Luck running the offense vs. Arian's playcalling

[BProland85]

I havent watched the game yet, going to watch it on NFL Game Rewind, but from the stats Luck had another bad game. I for one think Arians is not putting Luck in the best situations to succeed. If he simply allow Luck to check down the ball more often, that alone would cut down on Luck's interceptions.

I really want Luck to start calling his own plays like Peyton does maybe starting by next year. Arians just calls too many risky plays from the QB position.

Your thoughts?

[Bubba_Rebel]

If OLine pressures were a stat then you could see why Lucks numbered were like that

[Nobody]

Luck didn't have a bad game. His two interceptions don't count (the first was an awful call, was blatantly obvious it wasn't an INT) and the second a Hail Mary with no time left. Avery dropped a TD in the end zone before our final FG and the OL was atrocious.

[throwing BBZ]

Oh it was blatantly obvious he threw it right to a defender. bad/dumb.

I would guess Luck would prefer an offense more like Harbaughs.

More short passes, much more use of his TE`s.

NO out`s. He said Harbaugh wouldn`t let him throw them. WOW!

And oh ya, a very good running game to make the play action effective. lol with this line.

Andrew has been targeting guys downfield all season and missing them way to often by a Mile.

[FireJimCaldwell]

No... Not at this point..

Even on the two minute drill where many suggest he's calling his own plays, most if not all of those are still coming in from the sideline. Someone had a quote around here saying that Arians would never likely give Luck the freedom that Manning enjoyed. I don't know if that is ego based or not. I've read where Martz rarely gave Warner/Bulger/Insert QB here like Cutler that freedom either.

[Tark The Shark]

As long as we are winning, I don't care who calls the plays because it won't matter. The O-line is the problem.

Luck makes his mistakes but bounces back well, but it all goes back to the O-line.

[GoColts8818]

I agree Arians play calling has been questionable at times but sometimes I don't think Luck makes the best decisions with the ball. They mentioned during the Lions game that Luck doesn't like to throw the ball short so I wonder if the lack of check downs isn't so much that Arians wont let him as it is Luck just doesn't throw them.

I do wonder if they have ever heard of a slant pass though. It seems like we have screens and throw it deep. Honestly towards the end of the game I like the chuck it to Reggie in the endzone on third and four. They just needed five yards there to keep the clock moving. I am not saying we had to run the ball there we could have throw something in the range of five to eight yards and I would have liked that. We seem to not have a short to middle passing game.

There are still clearly signs that Luck is still learning but he is tied with Brees for most INTs in the NFL so his decision making as well as the play calling does need to get better. Case in point I've known since he started doing it him dumping the ball as he was about to get sacked was going to bite us big time at some point and today it finally did (bad call not withstanding but that's another issue altogether). Now that's not play calling because I can promise you the coaches did not draw it up like that. With that said someone should have caught him in a film session before now and said don't do that, and who knows maybe they did, but they need to make Luck understand a sack and a punt in that situation is not the worst thing that can happen.

[Malakai432]

Luck didn't have a bad game. His two interceptions don't count (the first was an awful call, was blatantly obvious it wasn't an INT) and the second a Hail Mary with no time left. Avery dropped a TD in the end zone before our final FG and the OL was atrocious.

Great point, first INT should have been reversed, the second was just garbage due to an end of the half prayer.

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

I for one want Arians gone. You obviously don't keep going deep when ur oline is in shambles which it has been since 06 SB. And arguably not that great since before. It doesn't take a genius to know not to go deep so often. When we check down and throw shorter passes we move the ball down the field with consistency. Move the chains. When the clock becomes your enemy, then go down field. I hope all of our success lands Arians a HC job next year.

[oldunclemark]

I for one want Arians gone. You obviously don't keep going deep when ur oline is in shambles which it has been since 06 SB. And arguably not that great since before. It doesn't take a genius to know not to go deep so often. When we check down and throw shorter passes we move the ball down the field with consistency. Move the chains. When the clock becomes your enemy, then go down field. I hope all of our success lands Arians a HC job next year.

Dont you have to call whatever plays work towards the win?

You're not wrong but you cant have too rigid a plan in an NFL game... They know what we're trying to do

You have to take a lot of chances..

