To Those Who Want A New Coach:

[doogansquest]

Go stick your head in the sand. It is embarrassing, seriously.

It has taken Caldwell 3 years to get the personnel around him that he wants, and his franchise player went down. He had a team with the largest IR list in history last year and still managed to get the defense to shore up its holes for 4 games and put us in the playoffs. The same players he had before, working in the same scheme, put it together against the best rushing teams in the NFL and held onto those games for us. Caldwell was a part of that, whether you like it or not. He's done more to coach us to wins while our offense was missing pieces everywhere than his questionable timeouts ever did to lose us games (no, he didn't lose us the Jets game).

While some of you have that cute ability to point out his fewer than a handful of mistakes, most of you just don't like him on principle. You expected a big name, spitting, screaming, loser of a coach who seemed like the sexy pick. You got a relative unknown, position coach getting his shot at the big time. Who cares what his record was at Wake Forest? This isn't Wake Forest, this isn't college football. Bill Belichick had a terrible record with the Cleveland Browns. I guess the Patriots should have dumped him when they had the chance.

Do you really want to bring in a new head coach now? Really? You want to spend 3 more years adjusting the schemes and personnel, all the while watching Manning, Freeney, etc., age without getting another championship as everything shifts to transition mode again? Because that's what will happen. That's what happens everywhere, except in EXTREMELY rare situations. We'd be watching a mess on Sundays while the new coach brings in his guys and changes everything all over again.

"The new coach would just let Peyton do his thing..." Great, so what does he do with our defensive personnel? Build a 3-4? Yeah, that happens overnight. Have them learn an entirely new system and philosophy? If the coach is going to let things run as they are until Peyton's done, else he wins no more championships or even gets a shot at one before retiring, then what difference does it make if it's a big name doing nothing, or Caldwell doing nothing? A screamer or a blinker?

Did we look bad week one? Sure, but so did a lot of other "good" teams. At least we didn't get beat 35-7 with all of our best players on the field. At least we didn't possess one of the deepest, and most balanced rosters in football only to get annihilated 41-7 in our home opener. We could have been responsible for letting a rookie, non-QB throw for over 400 yards against us.

The lockout has had ill effects on everyone; for some, it's worse than others. We're also down the best player to see a football field.

I will close with a dose of harsh medicine that some of us - myself included - need to hear, but will never concede to:

Most of you know nothing about coaching. You have no ability to observe, grade, or recognize it if it were blinking at you all day.

Stop pretending you know better. You don't. Al Davis knows more about running a team than you do.

Stop acting like Irsay and the Polians are just incompetent, stubborn buffoons who are letting it happen out of spite, or pride, or whatever nonsense you've come up with. We've been one of the best and most consistently exceptional organizations for more than 10 years now, and it's not JUST because of Peyton Manning.

This isn't homerism, or a glass-half-full rhetoric. Opinions, emotions, thoughts... wonderful, though sometimes self-betraying traits. That's what the forums are for, right? Some of you just need to stop talking like you know how to fix things. Don't make it sound like you're smart, and they are dumb. If it's an opinion, state it as such. The rest is garbage.

[tfunky14]

wow, I like it..

[deedub75]

I don't care who the head coach is. I want a great defensive coordinator who will retire the Tampa 2 or at least come up with something better.

[Jason_]

First I want to state for the record that I have never once called for Caldwell to be fired. I have offered a possible replacement should he get fired but I'm not going to say one way or another whether or not he actually should be because I agree with you...we as fans have no idea what goes on behind the scenes so we have no idea what Caldwell actually does.

However, I just want to ask you one question, and I'm simply trying my best to make a valid point....if there is nothing wrong with our coaching staff, then why does our defense consistently have glaring issues with mixed tackles, players being out of position, missed assignments etc? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the defense is atrocious after just one week like some people have been. I fully understand there are a lot of new faces on the defense and it's going to take some time for them to come together as a unit. However, some of the fundamentals like tackling and proper assignments have been issues for far more than just one game. These issues go back to the Dungy days.

For what it's worth, I am pleased to see the trend that the team is taking in trying to get bigger, stronger and more physical. I feel this started with Caldwell/Coyer because it was immediately following Dungy's retirement that we started going after some bigger DT's and LB's. They're still not where they need to be overall but they're moving in the right direction.

I also am very happy with the stamp Chris Polian has put on the team so far. He's shown he's clearly more willing to go into FA and I liked every single draft pick this past year (Chris' first as GM) whereas I was, to be kind, less than pleased with the last 2 first round picks by Bill. At the times they occurred, I was on the fence about Hughes and willing to see how it played out even though I felt that DE was the area of least concern on our D. The Brown pick still baffles me but it is what it is.

[JManekia]

I think people just don't like the way Jim Caldwell looks, how he acts when he is coaching etc. Just by looking at him on the sidelines, he has a look of confusion about him. He rarely shows emotion, doesn't interact much with players and just doesn't fit the mold of the modern day NFL coach. Now a days, everyone is hiring cool young defensive coaches, save for Bill Bellichik and other few remaining old timers.

I don't have a problem with him as long as he has control of his team and can game plan. I think this season without Peyton Manning will show how much he can motivate his team and the game plans he puts in week after week.

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

Go stick your head in the sand. It is embarrassing, seriously.

