Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
These 7 Colts are going to the Pro Bowl!
The Indianapolis Colts have seven players selected to the Pro Bowl following the 2021 season, which is the most in the NFL.
Thanks to their recent surge of a 7-2 record in their last nine games, the Colts have gotten onto the map as one of the best teams in the NFL with three games remaining in the regular season
Here’s a quick look at the seven Colts’ players selected to the Pro Bowl:
Colts had an elite special teams unit.
Throughout the 2020 season, the Indianapolis Colts were lauded each and every week in how strong their special teams unit was by opposing teams. That trend will continue into the offseason.
In his annual rankings of special teams units, Rick Gosselin of Sports Illustrated had the Colts ranked as the fourth-best unit in the NFL behind only the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions.
Gosselin also mentioned that the Colts had the biggest jump from 2019, going from the 29th-ranked unit to fourth.
The greatest improvement was charted by the Colts, who vaulted from 29th in 2019 to fourth in 2020. Special-teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone was hired by the Colts in 2018 away from the Patriots, where he had been O’Brien’s assistant. New England then hired Judge to replace Ventrone. Now it’s Achord’s turn.
The Colts had a strong unit throughout that phase of the game. They had the NFL’s leader in special teams tackles, George Odum, who was named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his career.
They also got strong contributions on the coverage unit from linebackers Zaire Franklin and Jordan Glasgow while long snapper Luke Rhodes continues to be one of the underrated parts of that group.
In the return game, cornerback Isaiah Rodgers was electric on kick returns. He was third in the league averaging 28.8 return yards per kick. Meanwhile, running back Nyheim Hines was sixth in yards per punt return with an average of 10 yards.
This unit was disciplined, physical and well-coached by Ventrone. They were able to flip the field constantly while punting and gave the offense an advantage with their returns.
Special teams may go overlooked often, but the Colts had one of the best units in the league in 2020, and it was a big reason they had the success they did.
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Two Colts were named to the All-Pro second team.
Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly and long snapper Luke Rhodes were named to the All-Pro second team, the Associated Press announced Friday.
While the Colts had four members named to the All-Pro first team, including two first-timers in DeForest Buckner and George Odum, an additional two players were named to the second team in Kelly and Rhodes.
Both players had strong enough seasons to get voted to second team, which shows they are among the top players at their respective positions.
The Colts got snubbed a bit in the Pro Bowl voting but the All-Pro carries much more weight given that it is less of a popularity contest.
Kelly has been a strong anchor for the Colts in the first year of his extension, which he signed before the season. On 558 pass-blocking snaps, Kelly allowed just 12 pressures, per Pro Football Focus. That’s good for eighth among centers who played at least 13 games.
Rhodes has been the long snapper for the Colts since switching from the linebacker position ahead of the 2017 season. He played well enough to earn an extension after playing just two seasons at the position.
The Colts had a successful regular season thanks to their six members of the All-Pro teams and now will look to make a run for the playoffs.
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Luke Rhodes has been a quiet force on special teams.
The Indianapolis Colts value versatility very heavily when it comes to the traits a player brings to the field. Current long snapper Luke Rhodes proved how valuable that is during the 2017 offseason.
Despite entering the league as a linebacker in 2016, Rhodes made the switch to long snapper with the Colts during the 2017 offseason and preseason. He wound up winning the job over rookie Thomas Hennessy, who was eventually traded to the New York Jets.
As a guest on the Quarantine Football Podcast, Rhodes talked about how that transition came to fruition during training camp in 2017.
“That’s a good question. I get asked that a lot because of the success I had at linebacker,” Rhodes said on the podcast. “Up and through my rookie year in the NFL, I was playing linebacker and my special teams coach, Tom McMahon at the time, I was working with him kind of after practice a little bit here and there long snapping, kind of just showing him I could do it and if he really wanted me to do it, I would practice it.”
McMahon told Rhodes to continue working on his long snapping to prepare for the battle with the undrafted rookie in Hennessey.
After winning the job in training camp and the preseason, Rhodes sat down with the coaching staff, along with his agent and family, and decided this was the route he should take for his NFL career.
“I was still doing both my second year of training camp—playing linebacker and kind of transitioning into long snapper. I was competing for the job in training camp and then eventually won the job and coach named me the long snapper,” Rhodes said. “It was a credit to him for putting a stress to me and our head coach at the time, Chuck Pagano. We decided that was going to be a good plan for the rest of my career.”
Rhodes has been the long snapper ever since, and he’s been a strong one at that. He produced so well that the Colts rewarded him with a four-year extension that made him the highest-paid long snapper in the league at the time.
Along with punter Rigoberto Sanchez, Rhodes will be a fixture on special teams for the better part of this decade. If he continues to play like he has, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get another deal after this one is through.
Takeaways from the Week 13 loss.
As crazy as this may sound, I’m not in a place of concern for the Indianapolis Colts (6-6) right now. For them to be in this position, losers of four out of their last five games seem to be fitting a team that, at one point, was thriving under more than unfavorable situations. But of course, the tide begins to change.
Following their 5-2 start to the season, the Colts are once again at the .500 mark as they lost to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Despite possessing a 10-point lead early in the third quarter, the Colts couldn’t build off of it as they allowed the Titans to score 24 points en route to winning 31-17.
Here are five postgame takeaways from the Week 13 loss:
For an offense that was already dealing with various injuries to its biggest contributors, they didn’t need to suffer another one on Sunday. But, of course, you can’t get everything you ask for. During the second quarter, wide receiver Chester Rogers was injured and eventually ruled out of the game, and we discovered why earlier on Monday.
The Colts’ third receiver in command (when everyone is healthy) and starting punt returner suffered a season-ending knee fracture. While Rogers didn’t produce a catch in Sunday’s game, his absence still hurt the Colts’ struggling offense. The Grambling State product is capable of making timely plays that spark their offense and is well-versed in Frank Reich’s offensive scheme.
