Jim Irsay recently talked about the paths of the Indianapolis Colts and the Los Angeles Rams, but he made a point that fans of his team may not agree with.
The Indianapolis Colts have been desperately trying to get back to contender status. With so much uncertainty at the quarterback position, and inconsistency everywhere else on the roster, Indy hasn’t come close to fulfilling Jim Irsay’s promise of two Super Bowls in this decade. However, there are seven years left in the decade, so it’s possible.
A team that has been to two Super Bowls in the last five years is the Los Angeles Rams. That includes a Super Bowl 56 victory just two seasons ago. However, despite this recent success, Indy’s team owner, Jim Irsay, is actively trying to avoid putting the Colts in the same position as the Rams.
Peter King highlighted a recent conversation between Irsay and media members, where Irsay said “There was an article recently saying the Rams mortgaged their future and now they’re paying for it after they won the Super Bowl and had all that success, with the draft picks not being there. To me, that’s what you have to be careful about.” So with Indianapolis trying to get back into competitive relevancy, Irsay is fearful of being too aggressive because of a potential crash that could follow the success.
Jim Irsay wants Colts to avoid the path of Rams
Obviously, everyone wants their team to be yearly contenders, so it makes sense why Irsay would say that. However, the Colts aren’t really in a position to say how they want to get their success. Additionally, as Peter King highlighted in his column, the Rams aren’t even really in a bad spot. They are pretty much in the same spot that Indy currently is, just with much more recent success.
Irsay even acknowledged the success in his statement but he made it sound like a speed bump. Going to the playoffs three times in five seasons and playing in two Super Bowls is a level of success that the majority of NFL teams would accept, regardless of what the following seasons would look like. For what it’s worth, the outlook isn’t all that dim for Los Angeles.
If Irsay and the Colts had the opportunity to make the kinds of moves that the Rams did the last few seasons, they should absolutely make them. Those moves led to the Rams winning a Super Bowl, and that’s what it’s all about. Would it be great if Indy could just build through the draft and put together a team that can dominate together for a decade and win multiple championships? Absolutely. Unfortunately, that’s really tough to do. Jim Irsay and the Colts need to be willing to accepts success whatever way it comes.
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