It’s that time of year again. Here are three burning questions for the Indianapolis Colts.
Does Rivers have anything left?
After 16 seasons under center for the Chargers (and one 2004 draft-day trade with the New York Giants), Philip Rivers signed with the Colts this past offseason. While his passion for the game is close to unmatched, he is also known for making bad throws at the most inopportune times.
This move was somewhat of a head-scratcher to many given the fact that last season’s starting quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, played very well after Andrew Luck abruptly announced his retirement shortly before the start of the season. Brissett had his team in playoff contention despite the receiving corps being depleted at the tail end of the season due to injuries.
Rivers will be in a division that seems to be a three-team race through the last quarter of every season, instead of a division with one team running away like he witnessed in the AFC West. Thus, the margin for error is even thinner.
Can their secondary stay healthy?
Equally detrimental to this team during the waning weeks of last season was the injury-plagued secondary. This, in turn, made the defensive front less effective.
Former Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes is the newest member of the Indianapolis secondary. The seven-year veteran from Florida State’s leadership should help if the injury bug happens to strike this bunch again in 2020.
The addition of disruptive defensive tackle DeForest Buckner up-front combined with defensive end Justin Houston and linebacker Darius Leonard should also alleviate some of the strain on the secondary.
Was last season a fluke for Mack?
Marlon Mack posted a career-high 1,091 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in 2019. He should be able to duplicate that and likely surpass those numbers with Rivers under center.
Mack will also become more involved in the passing game with Rivers at the helm, similar to the Colts’ new signal-caller’s running backs during his tenure with the Chargers: Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler, and LaDainian Tomlinson.
Mack could tally close to 2,000 total yards from scrimmage this season.
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