As the NFL offseason
is in full swing, it’s a perfect opportunity to evaluate where each team was in
2017, and where they plan to go in the New Year. Let’s begin the review of
the Indianapolis Colts.
2017 Season Recap:
The Colts 2017 season began with the inevitable question, will Andrew
Luck be ready for the season. As time continued to dwindle, Lucks shoulder
wasn’t progressing the way the Colts brass had envisioned. Keeping the truth of
the severity of his injury under their hats, the Colts were forced to place
Luck on injured reserve opting for the potential of another surgery to fix his
ailing shoulder. Without any creditable options on the roster to fulfill the
demands of an NFL season, the Colts pulled off a trade with the New England
Patriots obtaining quarterback Jacoby Brissett for much needed insurance. If
the hot seat wasn’t warm enough for long tenured coach Chuck Pagano, it might
have just sparked fire before the season got underway. With a roster full of
holes and the uncertain future of their franchise pivot, this season was
shaping up to be a disaster before it started.
As most would’ve expected, the Colts would be in tough in almost every
contest with journeyman Scott Tolzien taking the reins as the Colts starting
quarterback in week one against the LA Rams. A complete debacle took shape as
Indy had absolutely no chance with an obviously unprepared passer turning the
ball over at will. When all was said and done, the Colts disaster start ended
in a 46-9 rout in Los Angeles. Forgoing further preparation for newly acquired
Jacoby Brissett, he was literally thrown into the fire in hopes he could create
some sustainable offense that could lift this team to some success. While it
was difficult to imagine the Colts having much success with Brissett running
the show, he did keep Indianapolis very competitive in majority of the games
they played. With little to boast about having finished the season with a
record of 4-12, Jacoby did post decent numbers as the first time starting
quarterback. Throwing for over 3000 yards with 13 touchdowns and 7
interceptions, things could’ve been a lot worse in the grand scheme of things.
To face facts, this Colts team was destined to fail right from the start.
Under the Chuck Pagano tenure, the wheels began to wobble after the 2014 season
as the former general manager Ryan Grigson completely neglected the sustainment
building model required for consistent success. Never providing Andrew Luck
with a viable offensive line leaving him susceptible to constant punishment
which ultimately lead to his shoulder injury. Closing out the 2017 season,
Owner Jim Irsay finally had enough relieving general manager Ryan Grigson and
long-time head coach Chuck Pagano to start anew.
2018 Offseason
Workbook:
Offseason Review:
With the offseason
firing concluding swiftly, owner Jim Irsay choose wisely in hiring former
Kansas City Chiefs director of player personal Chris Ballard to run the show.
As things commenced on the right foot, Ballard was tasked in finding a new
bench boss to replace Chuck Pagano. For some reason drama seems to follow the
Colts organization like a bad smell. Being extremely interested in Patriots
offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, they quickly progressed in their pursuit.
Having McDaniels participate in the interview process the feeling was mutual in
the potential to appoint Josh as their new head coach as soon as the Patriots
completed playing in Super Bowl 52. With a deal on the table and verbally
agreed upon, the Colts released news to the media while setting up their
opening press conference to formally announce the new hiring. Patiently waiting
for McDaniels to arrive to put ink to paper, he informed the Colts ownership
that he would no longer accept the agreed upon deal and remain with the
Patriots organization under the same capacity of offensive coordinator. Quite a
disrespectful move on the part of McDaniels leaving the Colts again in limbo
having wasted precious time, missing out on the top coaching candidates. What
looked to be disastrous could actually be a blessing in disguise. General
manger Chris Ballard reviewed his options deciding on Super Bowl winning
offensive coordinator from the Eagles – Frank Reich. Reich has risen the ranks
fairly quickly with ample amounts of success as a play caller and student of
the game. Reich will be tasked to work with Ballard in recreating this
organization in a mold that will promote domination against its opponents.
While reviewing the
statistical nature of a 4-12 team seem somewhat irrelevant, the importance is
to find every positive that exists on this team. Everything is dependant on the
health of their franchise quarterback returning to full health to lead this
organization back to greatness. Luck is two years removed from a 31-touchdown
performance and four years removed for tossing 40-touchdowns in each season
respectively. In our eyes this offensive unit is in need of a complete teardown
with exception of Andrew Luck (of course), TY Hilton, Ryan Kelly, Jack Doyle
and possibly Anthony Castonzo. First and foremost, to build a healthy offensive
unit, it starts and stops with a talented offensive line. If the Colts can’t
find a way to protect Luck and open up running lanes for their backs (which
they currently can’t do), the recipe is set up for failure. Once that step is
complete, add talent at the running back position in terms of a fulltime three
down back that can take a multitude of pressure off the passing game. Rounding
out the rest of the unit, add additional support to Hilton in the receiving
core with preferably a taller redzone target type body frame and a reliable
slot receiver. Missing on draft selections and choosing the wrong players year
after year has placed the Colts in this unbearable situation. ADF is a believer
in the talented eye of new general manager Chris Ballard to begin correcting
this incredible mess.
