2022 Season Recap
Record: 4-12-1 .265 %
Points For: 289 (t- 31st )
Points Against: 427 ( t-30th )
Off-season Roster Recap
Added:
QB Gardner Minshew , WR Isaiah McKenzie, TE Kaden Smith, DE Samson Ebukam, WR Breshad Perriman, WR Juwann Winfree, TE Pharaoh Brown, DE Genard Avery, DT Taven Bryan, CB Tony Brown
Lost:
QB Nick Foles, QB Matt Ryan, RB Darrynton Evans, WR Parris Campbell, OT Dennis Kelly, G Matt Pryor, LB Bobby Okereke DE Yannick Ngakoue,, DE Ben Banogu , DE Guy Thomas, FS Rodney McLeod, S Armani Watts DB Brandon Facyson, CB Stefon Gilmore P Matt Haack, K Chase McLaughlin
Draft Recap Offense
( 4 ) QB Anthony Richardson , ( 79 ) WR Josh Downs, ( 106 ) OL Blake Freeland, ( 162 ) TE Will Mallory, ( 176 ) RB Evan Hull, ( 236 ) OL Jake Witt
Draft Recap Defense
( 44 ) DB Julius Brents, ( 110 ) DL Adetomiwa Adeabawore ( 138 ) DB Darius Rush, ( 158 ) S Daniel Scott, ( 211 ) LB Titus Leo ( 221 ) DB Jaylon Jones
2023 Outlook
I'm sure you have long forgotten about this, but as of October 16th the Colts were 3-2-1 with the three wins coming against Kansas City, Denver and Jacksonville. Fast forward to January and the Colts were 4-12-1, with a color commentator as their interim head coach and tied for next to last in points scored, and tied for third to last in points allowed.
Jim Irsay and Chris Ballard have rolled up their sleeves and made sweeping changes this off-season in both front office, coaching and player personnel. Their first move was signing Shane Steichen away from the Philadelphia Eagles on February 14th to become the head coach. Steichel is attributed by many as being a key piece in Jalen Hurts’ meteoric rise to stardom this past year. Additionally, Indy hired two other coaches with their eyes set on the future; Jim Bob Cooter, who was the Jaguars QB coach working with Trevor Lawrence this past year, and — who was the Arizona Cardinals QB coach working with Kyler Murray. These three will be instrumental in working with Indianapolis’ highly coveted fourth overall pick; Quarterback Anthony Richardson.
The biggest question on everyone’s minds is will Jonathon Taylor rebound from a lackluster 2022 season , in which he only played 11 games due to an ankle injury. Taylor is only 24 years old and has relatively low miles ( 756 carries in three seasons ) on him for a starting running back in the NFL. Hopefully the extended rest from being shut down early last season will translate into a nice rebound year for JT. The offensive line is still anchored by Quentin Nelson, but it is not the force that it once was. Their unit is ranked 24th per Pro Football Network, and will need continuous improvement from last years’ draft pick Bernhard Raimann and hopefully, a healthy Braden Smith and Ryan Kelly.
On offense, the Colts have a lot of young talent ready to blossom. It’s fairly safe to say that they will have an upgrade at quarterback, be it Gardner Minshew or Anthony Richardson. Minshew’s strong arm accurate arm ( career 62.8% completion percentage 1.6% TD/INT ratio )is a big plus over the veteran stopgap QB’s at the end of their careers that the Colts has trotted out. With Richardson, the Colts have the rushing threat they havent’ had since..forever? Richardson needs to clean up his mechanics and improve his ability to read defenses, but once he does, he has once in a life time speed, size and athleticism for the position. It’s hard to comprehend what this offense will look like should Richardson hit; the possibilities are exciting to think about.
At receiver, they have former USC standout Michael Pittman Jr, who has had to endure the abysmal play of Phillip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan during his first three years in the NFL. Alec Pierce was a highly touted receiver that was a second round pick out of Cincinnati last year, but had a hard time getting acclimated to the NFL game with sub par quarterback play. The Colts added WR Josh Downs out of UNC in this year's draft, and he looks to add immediate big play ability, having amassed 2,300 yards and 19 touchdowns over the last two seasons. Tight End Jelani Woods was showing signs of improvement as the 2022 ACC All-Star looks to contribute more in year two. Former Buffalo Bill Isaiah McKenzie can be a dangerous kick and/or punt returner, a position that Indianapolis has desperately needed for many years.
Defensively, the Colts are eager to get Shaquille Leonard back into the lineup after missing essentially all of 2022 with a back injury. Signing Samson Ekbaum away from the San Francisco 49ers was a terrific move to help bring a winning mindset to the defense; and also maybe some insider knowledge on former 49ers defensive coach Demaco Ryans, who is now the head coach for division rival Houston. Defensive End Adetomiwa Adeabawore was regarded as one of the steals of the draft, slipping to the fourth round after a tremendous showing at the Scouting Combine. The Colts traded CB Stefon Gilmore to Dallas for a 5th round draft choice, but still have a pair of ball-hawking defensive backs in Julian Blackmon and Kenny Moore II. Gus Bradley’s crew could have their hands full in an AFC South that saw an influx of new young talent in the last year.
On the surface Indy has a fairly optimal schedule; getting Jacksonville and Baltimore out of the way early, then a nice stretch of winnable games from Week 4-13 where they face quite possibly only two playoff bound teams in Jacksonville and New Orleans. The Colts have the 3rd easiest schedule, per their opponents winning percentage from a season ago.
After a few downtrodden years beset by poor coaching and less than stellar quarterback play, this year should be about making strides and playing competitive football. This team has a young nucleus on both sides of the football that could be a playoff contender in 2-3 seasons. But by and large, Colts fans should be expecting a year of tough sledding and growing pains before taking it to the next level.
Schedule
Week 1 Jacksonville
Week 2 @ Houston
Week 3 @ Baltimore
Week 4 LA Rams
Week 5 Tennessee
Week 6 @ Jacksonville
Week 7 Cleveland
Week 8 New Orleans
Week 9 @ Carolina
Week 10 @ New England ( Germany )
Week 11 BYE
Week 12 Tampa
Week 13 @ Tennessee
Week 14 @ Cincinnati
Week 15 Pittsburgh
Week 16 @Atlanta
Week 17 Las Vegas
Week 18 Houston
Strength of schedule: .434 (3rd easiest)
DraftKings Wins - 6.5
#MrOviedos 2023 Season Prediction- 5 wins 12 losses
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