Colts Record Predictions As We Stand 2014

[JPFolks]

Our schedule is much tougher than people think this year.  The NFC East will feast on our weakest division, which will build their confidence and their records which will keep them all far more engaged all season instead of phoning it in last season by the midpoint.  

 

The AFC North is ALSO going to be FAR better than last year.  Each has made significant moves/or has high draft picks.  The Bengals already beat us and I doubt they'll be good enough to win the division.  The Steelers were on a major upswing to end the season and barely missed the playoffs (a missed late field goal by the Chargers kept them out I believe).  We will have super tough games against the Steelers (at their place) and Bengals (at home) no matter where we play them.  The Ravens would be an even match if we played them there.but fortunately we get them here.  Cleveland is a wild card in that with their (and our) draft picks, they could end up with the two best wideouts in the NFL, a stud for a quarterback and any number of Best Player Available types from a LOADED draft year.  Every year we see teams go from worst to first and Cleveland could be one next year if they draft smart.  We could be a coin flip in any of those 4 games and so at best we should expect 2-2.   In the NFC East, Philadelphia will be a beast (thankfully we have them at home), the Cowboys (at their place) will finally be back on track, the Redskins (here) will come roaring back.... only the giants seems likely to be a win on the road in that division, but we always lose to a team we should beat, so catching them on the road might be a trap game.  I could see us easily splitting 2-2 in that division.  (Frankly, we could end up worse, or win one we shouldn't against a team like Philly).  But lets take the middle 2-2.   So now we are sitting 4-4.  Next we have our own division.  I think a sweep is possible, but all of those teams are drafting early in a loaded year.  TN will be tough and Texas at home will too.  Jacksonville is a possible trap game.  We're going to lose at least one legit and one trap game in our division.  So that means 4-2.  So now we're 8-6.  Who's left?  Denver and New England.  I think it is highly unlikely we beat either at their place and having Denver out there, is probably the worst case scenario between the thin air and Mannings thirst for revenge.  So with one being home and one away, let's call it even at 1-1.  That makes us 9-7 for the Reg season and winners of our division which will finish worst again next year.  At least one of those teams will also finish 9-7 but we'll win the tie-breaker by division wins and squeak into the playoffs.  I am saying this with the assumption that we're BETTER than we were last year.  Our schedule will be just as tough in reality as last year and though we may benefit from sweeping our division to finish with a ceiling of 11-5, we could just as easily go 8-8 and miss the playoffs most likely to Texas who is LOADED with talent and will likely have Clowney and a new QB to go along with the DPOY winner on the other side.  Worst to first don't you know.  

 

I LOVE the Colts... but I watched every single NFL game twice or more last year and I am telling you, our schedule could be BRUTAL next year.  Our biggest hope is a sweep of our division and an 11-5 record but with Denver and New England getting the #1-#2 seeds again and us losing in the exact same round having to play either team at home in the playoffs or if we get by one, what is the likelihood we beat either or both those teams 2 times in one season?  

 

With all that said above, one factor I left out was LUCK.  (Both the man and the factor).  I predict because of Luck and not logic (as mentioned above) 10-6 or 11-5 (thanks to a reasonably healthy team AND Luck), Div winner, #4 seed to the North winner (who will feast on our division) to finish in #3.  Most likely we'll make 2 trips out to Denver, once in the reg season and once in the playoffs.  It would take a LUCK show to upset them either time.  We'll either play Texas or  a team from the AFC North in the first round, then either Denver or New England (who will have their injured players back with some new additions (CB's will be much tougher this year than last not to mention Gronk in NE) depending on an upset happening in the other playoff game.  We should win our first playoff game.  

 

Just my two cents.  I hope I am wrong and we blow people away... but I think reality will show us a much tougher year even with a better, more experienced team.  I posted this as a response on another blog but no one noticed, so I figured I would try here.  Being in the AFC in the waning years of Brady/Manning sucks.  Once they are gone, Luck and someone else will take the crown going forward, but killing one king is a massive task, killing two, after facing both twice in the reg season, seems like mission impossible.  

 

Your thoughts? 

[Stephen]

19-0

[TKnight24]

11-5-13-3

 

Injury Riddled:11-5

 

Healthy season with a few injuries: 12-4

 

Injury Free/Injuries to only role player's instead of leaders/starters: 13-3 

 

[21isSuperman]

People always have us pegged to lose against good teams.   I don't understand it.  We beat the 49ers, Broncos, and Seahawks last year.  We even gave New England a good shot in the playoffs (I think we were only down 9 at the half).  Looking at our schedule (http://www.colts.com/news/article-1/A-Look-at-the-2014-Colts-Home-Schedule/e36760ea-7589-4d6c-9838-c8b67c9d2f7f), I think 12-4 is very possible.  Of course, this could still be changed by injuries, how the draft goes, etc.  But I think 12-4 is reasonable

[#12]

Yes, many of the games on the schedule are much more difficult than the opponents' records would indicate - at Pittsburgh, at N.Y., at Dallas, Washington, etc.  Unless the team, outside of Luck, makes a healthy leap, 10-6, a division title and the 4th seed would be an accomplishment. 

