Don’t count Indianapolis Colts out for 2016
By Luke Sims
The Indianapolis Colts have quietly gone about their business so far in 2016, letting other teams steal the spotlight, but it would be unwise to count them out because of it.
Teams that win big in free agency and the offseason are rarely rewarded by winning big in the actual regular season. The Indianapolis Colts, who have been well built under general manager Ryan Grigson, know this and have laid low since their 8-8 finish to the 2015 season.
Missing the playoffs for the first time under head coach Chuck Pagano, it was surprising to see the team not only retain their coach but extend him. The reports out of Indianapolis, as well summed up by Josh Wilson at Stampede Blue, was that there was dissatisfaction with Pagano stretching all the way back to the offseason before 2015. The strife was tracked throughout those who observe the NFL and it wasn’t shocking to see the Colts struggle under that kind of internal turmoil.
Yet Pagano will return for 2016 and that’s a good thing for the Indianapolis Colts.
Pagano has a track record with the Colts that is impressive for a first-time head coach. He hit the postseason every year from 2012 to 2014, winning 11 games in each of those seasons. The Colts were better in each subsequent playoff showing, culminating in winning two in 2014 and making it to the AFC Championship game. It would be unwise to overlook that success simply because 2015 resulted in a .500 showing.
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A multitude of situations caused a step backward for the Colts in 2015. The internal lack of trust between upper management and their head coach (who the players loved all the same), injuries to franchise stud quarterback Andrew Luck, Luck’s odd year-four regression, an offensive line that struggled to play as a unit, and a slew of injuries that make even the most stocked rosters wince. 2015 was bad, but there’s no reason to think it is a sign of years to come.
The Grigson-Pagano-Luck relationship all but guarantees that the Indianapolis Colts will return to form. They work well together, creating a culture of success and developing a team that focuses on its strengths and uses them to exploit weaknesses of an opponent. Aside from Luck’s arm, there is no one supremely excellent part of the Colts but they collectively come together to become so much more than the sum of their parts.
Last offseason it seemed that the Colts were just a few parts away from being true Super Bowl contenders. The additions of aged wide receiver Andre Johnson and well worn running back Frank Gore were supposed to add the tested-mettle that the Colts needed to get over the hump. Additions like Johnson and Gore gained all of the attention and were, ultimately, disappointments.
The system fell apart instead.
What the Colts learned from 2015 is that they aren’t just a couple of pieces away from winning a Super Bowl. They learned that the team needs to focus back on that winning system, built on key relationships, that helped them achieve great things in the first three seasons of the Grigson-Pagano-Luck relationship. They know it is time to get back to that and focus less on the right pieces and focus more on building something great out of a team that may not appear excellent from the outside.
As argued by Nathanael Rutherford at Today’s Pigskin, the Colts have not done well trying to play the free agency game under Grigson and have wisely learned to be patient and rely on the system. It’s time to heal the system they had in place and succeeded with since 2012. 2015 was just a hiccup.
There are things to like about the Colts. Players like wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, strong safety Mike Adams, cornerback Vontae Davis, and quarterback Andrew Luck all immediately jump out. However, the Colts are better as a team than they are on paper as individuals. This isn’t to say there aren’t needs that should be addressed, of course.
With Pagano returning, a healed Luck ready to get back into the thick of it, and players like Hilton, Adams, and Davis ready to step up and lead, it would be wise to not count out the Colts just yet. The future is still bright and there is definitely still the possibility of turning 2016 into another successful year.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans may be sexier in the division right now, especially after a big free agent period, but the Colts have wisely stayed quiet and focused primarily on righting the ship internally. That’s more dangerous than many people realize at this part of the year.