For reasons only known to those within the Indianapolis Colts' facilities, the team rallied around Scott Tolzien as the presumptive starter while Andrew Luck's status became the biggest mystery of the NFL offseason following shoulder surgery.
Despite the presence of Stephen Morris - who impressed during the preseason - and Colin Kaepernick being available on the open market, the Colts decided to replace Luck with a journeyman quarterback who'd thrown just two career touchdowns to seven interceptions and didn't possess an NFL-level skill set.
It was destined to fail, and fail it did, as the Colts were humiliated by the Los Angeles Rams 46-9 in Week 1, with Tolzien throwing two pick-6s and failing to lead Indy to a single touchdown.
Now, the Colts - desperate to keep the fan base from throwing in the towel for the season - will turn to Jacoby Brissett, a second-year quarterback whom Indy traded for a mere two weeks ago.
That's how desperate the situation has gotten for the team, and especially for head coach Chuck Pagano, who looks like a dead man walking.
But Pagano shouldn't shoulder all the blame for the Colts' ineptitude regarding the quarterback position this offseason.
New general manager Chris Ballard made astute moves in the offseason, overhauling the defense and bringing in the likes of Jabaal Sheard and John Simon as placeholders while the team rebuilds the unit. However, with it now obvious that Luck was never going to be ready for the start of the season, Ballard deserves criticism for failing to properly prepare for his franchise player's absence.
It was always clear that Tolzien had neither the arm strength or football IQ to run the Colts' demanding offensive scheme during training camp, but Ballard failed to realize this until it was too late, first missing on the superiority of Morris and then only bringing in Brissett a week before the start of the regular season.
The GM called the trade for Brissett a long-term move when it was made, according to WHTR.com's Bob Kravitz, so the switch to him this early on in his Colts career is a clear admission the team botched its plan for life without Luck.
Indy deserves some credit for its quick pivot away from Tolzien, but this isn't a carefully considered plan, it's a panicked switch to a young quarterback who's far from ready to start.
Yes, the Colts had no choice, and Brissett did produce a spark when he replaced Tolzien in the fourth quarter, but he'll only be able to run a small portion of the playbook, and is facing a talented Arizona Cardinals defense.
It was ugly for the Colts in Week 1; somehow, they might not have hit rock bottom yet - and it's a Luck-less hell of their own making.
