2014 Colts Pre-Season

With the pre-season out of the way we have a much clearer picture of the Colts starting lineups. It's hard to read too much from scores, with the Colts finishing 2-2, but with Andrew Luck leaving after the first few series things didn't look great. Outside of the 25-7 victory over the NY Giants there wasn't much to get Colts fans excited.

PROJECTED DEPTH CHART

Indianapolis Colts Depth Chart - 2014
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	R. Wayne	H. Nicks
TE	D. Allen	C. Fleener
LT	A. Castonzo	J. Reitz
LG	D. Thomas	J. Mewhort
C	K. Holmes	T. Austin
RG	H. Thornton	L. Louis
RT	G. Cherilus	X. Nixon
WR	T.Y. Hilton	D. Rogers
QB	A. Luck	M. Hasselbeck
FB	S. Havili
HB	T. Richardson	A. Bradshaw
Base 3-4 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	C. Redding	R. Jean Francois
NT	B. McKinney	M. Hughes
RDE	A. Jones	F. Moala
LOLB	B. Werner	E. Walden
LILB	J. Freeman	A. Jackson
RILB	D. Jackson	K. Sheppard
ROLB	R. Mathis	C. Johsnon
CB	V. Davis	G. Toler
SS	M. Adams	C. Anderson
FS	L. Landry	S. Brown
CB	D. Butler	J. Gordy
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	A. Vinatieri
P	P. McAfee
PR	D. Moncrief
KR	D. Moncrief

OTA / PRE-SEASON ANSWERS

Quarterback : It wasn't really a question to start with, but if the Colts have a definitive answer anywhere it's under center. Andrew Luck is one of the best young quarterbacks (if not overall) in the NFL, and he should continue to drive the Colts. As Luck goes, so does the offense, which should be no surprise. It's all going to come down to the talent around him in 2015, even though they managed to exceed projections the last two seasons.

Luck may need an MVP season to get the Colts into the playoffs.

Special Teams : Adam Viniateri and Pat McAfee return, with Viniateri basically on the verge of retirement, and both continue to be solid. Griff Whalen and Donte Moncrief fought it out for return duties with Moncrief getting the nod after Whalen was cut. Coaches have eyed T.Y. Hilton for return duties, but he may be too valuable if Wayne or Nicks goes down with an injury.

Tight End : The assumption is that offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton is going to go with more two-TE formations and emphasize the run this year. The organization has been excited about Dwayne Allen, who basically missed all of 2013 with an injury, and Coby Fleener. Fleener, a former college teammate of Luck, hasn't been able to produce the numbers expected from their relationship, but with Allen out he performed well in 2013 (52REC, 608YDS, 4TD) and hopes are that he will continue to be productive. Look for Luck to find his TE tandum if the WR group struggles with injury or performance.

FALL QUESTIONS

Defense : Alot of new faces next to ROLB Robert Mathis didn't do much to improve a unit that was 26th against the run in 2013. The Colts were decent against the pass (13th), but with SS Delano Howell moving into a starting role and CB Darius Butler starting opposite Vontae Davis, it's hard to see the Colts ranking as well in pass coverage. The Davis-Butler tandem have the ceiling of a very good pass defense, but it's hard to tell if that is ever going to materialize. The defensive line, coming out of a 3-4 scheme, is probably going to be just as bad if not worse this year. If the Colts are going to win the division or have a shot at the Wild Card they are not going to be able to depend on their defense, this is a unit that needs to be rebuilt as soon as possible.

Can Vontae Davis hold down the secondary by himself?

HB Pecking Order : Trent Richardson seemed like a no-brainer for the Colts, but now he seems like a real lemon. That being said, he still sits atop the HB depth chart, but that could change really quickly this year. Vick Ballard and Ahmad Bradshaw basically missed out on the entire 2013 season and both of them look like they could steal the starting HB job away if Richardson has a repeat of last season. All three have upside, but all three have serious downsides as well. Richardson has the advantage based on his contribution to the passing game, he still has a shot to prove that he is a 1st round talent. Few expect the Colts to rush much, but if they can't rush at all they won't be able to develop a balanced attack.

WR Depth : Reggie Wayne is 35 and coming off a season lost to injury, Hakeem Nicks is unreliable, and TY Hilton is mostly seen as a deep threat. 2014 3rd round pick Donte Moncrief is exciting, but few think he will have much impact in his rookie year, and Da'Rick Rogers only had 14 receptions last year. Unless Hilton develops into a defacto #1WR, things could get ugly pretty fast if Wayne or Nicks struggle.