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[Indianapolis Colts]

Stampede Blue Staff Roundtable: NFL season predictions

The 2025-26 NFL season is here and members of the Stampede Blue writing team decided to come together to offer their predictions for the season.

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Andrew Aziz

Colts Record: 7-10

Division Winners: Ravens, Bills, Texans, Chiefs | Lions, Eagles, Buccaneers, 49ers

Wild-Card Spots: Bengals, Broncos, Chargers | Packers, Commanders, Rams

NFL MVP: Joe Burrow

Super Bowl Matchup: Detroit Lions vs Baltimore Ravens

Super Bowl Winner: Detroit Lions

It would be silly to dismiss the Colts’ recent history when projecting their record. The overall team is strong but lack a quality quarterback, which has been the case the last few years. Over the past 4 seasons, the Colts have essentially been a 500 team, so I expect more of the same this season.
Regarding MVP, Joe Burrow could’ve been MVP last year if he had made the playoffs and I see their offense being stronger this season, so he could have a historic season.
Regarding the Super Bowl matchup, the Ravens might have the most well balanced and deepest team in the NFL, with their one weakness last year (their secondary) being fixed this offseason. The Lions still have a great team and will get a ton of players returning from injury. It’s always a crapshoot, but I’m rolling with two deep, well balanced and well coached teams with the Lions finally winning a Super Bowl.

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Thomas Butler-Guerrero

Colts Record: 9-8

Division Winners: Ravens, Bills, Texans, Chiefs | Packers, Commanders, Buccaneers, 49ers

NFL MVP: Lamar Jackson

Super Bowl Matchup: Green Bay Packers vs Baltimore Ravens

Super Bowl Winner: Baltimore Ravens

The Colts enter 2025 with more uncertainty under center as Daniel Jones is set to become the eighth different Week 1 starter over the last 9 season openers. There are some must-win matchups that are more than favorable on the schedule, but the first step in the right direction would be to beat the Dolphins at Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday to break the league’s longest winless drought in Week 1. For the Colts to get over .500, it’s vital to win the season opener, have a solid October against the Raiders, Cardinals, and Chargers, plus it will help if they sweep the season series against the last place Titans, beat the last place Raiders, while at least earning a split against the Jaguars and Texans.
Lamar Jackson is the best football player on Earth and I’m predicting another phenomenal campaign, which will result in his third NFL MVP Award. Last season, Jackson threw 43 TD passes against just 4 INTs, while becoming the first QB in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 passing yards with 900 rushing yards.
As a Cowboys diehard, it’s more painful than ever for me to suggest the Packers acquisition of All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons may have propelled Green Bay over the hump. It should be mentioned Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers were both 27 at the time of their first Super Bowl appearance. Ever since Lamarvelous took over as Baltimore’s franchise QB in the middle of the 2018 season, the Ravens have posted a 70-24 when he starts, which is the second-best record in the league. The Ravens will finally get over the hump to dethrone the Chiefs, who have claimed the AFC title in five of the last six seasons. Baltimore claims its third Super Bowl title, while Jackson becomes the eighth player in league history (second active player along with Mahomes) to claim both league MVP and SB MVP in the same season.

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Mateo Caliz

Colts Record: 6-11

Division Winners: Bengals, Bills, Texans, Chiefs | Lions, Eagles, Bucs, Rams

NFL MVP: Patrick Mahomes

Super Bowl Matchup: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Buffalo Bills

Super Bowl Winner: Buffalo Bills

Let’s go by parts here. First of all I am not high at all on the Colts this season, which seems to be the overall consensus along the media, fanbase, and experts. I think that no team, no matter how good the rest of the squad is, can survive a quarterback situation where Daniel Jones wins the starting gig. It sucks because we have plenty of darn good football players in the prime of their career like Quenton Nelson, DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Jonathan Taylor, Kenny Moore, and some others, but this is a quarterback driven league, and until we find the next guy, we are stuck in this weird purgatory. The Texans win the division because, you guessed it, their quarterback. C.J. Stroud is far and away the best signal-caller in the division (we were just a pick away… damn), and the rest of the team is good enough for them to make the playoffs once again in a historically weak division. I believe that Mahomes’ legacy, and status as the GOAT contender, is in serious jeopardy after such a lopsided Super Bowl loss, and he will be back with a vengeance, earning MVP honors in the process. That will not be enough however, as I predict this is the year the Bills finally get over the hurdle and make it to the Super Bowl, where they will manage to beat the Eagles and Josh Allen will get his first ring.

