The Indianapolis Colts have started the season slowly but that’s become common under Frank Reich. That’s why the coach isn’t too worried.
During the offseason, the Indianapolis Colts tried some different approaches for their offseason program. Indy changed the time of training camp practices to reflect the start time of a regular season game and the Colts also got their starters more reps in the preseason than usual. The reason Indianapolis was so concerned with circadian rhythms and reps is that Indy wanted to avoid the kind of slow starts that have plagued the team during the Frank Reich era.
Reich is now in his fifth season as head coach of the Colts. While his tenure has consisted of ups and downs, he’s been relatively successful at making Indy a competitive team, despite some unfortunate circumstances that were out of his control. Not counting the current season, Reich has amassed a 37-28 record along with two postseason trips where he’s 1-2.
However, seasons don’t usually start well for the Colts under Reich. In his first four years, Indy has a combined record of 7-9 through the first four games of each season. The team was 1-3 through four games in 2018, 2-2 in 2019, 3-1 in 2020, and 1-3 in 2021. Despite those starts, Indianapolis was still able to pull things together and have quality seasons.
As bleak as things seem for the Colts, this isn’t even close to their worst start under Reich. You can argue this start looks and feels different from the others, but there is a very distinct history here. I still think they’ll be in play for the AFC South title.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) September 19, 2022
In 2018, the Colts finished with a 10-6 record and made the playoffs. 2019 was Reich’s worst season and the team finished 7-9. 2020, Reich’s only year with a good start, the team made the playoffs with an 11-5 record. Last season, Indy battled back to a 9-8 record and was one win away from the postseason.
So with the Colts now sitting at 0-1-1 after two embarrassing weeks of the 2022 NFL season, fans and the media are currently in a far more pessimistic state than Reich and the team is. That’s because Indy has been here before and the team knows they can turn things around.
Frank Reich remains confident in Colts because of history
This would explain why Reich hasn’t necessarily been as publicly concerned as the rest of the world has been. Obviously, Reich has to keep his composure since he still has a football team to lead, but immediately following Sunday’s game, which Reich himself called “pathetic”, he insisted that the Colts are close to where they want to be, despite the first two weeks’ performances.
Reich doubled down on that claim on Wednesday and provided more insight into his history in the NFL and how he’s seen teams flip the switch in a matter of weeks.
Asked #Colts Frank Reich about him insisting on the gap not being that far for this team:
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) September 21, 2022
“On the outside, it does feel like an ocean. There’s no question about that. But experience tells me what I said is true. … “ pic.twitter.com/Rk0gYkUlFZ
It’s hard to argue with Reich’s words. While fans have the right to be frustrated with what the Colts have shown and the media has the right to question it, sports has continuously proven that everything can change in an instant. Hopefully, that is the case for Indianapolis.
Indy is still a talented football team and although the team has some obvious problem areas, they also have the tools to win in the NFL. The Colts will try to start that winning on Sunday against a tough Kansas City Chiefs team.
3 things the Colts can fix to turn things around fast
The Indianapolis Colts are off to a terrible start in the 2022 NFL season but there are some things they can fix to turn things around.