Doyel: Colts are rolling the dice with 'lousy' offensive line

ANDERSON – The Colts are so good at so many positions. How can they be so lousy at offensive line?

They don't look "inexperienced" at offensive line. They don't look like they have "untapped potential."

They look lousy.

Which is too bad, because "mediocre" would be an upgrade from a year ago, when injuries ravaged the unit and it finished the season 21st in the NFL – second-to-last among playoff teams – in the offensive line rankings of Pro Football Focus. (More on those rankings in a bit.)

Do not use injuries to absolve how bad the Colts' offensive line was. The players who got hurt? They were lousy. Right tackle Gosder Cherilus was hurt much of the season, but he was no good. Everyone who played center was no good. Xavier Nixon and Lance Louis and Hugh Thornton? Lousy.

Armed with spending money and draft picks this offseason, the Colts addressed one of their worst units with a huge portion of wishful thinking.

They hope Jack Mewhort, a tackle at Ohio State, can be as serviceable this season at right tackle as he was last season at left guard. They hope the light bulb goes on for Khaled Holmes or Jonotthan Harrison at center. They hope Lance Louis doesn't remain lousy at left guard. And they hope their only offseason addition at offensive line, free agent right guard Todd Herremans, is a whole lot better than he was last season.

When he was lousy.

This is harsh stuff you're reading, but sometimes that's the way it has to be. The Colts are so fantastically talented at so many spots, they're a Super Bowl-or-bust kind of team — and you've read that here. Coach Chuck Pagano is so good, on the field and off it, that it's absurd he has to enter the final year of his contract in limbo. And you've read that here.

But don't expect me to ignore the travesty at offensive line. You know who the offensive line protects? Quarterback Andrew Luck, not just the Colts' best player but their most important one. If the Colts are to spend the next decade as a Super Bowl contender, as they could do, Luck has to stay healthy.

Here's the Colts' philosophy on protecting Luck:

We hope we can!

It's almost funny, how ridiculous the Colts' first unit looks on paper. This isn't Week 13 of the season, when injuries and other attrition can make an offensive line look suspect. This is Day 1 of training camp, as good as it's going to get, and on Day 1 the Colts unveiled a line with one sure thing — left tackle Anthony Castonzo — and four complete guesses.

Jack Mewhort? I like that guy in the locker room, and I liked him a lot last season at left guard. But neither you, me, Pagano or general manager Ryan Grigson has any idea if he can get the job done at right tackle. And after Castonzo, Mewhort is the least of the Colts' worries.

Poor Lance Louis. The guy was out of football two years ago, given up on in 2012 by the 8-8 Bears and in 2013 by the 8-8 Dolphins. He resurfaced last year with the Colts, was no good for most of the season, then rallied in the postseason when the entire line put together two good playoff games before the 45-7 debacle at New England.

Can Louis be that good again this season? The Colts sure hope so!

And Louis isn't the Colts' biggest question mark on the line. Judging from Pagano's news conference Monday, that would be Holmes. In two days and nearly 25 minutes of interviews, Pagano has used the phrase "right now" to describe just one starter's hold on his position. That player is Holmes, and Pagano used that phrase at least three times to describe Holmes as the starter and Harrison at backup.

And last season Harrison was lousy.

Floating under the radar is Herremans, whose offseason acquisition as a free agent looks really good – he made 124 starts with the Eagles, sixth in team history for a lineman – until you look a little closer.

For example, Herremans has ended two of the last three seasons on injured reserve. He turns 33 in October. Those are two scary sentences.

Another example? When he was injured last season (a biceps injury after eight games), Herremans ranked 70th among 78 offensive guards in the Pro Football Focus rankings. Those rankings, to be fair, are subjective. It's not something as definable as passes caught or yards gained or even passer rating. Human beings watch film and then decide, on a play-by-play basis, how the lineman did against the defender he was blocking. That's vague.

But 70th out of 78? That's not vague. That's lousy.

I asked Herremans about that Monday, and he was fabulous. While saying "the numbers on that website are a little skewed," he acknowledged that "I'm fairly honest with myself when it comes to evaluating my overall play … and I haven't had my best years recently. Some of that is I've been battling injuries and trying to come back. I believe I still have some good ball in me and I want to show that to the guys here."

Herremans is a neat guy. Big old beard like Brett Keisel. Married his wife, Elizabeth, in April and honors her by practicing in a Colts-blue wedding band — made of rubber, to protect himself and others — rather than leaving the finger empty, like most men would do.

But Herremans being a neat guy and Mewhort being one of my locker room favorites and Holmes being intellectually brilliant and Louis being, well, bless his heart ... none of that is going to help Castonzo protect Andrew Luck. This is what Pagano said Monday about Castonzo, so read between the lines to see what Pagano was saying about the rest of his line:

"He's been the one guy that's been back there the whole time," Pagano said of Castonzo. "He's the one guy you can lay your head on your pillow ... and trust."

The rest of the line? The Colts lay their head on their pillow ... and hope for the best.

Makes you wonder how Andrew Luck sleeps at all.

Find Star columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/gregg.doyel