is 2016 our best shot at a title?

[COLTS449]

Like a lot of others have already said. This will be our best shot so far in the Luck era. But IMO. We'll be one of the top 2-3 favorites every single year for the next 15 years too.

[aaron11]

One thing is for certain I will celebrate the day Brady retires and I wonder if Belichick will stay or just clean out his locker. 

depends on how soon brady retires.  if its in the next 2-3 years BB sticks around.  if its not for another 5 or so i think the hoodie will walk with brady.

 

it also depends on what the teams qb situation is looking like when that day comes

[aaron11]

 We know the best team doesn't alway win...

we saw that this year.  of course its subjective but i think the packers were the best team

[Coltsman1788]

I completely reject this premise.  It has been proven, time and again, that to win in the NFL you need to have a franchise level QB and the Colts have that in spades.  Since 2003, the only QB to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl have been Peyton, Brady and BIg Ben with Flacco as the single outlier.  I think Flacco is at least a near-elite player and the others, there is no doubt - first ballot HoF's. 

 

All those Super Bowl teams that franchise QB's play on have had to manage the salary cap and account for them taking up large percentages of financial resources but they have done it.  They have to be willing to let some players walk after their rookie deals which means drafting well is required but that is not an unreasonable expectation.

 

The Colts will be contenders for the next decade because of 12.

The questioned posed by the original poster was not about whether the Colts will be contenders for the next decade.  It was is this year their best shot at winning the Super Bowl.  I think it is in terms of our roster because eventually Luck will be PAID and there will be salary cap consequences.  This is as loaded as this team will probably be since we have many key guys still on their rookie contracts plus a nice blend of veterans to compliment them.  I think the Colts are going for it this year as it may be their best shot but likely not their only shot down the road since they do have 12 as you said.  

[wig]

Complete and utter nonsense.

Yep. This is the first realistic chance in the Luck era, and we'll be contenders most years for the next decade.

[wig]

Luck is going to get paid a lot of money. This will change on how we spend on players in free agency.

Who knows what will happen to Castonzo and Hilton in FA.

Every SB contender will have a QB that's paid a lot of money.

[Defjamz26]

Irving, Freeman, Jackson.

What holes at ILB?

NT is coming along.... slowly.

Jackson really isn't that good, especially in coverage. Plus he's old.

Freeman is the definition of "solid". Not great, but not terrible. That's not good enough against white teams who talked like to pound the rock.

Irving is coming off an ACL surgery so who knows what his value is.

There is nothing to be excited about at NT. Who knows what if anything, Parry brings to the table.

[jskinnz]

The questioned posed by the original poster was not about whether the Colts will be contenders for the next decade.  It was is this year their best shot at winning the Super Bowl.  I think it is in terms of our roster because eventually Luck will be PAID and there will be salary cap consequences.  This is as loaded as this team will probably be since we have many key guys still on their rookie contracts plus a nice blend of veterans to compliment them.  I think the Colts are going for it this year as it may be their best shot but likely not their only shot down the road since they do have 12 as you said.  

 

I completely understood the premise of the OP and simply do not buy it.  His contention as yours seems to be is that because Luck will soon count more towards the salary cap that this season is the best chance they will have.  I cannot disagree with that more.  You manage your roster, you draft well and you have the most important position covered in all of sports, a team will have a chance to win it all for the foreseeable future.  

[ColtRider]

Unfortunately yes? Care to elaborate on that statement MTC? I'm not challenging you. I'm just curious as to why your reply has a somber overtone to it. Luck is a young man still. It's not like he's nearing 40 in football years. If we protect him & get 4-6 yards per carry on the ground. The sky is the limit. 

 

I have a feeling that RB Vick Ballard is gonna be a freaking stud this season. He's definitely due man.

I agree SW1! A healthy Ballard/Gore combination of run consistency (there's that word again) should enable the fully loaded passing threat to become explosive and that includes these two out of the back-field as well.

[ColtRider]

The Chargers drafted poorly. The Colts began to draft poorly, and never used free agency. Obviously, you have to have the right supporting staff, but the point, as you mention, is that having a franchise QB with a big contract isn't an excuse for not having the right supporting staff. It makes it a little more difficult, but that's the job. I don't think anyone would rather be the Jets or Texans, teams with pretty good rosters but who can't find or keep a QB.

 

Also, while the salary cap has gone up dramatically, QB salaries haven't quite kept pace. In 2012, the highest paid QB accounted for 16.6% of the cap. This year, the highest paid QB accounts for 15.4% of the cap. And that's just average salary, not actual cap hit, which is easy to manipulate. Between the rookie wage scale and cap rollover, the salary cap is becoming much easier to navigate, even with a highly paid QB.

Nicely stated, "Man of Steel!"

[ColtRider]

edit: I mean 2015-2016, obviously.

 

I keep thinking about all the holes we're going to have in the near future when we lose guys to either age or FA (Gore, AJ, Herremans, Cherilous, Mathis, Cole, Jackson, Toler, Adams, etc).  With all the key players who will need new contracts soon, will we have the cap room to fill these holes?  Will Grigson be able to draft well enough to prevent the problems before they occur?

 

This year, we have someone we should at minimum feel comfortable with at virtually every position.  We also have tons of talented vets who have enough in the tank for at least one more push.

 

 

I know it isn't "now or never" since we still have Andrew Luck, but is this coming season our best chance for the foreseeable future?

Tough question to answer without any true authoritative crystal ball, bananabucket. (good looking bananas btw) ..."is this coming season our best chance" [at making the Super Bowl/ and/or winning it?]

IMO, I think the Colts have a very-good-to-excellent chance of making it to Super Bowl L. As far as winning the whole enchilada? If they make the appearance, yeah, they've got just as much a shot as the NFC contender. Barring injuries in the Playoffs, Championship Game, and overall health of the team at game time ... yeah it wouldn't be out of the realm of a good possibility.

[Coltsman1788]

I think the offense will be good enough to get us there. However our defense will be the reason we don't finish the job. Just the vibe that I am getting as we approach the season. Right now...I am feeling like we will run into Dallas and get rolled over.

[southwest1]

Tough question to answer without any true authoritative crystal ball, bananabucket. (good looking bananas btw) ..."is this coming season our best chance" [at making the Super Bowl/ and/or winning it?]

IMO, I think the Colts have a very-good-to-excellent chance of making it to Super Bowl L. As far as winning the whole enchilada? If they make the appearance, yeah, they've got just as much a shot as the NFC contender. Barring injuries in the Playoffs, Championship Game, and overall health of the team at game time ... yeah it wouldn't be out of the realm of a good possibility.

Very few people use the word "enchilada" when writing anymore CS. Nice touch. Produce/fruit seldom gets complemented either unless a person is painting a centerpiece in art class. I always notice clever ways people express themselves. You're very good at that BTW.

 

Getting back to your original post. I like our chances for the next few years actually. Gore is an exceptional back if we can just give him a crease of daylight to run toward & thereby reduce the need to throw so much on almost every QB down. Dallas, NE, Pittsburgh...We must confront & overcome our demons/stumbling blocks...Do that successfully & the Colts should be a lethal team to face/cross paths with when all the dust settles.