NFL.com's Gil Brandt Ranks Colts Offseason 4th Best in League

[WarGhost21]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000809390/article/five-best-offseasons-of-2017-patriots-browns-lead-the-pack 

 

I totally agree with everything he had written here! Finally a bit of optimism our way!

[TheRustonRifle#7]

He is the polar opposite of ESPN...lol!  I am hopeful for a top 10 team, anything more is gravy!  Go Colts!

[indyagent17]

brandt is one guy that I pay heed to, he is a genius and gives great analytical information

[BR-549]

I really like this... 

 

"Hiring Chris Ballard to be the general manager made this team better immediately -- that move by itself improved the Colts' fortunes dramatically"

 

[Steamboat_Shaun]

5 hours ago, WarGhost21 said:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000809390/article/five-best-offseasons-of-2017-patriots-browns-lead-the-pack 

 

I totally agree with everything he had written here! Finally a bit of optimism our way!

 

Nice read. We definitely have to do some digging to find anything positive written about the Colts these days, but I'll take it.

[AZColt11]

This guy has forgotten more about football than most of us have learned.  He knows his stuff FWIW.

[rockywoj]

Was just going to post about this.  Here's what he said about the Colts ...

 

4) Indianapolis Colts

 

 

Hiring Chris Ballard to be the general manager made this team better immediately -- that move by itself improved the Colts' fortunes dramatically. One of the things that hurt this team more than anything last year was the push-pull between the head coach, then-GM Ryan Grigson and the staff, and I think Ballard will eliminate that troublesome element. 

And look at the moves the Colts have made in his short tenure. Indianapolis signed a slew of defensive veterans -- including defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins and linebacker Jabaal Sheard-- and drafted Malik Hooker, a safety who could be a star in this league for the next 10 years. Second-rounder Quincy Wilson will be a solid corner and third-rounder Tarell Basham should help buttress the pass rush. It would've been nice to add a top-flight running back, but fourth-round pick Marlon Mack -- whose 10-yard split of 1.50 seconds was the best time of any running back at the NFL Scouting Combine -- has the quickness and pass-catching ability to be a very good pro. Mack will fill a third-down-back role that enables the Colts to run a lot of play action, which should help protect Andrew Luck -- as should fourth-round tackle Zach Banner.

 

______

 

I hope the season's performance vaults the Colts' offseason to number one. Go Colts!

[stitches]

What's funny to me is when everybody ranks the Colts off-season among the top in the league and they all say how much the Colts have improved and then procede to rank them in the 20s in their power rankings(worse than we finished the previous season). Something has to give...

[Peterk2011]

Don't take early power rankings seriously. Last year they ESPN ranked the Falcons at 18th, and they ended up being the best team in NFL and almost winning the Superbowl. Were they wrong? Yes. Were they ignorant/stupid to put the Falcons at #18? No. So many things can go right or wrong. it's just too early to judge.

 

Btw, my top 5 looks different than Brandt's, but i'm OK with this one too.

[lollygagger8]

Yes Mr. Brandt...yeeeesssss 

 

[King Colt]

2017 Indianapolis Colts

W       L  

16       0

[bababooey]

Haven't checked the other threads but I saw the Colts posted an NFL.com video where the guy has us at 11 wins AND division winners. We should have been at least a 10-11 win team last year (Detroit, Texans, Jags in London). We have to get back to winning one score games and if this defense moves up even 5 ranks, that's playoffs baby.

 

Edit: The guy I am talking about is Pete Shrager and the video I am referring to is right next to Brandt's write up if anyone wants to see.

[will426]

The division is getting back to their common sense lol with Peyton led teams the goal was to RUN on the colts and thier soft defense...division all has multiple running backs who can run now  so hopefully our run defense is better than before 

[Dingus McGirt]

Easy...easy.  Slow your roll, everyone.