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Elliot Denton-Singh

Colts Record: 7-10

Division Winners: Ravens, Bills, Jaguars, Chiefs | Packers, Eagles, Buccaneers, Rams

NFL MVP: Josh Allen

Super Bowl Matchup: Green Bay Packers vs Buffalo Bills

Super Bowl Winner: Buffalo Bills

Colts will regress this year with their overall record, falling to 7-10 on the year. Daniel Jones isn’t a QB1 and will show just that when he is at the helm of the Colts offense. The offense might look slightly better but the big plays and excitement will be drained away instead. The defense will improve but not even a top 15 defense will be able to overcome the shortcomings of a Daniel Jones led offense.
Josh Allen takes his game to this next level this year, leading his team to another division title and deep into the playoffs again.
Unexpected Super Bowl matchup by most but the Packers look all in for a big year and the Bills have been patiently building a juggernaut team for years. Allen tops off an MVP year with his first ring and even snags Super Bowl MVP too.

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Jay Robins

Colts Record: 9-8

Division Winners: Ravens, Bills, Texans, Chiefs | Vikings, Eagles, Buccaneers, Seahawks

NFL MVP: Joe Burrow

Super Bowl Matchup: Philadelphia Eagles vs Baltimore Ravens

Super Bowl Winner: Baltimore Ravens

Colts have another season in the middle of the NFL field of teams. After looking at the schedule, I see the Colts having a very similar season to 2023, having 9 wins and having a chance at the playoffs with a matchup against Texans to potentially decide the division. Texans have the home field advantage, so I give them the edge there. Still too many questions with this new defense and what level of QB play the Colts can expect out of Daniel Jones and potentially Anthony Richardson this year.
I see the Lions losing their top spot in the NFC North to Vikings, which was a close battle last year. Losing both of their coordinators, especially Ben Johnson on Offense, takes a hit to their record.
Seahawks also see a rise to division champs in the NFC West. Swapping out Geno Smith & Tyler Lockett for Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp might be lateral moves to slight upgrades at this portion of each’s careers, but the Seahawks upgraded elsewhere via the draft. Keeping their stout Defensive unit together, I could see the unit grow into a top end Defense led by a young secondary of Witherspoon, Woolen, and rookie Emmanwori & a good veteran pass rush. With Stafford’s injury concerns, the Rams could be a vulnerable 2024 division winner.
Seahawks also see a rise to division champs in the NFC West. Swapping out Geno Smith & Tyler Lockett for Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp might be lateral moves to slight upgrades at this portion of each’s careers, but the Seahawks upgraded elsewhere via the draft. Adding Arroyo at TE, Horton at WR, and Zabel to the OL (along with a healthy Abraham Lucas) should be solid upgrades to the Offense. Keeping their stout Defensive unit together, I could see the unit grow into a top end Defense led by a young secondary of Witherspoon, Woolen, and rookie Emmanwori & a good veteran pass rush as well. With Stafford’s injury concerns, the Rams could be a vulnerable 2024 division winner.
The MVP race is a tight race between several elite AFC QBs. Lamar Jackson & Josh Allen have been the top vote getters and won each of the last 2 MVPs, and if Mahomes ups his passing stats again while leading the contender Chiefs he will get consideration too. But if Joe Burrow can carry the Bengals talent-deprived team (outside of offensive skill talent) to the playoffs, he will likely get the nod with his staggering passing stats paired with the emphasis on the word VALUABLE in the award. He got 0 1st place MVP votes despite over 70% comp%, 4,900+ passing yards, and 43 TDs to 9 INTs in large part due to just missing the playoffs in 2024 at 9-8. That should change come 2025 if the Bengals return to the playoffs.
The Super Bowl of Ravens vs Eagles might be a battle of avians, but the winner would be determined by the matchup on the ground. Lamar & Henry vs Hurts & Saquon. A spectacular showdown of Run Pass Options, Play Actions, QB Designed runs and Scrambles, and even a Tush Push or two.
The Ravens have been so close to making the Super Bowl for years with Lamar, and after surviving the gauntlet of QBs in the AFC they have to maximize this opportunity. They get to Levi Stadium this year in large part due to their rebuilt secondary of Malaki Starks at Safety from the draft and Jaire Alexander and Chidobe Awuzie at CB (if either are healthy) paired with incumbents Kyle Hamilton, Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, & TJ Tampa forming a dynamic and versatile secondary that can cause havoc to opposing passing attacks. Even in a lower volume passing attack game vs the Eagles, they will have a chance to make a key impact. Should that secondary be opportunistic enough to take the ball away from Hurts or limit AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, the Ravens likely hoist their 3rd Lombardi Trophy and 1st in the Lamar era.

Source: https://www.stampedeblue.com/nflgeneral/114187/stampede-blue-staff-roundtable-nfl-season-predictions

 

[Indianapolis Colts]

Colts fanbase ranked ‘least optimistic’ in annual poll

The Indianapolis Colts enter the 2025-26 NFL season in pole position for low expectations from its fanbase. After half a decade of band-aids thrown at the sport’s most important position from a lame duck regime to the recent abrupt passing of longtime philanthropist and Colts owner, Jim Irsay, fans far and wide are ready for a changing of the guard.

