Ranking the Colts’ offensive position groups The regular season is so close we

can practically taste it Cheap J'Marcus Webb Jersey , and with each week we have gotten a little bit clearer picture of what to expect from this Colts team. Yesterday we went through and ranked the defensive position groups from what I felt was the best to the worst. Today we are looking at the offensive positions. This is a group that has looked rough so far in the preseason and fostered a lot of questions. With a young and inexperienced defense, the team will need their offense to put up points, and lots of them. So how do they stack up? Let’s take a look.BestQuarterbackBrian Spurlock-USA TODAY SportsThe unquestioned strongest position on the offense, and indeed the roster, is quarterback. Andrew Luck is a top five player when he is playing at his peak, and I believe we will get that version of him by the midpoint of the season once he has shaken off whatever remaining rust there is and developed a greater comfort with the offense and his many new weapons. While Luck’s prodigious talent raises this group immensely, Jacoby Brissett is what makes it such a strong one. In a league fraught with awful backups, Brissett is one of the few that would have a very legitimate shot at winning the starting job with several teams. He is not necessarily a game-changing passer, but he does a lot of things well, and has shown growth and development from last season. It would not be at all surprising to see him traded away for a nice haul after this season ends. Tight endJoe Nicholson-USA TODAY SportsThe Colts’ tight end group is actually sneakily good. Jack Doyle has been the picture of consistency, proving himself a reliable target for Andrew Luck with a career 77% catch rate. His production paid off last year, sending Doyle to his first Pro Bowl. The hometown favorite may not be a game breaker, but he is a chain mover, and the Colts need that.That brings us to Eric Ebron. Where Jack Doyle functions as the guy who can move the sticks, Ebron is the guy who can slash defenses for the splash plays. Ebron was the Lions’ 10th overall pick in 2014, and he never seemed to able to live up to the hype that came with that high of a pick. To say that he struggled would be unfair, because his numbers were still very good. However, drops and concentration issues were key in alienating him with the Lions fanbase. Cautious optimism with regard to Ebron is warranted, but he is paired with a head coach who knows how to use tight ends, and he no longer has to be the guy with all the pressure. Doyle is Batman in this tight end room, and Robin just gets to destroy bad guys and deliver one liners without all that pressure he felt in Detroit. Behind these two are likely to be Erik Swoope and Ross Travis or Darrell Daniels. Whatever combination of these guys ends up on the final roster, they all have more than enough talent to contribute to the team and bolster this unit.Offensive LinePhoto by Al Bello/Getty ImagesDespite some of the struggles early, this unit is better than it has appeared. There aren’t many teams whose offensive line can look good in the absence of their starting left tackle. We would love for the line to be totally settled, but in reality, the fact that there has been competition at several spots is a good thing. Penciling in guys as locks to start at every spot has gone poorly for the Colts in years past, and letting the best guys earn their spots means a better group as a whole. We still don’t know who the right tackle will be, but assuming that Anthony Castonzo comes back healthy, the left side of the line is set and looks solid. Braden Smith and Matt Slauson have both looked passable at the right guard spot, and the Colts may opt to keep Slauson there and move Smith to right tackle where he has done reasonably well. This is not a long term solution, and they’ll need to scheme help for that right side, but it is a far cry from the sieve of a line that has been typical of the Andrew Luck-era Colts. This is a group on the rise.Running BacksPhoto by Otto Greule Jr/Getty ImagesI am decidedly not in the “sky is falling” camp when it comes to this group of running backs. I have maintained since the beginning of camp that Marlon Mack is going to break out this season in Frank Reich’s offense. His injury sidelined that showing for the preseason, but it hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm for him. Mack is a perfect fit for what the Colts want to do, and I think it will be clear quickly how much his injured shoulder hampered his success last year. Because of Reich’s tendency toward using a slew of backs, I think we can expect that Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines will play significant roles in the offense as well. Hines has shown ball security issues through the preseason and has some history of it in his past, which is a definite question. However, used as a slot receiver and change of pace back he could make things interesting. Wilkins has seemed like a very well balanced back who has the patience and balance to go up the middle and get positive yards with consistency, though he lacks the game-breaking acceleration and flash of Mack. I expect he will get the bulk of the carries early on while Mack is recovering and Turbin is suspended.When Robert Turbin returns from suspension, he will undoubtedly contribute as well, having been a consistent short yardage threat in his time with the Colts. As a whole, I think this running back group behind a bolstered offensive line can be effective and one of the better ones we’ve seen in Indianapolis in a long time, but they still have to prove a lot.WorstWide ReceiversPhoto by Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesThis is a tough group. T.Y. Hilton is one of the best receivers in football and is consistently good for a 1,000+ yard season when he has Luck under center. When he gets double teamed and schemed out of the offense, Hilton can struggle, so he needs weapons to be able to generate production