Thoughts of the 2023 Colts so far

[CR91]

2-2

 

Honesty, I thought we'd be 1-3 at this point so good start so far. Here are some key notes I've observed so far.

 

Shane Steichen - I'm not gonna say the team didn't respect Reich, but I just notice so much more command from Shane both on and off the field. You can see he's in control especially offensively, game flow, and from a strategic prospective.

 

Anthony Richardson - AR has been as advertised. Athletic, poise, electric, and a leader. Down 23 and just put the team on his back. Unfortunately falling short, but imo he is miles ahead of most rookie QBs and I truly believe we have another colt great to be at QB.

 

O-line - The improvement from last year is night and day and yes having a running QB instead of a statue does help, but they have done a great job so far especially Raimann who has looked like a legit LT.

 

D-line - imo, they have been the best part of the team. Buck and Grove have been almost unstoppable. Kwity has been a monster. Samson has had some really great couple of games. Dayo was great today. A lot of great things on the line.

 

Here's what I think needs work moving forward if we're gonna be successful.

 

Alec Pierce - I'm not really sure what we're doing with Alec. We are not using his best asset which is bodying DBs. Ive seen maybe 5 deep balls to Alec which isn't remotely enough. I get he's had a few drops, but we need to help get him more involved.

 

Shaq Leonard - I understand it takes time to come back from the surgeries Shaq had and trust me I was not expecting Darius back, but I am getting concerned. I just don't see that instinctive playmaking LB he use to be. I'm hoping with more games under his belt, Shaq can return to his All-Pro level we all expect.

 

Secondary - I get we went all in with the youth movement at CB and Brents was great vs the Ravens, but I'm concerned with all the miscommunication that seems to happen especially today during OT and now we might have Flowers missing time.

[GoColts8818]

They are better than expected.

 

Richardson, Moss, the oline, and the pass rush have played better than I thought they would.

 

Pittman and Downs both look good.  Pierce has yet show signs of improvement for a second year player.  The Colts have nothing at WR if something happens to Pittman and Downs.

 

The tightends have been really good.  Olgetree has been a better blocker than I expected.  
 

The DTs are really good.  The defense depends on the front four playing well and that depends on Buckner.  
 

The linebackers are really good even if Shaq isn’t where we want him to be yet.

 

The secondary is having ups and downs outside of Moore but that’s to be expected with the young guys.  Unfortunately I think they are about to get even younger with Flowers injury which is unfortunate because I thought Flowers had quietly been playing really well.  
 

Special teams seems to have taken a step back as a whole.  Rigo is still working back from his own injury.  Gay is good.  Coverage isn’t as strong.  The return game is non existent.

 

Coaching is a work in progress.  Shane is very much a rookie coach who makes a lot of rookie mistakes and is maybe just a little too aggressive.  The coordinators have been good for the most part.  Lots of creativity on offense and Gus’s defenses have found ways to get pressure and hide the secondary for the most part.

 

A lot of people thought this was a five win max team.  They are 2-2 at the first quarter mark which I think is exceed most people’s expectations.  They aren’t a Super Bowl contender but they can contend for this division based on how they are playing so I’d say a little a head of schedule since most thought they would be fighting for another top 10 draft pick this year 

[smittywerb]

Overall:  I like where this team is headed.  I had this team winning 4 on the low end and 7 on the high end.  We’re one away from my low and we’re not even a quarter of a way through the season.  We’re improving, the young players look good, and the staff is showing they are taking the lessons and learning the from them.

 

offense

QB:  AR is much further than what I thought he would be.  His accuracy is still up and down but he’ll get it.  I trust Shane to bring him along and thus far he has.  Minshew has been a great backup.

 

RB:  After that Deon debacle, this position has been solid.  Moss has been very serviceable.  Excited to see JT run behind this line.  
 

WR:  I am HIGHLY disappointed with this group.  Say what you want about Pittman and his production, but he still hasn’t looked like a WR1.  He’s our WR1 and I hope we bring him back but hopefully we don’t have to overpay.  Alec, huge disappointment.  downs, he’s been good but he has to figure out how to get open when teams double him with a corner/lb and safety over the top.  He’s a rookie, he’ll learn eventually.  Everyone else isn’t worth mentioning 

 

TE:  Up and down, mostly up.  Satisfied with what we’ve gotten.  Hope to see Woods out there soon.  I think he’s poised for a big year but he has to get on the field.

