An overlook of Indianapolis

By Ryan Ebert, Ryan@nflen.com

     Indianapolis is looking good for the next decade with Andrew Luck as their quarterback.  Though there still plenty of room for improvement.  The team was twenty-sixth in total defense in 2012 and Luck had eighteen interceptions,  but another year under the new defensive scheme and a year under Luck's belt should give enough lift to help this team make strides as a team.  With Colts owner Jim Irsay and general manager providing a vision for this team good things look good for the future.

     The biggest addition to this team may be the acquisition of runningback Ahmad Bradshaw.  He will complement Vick Ballard in the backfield and share the load.  Delone Carter and Donald Brown are on the roster as well giving this position good depth and versatility.  This team's running game should be better than twenty-second where it fell last season.

     Donnie Avery left the wide receiver corps, but the team still has dependable Reggie Wayne with T.Y. Hilton, LaVon Brazill and newly acquired speedster Darrius Heyward-Bey.  Hilton and Heyward Bey both can stretch the field with their blazing speed opening things up for receivers elsewhere on the field.  Brazill only caught eleven passes last year and was fourth best wide receiver of the group, but that's because Luck also had talented tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen to throw to.  I really think he will step up his second season.  This corps is a little thin at talent, but if they can stay healthy only good things can come.

   

     The offensive line was addressed plenty during the offseason through free agency and the draft.  Irsay chose offensive guard/center Hugh Thornton with his second pick to help build up the line as well as Khaled Holmes with his third pick.  Through free agency Irsay picked up Gosder Cherilus, Winston Justice, Jeffrey Linkenbach, and Donald Thomas.  These noticeable pickups are nice; one thing this does is bring depth to the line which is always good.  Ryan Grigson said he was going to address the offensive line and he did, but now it's time to help them mesh and work together as one and get on the same page with the quarterback.  This was a problem for the Colts last year as they allowed Luck to be sacked forty-one times last year; this new line should be a good upgrade and benefit Luck much better.

     The newest big face on the defense is safety LaRon Landry.  Landry with veteran safety Antoine Bethea should be a pretty tandem to watch in the defensive backfield.  They are not deep at safety, and cornerbacks is not much of a different story.  Vontae Davis leads a group of cornerbacks that include Cassius Vaughn, Jerraud Powers, Greg Toler, and Darius Butler.  Nice talent here, but it is few.  I would like to see the Colts grab someone from free agency to help out their secondary such as Sheldon Brown or Cedric Griffin..  

  

 Bjoern Werner, the first pick of the Colts in this year's draft, looks help a group of linebackers that include newly acquired Moise Fokou, Erik Walden, and players who have stayed like Pat Angerer, Jerrell Freeman, and Robert Mathis.  It is a deep group filled with quality players that will be needing to play well together to help the defense entirely.  Werner may not make big noise like rookie Dion Jordan of the Dolphins, but he certainly will do his best for his group play better.

     Dwight Freeney left to the West Coast which resulted in the loss of the face of the Colts defense for so long.  Though the pass rush from the line and will still come from new guys like Aubrayo Franklin, Ricky Jean-Francois, Antonio Johnson, and Lawrence Sidbury.  Though in their new 3-4 defensive scheme they will not be asked to get to the quarterback but open lanes for the linebackers to make plays these players still have the talent to disrupt the offensive line and make the quarterback of the opposing team have a hard time.

     The Colts look in good shape for the most part.  For the weak parts, the answer is constant work at gelling together, playing as a unit, playing as one.  That will provide the boost to help the weaker parts of this team.  With these intangibles, Indianapolis may create more wins than last season.