Success isn’t guaranteed in the NFL, something Jim Irsay and the Colts are now starting to realize.
A year ago, everything seemed to be smooth sailing for the Indianapolis Colts.
The youthful team led by stud quarterback Andrew Luck had just appeared in their first AFC Championship Game together, one that – weirdly enough – many actually thought they should’ve gotten another shot in.
In the following months, Jim Irsay and his then-hailed staff ‘won’ free agency after signing the likes of Frank Gore, Andre Johnson and Trent Cole.
And despite receiving intense backlash for selecting a wideout in the first round, even draft day went supposedly well for the Colts.
Then came the 2015 season and everything that could’ve gone wrong, did. Between injuries and a poorly built, mediocre roster, the team skidded to a pedestrian 8-8 record.
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Not only did Indianapolis fail to reach the postseason, but they looked very much like the Peyton Manning-led Colts: average defense, little in the way of a rushing attack, essentially a team that relied too heavily on its quarterback to carry it game-in and game-out.
After a quiet offseason that concluded with another uninspiring draft class, Indy looks headed for a repeat performance. To make matters worse, divisional rivals in Jacksonville and Houston have both greatly improved in recent months and are primed to sit atop the AFC South for the foreseeable future.
In other words, Irsay and his staff, which is centered around an incompetent general manager that earned Executive of the Year honors for merely drafting Luck, have yet again constructed a middling on-the-field product.
Indianapolis had another chance to build a championship-caliber supporting cast and they’ve blown it for a second time.
Now, the problem for the Colts this year won’t necessarily be on offense. Luck has enough at his disposal to put up points and move the ball. The run game, led by 32-year old Frank Gore, isn’t ideal, but there are worse options.
Where the Colts might find themselves in some pretty hot water is on the other side of the ball. Chuck Pagano’s talent-deprived unit ranked in the lower tier in virtually all significant defensive categories in 2015: total yards allowed (26th), total points allowed (25th), and total sacks (T-22).
Indianapolis had another chance to build a championship-caliber supporting cast and they’ve blown it for a second time.
Considering that there was little turnover to the defense this offseason – unless you want to count the departure of second-leading tackler Jerrell Freeman – the unit’s outlook in 2016 isn’t any better.
So what exactly will become of the team next season?
Honestly, who knows. Though there isn’t much clarity in Indianapolis at the moment, one thing is unfortunately certain.
As the Jaguars, Texans – heck, even the Titans sooner rather than later – begin their assent towards contending status, the Colts are suddenly sinking.
And they have no one to blame but themselves.