Indianapolis Colts
2019 Record: (7-9) 3rd
AFC South
2019 Season Recap:
Offense
Points: 22.6 (16th)
Yards: 327.4 (25th)
Pass Yards: 194.2 (30th)
Rush Yards: 133.1 (7th)
Defense
Points: 23.3 (18th)
Yards: 346.8 (16th)
Pass Yards: 248.9 (23rd)
Rush Yards: 97.9 (7th)
Going all the way back to last preseason and seeing their
franchise quarterback Andrew Luck announce his retirement from the game of
football – you could only feel sorrow for the Colts organization. Its not that
Luck’s retirement was the issue, but rather the time in which he chose to move
on. Leaving the Colts with little option outside of Jacoby Brissett, an uneven
season was on the horizon over potentially being a super bowl contender with
Luck.
General Manager Chris Ballard did a magnificent job the season
prior in revamping his offense line, to again make waves in the 2019 off-season
bringing on more talent to assist the defensive side of the ball. This club was
truly a few pieces away from becoming a legit contender, but would have to
attempt to make Brissett a more polished product.
With the quarterback position the greatest issue heading into the
season, Coach Frank Reich corralled his troops and did expel the most from them
at the start of the season. With a defense that was much improved in many areas
there was a point to believe the Colts could win the AFC South crown. As the
year prolonged, injuries took their toll and up and down performances was the
end result.
With such high hopes resulting in an average campaign, it’s
difficult to not believe Indianapolis would be in search for an upgrade at the
quarterback position. Coach Reich is a fabulous instructor of the game and
could work wonders with an experience more productive passer. Time will tell on
the preferred path forward – but one would have to think change is coming after
this past season.
2020 Offseason
WorkBook:
The Offense
Speaking of that change, we must begin
in review of what Jacoby Brissett was able to accomplish and what his downfalls
were. Its not that Brissett is a terrible quarterback and brings nothing to the
table, but rather his indecisiveness and lack of killer instinct is the true
concern. His ability and talent is on display in many contests this past
season, but he is no where near elite in terms of being that prolific passer.
Seeing him produce around 3000 yards and 15-20 touchdown passes almost appears
to be his ceiling. While we could witness a jump of 500 more yards and perhaps
five more touchdowns with more play-making options – is he good enough to take
this club to the next level?
In terms of finding a solution, early
rumor has Phillip Rivers a top choice to be signed and inserted as the Colts
pivot once free agency opens. While some have thrown concern with this
potential addition as Rivers has seen his skill drop off quite a bit also.
Nevertheless, we absolutely view Rivers as an upgrade to Brissett with a much
better pedigree in the pass game. Rivers has also never enjoyed the fruits of
having an elite offensive line which could do wonders for his completion
percentage. While clearly this wouldn’t be a long term answer in replacing Luck
but this would give the Colts a much better chance to win now.
When it comes to the running back
position, we must be completely honest in that we didn’t view Marlon Mack as a
premier back at the start of last season. And while that notion still holds
some ground within our mind – he showed a heck of a lot on the field to make us
bite our tongue. With the constraints in the pass game, Mack was trusted to
carry the load with a whopping 247 carries going for a healthy 1091 yards and
eight rushing touchdowns. With that, our concern continues to rest in
durability as Mack still hasn’t managed to complete a full 16-game slate.
Either way, we find ourselves more on-board with Mack then in seasons past.
Adding to that, our affinity for Nyheim
Hines and his ability remains a constant and would absolutely love Coach Reich
to integrate him far more then he has. Hines has the ability to be one of the
best receiving weapons from the backfield which could mirror a role similar to
that of James White from the Patriots. If by chance Rivers is the new
quarterback of the Colts in 2020 – he will find Hines with heavy regularity
much like he’s used pass catching backs with the Chargers.
Diving right into the receiving core,
this group went from having a great level of promise, to being a drastic need
on this roster. Even as TY Hilton remains the top target with extremely high
end ability, injures have crept up on him recently to bring some concern.
Parris Campbell is another player we are extremely supportive of, and will
chalk up his rookie campaign as a sidestep due to injury. Campbell is a great
player with loads of ability which should come to fruition in year two (barring
a change at quarterback). Even with that, we fully expect the Colts to dive
back into the draft or free agency in securing more pass catchers to round out
the room.
This offense has the possibility to
become something of a force but we can’t endorse until we see an upgrade from
Brissett. If Rivers is the answer for 2020 – get ready for us to scream the
good graces.
The Defense
Looking at this defense as a whole and
seeing the vast improvement from year-to-year, it was clear that general
manager Chris Ballard spent his money well in free agency. Even though this
unit still needs more refinement, the cupboards aren’t as slim as they once
were.
