My Takeaways from Today

[ColtsFanMikeC]

Offense:

 

Like Pagano said last week in the post-game speech -- we need to clean up the little things.  If we want to make a playoff run, we cannot survive all the self-inflicted wounds.

 

Luck is a warrior -- not his greatest game by any means, but he didn't panic and he figured out how to get it done.  He scares the crap out of me sometimes with his will to win, though -- 3 plays that come to mind (1) a sack where Herron blew his blocking coverage Luck came dangerously close to trying to pitch it when he was going down, I am very happy he held onto it instead, (2) the second half INT when he dove and went for the strip, I was cringing as he swung his throwing arm into what could have been a dangerous situation, (3) the run at the end of the game -- if I took a hit like that I am pretty sure I'd be in the hospital for a few weeks.  He is a big guy and a tough sonova gun but man sometimes I wish he would just go down or get away from major contact.  I thought he did a very good job using his legs overall, today.  There was one play (an incomplete pass to Nicks) where I thought he should have kept it and ran, but for the most part he seemed to be making very sound decisions with running.

 

TY had moments of excellence and some very bad moments.  I like TY a lot, but that drop in the endzone (that is one of the best thrown balls I have seen in a very long time), his fumble, and another critical drop would have been pretty costly had we lost that game.

 

Richardson looked good to me other than 1 blown blocking assignment (I think this was Leonhardt's sack).  I think that is the best game he has had in a while -- I kind of wish we gave him the ball more, he was moving the ball for over 4.3 yards/carry and was effective.  Boom looked OK, had the one major blown blocking assignment but he ran hard.  One thing I like about Richardson more than Boom is that he seems to do a better job securing the ball -- I am very glad Boom got that late 1st down, but on that 3rd down I thought that ball was going to come out.

 

Wayne had a tough day.  I think we owe it to Wayne to chalk this up as a bad day and move on from it rather than be over critical of him.  I'd like to see him get reevaluated with his elbow and whatever else is ailing him, he looked excellent prior to that injury and has definitely looked a bit off ever since.

 

Last year (before Wayne got hurt) a big criticism of Luck was that he always went to Wayne and didn't read through all his progressions.  A few times today, I had the same feeling but in regards to TY.  That said, you can't really blame him, he was getting rocked all game and had to get the ball out faster than possible to read thru progressions a lot of the time.

 

Not much we can do about it now, but we need to put some serious focus into the OL this offseason and, IMO, activate addtional OL on game days -- I was scared when Holmes came in and they announced that we had no more OL on our bench.  Glad to see Holmes hold up and I though he looked pretty good.

 

Moncrief had a very bad drop early in the game, but redeemed himself with that catch on 3rd down late in the game.

 

I have been holding my faith on Nicks, but he let me down today.  I don't know if he just isn't on the same page as Luck, if he just had a bad day, or if he is not a shadow of the WR he was 3 years ago with NYG.

 

Overall, we scored enough points to win and overcame some adversity.  We need to improve our ball security and limit the self-inflicted wounds and I think we have the fire power to play with anybody.  Cleveland, IMO, has a very good defense -- maybe as good as any we have seen so far.

 

Defense:

Art Jones looked very good to me today, I think he's still got room for improvement but I think today showed a glimpse of what he can be for us.

 

Toler had his best game yet -- granted J. Gordon seems to be a bit rusty and Hoyer isn't that great, Toler played a very, very solid game.  Gordy did as well, best game I have seen from both of them.

 

We are very lucky to have Darius Butler, I think he's one of the best slot CBs in the game and he played very well today.

 

D'Qwell is one heck of a tackler.  I think he's still a little shaky in coverage but he is doing well when called upon to blitz and he doesn't let runs get by him.

 

I thought Montori played a heck of a game today as well. 

 

Didn't see much of Newsome (or any?) -- he isn't on the box score.  Was he injured or something?

 

Mike Adams, Brown, and Landry all played well, IMO.  Adams had a big INT early and came very close to coming up with one late in the game.  Luckily for us, Gordy came up big a few plays later.

 

I was furious at first with Redding for that roughing the passer at the end, but when they showed the replay I decided to give him a pass -- it looked like Adams had the pick and had he not dropped that, Redding's hit would have been legal.

