Look, I know it's only February. I know that coachspeak in the offseason means little. 

That being said, Pep Hamilton's first press conference had a few hot button issues that left a sour taste in my mouth. Not everything was bad, quite to the contrary, but these were a couple things I wanted to look in-depth at. 

The first, and most important topic, was the continuous mentions of Donnie Avery. Throughout the press conference, Hamilton described Avery as a weapon and referred to him as somebody who would feature in to the Colts' 2013 plans. It's no secret that Grigson like's Avery, specifically his speed and his deep threat ability. 

After holding back the offense for much of the 2012 season, it seemed all but certain that Avery would be gone in 2013. Now, it's looking more and more likely like he'll be back in Indianapolis. 

April 9, 2011; San Francisco, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton (left) and quarterback Andrew Luck (12) talk during the Cardinal & White spring game at Kezar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

New Offensive Coordinator Pep Hamilton’s press conference yesterday began in a decidedly straightforward manner: “Well, I’m Pep Hamilton. I’m the new offensive coordinator, of course, for the Indianapolis Colts. I’m excited to be here.”  Hamilton eased the some people’s worries that the Colts might altogether abandon the deep passing game, discussed some of the offensive looks – ruling out few if any – we might see this year, and talked some about his experience so far coming back to the NFL.   

The Colts’ New-Look Offense

The hiring of Pep Hamilton, who’s job title at Stanford was the “Andrew Luck Director of Offense,” signaled a change in philosophy that could translate into fewer sacks and a higher completion percentage, but also brought concerns that the deep passing game could all but disappear from the offense.  Hamilton, who has virtually lived at the Colts complex in recent weeks, alleviated some of those worries and sounded like a coach who wants to work toward the strengths of the players on the roster – something Tom Moore excelled at as the OC in Indy.  

On Tonight's Episode Laura, Rohan, and Greg will break down Super 47, the outcome, and the myriad storylines that emerged from the game. We'll also discuss the latest off-season news and notes from Colts HQ. Live at 8pm ET!

Heading into this period of free agency, Colts fans have been consistently tossed three names with regard to upgrading the offense - Dwayne Bowe, Greg Jennings, Mike Wallace. When looking at our receiver depth last year, any one of the three would seem to be a real upgrade - but are they worth the contract they'll likely receive on the open market?

As I explored last week, the concept of 'value' with this current Colts team can also incorporate veteran players and the value of tuition - the benefits of having Reggie Wayne and Greg Jennings for example would I hope pay dividends in the route running of our other recievers.

When it comes to the three players in question, I'm not a massive fan of any of the three. Wallace and Bowe both have their issues with dropping the ball and concentration, while Greg Jennings has had injury issues in the past couple of seasons culminating in the usurping of his role by Randall Cobb and James Jones. Today I'll do my best to illustrate the style of Dwayne Bowe's play, along with pointing out positives and negative observations along the way.

I'll begin by showing a few of his highlights from 2012 in order to get the most recent picture of his play. An important caveat to the first three i'll show is context - all three touchdowns receptions were in garbage time or something approaching it. The first two - from the Bills vs Chiefs game in Week 3, 2012 - came with the score at 35-3 and 35-10 respectively. Make of that what you will, i'll come back to it later.

If you are a regular listener of our live podcasts, you may remember a conversation we had in the pre-season regarding Percy Harvin. The conversation revolved around rumors that Harvin and the Vikings didn't see eye-to-eye on various things - mostly money - and that the Vikings may try to move the dynamic receiver. My co-hosts, Laura Calaway and Rohan Bhasin, were steadfast in their position that the Colts should pass up any opportunity to acquire the enigmatic Harvin.

I had a slightly different opinion. Given his uniqe play making ability, I said the Colts should go for it, assuming the cost would be something less than a 1st round pick. Harvin would have far more talent than anyone in rounds 2-7, but he's not without risks. The argument ended as most do: with me being right. I tried to force a meme out of the situation: 2nd round pick and $14MM - the fake, exaggerated price I was willing to pay for Harvin - would be the benchmark for all of our player-acquisition discussions (Dwayne Bowe, Greg Jennings, Mike Wallace: worth a 2nd round pick and $14 MILLION dollars? Who they think they are, Chelsea Clinton?)

