Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis Colts' biggest X-factors that will define 2024 season | Sporting News
The Indianapolis Colts are looking to build upon the promising things they showed in the first season under Shane Steichen.
The franchise hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2020 and the last time they won the AFC South was in 2014.
If that is going to change in 2024, they will need certain X-factors to go their way and take them to the next stage of the Steichen era.
MORE: Winners and losers from Colts’ offseason workouts
Whether it’s one player, a position group, or a coach, let’s take a look at the biggest X-factors for the Colts for the upcoming season:
Colts’ biggest X-factors in 2024
Anthony Richardson’s health and development
2024 for the Colts will be defined by Richardson’s health. Sure, they could be competitive with Joe Flacco as we saw what Shane Steichen did with Gardner Minshew in 2023. But having a healthy AR over a 39-year-old Flacco can be the difference that leads to Indianapolis ending their drought of winning the division.
The slight scare from Richardson resting during the minicamp last week is all the Colts hope they deal with his shoulder this year. Outside of health concerns, his development as a quarterback is just as important to this season’s success.
With more consistency in certain areas of his game, he can help elevate the passing attack as a threat to take the top off the defense with his arm while they have to respect what he can do with his legs. Richardson’s development as a passer can lead to a more explosive offense for the Colts.
Growth from young pieces in Colts secondary
If the Indy defense is going to take the next step in the third season under Gus Bradley, they will need the youth in the secondary to show some growth in 2024. It starts with the boundary cornerbacks, which is going to be a position battle between JuJu Brents, Dallis Flowers, and Jaylon Jones during the preseason.
The trio has faith from their defensive coordinator. Following the NFL draft, Bradley spoke about the competition between them.
“I think it’s really wide open,” Bradley said. “You have (Dallis Flowers) coming back and JuJu and JJ (Jaylon Jones). We really like that part of it. I think for us it’s the skillset, the length, the speed. Now it’s just the consistency. Who is going to step up and be that guy that takes the next step there as a corner?
Getting consistency from that part of the defense is what the Colts need and they are betting on a group of cornerbacks that don’t have a lot of experience to be the starting-caliber players they view them as.
Growth from their boundary corners isn’t the only part of the secondary that Indianapolis is leaning on in 2024, whether it is Nick Cross or Rodney Thomas II, they need whoever wins the free safety role to make an impact.
Cross showed some flashes towards the end of 2023. He has the skill set to develop into a starting-caliber player. The team has shown patience with him and hasn’t been pressed to sign a veteran despite losing Daniel Scott in OTAs.
Even if Chris Ballard elects to bring a veteran in at some point this summer, having Cross take the next step in his development will be vital because he still would work in the rotation and might be needed if said veteran had to miss any time.
The dynamic of an Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor backfield
Two snaps. That is all the Colts got to see Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor sharing the backfield at the same time in 2023. The electric playmaking ability the ground game can see from both players keeps your imagination running on what Shane Steichen’s offense will look like in 2024.
Not only do both help open rushing lanes for each other but the RPO game will be enhanced because of their presence as well as the play-action attack will lead to more explosive pass plays if teams start to load the box to slow down the rushing attack.
As long as AR and JT remain healthy, the offense has the potential to be a top-five offense in the NFL this season.
Charlie Partridge’s impact as defensive line coach
The Indy defensive front is deep and offers a lot of potential for the 2024 season. Despite the Colts finishing with 51 sacks in 2023, the fifth-most in the NFL and a franchise record, they elected to move on from Nate Ollie and hired Charlie Partridge as their new defensive line coach.
The long-time college coach was an assistant head coach and defensive line coach for the University of Pittsburgh. The lure of Partridge is his ability to develop players. He’s worked with players like J.J. Watt and Trey Hendrickson.
“Look at his history of developing players,’’ Chris Ballard said. “This guy has coached some really good players and they all tell you he’s one of the best ones they’ve ever had.”
Outside of DeForest Buckner, you can point out certain areas each player on the defensive front could improve upon, and if Partridge can get that out of each of them then he can turn a good defensive front into an elite one.
In 2023 we saw Tony Sparano Jr. fix the offensive line in his first year with the Colts. While the defensive line doesn’t need to be fixed, Partridge can help elevate the defense by getting his defensive line to dominate every snap to help take the pressure off the young players in the secondary.
Anthony Gould and NFL’s new kickoff rule
Could a fifth-round pick already be an X-factor as a rookie? The NFL is looking to bring back kick returns with the new rule for kickoffs in 2024. Which is why Gould can end up making more of an impact than some of his draft classmates.
His 4.39 40-yard speed and experience as a returner (averaged 16.3 punt return yards) made him an ideal candidate for the new kickoff the league will see. This is something that Gould believes he can provide value to start his pro career.
“I think I can add a ton of value that way,” Gould said. “The way I look at it, it’s almost like a glorified punt. A lot of guys are going to be a lot closer in space, guys aren’t getting 20-, 25-yard head starts running towards you, so blocks are going to get picked up cleaner. It’s going to be interesting.”
Because of his electric playmaking ability with the ball in his hands, Gould’s returns could end up being a difference-maker in winning games for the Colts throughout the season.
For more Colts coverage, check out Cody Manning’s work on Sporting News.
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis councilman says ‘No Data Centers’ note was left at his home after someone opened fire
The home of a councilman in Indianapolis was shot at early Monday in what local police said was an “isolated, targeted incident.”
The incident came less than a week after the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission voted 6 to 2 on April 1 to approve rezoning to allow the construction of a data center.
Ron Gibson, a Democrat who represents District 8 on the council, spoke out in support of the rezoning and the efforts to build the data center in his district.