[JBONGO24]

gotta wait till the draft first dude 

[NewEra]

Inb4 the 8-8's

[NewEra]

Btw, I could see 12-4. It's just funny every year people say we'll barely break .500 and we went 11-5 two years in a row.

[markabrown96]

The NE game will be interesting. First time Luck has played against Revis

[JPFolks]

I see Denver loaded up for a final shot (maybe 2 in a stretch), New England taking the challenge seriously and dramatically improving their D while picking up needed pieces so Brady has someone to throw to who has a clue this year (I am hyper anti New England, but I had to admire what Brady did with pretty much nothing to work with against some really good teams and pulled off the #2 seed).  If he has his big pieces back plus the new, that would be a much bigger home win for us than Denver or Seattle from last year.  To go 12-4 we have to sweep our division and still pull off some upsets (I guess Dallas would be the next most likely win I didn't account for).  I realize we tend to win one we shouldn't and lose one we shouldn't so any combination of games could be reverse but usually it is a wash.  In the playoffs, I just can't see us beating out Denver and their cupcake division and New England and their cupcake division along with the historic conclusions of their monster dominance in the regular season for the past decade and a half to get a #1 or #2 seed.  It is only if we get the #1 seed that I think we have a chance to survive both Denver and New England just to get to the Super Bowl to have the fun of playing the survivor of Seattle, San Fran or one of the two QB Kings of the NFC, in NO and GB.  It's a tough world.  I think Luck is already up for the challenge.  I even think our offensive skill positions are there currently (without injury).  Our O-Line and D on the other hand don't seem on the same level as the others.   What am I missing from those of you more optimistic?  I do think our team will be better.  I was one game off by the way last year and two games off two years ago.  Not amazingly accurate, but we over-achieved Luck's first year and last year we balled big time in the first half of the season to pull off 3 huge upsets by game 7 before Reggie went down.  But I wonder if Reggie would have been enough to take us home last year.  I predicted 12-4, we went 11-5 last year.  Two years ago I predicted 10-6 (And was ridiculed heavily) and missed it by one.  I doubt this year  my 10-6 will be off by more than one.  But I would love to have picked low and see us get a #1 seed with a real shot at a SB.  I think that is the only way we win it all.  Sort of like the Pacers who may have blown any chance of getting #1 and look like an early exit is more likely than a Championship sadly.  But I digress. 

[HtownColt]

People always have us pegged to lose against good teams. I don't understand it. We beat the 49ers, Broncos, and Seahawks last year. We even gave New England a good shot in the playoffs (I think we were only down 9 at the half). Looking at our schedule (http://www.colts.com/news/article-1/A-Look-at-the-2014-Colts-Home-Schedule/e36760ea-7589-4d6c-9838-c8b67c9d2f7f), I think 12-4 is very possible. Of course, this could still be changed by injuries, how the draft goes, etc. But I think 12-4 is reasonable

29-22 in the fourth quarter and had two possessions to tie it before Blount got loose

[HtownColt]

AFC South Champs

[a06cc]

Order of schedule matters. 13-3 is my guess off the top of my head

[21isSuperman]

29-22 in the fourth quarter and had two possessions to tie it before Blount got loose

Even better.  As we have learned over the last 2 years, this team is capable of winning any game.  The games we lose are usually games where we implode and stop doing the fundamentals properly.

[JPFolks]

But keep in mind that we lost to the New England team without Gronk, without decent receivers outside mighty mouse and no Wilfork and lesser playmakers across the board.  They have upped their team more than we have so far and they have a #1 pick to jump further ahead.  Denver has blown the bank on next season and in 3 seasons when Manning is gone they will likely implode for a decade, but for now.. holy crap!  We might take them once, but twice the same season, especially if both games are in Denver? Hmmm... 

[a06cc]

Pats and NE have signed guys with last chances here. Older guys looking for that last chance to win. I'm fine with what we have. Signing younger players, looking now and ahead

[Smonroe]

As we stand, we're undefeated. I see no reason what that can't continue.

[braveheartcolt]

So every team we play is going to get better? Yep, we are so in trouble.

Deary me.

[MrNLM]

<--- RG3 here. I just want to let you Colts fans know that I plan on tripping over my shoelace and spending some games on the sideline so I can watch Andrew and the Colts tear it up like they always do.