Defensively, this unit
ranked near the bottom in every statistical category that the NFL tracks.
Ranking 30th in points allowed (25.2 PPG), 30th in total
yardage allowed (367.1 YPG), 28th in passing yards allowed (246.6
YPG), and 26th in total rush yards allowed (120.4 YPG), totally
unacceptable. Drafting high end potential rookie in the 2016 NFL draft, safety
Malik Hooker did dazzle from time to time with his as advertised ball-hawking
ability. Outside of defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, line backer Jabaal
Sheard, and safety Malik Hooker, this defensive unit is built to fail.
Literally, every angle you try and find a positive from this unit, you really
can’t. Reviewing both line backers Antonio Morrison and Matthias Farley, there
could be some potential of growth as they endured difficult seasons though
leading the team in tackles with a combined 207 total takedowns. The defensive
line has no push whatsoever, generating only 25 sacks on the season. Much like
the offensive line, the defensive line is a must improve situation before you
move outward. Without creating consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks,
its nearly impossible to ask the secondary to cover tight for the majority of
the game. While the Colts possess no pass rush, the inept play of their
secondary holds massive holes even more so as they cut Vonte Davis before the
season had expired. Understandable that Davis found himself a frequent member
in the medical room, cutting bait was easy for the Colts.
Rostered Free Agents:
On a team with as many
holes and have played as poorly as the Colts have in recent years, you would
fully expect the free agent list to house a large portion of non-resignable
players. News recently broke that Indy won’t renew the contract of potential
future hall of famer Frank Gore at the ripe age of 34. With a draft stocked
full of talented runners, it’s a no brainer to let Gore hit the market. Another
youngster whom shouldn’t return, is wide receiver Donte Moncrief. Still at age
24, Donte hasn’t lived up to the hype finding limited production and recurrent
trips to medical room. His attitude shows that he believes he will fetch a
large pay day on the open market, one the Colts won’t certainly match.
Barkevious Mingo and Rashann Melvin do have some resign appeal, as depth may be
difficult to find that can match their talent levels.
As of today,
Indianapolis holds an enormous amount of cap space in terms of nearly 80
million dollars to spend. That number shouldn’t necessarily increase to much,
as most contracts on this squad are team friendly and low overall compensated.
It would be a surprise if the Colts were heavily active in the free agent
market, as spending top dollar on high priced talent wont essentially push this
team over the top into instant playoff contention. Finding nice reliable pieces
to round out the roster is the attack from the market. With certain youth free
to sign, the potential is there to bring in one or two players to begin the
rebuild with a favorable draft class. With the money the Colts have to spend,
anything is possible.
NFL Draft:
While Indy has the
third overall section in the NFL Draft, they only hold their seven original
picks current to date. With many holes to fill on a below average roster, it
might be intelligent for GM Ballard to entertain moving down the board gaining
picks in the process. Much speculation has the Colts potentially drafting
future star running back Saquon Barkley if he falls to them third overall.
Barkley would instantly create a viable running attack as some have compared
the runner to the like of Zeke Elliott from Dallas. While rule of thumb usually
insists taking the best player on the board, if Barkley is gone at three, it
might be very smart for Indy to trade down with a quarterback needy team to
potentially gain another first round selection either this year or next.
With a decently deep
receiving core in this draft, the Colts should have no problem to replace the
likes of Moncrief with potentially bettering the skillset he provided.
Offensive line help would be valuable if an entertained trade down from pick
three was to occur. Gaining extra second round selections would do this team
wonders, as many talented offensive and defensive linemen should be had in the
second round of this draft. Literally with as many issues as this team has,
they can move any which way on the board.
Overall for 2018:
The fantastic part of the job for GM Chris Ballard is that he gets to
place his hands on the entire roster and build it up from scratch to make this
franchise a winner in his vision and mold. Patience will need to be gained from
the fan base as they watch the process take shape. Rome wasn’t built in a day,
but at least Indy has great engineers to bring it all together. 
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