Blog For Colts Fans – 10 Good Things About The Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are 4-1. Maybe the biggest surprise thus far of the NFL season. As a Colts fan, it's been a blast. In a year where I was as pessimistic as I've been in a long time about the Colts future, I'm having fun watching the Colts again. Here are 10 good things about the Indianapolis Colts.
Daniel Jones
Thank you for being the QB the Colts needed, Daniel Jones. I didn't believe in you from the start. I'm still not quite sure I'm believing what I'm seeing. But Indiana Jones is 3rd in the NFL in passing yards and has the Indianapolis Colts 4-1. Giants fan Marty Mush posted this blog today.
Respectfully - shut up Giants fans. You got rid of Daniel Jones. You didn't want him. To be fair, I didn't want him either. But the Colts got him, so he's ours now. Stop putting your stink on him with your way-too-early "Daniel Jones is an MVP candidate" takes. Maybe we'll get to that point. But stop putting our cart before the horse and focus on your own team. Let go of Daniel Jones. Don't throw a bunch of ridiculous expectations on our quarterback by making the Colts part of your "woe is me our team makes bad decisions" narrative. And if it sounds like I'm being mad about something very stupid for no reason at all, keep in mind, it's because Marty literally cost us the game last week when he got so excited about his old quarterback that he wrote a "Daniel Jones is 4-0 blog" halfway through the 4th quarter.
We also had Giants fans Reags blogging this off-season about the "saddest QB battle in the league".
He's not your quarterback assholes. Get over Daniel Jones. You're a Jackson Dart team now.
Jonathan Taylor
When he's healthy he can be the best running back in the league. This year he's healthy. He's leading the league in rushing yards and TD's (despite having a handful vultured away by QB sneak god Daniel Jones). He's catching passes out of the backfield. He hasn't once dropped the football before crossing the goal line this season. Jonathan Taylor hasn't been in the playoffs since his rookie season, back when the Colts had Philip Rivers at QB. I'm happy for him. He deserves to be playing meaningful football for a competent team.
Tyler Warren
I had a love-hate relationship with Tyler Warren all last college football season when he was wrongfully awarded the John Mackey Award for best TE over Bowling Green's Harold Fannin Jr. (no I will never let that go). But I sure do like him now. I'd prefer if the Colts simply stuck to using him as a TE instead of forcing him into our running game. I just have a hard time believing that Tyler Warren is the best option for running the football when we have Jonathan Taylor, and Daniel Jones who's been automatic on QB sneaks. I'm just not sure stuff like this is really helping the Colts win games.
When we could simply have Tyler Warren do this instead…
But I do appreciate the creativity. And it hasn't necessarily hurt us yet, so whatever. That's aside the point. After years of hoping to strike gold (or even bronze) by drafting mid-to-late-to-undrafted round TE's like Jelani Woods, Drew Ogletree, Kylen Granson, Will Mallory, and basketball player Mo Alie-Cox… we finally bit the bullet and took care of our TE problem in the first round with the best TE in the draft who somehow fell into our lap (thank you Bears). And it's working.
Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman Jr, Alec Pierce, and Josh Downs to the casual fan might seem extraordinarily unremarkable. But they're as reliable as it gets. Michael Pittman has developed into a legitimate #1.
Each one of them is capable of making defenders miss after the catch. Josh Downs picking up this 3rd & 12 is one of the grittiest highlights of the weekend.
And Alec Pierce is such an underrated deep threat when he's healthy. Please get back soon, sir.
But even without him, return man Ashton Dulin is capable of making some of those big plays.
Even A.D. Mitchell, with all his flaws, is a guy who can score a touchdown on any given play. People forget how he even got in a position to drop the ball on the goal line in the first place.
If Alec Pierce gets healthy, and A.D. Mitchell is able to remove his head from his ass, I'd put the Colts WR room up against almost anyone.
Defense
The Colts defense is firmly capable. Nobody is going to accuse them of being the best in the league. Nobody is going to accuse them of being the worst. They've certainly benefited from playing QB's the likes of Tua, Cam Ward, and Geno Smith. But when they play those below average QB's, they do what they're supposed to do. They shut them down. They force turnovers (4th in the NFL in turnover %).
If the Colts offense plans on continuing to score 30+ points per game, the defense is more than good enough to make the playoffs, and be a legitimate threat to make a run.
Jim Irsay (RIP)
I'll never say a bad word about Jim Irsay. He cared about the Colts. He wanted to win more than anything. That's more than you can say about most owners. And for his final act on Earth, despite an angry mob of Colts fans at his door demanding the firing of GM Chris Ballard and Head Coach Shane Steichen, he refused to do it. He gave them another shot. I didn't love the decision. I'm not sure I saw a single Colts fans who truly loved the decision. But so far… it looks like a pretty damn good one. Not a bad swan song for the most interesting owner in NFL history.
Carlie Irsay-Gordon
Now that Jim is no longer with us, I'm thrilled to have his daughter Carlie lurking on the sidelines in her big sun hat ready to shove Daniel Jones down her opponents throats. Her and her big hats being heavily involved could have gone two very different ways. If the Colts were 1-4 right now, her big dumb hat would be the bane of my existence. But when the Colts are 4-1… I hope she wears an even bigger hat next time.
Seth
I have to admit, I was skeptical of Seth at first. For some reason, I was suspicious that he was doing a character. But I've come to learn that is not the case. Seth is the real deal. He was singing 'This Is Our God' Colts' parody songs all though the Anthony Richardson experience. But this year, so far, he's finally realizing the fruits of his labor. Seth has a winning football team to sing for.
Blue The Mascot
I'm of the belief that Blue is the best mascot in the NFL. He brings the energy. He has a silly face. He's not afraid to put a small child through the Earth during a mascot vs kids football game.
And he fucks the air every time the Colts score points. What more could you want from a mascot?
Remaining Schedule
You're kidding yourself if you don't think the Colts have benefited greatly from an easy schedule so far this year. But good teams easily handle the teams they're supposed to handle (Dolphins, Titans, Raiders). They found a way (albeit with some luck) to get a win over the Broncos. If it weren't for A.D. Mitchell single handedly taking 14 points off the board, they would have beat the Rams in Los Angeles. And moving forward, the Colts schedule does get a bit tougher, but being in the AFC South (who's paired up with the NFC West this season), there are A LOT of winnable games left. It's far from the gauntlet that many NFL teams are facing.
Thanks for giving me something to cheer for this year. Please keep it up.