With the Superbowl wrapped up and the 2012-13 season now in the books, it's time to look ahead to the future, and in particular, free agency. The $46m figure has been thrown around regarding the Colts' cap space, and as such it's bound to be an exciting time to be a Colts fan. I'd argue that our current position allows us the freedom to aggressively pursue free agents and players we desire to an unprecedented extent when historically assessing the league.

(AP Photo - MIchael Conroy)

When the rookie wage scale was introduced, the most obvious benefits were to provide a greater pool of money for veterans who deserved it given cap limitations - no more 6 year, $80m deals in the style of Sam Bradford in 2009 - the #1 overall pick has been limited to $22m over 4 years, or something thereabouts.

Combine the new salary parameters with the uniquely prodigious talent of Luck, and I'd argue that the Colts are in completely uncharted territory when it comes to the upcoming three year period.

Put it like this - no other team has had this amount of cap space with a quarterback this talented, at a bargain basement price. He will remain a bargain for the next three years guaranteed - you can't modify rookie contracts, as agreed in the CBA.

As a result of this, I want to see Ryan Grigson amidst a whirlwind of activity, showing aggressiveness the likes of which we haven’t encountered from the Colts in recent years. Moves like Darrelle Revis can be considered through the filter of a three year window - provided the contracts we do move forward with are negotiated appropriately when it comes to duration, allowing us the flexibility to re-sign or franchise Luck when the time comes.

A smooth operator

Reggie Wayne, despite being the elder statesman of a young football team, is still one of the smoothest receivers in the game. That reputation for smoothness prompted Gillette to ask Reggie for help solving an age-old dilemma: do women prefer to kiss a guy with or without facial hair.

Gillette and Reggie hosted an event in New Orleans as part of the Super Bowl festivities which invited couples to pucker up in an attempt to get to the bottom of this issue:

WHO:                   Pro football player Reggie Wayne will get the sparks flying as he asks local couples to pucker up for a live national social experiment all about the kiss!

WHAT:                 Research shows that people are kissing less than ever and that 1 out of 3 women have avoided kissing a guy because he had facial hair. With Valentine’s Day on the horizon and signs showing that the kiss may be on the decline, Gillette is asking couples across America to help determine if stubble could be the trouble.

The results of the experiment will be revealed on Valentine's Day. You can view pictures of the event here, follow the event and Reggie's involvement on KissAndTellUs.com or on Facebook.

With the NFL’s official AP awards being announced on Saturday, all of our speculating and debating comes to a close. Each winner was deserving with multiple fantastic and historic seasons throughout the league.

The winners were as follows:

MVP/Offensive Player of the Year- Adrian Peterson

Defensive Player of the Year- J.J. Watt

Comeback Player of the Year- Peyton Manning

Offensive Rookie of the Year- Robert Griffin III

Defensive Rookie of the Year- Luke Kuechly

Coach of the Year- Bruce Arians

As I stated before, each of these individuals had fantastic seasons, and I applaud each of them. They all had very good arguments for the final result.

That being said, I still have a few thoughts on the final results.

The sermon is finished, the confetti angels complete, the lights have been turned off... again.

The end of Super Bowl 47 marks the finish of the 2012-2013 season and signals the beginning of the next "most vital off-season in Indianapolis Colts history." While last off-season was filled with tough emotional decisions, this off-season will be rife with difficult and tricky personnel decisions that will shape the future of the franchise for years to come, and go a long way towards determining just how successful this team can and will be on the championship level.

First comes the most challenging task for any team: honest self-examination. Grigson will need to avoid the trap of buying into the Colts 11-5 record, along with the hype and sentimentality that accompany it, and determine what the real strengths and weaknesses are on this roster. The toughest evaluations will likely come at Strong Safety and Center, where two of Grigson's 2012 free agency acquisitions - Tom Zbikowski and Samson Satele - were two of the weakest starters on the team.

With his self-evaluation complete, Grigson will turn his attention to the trickiest part of the off-season, and one of the biggest killers of long-term franchise success: free agency. While most Colts fans are stoked by the notion of the Colts having over $40-million in cap space and dreaming of their team finally making a big splash in free agency after years of Bill Polian putting them to sleep, Grigson must navigate the minefield of free agency carefully.

With the questions now emerging on Ed Reed's future with the Ravens, the Colts are one of the teams to watch. With the obvious connections to former defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, familiarity with former Ravens Cory Redding, Brandon McKinney, and Tom Zbikowski, and former roommate Reggie Wayne, Reed has the intangible reasons to sign with Indianapolis. 

But that doesn't make Reed the perfect fit for the Colts. The team is trying to rebuild, and has enough veterans (namely Bethea, Mathis, and Redding) on the defense to start building with younger guys. If the Colts can get him for an extremely cheap price, and for a one-two year contract at most, then it wouldn't be a bad sign. But anything more than that could be a hindrance more than a help. 

But Reed isn't the only option at safety. Here are a few safeties that could be an option in free agency. 

(Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)

We are just a couple days away now from Super Bowl 47 between the Ravens and the 49ers, and storylines abound, from the basic football stuff (San Francisco’s college-style offense), to the downright weird (Chris Culver’s homophobia and Ray Lewis’s deer antler P.E.D.’s).  Oh, and the coaches are bro…never mind. 

Anyway, please join me for a fresh batch of Super Bowl predictions plus a quick game preview, and when you're done, you can tell us who you're rooting for in the comments, if you like. 

On Tonight's Episode Rohan and Greg talk Jim Irsay, Ed Reed, Super Bowl XLWQIGMNNTIAUIQL, random NFL news, and maybe some hockey!

(AP / Michael Conroy)

Today, we’re going to party like it’s 1995.  As former Colts quarterback and Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh prepares his team to play the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII, let’s take a moment to remember some of Harbaugh’s greatest moments as an Indianapolis Colt.  (Note: I had to narrow this down considerably.  So if you have any Harbaugh memories you feel like sharing, please leave a comment)

Long before he ever coached Andrew Luck or Colin Kaepernick, or even appeared in that Saved by the Bell episode, Harbaugh was an eight-year NFL veteran, unceremoniously jettisoned by Chicago and unwanted by most of the league.  His career in doubt, Harbaugh was a man down on his luck when he first came to Indy, according to a great 1996 article by Peter King, written just after Indianapolis knocked off Kansas City in the 95-96 playoffs:

It's about time Harbaugh's luck turned. The week he got waived by the Bears, he also broke up with his girlfriend and learned that his month-old golden retriever had only a 10% chance of surviving an intestinal disease. He said he felt as if he were living the lyrics of a country-music song. The job, the girl and the dog...and then came Mel Kiper.

Join Colts Authority Radio as Scott Kacsmar and Kyle Rodriguez preview the Super Bowl.

Congratulations to Colts general manager Ryan Grigson on winning the NFL Executive of the Year award. But whilst his work in 2012 was, for a first time GM, exceptional, the expectation levels have raised ahead of the 2013 season.

2012 saw a team of plucky underdogs make their way to the playoffs, largely based on Grigson's draft picks and free agent pickups during the season.

However, with approximately $40m in cap room to spend, Grigson is now expected to raise the talent level of a team that overachieved its way to an 11-5 record. Big name free agents are hitting the market and the Colts have the money to pay them. There are plenty of holes on this team that need to be filled, starting with the offense...