I think Colts will win division next year

[lennymoore24]

I find it odd that so many "experts" think the Colts are still a year or two off from returning to the playoffs.  They talk about our lack of talent and too many holes and it will take awhile to come together.  But I fully expect the Colts to win the division next season, and here is why:

1) The Colts, statistically, have the weakest schedule in the NFL.  I know that can all change because some teams with bad records will get better.  But their schedule is not by any means real hard.

2) The Colts could have easily been 10-6 last year if they had pulled out the games against the Texans, for one.  And considering the Colts were playing with an epically  bad defense, they guys they have drafted and signed cannot be possibly do better than they did last year.  I feel like the players they have signed and drafted should add at least 2 more wins next season.  The offense is pretty good.

So I really don't get it.  We were almost there with a terribly faulted team last year.  I expect the defense to make a move from like 30th to 20th, which is still not good enough, but good enough to win the division in my opinion.

DISCLAIMER:  I am aware everything is specuation.  We don't know anything yet how things will turn out.  But that is the whole point of forums.  We speculate about things.   Don't need someone to say "We need to wait till we see these guys play....".  Yeah, we all know that!

[2006Coltsbestever]

It's way too early to predict what they will go and what will happen because we haven't had pre-season yet but we nailed the Draft and on paper our schedule is favorable. Houston still has QB problems, Savage is Average and Watson is a Rook. The Titans are tough to read, I really didn't think their Draft was all that impressive but they are capable of going 10-6. Jags now have Fournette and have been building their Defense for years but it's the Jags and they still have Blake Bortles at QB. As of now I think we have as good a shot as any of those teams to win the Division in reality. We still have the best QB in the Division too which could be the Difference in 2017.

[bluephantom87]

Love what Ballard did in the draft but I truly believe A LOT will have to do with Chuck's development of the young players as well as his OWN development and growth as hc. The afc has gotten better and poor coaching decisions can sometimes be the difference between having a 8-8 season or an 11-5 one.

[a06cc]

Hey I've been saying this for months. If Chuck doesn't win the division this season. Well we all know what's going to happen. 

[ColtsBlitz]

The Colts were never really out of games either except for the Chiefs game and Steelers, but our defense obviously is monumentally better, and hopefully Luck will stay upright more often this year. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

11 minutes ago, bluephantom87 said:

Love what Ballard did in the draft but I truly believe A LOT will have to do with Chuck's development of the young players as well as his OWN development and growth as hc. The afc has gotten better and poor coaching decisions can sometimes be the difference between having a 8-8 season or an 11-5 one.

That is where I have our early projections at. 8-8 would be the worse case scenario and 11-5 our ceiling. There will probably be 3 critical close games that determines our record. The in between of 8-8/11-5 is 9.5. 9.5 is a good over/under for a win total. If I pose the question to people, would you take the over or under on 9.5 wins just as of now where everything stands? If you take the over you need 10 wins, 9 wins would be the under obviously.

[BlueCollarColts]

We have Luck, so we really just need to put a good team around him... Looking at our defense (easily the weakest part of our team) last year we used:

 

Geathers/Adams/Davis/Robinson in the secondary

Mathis/Walden/Jackson/Jackson as LB's

Anderson/Parry/Langford as our D-Line

 

Now this year we have made several big changes...

 

Malik Hooker for Adams

Quincy Wilson for Robinson

Jabaal Sheard for Mathis

John Simon for Walden

Jonathan Hankins for Parry

Sean Spence for D'Qwell Jackson

 

Is anyone really going to argue any of those moves are downgrades? I think our defense could be significantly better than what it was last year. And we also added guys like Mack and Aiken on offense to provide some more competition on that side of the ball.

[chrisfarley]

I think we just have to carefully listen to what Ballard says --- he knows this is a multi-year project.  He's darn sure made Irsay aware of that too.  Winning the division would be tough with this young a team, and by time the season starts, we may even be younger.  With a good QB now at Houston, it would be tough to win the division....baby steps, let's go 9-7 and have a great 2018 Draft.  And if we do poorer, better picks come our way.  But if we do better, sweet!!!!!

[will426]

Yep I'm just gonna wait for the injury bug to hit like usual...but didn't we make a change at strength and conditioning this year?

