Posts: 2,906
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Joined: Jan 2013
I've written about this before, but if I were Andrew, I'd be pretty thrilled about the front office change before last season (firing the woeful Ryan Grigson and hiring in-demand Chris Ballard as GM, who has put two pretty darn good drafts together) and the coaching change this past season (firing ultraconservative and imagination-less Chuck Pagano and hiring an aggressive playcaller and former QB in Frank Reich who helped coax a Super Bowl MVP performance out of Nick Foles).
Irsay tends to be too loyal to his people and too slow to recognize that they're not good enough for the job. That's where his faults as an owner lie. But he got there in the end, and with Ballard spending two of the first three picks this year on offensive guards, there's a clear recognition that they needed to do a better job of protecting the franchise's most important player. Plus, Irsay is happy to spend for a winner, so if these Ballard draft picks pan out, I think it's reasonable to expect that they'll spend to keep the core together.
In short, the signs are pointing in a positive direction. The offensive line could actually be a strength for the Colts this year, which is wild to think. What that can do for the running game (they don't have a "bell cow" running back, but they have really nice complementary pieces in Marlon Mack (runs well outside and catches the ball well), Nyheim Hines (small, but crazy fast and shifty), and Jordan Wilkins (a really smooth inside runner)), and in turn, to open up the passing game for Andrew? This will be the best OL he's played behind in the pros. I like the moves at the skill positions, too. You still have T.Y. Hilton and reliable Jack Doyle, and you add a great slot guy in Ryan Grant, an athletic tight end that's a mismatch against linebackers in Eric Ebron, and you get a couple of late-round steals at WR in Clemson's Deon Cain (I'm convinced he's going to be very good) and a small-school speedster in Daurice Fountain, and the makings of a dangerous offense are all there.
The defense still feels a year or two away, but there are some good young pieces in place. I think Andrew was certainly poorly served by the old Grigson-Pagano regime, but I think he's very well-served by the Ballard-Reich regime.
