[Pagano, Luck Want Re-Established Run Game]

Let's reword that caption to read:

"With the current offensive line and offensive coordinator, PAGANO will have no LUCK establishing a balanced rushing attack!"

It's pretty bad when a fan is starting to wish the season was over. Another performance like the last two and that will be me. It hurts to watch it.

[PEPS NO COAST OFFENSE]

Words to describe yesterday's loss:

Sad
Depressing

Embarrassing
Sickening

Amateurish
High School (perhaps not even that good)

No Heart
No Desire
No Fire
No Direction

 

 . . . and the worst word . . . .

PREDICTABLE!!!!!!

 

What did we learn as fans when Peyton was here about the run versus pass, and what to do when neither is working well. Quick outs, quick hitters, etc., etc., etc. It opens up the run, period.

Much too often I hear the "so called" experts say "you have to establish the run to open up the passing game!" Peyton proved that wrong using the above.

 

How long is it going to take the coaches to realize this???? This coaching staff has only been here for 1-1/2 seasons so they can be burned out, but they have to do more than punch the clock!!!!

 

I like Chuck Pagano a lot, but I don't believe he's NFL head coach material. That's no being harsh, it being factual. There's not enough fire, no sense of urgency, zero imagination and creativity, and he fails to motivate.

How about Bruce Arians? Remember him? I know it wouldn't have been right to give him the head coaching job, but in retrospect we'd be better off.

 

Would someone in this organization please step back and take a close look at what's happening? In any other organization or business, heads would be rolling now!
 

[Andy's Colts Recap -- Week 5]

A tale of two halves! Or a tale of two teams! Dallas Clark makes just the easy catches and it's a different outcome.

[Its not Caldwell'd fault]

We will never know if Caldwell could have won all those games as head coach without Manning. Perhaps you're watching a different team than I've seen. It's in difficult times like these that coaches either flourish or fail. This is when a coach actually proves his true worth.

Two times during the Pittsburgh game we sent Mathis all the way around to Freeney's side in an effort to get to Big Ben, only to be burned badly both times in critical situations. In the Tampa game at least 10-12 times we dropped the linebackers back about 15-20 yards and Freeman picked us apart. Why did we continue to do that?

So how many times do we attempt something that fails before we stop doing it? You probably read this in another thread but bears repeating here and is a factual statement that had been around forever. "Only a fool continues to do the same thing over and over again expecting different results." Perhaps the defensive coordinator is responsible, but he reports to the head coach and I'm quite sure Caldwell knew what was going on and did absolutely nothing to correct it. If he was aware of it then perhaps he didn't know what to do or is unable to multi-task which in either case does nothing to substantiate his ability to be a successful head coach in the NFL.

[Its not Caldwell'd fault]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree. I've said it another thread and I'll say it again here.

With Peyton we could actually outscore most of the other teams and thus a mediocre defense was fine. Without Peyton, Caldwell now realizes he has to actually coach the team, and so far hasn't shown the ability to do so.

You state he's not allowed to be assertive with his coordinators. Is this factual info or just speculation on your part? What's the source of the info?

[Is Caldwell the right guy for the job?]

caldwell said he is going to make some adjustments, he sees things that are correctable

It still all comes down to the head coach. If his coordinators aren't doing the job, which they haven't this season, don't keep saying it's correctable and do nothing. Let's be honest. Some coaches just can't handle the responsibilities of being a head coach. As long as we're winning the majority of the games no problem. When the wheels come off is when you measure the true ability of a coach.

Bottom line: The coordinators answer to Caldwell. We're 0-4 and he's done nothing to change that. Now he's leaning towards Collins as the starter for the next game.

I'm sorry "amff" but this is one fan who's not going to drink the grape koolaid.

[Ijalana ACL damage]

I keep reading replies that say "when Manning returns", but I'm not convinced he will. There is no way he or the organization knew the injury was this bad and I don't think we've heard the whole truth about any of it. I want him back as much as anyone but I've got this gut feeling he may have taken his last snap.

Perhaps we release Caldwell, make Manning the interim coach for the remainder of the season, and if he can't return as quarterback, keep him as head coach. Whatcha' think? ;-)

[How many fans were coaches on the NFL level?]

Let's talk about common sense. A fan doesn't need to be an expert or an "insider" to see how bad the coaching is right now. Sad but true, it all comes back to the head coach. Gruden pointed it out last night and I don't recall exactly who but one of the announcers for the Pittsburgh game pointed out as well.

A good coach leads with confidence, even if he's up against a nearly impossible situation. He doesn't have that "deer in the headlights" look on his face when quick and critical decisions are needed.

Caldwell could have just had his headphones patched into the Monday Night Football broadcast and learned what to do.

There's an old saying that applies to life in general and it sure fits here "Only a fool does something that's unsuccessful over and over again expecting different results."

[Is Caldwell the right guy for the job?]

From reading all of the replies it appears that over 90% agree that Caldwell is not the right guy for the job. A lot of other points were brought up that I hadn't considered.

It was Manning that led this team to the Super Bowl just a couple of years ago, not Caldwell. It was Manning that coached the offense from the field and by leading the team and putting lots of points on the board there didn't need to be much defensive coaching. We could just outscore the other teams.

It's at times like these when your team leader (on field coach) is down and you have numerous injuries that a head coach shows his true ability. His inability is all we've seen.

Caldwell is a great assistant, but not a head coach. He works well under another's leadership, ie Dungy and Manning.

[Is Caldwell the right guy for the job?]

I'd like to compare Jim Caldwell to some other famous coaches that inherited a championship team. I'm sure there are others but these are the ones that come to mind.

(1) Bob Knight fired from IU in 2000. Mike Davis takes over and in his second year of coaching a Bob Knight recruited and coached team makes it to the NCAA Finals. In the next 4 years the team makes two appearances in the NCAA Tourney exiting in the second round, they make the NIT one year exiting in the first round, and miss post season play all together in the other year. Davis is gone.

(2) Tony Dungy is let go by Tampa Bay in 2001. John Gruden takes over and in his first year of coaching a Tony Dungy constructed team wins the 2002 Super Bowl. Gruden is released after dismal performance by the team from 2003 through 2008.

(3) Tony Dungy retires as coach of the Colts and is succeeded by Jim Caldwell. In his very first year of coaching a Tony Dungy constructed team he looses in the Super Bowl to New Orleans. The next year (2011) the Colts make an early exit after losing to the Jets in the Wild Card game.

I believe I see a pattern here.

Now don't get me wrong, I like Jim Caldwell but he's not Tony Dungy and in my honest opinion he's not the right guy for the job. He was handed a championship caliber team and it appears that he can't handle it. Someone used the word "deer in the headlights look" when describing Caldwell, and I have to agree. He's in over his head and is incapable of making the correct decisions when the decision needs to be immediate.

I agree that the Colts have been hit hard with injuries, but even with that they've had opportunites to win and have been coached into losing. JMHO

[Give it up for Painter]

I applaud Painter's efforts. He gave us a chance to win and we didn't take advantage of it. If he'd been the quarterback in all 4 games I doubt we'd be winless right now. No matter whether Collins is healthy enough to play or not, Painter is our best option. He also proved he can take a vicious hit and bounce back up. Collins would have been knocked out of the game again.