New Bears ownership while happy to be sitting at 2-0 are already tired of QB Mitch Trubisky's inconsistences. The young QB posted an impressive game against the rival Packers but missed several easy throws. He then showed up to the Seahawks game beligerently drunk and proceeded to miss his mark on nearly a third of his passes with a clean pocket, including two picks on what should have been easy first downs.

Rumors are swirling around the league with veteran names like Ryan Fitzpatrick and Nick Foles being whispered in analysts circles. I'm sure Adam Schefter will have more information before the teams week 3 game. 

On the other side of the ball the Bears defense has been dominant with the addition of Khalil Mack paying off in a big way, 5 sacks in two games including a 4 sack week 1 is nothing to scoff at. Rookie MLB Roquan Smith has been excellent as well, picking off 3 passes already. 

It will be interesting to see how the QB situation in Chicago plays out.

First offensive drive of the season after a great start by the defense... Vander Flynn notices press coverage on the left side of the field and DeDe Westbrook gives him a hand signal, he's going deep. On a 3 step drop, the Qbs eyes see all pro safety Kevin Byard shift his hips, but he trusts his arm and throws deep to his open receiver - unfortunately too deep. Byard makes a great play on the overthrow and the very first passing attempt of Flynns Career goes down as a pick. 

All rookie Qbs must face adversity, and we learned quickly today that Vander is a fighter. First drive of the second quarter he worked his way down the field finding George Kittle in the back of the end zone on a beautiful throw. After another stop by the defense, Vander threw his second career pick. Pro Bowl Corner Adoree Jackson got away with pass interference on Dede Westbrook, shoving the WR out of the way to grab the ball. The Colts defense did what it does best and held the Titans to another 3 points in the redzone, but they went in to the half down 7-13 against their divisional rival.

Many rookies in this situation with fall under the pressure, but word from the locker room is Vander was accountable for his mistakes and had everybody fired up coming back out the tunnel. It showed, as he orchestrated a beautiful drive down the field capped off with a 31 yard touchdown to fellow rookie Marquise Henderson who made two men miss on his way to paydirt. 

Going in to the 4th quarter it was a 14-16 game, the Titans pass rush was unforgiving and Vander rarely had time to set his feet and look downfield. Mid way through the 4th he finally got his chance, same situation as the first play of the game but a single high safety. Dede gave the signal, and on his drop Vander threw up a dime that went for 36 yards to get the team in field goal range. 17-16 with 4 minutes to go. 

The Titans made a valiant effort to come back, but on 4th and 2 just outside field goal range they completed a pass to second year WR Rashawn Garner who was absolutely blown up by defensive captain Malik Hooker for a forced fumble and recovery. A few big runs and broken tackles by Tymichael Mays sealed the game, and while it wasn't the prettiest game in the world, Vander is 1-0 as a Colt. The future is looking bright in Indy!

Going in to week 1, the Colts depth chart is looking a bit different:

Offense:

QB: Vander Flynn - Draft / Gunter Vick (Pistol Sets)

RB: Tymichael Mays / Nyheim Hines (3DB)

FB: Jameele Olunwea - FA

WR: DeDe Westbrook - FA / Raymond Cutrera - Draft / Jakeem Grant

TE: George Kittle - FA / Dallas Goedert - FA

LT: Josiah McCluster

LG: Quinten Nelson

C: Ryan Kelly

RG: Braden Smith

RT: Trent Williams - FA

Defense:

RE: Jabaal Sheard / Kemoko Turay

DT: Jarran Reed / Keland Harmon - Draft

LE: Tyquan Lewis 

ROLB: Darius Leonard 

MLB: Rashard Blaylock

LOLB: Shaquem Griffin - Trade

CB: Artie Burns / Anthony Brown / Jourdan Lewis - FA

FS: Malik Hooker / Fabian Moreau

SS: Duron Harmon - FA / Terrence Brooks 

9 New Starters

While it may not seem like much at the moment, this is a trade that we may have to come back to mid way through the year. 

The Colts have made a trade with the Cowboys to pick up Shaquem Griffin for Kyle Lauletta and WR Bennett Hudson. Griffin hasn't had much of an opportunity to shine in his career so far, but his speed and physicality should fit in extremely well for the Indianapolis Colts. Reports are he is set to split reps with Duke Riley at LOLB and will also play a role in sub LB packages. 

