Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

October 11, 2018 at 3:02 am.

Despite record, injuries, Colts like their direction

They’ve lost three in a row, the offense is relying too much on quarterback Andrew Luck attempting a record number of passes and the Indianapolis Colts roster has too many injured players at key positions.

But first-year head coach Frank Reich and his Colts (1-4) still sound optimistic about the opportunity to bounce back in Sunday’s road test against the New York Jets (2-3) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The coach wore a “got juice?” shirt to his Wednesday news conference.

“It will be a big week,” Reich said. “We’re back on the road again, up against a very versatile offense that had a quite impressive game last week (34-16 over Denver), and a really good defense. We’ll have our hands full, but we’re really looking forward to the challenge.”

Eleven Colts didn’t practice on Wednesday, and two others were limited, which means player availability will once again come down to several game-time decisions. The Colts dressed just 44 players, two fewer than allowed, in their previous game, a 38-24 Thursday loss at New England.

Reich conceded that his two Pro Bowl pass catchers, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (hamstring/chest) and tight end Jack Doyle (hip), are still “week-to-week,” which in NFL language means ask about the player next week because he’s not expected to play this week.

Because the Colts have continually played from behind and rank 29th in rushing offense, the offensive burden has been placed squarely on Luck, who has attempted a record 121 passes in the past two games, the most ever in a five-day span and second overall for two games in league history.

“They’ve got a really strong spine on the defense,” Luck said of the Jets, “their interior rushers are really special. They’ve got guys in the secondary who can cover. They’ve got athletic linebackers that can go field to field.

“We need to be sharper. I’d like to see us improve and come out with a win.”

Luck’s offensive line will be pressed into starting a fifth different combination in six games due to injuries that have impacted three spots, the most recent guard Matt Slauson being placed on injured reserve this week.

“Certainly it’s not ideal,” Luck said. “I’m not going to say it’s the perfect situation, but it is the situation that we’re in so we’ll roll with it.”

Reich said they’re still sorting out the latest shuffling, but based on the team’s updated depth chart, expect Denzelle Good to start at right tackle, where rookie Braden Smith made his first NFL start in last Thursday’s 38-24 loss at New England. And expect Smith, a second-round pick, to switch back to his normal position at right guard.

“You’ve always got to be ready whenever,” Smith said.

Third-year center Ryan Kelly reiterated the company line that expectations don’t change regardless of who lines up next to him.

“It’s going to be hard to replace him,” Kelly said of Slauson, a 113-game starter in 10 seasons, “but like I’ve said, ‘Next guy up.’ We’ve done it with tackles, we’ve done it with guards now. That’s just the league. That’s the way it is.”

As much as the Colts are focused on staying positive, the bottom-line reality is they’re in desperate need of a victory to hold onto some semblance of hope that contending for a playoff spot in the AFC South Division isn’t out of reach. Jacksonville and Tennessee are both 3-2 and Houston is 2-3. After Sunday, the Colts play four of five at home at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“We know it starts with one game and that’s what our mindset is in this locker room,” Luck said. “It’s this weekend and it’s the Jets.”

SERIES HISTORY: 70th regular-season meeting. Colts lead series, 41-28. The Jets have won three of four in the series, but the Colts prevailed 41-10 the last time these teams met in 2016 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Each of the last three games have been decided by double digits. The Jets won 20-7 at Indianapolis in 2015 and 35-9 at home in 2012. The Jets have also won three of four in the postseason, the most memorable outcome being the first, when quarterback Joe Namath correctly predicted an upset before Super Bowl III, a 16-7 victory over the Baltimore Colts in 1969.

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