So many questions are heading into this upcoming season for the Indianapolis Colts. The biggest question is related to the Jonathan Taylor situation. That situation is settled at this point as he will start the year on the PUP list. There is still a lot of speculation as to what comes next.
There are also a lot of questions about other players. For example, how much of last season’s failure was simply because former head coach Frank Reich’s message had worn out? We won’t know that answer until this season gets underway. Then there is the question about the Colts’ lack of early-season success.
The last time the Indianapolis Colts won in Week 1 was in 2013 against Oakland. Last season they didn’t lose but they of course didn’t win either, they ended in a tie. So while they have a streak to break, their opponent this week also will be looking to end a streak. The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t won in Indianapolis since 2017. Which team ends their losing streak?
And this brings us slowly to the five biggest questions for the Colts entering Week 1.
Star defensive player’s return to the field
Shaquille Leonard essentially didn’t play at all last season. The defense was clearly impacted by his absence. The unit was formidable but their lack of turnovers plummeted. In 2021 they were second in the NFL with 34 takeaways. In 2022, they finished 19th with 21 takeaways.
Another area that also changed from 2021 to 2022 was the points allowed. With Leonard, the Colts were 24th in points allowed and without him, they allowed the fifth-most points. So, it’s no secret that this defense desperately needs Leonard. But considering he’s coming off two back surgeries in one calendar year, there are legitimate questions as to how good he will be.
Leonard looked good in training camp, however, he did not play in any of the preseason games. And over the past week, he’s been in concussion protocol. The expectation is that he’ll come off the concussion list in time to play Sunday but there are major concerns about his play. The level of play the Colts gets from Leonard will greatly impact the overall performance of this defense.
Will the Indianapolis Colts finally have a dominant pass rusher?
How successful will the pass rush be this season? Last season, the team brought in pass-rushing specialist Yannick Ngakoue. This year he’s no longer on the team. Instead, they brought in Samson Ebukam formerly of San Francisco. The former fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams (2017) has never topped more than five sacks or seven QB knock-downs in a season, which he did last year. His rookie season also saw him record his most hurries (19) and pressures (26).
One thing he does have going for him is his availability, as he’s only missed two games in his career. Meanwhile, the former first-round pick of the 2021 draft, Kwity Paye, has missed seven games in his first two seasons. He’s also never recorded more than six sacks, nine hurries, six QB knock-downs, and 19 pressures in a season. This is not exactly the level of production that the team was expecting when they drafted him.
Paye has played well against the run, and his tackles for loss more than doubled from his rookie (3) to his second (10) year. But considering the team hasn’t had a dominant pass rusher since Robert Mathis retired after the 2016 season, there is a little bit more expected from Paye. Hopefully, either he or Dayo Odeyingbo, who has looked really good in the preseason, can become the pass rusher the Colts need.
How many wide receivers is enough?
Prior to this year’s draft, GM Chris Ballard spent high draft capital on wide receivers twice, with Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce. And now, Pittman’s rookie contract is about to be up with little discussion about an extension. Some of this may have to do with the head coaching change and wanting to see how he performs in it before handing out a new deal.
On another note, the Colts only have five wide receivers on the roster — with only four of them healthy and active. This is the fewest number of receivers on an NFL roster. We know from past history with Ballard that he’s a gambling man. And so far, his gambles haven’t exactly panned out as quickly as he’d hoped.
To be fair, the fifth wide receiver gets hardly any playing time during a game. So, for Week 1 this isn’t the biggest concern. But still having some depth at the position will be nice, especially since Ashton Dulin is out for the first four games of the season.
Then, of course, there is the actual performance of the wide receivers with rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson. He played in just two preseason games where he threw for a total of 145 yards while completing 45% of his passes (13/29) and one interception. There were definitely some drops by the wide receivers that would have changed his final line, including a Pierce touchdown drop in Buffalo.
There was also the lack of in-game rapport with Pittman and Pierce on the outside. How successful the passing attack fares will go a long way in the overall success of the offense and team. And a lot of it will be determined by how well this small group of wide receivers performs.
Was last year’s poor offensive line play a serious problem?
The Colts gambled last season on Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, and Braden Smith being able to elevate the play of the other two starting offensive linemen. That bet blew up quickly and spectacularly. We all remember how the Matt Pryor experiment went. Fortunately for the Colts, rookie Bernhard Raimann stepped up and showed great promise. The Colts are hopeful that Rainmann can build off of his rookie success and form an elite duo with Nelson on the left side of the line.
Will Fries also stepped up as the starting right guard last year and played well. Both Fries and Raimann will be starting again this season, and this year’s offensive line could become a strength of the team and not a weakness. However, there are major concerns about the depth of the offensive line. The Colts already lost backup center Danny Pinter to a broken ankle.
The next most experienced backup lineman is second-year offensive guard Josh Sills . The rest of the group is comprised of rookies. And all of these rookies are Day 3 draft picks, too. All this is to say that these guys show some NFL consideration but all need some NFL coaching in order to reach their ceilings.
How will Shane Steichen fare as the leader?
Can Shane Steichen handle all of the responsibilities that come with being an NFL head coach?
The way he ran training camp and the other off-season programs all seem to be setting the Colts up for success. The Colts went 2-1 in the preseason and while the expectation is that this team won’t win many regular season games, they could be fun to watch. This offense doesn’t look stale or predictable like it had at the end of the Frank Reich era, although that may have more to do with the play at quarterback.
Steichen and his staff seem to have done a great job of getting their culture established and also appear to have gotten Richardson ready to lead this team. Again, more will be known once the regular season kicks off, the games count, and teams start to better gameplan for the strengths of this Colts team. Fans and the organization will get to see how Steichen handles these challenges as they arise.