Underestimating Change?

[Shepman]

I am very excited about all the moves we have made in an attempt to get better. The big question now is do we underestimate the difficulty of integrating these new guys and tweaking the offense and associated play calling?

[21isSuperman]

I don't think it'll be a big deal.  We had a "shortened" offseason last year with Luck having to wait until June to join the team.  Even with 2 months fewer prep than the rest of the team, he still had great success.  Now, he is going to be in an offense that he is comfortable running.  He can act more like a coach on the field, explaining concepts, telling guys where to line up, etc.  And we hired Pep in January (man, time flies!), so there has been plenty of time for the offensive guys to get used to Pep's offense

[TKnight24]

I'm looking forward to this season more than anything

[HarassedOffTheSite]

Great post.

 

It is something I have considered. New Head Coach. New OCoordinator. New Offense. New Oline. New Dline, New Defensive Backfield.

 

I trust our people with the process...but yeah, there is a lot of change there.

[Carlos Danger]

I agree that it shouldn't be a huge problem.... I am a bit concerned about the O-Line in those first games, but we have much better players along the front and that should help make up for some early communication issues... I think we will be greatly improved in all three phases of the game this season... can't wait to see it unfold...

[MrNLM]

Those first two games are just scrimmages for how we want to handle SF. If we can get anything that resembles a time eating run game then we will be in the drivers seat. If luck has a pocket for more than 3 seconds he will be able to pick apart that defense with the dink and dunks. It may not be flashy but, it should get the job done. Our defense will need to establish itself early and allow our offense a real chance to go up by 2-3 possessions if possible. I would imagine the Packers and Seahawks should put a hurtin on that SF defense enough for us to leave town with a win... but, I am an optimistic son of a gun so... take it for what its worth to you.

[crazycolt1]

I don't think it'll be a big deal.  We had a "shortened" offseason last year with Luck having to wait until June to join the team.  Even with 2 months fewer prep than the rest of the team, he still had great success.  Now, he is going to be in an offense that he is comfortable running.  He can act more like a coach on the field, explaining concepts, telling guys where to line up, etc.  And we hired Pep in January (man, time flies!), so there has been plenty of time for the offensive guys to get used to Pep's offense

I am with you on this. While Arians was a fantastic coach in the absence of Pagano I don't think we will miss a beat. Luck and Pep already have a history together so I see that as a head start already. With Pagano's past history I think we will see the biggest change in the defense. With improvement to the defensive line I see better play from the linebackers and secondary. With the addition of some beef on the offensive line I see a great improvement with Luck playing without getting pounded non stop. Better run blocking will make a big difference in taking the pressure off of Luck letting him be more comfortable in the pocket and not having to force in his pass plays. I can envision more TDs and less picks. This should be a great season to watch everything come together.

[Stephen]

Id hardly call the dolphins a scrimage that game could go to the wire.

[NewColtsFan]

I don't think it'll be a big deal.  We had a "shortened" offseason last year with Luck having to wait until June to join the team.  Even with 2 months fewer prep than the rest of the team, he still had great success.  Now, he is going to be in an offense that he is comfortable running.  He can act more like a coach on the field, explaining concepts, telling guys where to line up, etc.  And we hired Pep in January (man, time flies!), so there has been plenty of time for the offensive guys to get used to Pep's offense

 

I don't think most of the players have been around the facility much until April....    and if they have,  I'm not sure with the new CBA how much they can get into things like the playbook.

 

I get the feeling the playbook has only been recently introduced to players....      so, I don't think anything dates back to January when Pep was hired....

 

I think he took nearly 90 days to (A) look at every game we played last year....  (B) look at other offenses he wants to steal from....   so that he can could ©  put together his first Colts playbook.    Remember,  it's a combination of what he did at Stanford,  plus what Arians did last year,  plus a little of this and that from other teams as well...

[21isSuperman]

I don't think most of the players have been around the facility much until April....    and if they have,  I'm not sure with the new CBA how much they can get into things like the playbook.

 

I get the feeling the playbook has only been recently introduced to players....      so, I don't think anything dates back to January when Pep was hired....

 

I think he took nearly 90 days to (A) look at every game we played last year....  (B) look at other offenses he wants to steal from....   so that he can could ©  put together his first Colts playbook.    Remember,  it's a combination of what he did at Stanford,  plus what Arians did last year,  plus a little of this and that from other teams as well...

Well said

[jskinnz]

Excellent topic with no known answer until the season actually gets here.  But I will say that if a rival of the Colts had a similar turnover in both players and coaches, we would be on here talking about all the upheavel and learning curve.  In fact, after the lock out year of 2011, I remember conversations about the Texans making not only a coaching change wiith Phillips as the DC but a scheme change as well and how that had to favor Indy. 

