Annual Kickoff Luncheon: Colts Are ‘Ready To Go’ For 2019

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» “Mixed emotions:” Next was the players’ turn to take the stage and answer some questions from Saturday. Joining Brissett were left tackle Anthony Castonzo, tight end Eric Ebron, linebacker Darius Leonard and cornerback Kenny Moore II.


Brissett spoke to what he has been feeling in the last few days since Luck’s announcement, and since he was handed over the reins of the offense.


“It’s been a crazy week, an eventful week of mixed emotions — like (for) all this team,” he said. “Not necessarily about losing Andrew as a player but as a teammate we see every day. That’s the tough thing to get used to, but I’m wrapping my mind around it.”


Brissett, who started 15 games for the Colts in 2017 as Luck recovered from shoulder surgery, was originally drafted by the New England Patriots, where he backed up Tom Brady. He said he learned two key attributes from both Brady and Luck: preparation and self-confidence.


“Those two guys have separated themselves in the league based on their preparation … and the preparation is key for us,” Brissett said. “The thing I have to do is be me, just be myself, and the guys here accept me, and all I can do is be myself and go forward.”


“Being myself” was a theme for pretty much every player that talked on Wednesday. Castonzo, for example, said that approach has been key over the years as he’s turned into a trusted veteran. And Ebron said that approach was key in 2018 when he put in a career year in his first season in Indy.


From the top down, the Colts aren’t trying to be something they’re not; every player was selected to the team’s roster for a reason, and together they feel they can do something special in 2019.


“It was fun during the offseason to watch as a group and as a team them do things unsupervised,” Ballard said. “These guys would hang out and do things together, and that’s a powerful thing, when you get into the season and when you hit those moments, when you hit those moments when things aren’t going right, nobody hits the panic mode.”


The Colts today travel to Cincinnati ahead of Thursday’s preseason finale against the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. The team then faces a 4 p.m. ET deadline on Saturday to cut down to its initial 53-man regular season roster.