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...

In case you weren't aware, the Pro Bowl was played on Sunday. The NFC won that game scoring a lot of points to the AFCs a lot, but not nearly enough points. In the week leading up to the Pro Bowl, the internet was abuzz with people telling us why they wouldn't watch, why the Pro Bowl was a joke, and why the NFL, if it had any self-respect would cancel it. And then, on Sunday, those same people helped earn the Pro Bowl a TV rating equivalent to an NBA finals game. Clearly, the Pro Bowl is a polarizing topic, so let's talk about it, shall we?

My first thought is: who cares? The Pro Bowl is no different from the NBA, NHL, and MLB All-Star games. They aren't, in my mind, meant to be serious replicas of an NFL game. They are, for the most part, held for money and for fans. The first part comes in the form of meet and greets and greased palms with sponsors - not to mention a pretty nice ad revenue take for NBC - while the second is self-explanatory: while everyone complains about the Pro Bowl, they all tune in to see their favorite players in a relaxed setting.

So, do I think the Pro Bowl has to be fixed or canceled? No, I think it serves its purpose just fine as it is, and fans should feel free to watch - or not watch - as it suits them. But, hey, just because things are fine doesn't mean they couldn't be better! So let's fix this *****! 

Last week, I put together a scouting guide for Colts' fans while watching the 2013 Senior Bowl, noting a few players on both teams, offensive and defensive, that would be potential targets for the Colts in the draft.

With the game now behind us, here are a few of my favorite senior targets for the Colts. 

The consensus on the Colts 1st round pick is that there is no consensus. With the draft still 3 months away, a pick in the back half of the round, plenty of team needs and an organization with a history of leaking very little draft information that's not a surprise. The countless 2013 mock drafts out there do however give a nice, wide overview of the possibilities, and the right pick is probably in there somewhere. A long shot isn't so long with hundreds of attempts.

The Colts 1st round pick according to the first 25 mock drafts listed on Walterfootball's mock draft database:

Johnathan Jenkins, NT, Georgia (3 mocks), Massive 6'4" 359lb with the kind of "A person that big shouldn't move like that", agility which makes great linemen. Using a 1st round pick on a player who won't be a major factor against the pass and simply can't play every down isn't ideal, but it's pretty hard to run an effective 3-4 without a great NT. (Scouting Report)

Barrett Jones, G/C, Alabama (2 mocks), Smart (got an accounting degree in 3 years with a 4.0 GPA), experienced (49 college starts with 10+ at LT, C and G), tough (played the last half of this season with a Lisfranc injury) and a little nasty (see .gif) Jones has everything you could want in an offensive line prospect. Jones will very likely play inside in the NFL, but versatility is always a plus. (Scouting Reports)

Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma (2 mocks), A JUCO quarterback turned tight end and defensive end for Oklahoma, Johnson found a place at OT. He's still learning, but has lots of potential and shut down some talented pass rushers. (Scouting Reports)