How many wins for the Colts this season?

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

How do you think the season will unfold? How many wins do you think the Colts will have this year?

Explain your estimate with a follow-up post if you wish.

The Colts schedule is below:


1 - Sept. 10 Jacksonville Jaguars 1 PM
2 - Sept. 17 @ Houston Texans 1 PM
3 - Sept. 24 @ Baltimore Ravens 1 PM
4 - Oct. 1 Los Angeles Rams 1 PM
5 - Oct. 8 Tennessee Titans 1 PM
6 - Oct. 15 @ Jacksonville Jaguars 1 PM
7 - Oct. 22 Cleveland Browns 1 PM
8 - Oct. 29 New Orleans Saints 1 PM
9 - Nov. 5 @ Carolina Panthers 4:05 PM
10 - Nov. 12 @ New England Patriots 9:30 AM (Germany)
11 - Nov. 19 BYE WEEK
12 - Nov. 26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 PM
13 - Dec. 3 @ Tennessee Titans 1 PM
14 - Dec. 10 @ Cincinnati Bengals 1 PM
15 - TBD Pittsburgh Steelers TBD
16 - Dec. 24 @ Atlanta Falcons 1 PM
17 - Dec. 31 Las Vegas Raiders 1 PM
18 - TBD Houston Texans TBD

[Racehorse]

How do you think the season will unfold? How many wins do you think the Colts will have this year?

Explain your estimate with a follow-up post if you wish.

The Colts schedule is below:


1 - Sept. 10 Jacksonville Jaguars 1 PM
2 - Sept. 17 @ Houston Texans 1 PM
3 - Sept. 24 @ Baltimore Ravens 1 PM
4 - Oct. 1 Los Angeles Rams 1 PM
5 - Oct. 8 Tennessee Titans 1 PM
6 - Oct. 15 @ Jacksonville Jaguars 1 PM
7 - Oct. 22 Cleveland Browns 1 PM
8 - Oct. 29 New Orleans Saints 1 PM
9 - Nov. 5 @ Carolina Panthers 4:05 PM
10 - Nov. 12 @ New England Patriots 9:30 AM (Germany)
11 - Nov. 19 BYE WEEK
12 - Nov. 26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 PM
13 - Dec. 3 @ Tennessee Titans 1 PM
14 - Dec. 10 @ Cincinnati Bengals 1 PM
15 - TBD Pittsburgh Steelers TBD
16 - Dec. 24 @ Atlanta Falcons 1 PM
17 - Dec. 31 Las Vegas Raiders 1 PM
18 - TBD Houston Texans TBD

This is hard to guess, not knowing which QB will be playing, but I will try. I think we win four division games, because the Tacks and Texican'ts are awful. We have a shot at beating all the NFCSouth, but i will guess we have a split. I am going with 6 wins.

[rcubed]

5-7 range

[apballin]

Richardson starts week 1, takes the league by storm similar to what RG3 did. When defenses can’t prepare for something it’s just as dangerous as playing anyone in the league (Mahomes, Jackson, whoever)

They’re gonna surprise this year I’m saying 11-12

This team is still the same foundational roster that had all pros and roster full of pro bowlers

Cut the stupid turnovers and use Richardsons athleticism and by the time teams have any clue what to do it will be the end of the season and our wins will already have piled up

Remember how this team started out of the gates with Brisset…

[Ironshaft]

I picked the 5-6 win category.

While I think our defense will improve a bit over last year, I am not convinced that our O-Line will be any better and I don't think AR by himself will really move the needle much in year one.

I don't know if that will get us high enough to trade up to draft Marvin Harrision Junior but I hope it does! :)

[CletusPyle]

We are going to surprise some people....12 wins!:eek:

[Colts And Orioles]

o


13 - 3 - 1


EDIT: ) (3 and-a-Half Months Later)


12 - 4 - 1

o

[smitty46953]

Had 6-7 been a choice, i would have went with that as over/under in Vegas is 6.5 last I checked. So went 7-8 hoping for the over. :cool:

Appears to be a lot of off season optimism in this poll?

