BProland85

If he can’t stay on the field this year I think it’s time Indy trades or releases him. He is money being wasted while on the sidelines.

Indy has had some bad luck with star players like Luck and now Leonard dealing with ongoing injury issues.

I mean he wasn't really good for them last year, but he was their 3rd round pick in 2022.

Silver lining is at least the Titans lost their starting RT as well.

Are they ever going to release the practice schedule and dates to the public? I will be traveling up from Nashville to hopefully catch their practice against the Bears, but can't make hotel arrangements until we know dates. I would assume it would be the first week of August or so right?

Cox and that contract needs to be traded.

Pinter is terrible. He is a backup only. Indy needs to either bring in another vet at RG or let Ekiyor compete for it and hope he wins it.

The CBs that were drafted don’t have much in front of them so they will be on the field. Downs should be an immediate impact from the slot as only McKenzie is there. Adebouwre and Freeland could provide instant depth in rotational roles as there’s not much at DT outside of Buck and Grove, and we had no swing OT on the roster before Freeland.

I would hope Bradley employs more of a 3 safety look at least early on since they have more certainty there with Blackmon, Thomas, Cross, and now the rookie they brought in. Kenny Moore needs to probably stay at nickel, with Rush and Brents on the outside. Jaylon Jones could provide Indy with a solid CB4. Hoping that with the additions of Adebowre at DT and Ebukam at DE the pass rush is improved. Need Paye to stay relatively healthy also to make life easier for our young CBs.

I would add seeing how all these rookies look. This was a very good class for the Colts, and there’s a lot of guys who could make instant impacts. Another is seeing how Leonard looks coming back from injury. Will be huge if he is back close to 100%.

I don’t see this team going worse than 6-11 this year which may put them in a spot to have a chance on Harrison Jr, but may have to deal up a little for him.

An improving OL with Q and Braden Smith getting back to form will go a long ways this season. Same goes for Leonard and JT. I'm expecting AR to take his lumps but so long as he progresses and learns from his mistakes I think he'll be fine.

I think the Colts could definitely surprise a lot of people this year. If Steichen can put Richardson in positions to be successful and utilize his strengths, they have the talent elsewhere to compete for the division. Also having this team prepared for a change especially at the start of the season will go a long ways as well. Reich never had that ability and Steichen seems to emphasize it.

It all starts with winning divisional games. Every NFL coach believes that to go where you want to go, you have to win the division. That said, I wanted to come up with some quick keys to defeating divisional opponents and finally get back to the top of the division. Keys to defeating Titans... This one is easy as I see the Titans play week in and week out being that I live in Nashville. First and foremost you have to slow Derrick Henry and the run game. That is what obviously drives their offense. You do that, you force Tannehill to carry that offense and not rely on the play action game. Second, you must account for WR Treylon Burks. Looking at their horrendous WR core, he is their ONLY threat at WR who has game-breaking ability. I hope Indy either doubles him when they play, or Brents shows he can match up very well with him as he has to size and athleticism to match Burks. Third, keep an eye on TE Chig Okonkwo at all times, as outside of Burks, he is the only other receiving option who can make big plays. Hoping Leonard comes back healthy to help in covering TEs, but if he doesn't Bradley needs a plan to covering opposing TEs in 2023. Finally, the DL and pass rush needs to be schemed to attack the Titans OC, RG, and RT. Their OL is very weak on paper, and most importantly at those 3 positions. They should be solid at LG with the Skorosnki pick, and possibly at LT with Andre Dillard. Hopefully Buckner and company are lined up over weaker OL players to take advantage and get after Tannehill often. Keys to defeating Texans... To defeat the Texans is a bit tougher to predict, as they have a brand new coaching staff with new schemes. One would assume they will employ more of a 49ers style offense as their OC came from San Fran. First, to defeat a team with a rookie QB you must eliminate his running game and Dameon Pierce. Make Stroud beat you with no name WRs. Stroud is so used to stud WRs at Ohio State getting open early and often. He won't have that luxury in the NFL with the Texans. If Bradley can throw some confusion Stroud's way with defensive alignments in the coverage and pass rush department, the Colts should have success against them. Keys to defeating Jaguars... Finally, time to discuss the biggest threat, the Jags. First a key to defeating Jacksonville is by tight coverage of their WRs and TEs and making Lawrence uncomfortable early. Indy defeated Jacksonville in Indy last year, and in that game Lawrence only threw for 165 yards. Eliminate the big plays in both the passing and running game, and you can be right there with them. Offensively, protection is key. Matt Ryan actually looked decent last year in the home game against the Jags, and it all started by getting rid of the ball early and good protection. Indy allowed 0 sacks in that game. If the OL can rebound from last year which most Colts fans believe they will with added chemistry and the progression of Raimman, they should be very competitive in both Jags games.

