2016 AFC South Offensive Preview: Colts

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The final installment of Zach Weeks' series previewing each Offense in the AFC South
By Zach Weeks - @zachweeks11

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The Indianapolis Colts: The AFC Souths’ once lone shining star has plummeted back down to Earth in spectacular fashion, becoming our division’s least talented team. 

WR: [B] Contrary to my ominous introduction to this article, the Colts have talented receivers on their roster. T.Y. Hilton, a fantasy football favorite, has all the abilities necessary to get open down field and make a play on the ball. Hilton also has a quarterback who can give him an accurate pass. Two other notable wide receivers, Donte Moncrief and Phillip Dorsett, provide competent depth and have both developed into reliable targets for Andrew Luck. Their offensive production this season will be hindered due to other glaring problems like the offensive line and lack of an effective running game.

TE: [C+] Dwayne Allen provides a good target for Andrew Luck but there isn’t a whole lot of depth in terms of talented pass-catching tight ends on the roster. While Allen has been a productive red-zone target in the past, his numbers fell off when Luck got injured; Allen himself has dealt with minor injuries in this year’s preseason. Among other traits, Allen is also an effective blocker and will likely have a less-statistically impressive year in order to help out with blocking for Luck.  Behind Allen there isn’t a lot of talent at the position aside from Jack Doyle. In his fourth season out of Western Kentucky, Doyle has the size to play the position but has yet to emerge and prove himself.

RB: [B-] The Colts have a highly touted running back in Frank Gore, as well as backups like Robert Turbin and ex-Jaguars player Jordan Todman. However the Colts couldn’t break the 100-yard rush mark throughout all of preseason. In their game against the Bills, the running backs only accounted for 10 yards rushing on 19 carries and against the Eagles only had 36 yards on 16 carries. (They have been moderately successful in the receiving game using running backs on screens.) When the Colts can’t get their run game going, the pressure builds on an exceptionally weak offensive line to protect Andrew Luck in the pass-game. The Colts will have to find some way to improve their run-game as well as making a moderately talented stable of running backs perform in accordance to their potential.

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QB: [A-] There is no question Andrew Luck is the most talented quarterback in our division and it wouldn’t be fair to field any arguments positing the contrary. When he finally gets the offensive lineman he needs to succeed, Luck has enough talent at the necessary skill positions to become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The objective this year for the Colts will be to keep Luck safe and healthy.

OL: [D+] One might believe it’s a close battle between the Jaguars and the Texans for the worst offensive line in the AFC South. However, surprisingly, the Colts take the crown because, at the very least, the Jaguars have shown themselves to be competent run-blockers and luckily, at the moment at least, they are relatively healthy. Due to injuries in the preseason along the offensive line to Jack Mewhort (left guard), and Joe Reitz (right tackle), the Colts could be starting three rookies; Ryan Kelly (center),fifth round pick Joe Haeg (left guard) and third round pick Le’Raven Clark (left tackle). This is disconcerting news largely because even before the injuries to these two more experienced players, the Colts offensive line struggled mightily. Andrew Luck was pulled early in the Colts preseason game against the Eagles because the offensive line was playing so poorly and, probably for that same reason, Luck didn’t play in two other preseason games. The Colts attempted to address their significant problems on the offensive line in the draft by selecting three offensive lineman but only Ryan Kelly, their first round pick, has earned a starting job. To pile on to an already pessimistic outlook, the AFC South is home to some of the most dominant defensive lines in the league. My guess is this will be a revealing year for the Colts front office and an unsuccessful year on the football field.

Final Rankings:

I evaluated the offenses in the AFC South using a method many of us are already familiar with, a basic grading scale.

1. Tennessee Titans: 87.4 - Titans Offensive Preview Here
2. Jacksonville Jaguars: 82 - Jaguars Offensive Preview Here
3. Indianapolis Colts: 80.6
4. Houston Texans: 77.6 - Texans Offensive Preview Here

​Thanks for reading this Generation Jaguar AFC South Offense Preview and lets see how these predictions fare in the 2016 regular season. Go Jags!

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