The upside of taking the pressure off of Luck

[BlueShoe]

I have been looking at Luck's injury through every possible angle, and have come to the conclusion that in the long-run, it might not necessarily be a bad thing. By accident we might default into a better alternative for our offense. 

 

We have proven that we can run the ball effectively with Frank Gore, who is sporting a 4.7 yard average per carry this season. Ironically, it is Gore who we have protected by putting him on a pitch count.

 

Let's hypothetically think about a possibility where Luck starts, but we put him on a pitch count, and rely heavily on Frank Gore. It would be interesting to see what Gore could do if we handed the ball to him 30-35 times in a single game. We may finally have a back break 100 yards for the first time in years. Hell, he might break 200. If successful then Luck may only have to throw the ball 10-15 times.

 

This hypothetical concept could change the way we think about our offense for the rest of the season, and in future seasons. If we focused primarily on the running game (owning clock) and playing good run defense then it could bode well for us if/when we make it to the playoffs. We can slow these higher powered offenses down by flipping the script on them.

 

I believe we have the O-Line to run the ball effectively with Gore, and I would like to see the Colts take this approach while Andrew heals. 

 

And I always like our chances when we are within a touchdown at the end of the game, with #12 under center. 

 

We could inadvertently find the recipe for success in this league.  

[Flash7]

I have been looking at Luck's injury through every possible angle, and have come to the conclusion that in the long-run, it might not necessarily be a bad thing. By accident we might default into a better alternative for our offense. 

 

We have proven that we can run the ball effectively with Frank Gore, who is sporting a 4.7 yard average per carry this season. Ironically, it is Gore who we have protected by putting him on a pitch count.

 

Let's hypothetically think about a possibility where Luck starts, but we put him on a pitch count, and rely heavily on Frank Gore. It would be interesting to see what Gore could do if we handed the ball to him 30-35 times in a single game. We may finally have a back break 100 yards for the first time in years. Hell, he might break 200. If successful then Luck may only have to throw the ball 10-15 times.

 

This hypothetical concept could change the way we think about our offense for the rest of the season, and in future seasons. If we focused primarily on the running game (owning clock) and playing good run defense then it could bode well for us if/when we make it to the playoffs. We can slow these higher powered offenses down by flipping the script on them.

 

I believe we have the O-Line to run the ball effectively with Gore, and I would like to see the Colts take this approach while Andrew heals. 

 

And I always like our chances when we are within a touchdown at the end of the game, with #12 under center. 

 

We could inadvertently find the recipe for success in this league.  

Robinson has had 11 attempts for 31 yards, an average of 2.8 ypc.

 

Varga has run the ball only 1 time for 2 yards, and average of 2 ypc.

 

It's clear that the Colts are deathly scared of risking Gore to an injury because in all reality, the Colts have sub-par depth behind him. I doubt he carries the ball 30-35 times a game.

[CoachSmok3]

i can dig it man. thinking positive.

 

what we think about is what we bring about. Overcoming adversity...the chance makes me smile...as it should to any competitor at heart.

 

Lets see the fortitude and composure of our squad when faced with it

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

"He might even break 200 yards" I wish I had dreams as big as yours. Lol.

[Doctor Mad]

Sit Luck and let him heal.  We have Houston and NE coming up and we need hime healthy.

Jags will load up the box with 8 or 9 players and dare Hasselbeck to beat them with his arm.  time for the TEs to get heavily involved.

[mvbighead]

There is a reason teams do not run a back 30-35 times consistently.  And when your back is 32, you simply do NOT do it.

 

The idea that we would try to stick to a 10-15 throw kind of game is also ludicrous.  If he is healthy, he plays, if he is not he doesn't.  I strongly doubt the idea of throwing the ball 10-15 times in a game would ever be at the front of anyone's mind.  So we have what many think of as the best young QB in the league, and we're going to force a run game that only works with one RB.

 

Beyond that, the times we have run the ball 3-4 times in a row usually wind up at some point putting us at 3rd and long.  Then Luck is forced to throw against a defense that is expecting a pass.  That is a lose/lose situation.  More often than not we won't get the yardage, and more often than not we will wind up seeing Luck get hit.  Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

 

I've said it before and I will say it again.  Short to intermediate throws are going to take the pressure off of Luck.  We need to not try so hard for the deep strike and just let it occur when it does.  Mix in a healthy amount of rushing attempts, and we'll be just fine.

