Even though I had to settle for listening on the radio, it was nice to finally catch the NFL on a Sunday afternoon again.
The Colts destroyed St. Louis while I coincidentally was driving from Indianapolis to St. Louis. It was certainly encouraging to listen while the Colts' rookie quarterback, Andrew Luck, matched Peyton Manning's debut by throwing a short pass to Donald Brown on his first play as an NFL QB that was turned into the first touchdown of the season.
The entire Colts team played well, racking up a 38-3 victory. It's not enough to gloat or declare the Colts are back. Because after all, it was the first preseason game and it was against the lowly Rams.
However, Luck seemed poised and effective. The offensive line seemed solid. The running backs corps seemed capable. The defense managed to mostly dominate.
But were these promising signs really showing us that the Colts' new front office and new coaching staff were successful at going out and finding a a bunch of great young players and preparing them to play well at the NFL level? Or did we just get a preview of how bad the Rams might be this year?
My hope is that the Colts have indeed found the right bunch of draft picks and free agents to give the fans an exciting and competitive season. My prediction is that the Colts will go about 6-10 and miss the playoffs. If they end 8-8 on the year, I think that would be an overachievement.
As long as they get better as the season goes along and give us hope for the future. That might at least ease the pain a little bit in February when we're watching Peyton and the Broncos going against the Packers in the Super Bowl.
Then again, the AFC South doesn't look particularly strong going into the season. The Texans are ahead of everyone else, while Jacksonville and Tennessee both look beatable. Who knows, maybe the Colts can steal a playoff berth by sweeping the weaker teams and splitting with Houston? It's not completely impossible, is it?
Whatever happens, it's all just fun.
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