NASHVILLE www.coltsfanshop.com/Le_Raven-Clark-Jersey /a> , Tenn. — Entering the 2018-19 regular season the Indianapolis Colts weren’t very fond of the number 32 and the word rebuild. That’s what media and football spectators coined the Colts. A team that found itself with a huge question-mark at quarterback and several other positions. With all those concerns, Indianapolis was labeled No. 32. 32 as in the 32nd ranked team in the preseason rankings. The Colts head coach knew it wasn’t a rebuild and he knew he had a group of guys that is better than the No. 32 label. Fast forward 17 weeks, Reich was right. “I never thought it was a rebuild,” Reich said to reporters after the Week 17 win over the Tennessee Titans. “Chris (Ballard) and I would talk, he had the perspective at the end that we talked about building. We talked about building. We talked about where we were at, and goals that we had. I took myself out of that equation from the beginning. I just wanted to say one thing up front that I’ve got one thing on my mind, and that’s to win this year, and that’s what our expectation is.”The expectation came to fruition when the Colts earned their 10th win of the season, knocking the Titans out of the playoffs with a 33-17 win. That victory capped off a 2018 regular season in which Indianapolis won nine of its last 10 games. That doesn’t happen over night, and the 32nd ranked team in the league wouldn’t be able to achieve such a feat. The Colts did, and they were motivated. “We have the players to do it,” Reich said. “We don’t want to hear everything about what everybody said about the roster. We were ranked 32nd in all preseason polls. We talked about that, and then we were ranked 32nd after the draft with that draft we had. I like where we’re at.” Whenever Luck is 100 percent healthy, the Colts have a chance to win each game. With Luck finding his old self again, the Colts needed other roster members to step-up to relieve some pressure off the franchise quarterback.Chris Ballard did that, finding players such Quenton Nelson, Eric Ebron, Dontrelle Inman Khari Willis Jersey , Mark Glowinski, Nyheim Hines, Tyquan Lewis, Braden Smith, Malik Hooker, and so forth. Ballard’s campaign started off on a bumpy road, as the Colts won just five games in 22 attempts. That had the Indianapolis fan base concerned about their new general manager. Those yells and whispers are forgotten as Ballard’s roster build has the Colts primed for a playoff run outside of this season. “I can’t say enough about Chris (Ballard) and everything he’s done to make this happen,” Reich said. “The emphasis on character, the draft that we had, the leadership that we’re getting from the guys in the draft – not just great players, but strong players. Obviously, Chris (Ballard) is at the forefront of that.”Even at 1-5, the Colts knew they had a chance for something special. With close losses to the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Houston Texans, the guys in the locker room stuck together like glue.The glue never wore off, which made the win over the Titans in Week 17 that much more special.“We’re excited,” Luck said. “I’m so proud of the guys on this team. I sincerely love being on this team. I really enjoy those guys in the locker room www.coltsfanshop.com/Bobby-Okereke-Jersey /a> , the coaches, the help, everybody. It’s a great group of guys. You can’t do it without a strong locker room. You can’t. It’s what this league’s about. Coach put a great group together. Frank (Reich) leading the charge, awesome. We’ve been in playoff mode for a long time now, we really have and honestly, I think that helps. It helps us when we are in a so called ‘win and in’ situation. Things don’t change this weekend now; it’s the same. Excited, very happy, certainly proud to be a Colt.” The Colts became the second team in the history of the National Football League to clinch a playoff berth despite starting 1-5. Don’t tell Luck that this group isn’t special. “I’ll be honest when you’re in the weeds of it and you’re in it, it’s hard to sort of step back and appreciate it. I know for my personality, at least it is. Frank (Reich) mentioned something about maybe being the second team in NFL history to do what we’ve done and that’s great. That’s awesome. We’re just excited to have another opportunity to go play again. I guess to answer your question, it’s a little hard to step back and look at it from that perspective now.” Next up, Houston. INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard followed the pattern through the first two days of the NFL draft.First, he moved back to get more picks. Then he invested heavily in the defense. And finally, he gave quarterback Andrew Luck some help.After trading away Indy’s first-round pick on Thursday, Ballard took cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, pass-rushing linebacker Ben Banogu and receiver Parris Campbell with his three second-round picks and closed out Day 2 by taking linebacker Bobby Okereke in the third round.But it wasn’t just the way Ballard drafted that seemed so familiar; it was who he took and what they sounded like, too.“I only played football in high school for two years so I was slightly under-recruited, I feel like Parris Campbell Jersey ,” Ya-Sin said. “I just believed in myself. I felt like I had the talent, I had the work ethic and I had great coaches that were pushing me.”Ya-Sin impressed the Colts so much in his only season at the Bowl Subdivision level at Temple that Indy took him with the No. 34 selection — the first time they’ve chosen a cornerback that high since selecting Marlin Jackson No. 29 overall in 2005.Last year, Ballard used the first of his four second-round picks, No. 36 overall, on another overlooked prep player who wound up at a Football Championship Subdivision school, linebacker Darius Leonard. He led the NFL in tackles, was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year and became a first-team All-Pro in 2018.This time, with a pick acquired from the New York Jets in 2018, Ballard took the 6-foot, 192-pound Ya-Sin, a two-time Georgia state wrestling champion with a reputation for getting physical.Ya-Sin played his first three seasons at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina — just 100 miles from Leonard’s alma mater, South Carolina State — before finishing 14th in the FBS with 12 passes defensed last season at Temple. Ya-Sin also earned a single-digit jersey, an honor reserved for the Owls’ toughest players.Could Ballard hit it big again with a defense that made major strides in its first season under defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus?“Gil Brandt said something the other night. He said, ‘I’ve always loved guys who transfer up,'” Ballard said. “Why do they do it? Because they know they’re good. Rock did that, Ben did the same thing. They have a high level of confidence they can play. That was one of the neat things about Darius, he stepped on that Senior Bowl field and he belonged. These kids believe they belong.”In the meantime www.coltsfanshop.com/Ben-Banogu-Jersey /a> , Ballard continues to collect talent and picks.After sending the No. 26 overall pick to Washington for two second-rounders Thursday, Ballard dealt the first of the two picks, No. 49 overall, to Cleveland, moved back three spots, found another pass-rusher in the 6-foot-4, 249-pound Banogu and added a fifth-round pick to his draft weekend arsenal.Banogu played primarily defensive line in college and after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe to TCU in 2016, recorded 8 ½ sacks in each of his final two college seasons. The Colts envision using him all over the field.“I’m ready to do just about anything. With the coaching staff and my football I.Q., I feel like I can pick it up pretty fast and be effective,” he said. “Doing some of the linebacker stuff at the Senior Bowl really opened my eyes to all the neat ways you can kind of create plays and turnovers for your team.”Then Ballard got some help for Luck — taking the 6-foot-1, 208-pound Campbell at No. 59. Campbell and Andy Isabella were tied for the fastest 40-yard dash time (4.31 seconds) among receivers at February’s scouting combine. Campbell caught a single-season school-record at Ohio State with 90 receptions last season. He also had 1,063 yards and 12 TDs.Ballard closed out the day by adding the 6-foot-3, 239-pound Okereke from Stanford. The fifth linebacker selected by the Colts since 2018 recorded 182 tackles and 7½ sacks in his final two college seasons.And the Colts may be just getting started. Ballard has two picks each in the fourth and fifth rounds and six picks total on Saturday.“We’re playing a lot of teams with very good quarterbacks this year and you’ve got to be able to run them down,” Ballard said. That’s always going to be a priority for us.”100View Gallery Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj Mehta