The Colts haven't played a single down yet in 2016, yet that hasn't stopped some of their biggest critics from making predictions on how they think the Colts will finish this season. Some critics use last season's failures on a team as a projection of how it will do the following season (For whatever reason I don't know why). In the case of the Colts, it seems that a lot of those critics are bumpin the horns of our AFC South rivals because of their offseason moves; with the majority of them jumping on the Texans bandwagon. Like most Colts fans, I don't think Brock Osweiler has done enough in this league to make me think that he's the "missing link" for Houston. Let's be honest here. We're talking about a guy when given the chance, couldn't make enough of an impression on the Broncos coaches to give him the reins for the rest of the season over a broken down Peyton Manning who was practically a half step away from playing in a wheel chair, with the best defense in the league... Osweiler might be the QB Houston's been waiting for. He might also be a game manager who's a step above anything they've had at the position ever since their existence. In spite of how he turns out one thing can't be mistaken; Luck is still the best QB in the division. Period. That in and of itself could be enough to be the difference between where any of the Colts division rivals finish this season. At least that assumption can be backed up by the fact that with Luck healthy for a full season the Colts have finished at the top of the AFC South.

That brings us to one Heath Evans of "NFL Now." According to Evans, the Colts not only won't compete in the AFC South, he doesn't even think it will be close: 

"Listen, I don’t see another team that can compete with them," he said. "And if there’s a second one, it would be Jacksonville, in my opinion, not the Colts. I think the Colts still have a lot of holes, people get excited about a draft full of offensive linemen [but] I don’t think that’s the answer."

Now anyone who's not only followed the Colts, but also follows this game knows how important your offensive line is, especially when it comes to protecting your most valuable player on the team. If you look at the long list of some of the greatest QBs who've ever played the game you'll notice that all of the one's that have won multiple SBs also played behind solid O-lines. The presence of those O-lines not only opened up doors for their respective QBs to do well, but also provided lanes for the running game. It's no secret (apparently to everyone not named Heath Evans) that the Colts biggest issues over the past 4 years have been the lack of running game and the inability to protect Andrew Luck (Guess what we can attribute both of those problems to?). The lack of talent on the offensive line has had a trickle down effect on the rest of the team. The offense's inability to consistently move the ball on the ground hurt both the passing game as well as the defense. When your defense has to go right back on the field due to either turnovers or the offense continually having to punt, they stop performing at their best as fatigue sets in.

So while NFL personalities like Heath Evans might think that the offseason moves by the Colts was "nothing to get excited about," even the average football fan can acknowledge the impact of what having a good O-line can do for you. Even though a lot of Colts fans might be upset at Evan's assessment, keep in mind that whenever you see material from analysts like Heath that seemingly come in practically out of nowhere from left field with absolutely no basis for validity, they are nothing more than than opinions intended for one purpose and one purpose only: "Shock value." Like Skip Bayless, even Heath doesn't believe the nonsense that he just predicted regarding the Colts. In fact, instead of adding any juice to their claims by clicking on their articles (or videos), there's a better way to get them to tell you how they "really" feel about the Colts. Write them a letter and tell them to put their money where their mouth is. If you bet Heath Evans $50,000 I guarantee you he won't take the bet, and the fact that he won't take the bet will prove how much he doesn't believe his own predictions.