2012 Indianapolis Colts season

2012 Indianapolis Colts season
Head coach	Chuck Pagano Bruce Arians (Interim HC while Pagano recovered from leukemia)
General manager	Ryan Grigson
Owner	Jim Irsay
Home field	Lucas Oil Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	2nd AFC South
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Ravens) 24–9
Pro Bowlers	WR Reggie Wayne OLB Robert Mathis QB Andrew Luck

The 2012 Indianapolis Colts season was the franchise's 60th season in the National Football league and the 29th in Indianapolis. The Colts earned the first selection in the 2012 NFL Draft due to a dismal 2–14 record in 2011 and used their first pick on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.^[1] The season marked the first for both head coach Chuck Pagano and general manager Ryan Grigson with the franchise.^[2][3] Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians served as interim head coach while Pagano underwent treatment for leukemia from week 5–16; he returned, with his cancer in remission, during the final week of the regular season. The team went 9–3 under Arians.^[4] The Colts earned a playoff berth, but were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round.

Personnel changes

On January 2, 2012, one day after the final game of the 2011 season, Colts owner Jim Irsay fired team Vice Chairman Bill Polian (who had been the team's general manager since 1998) and his son, team Vice President and general manager Chris Polian. Nine days later (January 11), Ryan Grigson was named the new general manager. Head coach Jim Caldwell was fired on January 17, 2012. Eight days later (January 25), former Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano agreed to becoming the Colts new head coach.

Roster changes

Draft

2012 Indianapolis Colts draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	1	Andrew Luck *	QB	Stanford
2	34	Coby Fleener	TE	Stanford
3	64	Dwayne Allen	TE	Clemson
3	92	T.Y. Hilton *	WR	Florida International	Pick from SF[a]
5	136	Josh Chapman	NT	Alabama
5	170	Vick Ballard	RB	Mississippi State	Compensatory[c]
6	206	LaVon Brazill	WR	Ohio	Compensatory[b][c]
6	208	Justin Anderson	G	Georgia
7	214	Tim Fugger	DE	Vanderbilt	Pick from PHI[b]
7	253[d]	Chandler Harnish	QB	NIU	Compensatory[c]
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Notes

^{^[a]} During the draft, the Colts traded up five spots from the fourth-round (#97) to the third-round (#92), with the team sending a 2013 fifth-round selection to the San Francisco 49ers.

^{^[b]} The Colts traded their original sixth-round selection—#172 overall—to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for tackle Winston Justice and the Eagles' sixth round selection—#187 overall.^[5] The Colts later traded the #187 overall selection to the New York Jets in exchange for quarterback Drew Stanton and a seventh-round selection (#214 overall).^[6]

^{^[c]} Compensatory selections.^[7]

^{^[d]} Mr. Irrelevant.

Undrafted free agents

All undrafted free agents were signed just after the 2012 NFL Draft concluded on April 28.^[8]

Position	Player	College	Notes
DT	James Aiono	Utah
DT	Chigbo Anunoby	Morehouse College
OL	Jason Foster	Rhode Island
LB	Chris Galippo	USC
T	Steve Baker	East Carolina
WR	Griff Whalen	Stanford
CB	Micah Pellerin	Hampton
CB	Antonio Fenelus	Wisconsin
CB	Cameron Chism	Maryland
DB	Buddy Jackson	Pittsburgh
OL	Hayworth Hicks	Iowa State
WR	Jabin Sambrano	Montana
S	Matt Merletti	North Carolina
P	Brian Stahovich	San Diego State
DE	Kevin Eagan	Endicott
S	Latarrius Thomas	Eastern Michigan