[Dam8610]

The most important position in professional sports is still in flux for this team. The roster is capable of winning the division and then some with competent QB play and decent injury luck. If Gardner Minshew is the starter, I'd expect 5-8 wins. If Anthony Richardson is the starter and teams are able to constrain him to the pocket, I'd expect 4-6 wins. If Anthony Richardson is the starter and the Colts are able to find ways to use his copious athleticism to mask his deficiencies as a passer, which I would expect to persist through the end of the season, I'd expect 10-12 wins. So there you have it, this is a 4-12 win team.

[Chromeburn]

I think the titans won the schedule release this year

https://twitter.com/titans/status/1656827454118412289?s=46&t=FvKeTlgkL8ardaxv32vrGQ

[Dam8610]

I think the titans won the schedule release this year

https://twitter.com/titans/status/1656827454118412289?s=46&t=FvKeTlgkL8ardaxv32vrGQ

The Colts are the Cowboys both times and the Jaguars actually do not exist.

[Hoopsdoc]

Richardson starts week 1, takes the league by storm similar to what RG3 did. When defenses can’t prepare for something it’s just as dangerous as playing anyone in the league (Mahomes, Jackson, whoever)

They’re gonna surprise this year I’m saying 11-12

This team is still the same foundational roster that had all pros and roster full of pro bowlers

Cut the stupid turnovers and use Richardsons athleticism and by the time teams have any clue what to do it will be the end of the season and our wins will already have piled up

Remember how this team started out of the gates with Brisset…

I like the cut of your gib.

I mean, I think you’re on crack but still……

They’ve done literally nothing with the offensive line, which was the worst in football last year. They’re banking on a new position coach and a better quarterback to make the difference.

They may prove to be right, but I’m skeptical. Ill believe it when I see it. That line was legitimately awful last year and the single biggest reason they collapsed. Most of the time, Ryan had NO chance.

And they’re going into the season with the exact same group in place? I just don’t buy it.

Until I see otherwise, I can’t predict more than 5 wins. I’d say 2-5 range.

I just hope we’re not looking back at the end of the season saying “how in the hell did Ballard not see this coming?”

[Racehorse]

o


13 - 3 - 1

o

Seems like what you pick every year. well, since the 17 game seasons started. Before that, it was always 13-3.

[Colts And Orioles]

Seems like what you pick every year. well, since the 17 game seasons started. Before that, it was always 13-3.





o


No, I always have a tie ...... in the 16-game seasons I would go with 11-4-1, 12-3-1, or 13-2-1.

o

[apballin]

I like the cut of your gib.

I mean, I think you’re on crack but still……

They’ve done literally nothing with the offensive line, which was the worst in football last year. They’re banking on a new position coach and a better quarterback to make the difference.

They may prove to be right, but I’m skeptical. Ill believe it when I see it. That line was legitimately awful last year and the single biggest reason they collapsed. Most of the time, Ryan had NO chance.

And they’re going into the season with the exact same group in place? I just don’t buy it.

Until I see otherwise, I can’t predict more than 5 wins. I’d say 2-5 range.

I just hope we’re not looking back at the end of the season saying “how in the hell did Ballard not see this coming?”

Ryan was a sitting duck that couldn’t throw over 20 yards and the defense knew it early in the season. He made the lines job harder, the threat of Richardsons legs will demand respect and back everyone the fuck up or he’ll make them pay.

Rainman played better towards the end of the year I’m fully confident Nelson will return to form and Kelly will be on a short leash. Richardson instantly changes everything for this offense

[ChaosTheory]

They’ve done literally nothing with the offensive line, which was the worst in football last year. They’re banking on a new position coach and a better quarterback to make the difference.

They may prove to be right, but I’m skeptical. Ill believe it when I see it. That line was legitimately awful last year and the single biggest reason they collapsed. Most of the time, Ryan had NO chance.


The OL that started the season with Pryor and Pinter is different than the OL that finished the season with Raimann and Fries. The latter was not in the conversation for worst in the league. It's tricky to assess that final unit because they got better when we were firing coaches weekly, benching and unbenching QB's, hiring Jeff-fucking-Saturday, shutting players down and trading, etc.

They could very realistically roll with the same lineup and look lightyears better. That said, I think we're only really talking about RG and again, there's a lot of time and it should be competitive even if we don't bring in a vet (which they still could do).

