Post game thoughts (Colts @ Broncos)

[Drew1023]

Are we just going to completely ignore the fact that Andrew Luck threw 2 interceptions and got sacked three times?  At that rate he will have 32 interceptions by the end of the season and 48 sacks or is it just sacrilegious to mention anything close to facts about Luck on a Colts message board.  I know many of you will try to find ways to excuse that, to make it where it isn't Luck's fault but that's your opinion, the fact is it happened regardless of how much you want to deny it or make up excuses.

[Dustin]

Are we just going to completely ignore the fact that Andrew Luck threw 2 interceptions and got sacked three times? At that rate he will have 32 interceptions by the end of the season and 48 sacks or is it just sacrilegious to mention anything close to facts about Luck on a Colts message board. I know many of you will try to find ways to excuse that, to make it where it isn't Luck's fault but that's your opinion, the fact is it happened regardless of how much you want to deny it or make up excuses.

LOL @ projecting stats after 1 game. I guess he will also score 48 TD and throw for 6,000 yards.

[Kirie89]

Loss of one yard on the bad run

So looking at 5rushes for 19 yards

19 ÷ 5= 3.8YPC

 

Officially he had 6 rushes for 20 yards

 

If you take out 1 rush for -1 yard you have 5 rushes for 21 yards

 

21 ÷ 5 = 4.2 YPC

 

 

[Warhawk]

We couldn't stop shooting ourselves in the foot and went down by 24 points on the road to last year's AFC champs, and we still ended up losing by only a TD with a chance to tie late.

 

There's worse ways to lose.

[SteelCityColt]

Are we just going to completely ignore the fact that Andrew Luck threw 2 interceptions and got sacked three times?  At that rate he will have 32 interceptions by the end of the season and 48 sacks or is it just sacrilegious to mention anything close to facts about Luck on a Colts message board.  I know many of you will try to find ways to excuse that, to make it where it isn't Luck's fault but that's your opinion, the fact is it happened regardless of how much you want to deny it or make up excuses.

 

You do understand projecting from a sample size of one is lunacy? 

 

By that token you expect his stat line for the season to be:

 

560/848 5920 Yards 32TDs 32Ints

 

Do you really think that's likely? If not then why bring it up as a point in your argument?

 

Is your thinking too than any INT regardless of route cause is the QB's fault? The first one I would put squarely on Luck, same old issue of forcing it in there when he didn't need, I'll even give you that the tip didn't really take away from it being a bad throw. But the 2nd?! Come on man, we're chasing the game and have to make plays and when it comes off your receivers hands like that, that ain't on the QB. 

 

It's not about excuse making, it's about trying to take an objective opinion as a fan. It's tough but it can be done, the yang to the yin of your accusations of blind homerism is blind negativity and there's plenty of both going around on here.  

[Mitch Connors]

Anyone else remember the "how to beat Peyton play book" from the last 15 years? I'm not an expert but I'm confused how we think running the ball 5 times (approximately) in the first half and giving Peyton the ball for 20 minutes is a good strategy. I know we got down early but giving up on the run is a very dangerous game to play and a decent reason we were down so fast. I get giving up on the run last year but we had success running last night.

[sweetsurrender]

Anyone else remember the "how to beat Peyton play book" from the last 15 years? I'm not an expert but I'm confused how we think running the ball 5 times (approximately) in the first half and giving Peyton the ball for 20 minutes is a good strategy. I know we got down early but giving up on the run is a very dangerous game to play and a decent reason we were down so fast. I get giving up on the run last year but we had success running last night.

The early turnover killed whatever game plan we had. But I think the thought was to try to get out and score quickly which is why we went hurry up from the start. I liked that. But not going for the fourth and one killed us. 

[SteelCityColt]

The early turnover killed whatever game plan we had. But I think the thought was to try to get out and score quickly which is why we went hurry up from the start. I liked that. But not going for the fourth and one killed us. 

 

I can almost forgive the not going for it, but to then punt after the penalty?! The penalty did us a favour seeing as we'd missed the first FG. Again I have to question some of Pagano's game management last night. 

[IUfan_Charlie]

Mediocre coaching, along with the poor pass defense is going to limit this team for years unless things change. Offense has components to be really really good but horrendous play calling limits it. 

