Schedule Preview – Colts
July 13, 2022
By Noonefromtampa
The Indianapolis Colts are the Commanders’ week 8 matchup. This game will be hyped as the “Carson Wentz Revenge Game”. I’m not sure that Wentz will view the game the same way, but the media likes to create drama around games to increase interest and viewership.
The Colts have a four-game winning streak against Washington going into this game dating back to 2006.
Game Details
Opponent: Indianapolis Colts
When: Sunday, October 30 at 4:25 P.M.
Where: away game, Lucas Oil Stadium
TV Network: Fox
2021 Colts
Record: 9-8
Offense: 16th [passing 26th, rushing 2nd]
Defense: 16th [passing 19th, rushing 10th]
Points Scored: 9th
Points Allowed: 10th
Head-to-Head: 21-10 regular season
Colts Coaching
Frank Reich is entering his fifth year as head coach of the Colts. He has a 37-28 regular season record and is 1-2 in the playoffs. Reich was a long-time NFL backup quarterback best known for the comeback win of the ages on January 3, 1993, in which he led the Bills to an exciting 41-38 overtime in a wild card playoff game over the Houston Oilers. Reich broke into coaching with the Colts back in 2006 and served as the offensive coordinator for the Chargers and Eagles before becoming head coach. He is 1-0 lifetime as a head coach against Washington.
Marcus Brady has been the offensive coordinator since 2021 and previously was the quarterbacks coach. He was promoted to the position after Nick Sirianni got the Eagles head coaching job. Before coming to the NFL in 2018, Brady spent nine years as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in the Canadian Football League.
Gus Bradley takes over as defensive coordinator from Matt Eberflus who became the Chicago Bears head coach this past offseason. Bradley was the architect of Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” defenses a decade ago. More recently he was the defensive coordinator for the Raiders in 2021 and the Chargers from 2017 to 2020. He was also the Jaguars head coach from 2013 to 2016.
Colts Schemes
The Colts run the Ken Whisenhunt modified version of the West Coast offense. For the running game, they run a mixture of gap and zone blocking rushing plays, occasionally using a tight-end H-back as a lead blocker. The passing game contains a lot of the West Coast route trees, but they focus on creating traffic through the secondary to isolate the intended target of the pass attempt. The idea is to stress the defensive secondary and force them into mistakes.
Even with the change in defensive coordinators, the Colts are expected to maintain the 4-3 defense they have been running the last several years. Teams will rely on films of the prior Colts and Raiders defenses to prepare for the first few games of the regular season, until they know what wrinkles that Bradley has installed into the scheme.
Roster Changes
Key Losses: QB Carson Wentz (trade-WAS), G Mark Glowinski (NYG), S George Odum (SF), DE Al-Quadin Muhammad (CHI), G Chris Reed (MIN), RB Marlon Mack (HOU), DE Kemoko Turay (SF), WR Zach Pascal (PHI), T Eric Fisher (UFA), WR T.Y. Hilton (UFA), CB Xavier Rhodes (UFA), TE Jack Doyle (retired)
Key Additions: QB Matt Ryan (trade-ATL), CB Stephon Gilmore (CAR), QB Nick Foles (CHI), CB Brandon Facyson (LV), S Rodney McLeod (PHI), T Dennis Kelly (GB), S Brandon King (NE), S Armani Watts (KC)
Draft Picks: WR Alec Pierce (2-53), TE Jelani Woods (3-73), OL Bernhard Raimann (3-77), S Nick Cross (3-96), DT Eric Johnson (5-159), TE Andrew Ogletree (6-192), DT Curtis Brooks (6-216), LB Rodney Thomas II (7-239)
Key Players Returning: RB Jonathan Taylor, WR Michael Pittman Jr., C Ryan Kelly, G Quenton Nelson, TE Mo Alie-Cox, T Braden Smith, T Matt Pryor, WR Parris Campbell, LB Bobby Okereke, LB Darius Leonard, CB Kenny Moore, DT DeForest Buckner, CB Rock Ya-Sin, S Julian Blackmon, DE Kwity Paye
Conclusions
The 2022 Colts are hard to predict. They had some significant roster churn this offseason and it remains to be seen if they have addressed weaknesses on the offensive line and the receiving corps. They will have to rely of two rookies (Pierce and Woods) to produce for an aging Matt Ryan. The running game should be good so long as Jonathan Taylor is healthy. Defensively, the Colts are led by Darius Leonard and on paper look to be as good as last season. One gets a sense this may be a boom or bust season for the Colts and their head coach. The owner, the unpredictable Jim Irsay, could decide to blow up the team if they don’t produce this year.
Noone’s Prediction
I think the pressure will be on Frank Reich to win this game at all costs, to show that the owner made the right decision to trade Carson Wentz away after only one season. I’m sure that Wentz would like to win and rub Irsay’s nose in it. I have the Colts winning this one in a close 24-23 game.