The Colts bandwagon has a lighter load these days

https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Erik-Swoope-Jersey , many having jumped off after Andrew Luck‘s surprise retirement. (Raises hand.)The Colts, though, showed their belief in Jacoby Brissett by signing him to a contract extension this week.And the players still like their chances, even without Luck.“This is the best team I’ve ever been a part of,” receiver T.Y. Hilton said, via Stephen Holder of TheAthletic.com. “We take nothing away from [Luck], but this team is good.” Hilton entered the NFL in the same draft as Luck in 2012. He has played on two division winners and two other playoff teams Malik Hooker Jersey , reaching the AFC Championship Game in 2014.“I’ve been on good teams; I’ve been on not so good teams,” Hilton said. “But this team, especially, we have pretty much everything you need to have on the field.”Now, it’s a matter of backing up the words with wins. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — General manager Chris Ballard spent most of the offseason talking about the two starting-caliber quarterbacks on the Indianapolis Colts‘ roster.It’s time to find out if he got it right.Ballard remained resolute in his opinion just minutes after watching Andrew Luck announce his surprise retirement following Saturday night’s preseason loss to the Chicago Bears.“We’ve got a good football team, this is a good football team,” Ballard said. “We’re not going to ask Jacoby Brissett to be Andrew Luck. Andrew Luck was a unique Quincy Wilson Color Rush Jersey , unique player. But Jacoby Brissett is a winning football player in this league. Jacoby Brissett is a rare, rare leader. He is. He’s a rare human being, man. The locker room loves Jacoby Brissett.”The Colts already have a pretty good sense of what they have in Brissett, Luck’s successor.He possesses prototypical size and a strong arm. He has starting experience and served as understudy to both Luck and Tom Brady, after New England drafted him in the third round in 2016. Even Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells is a fan. And now in his second season with coach Frank Reich and two full offseasons to learn the playbook, he has demonstrated a mastery of the playbook throughout training camp.But this is not the same player who came to Indianapolis in a cutdown weekend trade in 2017, relieved Scott Tolzien eight days later in the season opener and then went 4-11 as the starter as Luck recovered from shoulder surgery.In the two years since most fans last saw Brissett play Skai Moore Color Rush Jersey , he’s become a more polished quarterback who makes quicker decisions and willingly throws the ball away —though there’s no doubt about his toughness in the pocket.“The quarterback and the center really have to have complete control over (protection schemes) and I think Jacoby has made major — he was good last year, but I really think he’s made major strides to get really good in that area,” Reich said last week. “And just generally speaking, getting the ball out quick with rhythm, with timing.”Now he must prove it to all those who doubt him.