[indy1888]

I agree Arians play calling has been questionable at times but sometimes I don't think Luck makes the best decisions with the ball. They mentioned during the Lions game that Luck doesn't like to throw the ball short so I wonder if the lack of check downs isn't so much that Arians wont let him as it is Luck just doesn't throw them.

A lot of the time, there is no checkdown option in the route. Nate Dunlevy did an article this past week from the Lions game and on several plays there was either no checkdown option at all or it was so late a release that it didn't matter. Several times there was no receiver closer then 10-15 yards. I was at the game today and i only recall one obvious checkdown opportunity, although it's very possible i missed some. On this play, Luck threw downfield and incomplete i believe.

[cmgww]

I didn't like going to Avery on 3rd and 5...sure had he caught it that would have been game over...but had Vinatieri missed the FG see might have been in real trouble. That's my problem with Arians offense. High risk, high reward. That's great for a vet QB with a solid line but not a rookie (no matter how good) and a line in shambles. I don't want a West Coast offense either, but a balance. I don't think Arians needs to go, we are 9-4 with a team full of rookies, some stars, and a bunch of cast offs. But he needs to make some adjustments

[indy1888]

I didn't like going to Avery on 3rd and 5...sure had he caught it that would have been game over...but had Vinatieri missed the FG see might have been in real trouble. That's my problem with Arians offense. High risk, high reward. That's great for a vet QB with a solid line but not a rookie (no matter how good) and a line in shambles. I don't want a West Coast offense either, but a balance. I don't think Arians needs to go, we are 9-4 with a team full of rookies, some stars, and a bunch of cast offs. But he needs to make some adjustments

On that play i thought Luck should have kept it. From my seats in the endzone it looked like he would have got the first. I have noticed lately Luck is more hesitant on running then he was earlier in the year. I wonder if they haven't advised him to limit the runs. I know he has been on the injury report with a knee issue lately.

[GoColts8818]

A lot of the time, there is no checkdown option in the route. Nate Dunlevy did an article this past week from the Lions game and on several plays there was either no checkdown option at all or it was so late a release that it didn't matter. Several times there was no receiver closer then 10-15 yards. I was at the game today and i only recall one obvious checkdown opportunity, although it's very possible i missed some. On this play, Luck threw downfield and incomplete i believe.

I was at the game too and watched that since they don't always show the check down options on TV. I did notice we are having to keep one or two tightends in to help block on just about every play as well as the RB which would be the main check down options. If we are having to keep that many guys in to help I am scared to think what would happen if we didn't keep them in.

I did notice there always at least one drag WR much like Avery in the Lions game. Now just because there is a drag WR doesn't mean they are open on every play but I would like to see Luck use them a little more.

Like I said I am sure you can put the blame on the play calling but I do think there are some reasons for the play calling we have speed WRs who designed to go down the field so if we start using them in other ways we aren't really using them the way they are built to be used. We could really use another big tall possession WR. Now with that said those are extremely hard to find. It might be worth it to take a shot at Bowe this off-season if he hits the market because most of the time those WRs do not. Add to that having to keep the backs and tightends to block and then there just aren't many guys who can be check down options. With that said if Luck is getting killed with all the extra help blocking do you really want to lose that extra help. I will say a couple of times today early Fleener faked a block and got open but Luck missed the throw. That goes on the QB. Luck's a rookie so the good news is that he should get better but it's fair to say he just flat out misses some throws he shouldn't at times.

[Gavin]

I didn't like going to Avery on 3rd and 5...sure had he caught it that would have been game over...but had Vinatieri missed the FG see might have been in real trouble. That's my problem with Arians offense. High risk, high reward. That's great for a vet QB with a solid line but not a rookie (no matter how good) and a line in shambles. I don't want a West Coast offense either, but a balance. I don't think Arians needs to go, we are 9-4 with a team full of rookies, some stars, and a bunch of cast offs. But he needs to make some adjustments

Thats the heart of the problem, good head coaches make adjustments, Arians does not make them much at all and when he does he does not stick with them

[drew]

I havent watched the game yet, going to watch it on NFL Game Rewind, but from the stats Luck had another bad game. I for one think Arians is not putting Luck in the best situations to succeed. If he simply allow Luck to check down the ball more often, that alone would cut down on Luck's interceptions.

