The people most at fault for Colts falling on their face this season

The Indianapolis Colts fell into the pits of despair after a widely hyped-up offseason, and plenty of people are at fault for the underwhelming year.

The Indianapolis Colts were supposed to make the playoffs and be a Super Bowl contender, at least that’s what people thought after their offseason moves to improve. Some media thought Matt Ryan would be the leadership that was needed to make a Super Bowl run similar to the Los Angeles Rams after acquiring Matthew Stafford.

After 13 weeks this season, Indianapolis is closer to getting the No. 1 pick than they are to winning the Super Bowl. What happened to a team that had some success last year, but fell flat to end the season, which led to a statement of “all chips in” from team owner Jim Irsay?

There is a lot to blame to go around for the Colts’ failures, and it started with former head coach Frank Reich, who Jim Irsay fired after nine weeks into the season. Was it all Reich’s fault, though? The Colts are 1-3 since the firing of Reich and the hiring of former All-Pro Center Jeff Saturday as the interim head coach. Indianapolis won Saturday’s first game against the Las Vegas Raiders but has lost three straight since.

It’s more than just players at this point, it starts from the top and trickles down to the bottom of the organization for the Colts’ failures this season. Let’s take a look at some specific areas of blame.

6. Jim Irsay has set up the front office to fail

There are not many reasons why you immediately blame ownership for the failures of a team since they primarily trust their front office staff to do what is best for the organization. However, Irsay has forced the hand a little too often this season. Starting back in March, the Colts owner forced the trade of Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders after dragging his name through the mud. Then got the trade working for Matt Ryan.

It didn’t stop there though, because it was reported that Jim Irsay was the main reason for the benching of Matt Ryan heading into Week 8 against the Commanders. Two weeks later, he fired Frank Reich for poor performances on offense.

There hasn’t been a lot of decision-making for Chris Ballard in the biggest situations this year, which leads us to believe that Chris hasn’t had the opportunity to actually run the team in 2022.

Irsay seems to be taking a Jerry Jones type of role this year and it would not surprise me if Ballard is fired at the end of the season and Jim takes over as the Colts’ general manager again. Irsay was Indy’s general manager after the team relocated to Indianapolis from 1984 to 1997.

Jim would want you to think this article is all about the clicks, which he made clear in his press conference introducing Jeff Saturday as the interim head coach. He forgets that media members are here to keep the team honest by not settling for complacency.

5. Colts offensive line has really struggled in 2022

Has anything been more disappointing than the Colts’ offensive line this season? No one would have guessed that when Anthony Castonzo retired at the end of 2020, the offensive line would have taken a complete turn.

Does this start with coaching or a lack of play and chemistry with the line? How much of the Colts’ struggles can be put on Chris Strausser, the offensive line coach? Strausser, who has been with the team since 2019, has not coached up his line at all this season.

Is it odd that the line didn’t look good until Jeff Saturday came in and got them fired up, for a single game?

The Indianapolis offensive line has been very bland in 2022, allowing for 46 sacks through 13 weeks. In 2021, they only allowed 32. 2022 has seen more sacks in a single season since 2017 when the Colts allowed 56 total sacks. They are already on pace for allowing the most sacks in a single season.

It doesn’t help that the Colts’ players on the line don’t even look great. Quenton Nelson has been exposed many times this year. The same goes for Ryan Kelly and Braden Smith. You can blame a lot of those inconsistencies on rookies and Matt Pryor playing alongside them, but these issues should have been fixed by now.

Look for Ryan Kelly to be traded in the offseason and a complete overhaul of the offensive line in 2023.

4. Jack Doyle’s blocking ability is missed on this roster

The tight ends for the Colts just do not block effectively. That has been the story of the season for them, which is tough considering Jack Doyle was such a great blocker and route runner on the offense. Doyle retiring has really hurt Indianapolis in the run game.

Chris Ballard really seemed to hone in on the tall, athletic tight ends in the draft and didn’t really think about getting a tight end that could block at all. Kylen Granson is on the shorter side at 6-foot-2, while Jelani Woods stands at 6-foot-7 and Mo Alie-Cox stands at 6-foot-6. Not to mention, Andrew Ogletree, who’s out with a torn ACL, is 6-foot-5.

The tight ends are true specimens at their positions in terms of size compared to the cornerbacks and linebackers they are covered by. Why aren’t the Colts using their tight ends more? Indianapolis could really be running two tight end sets more often if they were able to block on the line.

