How do you feel about our defense?

[BlueCollarColts]

Alright so after looking up and down through the first two games, and dominant in the past three games, how do you feel about them as a unit? To me, our defense was good in every area but one, rushing the passer. Art Jones, Redding, Hughes, Chapman, and Jean-Francois can stop the run very well, Jackson and Freeman is a good ILB duo, but they can struggle to defend tight ends well at times, and our secondary looks to be very good against the run, with a top (Yes to me our corners are one of the top in the NFL) CB duo and Mike Adams really coming into his own, and Sergio Brown actually looked GOOD yesterday.

 

The only issue has been pass rush, now props to Manusky for getting creative with LB blitzes/Safety blitzes and not just relying on Walden/Werner to get to the QB, and I think our pass-rush is really starting to come into its own with Werner and Walden now getting into a groove, and Redding has provided a very good pass-rush as well.... So to me, if we can generate a decent pass-rush the rest of the season, this defense can be a top 10 unit. What do you all think? 

[Nobody]

If they can get after the passer like last week (I'm assuming we played motivated because of the Raven connection, especially Redding) and Sergio plays as good as he was, then we'd be that way every week. Those are two big ifs, but the potential is great to see. Sergio is more likely than the pass rush, IMO. Unless Bjoern keeps up the pace (let's be real, he played an overmatched LT) then we won't have this kind of D. If they played like that every week we probably go 14-2 though.

[GwinnettColt]

I'm feeling a little bit better. I liked what they were doing with Werner yesterday.   Best game I've seen him in thus far.  And Redding?  What do you say about Redding?  One of the best FA signings that I've seen with the Colts D. 

[Stephen]

I'm waiting til halfway mark to judge d

[Boiler_Colt]

Werner has been a hair away from having multiple sacks this season, the strip fumble at Jax that was called back for the Davis illegal contact was bogus. Hopefully this is what he needed to flip the switch and finish. Newsome has also shown flash and looks to be playing alot on third down. I love the blitzing, Jackson and the safetys have really blitzed well. Freeman is out best blitzer but they seem to know they need him in coverage. I really like what Manusky is doing. Once Jones gets back I think we will be even better. It really is unfortunate about Mathis because he brings what could make the D a top flight unit. Adams has been a pleasant surpise and I think our secondary is a ball hawking coverage safety away from being a top 3 unit in the league.

[coltsfanej]

I think our pass rush will continue to get better. I think having mathis back has and will continue to give them a spark. Vontae has been awesome. Toler has been good. The only 2 weak areas being covering TEs snd RBs out of the backfield.

[coltsfanmilyman]

As odd as this sounds, with the Mathis injury and suspension, i'm glad he did not play at all this season.  Before I get run out of here, hear me out:

 

If Mathis had played after the suspension and played anywhere near what he did last year and then, were to rupture his Achilles later on, it would have been worse for the D.  In my opinion that would have crushed the D to see Mathis carted off.  I'm glad our D is learning what its like to have to create pass rush and not be so reliant on 98.  This D is slowly becoming that monster that we have been waiting for.  I believe next year holds even more promise as long as this unit keeps growing.  Unfortunate as it was for me not to be able to watch the game, hearing the accolades from Lamey and Sorgi on our Defense warrants much enthusiasm.  We have our the buildings of a great defensive line, all at cap friendly costs, our CB's are locked up in what now looks like to be great deals; considering the money that was thrown around this off-season. LBer's are in my opinion our weakest length, but Werner, McNary, Newsome, Freeman all have great potential.  Not to mention we have Mathis and Jackson.

 

Sky is the limit.

[Defjamz26]

Run D looks good

 

Vontae is a shutdown corner

 

The safety situation has to be addressed

 

It's fine if they say they're going to role with Sergio, but they've got to draft a safety. Gotta get some continuity there instead of just sticking with what we have in house just because. Draft a young guy, and then make a commitment on another.

[dudeski]

As odd as this sounds, with the Mathis injury and suspension, i'm glad he did not play at all this season. Before I get run out of here, hear me out:

If Mathis had played after the suspension and played anywhere near what he did last year and then, were to rupture his Achilles later on, it would have been worse for the D. In my opinion that would have crushed the D to see Mathis carted off. I'm glad our D is learning what its like to have to create pass rush and not be so reliant on 98. This D is slowly becoming that monster that we have been waiting for. I believe next year holds even more promise as long as this unit keeps growing. Unfortunate as it was for me not to be able to watch the game, hearing the accolades from Lamey and Sorgi on our Defense warrants much enthusiasm. We have our the buildings of a great defensive line, all at cap friendly costs, our CB's are locked up in what now looks like to be great deals; considering the money that was thrown around this off-season. LBer's are in my opinion our weakest length, but Werner, McNary, Newsome, Freeman all have great potential. Not to mention we have Mathis and Jackson.