[Gavin]

Gave up 6 QB hits which if that pace continues......and I see no reason why it wont until the Colts can establish a run game...Then that is 13 less QB hits then Luck took last year.......109 down to 96....I came in hoping for no more then 5 per game average so slightly off that pace(which would give us 80 on the year)....But Andrew had to throw 53 times just to keep us in the game. I'll have more as I go back over the game but 3rd downs really hurt us in this game, 7-14 giving on 3rd down (50%) and the Colts were only 4-13 (31%)....I thought Pep could have been more creative in getting Hilton involved, He was targeted plenty but I would have liked to get him on more drag and crossing routes......I wont even discuss our Safety issues or putting Landry on Thomas inside the red zone, I expect that to be fixed in the offseason

 

 

 

That's my initial thoughts

[Smonroe]

My thoughts - we played arguably one of the two best teams in the league, at their place, facing a guy who may be considered the best QB of all time.  A team that needed to show their SB appearance was a fluke.  Facing them without our best defensive player.

 

And we were in the game until the final two minutes, until a non PI call knocked us out of it.

 

You can complain about the Oline, the run D, the play calling, even put it down by calling it a moral victory if you want.

 

 To me, it showed the rest of the league (and all those brilliant analysts) that this team is not ready to regress.  It's a legitimate contender.

[SOMDColtsfan]

Like I said, you're down 24 points...... Running the ball isn't an option anymore

Give him a real game to see how he does. Not a catch up game, a game where we're battling or leading

We are down by 24 because? We cant run the ball and its Peyton Manning, you have to control the clock and keep him off the field. JMO

[Mitch Connors]

The early turnover killed whatever game plan we had. But I think the thought was to try to get out and score quickly which is why we went hurry up from the start. I liked that. But not going for the fourth and one killed us.

I agree with you but I would add that the fastest team in the league last year was also one of the best running games - the eagles. We can press pace and run at the same time.

[IndyD4U]

Not as bad as I was expecting. A few questions about defensive assignments, and why we can't score in the red zone with all these weapons. 

 

We'll be alright

[Smash Mouth]

My thoughts - we played arguably one of the two best teams in the league, at their place, facing a guy who may be considered the best QB of all time.  A team that needed to show their SB appearance was a fluke.  Facing them without our best defensive player.

 

And we were in the game until the final two minutes, until a non PI call knocked us out of it.

 

You can complain about the Oline, the run D, the play calling, even put it down by calling it a moral victory if you want.

 

 To me, it showed the rest of the league (and all those brilliant analysts) that this team is not ready to regress.  It's a legitimate contender.

I'm not ready to call them legit contenders until I see them respond to this loss next week against the Eagles.  I saw too much of the same old, same old: bad play calling and lack of imagination from Pep, questionable game management from Pagano, a weak OL, and an inability to apply consistent pressure on the QB without Mathis.  Its Game 1 so can't get too high or low.

[Smonroe]

I'm not ready to call them legit contenders until I see them respond to this loss next week against the Eagles.  I saw too much of the same old, same old: bad play calling and lack of imagination from Pep, questionable game management from Pagano, a weak OL, and an inability to apply consistent pressure on the QB without Mathis.  Its Game 1 so can't get too high or low.

 

Same old, same old =  playoff team.

 

No team is going to be perfect.  Every team can improve.  We obviously have weaknesses, it doesn't mean we can't win.  That's a fact, not an opinion.

[That Guy]

Loss of one yard on the bad run

So looking at 5rushes for 19 yards

19 ÷ 5= 3.8YPC

20 yards minus negative one yard is actually 21 yards

20 - (-1) = 21

21/5 = 4.2

My thought from the game is that Andrew Luck seems to think Coby Fleener is ten feet tall.

[Smash Mouth]

Same old, same old =  playoff team.

 

No team is going to be perfect.  Every team can improve.  We obviously have weaknesses, it doesn't mean we can't win.  That's a fact, not an opinion.

Fair enough.  I fear regression having seen important weaknesses that I don't think have been adequately addressed: OL and a pass rush from someone other than Mathis.

