I had to take a beat after the marathon Sunday Night game. This old-timer made it all the way, but had to answer the 5:30 a.m. bell the following morning. I was spent most of Monday and jotted down some notes, but I just didn’t have the focus to make it coherent.
There is no question that the Colts fan base expects more from their coaches and management. There are enough posts out there detailing those deficiencies, that even though I have joined in from time to time, I won’t take this opportunity
to pile on. I’m not even going to say that the posts are unfair. I do believe that the attention absorbed by the staff, makes it pretty easy to be a player.
When you have not won a game since the Berlin road trip last year, there are plenty of outlets for our anger and I sometimes wonder why the players are often shielded from the criticism. Not all players are exempt from our ire, but it is usually not based on play on the field. Someone might get a thumbs down, stock down, or some other designation for not having a good game, but we seem be far more tolerant of the play, than those who are in charge of putting them on the field.
I watched many cases of our defenders simply being beat by their offensive counterpart. The plan to play more man-to-man coverage can never work if your player is not up to the challenge his man presents. There are plays where our defenders, mostly the LBs, are not paying attention to their surroundings. I may be wrong, but aren’t LBs often the most instinctive players on the field? I wouldn’t think that you could get through college without, “A nose for the football.” Not being able to diagnose a play, or find a player is only half of our current player difficulties.
On the occasions where a play has been diagnosed and a player has put themselves in position to make a play, the tackle is not being made. There is reaching, lunging, and bumping, but we are bringing guys to the ground, not taking them to the ground. I see too many cases of one of our defenders stopping in their tracks to see which way the ball carrier is going to go, rather than going full bore and blowing them up. I also see them running along side in what looks to be an attempt for the runner to actually come to them. Lastly we appear to give up extra yards while trying tug at a players arms in an effort to get the turnover, in hopes that it would mask how poorly the play had been defended.
The LBs are not the only culprits, as our lockdown guys have been anything but. I don’t know where you instill attitude of beating your man on every play, but we seldom exhibit it. I understand growing pains, but they should be occasional lapses, rather giving look of being lost. Key may end up being okay, but that first play of the game was just stupid. You held contain for nearly the duration of the play, but when it got bottled up and you decided to engage, you went in blind and attempted to tackle big Grove.
I did think that Taylor-Britt brought in a little attitude and that Gushiken showed good ball skills, until he was beat, giving up the longest play at the most critical time. Man, I thought Wohler hit him hard enough to dislodge the ball, but credit Thornton for making the play. If Treadwell would have caught his ball with that much authority, the game narrative may be different right now.
I don’t have as much of a gripe with the offense. Allen looked a little less this week. Maybe the distraction of the impending suspension got in his head? A little more drive might have bailed DJ out of that interception. The O-line was steady and you can tell they like it when Jones lines up under center. If Warren is to be what we believe he can be, he needs to get closer to the 11 targets that Kelce got last night and it needs to good for more than 4 YPC. This may be an odd observation, but he doesn’t appear to land very well? A little out of control, unbraced, or not with the looseness that someone who is a little liquored up might have. Don’t tell me you don’t know that roll. Ta-da!
Just my two cents on where some of the blame should be placed. I will say that the Chiefs got great reviews for beating us and not just the “A win is a win” narrative. They believe Mahomes to be fully back and playing his best to pull one out. Most would give the Mora “Playoffs?” line to me if I said that we might have to turn the tables on both them and the Raven in the playoffs, but I haven’t lost complete confidence. I still believe that we have talent, but I sometimes wonder if the players want it as badly as we do.
I don’t know how you have galvanizing events? It seems like the players need something to rally around? The Browns found a way to rally around a Mike Tomlin quote of “Browns gonna Brown”. Our D could use a little incentive or something to spark them. Yogi said that 90% of the game is half mental. There is still room for some physical in there and the crew needs to tap into being more physical.
As far as the game, it was a good one to watch. I, like many, watched with some belief that we could win and also with some sense of impending doom. I do not know exactly our ceiling at this point? The Pierce loss is going to hurt and we need to go 4 – 2 or better against the division to have any real shot at winning it. Let’s get a couple of more games under our belts, before claiming we know how this movie ends.
