Is the only expectation of the offense this season is to be better than it was at times last year? There’s so much changes on the offensive side, it might not even be reasonable to have high expectations. Look at some of the changes.
New rookie quarterback in Andrew Luck. Granted he’s being touted as one of the can’t miss type guys. But he’ll still have his ups and downs. I know I said it in the season expectations article that Peyton Manning went 3-13 in his first season. I do think Luck will come around, but who knows how well he’ll do this first season.
But he will have that tight end, Coby Fleener, who he played with at Stanford, so that might be a good tandem. And then there’s Reggie Wayne, who you know what you’re getting. I wouldn’t be surprised to see lots of passes his way and just a great season for him.
There’s also Austin Collie around the wide receiving core, who might be able to get back to form for himself. Last season, he only caught one touchdown pass, but did play in all sixteen games, which is good to see. I think this could be a good season for him.
The line will be important for protection for Luck, and to open up this running game. That seems to be the knock every year, when are the Colts going to be put together a running game? This might happen this year with Donald Brown in a contract year, and running for a new deal. Delone Carter looked good at times, and seemed to get pulled too soon after he would make a small mistake. Hopefully, there’s a longer leash this time, and he can show what he can do.
This is just a big unknown with all the different personnel. I think it will be a few games before we get a read on what this offense can do, and how the Colts will attack things. Part of me thinks it will still be pass happy and the passing game will be opened up. But then I know that this is a new coaching staff, so maybe they want to instill a running game and make teams really not know what they will be calling next. One thing is for sure, this season will be an interesting one.