 

OL:  Much improved from last year but injuries are hurting us right now.  Ramainn Looks to be our LT of the future and Fries has been a solid RG.  Only real gripe with this group is the lack of push on runs and Braden Smith hasn’t been good.  Hopefully with JT their jobs become much easier.

 

DL:  ever since the first game, this group has been ROCKING but last game was a step down.  It happens, but overall, love what I’m seeing.  Buck and Grover have been eating in the middle.  Kwitty is finally healthy and he’s been having a solid season.  Ebukam has been a great signing so far.  And Dayo has been having a good season.  
 

LB:  outside of Shaq being a disappointment, this group has been VERY good.  Franklin is out there looking like a mad man.  Speed has been solid.  Unfortunately, Shaq has looked bad.  I think he has to get used to his “new” body post surgery but overall, this group has been good.  Can improve in pass coverage, but we can’t have everything.

 

DB:  Up and down.  Last game we were exposed.  Our safeties ARE NOT good and it showed.  We all knew this was the weak spot of the defense.  But I hope they can learn improve.  Brents has looked solid in his two games and now Jaylon Jones will get his chance with Flowers getting hurt.  So 2 rookies and Moore at DB will definitely be a challenge for us.  
 

Special Teams:  pretty much good.  Matt missed that kick last game but other than that this group has been solid.  Not much to say.

 

Coaching:  we made the right choice in bringing Shane on.  He holds EVERYONE accountable, has good play designs, for the most part has been good at playcalling, and the team has fight in them.  He’s been doing a great job with AR.  He needs to get those 4th down calls under wraps but so far he’s looks impressive to be a rookie HC.  Gus, I don’t know why he went away from blitzing last game but I guess he remembered to do so in the second half.  We look like a top 10 defense when we blitz and look like number 32 when we don’t.  Hopefully Shane is telling Gus to blitz more.

[DougDew]

Lots of new players and lots of younger players with another year of development.  Last year the entire team knew that the offense was not competitive because of the quarterbacking, and that gets reflected in the quality of play.  Hence the exceptionally bad record last season.

 

It feels like a typical near 500 season under Ballard until the talent at the important positions start to emerge/be drafted.   

 

Yawn.

[#12.]

They're way too inconsistent at the moment, especially on offense, but you have a rookie QB and rookie head coach.  You can’t expect to win games by only showing up for one quarter.  The offense just disappears for stretches.  They had how many drives and opportunities to pad the lead against Jacksonville and did nothing?  

[2006Coltsbestever]

Before the season started I had us going 8-8-1, so we are right where I thought we would be. We need to get more consistent on offense, AR has stretches where he looks great, then he has stretches where he looks bad. He is a rookie though and I just want to see progression there. We have seen what he is capable of doing, 1st half at Houston and in the 4th Qtr yesterday. So he definitely has potential to at least be good, don't know about great but I will take good. Really our main weakness is our Secondary, that killed us yesterday. 

[csmopar]

Record and performance are both way better at this stage than I expected. Honestly, I expected us blown out in at least 3 games with a nail biter in Houston . Despite two losses, we were in both games and haven’t looked rudderless like in previous years.

 

I hope we continue to show that and build on that going forward. 
 

while I was not an AR draft fan, there has been enough for me to be more optimistic now than I was at the start of training camp. You can see how the young man’s work ethic is driving his success thus far. And that translates down to the rest of the team. 
 

Also, our performance thus far has proven that the roster overall was not as bad as our record indicated the last couple of years and that it really was coaching that was the problem.  I think we’re in good hands. 
 

we do have some things we HAVE to get better at, and we definitely have a talent void at WR to say the least. Possibly CB too but those guys are either rookies or second year players who didn’t play much last year. I think they’ll have ups and downs all year

[CoachLite]

Colts football is fun to watch, again. Yes, watching the newbie mistakes can be frustrating, but then the switch flips and it's game on.

[CoachLite]

2 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Record and performance are both way better at this stage than I expected. Honestly, I expected us blown out in at least 3 games with a nail biter in Houston . Despite two losses, we were in both games and haven’t looked rudderless like in previous years.

 

I hope we continue to show that and build on that going forward. 
 

while I was not an AR draft fan, there has been enough for me to be more optimistic now than I was at the start of training camp. You can see how the young man’s work ethic is driving his success thus far. And that translates down to the rest of the team. 
 

Also, our performance thus far has proven that the roster overall was not as bad as our record indicated the last couple of years and that it really was coaching that was the problem.  I think we’re in good hands. 
 

we do have some things we HAVE to get better at, and we definitely have a talent void at WR to say the least. Possibly CB too but those guys are either rookies or second year players who didn’t play much last year. I think they’ll have ups and downs all year

It was obvious to most people that know football that coaching was the problem in the past.

