clear after another loss last week. He expects the Indianapolis Colts to clean things up.Whether it’s missed throws https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Tarell-Basham-Jersey , dropped passes, penalties or turnovers, just about every glaring flaw that could strike has, and it’s left the Colts in a major early-season bind.“Basically, what he’s talking about is we’ve got to stop making self-inflicted mistakes, the penalties, things that we can control, ball-handling and things like that,” running back Robert Turbin said Monday.“If we can execute, obviously, it’s not going to be perfect, but we’d definitely like to execute more times than not and definitely not beat ourselves.”Until the Colts start making more plays — and fewer mistakes — the results aren’t likely to change.Indy (1-4) has lost three straight, falling two games behind AFC South co-leaders Jacksonville and Tennessee.And with just a few corrections, things could look very different.Cincinnati snuffed out one comeback chance when usually sure-handed tight end Jack Doyle fumbled in the final minute of the season opener. The Bengals returned the fumble 83 yards for a touchdown to seal a 34-23 victory.Two weeks later, at Philadelphia, Luck again had Indy in position for the go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes left — only to be sacked on fourth-and-3 from the Eagles’ 4-yard line.In Week 4, at home against Houston, receiver Marcus Johnson failed to haul in a third-down pass on the opening possession of overtime, forcing the Colts to settle for a 44-yard field goal. Luck’s errant throw on fourth-and-4 from his 43-yard line allowed the Texans to drive for the winning field goal as time expired.On Thursday, Luck’s strong second half cut a 21-point deficit to seven until Zach Pascal‘s inability to make a catch at the New England 38-yard line led to an interception. The Patriots converted the turnover into a TD and a 38-24 lead.“That was one game, that was the last game,” receiver Chester Rogers said, referring to a long pass he dropped against the Pats. “We’ve got to fix that. It’s fixable, you know, something that’s just been happening. We’ve had some drops. We’ve got to fix it Tyquan Lewis Jersey , plain and simple.”While the receivers’ miscues certainly have been in the spotlight, they are far from Indy’s only problem.Luck’s postgame comments began with a self-critique. Since returning from surgery on his right shoulder, Luck has thrown a league-leading 245 passes with eight touchdowns and five interceptions and blamed himself for misreading a blitz the only time he was sacked Thursday.Only eight teams have committed more penalties than Indy’s 38.“I saw Andrew’s statement about kind of getting out of our own way. Certainly, that is apropos,” coach Frank Reich said Friday. “We’ve just got to play cleaner football. We’ve just got to play good football. We talk about it all the time. We believe in our players, we believe we have the talent to win games.”It would help if the Colts could get some of their playmakers back on the field.The offense played Thursday without Doyle, Pro Bowl receiver T.Y. Hilton, both of its starting offensive tackles and starting running back Marlon Mack.The defense began the game without rookie Darius Leonard, the NFL’s leading tackler through four weeks, and cornerbacks Kenny Moore II, Quincy Wilson and Nate Hairston. It finished without safety Clayton Geathers (concussion), linebacker Anthony Walker (concussion), defensive tackle Denico Autry (hamstring) and safety Mathias Farley (hamstring).Reich — and everyone else inside the team complex — hopes a few extra days off between the loss to New England and Sunday’s visit to the New York Jets will help get some key players back.“Two weeks ago, it was pretty stiff, but now it feels pretty loose when I go out there,” Mack said Monday. “Each and every day they add more stuff for me.”Leonard also believes he’ll play this weekend.But the Colts know the actual solution is less about who is on the field and more about just playing smart football.“I think when we look at ourselves, we’re going to have to learn how not to lose before we can give ourselves a chance to win,” Luck said Thursday night. “It’s frustrating, the stuff out there. We’re all frustrated, but I don’t think anybody’s losing the belief.”NOTES: The Colts signed defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad and safety Tray Matthews to the practice squad Monday. Muhammad was originally claimed by the Colts off waivers from New Orleans following the final cutdowns and played in two of Indy’s first four games. Matthews was an undrafted rookie who was cut by Minnesota on Sept. 1. … Indy also re-signed tight end Mo Alie-Cox to the practice squad late last week.100<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj Mehta One of the more perplexing features of the NFL is the salary cap. On the one hand, it seems straight forward. You have a salary cap that all teams must fit under. Simple, right?It gets more complicated in a hurry. After