[Brylok]

I'll be the goof and do it:

1 - Sept. 10 Jacksonville Jaguars W
2 - Sept. 17 @ Houston Texans L
3 - Sept. 24 @ Baltimore Ravens L
4 - Oct. 1 Los Angeles Rams L
5 - Oct. 8 Tennessee Titans W
6 - Oct. 15 @ Jacksonville Jaguars L
7 - Oct. 22 Cleveland Browns L
8 - Oct. 29 New Orleans Saints W
9 - Nov. 5 @ Carolina Panthers L
10 - Nov. 12 @ New England Patriots. L
11 - Nov. 19 BYE WEEK
12 - Nov. 26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L
13 - Dec. 3 @ Tennessee Titans L
14 - Dec. 10 @ Cincinnati Bengals L
15 - TBD Pittsburgh Steelers Lose.
16 - Dec. 24 @ Atlanta Falcons W
17 - Dec. 31 Las Vegas Raiders L
18 - TBD Houston Texans W

Something like 4-6 wins. I voted 5-6 for the poll.

O-line questions.
Leonard/LB questions.
Young DBs, hell, youth all over the place will have to learn and take lumps.
Richardson will maybe break Peyton's rookie INTs record (Manning would be happy).

I'm still excited and optimistic! At least it will be entertaining, and we have hope in the youth and their development. Frank is gone. Nothing against him, but a breath of fresh air will be great.

On mobile, so formatting is wonky. Sorry

[ChaosTheory]

Ryan was a sitting duck that couldn’t throw over 20 yards and the defense knew it early in the season. He made the lines job harder,

Yes. Not to exonerate the OL at all (they played like shit early)... but Matt Ryan also had the most unbelievable run of turnovers I've ever seen. And these were not like blindside strip sacks by Freeney and Mathis. Every time a guy yelled near him he'd drop the ball.

The OL could've played equally as bad and if Matt Ryan would've just held on to the ball like half the time, we'd probably have had a few more early wins and a completely different chain of events.

[Spike]

Yes. Not to exonerate the OL at all (they played like shit early)... but Matt Ryan also had the most unbelievable run of turnovers I've ever seen. And these were not like blindside strip sacks by Freeney and Mathis. Every time a guy yelled near him he'd drop the ball.

The OL could've played equally as bad and if Matt Ryan would've just held on to the ball like half the time, we'd probably have had a few more early wins and a completely different chain of events.

Ryan helped us get AR, same as Painter helped us get Luck. For this, I will always be grateful for the suckiness of both sorry ass QB's.

[Chromeburn]

Damn the jags one is good too

https://twitter.com/Jaguars/status/1656814043313700864?s=20

[Mr. Session]

My brain tells me 6 wins, maybe 7.

My heart tells me they're either going to be blatantly worse than that or they'll win 11+. There will not be an in-between.

We'll see. My expectations are minimal so I'm looking forward to the new regime's product and I'm okay with the growing pains.

[apballin]

I mean let’s break down this schedule like this….

1. Lawrence
2. Stroud- rookie
3. Jackson
4. Stafford
5. Tannehill/ Levis- possible rookie
6. Lawrence again
7. Watson
8. Carr
9. Young- rookie
10. Jones
12. Mayfield
13. Tannehill/ Levi’s again
14. Burrow
15. Pickett
16. Ridder - redshirt sophomore
17. Jimmy G
18. Young again- rookie

When I look at this I see 2 elite QBs and 6 games potentially vs a rookie. Then throw in the 9 home games and 7 road games basically since the pats game is neutral. Expectations are lower so nobody is expecting much from the colts so they’ll be underdogs in most games. They can play loose all year the pressure is off.

[Colts And Orioles]

Seems like what you pick every year. well, since the 17 game seasons started. Before that, it was always 13-3.







o


No, I always have a tie ...... in the 16-game seasons I would go with 11-4-1, 12-3-1, or 13-2-1.

o
o


Good catch though, Racehorse ...... I've been pretty much a one-trick pony with my pre-season optimism for the Colts, from the Andrew Luck years through the arrival of Anthony Richardson, and everywhere in between.


