Perspective on a Meltdown Monday....

[NewColtsFan]

In another thread, someone asks, "how could we lose to the scrub Jags...." Fair question.

The answer is this.... the Jags aren't the 2011 Colts. Even as a poor team, there's a fair amount of talent on that roster. And, here's the key thing......

The difference between winning and losing in the NFL is so small, so incredibly small, that if you're not on top of your game, it's not shocking when the lesser team beats the better team.

Look at what happened this week alone in the NFL!

-- Tenn UPSETS Detroit, 44-41 in OT, both teams are 1-2.

-- NYT barely beat Miami 23-20 in OT, the Jets could have been 1-2

-- Dallas barely beats TB 16-10 at home, the Cowboys could have been 1-2

-- SF is UPSET by Minn 24-13, the Vikings (2-1) only loss is to the Colts

-- KC UPSETS NO at home 24-23, the Chiefs are now 1-1 and the Saints are now 0-3

-- Cincy beats Wash at home, 38-31, the Redskins are now 1-2

-- St.Lou UPSETS Phil 27-9, the Cards are now 3-0 with terrible QB play

-- Arizona beats SD on the road 27-3, the Falcons now 3-0

-- Denver lose at home to Texas, 31-25, the Broncos now 1-2

-- Pittsburgh is UPSET by Oakland 34-31, the Steelers and Raiders both 1-2

-- NE is edged by Balt 31-30, (and blow 9 pt 4th quarter lead) the Patriots are 1-2

Every outcome in those games is a surprise of one level or another. Even if the favorite won, it wasn't by much. Or it was by far more than expected on the road. Or the favorite was upset. That's 11 games. 11 out of 16 with some measure of surprise. Notice I didn't even list our loss in the group. That would make 12 out of 16!

The margin in the NFL is so incredibly small, stuff happens. It makes the NFL a great game. But it makes it infuriating sometimes too.

-- We gave up nearly 180 yards to MJD.

-- We suffered more than 100 yards in penalties.

-- Our running game wasn't good enough.

-- Our passing game wasn't good enough.

-- We missed a critical make-able field goal.

-- Played horrible defense on the last drive.

Do those 6 things to a lesser team that was 0-2 and desperate to win and you saw what happened.

And who knows, maybe they're not so bad after all? Maybe they're better than everyone thinks?

After all, many here think we're pretty good. If we can be better than most think, why can't the Jags?

Finally.... apologies this was so long. Much to say on the day after a disappointing loss.

[SilentHill]

woo! We are tied with:

Patriots

Broncos

Steelers

Redskins

Lions

Seahawks/Packers

We are better than:

Saints

Browns

There is always ways to make something look positive.

[swflacoltsfans]

It is early. We have plenty of time to get better or worse.

[corgi]

Better to have hick-ups and missteps early than late. Growing pains take a while to get through, but I see enough flashes to be optimistic.

[luckyblue]

The passing game was good enough, I thought Andrew played well passed for over 300 yards ran for another 50, and took us down the field to what should have been the game winning fieldgoal. If the rest of the team was playing as good as Andrew we would be in really good shape this season!

[throwing BBZ]

The passing game was good enough, I thought Andrew played well passed for over 300 yards ran for another 50, and took us down the field to what should have been the game winning fieldgoal. If the rest of the team was playing as good as Andrew we would be in really good shape this season!

Andrew had 24 incompletions with several balls that could have been interceptions. C minus

[SilentHill]

Andrew had 24 incompletions with several balls that could have been interceptions. C minus

How many of those were dropped by the receiver?

[oldunclemark]

In another thread, someone asks, "how could we lose to the scrub Jags...." Fair question.

The answer is this.... the Jags aren't the 2011 Colts. Even as a poor team, there's a fair amount of talent on that roster. And, here's the key thing......

The difference between winning and losing in the NFL is so small, so incredibly small, that if you're not on top of your game, it's not shocking when the lesser team beats the better team.

Look at what happened this week alone in the NFL!

-- Tenn UPSETS Detroit, 44-41 in OT, both teams are 1-2.

