The Colts biggest concern.

The Colts’ roster is not shaping up to be all that bad right now. Grigson, in my opinion, has done a great job so far, putting together a roster that can be competitive come September. Where my real concern lies however, is in the depth of the team. With one or two injuries to starters, which will inevitably happen, the Colts will very quickly become a team with many glaring holes.

On the offensive side of the ball I have far less concerns. The Quarterback position is in great shape with Drew Stanton in the wings should the worst happen; Andrew Luck fall to injury. Along the O-line and at tailback, I feel the Colts are adequately poised to deal with one or two injuries, although neither unit is exceptional, both are stronger than the prior season, in my view. With the receiving corps, I see the potential for injuries to hurt here the most. At tight end, I am less concerned, but the Colts could do with a veteran to back up Allen and Fleener, of whom I don’t feel we currently have on the roster, however the Colts could decide to keep just two tight ends on the roster this season, and if injury strikes this position, bridge that hurdle when it arises. With the wide receivers, I see many potential struggles should the injury bug bite. If Wayne or Avery goes down, currently the roster does not possess an adequate replacement, I like both Collie and Hilton but both are set to line-up in the slot. This would leave Luck without weapons outside, and make it harder for him to complete passes underneath without Wayne and Avery stretching the field.

Looking at the defensive side of the ball, I feel there is far more concerning issues; most notably with the secondary. The Colts secondary must rank amongst the lowest in the League in terms of high caliber players; mainly at the cornerback position, as both starters at safety are very good football players, especially Antoine Bethea, who I’d rank among the top free safeties in the league. The acquisition of Mike Jenkins (if finalised) would certainly help the Colts secondary, but still should he or Powers get injured, I can’t help but feel the ‘next man up’ mantra just isn’t going to deliver the desired effect, unless unrelenting incompetent play is what their searching for. Cue Jacob Lacey, oh wait, he left in free agency(who cares), so who’s next?  Yeah, that’s right Kevin Thomas. In all fairness to Thomas, he has the potential to grow into a good cover corner, but I can’t help thinking he suited the old Colts better. The Colts blew up the NFL offseason, with their blockbuster trade for superstar corner, Darrelle Revis Cassius Vaughn.  The acquisition of Vaughn showed the Colts are concerned with their talent (or lack of) at corner, and his addition should help tie up the nickel corner position.  With the D-line and linebackers, depth is less of an issue, yet still, the Colts haven’t necessarily got the best personnel on defense for the switch to the 3-4. Yet this season is likely to be a hybrid 3-4 with 4-3 looks, so this more than likely will take a year or two to fully implement.

I love what the Colts have done this offseason, and realistically a team is always going to have a hole or two, here and there. With the Colts previous track record, it is not unusual for the roster to be decimated through injury, remember 2010? Yet with such a young team, and a rookie quarterback at the helm, we need the injury gods on our side, let’s hope the Patriots have been slacking in their prayers to them. With a little bit of luck, pun intended, and a healthy roster, maybe just maybe the Colts can make it back to the postseason as a wildcard. Thats a longshot, yet I still like to err on the side of optimism.