Sunday, January 18, 2015
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
MIAMI - The NFL Draft tour continues with South Florida as the new backdrop, a much warmer venue than past host cities. With the Colts basically sitting on their wallets during free agency, a number of holes to fill, and a few extra draft picks, this draft promised to be very eventful. GM Phil Emery would head into this draft looking to build for the future and prepare for another run at the Superbowl.
Tennessee took ROLB Boris Ferguson out of Wisconsin #1 overall, and the New York Giants took RE Mario Devito out of Alabama at #2. The theme of this draft was defensive talent, with the 1st round filled with mostly defenders as teams try to counteract the NFL's offensive explosion. The Colts enjoyed extra picks in the 2nd and 7th round thanks to trades with Pittsburgh (52nd) and the New York Jets (200th).
| 2016 NFL Draft - Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| Pick | Player | College | Pos | Ht | Wt |
| 1 (32) | Kian Sampson | California | CB | 6'-1" | 200 |
| 2 (52) | Shayn Ramsey | Pittsburgh | HB | 6'-1" | 220 |
| 2 (64) | Kendrick Finley | Michigan State | LG | 6'-4" | 315 |
| 3 (96) | Wayne Vega | Missouri | RT | 6'-7" | 335 |
| 4 (128) | Aerion Mims | Tulane | CB | 6'-0" | 195 |
| 5 (160) | Brieon Vaughn | Texas | RE | 6'-3" | 295 |
| 6 (192) | Eddie Agurs | Utah | FS | 6'-2" | 205 |
| 7 (200) | Malcom Garner | Florida | DT | 6'-3" | 310 |
| 7 (224) | Taylor Reyes | Mississippi State | K | 5'-11" | 180 |
DRAFT ANALYSIS
Best Pick(s) : CB Kian Sampson, RT Wayne Vega
Emery must have been elated to have Sampson fall to the final pick of the 1st round. The Cal corner was one of the fastest and most fluid defenders available, and he fills a position of need. The Colts lost one of their starting CB in Prince Amukamara, and Sampson looks like he may be able to step right in and take his place. Vega may be the steal of the draft, the 6'-7" mauler was overlooked a little coming out of Missouri, but the Colts didn't hesitate to call his name in the 3rd round. Vega has elite size and showed good footwork, but he found himself slotted behind a number of other tackles. The Colts already have an established offensive line, so Vega and fellow draft pick Kendrick Finley will have time to develop.
Worst Pick(s) : DT Malcom Garner, FS Eddie Agurs
It's easy to point at a late 6th and 7th round pick and call it a bad pick, but these were confusing picks for a team that desperately needs a DT and has no TE on it's roster. Garner did play in the SEC, and he's a prototypical DT, but he is definitely not an immediate starter. Why Emery went with a FS when the team needs a TE, and when they have a stud FS already, nobody will ever know. The Agurs pick seems like a waste, unless he moves to SS and turns out to be better than scouted.
Sleeper Pick(s) : RE Brieon Vaughn, CB Aerion Mims
These were also easy to pick out, and on some level it's hard to believe these two fell as far as they did. Vaughn was the biggest surprise as a pass rusher out of a 3-4 system in college with elite size and strength, it looks like he was knocked down by his lack of production at Texas where he only registered 12 sacks during his three years as a starter. The Colts are more interested in lineman who can play the run, and many teams pegged Vaughn as a bit of a tweener when it came to DE-NT and he lacks the finer details you would want out of a DE like a quick burst and a knack for pursuit. He has the physical tools to be good, and considering the Colts issues on the defensive line he may be an immediate starter. Mims, another speedy corner, shows elite athleticism but lacks the finer points of pass coverage. He has shown the ability to be an above average defender in zone coverage, but he can be exploited in man coverage. His incredible speed, 4.28 40-yard dash, allowed him to paper over these cracks at times in college, but better receivers showed his deficiencies. Mims doesn't need to start immediately, he will have time to develop, and if the coaching staff can work their magic he has the potential to be a starting CB in the NFL.
Draft Grade : A-
It's definitely too early to make any definitive calls, but early reports have the Colts winning here as well. Emery was able to land some win-now talent (Sampson) and build for the future at the same time. The only knock on this class would be a lack of high-impact talent and Indianapolis' failure to draft a TE or DT capable of starting. None of these prospects made anyone jump for joy, but they will help the Colts make a run at a second Superbowl in 2016.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
INDIANAPOLIS - Free agency started and went with barely a wimper at the Colts offices. It's hard to tell, and nobody would confirm it, but management didn't even come in to the office until it was time to start talking about the draft. Ownership can rest knowing they are the champions, but things are going to get tough financially.
