Week 1, Part 2

[doogansquest]

My first thread, titled "Week 1," was basically an open letter to the Colts.com community discussing the pros and cons of our current situation, as well as what to expect week 1.

The analysts predicted we'd get crushed. It happened. Those same analysts also had very high aspirations of the Falcons, Steelers, Chiefs, Rams, and Browns, but those teams all lost big. Are their seasons over?

We lost handily, but there were good things happening out there. No, this isn't a "glass half-full" speech, but there are specifics which show we weren't separated by as far as the score would suggest.

The Texans only averaged 0.1 ypc more on the ground than we did. Because of the early opportunities they received from some fumbles and penalties, however, they were able to turn that into 41 carries. We could have done the same in a tighter game.

Our defense wasn't as bad as the score would suggest either, as again, they didn't run over us in huge chunks, and we were able to generate some turnovers. Given how many new faces we have on the front 7, I still stand by my assertion that they will improve dramatically before mid-season.

Kerry Collins was efficient, but he didn't have a lot of opportunities.

Our 3rd down conversion rate was very weak. This is to be expected without Manning, and a shuffled offensive line still learning the ropes.

Wayne looked good.

Our backs looked solid.

Our defensive front 7 was serviceable.

There's a long way to go before we're in competitive shape, no doubt. But what excuse do the Steelers, Browns, Falcons, etc., have? We are in the same boat as they are right now. We are 0-1, and the first game of the season was ugly. The difference is, we were supposed to get smashed, while those teams were supposed to fight hard, and/or even get the W.

I am still not worried.

[Korey]

Regardless on what people thought this team has to go out and play to what their capable of. The defense to mean just went out and got smacked into the ground to be honest. I thought that the offense did a decent job but could have done a little better.

[21isSuperman]

I agree with you, I'm not too worried yet. Give Collins more time to get into a rhythm with the offense and give the defense time to work on what they need to improve, especially now that they have a solid idea of what the strengths and weaknesses of their game are

[colts52761]

When are we going to draft a DT that stops the run? I wish we had somebody 330lbs at dt just to take up space. Correct me if i'm wrong at one point in the game we had mathis, foster, johnson and freeney on d line? That combination isn't going to stop the run. We should be using that combo if we have a lead and want to rush the Passer.

[21isSuperman]

When are we going to draft a DT that stops the run? I wish we had somebody 330lbs at dt just to take up space. Correct me if i'm wrong at one point in the game we had mathis, foster, johnson and freeney on d line? That combination isn't going to stop the run. We should be using that combo if we have a lead and want to rush the Passer.

It doesn't have to do with size, it has to do with ability. We drafted Terrance Taylor a few years ago and he is 320 lbs with insane upper body strength. Meanwhile, the 270 lbs Eric Foster is still on the team. We drafted Nevis and signed Anderson and Brayton. We've tried addressing the run D

[everybodysgotone]

My first thread, titled "Week 1," was basically an open letter to the Colts.com community discussing the pros and cons of our current situation, as well as what to expect week 1.

The analysts predicted we'd get crushed. It happened. Those same analysts also had very high aspirations of the Falcons, Steelers, Chiefs, Rams, and Browns, but those teams all lost big. Are their seasons over?

We lost handily, but there were good things happening out there. No, this isn't a "glass half-full" speech, but there are specifics which show we weren't separated by as far as the score would suggest.

The Texans only averaged 0.1 ypc more on the ground than we did. Because of the early opportunities they received from some fumbles and penalties, however, they were able to turn that into 41 carries. We could have done the same in a tighter game.

Our defense wasn't as bad as the score would suggest either, as again, they didn't run over us in huge chunks, and we were able to generate some turnovers. Given how many new faces we have on the front 7, I still stand by my assertion that they will improve dramatically before mid-season.

Kerry Collins was efficient, but he didn't have a lot of opportunities.

Our 3rd down conversion rate was very weak. This is to be expected without Manning, and a shuffled offensive line still learning the ropes.