 

Overall -- very solid defensive performance.  Luck gave up 14 points and they had to play with bad field position due to turnovers quite a bit.  Granted, CLE is not a great offense by any means, our guys played well and made the critical stops when we needed them.  I think we have some room for improvement in the run game, but when Vontae is back, if our other DBs can play like they did today, I think we've got  a solid pass D.

 

STs:

 

Vinny is the man -- huge of him to hit a 51 yarder in that cold.

 

Patty Mac is also the man -- his kickoffs (I think due to the cold) were not as impressive today as they usually are, but he had 2 solo tackles and averaged 47 yards over 7 punts. 

 

I really like Dewey McDonald on STs, as well as Andrew Jackson and was trying to figure out who in the world #37 was until he made that big tackle on the last kickoff -- I thought Tipton looked very solid on STs as well.

 

Cribbs had one good return, but seemed to struggle otherwise.  CLE's punt unit played great, their punter and coverage units.  I like Brown at safety, but there were a few times today where I thought we missed him on STs.  I think Cribbs will bounce back to his old self soon, and have a feeling his comments about jumping into the Dawg Pound got to his head today.

 

Overall, we have the best kicking unit in the NFL -- I think Vinny and Pat should both be first team all-pros and Vinny's game today hopefully cemented that - they are the unsung heroes of this year's team, IMO.  What we have been missing this year is a return game, we saw some glimpses the past 2 week and one short glimpse today of what Cribbs can bring to this team. 

 

Overall:

Great team win.  Need to fix some little things and work on ball security a bit more, but wins like this build character and that is important if we're going to get hot and make a big run in the post season.  Our D and STs really kept us in this game, just enough that Luck was able to work his magic and lead us down the field on that final drive.  Our OL is my biggest concern at this point -- we have to get healthy and be more consistent there if this year's team is going to make a push in the playoffs.  I was impressed with Holmes and am glad he got a chance to see some real minutes.

[Dark Superman]

Minimize turnovers and start Shipley and Holmes.

That is all..

[coltsfan1157]

Who's going to read this?

[IndyD4U]

Who's going to read this?

I read it. And I enjoyed it.

[ColtsFan1976]

_{Who's going to read this?}

 

_{I tried.  However, Pagano needs to stop saying we need to fix the mistakes and FIX the mistakes.  Pagano has had three years.  I really believe next year Luck will be running the offense like Manning did.  It is time to let Luck take the reigns and take over every game.  Also, he needs to learn not to throw high.  Maybe it is the weight of the beard or something.} 

[zibby43]

Who's going to read this?

 

That was an unfair comment lol.     mod

 

I read it and thought it was a very solid analysis of today's game.

 

 

edited 9:04 pm by ColtsBlueFL

[Imped]

My thought:

 

The offensive play calling sucked today. The Cleveland secondary was playing out of their minds and ruining our pass game. We ran the ball effectively and just abandoned it.....we weren't down by enough points to just abandon a rare effective run game. Even though we won the game today (which I'm very thankful for) I'm just not pleased about the play calling today. Run the ball on 1st and second, throw in some play action and let that good, disciplined Cleveland secondary start to hesitate.....there were definitely some points left out on the field today. 

 

Good job defense, you guys played tough. 

[Smonroe]

Nice write up Mike. This game again showed we can beat teams with average to poor QB play.

Hoyer kept us in the game and our offense kept Johnny Fooseball on the bench by turning the ball over and giving them the lead.

They weren't going to pull Hoyer no matter how bad he was playing as long as they had the lead. I don't know if Manziel could have done any better but he couldn't have been much worse.

[DougDew]

My thought:

 

The offensive play calling sucked today. The Cleveland secondary was playing out of their minds and ruining our pass game. We ran the ball effectively and just abandoned it.....we weren't down by enough points to just abandon a rare effective run game. Even though we won the game today (which I'm very thankful for) I'm just not pleased about the play calling today. Run the ball on 1st and second, throw in some play action and let that good, disciplined Cleveland secondary start to hesitate.....there were definitely some points left out on the field today. 

 

Good job defense, you guys played tough.

Yes. Should have ran the ball more, and we don't use play action nearly enough in most games.