“Earlier this morning, between approximately 12:45 a.m. and 12:50 a.m., just a few hours after Easter Sunday, an individual fired 13 rounds at the front door of my home and left a note on my doorstep that read, ‘No Data Centers,’” Gibson said in a Monday statement.
Councilman Ron Gibson
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said it was called to the home on Monday morning, and officers found evidence that gunshots had been fired at the house. Police said no injuries were reported.
“I understand that public service can bring strong opinions and disagreement, but violence is never the answer, especially when it puts families at risk,” Gibson said in his statement.
The Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
The data center is set to be built by Metrobloks, a data center developer based in Los Angeles. Following the vote last week, Gibson shared a statement on social media promoting the project.
“Metrobloks has the potential to bring significant investment, create jobs, and generate long-term tax revenue that supports infrastructure, housing, and essential services,” the statement said.
A data center boom is happening across the US, with companies pouring billions into building the infrastructure to keep up with demand in the era of AI. The data centers have faced increased opposition, with critics pointing to the high resource costs, from water to energy, and other issues like noise pollution, as detailed in a Business Insider investigation.
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis City-County Councilor says he was shoved by a police officer during a protest Saturday night.
In a post on Facebook, Jesse Brown — who represents council district 13 — indicated that a member of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department approached a group of protestors and began shoving and grabbing them.
“Tonight, an IMPD officer approached a group of protestors from behind/beside them, did not identify himself or issue verbal orders, but started grabbing and shoving people and cussing at them to move (we were stuck behind other people blocking the sidewalk),” Brown wrote on Facebook.
Brown added that he asked the officer for his badge number and told him he was a City-County Councilor.
“I told the IMPD officer who was shoving people that I wanted his badge number,” Brown wrote. “He refused to give it. I told him I was a City Councilor. He said that he didn’t care WHO I was and grabbed my arm to shove me as well.”
Brown finished his post by confirming that he filed a formal incident report on his encounter with the officer. He also offered some criticism for the officer in the final sentence of his post.
“Officers have a difficult job, but if this is how he treated two white male candidates / elected officials, I do not trust him to serve the public and de-escalate tense situations.”
Jackson Franklin, who is running for Indiana’s fifth district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was also involved in the incident. He made a Facebook post with greater detail on the incident.
Franklin said he, Brown and others were protesting near Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of Saturday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four games. Franklin said he and other protestors were at the Final Four “to demand the NCAA stop using the same airliners that ICE uses to break apart and deport families in this racist injustice system.”
A report from The Athletic that was syndicated by Yahoo Sports indicates that at least one airliner has contracts with the NCAA to transport student-athletes to tournaments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants.
In his post, Franklin said the officer involved in the incident “shoved/assaulted many of the protestors, including Indianapolis City-council person Jesse Brown.” Franklin added that the officer did not provide any warnings before he began shoving protestors
“I thought initially it was going to be some MAGA person just walking past that was offended by our anti-ICE chants, but I turned around and noticed that he was wearing a uniform,” Franklin wrote in his Facebook post. “It was only then he gave his commands to continue to move and he immediately went to push around many others, using his uniform as an excuse to harass those he disagreed with politically.
“There was absolutely no need for violence and the protest organizers filed a complaint, but I have no hope of any action occurring because of this complaint. While the lone officer assaulted us, there were about 10-15 other officers looking around awkwardly unsure of what to do, not protecting our first amendment right while also probably realizing the officer was way out of line and should have just asked us nicely to keep the movement on the public sidewalk going quicker rather than using violence as the first and only answer.”
FOX59/CBS4 reached out to IMPD for a statement on Brown and Franklin’s comments. As of this article’s publication, the agency had not responded to those inquiries.
Brown has been at the center of multiple city-county council disputes over the last 14 months. In February 2025, Brown — whose district encompasses portions of downtown and the near east side of Indy — said the city-county council’s democratic caucus expelled him from their ranks.
Brown also introduced a motion to remove the council’s president and vice president in July.
As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the incident Brown, Franklin and others were involved in had been made available.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
Opinion: Alaska needs to curb crypto-kiosk scams
Kroger, Albertsons sued by Arizona, seven other states seeking antitrust lawsuit expense reimbursement
Drug Take Back Day returns to Arkansas this month; promotes safe drug disposal
Trump Won This Latino California District; Now Independents Will Decide Who Holds It
Colorado’s New Speed Cameras Can’t Be Outsmarted by Waze or Radar Detectors for Good Reason
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Ilhan Omar calls Trump an ‘unhinged lunatic,’ urges booting him out of office
Between Budapest and Brussels: Péter Magyar’s political tightrope
Michigan muscles its way to program’s 2nd NCAA basketball title, beating UConn
Map: Minor Earthquake Strikes Near San Diego
Trump claims he’d win as the president of Venezuela — just needs to ‘quickly’ learn Spanish
-
Atlanta, GA2 days ago1 teenage girl killed, another injured in shooting at Piedmont Park, police say
-
South-Carolina1 week agoSouth Carolina vs TCU predictions for Elite Eight game in March Madness
-
Movie Reviews5 days agoVaazha 2 first half review: Hashir anchors a lively, chaos-filled teen tale
-
Vermont1 week agoSkier dies after fall at Sugarbush Resort
-
Politics1 week agoTrump’s Ballroom Design Has Barely Been Scrutinized
-
Politics1 week agoJD Vance says he was ‘obsessed’ with UFOs, believes aliens are actually ‘demons’
-
Politics1 week agoJeffries declines to break with indicted Democrat after ethics panel’s guilty verdict
-
Entertainment5 days agoInside Ye’s first comeback show at SoFi Stadium