"As much as we love Rashard and what he did for us last year winning AFC DROY, it became apparent to us in a few games down the stretch that he simply isn't agile or fast enough to consistently succeed in coverage. We're hoping Shaq's athleticism can make a big difference for us this season"

Young Talented QB from the University of Tennessee Drafted in the first round by the Indianapolis Colts.. Where have we seen this story before? Okay, he's no Peyton Manning - but Vander Flynn is an NFL ready prospect with a great arm and football smarts that can take this Colts team to the next level. 

Free Agency filled a lot of holes, but no team is complete until they can identify their franchise QB and the Colts feel like they've done that. They knew they wouldn't be able to sit at pick 20 and get their guy, so they had to get aggressive. They worked the phones tirelessly, speaking with the GM of every single pick from 2 to 9, and just when things were looking hopeless they got ahold of the Lions. It wasn't cheap, but the Colts packaged pick 20, pick 35, and former second round pick WR Joshua Leak in return for pick 10 to go get their guy. 

Vander is immediately a favorite for the AFC offensive rookie of the year race and is expected to start week 1 against the division rival Titans. 

The Colts continued to jettison draft choices from the old regime, as former second round pick Sean Denton was sent off to Washington with a pair of late round selections to get another choice towards the end of the third round. 

"Sean gave it his all, but he simply wasn't a good fit for our team. We needed to get faster on defense and while Sean was a very instinctive player, we felt he could have more success in another system"

It was a long wait until the Colts were back on the clock, but they had three picks in the third round, 67, 92 and 93. Although the main focus this offseason, they took their best player available at pick 67 in the absolute Mountain, Keland Harmon. Standing 6'7 and 307lbs they hope to gain a 2 down player that can dominate at the point of attack and help an average run defense get in to the top 10 in the league.

At pick 92 the Colts picked up their new red zone threat, 6'6 Raymond Cutrera. Any time you can combine a 6'6 frame with a 37" vertical and sure hands you have to be happy. Cutrera has reportedly shown great chemistry with Vander Flynn in the offseason and will get a chance early in the season to prove that he belongs on the field with Josh Docston still nursing a torn pectoral muscle from week 17 of last seaosn. 

At pick 93 the Colts again took the best player available in HB Marquise Henderson. Henderson was one of the most elusive backs in college football last year and isn't afraid to fight for a couple extra yards. 

"We viewed Marquise as a mid 2nd round talent, so to get him at pick 93 is a great feeling. While we have Nyheim we want to keep him in more of a shotgun/receiving back roll and now we have a better between the tackles option when Tymichael needs a break or if there are anymore injuries to worry about."

While their remaining picks were little more than depth and practice squad material, the Colts feel great about the success they had on their top 4 picks and are looking forward to a great season. 

Every season that doesn't end with a lombardi is a dissapointment, but Colts ownership is extremely proud of the effort and resolve this young team showed to win a nailbiter of a home playoff game against the Broncos and come down to the wire against the eventual super bowl representative Chargers 13-6. 

It was no secret that this team went all in on their defense last season as they worked to build a contender from the ground up, and this season they've been extremely vocal about the need to build a functional offense.

"As much as we appreciate the hard work our young quarterbacks put in last year to bring us a division title and home playoff win, in the end they were the sole reason for our exit from the playoffs the following week. Our defense banded together and held an explosive offensive unit to a paltry 13 points and overthrows by our guys kept us from putting any points on the board. Two plays in particular robbed our team of 14 points and most likely an AFC Championship game appearance. We're all in to fix this unit and make a serious run at a trophy this year."

With free agency opening this team had some very obvious needs, an upgrade at QB, more weapons for said QB, and a little beef up front. They made huge investments in to all three of these categories. 

Enter Superbowl MVP Nick Foles on a one year contract. His championship experience will be valued by a hungry young roster and he will be ready to start week 1 if the team is not able to secure a long term fixture in the draft next month. The team also offered a huge 1 year deal to tackle Trent Williams, known for years in Washington & LA as the silverback for his dominance. Word is the aging tackle was considering retirement, but couldn't pass up one last chance at a ring after coming up short last season and he is looking forward to helping teach budding stars Josiah McCluster and Quinten Nelson.

After those one and done investments we can dive in to the real priority of free agency, offensive weapons. The Colts were able to bring in Speedster Dede Westbrook to pair with Josh Doctson (injured and unable to play in the playoffs) and Jakeem Da Dream Grant, hero of the wildcard victory over the Broncos. The team was also able to entice athletic tight ends George Kittle and Dallas Goedert, giving this roster an extremely talented stable of pass catchers for whoever takes snaps this year for Indy. 