It has taken Caldwell 3 years to get the personnel around him that he wants, and his franchise player went down. He had a team with the largest IR list in history last year and still managed to get the defense to shore up its holes for 4 games and put us in the playoffs. The same players he had before, working in the same scheme, put it together against the best rushing teams in the NFL and held onto those games for us. Caldwell was a part of that, whether you like it or not. He's done more to coach us to wins while our offense was missing pieces everywhere than his questionable timeouts ever did to lose us games (no, he didn't lose us the Jets game).

While some of you have that cute ability to point out his fewer than a handful of mistakes, most of you just don't like him on principle. You expected a big name, spitting, screaming, loser of a coach who seemed like the sexy pick. You got a relative unknown, position coach getting his shot at the big time. Who cares what his record was at Wake Forest? This isn't Wake Forest, this isn't college football. Bill Belichick had a terrible record with the Cleveland Browns. I guess the Patriots should have dumped him when they had the chance.

Do you really want to bring in a new head coach now? Really? You want to spend 3 more years adjusting the schemes and personnel, all the while watching Manning, Freeney, etc., age without getting another championship as everything shifts to transition mode again? Because that's what will happen. That's what happens everywhere, except in EXTREMELY rare situations. We'd be watching a mess on Sundays while the new coach brings in his guys and changes everything all over again.

"The new coach would just let Peyton do his thing..." Great, so what does he do with our defensive personnel? Build a 3-4? Yeah, that happens overnight. Have them learn an entirely new system and philosophy? If the coach is going to let things run as they are until Peyton's done, else he wins no more championships or even gets a shot at one before retiring, then what difference does it make if it's a big name doing nothing, or Caldwell doing nothing? A screamer or a blinker?

Did we look bad week one? Sure, but so did a lot of other "good" teams. At least we didn't get beat 35-7 with all of our best players on the field. At least we didn't possess one of the deepest, and most balanced rosters in football only to get annihilated 41-7 in our home opener. We could have been responsible for letting a rookie, non-QB throw for over 400 yards against us.

The lockout has had ill effects on everyone; for some, it's worse than others. We're also down the best player to see a football field.

I will close with a dose of harsh medicine that some of us - myself included - need to hear, but will never concede to:

Most of you know nothing about coaching. You have no ability to observe, grade, or recognize it if it were blinking at you all day.

Stop pretending you know better. You don't. Al Davis knows more about running a team than you do.

Stop acting like Irsay and the Polians are just incompetent, stubborn buffoons who are letting it happen out of spite, or pride, or whatever nonsense you've come up with. We've been one of the best and most consistently exceptional organizations for more than 10 years now, and it's not JUST because of Peyton Manning.

This isn't homerism, or a glass-half-full rhetoric. Opinions, emotions, thoughts... wonderful, though sometimes self-betraying traits. That's what the forums are for, right? Some of you just need to stop talking like you know how to fix things. Don't make it sound like you're smart, and they are dumb. If it's an opinion, state it as such. The rest is garbage.

You're telling me that this is the personnel he wants around him?

Last year, we had several... several. Players on Ir and injured.

This year. We have one player that could possibly be put on IR. Peyton Manning. All of last year. every single game. We didn't get embarrassed like we did on Sunday. Why is that? Because we don't have Peyton Manning. First, you go and give Caldwell credit for having a winning season last year regardless of our injuries, yet, you won't give him bad credit when we lose one player? why? why does he deserve to have that credit? Last year was all manning. This year. Is going to have to be all Caldwell and to be totally honest with you, in my very humble opinion, he is not up to the challenge. He didn't even field a competitive team on Sunday.

[Razgriz18]

I will agree. All this "doom" talk surrounding the Colts is making me sick. I've been a Colts fan since 98, cuz I was a huge Manning fan when he was in college, so I've only been a fan for the "good" years, but some of this is getting ridiculous. I still turn on the game every Sunday and watch it like I always have. We don't need a new coach. We don't need any major changes. Things will level out when Manning gets back, and the Colts are in for some very hard lessons this year. They are going to have to rethink their way of operating. All of these lessons are going to make the Colts as a whole much better than they were when Manning went down, and success will begin again. It is then that all of these "doomsayers" will be back here singing about how they are fans of the best teams, and start flaming on all the other teams. The homeristic Manning/Brady debates will begin again. I just hope many of these people remember how much they embarrass themselves with all the "this is the end" talk, from the experts to the fickle fans. I'll be riding this tough year out in my Manning jersey, and I look forward to next year.

[Coltsman1788]

Caldwell did not have this team ready to play on Sunday. I can understand the offense struggling due to Collins needing more familiarity and time in our offense. However, the way the defense and special teams played was inexcusable. Many thought the defense and special teams would improve when he came on board because he got rid of the old coaches and replaced them with his guys. Unfortunate both units have regressed since. He makes questionable game management decisions that have cost us games including the playoff loss to the Jets . So far his best season was the first season he took over for Dungy but he basically just rode Dungy's team to that Super Bowl. This is his team now and quite frankly I haven't seen too much from him that inspires much confidence. Hopefully he can find a way to motivate this team and improve its on the field effort. Last week was an absolute embarassment. I would love for Caldwell to prove his doubters wrong but I am not holding my breath for it to happen.

