With Tom Brady’s DeflateGate suspension getting tossed out by a federal judge that somehow has managed to rise to that position without the ability to read, the Indianapolis Colts took a hit on their Super Bowl odds. Not a big one, but enough to put the Patriots back ahead at 15/2.
I picked the Patriots to go 10-6 in my AFC East prediction and I’m sticking with it. How will the Colts fare? Still pretty good.
Indianapolis Colts
2015 Projection: 13-3
2014 Result: 11-5 (lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game)
The Colts didn’t take so much as a bump when Brady was set free by Satan, but were jumped. That’s not something that will happen very often this season. Andrew Luck is in year four of his likely Hall of Fame career and it’s time for the team to take a jump with him. They’ve not only added weapons on offense, but significant starters in Andre Johnson and Frank Gore.
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Not only that, but they did pretty well in the draft nabbing Phillip Dorsett. On defense, they get Robert Mathis back after being forced to sit out a year and add Kendall Langford to the defensive front. Most prognosticators and predictors don’t pick teams to go 13-3, but virtually every year you get one, if not a team that goes 14-2. This year, it will be the Colts.
Houston Texans
2015 Projection: 9-7
2014 Result: 9-7 (missed the playoffs)
While the Texans will not make an improvement in their record this season, 9-7 in 2015 will mean a lot more than 9-7 in 2014.
The Texans’ level of play will jump, but so will their level of competition. To pick them better than 9-7, you have to be confident that they can beat the Panthers in Carolina, the Chiefs, the Falcons, the Saints or the Patriots and I’m just not there yet. If the Patriots do stumble, the Texans could be the team that takes advantage and slips into that second wild card slot.
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Houston should look at its games against the Bills, the Pats and the Chiefs as playoff games because, before the season is over, they probably will be.
Tennessee Titans
2015 Projection: 6-10
2014 Result: 2-14 (missed the playoffs)
The Titans got the No. 2 pick in the draft last season and won the lottery when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose Jameis Winston over Marcus Mariota. The Titans now have the franchise quarterback they’ve been looking for since Steve McNair was chased out of town and head coach Ken Wisenhunt has his most talented signal-caller since Kurt Warner took his Arizona Cardinals team to the Super Bowl.
The Titans still have work to do and the division, and entire AFC, is far too top-heavy to put together even a .500 record this season, but progress has been made and it won’t be long until the Titans are a factor in the AFC South again. Maybe just a season.
Jacksonville Jaguars
2015 Projection: 5-11
2014 Result: 3-13
The Jaguars have been a fun team to watch this offseason as they’ve treated the free agent market like they just got the new Madden football game. They’ve pretty much made all the moves you would have made in the game, signing free agents at will and while I would have taken Amari Cooper at No. 3 in the draft, Dante Fowler Jr. will probably be a star when he comes back from his ACL tear.
For the first time in recent franchise history, the Jaguars have actually used their draft picks wisely, picking tackle Luke Joeckel in 2013, QB Blake Bortles last year and Fowler Jr. this year, building a real nucleus of talented young players.
More than that, they’ve added real weapons on offense in Julius Thomas (who’s hurt right now), running back T.J. Yeldon (who’ll start by week five) and three young receivers all blossoming at the same time. They’ve spent their money on defense, stealing Sen’Derrick Marks from the Titans last year, Chris Clemmons from the Seattle Seahawks last year, Jared Odrick from the Miami Dolphins this year. Not a single starter on the Jaguars defensive front was drafted by the Jaguars.
In fact, only two players in the entire starting defensive unit were drafted by the Jags (Telvin Smith and Johnathan Cyprian). Every other player is a free agent signed to make the team better.
Owner Shad Khan is trying to build a winner. It won’t happen yet, but I see five wins happening this year and some good, hard-fought, close losses.
