Ink on Indy
Fansided

To Colts’ Grigson: Kill A Bunch Of Birds With One Stone

By Jeremy Haeseley

facebooktwitterreddit

Jan 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson against the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2014 AFC Wild Card playoff football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Colts’ GM Ryan Grigson must address several key deficiencies in the Colts roster in the off-season, but one big piece might help solve the whole puzzle.

So the Colts season is over. They made it one step closer to the coveted Super Bowl, but once again fell to their perennial nemesis, New England Patriots. Even though it’s entirely likely the Pats have been deflating footballs for the better part of at least three seasons, it doesn’t change the fact that the Colts simple got pummeled in that game. To state the blatantly obvious, giving up 45 points to the Patriots is not going to win you many football games.

After the season, I’ve taken a closer look at the stats for the Colts defense, Particularly when they played the league’s top offensive teams. You might want to sit down for this. It’s not pretty.

Indianapolis was one of the top six scoring offenses in the NFL. They were the only one of those six teams to play the other five in the regular season. They finished 0-5 in those games, giving up a mind-boggling 196 points.

Denver was another one of those top six teams, and yes, the Colts did beat the Broncos in the Mile-High City in the divisional round of the playoffs, but as news reports have stated, the did it while Peyton Manning was nursing a torn quad. If anyone watched that game, they could tell that something was wrong with #18. The “laser-rocket arm” that he’s become so famous for over the years simply wasn’t there. That was not the Denver offense we all saw in the first half of the season, so the Colts might have just dodged a bullet there.

Fast forward to last weekend’s contest against the Patriots… Dare I bring it up again? The Colts gave up 45 points. The Pats are another one of those top six offenses. So, to sum it up, in six games against the top six scoring offenses in the league (not counting the one with injured Peyton), the guys in blue were 0-6, and gave up a ridiculous 241 points in those games.  Simply put, the Colts have a long way to go defensively if they’re going to make the jump to join the ranks of the NFL’s elite teams. So how does Grigson fix the problem? The answer may surprise you.

First off, the Colts pass rush will get an instant improvement when Robert Mathis returns next season from his Achilles’ tendon injury. While it might take a while for Mathis to return to form, injecting a pro bowl caliber linebacker into the Colts line up should bolster their ability to pressure the opposing quarterback and get create havoc in the backfield. Will this alone be enough to get the defense where it needs to be? Absolutely not, but it’s a huge step in the right direction.

What will ultimately make the difference? Having a respectable run game. You read that correctly. How does that work, you ask? This is the age of chess match football, where field position matters, time of possession matters, and most of all, momentum matters.

Building a reliable run offense that can be depended upon to chew up clock and win the time of possession battle could make all the difference in the world when trying to keep the ball out of the hands of a Tom Brady, a Ben Roethlisberger, or a Tony Romo (yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but one rushing yard against the cowboys isn’t going to cut it).

The giant gorilla on the back of the Colts this season was their running attack. Simply put, it was horrendous. Averaging less than 4 yards per carry simply won’t get the job done in this league. How will the Colts improve? Well, several of the necessary steps have already been put into place. It looks likely that Trent Richardson‘s days in Indy are through. Yes, Colts Nation, I heard every one of you just say “yessss,” under your breath. It’s OK. I joined you. Add to that the recent dismissal of the Colts’ running back coach, and they appear to be headed in the right direction, but obviously GM Ryan Grigson still has some work to do.

More from Ink on Indy

First on the priority list is to strengthen the offensive line. They simply have to get some better talent at center and at the guard positions. That would likely either happen through the first two rounds of the draft, or through free agency. My guess it might be a combination of both. I fully expect Grigson to take an O-lineman in the first rounds and probably get at least one more solid veteran through the free agent pool. If the Colts can find two solid additions to the offensive line, not only will the run game see quite a bit of improvement, but Andrew Luck will have a lot more time to throw the ball, and probably have significantly less interceptions as well. Everybody wins.

Next, the Colts have to find a strong featured running back. None of the Colts currently on the roster have proven the ability to fill that role. While Boom Herron certainly showed promise the end of the season, I still feel he may be at his best in a situational role. It remains to be seen if Vick Ballard and/or Ahmad Bradshaw can be depended upon to stay healthy for a full season, and neither on of them really has the big play break-away speed that the Colts really need.

There is no shortage of talented running backs in the free agent market right now, although those guys might be too rich for the Colts wallet. Likely the best place for the Colts to find their next featured running back is the draft. In the second round, it’s highly likely that guys like Indiana’s Tevin Coleman, or Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon would be available to fill that big hole in the Colts roster at a bargain basement rookie level contract.

Now here’s the deal. Colts fans need to be realistic as well. This Colts defense isn’t going to become a top ten defense overnight, and certainly won’t be one next year. With the Colts ability to score points, just a minor improvement in the defensive stats might make a huge difference in games.

It’s been rumored as well that the Colts are working on a blockbuster deal with Andrew Luck, which could potentially make him the highest paid player in professional football. That’s going to give Grigson and the a colts a lot less wiggle room when it comes to salary cap space.

The Colts simply aren’t going to have the big bucks to go after every free agent they want, like they have in the recent past, so Grigson will have to decide what investments will pay the biggest dividends. The one place that could improve all facets of the team is the run game.

Find a running back (a real one) and get an offensive line, and you just might find the rest will fall into place.

Home/Indianapolis Colts