Disclaimer: This is more of a rant article from a very disappointed Colts’ fan
“Insanity is doing the exact same things over and over again, expecting things to change” Vaas Montenegro, Farcry 3
You can tell a lot about how this season went for the Colts based on the amount of articles like this one that have been written not only by myself but also like plenty of other authors for the blog. Going into the year the expectations were not even that high, most fans just wanted to see progress from the young quarterback and the rest of the young players, and the chemistry between said young quarterback and the head-coach to continue developing. Fast forward 18 weeks and probably the exact opposite from that happened, with a benching in the middle.
The Colts were once again in a position to finally make it back to the playoffs, even after all the controversy and the benching, but first the dropped ball by JT right before the endzone, followed by the Meadowlands Meltdown, meant that once again the Colts will be watching the playoffs from the couch.
What went wrong this time? There are plenty of things to choose from. Cultural issues, that could not be more evident, from the franchise quarterback tapping out in the middle of a game. Defensive captain and linebacker Zaire Franklin having an in-season podcast where he literally said he wanted to face the Giants, and then his unit allowed 38 points to them. Former players calling out this roster for missing treatment, skipping walkthroughs, and who knows what else behind closed doors. Heck, even the head-coach admitted that it was something that was happening. Can you imagine Bill Belichick going into a press-conference and when asked about stuff like that saying “It happens in every team”. This is a disaster.
We can be sure that Ballard will definitely not be selling the team, but given his current status perhaps it might be best if he lets his daughters take over. Other than that, I think that even the biggest Chris Ballard fan has to be off his train by now. When you absolutely refuse to take risks in free-agency, you cannot afford the luxury of failing to draft proper superstars. Even the best players the Colts have are not reliable enough, like Jonathan Taylor for example. JT had the contract dispute early last season, and since then is the most unreliable superstar. Let’s dissect that, he is a superstar, he is a great player, but there is no denying he is unreliable. He is not a bad general manager by any means, but that is even worse because bad GMs not survive long enough for it to matter. I am convinced that we could give Ballard 25 more seasons and he would still not win a championship, and I think that is what it is all about. Extending every single veteran on a roster that failed to make the playoffs five seasons in a row was probably not a good move to help create accountability, and when complacency sets in a locker room, greatness is impossible.
Going further down on the hierarchy, there is head-coach Shane Steichen. I have not seen a bigger regression from a head-coach before, and with all the drama this season it was proven that he does not have the leadership qualities to keep a locker room together through thick and thin. You can scheme all you want, but if the players are not willing to give it all on the field, then it does not matter. He will make a great offensive coordinator somewhere, just not good enough of a leader to be a head-coach. Gus Bradley also needs to be gone, but that is pretty obvious and everyone that has watched a single game of Colts’ football this season can tell you that.
What would I propose to try and solve said problems the Colts are currently facing? First and foremost I believe that the team needs a fresh start. Fire everyone. What have they accomplished to merit having another wasted season? To replace them, I agree with most of the fanbase that Mike Vrabel would be an excellent hire, and would be a different style of coaching than what the Colts had. Having watched some Titans’ games from when he was the head-coach, the players loved playing for him and left it all on the field. It would also make it even better to beat the Titans with their former head-coach they fired at the helm. The biggest question a new management will have is if they want to give AR another shot, or if they want to start fresh with a different quarterback at the helm (Sam Darnold perhaps?).
Overall, I just want this team to be great again. Not good, but great. I want to go into games confident that the team will finish on top, not just waiting for the inevitable screwup. If it means cleaning house and having to go through yet another rebuild then so be it, but carrying on with this unwatchable mediocrity is just going to keep pushing the fans away.