The Indianapolis Colts are one of the fastest rising teams in the league following a sensational turnaround during the 2018 season that saw them make it to the AFC divisional round.
As the Colts hope to usher in a new era of dominance that stuck with the team for so long during the 2000s, there will be a few areas in which proving the doubters wrong will be necessary.
Here are four things the Colts must prove to skeptics in 2019:
2018 wasn’t a fluke
After years of mediocrity and even a rough losing season, the Colts entered the 2018 campaign as a team with mixed predictions. Some had the Colts returning as a solid team with Andrew Luck back while others believed it would be more of the same.
The Colts proved just about everyone wrong finishing the season with a 10-6 record and reaching the divisional round of the playoffs. Now, the Colts must prove that the incredible streak they enjoyed during the second half of the season was no fluke.
It’s been seen many times as a team gets hot and goes on a strong run only to falter the next season. The Colts will be out to prove that 2018 was simply the beginning of a strong run.
The pass rush will have an impact
Adding to the pass rush was the No. 1 priority this offseason for the Colts. They have some solid players along the front seven, but the consistency the unit showed when getting after the quarterback wasn’t there.
The Colts made some big additions to the pass rush this offseason. The biggest likely comes in the form of veteran Justin Houston, who was signed out of free agency. They also are likely to use second-round pick Ben Banogu in a pass-rushing role at times.
The pass rush is the biggest hindrance on the roster right now, but that can all change if the unit proves the moves made during the offseason were the right ones.
Firing Dave DeGuglielmo was the right move
The Colts made a shocking move this offseason when they fired DeGuglielmo in favor of hiring Chris Strausser and Howard Mudd. While on paper it looks like a solid move, how the offensive line performs following the change remains to be seen.
This isn’t to say the Colts shouldn’t have made the move, but DeGuglielmo did appear to get the best out of the unit when it mattered. Now, the Colts are moving in a more technical phase as Strausser and Mudd will help the offensive line with the fundamentals.
The offensive line is a unit that holds the fate of the entire offense in its hands. The success of the group will take the Colts extremely far, but they must prove that firing DeGuglielmo in favor of Strausser and Mudd was the right thing to do.
The rushing attack will improve
There is a lot of upside to be had in the Colts backfield. Marlon Mack leads the way while Nyheim Hines has carved out a role as a pass catcher. However, the unit must prove they can make improvements from year to year if the offense is going to become elite.
Head coach Frank Reich has made it a point to improve the rushing attack to be a top-five unit in the NFL. If the Colts can do that, the entire offensive unit will be an elite group during the 2019 season.
Having more consistency is the name of the game for the backfield, and there is a lot of encouragement from the group this offseason. However, they must prove they are taking steps in the right direction after all of the offseason focus.