[BlueShoe]

There is a reason teams do not run a back 30-35 times consistently.  And when your back is 32, you simply do NOT do it.

Who said we would consistently run any back 30-35 times a game? Gore is a running back, and he has been an outstanding back for a very long time. Relying on him heavily to run the ball for a few weeks is NOT out of the scope of his job duties. Showing the league we can both run and pass is not a bad thing. We have been one-dimensional for over 3 years now. Erasing that stigma will only help our team by keeping defenses honest. 

 

The idea that we would try to stick to a 10-15 throw kind of game is also ludicrous.  If he is healthy, he plays, if he is not he doesn't.  I strongly doubt the idea of throwing the ball 10-15 times in a game would ever be at the front of anyone's mind.  So we have what many think of as the best young QB in the league, and we're going to force a run game that only works with one RB.

I am glad that my comments are ludicrous to you. Who would think that a back might run the ball? There was a time when it was normal for backs would carry the ball 300 plus times a year. We are certainly not asking Gore to do that. You are reading too much into much into what I said, and/or just reaching for a reason to argue. It appears the plan was for the Colts to put Gore on a pitch count to save him for the playoffs. Now that plan has changed, because our quarterback is injured and we need our back to step up for a few games. Gore has only carried the ball 37 times all year (12 attempts a game). If he carried the ball 35 times in week 4 then his average would only be 18 carries a game. 

 

Beyond that, the times we have run the ball 3-4 times in a row usually wind up at some point putting us at 3rd and long.  Then Luck is forced to throw against a defense that is expecting a pass.  That is a lose/lose situation.  More often than not we won't get the yardage, and more often than not we will wind up seeing Luck get hit.  Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

In the past, we have got into bad situations trying to pound the ball. However, we have not attempted to do so with Gore. Gore has proven that he can run the ball effectively behind the current O-Line. How is it a recipe for disaster to heavily rely on a back that averages 4.7 yards per carry. Again, you are picking and choosing what facts to use to support your opinion, and most of those facts are outdated.

 

I've said it before and I will say it again.  Short to intermediate throws are going to take the pressure off of Luck.  We need to not try so hard for the deep strike and just let it occur when it does.  Mix in a healthy amount of rushing attempts, and we'll be just fine.

I agree that we need to implement more intermediate throws, but that does not take a rocket scientist to figure out. I believe anyone who has watched this season can easily form that conclusion. Most of us realized that point after the first week. 

[BlueShoe]

"He might even break 200 yards" I wish I had dreams as big as yours. Lol.

 

I have very little doubt that he could do it. After only 3 weeks, it is obvious that Gore is on a different playing field than any back we have had for a very long time. His talent level is clearly superior to any back we have had on the roster since Edgerrin. 

[krunk]

Who said we would consistently run any back 30-35 times a game? Gore is a running back, and he has been an outstanding back for a very long time. Relying on him heavily to run the ball for a few weeks is NOT out of the scope of his job duties. Showing the league we can both run and pass is not a bad thing. We have been one-dimensional for over 3 years now. Erasing that stigma will only help our team by keeping defenses honest.

I am glad that my comments are ludicrous to you. Who would think that a back might run the ball? There was a time when it was normal for backs would carry the ball 300 plus times a year. We are certainly not asking Gore to do that. You are reading too much into much into what I said, and/or just reaching for a reason to argue. It appears the plan was for the Colts to put Gore on a pitch count to save him for the playoffs. Now that plan has changed, because our quarterback is injured and we need our back to step up for a few games. Gore has only carried the ball 37 times all year (12 attempts a game). If he carried the ball 35 times in week 4 then his average would only be 18 carries a game.

In the past, we have got into bad situations trying to pound the ball. However, we have not attempted to do so with Gore. Gore has proven that he can run the ball effectively behind the current O-Line. How is it a recipe for disaster to heavily rely on a back that averages 4.7 yards per carry. Again, you are picking and choosing what facts to use to support your opinion, and most of those facts are outdated.

I agree that we need to implement more intermediate throws, but that does not take a rocket scientist to figure out. I believe anyone who has watched this season can easily form that conclusion. Most of us realized that point after the first week.

I'm always down with toting the rock! 15 to 20 for Gore is cool with me. To add to that I think we need to get Varga more touches. Varga is a powerful runner who I think will be a chain mover. The kid has shown he can break some tackles and push people around.