With Jack’s missing presence on the field, the running game has struggled with the additional protection coming from the line. Alie-Cox, Granson, and Woods are great at what they do, but if they can’t learn to block, then they might not be in Indianapolis very long. Especially if a new general manager comes to town.

3. Brandon Facyson continues to see playing time with Rodgers doing well

Is there dirt on Gus Bradley that Brandon Facyson has that continues to garner playing minutes for the Colts? There is no mathematical sense as to why Facyson, who has struggled in games, continues to see the field over Isaiah Rodgers Sr.

Rodgers Sr. is the better corner in all aspects of the game, but because Bradley is so adamant about running a bump-and-run defense, he doesn’t allow Rodgers Sr. to get the minutes he deserves. Isaiah plays well when giving the wide receiver space and then breaking up the pass because the quarterback thinks he has an opening. Bradley would rather play tight defense that gets the corner burnt in a lot of scenarios.

Rodgers Sr. plays lights out at all moments in the game and deserves every bit of respect that is given to him by fans. For some reason, the Colts just continue to run with Facyson on the defense and give No. 34 no chance of playing all of the minutes.

Is it experience? Can’t be, because Rodgers Sr. has seen some top talent in the league and has shut them down effectively. So it looks like Bradley is choosing to go with the guy he knows rather than who deserves the job. Where have we seen this before?

This is not on Isaiah Rodgers Sr. for the woes of the secondary. This is 100% on Gus Bradley and Brandon Facyson.

2. When will Colts get the QB position settled?

Ever since Andrew Luck retired, the Colts have seen a revolving door at the most important position in the game. How can you be a serious team when you don’t even know who would be hoisting the Lombardi trophy in the air first if you ever won it? Every season it’s a new guy under center and he’s usually out of the door just as quickly as he arrived.

Matt Ryan has not been the answer and truthfully, he has looked horrible in recent weeks. Blame the offensive line all you want (like I did just a few pages ago), but the fact is Ryan can’t scramble and keep a play alive. With ankle weights of tape wrapped around his ankle, Ryan is more immobile than Rich Eisen running the 40-yard dash each year.

To make matters worse, Ryan also leads the NFL in both interceptions with 13 and fumbles with 14. A team isn’t going to go far when a quarterback is putting the ball in harm’s way as Ryan has done this season.

Irsay thought by bringing in Ryan, he would be the solution that the Colts would need. A former MVP and QB that led his team to the Super Bowl game would be a great fit in Indy to get the Colts to the next level. Sadly, Indianapolis got a recent Matt Ryan version and not the MVP version.

Ryan has one more year left on his contract with the Colts, but if he decides to hang it up after this season as Philip Rivers did, then that could free up some space to fill needs all over the roster. Drafting a QB this year would be a cheaper option as well.

1. Chris Ballard has not built a winning team

You knew it was coming but weren’t sure it was actually going to be said. Chris Ballard has not built a team for winning. Sure, he’s built a team with a lot of talent in all three phases, but he hasn’t got the pieces that will put all of it together.

He’s missed several times at the edge rusher position in the draft, which would solidify the defensive line more than it already is with two of the better tackles in the league. He’s not found a replacement for Andrew Luck at quarterback in several attempts. He’s not done a lot of things.

The worst part about Ballard is that he would rather be cheap in free agency and not get a stud player that would take the Colts to the playoffs. Letting good players walk in free agency has hurt the Colts as well.

When Denico Autry left and went to Tennessee, Ballard didn’t even make an offer. That has turned out to be great for the Titans and bad for the Colts. The same goes with this past year when Ballard let both Chris Reed and Mark Glowinski walk without offers.

Now, the right guard position is struggling and the Colts are starting to find strength at the edge position. But, don’t get your hopes up! Yannick Ngakoue will likely end up walking in free agency if Chris Ballard has his way.

Chris is likely on his way out of Indianapolis after this season and the Colts will move on to the next generation of Colts football. But will that solve everything?

When Jim Irsay moved on from Ryan Grigson, everything seemed great with Ballard moving into his office. There was definitely a honeymoon phase with Colts fans, but that is over and Colts fans are getting tired of waiting.

3 promising things about the Colts that have been overshadowed by Indy’s underwhelming season

The season has been a disaster for the Indianapolis Colts but some promising moments should have Indy excited about the future.