scary next year?

[ColtsFanMikeC]

I know this is a bit pre-mature since we are going to the playoffs and we shouldn't be looking too far beyond trying to finish the season out healthy and making a run in the playoffs.  However, I don't think we have a superbowl team right now -- I can see us potentially beating KC in round 1 at home -- but have a feeling Denver or NE would eat us alive in Denver or Foxborough this year.

 

I know we have been hampered by injury - and a few of them have been very big (Wayne, Ballard, Bradshaw, Allen, Thomas). 

 

Reggie Wayne was having another HOF type year and I thought Allen was going to be a lock for the pro-bowl had he not gotten hurt early in the season.  For the long-term, (assuming they come back healthy) the injuries to Wayne and Allen may have been blessings in disguise.  These injuries forced Luck to get used to playing without a security blanket (Reggie was his security blanket to date) and have forced other players to step up.  I think TY has shown he is a very dangerous WR, and that he is a lot  better with another threat on the field to take some attention away from him.  I am pretty confident that Da'Rick is going to be the real deal, and think that Brazzill was starting to play pretty well before injury last week.  Fleener has shown glimpses of being a very solid pass-catching TE.  With Wayne and Allen back healthy, I think we have the potential to have the best TE combo in the NFL (I should note here that Doyle's blocking has been great for the most part, but think Allen's receiving capabilities will really boost our offensive options) and one of the best WR combo's in the NFL -- a healthy Wayne at 1, Da'Rick at 2, TY in the slot (where I am convinced he belongs -- I think he can play a 2 spot on the outside, but is much more dangerous if he has attention drawn away from him and the ability to exploit mismatches in the middle of the field), and Brazzill at 4.  I think Brazzill has potential to be a very good #2 or #3 WR, so having him at 4 on our depth chart is a very good thing, IMO.  While I think there are other priorities, I will not be shocked or angry if we take a WR in this draft -- there are a few very good WR's that I think may be around when we get to picking, and I know RW is getting older and probably doesn't have more than a few more seasons in him.  Anyway, if Allen and RW come back healthy, I think the players in our passing game are going to be as good as any other unit in the league and Luck will be even better for having to battle through adversity this season in losing two of his major targets.

 

That said, our OL still needs a major improvement and we need to start keeping Luck upright.  Providing more space for our RBs will not only help the running game, but should open up options in our passing game as well.  I still think T-Rich is going to improve and will be worth the trade -- with Bradshaw and Ballard going down early, we needed a RB badly and had to do something to get one.  These injuries kind of forced Donald Brown into action and he has shined so far, possibly another blessing in disguise.  I worry a bit that DB will be too expensive to resign given his performance, but I really hope he comes back as he has shown that our offense can certainly use that 'change-of-pace' type of RB to come in from time to time (I met his uncle the other night and he said Donald just bought a new house near Indy, so hopefully that is a good sign that he'll be sticking around for a while).  I doubt we bring Bradshaw back due to his injury history, but if Ballard gets back to rookie form, the combo of T-Rich/Ballard/Brown is a very solid 3-headed monster.

 

With our current OL, it may not matter who is running for us.  However, I thought D. Thomas was playing pretty well (certainly better than what we have now) before his injury.  Also, I know Thornton has had some troubles, but I think he is improving and hopefully can continue to improve.  We haven't seen much of Holmes, so it is too early to tell on him, but he may develop into Satele's replacement.  It is possible that our fix to the OL is in house -- however, I think some of the injuries there may also be positive for the long-run -- they really have exposed how important it is to have depth on the line and given us areas where we must improve next season.  I think we'll see some FA signings or draft picks to help sure up the interior of the OL (I think Costanzo and Cherilus have both been very solid T's). 

 

Iff we can sure up our OL, and if the guys that were starting come back to pre-injury form, I think we should have one of the best offensives in the entire NFL next season and with a little development from Pep, we should have an offense with potential to be very balanced but very dangerous.  The thought of having TY in the slot with 2 very solid guys outside of him and a running game that can pound the rock has to be very scary for opposing defenses.

 

I mostly wrote this because I am a little bored and stuck inside and because I was starting to think how the injuries we have seen this year have affected our team and how they will help shape the team in the future.  If these guys can come back to pre-injury form, the future is very, very bright for our offense.

[IndyScribe]

Agreed. I think we can have a very good offense next year.

