Is the team more Super Bowl ready than last year?

[wordofmouth]

I am not trying to be provocative here, but has this years team moved forward, stayed the same or actually regressed.  Last year we defeated the 49'rs, Seahawks, Broncos and the Chefs twice.

This year we have not faired well against any of the top teams we have played and not looked very good in many of the wins vs mid level competition.

Are we really moving forward ( on the field not on paper) or are we slightly regressing?

[CanuckColt]

No.

...............

[HtownColt]

Compared to last year yea

[CR91]

we'd be better if we actually started the right o-lineman instead of just letting luck get killed

[SOMDColtsfan]

IMO..Nope. I`d even go so far to say this years team couldn't beat the 2012 version of the Colts. The talent is overall better but they aren't putting the best players on the field. Turnovers and sloppy play = undisciplined team, been this way all year.   

[Nesjan3]

I wouldn't say worse but I wouldn't say better either, realistically we could be 12-2 we should have beat philly and had a chance to beat Denver.... but the turnovers have been brutal this year, the personal decisions and play calling have been head scratching this year as well

[BlueCollarColts]

I would say we are overall better but just inconsistent. Overall I feel we can beat anyone on any given day, so if we get hot by the playoffs we will be a tough out. 

[Coltsman1788]

Talent and health wise they are slightly improved. But not improved enough to have found the answers to the problems that plague them year after year which are: can't run the ball, can't stop the run, can't protect Luck. This year we are actually adding can't protect the football to the list. Those issues will likely be why they'll come up short again.

[GoColts8818]

They are healthier but I don't know.  I know they beat the Ravens and Bengals two very likely playoff teams and they beat the Texans and Browns and pretty much ended their playoff chances but other than that they have been really lack luster against teams with a pulse.  New England and Pittsburgh had their way with them.  They played an awful half in Denver followed by a good half so I don't know what to take from that.  The Eagles game they played well but came up short.  The Cowboys game will be a good test  because they are a playoff team.  Hopefully the Colts come to play.

 

One thing I will say is if the Colts don't get this turnover bug under control they are in deep trouble come playoff time.  You can't turn the ball over against really good teams and win. 

[jskinnz]

Not trying to be a jerk here but who cares if they are better positioned than last year?  It matters not.  Last year was last year and they proved to not be good enough.  In this season all the have done is get themselves into a position to see if they are good enough this year.  They will be one of 12 to have that opportunity which at this point is all you can ask for.

[krunk]

I second that emotion about the turnovers.  Seems the more we say Luck needs to get it under control he will come out in the 1st quarter of the very next game and throw another pick six.  Guys like Reggie turning the ball over are not helping things either.

[#12]

IMO..Nope. I`d even go so far to say this years team couldn't beat the 2012 version of the Colts. The talent is overall better but they aren't putting the best players on the field. Turnovers and sloppy play = undisciplined team, been this way all year.   

 

Stagnant.  Outside the QB, this is not a great team.  The coaching? 

 

Is this organization going in the right direction?  I have no idea, but as has been the case since 1998, they have the QB to save themselves and put butts in the seats.  As long as that's true, I doubt you'll see any changes.   

[ColtsBTM12]

Well, it's hard to compare. Last year towards the beginning of the season we beat those top teams that you mentioned however after Reggie went down the offense seriously struggled for much of the second half of the season and we struggled to find our identity. This year we haven't been able to beat those top tier teams that we were able to knock off last year however we are much healthier and the offense has more of an identity while the defense is playing very well as of late. I'm going to say yes but not by much. We are probably another draft and free agent or two away from having serious Super Bowl chances.

[Ja'Crispy]

I don't think so. The lack of a serious pass rushing threat hurts. A lot. We don't have Mathis, we don't have that guy that can get a big sack when we need it either.

As far as the offense goes, this team cannot protect the football. The past few games it seems we are losing the turnover battle, but we are playing inferior teams that can't capitalize. Luck spots any of these playoff teams 7-14 points like he has been doing? See ya later. Thanks for playing. We need better decision making on his part and better ball security from the backs and WRs.