"When Josh went down before the playoffs last year, we realized just how thin we really were when it came to our receiving corp. Jakeem did his best to keep us competitive but the revolving door approach is not good enough to win championships with sub-par qb play. DeDe and Kittle offer a pair of explosive playmakers that should help take us to the next level. 

While offense was the main focus, the Colts still didn't turn away opportunities to build on their top 10 scoring defense from last season, bringing back Gerald McCoy on a much more reasonable 1 year contract as well as veteran safety Duron Harmon. They also had a couple low key signings, bringing in Duke Riley and Jourdan Lewis to play depth roles. Riley could push for reps at LOLB over Sean Denton due to his speed advantage and Lewis could easily steal some nickle corner reps away from Xavien Howard. 

Things are looking good for the Colts, time to find out what they can do in the draft. The currently hold picks 20, 35, 67, and 92 in the first three rounds.

Offensive Additions:

Week 15, a young Indianapolis squad coming off an 0-16 team fighting for their playoff spot in December, the stakes don't get much higher.

Apparently the team didn't get the memo, coming out flat and falling behind 17-0 in the first quarter. Many teams would have folded, but these guys don't have any quit. A quick score before half and the team knew it was time to go to work. After a vigorous battle back in to the game, we sat at a score of 24-17 with around 3 minutes left. 

Kyle Lauletta, who had a fairly tough day at the office throwing several interceptions, made a huge mistake tossing his third and most crucial on a post trying to get down the field to score. The Vikings were able to get a couple key first downs, but the Colts eventually pulled down running back Dalvin Cook for a 4th and inches that would define the game. The Vikings chose to kick the field goal to go up two scores with under 2 minutes to play, seemingly finishing off the game. 

Frank Reich could be seen on the sideline hyping up Kyle Lauletta, and it payed off. On the second play from scrimmage after the kickoff with 1:53 left in the game, he hit Jakeem Grant on a 76 yard bomb over the top, and the entire stadium got quiet. 27-24 with a little over a minute and a half in regulation. 

With no timeouts, the Colts and rookie kicker Bradford Weaver had no choice but to come out for the onside kick. The young man kicked it perfectly down the line, bouncing off the knees of the last Vikings hands team member to be recovered by Colts receiver Josh Leak. The stadium noise started to grow again as the home team needed to make a stand and keep the Colts out of field goal range. 

After a couple quick passes the colts were just on the cusp of Weavers range around the 40 yard line, but this team had no interest in a tie. Lauletta noticed a hole in the Vikings defense and was able to take advantage, throwing over the top of the safety to hit Jakeem Grant for a COLTS TOUCHDOWNNNNN. Score 31-27 with 51 seconds left. A lot happened in that minute of game time, and it was proof that you can never count this team out.

The stadium completely shocked, the Vikings got the ball back but only managed to get a little bit of yardage, back to back sacks knocked them in to a 4th and 25 situation, and their last play of the game was a bomb deep to stefon diggs, but there would be no miracle catch. It sailed out of bounds in time for the Colts to kneel out the last 20 seconds. 

In a tight division race this could easily be the game that defines the Colts season. On to the Bengals and Texans!

If you would have told Colts fans they'd be 4-2 six weeks in to this campaign after last year's 0-16 debacle, they'd most likely be thrilled - but new Ownership isn't satisfied.

After starting the season with two big division wins to set the tone for the season, the wheels completely fell off week 3 against the Packers. While Nyheim Hines did his best to keep the team in the game with an impressive 10 carries for 147 yards including a 96 yard touchdown, a broken collarbone took him out in the 2nd quarter and the team wasn't able to rebound. Kyle Lauletta showed up to the game under the influence of some form of serious drugs and it showed in his play. He widely missed targets all afternoon, including several wide open touchdowns to both Josh Docston and Jakeem Grant. He finished the day 6/21 passing with an unheard of 5.9 quarterback rating on a day where he easily should have thrown for at least 250 yards and at least 2 scores. Hard to win games when your starting QB is doing his best Ryan Leaf impersonation.

While Kyle Lauletta spent some much needed time at a rehab facility, Drew Brees led the team to a 1-1 record while ownership had to step away to take care of some off field issues.

