Some love for the Colts by Cowherd

[NorthernBlue]

With all these outlets putting the Colts like dead last in their power rankings, noted Luck Superfan Colin Cowherd got us at 8 in his top 10 NFL teams list.

 

Cited a healthy Luck plus the 4 top 50 picks to go along with a better coaching staff will be the reason for their turnaround. Also doesn't think JAX and TENN are real threats.

 

My take: A tad premature to put em top 10 especially since they haven't drafted anyone, but still, some love is good .

 

Also I kinda agree on the Tennessee and Jacksonville point. I fully expect the Jags to take a step back next season, and while Tennessee is good, long term, I think this division will be a battle between Deshaun Watson and Andrew Luck (can't wait for that first matchup).

 

[Trueman]

Cowherd is one of the few guys in mainstream media that has stuck by Luck , so I naturally like him for that.

 

But he is wrong a lot.

 

I do think the doomsday predictions for the Colts are beyond premature, though. There’s so many unknowns with our team that making any grand proclamations is pointless.

 

 

[azcolt]

I could see Colts at #8 this year but I thought there were only four teams in the division.

[Carlos Danger]

Love the optimism, though I disgree with the overall conclusion. 

 

I do agree that the AFC South, while vastly improved, is not as good as many are making it out to be. 

 

Last season was best case scenario for any team with Blake Bortles at QB... 

 

Tennessee is a decent team, but they have holes and an injury prone (and overrated) QB.

 

Watson is one of the most overrated players in football right now, imo. He tore it up in limited action last season, but his accuracy is not great. Teams will be more able to defend him after studying some tape. Houston (like Jax) has a great defense, but some of their key players have either left or are on the decline...

 

I don't think Indy is as good as any of those teams, despite their flaws, though. We have the best QB, which will always keep us in contention for the division title, but I think it's all a wash at this point... I wouldn't be surprised by any of the four winning the division next season... Maybe a little if it's the Colts, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility with Luck coming back and improvements on the coaching and conditioning staff. 

[GusFring]

33 minutes ago, Trueman said:

Cowherd is one of the few guys in mainstream media that has stuck by Luck , so I naturally like him for that.

 

But he is wrong a lot.

 

I do think the doomsday predictions for the Colts are beyond premature, though. There’s so many unknowns with our team that making any grand proclamations is pointless.

 

 

This is true. Most people seem to poop on Luck. Cowherd actually gets criticized for still believing in Andrew. Me personally, I'm going to need to see what an Andree Luck throw looks like present day. 

[NorthernBlue]

12 minutes ago, Carlos Danger said:

Love the optimism, though I disgree with the overall conclusion. 

 

I do agree that the AFC South, while vastly improved, is not as good as many are making it out to be. 

 

Last season was best case scenario for any team with Blake Bortles at QB... 

 

Tennessee is a decent team, but they have holes and an injury prone (and overrated) QB.

 

Watson is one of the most overrated players in football right now, imo. He tore it up in limited action last season, but his accuracy is not great. Teams will be more able to defend him after studying some tape. Houston (like Jax) has a great defense, but some of their key players have either left or are on the decline...

 

I don't think Indy is as good as any of those teams, despite their flaws, though. We have the best QB, which will always keep us in contention for the division title, but I think it's all a wash at this point... I wouldn't be surprised by any of the four winning the division next season... Maybe a little if it's the Colts, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility with Luck coming back and improvements on the coaching and conditioning staff. 

As long as Lucks healthy, we’ll have a shot. But Watson is honestly really good. He shouldn’t be crowned or anything, but he’s shown that ability to push the ball downfield that many superstar QBs need to do.

 

He scares D’s similar to how Luck does when he lets one rip, albeit in short time.

[Alex22]

2 hours ago, NorthernBlue said:

With all these outlets putting the Colts like dead last in their power rankings, noted Luck Superfan Colin Cowherd got us at 8 in his top 10 NFL teams list.