-- NYT barely beat Miami 23-20 in OT, the Jets could have been 1-2

-- Dallas barely beats TB 16-10 at home, the Cowboys could have been 1-2

-- SF is UPSET by Minn 24-13, the Vikings (2-1) only loss is to the Colts

-- KC UPSETS NO at home 24-23, the Chiefs are now 1-1 and the Saints are now 0-3

-- Cincy beats Wash at home, 38-31, the Redskins are now 1-2

-- St.Lou UPSETS Phil 27-9, the Cards are now 3-0 with terrible QB play

-- Arizona beats SD on the road 27-3, the Falcons now 3-0

-- Denver lose at home to Texas, 31-25, the Broncos now 1-2

-- Pittsburgh is UPSET by Oakland 34-31, the Steelers and Raiders both 1-2

-- NE is edged by Balt 31-30, (and blow 9 pt 4th quarter lead) the Patriots are 1-2

Every outcome in those games is a surprise of one level or another. Even if the favorite won, it wasn't by much. Or it was by far more than expected on the road. Or the favorite was upset. That's 11 games. 11 out of 16 with some measure of surprise. Notice I didn't even list our loss in the group. That would make 12 out of 16!

The margin in the NFL is so incredibly small, stuff happens. It makes the NFL a great game. But it makes it infuriating sometimes too.

-- We gave up nearly 180 yards to MJD.

-- We suffered more than 100 yards in penalties.

-- Our running game wasn't good enough.

-- Our passing game wasn't good enough.

-- We missed a critical make-able field goal.

-- Played horrible defense on the last drive.

Do those 6 things to a lesser team that was 0-2 and desperate to win and you saw what happened.

And who knows, maybe they're not so bad after all? Maybe they're better than everyone thinks?

After all, many here think we're pretty good. If we can be better than most think, why can't the Jags?

Finally.... apologies this was so long. Much to say on the day after a disappointing loss.

I'm trying to be swayed by the arguement taht Jax is an average team.

The record doenst show that and talent is in the eye of the beholder...

anybody who loses can cklaimathat al,aspects of theiur game were nt god enough otherwise (obviously) they'd have won..

You should defeat previoulsy sub-.500 (in 2011) winless teams at home..and while 'should' is also a relative term...

we needed that win badly in light of the teams that are coming.

Its a bad loss...When the year ends this will probably be our worst loss....because we gave it away on a defensive error

Is all hope for this season (I'm not sold that 'rebuilding years' guarantee winning seasons in the future) lost? No.

What we have to do NOW is defeat someone we didnt figure to beat. Like Minnesota did last Sunday.

....the Jets dont look so scary now...

..a win at New York makes up for a loss to (ugh) Jacksonville..

[oldunclemark]

woo! We are tied with:

Patriots

Broncos

Steelers

Redskins

Lions

Seahawks/Packers

We are better than:

Saints

Browns

There is always ways to make something look positive.

we are behind Jacksonville...in our division

[JoKeR]

Andrew threw away about 5 passes because of coverage/ pressure too.

[SLILLINGTON10]

The passing game was good enough, I thought Andrew played well passed for over 300 yards ran for another 50, and took us down the field to what should have been the game winning fieldgoal. If the rest of the team was playing as good as Andrew we would be in really good shape this season!

yeah imagine what this guy can do if arians lets him play a full game. ( he might as well just rest him all the 3rd quarter and 14min of the 4th)

[NewColtsFan]

I'm trying to be swayed by the arguement taht Jax is an average team.

The record doenst show that and talent is in the eye of the beholder...

anybody who loses can cklaimathat al,aspects of theiur game were nt god enough otherwise (obviously) they'd have won..

You should defeat previoulsy sub-.500 (in 2011) winless teams at home..and while 'should' is also a relative term...

we needed that win badly in light of the teams that are coming.

Its a bad loss...When the year ends this will probably be our worst loss....because we gave it away on a defensive error

Is all hope for this season (I'm not sold that 'rebuilding years' guarantee winning seasons in the future) lost? No.

What we have to do NOW is defeat someone we didnt figure to beat. Like Minnesota did last Sunday.

....the Jets dont look so scary now...

..a win at New York makes up for a loss to (ugh) Jacksonville..

Who said Jacksonville is a bad team? Not me.

I had a long rant post during the week calling them a dangerous team because they didn't want to start a year 0-3.

And I've posted here that the margin between teams is so small that unless you're on your A-game, your chances of losing, even to an inferior team go up, sometimes way up.

And I've posted here all the things we did wrong. And that's why we lost to Jacksonville.

