Hello, Colts fans. There was a game last Sunday. The Colts played alright for much of it, then lost. That’s about all I have to say about it.
Someone hold me.
You had a lot on your minds, though. Let’s check it out…
Q: How easily can the Colts screw up a win over the Titans? – Jodi via text
Who said they’re going to win? They did everything they could to lose both games to Tennessee last season, and now the Titans are better. They can roll Mariota out of the pocket, and he’ll feast. Delanie Walker will probably run open all day, especially if they try covering him with a LB. Oh yeah, the Colts also have to try tackling DeMarco Murray too. Good luck with all of that.
I’m not sure the Colts win this one. If they do win, I’m sure they’re perfectly capable of losing to the Chiefs the following week. I really wish the Tennessee game was at home, because there would be a lot of empty seats, and I believe a certain owner needs to see that in order to get his eyes opened.
Q: Why, why, why is Pagano still employed? – Christy via Facebook
I know no one wants to confront this, but Chuck isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I’m not even convinced a 2-14 season gets him fired. For some reason, Jim Irsay is enamored with the guy.
I’m convinced Chuck is a good guy. I’m equally as convinced he’s a bad head football coach.
Q: How has Hassan Ridgeway looked? -Sachin via Twitter
I really had high hopes for Ridgeway. Everything about him suggested the kind of skill set which would work well for this defense. He’s getting his fair share of snaps, and has made a couple of nice plays, but he’s had his rookie moments as well. I do believe ultimately he will turn into a nice player for the Colts.
Q: So, is Frank Gore going to retire before the seasons over? Fire Pagano. – Paul via Twitter
Frank isn’t going anywhere, but he is definitely not happy with the way the team has been playing. After the game Sunday he was quoted as saying “are we going to play ball or are we just going to keep talking about it?” and I appreciate that kind of candidacy. While I’ll can’t say what Frank’s true intent was, I think his words are a message to the coaching staff as much as they are to his teammates. I’m not sure there’s a player on the team who wants to win more than Frank does. Even though he’s not the player he was in San Francisco, he has run the ball well lately.
Speaking of running…
Frank’s 100+ yards performance Sunday made him the second back to run for 100+ in a game during the current regime. Guess what? They’ve lost both times.
The team hasn’t had a back rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2007. That’s 8 seasons. One could throw out 2011 because of the Manning injury, and one could even throw out 2015 because of Luck’s injuries. That leaves us 6 seasons without a 1,000 yard rusher. Those 6 seasons yielded 6 playoff appearances, 2 AFC title game appearances, and a Super Bowl appearance. If there’s a point here it’s that I’m from the Bill Polian school of “you only have to run it well when you have to run it,” and I’m sick of hearing about their failures in the run game. Gore is on pace for nearly 1,200 yards this season. Is it worth it if he reaches that level but the team goes 5-11? I don’t think so.
Q: Which is actually more embarrassing, that infamous play against NE last season or the entirety of this season? – JR via Twitter
Oh no. You had to go there, didn’t you? Yesterday (October 18th) marked the one year anniversary of the dumbest play I’ve ever seen on a football field. You know the one. The “fake punt” against the Patriots last season, right there in front of the entire football world. Why couldn’t they have tried that nonsense in a 1 PM game against the Titans or something? Why did it have to be on SNF when everyone was watching? Ugh.
I think the failed fake wins because I’m just not sure it’s possible – even with the season the Colts are having now – to embarrass yourselves more than they did on that play. If you think about it, it kind of sums up the entire Pagano/Grigson era.
Q: When is Luck going to quit making such dumb throws? – Christy via Facebook
I assume you’re referring to the awful interception towards the end of the first half. The answer is, he won’t. As I’ve said before, Andrew is a very high risk, high reward, player. For each time he creates magic when he escapes the pocket and throws a dime, for each time he fires a strike down the middle, he’s also going to make a dumb throw that will cost the team. It’s just the type of player he is. As silly as this may sound, I think his biggest problem is he tries too hard sometimes. I do think he has improved this season on cutting down the dumb throws though.
Q: Should Colts draft a TE since Allen is injured again? (like Jake Butt) – Sachin via Twitter
I don’t think they’ll draft another one next April. The team likes Allen. I like Allen. This may sound unfair, but in some ways I think he symbolizes the problems with the team. He looks good in the uniform, you know he has talent, he says the right things, but on the field it seems the potential isn’t realized.