 

We can only hope that those changes work out as well for Indy as they did for Houston that year.  Ultimately I think the Colts will be fine but there is uncertainty.

[Superman]

It's hard for me to project anything about the Colts going forward. Not just because of the changes, but because we overshot all reasonable projections for 2012. A lot of our success was smoke and mirrors, not based on the strength of our roster or solid execution, but more based on us getting the bounces, getting the calls, and some outstanding plays from a few guys here and there.

 

We also saw just how bad we could be, with big losses to the Jets and Patriots, the last minute loss to the Jags due to poor execution, the loss to the Texans due to poor gameplanning and turnovers, etc.

 

So before we even get to the changes -- most of which I think will be positives, by the way -- you have to acknowledge that our record didn't match our talent level. I could see us going 10-6 or 11-5 next season, but still being a better team. End of the day, all that matters is the win, but I think our roster is stronger and deeper, and I think the changes to our offense will be beneficial. Might not show up in the record, but it ought to at least make up for not being 7-1 in one score games. And then, if we get in the playoffs and have a tough matchup, the team will be better equipped to get a win.

[HtownColt]

@KBowenColts: Colts WR Reggie Wayne on learning the new offensive system: "Guys seem to be picking it up pretty fast, faster than last year it seems."

@KBowenColts: Wayne on OC Pep Hamilton: "He definitely wants us to succeed...b/c he’s out there in the classroom teaching, telling us to ask questions."

[Tark The Shark]

We had a 9 game swing with a whole lot more turnover than last year. I think we will be just fine adjusting.

 

We have a tough schedule against teams like the Seahawks and Broncos.

 

I have a feeling that some of our FAs aren't going to be worth the money they got, but we will see.

[chad72]

It's hard for me to project anything about the Colts going forward. Not just because of the changes, but because we overshot all reasonable projections for 2012. A lot of our success was smoke and mirrors, not based on the strength of our roster or solid execution, but more based on us getting the bounces, getting the calls, and some outstanding plays from a few guys here and there.

 

We also saw just how bad we could be, with big losses to the Jets and Patriots, the last minute loss to the Jags due to poor execution, the loss to the Texans due to poor gameplanning and turnovers, etc.

 

So before we even get to the changes -- most of which I think will be positives, by the way -- you have to acknowledge that our record didn't match our talent level. I could see us going 10-6 or 11-5 next season, but still being a better team. End of the day, all that matters is the win, but I think our roster is stronger and deeper, and I think the changes to our offense will be beneficial. Might not show up in the record, but it ought to at least make up for not being 7-1 in one score games. And then, if we get in the playoffs and have a tough matchup, the team will be better equipped to get a win.

 

I agree 100%

[Coltscodeblue]

Colts WR Reggie Wayne on learning the new offensive system: "Guys seem to be picking it up pretty fast, faster than last year it seems."

^^^^^

If that statement is spot on then the defenses later in the season will be adjusted to it too. I hope they are going to use alternating systems so the opposing defenses won't know what to expect, NFL players are the smartest and fastest and strongest so it will be figured out eventually, the best teams the Colts face will have the best DC so they would be ready if the Colts stayed with one system all year. I'm just saying that I hope that they are going to mix it up :}

 

Go Colts!!!!!

[HarassedOffTheSite]

A big + is the fact that Andrew already knows and understands the offense. No doubt he is helping the Oline, RBs & WRs adjust.

[Black-Vell]

Colts WR Reggie Wayne on learning the new offensive system: "Guys seem to be picking it up pretty fast, faster than last year it seems."

^^^^^

If that statement is spot on then the defenses later in the season will be adjusted to it too. I hope they are going to use alternating systems so the opposing defenses won't know what to expect, NFL players are the smartest and fastest and strongest so it will be figured out eventually, the best teams the Colts face will have the best DC so they would be ready if the Colts stayed with one system all year. I'm just saying that I hope that they are going to mix it up :}

 

Go Colts!!!!!

I felt it necessary to tell you that offenses are not successful because "defenses dont know what they are doing". If that were true - right now - DEN just acquired everything they needed to never lose to NE again - or at least until they change OFFs. (Wes Welker)

 

The way you make it seem is like you dont understand what the term "learning an offense" means. They are not learning how to play football. They are learning the fundamental terminology on which everyone will communicate within the OFF or DEF.

 

The reason the DEF is taking longer than the OFF is simply because alot of what the DEF does is in reaction to the OFF. And you have to see it live to get it down. 

 

We wont have to "mix up systems" to keep DEFs guessing - a diverse OFF is the system.