[Jason_]

Caldwell did not have this team ready to play on Sunday. I can understand the offense struggling due to Collins needing more familiarity and time in our offense. However, the way the defense and special teams played was inexcusable. Many thought the defense and special teams would improve when he came on board because he got rid of the old coaches and replaced them with his guys. Unfortunate both units have regressed since. He makes questionable game management decisions that have cost us games including the playoff loss to the Jets . So far his best season was the first season he took over for Dungy but he basically just rode Dungy's team to that Super Bowl. This is his team now and quite frankly I haven't seen too much from him that inspires much confidence. Hopefully he can find a way to motivate this team and improve its on the field effort. Last week was an absolute embarassment. I would love for Caldwell to prove his doubters wrong but I am not holding my breath for it to happen.

One thing I want to comment on is that the defense has actually improved, imo. Yes the performance against Houston was abysmal early on, but the defense had 0 opportunity to rest after the back to back fumbles and the team as a whole was very shell shocked after the first quarter. Both the OL and DL did start to play better, imo, as the game went on and will only continue to improve. That being said, there are still some glaring issues (tackling in particular) that need to be addressed and hopefully they will be. Caldwell, Coyer and Chris Polian are responsible for bringing in some bigger, stronger players though so for that alone I am very grateful. Hopefully they continue on this trend and we can soon build a more formidable defense. If he and his staff can't get it done though then another staff will hopefully be brought in who will.

Our schemes do not need major overhauling, just tweaking here and there. I think LB and CB are 2 areas that need to be addressed very soon as these are, for some reason, positions that Bill and Tony never put much stock in with the exception of the MLB position. If we add one elite CB to put beside Powers in the starting lineup then we can attempt more press man coverage which will allow us some more wiggle room to try blitzing linebackers, safeties and nickel corners. A lot of people are down on Lacey for always playing 5-10 yards off the line of scrimmage, but be real...if he weren't supposed to be lining up that far back then surely SOMEONE would have pointed it out to him by now.

I think we need to be more aggressive on defense but we have to have the right personnel to be able to do this. I think we're headed in the right direction and next year's draft could help us make tremendous strides in getting there. We've already taken many steps forward, imo, from where we were say 4-5 years ago but there's still a lot of work to be done.

The bottom line is that things aren't going to change overnight. People need to be patient and allow our OL time to work together and become a unit. Same goes for the DL. Right now I think the biggest problem we need to address (aside from poor tackling technique) is the fact that the majority of the players we have on defense only play on either run or passing downs but the other teams know this also and are going to exploit that. This is why we're going to see the defense continue to get gashed against the run because teams are going to check to run when they see Freeney, Mathis and Eric Foster in the lineup.

[presto123]

Deer in the headlights is here to stay unfortunately. We need a motivator as obviously this team can't motivate themselves. I posted on FB that we should ditch Caldwell now and let Peyton coach this year. Save the team some money. Peyton has forgot more than Caldwell ever knew. lol

[manningstheman]

Go stick your head in the sand. It is embarrassing, seriously.

It has taken Caldwell 3 years to get the personnel around him that he wants, and his franchise player went down. He had a team with the largest IR list in history last year and still managed to get the defense to shore up its holes for 4 games and put us in the playoffs. The same players he had before, working in the same scheme, put it together against the best rushing teams in the NFL and held onto those games for us. Caldwell was a part of that, whether you like it or not. He's done more to coach us to wins while our offense was missing pieces everywhere than his questionable timeouts ever did to lose us games (no, he didn't lose us the Jets game).

While some of you have that cute ability to point out his fewer than a handful of mistakes, most of you just don't like him on principle. You expected a big name, spitting, screaming, loser of a coach who seemed like the sexy pick. You got a relative unknown, position coach getting his shot at the big time. Who cares what his record was at Wake Forest? This isn't Wake Forest, this isn't college football. Bill Belichick had a terrible record with the Cleveland Browns. I guess the Patriots should have dumped him when they had the chance.

Do you really want to bring in a new head coach now? Really? You want to spend 3 more years adjusting the schemes and personnel, all the while watching Manning, Freeney, etc., age without getting another championship as everything shifts to transition mode again? Because that's what will happen. That's what happens everywhere, except in EXTREMELY rare situations. We'd be watching a mess on Sundays while the new coach brings in his guys and changes everything all over again.

"The new coach would just let Peyton do his thing..." Great, so what does he do with our defensive personnel? Build a 3-4? Yeah, that happens overnight. Have them learn an entirely new system and philosophy? If the coach is going to let things run as they are until Peyton's done, else he wins no more championships or even gets a shot at one before retiring, then what difference does it make if it's a big name doing nothing, or Caldwell doing nothing? A screamer or a blinker?

Did we look bad week one? Sure, but so did a lot of other "good" teams. At least we didn't get beat 35-7 with all of our best players on the field. At least we didn't possess one of the deepest, and most balanced rosters in football only to get annihilated 41-7 in our home opener. We could have been responsible for letting a rookie, non-QB throw for over 400 yards against us.

The lockout has had ill effects on everyone; for some, it's worse than others. We're also down the best player to see a football field.

I will close with a dose of harsh medicine that some of us - myself included - need to hear, but will never concede to:

Most of you know nothing about coaching. You have no ability to observe, grade, or recognize it if it were blinking at you all day.

Stop pretending you know better. You don't. Al Davis knows more about running a team than you do.

Stop acting like Irsay and the Polians are just incompetent, stubborn buffoons who are letting it happen out of spite, or pride, or whatever nonsense you've come up with. We've been one of the best and most consistently exceptional organizations for more than 10 years now, and it's not JUST because of Peyton Manning.

