Colts sit at 1-3 as they prepare to face Patriots on Thursday night

This past Sunday, head coach Frank Reich may have made the best, bad decision in the history of Colts football. Facing a 4th and 4 on their own 43 yard line in OT, Frank Reich chose to gamble. He chose to put the game in his best player’s hands, but unfortunately Luck (and Chester Rogers) couldn’t deliver. Three plays later, the Houston Texans would take the victory on a Ka’imi Fairbairn 37 yard field goal.

Sometimes though, it’s what you learn in losses that make you a better, more resilient team. By taking that shot, and putting his confidence in the offense to go make a play, Frank Reich now has everyone on the same page. This head coach doesn’t want to dwell on the what if’s, he wants it black and white. Win or lose, no grey areas. He wants his team to be aggressive. He wants his team to have, “an obsession to finish”.

With the Colts now at 1-3, it’s left many fans disgruntled. Critical turnovers, some key injuries, and costly penalties have shown that missing a couple of the little things are what can turn a spotless record into one that’s sub par. In week one, it was a Jack Doyle fumble, in week 3 it was penalties and poor execution in the red zone, and week 4 it was 14 points given up off of turnovers.

Now the Colts will go to Foxboro, and kick off week 5 action Thursday against the New England Patriots. This will be their toughest test so far. It won’t be tough for the obvious reasons of New England playing at home, or because Tom Brady is under center for the Pats. The game will be tough because there’s an urgency to win, and a stigma that says the Colts can’t/won’t win this game. The media says they won’t, the fans say they won’t, the casinos say they won’t, and history says they won’t. The Colts haven’t beaten the Patriots this decade, as New England has gone 7-0 in their matchups since 2010. Andrew Luck, who entered the league in 2012, is 0-5 in those matchups.

Maybe it’s time for a Colts win. At 2-2, New England isn’t exactly playing their best football. They still have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but something seems a bit off. Aside from their week 4 win over the Miami Dolphins, they look out of sync. Taking losses to Detroit and Jacksonville, they’ve shown that they have weaknesses, and that they aren’t the super heroes they have been in the past.

If Indianapolis can play its best game of the season, they just might have a shot at taking out the Patriots and beginning a string of victories. After Thursday, they’ll have two games against rookie quarterbacks (Sam Darnold-Jets and Josh Allen-Bills), and then head to Oakland to play a Raiders team that seems to lack an identity since trading away Khalil Mack. Those 3 teams only have 3 wins collectively (3-9 overall). This could put Indianapolis in a more reasonable spot when they hit the bye in week 9.

Before the “easy” games though, the Colts have an opportunity to stick it to Josh McDaniels who left them at the alter during the off-season coaching search. Who better to help them, than the former Eagles offensive coordinator, Frank Reich, who beat them in the Super Bowl in February? They also have the opportunity to make this a rivalry again, because let’s be honest…there has been nothing resembling competitiveness in this series for almost a decade.

This week, I’m predicting more of the same in this series. Indianapolis came out of the Texans game really banged up. On Monday, they had 8 players who didn’t practice, and several more on a limited practice. That may seem natural for a Monday any other week, but knowing that they play Thursday night is cause for concern. It’s not rotational players getting injured either, it’s the starters. Notable injuries on the Did Not Practice list are as follows:

Wide Receiver-T.Y. Hilton (chest/hamstring)

Tight End-Jack Doyle (hip)

Linebacker-Darius Leonard (ankle)

Center-Ryan Kelly (hand)

Cornerback-Nate Hairston (ankle)

Defensive Tackle-Hassan Ridgeway (calf)

Cornerback-Quincy Wilson (concussion)

Cornerback-Kenny Moore (concussion)

With these big names here, and several others, such as left tackle Anthony Castonzo (hamstring) practicing on a limited basis, the Colts are in trouble if they can’t find a magic healing elixir by Thursday.

IND: 20 NE: 38

Photo credit: USA Today Sports

Week 3 preview: Colts @ Eagles

After two weeks of play, I still don’t know what to make of this Indianapolis Colts team. I really want to believe they have something special brewing. With what seems to be a gem in Darius Leonard (2018 second round pick) and the excitement of Andrew Luck and his new receiving core being on the same page so quickly, one could be led to believe that the Colts might not be so bad. Then…I start looking into the schedule, and the stats. Over then next four weeks Indianapolis travels to Philadelphia to play the Eagles with Carson Wentz returning, comes home to a divisional opponent in the Texans, goes into Gillette Stadium on a short week to play the Patriots, and finally, takes a ride up to the Meadowlands to face off against the current number one defense of the New York Jets. Thank goodness they get a break against the hapless Buffalo Bills in week 7; However, that may not even be a walk in the park, because the Colts have lost 3 of the last 4 matchups against Buffalo (last won in 2012). After all of that, they get Oakland in the black hole for their 5th road game in 8 weeks. This could get pretty rough, but the only way to get through it is to take the boring, obvious mantra (one play at a time).