[Gramz]

They were damn lucky to walk out of there with a Win today.    I know a Win's a Win.....

 

.........but they played like crap, I thought the Offensive line was going to get Andrew killed today and need to get it together before the Playoffs.

[oldunclemark]

They were damn lucky to walk out of there with a Win today.    I know a Win's a Win.....

 

.........but they played like crap, I thought the Offensive line was going to get Andrew killed today and need to get it together before the Playoffs.

I just wanted to get out with a win..and we did.

...Our line and our RBs are not protecting Andrew as Id like to see..I worry about his health.

But at the end of the game...he's better than what the other team has

[GOCOLTS_ROLLTIDE]

_{I tried. However, Pagano needs to stop saying we need to fix the mistakes and FIX the mistakes. Pagano has had three years. I really believe next year Luck will be running the offense like Manning did. It is time to let Luck take the reigns and take over every game. Also, he needs to learn not to throw high. Maybe it is the weight of the beard or something.}

this is only pagonos 2nd yr

[ponyboy]

Vinny is the man -- huge of him to hit a 51 yarder in that cold.

 

 

Can't emphasize enough how big that was.  Cold, some wind, and 51 yards.  Just a huge difference in the game.

[Nobody]

We have the best punter and the best kicker in the league (yes, better than Gostkowski)

[Malakai432]

I read it. And I enjoyed it.

Roger that, same here....

[Jdubu]

Excellent job!!

[Superman]

Patty Mac is also the man -- his kickoffs (I think due to the cold) were not as impressive today as they usually are, but he had 2 solo tackles and averaged 47 yards over 7 punts. 

 

IMO, this was McAfee's worst game of the year. His kickoffs were consistently short, in both directions, which was surprising. He had the one really bad punt, and another that wasn't very good. And while he got good leg on several of his other punts, two or three of them were just too far, outkicking his coverage, which led to return yardage by the Browns. His net was only 37.7; his average net is 44.4, and what he did today would be good for 27th in the league.

 

I agree that he should be All Pro this season, but this wasn't a good game for him.

[Dr. Guildo]

The T.Y. Hilton drop was well placed by Luck, but T.Y. had to bend back a bit... and the guys hand was right in his line of sight.

 

They were damn lucky to walk out of there with a Win today.    I know a Win's a Win.....

 

.........but they played like crap, I thought the Offensive line was going to get Andrew killed today and need to get it together before the Playoffs.

The o-line and the runningbacks  both were letting guys come unblocked. I was surprised by the lack of Doyle, or another tight end being put in to help because they had really stepped up win protection has been needed this year. Not today.  

[JPFolks]

I think Shipley should have started all year and each time he makes an appearance, he improves the situation.  But make no mistake, he's lifting it from a 2 out of 10 to a 4 or 5 out of ten.  I think we need to draft 2 O-Linemen and 2 D-Linemen and the best Rush Linebacker we can draft.  Luck is good enough to work with lesser receivers, but imagine how good he'd be with Dallas's line or another elite O-Line? I bet Andrew has injuries we don't know about (everyone usually does) and I wonder if today and the past few weeks we may have seen the results of them in his work.  

 

Hilton saved our day, getting open and making clutch catches and Andrew, in one of his worst games as a Colt, gave him just enough to do it.  Second would be the boost we got from Herron, including that Critical 1/2 yard he picked up when there was nothing there to gain.  He's not a world beater, but he's also a 6 compared to Richardsons 2.  We need at least a couple more 6's or even an 8 or 9 at RB.  Bradshaw was a solid 6 but always got hurt.  They don't need to rush for 100 every game, just give us a legitimate threat to get 5-8 yards on any given run so Play Action actually means something.  

 

Harrison, Richardson can't go any away fast enough IMO.  I also sadly think Reggie is seriously injured and is ONLY playing because he has decided to retire after this season.  He's just got nothing left.  We'd have been in a much safer position had he caught 2 of his 4 drops that game.  I was sad to see it come to that, he's a proud HOF caliber player and his injuries have robbed him of his gifts.  I heard he has a torn triceps.  Sad way to go out.  For me, I was more bummed by his results than the rest of the team because I realize the longest serving Colt will likely soon be playing his final game in Indianapolis.  