 

Cited a healthy Luck plus the 4 top 50 picks to go along with a better coaching staff will be the reason for their turnaround. Also doesn't think JAX and TENN are real threats.

 

My take: A tad premature to put em top 10 especially since they haven't drafted anyone, but still, some love is good .

 

Also I kinda agree on the Tennessee and Jacksonville point. I fully expect the Jags to take a step back next season, and while Tennessee is good, long term, I think this division will be a battle between Deshaun Watson and Andrew Luck (can't wait for that first matchup).

 

 

I always thought Cowherd was a #....

 

This confirms 

[LockeDown]

Haha. Pats, Steelers, Colts and Texans.  These are the same teams that have dominated the AFC the past decade or more.  So he's not going out on a big limb here.   The NFC teams were common sense. 

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

I've always liked Colin, but I think he is a year premature with his prediction. I look for the Colts to jump to about 15 or 16 and possibly make the playoffs this year and then next year for them to be a top 10 team in the league. I don't think we are as bad as most analysts make us out to be and I don't think we are as good as Colin thinks (yet). I think our team has a ceiling of 10-6 and a floor of 6-10 odds are we will finish a Jeff Fisher-like 8-8. It was nice to hear the Colts actually get some love from an analyst for a change.

[NannyMcafee]

I think the colts on D will take a step backwards. As for the offense if Andrew is back 100% then I see a top 5 offense this year. Which will catapult us to the playoffs. 

[Smonroe]

I posted that in another thread.  I was at the gym when it was on, no sound, just subtitles.

 

When I saw he had the Colts at 8 I thought it was a rerun from 2014.

[AwesomeAustin]

40 minutes ago, NannyMcafee said:

I think the colts on D will take a step backwards. As for the offense if Andrew is back 100% then I see a top 5 offense this year. Which will catapult us to the playoffs. 

I don’t know if the D can go much farther back. 

[NannyMcafee]

16 minutes ago, AwesomeAustin said:

I don’t know if the D can go much farther back. 

 

Min rankings no. But without Hankins I don’t see us doing as good stopping the run this year. Unless we replace him with someone decent enough....

[That Guy]

We're in a transition on two of three aspects of the game.

 

On offense, we're paper thin at WR, our O-line needs to get healthy AND THEN improve by leaps and bounds, the leader of our team is the biggest question mark in the league, and our RB stable (which will more than likely be a committee) has only shown glimpses of promise.  Our TE depth is solid, though; and we have a good backup QB.

 

On defense, our two promising young safeties are both coming off major injuries, our best corners are average at best right now, our linebackers...  wait, I don't even think we HAVE any 4-3 linebackers right now, and our D-Line lost one of its best players.  Everyone on our D-Line was brought in for a different scheme, and the only player I see benefiting from this switch is Ridgeway.

 

This team has LOADS of potential, but its balanced with an equal amount of bust potential.

 

After the moves by Cleveland, who is even the worst team in the league right now?  Jets?  Dolphins?  Bills?  Cardinals?  Giants?  Broncos?  Colts?  Redskins?

 

The Browns have a solid roster (but they'll probably find a way to Cleveland it all up).

The 49ers are solid with Gorropolo.

The Texans will be dangerous if Watt and Watson are at full strength.

The Jags are ridiculously stacked at every level except QB and WR.

 

Until Luck wins a game, we should realistically consider our team in the bottom ten of the league.

 

 

[Nesjan3]

I appreciate the tip of the hat from cowherd, but even the most uneducated NFL fan can see that our roster is one of the worst in the league talent wise. If and thats a big "IF" Luck comes back 100% than we are vaulted somewhere in the middle of the pack, but as of right now with Luck injured we are one if not the worst roster in the league.

[aaron11]

i do think Jacksonville is a threat, and will probably be better than us next year

 

the titans are a very average team overall, they dont wow me, but they are not bad either 

 

texans could be good if they can get fully healthy.  they have a lot of talent thats been on ir lately 

[Jaredfor3]

How are the Jaguars not a threat? They are a top three team in the conference. 