[wig]

18 hours ago, stitches said:

What's funny to me is when everybody ranks the Colts off-season among the top in the league and they all say how much the Colts have improved and then procede to rank them in the 20s in their power rankings(worse than we finished the previous season). Something has to give...

 

Problem is that one of the biggest reasons our offseason is highly regarded is Ballard. That leads to a promising future more than present. That said, if this team stays healthy, we'll be pretty good. 

 

I could honestly see two South teams in the AFC playoffs. With the Texans being left out. 

[Luck is Good]

On 5/17/2017 at 5:32 PM, BR-549 said:

I really like this... 

 

"Hiring Chris Ballard to be the general manager made this team better immediately -- that move by itself improved the Colts' fortunes dramatically"

 

Yep. Makes a world of difference when the GM is good

[a06cc]

Luck is at his best based off of play-action this is way I wanted a RB in the draft. Hopefully Mack works out great for us. 

[IrishColt22]

19 hours ago, stitches said:

What's funny to me is when everybody ranks the Colts off-season among the top in the league and they all say how much the Colts have improved and then procede to rank them in the 20s in their power rankings(worse than we finished the previous season). Something has to give...

I sort of see where they are coming from though. See we were prob a bit worse than our 8-8 suggests and apart from 2014 than all our records suggests mainly because luck put so much paper over the cracks on the team and grigs thought it beneficial to barely fill in the cracks. This off-season defensively we have gotten better but that was by basically replacing the whole wall instead of filling it. So it's going to take some time for our defence to gel and excel in the new system, which most of them are learning.
Also I'm still a bit apprehensive about how close to 100% Luck will be come game 1. Not that the shoulder will not be healed but will he have regained the muscle he lost and the rapport with the WR/TE for this season. I could see a slow start to a season again. Our record I think depends how fast we can start firing on all cylinders. If it's fast then higher than the 20's if not i could see us in the 20's.

[ReMeDy]

Nope, closed article soon as I saw New England was #1. A team that doesn't have a draft does NOT have the right of claiming to have the #1 best offseason.

 

The Colts clearly improved and did better than New England by miles. On account of New England not having a draft, they should be ranked #32.

[crazycolt1]

28 minutes ago, ReMeDy said:

Nope, closed article soon as I saw New England was #1. A team that doesn't have a draft does NOT have the right of claiming to have the #1 best offseason.

 

The Colts clearly improved and did better than New England by miles. On account of New England not having a draft, they should be ranked #32.

You know the Patriots cant do anything wrong or negative in the media's eyes. Golden boy Brady and God like Belichick draws all the attention no matter what they do. It even happens right here in the Colts forum!

[Boiler_Colt]

26 minutes ago, ReMeDy said:

Nope, closed article soon as I saw New England was #1. A team that doesn't have a draft does NOT have the right of claiming to have the #1 best offseason.

 

The Colts clearly improved and did better than New England by miles. On account of New England not having a draft, they should be ranked #32.

That is not a very good argument. The offseason is more than just the draft, which they got a few pretty good players in by the way. They got established players for their picks, not unproven rookies. How do you NOT consider that a good offseason. I can't fathom your logic.

[NewColtsFan]

1 hour ago, ReMeDy said:

Nope, closed article soon as I saw New England was #1. A team that doesn't have a draft does NOT have the right of claiming to have the #1 best offseason.

 

The Colts clearly improved and did better than New England by miles. On account of New England not having a draft, they should be ranked #32.

 

Several points....  

 

First,  the list was about the off-season,  and not a ranking of the draft.

 

Second,   this is not the first list to talk about how good New England's draft was, and that includes the players they got in exchange for their 1st and 2nd round picks.

 

Third,   New England is not claiming anything.   Others are judging them and it's a widely held viewpoint.

 

[bleevit]

One thing I see, besides agreeing with this being a great offseason, is that the sportscasters are starting to pay attention to what is going on here. It makes me feel kind of good for some reason. I think this year's team will be a tough out (as they say somewhere).