By: Evan Krueger
It seems like an eternity ago that the Colts had dominant corners like Vontae Davis and.... yeah just Vontae Davis. But at least he was respectable, and, until last year, not made out of pipe cleaners and balsa wood. But the powers that be in Indy decided that giving Andrew Luck a $140 Million contract was sufficient to get the Colts back to the playoffs. Who needs a defense/running game/secondary, amiright?!? Haha no. No I'm not. If these first 2 weeks of the season have shown anything, it's that no one in the Colts organization has any idea what they're doing. Ryan Grigson (who is now the Midwest's resident Jeff Fisher) has assembled a defense on par with last year's horrible-terrible-no-good-very-bad Saints (coached by the worst coordinator in the NFL, Rob Ryan, the Ryan family's resident Jeff Fisher). Jim Irsay is off at some bar doing Jim Irsay things (although, to be fair, he would probably be doing that anyway). Andrew Luck is still picking the grass out of his teeth after Sunday's shellacking at the hands of the Broncos. All of this begs the question: how can this be? How can a team that was supposed to make it to the Super Bowl last year regress so much? The answer seems clear to me: the Colts are suffering from Peyton Manning syndrome. When Manning was the quarterback in Indy, the attitude seemed to always be "We have Peyton Manning, we're good", and then nothing would be done to bolster the running game or defense. They couldn't run the ball, and they couldn't play defense. That's why Peyton only won one ring in Indy. When Andrew Luck was drafted, the promise was that his best years wouldn't be wasted on a team with a poor supporting class. And now, here we are, 4 years later, and Andrew Luck's best years are being wasted on a team with a poor supporting cast. Giving Luck a huge contract was never going to make the Colts better. Drafting Ryan Kelly was a smart move, but that isn't enough to shore up the Colts lackluster pass-blocking. Frank Gore is past his prime. The Colts secondary, even healthy, is about as skilled as a night shift worker at McDonald's. They can't generate pressure on defense. I wish that the Colts front office would realize that Andrew Luck is not enough to mask all of the shortcomings of this team. There are too many of them. Am I overreacting to 2 bad games? Possibly. But as far as I can tell, this team doesn't have what it takes to win the AFC South, or even make the playoffs. This team may need a rebuild before it can dream of competing for a championship. I may just be an uninformed kid that happens to have a laptop, but I'm intelligent enough to recognize this current truth: the Colts suck.
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By Rhett Coblentz
By simply looking at the title of this article, you may think I'm absolutely bonkers. And yeah maybe I am. But not about this topic. Think about it with me for a second here, The Colts, even though they missed the playoffs last season, have Andrew Luck. He's enough to make the team great. Houston has a ridiculously talented defense, and that's huge for them. Plus Deandre Hopkins on offense is kinda good. The Jaguars have a rising quarterback in Blake Bortles as long as he doesn't keep throwing picks, and TJ Yeldon is up-and-coming as well. The Titans have a little while before they hit a point where they contend for a playoff spot, but Marcus Mariota showed some great signs last season. Which division is the worst you ask? The NFC East. Who's gonna win it? It's currently a battle between the Cowboys and the Giants, and neither team is extremely competitve. Anyways, this article isn't about the NFC East, it's about the AFC South, so here we go. 1. Indianapolis Colts (10-6) The Colts are coming off of a rough 8-8 year that consisted of 9 games played without Andrew Luck. Luck returns for this upcoming season, which is the biggest reason that the Colts have success. Their success depends upon whether or not Andrew Luck stays healthy this season. TY Hilton and Philip Dorsett look to be key receivers for this year's squad, and Frank Gore will handle the rushing duties once more. If Luck stays healthy, and the Colts don't completely lack a run game, then they'll finish 10-6. 2. Houston Texans(9-7) I don't quite know what to make of Brock Osweiler here. He showed some signs of promise in Denver, and in Houston he has lots of weapons to help, like Deandre Hopkins, Jaelen Strong, and the newcomer speedster Braxton Miller. The best thing about the Texans is that their defense is stellar. JJ Watt anchors the defense, as he's a perennial MVP candidate. If Jadeveon Clowney stays healthy, then the Texans will have the best defensive end combo in the entire NFL. This team could be like the Broncos, with an offensive ineptitude, but a defensive juggernaut. If Osweiler doesn't deliver, the Texans won't be good. But if he plays well, they could win the division. It's a tight race for this division crown, but the Texans have a lot of room to go up or down this season. 3. Jacksonville Jaguars(6-10) The Jaguars are riiiiiiiight on the cusp of being a playoff contender, but they won't quite be there this season. Blake Bortles is developing nicely, but his turnovers are an issue. He threw 18 picks last year, which he needs to cut down on if the Jaguars are going to be successful. The Jaguars also have an underrated receiving corps, with Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, and Julius Thomas. TJ Yeldon is also an underrated running back, and their defense is underrated too. Basically, this whole team is underrated, but within the next two years, we'll see them in the playoffs. 4. Tennessee Titans(5-11) The Titans are a bit of a wild card when it comes to season success. Marcus Mariota is going to be a good quarterback, but the rest of their team is shaky. Demarco Murray is old. And not too great anymore, but if he has moderate success, then the Titans can be successful. Tennessee is definitely headed the right direction, but they're at least 5 years from the playoffs. If Mariota builds on his success from last year, then the Titans can improve year by year. |
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