As four teams prepare for their respective conference championships, 28 teams are preparing for the long offseason that looms ahead. Some teams realize that they are in rebuilding mode, some teams fell like they're one piece away from being a Super Bowl worthy team. Then there are the teams who are in the middle, not really in a rebuilding phase, but not that close to being a title contender. One of those teams, and probably the most confusing, are the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts, who are coming off an 8-8 season, which landed them third in their division, which is by far the worst division in football, are looking for many answers as they enter the offseason, particularly with their roster, as they are looking for key pieces that hopefully will catapult them back to being title contenders.

Don't Waste Luck

One place the Colts don't have to worry about is at the quarterback position. Andrew Luck is coming off a pretty good season, throwing 31 touchdowns and having a total QBR (quarterback rating) of 71.2. The problem with Luck throughout his career has been his turnovers, and this season was no different, committing a total of 16 turnovers this season. Much of that is on him but you could place the blame on the offensive line as well (don't worry, I'll get to them later). Luck is one of the best young quarterbacks in the game, but he could be one of the ones who will end up being wasted. Yes, the Colts locked him up in one of the highest contracts in NFL history, but according to GM Ryan Grigson, that is now impeding them from picking up the pieces they need to be successful.

Well Luck was on a rookie contract for the first five years, so nobody is buying that excuse. Grigson and Owner Jim Irsay, are wasting Luck's talent and fans are getting sick of the games that the Colts front office are playing. One fan even took it far enough to place a sign saying "Don't Waste Luck" in front of the Colts facility.

The Colts have what most teams want and need in the NFL, which is a franchise quarterback. They are sitting on Luck's talent and the need to put pieces around him soon, very soon.

Pick up Talent, Young Talent

Now the Colts have made some moves in the past few offseasons which definitely turned some heads.

The signed veterans like WR Andre Johnson, DE Trent Cole, and LB D'Qwell Jackson. It backfired, to say the least, as those players didn't live up to expectations. The misuse of their draft picks has been quite the story, most notably picking Miami WR Phillip Dorsett in the first round. If anyone is to blame, point your finger to Grigson, who is paid to bring in talent and use draft picks wisely. For example, Why would you do that if you already had proven receivers like T.Y Hilton and Donte Moncrief? The defense is old and lacking that star player most defenses have. Arguably their best player, Erik Walden, is up for free agency and Robert Mathis is officially retired, so this might be the window the Colts need to revamp that defense.

The Colts ranked in the bottom in yards allowed this season (30th to be exact) and 27th against the pass this season. The Colts were the team with the highest average age (27.7) in 2015 and 2016 they were most likely around that area. That just shows that these old Colts (that's contradictory) need to look to add some good, young talent. The biggest concern is that dreadful offensive line. Allowing a total of 44 sacks, that line is in need of some work. That started the process already with Ryan Kelly having a season under his belt and Anthony Castonzo being the anchor, the other spots are going to need to be filled with lineman who actually like doing their job, which is protecting Luck. We see that if Luck has time, he can shred a defense, but he needs to be upright to do so.

The Colts are far better than the 8-8 team they have been the last two seasons, and this offseason they need to focus on the defense and the offensive line if they want to even smell the Lombardi Trophy next year.
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