Doyel: Colts humbled, hungry, dangerous
They are lying in the weeds now, a better way to enter the season than a year ago when the Indianapolis Colts were favored to reach Super Bowl 50.
The hype was too much, the team bought into it — the words “Super Bowl” were spoken routinely within the organization — and the season unfolded like a seat on a whoopee cushion. The Colts lost their first two games, then quarterback Andrew Luck on two occasions, then backup Matt Hasselbeck. Ending the season with three quarterbacks they found in the recycling bin, the Colts finished 8-8.
It was ugly. The national media pounced. So did the local yokels. Including, ahem, me. We tore the Colts down, and why? Because we exalted them in the first place. They were preseason Super Bowl favorites, you know.
But the weeds, the weeds, the weeds. That is where the Colts reside now, barely noticeable, disguised as something harmless.
I’m seeing a placid pond. I’m seeing weeds in the water. I’m seeing nothing of note, just two eyes peeking up from the weeds.
I’m wondering if that’s an alligator.
How much will the Colts eat this season? Don’t know, but they’ve removed the words “Super Bowl” from their mouths.
During the 2015 NFL draft, owner Jim Irsay was talking about multiple Super Bowls. During the 2016 NFL draft? He was talking about the AFC South — and how the Colts aren’t the favorite.
“I can’t call us the team to beat in the division because Houston won the division (in 2015) — they’re the team to beat. You have to give them that respect,” Irsay said in April. “Look, we have a lot to prove.”
Before last season General Manager Ryan Grigson was saying what every GM in the league believes but few vocalize — that every move he makes has the Super Bowl in mind. Now? Grigson isn’t mentioning the final Sunday of the season. He’s mentioning all the ones that come before it.
“Every team is good in this league. Anyone can win on any given Sunday,” Grigson said. “You have to constantly be striving for greatness or you are going to be left in the dust.”
Both years, the message filtered into the locker room. A year ago free agent running back Frank Gore was convincing receiver Andre Johnson to join him in Indianapolis because “we can win the Super Bowl if we go to Indy.” Another offseason acquisition, guard Todd Herremans, said of the Colts’ brass: “They are looking to win a Super Bowl — right now.”
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This year a more modest message — a mixture of humility and hunger — has seeped into coach Chuck Pagano's locker room.
“Work, work and just continue to work,” left tackle Anthony Castonzo said of the team’s mindset entering 2016. “That’s the way you get better in this league, because everybody has got the talent. What sets people apart is who’s willing to put in that work.”
But talent helps. And the Colts have it. Do they have a Super Bowl helping of it? Don’t ask me, but they can be — should be — better than many of the preseason predictions would suggest. Various websites rank the teams from 1-32 entering the season. At NFL.com, they have the Colts third …
… in the AFC South.
That’s an extreme viewpoint. More common is this tepid praise, this backhanded compliment, from CBSSports.com:
“You could make the case for any of the four clubs (in the AFC South) at this point, even the Titans, given the lack of a true bully on this block. (But we) actually like the Colts to regain their perch.”
With camps starting this week around the league, the pressure is elsewhere. Now it’s on the Houston Texans and even the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC South, and on Carolina, Arizona and Seattle overall.
Meanwhile, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is back, healthy and ticked off. He doesn’t like how he played last season, which he began as the emerging face of the NFL after scheduling for himself a busy offseason in the spotlight. Luck has been quiet this offseason, as quiet as a player can be after landing the biggest contract in NFL history.
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But even Luck is lying in the weeds. Outside of this market, the general reaction to his record-setting contract was: Huh? Did you see how he played last season before he got hurt?
It’s a valid point, but one that misses Luck’s more established track record as one of the NFL’s most successful young quarterbacks.
The Colts addressed two weak spots this offseason, their offensive line and secondary, and believe a fully healed Robert Mathis and the eventual healing of Henry Anderson will address the pass rush. The Colts should be much better than they were a year ago.
And let’s discuss what happened a year ago.
As it was happening, the Colts’ 2015 season was a disappointment, then a Dumpster fire. Given some time to reflect on what happened here — and elsewhere — let’s look at it another way. Fifteen NFL teams had to start at least one backup quarterback last season.
Record of the other 14 teams with a backup quarterback in 2015: 29-47.
Colts’ record with a backup QB: 6-3.
But the offensive line, we said! Luck had no chance! And this is true, up to a point. That point being, there is no guaranteeing the health of any player, especially a quarterback. The Cowboys were believed to have the NFL’s best offensive line last season, and all that got Tony Romo was four starts and two broken collarbones. Dallas went 3-1 with Romo, 1-11 without him.
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Could be, we were too high on the Colts before last season — and too harsh on them as it was unfolding.
The 2016 Colts have no such burdens. Andrew Luck faces enormous pressure, but he’s the only one. And if the Colts’ 2016 season rides on Luck being the player he was from 2012-14 — and not the player he was in 2015 — well, they ought to like those odds.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter:@GreggDoyelStar or atwww.facebook.com/gregg.doyel.