I see us as a sub-500 team. I see J'Vill as a sub-500 team. We should have won. We didn't. It can be argued that we gave it away. I've listed all the things we did wrong. If we didn't make some of those mistakes we would have won.

It's the way of the NFL. What can I tell you.

But J'Ville is not an average team. Far from it.

[HungarianColtsFan]

In another thread, someone asks, "how could we lose to the scrub Jags...." Fair question.

The answer is this.... the Jags aren't the 2011 Colts. Even as a poor team, there's a fair amount of talent on that roster. And, here's the key thing......

The difference between winning and losing in the NFL is so small, so incredibly small, that if you're not on top of your game, it's not shocking when the lesser team beats the better team.

Look at what happened this week alone in the NFL!

-- Tenn UPSETS Detroit, 44-41 in OT, both teams are 1-2.

-- NYT barely beat Miami 23-20 in OT, the Jets could have been 1-2

-- Dallas barely beats TB 16-10 at home, the Cowboys could have been 1-2

-- SF is UPSET by Minn 24-13, the Vikings (2-1) only loss is to the Colts

-- KC UPSETS NO at home 24-23, the Chiefs are now 1-1 and the Saints are now 0-3

-- Cincy beats Wash at home, 38-31, the Redskins are now 1-2

-- St.Lou UPSETS Phil 27-9, the Cards are now 3-0 with terrible QB play

-- Arizona beats SD on the road 27-3, the Falcons now 3-0

-- Denver lose at home to Texas, 31-25, the Broncos now 1-2

-- Pittsburgh is UPSET by Oakland 34-31, the Steelers and Raiders both 1-2

-- NE is edged by Balt 31-30, (and blow 9 pt 4th quarter lead) the Patriots are 1-2

Every outcome in those games is a surprise of one level or another. Even if the favorite won, it wasn't by much. Or it was by far more than expected on the road. Or the favorite was upset. That's 11 games. 11 out of 16 with some measure of surprise. Notice I didn't even list our loss in the group. That would make 12 out of 16!

The margin in the NFL is so incredibly small, stuff happens. It makes the NFL a great game. But it makes it infuriating sometimes too.

-- We gave up nearly 180 yards to MJD.

-- We suffered more than 100 yards in penalties.

-- Our running game wasn't good enough.

-- Our passing game wasn't good enough.

-- We missed a critical make-able field goal.

-- Played horrible defense on the last drive.

Do those 6 things to a lesser team that was 0-2 and desperate to win and you saw what happened.

And who knows, maybe they're not so bad after all? Maybe they're better than everyone thinks?

After all, many here think we're pretty good. If we can be better than most think, why can't the Jags?

Finally.... apologies this was so long. Much to say on the day after a disappointing loss.

I think You've maid valid points.

Before the season I told few times, that Colts will gain astonishing wins and surprising losses... Sunday's game was a winnable one, but we didn't win...for me it a surprising loss. So let's hope, that there's an astonishing win ahead.

This is a young team, wit a big branch of new players, and chemistry will be developed by several games.

I also think that Vinatieri's missed FG was the turning point, after that the team lost the control of the game.

After 3 weeks I would say, there are no clearly dominating teams right now, any team can be beaten anytime. This season will be a wicked one in my opinion.

Edited September 24, 2012 by HungarianColtsFan

[braveheartcolt]

We outplayed them in most departments. 2 Plays won it for them. Small margins indeed.

[buccolts]

I'm trying to be swayed by the arguement taht Jax is an average team.

The record doenst show that and talent is in the eye of the beholder...

anybody who loses can cklaimathat al,aspects of theiur game were nt god enough otherwise (obviously) they'd have won..

You should defeat previoulsy sub-.500 (in 2011) winless teams at home..and while 'should' is also a relative term...

we needed that win badly in light of the teams that are coming.

Its a bad loss...When the year ends this will probably be our worst loss....because we gave it away on a defensive error

Is all hope for this season (I'm not sold that 'rebuilding years' guarantee winning seasons in the future) lost? No.

What we have to do NOW is defeat someone we didnt figure to beat. Like Minnesota did last Sunday.

....the Jets dont look so scary now...

..a win at New York makes up for a loss to (ugh) Jacksonville..

Well, it does put a dent in our hopes for home field advantage throughout.

Very disappointing.