Wayne looked good.

Our backs looked solid.

Our defensive front 7 was serviceable.

There's a long way to go before we're in competitive shape, no doubt. But what excuse do the Steelers, Browns, Falcons, etc., have? We are in the same boat as they are right now. We are 0-1, and the first game of the season was ugly. The difference is, we were supposed to get smashed, while those teams were supposed to fight hard, and/or even get the W.

I am still not worried.

Non-reactionary with regard to what this team does is uncommon here. There were some Colts positives in the game. I agree, there's no reason to throw in the towel. Never will be.

[AlwaysColtsFan]

I am not worried about the offense (yet). Collins is been on the team for 3 weeks only and it will take him more time to get comfortable with the offense. I am really worried about the run defense. Without Foster, the Texans ran for 165 yards. Browns, Pittsburgh are all run first teams. I not really impressed with the decision to let Tommy Harris go. We have been trying to fix the run defense for too long now.

Lets see what heppens next game.

[Coltsman1788]

It doesn't have to do with size, it has to do with ability. We drafted Terrance Taylor a few years ago and he is 320 lbs with insane upper body strength. Meanwhile, the 270 lbs Eric Foster is still on the team. We drafted Nevis and signed Anderson and Brayton. We've tried addressing the run D

Signing Anderson and Brayton to address our continuing run D issues is another bargain basement approach that will continue to yield bargain basement results.

The Colts love their "bend don't break but if we do our offense will outscore them" style of defense. Unfortunately they won't be able to get by with that this year.

[Balzer40]

It doesn't have to do with size, it has to do with ability. We drafted Terrance Taylor a few years ago and he is 320 lbs with insane upper body strength. Meanwhile, the 270 lbs Eric Foster is still on the team. We drafted Nevis and signed Anderson and Brayton. We've tried addressing the run D

Im sorry, I don't mean to be arguementitive, but this is just blatently untrue. Of course it has to do with size, but you also have to have talent. Taylor just simply did not have much which is why he hasn't ever played a down in the NFL in a regular season game. If you are talking simply about pass rushing then your statement has validity, but in order to be a stout run defense you have to have a guy that is hard to move out of the way and require a double team. Any 320lb offensive lineman can easily handle the 270lb Foster in run blocking. If we had a big DT that had talent and could handle a double team it would make things so much easier for our smaller DT's to do their job. Our DT's are constantly pushed out of the way and it opens huge running lanes for the RB's. While its true that the size isn't everything it definitely has something to do with it. For yrs. Polian and company have been trying to spin that size of the DT's don't matter, well, if thats true then he better fire the coaches because obviously their not teaching them how to do their job.

[The Peytonator]

Okay....I've got a problem with some of you calling out the front office on the DT issue and our inability to stop the run.

1. The needs were addressed. Anderson has not been known for his ability to rush the passer, but he has been known for being strong against the run. Brayton, while slightly less so, is in much the same boat. Both were first round picks, not that that has anything to do with it. Nevis, a guy we have all loved, and who people have been touting as the second coming of Sapp, was drafted in the third. We kept the fan favorite Mookie and got rid of the fan whipping boy Muir. Plus the improvement of Moala has been noticable to anyone paying attention. Anyone bashing our perceived 'lack of effort' in improving the run defense is just looking at the numbers and saying 'omg We suck!!!!'

2. Our defense has been notorious for being inconsistent when it comes to certain facets of the game. One game we can't stop the power run game, and the next game we give up 250 yards receiving to Brandon Marshall. Even good defenses have bad games. I'm not saying we're even a good defense, but I don't think we're as bad as some are making us out to be.

3. Don't forget that we handed them the ball inside the 20 two times. That's 14 points that we just handed them, not to mention the special teams didn't help in the final score department either.

[oldunclemark]

Okay....I've got a problem with some of you calling out the front office on the DT issue and our inability to stop the run.