This isn't homerism, or a glass-half-full rhetoric. Opinions, emotions, thoughts... wonderful, though sometimes self-betraying traits. That's what the forums are for, right? Some of you just need to stop talking like you know how to fix things. Don't make it sound like you're smart, and they are dumb. If it's an opinion, state it as such. The rest is garbage.

Firtst off there are plenty of coaches that could come in here and not have to mess with the personal. We run a Tampa 2 defense. This is not a defensine that is unheard of you know. Gruden knows all about it, in fact he kept it in place in tampa after Dungy. Beside him every coach in the league knows about the tampa 2. Its a defense that they run in college all the time now. I am sure we could find someone that would not have to change any position players and still run this team better. The offense is not going to change. Peyton will be back next year and he will be hungry. He has never missed games like this, let alone a whole season. He will be ready to blow up next year. I just want a coach that can run a team and doesnt look like a deer in the headlights all the time. I am not asking for much dude. Caldwell is not a head football coach at the NFL level. He just istnt. What, he went to a superbowl. Well, we had a superior team in the game and we lost. Next year we get eliminated in the first round. I agree with the person that said we only have really Peyton hurt this year. We look like a bunch of bums out there. So what is it. The coach or the player? I believe i heard some broadcaster during that game say that Caldwell was saying when they interviewed him that we have 20 something superbowl players out there still. Well then it must be the coach.

[manningstheman]

oh and sorry, but everytime i see u post something i have to say it...."NERDS".. u know because of ur pic u got there.

[Coltsman1788]

Excerpt from Los Angeles Times article--TE Dallas Clark was given an unenviable task against the Texas. Try and pass block against Houston defensive end turned outside linebacker Mario Williams. Williams ended up with two sacks of Colts QB Kerry Collins. "Dallas fought him, but that's more on me than anything else," coach Jim Caldwell admitted. "I have to take responsibility for knowing those situations would come up, and we just have to find a way to, if he needs some help, get him some help or look at alternatives."

Wow...by his own admission the fact that Dallas was forced to try and block Mario Williams was because Caldwell was not as aware as he should have been of those situations. He didn't know that the Texans would scheme their defense to try to create and exploit mismatches for their primary pass rusher? This is troublesome to me. His quote makes him sound poorly prepared. And some wonder why some fans question his ability to properly prepare this team and get them ready to play.

[buccolts]

Well, that blew up real good.

But you can't make 'em drink.

BTW, I agree with doogansquest.

[Jason_]

Firtst off there are plenty of coaches that could come in here and not have to mess with the personal. We run a Tampa 2 defense. This is not a defensine that is unheard of you know. Gruden knows all about it, in fact he kept it in place in tampa after Dungy. Beside him every coach in the league knows about the tampa 2. Its a defense that they run in college all the time now. I am sure we could find someone that would not have to change any position players and still run this team better. The offense is not going to change. Peyton will be back next year and he will be hungry. He has never missed games like this, let alone a whole season. He will be ready to blow up next year. I just want a coach that can run a team and doesnt look like a deer in the headlights all the time. I am not asking for much dude. Caldwell is not a head football coach at the NFL level. He just istnt. What, he went to a superbowl. Well, we had a superior team in the game and we lost. Next year we get eliminated in the first round. I agree with the person that said we only have really Peyton hurt this year. We look like a bunch of bums out there. So what is it. The coach or the player? I believe i heard some broadcaster during that game say that Caldwell was saying when they interviewed him that we have 20 something superbowl players out there still. Well then it must be the coach.

The part in blue I agree with. There are other HC options that would not require a total overhaul to our team or the full coaching staff. Based on his familiarity with the Tampa 2, perhaps Gruden would be one of the best choices even though he is an offensive minded coach. During his tenure with Tampa they did also have a powerful OL and good running game so maybe those would be things he could help improve here. In Oakland prior to Tampa, the running game did improve averaging yards per carry of 3.8, 4.3, 4.8 and 3.7 in 98, 99, 00 and 01 respectively though I'd be curious to know what caused the drop-off in his final year there. So yes, maybe he would be a better choice than my so far top choice of Brian Billick but I think either could come in and just make the necessary changes without overhauling the entire staff and entire systems.

As to the rest of the post I disagree simply on the fact I don't really think it's fair yet to say whether or not Caldwell can be an NFL coach. He's had 1 full year and 1 strike shortened year so hardly a chance to really prove what he can do with this team. We're not Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders. ;)

[GoColts8818]

Personally I am meh on Caldwell. I see the logic to why we hired him and I think he's done a decent job but I also think he's just a decent coach. There have been serval times I have been frustrated by Caldwell just like anyone else. What I just don't buy into is the theories that he's a puppet and that whenever something goes right he has nothing to do with it and when something goes wrong it's all his fault like some fans believe about him. So I probably come off as a Caldwell defender. I just don't think he's as awful as some people think he is but I am not going to trick myself into thinking he's one of the better coaches in the NFL either. He's a middle of the pack coach. I don't think it's fair to judge him without Peyton in regards to the QB poistion because no one else in this world is Peyton and you know what any other team in the NFL would have built their team around Peyton like we did ours. That's why I've always said next man up applies to everyone on the roster other than Manning. With that said we have to have better effort than we did on Sunday from everyone else on the roster. Manning doesn't have anything to do with the defense or special teams. Caldwell realized a change needed to be made when he got here in the coaching of those areaes I would hope he realizes it again if they don't improve.