Allen’s also now injured. The team re-signed Chase Coffman yesterday to replace him. I thought Coffman played well enough in preseason to make the team – in fact, he made the initial 53-man roster – but with all of the injuries, there was no way they were going to keep four tight ends. My guess is that we’ll see a lot of him now. He’s a better blocker than Doyle or Swoope.
By the way, I love Jake Butt. Great name, terrific player.
Q: Why did we switch to the Tampa 2 in the last 7 minutes of regulation when our base schemes worked 53 minutes? – Jason via Twitter
Probably because they hate us. Seriously, for some reason the Colts ease up in games. In 2014 – I believe, I didn’t go back to look it up – when they played at Houston they jumped out to a nice lead, then took their foot off the gas and allowed a comeback. In 2015 at Houston things were going well, then at the end of the half they decided to play the “prevent you from winning” defense, Houston scored on a “Hail Mary,” and made it a game again. For some reason, there are teams in the NFL – not just the Colts – who feel real comfortable about letting teams just work their way down the field 8-10 yards at a time, thinking eventually they’ll get a stop. Without digging deep into stats, I’m guessing many of these teams aren’t very good.
I’ll never understand why some teams want to play 58 minutes instead of 60.
Q: How much wood could Chuck’s defense chuck if Chuck’s defense could chuck wood? – Mike via Twitter
None. This defense is so bad at chopping anything, they get laughed at by beavers.
The defense also missed 6 tackles in the time it took me to answer your question.
Q: Does Luck still win Comeback POY despite this team continuing to lose? – JR via Twitter
He’ll have some competition for this one – Jordy Nelson, Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray, etc. – but the NFL is a QB league, and if Andrew continues on his pace he probably will win it. I’ve never been much for personal awards. If Andrew managed to win MVP this season it wouldn’t make much difference to me, but a “Comeback POY” award is still a nice accomplishment and the opportunity is there for him to take it.
Q: Why does Jim Irsay hate us so much? – Ryan via Twitter
I think Marcus Dugan caused it all. Seriously. Marcus refused to lead the church band into “Freebird” last year and things immediately went downhill. Luck got hurt, Hasselbeck got sick, the fake punt, Luck got hurt again, Immodium Manderson got hurt, Hasselbeck had to have his entire body stitched back together, Gore missed rushing for 1,000 yards for the first time in like 76 seasons, and the team missed the playoffs. In 2016 Chuck was given a 4-year deal, Grigson’s deal was extended 3 years, the entire secondary died of amoebic dysentery during the preseason, there’s a 2-4 record that could be 0-6. Marcus isn’t living right, and Irsay is so put off by it that he’s ordered the team to suck. Get with it, Marcus. Jeez.
Q: What are we doing about tackling, and what about a D that gives us a chance for the W? – Eric via Twitter
Haven’t you heard? They’re working on it. They’re getting things cleaned up. This is a good defense!
Gross.
I’m not sure what they’re doing, but what they’re doing sure isn’t working. The Colts have had some bad tackling teams in the past – yes, this includes the Dungy era also – but by the time this season’s over, this group may take the spot as the best (worst) in team history. It’s frustrating to watch, particularly when just a handful of plays here and there probably change the result on the scoreboard.
Poor tackling is a league-wide problem, and has been for a long time. The Colts just happen to be worse at it than anyone else this season.
Q: Should Colts start Geathers at ILB opposite Jackson and move Green outside CB or at his drafted position, FS? Thanks – Justin via Twitter
Excellent question. I’m at the point now where I’m willing to try anything.
My only concerns with it are 1) Could Geathers withstand the punishment? I love the guy, but he’s been hurt a lot, and when he’s been out there he always seems to get shaken up at some point. 2) I’m not sure Green is ready. He has obvious physical talent, but seems to do a lot of dumb things (penalties) on the field. Who knows, maybe he would be better at corner. At least there he could just cover people and not have to worry as much about where he’s supposed to be. The team could use a physical corner, like a Talib. Vontae Davis is great, but I don’t think of him as a physical player. Could Green really be worse at corner than Patrick “Hello, and welcome to the newly renovated Toler Island Resort” Robinson? Surely not.