The one exception in which I would have hedged my bets would have been the 2019 season when Andrew Luck shocked everybody with his abrupt retirement, which left us sitting with Jacoby Brissett as the unexpected starting quarterback for said season.

o

[Dam8610]

I mean let’s break down this schedule like this….

1. Lawrence
2. Stroud- rookie
3. Jackson
4. Stafford
5. Tannehill/ Levis- possible rookie
6. Lawrence again
7. Watson
8. Carr
9. Young- rookie
10. Jones
12. Mayfield
13. Tannehill/ Levi’s again
14. Burrow
15. Pickett
16. Ridder - redshirt sophomore
17. Jimmy G
18. Young again- rookie

When I look at this I see 2 elite QBs and 6 games potentially vs a rookie. Then throw in the 9 home games and 7 road games basically since the pats game is neutral. Expectations are lower so nobody is expecting much from the colts so they’ll be underdogs in most games. They can play loose all year the pressure is off.

Jackson and Burrow I'm guessing?

[apballin]

Jackson and Burrow I'm guessing?

Yes Lawrence isn’t elite to me

[Dam8610]

Yes Lawrence isn’t elite to me

Nor should he be, but you wouldn't believe that listening to some of the board's members talking about him.

[ChaosTheory]

My brain tells me 6 wins, maybe 7.

My heart tells me they're either going to be blatantly worse than that or they'll win 11+. There will not be an in-between.

We'll see. My expectations are minimal so I'm looking forward to the new regime's product and I'm okay with the growing pains.

I don't know how anybody could confidently predict this season because our biggest wildcard player is the most important position.

But I tend to agree with the bold. With this roster, in the unlikely event he surprises everyone and is ahead of schedule, they'll do damage. But if he needs time like most expect... QB is just weighted too heavily in the NFL and we'll struggle.

Seems like the most likely way we end up with a "meh" record is if Minshew plays most of the season.

[Colts And Orioles]

o


When you have a proverbial "Wildcard" quarterback (no pro experience, but talent and potential that is through the roof), the most important aspect of the team that is surrounding that Wildcard QB is the offensive line.


If Anthony Richardson gets the offensive line that was blocking for a 39 year-old, immobile Philip Rivers in 2020, he will have to work really hard to screw things up.


If Anthony Richardson gets the offensive line that was blocking for Matt Ryan in 2022 (ESPECIALLY in the first half of the season), it will very likely be a long, painful season for the team with the blue horseshoes on their helmets.

o

[apballin]

o


When you have a proverbial "Wildcard" quarterback (no pro experience, but talent and potential that is through the roof), the most important aspect of the team that is surrounding that Wildcard QB is the offensive line.


If Anthony Richardson gets the offensive line that was blocking for a 39 year-old, immobile Philip Rivers in 2020, he will have to work really hard to screw things up.


If Anthony Richardson gets the offensive line that was blocking for Matt Ryan in 2022 (ESPECIALLY in the first half of the season), it will very likely be a long, painful season for the team with the blue horseshoes on their helmets.

o

But I believe he makes the lines job easier especially the designed QB runs and RPO’s that eliminate half the field immediately. These guys wanna be the aggressors the don’t wanna sit in sumo positions for 5-7 seconds. Get to a spot and pancake the mfer in the way. I believe the will excel with an athletic QB and JT together

[bigalbert]

We very well could have a top 5 pick next draft. That’s my prediction


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Colts And Orioles]

o


When you have a proverbial "Wildcard" quarterback (no pro experience, but talent and potential that is through the roof), the most important aspect of the team that is surrounding that Wildcard QB is the offensive line.


If Anthony Richardson gets the offensive line that was blocking for a 39 year-old, immobile Philip Rivers in 2020, he will have to work really hard to screw things up.


If Anthony Richardson gets the offensive line that was blocking for Matt Ryan in 2022 (ESPECIALLY in the first half of the season), it will very likely be a long, painful season for the team with the blue horseshoes on their helmets.

o






But I believe that he makes the lines job easier especially the designed QB runs and RPO’s that eliminate half the field immediately. These guys wanna be the aggressors the don’t wanna sit in sumo positions for 5-7 seconds. Get to a spot and pancake the mfer in the way. I believe the will excel with an athletic QB and JT together.





o


Only to a certain extent ...... if the offensive line is God-awful, as it was for most of last year, the opponents will catch on quickly and focus on those designed runs. You have to have at least a modicum of a passing threat in order to make designed QB-runs effective on a regular basis.