[Gavin]

Short answer is no

[Derakynn]

The pre-Pittsburg game team could win the Superbowl. The one we are seeing currently can not. It has all been downhill from then. The defense is overall better, but this offense just doesn't do things conducive to a Super Bowl winning team, regardless of their supposed top ranking. 

[jmac_48]

Yes, this team is progressing. Is this team going to win the SB this year? Highly Unlikely!

 

How many of you really thought that this roster really was complete enough to actually contend with the best of the league?

Not Me!  Did I hope that things would come together in many areas and progression would be greater? You Betcha!

 

Yeah, any team that makes the playoffs could get hot and go all the way.

I just don't see this over expectations of the win now attitude by the fans... ain't gonna happen.

(all coaches and FO's spew the win now nonsense, only one team wins it all each year... odds are long)

This team is not there yet!

 

That being said, I m ecstatic that the Colts have won our division again, so far couldn't have ask for more.

This is a young rebuilding team that isn't there yet,  just don't see the win it all right now attitude and the negativity that come with all that. Things could be a whole lot more miserable for Colts Fans.

 

For now I will be happy where this team is now and hope that the future is as bright as it appears to me.

Get some perspective, yeah things could be better but don't expect it all at once.

 

AND hope against hope I surely do hope this team "Hoists the Lombardi!"

 

[RockThatBlue]

Yes, but not by much.

[bestQBever]

definitely hasn't regressed. But I'm not sure if we are better than last year. Either way, If we don't fix these turnover problems NOW, we might as well hibernate until next season.

[CR91]

I with jskinnz who cares. We're in the playoffs. Be happy about that and if youre not, go be a raider fan you have something to really complain about

[#12]

I with jskinnz who cares. We're in the playoffs. Be happy about that and if youre not, go be a raider fan you have something to really complain about

 

We're in year 17 of Manning/Luck.

 

If Jamarcus Russel were our QB, I'd be content with a playoff spot. 

[runthepost]

No

[ColtsFanMikeC]

I am not trying to be provocative here, but has this years team moved forward, stayed the same or actually regressed.  Last year we defeated the 49'rs, Seahawks, Broncos and the Chefs twice.

This year we have not faired well against any of the top teams we have played and not looked very good in many of the wins vs mid level competition.

Are we really moving forward ( on the field not on paper) or are we slightly regressing?

 

The league is so interesting this year that it is really hard to say what may happen come the playoffs.  A big part of this is going to be determined by the final rankings come playoff time.  If we stay as the 3, Denver stays the 2 and NE stays at 1 -- it would mean we go to Denver with a win in round 1.  I think Denver is a very beatable team and believe we could win that battle.  However, if we drop to 4 we'd have a good chance of having to travel to NE if we get through round 1.  I don't see us being able to beat NE on the road in the playoffs.  However, I could see a team like Pitt, Baltimore, or even San Diego beating NE.  If that were the case, assuming we get through round 1 and beat Denver, we'd play the AFC Championship at home and would have a decent shot.  Assuming we get through round 1 and then beat Denver, if NE wins we'd have to travel to NE and it would be very difficult.  A lot of interesting things can play out in the next two weeks and I think we have a much better shot of beating KC, Cincy, or Baltimore than we would having to face Pittsburgh or San Diego in round 1. 

 

Assuming we made it to super bowl, there is so much that can happen in the NFC.  I think we'd be hard pressed to beat Seattle, but would have a decent chance of beating just about any other team from that conference.

 

In short, I think our chances at making a run in the playoffs are going to be determined by how seeding plays out and which match-ups we get.  Additionally, just about every team in the hunt is just an injury away from being a totally different team (e.g., if Denver lost Peyton, D. Thomas, E. Sanders, or a number of players on defense, they are a much more beatable team -- if NE loses Brady or Revis they become much more beatable -- if Baltimore/Pittsburgh/Cincy/KC/SD loses Flacco/Big Ben/Dalton/Smith/Rivers they are all much lesser teams -- if we lose Luck, Vontae, TY, Boom, etc. we are a much lesser team -- if any NFC teams lose a QB or several other players they are all much lesser teams -- e.g., 4 weeks ago I thought AZ was best team in football, but without Carson Palmer, and now Stanton, they look to be quite beatable).