[GoColts8818]

The part in blue I agree with. There are other HC options that would not require a total overhaul to our team or the full coaching staff. Based on his familiarity with the Tampa 2, perhaps Gruden would be one of the best choices even though he is an offensive minded coach. During his tenure with Tampa they did also have a powerful OL and good running game so maybe those would be things he could help improve here. In Oakland prior to Tampa, the running game did improve averaging yards per carry of 3.8, 4.3, 4.8 and 3.7 in 98, 99, 00 and 01 respectively though I'd be curious to know what caused the drop-off in his final year there. So yes, maybe he would be a better choice than my so far top choice of Brian Billick but I think either could come in and just make the necessary changes without overhauling the entire staff and entire systems.

As to the rest of the post I disagree simply on the fact I don't really think it's fair yet to say whether or not Caldwell can be an NFL coach. He's had 1 full year and 1 strike shortened year so hardly a chance to really prove what he can do with this team. We're not Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders. ;)

See I don't think the head coach is the issue, I mean yeah I think we could do better but I am not sure we really need to make a change there. I think the DC is the issue. I would be fine with Caldwell staying if we dumped Coyer and our special teams coach at the end of the year. Overall the results have been good under Caldwell so I have no issues with him staying as the head coach.

[manningstheman]

The part in blue I agree with. There are other HC options that would not require a total overhaul to our team or the full coaching staff. Based on his familiarity with the Tampa 2, perhaps Gruden would be one of the best choices even though he is an offensive minded coach. During his tenure with Tampa they did also have a powerful OL and good running game so maybe those would be things he could help improve here. In Oakland prior to Tampa, the running game did improve averaging yards per carry of 3.8, 4.3, 4.8 and 3.7 in 98, 99, 00 and 01 respectively though I'd be curious to know what caused the drop-off in his final year there. So yes, maybe he would be a better choice than my so far top choice of Brian Billick but I think either could come in and just make the necessary changes without overhauling the entire staff and entire systems.

As to the rest of the post I disagree simply on the fact I don't really think it's fair yet to say whether or not Caldwell can be an NFL coach. He's had 1 full year and 1 strike shortened year so hardly a chance to really prove what he can do with this team. We're not Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders. ;)

Umm.. did i make up a year or has he not been the head coach going on his third year now??? I mean i have vivid dreams so maybe i had a nightmare about the season that we almost didnt make the playoffs in 2010-11

[Jason_]

Excerpt from Los Angeles Times article--TE Dallas Clark was given an unenviable task against the Texas. Try and pass block against Houston defensive end turned outside linebacker Mario Williams. Williams ended up with two sacks of Colts QB Kerry Collins. "Dallas fought him, but that's more on me than anything else," coach Jim Caldwell admitted. "I have to take responsibility for knowing those situations would come up, and we just have to find a way to, if he needs some help, get him some help or look at alternatives."

Wow...by his own admission the fact that Dallas was forced to try and block Mario Williams was because Caldwell was not as aware as he should have been of those situations. He didn't know that the Texans would scheme their defense to try to create and exploit mismatches for their primary pass rusher? This is troublesome to me. His quote makes him sound poorly prepared. And some wonder why some fans question his ability to properly prepare this team and get them ready to play.

Ok I see what you're saying but people (not necessarily you in particular but the ones talking about how bad of a coach he is being based off of situations like these) really have to ask themselves...what would they expect him to say? Was he going to come out and say "yeah Link sucked it up out there and blew some blocking assignments and that's why Clark was left 1 on 1 against Mario." Of course not...as a coach he's not going to go to any media source and throw any of his players under the bus. He took responsibility which is the way it should be. Basically any other way he could have tried to word it would make it sound like he was trying to pass the blame onto someone else which, while it's entirely possible that could be true, would not be the professional thing to do.

I never watch pre-game or post-game interviews...what's the point? The players and coaches aren't going to go out and tell the truth. They're going to face the press and do their best at damage control without naming names or anything like that. Figuring out who's to blame and addressing the situation with that person should be left in the locker rooms, team meetings, film rooms etc and that's the way they do it. Sure he could have gone out and had a Denny Green style meltdown..."THE TEXANS ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!!!" but really....what good would that do besides provide footage for another Coors Lt. commercial?

[Jason_]

Umm.. did i make up a year or has he not been the head coach going on his third year now??? I mean i have vivid dreams so maybe i had a nightmare about the season that we almost didnt make the playoffs in 2010-11

Yes it is quite clear that you made up a year. We never almost missed the playoffs...what are you talking about? Yes....yes that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :clap:

Ok yes I clearly made a mistake. I own it and...my bad.

[Coltsman1788]

Just want to say that although I am not that impressed with him and question some of his game management decisions, I will continue to support him because he is our coach. Hopefully he will show some growth in areas where he is perceived to be deficient. I agree with the notion that at this point the Colts are probably stuck with him for the remainder of the Manning era unless another coach can be brought in who could operate in the current defensive scheme. A massive overhaul of personnel to conform to a 3-4 just is not going to happen because we probably only have Manning for 4 more years at the most. So Caldwell for better or worse is probably going to have to be the guy to coach Manning through to the end of his career.

[manningstheman]

See I don't think the head coach is the issue, I mean yeah I think we could do better but I am not sure we really need to make a change there. I think the DC is the issue. I would be fine with Caldwell staying if we dumped Coyer and our special teams coach at the end of the year. Overall the results have been good under Caldwell so I have no issues with him staying as the head coach.

