Colts trying to erase memories of 2021 finish
Aug. 19—WESTFIELD — The Indianapolis Colts aren't about to forget the way the 2021 season ended anytime soon.
Losses at home against the Las Vegas Raiders and on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars kept the team from making its third playoff appearance in four seasons. And the latter defeat — coming against the team with the No. 1 overall pick — ranks as one of the most embarrassing in NFL history.
Change was sweeping in the offseason. Most notably 37-year-old Matt Ryan is in as the fifth starting quarterback in as many seasons, and Gus Bradley takes over as the defensive coordinator.
Bradley's scheme is a close relative to the one used for the past four seasons by Matt Eberflus — now the head coach of the Chicago Bears — but he's got a critical pair of new starters at his disposal in defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
Other changes are less headline-worthy. Matt Pryor is the new starter at left tackle, and Danny Pinter takes over at right guard.
Second-round rookie Alec Pierce and oft-injured Parris Campbell will be asked to lead a young and inexperienced wide receiver corps behind 2021 breakout star Michael Pittman Jr., and Mo Alie-Cox leads a similarly inexperienced tight end room after the retirement of Jack Doyle.
The defense will anxiously await the return of linebacker Shaquille Leonard, who is on the physically unable to perform list while rehabbing his ankle, but the hope is he'll be ready to go early in the regular season.
Star running back Jonathan Taylor also is sitting out the preseason, but that is by head coach Frank Reich's decision. He'll again be the engine of an offense that hopes to get fellow running back Nyheim Hines more involved and to find more balance with a passing attack that ranked 26th in the league last year.
The franchise has had great expectations for several years now, but it's not been able to fulfill them. The Colts haven't won the AFC South since 2014, and they haven't started a season 1-0 since 2013.
They hope to change the latter on Sept. 11 at the Houston Texans. Then it's a trip to Jacksonville to exorcise the demons of last season.
Five of the first seven games are against divisional opponents, making a fast start a necessity.
But Indianapolis is being very careful not to get too far ahead of itself.
There's an energy around the team as it buys into Ryan as a leader, and the defense continues to show it could be one of the league's best units this fall.
But players are quick to tamp down any talk of postseason success.
The loss to the Jaguars lingers, and the scar might never fade away completely.
"I would just say it's a new season," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "I feel like last year a lot of times we kind of, I thought, leaned a little bit on who we were supposed to be or what people kind of thought of us.
"Let's just kind of go into this (season) — all boxes are unchecked. Let's just check them all as we go through."