[LockeDown]

Ballard doesn't appear to be hesitant or indecisive.  He cut scouts...he cut veteran players...he laid out his plan and he has done exactly that.  I believe he, if Irsay allows him, would not hesitate to replace staff if they can't do the job.  By that I mean Pagano and company.  Monachino will have to be more accountable with better talent.  Philbin seems to be performing well and even Chud, as our offense played reasonably well .  Personally, I think there will be rookie mistakes, but ultimately more takeaways and better pass rushing this year.  That in itself will be exciting.  It could be enough to win the divivsion, but we all want to go head to head with the Steelers and Pats to see where we stand.

 

[Steamboat_Shaun]

The offense is going to have to carry the load for the early part of the season while all of new faces on defense start to gel, which I think they're capable of doing. Hopefully the defense establishes an identity and turns the corner come the second half, because the schedule gets much more difficult come November.

 

I'd be VERY happy with 10-6. I'd love to see us go 11-5 or 12-4, but I just don't think we're there yet.

[ThorstenDenmark]

Andrew Luck just had his second surgery and no one knows how bad it really is. 

Im afraid he wont be ready for game one, or at least he will need some games to really be back and in form.

 

Our defence wont be ready and will not click from day one, so this year will be a transition / development year for the whole defence, and for new players to learn how they all roll. 

 

I dont think we win AFC South this up coming season, but that the future is ours.

 

Things need time, and next time we will end up in the playoffs, it will be with a coach not named Pagano. 

[IndyScribe]

There will be growing pains on defense as their are a ton of rookies and new faces, so I don't expect a good D right out of the gate. Near the end of the season, it's possible that the D may be average. All the other teams got better too. Jags are trending in the right direction. If Watson pans out, Texans will win the division. Titans got better and could win the division as well. As of now, it's up in the air on who wins the division. My guess? The Texans or the Titans. 

[throwing BBZ]

2 hours ago, lennymoore24 said:

I find it odd that so many "experts" think the Colts are still a year or two off from returning to the playoffs.  They talk about our lack of talent and too many holes and it will take awhile to come together.  But I fully expect the Colts to win the division next season, and here is why:

1) The Colts, statistically, have the weakest schedule in the NFL.  I know that can all change because some teams with bad records will get better.  But their schedule is not by any means real hard.

2) The Colts could have easily been 10-6 last year if they had pulled out the games against the Texans, for one.  And considering the Colts were playing with an epically  bad defense, they guys they have drafted and signed cannot be possibly do better than they did last year.  I feel like the players they have signed and drafted should add at least 2 more wins next season.  The offense is pretty good.

So I really don't get it.  We were almost there with a terribly faulted team last year.  I expect the defense to make a move from like 30th to 20th, which is still not good enough, but good enough to win the division in my opinion.

DISCLAIMER:  I am aware everything is specuation.  We don't know anything yet how things will turn out.  But that is the whole point of forums.  We speculate about things.   Don't need someone to say "We need to wait till we see these guys play....".  Yeah, we all know that!

 

 3-3 at best in our div.
 I predict 2-4.
 Decent (20%) chance 1-5.

[Colts1324]

2 hours ago, lennymoore24 said:

I find it odd that so many "experts" think the Colts are still a year or two off from returning to the playoffs.  They talk about our lack of talent and too many holes and it will take awhile to come together.  But I fully expect the Colts to win the division next season, and here is why:

1) The Colts, statistically, have the weakest schedule in the NFL.  I know that can all change because some teams with bad records will get better.  But their schedule is not by any means real hard.

2) The Colts could have easily been 10-6 last year if they had pulled out the games against the Texans, for one.  And considering the Colts were playing with an epically  bad defense, they guys they have drafted and signed cannot be possibly do better than they did last year.  I feel like the players they have signed and drafted should add at least 2 more wins next season.  The offense is pretty good.

So I really don't get it.  We were almost there with a terribly faulted team last year.  I expect the defense to make a move from like 30th to 20th, which is still not good enough, but good enough to win the division in my opinion.

DISCLAIMER:  I am aware everything is specuation.  We don't know anything yet how things will turn out.  But that is the whole point of forums.  We speculate about things.   Don't need someone to say "We need to wait till we see these guys play....".  Yeah, we all know that!

I agree. We will be just fine. Top 3 seed and will beat some contenders next year. Maybe we will finally beat Pittsburg? Lol 

 

 

[life long]

22 minutes ago, ThorstenDenmark said:

Andrew Luck just had his second surgery and no one knows how bad it really is. 

Im afraid he wont be ready for game one, or at least he will need some games to really be back and in form.

 

Our defence wont be ready and will not click from day one, so this year will be a transition / development year for the whole defence, and for new players to learn how they all roll. 

 

I dont think we win AFC South this up coming season, but that the future is ours.

