The Indianapolis Colts went to the AFC Championship Game last season and added a trio of talented skill position players (Andre Johnson, Frank Gore and Phillip Dorsett) to their roster this offseason.
That combination seemingly should have resulted in a stronger team, but after a 27-14 loss at Buffalo that was not as close as the final score indicates, there are now concerns that this year's version of the Colts may not make it as far as last year's club.
After looking at the game tape, metrics and other elements, it is clear that concern might not be strong enough. This Indianapolis squad has myriad issues and may require a major reboot to get back to championship-caliber form.
They can't lean on Luck more
One of the main reasons Indianapolis was able to progress as far as it did the past couple of seasons was because the team continually put more and more of this offense on Andrew Luck's shoulders.
The Colts reached the upper limit of that additional workload last season when they led the league in quarterback dropbacks (727) and pass attempts (661). Bills coach Rex Ryan also may have created the blueprint for limiting Luck's production with an incredibly productive blitz scheme. Buffalo sent extra pass-rushers at Luck on 49 percent of his dropbacks in Week 1, and that tactic succeeded to the extent that Luck was only 10-for-24 on passes when facing a blitz.