Colts have a cultural problem, and there is no apparent fix for it

Nothing changes if nothing changes

The past four seasons, including this one, have ended in major disappointment for the fanbase. To understand where we are right now as a franchise first we have to look at how the past brought us to this position.

2021: After a playoff appearance in 2020, the Colts traded for quarterback Carson Wentz. Even though there were some injury issues and boneheaded plays, the team was still 9-6 going into the final two games of the year, needing just a single win to once again make it to the playoffs. The first of the two was at home against the Raiders, tough out, but definitely one the Colts could have won. With the game tied at 20, and the Raiders facing 3rd and 10 just outside of field goal range, Derek Carr escaped what looked like a sure sack for Shaq Leonard, and hit wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, who beat Colts’ cornerback Kenny Moore, and secured the eventual game-winning field goal. While that one hurt, all the Colts needed to do was beat the 2-14 Jaguars to secure their playoff spot. That is when the first catastrophe happened, as the Colts failed to show up, and were blown out by the Jags, who were not playing for anything. The game was 26-3 before a late garbage time touchdown helped make up the score a bit but the end result was the same: Colts clowned by the Jaguars and end up missing the playoffs. Tragic.

2022: Wentz was clearly not it going forward, so the Colts were quick to part ways with him, and went the veteran route again with former Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan, following the same path that helped the Colts make the playoffs in 2020. It was all nice in theory, but in practice it never materialized, as the offensive line issues nearly got Matt Ryan, and then Nick Foles, murdered, and the Colts had their worst season since the 2-14 year that resulted in Andrew Luck. The lowest point of the season was blowing a 33-0 lead to the Minnesota Vikings, the biggest blown lead in NFL history, second catastrophe. Embarrassing.

2023: New head-coach, new franchise quarterback, and some airs of hope for Indy. AR’s reckless style of play ended up in him injuring his throwing shoulder and missing the season, but the offense looked competent with Gardner Minshew at quarterback, and Shane Steichen was looking like a COTY contender at one point. The Colts were once again in a win-and-in situation, facing the Houston Texans at home in the final game of the season. A late game drop by running back Tyler Goodson on 4th down ended the Colts’ season, third catastrophe, with the team once again missing the playoffs in the final week. Disappointing.

Enter this season, the Colts were getting their quarterback back from injury, Shane Steichen had a full offseason to work with him, there were no holdouts by the star running back, and everyone was healthy. First cracks showed in training camp, with edge rusher Samson Ebukam tearing his Achilles, but every team has injuries to deal with, right? The Colts lost the opener to the Texans, but Houston has a good team and AR looked great, so not many reasons to worry about. That is only after a stretch of mediocre play, missing some games due to injuries, and the infamous Tapout-gate result in the benching of Anthony Richardson, after just 10 NFL starts, and after saying that the fans should be patient with a raw prospect. Steichen, or Irsay, or Ballard (who knows what really goes on behind the scenes) basically lied to the entire fanbase. After asking for patience they bench the quarterback, and start Joe Flacco in his place. As basically everyone expected Flacco was not the answer at all, and was much worse than AR. Steichen reversed the decision, and since coming back Richardson had two wins, with two late game comebacks against the Jets and the Patriots. There was a loss against the Lions in the middle, but Detroit has perhaps the best team in the entire league, so that was to be expected.

A win against the Broncos was exactly what the Colts needed to finally start righting the ship, it was the perfect opportunity for the team to assert themselves as playoff contenders, and with a forgiving remaining schedule after the Denver game perhaps it could be a pivotal moment in a long winning streak to make the playoffs as a red-hot team. With the game 13-7 in favour of the Colts, and right after an interception by the defense, running back Jonathan Taylor dropped the ball before scoring what would have been a 51-yard touchdown run, and that would have the Colts a 13 point lead. The mometum shifted entirely after that play, and the offense failed to score a single point after that, and then threw perhaps the dumbest pick-six (though it technically was a fumble) in recent Colts’ history, another embarrassing disappointment for a team that has seemingly got used to that.

How did the team react after yet another catastrophe? Well, rookie AD Mitchell was making jokes about the play were he made a mistake and effectively ended the Colts’ season, and team-captain Zaire Franklin is constantly on X (or podcasting), about why he should go to the Pro Bowl and why he is an elite linebacker. See for yourself:

I caught some heat earlier after the Patriots’ game for calling this a roster filled with “losers”, but in the end they proved me right. This is what they are (and just to clarify because some people have trouble understanding basic concepts, I am not calling them losers in life, they are making millions to play the game we love, I am calling them losers solely on the game of football). There is plenty of evidence above, losers lose, and this team finds new ways to lose games every single season.

What could be done to change this, and for the Colts to finally be competitive again? If I knew I would not be blogging about it and I would be running a football team, but I have some ideas. First of all, Steichen clearly has not worked. He was brought because of his quarterback development and play-calling, and both have been below average in his tenure. He is not fit to lead a football team. I would bring in a head-coach like Mike Vrabel, who has prior experience leading winning teams. As for Chris Ballard, his style has just not worked building football teams. As I read on Twitter, after his generational talent retired, he made a vow to himself never to have anyone like that again. He is not a bad general manager, but his reticence to take risks mean that while the Colts have done a great job avoiding busts, and overpaying for unproductive free agents, they never hit it big either. You need more than just singles and walks to win the Super Bowl, you need homeruns, and Ballard is just not a home-run hitter.

Colts will most likely win at least two of their remaining three games, and could very well win out, securing once again a winning record. But no wins agaist playoff caliber teams, and once again missing out on the playoffs. Some fans may be happy with winning more than they lose, but at least me personally I would rather fail trying to be great than win settling for average.