[csmopar]

28 minutes ago, CoachLite said:

It was obvious to most people that know football that coaching was the problem in the past.

Yep. And that’s getting clearer and clearer by the week for those in the media 

[chad72]

We will see if Gus Bradley's D will taper off, decent offense or not, as time goes on. That is the No.1 thing that will affect the Colts' W-L record by keeping games close.

 

 

[DougDew]

56 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Also, our performance thus far has proven that the roster overall was not as bad as our record indicated the last couple of years and that it really was coaching that was the problem.

How are you telling yourself that?

 

We're .500 now.  We've been about .500 for seven years.  A little better with a competent Rivers, a lot worse with an incompetent Ryan.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

11 minutes ago, chad72 said:

We will see if Gus Bradley's D will taper off, decent offense or not, as time goes on. That is the No.1 thing that will affect the Colts' W-L record by keeping games close.

 

 

We don’t have good enough players in the secondary. So unless Ballard makes a move or two it will probably be up and down. Good news is we go into stretch of QB that aren’t as good as what we played first 4 games.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

10 minutes ago, DougDew said:

How are you telling yourself that?

 

We're .500 now.  We've been about .500 for seven years.  A little better with a competent Rivers, a lot worse with an incompetent Ryan.

This poster is correct. We aren’t close to being as talentless as people said.  They need to rehaul the secondary in the off-season and we will be in a much better spot in 24.

[DougDew]

10 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

This poster is correct. We aren’t close to being as talentless as people said.  They need to rehaul the secondary in the off-season and we will be in a much better spot in 24.

As Reich said, we need two receivers and a TE.   Pittman may be one.   Ogletree may be the TE.  There are too many questions about our offensive skilled positions to say that any skilled position is what it should be.  There are flashes, but none are really there yet.

[Solid84]

I really like AR. He still has far to go, but this game against the Rams had his playmaking ability on full display. 
 

Raimann is our franchise LT. He’s been our best and most consistent lineman through week 4 (well 3, but you know..). Nelson keeps dealing with injuries and it’s kept him from being great.

Kelly has been good, but as per usual keeps getting injured. 
Fries is a weak link and Smith has been really disappointing so far. 
 

Our WRs are disappointing. Some of it is how AR is being told to play. Some of it is AR’s accuracy. But, they’re being paid to make the tough catches, not just the easy ones - they NEED to make the tough catches. They leave so many yards on the field. 
 

Our TEs need to be a bigger part of the offense. Ogletree has done nothing but make plays - give him more chances. 
 

Moss is what we needed. I hope him and JT will bring even more juice. 
 

I like our Dline is great when it’s healthy. 
 

Our LBs have been hugely disappointing in coverage and tackles these past couple of weeks. 
 

Our secondary is young, but I expected more from Blackmon at this stage. It’s too early to judge our CBs, but our safties aren’t good enough in my opinion. 

[indyagent17]

Considering we had Freedland at LT yesterday I thought Richardson would be sacked more than twice and one was a coverage sack.  We need to keep in mind AR is a rookie however it was shameful we had the ball on our own 25 needing about 30-35 yards to go ahead and the offense couldn't move the ball.  it still strange that Pierce is not  playing well. I would have thought another year would have improved. He should have caught that ball in the endzone and he still not getting open. He had one catch and that is not acceptable. We need a #1 receiver 

[compuls1v3]

11 hours ago, GoColts8818 said:

They are better than expected.

 

Richardson, Moss, the oline, and the pass rush have played better than I thought they would.

 

Pittman and Downs both look good.  Pierce has yet show signs of improvement for a second year player.  The Colts have nothing at WR if something happens to Pittman and Downs.

 

The tightends have been really good.  Olgetree has been a better blocker than I expected.  
 

The DTs are really good.  The defense depends on the front four playing well and that depends on Buckner.  
 

The linebackers are really good even if Shaq isn’t where we want him to be yet.

 

The secondary is having ups and downs outside of Moore but that’s to be expected with the young guys.  Unfortunately I think they are about to get even younger with Flowers injury which is unfortunate because I thought Flowers had quietly been playing really well.  
 

Special teams seems to have taken a step back as a whole.  Rigo is still working back from his own injury.  Gay is good.  Coverage isn’t as strong.  The return game is non existent.