Departures

Position	Player	Tag	2012 Team	Notes
QB	Peyton Manning	UFA	Denver Broncos	Released by Colts, later signed by Broncos.[9][10]
QB	Curtis Painter	UFA	Baltimore Ravens	Released by Colts, later signed by Ravens.[11]
QB	Dan Orlovsky	UFA	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Released by Colts, later signed by Buccaneers.[12]
WR	Pierre Garçon	UFA	Washington Redskins	Released by Colts, later signed by Redskins.[13][14]
WR	Blair White	UFA		Released by Colts.
RB	Joseph Addai	UFA	New England Patriots	Released by Colts, signed by Patriots.
FB	Jerome Felton	UFA	Minnesota Vikings	Released by Colts, signed with Vikings.
WR	Anthony Gonzalez	UFA	New England Patriots	Released by Colts, signed by Patriots.[15]
TE	Dallas Clark	UFA	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Released by Colts, signed by Buccaneers[16]
TE	Jacob Tamme	UFA	Denver Broncos	Released by Colts, signed with Broncos.[17]
C	Jeff Saturday	UFA	Green Bay Packers	Released by Colts, signed by Packers.
DE	Jamaal Anderson	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Released by Colts, signed by Bengals.
CB	Jacob Lacey	UFA	Detroit Lions	Untendered as a Restricted Free Agent, later signed by Lions.[18]
LB	Gary Brackett	UFA		Released by Colts.
DB	Melvin Bullitt	UFA		Released by Colts.

Additions

Position	Player	Tag	2011 team	Notes
WR	Donnie Avery	UFA	Tennessee Titans	Signed on March 25, 2012.[19]
LB	Jerrell Freeman	UFA	Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL)	Signed on January 16, 2012
C/G	Mike McGlynn	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	Signed on March 15, 2012
NT	Brandon McKinney	UFA	Baltimore Ravens	Signed on April 4, 2012.[20]
TE	Kyle Miller	UFA	None	Signed on April 3, 2012.[21]
LS	Matt Overton	UFA	Omaha Nighthawks (UFL)	Signed on April 3, 2012.[22]
DE	Cory Redding	UFA	Baltimore Ravens	Signed on March 14, 2012.[23]
C	Samson Satele	UFA	Oakland Raiders	Signed on March 22, 2012.[24]
QB	Trevor Vittatoe	UFA	Tampa Bay Storm (AFL)	Signed on March 8, 2012
SS	Tom Zbikowski	UFA	Baltimore Ravens	Signed on March 16, 2012.[25]
TE	Dominique Jones	UFA	Reading Express (IFL)	Signed on April 30, 2012.[26]
RB	Deji Karim	WVR	Jacksonville Jaguars	Claimed on April 30, 2012.[26]
TE	Andre Smith	WVR	Chicago Bears	Claimed on May 15, 2012.[27]
C/G	Zane Taylor	WVR	Philadelphia Eagles	Claimed on May 18, 2012.[28]
RB	Mewelde Moore	UFA	Pittsburgh Steelers	Signed on June 19, 2012.[29]
CB	D.J. Johnson	Trade	Philadelphia Eagles	Traded for on July 22, 2012.[30]
CB	Vontae Davis	Trade	Miami Dolphins	Traded for on August 26, 2012.[31]

Staff

2012 Indianapolis Colts staff
	Front office Owner/CEO – James Irsay General Manager – Ryan Grigson Vice President of Football Operations – Tom Telesco Director of Football Administration – Mike Bluem Director of College Scouting – T. J. McCreight Associate Director of Pro Personnel – Kevin Rogers Assistant Director of College Scouting – Todd Vasvari Head coaches Head Coach – Chuck Pagano Interim Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator – Bruce Arians Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Clyde Christensen Running Backs – David Walker Wide Receivers – Charlie Williams Tight Ends – Alfredo Roberts Offensive Line – Harold Goodwin Assistant Offensive Line – Joe Gilbert Offensive Quality Control – Frank Giufre			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Greg Manusky Defensive Line – Gary Emanuel Linebackers – Jeff FitzGerald Secondary – Mike Gillhamer Safeties – Roy Anderson Defensive Quality Control – Brad White Special teams coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Marwan Maalouf Assistant Special Teams – Brant Boyer Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Roger Marandino Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Richard Howell

