Starting fresh at linebacker would be the first step in the right direction for the Colts

The Colts have a ton of problems, but the first thing they could do is letting both Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed go this offseason

The season is finally over, and once again for Colts’ fans it was filled with more disappointments than happiness. The benching of AR, the loss against the Broncos after JT’s fumble at the goal-line, the Meadowlands’ Meltdown against the Giants… I don’t think many fans are happy with the way things went. Understandably, people started calling for Ballard’s head to roll, after 8 years of accomplishing nothing, and being somehow worse every year, but that did not come to fruition as Irsay released a statement right after the game confirming that both Ballard and head-coach Shane Steichen would be back next year. While I am certainly not a fan of either, I understand giving them a final shot, with Anthony Richardson at quarterback, and if it does not work again (which I believe is the most likely outcome), you get a clean breakup letting the three of them go and starting fresh all around.

Now how can this team, that finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs again, improve? Well they could start by fixing the most troublesome position the defense had this year, and it would also make a real statement about accountability, the Colts have to cut ties with linebackers Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed.

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On the field

First and foremost, the duo has been terrible this season on the field. Starting off with E.J. Speed, my first issue and one that I think is really important is his lack of discipline in key moments of the game. Two examples that come out right off the top of my head are: last season against the Rams, playing at home, facing 3rd and 11 quarterback Matt Stafford escaped the pocket and scrambled towards the sideline, already heading out at around the Colts’ 46-yard line which would have been either a very long field goal or a risky 4th down attempt, but E.J. Speed made the incomprehensible decision to hit Stafford while he was going out of bounds, drawing a 15-yard flag in the process and essentially gifting the Rams’ seven points. The other one was this season, when facing the Jets, a game where his mistake did not cost the Colts the win but still one that displayed his lack of awareness during the key moments of the game. Right after the Colts had put together the game-winning drive, the Jets had 46 seconds and no timeouts to get in field goal range, then after a strip sack it was 23 seconds and a lot of yards to go to do so. Then after a checkdown to Breece Hall, Speed made the great decision to absurdly stay on top of Hall, clearly delaying the game, stopping the clock, and gifting the Jets 5 extra yards, on a position where just standing up would have finished the game.

You could say that “Hey, those were just two plays, even the best make mistakes”, so let’s take a look at how Speed ranks in several categories according to PFF.com. In pass coverage, out of 89 qualified linebackers with more than 125 coverage snaps, E.J. Speed ranks 74th. Run stop %, out of 92 qualified linebackers, Speed ranks 30th. Pass rushing, out of 54 qualified linebackers Speed ranks 53rd. Takeaways, just one interception against the Bills. Those are not acceptable numbers for a starting linebacker.

Now let’s turn our attention to #44, team captain, Zaire Franklin. His case is much more difficult to analyze than Speed’s, because Franklin gets a ton of praise by national media, and was even in contention for another Pro Bowl nod, but when you take the time to watch the tape, the truth is as clear as day, he is more of a liability than an asset. When I say that his case is harder to analyze it is because Zaire does have his share of good plays, but it seems like for every run stop or sack he has, he allows 4/5 bad plays that cost the team a lot. I will also give him credit as a really good tackler, as even though he led the NFL in missed tackles, his missed tackle percentage ranked among the best in the league.

Like we did for Speed, let’s just take a look at the raw numbers and see what they tell us. For pass coverage, Franklin comes in 72nd (out of the same 89). Run stop % he ranks 29th out of 54, and I want to quote PFF here on the definition of “Run stop %”, as I could not say it in better words myself “A player’s impact in the running game is sometimes erroneously based on the total volume of tackles made. However, firstly, does that number include tackles on passing plays and, more importantly, did those tackles really count? Stops constitute a “loss” for the offense so this table shows the percentage of stops per snap played only in run defense.” Rushing the passer, 30th out of 54. Again, like Speed, not even close to acceptable. Takeways wise there is not much to write home about either, with just 12 in the last four seasons as a starter.

Off the field

Now for all the issues they have on the field, one would assume that they would at least be quiet off it, and keep to themselves, so as not to get attention to the fact that they are among the worst linebacker duo in the entire NFL. But that is definitely not the case. They even have their own podcast. One can never know all that goes on behind closed doors, so let’s go by what we do know for sure. As there were three instances of evident conflict unnecesarily generated by #44 and #45.

This one is pretty much self explanatory, with Zaire saying he would like to play the Giants more, only to then allow 38 points to Drew Lock and the Giants’ offense, and also losing the game. Is there a more humilliating thing for an NFL player than that? What was the need of going out and saying that on air? Just overall a terrible look, one that even himself acknowledged.

We then have all the issues and back and forth with former Colts’ punter Pat McAfee, and while I am certainly not on Pat’s side here, a team captain cannot do that, not in the context that the team was going through. This was just so unnecessary, and just added drama and bad energy to a team that already had more than it could deal with.

And finally the icing on the cake, ego. Coming from the DeForest Buckner, Colts’ undisputed best defensive player, amazing veteran, and the player I respect the most, by far, on this roster. Now what says ego more than pounding your own chest, and retweeting your own highlights asking for Pro Bowl votes after the Colts biggest loss of the season?

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Conclusion

The Colts already seemed to have found a decent linebacker in Jaylon Carlies, and while this free agent and draft class are not particularly filled with talent, I don’t think it would be really hard to find guys better than what we currently have. Alabama’s linebacker Jihaad Campbell is my personal favourite option, but there are also a couple of potential 3rd/4th round guys that have starting experience in college and would be an immediate upgrade at the position. It would also help alleviate the fanbase, that is bloodthirsty after yet another disappointing season, and seeing a recognizable head roll would help appease them a bit. Just go and look at the replies to Jim Irsay’s tweet announcing that both Steichen and Ballard would remain with the team, the fanbase is fuming, and it is not hard to see why. Cutting #44 and #45 would be the first step to take to start fixing this broken team, hopefully Ballard realizes this too.