PRE-FREE AGENCY NEGOTIATIONS
After splurging on free agent last year, the Colts found themselves in a situation where they would need to show some serious restraint, but they also ended up in a sticky situation. Due to financial concerns, an enormous number of starters were allowed to leave without receiving an offer from the Colts. It was hard, but necessary, and GM Phil Emery wasn't happy to see them go.
Indianapolis decided to part ways with Trent Richardson, Dwayne Allen, Prince Amukamara, Brandon Spikes, William Moore, Coby Fleener, Vick Ballard, and Darius Butler. The saddest, and hardest, move was letting Reggie Wayne walk. The long-time Colts favorite is just not part of their future plans, so they had to make the decision to let him either retire or sign on elsewhere.
The only players to sign new contracts were T.Y. Hilton and Andrew Luck... in a sense. Thanks to the financial situation, the Colts were not able to come up with the money for a long-term contract with Luck, so the team was forced to use the franchise tag in the hopes that next season will allow them to lock him up.
FREE AGENCY
Indianapolis, as expected, was basically inactive during free agency. With Ballard leaving town the team needed to look for some HB depth, so they landed on a short term contract with Marcus Lattimore. He figures to be the 2nd HB on the depth chart behind Justin Forsett.
It was smart of Emery to let so many guys walk, as they landed some hefty contracts elsewhere. Richardson ended up signing a 5-year $25.8 million contract with the Giants, Amukamara signed a 5-year $56 million deal with the Dolphins, and Allen cashed in big time by signing a 7-year $61 million deal with Washington.
The Colts have a number of holes to fill on both sides of the ball, but they just didn't have the cap space to take care of it now. The draft will have to be their source of salvation.
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
3:00PM ET - January 24th, 2016
Raymond James Stadium - Tampa, FL
| Indianapolis Colts at Philadelphia Eagles | |||||
| Jan 24, 2016 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Indianapolis Colts (#1 15-1, 7-1 Away) | 10 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
| Philadelphia Eagles (#1 14-2, 7-1 Home) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
Top Performers
Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 288YDS, 3TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 17CAR, 181YDS, 2TD
Receiving : T.Y. Hilton (IND) - 12REC, 104YDS
TAMPA - After a week of stories, interviews, hype, and more hype, the Superbowl was finally here. Fans couldn't have wished for a better matchup, both #1 seeds made it to Tampa to face off for the title. The Colts and Eagles dropped 3 games between them, but one team would leave this game wondering how they ever lost at all.
It's hard to say this was an outright beating, because the Eagles played so well, but the Colts scored on the first offensive play of the game and never looked back. Trent Richardson took a handoff and ran 80 yards for a TD, giving Indianapolis a 7-0 lead that would keep them ahead for the rest of the day.
Richardson essentially put this one away on the very first play.
The Eagles defense came prepared today, and opened the game with a solid showing in the 1st quarter. Aside from the 80 yard rushing score, the Colts had issues moving the ball. Both teams swapped FG and the 2nd quarter started with a reasonable 10-3 score. Nick Foles struggled, but the Eagles had the Colts number with LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles. McCoy ran well, and the two caused headaches out of the back field, which has been a problem for the Colts all season.
Despite having some success on the ground and passing to the flats, Foles just couldn't hit anyone down field and couldn't get the Eagles into the endzone in the first half. Andrew Luck hit Cecil Shorts III and Reggie Wayne for TD passes in the 2nd quarter and the Colts went into halftime up 24-3. As expected, with Richardson and Vick Ballard just waiting to grind the Eagles down, this game looked out of reach.
Richardson added his second TD run in the 3rd quarter, and he teamed up with Ballard to crush Philadelphia's hopes of a comeback. Luck hit DaRick Rogers for his third TD pass, and Foles shot back with one to Pierre Garcon, but the game was already well out of hand. The Eagles had one more shot at a score, with the clock ticking down, but a sack on 4th & Goal from the 4 ended any hopes of salvaging some respect.
Foles was outclassed and outplayed by Luck.