 

Now on to the Texans to take the division and perhaps get some folks healthy for a shot at some of the likely playoff teams who all will be favored over us at this point (except maybe the Bengals/Baltimore if they fall to the WC).   Pitt, NE, Den, SD, KC all look like nightmares waiting to happen for us.  I think all those teams are better than us and even with Luck, (and "luck") I can't see us taking out 3 of them in a row to face either Seattle or Green Bay in the SB.  Most likely it will be Seattle/GB versus New England if status quo remains the same (injury wise).  I can't see anyone contenders taking all three of those teams out of it.  Seattle's D looks as good as last year's team at this stage. Green Bay's O looks SB ready and NE looks like SB Champs already on both sides of the ball.  If we could draw the Bengals at home and then AT Denver I think we might have a shot at the AFC Championship.  I can't see another pathway there.  

[King Colt]

Yet no comments on how well the Cleveland defense covered our guys and set up camp in the Colts backfield. What makes a team falter for three plus quarters with a highly rated offense? Maybe the FACT that our division is basically soft may account for how "good" we are!! Someone has got to make Luck stop trying to throw the ball when he is in the grasp. For a guy with his all around talent that is something a rookie would do. I hope the Colts fine Redding for that stupid hit from behind giving Cleveland a chance to beat us. The Colts have only one running back and so they should only play one running back. The entire game was a pain to watch and I have too many nightmares about New England to have any hope of anything this year and last nights defeat of the Chargers just added to the horror.

[Smash Mouth]

 

 

Now on to the Texans to take the division and perhaps get some folks healthy for a shot at some of the likely playoff teams who all will be favored over us at this point (except maybe the Bengals/Baltimore if they fall to the WC).   Pitt, NE, Den, SD, KC all look like nightmares waiting to happen for us.  I think all those teams are better than us and even with Luck, (and "luck") I can't see us taking out 3 of them in a row to face either Seattle or Green Bay in the SB.  

I don't think anything has changed regarding our playoff prospects.  I think NE and Den can beat us at home of away.  The other teams will have to come to Indy and that's what give us a good chance to win.  The best we can hope for is a Wildcard win and a Den of NE loss in the Divisional Round to get a shot at a beatable team in the AFC Championship Game

[CoachLite]

My thought:

 

The offensive play calling sucked today. The Cleveland secondary was playing out of their minds and ruining our pass game. We ran the ball effectively and just abandoned it.....we weren't down by enough points to just abandon a rare effective run game. Even though we won the game today (which I'm very thankful for) I'm just not pleased about the play calling today. Run the ball on 1st and second, throw in some play action and let that good, disciplined Cleveland secondary start to hesitate.....there were definitely some points left out on the field today. 

 

Good job defense, you guys played tough.

Here is my specific complaint. First there seems to be an overall lack of preparation on both offense and defense, with too much reliance on standard play-book and not enough adaptation to the opponent. Second, the plays being executed (O and D) seem dazed and confused. This is especially true for the O-line. Past so-called "no talent" players seem to succeed in other schemes. Third, Luck is playing in panic mode. This is due to dazed and confused play, but also due to poor QB coaching. Luck is a great talent, but that talent still needs good coaching (very different in the pros than in college). This lack of coaching results in a kind of sand-lot football, that overly relies on individual skills and talent, and not enough on a coordinated team effort.

I think it wrong to blame lack of individual talent - often happens in this forum - unless you rely too much on any one's individual talent. I guess that's what I see that others don't. The sum should be greater than the parts. It's not.

[lollygagger8]

Why did it take harrison getting "hurt" to get him benched???? 

 

Shipley and Holmes did an EXCELLENT job. Why the heck haven't the coaches tried this combo before?? That's some ineptitude if I've ever seen it. 

 

I love Wayne, and if he really does have a torn pec (like Pagano said in the post game interview), I don't understand why he was allowed to be out there for so many drops. 

 

Since our WR's were getting smothered by the Browns DB's, I would've liked to see more throws to our RB's out of the backfield. I don't remember throwing to Trent once. 

 

 

Thank God Hoyer is terrible. I'm glad we won, but I still can't believe we played that bad against the Browns. I'm pretty dumbfounded how we can keep coming into games this unprepared. 