 

Coaching is a work in progress.  Shane is very much a rookie coach who makes a lot of rookie mistakes and is maybe just a little too aggressive.  The coordinators have been good for the most part.  Lots of creativity on offense and Gus’s defenses have found ways to get pressure and hide the secondary for the most part.

 

A lot of people thought this was a five win max team.  They are 2-2 at the first quarter mark which I think is exceed most people’s expectations.  They aren’t a Super Bowl contender but they can contend for this division based on how they are playing so I’d say a little a head of schedule since most thought they would be fighting for another top 10 draft pick this year 

I'll add if Richardson continues to play like the 2nd 1/2 QB we saw yesterday, we will continue to surprise people.  He made some really great throws out there.  I like him on roll outs and throwing on the move.  He seems (by my eye test) to be a better passer on the move rather than just sitting in the pocket.  Or maybe those are just the more exciting plays. 

[compuls1v3]

1 hour ago, Solid84 said:

I really like AR. He still has far to go, but this game against the Rams had his playmaking ability on full display. 
 

Raimann is our franchise LT. He’s been our best and most consistent lineman through week 4 (well 3, but you know..). Nelson keeps dealing with injuries and it’s kept him from being great.

Kelly has been good, but as per usual keeps getting injured. 
Fries is a weak link and Smith has been really disappointing so far. 
 

Our WRs are disappointing. Some of it is how AR is being told to play. Some of it is AR’s accuracy. But, they’re being paid to make the tough catches, not just the easy ones - they NEED to make the tough catches. They leave so many yards on the field. 
 

Our TEs need to be a bigger part of the offense. Ogletree has done nothing but make plays - give him more chances. 
 

Moss is what we needed. I hope him and JT will bring even more juice. 
 

I like our Dline is great when it’s healthy. 
 

Our LBs have been hugely disappointing in coverage and tackles these past couple of weeks. 
 

Our secondary is young, but I expected more from Blackmon at this stage. It’s too early to judge our CBs, but our safties aren’t good enough in my opinion. 

I agree Ogletree has been good.  Feed the man.  Let him eat!!

[hoosierhawk]

3 hours ago, Solid84 said:

I really like AR. He still has far to go, but this game against the Rams had his playmaking ability on full display. 
 

Raimann is our franchise LT. He’s been our best and most consistent lineman through week 4 (well 3, but you know..). Nelson keeps dealing with injuries and it’s kept him from being great.

Kelly has been good, but as per usual keeps getting injured. 
Fries is a weak link and Smith has been really disappointing so far. 
 

Our WRs are disappointing. Some of it is how AR is being told to play. Some of it is AR’s accuracy. But, they’re being paid to make the tough catches, not just the easy ones - they NEED to make the tough catches. They leave so many yards on the field. 
 

Our TEs need to be a bigger part of the offense. Ogletree has done nothing but make plays - give him more chances. 
 

Moss is what we needed. I hope him and JT will bring even more juice. 
 

I like our Dline is great when it’s healthy. 
 

Our LBs have been hugely disappointing in coverage and tackles these past couple of weeks. 
 

Our secondary is young, but I expected more from Blackmon at this stage. It’s too early to judge our CBs, but our safties aren’t good enough in my opinion. 

I agree with all of your post with the exception of Fries. I think he has played ok but if we get Kelly back to normal and Smith starts to get back to playing better I believe you will see that Fries can hold his own. 

As far as the secondary, yes they are very young and loosing Flowers will really hurt but I think Bradley's defense puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the secondary. Maybe a great secondary can hold up when the QB has 5 seconds to find a receiver come open but we sure aren't there yet. We need to blitz a LB or a corner occasionally to take a little pressure of the secondary. 

Really like Ogletree and if Woods comes back healthy look out. 

[JediXMan]

This team actually has fire, that was severely lacking last season. Last year’s team would’ve folded after being down 23. Most times a team gives off the same energy as the coach. Happy with what I’m seeing out of Steichen and AR. I haven’t felt this good about our offense since Luck’s last season. I really don’t know what we can do about the secondary tbh. Hopefully AR and Steichen keeps improving each week. If JT joins the fold who knows maybe they do win the AFCS.

[csmopar]

5 hours ago, DougDew said:

How are you telling yourself that?

 

We're .500 now.  We've been about .500 for seven years.  A little better with a competent Rivers, a lot worse with an incompetent Ryan.

Because if you watch, most that complain about the roster say it’s “the worst roster in the league”. That’s how

[a06cc]

Secondary needs fixed! We need a FS and SS. Those guys aren’t rookies and should know the defense already. They are always out of position. Not giving Blackmon or Thomas a pass for yesterday. 