 

I get so frustrated when I have to play in the game and miss out on all of Andrew's amazing comebacks.

 

Also, when our teams play each other I plan on a bunch of 3 and out's so I can watch Andrew shine like he always does.

 

Also, I'll be taking notes if I can find the pen I hid in this afro...

[MrNLM]

<--- RG3 here again. I forgot to contribute to the purpose of the thread. I am such a clutz... anyways, Andrew and the Colts are gonna have that perfect season!

 

So what is that... like 13-0 or something?

 

I have never played a full season so I am not quite sure how long the season goes...

 

SUCH A CLUTZ!

[Synthetic]

Pats and NE have signed guys with last chances here. Older guys looking for that last chance to win. I'm fine with what we have. Signing younger players, looking now and ahead

 

Pats and NE? You mean two separate teams or did you mean Denver and NE?

 

I mean, I know you guys stress yourselves way too much about the two, but if history has proven anything in the last 5 years, it's that neither Manning or Brady look like they are going to win another championship (I said win. Winning is different than MVPs or actually getting there to choke it away) So you guys should buck up, and have a little more faith in your Colts. They look a lot better in clutch than anyone else in the AFC, and they did manage to beat Seattle, who won the Super Bowl this year.

[NewColtsFan]

I expect 10/11 wins....  and to be the AFC South Champions.

 

Though I'm not sure we'll go 6-0 in the division.

 

As for the playoffs...    lots of unknowns...

 

Are we coming in hot or cold?   Who are we playing?   Match-ups mean so much.   Any key injuries to overcome?

 

Too many unknowns to have super high expectations now....   So,  I'll take our chances with another 11-5 season and a shot at the post-season......

[BlueCollarColts]

12-4, representing the AFC in the superbowl! Bring it home!!! 

 

 

As for why, I think our offense will be deadly. Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener form a very good TE duo. T.Y. Hilton, Reggie Wayne, and Hakeem Nicks form a very impressive WR corps, and Vick Ballard/Ahmad Bradshaw/Trent Richardson is nothing to make fun of at RB, I still am a big believer in TRich. I also think Khaled Holmes will be a nice improvement over Satele and I expect Thornton to take some steps foward, and with Donald Thomas back from injury I expect our offensive line to be improved as well.

 

I know our defense wasn't great, but it wasn't completely awful either. We added Arthur Jones, D'Qwell Jackson, and re-signed Vontae which was huge. I know we lost Bethea, but lets face it, he just didn't fit our system, and I am a big Delano Howell fan and think if he makes steps forward like all young players need to do, I think he and Landry can form a good safety duo. Hopefully Greg Toler can stay healthy as well, I would like some more depth behind Toler and Howell, though specifically Toler

[a06cc]

Pats and NE? You mean two separate teams or did you mean Denver and NE?

I mean, I know you guys stress yourselves way too much about the two, but if history has proven anything in the last 5 years, it's that neither Manning or Brady look like they are going to win another championship (I said win. Winning is different than MVPs or actually getting there to choke it away) So you guys should buck up, and have a little more faith in your Colts. They look a lot better in clutch than anyone else in the AFC, and they did manage to beat Seattle, who won the Super Bowl this year.

Pats and Denver. And I'm with you. We have just as many playmakers as they do.

[BlueCollarColts]

Pats and Denver. And I'm with you. We have just as many playmakers as they do.

Looking at Denver's roster, I don't see what makes them better than us. Obviously they have Peyton, but we have a guy by the name of Andrew Luck who's pretty damn good too. At the least Hakeem Nicks/T.Y. Hilton/Reggie Wayne = Demaryius Thomas/Wes Welker/Emmanuel Sanders. And our RB's are a little bit better. Our defenses are also comparable, they have Von Miller, we have Robert Mathis. They just signed Aqib Talib, we have a damn good corner who we just re-signed in Vontae Davis.  I think both of our teams are very similar, and I don't see New England or Denver as being that much, if any better than us.

 

Edit- I do like the T.J. Ward signing a lot though for Cleveland, he is a good player. However if Howell or a rookie safety can come in and give us good coverage on the back end and let us play Landry in his more natural role, I think we can get similar production out of him

[loudnproudcolt]

The people who are usually accurate about this kind of questions is Vegas. I am going to post the Vegas over/under wins for the season on the forum, but for the Colts, the win total over/under is  9 1/2 -110. So they believe our record is going to be right around this area. I am taking 10-6 and winning the AFC South. Don't know what seed that will mean. One more thing about the 9 1/2 win total. In the AFC, that win total is the third highest. Only Denver at 11 wins and New England at 10 1/2 are higher. So according to Vegas, we would be the third seed.

