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- Mar 19, 2019
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Even without Luck, Indianapolis returns 20-of-22 offensive and defensive starters from last year’s team that went on the road to defeat the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs before bowing out to the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round.
On offense, a fully-healthy Marlon Mack returns to the backfield after collecting 874 rushing yards from Weeks 6-17 last year, which ranked fourth among all NFL running backs; he also tied for third with nine rushing touchdowns over that span.
Back to haul in passes for the Colts are Pro Bowl tight ends Jack Doyle and Eric Ebron; Ebron in 2018 led all NFL tight ends with 13 receiving touchdowns, which ranked tied for second among all players in the league. At receiver there’s, of course, perennial Pro Bowler T.Y. Hilton, whose 951 receiving yards the second half of the season last year were tops in the NFL, as well as newcomers Devin Funchess and the speedy rookie Parris Campbell, among others.
And just as important: all five starting offensive linemen return from last year’s unit that finished first in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed (18).
Meanwhile, on defense, all 11 starters return; the unit was also bolstered this offseason by the addition of free agent pass rusher Justin Houston as well as seven 2019 draft picks on that side of the ball, five of which are on track to possibly make immediate impacts starting Week 1 as starters or key role players.
“We’ve got a good football team,” Ballard said. “We’re young, good on both fronts with some good, young, skill players.”
But quarterback is obviously the most important position in sports, and the Colts feel as if they have a more-than-capable replacement ready who will be able to step up, make plays and lead the team on and off the field.
Jacoby Brissett returns for his third year with the Colts in 2019, and has the benefit of not only having started 17 games over his first three NFL seasons — including 15 with the Colts back in 2017 — but he’s also taken all the first-team reps in practice in Luck’s place since the very beginning of the offseason workout program through the end of the preseason.
That’s more than 1,200 first-team reps, for those keeping track at home.
“That's more than an entire season,” Reich said. “Then that doesn't even count what he took last year in the offseason. So Jacoby's had the good fortune, I guess you could say, of getting a ton of work. And I think that that radically shows in his confidence and how he's developed as a quarterback.”
That development, Reich said, has led to “great functional play strength.”
“In the pocket he is hard to bring down,” Reich continued. “He can extend plays and you have to do that a lot in this league. When somebody rushes by you and a big defensive lineman puts his hands on you, he is not phased by it. He can keep his eyes down the field. He’s got this toughness about him.”