[jvan1973]

8 hours ago, DougDew said:

Lots of new players and lots of younger players with another year of development.  Last year the entire team knew that the offense was not competitive because of the quarterbacking, and that gets reflected in the quality of play.  Hence the exceptionally bad record last season.

 

It feels like a typical near 500 season under Ballard until the talent at the important positions start to emerge/be drafted.   

 

Yawn.

I yawned after this post as well

[DougDew]

7 hours ago, csmopar said:

Also, our performance thus far has proven that the roster overall was not as bad as our record indicated the last couple of years and that it really was coaching that was the problem.  I think we’re in good hands. 

 

6 hours ago, DougDew said:

We're .500 now.  We've been about .500 for seven years.  A little better with a competent Rivers, a lot worse with an incompetent Ryan.

 

40 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Because if you watch, most that complain about the roster say it’s “the worst roster in the league”. That’s how

Sorry, not following because our record now is about what it has been...with the same coach for a long time....except for Saturday.  We were always about 500 with Reich.

 

I didn't catch where you were talking about what others were complaining about.    Can you explain again?  

[csmopar]

2 hours ago, DougDew said:

 

 

Sorry, not following because our record now is about what it has been...with the same coach for a long time....except for Saturday.  We were always about 500 with Reich.

 

I didn't catch where you were talking about what others were complaining about.    Can you explain again?  

I don’t know how to break it down any further. I’ve already broken it down to Barney level

[SR711]

- To be 2-2 is pretty good so far.  I do think the team is better overall than the 4-12-1 last year would seem to indicate.  If the defense can continue to play well as they did for much of the 1st 3 games, the offense doesn't turn it over or take a ton of sacks, there is a formula for this club to be competitive for one of the playoff spots which I think would be a reasonable goal to aim for this year.  

 

- Have to wonder how much better the team would be if they had a happy, healthy JT in the lineup.  I think we definitely win that Jags game at the very least.  Hopefully, things work themselves out either way here soon with that. 

 

- Instead of read option stuff, I want to see more AR continuing to his speed, athleticism, etc for lateral pocket escape to set up downfield passing as we saw yesterday in the 2nd half.  This is really an area of his game I can see becoming a weapon for him rather quickly as seems to be accurate when throwing on the run.   

 

- The defense (especially against good QBs, elite passing game) is going to as far as the front 4 goes, if they can generate consistent pressure with those guys, the secondary gets a major boost.  When it does not happen like yesterday, the inexperience, lack of talent back there gets exposed. 

[markabrown96]

I liked the sample size of Ogletree. Enjoyed seeing more downfield passing, hopefully more to come.

[DougDew]

22 hours ago, csmopar said:

Also, our performance thus far has proven that the roster overall was not as bad as our record indicated the last couple of years and that it really was coaching that was the problem.

 

15 hours ago, csmopar said:

Because if you watch, most that complain about the roster say it’s “the worst roster in the league”. That’s how

 

12 hours ago, csmopar said:

I don’t know how to break it down any further. I’ve already broken it down to Barney level

Well, if you're going to be that way..

 

How are you telling yourself that "MOST people who complain about the roster say it's "the worst roster in the league".

 

I check this board every day for the past "couple of years", and I've never seen that written more than once or twice.

 

Could it be that you are exaggerating so your point looks better?  Barney would do stuff like that.

[cdgacoltsfan]

Last year, I couldn't watch.....this year, I want to watch.

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

If downs was Reggie’s pick, let him pick all our WRs from here on out. 

[BeanDiasucci]

What I've seen: The Colts are succeeding in modernizing their offense under Steichen and need to continue to do so by upgrading their wide receivers to be championship calibre. Richardson can get the job done if he can stay healthy and keeps improving. The coaching and QB changes have made a huge difference.

 

On defense, the Colts aren't bad but they still need to modernize their approach to personnel and perhaps scheme to emphasize defending the passing game.

[jskinnz]

I believe the Colts are right where they should be. The schedule was always going to allow them to be competitive most days. The record seems right - I thought they would get to 2 - 2 with wins / losses against different opponents but it is the NFL. You win some you did not expect and lose some you thought would be wins. 
 

The key take away for me so far is they appear to have THE guy in Richardson. He will get better but to this point, I am convinced they have their QB for the next decade. 

[sb41champs]

This season was never supposed to be about "wins and losses" - but - the growth of Anthony Richardson.