all, teams with very little cap space frequently sign marquee players to high dollar contracts. This is accomplished through bonuses, incentive-laden contract clauses, and back-loading a deal where the bulk of the contract’s value is paid in later years Ryan Grant Color Rush Jersey , where the team projects to have more cap space.This salary cap planning and “manipulation” is what NFL salary capologists like Mike Bluem spend their time considering every day. How can we plan for the future in a way that allows Chris Ballard and Jim Irsay to field a team with the most talent in the NFL for the longest period of time? We can’t simply spend all the way up to the salary cap every year, leaving no space available, and hope to keep the nucleus together. Major contracts for our own players will consistently require work as the old ones expire and new deals need to be made.Keeping in mind the needs for our own players, how much salary cap space do we have to work with to sign free agents and bring in outside talent? How do we work all of this together to make sure we stay above the NFL’s mandated 89 percent rule?This week, we’ll take a look at these questions and do our best to shed light on the NFL salary cap, 89 percent rule, and what fans might be able to expect Chris Ballard and Mike Bluem to do in 2019 and beyond.How the Salary Cap WorksBefore we get into the 2019 and team specifics, it is important to understand how the NFL evaluates each franchise’s current salary cap hit. Off-SeasonDuring the off-season, NFL franchises can maintain a roster of up to 90 active players. They use this expanded roster to evaluate prospects. It would be impossible for many franchises to stay under the mandated salary cap if every player’s contract counted toward the regular season cap number. In order to remedy this issue, when the new league year begins in March, each team enters the off-season period. This period includes free agency, the NFL Draft, rookie minicamps, full team minicamps, organized team activities, training camp and preseason games. During this period, the NFL’s Rule of 51 is in place. The rule of 51 allows teams to only consider the top 51 contracts for players who are on the active roster, who are on PUP, injured reserve, or some other non-exempt designation. Ultimately, it means that NFL teams can over-sign the salary cap during the off-season and utilize cuts prior to the start of the regular season to comply with the NFL’s salary cap rules. This rule attempts to limit abuse by not allowing a franchise to sign players to such large contracts that the top 51 players by themselves would exceed the coming season’s salary cap.Regular SeasonOnce the regular season begins, the Rule of 51 ends. At this time, NFL teams must include all players against the salary cap. This includes the 53 players on the active roster, all practice squad players, any player on injured reserve or the PUP https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Marshall-Faulk-Jersey , and any dead cap carried over from players who were previously on the roster. The only exempt players are ones given an exemption by the NFL for a myriad of possible reasons — although these exemptions are rarely granted.Contract ClausesTo understand what parts of a player’s contract counts against the cap in a given year, it is important to understand that contracts include a number of different clauses that impact what a player makes and how his contract fits under the salary cap. Base SalaryThe base salary for a player in any given year counts against the cap, this portion is not guaranteed and is only paid if the player plays on the team in the respective season. Signing BonusSigning bonuses can be prorated annually for the duration of the contract, up to a maximum of five years. Signing bonuses are paid up front and are fully guaranteed.Option BonusOption bonuses can be prorated annually for the duration of the contract, up to a maximum of five years. Option bonuses are paid annually according to the contract terms and are often fully guaranteed. Roster BonusRoster bonuses are often added to a contract to pay a player a bonus for simply making the roster in each respective year. These portions of the contract are not guaranteed.IncentivesThere are two types of incentives that can be included in a player’s contract. One is called “likely to be earned” or LTBE and the other is called “note likely to be earned” or NLTBE. An incentive is classified as LTBE or NLTBE based upon the player’s performance in the specified area in the previous year. If the incentive pays a player $250k if he rushes over 1,000 yards and that player rushed for 1,200 yards the previous year, it is LTBE. LTBE incentives count against a team’s current year salary cap. If they are not attained, the incentive is added as a credit to the salary cap the following year. NLTBE incentives do not count against the team’s current year salary cap. If they are attained, the portion will be debited from the following year’s salary cap.Workout BonusesDuring the