The Colts without Luck

Andrew Luck decided to retire. I've talked for years about how the Colts' failure to protect him for years would eventually have negative consequences. Luck missed a whole season two years ago because of injury, and despite one of the best O-Lines in the league, he didn't feel like he could continue. I don't blame him, and I'm glad he has his whole life ahead of him, hopefully pain free.
I also don't think that this was a total surprise to the Colts. After a season where he was hit very infrequently, Andrew Luck was still in pain. After coming back to training camp, he wasn't himself at the beginning of the season. This was a team that was set for success with or without Luck, though the levels of success may have varied. Well, they are going to do it without.
The Colts have already decided, even before the season started, that they would give Jacoby Brissett a vote of confidence, signing the pending free agent to a two year extension. People were talking about the Colts tanking this season, but that is obviously not the course Indianapolis will take.
As much as the Colts losing Luck will hurt, we need to remember that the Colts were among the favorites to win the Super Bowl. It's a hell of a lot easier to win the Super Bowl with a star quarterback, but you do need more to make it happen. The Colts have the same team, less the quarterback. It's still a good team.
Now, I never thought the team was going to be good enough to really contend for the title. They have a very difficult schedule after reaching the playoffs last year. The Jaguars should be better. The Texans should be healthier and the Titans are on the way up. While the Colts are a young, improving team, so is the rest of the division. It's going to be a battle to get to the playoffs, even with their quarterback of choice.
Oh, and that offense and improved defense? They were pasted by the Chiefs in the playoffs. The Chiefs are approximately the same as they were last year, and even they couldn't handle the Patriots.
Now, like I said, the Colts are a better team than one that should even consider tanking. They have assembled perhaps the best offensive line in the league, which will allow Brissett to succeed, or at least be more successful than he was when he started 15 games in 2017. Brissett was sacked more times than any other QB in the league during the games he started. The offense will be stable so long as the O-Line stays stable.
Then, there is the defense, long a liability of the Colts. Through two years of good drafting, the Colts have also developed one of the better defenses in the league. Most of the Colts' draft capital was spent on further filling holes on defense, and Justin Houston could ultimately be the most important signing the Colts made this offseason.
It might seem like I am arguing two different points. The schedule is tough, and the Colts won't do well. Their team is pretty good, the Colts will do well. I'm using those two ideas to make one conclusion. The loss of Andrew Luck doesn't hurt on the field as much as it seems, initially, because I don't think their ceiling was as high as some people believed, but also, their floor isn't that low without him. The Colts won't win the Super Bowl, but with a good break, they might make the playoffs. That's the same prediction I would have made before Luck's retirement.