 

Best case scenario for the Colts in 2018 will be contending for that last Playoff spot. 

 

 

[Deadpool]

9 minutes ago, Jaredfor3 said:

How are the Jaguars not a threat? They are a top three team in the conference. 

 

Best case scenario for the Colts in 2018 will be contending for that last Playoff spot. 

 

 

My thought exactly. They add another receiver and a linebacker and they're a super Bowl contender

[runthepost]

The jags ain’t taking a step back. They will win the division and 2 other teams will make the wildcard spots from the AFC south. Regardless the AFC south will send 3 teams to the playoffs 

[2006Coltsbestever]

The Jags IMO will probably win the Division but not sold on them getting back to the AFC Title Game. They have a Great Defense but it isn't all-time Great and look at who their QB is . A healthy Andrew Luck for 16 games will give us at least 8 wins IMO, if we Draft guys that can make a quick impact who knows what our record may be? We could be better than the Texans and Titans if that happens.

[crazycolt1]

2 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

The Jags IMO will probably win the Division but not sold on them getting back to the AFC Title Game. They have a Great Defense but it isn't all-time Great and look at who their QB is . A healthy Andrew Luck for 16 games will give us at least 8 wins IMO, if we Draft guys that can make a quick impact who knows what our record may be? We could be better than the Texans and Titans if that happens.

Why the disrespect for their QB?  He was good enough to get them to the AFC championship game. That was with an injured throwing wrist. It has since been repaired. I think this thinking he is not good enough will be put to rest this season.  

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, crazycolt1 said:

Why the disrespect for their QB?  He was good enough to get them to the AFC championship game. That was with an injured throwing wrist. It has since been repaired. I think this thinking he is not good enough will be put to rest this season.  

I don't, we will see. So you have the Jags winning the SB, that is interesting. That is what you are saying because that is the next step. Throughout Blake Bortles career has been erratic, yeah he had a solid Playoff run but he is inconsistent. Like I said we will see.

[ColtsFanMikeC]

10 hours ago, NannyMcafee said:

I think the colts on D will take a step backwards. As for the offense if Andrew is back 100% then I see a top 5 offense this year. Which will catapult us to the playoffs. 

 

What @AwesomeAustin said.. going to be hard for us to digress on D.

 

9 hours ago, NannyMcafee said:

 

Min rankings no. But without Hankins I don’t see us doing as good stopping the run this year. Unless we replace him with someone decent enough....

 

We are switching to a 4-3, which should automatically help with the run... I am still kinda shocked we got rid of Hankins (also shocked nobody has picked him up... I wonder if he's having trouble keeping his weight down or if something else is going on), but a 4-3 with Anderson/Ridgeway/Stewart/Woods in the middle is already better than Hankins in the middle with Morrison and a bunch of rotational guys behind him.

[Pilgrim]

Me, personally, I felt like we were in a lot of games last year, and our record could have been much better. Our defense was much improved, regardless of stats. Our offense couldn't sustain drives. Bring back Luck, Hooker, and add a few nice pieces in the draft, maybe Herd isn't that far off.....

[AZColt11]

I don't see it but he has continually been in Luck and now Ballard's corners.  He props them both up quite a bit.

[crazycolt1]

5 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I don't, we will see. So you have the Jags winning the SB, that is interesting. That is what you are saying because that is the next step. Throughout Blake Bortles career has been erratic, yeah he had a solid Playoff run but he is inconsistent. Like I said we will see.

No where did I say the Jags were going to win the super bowl. I said nothing about the next step.

My point was your disrespect of Bortles thinking he wasn't good enough for the Jags. You even added a just to emphasize your thoughts.

IMO Bortles is not as bad as his reputation. Evidently neither does Coughlin. But we will see.

[2006Coltsbestever]

19 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

No where did I say the Jags were going to win the super bowl. I said nothing about the next step.

My point was your disrespect of Bortles thinking he wasn't good enough for the Jags. You even added a just to emphasize your thoughts.

IMO Bortles is not as bad as his reputation. Evidently neither does Coughlin. But we will see.