1. The needs were addressed. Anderson has not been known for his ability to rush the passer, but he has been known for being strong against the run. Brayton, while slightly less so, is in much the same boat. Both were first round picks, not that that has anything to do with it. Nevis, a guy we have all loved, and who people have been touting as the second coming of Sapp, was drafted in the third. We kept the fan favorite Mookie and got rid of the fan whipping boy Muir. Plus the improvement of Moala has been noticable to anyone paying attention. Anyone bashing our perceived 'lack of effort' in improving the run defense is just looking at the numbers and saying 'omg We suck!!!!'

2. Our defense has been notorious for being inconsistent when it comes to certain facets of the game. One game we can't stop the power run game, and the next game we give up 250 yards receiving to Brandon Marshall. Even good defenses have bad games. I'm not saying we're even a good defense, but I don't think we're as bad as some are making us out to be.

3. Don't forget that we handed them the ball inside the 20 two times. That's 14 points that we just handed them, not to mention the special teams didn't help in the final score department either.

[oldunclemark]

I thought the fumbles early made our run defense softer late int he half...

Its an excuse but they had not time on the sidleines... Huston is a strong rushing team with solid backs..and they burned us..

But I think the rotation with Nevis and Anderson at end on run downs...will help, eventually.

To be honest..I thought the second half 'D' wanst bad.

Is Gary Brackett OK....Does anybody know??/

[Coltssouth]

Thank-you Dougan.

I always look for your posts after a game loss to bring a little sanity to the situation.

Calm in the eye of the storm.

[nitecrawler]

Okay....I've got a problem with some of you calling out the front office on the DT issue and our inability to stop the run.

1. The needs were addressed. Anderson has not been known for his ability to rush the passer, but he has been known for being strong against the run. Brayton, while slightly less so, is in much the same boat. Both were first round picks, not that that has anything to do with it. Nevis, a guy we have all loved, and who people have been touting as the second coming of Sapp, was drafted in the third. We kept the fan favorite Mookie and got rid of the fan whipping boy Muir. Plus the improvement of Moala has been noticable to anyone paying attention. Anyone bashing our perceived 'lack of effort' in improving the run defense is just looking at the numbers and saying 'omg We suck!!!!'

I really don't understand why all the love for Mookie...majority of the time he's a human shopping cart..if he was on any other NFL team, he would have been cut a long time ago.

shopping cart=always getting pushed around

[doogansquest]

Regardless on what people thought this team has to go out and play to what their capable of. The defense to mean just went out and got smacked into the ground to be honest. I thought that the offense did a decent job but could have done a little better.

The offense was 1/9 on 3rd down when I turned the game off. They had lost 2 early fumbles. Those things gave the Houston Texans a lot of extra possessions which is rough on any defense. Time of possession was heavily in their favor (+13:28) as a result, so the stats weren't as relevant as one might think. If the TOP were even, the Colts would have had very similar stats to the Texans.

P.S. To everyone who knows nothing about football: the weight of the DT is meaningless. We have the right personnel in our front 7. They made adjustments in this game, and were it not for the penalties and early fumbles (all on the offense), we wouldn't have fallen so far behind.

[thetigerfox]

Sigh............. and sigh again...... My Week One

I'm not going to be one of the chicken littles, and I understand the o is going to need time to gel, but that is no reason for the line, unfortunately both offense and defense to be pushed around like they were. It was the most pitiful thing I've ever seen. I just can't get over how HORRID the most important unit on any football team played.

Yup, the D was put in a spot, and what they do, nothing! Not just the one time, not just both times, but the entire time.

I've gone back and watched the game a couple of times, and quite frankly, sigh, my head hurts. I think our new scheme is to keep the other team from scoring in under a minute, but a minute and 15 seconds is ok.

Trying to find any positive out of this humiliating loss is a total waste of time, ok, well heres one, at least they didn't score 40 on us in the first half!

The best thing about that game is its over, and now its Monday, which means no more sulking over the game, time to focus on the upcoming week, and maybe even show up for the game!