off-season, players receive compensation for the days they workout with the team that are not a part of the regular NFL season schedule. Teams have 36 days available to require players to attend workouts and will have these workout bonuses included against their current year salary cap. In 2018, the workout bonus hold for each team’s salary cap was about $619,200, which is $215 per day (per day minimum for a player) x 80 players x 36 days of workouts. Once workouts are over, the actual amount spent will take over for the placeholder. ** The formula used is created by the NFL and likely assumes that not all players will join the team for off-season workouts.What is Dead Cap?The NFL allows teams to prorate certain guaranteed portions of a player’s contract over a period of years. This allows the team the benefit of signing additional players and not taking a full cap hit in the year the contract is signed. The downside to the team who prorates these portions of a contract is that not all players who receive signing or option bonuses will play out the entire period of their contracts. In this instance, the remaining prorated portions will be accelerated and count against a team’s salary cap in the year they are cut. What is the June 1 Release Deadline and why does it matter?In some instances, players have considerable prorated portions of their contracts remaining when a team chooses to move on. Let’s discuss Antonio Brown. Brown still has 3 years remaining on his current contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Included in those three years is an annual prorated signing bonus of $3.8 million. If the Steelers release Brown before June 1, they would be responsible for an $11.4 million cap hit in 2019 and receive nothing as compensation. Every NFL team has the option of assigning two pre-June 1 players who are released or traded for post-June 1 salary cap treatment. This means that the Steelers could trade/release Brown before June 1 and breakup his cap hit between 2019 and 2020 at $5.7 million per year. The benefit of making this move is to create more 2019 cap flexibility. Regardless of whether Brown is released or traded, the Steelers are on the hook for the $11.4 million in guaranteed money against their salary cap. Also, this situation applies to all teams and all players in similar situations. What is the 89 percent rule?The current NFL collective bargaining agreement requires NFL franchises to spend a minimum of 89% of team salary caps between 2017-2020. It is important to note the wording used in this clause. The clause is titled “Minimum Team Cash Spending” and the wording states that there shall be a guaranteed “Minimum Team Cash Spending of 89% of the Salary Caps for such periods.” What is cash spending? Cash spending is not calculated on the prorated salary cap formula. If a team is short of 89%, they can sign a player with a $50 million bonus this year and spend $50 million dollars cash as far as the CBA is concerned. This means that cash spending will always be higher than what is reflected in a team’s current salary cap number. It also means that managing this four year average is relatively easy and teams aren’t sweating trying to stay above this number.While we don’t know that the salary cap will be in 2019 and 2020, we can take the last four years as an example. 2018 — $177,200,0002017 — $167,000 Eric Ebron Jersey ,0002016 — $155,270,0002015 — $143,280,000GT — $642,750,000. From 2015 - 2018, the Indianapolis Colts had a salary cap hit of $597,631,019, which is 93% of the total salary cap. However, during the same time-frame, the Colts had a cash spending total of $610,222,337, which is a 95% cash spending versus the cap.What is Carryover Cap?Prior to the official start of each season, the NFL determines the new salary cap. Teams can acquire or sign players up to that salary cap number in the season. Any portion of the salary cap that goes unused can be carried over to the following season. This creates an adjusted salary cap number for each team and allows talented front office people like Mike Bluem to be even more strategic in how he approaches team building and contract structure.Carryover cap and adjusted salary cap numbers can make the 89% rule look hard to reach over time.However, when you consider the salary cap number each season and that cash spending will always be higher, you will find that a team could carry over $70 million from 2018 and still safely fulfill the 89% rule.AnalysisThere are a lot of moving pieces to the NFL salary cap. The number of calculations it takes to determine the cap, create cap-smart contracts, manage cash spending, navigate the impact of guaranteed money, and a myriad of other issues all play into how teams go about the financial planning portion of NFL football operations. Over time, those teams who are particularly gifted in this area should have an advantage over those who are not.Please share in comments any questions you have or areas you would like to have clarified and we will do our best to answer.