INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — — albeit with a new coach.Right guard Mark Glowinski signed a three-year contract extension worth $18 million Tuesday Jabaal Sheard Jersey , assuring the Colts of having all five starters back. Center Ryan Kelly just finished his third season and is still on his rookie contract.Left guard Quenton Nelson and right tackle Braden Smith were selected by the Colts in the 2018 draft and longtime left tackle Anthony Castonzo will be entering the final year of his four-year contract this fall. Together, they allowed a league-low 18 sacks and paved the way for Marlon Mack to top the 100-yard mark four times during the regular season — the most by an Indy runner since Joseph Addai in 2007."I think just even having a little bit more cohesion that we have is going to be crucial," Glowinski said in a statement issued by the team."We did a great job of just making sure that we were pushing through and (making) each other accountable even regardless of who they are and all that kind of stuff. Honestly, with the group that we have we can take it even to another level. I feel like we are just getting started."There will be a couple of other new faces in the locker room, though.The Colts also announced Tuesday they have hired Chris Strausser as the new offensive line coach and Jason Michael as the tight ends coach.Strausser replaces Dave DeGuglielmo, who was fired Jan. 15. Assistant offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, whose previous experience included working with the tight ends, left to take a position with the Buffalo Bills. Tight ends coach Tom Manning left Jan. 18 and returned to Iowa State where he will serve as offensive coordinator.Under Manning, the Colts had the most productive tight end group in the NFL and Eric Ebron made his first Pro Bowl after catching the most touchdown passes in the league by a tight end, 13.Strausser is a 30-year coaching veteran who spent the past two seasons working with Denver's offensive line. He worked the previous 28 years in college, making stops at Washington, Boise State Pierre Desir Color Rush Jersey , Colorado, Portland State, Foothill College, San Jose State, Sonoma State, Oregon State and Menlo College.Michael worked as the Arizona Cardinals tight end coach last season after spending four years on the Tennessee Titans' staff. He's also worked with the Chargers, 49ers, Jets and Raiders as well as two stints at the University of Tennessee.But general manager Chris Ballard's bigger priority was keeping the offensive line together.Glowinski moved into the starting lineup in early October after Matt Slauson went down with a season-ending back injury. Glowinski appeared in 11 games, starting nine.He spent his first three seasons with Seattle before Indy claimed Glowinski off waivers in December 2017.The moves come one day after kicker Adam Vinatieri re-signed with the Colts for one year. Heading into the season, it was widely accepted that the Indianapolis Colts were in a rebuilding year. Some projected a losing record. Numerous others suggested that a .500 season should be considered a big accomplishment. Neither of those groups could have imagined some of the things that have happened in 2018.Even fans who were confident in Andrew Luck’s return to football after nearly two years away from the game had to admit hesitation. What can you realistically expect from a player who underwent major shoulder surgery, suffered an apparent setback during his recovery, and didn’t officially start the football portion of his throwing program until training camp only a few months ago? If I had to guess https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Kemoko-Turay-Jersey , even the most optimistic fan wouldn’t have thought that 13 games into the season Luck would be among the top five quarterbacks in passing yards, have a quarterback rating just under Aaron Rodgers but above Tom Brady, and sit second in the NFL in touchdown passes. Coming into the season, it was expected that a major transition from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 Tampa 2 style would take time. There is simply no way to acquire all of the players a team needs to effectively run the system in one year. While the Colts defense isn’t where fans or coaches want it to be just yet, there are tremendous first year strides that no one would have predicted. The Colts are currently sitting at 11th in total defense, 18th in point per game, 15th in pass defense, 9th!!! in run defense (the Achilles heel of the Tampa 2), 12th in sacks, and 8th in forced fumbles. Not only is this defense already an average or even above average unit, it has players who are flashing in a much brighter way than could have been imagined.Chris Ballard should be seriously considered for executive of the year. His draft picks and free agent additions on the offensive line have completely changed