 

Here's to hoping TY recovers and we stay healthy going into the playoffs and that the seeding plays itself out to provide us with favorable match-ups.  I think we have a shot -- we've got a good mix of veterans who have been there before (Wayne, Redding, Mike Adams, Vinatieri) and a lot of young guys who have won in the playoffs before (last year) and some hungry players who haven't been before (e.g., D'Qwell Jackson, Josh Cribbs) -- but, I think our shot is going to really be determined by how the next two weeks play out and how the match-ups work themselves out.  Obviously, we need to limit turnovers and our defense needs to show up like it did today, last week or against Cincy and not like it did against NE or Pittsburgh. If we do both of those things, we are capable of playing with anyone in this league -- and with Luck at the helm, we'll always have a shot at coming out on top.

 

Also, we have seen that any team is capable of beating or losing to just about any other team this year (e.g., Pittsburgh crushed us then turned around and got embarrassed by the lowly Jets two weeks later, Denver has won a lot of games vs good teams and got dominated by St. Louis, we dominated Cincy with a shutout and came back the next week to let Pitt put >50 points on us, KC beat Seattle then turned around and lost to Oakland, San Diego beat Seattle but lost 37-0 to Miami, New England lost 33-20 to Miami early in the year then beat them 41-13 today, Green Bay dominated Philly, beat NE and then got handled pretty well in a loss to Buffalo today, etc. etc.).  I know we focus on our team and need to limit our turnovers, play at a high level on D, but I'm sure fans of all those other teams have seen potential brilliance and potential awfulness from them as well. 

[NewColtsFan]

My first reaction is to say no,  we're not more Super Bowl ready than last year.

 

But, I'd add this.... (and it's not saying much)   that if we are more ready,   it's by such a small margin as to not make much of a difference.

 

I'd note that if either Cleveland last week or Houston today had any type of decent quarterback,  the Colts would've lost both games.

 

We are not playing all that well.    And our defensive effort is completely misleading.     We've played the last two games against teams with dramatically below average quarterback play,  and we've struggled to win both games.

 

That's not the sign of a team ready to make a deep run in the playoffs.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

My first reaction is to say no,  we're not more Super Bowl ready than last year.

 

But, I'd add this.... (and it's not saying much)   that if we are more ready,   it's by such a small margin as to not make much of a difference.

 

I'd note that if either Cleveland last week or Houston today had any type of decent quarterback,  the Colts would've lost both games.

 

We are not playing all that well.    And our defensive effort is completely misleading.     We've played the last two games against teams with dramatically below average quarterback play,  and we've struggled to win both games.

 

That's not the sign of a team ready to make a deep run in the playoffs.

 

Our D has played very well the past 2 games, IMO.  Today, 7 points of 10 points were the direct result of a pick six.  Last week, 14 points were directly from a pick six and a fumble, 3 were the result of an interception in our territory and they had 1 decent drive that led to a TD.

 

You are right, we were playing against pretty poor QB quality, which may be misleading -- but they played very well on D regardless -- the reason we struggled to win both games was much more due to our offensive struggles and turnovers than because of our D

[Gavin]

Ill add this.......If we can run the ball in the playoffs then we have as good a shot as ANYONE

[Flash7]

Although he offense isn't clicking at the moment, we have the #1 offense in the league. We are more Super Bowl ready.

Let's not forget that our starting receiving corps last year was T.Y., Brazill, And Rogers. So we are actually better on offense and defense, personnel wise. But we are now much too pass happy and the imbalance is starting to lead to us being too one-sided.

[akcolt]

We have won what 10/12 not all pretty but this is the NFL a win is a win Green Bay just lost at Buffalo. We are better on D this year even without Mathis I think just because we are stronger up front and Toler is healthy Brown has proved to be an upgrade on the backend as well. .

 

We have the weapons on offense to score with anyone. We have a shot.

[GoColts8818]

We have won what 10/12 not all pretty but this is the NFL a win is a win Green Bay just lost at Buffalo. We are better on D this year even without Mathis I think just because we are stronger up front and Toler is healthy Brown has proved to be an upgrade on the backend as well. .