 

I think Shane Steichen is an AWEmazing play caller!!

 

I see weekly progress by Anthony Richardson!!

 

I see the team bonding and taking on a "never say never" mentality!!

 

I like what Coach Gus Bradley is doing with the defense.

 

As long as we are competitive week-in and week-out - I'll be happy with the outcome of the season.

 

IF we would happen to win the division crown - I would be ecstatic!!

[horseshoecrabs]

This year is about confidence building. and the players starting to believe in their selves as a team. I think they have showed that in the last two games. There is always going to be weak links in positions that need to be addressed.  They will learn with more playing time, what it takes to be consistent. As a fan we just need to be more patient and see how this unfolds. 

[csmopar]

13 hours ago, DougDew said:

 

 

Well, if you're going to be that way..

 

How are you telling yourself that "MOST people who complain about the roster say it's "the worst roster in the league".

 

I check this board every day for the past "couple of years", and I've never seen that written more than once or twice.

 

Could it be that you are exaggerating so your point looks better?  Barney would do stuff like that.

I’m not gonna go back and dig thru every thread where it’s been mentioned or implied. However, if you wish, I’ll start tagging you every time I see it, fair enough?

[Stephen]

8 hours ago, jskinnz said:

I believe the Colts are right where they should be. The schedule was always going to allow them to be competitive most days. The record seems right - I thought they would get to 2 - 2 with wins / losses against different opponents but it is the NFL. You win some you did not expect and lose some you thought would be wins. 
 

The key take away for me so far is they appear to have THE guy in Richardson. He will get better but to this point, I am convinced they have their QB for the next decade. 

15 to 20 years he is only 31 a decade from now

[coming on strong]

On 10/2/2023 at 12:16 AM, CR91 said:

2-2

 

Honesty, I thought we'd be 1-3 at this point so good start so far. Here are some key notes I've observed so far.

 

Shane Steichen - I'm not gonna say the team didn't respect Reich, but I just notice so much more command from Shane both on and off the field. You can see he's in control especially offensively, game flow, and from a strategic prospective.

 

Anthony Richardson - AR has been as advertised. Athletic, poise, electric, and a leader. Down 23 and just put the team on his back. Unfortunately falling short, but imo he is miles ahead of most rookie QBs and I truly believe we have another colt great to be at QB.

 

O-line - The improvement from last year is night and day and yes having a running QB instead of a statue does help, but they have done a great job so far especially Raimann who has looked like a legit LT.

 

D-line - imo, they have been the best part of the team. Buck and Grove have been almost unstoppable. Kwity has been a monster. Samson has had some really great couple of games. Dayo was great today. A lot of great things on the line.

 

Here's what I think needs work moving forward if we're gonna be successful.

 

Alec Pierce - I'm not really sure what we're doing with Alec. We are not using his best asset which is bodying DBs. Ive seen maybe 5 deep balls to Alec which isn't remotely enough. I get he's had a few drops, but we need to help get him more involved.

 

Shaq Leonard - I understand it takes time to come back from the surgeries Shaq had and trust me I was not expecting Darius back, but I am getting concerned. I just don't see that instinctive playmaking LB he use to be. I'm hoping with more games under his belt, Shaq can return to his All-Pro level we all expect.

 

Secondary - I get we went all in with the youth movement at CB and Brents was great vs the Ravens, but I'm concerned with all the miscommunication that seems to happen especially today during OT and now we might have Flowers missing time.

the secondary is the biggest hole and will be the reason if the colts have a losing record .   out side of brents every one else is playing really bad .  the depth at defensive tackle is glaring after buck and grove played limited snaps due to injury .  the whole defensive line looked horrible when the two back up dts were on the field .   we need paye and dayo to step up and turn into stars not just be solid .    wrs we need a legit number 1 pittman is a great number 2 guy but its a glaring hole with pierce doing nothing .

[DougDew]

11 hours ago, csmopar said:

I’m not gonna go back and dig thru every thread where it’s been mentioned or implied. However, if you wish, I’ll start tagging you every time I see it, fair enough?

"Worst roster in the league" sounds more like hyperbole than a serious description.  But if you are implying to yourself its a serious thought that is shared by most critics of the roster, that's on you.  

[Defjamz26]

To sum up what a lot of people have said:

 

Good:
-AR5 is money 

-Ogletree and Rainman look like breakout candidates

-D-Line and LBs get after it

 

Bad:

-Secondary, especially the safety play has been horrendous except for Kenny.

-WR room outside of Downs is a huge disappointment

-Shaq is washed