[CS5959]

Most people have had solid points about the game.  I believe the loss is on our coaching staff.  We had 2 situations where we were 2nd and 15 because of penalties.  Our play calling on 2nd and 15 is to utilize the weakest part of our offense with a run up the gut with trent Richardson, really?? Our guard center guard is weak and Trent is not the best running back on the team (probably third string at best in my opinion) and we decide to basically give up a down by running up the gut utilizing the weakest part of our offense. Stupid!! Now we have 3rd and long to try and deal with.  Second why do you punt when Vinateri clearly had enough leg to get it there after the penalty yards, I would probably venture to say Vinateri has not missed 2 consecutive field goals in his life so I have to believe the second attempt is as close to automatic as it gets. The 4th and 1, I liked us going for it but again a run up the gut behind our weakest part of the line?? Somebody please tell Pep Hamilton that he is allowed to call a run play outside the tackles, considering our tackles our very good and we have 2 above average blocking tight ends (not fleener of course). After all of this we still make a near comeback at Denver against the reigning AFC Champs. Also the way I saw the INT on the ball thrown to Dwayne Allen is Dwayne didn't even go up after that ball, I say that's just being a little rusty coming back from being out for so long.

[husker61]

My thought from the game is that Andrew Luck seems to think Coby Fleener is ten feet tall.

 

a 6' 5" professional athlete has to catch passes that are 10' high regularly!!

[husker61]

i would have liked to get the win, but am very confident for the rest of the season. a couple plays and the colts win on the road against one of the best teams in the nfl. fleener has to at least knock that pass down, luck can't throw into double coverage on the first pick, the field goal attempt was a complete screw up from the start, and i like luck on a quick qb sneek, but when you line up quickly and the defense is ready for it, you have to call a different play.

 

rishardson should not be starting. bradshaw looked much better.

 

fleener needs to be on the bench a lot more more. a receiving te has to be able to go get the ball in coverage!

 

the tackles played very well. the interior line not as well, but they were playing against one of the best tackles in the nfl.

 

the d-line played very well against a top o-line (3.2 ypc).

 

i don't think the pass rush was as bad as people are saying. denver has a top line and a great qb that rarely takes sacks.

 

there is a tremendous amount of work to do with this lb group, especially on the inside.

 

the secondary was good. you aren't going to shut down a record breaking passing offense. they are going to make plays.

[husker61]

a 6' 5" professional athlete has to catch passes that are 10' high regularly!!

 

make that 6' 6"!!

[Smonroe]

Fair enough.  I fear regression having seen important weaknesses that I don't think have been adequately addressed: OL and a pass rush from someone other than Mathis.

 

I disagree about the OL, I thought they looked pretty good for the most part and considering what they were up against.  I really need to watch the All-22 (which I don't have), but I'll be lazy and just read Ben Gundy.

 

As far as the pass rush, I totally agree.  We can generate a pass rush, but we don't have an individual pass rusher.   I understand that those guys don't grow on trees and we made an attempt to draft one.  Still, Mathis isn't going to be around much longer.  Something has to be done there.

[SilentHill]

My takeaway is that we shot ourselves in the foot. We could have had this game, and a double digit point lead, We failed to execute at almost all levels of the game. It's a learning experience.

 

I think we need to focus on Tackles, and Redzone offense this week in practice. Also we need to gameplan around our ILB's not dropping back into coverage against players like Julius Thomas.There needs to be another answer.

[Fx Stryker]

!

 

 

Word

Denver's secondary made for a tough night

  

yep they are the reason Denver won IMO

But TK said they were all average at best?

[kycoltsfan]

We can generate a pass rush, but we don't have an individual pass rusher.  

 

During the pre-season (saints game) I had hopes of Landry helping out.  He had some great blitzes in the pre-season and he totally broke up some plays doing it, and I did not see them call that once during this game.  He was also in on every tackle during the pre-season as well, and really seemed to be hustling and leading.

 

But last night, he was no where to be seen really like that.  I wonder if it was because of the defense play calling or not.

 

Having a safety that can do that stuff once in a while is huge and the colts mgmt should have learned their lesson and realized how much of a huge part of the fact they got the super bowl last time was because of Bob Sanders doing this kind of stuff and making things happen on defense.

 

It seems its clear that the colts need to invest in the O-Line and the safety positions before they think about anything else.

[Smonroe]

During the pre-season (saints game) I had hopes of Landry helping out.  He had some great blitzes in the pre-season and he totally broke up some plays doing it, and I did not see them call that once during this game.  He was also in on every tackle during the pre-season as well, and really seemed to be hustling and leading.

 

But last night, he was no where to be seen really like that.  I wonder if it was because of the defense play calling or not.

 

Yeah, it's risky trying to use a S or CB to put blitz Peyton, he'll usually tear you up.  We might as well blitz Jackson because he can't cover anyone anyway.

