The biggest splash that the Colts made in NFL free agency was by bringing in All-Pro safety LaRon Landry. Landry, a Pro Bowl player for the New York Jets last season, was brought in to bolster a so-so secondary from last season. Landry was one of the only bright spots for the Jets last season, and his addition could pay big dividends for the Colts in the near future. The thing is, since being added to the Colts on March 13th of this year, Landry has been almost nowhere to be found.

Landry signed a  four-year, $24 million contract ($14 million guaranteed) in March, but has not been seen on or off the field since. Landry did not participate in team workouts or Organized Team Activities. Even after signing his deal, Landry is yet to make an introduction to the Indianapolis media. These workouts and OTAs are all voluntary, so this may be much ado about nothing, but there is still an interest in seeing the biggest free agent acquisition on the field for this team.

With mandatory minicamps coming up this week, we should finally get to see Landry in a Colts uniform. The veteran may not be making many waves in the offseason so far, but all of that will be washed away, if he can storm on to the field when it matters most.

There are several teams in the league that could use the public relations boost, (Jacksonville Jaguars, anyone?) but does any team need the headache of having ESPN on their front lawn every day in training camp? The New England Patriots are known for taking on tough cases, when it comes to reaching on players. Lord knows (excuse the pun) that there is a small margin of people in the league who think that Tebow’s career can be resurrected. Still, there is an even smaller amount of people in the NFL who would like to see that same player find success in New England.

The Indianapolis Colts have been very active in the past few months, both in the NFL Draft and free agency. Even if the Colts could find the roster space for Tebow, they might not have a place to put him in the lineup. Not only would the Colts have to put up with the drama that follows this player around, they would have to try and find out what to do with him.

The only reason the Colts would or should look towards Tebow, would be to take him out of the hands of the New England Patriots.

Horseshoe Hero

Colts 9 - Jets 35

In their least productive outing of the season, the Colts lost a blowout to the New York Jets, 35-9 in the Meadowlands. After prevailing in most dramatic fashion over the Green Bay Packers last week, the Colts, injury depleted and perhaps tired from the effort, failed to reach the end zone for the entirety of the game. The team could get neither the passing nor the running game going, and the defense struggled, especially up front. Unfortunately, the horseshoe heroes were few and far between, but one reliable special teams player more than did his part.

Offense

Andrew Luck struggled. Even as I type this, I question whether that is a typo. But Luck had two not-so-pretty interceptions on the day, and although he threw for almost 300 yards, he completed just 50% of his passes, none of which reached the end zone. Luck may have been trying to do too much, attempting to compensate for the run game that was left all but nonexistent (just 41 net rushing yards) after losing top back Donald Brown to injury last week (He will be out another 1-2 weeks). However, I have no doubt that Luck will rebound. He is too mentally tough and physically talented to struggle for long.

Defense

Giving up 35 points is never a good thing. The Colts defense took a dramatic step backward on Sunday, suffering from the pre-game loss of Robert Mathis and the in-game loss of Cory Redding. Jerry Hughes, stepping up in Mathis’ absence, recorded the team’s only sack. But little else was done, and even Tim Tebow was able to complete a pass against the Colts on a fake punt. The Jets were in control through all four quarters.

Special Teams

The special teams unit was the only group to play up to the team’s high standards. Kicker Adam Vinatieri contributed all 9 of the team’s points, successfully kicking 3 fields, including yet another 50-yarder. Year in and year out, Vinatieri amazes me. Is this man really almost 40 years old? He is without question this week’s most deserving horseshoe hero.

While the crushing loss is hard to swallow, Colts fans must remember that their team is young and simply experiencing some growing pains. The group has already matched their win total from last year just 5 games into the season, and potential bursts at the seems of Indianapolis. Will the Colts rebound next week at home against the Browns? Horseshoe Hero will be here to let you know.

Stay Chuckstrong, Colts fans!