The hottest question in Indianapolis this week is a familiar one: Who is at fault for the Colts' struggles?
The Indy Blame Game stretches back more than a year. The finger pointing hasn't stopped, despite owner Jim Irsay surprisingly bringing both Ryan Grigson and Chuck Pagano back following a bizarre kumbaya session.
Mike Tanier at the Bleacher Report penned an A-1 look at how both Grigson and Pagano share joint custody on wasting Andrew Luck's prime, breaking down terrible moves by each.
Perhaps Luck deserves some of the blame -- a load every quarterback shoulders -- but not nearly as much as his coach and GM. Grigson has made terrible moves in both free agency and the draft. Pagano has failed to develop players and is a poor game manager.
Former Colts great Reggie Wayne said Tuesday night on NFL Network's NFL Total Access he believes the bulk of the team's problems lie with Grigson.
"I honestly think Andrew Luck's playing pretty good, despite some of the O-line woes that they're having," Wayne said. "A lot of people are wanting to criticize Andrew Luck instead of really, in my opinion, going after what the big problem is. I think that big problem is a lot of the front office decisions. Whether it's draft picks or it is free-agent picks, they've missed on a lot of guys.
"They went in free agency they got LaRon Landry and got rid of Antoine Bethea who is a Pro Bowler; that was a swing and a miss. They had Arthur Jones who hasn't found his way in there yet. You still have Trent Cole, who is now out, who hadn't given them anything last year. You went and got his teammate Todd Herremans from Philly, also who didn't give them anything. So they missed on so many guys and also picks in the draft. You have Bjoern Werner who is now out of the league. Khaled Holmes who was playing center from USC -- he came and left. There were so many decisions that they made in there and they just missed. And don't forget the Trent Richardson trade. They got rid of a first-round pick to bring in Trent Richardson who ended up not doing anything for them ...
"That's just how it's been. You look at all those other teams in the past, you take a Seattle, when they used their money to build around, until it was time for Russell Wilson to get his deal. Then when that time came, gave Russell Wilson his money and then they had guys around him. (The Colts) used the money to get free-agent guys that didn't do anything."
Cole didn't take the slight lightly, posting a message on his Facebook page:
Cole earned 32 tackles in 14 games with the Colts in 2015 after signing a two-year, $14 million contract. He went on IR last week due to back troubles. Cole had three tackles in three games this season.
Wherever you believe the blame sits, the Colts have offered little evidence this season they will be able to turn the troubles around in short order.