Final roster

2012 Indianapolis Colts final roster
	Quarterbacks 12 Andrew Luck  5 Drew Stanton Running backs 33 Vick Ballard 34 Delone Carter 36 Deji Karim KR 37 Mewelde Moore Wide receivers 11 Donnie Avery 15 LaVon Brazill 13 T. Y. Hilton PR 10 Nathan Palmer 87 Reggie Wayne Tight ends 83 Dwayne Allen 80 Coby Fleener 85 Weslye Saunders		Offensive linemen 74 Anthony Castonzo T 78 Tony Hills T 69 Winston Justice T 72 Jeff Linkenbach G/T 75 Mike McGlynn G/C 73 Seth Olsen G 76 Joe Reitz G 64 Samson Satele C 62 A. Q. Shipley C/G 60 Bradley Sowell T Defensive linemen 66 Clifton Geathers DE 67 Lawrence Guy DE 65 Kellen Heard NT 99 Antonio Johnson NT 91 Ricardo Mathews DE 90 Cory Redding DE 68 Martin Tevaseu NT		Linebackers 51 Pat Angerer ILB 53 Kavell Conner ILB 58 Moise Fokou ILB 50 Jerrell Freeman ILB 93 Dwight Freeney OLB/DE 54 Mario Harvey ILB 92 Jerry Hughes OLB/DE 98 Robert Mathis OLB/DE 97 Jamaal Westerman OLB/DE Defensive backs 41 Antoine Bethea FS 38 Sergio Brown SS 20 Darius Butler CB 23 Vontae Davis CB 27 Josh Gordy CB 26 Delano Howell SS 35 Joe Lefeged FS 32 Cassius Vaughn CB 21 Teddy Williams CB 28 Tom Zbikowski SS Special teams  1 Pat McAfee P 45 Matt Overton LS  4 Adam Vinatieri K		Reserve lists 31 Donald Brown RB (IR) 61 Josh Chapman NT (IR) 17 Austin Collie WR (IR) 52 A. J. Edds ILB (IR) 55 Justin Hickman OLB/DE (IR) 29 Robert Hughes FB (IR) 71 Ben Ijalana G/T (IR) 56 Scott Lutrus ILB (IR) 96 Brandon McKinney NT (IR) 95 Fili Moala DE (IR) 94 Drake Nevis DE (IR) 25 Jerraud Powers CB (IR) 84 Griff Whalen WR (IR) Practice squad 81 Kris Adams WR 79 Justin Anderson G (Injured) 30 Marshay Green CB  8 Chandler Harnish QB 46 Dominique Jones TE 59 Shawn Loiseau ILB 39 Davin Meggett RB 57 Monte Simmons OLB 63 Lee Ziemba T/G Rookies in italics 53 Active, 13 Inactive, 9 Practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	August 12	St. Louis Rams	W 38–3	1–0	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap
2	August 19	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–26	1–1	Heinz Field	Recap
3	August 25	at Washington Redskins	L 17–30	1–2	FedEx Field	Recap
4	August 30	Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–16	2–2	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
1	September 9	at Chicago Bears	L 21–41	0–1	Soldier Field	Recap
2	September 16	Minnesota Vikings	W 23–20	1–1	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap
3	September 23	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 17–22	1–2	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap
4	Bye
5	October 7	Green Bay Packers	W 30–27	2–2	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap
6	October 14	at New York Jets	L 9–35	2–3	MetLife Stadium	Recap
7	October 21	Cleveland Browns	W 17–13	3–3	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap
8	October 28	at Tennessee Titans	W 19–13 (OT)	4–3	LP Field	Recap
9	November 4	Miami Dolphins	W 23–20	5–3	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap
10	November 8	at Jacksonville Jaguars	W 27–10	6–3	EverBank Field	Recap
11	November 18	at New England Patriots	L 24–59	6–4	Gillette Stadium	Recap
12	November 25	Buffalo Bills	W 20–13	7–4	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap
13	December 2	at Detroit Lions	W 35–33	8–4	Ford Field	Recap
14	December 9	Tennessee Titans	W 27–23	9–4	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap
15	December 16	at Houston Texans	L 17–29	9–5	Reliant Stadium	Recap
16	December 23	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 20–13	10–5	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
17	December 30	Houston Texans	W 28–16	11–5	Lucas Oil Stadium	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Regular season

