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Still no San Diego Chargers people, but no worries, there is a reason they are moving up the board and I will share those thoughts in a few days. For now, we're going to see another 2012 playoff team fall just short of the playoffs in 2013.
The Indianapolis Colts were the surprise time in 2012, climbing from the worst record in football to a playoff berth. Somehow they scraped together win after win, in often comeback fashion. Andrew Luck is the real deal, but he is also short on experience.
17. Indianapolis Colts (2012 Record: 11-5)
The Colts are fools gold. Almost all of their wins were close, nail biting affairs. Their biggest wins of the year were 20-13 scores over the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. All things even out over time, so I expect their close games to start going the other way more often.
The draft went fairly well for the Colts, as they picked up Bronco favorite Bjoern Werner to replace Dwight Freeney and then proceeded to expend picks to shore up their offensive line. At least they know that keeping Andrew Luck upright and uninjured is their only hope to make the playoffs. I still don't like their roster overall as I believe Peyton Manning helped mask how terrible they have drafted in recent years and Luck just got, well, lucky last year.
The AFC South is one of the weaker divisions this year and it will show across the board. The Colts should fight their way to .500, but mostly due to winning at least half of those games within the division. It will also be interesting to see how Andrew Luck progresses into his second NFL season.