I really want Luck to start calling his own plays like Peyton does maybe starting by next year. Arians just calls too many risky plays from the QB position.

Your thoughts?

The stats don't tell the whole story. One of Luck's interceptions should have been called a sack but it was a split second decision by the Luck to throw it and a split second by the refs to call it. It could have been called either way.

The O-line was a complete disaster. The Titans defense was good but there was no excuse for how bad the line handled them. I know a lot of people have criticized them this year for being bad and I usually am not too hard on them, but they completely failed tonight. Luck rarely had any time in the pocket to look for a receiver. Frankly we have to protect our quarterback better.

Luck has had bad moments this season but for a rookie QB I'd still give him credit for having an incredibly good season and I wouldn't take anything away from that tonight. He did the best he could with what options he had.

Our team has to protect the QB better.

[schwamm]

Thats the heart of the problem, good head coaches make adjustments, Arians does not make them much at all and when he does he does not stick with them

???

Clearly I'm not as educated at interpreting these games, Gavin, but going 7-20 in the first half, and 20-3 in the second half requires adjustments. Adjustments that work, and that the team is sticking to.

This isn't the first game this team has turned things around in the second half, either. I'm inclined to think Arians has done remarkably well with making adjustments.

[GoColts8818]

???

Clearly I'm not as educated at interpreting these games, Gavin, but going 7-20 in the first half, and 20-3 in the second half requires adjustments. Adjustments that work, and that the team is sticking to.

This isn't the first game this team has turned things around in the second half, either. I'm inclined to think Arians has done remarkably well with making adjustments.

The key play was a result of an adjustment. The pick 6 the Titans had run three times in the first half and was their go to play when they needed yards and they went to it backed up on the goal-line and this time Vaughn recognized it and jumped the route. Now I don't know if he made that adjustment himself or if the coaches showed it to him at the half but it was a key play.

[Gavin]

???

Clearly I'm not as educated at interpreting these games, Gavin, but going 7-20 in the first half, and 20-3 in the second half requires adjustments. Adjustments that work, and that the team is sticking to.

This isn't the first game this team has turned things around in the second half, either. I'm inclined to think Arians has done remarkably well with making adjustments.

Or the defense decided it was time to play

[GoColts8818]

Or the defense decided it was time to play

yes and I am sure the coaches had nothing to do with that... I am also sure the long drive out the lockerroom by the offense had nothing to do with coaches too...

You want to see a coach who didn't know what a second half adjustment looked like look at Jim Caldwell. That's why we would almost always lose the second half under Caldwell. With Arians it's not the same.

[INColts12]

Need to up the protection of Luck, the OL needs to be built up this offseason

[SIXTHOBJECT]

I think that the coaches believed at the begining of the season that we had nothing to lose so they threw Andrew to the wolves and he has shown them that he can win while faceing adversity. Wait til this guy has a clean pocket and line men are not in his face as soon as he takes the snap. I say give him a better o-line and you will see why he was the number one overall pick, God teams are going to hate to game plan for this kid. I for one dont care about his stats this year as long as he is winning and continues to win. Let RG3 and others have all the awards I will take a shot at the playoffs and SB any day over all the other crap!!!

We are in a very very good spot for a team who wasnt supposed to win more then 5 or 6 games....

GO COLTS !!!!

[ColtsBlueFL]

I havent watched the game yet, going to watch it on NFL Game Rewind, but from the stats Luck had another bad game. I for one think Arians is not putting Luck in the best situations to succeed. If he simply allow Luck to check down the ball more often, that alone would cut down on Luck's interceptions.

I really want Luck to start calling his own plays like Peyton does maybe starting by next year. Arians just calls too many risky plays from the QB position.

Your thoughts?

Watch the game on rewind, re-read what you wrote and see if it still applies. We need the running game and better O line pass blocking. For awhile, there was no open space or routes they were pressing up so much.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

What this whole line of thinking comes down to is....some think there is "more" Arians can/should do to overcome the serious lack of protection that Luck lives with.

That is very debatable, thus all these posts.

What isn't debatable is Andrew Luck's offensive line sucks. Until that gets fixed, this discussion will never end.

[PrincetonTiger]

not yet