After nine weeks, our Indianapolis Colts go into their bye week on a high note with an upset victory over the Packers at Lambeau field no less. So the Horseshoe may have something to build upon. The bye week is a chance for a team to take a look at what they have done, not done and maybe even salvage a season.
Some players who have some injuries can get themselves back into shape. Coaches can take a look at what worked and what didn’t work in the first half of the season. Players can reevaluate themselves and their efforts. If they continue to play with the intensity that they played with against the Pack they could win some more ball games. Some so-called experts consider the AFC South the weakest division in the NFL. The Texans, the Titans, the Jaguars, and the Colts. Right now the Texans led with a 5-3 mark. The Colts are tied with the Titans at 4-5. The Jags are 2-6 but one of their wins came against the Colts in London. The Jags always give the Horseshoe a hard time.
So which team do we have? The team that humiliated itself against the Kansas City Chiefs or the team that upended the Packers? Both were away games. The Colts have given up 256 points so far. In the AFC only the Cleveland Browns have given up more with 273. Only the Cleveland Browns have given up more in the AFC. Offensively the Big Blue has scored 239 points. Only the San Diego Chargers have scored more with 260 points. Andrew Luck has been sacked 33 times which is the most in the NFL. Frank Gore has rushed for 592 yards on 145 attempts for a 4.1 average so far with 4 touchdowns. Gore also has 24 receptions for 130 yards and 3 touchdown catches. The return of Donte Moncrief to the starting line is a major help after coming off the IR. He gives Luck a big strong dependable target. If there was an underrated player award, then tight end Jack Doyle would be the winner. Doyle is from Indy and is a crowd favorite. He has improved every year after being acquired as an un-drafted free agent. He has become a favorite target of Luck’s and rightly so.
The stats for the defense are grim. Linebacker Eric Walden has 7 sacks. Nobody else is even close. Inside Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson has 58 total tackles to lead the team. The Colts have only recorded 3 interceptions this year, 2 by one man, cornerback Darius Butler. Not good for a team that hopes to win. If the team is going to improve their record it will be on the shoulders of No. 12, not the defense.
My feeling is that the Colts will go 8-8 like last season. The Texans will win the division with a 10-6 record and then be one and done in the playoffs, The Colts might even go 9-7 but that’s asking a lot.
Right now it looks to me as though it will be Bill, Tom and the Cowboys with their two super rookies in Super Bowl LI. Great, my two least favorite teams. Well, what else is new?
IndyCar News
Ed Carpenter Racing has announced that J.R. Hildebrand will replace Josef Newgarden as the team’s principal driver. This had been rumored since the end of the 2016 season. Hildebrand is 28 years old and from Sausalito CA. As a rookie in the 2011 Indy 500, Hildebrand was leading the race going into the last lap with less then 1,000 yards to go to the checkered flag, Hildebrand spun out which allowed Dan Wheldon to pass him for the victory. He was credited with second place and was voted Rookie of The Year. He drove for Carpenter in last year’s Indy and finished 6th.
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