Unfortunate injuries to first round rookie TaMichael Mays and second year pro Nyheim Hines have really stalled the offense, but the team was able to do just enough to come away with a victory against the division leading Titans. Ownership had this to say:

"Hats off to our defense, film study told us everything we needed to know, watch the drag route and force Mariota to stay in the pocket and this is a very beatable team despite their record. Other than some big plays to the Tight Ends we felt really good about getting out of there only allowing 12 points. Poor field position played a huge role in those points but our guys stepped up and made plays when it counted. Congrats to Darius Leonard on his AFC Player of the week award, his pick 6 early in the game was huge for us while our offense struggled against a crazy Tennessee pass rush"

This inconsistent play has raised questions about the Colts viability as a playoff team just a year removed from a winless campaign - but another scheduled departure by ownership is going to leave very little room for error down the stretch. If this offense can find a way to patch up it's poor pass protection and butterfingers receiving core, they may not need much room behind an unforgiving defense. 

Team MVPs through 6 weeks:

Darius Leonard - 25 Tackles, 1 TL, 1 Sack, 4 Picks, 1 FR, 2 defensive TDs

Malik Hooker - 25 Tackles, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks, 3 Ints

Kemoko Turay - 21 Tackles, 4 TFL, 8 sacks, 1 FF

Injury Report:

Tymichael Mays - Broken Collarbone - 1 week

Nyheim hines - Broken Collarbone - 4 weeks 

Middle of the first quarter. Down to the 2019 division leader Jaguars 10-0. These looked like your same old pushover Colts. Despite solid defensive play a big gain to DJ Chark over newly acquired corner Artie Burns and a fumble by German league rookie Gunter Vick on his first career carry had Indy's back against the wall yet again. After allowing their first touchdown of the season it appeared that the Colts were going to 3 and out. We spoke with QB Kyle Lauletta after the game:

"We had a choice to make, roll over and play dead or prove that this team is going to be different this year. The defense knew it could stop these guys, a couple freak plays wasn't going to change what the owners built this offseason."

On 3rd and 8 Lauletta launched an absolute bomb to Josh Doctson for a 71 yard touchdown and they never looked back. Two first half interceptions and a fumble recovery by Dareus Leonard on a huge hit by Kemeko Turray set the Colts up for a 13-10 lead going in to the half. 

"After that first touchdown the energy changed and the defense started playing as a unit" Lauletta said. "I sure wouldn't have wanted to be playing against them in that second half!"

The defense led by Rookie LB Rashard Blaylock (8 tackles on the day) repeatedly punished Leonard Fournette and the Jags offense. They forced 5 turnovers and never let them past the 50 after their initial two drives as the Colts cruised to an easy 26-10 victory.

Blaylock on the defeneses success: "Man, nobody on that sideline was happy to give up 10 points early. We shoulda had a shutout today. That big play to Chark was a good throw by Jameis, but our front 4 have to get to him quicker. The TD we gave up man, it was weak. I was able to stuff Jameis on the first qb sneak attempt, but the dude is 6'5 it doesn't really take much skill to move the ball a few inches with him. We'll learn from this game and be back ready next week!!"

Many were curious how the two headed QB system was going to work at the NFL level, but Lauletta and Vick made it look easy and they won't be easy to gameplan for moving forward. After his early fumble Vick posted a perfect 6/6 attempts including a huge YAC play by fellow rookie and slot receiver Hudson. This will be an interesting situation to watch moving forward!

Offensive Game Balls:

Kyle Lauletta: 10/16 - 135yds - 2tds - 1 int - 17 yard scramble

Gunter Vick: 6/6 - 104 yds - 15 rush yards, designed runs

Defensive Game Balls:

Dareus Leonard: 3 Tackles, 2 INT, FR

Terrence Brooks: 2 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 Sack

Leading up to the draft Indy went to great lengths to shore up an extremely poor defensive unit - but they were still looking for the kind of player that struck fear in to opposing offenses. With the second pick in the 2020 NFL draft, they got their man, the hard hitting Rashard Blaylock. This is the kind of player that they'll build around for the forseeable future and he has the potential to become an absolute star in this league. He's an absolute animal against the run and has the speed and range to develop as a problem in the passing game as well. 

With the defense looking extremely promising, it was time to shift focus to the other side of the football. The Colts would go offense for the rest of the draft and filled some major needs along the way. They found their workhorse running back, an excellent pass blocker to watch the blind side, and a a talented starting tight end. The most surprising pick however came in the 5th round in the form of Gunter Vick, the German football star that many didn't expect to see get drafted. This kid has serious wheels and can keep up with most skill players across the league, rumor has it he may even be pushing newly acquired Kyle Lauletta for a starting position, but he has to prove that he can protect the football at the next level.