Indianapolis' turnaround was now complete, a resounding victory after a 2014 season filled with utter disappointment. Luck, going 41/46 with 3TD passes, was named Superbowl MVP. With the way this team is built, he could be looking at more in seasons to come.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
GLENDALE - With the Superbowl matchup decided it was time to reveal the Pro Bowl selections. As expected, with the best offense in the league, an avalanche of Colts players were selected. While the Colts defense has been excellent as a whole, one one Colts defender would make his way to Arizona.
OFFENSE
QB Andrew Luck
HB Trent Richardson
WR T.Y. Hilton
WR Cecil Shorts III
TE Dwayne Allen
LT Anthony Castonzo
LG Jack Mewhort
C Khalid Holmes
RG Donald Thomas
RT Brandon Fusco
DEFENSE
CB Prince Amukamara
P Pat McAfee
No surprises on offense, everyone selected was dominant all season. The Colts offensive line was so solid, you can't have the league's best passing and rushing offense without an offensive line that plays at an elite level. The rest of the league should be frightened as this group should be together for some time.
Defensively there were probably some deserving of an invitiation, specfically Vontaze Burfict, but only Prince Amukamara made it. Amukamara snagged 9 interceptions, so it was hard to ignore him. Hopefully next year will see more Colts defenders.
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
3:00PM ET - January 10th, 2016
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
| Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| Jan 10, 2016 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Denver Broncos (#2 13-3, 6-2 Away) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Indianapolis Colts (#1 15-1, 8-0 Home) | 14 | 21 | 0 | 10 | 45 |
Top Performers
Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 278YDS, 2TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 30CAR, 198YDS, 2TD
Receiving : T.Y. Hilton (IND) - 11REC, 124YDS, TD
INDIANAPOLIS - The build up for the AFC Title game was just too much. The story lines and talking points were too perfect, they basically wrote themselves. NFL fans might have gone into this week thinking this was the Superbowl, but they would have been wrong and very disappointed with the result.
The return of Peyton Manning to Indianapolis could have fueled an entire month of speculation, add in the fact that this could be Manning's final season and the excitement hit a fever pitch. The Broncos, coming into this game at 13-3, were also an excellent team with the tools to take down Indianapolis. Unfortunately for the Broncos and Manning, they found themselves on the wrong end of a Colts beat down.
Manning had serious issues staying upright in the pocket.
The game opened up looking like the Broncos had the magic. They were very aggressive on their first drive and went for it on a 4th and 2 which resulted in a huge 45 yard gain thanks to an equally aggressive Colts defense. Nothing came of it, and Indianapolis went up 7-0 on a Trent Richardson rushing TD.
Things only got worse from there for Denver. Prince Amukamara picked off Manning one play after a big pass to Cody Latimer put the Broncos back on the offensive. Andrew Luck made it 14-0 with a short TD pass to Richardson, and the blowout was on. Luck hit Dwayne Allen and T.Y. Hilton in the 2nd quarter to make it 28-0 before a short TD run by Ronnie Hillman put Denver on the board. Vick Ballard ran it in from a yard out after an 11 play 83 yard drive to make it 35-7 and close out the 1st half.
Richardson carried the Colts into the Superbowl.
The Colts came out after halftime and put their running game and defense to work. The Broncos had no hope against the Indianapolis secondary, they knew Denver had to throw and lived out of a Dime/Quarters formation to shut them out. Ballard and Richardson combined to eat up the clock and keep the ball out of Manning's hand. A second Ballard TD run and a FG would be the only scoring, completing the victory.
Ballard and Richardson split 48 carries between them for 290 yards and 4TD on the ground. Whoever faces Indianapolis in the Superbowl is going to have to find a way to at least slow down their punishing run game. Thanks to their ability to run, Luck barely had to throw the ball. Luck went 23/25, the fear of a run game made it all too easy to complete passes.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
1:00PM ET - January 3rd, 2016
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
| Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| Jan 3, 2016 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Baltimore Ravens (#6 9-7, 3-5 Away) | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| Indianapolis Colts (#1 15-1, 8-0 Home) | 14 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 38 |
Top Performers
Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 261YDS, 3TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 30CAR, 138YDS, 2TD
Receiving : T.Y. Hilton (IND) - 11REC, 82YDS, TD
INDIANAPOLIS - After stunning the Patriots in the Wild Card round, the Ravens drew the short straw for a trip to Indianapolis. The Colts were not in their juggernaut form, but the Ravens did little to take advantage of the few mistakes the Colts made. Baltimore barely had possession of the ball, and the Colts running game wasn't going to give them any more.
