Why Aren’t the Indianapolis Colts Getting More Respect This Season?
Mediocre plays have plagued the Indianapolis Colts in the past. When the 2019 season began, quarterback Andrew Luck announced his untimely retirement. This season, the Colts aren’t getting a lot of respect considering the team’s recent troubles with its star players. Let’s look at the Colts’ troubles this season.
The Indianapolis Colts’ 2019 season
In the 2019 season, the Colts received the bad news that their star quarterback Andrew Luck wouldn’t be joining them for the reasons discussed above. After the announcement, the Colts decided to move with Jacoby Brissett. It is worth noting that Brissett was the backup quarterback for New England Patriots’ Tom Brady.
Despite the news, the Colts started strong with a 5-2 lead. However, they didn’t have plenty of luck later on as they eventually lost seven of the nine subsequent games and ended up getting eliminated from contending for playoffs. The elimination came after their loss to New Orleans Saints in week 15.
Many blame last year’s Indianapolis Colts lost to injuries to their key players such as Marlon Mack, T.Y Hilton, and Eric Ebron. The Colts 2019 season loss was also due to their failure to match up to the previous season’s 10-6 record.
Despite the Colts’ dismal results, Frank Reich is still a great coach
Frank Reich joined the Indianapolis Colts in 2018 as head coach. He had, however, joined the Colts earlier on but in the capacity of a coaching intern. His internship with the Colts began from 2006 to 2007. In 2008, the team’s then Coach Tony Dungy retired after the 2008 season, leaving the head coach position open.
However, Jim Caldwell, a former quarterback for the Colts, took Dungy’s place, and Reich became a wide receiver’s coach. Unfortunately, Reich, along with the rest of the coaching staff at Colts, got dismissed after a 2-14 season.
Reich would go on to coach other teams in various capacities, including the Arizona Cardinals, and Philadelphia Eagles, before returning to coach the Colts in 2018. However, his return to the Colts was not smooth as the Colts lost the game against Cincinnati Bengals in his first game.
He, however, turned things around with the game against the Washington Redskins. In the Colts vs. Eagles game, the Colts were down 20-16 and had only seconds left to the game’s end. Coach Reich pulled Luck out of the game and replaced him with Jacoby Brissett as a Hail Mary only for Brissett to overthrow the rest of the team leading to the Colts losing the game.
The move by Reich began speculation among journalists and fans over Luck’s overall health. However, both Reich and Luck stomped any rumors about his shoulder and termed the move as purely strategic, stating that Brissett had a stronger throw than Luck.
Under his tenure, Coach Reich has led the Colts to significant victories seeing them get to second place and third place in the 2018 and 2019 AFC South seasons, respectively.
The Colts may contend for a playoff spot in the AFC South
According to the ESPN Football Power Index, the Indianapolis Colts come in 14th place. This index estimated that the Colts had a 58% chance at playoffs if they were to contend for a spot in this season’s wide-open division AFC South. The model also projected that the Colts could have a total of 8.9 wins. If this projection is anything to go by, the Colts would be the favorite team to win the AFC South.
