New York Giants Fans know all too well how the 2022-23 season ends for the 4-10-1. Indianapolis Colts. Can the Colts muster the will to destroy what the Giants and their fans hope will be a Sunday playoff celebration at MetLife Stadium? We ask that and more in this week’s “5 Questions” segment.
SB Nation’s Chris Shepherd Scramble Blue answers our questions.
Ed: The Colts used three quarterbacks, which basically means they don’t have a quarterback. Is there any doubt in your mind that the team should use their first pick in the draft on a QB?
Cris: Absolutely no doubt. Some Colts fans are still against drafting a first-round QB because they don’t see anyone they like. Even though I understand that you don’t want to pick up a guy just to pick him up, at some point you to have take a swing. Chris Ballard and his team have dropped the box long enough, now they have to make a decision.
Ed: What do you think of Jeff Saturday’s experience as a head coach?
Cris: I am still stunned by this decision. I can’t believe he’s the head coach (interim or not) of the Indianapolis Colts. I blasted the decision when it happened and then, as we all predicted, the Colts got worse. Frank Reich is a good coach who took the fall for an abysmal offensive roster. In many ways, it’s not Jeff Saturday’s fault. I have no hard feelings towards him, my problem with all of this is with the owner Jim Irsay. What’s worse is that I truly believe Jim Irsay believed hiring Jeff on Saturday would win the Colts more games. And it looks like Irsay is getting in on it more than he ever has in the past. After what he has done this season, I have no confidence in his ability to make decisions.
Ed: If you could take one player off the Giants roster and put him on the Colts roster, who would it be? Why?
Cris: I think the obvious answer is Andrew Thomas. The biggest problem for the Colts this year has come up front, the offensive line has gone from an object disaster to now just below par. Bernhard Raimann, the Colts’ rookie third-round left tackle, is fine all told and he’s improved over the season, but I’d trade him in a second for Andrew Thomas. Any time you have a chance to land a first left tackle, especially one that’s only 23, you do. Thomas would instantly improve the 2022 Colts, but he would give the 2023 Colts the opportunity to get back into the mix with a strong draft class.
Ed: In what has been a miserable season, can you name a few players who have had some good surprises this season?
Cris: Jelani Woods, tight end. The Colts drafted the rookie from Virginia in the third round. Rookie tight ends usually have a hard time transitioning to the NFL, but Woods has had the upper hand. If you look at the stat sheet it doesn’t tell the whole story, you have to consider that in the middle of the Colts season a lot of stupid and horrible things were going on and for some reason or another, the Colts’ QB just didn’t throw his way. But any time Woods gets the ball back, it seems like a big play. He caught 21 passes for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns, barely break-even numbers, but my expectations were low heading into the season and considering the way things went, he did very well.
On the defensive side of the ball, rookie safety Rodney Thomas II was a huge surprise. The Colts drafted Thomas in the seventh round from Yale. Fans weren’t expecting anything from a former Ivy League seventh-rounder, but he’s started 8 games and has five pass breakups and three steals. He may never become a superstar, but it looks like he’ll be a solid starter for years to come and finding a guy like that in the seventh round of the draft is quite surprising.
Ed: DraftKings currently has the Giants as 5.5-point favorites. Can you find any reason to be optimistic that the Colts can enter MetLife Stadium and ruin what the Giants and their fans are hoping will be a playoff-breaking celebration?
Cris: Any reason? Of course, the Colts defense was really, really good for the first half of the season. But I think those days are over. The young guys finished a terrible season and there’s no more pride in playing when you give up a 33-point lead to the Vikings. So while I think the defense has the ability to play well and give the Giants offense a hard time, I don’t think they have the willpower to do so. So other than that, there’s no reason for the Colts to win this game. The head coach led a low-level high school team to an all-time record of 20-16. Players are controlled. Quarterbacks are bad. The lights are on for this Colts team but no one is home.
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