The Colts jumped out to a 21-0 lead before things really started to go bad for Baltimore. Ray Rice was basically unable to get more than 1-2 yards a carry, but the Ravens weren't ready to abandon the run. Things really turned against the Ravens after a crazy series of possessions that started with William Moore picking off a toothless Joe Flacco in the 2nd quarter. A quick pass to T.Y. Hilton on the next drive resulted in a fumble after a big hit, giving the Ravens the ball on the Indianapolis 32 yard line. Flacco drove the team closer, looking to make it 21-7, but a Bjoern Werner sack would force a 4th & Goal situation and make Baltimore kick a FG.
Richardson shoulders the load against Baltimore.
Not long after breaking the shutout the Ravens would use a killer punt return to get them in FG range again. The Colts defense held them and Justin Tucker hit his second FG of the game. He would add one more after the half, but that was it for the Ravens.
The Colts would add two more scores to really put the game away, their punishing run game would make things hellish for Baltimore. Richardson would fumble the ball away on the 17, but Baltimore would be pinned in and nothing came of it.
Andrew Luck would be his usual self, going 29/33, and he didn't need to be much more thanks to the Colts defense and running game. It seemed like the Colts were saving their best for next week, and after the remainder of the games played out they would need it.
The Denver Broncos would crush the Bengals 25-3 for a date with the Colts next week. Philadelphia topped Green Bay 28-6, and San Francisco trounced New Orleans 35-13.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
INDIANAPOLIS - With the Colts at home and the regular season over the playoff picture is complete, and the Divisional round matchups are set. Indianapolis is the favorite to win the Superbowl, but there are a number of teams poised to knock them off. Denver is a very good team, and if they make it to Tampa Bay they will probably have to go through Philadelphia or San Francisco.
| NFL Standings - Updated: Dec 21, 2015 | |||
| NFC EAST | W | L | T |
| Philadelphia-Z | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| NFC NORTH | W | L | T |
| Minnesota-Y | 11 | 5 | 0 |
| NFC SOUTH | W | L | T |
| New Orleans-Y | 10 | 5 | 1 |
| NFC WEST | W | L | T |
| San Francisco-Y | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| NFC WILD CARD RACE | W | L | T |
| Seattle-X | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Green Bay-X | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| AFC EAST | W | L | T |
| New England-Y | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| AFC NORTH | W | L | T |
| Cincinnati-Y | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| AFC SOUTH | W | L | T |
| Indianapolis-Z | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| AFC WEST | W | L | T |
| Denver-Y | 13 | 3 | 0 |
| AFC WILD CARD RACE | W | L | T |
| Houston-X | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| Baltimore-X | 9 | 7 | 0 |
The wildcard weekend wrapped up with a few surprises as underdogs knocked off heavy favorites. Baltimore stunned New England 19-10 at Foxborough, and Seattle lost a close one 14-15 at New Orleans. The Bengals were bailed out by Baltimore, who now has to face the Colts, but a trip to Denver is their consolation prize.
The week off gave the Colts time to recover and deal with the avalanche of awards and accolades on both sides of the ball. Andrew Luck would take home his second straight MVP Award, and Chuck Pagano won his first Coach of the Year award thanks to their 15-1 turnaround. Pagano was awarded the 2013 George Halas Award, but this year could be even bigger.
| NFL Award Winners | |||
| Award | Player | Pos | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Andrew Luck (2nd) | QB | Indianapolis Colts |
| Coach of the Year | Chuck Pagano (1st) | HC | Indianapolis Colts |
Offensively the Indianapolis Colts were dominant, and perhaps dominant isn't a good word when describing how good they were. Luck finished #1 in passing yards (4735) and TD passes (44), Trent Richardson finished #1 in rushing yards (1696) and TDs (20), T.Y. Hilton finished #1 in receiving yards (1669) and receiving TDs (16), and Cecil Shorts III capped it off by finishing #2 in yards (1384) and receiving TDs (11). As a whole, the Colts offensive finished #1 in 1st Downs, Total Yards, Passing Yards, Rushing Yards, and Points Per Game. With stunning numbers like that the Colts are bound to send numerous players to the Pro Bowl.
Defensively the Colts showed incredible levels of improvement. The rebuilding of this defense by GM Phil Emery has really paid off. Indianapolis finished #3 in Total Yards Allowed and Points Allowed, #2 in Interceptions, and #1 in Sacks and Rushing Yards Allowed. Hard to beat a team with those kinds of numbers.