the face of the organization. Injuries to Jack Doyle and Ryan Kelly have brought the group down to a earth a bit but when veteran Matt Slauson went down, Mark Gowinski somehow upgraded the right guard position. When the floundering attempts at right tackle failed and Joe Haeg suffered an injury Anthony Castonzo Jersey , rookie Braden Smith turned into what appears to be a long-term answer at the position. The future looks very bright for the Colts offensive line and just one year ago this unit had huge question marks. An even greater accomplishment has to be the work Ballard has done in just two years at linebacker. No position was a bigger weakness heading into the 2018 NFL Draft. The pledge to bring in a handful of new players at the position signaled a complete “rebuild” at the second level of an entirely new defense. Right now? Darius Leonard, who was an “over-drafted” small school prospect early in the second round, and Anthony Walker, a mid-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft who did very little as a rookie, look very much like the team’s future at the position. Leonard is a front runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year (and is currently underappreciated in discussions for Defensive Player of the Year outright). Leonard leads the NFL in tackles by 17 and he missed a game this season. Walker is 15th in the NFL with 97 tackles and has come on strong in recent weeks.Rookies Matthew Adams, Zaire Franklin, and Skai Moore are all still with the team. Adams has stepped into a prominent role as the starting strong side or SAM linebacker. He has shown speed, range, and strength that seventh round picks aren’t supposed to show. He played a big role in containing Dashaun Watson in the pocket. Even the defensive line has been a breath of fresh air. Free agent acquisition Denico Autry was only kind of exciting for Colts fans. He wasn’t a marquee name in free agency and Ballard didn’t throw away the team’s future trying to pay him. He currently leads the Colts in sacks with 8 on the season, has tallied 5 sacks in the last two weeks, and has been dominant at 3-tech defensive tackle. Margus Hunt has battled through injuries for the most productive season of his career. Jabaal Sheard has been a dominant edge defender, particularly against the run Ryan Kelly Color Rush Jersey , and has 5.5 sacks of his own. Rookies Kemoko Turay and Tyquan Lewis have flashed potential as pass rushers. Indianapolis has acquired what many believe is the top group of tight ends in the NFL. Starters Jack Doyle and Eric Ebron have Pro Bowl level talent. Mo Alie-Cox and Erik Swoope have been red zone threats who can easily get lost as defenses focus attention elsewhere. Perhaps the most impressive part of the story here is that the Colts have Ross Travis on injured reserve who many thought would push his way onto the roster this season.Ultimately, these surprises, these wins at numerous positions in a very short period of time have resulted in the Colts going on an impressive 6-1 run after a slow 1-5 start. Let’s take a look back at the keys to the game and how the Colts came out on top against the Houston Texans.KEEP DESHAUN WATSON UNCOMFORTABLECheck. The Colts defense generated 5 sacks and 7 quarterback hits. They contained Watson in the pocket and held him to 35 yards on 5 carries on the ground. They also knocked down four of his passes. BRACKET HOPKINSCheck. Hopkins caught 4 passes on 10 targets for 36 yards and a touchdown. No Texans player was targeted more than Hopkins on the day and he simply couldn’t get anything going. For big stretches of the game, he wasn’t a factor. MUST MAINTAIN BALANCEMeh. The Colts were able to stay more balanced than they were against the Jacksonville Jaguars a week ago but the running game was entirely ineffective. Andrew Luck led the way, averaging over 6 yards per carry — not counting his kneel downs at the end of the game. Marlon Mack averaged only 2.4 yards per carry and Nyheim Hines averaged .3 yards. BIG PLAYS/TURNOVERSThe officials nearly stole this one. Malik Hooker and Clayton Geathers sniffed out a goal line pass that Geathers was able to pick off. A ridiculous personal foul on Hooker gave the Texans another chance that ended with a touchdown, instead of a goal line turnover.Either way, Indianapolis was unable to win the turnover battle and it kept the game closer than it otherwise would have been.OFFENSIVE LINE MUST GELCheck. While Andrew Luck was sacked twice, he held onto the ball too long on at least one of those plays. The other sack was J.J. Watt doing what he does. Ultimately, Luck was able to pick the Texans defense apart — using a heavy dose of T.Y. Hilton and often had a clean pocket to work from. Jadaveon Clowney was shutout and Braden Smith handled Watt one-on-one for much of the afternoon.There is still work to be done, particularly in the run game, but this was a better effort.