Indianapolis Colts Cannot Blame Winless Season Solely on Peyton Manning's Injury

When the news hit that the Indianapolis Colts would be without their 11-time Pro Bowl QB, Peyton Manning, for likely the duration of the season, everyone immediately crossed them out as a postseason threat this year. At the loss of a single player, Indy turned from a perennial playoff contender to a team scrounging for wins against the weakest of opponents.

While Manning is, without a doubt, the crutch of the Indianapolis Colts, is it really possible to put all of the blame of their losing record on one player?

The answer is no.

You can argue that Manning adds at least two touchdowns to every game the Colts have played this season, giving them a winning record of 8-4, but the real problem with Indy lies within the defense. 

In 11 of their 12 games this season, the opposition has put up 23 or more points on the porous Indianapolis D. That includes giving up 28 points to the Kansas City Chiefs—a team that is ranked 30th in points scored per game averaging 13.6—and 27 points to the 28th-ranked Cleveland Browns.

And who could forget that 62-7 beating they took at the hands of the New Orleans Saints back in October?

The Colts are currently allowing 144.2 rushing per game (30th in the NFL) and 242.9 in the air, making up one of the worst defenses in the NFL.

Once revered as one of the NFL's premier sack masters, DE Dwight Freeney has disappeared this season, only managing to gather 5.5 sacks and 15 total tackles in 12 games. And to make matters worse, Freeney's partner in crime, Robert Mathis, too, has 5.5 sacks so far in the season. Through 12 games last year, he had already recorded 8.5.

To put it into perspective, Minnesota's Jared Allen already has 14.5—more than both of the combined, and then some.

The defensive line, however, is not the only unit to be blamed.

Indy's secondary has only forced five interceptions and recovered five fumbles throughout the entire season. New England's Kyle Arrington, Green Bay's Charles Woodson and San Diego's Eric Weddle all have more interceptions than Indy as a whole.

And now, they plan on wasting the first pick in the draft on something they don't need—another QB.

Archie Manning disagrees with the move, telling ESPN, "I don't think it'd necessarily be great for either one," and "I doubt if either one wants to play on the same team."

So what do the Colts do?

Not taking Luck is a waste of a No. 1 overall draft pick, so why not trade it for more picks? Trade with a team like Cleveland, who actually needs Andrew Luck, for a package including the team's first- and second-round draft picks.

That way they can grab some pieces like maybe a Dre Kirkpatrick out of Alabama, and a solid running back who can take over for the underachieving combo of Joseph Addai and Donald Brown.

Think about it. The only RB predicted to go in the first round by CBSSports.com is Alabama's Trent Richardson. How much more deadly would Peyton Manning be with Oregon's LaMichael James lining up next to him?

But I digress from the simple fact that their defense needs to be worked on. They took a step in the right direction by ridding themselves of Larry Coyer, their ex-defensive coordinator, but the fact of the matter is that they need more talent on defense to get stops.