Ok i agree we can blame it on postion coaches or OC or DC, But there are multiple problems. So who do we blame it on then. The OLine coach? The DC coach? The ST coach?? If there are multiple problems then u blame the head coach, Sorry. I am not a hater. I love this team. Always have before we ever won anything. I dont want us to go back to that team. If there are multiple problems then it the HC fault. He hired or retained the wrong people.

[Coltsman1788]

Ok I see what you're saying but people (not necessarily you in particular but the ones talking about how bad of a coach he is being based off of situations like these) really have to ask themselves...what would they expect him to say? Was he going to come out and say "yeah Link sucked it up out there and blew some blocking assignments and that's why Clark was left 1 on 1 against Mario." Of course not...as a coach he's not going to go to any media source and throw any of his players under the bus. He took responsibility which is the way it should be. Basically any other way he could have tried to word it would make it sound like he was trying to pass the blame onto someone else which, while it's entirely possible that could be true, would not be the professional thing to do.

I never watch pre-game or post-game interviews...what's the point? The players and coaches aren't going to go out and tell the truth. They're going to face the press and do their best at damage control without naming names or anything like that. Figuring out who's to blame and addressing the situation with that person should be left in the locker rooms, team meetings, film rooms etc and that's the way they do it. Sure he could have gone out and had a Denny Green style meltdown..."THE TEXANS ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!!!" but really....what good would that do besides provide footage for another Coors Lt. commercial?

Yeah you definitely raise a good point there. I actually would prefer that your scenario be closer to the truth as it is quite disturbing to think that our head coach would be so ill prepared for such a basic in game scenario.

[Coltsman1788]

double post.

[Jason_]

See I don't think the head coach is the issue, I mean yeah I think we could do better but I am not sure we really need to make a change there. I think the DC is the issue. I would be fine with Caldwell staying if we dumped Coyer and our special teams coach at the end of the year. Overall the results have been good under Caldwell so I have no issues with him staying as the head coach.

I agree and I too am pretty much meh on Caldwell at this point. Can't really say one way or another how I feel about him as head coach. If we're going to make changes then perhaps we try to lure someone from the Bear's defensive coaching staff. The defense they run is very similar but they clearly know how to run it effectively. Personally I'd maybe go after Bob Babich, their LB coach and maybe offer him DC position here. The reason I picked him specifically is because I think our LB's need the most work in so far as running the defensive scheme. Just compare how effective the LB core is of Chicago vs. the LB core here. This would also help to see which one of us is right about our current LB core.

Either way someone like that would come in here and be able to help determine which current players are capable of effectively running the scheme and which ones need to be replaced. Heck, maybe bringing in one of the Chicago coaches could help bring Tim Jennings back. lol (I kid because I clearly know it's not as easy as him quitting his job and coming here to work)

[manningstheman]

Although I am not that impressed with him and question some of his game management decisions, I will continue to support him because he is our coach. Hopefully he will show some growth in areas where he is perceived to be deficient. I agree with the notion that at this point the Colts are probably stuck with him for the remainder of the Manning era unless another coach can be brought in who could operate in the current defensive scheme. A massive overhaul of personnel to conform to a 3-4 just is not going to happen because we probably only have Manning for 4 more years at the most. So Caldwell for better or worse is probably going to have to be the guy to coach Manning through to the end of his career.

Maybe i am wrong because like i said before i have vivid dreams and some times nightmares. But did Shanahan come into Dever late in Elways career. That worked out great for them. Made Elway even more of a legend then he already was. I wouldnt mind some of that. That Denver team was alot like the Colts before him. They were pass happy and had a sloppy defense. Why cant we get someone like him. Solid Defense. Run the ball more with a solid Oline concept, and pass when we need to for big yardage. Peyton at this age is alot like the older Elway. Huge star, but just wants to win championships now.

[GoColts8818]

Ok i agree we can blame it on postion coaches or OC or DC, But there are multiple problems. So who do we blame it on then. The OLine coach? The DC coach? The ST coach?? If there are multiple problems then u blame the head coach, Sorry. I am not a hater. I love this team. Always have before we ever won anything. I dont want us to go back to that team. If there are multiple problems then it the HC fault. He hired or retained the wrong people.

I think the O-line is a product of just not having good enough players right now more than it is coaching which I do think the Colts are trying to fix. That's a process that isn't going to happen over night. The young guys have to be ready to play and then have to play to learn. I think two of the three guys are ready and are learning and are going to improve. Ijalana is coming along and once he's ready he'll get out there too. We still have two holes we have to address on the line as well. Diem and Saturday are both gone at the end of this year. I do think Pollack will replace Saturday at center and frankly the little he's done at center he's done a decent job. We stil another starting guard though. Also people seem to be avoiding this from Sunday, a large part of the problem with the line was Saturday he was getting pushed into the backfield all day. We need Jeff's leadership right now with no Peyton and such a young line but his play is going down hill fast.

Coaches all the time get to fire coaches and keep their jobs if they hire the wrong one. How many DCs have the Giants gone threw in New York under Coughlin? How about Kubiack in Houston with DCs? I think if Caldwell is willing to admit Coyer and our ST coach aren't working and make changes then he's doing fine in that regard. Now rather he's willing to do that or that remains to be seen.

[Malakai432]

I'm indifferent on him thus far because IMO any coach could step in and with a healthy Colts team would most likely make the playoffs -w- Manning ofc. I could care less if he stays or goes, not going to whine or cry about it. I however don't have the love for him that Doogan does, this post almost seems to glorify him while criticizing people who aren't big fans of Caldwell. The point is who cares what people think of Caldwell, ;).

