<
>

Ultimate Standings: Colts ranking plummets after down year

Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire

This story is part of ESPN The Magazine's Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!

Indianapolis Colts

Overall: 42
Title track: T26
Ownership: 56
Coaching: 62
Players: 51
Fan relations: 55
Affordability: 55
Stadium experience: 38
Bang for the buck: 38
Change from last year: -31

Missing the playoffs for the first time since 2011, poor offensive line play and tension in the front office all played a part in the Colts' plummeting 31 spots in these rankings. This team spent the offseason before 2015 adding veteran players it felt were good enough to get the Colts to the Super Bowl -- only to end up way short of those goals.


What's good

Lucas Oil Stadium is still a favorite of fans, ranking 38th overall (11th in the NFL), and the Colts' reasonable ticket prices and winning record mean they always place well in bang for the buck. More good news: Andrew Luck isn't going anywhere anytime soon, after Jim Irsay gave him a six-year, $140 million deal during the offseason. And Irsay and the front office are slowly attempting to add younger pieces around him, so that they don't waste his talent.


What's bad

Coach Chuck Pagano has led the Colts to the playoffs in three of his four seasons -- including the AFC Championship Game in 2014 -- and even had the Colts (8-8) on the brink last year without Luck for most of the season. But not everything has gone smoothly for them under Pagano -- as seen by his 62nd-place ranking, down 26 spots from last year. Pagano arrived in Indianapolis with a defensive reputation in 2012, but the Colts are still waiting to put a top-of-the-line defensive unit on the field in his tenure: They've finished 20th or worse in defense under Pagano in three of his four seasons.


What's new

The Colts will always remain relevant as long as they have Luck, but fans are losing patience with the rest of this roster: That ranking fell all the way from 15th last year to 51st in 2016. The quarterback has talented skill position players to turn to in receivers T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief and Phillip Dorsett, as well as tight end Dwayne Allen. General manager Ryan Grigson tried to address the offensive line by using half of the team's eight draft picks on offensive linemen. But the issue with the Colts is an aging defense that has six starters -- including three of four starting linebackers -- at least 30 years old.

Next: Minnesota Vikings | Full rankings