The Indianapolis Colts spent a lot of time (and money) this offseason crafting a Super Bowl caliber team. By all measures, this is the most talented roster the Colts have had since the Andrew Luck-era began. They have managed to rebuild while making the playoffs every season, thereby setting the bar far too high for the dregs of the NFL.
Coach Chuck Pagano has been swooning over the Colts roster since minicamp. He has a lot of reasons to be happy, too. On Wednesday, Pagano spoke about the depth and talent on the current roster.
"“Like I’ve said before, we’re going to have some tough decisions to make,” Pagano said. “I told the team we’ve got to get to 75 after Week 3 and then down to 53 after the preseason. That’s the nature of the beast. It’s the hardest reality in the National Football League. We’re going to say goodbye to a lot of good players.”"
The Colts have until September 1 to get the roster down to 75 players. They’ll play their final preseason game on Sept. 3. Final roster cuts are Sept. 5 (where they have to cut down to 53 players).
While the team didn’t put together a great performance on Sunday against the Eagles, there were some notable individual efforts. Pagano was encouraged by some positives and “things to build on.” Sometimes it seems like he has a bet with another coach about how many cliches he can weave into one press conference.
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Pagano even dusted off a not-so-old classic, referring to rookie Josh Robinson as “a rolling ball of butcher’s knives” a line formerly reserved for possible vision impaired running back Trent Richardson. Pagano might as well have kissed Robinson and said “I know it was you, Josh. You broke my heart.” It certainly doesn’t help that Robinson is wearing number 34, which Richardson used to don (coincidentally a number just higher than his yards per carry).
In all seriousness, Robinson showed a level of elusiveness and vision that Richardson never came close to while he was in Indy. If he doesn’t get more carries this Saturday against the Bears, I’d be surprised.
The Colts appear to have a number of interesting roster battles going on right now. They team clearly has depth at wide receiver, running back, and along the defensive line. Not everyone fighting for a roster spot showed up in the first preseason game, but luckily they have two more games before the first round of cuts.