I think the earliest sign that we may be at minimum competitive, is seeing Daniel Jones play a good quarter of football in the preseason. I’d actually be okay with two good series. But just because it is the earliest sign, will his health be the single most important indicator of a successful season? Besides, I’m talking about how a guy looks in preseason, which doesn’t translate into regular season success.
It is probably best to determine just what would constitute a successful season. I put out a poll sometime ago, asking if you would prefer the Colts winning and re-sign Ballard, or are you hoping that the season is bad enough to see him relieved of his duties. 70%ish, said that they preferred the season that was successful enough to retain the GM. I think that sort of season requires a division win and a home playoff victory.
So, although feeling good about Jones’ health may be the earliest sign that we could be in the mix, does his success make you feel like we have a good team? Many were skeptical after watching him torch the league for 10 games. Bad competition and a defense that did very little to impose their will on opposition offenses, were the most common factors in this skepticism. Some believe that we were exposed by the Steelers and that we would not be able to sustain our lofty level of offense, when facing the better teams.
We all likely have our own measuring stick for our expectations and many have already made their determination as to how the season is going to look. If you have a vision of us being bad, it is likely going to take more for you to see us being good. If your vision is already on the positive side, you may be more apt to seeing just a couple of things go our way. There are some things I will be looking at, but I’d like to know yours as well.
I know we have talked about the first five games being much stronger this year, than last year’s. I am going to reduce that down to the first three. A 2 – 1 record against the Ravens, Chiefs and Texan would be a pretty good indicator that the Colts are on track. It may not be the biggest indicator, as no team is who they will eventually be, in the first three weeks of the season, but if we a scoring 30 and keeping the Jackson, Mahomes and Stroud led offenses at arms length, it should eliminate some of the “bad competition” narrative of last year. The double up on this would be a win against a Texans team that has had our number since Ryans’ was hired. We may also be showing that bad starts do not have to be a Colts staple.
I also believe that for fans to believe that we are good enough to make some noise, a couple of games where the defense is the driving force of a win would go a long way. Not just a late stop to hold on to a 31 – 30 lead, but a game or two against what appears to be a quality offense, where we make them look rattled. Maybe a nice five sack, four turnover outing? Even a couple of games where we make an offense look one dimensional and not so hot with that dimension, would be a welcomed sight.
Another confirmation of seeing the 2026 squad shed some of the baggage of previous years, would be ending the Duvall curse. Week 8, November 1st, sees us travel to Jacksonville to see us try to make Homer Simpson’s workplace billboard read zero. Jacksonville could be the cream of the South this year. They are Jekyll and Hydeish, but Jekyll always is waiting for us and often, it is not close. Should the Colts go in there and end that drought, with even a squeaker, or a Lawrence less effort, we could believe that things might actually be going our way.
If none of those options get you fired up enough to place a 100 dollar bill at 25 – 1 (after we have looked good), you will probably point to last year and need to see us at our best in December and January. That is a completely reasonable outlook, because another one of those things we need to see is the anti-wilt. Losing to the Browns late in the year, when a win would secure a playoff spot, would be an indication that nothing has changed. Moving companies might actually reach out to Ballard and Steichen to get a jump on the process.
So what is going to get you to the point of believing that the Colts could play in the AFC Championship game or beyond?
I’m already there.
Going 2 – 1 or better in the first 3 weeks against tough competition.
Seeing the defense carry us to a couple of wins.
Carrying a good record into week 8 and beating the Jaguars.
Playing our best in December and January.
Once the current staff has been replaced.
No poll, just something to consider and chime in about.
