The Indianapolis Colts have gotten off to a poor start in the new season leaving many people to question their moves in the offseason.
Jim Irsay and the Indianapolis Colts set out this season with a vow to never let what happened in Jacksonville Week 18 to happen again. The Colts were all chips in. Well…it happened again.
Now, fans are faced with the fact that it may just not be Indy’s year. Although they have the talent, they have struggled to put the pieces together so far this season. Speaking of pieces, Chris Ballard and the front office made several moves this offseason but at the same time, they didn’t.
It’s easy to sit back on our comfortable couch, beverage in hand, surrounded by our friends, and talk about what we would have done in their shoes and the moves we would have made this offseason. Well, let’s talk about it. Honestly, we can’t get much worse than this. Here are three mistakes the Indianapolis Colts made in the offseason that is now costing the team.
3. Not enough weapons on offense
Let’s get this one out of the way. I believe I speak for everyone when I say the Colts didn’t do enough on offense this offseason. Yes, we traded for Matt Ryan, a league MVP, and four-time Pro Bowler, but they did little to help him. Ballard was adamant that the receiving core they had was good enough. So Michael Pittman Jr., Mo Alie Cox, and Parris Campbell were enough? TY Hilton and Jack Doyle leaving left big holes in the receiving core to fill. Michael Pittman Jr. stepped into the WR1 role nicely but who comes after that?
Sure, they drafted Alec Pierce and Jelani Woods with their first two picks, but if they were expecting them to produce from day one the front office was extremely naive. At that time, Pierce was the 12th wide receiver taken in a deep wide receiver class, one pick after George Pickens and one pick before Skyy Moore. Woods was the second tight end taken after Trey McBride.
Who the Colts missed on in free agency were Christian Kirk, Allen Robinson, and Juju Smith-Schuster just to name a few. There weren’t many premiere wide receivers on the market but most of these guys would have been an improvement over Campbell, Ashton Dulin, and the rest of the squad. Let’s not forget about the tight-end group. Although there were even fewer options for this group in free agency they still could have benefitted from adding a C.J. Uzomah, Tyler Conklin, or Evan Engram.
The biggest problem here is that the Colts weren’t decided on a quarterback yet. Were they going to keep Carson Wentz or were they going to trade him? Great, they traded him. Now, who is gonna be QB1? Well, we don’t quite know yet. Hey Robinson, how about you come across state lines and play in Indianapolis with maybe Sam Ehlinger or maybe a veteran QB? Oh, you want to play with a reigning Super Bowl champion? I don’t blame you.
So let’s fast forward a little bit. Now the Indianapolis Colts have traded for Ryan. But who is left? Only the wide receiver that he has spent the majority of his career with and has connected with for almost 13,000 yards and 60 touchdowns, Julio Jones. The two sides couldn’t come to an agreement and he goes to Tampa Bay to probably win a title with Tom Brady. Other wide receivers that are still available today are Odell Beckham Jr., Will Fuller, Cole Beasley, Emmanuel Sanders, and of course, Hilton.
2. Was Matt Ryan the right choice?
Let’s address the great divide amongst Indy fans next shall we? I’ll admit, we’re only two games in, so in my opinion, it’s too early to debate this topic but it is worth mentioning. Did the Indianapolis Colts make the right choice at quarterback this offseason?
Carson Wentz had his moments both good and bad leaving most fans ready to move on with him. The organization agreed and sent him (and a 2022 second-round pick) to Washington for a 2022 second-round pick, 2022 third-round pick, and a 2023 third-round pick (that can become a second). The Colts turned around and traded for Matt Ryan giving Atlanta a 2022 third-round pick.
Let’s focus on the stats of this season thus far. Ryan has thrown for 547 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions with a 60% completion percentage. Wentz, on the other hand, has thrown the ball seven more times and connected on nine more passes than Ryan. He has thrown for 650 yards (second in the league), seven touchdowns (tied for first in the league), and three interceptions.
Now let’s add some context. Indy has faced the Texans and Jaguars, whose defense last season was 31st and 20th in total yards per game and 23rd and 17th in passing yards per game. The Commanders have faced the Jaguars, who they beat 28-22, and the Lions who ranked 24th in passing yards per game and 29th in total yards per game.
All this to say, these two teams have faced similar competition and one quarterback seems to be having a better season than the other. Both quarterbacks are in new places and have comparable weapons. I’ll let you make your own opinion from here.
1. Colts left Frank Reich in charge of the offense
This is a point most Indianapolis Colts fans can agree on. Frank Reich may not be the best person calling plays for the offense right now. I don’t know if it’s hard for him to juggle being a head coach and offensive play caller or if he has lost his touch but something needs to change. He either needs to focus on being a head coach or focus on calling offensive plays. It looks like he can’t do both.
Looking at his head coaching work, he preached this offseason that the Colts wouldn’t get off to a slow start again. He played his starters deep into the preseason, more so than other teams, to avoid a slow start that inevitably happened. The team looks uninspired, there is no motivation or pressure, and there is no intensity. The team is lacking in all things a head coach is supposed to do. With Shaquille Leonard out, Indy is missing its on-field motivator but needs to find that either in another player or…their head coach.
Looking at his offensive play calling, he had his moments last year but was criticized more for being too cute and sacrificing points, not going to score more points, going for it on fourth, or not going for it on fourth. Again it’s easy for all of us to sit here and criticize his actions having never been in that moment or position.
However, this season he has already had a few questionable plays, like a wildcat call in Week 1 that made absolutely no sense. Indianapolis has one of the best, if not the best, running backs in the league yet he only got the ball 10 times in Week 2 (nine rushes and one reception). When you are down your two top receivers there’s no way you should only get Nyheim Hines the ball five times. He is an explosive player in space and could have been the catalyst for this offense. The play calling and lack of protection forced Ryan to throw the ball resulting in three interceptions on Sunday, making his season total four.
Not handing off the offensive play calling to Marcus Brady was maybe the biggest mistake this offseason. With 14 years of experience, Brady is in his fifth season with the Colts and second as the offensive coordinator. Prior to that, he was an assistant quarterbacks coach and quarterbacks coach. Why he isn’t working with Ryan on a deeper level and calling the plays seems a little puzzling right now. Something needs to change with Indy and this may be the easiest and most effective change the team can make.
The outlook is bleak for the Indianapolis Colts. Things don’t get any easier in the next two weeks as they face the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tennessee Titans, their third game against an AFC South rival in four weeks. If the Colts can’t turn things around by Week 4, big changes could be on the horizon.
Colts fans are using hilarious memes to cope with the team’s disappointing start
As the Indianapolis Colts struggle to start the season, fans are trying their best to get laughs out of the situation with some funny memes.