Q: Does Pagano know he’s allowed to play Clayton Geathers in the box? – Jason via Twitter
I like to watch the action away from the ball. You can learn so much this way. This team has demoralized me so much lately though that my mind has started to stray during games, but I’m almost certain I saw Geathers lined up in the box on at least two plays against Houston. Maybe I’m wrong and he was just quick to the point of attack instead, but I think I’m right.
Q: Why would we ever line up in shotgun when it’s 4th and inches and we have Gore? – Christy via Facebook
Ugh. You had to go there, didn’t you? I’ll give Chuck Pagano some credit. He knows the team well enough to know they need all of the touchdowns they can get. I saw a lot of reaction from media and fans from other teams – in other words, people who don’t watch the Colts every week – and it was mostly stuff like “WHY DIDN’T THEY KICK?!?! YOU HAVE VINATIERI!!!” Those opinions don’t count. I loved them going for it, but the trouble started on 3rd down. If you’re going to run a QB sneak, you line up quickly and run it. You don’t do it like the Colts did and give the other team time to set up. Okay, so 3rd down is a failure, but you’re going on 4th. Great. You do not try what they tried with that formation. Houston has a stout defense. It’s the only reason they’re 4-2. Spread them out, then run the ball with Gore or Turbin.
This was the fake punt of 2016. Ugh.
Q: What do we attribute Luck’s lack of pass rush awareness to? Focus on receivers? Coaching? Something else? – AJ via Twitter
I think Andrew has good enough awareness of the pass rush, at least in terms of feeling it once he takes the snap. I also think they’re trying to run too many plays out of a deep drop. I think sometimes he seems to take too long with his reads, but also think some of it may be due to having receivers who don’t get off the line very well in press coverage. They kept saying “Andrew has to get rid of the ball quicker” and it’s true, but how can you do that when you’re taking 7-step drops with a line that’s been struggling in pass protection and receivers who don’t get off the line? I watched a fair amount of the Patriots – Bengals game, and Brady was just lightning quick getting rid of it. I remember one blitz where I’m certain he didn’t hold the ball for more than a second and a half. It was also a completion for a first down. His receiver also beat the coverage off the line. With Andrew, I don’t think he’s the entire problem. I get it. You want the “home run” plays. We all certainly enjoy them, but with those kind of plays comes sacks and hits. They also sorely miss Donte Moncrief.
Q: Do you think a Colts win Sunday will be redemption for the Texans game? – Jodi via text
Nope. That game is going to be one we’re won’t forget anytime soon. It’s Wednesday as I’m typing this, and all of my HTC followers are still tweeting about what a win it was for their team. Houston has to play at Denver this week, so if the Colts win they can draw to within two games of first. Houston would have four wins, and the Colts would have three. Two games out, you ask? Yes, because the loss last Sunday cost them a tiebreaker, effectively putting them three games out.
Gross.
(I do love the Texans cheerleaders though. Good lord)
Q: Why oh why have Robert Mathis in coverage on a passing down? Just… why? – AJ via Twitter
LOL. That was pretty sad, wasn’t it? I don’t know what they were trying to do there. I’m not sure they know. Do they even have any options though? They’re signing every Tom. Dick, and Harry off the street to play LB. It’s way too late. They’re trying to apply a Band-Aid to a wound which needs a tourniquet.
LB is draft priority #1, which means they’ll draft 6 o-linemen next year.
Q: Serious Question: How brilliant was Greg Manusky in retrospect? – Matt via Twitter
I was never enthralled with Manusky, but was never on the “fire him!” wagon either. We knew the Colts defense had holes, but since they made Manusky a scapegoat for last season and brought in Monachino, they’ve actually managed to perform worse. When you’re nearly halfway into a season and giving up almost 30 PPG, something’s way wrong.
Manusky did the absolute best he could with what he was given. Yes, the pass rush was bad, but he found a way to get some success with blitzes (Andy Dalton can confirm this). Monachino’s done nothing of the sort. Last season’s team was also much better against the run.
I’m not sure I really fault Monachino entirely for this season. He can only play with the cards he’s been dealt, and there’s a bunch of jokers in the middle of the deck.
Q: Did I pick the wrong week to stop sniffing glue? – Jason via Twitter
Yes. You also picked the wrong week to stop drinking, and to stop taking amphetamines. I love “Airplane!”
Q: How much money would it take to buy the Colts from Irsay? He clearly has no idea how to select a good GM. – Nick via Facebook
If what I read on Forbes is correct, the Colts are valued at $1.4 billion. That sounds like a lot, but apparently this places them as only the 12th most valuable in the NFL.