You said "he is not good enough will be put to rest this season". Then what the hell is that supposed to mean? I said they would not reach the SB, I said they would probably win the Division even, but doubt they make the AFC Title Game. Not sure where you are going with this? By saying what you said, if the Jags don't make the SB or win it than he isn't good enough - Plain and simple.

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

You said "he is not good enough will be put to rest this season". Then what the hell is supposed to mean? I said they would not reach the SB, I said they would probably win the Division even, but doubt they make the AFC Title Game. Not sure where you are going with this? By saying what you said if the Jags don't make the SB or win it than he isn't good enough. Plain and simple.

I said your disrespect you have of him. I said he would put to rest the bad reputation he has. No more, no less. You are the one who added your own meaning to what I said.  

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, crazycolt1 said:

I said your disrespect you have of him. I said he would put to rest the bad reputation he has. No more, no less. You are the one who added your own meaning to what I said.  

In order for him to put anything to rest he has to make the SB doesn't he? Just asking? If he loses in the Divisional Round for example, how is that putting anything to rest?

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

In order for him to put anything to rest he has to make the SB doesn't he? Just asking? If he loses in the Divisional Round for example, how is that putting anything to rest?

It takes more than a QB to reach a super bowl.

If Bortles improves his play next season then maybe it would put this disrespect of him you and many have in a different light? 

I think you understand my point, you are just being argumentative right now.

[2006Coltsbestever]

7 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

It takes more than a QB to reach a super bowl.

If Bortles improves his play next season then maybe it would put this disrespect of him you and many have in a different light? 

I think you understand my point, you are just being argumentative right now.

Not being argumentative at all. Just trying to understand your point. You explained it better here. Having said that, I initially said that Jacks wouldn't make the SB or win it because of their QB and you jumped on me for disrespecting Bortles. Then you say he will put things to rest this season. So was just trying figuring out what you meant.

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Not being argumentative at all. Just trying to understand your point. You explained it better here. Having said that I initially said that Jacks wouldn't make the SB or win it because of their QB and you jumped on me for disrespecting Bortles. Then you say he will put things to rest this season. So was just figuring out what you meant.

Well for one thing, bringing up my point of view was not jumping on you. That's just the way you took it.

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, crazycolt1 said:

Well for one thing, bringing up my point of view was not jumping on you. That's just the way you took it.

No bigge man. It's all good.

[2006Coltsbestever]

7 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

Well for one thing, bringing up my point of view was not jumping on you. That's just the way you took it.

When I said jump on me, (I didn't mean really jump on me in my Peyton voice . No big deal, who the hell knows how this season will go. I just hope Luck gets healthy and the guys we Draft turn into all-pro's.

[crazycolt1]

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

When I said jump on me, (I didn't mean jump on me in my Peyton voice . No big deal, who the hell knows how this season will go. I just hope Luck gets healthy and the guys we Draft turn into all-pro's.

That's what we all hope for.  I don't wish time away but I will be glad when camp and pre season starts. This off season has been pretty nerve racking.

[LockeDown]

Someone find the stats on This. Has a healthy Luck, including high school, college and the pros, ever had a losing season?  I am guessing No. 

[Finball]

I didn't believe we were in bad shape. Then I see Colin Cowherd giving us some love. Now I'm convinced we're doomed.

[Tsarquise]

On 3/28/2018 at 6:31 AM, LockeDown said:

Haha. Pats, Steelers, Colts and Texans.  These are the same teams that have dominated the AFC the past decade or more.  So he's not going out on a big limb here.   The NFC teams were common sense. 

I don't ever remember the Texans dominating... Lol 

[ThatOneColtFan]

This only works assuming Luck comes back as good as he was. We can only hope.

[dgambill]

If teams like Philly and the Rams can turn it around quickly then it's always a possibility that we could as well. Common denominators are new coaches and talented qbs. That said we don't have the roster built up around them like they both had but I do think we still have an advantage at qb in the AFC South. I look for our new coach and staff to get the most out of him.