Puttingthe 8 losses into perspective

[Kray007]

8 losses are 8 losses. I get that; nothing I say or write here can take away the sting of losing to a miserable Jacksonville team.

But, I dunno. There is something about playing the Jags that this team has problems with, it’s almost like one of those Russian puzzle boxes that just when you think you got it figured out, you’re back to square one.

So, I figure that getting my shorts in a ball after any game against Jacksonville is an exercise in futility. It feels like no matter how much talent the Colts put on the field, no matter how superior they are, Jacksonville is going to give them problems.

That leaves seven games, seven losses. Two of them came against Houston, two losses by a total of five points, two games whose results could’ve changed if the ball had just bounced a little differently. That having been said, the Texans, according to ESPN’s power ratings are the 13th best team in the league.

The other losses included:

The Broncos at number 10. There’s really not much to say about the loss in Denver that hasn’t been said. In my mind this is a game the Colts should have won. It was just chock full of would’a, should’a could’a moments. If Jonathan Taylor doesn’t fumble, if Mitchell doesn’t throw the interception (I know the rulebook says that it wasn’t an interception, but I know an interception when I see one), the Colts win going away.

The other losses were to:

Buffalo at number 1
Detroit at number 2
Minnesota, number 5
and the Pack at number 6

And this came in a year in which they were breaking in the greenest of Quarterbacks, dealing with injuries that decimated the right side of the Offensive Line, and were hobbled on D by the absence of their best pass rusher and Corner.

In addition, there was a myriad of nicks, cuts, and bruises that plagued the wide receiver room and cost Josh Downs, Michael, Pittman, and Alec Pierce playing time.

In 11 days, the Colts will likely pack up their tents and head home for the off-season with a 9-8 record. A great many people will point out that it makes the second season in a row to end with the same record. Some of the talking heads in the Indy media, what Spiro Agnew called the chattering classes, will try to convince you that the team is stagnating and call for major changes to take place. I can’t imagine a worse idea. The teams future hinges on Anthony Richardson, and I think that he has begun to morph into the kind of player that can lead this team to great things. He needs a healthy off-season to work on the things that separate man from boy at his position. He seems to have made strides with his mechanics, when he throws the ball, it seems to go where he wants it to. Now, he simply needs to get better with anticipation and timing.

If Richardson can do that, if Ballard adds just a few more pieces, the Colts go from pretender to contender, and next year’s Christmas is a lot more merry and bright.