Colts Schedule – NFL Football
Things went about as good as could be expected last season for the Indianapols Colts. They transitioned from one franchise QB to another about as seamlessly as possible and made the playoffs in the process. It was almost a little too fortuitous which is why almost nobody thinks Indianapolis can repeat that success against in 2013.
It is hard to disagree when you look at things on the surface.
2013 Indianapolis Colts Preview/Predictions
2012 Record: 11-6
ATS Record: 11-6
2013 Team Futures
Super Bowl Odds: +4000
Conference Odds: +1600
Division Odds: +230
The Colts were quite the story last year but they still have some big changes coming into this season. The first is at coach, sort of. Head coach Chuck Pagano was technically absent for a good chunk of the year due to health concerns and now he is back and in control again.
Interim coach Bruce Arians left for the desert so the Colts have brought in Pep Hamilton as offensive coordinator.
He is familiar with luck but less familiar with the NFL than Arians was. The Colts also made wholesale changes on defense hoping that unit can catch up to the offense this year.
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QB Andrew Luck got a lot of headlines for leading his team to victory but in terms of measured performance he was probably behind the other touted rookies last season. He showed lots of grit but needs to lower his mistakes. His arsenal of weapons could have used some upgrades but they are not bad.
WR Reggie Wayne is aging well bringing in WR Darrius Heyward-Bey gives them a true deep threat. TE Coby Fleener was special at Stanford but did not do much last year. Perhaps Hamilton can get more out of him.
It would really help if the team could establish a running game too. They averaged just over 100ypg with RBs Donald Brown and Vick Ballard and are now rolling the dice on former Giant Ahmad Bradshaw. None of these guys are great threats, just guys who can move the pile and get what yards are available to them.
It could be a line issue too as Luck was often scrambling for his life back there. Two draft picks were invested in the interior of the line but it is too early to tell if they are going to be starters yet. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
On defense the Colts were below average and so they made a lot of changes. Up front they are hoping for big things from DLs Aubrayo Franklin and Ricky Jean-Francois. Those two are unproven commodities but it might work out. The key will be getting a better pass rush.
They let sack master Dwight Freeney walk but selected DE Bjoern Werner in the first round and made some other moves to try and get the rush going. The rush is key because this team was awful at producing turnovers last season – they had just 15. The back 7 are alright in coverage but they need a little more havoc upfront to help their cause.
Overall Outlook: The law of averages says this can not be another 11-5 playoffs season for the Colts. Last year they were outgained in yards and turned it over more than they forced turnovers, which are not winning football standards.
When I look at their schedule I see an 8-8 team which has a chance to get off to a good start with home games against Oakland and Miami to start the season. If they don’t win both this could be a very poor year because other than games against the Jaguars there are no gimmes on the schedule.
From a betting perspective this is probably a fade team. Yes there is a lot out there about how they were lucky last year but there are also some who just run the numbers and their outcomes were solid and will be factored into systems and such this season.
This team will come together and have one memorable upset but other than that the tables will turn in 2013 so be careful
2013 Colts Predictions:
Place they will finish in the AFC South: 2nd
Place they will finish in the AFC: 8th
