Colts Notebook: Not So Fast

Editor’s note –  Josh sent this to us yesterday, but due to technical issues, it’s going up during the game. Sorry for the delay.  -MD

The Indianapolis Colts are not coming off of a bye as they are one week removed from traveling to London to eventually lose to the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars in gut-wrenching fashion. No, the Colts elected to save their bye for later on in the season and grind through the week as they prepare for the Chicago Bears.

Although the Colts and Bears are each two head coaches (and hundreds of players) removed from the two teams that squared off in Super Bowl XLI, there will no doubt be a representation of Colts’ greats to witness their former team seek their second win of the season during the 10^th anniversary of Indianapolis’ first Super Bowl.

While much disdain has been made over general manager Ryan Grigson’s recent comments on franchise quarterback Andrew Luck’s historic contract figure, it will be up to the players to play through the dysfunction within their own organization, and win for each other.

While we are less than 24 hours from kickoff, let’s catch up with a few points of emphasis for tomorrow’s game:

Bad News, Bears

While seemingly nothing can be worse for Colts’ fans to watch their team lose to the Jaguars on a different continent, there is one statistic that gives the Colts a decided advantage, and it could not be any simpler. The Colts, despite their putrid 1-3 record, which features three tough losses at an average of 7 points per loss, are currently 7^th in the NFL in points per game, while the Bears are tied for dead-last at 15.5. And although the Bears’ three losses are to teams with winning records, they were at the hands of two rookie quarterbacks (Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz) and Brock Osweiler.

“Before we get on to Chicago, everybody in this building, we all understand that this is a black and white production business. Either you can or you can’t, you have or you have not, you will or you won’t,” said defensive coordinator Ted Monachino who sounded like a Coach who understands jobs are at stake this season.

To add insult to injury, the Bears will be without their embattled and albeit franchise quarterback Jay Cutler, supremely talented wide receiver Kevin White, and potentially their Pro Bowl pass catcher Alshon Jeffrey. Although this game is certainly not a lock for the dopey Colts, all signs point to this game as low-hanging fruit, and a game that the Colts should expect to win.

Injury Update

For once, this section of the article appears to be a positive one as the Colts will be getting a fully healthy Denzelle Good and Joe Reitz back, who will presumably take back their spots on the right side of the offensive line upon their return tomorrow. While both may be healthy, there must be some type of conversation being had about moving forward with rookie offensive tackle Joe Haeg, who made his first career start against the Jags and at some points in the game was their best lineman.

Additionally, the Colts will be getting Darius Butler back, as he was a limited participant in practice all week. Butler, who made a tremendous interception in Denver in Week 2, has been suffering from a hamstring injury that he suffered on the aforementioned interception.

While this next player may not be injury related, he certainly represents a player who has missed more games than he has played in a Colts uniform. That player is defensive lineman Arthur Jones. Signed as a free agent in 2014 to a 5 year contract worth $30 million, Jones has been nothing but another Grigson bust in his three seasons. Coming back from a four game suspension for using performing enhancing drugs, it appears the Colts are in no rush to throw him into the fire tomorrow afternoon.

“He is in really good shape. He hasn’t played football for a month. Again, you go out here and we are not scrimmaging, we are not doing the things that are going to happen on Sunday. We will gauge that and we will make the smartest decision based on what’s best for this team and really what’s best for Art. I just don’t want to throw him out there without some time on task so we’ll see,” said head coach Chuck Pagano during his Friday afternoon presser.

What to Look For

Let’s just cut to the chase here, the Colts have not been building a monster for the last four years. What the Colts have done, is they have built a roster that is entirely dependent upon a supremely talented quarterback (much like Bill Polian did in his last days). This is a failed philosophy that had only previously worked because of Luck’s uncanny ability to shake his team from the weight of defeat and impose epic comebacks nearly weekly. While Luck is still capable of such comebacks, you have to ask yourself this: at what time does Luck hit his breaking point? Was it Week 1 against Detroit when Luck had retaken the lead with less than one minute to play and watched from the sideline as his coach mismanaged something as so simple as a kickoff? Was it last week when his coach opted not to lean on Frank Gore on a critical 4^th down?

Whatever the answer may be, one thing is for certain, the Colts success on Sunday is entirely reliant upon the play of Luck. For better or worse, the Colts playoffs hopes are solely resting with Luck’s right arm, and that is not Luck’s fault. Look for Luck to attempt to lift his offense over the 7^th best passing defense in the NFL tomorrow.

Keep choppin’.

All quotes courtesy of the Colts PR Department.