For the Colts to get to the bye, they first have to get through the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s not going to be easy (they may not even do it) , but if they have just enough “Luck”, they might get it done. Here are a few keys to this weeks’ matchup:

Andrew Luck has to be the 40 passing touchdowns version of himself, and not the 18 interceptions rookie year version. As consistent as Luck is passing (71.4%), he isn’t getting the scoring production he needs. He is tied for 11th in passing touchdowns (4), but is tied for second highest amount of interceptions (3). Indianapolis can’t afford to have Luck play at a mediocre level. For as much as they spent on him, and for the amount of time they waited for him to return, he has to be better.
They need to have better offensive consistency. Three scoring drives might not be enough to get past most teams. Luckily, last week was an exception. The three 75 yard touchdown drives we saw were great last weekend, but the rest of the game wasn’t so hot. Every Indianapolis non-scoring drive in week 2 was a disaster. Let’s read in between the scores:

1st half: 3 plays 4 yards (punt), 7 plays 58 yards (interception), 3 plays 8 yards (punt), 3 plays 6 yards (punt), 1 play -1 yards (kneel/end of half)

2nd half: 3 plays 0 yards (interception), 3 plays 5 yards (punt), 4 plays 22 yards (punt), 1 -1 yards (kneel/ end of game)

Five, 3 and outs are nothing to be proud of. The way I see it, the Colts failed to score at least a field goal on 70% of their offensive possessions last week (throwing out kneel scenarios). With an offensive minded coach (Reich) and a star quarterback (Luck), they should be clicking more often than 30%. If that lack of production bleeds into week 3, the Eagles will walk all over them.

3. The defense we saw in week 2 needs to be their every game. Every level of defense was involved. The front 4 were plugging the holes, the run game was held in check, and they forced the quarterback to try and make plays. They played inspired, they played hungry, they were excited, and they were well prepared. Those are words we haven’t heard relating to the Colts defense since maybe the 2006 Super Bowl run.

This week with the Eagles offense, the Colts have a giant test. Carson Wentz is back, the crowd in Philadelphia is always horrible (remember they booed Santa Claus), and Wentz has weapons. These weapons include second year receiver Nelson Agholor and veteran tight end Zach Ertz (each have 16 receptions in just two games). They also include an effective group of running backs (Ajayi, Clement, and Smallwood) who can kill with 4 and 5 yard bursts, or catch linebackers off guard in the passing game. On the other side of the ball, the Colts offense has to find ways to move the sticks against this Eagles defense. There are tons of household names on their defense. They have a great starting lineup and solid depth. Names like Haloti Ngata, Brandon Graham, and Fletcher Cox will have the offensive line busy. While names like Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby will try to frustrate the Colts thin receiving core. For the second week in a row, I’m picking against Indianapolis. I predict that the familiarity of Frank Reich’s offense, the spark the Eagles will have with Wentz returning, and the amount of playmakers on the Philly defense, will just be too much for this Indy team to handle. The Colts do have one thing going for them though..I’m 0-2 with my predictions this year.

My prediction: Colts 16 Eagles 31

Photo Credit- Brian Spurlock-USA Today Sports

Week 2 preview: Colts @ Redskins

The Colts face their first road opponent this week, as they travel to FedEx Field to battle the Washington Redskins. The Redskins are boasting a new look offense this season, featuring quarterback Alex Smith (formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs) and late preseason addition, running back Adrian Peterson (2012 League MVP). The last time these two teams met was in 2014. That game went very well for the Colts, as they cruised to a 49-27 victory, thanks to 5 Andrew Luck touchdown passes. The two teams do not play each other very frequently, but the Colts historically own the matchups, going 20-12 in a series that dates back to 1950. Indianapolis has won 4 of the last 5 games in the series, not taking a loss since 2002.

Indianapolis should expect to hear added pressure around the NFL this week, as a loss to the Redskins would mark a fifth straight year of starting their season 0-2. Coming off of a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis looks to build on the positives, of which there are a few. The Colts defense is deceptively one of those positives. Even though they squandered a 13 point lead, the Colts defense actually found some success in containing Andy Dalton and big play receiver AJ Green. Indianapolis forced an early interception due to great pressure by the defensive line, and recovered an AJ Green fumble. Safety, Matthias Farley nearly recovered a second Green fumble, after knocking the ball loose in the 4th quarter.

Another bright spot in the Colts defense was rookie linebacker Darius Leonard. Leonard played the most snaps of any Colts defender (56), and would go on to have 9 total tackles and a fumble recovery. The second round draft pick out of South Carolina State, could end up being a building block for a young Colts defense that is looking to establish an identity.

Of course, we can’t forget about Andrew Luck’s passing performance! The veteran quarterback shook off the rust, and compiled an impressive statistical performance. Going 39-53 (73%) with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, Luck showed his shoulder is as healthy as ever. Hopefully, he won’t have to throw 53 times every week, but it is good to know that his arm can handle the workload.

Even with a healthy Andrew Luck, Indianapolis will have their work cut out for them this week. The Washington Redskins are coming off of a solid 24-6 road victory against last year’s #6 defense, the Arizona Cardinals. Led by Alex Smith, Washington had a huge 21 point second quarter and never looked back on a dominant day. Smith’s stat line for the day was 21-30/255 yards/2 touchdowns/0 interceptions. Arizona running back David Johnson would put a touchdown on the board with 5:47 left in the game, but it was too little too late for the Cardinals. The Redskins rushing attack was also at work, with their running backs totaling 168 yards on 34 carries. Most of the ground damage was dealt by Adrian Peterson, who carried the ball 26 times for 96 yards and a touchdown.

To me, the score of the Cincinnati Bengals game didn’t indicate how close the Colts were to actually winning. Perhaps if not for a late Jack Doyle fumble, the result may have been much different. That being said, I don’t think the week one result should all be put on Doyle. The Bengals closed the week one matchup with 24 unanswered points, as the Indianapolis offense struggled to put together scoring drives in the second half. Going into this weekend, you can expect the Colts coaching staff to preach playing a full four quarters of football. The return of left tackle Anthony Castonzo (and potentially running back Marlon Mack) will help the Colts, but I think the Redskins defense will still be a little too tough for this Indianapolis offense.

My week 2 prediction:

Colts 20 Redskins 24

Photo Credit (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)