Grades: Week 14 @ Bengals

[Superman]

 

By the way, I think we can all agree on this: Refs: F- (Not only did they completely rob us on the goal line play, but then they ignored the grounding later on. It's one thing to not call it because you missed it, but it's totally different when you say the QB was outside the pocket, when he didn't so much as take a step in either direction. Dalton went straight back, then threw the ball away. Jeff Triplette is the very embodiment of ineptitude.)

 

Box score

Week 13 grades

 

Offense, C: 58 plays, 389 yards, 21 first downs (17 passing,  2 rushing, 2 from penalty), 2/10 on third down, 2/2 in the red zone, 0 turnovers, 28 points; we're not getting enough plays lately, mostly due to the inability to convert on third down

 

QB: Much better performance this week. Not "too little," but definitely "too late." Nothing doing in the first half, due to a few missed/dropped passes (including the new hero, Da'Rick Rogers), and silly play calling. But Luck was taking shorter drops, more active in the pocket, even took off early when the pressure started collapsing. Still had a lot of pressure, but just handled it way better than last week. Missed an open Hilton on an early third down, instead forcing it in to Fleener for an incompletion, mostly because Fleener was past the marker and Hilton wasn't. This was Luck's best game in a while, and it's a shame that it didn't end in a win. I just would like to see him start a game the way he started in the third quarter. B, strong performance, just took too long to get it going

 

Backs / receivers / tight ends, B-: 

Running game: There's not much to say. Ten carries, 31 yards, a couple nice gains, a couple bad carries. Just no real opportunities to do anything. I counted three trap plays, one for 7, one for 5, one four 4, and that means over 50% of our traditional rushing offense came on trap plays. So, trivia: Should we run more trap plays, or less trap plays? Anyways, more on that in coaching. I'm giving the backs a C+, they did all they could.

 

Passing game: We shortened some stuff up this week. We also got DHB off the field a lot more, and the two guys splitting his time probably buried him at the bottom of the depth chart. Rogers and Brazill did what we've been hoping someone would do, step up and take on some of the burden of the passing game. Hilton and Luck should buy those guys something nice for the holidays, because things should be easier on both of them moving forward. Fleener made some nice grabs, and just seems more comfortable as a pro every week. Can't wait to see him and Allen together again next year. The backup tight ends did a reasonable job as well. I especially appreciated getting the backs involved in the passing game. Even though all but one of Richardson's catches came on the final drive, there was some effort to get him the ball earlier, and one of those went for 22 yards, which is his second longest play as a Colt. He and Brown had six targets apiece. B, we still need someone to do a better job on third down

 

OL / blocking: I'm done blaming the line for this. It's incredibly obvious to me that our blocking schemes in the pass and the run don't fit our personnel. When we run zone plays, we have a chance, when we run power/man plays, we get stuffed. It's past time to adjust. The protection was about the same as last week, when I said that I blamed the QB more for the sacks and pressures, and as Luck played better, the line looked better. Still 4 hits, but that's better than the 42 last week (or so it seemed). C+, as much as the line HAS to perform better, they need to be dispatched more effectively by the coaching staff.

Defense, D: 70 plays, 430 yards, 28 first downs (14 passing, 9 rushing, 5 from penalty), 6/12 on third down, 0/1 on fourth down (yeah, that's right), 4/5 in the red zone (yeah, you heard me), 0 turnovers, 42 points; don't get me started...

 

Defensive front: Kind of the perfect example of how minor mistakes lead to terrible performances. Stopping the run is like landing a plane; don't do one thing, and it's a disaster. For the most part, the run fits were excellent, and guys were doing a good job of getting to the ball carrier. We got penetration, and when we didn't, we at least created a wall for the back to try to get around. But then there were five carries by Bernard -- gains of 11, 19, 10, 14, and 20 yards -- that undermined the efforts of the defensive front on the majority of the other carries. If not for those five carries, the Bengals two backs would have averaged 3 yards/carry on 24 tries. We have to be more consistent on the edges. Montori Hughes probably played his best game in this one, showing quickness and power in the pass and run game. I'd start him over Moala from now on. As far as a pass rush, we simply didn't have one. Zero sacks, zero QB hits, probably 4 QB pressures. The plan is to get interior push, while Mathis beats his man. Well, we didn't get good push, and Mathis couldn't beat his man (mostly because he was in a reverse chin lock most of the game. Either way, we need to do better up the middle (Franklin gives us very little penetration), and we need a complimentary pass rusher. And then, on one of the few plays we actually got some pressure, the refs bail Dalton out by not calling the obvious grounding penalty. C-, can't make mistakes against the run, and we have to generate more pressure.

 

Pass defense: This is getting painful to watch. The poor coverage is part of the reason the pass rush isn't getting home, by the way. No one could cover. We played off, and still gave up big plays. Davis got beat up the sideline, Butler got beat everywhere, Vaughn did his customary play off and give up crossing routes, then couldn't catch up and make the tackle, Bethea got beat by receivers, tight ends, and backs. We covered slot receivers with Landry, but from his safety position (yeah, 12 yards off the ball, and yeah, the Bengals ate that up). The few times we were near the receiver, we either dropped picks, or got called for PI or holding. Dalton sat back in his fortress and just picked us off, like a sniper, spreading the ball around to all his receivers. This is a problem of coaching and execution. I don't know what we're even trying to do anymore. D, 8 yards/attempt against Andy Dalton is inexcusable.