[AllYouNeedIsLuck]

Didn't read but yes we will be scary with a better interior line. We have the offensive pieces.. Wayne, Hilton, Allen, Fleener, Rogers, Brazill, Trent, Ballard, maybe Bradshaw, maybe Brown, Whalen. combine that with Luck and a decent interior line to go with the decent tackles, and that's a great offense. defensively, we need a pass rush. I think our secondary is fine besides maybe at safety. We need to replace Bethea but getting a pass rush is much more important. So, secondary looks good if we re-sign Vontae. Werner and Mcnary look like they could be good pieces moving forward. Same goes for Hughes and even Chapman. On defense, we'll see though. I'm just glad we have the right offense. Defense just needs a couple pieces imo. 

[BOTT]

TL;DR

[ricker182]

TL;DR

Please?

I'm assuming he's talking about how the Colts could be scary good next year.

[BleedBlue18]

Imo, we need a true #2 corner, we need interior O-Line help and work on our D-Line....That is it! I think if we upgrade and improve at these positions in the draft/FA, we will be a team people fear.

[Dark Superman]

Injuries have killed us but in another sense we got the chance to bring in some new players who have really showed us a lot of promise.. We should be a very dangerous team next season.

[BlueCollarColts]

Imo, Kansas City is better than New England without Gronkowski 

[ricker182]

Imo, Kansas City is better than New England without Gronkowski

IMO every AFC playoff team is better than NE. Also Miami and Baltimore.

[In Luck We Trust]

Wayne Ballard and Allen were big losses. Bradshaw really wasn't that big of a loss because brown stepped up in his spot but come next year a duo of Ballard and Richardson could make our run game scary (that is saying that Richardson plays  more like he did on sunday come next season) I think our receivers are in good shape come next year and that is including our TE's with Wayne, Rogers, Hilton, Brazill, Allen and Fleener. but would not hurt to add another young WR to the mix for the future after wayne retires.

 

Offensive line at the Guard and Center position need to be fixed. I don't know much about Thomas but maybe him and Thornton (with his rookie year out of the way) could make a good combo come next year at that position which would be perfect then all we would have to concentrate on is the Center position. Mack comes to mind there.

 

as far as defense goes, we def need another DE and DT. Redding isn't getting younger and our DT position is weak in the depth area. plus it is never to late to start thinking about another OLB to replace Mathis when his time is up. was thinking maybe Orakpo who is already in a 3-4 defensive scheme and is a unrestricted FA after the season, I doubt the skins resign him as they got other LB's to fill that hole and they  have bigger holes to spend money on in their secondary. put Orakpo on the other side of Mathis (until mathis retires) and that could be a scary OLB duo right there.

 

the corner position I agree with a post I saw near the top we need a solid # 2, I know some of you feel Toler could be the guy but if we brought him in to cover the slot on 3 WR set's I think it would benefit him more. maybe go after someone like Talib or Tarrell Brown or even Tillman or Jennings. a CB group of Davis, one of those guys I just mentioned, Toler and Butler teamed with Bethea and Landry could make for a decent secondary.

 

basically my two big FA signings being Orakpo and a CB and minor signings Mack at center and a WR Emannuel Sanders, or Eric Decker

 

Then the draft get DL and Offensive line depth on top of WR depth.

[In Luck We Trust]

IMO every AFC playoff team is better than NE. Also Miami and Baltimore.

I think we can beat NE with out the gronk. I even think we can beat KC and cinci also. it's Denver the 2nd go around in Denver and in the playoffs that would knock us out. which in fact if we were to advance to the second round that would be our next game if Denver holds on to the # 1 seed.

[coltsfanatic24]

Having Dwayne Allen in the offense to go along with Rogers, T.Y, Fleener, Whalen, and Brazil will make the offense scary. We still could use a C Mack or De la Puente. If Grigson can hit home runs in draft a ILB, pass rushing DE, and CB the defense could be top 10. We could be one of the few teams in the league with a top 10 offense and defense if the 2014 draft class pans out.

[dw49]

Didn't read but yes we will be scary with a better interior line. We have the offensive pieces.. Wayne, Hilton, Allen, Fleener, Rogers, Brazill, Trent, Ballard, maybe Bradshaw, maybe Brown, Whalen. combine that with Luck and a decent interior line to go with the decent tackles, and that's a great offense. defensively, we need a pass rush. I think our secondary is fine besides maybe at safety. We need to replace Bethea but getting a pass rush is much more important. So, secondary looks good if we re-sign Vontae. Werner and Mcnary look like they could be good pieces moving forward. Same goes for Hughes and even Chapman. On defense, we'll see though. I'm just glad we have the right offense. Defense just needs a couple pieces imo. 

 

 

Yeah ... too long for me to read too. But go Colts !!!

