60-year old Bruce Arians has been named the 2012 NFL Coach of the Year.  Arians was the Colts’ offensive coordinator at the start of the 2012 season and he did an excellent job with rookie QB Andrew Luck and the rest of the guys on that side of the football.  But, head coach Chuck Pagano went down early in the season due to leukemia.  While he was being treated, Arians took over the head coaching duties.  Arians led the Colts to a 9-3 record, which helped them get into the playoffs.  Arians is now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, and he will be missed in 2013 and beyond.

23-year old QB Andrew Luck was a sight for sore eyes after Colts’ fans endured a very rough 2011 season,  Luck started all 16 games as a rookie for the Colts last year and he led them to a 11-5 (68.8%) record and a Wild Card berth in the playoffs (which they lost in the first round for the Ravens in Baltimore).  Luck completed 339 of 627 passes (54.1%) for 4,374 yards with 23 TD passes and 18 INTs (76.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 62 times for 255 yards (4.1 ypc) with 5 TD runs last year.  Luck passed for more yards in NFL history than any rookie QB, which says a lot about his big time right arm.

28-year old Drew Stanton was Luck’s backup last year and he didn’t play a down for the Colts.  He has played in 13 games (4 starts) so far in his NFL career and he is 2-2 (50%) as a starter.  He has completed 104 of 187 passes (55.6%) for 1,158 yards with 5 TD passes and 9 INTs (63.1 QB Rating).  Stanton has also carried the ball 30 times for 166 yards (5.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in his career.  The Colts hope that they don’t need Stanton to play any time soon.

28-year old safety Antoine Bethea has been a hammer at the back end of the Colts’ D.  He has played in 15 games for the Colts so far this year and he has 94 tackles, 2 sacks, 7 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  Bethea has now played in 106 games in his first seven years with the Colts and he has 690 tackles, 12 interceptions, 41 passes defensed, 10 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries.  Bethea continues to be one of the more dependable players on the Colts’ D.

34-year old WR Reggie Wayne is still a force for the Colts.  He has played in 13 games for the Colts so far this year and he has caught 94 passes for 1,220 yards (13.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Wayne has caught 94 of 152 passes (61.8%) thrown in his direction so far this year.  21 of his receptions have went for at least 20 yards this year and 65 of his catches have resulted in first downs.  Wayne has now played in 186 games in his first 12 years with the Colts and he has caught 956 passes for 12,928 yards (13.5 avg) with 77 TD grabs.  He is currently #2 in Colts’ history in receptions (956), receiving yards (12,928) and TD grabs (77), behind only Marvin Harrison.

It was thought that 24-year old Cody Fleener would be the main TE in 2012, as he played with Andrew Luck at Stanford, but that just hasn’t been the case so far this year as 22-year old Dwayne Allen has outplayed him so far this year.  Allen has played in 11 games for the Colts so far this year and he has caught 34 passes for 385 yards (11.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has caught 34 of 49 (69.4%) passes thrown in his direction by Luck so far this year.  He also has 7 catches of 20 yards or more and 22 of his catches have resulted in first downs.  Fleener has had injury issues in his rookie season.  Fleener has played in 7 games for the Colts so far this year and he has caught 21 passes for 222 yards (10.6 avg).  He has caught 21 of the 36 passes (58.3%) thrown in his direction by Luck so far this year.  Fleener has 3 catches of 20 yards or longer so far this year and 10 of his catches have went for first downs.  Fleener better make up for lost time when he finally gets healthy, as Dwayne Allen has outplayed him so far this year.

24-year old OLB Jerry Hughes is finally showing that he can play in the NFL in 2012.  In his first two years with the Colts, he has played in 24 games in which he has 21 tackles, 1 sack and 1 tackle for a loss.  But, injuries have opened up more P.T. for Hughes in 2012 and he is making the most of it.  Hughes has played in all 9 games for the Colts so far this year and he has 23 tackles, 4 sacks and 2 tackles for a loss.  The Colts need Hughes to keep up the good work the rest of the way in 2012.

The Indianapolis Colts have a 5-3 record heading into the second half of the 2012 season, exceeding all expectations.  The Colts are averaging 19.9 points per game so far this year and they are giving up 23.9 points per game.  Here is a look at the guys who made the biggest impacts in the first half of the 2012 season:

Offensive MVP:  Andrew Luck – 23-year old rookie QB Andrew Luck is having a great rookie season for the Colts.  He has played in 8 games for the Colts so far this year and he has completed 190 of 336 passes (56.5%) for 2,404 yards with 10 TD passes and 8 INTs (79.0 QB Rating).  Luck has also carried the ball 27 times for 148 yards (5.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far this year.  He is only going to get better.

Defensive MVP:  Jerrell Freeman – 26-year old linebacker Jerrell Freeman was plucked out of Canada as a free agent over the summer.  He has really stepped up as a rookie for the Colts this year.  He has played in 8 games for the Colts so far this year and he has 71 tackles, 1 sack, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception (one returned for a TD) and 1 forced fumble.

Special Teams MVP:  Pat McAfee – 25-year old punter Pat McAfee has played in 8 games for the Colts so far this year and he has punted the ball 33 times for 1,587 yards (48.1 avg).  He has also pinned the opposition inside their 20-yard line 10 times (30.3%) and he has 6 touchbacks (18.2%) so far this year.

28-year old WR Donnie Avery only played in 8 games in 2010 and 2011 in which he caught 3 passes for 45 yards (15.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  That was because his knees were bugging him big time.  Avery has now played in six games for the Colts so far this year and he has caught 25 passes for 304 yards (12.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Andrew Luck has only completed 25 of 54 passes (46.3%) to Avery so far this year, but he is clearly the QBs second favorite receiver on the team behind Reggie Wayne.  The Colts hope that Avery can stay healthy the rest of the way in 2012.

23-year old QB Andrew Luck is proving that he is a winner lately.  The Colts are 2-1 in October and Luck has had a lot to do with it.  Luck has played in 3 games so far in October and he has completed 69 of 128 (.53.9%) for 828 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs.  He also has carried the ball 10 times for 35 yards (3.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far this month.  Luck has now played in all six games for the Colts so far this year and he has completed 134 of 250 passes (53.6%) for 1,674 yards with 7 TD passes and 7 INTs (72.3 QB Rating).  Luck has also carried the ball 20 times for 115 yards (5.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far this year.  The most impressive thing about Luck’s performance to me is that he doesn’t have much of a running game to help him.  The Colts are only averaging 96.5 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry so far this year.

24-year old Coby Fleener and 22-year old Dwayne Allen have given the Colts pretty solid work so far this year.  Fleener has played in 5 games so far this year for the Colts and he has caught 17 passes for 181 yards (10.6 avg).  Allen has played in five games for the Colts and he has caught 12 passes for 109 yards (9.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  Andrew Luck has completed 29 of 47 passes (61.7%) thrown to his rookie TEs so far this year.  The Colts are expecting even more out of their TEs as this season goes on.