Despite all of the awards and pending Pro Bowl selections, the only award that matters to this team now is the Super Bowl trophy. Three more wins and it will be theirs.
Monday, January 5, 2015
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
1:00PM ET - December 20th, 2015
MetLife Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ
| Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets | |||||
| Dec 20, 2015 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Indianapolis Colts (15-1, 7-1 Away) | 7 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 34 |
| New York Jets (5-10-1, 2-6 Home) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Top Performers
Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 279YDS, 2TD
Rushing : V. Ballard (IND) - 28CAR, 149YDS, TD
Receiving : D. Rogers (IND) - 16REC, 110YDS, 2TD
EAST RUTHERFORD - With essentially nothing left to play for in terms of the standing the Colts rested their veteran starters today against the Jets. Trent Richardson, T.Y. Hilton, and Reggie Wayne would watch the game from the sidelines to avoid any potential injuries. All three of them have missed some time this year, so it would be important that they be healthy for the playoffs.
Indianapolis could thank to heavy wind and freezing temperatures, but mostly they could thanks the hapless Jets offense. This game mostly looked like a warm up for the Divisional round, but it also served as proof that the Colts could play well away from the safety of the Lucas Oil Stadium Dome.
The Colts took their time today, going up 21-0 by half time, and once Luck had two passing touchdowns they relied on the running game to score. The Jets threatened to score in the first half with a Nick Folk 56 yard FG, but the heavy winds prevented it from being successful.
Rogers filled in well for T.Y. Hilton.
The real problem for New York was Geno Smith, who was just downright awful. Smith finished the day 8/14, and most of the incompletions weren't even close. Smith also tallied a pitiful 68 passing yards, but did manage to find Eddie Royal in the endzone to end the shutout. The Jets were basically a three-and-out machine today, not a way to win against a red hot Colts defense.
Vick Ballard shouldered the load today, carrying the ball 28 times, but Justin Forsett also saw the field quite a bit. The Colts used the ground game to end this game at halftime, they didn't need to do much in the second half to hold on to the win.
Indianapolis gets a week off to recover and prepare for the Divisional round. Whoever comes into Lucas Oil Stadium is going to be an underdog, but all bets are off in the playoffs.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
1:00PM ET - December 13th, 2015
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
| Atlanta Falcons at Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| Dec 13, 2015 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Atlanta Falcons (4-10-1, 1-7 Away) | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Indianapolis Colts (14-1, 8-0 Home) | 14 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
Top Performers
Passing : M. Ryan (ATL) - 376YDS, 2TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 12CAR, 166YDS, TD
Receiving : C. Shorts III (IND) - 19REC, 196YDS
INDIANAPOLIS - Well, so much for taking their foot off the pedal. The Colts completed their undefeated record at home with a walloping of the woeful Falcons today and clinched the #1 seed. This game stood as a warning to any potential playoff teams as the Colts showed how well their Balanced Offense blueprint works, and what happens when you are down in the second half.
The Falcons horrible defense, and it was truly horrible, managed to disguise a storyline that has been building all season; Andrew Luck's MVP repeat campaign. Luck went 32/35 for 308 yards and 3TD with no interceptions and now sits well ahead of the league statistically. His 119.4 QB Rating, 4456 passing yards, and 42TD leads the league, and he's only thrown 5INT. To put that in perspective, Peyton Manning is #2 with 95.4 QB rating and 3639 passing yards with 27TD to 10INT. If Luck doesn't win the MVP award it will be a travesty.
There wasn't much to see in this game as far as a competitive game goes, fans of poor tackling and long TD passes and runs would have loved it. Atlanta gave up TD passes of 22, 28, and 44 yards and Trent Richardson broke a 72 yard TD run that the Falcons could have easily stopped.
Richardson holds onto the rushing yardage lead thanks to Atlanta's tackling.
Atlanta's biggest problem on offense was running the ball, and that tilted the game in Indianapolis' favor. Mark Ingram only managed 25 yards on 11 carries, all the Falcons could do was chuck the ball down field to Julio Jones. Jones had a great day with 12 receptions for 160 yards and 2TD, but it was all too little too late.
Indianapolis was up 31-6 at halftime and the Richardson-Vick Ballard duo took over, crushing the Falcons defense for 272 rushing yards and 3TD combined. This game could have been much worse, but the Colts ground the Falcons down and put them away like prospective champions.
