Changes NEED to be made to become a SERIOUS threat

[bluephantom87]

If the Colts are satisfied with stats against subpar teams or by winning a bad AFC south title every year UNTIL the Texans decide to get a qb then stand pat and do nothing. This coaching staff is SERVICEABLE in a weak division and benefits from having a franchise qb. Coming into todays game most said the Colts would ATTACK the Cowboys weak secondary with a SPREAD HURRY UP passing game FORCING Romo into a shootout and making some mistakes. The Colts came in with a banged up o-line that couldn't run block on a consistent basis BEFORE the injuries but chose to start the game with THREE straight run plays losing yds after letting the Cowboys march straight down the field on their opening drive for 7pts. (penalty included) To make matters worse Patty Mac PASSED on a 4th down fake punt deep in their own territory ONLY to be dropped (recurring theme throughout the game) and the rout was on!!! I'm 50/50 on Chuck and would really think hard on Harbaugh who's led the Niners to a SB including 3 conference finals plus he has ties with the Colts, Luck and Pep. My problem with Chuck is his REFUSAL to put the best players on the field and his inability to recognize that the passing game gives THIS the best chance to win. Focus on the o-line in the off season and get some big "NASTIES" for the run game but in the meantime RIDE your strength like the Packers. Use the pass to set up the run. Greg Mac must go as dc. Against the bottom feeders or teams with avg qbs the defense looks ok but against the elite offenses they are bad to put it mildly which is why he has lost his job at other stops. Get Rex Ryan ASAP as dc when the season is over before hoody adds him to the Pats staff because the man can coach defense. Pep has regressed in his play calling. Where is the no huddle or spread formations? All I see mostly is two wide (with Reggie looking bad due to injury) two te sets or bunch formations. The only coach deserving kudos is the special teams coach! Oh well on the bright side we play the Titans next week.   

[The Peytonator]

All in all it was, just some text in a wall.

[ColtsBTM12]

All in all it was, just some text in a wall.

Mr Irsay? Is that you?

[lennymoore24]

All in all it was, just some text in a wall.

Brilliant!

[HungarianColtsFan]

If the Colts are satisfied with stats against subpar teams or by winning a bad AFC south title every year UNTIL the Texans decide to get a qb then stand pat and do nothing. This coaching staff is SERVICEABLE in a weak division and benefits from having a franchise qb. Coming into todays game most said the Colts would ATTACK the Cowboys weak secondary with a SPREAD HURRY UP passing game FORCING Romo into a shootout and making some mistakes. The Colts came in with a banged up o-line that couldn't run block on a consistent basis BEFORE the injuries but chose to start the game with THREE straight run plays losing yds after letting the Cowboys march straight down the field on their opening drive for 7pts. (penalty included) To make matters worse Patty Mac PASSED on a 4th down fake punt deep in their own territory ONLY to be dropped (recurring theme throughout the game) and the rout was on!!! I'm 50/50 on Chuck and would really think hard on Harbaugh who's led the Niners to a SB including 3 conference finals plus he has ties with the Colts, Luck and Pep. My problem with Chuck is his REFUSAL to put the best players on the field and his inability to recognize that the passing game gives THIS the best chance to win. Focus on the o-line in the off season and get some big "NASTIES" for the run game but in the meantime RIDE your strength like the Packers. Use the pass to set up the run. Greg Mac must go as dc. Against the bottom feeders or teams with avg qbs the defense looks ok but against the elite offenses they are bad to put it mildly which is why he has lost his job at other stops. Get Rex Ryan ASAP as dc when the season is over before hoody adds him to the Pats staff because the man can coach defense. Pep has regressed in his play calling. Where is the no huddle or spread formations? All I see mostly is two wide (with Reggie looking bad due to injury) two te sets or bunch formations. The only coach deserving kudos is the special teams coach! Oh well on the bright side we play the Titans next week.   

 

Please don't expect anything big. We will win by a small margin, coaching staff won't risk starters', especially Luck's health.

[bluephantom87]

Please don't expect anything big. We will win by a small margin, coaching staff won't risk starters', especially Luck's health.