Sky is the limit.

umm what?

[Bluefire4]

D looked good for most of the game but I'm hoping Werner continues his success and he didn't just take advantage of the Ravens undrafted tackle that started for Monroe.

[Dark Superman]

The defense is going in the right direction.. I think if we can another pass rusher and safety.. And make w few more upgrades here and there we will be in great shape.

[ColtStronger]

Our only glaring weakness is covering TE's.  Our pass rush needs to stay consistent.  I'm always confident in our secondary.  The CB's are stifling.  Our rush defense will be even better when Art Jones comes back.  It would be amazing if Landry came back and played up to par, a top 5 defense is attainable. 

[Dark Superman]

D looked good for most of the game but I'm hoping Werner continues his success and he didn't just take advantage of the Ravens undrafted tackle that started for Monroe.

Luckily he did..

If he struggled against a backup LT I would seriously have to question this draft pick..

[Dark Superman]

Our only glaring weakness is covering TE's.  Our pass rush needs to stay consistent.  I'm always confident in our secondary.  The CB's are stifling.  Our rush defense will be even better when Art Jones comes back.  It would be amazing if Landry came back and played up to par, a top 5 defense is attainable.

RJF has been playing great! So Jones being out hasn't impacted us at all.. I just wish Landry would step up already.. We could really use his pro bowl form.

[ColtStronger]

RJF has been playing great! So Jones being out hasn't impacted us at all.. I just wish Landry would step up already.. We could really use his pro bowl form.

Yeah RJF has been playing well.  Just think if we could keep them both fresh with a steady rotation.   I couldn't imagine if Mathis was in the mix.  Hopefully sitting out a few weeks and him missing action will put a spark inside Landry. 

[krunk]

From the mouth of our upcoming opponent:

 

C Chris Myers

 

(on some issues that the Colts defense causes) “A ton—they’ve got a talented group. One that we’re familiar with obviously, but just as evidence from yesterday’s game—watching that Baltimore game yesterday—they cause a lot of havoc on the quarterback. They put you in spots. You have to establish the run early and we’ll work off that.”

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Quotes-Monday-Oct-6/716d8e1c-8468-4eb2-ac16-692a0e921e13

[krunk]

Yes I have to eat crow on Jean Francois as well.  He's been playing well

[crazycolt1]

Our only glaring weakness is covering TE's.  Our pass rush needs to stay consistent.  I'm always confident in our secondary.  The CB's are stifling.  Our rush defense will be even better when Art Jones comes back.  It would be amazing if Landry came back and played up to par, a top 5 defense is attainable. 

The Colts are far from the only team who struggles against TEs. The TE position has changed so much over the last few years it really amazing. Most of the TEs are huge in size and very athletic. Hard to cover for just about any defense.

[CanuckColtsFan]

I'm thinking Bjoern might start to be a factor in games. Time will tell, but I'm getting the feeling he's getting the hang of things

[Robert Johnson]

I'm thinking Bjoern might start to be a factor in games. Time will tell, but I'm getting the feeling he's getting the hang of things

Was by far the best game i've seen from him.Lets hope he can keep it up

[akcolt]

The Colts are far from the only team who struggles against TEs. The TE position has changed so much over the last few years it really amazing. Most of the TEs are huge in size and very athletic. Hard to cover for just about any defense.

I couldn't agree with you more on this point. 

 

There are a handful of TE's in the league you can't expect to cover with a LB or S anymore. Julius Thomas is obviously one of them and as you pointed out the list is growing. We are trying to create one for our offense with Swoope.

 

Fortunately for us I don't think Houston has that card. Owen Daniels got us for 5 and 70 so we have a problem beside the evolution of the TE.

 

I really like what I have seen from the D so far. I think we are a piece or two away from being where we want to be but I am not sure how anyone can be unhappy with the effort we have gotten so far.

 

I agree Werner has really been close to being a playmaker since the first preseason game. He was just a hair late or didn't finish the play. Hopefully this was his coming out party. I know it was a weak LT but he has been close all year IMO.

 

I think the late addition of Adams has helped the back end a lot too. Grig's has kind of had the everything I touch turns to gold thing going this off season. Look at all the UDFA's the late signing of Adams....

[HungarianColtsFan]

I think our D has improved through the first 5 week, I like our defensive backs, Vontea is a top tier corner, and we have found a FS. If Sergio is keeping up in following games (what I'm hoping for), we'll have to find his backup.

 

Just a question: Mathis was at the sideline as a special coach, and Werner already had 2 sacks. Can those be related, or it is just a coincidence? 