[deedub75]

The passing game was good enough, I thought Andrew played well passed for over 300 yards ran for another 50, and took us down the field to what should have been the game winning fieldgoal. If the rest of the team was playing as good as Andrew we would be in really good shape this season!

300 yards passing was great but the completion percentage wasn't very good at all. Plus there were several passes that could have been intercepted but were not. I'm not suprised about it. What do you expect with a rookie QB and a porous o-line? It will be better next season.

[NewColtsFan]

Who said Jacksonville is a bad team? Not me.

My bad, OldUncleMark.... brain cramp!

You claimed I called Jacksonville an "average" team... and i responded with "bad"... that's a whoops on me...

But my bottom line remains... J'Ville is not an average team... they're a below .500 team as we are. Exactly how far below won't be known for a very long time.

Sorry, my post may have turned your head around several times like the Exorcist! So sorry!

[SoCalColts]

In another thread, someone asks, "how could we lose to the scrub Jags...." Fair question.

The answer is this.... the Jags aren't the 2011 Colts. Even as a poor team, there's a fair amount of talent on that roster. And, here's the key thing......

The difference between winning and losing in the NFL is so small, so incredibly small, that if you're not on top of your game, it's not shocking when the lesser team beats the better team.

Look at what happened this week alone in the NFL!

-- Tenn UPSETS Detroit, 44-41 in OT, both teams are 1-2.

-- NYT barely beat Miami 23-20 in OT, the Jets could have been 1-2

-- Dallas barely beats TB 16-10 at home, the Cowboys could have been 1-2

-- SF is UPSET by Minn 24-13, the Vikings (2-1) only loss is to the Colts

-- KC UPSETS NO at home 24-23, the Chiefs are now 1-1 and the Saints are now 0-3

-- Cincy beats Wash at home, 38-31, the Redskins are now 1-2

-- St.Lou UPSETS Phil 27-9, the Cards are now 3-0 with terrible QB play

-- Arizona beats SD on the road 27-3, the Falcons now 3-0

-- Denver lose at home to Texas, 31-25, the Broncos now 1-2

-- Pittsburgh is UPSET by Oakland 34-31, the Steelers and Raiders both 1-2

-- NE is edged by Balt 31-30, (and blow 9 pt 4th quarter lead) the Patriots are 1-2

Every outcome in those games is a surprise of one level or another. Even if the favorite won, it wasn't by much. Or it was by far more than expected on the road. Or the favorite was upset. That's 11 games. 11 out of 16 with some measure of surprise. Notice I didn't even list our loss in the group. That would make 12 out of 16!

The margin in the NFL is so incredibly small, stuff happens. It makes the NFL a great game. But it makes it infuriating sometimes too.

-- We gave up nearly 180 yards to MJD.

-- We suffered more than 100 yards in penalties.

-- Our running game wasn't good enough.

-- Our passing game wasn't good enough.

-- We missed a critical make-able field goal.

-- Played horrible defense on the last drive.

Do those 6 things to a lesser team that was 0-2 and desperate to win and you saw what happened.

And who knows, maybe they're not so bad after all? Maybe they're better than everyone thinks?

After all, many here think we're pretty good. If we can be better than most think, why can't the Jags?

Finally.... apologies this was so long. Much to say on the day after a disappointing loss.

You got some of the games mix up. Arizona didnt beat San Diego...it was Atlanta which you mention as Falcons and St Louis didnt beat Philly it was Arizona

[NewColtsFan]

I think You've maid valid points.

Before the season I told few times, that Colts will gain astonishing wins and surprising losses... Sunday's game was a winnable one, but we didn't win...for me it a surprising loss. So let's hope, that there's an astonishing win ahead.

Honestly, I see some surprising losses like what we experienced yesterday.... but it's hard for me to see some astonishing wins. For example, I don't see us upsetting Green Bay in two weeks...

I think the one 'surprise', and I use that term loosely, is a win in the last game of the year against the Texans. And that's only IF Houston has wrapped up the playoff spot and has nothing to gain from winning. If they're playing for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, then I dont' see us winning. But that's the one surprise I could see us pulling off.

Otherwise, I just don't see enough play makers and difference makers.

As always, I hope I'm wrong on predictions like this.... but I fear I'm right...