Also, unless your quarterback has the strength of Jim Brown and Earl Campbell combined with the speed of Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, the designed runs won't help if there are 3 or 4 defensive linemen/linebackers deep into the backfield less than 2 full seconds after the ball is snapped, as was the case for much of last year with Matt Ryan.

o

[apballin]

o


Only to a certain extent ...... if the offensive line is God-awful, as it was for most of last year, the opponents will catch on quickly and focus on those designed runs. You have to have at least a modicum of a passing threat in order to make designed QB-runs effective on a regular basis.


Also, unless your quarterback has the strength of Jim Brown and Earl Campbell combined with the speed of Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, the designed runs won't help if there are 3 or 4 defensive linemen/linebackers deep into the backfield less than 2 full seconds after the ball is snapped, as was the case for much of last year with Matt Ryan.

o

Matt Ryan couldn’t run or threaten to throw downfield he made it so easy for opposing defenses. A stationary QB that can’t throw deep. I believe they will have a passing threat and it will be because Taylor and Richardsons running threat will create 1 on 1 opportunities. They simplified things for Hurts and he excelled… look for the same thing here next season. The offense Steichen runs does the dictating last year that wasn’t the case at all

[Colts And Orioles]

Matt Ryan couldn’t run or threaten to throw downfield he made it so easy for opposing defenses. A stationary QB that can’t throw deep. I believe they will have a passing threat and it will be because Taylor's and Richardson's running threat will create 1 on 1 opportunities. They simplified things for Hurts and he excelled… look for the same thing here next season. The offense Steichen runs does the dictating last year that wasn’t the case at all.




o


That doesn't address the offensive line, which is the most important component with an unproven, rookie quarterback. The offensive line was horrible last year. A unproven, rookie quarterback and an excellent running back won't mitigate a horrible offensive line. Play-calling, rollouts, and creativity go out the door when you have an awful offensive line.

If the Colts address and resolve that offensive line to make it at least serviceable in 2023, then Richardson will at least have a shot at being effective. If they don't, then he won't.

o

[apballin]

o


That doesn't address the offensive line, which is the most important component with an unproven, rookie quarterback. The offensive line was horrible last year. A unproven, rookie quarterback and an excellent running back won't mitigate a horrible offensive line. Play-calling, rollouts, and creativity go out the door when you have an awful offensive line.

If the Colts address and resolve that offensive line to make it at least serviceable in 2023, then Richardson will at least have a shot at being effective. If they don't, then he won't.

o


It’s already been addressed, Rainman is the LT and the experience he gained at the end of the season Richardson will benefit from. The line is set the only position up for grabs is RG.

QB play was worse than the Oline play, line can’t block them all. When 11 guys are playing in the box it’s hopeless they were fighting a losing battle last year. There’s no way these guys just forgot how to play.

[omahacolt]

The OL that started the season with Pryor and Pinter is different than the OL that finished the season with Raimann and Fries. The latter was not in the conversation for worst in the league. It's tricky to assess that final unit because they got better when we were firing coaches weekly, benching and unbenching QB's, hiring Jeff-fucking-Saturday, shutting players down and trading, etc.

They could very realistically roll with the same lineup and look lightyears better. That said, I think we're only really talking about RG and again, there's a lot of time and it should be competitive even if we don't bring in a vet (which they still could do).

i agree completely. the oline should be better even if nobody changes

[Colts And Orioles]

It’s already been addressed, Rainman is the LT and the experience he gained at the end of the season Richardson will benefit from. The line is set the only position up for grabs is RG.


The QB play was worse than the O-Line play, the line can’t block them all. When 11 guys are playing in the box it’s hopeless they were fighting a losing battle last year. There’s no way these guys just forgot how to play.




o


The offensive line was worse than the QB play last year, especially in the first half of the season. It was a minor miracle that the Colts were 3-4-1 after 8 games last year with the way that they played. If Philip Rivers had had that line blocking for him last year when he was playing for the Colts in 2020, they would have gone about 3-14 or 4-13.


