Colts fans are still hoping for better days ahead, but when will those greener pastures actually come to fruition?
The current Indianapolis Colts on the field football product isn’t great, and to be honest, it’s been that way for at least the past week seasons much to the dismay of the seemingly now disenchanted Horseshoe Faithful.
With the New England Patriots coincidentally hosting the Colts this weekend, there’s been very few highs since former franchise quarterback Andrew Luck carried the Colts to the 2014 AFC Title Game against the eventual Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots—and the ensuing nationwide ‘Deflate-Gate Controversy,’ which among them are:
- The Colts beating the Houston Texans on the road in ‘The House that Hilton Built’ with the infamous ‘clown mask revenge’ Wild-card game in 2018, with Luck still making plays behind center—which would be his final victory as the Horseshoe’s starting quarterback, before shockingly retiring the following offseason.
- The ‘Covid-time’ Colts’ making the playoffs with wily veteran stopgap Philip Rivers during 2020 and pushing the AFC East Champion Buffalo Bills (at 14-3) to the brink on the road in the Wild card round and coming up just a tad short late in the game.
However, outside of those two memorable events, the Colts’ resume during the past decade rests at 1 playoff win and 0 divisional titles.
The results haven’t been nearly good enough.
Sitting now at 5-7 (*and their playoff hopes dwindling by the week), Indianapolis has the longest standing drought among all of their divisional rivals of wining the AFC South title—having not proudly donned the crown since back in the 2014 season (which is where this all goes back to).
Blame Andrew Luck’s retirement.
Blame GM Chris Ballard.
However, since #12 surprisingly hung up the football cleats, the Colts haven’t been able to find consistency at starting quarterback, having shuffled through the likes of Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and Matt Ryan for even finding a short-term answer. You could even throw Joe Flacco into the mix, given his recent 2 game starting stint.
That instability at the league’s most important position and within the top leadership of their locker room has had a trickle down effect—and the Colts consistently face it year-after-year.
The uncertainty.
The indecision.
The having to start all over again and build chemistry/rapport offensively every offseason.
There’s been reported lack of player leadership and accountability issues that pre-date even this year’s squad.
(*2023 4th overall pick Anthony Richardson still deserves the benefit of the doubt to show what he can do given that there have been some flashes, and he was expected to be a bit of a work in progress as a passer given his relative lack of experience—especially as a passer.)
Perhaps most troubling is that the Colts simply lack elite NFL star power.
This was once a proud franchise and perennial AFC contender that boasted the likes of Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Tarik Glenn, and Jeff Saturday on offense, with other Pro Football Hall of Fame caliber—or at least Colts Ring of Honor members on the defensive side of the ball too, stalwarts such as Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Bob Sanders, and Antoine Bethea.
This Colts roster has an abundance of ‘nice’ players, but how many of those are game-changers and are truly elite players at their respective position: DeForest Buckner? Jonathan Taylor? and Quenton Nelson? Maybe Kenny Moore II, if you’re counting slot cornerbacks?
Not only this, but how many of those are those at premium NFL positions that truly matter?
The Colts right now have enough ‘nice’ players to be competitive against better NFL competition, but not enough star power to make enough plays late and actually win games.
At what point do results actually matter for the Colts franchise and team owner Jim Irsay?
At what point does Colts fans’ attendance and interest?
There’s only patience to a point, and apathy is starting to settle in.
When there were nearly as many Detroit Lions fans packing Lucas Oil Stadium as there were Colts fans—and certainly they had a lot more to cheer about on Sunday, at what point does team owner Jim Irsay hit reset on this current regime with the hopes of a better decade ahead?