I hope Werner keeps improving, and Art Jones returns quickly, with Mathis back next season we gonna have a monster D!

[Gavin]

I think Werners growth can be attributed to 2 things more then any other but not only 2 things:

 

1.Last year he weighed in at 266lbs....He dropped 9lbs according to his profile here on Colts.com. I think that clearly had an affect on his ability to accelerate off the ball and turn the Corner helping him take better angles consistently to the QB, He has been close to several other sacks this year but just did not get home, A lot of times coming within 2-3 steps

 

2.On field experience...He hasn't had to sit behind a pro bowl pass rusher or two, He has had 501 defensive snaps in his career through 18 games played. Averaging 23.5 defensive snaps played his rookie year per game (13 games)

[Dark Superman]

Yeah RJF has been playing well.  Just think if we could keep them both fresh with a steady rotation.   I couldn't imagine if Mathis was in the mix.  Hopefully sitting out a few weeks and him missing action will put a spark inside Landry.

Hate to see Landry off the PEDs

[lollygagger8]

Hate to see Landry off the PEDs

 

Maybe he'll actually be able to wrap on a tackle now! 

[Malakai432]

I think they are pretty solid overall, they need to continue to get better and if Sergio remotely keeps playing like he did last game they may become a force.

[jskinnz]

The lack of Mathis I think will really hurt in the long run. They have to get creative to generate a pass rush and leave themselves vulnerable to the really good QB's. If Werner plays like he did on Sunday the missing Mathis factor is mitigated but I have to see more than just one game against a back-up tackle to see if that is the rule now or just the exception.

I think the lack of coverage from ILB's is also a factor that will haunt the D. Freeman back helps but there are still good, athletic TE's on the horizon that will cause match up problems for Jackson, McNary & company.

The thing they do really well is cover WR's with Toler and Jackson. That combo allows them flexibility to blitz or in coverage with others that they would not have otherwise. Add Butler to that mix and they have maybe the best 3 in the league.

Long winded way of saying - they have some warts and some true beauty marks but so does everyone else.

[Coffeedrinker]

The lack of Mathis I think will really hurt in the long run. They have to get creative to generate a pass rush and leave themselves vulnerable to the really good QB's. If Werner plays like he did on Sunday the missing Mathis factor is mitigated but I have to see more than just one game against a back-up tackle to see if that is the rule now or just the exception.

I think the lack of coverage from ILB's is also a factor that will haunt the D. Freeman back helps but there are still good, athletic TE's on the horizon that will cause match up problems for Jackson, McNary & company.

The thing they do really well is cover WR's with Toler and Jackson. That combo allows them flexibility to blitz or in coverage with others that they would not have otherwise. Add Butler to that mix and they have maybe the best 3 in the league.

Long winded way of saying - they have some warts and some true beauty marks but so does everyone else.

 Dear God.

 

 

 

 

Somebody had to do it.

[UKCOLT17]

the D played good but aint getting ahead of myself still long way to go and hopefully get better one game at a time

[Gibbons180]

That whole defense has balled out the past couple weeks, I give everyone credit on that defense.

Some (obvious) notes:

1. Vontae Davis is playing not just like a Top 5 Corner, but he is playing like a TOP 3 Corner and I stand by that statement.

2. Mike Adams is balling out at safety and is one of the most underrated signings and players in this league.

3. The young potential on the D-Line (Zach Kerr, Montori Hughes, Josh Chapman) is awesome. Along with veterans RJF, Cory Redding, Art Jones (coming back from Injury) I love the depth and talent on our D-Line.

4. Sergio Brown balled out in his first start, and he did things Landry struggles to do or just simply cant do. (Open field tackle, rush the passer, play safety effectively...) and if he continues to play like he did in these upcoming games he deserves to start alongside Mike Adams.

5. Bjoern Werner finally had his day, and every Colts fan rejoiced. Against UDFA James Hurst or not, he brought the heat. A lot of pass rush was brought by other players too and hopefully this is used as momentum. Great effort by all pass rushers.

6. Jerrell Freeman is a huge addition coming back from his injury. Dude is a beast.

 

Great Job so far defense. Definitely playing like a Top 10 defense and everyone on that defense deserves credit.  

 

-GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!

[ProblChld32]

One thing i was worried about was stopping the run, They have played the run well. So far my overall thoughts on the defense is they are playing well. Outside of the pass rush which is now picking up a bit everything is else is pretty much on point. We are forcing Turnovers, in the past few weeks pressuring and getting to the QB. Most importantly stopping and containing the run. i would grade the defense so far a B.

[ColtStronger]

The Colts are far from the only team who struggles against TEs. The TE position has changed so much over the last few years it really amazing. Most of the TEs are huge in size and very athletic. Hard to cover for just about any defense.

