’s job, it’s now been three full seasons and the problem is far from resolved.

The Colts have had every opportunity every other franchise without a long term QB has had.

Chris Ballard has simply not fixed it while a good chunk of the league has. Stop defending him with Luck. 5 years and counting

— Faux Peyton Manning (@FeuxManning) March 13, 2022

There’s no doubt that the Colts are a talented team. There’s no doubt, too, that all of this is being undermined by inconsistency just where it matters most. Finding your franchise quarterback isn’t that easy, of course, but the team entered the offseason without a viable short-term option and little chance of solving the problem in the long run.

Fair or not, the blame for that falls on Ballard’s shoulders.

Ballard’s lack of aggression is already criticized in free agency, and it needs to be in the search for a franchise quarterback as well. If every year you repeat the “we need to get the quarterback position right” speech and every year you can’t solve the problem, you may not be the person to solve the problem. Being cautious is not the way to be an NFL champion.