[NewColtsFan]

You got some of the games mix up. Arizona didnt beat San Diego...it was Atlanta which you mention as Falcons and St Louis didnt beat Philly it was Arizona

Ahhhhhhh!!! I ***hate*** it when I can't read my own writing!

Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy.... :slaphead:

You know what this leads to? That's right.... the dreaded

I deserved that! Thanks for the catch(es)

[HarassedOffTheSite]

Checked in on this OP thinking I'd read something insightful. Instead I got Grandpa's lecture about "Sports & Life". Who knew. Ehhh

[gacker65]

The passing game was good enough, I thought Andrew played well passed for over 300 yards ran for another 50, and took us down the field to what should have been the game winning fieldgoal. If the rest of the team was playing as good as Andrew we would be in really good shape this season!

What good is throwing for over 300 yards and losing the game, especially if you are part of the problem for the lose.

[corgi]

What good is throwing for over 300 yards and losing the game, especially if you are part of the problem for the lose.

How was he part of the Problem? He didn't drop the passes, he didn't interfere with Avery, he didn't blow defensive assignments. He did a solid job all things considered.

[gspdx]

What good is throwing for over 300 yards and losing the game, especially if you are part of the problem for the lose.

Guess it's time to start looking for a new QB. This guy is toast. Or maybe that was our other QB? I can't remember.

I know everyone wants to win, but I think a bunch of you need to reset your expectations. The Jags didn't blow everything up this past off season like the Colts. I don't pay that much attention to their team but I think most people on this board would agree we have a makeshift plugged together o-line. These guys are trying hard but let's not expect a road grater up front. And I think we could say about the same thing for the d-line. This is a work in progress. Building the Monster is going to take a few years. If we aren't seeing significant results in year 3 it's time to panic, but not yet.

We were beat on 2 plays. Such is life.

[luckyblue]

What good is throwing for over 300 yards and losing the game, especially if you are part of the problem for the lose.

He's the least of our problems!

[WSO]

What good is throwing for over 300 yards and losing the game, especially if you are part of the problem for the lose.

Didn't know Luck played defense. darn him, he should have defended that 80 yard TD better!

[chrisfarley]

it's funny, i was listening to a national radio show and they were talking about how extremely bad the Colts were this year and how dreadfully awful Vontae Davis decision was and many other decisions that Grigson has made and how horrendous our O-Line is and that we have absolutley no chance at the Packers because they are mad and people should bet the early line because the Packers will win by 20. Well geez man, if you look at this thread, we don't look so bad. I just despise some of these National Pundits.

[chrisfarley]

300 yards passing was great but the completion percentage wasn't very good at all. Plus there were several passes that could have been intercepted but were not. I'm not suprised about it. What do you expect with a rookie QB and a porous o-line? It will be better next season.

how is it going to get better unless we draft o-linemen, but we gave up our 2nd pic and FA is far too expensive. Grigson always said he will draft the best player avail. so if that means an o-linemen isnt the best player avail. at our position then he might get a running back or corner or D lineman or something. im worried our o-line could be bad for a LONG TIME.

[RGIII]

how is it going to get better unless we draft o-linemen, but we gave up our 2nd pic and FA is far too expensive. Grigson always said he will draft the best player avail. so if that means an o-linemen isnt the best player avail. at our position then he might get a running back or corner or D lineman or something. im worried our o-line could be bad for a LONG TIME.

Every reasonable team in the league drafts BPA... but they do take need into consideration when you have multiple available players who you like and one does not jump out at you amongst the group (as is often the case in the draft). I doubt you guys will pass on good linemen unless you don't know how to scout them to begin with.

[gacker65]

How was he part of the Problem? He didn't drop the passes, he didn't interfere with Avery, he didn't blow defensive assignments. He did a solid job all things considered.

When you overthrow open receivers, then you are part of the problem. He has done an average job- less than 2 TDs per game.

I agree that the O-line looked bad in the first 2 games, but this last game the O-line played decent.

gspdx, I understand that we are a work in process, but that has to include the QB. Two TD drives per game should not be exceptable.

To paraphrase an old saying, " the best Defense is a good Offense."

Luck does not have to play Defense, he just has to get more TDs than 2 per game.

This game was a winnable game, but due to lack of Offense, we lost. One more sustained drive and we win.

Sorry corgi, I meant to answer using multiquote, but I went ahead an answered all.