Indianapolis finishes their regular season next week at the New York Jets, perhaps a freezing Meadowlands visit is just the thing to put their starters on the bench. Win or lose, the Colts go into the post-season as Superbowl favorites.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
1:00PM ET - December 6th, 2015
Mercedes-Benz Superdome - New Orleans, LA
| Indianapolis Colts at New Orleans Saints | |||||
| Dec 6, 2015 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Indianapolis Colts (13-1, 6-1 Away) | 7 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 41 |
| New Orleans Saints (9-4-1, 4-2 Home) | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 16 |
Top Performers
Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 339YDS, 3TD
Rushing : V. Ballard (IND) - 20CAR, 115YDS, 2TD
Receiving : C. Shorts III (IND) - 17REC, 168YDS, TD
NEW ORLEANS - Indianapolis headed into today's game with a solid shot at locking up the AFC South and getting one step closer to a 1st round bye. It would also be a test of their offensive depth with Trent Richardson sitting out with hamstring soreness. Vick Ballard has been good in mop up duty so far, but today would be his first start.
As it turned out the Colts offense wouldn't need to do all that much against a porous Saints defense because their offense was not firing at all. The Saints came into this game looking like a solid playoff team, but walked out looking shaken. Offensively they couldn't run the ball against an aggressive Colts front, and defensively they couldn't do anything about Cecil Shorts III.
The Colts came out fast and basically put the Saints away early, going up 24-6 by halftime, and stomping them out late. The only bit of drama came during the 4th quarter after an Alex Henery FG made it 38-16 and Sean Payton dialed up an onside kick. The kick dribbled 10 yards and a Saints player touched the ball but a Colts player scooped it up, yet the refs called it New Orleans' ball. Chuck Pagano went ballistic on the officiating crew, in fact he just kept going until he drew a penalty. It didn't really matter as Drew Brees threw his first of two INT to FS Branch Daniels to give Indianapolis the ball back.
Shorts is having a huge second half to 2015.
The story of the day, aside from clinching the AFC South, was Cecil Shorts III abusing Saints CB Corey White. White just could not cover Shorts, and the Colts knew it, which led to Shorts catching 17 passes for a whopping 168 yards. Fantasy Football players with Shorts in a PPR league were very happy.
Indianapolis heads into the final two games of the season looking at two opponents gunning for a Top 5 draft pick. The Atlanta Falcons (4-8-1) are terrible on the road (1-6) and the New York Jets (4-9-1) are terrible at home (2-5), so finishing 15-1 is a reality. A win next week would put the Broncos (12-2) and Patriots (11-3) out of #1 seed contention, so it's possible Indianapolis rests their starters for the final week.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
1:00PM ET - November 29th, 2015
EverBank Field - Jacksonville, FL
| Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars | |||||
| Nov 29, 2015 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Indianapolis Colts (12-1, 5-1 Away) | 14 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars (5-8, 2-4 Home) | 0 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 24 |
Top Performers
Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 420YDS, 5TD
Rushing : D. Robinson (JAX) - 17CAR, 115YDS, TD
Receiving : C. Shorts III (IND) - 10REC, 191YDS, 3TD
JACKSONVILLE - The Colts and offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton have always been very open about their desire to be a balanced offense. They tend to use two-TE single back formations, pass when they can and run when they can. Most teams, as Jacksonville did today, do their best to take away the run or the pass and hope for the best. Jacksonville managed to slow the Colts on the ground, but they just could not stop Andrew Luck.
Indianapolis jumped out to an early 21-0 lead before Trent Richardson left the game with an injury in the 2nd quarter, but as it turned out they wouldn't really need him. Luck completely eviscerated the Jaguars secondary, going 42/49 with 5TD. Vick Ballard filled in for Richardson, but with the Jaguars unable to cover anyone (especially Cecil Shorts III) the Colts had little reason to run the ball.
Bortles had his moments, but he didn't have enough to beat Indianapolis.
Luck found T.Y. Hilton twice and Shorts three times on Indianapolis' way to a 42-24 stomping. The Jaguars made things a little more respectable in the waning moments of the game when Blake Bortles scrambled, broke two tackles, and hit TE Luke Stocker for a 38 yard TD. Aside from that score, and allowing 100+ rushing yards to Denard Robinson, the Colts had the Jags defense on lock down.
