With the common season kicking off Thursday, we’re dusting off our earlier guides on the ceilings and flooring of every staff within the NFL.
Here’s what we stated about Indianapolis again in June. Let’s look at what’s modified:
Ceiling: 4-13 (initially 9-8)
What a distinction 10 weeks makes. Before the Jonathan Taylor debacle, an argument may have simply been made that the Colts may probably be a playoff bubble staff in 2023 — dual-threat quarterback Anthony Richardson is a surefire improve over the QB carousel Indy had final yr, the receiving core is simply nearly as good, if not higher than it was in 2022, and the protection ought to be improved after the strikes made throughout free company and the draft.
But with Taylor out the primary 4 weeks of the season (in opposition to three groups that ranked within the prime 13 in run protection final yr), and a superb probability he won’t even play for the Colts this yr in any respect, Richardson went from dark-horse Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate to doubtless working for his life with out an efficient floor recreation to assist take the stress off.
A win over Houston is doable, and getting a minimum of one win in 4 tries in opposition to Jacksonville and Tennessee may definitely occur, however other than that, there are solely three different winnable video games by my rely on their schedule (Rams, Buccaneers, Falcons).
Floor: 3-14 (initially 3-14)
The Colts haven’t received fewer than three video games since 2011. And nonetheless, that staff had Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky splitting reps at QB and was simply eight factors away from ending 4-12 as an alternative of 2-14.
So, three wins ought to positively be doable with Richardson working the present and a schedule that options Houston twice, Tennessee twice, Los Angeles (Rams), New Orleans, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Las Vegas. It’s exhausting to see the Colts dropping greater than 14 of 17.
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