[a06cc]

If we get better interior offensive lineman I can see Trent starting and V.B. gone. If he isn't ready to play we're not going to hold on to him. We need defensive players badly. I hope next year is fixing Oline and adding a young proven pass rusher

[ColtJ82]

I believe that season after next we are a serious contender as long as someone emerges as a WR1; we fix the o-line this offseason and they have a year together; we upgrade our MLB alongside Freeman; add depth at DB (assuming Vontae is re-signed) . I hope Reggie is still around to be a part of it.

[BPM_Colt]

Our offense has the potential to be great. So much young talent it's unreal. Have to fix up the interior OL though to protect the main piece

[BOTT]

If we get better interior offensive lineman I can see Trent starting and V.B. gone. If he isn't ready to play we're not going to hold on to him. We need defensive players badly. I hope next year is fixing Oline and adding a young proven pass rusher

They're not getting rid of Ballard

[Dustin]

If we get better interior offensive lineman I can see Trent starting and V.B. gone. If he isn't ready to play we're not going to hold on to him. We need defensive players badly. I hope next year is fixing Oline and adding a young proven pass rusher

Why wouldn't he be ready to play? He'll have had basically a year to recover.

[SteelDragon]

Yeah, we would be pretty good without the injuries.  Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game and we're going to have players on IR next year too.

[3nk1du]

I don't like this post, i this is why. 

Indy needs to play and invest on defense and offense, we are getting on Peyton team kind of, where all the pressure was on Manning and i don't like that kind of manage, i have seen many coments/post about getting a better OL, WR, even TE, but we really need to think on a balanced team (i think we can get a SB run the next year if we can get a C and a WR).

 

So i'd be glad if we can reforce the defence and improve and the OL.

[esmort]

If we get better interior offensive lineman I can see Trent starting and V.B. gone. If he isn't ready to play we're not going to hold on to him. We need defensive players badly. I hope next year is fixing Oline and adding a young proven pass rusher

 

Why would we get rid of Ballard?  He only costs us $600,000 per year for the next 2 years, and Trent hasn't shown anything that says he could even take the starting job from Ballard.

[Stephen]

I think we can beat NE with out the gronk. I even think we can beat KC and cinci also. it's Denver the 2nd go around in Denver and in the playoffs that would knock us out. which in fact if we were to advance to the second round that would be our next game if Denver holds on to the # 1 seed.

not if the number 6th seed won.

[ThaCaliColt]

I would like to see Bradshaw return. We will have a great offense on paper- with pro football who can ever discount injuries however...With no first round pick, I think the immediate needs are to find the best interior offensive linemen available. We certainly need pass rushers as well...

[Brent71]

I mostly wrote this because I am a little bored and stuck inside

how long did your post take to type ? It would literally take me 3 hours. Don't know how you people do it.

[MFT5]

I want to save all our money for JJ WATT

[tahuyaman]

Luck is going to need to step up to the next level next season. He's proving to be a fairly solid QB, but he wasn't drafted to just "fairly solid". He needs to step it up and become a game changer. I think he has the potential.

[rittdk01]

Luck is going to need to step up to the next level next season. He's proving to be a fairly solid QB, but he wasn't drafted to just "fairly solid". He needs to step it up and become a game changer. I think he has the potential.

U kidding?

 

The Colts would have two wins this year if they didn't have Luck.  I can't think of a better game changer in the fourth quarter in the entire league.  "fairly solid"  c'mon get real.

[lollygagger8]

I'm sorry, but did you just say meow? 

 

[indyagent17]

Keep one thing in mind: The playoffs in the NFL are not best of 7 but a single game.

 

What can happen in a single game?  Anything and Everything 

 

There is no way of knowing what circumstances can happen in 60 minutes of football 

 

Just ask Auburn!  

 

I go into every Colts game with the idea we can win and let the circumstances play out (Fumbles, Injuries, Mistakes) 

 

Why not the Colts???

[tahuyaman]

U kidding?

 

The Colts would have two wins this year if they didn't have Luck.  I can't think of a better game changer in the fourth quarter in the entire league.  "fairly solid"  c'mon get real.

I disagree. For the Colts to become a real Super Bowl contender Luck is going to need to pick it up a bit. Eventually he will get there, but he's not at that level yet

[HeSoColt]

I think we will be vastly better.

 

I think losing Donald Thomas this year at guard hurt nearly as bad as losing Reggie or DA. 

 

However, one question I still have is about how effective Pep can be as a NFL OC. 

 

I think the o-line will be alot better due to drafting or signing a FA center. I think the defense needs get better on the back end as far as a better FS. The defense also needs alot of help at the LB position. The defense also needs pass rush bad... so before we jump to say we will be alot better... Grigson has a lot of holes to fill.