The NFL draft has come and gone and the makeover of the Indianapolis Colts has taken a few steps forward. Obviously, it is still a work in progress but I am very optimistic that improvements were made this weekend.
I am a die-hard Colts fan and generally see the glass as half-full. I was sad to see the release of Peyton and the purging of our veteran roster, but at the same time I understood that it needed to happen. We were drafting #1 overall for a reason. With a new GM, new coaching staff, and new franchise quarterback coming into the mix, it was time to reload the stable with youth, optimism, and some salary cap relief.
It was a foregone conclusion to most, as far back as November, that Andrew Luck would be the cornerstone of Indianapolis’ rebuilding. I followed his career at Stanford and have been impressed not only with his passing ability and knowledge of the game, but by his toughness and underrated athletic ability. If you watch the tape from (I believe) two years ago against USC, Luck throws an interception and instead of sulking about the mistake he follows the play and absolutely hammers the DB who picked him off. I think the guy was actually knocked out of the game. It was awesome. I’m not saying I want him to do that in the NFL by any means, but it definitely earned him some street cred as being a team player willing to sacrifice his body and erasing any thoughts that he might be a diva QB.
I also followed his career for a reason most of you may not be aware of. While a senior in high school weighing his final three college choices, he ultimately chose Stanford over………Purdue University. That’s right. Look it up. As a Purdue grad I can only imagine how the fate of my Boilermakers the last couple of seasons might have changed with Mr. Luck at the helm. I shed a tear……
Going into the draft I was curious to see how new GM Ryan Grigson and HC Chuck Pagano would go about revamping the roster. We have glaring needs on offense with a lack of people, let alone playmakers to help Luck in his transition to the NFL. The defense is switching to a 3-4, which requires beefier lineman up front and asks the linebackers to drop into coverage more often. The current roster was built with smaller, quicker guys to play the Tampa 2 and is a far cry from an ideal makeup for the new look. I like the additions of free agents Cory Redding, Brandon McKinney, and Tom Zbikowski who not only have experience in the 3-4, but all three played for Pagano in Baltimore and can help teach the new system to our returning defenders.
I know Rome wasn’t built in a day. I know that no matter what happened in the draft this weekend that it will most likely be at least a two to three year process before major progress is realized. My biggest fear going into rounds 2-7 was that the front office would try to fill the needs on defense sooner than addressing the need for playmakers around Luck. I listened to sports radio all day on Friday, and it seemed like all the talking heads wanted the Colts to draft defense-defense-defense. I personally thought that would be a huge mistake. We just took our quarterback of the future and all these clowns wanted us to draft a defensive tackle or linebacker with pick 34? When the best tight end in the draft and at least four receivers with a first round grade were sitting there? It made no sense to me and as sad as it is to admit, I actually had a stomachache when the second round began Friday night. My wife thinks I have a problem; it’s hard to argue with her. If we were going all in with Andrew Luck I felt we had to do everything we could to make his life easier as a rookie. I understand defense wins championships but next year our offense is going to have to win us games. We’ll have a better chance to win a 42-41 shootout if we can give Luck enough weapons that he can utilize. I thought in addition to Wayne, Collie, and a healthy Donnie Avery (fingers crossed), he needed at least one more receiver and definitely one and possibly two tight ends. I like the pieces we added to the offensive line in free agency and as long as Anthony Castonzo and Ben Ijalana can stay healthy and progress as the anchors in their sophomore years, I think they can give Luck time to operate. So get him weapons. Please. Pretty please. Cherry on top???
Since the first round was a no-brainer, I will go over the final nine picks the Colts made and my brief thoughts. I will preface this with these are only my opinions. I’m not a scout, I’m not always politically correct, and I don’t watch every single Division I football game. I have a full time job, a beautiful young family, and a life, so I will admit I had not heard of all of them and had to look up some information on the later round guys. That being said….
