Indianapolis Colts: 5 reasons they’re Super Bowl contenders

Jan 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Indianapolis Colts safety Dewey McDonald (31) celebrates after tackling Denver Broncos receiver Wes Welker (83) on a punt return during the NFL divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium. The Colts defeated the Broncos 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

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Nov 23, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Trent Cole (58) reacts after a sack against the Tennessee Titans at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 43-24. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

Improved defense

One of the biggest issues the Indianapolis Colts have had over the last few years is the defense. The blasting by the New England Patriots in the playoffs last year is just the tip of the iceberg and the maybe just easy to pick on because it was such a bad game.

If you want to negate every single advantage above, last year’s defense is the way to do it.

Getting Trent Cole and Kendall Langford to come off the edge is going to create a lot of pressure, so while Indianapolis was already able to get a bunch of sacks (their 41 tied them for No. 9 in the NFL last season) Cole and Langford are going to create some real mismatches and flood the side, creating even more space for other players to move in.

The secondary was pretty good save for Greg Toler, who was rated negatively by Pro Football Focus (subscription link) and ranked tied for the 99^th corner out of 108 rated. He’s never been all that good to begin with, and if there is an Achilles Heel in the secondary, Toler is it.

Especially in contrast to Vontae Davis, who PFF ranked as the second best corner in the NFL last season (subscription link). The Colts should play some rotation across from Davis, and if they add a corner in the draft they should be in pretty good shape despite Toler.

Overall, this team has begun to make strides defensively and what was already a decent unit last year will be much better with the additions they have made so far.

Of course, crunch time (aka the playoffs) is when it has fallen short in the past, but the higher level of talent should allow the team to play more consistently and avoid the collapse which has been all to frequent the last few years in the post-season.

The Colts have added a lot of pieces to get themselves over that last hump. The defense has been ‘good enough’ to get into the playoffs the last few years and win a game or two.

Now it looks like a unit which could great and take them all the way.

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