The season for the 2015 Indianapolis Colts has played out quite differently than most had imagined since talk surfaced about this team being “The Greatest Show on Turf 2.0” or as Pep Hamilton coined “The Greatest Shoe on Turf” even before the team hit the field. It certainly didn’t start that way, but the Colts now stand at 3-2 after some hard-fought wins in their division and 10 days to prepare for their next big prime time game against the league’s top scoring offense, the New England Patriots.
Reports of infighting surfaced early on with pressure squarely placed on Coach Chuck Pagano’s shoulders after opening with two straight losses and the offense looking totally out of sync. In spite of all this, plus problems with the defense and offensive lines, something changed after Pagano decided that the O-line was a disaster and he overhauled it on the fly during the Titans game. The move came a little too late against the Titans as Andrew Luck suffered a shoulder injury in the game which ultimately forced him out of the next two games, but has proved to be the right move ultimately. This on paper should have been recipe for disaster, yet something started to improve when the offense started to click.
Matt Hasselbeck came in initially to hold the fort down against the Jaguars, which he did aided by some missed kicks to help the team survive without Luck. The problem was this wasn’t going to be his only start as he would have to muster up all his strength and help the team in a “must win” game on a short turnaround while fighting off a bacterial infection and no practice for the entire week. Despite all of this, the team played a solid game besides a poorly defended “Hail Mary” at the end of the first half. Looking at you Toler.
Frank Gore was called upon to help carry the load in Luck’s absence and a weak Hasselbeck finishing just two yards short of a 100 yard rushing effort (now 46 games since that has happened for the Colts). I’ve been calling for this as a way to take pressure off Luck along with the new offensive line starting to gel. This is the perfect time to continue this more balanced approach. Besides the benefit of a respectable run game this also opened up the passing game which has been on lock down most of the year.
The biggest non-factor in the Colts offense leading up to this game, Andre Johnson, finally had his breakout game as a member of the team. This was especially satisfying for him as it came against his former team that had basically asked him to hit the road along with speculation that maybe he was done (I was beginning to think that was the case). I was glad to see him have that type of game (2 TD’s and 6 receptions and 77 yards) as Johnson seemed to be a perfect fit this off-season.
All of this came together for one reason and one reason only, Chuck Pagano. Sure he has made some horrible coaching decisions and game plans, but he has always had the heart of the players and has managed to inspire this team to play football that has defied the odds at times, like Thursday’s game against Houston. The deck was seemingly stacked against them yet the team didn’t fall into that trap. They could have easily folded up once news came down that Luck wouldn’t be playing, but that isn’t the make up of this team. Pagano is able to take in all the negatively and filter it out to protect his players and coaches.
These last three games may not have been the prettiest games to watch from a fan’s perspective, but these may ultimately be exactly what the team needed to get things going for the season. These were big games to get things fixed prior to facing the Patriots who will be looking to put a beat down on the Colts after the fallout from the “Deflategate” scandal prior to the start of the season. The team will probably downplay the significance of this game publicly, but behind closed doors this is the game that they know will ultimately determine their place in the AFC’s pecking order. I hope this isn’t a mirage and I don’t think it is. I believe it’s the start of what could be team we thought could be “The Greatest Show on Turf 2.0”. If it is, remember that Coach Pagano rolled the dice changing the offensive line, weathering a storm minus Luck for a few games, and questions concerning offseason signings like Gore and Johnson and has ignored all the rumors swirling about his future and just focused on the task at hand-the next game. Well, the next game is a big one and one I’d like to see Chuck get a win against them, but it’s a game that will test this team. One game at a time is the new model for this team right now and sometimes that is what it takes!