and keep defenses from keying on him.Behind him, however, there are mostly questions. Chester Rogers has shown some ability but is largely unproven and seemed unable to do much without Luck last season. Ryan Grant hasn’t shown anything spectacular, dropping passes and having no real chemistry or timing develop with Luck over the course of the offseason. After these three are a group of guys who are best suited for special teams work and development. While it is possible that someone like Zach Pascal or Reece Fountain can develop into a contributor, they are largely just guys right now. This is where the loss of a player like Deon Cain hurt. Cain was showing that he might have the ability to make a valuable second target on the offense before he tore his ACL. The Colts will likely be looking at waiver options to strengthen this group once cuts are made.Colts Film Room: Andrew Luck’s timing is key component in his improvement Andrew Luck’s Week 3 performance gave us a little bit of everything, and very little at all, all at once. Luck was 25-of-40 (62.5%) for 164 passing yards, and a touchdown Adam Vinatieri Jersey , but between the lack of a real running game and some questionable decisions, the Indianapolis Colts offense simply sputtered on the road in Philly.The arguments about Luck and the offense have been all over the place this week, which isn’t completely unfounded either way. The collective performance wasn’t inspiring by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ll still give you some of the good and bad that I saw after rewatching Luck in Week 3.If you hated what the offense did, rest assured that it wasn’t quite as bad as you might remember. Conversely, if you liked the extreme dink-and-dunk results... well, it wasn’t good either. We’ll just leave it at that.Luck eliminates half of his potential pass catchers immediatelyUnfortunately, we’re going to look at the negative side of things first. Here we see Luck and the offense in a situation where they’ve struggled — backed up against their own goal line. This play is a 2nd-and-9 situation and the first thing that jumped off the screen to me was how Luck completely eliminated half of the field with how he sets his feet.So, let’s follow Luck’s field of vision. Eric Ebron gets knocked off his route right after the snap, Luck sets his feet and now the only two receivers he has eyes on is T.Y. Hilton and Jordan Wilkins whom he sent in motion. Ryan Grant and Chester Rogers (green circle) are nearly pointless in the play which is a shame because there’s yardage to be had there.I’m presuming here that Luck somewhat predetermined his read before the snap, and likely figured that he’d have a better chance for success due to what appears to be a lack of defenders to his right side of the field. The result, however, is that Hilton takes too long to come out of his break, and the only option he has left is Wilkins in the flat. Due to the timing of it all, the Eagles’ defense had too much time to read the play and were quick to pursue to the ball, leaving Wilkins with little chance for success. I hate half-field reads and, quite honestly, don’t understand their intrigue at all.Luck has the arm strength, he needs to use itIf there is one thing — stop me if you’ve heard this before — that annoys me to no end, it’s when Luck fails to use all of his physical abilities, especially when they’re needed. I’ll take those YOLO throws over him floating a 5-yard out route any day.That’s exactly what we’re seeing above. Luck hits the third step of his drop, plants and releases the ball on this timing route to Hilton. Why not fire this? And no, I don’t think he has any limitations on what ultimately amounts to a 20-yard throw.You can see the cushion that Hilton has as he comes out of his break to the boundary, Luck releases the ball on time — the velocity simply isn’t there. If this ball isn’t perfectly thrown from an accuracy standpoint, this is a pick-6. Definitely a play that shows off how a bit of good just barely negates a near critical mistake.Way too loose with the ball in the red zoneHere is another example of Luck in a position where he needs to be efficient, and be a threat to the end zone, but simply cannot afford to throw the ball all willy-nilly on first-and-10 from the 15-yard line.Something we’re seeing here, is very similar to what we saw in the very first clip. Luck eliminates everything to his left side, he has two options, and he throws to the one who just happens to have three defenders within a couple yards of him.I hate everything about this throw. What could Ebron even hope to do in a best-case scenario after the catch here, had he made it? That’s right, nothing. If you’re going to pull this half-field stuff, why not at least throw to the guy with some space to make somebody miss in the open field?This play has ‘nothing’ written all over it. And don’t mistake this for aggressive, because it’s not. It’s a terrible decision that could have been another red zone turnover. Timing is everythingBelieve me when I say, that this isn’t necessarily a point about a poor decision, rather this is the possible difference between a 20-plus-yard connection and a sack. One of the things that sort of goes by the wayside when discussing some of the things Luck hasn’t smoothed out quite yet, is the timing of his release.I’ve noticed that he’s waiting for the receiver to get open as opposed to throwing them open, especially when that’s exactly what the play — and coverage — calls for. I pause this just after Luck hits the top of his 3-step drop out of the shotgun. If you look at where Ebron is as Luck should be firing down the middle of the field, you’ll see that there is a massive opening in the coverage for Luck to lead Ebron into.There’s just the slightest of hesitation from Luck, he takes an additional hop up into the pocket, and by the time he goes to release this ball the pocket is no longer clean and there’s hands all in his vision. This ball never even comes out, and just like that, this play