3 promising things about the Colts that have been overshadowed by Indy’s underwhelming season
By Evan Garrison
The season has been a disaster for the Indianapolis Colts but some promising moments should have Indy excited about the future.
As the Indianapolis Colts stare at the possibility of a second four-win season in the Chris Ballard regime, the Colts will enter the offseason with a plethora of questions to answer. Who will be the starting quarterback? Who will be the head coach? Are the next coordinators on the staff already? All of these questions need to be answered in some capacity.
Entering the season, Indianapolis wasn’t expected to have those problems so soon. In fact, the Colts were actually supposed to be contenders but they fumbled the season and have completely underwhelmed. However, through all the frustrations and dampened expectations, light has managed to make it through the smoke. Things haven’t been all bad for Indianapolis, there have actually been some really promising moments. Here are a few players who have managed to impress despite the team failing to meet expectations.
3. Jonathan Taylor has still been solid for Colts
There’s no doubt that the Indianapolis offense, which ranks 30th in points per game, has drastically underachieved this season. Expectations were particularly high for Jonathan Taylor who was coming off of a season in which he finished second in Offensive Player of the Year voting to Cooper Kupp. In fact, many would say that Jonathan Taylor, and his 861 rush yards through 13 games this season, is largely a disappointment. However, Jonathan Taylor is quietly having yet another highly productive season.
Taylor does have work to do. He has three fumbles this season, and he needs to do what he can to stay healthy and, on the field, too. However, Taylor is averaging 4.5 yards per carry this season and even though he’s missed three games, he still has 861 yards on the season. Taylor ranks fifth in the league with just over 86 yards per game and if his numbers are stretched across a full 17-game season, Taylor would finish the year with 1,464 yards.
We often take for granted greatness when it’s in front of our eyes, especially when it’s surrounded by mediocrity. The colts went from 2008 to 2016 without a 1,000-yard rusher and as long as he plays in the remaining four games this year, Taylor is expected to exceed that mark for the third time in as many seasons. In short, Colts fans should be hopeful that Indy does what it takes to make sure that Taylor wears one uniform only in his career.