[Chaka]

Originally Posted by ukcolt

Below are the squads that suited up for week 6 games this year and last.
QB's
2018 - Luck, Brissett (Clearly better)
2017 - Brissett, Tolzien
RB's
2018 - Mack, Hines, Wilkins, Turbin Not a lot of difference, but considerably better receiving threat
2017 - Gore, Mack, Turbin
WR's
2018 - Rogers, Grant, Pascal, Johnson
2017 - Hilton, Moncrief, Aiken, Rogers, Bray (Clearly better)
TE's
2018 - Ebron, Swoope, Alie-Cox, Hewitt Better pass catching threat but a lot worse inline blocking
2017 - Doyle, Williams, Daniels
OL
2018 - Castonzo, Nelson, Kelly, Glowinski, Smith, Clark, Boehm (Clearly better)
2017 - Castonzo, Vujnovich, Kelly, Clark, Haeg, Kalis, Person,
DL
2018 - Sheard, Woods, Stewart, Turay, Ward, Ridgeway, Muhammad, Phillips Not a lot of difference, better at rushing the QB this year, but not quite as stout against the run
2017 - Anderson, Woods, Hankins, Hunt, Stewart, Ridgeway
LB's
2018 - Leonard, Walker, Franklin, Adams, Goode Not a huge upgrade, but slightly better, due to the superlative performance of Leonard
2017 - Simon, Morrison, Bostic, Sheard, Sankey, Mingo, George
CB's
2018 - Desir, Moore, Wilson, Hairston, Milton
2017 - Melvin, Davis, Moore, Desir, Hairston, Milton Probably Better
S's
2018 - Hooker, Mitchell, Odum, C Moore A Push
2017 - Hooker, Farley, Butler, Green

ST's
2018 - Vinatieri, Sanchez, Rhodes A Push
2017 - Vinatieri, Sanchez, Rhodes

Thanks, this is helpful. I do disagree with your exclusion of the currently injured Colts such as Hilton, Doyle, Hunt etc. because I think this distorts the analysis a bit. Those guys are part of the roster this year, and will return (with a few exceptions), so if we're comparing the composition of the 2017 and 2018 rosters I think they should be included. This would move the needle even more in this year's direction.

Also, I don't think your conclusion that we are not as stout against the run this year is supported by the statistics. According to NFL.com we are currently giving up 3.7 yards per carry, whereas last year we gave up 3.9 yards a carry. So we've actually improved, despite the howls of protest heard here when Hankins, Simon, Anderson were jettisoned.

I think our linebacker corps is greatly improved this year. A big chunk of this is due (as you point out) to Leonard's presence, but I think Walker has been a big upgrade too. Last year the LBs group, as a whole, were pretty pathetic. Also, I should mention that it might not be a full apples-to-apples comparison due to the change from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 defense.

Lastly, and on more of a gut level, your comparison just highlighted for me how much better and more exciting our current roster is. Reading all those names from last year brought back depressing thoughts of mediocre play.