 

I know Werner was getting mugged, but that's par for the course. I think Freeny went to the locker with the opposing LT's arm wrapped around his neck, so that's not an excuse.

 

Maybe they need to convert Swoope to rush LB before he gets settled in at TE.

[OLD FAN MAN]

Fair enough.  I fear regression having seen important weaknesses that I don't think have been adequately addressed: OL and a pass rush from someone other than Mathis.

I agree,  we did not fix our weak spots, maybe grigs will still try to fix it.

[TKnight24]

So people weren't running wide open? Our TE didn't run down the sideline for a TD?

Andrew made them look better than they really were with his terrible decision making and forced passes

But when they showed Denver's upcoming schedule last night.....

It's only a matter of time. Lot of QB's on that schedule gonna have a field day

Just wait on it.....

*Kicks feet up*

But TK said they were all average at best?

[Fx Stryker]

So people weren't running wide open? Our TE didn't run down the sideline for a TD?

Andrew made them look better than they really were with his terrible decision making and forced passes

But when they showed Denver's upcoming schedule last night.....

It's only a matter of time. Lot of QB's on that schedule gonna have a field day

Just wait on it.....

*Kicks feet up*

No TK, just get over it. They shut us down pretty much. They aren't "average at best."

[SilentHill]

No TK, just get over it. They shut us down pretty much. They aren't "average at best."

 

Their DB's are average.

 

Their line made their DB's better by crushing in our pocket.

[Fx Stryker]

Their DB's are average.

 

Their line made their DB's better by crushing in our pocket.

It's the other way around. Their DBs helped their Dline. Luck was holding onto the ball because he had no one to throw to most of the game.

And the times he did let it go early Talib cut it off and it went over Fleener's hands.

[Dark Superman]

id like to see Newsome get some reps at OLBer rather than just depending on Werner to be the guy to get there.

If nothing else on clear passing downs it should be Werner and Newsome because we know Whalden isn't a pass rusher.

Werner showed some light as a run stopper, but his pass rush skills were non existent. (We drafted him to be a pass rushing machine opposite of Mathis)

I really wished we did more in the off season to address our pass rushing needs.

[jmac_48]

My thought from the game is that Andrew Luck seems to think Coby Fleener is ten feet tall.

C'mon Now!

Everybody knows that white boys can't jump.

[Smash Mouth]

Werner showed some light as a run stopper, but his pass rush skills were non existent. (We drafted him to be a pass rushing machine opposite of Mathis)

I really wished we did more in the off season to address our pass rushing needs.

Agreed.  He looks like a solid SAM LB in this defense.  The hybrid 3-4 needs a more dynamic LB in Mathis' spot.  After listening to Grigson and Pagano all off season, I expected to see more from Werner.  Pass rushers are hard to come by but Grigson needs to draft one that really fits the bill as far as speed is concerned.  

[Defjamz26]

Same old, same old =  playoff team.

 

No team is going to be perfect.  Every team can improve.  We obviously have weaknesses, it doesn't mean we can't win.  That's a fact, not an opinion.

 

No, it means that we'll never get to the next level. Every year we will either be 1 and done, or lose in round 2. And the same teams that we can't beat, will give us problems. We'll essentially be the Bengals.

[Bruiser]

Anyone else remember the "how to beat Peyton play book" from the last 15 years? I'm not an expert but I'm confused how we think running the ball 5 times (approximately) in the first half and giving Peyton the ball for 20 minutes is a good strategy. I know we got down early but giving up on the run is a very dangerous game to play and a decent reason we were down so fast. I get giving up on the run last year but we had success running last night.

If we had not given up on the run, we would have been beaten by 35 or so points. Give Luck the damn ball.

[Bruiser]

Their DB's are average.

 

Their line made their DB's better by crushing in our pocket.

I think their DBs are very good. They are certainly better than the Colts DBs. I liked the rookie from Ohio State. I thought he played very well for Denver.

[chad72]

Ahmad Bradshaw - what else can you say about him? He does not go down easily on contact, his vision is good, his legs keep churning. He does so many little things right (like that block to make a lane for Dwayne Allen's TD etc.) that he is the consummate team player. Love that guy, hope he stays healthy.

[jvan1973]

Loss of one yard on the bad run

So looking at 5rushes for 19 yards

19 ÷ 5= 3.8YPC

you can't even help your own argument. 6 carriers 20 yards. Take away the run where he LOST a yard. So 5 carries 21 yards. Anyway

Still to small a sample to really judge the running game