Indianapolis heads to New Orleans next week with an AFC South clinching win on the line. A win against Atlanta in their final home game would clinch the #1 seed and home field advantage.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
1:00PM ET - November 22nd, 2015
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
| Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| Nov 22, 2015 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Cleveland Browns (5-7, 2-5 Away) | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Indianapolis Colts (11-1, 7-0 Home) | 7 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 47 |
Top Performers
Passing : J. Manziel (CLE) - 263YDS, TD
Rushing : V. Ballard (IND) - 29CAR, 184YDS, TD
Receiving : R. Steward (CLE) - 8REC, 124YDS, TD
INDIANAPOLIS - It's often said that the mark of a great team is winning even when they don't play well, so by that logic the Colts look like a truly great team. The Browns managed to put up some stats, but in the end turnovers and penalties put this game out of reach. This is the first game this season where Indianapolis allowed a 100 yard rusher and receiver, but thanks to mistakes it didn't really do much.
The Browns started off the game looking like they were ready for the Colts offense, especially after they managed to stone Trent Richardson twice in a row on 1st and goal from the 3, but a play action fake left Dwayne Allen wide open and Indianapolis took a 7-0 lead. The Colts returned the favor from the 2, keeping Ben Tate out of the endzone and forcing a FG.
Tate's jump for a score falls short.
Cleveland looked up to the task only down 7-3, but then things started to go wrong on offense and Johnny Manziel couldn't keep them together. Down 14-3 in the 2nd quarter a false start penalty turned a long FG chance into a punt, and then an interception on the 1 yard line kept the Browns from scoring with 0:17 left on the clock before halftime.
With a 17-3 lead heading into the second half, the Colts did what the Colts do and went to their ground game to wear out Cleveland's defense. Vick Ballard joined Richardson on Indianapolis' way to 47 rushing attempts for 295 yards. With the clock ticking down and the Colts continuing to score, the Browns didn't have a way to win this game. Thier defense was worn out and Manziel seemed unable to find any receivers aside from rookie Ramorius Steward.
After allowing a FG the Browns started their next drive with Manziel making a bad decision, Vontae Davis picked him off again and took the ball back to the Cleveland 18 yard line. One play later T.Y. Hilton was dancing in the endzone with 1:48 left to play in the game.
The Colts finally hit the road, but they head to Jacksonville for what should be an easy win. The win today clinches a playoff spot and a win next week with a Texans loss clinches the division, a Texan win would just mean that Indianapolis needs to win at New Orleans in Week 15 to clinch the AFC South.
Friday, December 26, 2014
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
4:15PM ET - November 15th, 2015
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| Nov 15, 2015 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-4, 2-3 Away) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Indianapolis Colts (10-1, 6-0 Home) | 0 | 21 | 0 | 21 | 42 |
Top Performers
Passing : M. Glennon (TB) - 349YDS, TD
Rushing : V. Ballard (IND) - 28CAR, 115YDS, TD
Receiving : T.Y. Hilton (IND) - 9REC, 112YDS, 3TD
INDIANAPOLIS - Coming off a big win, this was exactly the kind of game the Colts need to be wary of. The Colts looked out of sync, and worse yet, unprepared for the Buccaneer defense. They started the game off very poorly, gave Tampa Bay numerous chances, but eventually turned things around and held on to their win streak.
Indianapolis gave away two turnovers in the 1st quarter, one resulted in a Tampa Bay TD drive and a 7-0 deficit. T.Y. Hilton was hit hard by Safety Mark Barron and fumbled the ball on the Indianapolis 49, and Trent Richardson took a hard hit that knocked the ball loose and put him out of the game for the 1st half.
Things were spiraling out of control, but Andrew Luck kept calm and went right back at Tampa Bay. Another thing in the Colts favor was Tampa Bay QB Mike Glennon who just could not handle the pass rush. Glennon panicked in the face of pressure, and in the end made terrible decisions that ended up in 6INT on the day. Even when Glennon had time he was off target, causing two of his drive killing interceptions. Even after Tampa Bay managed a strip sack of Luck to set up a 1st and goal Glennon threw an interception in the endzone.
Hilton just couldn't be stopped around the endzone today.
Indianapolis went up 21-14 at the half, and then the Colts crushing ground game really took over. Vick Ballard stepped in for Richardson in the 1st half, and the Colts offense didn't skip a beat. Richardson came back in the second half and the two combined for 229 rushing yards on 53 carries. The Bucs were shut out in the 2nd half, and a tired Tampa Bay defense couldn't stop the Colts from scoring three more times in the 4th.