 

We have the weapons on offense to score with anyone. We have a shot.

agreed the Colts will have a punchers chance in any game they play in the playoffs, like evey year it will come down to match ups. If the colts get good one or the ball bounces their way they can go on a deep run or if they get a bad match up or don't get breaks they could be one and done.

[crazycolt1]

Well, it's hard to compare. Last year towards the beginning of the season we beat those top teams that you mentioned however after Reggie went down the offense seriously struggled for much of the second half of the season and we struggled to find our identity. This year we haven't been able to beat those top tier teams that we were able to knock off last year however we are much healthier and the offense has more of an identity while the defense is playing very well as of late. I'm going to say yes but not by much. We are probably another draft and free agent or two away from having serious Super Bowl chances.

That is exactly what I have been preaching all season. The Colts are still at least one draft away from being playoff ready. Add a couple of free agents to the mix would help. On average it takes 4 or 5 years to build a super bowl team. The Colts are still in the rebuild mode. Way too many fans seem to forget that.

[Solon]

Health wise, definitely. Having Allen and Reggie is huge. 

[GwinnettColt]

The pre-Pittsburg game team could win the Superbowl. The one we are seeing currently can not. It has all been downhill from then. The defense is overall better, but this offense just doesn't do things conducive to a Super Bowl winning team, regardless of their supposed top ranking. 

Agreed. The Colts vs. Cincy would win the Lombardi.  The Colts vs. Pittsburgh or NE would lose in a blowout.  

 

Inconsistency is frustrating with this team.  

[Gavin]

Agreed. The Colts vs. Cincy would win the Lombardi.  The Colts vs. Pittsburgh or NE would lose in a blowout.  

 

Inconsistency is frustrating with this team.  

The Bengals did not have there top 2 wr's in that game, Why does no one acknowledge that. What we saw vs Cincy was a far cry of what they are with AJ Green

[Happy2BeHere]

Hmmmmm....more ready? I'd say yes overall. Let's examine some stats.

Offense

OYPG Gained

2014 - 2nd currently

2013 - 15th overall

PPG Gained

2014 - 3rd currently

2013 - 14th overall

3rd Down Coversions Gained

2014 - 2nd currently

2013 - 15th overall

Total Sacks Allowed

2014 - 12th currently

2013 - 6th overall

DEFENSE

YPG Allowed

2014 - 15th currently

2013 - 20th overall

PPG Allowed

2014 - 17th currently

2013 - 9th overall

3rd Down Coversions Allowed

2014 - 1st (tied) currently

2013 - 15th overall

Total Sacks Gained

2014 - 11th currently

2013 - 10th overall

Offensively we have improved tremendously. We basically went from middle of the league to almost 1st in everything.

Defensively we are about the same as last year with the exception of points per game allowed. We have also improved tremendously on 3rd down defense which I say has attributed to the boost in offensive output significantly.

Plus a lot of these guys are going on more playoff experience from being there either the past 1 or 2 years...they've hopefully gained some knowledge and realize the playoffs are different and you must step it up or go home.

I would say we are more ready than last year absolutely...I think the stats confirm that. However, we need to clean up the turnovers...that's the only area I'm concerned about.

[HungarianColtsFan]

No. As long as we don't have serviceable running game, we won't be playoff-ready. Winning AFCS is nice, but some further frontiers are set for this team.

[sweetsurrender]

Last year's team was not Super Bowl ready so not sure why we have this comparison. In terms of this season, the Colts are a better team but not playing like it. Too many turnovers, sloppy, undisciplined. I think this coaching staff has to really be looked at this off-season. Something is off. Could be game planning, practices, not sure. 

[GwinnettColt]

The Bengals did not have there top 2 wr's in that game, Why does no one acknowledge that. What we saw vs Cincy was a far cry of what they are with AJ Green

 

We didn't have Robert Mathis.

[RandomFan]

I think this will be another year of being good but not good enough, so no.

[peytonmanning18]

If our turnover machine quarterback would stop giving the ball away we'd be a heck of a lot better

[JColts72]

Not at all and this is being objective.