I definitely understand that, but just because were mismatched doesn't mean it is okay.  You're right alot of teams struggle defending TE's, I was just commenting that if that wasn't a weakness, we wouldn't really have one.

[ColtStronger]

Hate to see Landry off the PEDs

I don't think they really helped him at all, besides making him stronger.  He hasn't laid anyone out or caused fumbles, so I believe when he comes back he will be a similar player.  Which isn't extraordinary news, because he wasn't playing at a high level.  If he can make sure tackles and not get beat in coverage too often I will be happy.  He is very capable of doing that.

[Smash Mouth]

They have been really good on 3rd down. Much of that is because they are better against the run on 1st and 2nd down.  So far we have seen that TEs and speed out of the back field are problem areas for the team.  That's on the LBs.  Luckily the AFC South doesn't have a Sproles- or Shady-like presence or QB-TE combo that could exploit these weaknesses.  I'm interested to see how the defense handles Foster on Thursday after a tough physical game on Sunday.  Toler and Davis have been good through the 5 game.  Hopefully Vontae has matured and will remain consistent.  If the defense can count on him game in and game out - and - Toler stays healthy - then Manusky can remain aggressive with his blitz packages.  IMO this is key because we can't be sure that Werner has turned the corner yet.  He looks promising though.

[jvan1973]

The lack of Mathis I think will really hurt in the long run. They have to get creative to generate a pass rush and leave themselves vulnerable to the really good QB's. If Werner plays like he did on Sunday the missing Mathis factor is mitigated but I have to see more than just one game against a back-up tackle to see if that is the rule now or just the exception.

I think the lack of coverage from ILB's is also a factor that will haunt the D. Freeman back helps but there are still good, athletic TE's on the horizon that will cause match up problems for Jackson, McNary & company.

The thing they do really well is cover WR's with Toler and Jackson. That combo allows them flexibility to blitz or in coverage with others that they would not have otherwise. Add Butler to that mix and they have maybe the best 3 in the league.

Long winded way of saying - they have some warts and some true beauty marks but so does everyone else.

So.... losing Mathis isn't a good thing?

[Dark Superman]

So.... losing Mathis isn't a good thing?

Losing our defensive leader and best player is never a good thing.

[throwing BBZ]

Run D looks good

 

Vontae is a shutdown corner

 

The safety situation has to be addressed

 

It's fine if they say they're going to role with Sergio, but they've got to draft a safety. Gotta get some continuity there instead of just sticking with what we have in house just because. Draft a young guy, and then make a commitment on another.

 

 You are probably one of the many here who didnt acknowledge the existence of Doyle, M Hughes, Sergio.

 Sticking with guys "just Because". that is so _____ it`s funny!

 Lets make a commitment to develop Dewey, how about that. Howell might be playing good now if....

  You kids!

[throwing BBZ]

The lack of Mathis I think will really hurt in the long run. They have to get creative to generate a pass rush and leave themselves vulnerable to the really good QB's. If Werner plays like he did on Sunday the missing Mathis factor is mitigated but I have to see more than just one game against a back-up tackle to see if that is the rule now or just the exception.

I think the lack of coverage from ILB's is also a factor that will haunt the D. Freeman back helps but there are still good, athletic TE's on the horizon that will cause match up problems for Jackson, McNary & company.

The thing they do really well is cover WR's with Toler and Jackson. That combo allows them flexibility to blitz or in coverage with others that they would not have otherwise. Add Butler to that mix and they have maybe the best 3 in the league.

Long winded way of saying - they have some warts and some true beauty marks but so does everyone else.

 

 I remember the 85 Bears got all their pass rush from the front 4  ;-)

 Jackson And NcNary are poor in pass coverage that is for sure. ILB at the top of our draft, oh ya!

[jvan1973]

I remember the 85 Bears got all their pass rush from the front 4 ;-)

Jackson And NcNary are poor in pass coverage that is for sure. ILB at the top of our draft, oh ya!

Otis Wilson and Wilbur Marshall got a lot of sacks for the bears. Buddy Ryan blitzed a lot

[crazycolt1]

I definitely understand that, but just because were mismatched doesn't mean it is okay.  You're right alot of teams struggle defending TE's, I was just commenting that if that wasn't a weakness, we wouldn't really have one.

OK but my point is that all NFL teams struggle against good TEs. That is why players like Graham, Gronk, Thomas, Olson, Bennett and after years of being great, Gates are almost impossible to cover.  Gonzo had the 2nd most catches in the NFL and he faced the best defenses bar none. So as you can see by the stats that there has been no defenses over a very long period of time that can cover top TEs. There is no LB that can cover the top TEs on any level on a regular bases. So your comment not only covers the Colts, it covers every team in the NFL.