[krunk]

IMO, this was McAfee's worst game of the year. His kickoffs were consistently short, in both directions, which was surprising. He had the one really bad punt, and another that wasn't very good. And while he got good leg on several of his other punts, two or three of them were just too far, outkicking his coverage, which led to return yardage by the Browns. His net was only 37.7; his average net is 44.4, and what he did today would be good for 27th in the league.

 

I agree that he should be All Pro this season, but this wasn't a good game for him.

 

 

I want to say it was the wind or something I guess.  I agree his kicks were way off the normal. Way off

[krunk]

Luck battled us back into the game for the win, but I have to say he was terrible for most of the game in my opinion.  I'm really concerned about all these bad starts by the offense.  There is just no way we can play like this in the play offs and win.  If we take care of the football the way we need to, there is no way we should not have blown that team out by a score of at least 28 to 7.  As Tony Dungy used to say "We have to be more Sharp".  All those turnovers are unacceptable! 

 

Boom Herron finally stopped fumbling the football, and once we got that stopped, Luck turns around and coughs the ball up 2 to 3 times in a single game.   We will never be able to beat New England with this type of play.  This and our continuous pattern of abandoning the run and being one dimensional.  Heck even Denver is learning to be a better running team right now, we seem to not even deem the one sidedness to be an issue.

[James Ducheteau]

_{I tried.  However, Pagano needs to stop saying we need to fix the mistakes and FIX the mistakes.  Pagano has had three years.  I really believe next year Luck will be running the offense like Manning did.  It is time to let Luck take the reigns and take over every game.  Also, he needs to learn not to throw high.  Maybe it is the weight of the beard or something.} 

I think a lot of his high throws come from him trying to get the ball out, around, over, or through the defensive player that is about to rock him, you know, like every play, or at least often enough that it could be that it is becoming his natural throwing motion. 

[ColtsFanMikeC]

IMO, this was McAfee's worst game of the year. His kickoffs were consistently short, in both directions, which was surprising. He had the one really bad punt, and another that wasn't very good. And while he got good leg on several of his other punts, two or three of them were just too far, outkicking his coverage, which led to return yardage by the Browns. His net was only 37.7; his average net is 44.4, and what he did today would be good for 27th in the league.

 

I agree that he should be All Pro this season, but this wasn't a good game for him.

 

 

I want to say it was the wind or something I guess.  I agree his kicks were way off the normal. Way off

 

I think the cold had something to do with his short kickoffs.  Glad Tipton made that big tackle on the last one to keep them in poor field position. 

 

Superman, I agree -- I guess I was looking at his punt average (47 yards) and not his net.  The one really bad punt he got a really good bounce on, but you are right the ones he got his leg under he got a little too much length with not enough hang time.

[Superman]

I think the cold had something to do with his short kickoffs. Glad Tipton made that big tackle on the last one to keep them in poor field position.

Superman, I agree -- I guess I was looking at his punt average (47 yards) and not his net. The one really bad punt he got a really good bounce on, but you are right the ones he got his leg under he got a little too much length with not enough hang time.

I'm sure the cold and/or wind was a big factor. I'm just used to seeing the ball go out the back of the end zone, and it never really came close. And we were backed up on a couple of those punts, so I know he wanted to flip the field as much as possible.

[wesd2890]

If we continue to ask luck to throw 50+ times a game.. hes gonna have turnovers.. we gotta run the ball more.. trich and boom both were gaining yards but got away from it way to early.. greg toler was a monster.. people say gordon is rusty but he did have 2 great weeks before yesterday.. i think toler had alot to do with his struggles

[throwing BBZ]

Why did it take harrison getting "hurt" to get him benched???? 

 

Shipley and Holmes did an EXCELLENT job. Why the heck haven't the coaches tried this combo before?? That's some ineptitude if I've ever seen it. 

 

I love Wayne, and if he really does have a torn pec (like Pagano said in the post game interview), I don't understand why he was allowed to be out there for so many drops. 

 

Since our WR's were getting smothered by the Browns DB's, I would've liked to see more throws to our RB's out of the backfield. I don't remember throwing to Trent once. 