If you are correct about the offensive line having been addressed, and they are at least adequate/serviceable, then Richardson at least has a chance to succeed ...... if, on the other hand, the offensive line plays as badly as they did last year, then our rookie quarterback will be in for a very long season.


So goes the offensive line, so goes the chances of Richardson and the Colts' offense to have a good season.

o

[Lov2fish]

I picked 5-6 wins. I would not be shocked if they won 10, or just 3 games. The schedule by last years team standings is weak. Just like every year some teams will surprise, good or bad. So anything can happen.

[omahacolt]

I picked 5-6 wins. I would not be shocked if they won 10, or just 3 games. The schedule by last years team standings is weak. Just like every year some teams will surprise, good or bad. So anything can happen.

i did the same. 5-6 wins but with the schedule, if we somehow found 10 wins i wouldn't be shocked.

[nate505]

I'm thinking 6. I'm just not optimistic like I have been the past few years, mostly after seeing the trainwreck of an OL last year.

[HoosierinFL]

I’m predicting a mediocre outcome as AR learns, and hopefully a decent enough draft position to pick up Marvin Jr in the mid first round in ‘24

[ukcolt]

Sam Ehlinger made a few plays with his legs, even though there was little to no threat of a passing game. At the very least we know Richardson can throw the deep ball with the very best of them, which should soften up coverages a lot. If we do have a deep threat early on in games, then i suspect that the running game will be significantly better than it was last year.

The offensive lines biggest risk to me is any sort of injury to any of them. I have little trust in the 6th or 7th guys. I am fairly comfortable that Nelson, Kelly and Smith will prove to be the players that their contract extensions warranted, with the additional experience at LT and RG, then we should be a lot better this year than last.

I know we drafted a couple of tackles, and picked up the best undrafted free agent guard, but they really shouldn't be considered anything other than the 8/9th guys on the line rotation. Pinter might be serviceable at centre, but i am not wholly convinced on that.

[IndyNorm]

Here's my picks:


1 - Sept. 10 Jacksonville Jaguars L
2 - Sept. 17 @ Houston Texans W
3 - Sept. 24 @ Baltimore Ravens L
4 - Oct. 1 Los Angeles Rams L
5 - Oct. 8 Tennessee Titans W
6 - Oct. 15 @ Jacksonville Jaguars L
7 - Oct. 22 Cleveland Browns L
8 - Oct. 29 New Orleans Saints W
9 - Nov. 5 @ Carolina Panthers L
10 - Nov. 12 @ New England Patriots L
11 - Nov. 19 BYE WEEK
12 - Nov. 26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W
13 - Dec. 3 @ Tennessee Titans L
14 - Dec. 10 @ Cincinnati Bengals L
15 - TBD Pittsburgh Steelers L
16 - Dec. 24 @ Atlanta Falcons W
17 - Dec. 31 Las Vegas Raiders W
18 - TBD Houston Texans W

[Chromeburn]

I’m leaning towards 4 wins, maybe 5. I think AR will have a tough year. Lots of turnovers with glimpses of genius. With growth happening in his second off season.

[Puck]

Had 6-7 been a choice, i would have went with that as over/under in Vegas is 6.5 last I checked. So went 7-8 hoping for the over. :cool:

Appears to be a lot of off season drunk fuckers


Fixed it for ya

[AlwaysSunnyinIndy]

Bumped the thread in case anyone wants to revisit / revise their predictions.

[CletusPyle]

We are going to surprise some people....12 wins!:eek:

The defense does not look good, unless they are sandbagging, I am backing off this prediction....8 wins!

[apballin]

I’m not changing… even though 11-12 was including Taylor

I’m sticking with my original prediction

With or without Taylor

[Racehorse]

I’m not changing… even though 11-12 was including Taylor

I’m sticking with my original prediction

With or without Taylor
I said 5-6. After the preseason, I would say 7-9, depending on the Taylor situation. I think AR is going to make mistakes, but I also think he will keep the offense on the field better than Wentz or Ryan, meaning the defense will be fresher than the past two years.