 

Things need time, and next time we will end up in the playoffs, it will be with a coach not named Pagano. 

Second surgery? I was under the impression it was his first.

[AZColt11]

I don't think it's out of the question by any means but what really is important is their ability to compete for a Championship and I don't think they are anywhere close to doing so just yet.  A good first step though this weekend.

[NorthernBlue]

I get the whole fact that Indy, with a terrible defense still finished 8-8, so with an improved Defense and (hopefully) improved O line, they should be much better, right? I certainly hope so, and expect so.

 

But at the same time, remember at the end of 2015, when everyone was saying the Colts went 8-8 without Luck (mostly), so in 2016, theoretically, they'd be much better, right? Well they weren't.....

 

Not saying they WONT make the playoffs. But its the NFL. Anything is possible. Injuries, down years, and certain new players may turn out to be busts. 

[Colts1324]

22 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 3-3 at best in our div.
 I predict 2-4.
 Decent (20%) chance 1-5.

gtho. Go be a Texan or Titans fan  

[BOTT]

1 hour ago, life long said:

Second surgery? I was under the impression it was his first.

 

It was.  Plus, it was outpatient surgery.  People need to stop acting like he had major reconstructive surgery where the gave him a robotic shoulder.

[krunk]

Lets play the games and we shall see. I think we are a much better team than last year. All the "colts are way off" talk was tired to me last season. Its even more tiring after all the moves we made this off season and draft. Lets play the games. I like our chances.

[Barrdaddy]

The sad thing is, is that Grigson put us behind the eight ball with numerous bad drafts all while the Titans, Jags, and Texans have been adding talent. I love the Colts but I'm seeing a comfy place at the bottom of the division for a few years. The titans are a scary good team now that mariota has some receivers at his disposal. The jags are no joke if the Bortles of 2015 shows up they're a playoff contender. I'm saying 8-8 is our ceiling...6-10 is my prediction. Just trying to be a realist. 

[BOTT]

I think all the teams will hover around .500. Be a dogfight till the end.

[BOTT]

34 minutes ago, Barrdaddy said:

The sad thing is, is that Grigson put us behind the eight ball with numerous bad drafts all while the Titans, Jags, and Texans have been adding talent. I love the Colts but I'm seeing a comfy place at the bottom of the division for a few years. The titans are a scary good team now that mariota has some receivers at his disposal. The jags are no joke if the Bortles of 2015 shows up they're a playoff contender. I'm saying 8-8 is our ceiling...6-10 is my prediction. Just trying to be a realist. 

The Titans blew it. They had the opportunity to add some blue chip defensive talent and took a WR.  I would never take a receiver that high.

[ColtsBlitz]

2 hours ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 3-3 at best in our div.
 I predict 2-4.
 Decent (20%) chance 1-5.

No.  Titans have never beat us, Texans got weaker on defense, even with Watt returning, Clowney off the field is fine by me. Jags are the Jags, and with our upped defense, Bortles is gonna have a migraine every game against us

[coltsfanatic24]

The AFC south is going to be brutal the next decade. Luck and Mariota are pro bowl caliber QBs. The Texans have a great defense and drafted a talented QB. The Jags could very well get the 1st pick next year and draft a QB.

 

I think we will win the division at 11-5, but it won't be easy. I expect two teams from this division in the playoffs every year. 

[SilentHill]

Atlanta made the SB with a bunch of youngins.

 

I expect to at least take this division title.

[Indyfan4life]

All four AFC South teams could find a way to make it into the playoffs, and our division would still be called weak. If Jacksonville gets their act together, this will be a tough division for years. 

[Bluefire4]

We could have been 10-6 last season but we also could have been 6-10. There were some very close games that we pulled out late including against the Chargers, Bears, and Jaguars.

 

I need to see how this new talent performs in the preseason before I'm ready to say anything about who wins the division. If 2 of our OLB's, Quincy Wilson, and Malik Hooker all play above average than I don't see a quarterback in our division who will take the division from us.

 

But anything can happen in the NFL. We get hit by the injury bug every year. Also just like we expect some of our guys to step up, other teams in our division could step up as well. We were saying this same thing last year and I tried to bring some people back down to earth.

 

It's going to be tougher than normal this year. That's for sure.

[Track Guy]

I think we'll be competitive within the division, but I have a hard time seeing us beat the Patriots this year. They're freaking loaded!

 

It's way too early to call, but I expect our defense to be improved and our offense to be similar to this past year as in good in passing, below average running the football. 