I would probably agree. But everything else I said was valid as to why they struggled so much last year.

They drafted 4th this past draft because basically everything that could go wrong did go wrong for them in 2022. They had the worst coaching staff in the NFL, an OL who couldn't gel together the first month or so, and an older QB who clearly needed great protection to be effective. Oh and they were also missing arguably their best defensive player in Leonard and best offensive player in Taylor most of the year.

Living in Nashville, TN, I hear all that goes on in Titans country. Today they had media present at OTAs for the first time, and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly was questioned by the media about the WR room, or lack thereof in TN. His response was very similar to how their HC operates in Vrabel, with arrogance. He went on to say they are happy with their WR core as it stands, and that the Nashville media needs to stop focusing on the negative. The reality is, outside of Treylon Burks, they have nothing at WR. Paul Kuharsky, who covers the Titans, then basically asked why he feels the way he does about the other WRs outside of Burks. Kelly's answer will make Colts fans laugh. He went on to praise the single game where Nick Westbrook-Ikine had a good catch or two, or another singular game where Kyle Philips had a good 1 or 2 catches that moved the chains. He fails to mention the other 17 games of the season where they did nothing of note. So Kelly is banking on the hope that they as a coaching staff can get those no name WRs to make those flash in the pan plays on a consistent basis, which is just laughable. I realize what else is he supposed to say in front of media, but its all the time with the Titans coaching staff under Vrabel. https://atozsports.com/nashville/titans-oc-tim-kelly-gives-his-thoughts-on-the-wide-receiver-room/ Yet another reason why I feel the Titans franchise could be in for a freefall, especially if Levis doesn't work out.

Now that the offseason including both free agency and the draft are over with, what do you see as Ballard's best move and worst move? I will say his best move was not panicking whatsoever in the draft and still getting his guy in Richardson. Many were almost demanding that the Colts should trade up to get their guy, but in the end I feel they got who they wanted all along for this system that Steichen wants to run. To tag off of that, being able to trade down numerous times throughout the draft and still landing great value players was also huge for this team. There wasn't a whole lot of bad for Ballard, but I will say a big missed opportunity was not signing FA OG Isaac Suamalo from Philly. I still worry a bit about this interior OL, and hope that Emil Ekiyor ends up taking charge of that RG spot.

Chris and his staff are a great evaluator of talent. Once he hits on a young QB, and hopefully he did, this team will jump to the top of the division based off the talent it already has.

I always thought from the very start that Richardson was better and has a much better chance at succeeding in the NFL over Levis. The fact that Levis now plays for the arrogant Vrabel and a delusional fan base in TN, will obviously make me root against him even more.

Are these joint practices typically open to the public? Would be a fun one to attend for someone who is planning on going to his first Colts training camp practice!

I feel like starting Minshew week 1 might actually be good for not only letting Richardson develop, but also the fact that he’ll be facing his former team against the Jags. I feel like players generally do well against their former teams.

Have you looked at the Titans OL, WRs, TEs, and corners? All huge question marks.

I really think the Colts roster is more talented than the Titans. They’ve had so many misses in the draft when they had Robinson as GM.

I agree. The team towards the end of the season should look quite different from the team that starts the season.