[BlueShoe]

I'm always down with toting the rock! 15 to 20 for Gore is cool with me. To add to that I think we need to get Varga more touches. Varga is a powerful runner who I think will be a chain mover. The kid has shown he can break some tackles and push people around.

 

I agree. I would much rather Varga spell Gore than Robinson. 

 

Varga runs downhill and is more like Gore than Robinson is. 

[krunk]

I agree. I would much rather Varga spell Gore than Robinson.

Varga runs downhill and is more like Gore than Robinson is.

Yup! Rushing the football needs to increase along with play action passing. I'm okay with and know that we will still need to utilize the shotgun deep passing game as a complimentary strategy but Pep has got to adjust this thing so we have better short plays and routes we can bail to when the defensive look is telling you there is an incredible amount of pressure coming. I think especially the use of our running backs in the passing game. It's just criminal to me that we don't utilize our backs more when we pass. I just think if you scheme this thing more towards what I'm talking about it goes a long way to masking some of the lack of experience we have on the interior of the O line.

[aaron11]

gore's pitch count won't go up becasue of lucks injury. 

 

it doesn't work like that.  he is probably capped at 25 or so carries, and he won't come close to that every week.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

A power run offense with a 32 year old rb and no depth behind him!

Don't you think our rushing avg. is probably because teams are playing pass against us?

I doubt we run successfully facing defenses that play us in their base. If Hassleback starts let's see how well we run!

[krunk]

A power run offense with a 32 year old rb and no depth behind him!

Don't you think our rushing avg. is probably because teams are playing pass against us?

I doubt we run successfully facing defenses that play us in their base. If Hassleback starts let's see how well we run!

 

We've been getting blitzed on run downs and pass downs.  We haven't had many light boxes so kind of scratching my head at this comment.  Teams have been stacking the box playing man to man saying I dare you to beat us.   Nobody has been sitting back playing the pass.  Are you seriously that much of a pessimist to where you don't even know what is going on in the game?  You just assume the line is so bad that when there is a good stat it's got to really be false?

[LJpalmbeacher2]

We've been getting blitzed on run downs and pass downs.  We haven't had many light boxes so kind of scratching my head at this comment.  Teams have been stacking the box playing man to man saying I dare you to beat us.   Nobody has been sitting back playing the pass.  Are you seriously that much of a pessimist to where you don't even know what is going on in the game?  You just assume the line is so bad that when there is a good stat it's got to really be false?

Their blitzing to put pressure on our qb who they know is passing. If we all of a sudden stop passing, the blitzing will stop and our OL will have to run block vs base or stacked boxes.

Are you really that impressed by our OL that you think they can run block successfully no matter what defense they face?

I doubt Luck will play vs jags. Let's see if our 4.7 rushing avg. takes a dive with Hassleback at qb.

[Malakai432]

Robinson has had 11 attempts for 31 yards, an average of 2.8 ypc.

Varga has run the ball only 1 time for 2 yards, and average of 2 ypc.

It's clear that the Colts are deathly scared of risking Gore to an injury because in all reality, the Colts have sub-par depth behind him. I doubt he carries the ball 30-35 times a game.

Yeah I don't think there is any way they run Gore 30-35 times a game.

[krunk]

Their blitzing to put pressure on our qb who they know is passing. If we all of a sudden stop passing, the blitzing will stop and our OL will have to run block vs base or stacked boxes.

Are you really that impressed by our OL that you think they can run block successfully no matter what defense they face?

I doubt Luck will play vs jags. Let's see if our 4.7 rushing avg. takes a dive with Hassleback at qb.

 

Don't you think it's easier to run versus a base defense then it is a stacked box?  If you haven't been paying attention we've been running against stacked boxes.  Not only stacked boxes, but stacked boxes from the top defenses in this league.  Gore was running all over the Jets when we ran.  All of his runs were positive versus the Bills, and he could have easily put up 150 on Tennessee and yet you are saying what you're saying?  Oh it's got to be because of something else that we run well, it just can't be that they run block pretty good.  So when it does hold up I suppose your next excuse will be "But it was the Jaguars!" LOL!

[will426]

Gore can run through any defence he's proven it countless time the question is will put Qb let him run it..I think gore speaks up this game and asks for more carries

[BlueShoe]

Gore can run through any defence he's proven it countless time the question is will put Qb let him run it..I think gore speaks up this game and asks for more carries

 

Barring injury to Gore today, he is going well over 100 yards.

 

Any other game plan is asinine. 

