I made a bet at the beginning of the season. Over/Under for the Colts wins. I could set the number, and my friend would pick either over or under. I st it at 7, and he went under. When the team started 1-5, it looked particularly bleak. Then, the team rattled off 9 wins in 10 games, including a road playoff win. The mere fact that they were even in Kansas City on Saturday afternoon is pretty remarkable. The game was pretty bad, but the fact that it even happened? Fantastic. I have no complaints.
One thing that this season goes a long way towards confirming is my continued tenet that you must build a team from the inside out. After the disastrous tenure of Ryan Grigson, Chris Ballard came to town and immediately started transforming the roster. Whereas Grigson had a predilection for drafting skill players and hyped up edge rushers, Ballard saw the problem on offense was Andrew Luck's protection, and on defense, they simply didn't have the ability to compete.
To his credit, Grigson drafted Ryann Kelly, the starting center for Indianapolis, in his final season, but it was Ballard who started rebuilding the secondary, with Malik Hooker and Quincy Wilson in 2017. The team really turned it around when they acquired a slew of picks from the Jets so New York could move up, and Indianapolis drafted Quenton Nelson in the first round and used one of those other picks on Braden Smith, both of whom locked up spots on the offensive line, which was suddenly one of the best, not only this year, but perhaps in the last decade. Ballard spent the other three picks on defenders, of which one, Darius Leonard, may end up the defensive rookie of the year after leading the league in tackles.
The lessons here are this: Make sure your quarterback is upright and safe. Draft often and early. Draft well. This is a team that surpassed expectations. Expectations will be higher next year, but their schedule is more difficult. Fortunately, Ballard has 3 picks in the first two rounds again, in which to work his magic.
There is optimism in Indianapolis, despite what it looked like in Kansas City
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