 

Also we're at a big risk on the offensive line. We're rolling out a couple of starters on the right side who we don't really know all that much about. We better hope they don't turn out to be worse than we think and get Luck killed. 

[rock8591]

2012 and 2013 was a horrible year for us injury-wise (Ballard, Bradshaw, Allen, Wayne, Toler) but last year was kind to us. We had issues with injuries to Green, Geathers, and Robinson throughout the year but none of our key players, outside of the usual chronic injuries (Allen, Jones again).

 

Nothing like Green Bay losing Jordy Nelson for the season, JJ Watt out for season, or Rob Gronkowski out for season, Derek Carr out indefinitely including playoffs.

 

The former is somewhat bad, the latter would be devastating.

[gacoop1]

Let's see how Pagano coaches this team, if it's a resemblance of what he did in 2016, w/all the bonehead calls, etc...Expect to draft in 2018 at 14 or 15 again in the first round.  And with a new coach....

[GoColts8818]

With Andrew Luck they will always have a chance.  Even when they are "bad" with him they are good enough to go 8-8.  Clearly Irsay expects the playoffs so I think they have a chance if most of their picks and free agents are at least decent.

[rock8591]

I can't see the team as too much worse on defense.

 

Hankins > Parry (BY FAR)

Anderson, Ridgeway, and Langford in 2017 > them in 2016 by far

Jackson, Morrison, and Walker in 2017 > 2016

Hooker > Green

Wilson > Robinson and Melvin

Sheard > Cole (just to be harsh)

Simon >= Walden (just to be harsh)

 

and on offense, Swoope 2017 > Swoope 2016

Aiken > Duron Carter

Mack > Ferguson

 

The only area that I would predict a setback would be at Punter, Locke < McAfee.

 

Last year we were 30 on Defense, even if we improve to 18-24 or so, that would be a huge jump.

[Colts1324]

6 hours ago, BOTT said:

The Titans blew it. They had the opportunity to add some blue chip defensive talent and took a WR.  I would never take a receiver that high.

I agree the Titans blew it. But the WR part depends, Julio Jones is worth a top 5 pick. 

[Lucky Colts Fan]

7 hours ago, Indyfan4life said:

All four AFC South teams could find a way to make it into the playoffs, and our division would still be called weak. If Jacksonville gets their act together, this will be a tough division for years. 

 

Well, 3 out of 4.  It's impossible for every team from a division to make the playoffs in the same year...

 

And if 3 teams from the AFC South make the playoffs this year, ain't nobody calling the AFC South weak.

[Indyfan4life]

1 minute ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

Well, 3 out of 4.  It's impossible for every team from a division to make the playoffs in the same year...

 

And if 3 teams from the AFC South make the playoffs this year, ain't nobody calling the AFC South weak.

I know all 4 teams can't make it in. Just saying our division would still be called weak, even if that were possible. 

[Lucky Colts Fan]

5 minutes ago, Indyfan4life said:

I know all 4 teams can't make it in. Just saying our division would still be called weak, even if that were possible. 

 

Like I said, if 3 teams from the AFC South make the playoffs, ain't nobody calling the AFC South weak.

 

That means 3 AFC South teams have 10+ wins.  That would mean 3 AFC South teams won almost all of their non-division games, and split wins within the division.

 

That would mean the AFC South is damn-near undefeated against teams outside the AFC South.  Anybody trying to call the AFC South weak in that scenario would look like a fool.  NFC West went from "worst" division to "best" division in the blink of an eye.  No reason the AFC South doesn't do the same thing, this year, whether the Colts win the division or not.

[Indyfan4life]

1 minute ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

 

Like I said, if 3 teams from the AFC South make the playoffs, ain't nobody calling the AFC South weak.

 

That means 3 AFC South teams have 10+ wins.  That would mean 3 AFC South teams won almost all of their non-division games, and split wins within the division.

 

That would mean the AFC South is damn-near undefeated against teams outside the AFC South.  Anybody trying to call the AFC South weak in that scenario would look like a fool.  NFC West went from "worst" division to "best" division in the blink of an eye.  No reason the AFC South doesn't do the same thing, this year, whether the Colts win the division or not.

People and the "experts" on tv are dumb. I can hear it now. "Yeah, 3 AFC South teams made it to the playoffs, but only because..." Then insert excuse. 

[braveheartcolt]

11 hours ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 3-3 at best in our div.
 I predict 2-4.
 Decent (20%) chance 1-5.

Unusual for you to be gloomy.