So here we are, 6 months later, and Percy Harvin's name is once again making the rounds through the rumor mill.

Nov 10, 2012; Iowa City, IA, USA; Purdue Boilermakers defensive tackle Kawann Short (93) works against Iowa Hawkeyes offensive lineman Conor Boffeli (59) during the third quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports

With the season over, it's now Draft season! Mock drafts are being churned out on a daily basis, so here is a quick review of the players that have been mocked to the Colts over the past week.

Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com

Kawann Short, DT, Purdue

The Colts' defensive line needs a little bit of work, but there are some great options in the draft, one of which is Kawann Short. As I have written before, Short has worked with current Colts Defensive Line coach Gary Emanuel at Purdue, whilst GM Ryan Grigson remains on great terms with the staff at his alma mater. Jeremiah said “Short's effort has been called into question by some evaluators, but Indianapolis general manager Ryan Grigson played at Purdue and should be able to get to the bottom of that issue.” A great Senior Bowl week has propelled Short into first-round discussion, and he looks to be a good fit to play defensive end in our 3-4 scheme.

Last week, I started to break down the Colts' cap situation, starting with the offense. 

Now, we move to the defense and special teams, to finish out this review. 

Editor's Note: This guest post comes to you from Jacob Lewin, who we are excited to work with. Enjoy his first post at Colts Authority!

Both Austin Collie and Donnie Avery are free agents and the Colts front office must decide what to do with these veteran receivers.  Avery assumed the role of the Colts’ #2 receiver after Collie ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee against Jacksonville on September 23, 2012.  

Although Avery had the most dropped passes this season, he was a serviceable replacement and even made some of the most memorable plays of the 2012 season. Because Collie should be ready for the 2013 season and since there is some skepticism about re-signing Avery, the Colts have no reason to keep both players.

Between the two, Collie has more versatility: he’s a great route runner, possesses underrated quick speed, has excellent hands, and fearlessness running in the middle of the field (could be related to his four concussions). Collie’s numbers as a Colt in three seasons were pretty exceptional – 173 Receptions, 1845 yards, 16 TDs, only 1 fumble – and in one of those seasons he was being targeted by a Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky. He also had a memorable game against the Jets in 2009 AFC Championship.

Collie developed a great connection with Andrew Luck in the small amounts of film I saw – especially in the 8/12/12 game against the Rams – where they seemed right on the same page.  Reggie Wayne and Luck shared a great connection this past season and if Luck and Collie connect in the same way, we could certainly see pro-bowl numbers in 2013.

With the draft and free agency quickly approaching, Colts fans (including myself) are already predicting and speculating on who could possibly join Indianapolis in 2013. 

But before we start predicting and wondering where the Colts will go, we need to understand exactly what the Colts are already paying for, and what the team's needs are. If you've been reading Olly Dawes' excellent pieces, you should already have an understanding of the holes the Colts have on both offense and defense. 

With that at our disposal, let's take a deeper look at the cap breakdown for 2013 (brought to you by Spotrac), finding out exactly what the Colts are paying for next season, and where improvements can be made. 

Nov. 04, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) hands off to teammate Vick Ballard (33) during first half action against the Miami Dolphins at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

Every year someone makes the mistake, a common and quite forgivable one.  You may even hear it from the broadcast booth of an NFL game, possibly even a Colts game: “Well, Bob, their schedule is going to be a lot tougher this time around because they won a lot of games last year.”  While there was once some truth to that assumption, many of you well-versed football fans are quite aware that it’s no longer the case. 

The idea that NFL teams face weighted schedules in the name of parity has become a bit of a myth.  Indianapolis’s strength of schedule last year, coming off an oppressively bleak 2-14 finish, ranked 14^th before the season, at 128-128; hardly a murders’ row, but certainly not the soft schedule many believe is afforded to a team that finished last in the league.