Indianapolis hosts Cleveland next week and they have a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win. With the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots both at 8-3 the Colts would have to drop three of their next five to drop out of a first round BYE, with the way the team is playing it's highly unlikely the Broncos and Patriots will catch up.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
1:00PM ET - November 8th, 2015
Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
| Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts | |||||
| Nov 8, 2015 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Tennessee Titans (1-9, 0-5 Away) | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Indianapolis Colts (9-1, 5-0 Home) | 31 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 62 |
Top Performers
Passing : A. Luck (IND) - 611YDS, 6TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 31CAR, 121YDS, 2TD
Receiving : T.Y. Hilton (IND) - 16REC, 181YDS, TD
INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts have looked good lately, but offensively they may have turned a corner that makes them unbeatable. Andrew Luck and Pep Hamilton have really put their heads together and have started to look like an unstoppable scoring machine. It helps to play a hapless Titans team getting close to the top pick in the draft, but few expected Luck to break an NFL record today.
Yes, Luck did attempt 65 passes, but the Titans had the Colts running game on lock down for the first three quarters. The Titans were also completely unable to cover the Indianapolis receivers, so Hamilton just kept dialing up the passes and Luck kept finding open receivers. It was almost more impressive that Luck was able to complete 59 of his 65 attempts with T.Y. Hilton (16) and Dwayne Allen (16) his favorite targets.
The Titans also fell victim to long TD passes by giving up bombs of 46, 54, and 80 yards to help Luck on his way to history. Things could have been much worse with 700+ yards, but the Colts held a solid 45-10 lead at the half and the Titans rushing defense softened up once they were worn out by the Colts offense.
Hilton was very helpful in getting Luck to 611 passing yards.
Trent Richardson took over in the second half with 25 of his 31 rushing attempts coming in the second half. With the Titans spent it was easy for the Indianapolis line to manhandle the Titans defensive front and put the game away. Tennessee's offense was also horrible, an 80 yard TD pass to Kendall Wright made Case Keenum's stat line look more reasonable, but as a whole they just couldn't move the ball and keep pace with Indianapolis.
The Colts will be at home again next week and have a decent shot at 10-1 with the 7-3 Buccaneers coming to Lucas Oil Stadium. It's doubtful the Colts can keep up scoring like they did today, but they won't need to score 62 every game if their defense continues to play well.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR (COLTS DYNASTY REPORT)
1:00PM EST - November 1st, 2015
NRG Stadium - Houston, TX
| Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans | |||||
| Nov 1, 2015 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Indianapolis Colts (8-1, 4-1 Away) | 7 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 38 |
| Houston Texans (6-3, 3-2 Home) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
Top Performers
Passing : M. Flynn (HOU) - 282YDS, TD
Rushing : T. Richardson (IND) - 31CAR, 183YDS, 4TD
Receiving : A. Johnson (HOU) - 3REC, 93YDS TD
HOUSTON - After taking a beating in Indianapolis the Texans were ready for revenge, a win tonight would have pulled them a single game back of the red hot Colts, but they just weren't ready for the task. Things looked good at the start, but the Colts showed why they have been so good in the long run.
Prince Amukamara was an INT machine against Matt Flynn.
Houston opened up the game with a surprising 50 yard TD pass to Andre Johnson thanks to busted coverage. The Colts had spotted them a TD early, but luckily for Indianapolis they had Andrew Luck and the Texans were starting Matt Flynn. Coach O'Brien seemed to have come prepared for Luck, as the Texans held him to short passes and only one TD, but their vaunted defensive front didn't have an answer for Trent Richardson.
The Colts kept scoring touchdowns where the Texans were hitting fieldgoals, but as the 4th quarter played out it would be turnovers that would doom Houston. Flynn was fairly efficient, going 22/30, but three of his eight incompletions found Prince Amukamara. Two of Amukamara's INT came in the 4th quarter and both of them turned into Indianapolis scores.
Going 2-0 against Houston has probably locked up the division, and the Colts couldn't have an easier run to the end of the regular season. There are only two teams left on the schedule with a winning record (Tampa Bay and New Orleans), and one of them is a home game. The Colts are no longer playing for a playoff spot, they are looking at the #1 seed.
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