Starting with the defensive line and
appearing to have no super star talent aboard, they held together quite well
this past season. Denico Autry, Jaball Sheard, and Glover Stewart accounted for
11 of the teams 41 sacks on the season, while helping to lead the team to the 7th
best rushing defense in the league. Having adequate depth in the form of
Al’Quadin Muhammad – this group was strong enough to make a difference on
Sundays. By no means is this unit polished and overly dominating, early rumor
has the Colts potentially attached to free agent Jadeveon Clowney. Adding a top
tier pass rusher like Cloweny would only increase the ability for better
defensive schemes. Time will tell if this comes to pass, but Colts fans should
be excited for the possibilities.
Heading toward the line backers the
Colts employ, the addition of Justin Houston was a true stroke of genius. Being
released from the Chiefs over his inflated contract, Indy wasted no time to
sign last year’s free agent and were rewarded with 11 sacks – his best output
in the last five seasons. With Houston’s added rushing presence, super star in
the making (Darius Leonard) was able to slot back in as the best player on this
defense. Though Leonard missed time to injury this past season, his numbers
were again fabulous nearly achieving the same output from his rookie campaign.
Adding to that, teammate Anthony Walker once again took the next step in his
progression as he became the team leader in tackles while hitting on career
highs in almost all categories. With Walker and Leonard the steady fixtures on
this defense and Houston having found new legs in rushing the passer, adding depth
talent should be the way the Colts move here.
As for the defensive secondary, this
could still be viewed as the greatest weakness of this side. While we still are
giant supporters of Malik Hooker and his ability, Rock Ya-Sin is another player
that stepped up this past season – yet another player we preached hard coming
into last years draft. Even as some may lift up the play of Kenny Moore and
Pierre Desir, we aren’t overly convinced they are the answer in this
department. Adding more talent to the corner backs will go a very long way with
how the front seven is starting to round out.
More rumor coming from Colts camp has
the prospects of Eric Berry coming to Indy after sitting out all of last
season. Even as injuries and health concerns have been an issue for Berry – the
word on the street is that he is ready to go and would form a dominating tandem
with Hooker by his side. Just imagine a healthy Berry and Clowney added to this
defense – wow! Of course everything at this point is speculative, but these
transactions would improve this group tenfold.
Team Free Agents / Team Salary Cap
While it appears we are singing the good
graces for this 7-9 Colts club, how can you not be excited with the roster they
currently have and holding 86.1 million dollars in free cap space. The Colts
front office hasn’t received enough credit in how well they’ve drafted these
past couple years under Chris Ballard and how well the books have been managed.
Having a very young roster and only 20 team free agents to consider – the Colts
future looks extremely bright.
Of notable names resting on the team
free agent list – Anthony Castonzo, Jabaal Sheard, Clayton Geathers, Devin
Funchess all possess value. While Funchess was lost to injury for basically the
entire 2019 season, we wouldn’t be surprised to see one more attempt with him
in a Colts uniform. Castonzo looks to be a no brainer resign as playing with
Quenton Nelson has lifted his overall game as well. Even though his market
value has now inflated to reach levels of 13.5 million per season, we would be
shocked to see him not brought back to the club. Outside of that, Sheard and
Geathers could be on their way out in hopes to find upgrades for their
positions. While we didn’t mention tight end Eric Ebron and his current free
agent status, the Colts have already suggested they won’t be in the market to
bring back his services.
Typically, it’s our objective to find
more contracts to remove in gaining extra funds to the books – this club will
require most of their depth even though they may spend freely on the open
market. We could easily suggest parting ways with Desir, Moore, and Margus Hunt
which would save an additional 16 million in cap space, but it could be seen as
counterproductive with the glaring needs at the defensive back position. With
that, Hunt hasn’t materialized into anything special on the defensive line and
he could be the lone cap casualty this off-season.
With many contracts looking to expire in
the 2021 off-season, Indy may choose to play it safe while adding key free
agents this time around. Either way, very exciting times rests for Colts fans.
The NFL Draft
In terms of being excited over the
potential to sign more free agents, the Colts are loaded with selections in
this year’s draft which could also expedite the process of becoming a winning
and a contender. Holding nine picks on this year’s draft board, Indy has an
extra second round pick, and two extra sixth rounders to their name. Missing
their seventh round selection should be of no consequence as they could move up
and down the board as they please.
Holding three picks in the first 44 –
the Colts will begin with the 13th overall pick in the first round. It’s
difficult to not suggest a top notch wide receiver taken at 13 which could be
the likes of Jerry Jeudy. If we stay the course to suggest Philip Rivers as the
potential starter at quarterback for 2020 – just imagine TY Hilton, Parris
Campbell and Jerry Jeudy catching passes from Rivers!
The Colts could also choose to go in the
direction of defense with either pass rushing help of defensive tackle
assistance. We wouldn’t rule out pilfering the top corner back in this draft at
their current position as that would also be a massive help. Could we even see
the Colts trade up to snag one of the best quarterbacks in this class?
Absolutely.
Nothing is off the table with the
ammunition they have in their pockets. This will be a very exciting off-season
for Colts fans as the light will look much brighter with another fantastic build.
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