The Athletic’s annual NFL Hope-O-Meter article series polled fans of all 32 franchises on how they’re feeling heading into the season. In dead last for the least optimistic fanbase leaguewide, the Colts sit at 6.8% optimism and join the New Orleans Saints (9%) as the only two fanbases to poll under 10 percent.

Each voter was also provided the opportunity to share some explanatory thoughts on their reasoning. Here are some of the more notable entries.

“Daniel Jones is our starting QB. Chris Ballard is our GM. This team has been a mess for years. I’m just excited for a reset … unfortunately, we have to wade through this quagmire of a season to get there,” one detested Colts fan explained.

“The team has given up on its first-round quarterback in favor of a player that offers no clear upside,” another pessimistic poller added. “The front office and coaching staff will be gone and the only hope is losing enough to have a chance at a good QB prospect paired with the right GM and head coach. So basically the three most important things in the NFL all being right in the same offseason. No big deal.”

There will always be two sides to a coin; thus, the vast minority of optimistic fans will stick out like a sore thumb and may even be viewed as a contrarian’s take. However, there are still some Colts fans who believe they’ll shock the world this fall.

“Colts made good additions to the defense and Daniel Jones has a good supporting cast of skill players. I think the Colts will surprise the pundits,” one brave soul added. Most may be out on the reclamation project that is Daniel Jones leading the charge, but some aren’t ready to close his book thanks to his strongest supporting cast yet.

Perhaps the ultimate example of the current state of the Colts as an organization is that irony has finally brought the Colts fanbase together under Chris Ballard’s tenure in Indianapolis. After years of turmoil, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. Although a full-blown rehaul may require one more season, the togetherness that, although birthed from disgust, has finally brought Colts fans on the same page is a sight to see. It may have taken too many headaches and failed visions to achieve, but a reality where the dog days are over is beginning to take shape.

Source: https://www.stampedeblue.com/analysis/114225/colts-fanbase-ranked-least-optimistic-in-annual-poll

 

[Indianapolis Colts]

Meet The New Guy: Joining the Stampede Blue Colts Writing Crew!

Greetings to all Stampede Blue members!

A while back, Luke Shultheis announced on a Fan Post, that Stampede Blue would be hiring another contributor. He essentially asked if there were any members who had an interest in filling this position. I was beyond interested, but what came next was a total shock to me. Seeing fellow members go to the effort to suggest to Luke that “Clydesdales” would be a good candidate for the position, really brought a smile to my face and a bit of sense that I had connected with some of you. For that, please accept my heartfelt gratitude.

Your support continued as Stampede Blue sorted through what I believe to be a good amount of qualified candidates. I know that some of you became a bit impatient, but rest assured that there was a process and it needed to be completed. Actually, I may have been announced sooner, but giving me the ability to access and create content, needed to see me be able to authenticate, which my old flip phone does not have the ability to do. We are still actually using a work-around to complete this process.

So, don’t believe that this was a lengthy contract negotiation involving salary or artistic control. I’m doing this for beer money and I am happy to share my thoughts with all of you, as I have for 10 plus years. My hope is that I continue to connect with many of you and that you find relevance and a bit of humor in what I present. I also promise to do my level best to respond to your responses to my articles. Maybe not all of them, but if there is a question in there, I’ll get you a response.

Quickly about me. Clydedales is a name I have used for everything from bowling, softball, and fantasy sports teams, to dating profiles and forum handles. It’s a simple connection in that I was quite the Budweiser fan for much of my youth. Bear in mind that I consider my 30’s and 40’s as part of my youth these days, at the ripe old age of 64. I am currently a high school Drafting and Computer Science teacher, but I am hoping to be able to retire at the end of this school year.

I was a Colts season ticket holder for 26 years, starting in year two in Indy. My disposable income conveniently took a hit the same year that Peyton’s neck did, which ended my run. I moved away from Muncie, going on 10 years ago, so I have gone through an array of ways to watch the Colts. The first was to go to a Sports Bar. This only lasted a season as I found myself spending 40 bucks on beer and wings and only occasionally being able to hear the broadcast. I was fortunate enough to have the NFL Sunday Ticket for free for two years by choosing the Dish Network as my provider.

Since then, I have had NFL Plus. I get to stream the games about five minutes after they are completed. Because of this, I don’t see a ton of other teams, because I do not watch the other games while the Colts are playing, for fear of getting spoiler alerts. It does allow me to have the “All 22”, which I hope to be able to use in the occasional article.

The articles will be centered around the “Pulse” of the fans. I’m not 100% sure of the format, but I will be offering an article or two each week. I expect to have greater details on the format of my articles as we all transition to the new login format. I hope you can have a little patience with me as I grow into this role.

Lastly, thanks again to those who were in my corner during this process. You all have given me the green light to respond to my wife’s queries about why I am spending so much time on the computer with an, “I’m working here!” response.

Source: https://www.stampedeblue.com/indian...-joining-the-stampede-blue-colts-writing-crew