3 Questions that Colts Must Ask Themselves during Training Camp
By Cody Felger
3. Is There Enough Pass Rush?
In 2015, the Colts lacked one thing, pass rush. With no players reaching double digits sacks, the Colts more often than not couldn’t take down opposing quarterbacks.
The Colts thought they had addressed this problem by signing the Philadelphia Eagles leader in sacks, Trent Cole. Unfortunately, Cole was relatively ineffective in 2015. He recorded a measly three sacks.
Robert Mathis was the lone bright spot in the pass rush department for the Colts’ outside linebackers. Coming back from an achilles injury, Mathis only brought down the quarterback seven times. As the season went on however, the thirty-five year old began to return to form. Now fully healthy, it will be interesting to see how much pressure the 14-year veteran can still bring.
Also in the mix, Erik Walden (3 sacks), Earl Okine, and rookie Trevor Bates, who the Colts took in the seventh round. It will be interesting to see if any of these three players are a factor in 2016.
It’s worth noting that a pair of undrafted rookie free agents, Curt Maggitt and Ron Thompson could potentially surprise as pass rushers too.
For the defensive line, this group has loads of potential. Kendall Langford leads the way for this group with seven sacks last year, which was tied for the team high. Henry Anderson was also doing solid work before tearing his ACL halfway through the season. While he only had one sack, Anderson could be poised for a breakout year.
The Colts also have young players with tons of potential. David Parry had one sack, T.Y. McGill had three, and the Colts added more depth with Hassan Ridgeway in the fourth round. This group has a lot of potential to be very good, now it’s time for some young players to take that next step. The burning question is, who will it be?