Week 1: at Chicago Bears

The Colts began their season on the road against the Bears. The game was highly hyped due to the start of the career of rookie QB Andrew Luck. The Colts drew first blood in the first quarter as Jerrell Freeman returned an interception 3 yards for a touchdown and a 7–0 lead. However, the Bears tied the game with Michael Bush's 1-yard run to tie the game at 7–7. In the 2nd quarter, the Bears took the lead as Brandon Marshall caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to make the score 14–7. They then increased their lead when Robbie Gould scored a 35-yard field goal to make the score 17–7. The Colts drew closer to shorten the lead to 3 with Donald Brown's 18-yard touchdown run to make the score 17–14. However with just seconds before halftime, the Bears drove down the field while Michael Bush ran in on a 1-yard touchdown for a 24–14 halftime lead. In the 3rd quarter the Bears gained momentum once more with Matt Forte's 6-yard touchdown run for a 31–14 lead and then Robbie Gould's 26-yard field goal for a 34–14 lead. In the fourth quarter, Luck threw his first touchdown pass of the regular season. A 4-yard pass to Donnie Avery to shorten the lead to 34–21. However, the Bears capitalized the victory with Cutler's 42-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery for a final score of 41–21.

With the loss, the Colts began their season 0–1.

Week 2: vs. Minnesota Vikings

After a tough loss to the Bears, the Colts returned home to take on the Vikings. The Vikes took the lead as Blair Walsh nailed a field goal from 51 yards out for a score of 3–0. However, the Colts made it 7–3 with Andrew Luck's 3-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Allen. The Vikings came within a point as Blair Walsh kicked a 29-yard field goal for a 7–6 score. However, the Colts moved further ahead as Vinatieri scored a 26-yard field goal, followed by Andrew Luck's 30-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne for leads of 10–6 and then 17–6 at halftime. In the 3rd quarter, the Colts increased their lead when Vinatieri scored a 45-yard field goal to make the score 20–6. However, in the fourth quarter the Vikings were able to score 2 straight touchdowns with Christian Ponder's 7-yard pass to Stephen Burton to make the score 20–13 and then a 6-yard pass to Kyle Rudolph to tie the game at 20–20. With 8 seconds left, the Colts drove down the field and wrapped the game up with Vinatieri 53-yard field goal for a final score of 23–20.

With the win, the Colts improved to 1–1 and remain undefeated at home against the Vikings as a franchise.

Week 3: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

After the tough home win over the Vikings, the Colts stayed home for a division rival duel against the Jaguars. Scoring started early as the Jags drew first blood scoring a 44-yard field goal from Josh Scobee to take a 3–0 lead. However, the Colts took the lead with Andrew Luck's 40-yard touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton for a 7–3 lead. The Colts increased their lead in the 2nd quarter with Andrew Luck's 4-yard touchdown pass to Mewelde Moore for a 14–3 halftime lead. In the 3rd quarter, the Jaguars were able to fire back as Maurice Jones-Drew ran in a touchdown from 59 yards out to cut the lead to 14–10. Followed up quickly by Scobee's 47-yard field goal to shorten the lead to a point 14–13. In the fourth quarter, the Jags were able to take the lead with Scobee kicking a 26-yard field goal for a 16–14 lead. The Colts however retook the lead with Vinateri's 37-yard field goal for a 17–16 lead. But then the Jags were able to complete the comeback attempt 11 seconds later with Blaine Gabbert's touchdown pass to Cecil Shorts III (with a failed 2-point conversion) to make the final score 22–17.