However if they can't fix things this year that have needed to be fixed for awhile now ala special teams and the rush defense, I'm going to be very ticked off. I'm also sick and tired of people saying our defensive scheme is built to play with the lead. What does that have to do with having undersized fast guys that can not stop the run CONSISTANTLY? It seems like our organization has a good day when opponents rush for 150 yards on them, and treats it like it's nothing.

Last note ST blow so badly I don't even know if they can be fixed, lol. Jacoby Jones looked like Bo Jackson on Super Tecmo Bowl fooling the coverage to one side and just ran around everyone. I'm not calling for the firing of any coach and but at the same time not thinking they have some pretty substantial issues is completely ignorant.

[Coltsman1788]

I'm indifferent on him thus far because IMO any coach could step in and with a healthy Colts team would most likely make the playoffs -w- Manning ofc. I could care less if he stays or goes, not going to whine or cry about it. I however don't have the love for him that Doogan does, this post almost seems to glorify him while criticizing people who aren't big fans of Caldwell. The point is who cares what people think of Caldwell, ;).

However if they can't fix things this year that have needed to be fixed for awhile now ala special teams and the rush defense, I'm going to be very ticked off. I'm also sick and tired of people saying our defensive scheme is built to play with the lead. What does that have to do with having undersized fast guys that can not stop the run CONSISTANTLY? It seems like our organization has a good day when opponents rush for 150 yards on them, and treats it like it's nothing.

Last note ST blow so badly I don't even know if they can be fixed, lol. Jacoby Jones looked like Bo Jackson on Tecmo SuperBowl fooled the coverage to one side and just ran around everyone. I'm not calling for the firing of any coach and but at the same time not thinking they have some pretty substantial issues is completely ignorant.

Loving the Bo Jackson Tecmo Bowl reference. That sums up how our special teams looked quite well. lol

[manningstheman]

My hat to Malakai432, But to GoColts8818... Our Offensive line has been really,really,really bad for a long time. Peytons quick desisions and our offensive pass scheme has hid it for a long time. Thats not just Caldwells fault, that is the Polians fault. This has been going on way to long. Not to mention our Defensive interior lineman. I am not to sure what else to say so i will leave it at that.

[GoColts8818]

My hat to Malakai432, But to GoColts8818... Our Offensive line has been really,really,really bad for a long time. Peytons quick desisions and our offensive pass scheme has hid it for a long time. Thats not just Caldwells fault, that is the Polians fault. This has been going on way to long. Not to mention our Defensive interior lineman. I am not to sure what else to say so i will leave it at that.

I didn't say Polian shouldn't share some of the blame for that. It's been going down hill since the Super Bowl. With that said as much as those areas have struggled we have still found a way to get to a Super Bowl with them and been to the playoffs every year with it and yes Peyton is a huge part of that but he isn't the only player who as played well. You don't fire coaches and GMs because three areas of the team (both lines and special teams) aren't playing well and you are still going to the playoffs. You change those poistion coaches and we did make a change on the o-line coach and you have to give time to see if our new one works out. It's only his second year in the poistion and he is really just now starting to get his players in there. Let's see if these new guys jell and get better as the season goes. I do think it's time for Coyer to go if the defense doesn't have a drastic improvement and samething with our special teams coach. As for Caldwell you can't just throw out the job he did the past two years. If we did make a change there I want a guy like Jeff Fisher who is known more for coaching the defense but I am not holding my breath on that change happening.

[Albaby]

I don't think we need to get a new coach. IMO he's not the problem. I think that the team has been identified for so long as Peyton's team, that when they had to go onto the field for the first time without him (I'm not counting the times when they sat Peyton after going 14-0). I'm saying that all of the hype and uncertainty that the team was feeling going into the game had alot to do with it. Especially after those fumbled turnovers. At that point I think the they were their own worst enemies. I think that they will have their heads on straight next Sunday. They'll play better. Go COLTS!!

[GoGoColts]

Go stick your head in the sand. It is embarrassing, seriously.

It has taken Caldwell 3 years to get the personnel around him that he wants,

He hasn't done a good job? Sunday was a total Meltdown.

and his franchise player went down. He had a team with the largest IR list in history last year and still managed to get the defense to shore up its holes for 4 games and put us in the playoffs. The same players he had before, working in the same scheme, put it together against the best rushing teams in the NFL and held onto those games for us. Caldwell was a part of that, whether you like it or not. He's done more to coach us to wins while our offense was missing pieces everywhere than his questionable timeouts ever did to lose us games (no, he didn't lose us the Jets game).

I am not sure how you figure that he wasn't responsible for the debacle yesterday.

While some of you have that cute ability to point out his fewer than a handful of mistakes, most of you just don't like him on principle. You expected a big name, spitting, screaming, loser of a coach who seemed like the sexy pick. You got a relative unknown, position coach getting his shot at the big time. Who cares what his record was at Wake Forest? This isn't Wake Forest, this isn't college football. Bill Belichick had a terrible record with the Cleveland Browns. I guess the Patriots should have dumped him when they had the chance.

History has shown that good coaches win.. End of story.

Do you really want to bring in a new head coach now? Really? You want to spend 3 more years adjusting the schemes and personnel, all the while watching Manning, Freeney, etc., age without getting another championship as everything shifts to transition mode again? Because that's what will happen. That's what happens everywhere, except in EXTREMELY rare situations. We'd be watching a mess on Sundays while the new coach brings in his guys and changes everything all over again.