 

One important thing to think of, since everyone is talking about Denver and New England already as the 1 and 2 seeds. After the owner's meeting, Goodell said there is a strong chance the change in playoff teams from 6 to 7 could be implemented this year! So if that is the case, only the number 1 will have a bye week, which changes how the season will play out. More teams in the race for the playoffs means tougher games at the end.

[SilentHill]

19-0

[neug3246]

I think our team will be a lot better than many people think. BlueCollarColts stated it best our offence is stout with one of the best TE tandem in the league with Allen and Fleener, three really good wideouts in Reggie, TY, and Nicks plus dont forget about DaRick, Brazil, and Griff. Most teams would kill for those guys as depth or even a 2/3 or slot receiver. Than RB should see improvement also; I like how hard Bradshaw ran last year before his exit and I love Ballard and believe given a larger roll can be a thousand yard back. As for TRich I believe an offseason will work miracles in his development or at least I hope so. The only leak link is our Oline but with growth in Thornton as a second year guard and a healthy Thomas I have faith that they will be better than last year with Satele gone. I just wished we had the depth at oline like the depth we have at receivers.

 

Our D is a different story. Yes they might have not looked the best at times last year they played their best ball in games 3-7 last year, which many predicted to be the toughest part of our schedule. However our wins was a team effort and when our offence played its best so did our defense. After Reggie went down so did our offence and as a result so did our defense for a rough stretch of games that I think everyone wants to forget, but it was good because it tough this team how to play without Reggie. I believe with an offence that is explosive and dominate our D can be explosive and dominate too.

 

Lastly I think our coaches this year will preach playing more consistent and not at our level of our competition, or at least they should be. I think we struggled with that some the last two years, granted in year one we were learning both new O&D  schemes and in year two a new Offensive scheme but this year there will be no new system to learn so we should see the level of play rise in that as well.

 

As for a record goes I believe we can beat every team on our schedule but will we no, it is to hard in the NFL to win every game. Therefor I am not going to predict a record but expand on a say that we hear every week from Pagano, Grigs, and countless players on our roster week in and week out. One game at a time, "60 minutes, all you got, one play at a time, dont judge."

 

Lets go Colts. Continue building that Monster and lets go get that Lombardi!!!      

 

PS for the record double digits in the win column this year.

[lollygagger8]

With our additions to Defense, and if we draft a good safety and CB, our D will be impressive. If we would've been able to stop the run in the Pats game, we would've been going to Denver. This year's D is shaping up to be able to just that. 

 

Not to mention the best TE combo in the league, Wayne, T.Y., and Nicks? That's lethal. 

 

If (and these are big ifs) Bradshaw remains healthy, and Richardson turns over a new leaf, opposing Defenses will have to respect the run, and play action will mow them down. 

 

[Smurphy1]

12-4 AFC South Champs make it to the AFC Championship.

[lollygagger8]

Plus we got this guy.....  

 

[Dustin]

<--- RG3 here. I just want to let you Colts fans know that I plan on tripping over my shoelace and spending some games on the sideline so I can watch Andrew and the Colts tear it up like they always do.

 

I get so frustrated when I have to play in the game and miss out on all of Andrew's amazing comebacks.

 

Also, when our teams play each other I plan on a bunch of 3 and out's so I can watch Andrew shine like he always does.

 

Also, I'll be taking notes if I can find the pen I hid in this afro...

 

u wut m8

[MrNLM]

u wut m8

Im role playing because the offseason is lame.

[BpG]

u wut m8

 

aware

[Valpo2004]

For some reason I had trouble posting here before but I'm gonna say 12 - 4, but I think that's optimistic.  

 

As it stands now are schedule is fairly weak.  

[Jason_]

I think this is the year Pagano & Co. break the 12 win barrier.  The only thing that could hurt this is of course injuries.  I'm not nearly as concerned about the NFC East as I was last year with the NFC West.  

 

Yeah, the Bengals beat the Colts last year...in the final game that Cassius Vaughn played as the #2 CB.  That was also Da'Rick Rogers' first game getting significant playing time, which was the first time in about 5 or 6 games that another WR was able to draw some of the coverage away from Hilton.  

[Stephen]

I think we beat the bengals this year. Last year they beat us because they caught us in a slump.

[SteelDragon]

Pretty much a repeat of last year:

11-5 South Division Champs

Knocked out in the Divisional round of the Play-offs

[throwing BBZ]

:yay: Our D will be improved.

     Our O will be improved.
     We again keep our turnovers and penalties very low.
     Few NFL Teams will play at out level over 60 Minutes.
     12 Wins and Playoff Victory

[Luck_Is_Skilled]

Max: 13-3 with a trip to the Superbowl

Min: 11-5 with a trip to the AFC Championship

Either way we will win the South and appear in in the AFC title Game.