Ballard concedes his team-building philosophy was flawed, falls on the sword in post-season media session: "I was wrong."

Now he's singing a different tune. He's talking about changes. He's talking about free agency. He's talking about creating competition. Enough with the words. Time for action.

It’s all words now. Chris Ballard offered a lot of them, sitting down for nearly an hour while flogging himself during his end-of-the-season media session. He called himself “hard headed.” He called himself “stubborn.” He ripped himself for failing to do something we’ve been screaming about for years, namely bringing in new blood and adding some free agents to the mix.

Yes, Ballard said during this exercise in self-flagellation, he needs to be more aggressive about bringing in fresh faces. Yes, his failure to create competition at several possessions created a culture of entitlement. Yes, the Colts should have sat Anthony Richardson all of last season. Yes, the Colts will be more aggressive about signing free agents (we think).

It's all words now. They sound good. They sound hopeful. But they’re meaningless until there’s significant change and improved results. Because this is Ballard’s make or break season, as it likely is for Shane Steichen as well.

“Anything I say until we win, until we really win – and I'm not talking about just getting to the playoffs -- I mean really win (big), until we do that, I get it. I understand where the frustration comes from and why they (fans and media) would question, why they should question,” Ballard said. “But I'm still confident in my abilities. As hardheaded as I am…I've looked deeply at things I need to change and do, and the proof comes with your actions over time. That's what we're going to do.”

If Ballard was judged on words, he’d be a multiple-time Super Bowl winner. One of the reasons he has survived so long – this will be his ninth year – is he’s a great communicator. That was one of the issues with Ryan Grigson, who didn’t always work well with people and got let go despite a 52-34 record. Ballard is a smooth operator, articulate and self-aware.

But it’s all pablum until he starts to do something different, like bring in different people, like create competition within his roster. I asked Ballard about the way the culture was compromised this season, players publicly and, in one case, anonymously in The Athletic, taking the front office and locker room to task.