loses all of it’s potential. This is something that I truly expect to get better with game reps. This is something I fully expected to see with Luck returning from such an extended absence. With that, throwing with anticipation is what makes the good quarterback great in this league, and right now Luck doesn’t have the confidence in himself to pull the trigger here. I’m very hopeful that will come very soon, though.Easy pickings, turns to disappointment Again, this is a 1st-and-10 situation in the red zone, and the play design is very nice. Additionally, Luck has made this throw a million times before. Out of a stack, Ebron gets a great release and goes straight up the seam. And just like that http://www.coltscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-eric-ebron-jersey , Ebron has 3 yards on his defender.Now, you may be thinking: “Well, what about the safety over the top?” I’m glad you asked. Watch Hilton on this route combination. He runs directly at him in order to keep him in the middle of the field and away from Ebron, acting as a decoy to give Luck a large window to throw into.It certainly works, and Luck is on time with the throw, but he just floats it (again) and isn’t nearly accurate enough with the ball. This pass needs to go into the back of the end zone, and maybe even put a little air under it for Ebron to go up and get it. Instead, Ebron has to come back to it, allowing his coverage to catch up to the ball and taking a touchdown off the board.This would have put the Colts up 20-13 in the final seconds of the third quarter and may have changed the outcome of the game.A thing of beautyThis is as pretty a play as you’ll see, and it all starts as Luck plants his back foot at the top of his drop. Immediately, Luck has to step up into the pocket as the pressure off of the right edge is already nearly in his face. Luck not only steps up, but he continues to move towards the opening that Ryan Kelly and Matt Slauson help create using the defensive tackle’s own momentum.Now that’s not ideal of course, but the Eagles drop 7 into coverage, and the Colts only have 2 receivers running routes here. The running back stays in, and the Colts are unbalanced to the left side of the formation. Nevertheless, Hilton and Grant run their routes to perfection, and with Luck moving vertically rather than laterally when he releases the ball, he is able to throw on time and with the right momentum to get the ball downfield accurately.Watch at the second pause of the clip how, both, Grant and Hilton wait to break until the defenders turn their backs to the middle of the field. This is a beautiful play with the only issue being the immediate pressure off the edge.Precision meeting effortYou’ve seen this play a thousand times before in the NFL, and primarily in the red zone. With this being the only time the Colts took care of business inside the Eagles’ 20-yard line all game, though, it’s pertinent. Grant runs the route perfectly and Luck reciprocates with a beautifully placed fade. This looks an awful lot like an option route for Grant, though, and if it is I’d be curious — due to the playaction bringing the safety up — why he didn’t come across the middle on a slant. Darby never favored one way or the other until Grant broke off his route and there wouldn’t have been the barrier of the sideline to deal with. Just an observation.Everything you want in the red zone except the actual catchRed zone efficiency and third down opportunities are the world the NFL is built around. Offense’s have to be good on both to be successful, and here’s one where both are involved. This 3rd-and-4 from the 17-yard line is exactly what you’d expect, and perfect execution to counter it all up until the most important part of the play... catching the ball.It really does work very well all the way through the play. I mean, Hilton and Ebron’s routes sucked the linebackers and the safety down, and allow Rogers to come open with nothing behind him. Lucks escapes the pocket and delivers a perfect ball on the move to his right. In the end, it failed, but not because of design or because Luck didn’t execute. I actually hope to see this play again very soon.Finding the voids in the zone and deliveringIn our last clip we’re seeing a 2nd-and-10 situation as the Colts were driving down the field with just under 3 minutes to go in the game, down 16-20. This is not only a perfect drop in the bucket to Grant, but you can see the design behind it is such to hold the defenders in their initial drops in order to open up their zone.As Luck gets to his drop and begins to step up to throw, you see Ebron on a short crossing route underneath, Chester Rogers is to get beyond the second level of the defense and then target the safety to finish his route, and Grant runs that 15-yard square in the Colts like so much.With this route combination, the Eagles’ linebacker has to stay shallow at the sticks for Ebron if Luck hits him, but what it also does is allows Grant to sneak in behind that linebacker and give Luck the option of going shallow, or to drop the ball in between the second and third levels of the defense.Naturally, he chose the more difficult of the two options, but it definitely offered the most upside as well. This was a perfect ball to Grant who picked up 22 yards, and it was Luck’s eyes that do the job, without him having to tip anything off. If you notice, Ebron and Grant are ultimately in the same line of site as Grant is breaking at the top of his route. This is really good design, and was perfectly executed by Luck and the receivers. It’s too bad that it didn’t produce a touchdown.All in all, when we look back at this game it won’t be remembered well. However, Luck did have plenty of good in this game, it’s just more difficult to see it sometimes because of the expectations we (I) have for him at this point. If a few things go differently, Luck hits on one of a few big-play attempts. On the other hand, he’s still got a lot to eliminate from his game to get back to where he was in 2016.