Sauce Gardner said it himself: he's not some "missing piece" for the Colts.
Yes, he's good – two-time All-Pro in his first two years in the NFL good – but he's not some magical fix. He wasn't brought in to be the catalyst for a winning streak or playoff run. The Colts didn't need or want that.
What they did want, and what they got, was another player who has the same kind of motivation and competitiveness as the rest of the men in their locker room, someone with the abilities to help the Colts reach the potential they know they have.
Prior to Tuesday's blockbuster trade, Colts didn't feel like they were missing anything. They weren't lacking in motivation, talent or leadership. They were already good and they were already confident; a 7-2 record and the highest-scoring offense in the league will do that.
But they knew they could do more. They wanted to do more. They believed they were capable of more.
Gardner's arrival has proven them correct.
"I think obviously they (front office and ownership) believe in our team and what we can do this year," head coach Shane Steichen said. "We've played well. There's still a lot in front of us, and we've got to go continue to improve and play well week-to-week. But as players – and you see that movement from ownership, from management and the coaches, I think yeah, definitely gives you confidence."
And so, somehow, a team that has radiated confidence since the beginning of the season just got another boost.
"It just says that they believe in what we got going on," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "It's a credit to the work that we've put in so far this season...That was probably the best good morning we got in the team meeting since I've been here, at least. It's definitely great energy, just knowing that the organization and management just believe in what you got going on. You want to make them right."
"We're excited to have Sauce and excited to continue to build this thing," Daniel Jones said. "Obviously as players, that's a good thing, and you feel the confidence and the energy of the whole thing. So we're excited, we're looking forward to getting going."
But while the energy has shifted and the team's potential has obviouslygrown even more, not much else in the Colts locker room – or meeting rooms or practice field or anywhere else – has changed.
"Our focus, like I've said all along, is we've got to get better today," head coach Shane Steichen said. "That's where our focus is at. We're not worried about the future. We're about getting better today and getting ready to go play the Falcons, and then the future will take care of itself. But if we worry about the future, right, that's going to hurt us in the long run. So, we've got to worry about today and getting better."
To Kenny Moore II, the message that comes with Gardner's arrival is clear: keep doing what you've been doing, but at the same time, it's time turn it up a notch.
"We've got to go out there and win," the veteran cornerback said.
"The whole goal is to win – to win, go out there and dominate," Jaylon Jones echoed. "Validating what's been built, competing for something: Just the fact that we get to go out there, win, dominate, things like that, I think that's definitely the message."
The message is also belief: belief in the team's success to this point and belief in their potential, not just for this season but for the future. Belief in the work and the sacrifices veteran players like Moore, DeForest Buckner and Quenton Nelson have made, and a show of faith that this team could be the one to try to win it all.
"If there's any time, the time is now," Moore said. "I don't really know, I'm just here to play football best as possible...I think the nonverbal (message) is let's go win. They believe in it, we believe in it, and we just got to stick to it."
