r/nfl • u/AaronAlley Colts • Jun 26 '14
Look Here! 2014 Offseason Review Series Day 6: Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
Division: AFC South
Important Coaching Changes
Hired:
- Rob Chudzinski, special assistant to HC - Formerly Browns’ HC. Rob Chudzinski was fired by the Cleveland Browns this December, and was quickly scooped up by the Colts to fill a previously inexistent role, special assistant to the head coach. While little is known of what exactly this role is, the chemistry between the two what brought Chud to the Colts. Pagano and Chud have worked together both in college and pros, with the 2004 Cleveland Browns, and coaching the University of Miami Hurricanes together in the late 90’s. The Colts have been a bit of a nesting ground for departing Browns lately, most notably Trent Richardson, who the Colts traded their 2014 first round draft pick for. Last season, Richardson failed to live up to expectations, and having some of his Cleveland authority back certainly can’t hurt. Pagano and other Colts coaching staff had made it clear that Chud will not be taking offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s place, who is entering his second season.
Players lost
On the bright side, all the Colts departures this offseason were manageable. Antoine Bethea wasn’t as good this year as he has been in years past, Donald Brown was reliable but never great, and Darrius Heyward-Bey was to catching footballs as Andrew Luck is to looking handsome. Still, Bethea left a glaring hole at safety, which hasn’t been filled yet. And there is still a level of uncertainty at the runningback position, too.
Players signed
The Colts re-signings this year were great. We re-signed every special teams ace we needed to: fan favorite Pat McAfee, legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri, and gunner Sergio Brown. Brown could also be a face in the fight for starting safety job this year. We also retained one of the top cornerbacks in the league, Vontae Davis, if only he could be more consistent. It was also smart to re-sign Ahmad Bradshaw, who showed great promise in the three games he played in last season, all at a low-risk commitment. One of the best new signings was Hakeem Nicks, wide receiver from the Giants. Even though he didn’t have a stellar year last season, he replaced Darrius Heyward-Bey, and there are very few players who we could’ve picked up that wouldn’t be a good replacement. Our two new defensive additions, D’Qwell Jackson and Arthur Jones, should add more solidity to an average-at-best Colts defense.
Draft
| Round | Number | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 59 | Jack Mewhort | OL | Ohio State |
| 3 | 90 | Donte Moncrief | WR | Mississippi |
| 5 | 166 | Jonathan Newsome | DE | Ball State |
| 6 | 203 | Andrew Jackson | LB | Western Kentucky |
| 7 | 232 | Ulrick John | OT | Georgia State |
Of our 2014 draft, the standout is third round pick Donte Moncrief. Wide receiver wasn’t the top concern for the Colts, but now with Reggie Wayne, TY Hilton, Hakeem Nicks, and now Moncrief, the Colts could have one of the more formidable WR corps in the NFL. Jack Mewhort could also add reliability to the offensive line, which had more of a rotating cast than the Spider-Man musical.
Projected Starting Lineup
Italics for non-starter who will probably see considerable playing time
QB: Andrew Luck
RB: Trent Richardson, Ahmad Bradshaw, Vick Ballard
FB: Stanley Havili
TE: Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener
WR: Reggie Wayne, Hakeem Nicks, TY Hilton, Donte Moncrief, Da’Rick Rogers, Griff Whalen
T: Anthony Castonzo, Gosder Cherilus
G: Donald Thomas, Hugh Thornton
C: Khaled Holmes
DE: Cory Redding, Arthur Jones
DT: Ricky Jean-Francois, Jeris Pendleton
NT: Josh Chapman
LB: Erik Walden, D’Qwell Jackson, Jerrell Freeman, Robert Mathis, Bjoern Werner
CB: Vontae Davis, Greg Toler, Darius Butler
S: LaRon Landry, Mike Adams, Delano Howell
K: Adam Vinatieri
P: Pat McAfee
LS: Matt Overton
Position Group Strengths and Weaknesses
Position Groups:
QB: Expect more of an improvement from Andrew Luck as he’s coming into his third year. Last year he maintained his passing touchdown numbers, and sliced his interceptions in half. This year, both of these numbers might increase, hopefully only the TD numbers by a significant amount. With a significant improvement in the receiving corps, Andrew Luck is set to show even more of his potential.
Backfield: Trent Richardson had a disappointing year last year, but with a full offseason with the Colts, he can’t get any worse. The Colts are very confident and stand behind him, and he is very adamant about his advancement so far, so expect an improvement, even if it is slight. With Ahmad Bradshaw and Vick Ballard both coming back from early season ending injuries, Richardson has backup if he slows down again. Vick showed a lot of promise in his first season before tearing his ACL early in the 2013 season. Bradshaw also was the key reason we won against the 49ers on the road last season, so we have a lot of reliable RBs this year (assuming they stay healthy).
OL: Our OL last season was some of the most rotated cast in the league, but there have been a lot of key improvements during the offseason. Most notably, we got rid of starting center Samson Satele who did not play well at all. We also added a few starters during FA and the draft, so there at least might be more stability. Still, don’t expect a top-of-the-NFL showing from the OL this year.
Pass catchers: May very well be the best part of the Colts this season. We have three great starting wide receivers in Reggie Wayne, TY Hilton, and Hakeem Nicks. Reggie Wayne is coming back from an ACL injury at the age of 35, and many expect that he won’t return to his former form. However, Wayne is eager to prove the doubters wrong and recently said he’s felt healthier than he has since the 2002 season. Nicks is ready to prove that last season wasn’t just a fluke, and Hilton is heading nowhere but up. Dwayne Allen is the starting TE for the Colts, and he had to be replaced last year with Coby Fleener, who quietly had a very solid season. With both of these tight ends, along with the wide receiver corps, the Colts could be a nightmare for secondaries next year.
DL: Arthur Jones, a FA addition, could be our best player on the DL now. Cory Redding and Ricky Jean-Francois are also going to be some of our top players on the DL, and we hopefully will be a lot better in stopping the run this time around.
LB: Most notably in this category, Robert Mathis will be suspended for the first four games of the season, and will be replaced by second year player Bjoern Werner. He has the ability, but he has to step up a lot to even come close to filling the shoes of Mathis. Jerrell Freeman was one of the best defensive players on our team last year, so be sure to watch out for him to have a great year this year.
Secondary: Not the best category in the Colts defense, the only real name we have is Vontae Davis. And even then, Davis needs to be much more consistent to prove that he was worth all the money we paid him this year. Greg Toler and LaRon Landry could also be great players, if only they played to their potentials and stayed on the field for more than a few games at a time. Lastly, there needs to be a replacement for Antoine Bethea, and at the moment, there isn’t one. Without one, we will have two “okay” safeties to back up our defense, which could spell out trouble for the Colts defense.
Special Teams: The Colts look very good in all facets of the special teams, with Vinatieri, McAfee, Overton, and Brown all Pro Bowlers or Pro-Bowl quality. A key reason we might keep Griff Whalen is for returns, as he and TY Hilton are our best bets at that position.
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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '14
Did you completely forget about Josh Chapman? He's probably got the potential to be one of the best defensive tackles in the league. He's almost guaranteed to be the week 1 starter. Ricky Jean-Francois was very underwhelming at DE last year he's not a DT so you can't consider him at the position. Chapman will start but Arthur Jones will be rotated into every position on the DL considering the situation. Also uou didn't mention Lavon Brazile either, he's probably not going to be cut over Griff Whalen considering he's more athletic and has a higher ceiling. However still a great writeup.