 
Special teams: I said last week not to complain the next time AV misses a kick, so I'm not going to complain. That's what we get for overusing him last week. One bad punt, one punt that was too good, which led to a long return. The coverage messed up on a kickoff return as well. Sergio Brown is doing an incredible job as the lead gunner, and downed two inside the 5. B

Coaching / playcalling, C-:

I'm fine with the way we play the run. But I don't know what Manusky is doing with the coverage. Yeah, some guys are making coverage mistakes, and that's obvious, but it's also obvious that if you give up 10 yard cushions, a pro QB is going to find the open man before the pass rush can get there. Didn't we go through all this with Larry Coyer already??? I've defended Manusky plenty, but the decisions in the passing game make no sense, and they are making the pass rush ineffective, which is already a problem because we only have on pass rusher. D

 

I hope the relative success we had with simple zone runs influences Pep and Pagano to yield. Can't force the ball up the middle, because it doesn't work. We have interior linemen who can't move their men off the ball, but they can hold the point, and Reitz, McGlynn and Link all pull pretty well, so why not run more off tackle, more traps, etc.? Stop running it up the backs of your interior linemen. It's stupid. And the passing concepts still need work, but there were some notable adjustments. Not sure if Luck was just more willing to get the ball to his receivers, even if they weren't down the field, but I do know that we called more slants and quick ins than we have in the past. Keep with this tweaks, and let the players make plays. C+

 

I don't understand why Pagano holds on to timeouts at the end of the half. This is the third game recently where he had a chance to stop the clock and get the ball with more time left, and he refused to do it. The offense wound up going three and out when they did get the ball back, so maybe it would have backfired, but I firmly believe that you have to give your offense a chance to get the job done. Luck has proven to be pretty good at the end of the half. Give him more chances. C-

 

Game balls:

Andrew Luck, took some time to get going, but he put together a solid game. We're probably going to need that second half performance every game for the rest of this season. 

Da'Rick Rogers, way to live up to the ridiculous hype.

 

Robert Mathis Sack Watch: I guess he put this on pause so he could break Freeney's records in front of the home fans. He's still half a sack away from Freeney's single season Colts record and career sack total. 

 

Yes, we backed into the playoffs, but we're in there, again. After the 2-14 season, most people thought it would take at least 2-3 years to even sniff a wild card. Here we are, two years into the new regime, with two straight playoff berths. This is a good thing. Like I said last week, try to enjoy it.

 

Next up, home vs. the Texans. They are a mess, but in many ways, so are we. And sometimes teams with interim coaches gain some spark and play better. I'd really like to keep the Texans from having a win in LOS.

 

GO COLTS!!!

 

 

[Johnny Bui]

Refs: F-

Colts OLINE: B

Colts Receiver: B+

DHB: -9000

Colts Defense: F (35Pts + 7Pts from refs?) Bengals Receivers=wide open

Colts Coordinators: C-

Colts RB: We didn't really run the ball

PLAY CALL FIRST 1/2=AWFUL

ONE AND DONE………..BOOK IT!

[Caleb3502]

Refs: F-

Colts OLINE: B

Colts Receiver: B+

DHB: -9000

Colts Defense: F (35Pts + 7Pts from refs?) Bengals Receivers=wide open

Colts Coordinators: C-

Colts RB: We didn't really run the ball

PLAY CALL FIRST 1/2=AWFUL

ONE AND DONE………..BOOK IT!

DHB's rating is too high and the Refs deserve a worse rating

[Superman]

Grades up. Wish I had better news...

[chrisfarley]

What has the NFL said about the Refs blown calls?  anyone know anything yet?  This is taking way too long.  I want to hear an apology from Roger Goodall.

[lollygagger8]

Reitz made quite a difference on the O-Line. 

[Guest TeamLoloJones]

Grades up. Wish I had better news...

If you would have told me that Luck gets sacked zero times, the Colts have zero turnovers, and Luck has one of his best statistical games of his career...then I would tell you we won the game easily.  The problem is, Dalton was sacked zero times, the Bengals had zero turnovers, and Dalton had one of his best statistical games of his career.

[Superman]

What has the NFL said about the Refs blown calls?  anyone know anything yet?  This is taking way too long.  I want to hear an apology from Roger Goodall.

 

The NFL said the call on the touchdown was a judgment call. That's all I've heard so far.

[Superman]

If you would have told me that Luck gets sacked zero times, the Colts have zero turnovers, and Luck has one of his best statistical games of his career...then I would tell you we won the game easily.  The problem is, Dalton was sacked zero times, the Bengals had zero turnovers, and Dalton had one of his best statistical games of his career.

 

I need a hug...

[sfergson727]

The NFL said the call on the touchdown was a judgment call. That's all I've heard so far.

Amazing how they ignore the part that required irrefutable evidence in order to change the call on the field.

[Superman]

Amazing how they ignore the part that required irrefutable evidence in order to change the call on the field.

 

Yeah, there's really no defending that crap.