We were lucky enough to get some statements from the new GM regarding the draft:

"We feel extremely positive leaving the war room for the first time as a new team, we've gone from an 0-16 roster to a team with no major weakness, and we were able to come out on the other side with picks from three different teams that picked in the top 6 this year. We expect Blaylock to come in and become a leader in the locker room quickly and think he will put our defense over the top. We have very high expectations for the unit that we've put together but understand it will take some time for the new starters to gel since 6 of them are new to the team!"

When asked about the offense-heavy remainder of the draft:

"We felt that gambling next years first round pick to sneak back in and grab Tymichael was the right move for our organization. This young man is a complete runner and was an absolute terror at the college level, he has a great combination of size and speed and our offense will go as far as he takes us. We were also excited to get a day one starter at left tackle at the top of the second, a player we expected to potentially go off the board in the mid 20s. In the mid rounds we were exstatic to get the best kicker in the nation last year in Bradford Weaver, and Sanzenbacher was an absolute steal for us in the 5th round. It isn't often you get two day one starters at positions of need that late in the draft!"

On Gunter Vick:

"Gunter is a special talent. You hear all of the reasons that he wasn't supposed to be drafted, (He doesn't have the arm strength!) (He doesn't protect the football well enough!) (He can barely speak English!) but when you go 0-16 you unturn every stone. This kid has immense physical potential and can cause huge problems for a defense with his legs. We aren't going to ask him to go air the ball out 30 times a game but we feel that he will allow us to add wrinkles to our offense and keep defensive coordinators up at night. Kyle is in the lead to be our starter, we brought him in from New York for a reason, but we're also very very excited for Gunter."

Colts fans have a reason to be very excited about football for the first time in a while. It won't be with Andrew Luck and Ty Hilton, but this defensive core has the potential to be one of the very best in football and this offense will have a lot of ways to hurt you. 14 new starters and several additional new role players should lead to a much stronger 2021 record.

Notable Picks:

Other than the short lived days of Bob Sanders the Colts have never had much love for the defensive side of the ball. When the new owners took over their goal was to change the culture of the locker room and make the defense in to a strength rather than a laughing stock.

"We had a few pieces in place for the future in Malik and Darius, but it just wasn't enough. The very first thing we did was bring in Gerald McCoy to help Jabaal as a veteran voice as we work through our growing pains. We expect to make a huge splash in free agency to get this team up to speed as quickly as possible"

The ownership team backed up their words as free agency opened and they ran the phones through the entire process. Defensively this team looks completely different, signing young pass rushing tackle Jarran Reed to pair with McCoy as well as completely rebuilding the secondary. 

It's not often teams give up young promising corners, but this year the market was full of them and the Colts capitalized with promises of starting opportunities. Artie Burns, Anthony Brown, and Xavien Howard are all headed to Indianapolis to prove their old teams they made a huge mistake. The team also brought in veteran Terrence Brooks to help steer these young kids in the right direction. 

That being said the team didn't stand pat offensively, as they brought in Veteran Backup Drew Brees, Interior Lineman Mike Pouncey, and speedster Jakeem Grant. 

"We tried to make a huge splash offering well over $100 million dollars to Tyreek Hill, but he felt the Redskins offered him a better chance to win now. We'll see how he feels about that choice after the season. We were also surprised that Eric Ebron chose to leave us for Carolina as we had a strong offer on the table. Both these players missed the opportunity to be a part of something special, but they're both replacable. Tyreek is in his own class but we feel that Jakeem will bring a similar speed element to keep defenses from stacking the box."

Things are trending up in Indy leading up the draft, this team already looks nothing like it did just a few days ago.

When a new Owner comes in they always say nobodies job is safe, but you don't expect to see the face of the franchise jettisoned so quickly. Captain Neckbeard himself Andrew Luck is heading to the Steelers in a shocking trade. The owner was available for a quote:

"We needed to clear up cap space and Andrew's 34 interceptions last year were unacceptable and a huge part of our 0-16 campaign - our fan base deserves better and this fresh start should be something they can get excited about."

This leaves a question at the QB spot moving forward, the team made moves to acquire Kyle Lauletta and brought in Drew Brees as a veteran mentor - but could they still add more competition via the draft?