[Dark Superman]

Very well said..

[LJpalmbeacher2]

Don't you think it's easier to run versus a base defense then it is a stacked box?  If you haven't been paying attention we've been running against stacked boxes.  Not only stacked boxes, but stacked boxes from the top defenses in this league.  Gore was running all over the Jets when we ran.  All of his runs were positive versus the Bills, and he could have easily put up 150 on Tennessee and yet you are saying what you're saying?  Oh it's got to be because of something else that we run well, it just can't be that they run block pretty good.  So when it does hold up I suppose your next excuse will be "But it was the Jaguars!" LOL!

So far vs Jags, Gore has 8 carries for about 5 yards!

Is that below 4.7 a Carrie???

Hahaha

Great Rushing OL. Lol

[LJpalmbeacher2]

At half: 12 carries, 8 yards!

[LJpalmbeacher2]

Gore had about 30 yards rushing til he ripped a 24yarder at the very end. Good and important run as it solidified the winning fg.

But our OL had a terrible Day at run blocking. And it was against the Jags!

[mvbighead]

Who said we would consistently run any back 30-35 times a game? Gore is a running back, and he has been an outstanding back for a very long time. Relying on him heavily to run the ball for a few weeks is NOT out of the scope of his job duties. Showing the league we can both run and pass is not a bad thing. We have been one-dimensional for over 3 years now. Erasing that stigma will only help our team by keeping defenses honest. 

 

I am glad that my comments are ludicrous to you. Who would think that a back might run the ball? There was a time when it was normal for backs would carry the ball 300 plus times a year. We are certainly not asking Gore to do that. You are reading too much into much into what I said, and/or just reaching for a reason to argue. It appears the plan was for the Colts to put Gore on a pitch count to save him for the playoffs. Now that plan has changed, because our quarterback is injured and we need our back to step up for a few games. Gore has only carried the ball 37 times all year (12 attempts a game). If he carried the ball 35 times in week 4 then his average would only be 18 carries a game. 

 

In the past, we have got into bad situations trying to pound the ball. However, we have not attempted to do so with Gore. Gore has proven that he can run the ball effectively behind the current O-Line. How is it a recipe for disaster to heavily rely on a back that averages 4.7 yards per carry. Again, you are picking and choosing what facts to use to support your opinion, and most of those facts are outdated.

 

I agree that we need to implement more intermediate throws, but that does not take a rocket scientist to figure out. I believe anyone who has watched this season can easily form that conclusion. Most of us realized that point after the first week. 

 

1. Putting 30-35 carries on 1 guy that is 32 years old is just asking to knock him out for an extended period.  Hits add up.  And the body of a 32 year old heals a lot slower than that of a 22 year old.
2. Gore has carried so few times because we are usually playing from behind.
3. I was referring to this season, across the first 3 games.  Pep calls nearly 5 consecutive run plays in the first series.  The first two bring about a first down.  The second three could result in a 3rd and 8.  By that point, Gore is gassed and the defense knows what is coming.  It ain't rocket science.
4. Most people on this forum have been screaming for Grigs/Paganos head with regard to the terrible blocking.  Very few acknowledged that we're simply looking for deep passes upwards of 80% of the time.  And when you look at Hasselbeck's numbers yesterday, I'd like to think that Luck would've been better in every category, even though Hasselbeck did just fine in his own right.

Do I argue for the sake of arguing?  Not at all.  This is a PASSING team.  There is no reason for us to have signed Johnson and Hilton to big deals, nor draft Dorsett/Moncrief early and then try to force a running plan down the throats of everyone.  We simply need to work every area of the field and find the spots where the defense is out of position.

 

Go with a balanced attack early in the game.  Get first downs.  Keep the defense off the field.  Try to build a sizable lead.  By the 4th, hopefully the lead is substantial enough that we're able to grind out first downs and kill clock.  Further giving our defense rest, and being able to keep thwarting their offensive series.  That's when we need to run hard... when the defense is gassed.  Running 10 times in the first quarter when we don't have a lead and punting the ball is not ideal.  And we eventually punt because the defense stops our run, especially when Gore is out of the game due to running 5 consecutive plays.  Balance.

 

We won yesterdays game with luck (not Luck) and keeping a fair amount of possession.  Our coverage was weak, but we still mostly kept their offense to field goals or field goal attempts.  The fact they missed so many field goals surely helped, but had Luck played that game I doubt the score was anywhere near as close.