Colts 3rd ranked Pass Defense

[dgambill]

We might be.

This year we get to play Blaine Gabbert (x2), Jake Locker (x2), Mark Sanchez, Brandon Weeden, Ryan Tannehill, Christian Ponder, and Matt Cassell/Brady Quinn. That's 9 games.

This is the only reason we have any hope at all this year. Sad thing is we are 1-2 so far and almost found a way to lose the 1. To me...the GB game is the annomally this season. Before everyone gets upset we won...I realize but that game doesn't fit the mold of what we have seen from all the other games. We were down 21-3 and in 9 out of 10 games we lose and 7 out of 10 we lose by more than 3 TDs after that start. We played with inspiration the second half against a team that had an identity crisis and clearly not playing well. I still don't know how GB lost that game....drops and not executing they simply were going through the motions. Now...looking at the other games it is clear what kind of team we have. We are 1-3 and not looked especially good in any of them. We haven't put together a whole good game yet. We are young and you expect that but this team is far from a quality team. We have played some poor qbs and when we should be able to load the box and stop the run we haven't been able to. We aren't a top 10 pass defense because the stats don't factor in how poor a run defense we have. Fact is we don't force turnovers in the passing game, we don't get after the qb especially well, we allow a high % of passes completed, and we don't get off the field on 3rd down. The only reason we aren't being exploited is because we are simply worse at run defense.

I actually think with Davis added we can be a pretty decent pass defense. The key is if we had a healthy front 7. I believe Powers, Davis, and Bethea are ok. Our nickle corners haven't looked good at all but they could improve. The linebackers have been adequate in coverage. The issue is we are giving to much time to throw. Freeney and Mathis have been nicked up all year and very inconsistant to get pressure. If we had Redding and a healthy dl...it would free up Freeney and Mathis to come off the edge or do some stunts and get more pressure...lower the time for the qb to survey the field and hopefully either get more sacks or force the qb into more inaccurate throws. Perhaps force a turnover or two. We just are not getting that and really our issue is the dl. They are banged up and undersized and can't stop the run...nor get pressure....either way it hurts both parts of the defense. I think Redding is a big cog that hurts this ability but Freeney and Mathis haven't been healthy together for more than like 1 series.

The stats are missleading and really pointless. What matters are points, 3rd down percentages, time of possession, turnovers, and total yards. Defense isn't just pass and run. It is both and so it doesn't matter overall if one is good or the other bad....if you can't do both well to some degree...you will get exploited.