With the loss, the Colts went into their bye week at 1–2.

Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers

Coming off their bye week, the Colts stayed home for a duel against the Packers. Scoring got off to an early start as John Kuhn ran for a 2-yard touchdown to take a 7–0 lead. In the 2nd quarter, the Packers increased their lead with Aaron Rodgers's 6-yard touchdown pass to James Jones to make the score 14–0. After this, the Colts finally got on the board with Vinatieri's 24-yard field goal to make the score 14–3. However, the Packers pulled away as Aaron Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb for a 31-yard touchdown pass to take a 21–3 halftime lead. After the break, the Colts began to fire back As Andrew Luck connected with Dawyne Allen on an 8-yard touchdown pass, followed by Vinatieri's 50-yard field goal and then Luck's 3-yard rushing touchdown (with a failed 2-point conversion) to shorten the lead to 21–10, 21–13, and then 21–19. In the 4th quarter the Colts took the lead as Vinatieri kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 1-point lead 22–21. However, the Packers again retook the lead as Rodgers found Jones again for an 8-yard touchdown pass (with a failed 2-point conversion) and led 27–22. However, the Colts were able to capitalize the comeback victory with Luck's 4-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with the 2-point conversion successful and win the game 30–27. This game was rated #7 on the Top 20 NFL Games of 2012 on NFL.com, as Wayne's World.^[32]

With the win, the Colts improved to 2–2.

Week 6: at New York Jets

After their tough home win over the Packers, the Colts traveled to take on the Jets at Metlife Stadium. The Colts scoring took off in the first quarter with Adam Vinatieri's 20-yard field goal to take a 3–0 lead. However, the Jets took the lead in the 2nd quarter with Mark Sanchez looking up with Stephen Hill for a 5-yard touchdown pass for a 7–3 lead. They would later increase their lead with Shonn Greene's 10-yard run for a 14–3 lead. However, the Colts were able to draw closer with Vinatieri's 50-yard field goal to make the score 14–6. However the Jets pulled away as Sanchez found Jason Hill on a 5-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21–6 at halftime. The Jets went back to work as Shonn Greene ran for a 4-yard touchdown to make the score 28–6. The Colts scored another field goal from Vinateri from 47 yards out to make the score 28–9, however the Jets wrapped the game up with Shonn Greene's 2-yard touchdown run to make the final score 35–9.

With the huge loss, the Colts fell to 2–3 while rookie QB Andrew Luck would have his first career game without a single touchdown pass.

Week 7: vs. Cleveland Browns

The Colts managed to recover from the blowout loss against the Jets and improved to 3-3 with the win.

Week 8: at Tennessee Titans

With the overtime win, the Colts improved to 4-3.

Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 10: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 11: at New England Patriots

Week 12: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 13: at Detroit Lions

Week 14: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 15: at Houston Texans

This was Indianapolis' last loss to a divisional opponent until 2015.

Week 16: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 17: vs. Houston Texans

With the win, the Colts finished the season 11-5 and 2nd place in the AFC South. Good enough for the #5 playoff seed in the AFC. Also, they would improve to 11-0 against the Texans at home. The Colts also improved from their 2-14 record from 2011.

Standings

AFC South
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(3) Houston Texans	12	4	0	.750	5–1	10–2	416	331	L2
(5) Indianapolis Colts	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	357	387	W2
Tennessee Titans	6	10	0	.375	1–5	5–7	330	471	W1
Jacksonville Jaguars	2	14	0	.125	2–4	2–10	255	444	L5

Postseason

Playoff round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	NFL.com recap
Wild Card	January 6, 2013	at Baltimore Ravens (4)	L 9–24	0–1	M&T Bank Stadium	Recap

AFC Wild Card Playoff Game: at #4 Baltimore Ravens

References

External links

• Official website
• 2012 Indianapolis Colts at ESPN
• 2012 Indianapolis Colts at Pro Football Reference