Furthermore, Irsay has already involved his daughters in the management of the team, and seems to have a succession plan in place. He’s also apparently recently gotten engaged, which could make for an interesting time down the road as well.
We’re stuck with Jim. Unless a bunch of us win the lottery. Everyone has a price, right?
Q: As bad as things are, how many out there realize things can actually get worse? For example: CLE, OAK, WASH levels. – AJ via Twitter
Things can definitely get worse, but I’m not sure your examples are good ones other than Cleveland. The Raiders look like they’re on their way to the playoffs (they’ll be in Indy later this season. It may be the highest scoring game in NFL history assuming things stay as they are now), and Washington isn’t a slouch. They ran a good Eagles team off the field last Sunday (don’t be fooled by the final score, it wasn’t nearly that close).
Interesting fact about the Browns: The last time they made the playoffs, Bruce Arians was their QB coach. It was there he met a guy who coached the team’s secondary. You’ve heard of that guy. Last name Pagano.
Speaking of the Browns…
Q: Put Luck on any divisional last place team in the NFL. Coaches and rosters stay. Whose season could he turn around? – JR via Twitter
Great question. Tough one, too, especially when you see the Giants sitting there at 3-3 but in last place. I wouldn’t wish playing for the Jets on my worst enemy, so you can rule them out. The Giants, Panthers, and Chargers don’t really need QB’s. The 49ers could be intriguing with Kelly’s uptempo offense, but I just don’t think they have much talent overall.
This leaves the Bears and Browns.
I’d like to pick the Browns, but just can’t. They have some weapons on offense, with Pryor, Barnidge, Crowell, and Johnson. Corey Coleman has shown the makings of a deep threat, but he’s been hurt. You have Hue Jackson as head coach, a guy who has done well tutoring QB’s, and you have Pep Hamilton, who knows Luck like the back of his hand. The defense isn’t great, but I don’t know if that’s due to a lack of talent, or if it’s the offense putting them in bad spots. I’m tempted, but at 0-6 I think they’re too far gone already.
Chicago it is. They too have some nice weapons on offense. You have Jeffery, Meredith, Royal, and Miller in the passing game. Jordan Howard – I still can’t believe he was just a fifth round pick – and Jeremy Langford to run the ball. One of their guards, Cody Whitehair, graded as having one of the best performances in the NFL a couple of weeks ago. Whoops, that was against the Colts. They have a good core on offense. The defense isn’t terrible. Injuries and a lack of pass rush (sound familiar?) have hurt them there. They have one win, but it was a divisional win against a team who beat the Colts. Minnesota is currently 5-0 right now, but that isn’t going to last. Green Bay has been struggling. Detroit could whoop the 1985 Bears one week, then lose to the Little Sisters of the Poor the very next. In other words, there’s hope.
I’d puke seeing Andrew in those colors though. They’re disgusting.
Q: You just discovered the Colts genie. What 3 issues would you address with your wishes? – Matt via Twitter
Does the Colts genie look like Allie J? If so, I’m totally here for this. My wishes might stray from football, but I’m here.
1 – A good defense. For once I want a legitimately good defense in Indianapolis. Wait, forget good. I want a great defense. I want a physical, fast defense. A defense where you might beat us, but one where you”ll still feel us the following Wednesday when you’re in the midst of preparing for your next game. Forget about salary cap nonsense. There have been plenty of teams who’ve built defenses capable of winning the Super Bowl without sacrificing the talent on offense.
2- Andrew Luck to realize his potential. Whether this takes changing his game (more), or a new coach, or another good receiver, or what. I want to see Andrew be what he really can be. If this is too much to ask for, Colts Genie, then please bring Peyton Manning circa 2009 back. I can live with that.
3-Atomic bombs to land on Denver, Pittsburgh, New England, and Houston. This would clear a path to the Super Bowl, right? Ok, I’m just kidding. Maybe. I want an organization committed to doing whatever it takes -within the rules, of course – to win. Scouts who find the right guys. A GM who doesn’t blow seemingly every personnel move. Coaches who can coach instead of just throwing guys out there and saying “we’re working on it.” Coaches who can game plan. An offense who executes. My fast and physical defense.
Ask me tomorrow and I may have different answers, but for now, this is where I stand.
See you soon, Colts fans.
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