The Colts last opponent of the 2016 season is the Jaguars of Jacksonville.
A win would move the Colts to 8-8 for the second straight season. A loss would hopefully mean the jettison of the Grigano era (and hopefully, with some help, land a top ten draft pick).Who knows what Irsay will actually do with Grigano. They made a big deal about them being attached at the hip with their new contracts so one would assume that if one is to be let go that they both would be.
Wrapping Things Up
What’s on the line this week? Not much in the grand scheme of things but there are some things that would make for some nice moral victories.
Andrew Luck needs to throw one touchdown to reach 30 passing touchdowns on the season. 81 passing yards will get Luck to 4,000 on the season.
Frank Gore needs just 37 yards to reach the 1,000 yard mark on the season.
T.Y. Hilton is currently holding the lead for receiving yardage at 1,353 yds. Hilton could still be the league’s leading receiver in yardage this season if he can hold of the 4 other players that are less than 100 yards behind him. (Antonio Brown, Mike Evans, Julio Jones and Odell Beckham Jr.) Hilton could get some help earning the yardage crown as several of the players chasing him might either be limited or sitting out altogether. Here is the outlook of the other contenders:
OBJ (1,323) takes on the Redskins. While the Giants are locked in as a number five seed, a win would keep the Redskins from the post season. It appears that the Giants will have all hands on deck.
Julio Jones (1,313) is coming off an injury and was limited in practice Wednesday but is likely to play Sunday. He is dealing with a toe injury so the Falcons may choose to give him some rest and limit his usage in their matchup against the Saints.
Antonio Brown (1,284) might be sitting their final regular season game out since the Steelers have things wrapped up for their playoff run. And also because they are facing off against the Cleveland Browns.
Mike Evans (1,256) and Tampa Bay are squaring off against the Carolina Panthers. Tampa Bay needs a win and lots of help to make it into the wild card spot so obviously they will be fielding their best players.
Hopefully the Colts will leave guys in long enough to get some personal milestones and then get them out of harm’s way. But according to Rob Chudzinski, the Colts have other plans “Our number one goal is to win the game and it always is. The personal things and the personal accolades are nice things. Knowing Frank and T.Y. like I know them, I’m sure they would say the exact same thing that it is all about winning the game and doing whatever we need to do to win the game first.”
Looking Forward
Winding down on the season, Chudzinski had high praise for Andrew Luck “I think he has played great. It is never perfect. I’ve said before that Andrew can improve on (things) and that is the exciting thing that he is not a finished product. He is still young in terms of quarterbacks. You look around the league and who’s in their prime and how many years they have been in the league and Andrew is still young in that regard. I’ve seen a ton of improvement; you look at his decision-making. I think statistically in terms of some of the production and his efficiency, his accuracy, his fundamentals, his footwork, all those things have improved. You look at his leadership as well, this is his team and it has become his team obviously over time. I can’t be more pleased. I can’t imagine there is another guy in this league that is as valuable to their team as Andrew.” With Andrew still progressing and finishing up what’s proven to be a great year for Luck, most of the rest of the team needs a lot of work. Outside of T.Y. Hilton and maybe a couple others there is really no one that consistently steps up on either side of the ball. There are some players that have shown promise, Ryan Kelly, Antonio Morrison and Ed Jackson. While others have seemingly regressed, Anthony Castonzo in particular. The key going forward will be the players surrounding Luck. Regardless of who is filling out the roster, Grigson or otherwise, the roster has to be improved. Luck can’t do it all on his own.
All quotes courtesy of the Indianapolis Colts PR department
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