 

 

Thank God Hoyer is terrible. I'm glad we won, but I still can't believe we played that bad against the Browns. I'm pretty dumbfounded how we can keep coming into games this unprepared. 

 

 We don`t look well coached that is for sure. Poor Reg.

 Coach P has a code that seems a little dusty. All GM`s have some misses and ours has Failed with the O-Line. Such is life.

 We are on a path to be a real contender in the years to come. Andrew needs to become a much better passer of course but it takes much more.

[Old Colt]

Who's going to read this?

Intelligent Colts and football fans....

[throwing BBZ]

I think a lot of his high throws come from him trying to get the ball out, around, over, or through the defensive player that is about to rock him, you know, like every play, or at least often enough that it could be that it is becoming his natural throwing motion. 

 

 Sadly he is still holding the ball when his receivers are making their breaks. He has the yips when it comes to trusting/knowing the routes they are running.

 He will lead the league in hits every year until he overcomes this problem.

[krunk]

Whenever we play on the road for some reason we are NEVER prepared to play. 

[ColtStronger]

Who's going to read this?

Not me, but I have some long posts sometimes, and people still comment with their debate in "novel" form also!

[ColtStronger]

Why did it take harrison getting "hurt" to get him benched???? 

 

Shipley and Holmes did an EXCELLENT job. Why the heck haven't the coaches tried this combo before?? That's some ineptitude if I've ever seen it. 

 

I love Wayne, and if he really does have a torn pec (like Pagano said in the post game interview), I don't understand why he was allowed to be out there for so many drops. 

 

Since our WR's were getting smothered by the Browns DB's, I would've liked to see more throws to our RB's out of the backfield. I don't remember throwing to Trent once. 

 

 

Thank God Hoyer is terrible. I'm glad we won, but I still can't believe we played that bad against the Browns. I'm pretty dumbfounded how we can keep coming into games this unprepared. 

Luck will pass it to Herron out of the backfield, but refuses to even look at Trent, because of his struggles I swear.  Same with Nicks.  I see them wide open every so often but Lucks eyes are on the opposite side of the field.  I understand why he thinks that way, but it should be.

[open window]

 Sadly he is still holding the ball when his receivers are making their breaks. He has the yips when it comes to trusting/knowing the routes they are running.

 He will lead the league in hits every year until he overcomes this problem.

nevermind

[a06cc]

Colts have a history of playing badly against the Browns. Even in Manning's era the struggle was there. This isn't new and our defense steps up.

[open window]

Colts have a history of playing badly against the Browns. Even in Manning's era the struggle was there. This isn't new and our defense steps up.

I remember the Peyton led Colts scoring 9 and 10 points in 2 wins at Cleveland

[a06cc]

I remember the Peyton led Colts scoring 9 and 10 points in 2 wins at Cleveland

Yep in 08 can't remember the other year.

[akcolt]

Why did it take harrison getting "hurt" to get him benched???? 

 

Shipley and Holmes did an EXCELLENT job. Why the heck haven't the coaches tried this combo before?? That's some ineptitude if I've ever seen it. 

 

I love Wayne, and if he really does have a torn pec (like Pagano said in the post game interview), I don't understand why he was allowed to be out there for so many drops. 

 

Since our WR's were getting smothered by the Browns DB's, I would've liked to see more throws to our RB's out of the backfield. I don't remember throwing to Trent once. 

 

 

Thank God Hoyer is terrible. I'm glad we won, but I still can't believe we played that bad against the Browns. I'm pretty dumbfounded how we can keep coming into games this unprepared. 

I couldn't agree with this more. For all of Trent's shortcomings in Indy he did have 51 catches in Cleveland as a rookie. We rarely look to the backs out of the backfield besides that play that Bradshaw was scoring on a regular basis. RB are hard to pick up and are usually in mismatches with LB's I would really like to see us take more advantage of that. I would love to add a screen pass to the game plan and not that quick screen to the Wideout Pep loves. It's a pretty good way to slow down a team that has it's ears pinned back coming for your QB,  

 

The  Browns are a better football team than they are getting credit for on this forum. They were 7-5 coming in playing in arguably the toughest division in the AFC. It was a good win on the road in some tough conditions.