Colts Offensive Line Must Move On From Year To Forget

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INDIANAPOLIS – They wanted to change the personality and personnel of the men in the trenches.

Most importantly, they just want to protect the quarterback better.

After a year in which the Colts were the worst pass blocking team in the NFL, and finished near the bottom of the league in running the football, one can understand why the men up front want to move on from 2017.

“Last year was a year we wish we could have forgotten,” third-year center Ryan Kelly, who fought injuries in 2017, says. “But I think those are just scars that build calluses for the next year.”

How tough are those calluses in 2018?

Well, they come with some new faces.

You have the rookies (Quenton Nelson and Braden Smith), who were two guards selected in the top 40 picks of April’s Draft.

You have some veterans (Matt Slauson and Austin Howard), who have combined for nearly 200 starts.

Slauson and Howard were the starters at right guard and right tackle, respectively, this spring.

Those spots appear to still be up for grabs though, with Jim Irsay mentioning last week that the Colts hoped for Smith to take the right guard spot, and then for Denzelle Good to finally entrench himself as a starting right tackle.

The left side isn’t a question.

It’s Anthony Castonzo at left tackle and Nelson at left guard. Then you have Ryan Kelly at center in the middle of it all.

New offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo has had quite the reinforcements join him in his room this offseason.

“I think the guys that we are bringing in here are suited to what we are looking for changing a little bit of the personality of the room maybe,” DeGuglielmo says

And, of course, it all comes down to protecting the franchise—Andrew Luck.

“That’s the one thing that increases the pressure in our group,” DeGuglielmo says. “When you have a guy, especially a guy that’s been injured standing back there, that’s the man that lets you eat.

“If you want to eat, you take care of the meal tickets. That’s the way it goes.”