This team gets worse every year since Dungy left. It will continue to get worse under Caldwell. Change does not mean bad.

"The new coach would just let Peyton do his thing..." Great, so what does he do with our defensive personnel? Build a 3-4? Yeah, that happens overnight. Have them learn an entirely new system and philosophy? If the coach is going to let things run as they are until Peyton's done, else he wins no more championships or even gets a shot at one before retiring, then what difference does it make if it's a big name doing nothing, or Caldwell doing nothing? A screamer or a blinker?

The team doesn't need schematic changes they just need someone to coach them to do what they are doing better.

Did we look bad week one? Sure, but so did a lot of other "good" teams. At least we didn't get beat 35-7 with all of our best players on the field. At least we didn't possess one of the deepest, and most balanced rosters in football only to get annihilated 41-7 in our home opener. We could have been responsible for letting a rookie, non-QB throw for over 400 yards against us.

The lockout has had ill effects on everyone; for some, it's worse than others. We're also down the best player to see a football field.

I will close with a dose of harsh medicine that some of us - myself included - need to hear, but will never concede to:

Most of you know nothing about coaching. You have no ability to observe, grade, or recognize it if it were blinking at you all day.

Stop pretending you know better. You don't. Al Davis knows more about running a team than you do.

Every fan recognizes an epic meltdown when he/she sees it. Caldwell has a track record of bad decision making and losing teams. It's hard to vouch for his success when the team gets worse and worse the farther away from Dungy that we get.

Stop acting like Irsay and the Polians are just incompetent, stubborn buffoons who are letting it happen out of spite, or pride, or whatever nonsense you've come up with. We've been one of the best and most consistently exceptional organizations for more than 10 years now, and it's not JUST because of Peyton Manning.

What's pretty clear is that Bill Polian has stepped back and Chris Polian is running the organization into the ground. Let's talk first round busts: Ugoh, Hughes, Gonzo, and Brown. O-line busts: Pollack, Richard, and Justice, McClendon. O-line departures: Lilja and Scott who are both playing great. The offensive line has played so badly that Peyton is sitting out with a neck injury. Am I supposed to be impressed? I think that it's pretty obvious that the front office has gotten sloppy.

[Smitto]

I think id do pretty good as a colts head coach... nod my head once in a while, make funny faces on the sidlines, randomly talk to myself looking like im actually talking to someone on my headset.. yeaaaaa id be pretty awesom.

[OLD FAN MAN]

I think id do pretty good as a colts head coach... nod my head once in a while, make funny faces on the sidlines, randomly talk to myself looking like im actually talking to someone on my headset.. yeaaaaa id be pretty awesom.

you got it. if they would just call you

[GoColts8818]

I think it's safe to say if we let go of Caldwell most people want Cowher, Gruden, or Fisher. So I thought it would be neat to look at their career number blind like CBS likes to do with bubble teams for the NCAA tournment. So I have post them (minus Super Bowls because you can guess who they are based on that.) and see who they like and I will post Caldwell's at the end.

Coach A: 95-81 win % of 54% 5-4 in the playoffs in five playoff trips.

Coach B: 142-120 win % of 54% 5-6 in the playoffs in six playoff trips.

Coach C: 149-90-1 win % of 62% 12-9 in the playoffs in ten playoff trips.

Caldwell is 24-9 win % of 73% 2-2 in the playoffs in two playoff trips.

After people chim in I'll tell you who which coach is.

[CollieFangirl]

Coach A: 95-81 win % of 54% 5-4 in the playoffs in five playoff trips.

Coach B: 142-120 win % of 54% 5-6 in the playoffs in six playoff trips.

Coach C: 149-90-1 win % of 62% 12-9 in the playoffs in ten playoff trips.

Caldwell is 24-9 win % of 73% 2-2 in the playoffs in two playoff trips.

After people chim in I'll tell you who which coach is.

Hmm... personally I'm fine with Caldwell for the time being, but if I had to pick one of those three, I'd go with Coach C, I guess. Not a clue which coach he is, but I'm still a football newbie, so what do I know?

[GoColts8818]

Hmm... personally I'm fine with Caldwell for the time being, but if I had to pick one of those three, I'd go with Coach C, I guess. Not a clue which coach he is, but I'm still a football newbie, so what do I know?

I am fine with Caldwell too...that's why I posted his stats next to the three other coaches because I think fans need to be reminded at times that these "better" coaches numbers don't say they are better.

[manningstheman]

I think it's safe to say if we let go of Caldwell most people want Cowher, Gruden, or Fisher. So I thought it would be neat to look at their career number blind like CBS likes to do with bubble teams for the NCAA tournment. So I have post them (minus Super Bowls because you can guess who they are based on that.) and see who they like and I will post Caldwell's at the end.

Coach A: 95-81 win % of 54% 5-4 in the playoffs in five playoff trips.

Coach B: 142-120 win % of 54% 5-6 in the playoffs in six playoff trips.

Coach C: 149-90-1 win % of 62% 12-9 in the playoffs in ten playoff trips.

Caldwell is 24-9 win % of 73% 2-2 in the playoffs in two playoff trips.

After people chim in I'll tell you who which coach is.

i have no idea what u r saying

[manningstheman]

to be honest with you, if that is all u have then ur fired