Agree but even with backups the Colts probably will win this game close FURTHER masking the problems on offense lately and teasing the fans on defense by holding another bad offensive team in the AFC south to low points. I'm starting to wonder about Chuck with the Ravens as dc. (for one season I believe) Was he simply "next man up" following Marvin Lewis and Rex Ryan on a team whose defense already had the likes of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Ngata and Suggs? As a coach Harbaugh was a play away from winning a SB with the Niners who had about a decade prior to him of bad football but led them to 3 straight conference finals in three years. He also put Stanford in national conversation and top 4 ranking with a young guy named Luck as his qb. Come to think about it Harbaugh led a rag tag bunch of underdog Colts (as an over achieving nfl qb "Captain Comeback") to ONE final play from a SB on the road against the Steelers. I don't want to hear about high maintenance the man breathes football and is a winner on the cusp of being a great coach because of his football IQ.  

[HungarianColtsFan]

Agree but even with backups the Colts probably will win this game close FURTHER masking the problems on offense lately and teasing the fans on defense by holding another bad offensive team in the AFC south to low points. I'm starting to wonder about Chuck with the Ravens as dc. (for one season I believe) Was he simply "next man up" following Marvin Lewis and Rex Ryan on a team whose defense already had the likes of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Ngata and Suggs? As a coach Harbaugh was a play away from winning a SB with the Niners who had about a decade prior to him of bad football but led them to 3 straight conference finals in three years. He also put Stanford in national conversation and top 4 ranking with a young guy named Luck as his qb. Come to think about it Harbaugh led a rag tag bunch of underdog Colts (as an over achieving nfl qb "Captain Comeback") to ONE final play from a SB on the road against the Steelers. I don't want to hear about high maintenance the man breathes football and is a winner on the cusp of being a great coach because of his football IQ.  

 

Well, watching last few games only a stone-wall could mask the shortcomings of our O-line, not to mention the running game.

 

As for Harbough and 49ers: In my Opinion brand new style of read-option playing running QBs gave him an edge over the others. Kaepernick was called Kaepernickus...etc. Now read-option and running QBs were figured out pretty well, and Keap doesn't excels as a pocket passer..and Harbough is on his way out from SF. 

Obviously Pagano had more talent on defense with Ravens, but making something out of nothing...? Not every coach can do that, and IMO Hatrbough can do that neither. We are at the very beginning of a road, there's still a lot to be built. A serviceable OL for instance...and I wouldn't mind more CB talent as well, not to mention safeties. 

 

As a bottom line this season is a disappointing to me so far, as the team can't live up to the talent it has. Colts are wildly inconsistent, I hardly can recall games when both O and D played well, but there were several total meltdowns. I don't have enough football knowledge to assess whether it is coaching or nature of playing young/rookie players. 

[GwinnettColt]

All in all it was, just some text in a wall.

 

We don't need no better lineman. 

We don't need no coaching staff.

 

Lots of passes get by our defensive backs.

Linebackers leave those running backs alone.

[crazycolt1]

Well, watching last few games only a stone-wall could mask the shortcomings of our O-line, not to mention the running game.

 

As for Harbough and 49ers: In my Opinion brand new style of read-option playing running QBs gave him an edge over the others. Kaepernick was called Kaepernickus...etc. Now read-option and running QBs were figured out pretty well, and Keap doesn't excels as a pocket passer..and Harbough is on his way out from SF. 

Obviously Pagano had more talent on defense with Ravens, but making something out of nothing...? Not every coach can do that, and IMO Hatrbough can do that neither. We are at the very beginning of a road, there's still a lot to be built. A serviceable OL for instance...and I wouldn't mind more CB talent as well, not to mention safeties. 

 

As a bottom line this season is a disappointing to me so far, as the team can't live up to the talent it has. Colts are wildly inconsistent, I hardly can recall games when both O and D played well, but there were several total meltdowns. I don't have enough football knowledge to assess whether it is coaching or nature of playing young/rookie players. 

I think it is the combination of all thing listed. The reality is the Colts are not as good as a lot of fan base wants them to be. The Colts have been over achieving since Luck stepped on the field. The Colts are at the end of year three of a five year plan. It takes five years on average to start from scratch to build a great team. I kind of thought that was common knowledge in the NFL myself. Rookie GM, all the coaches except for one and all new players. In reality there are going to be bumps in the road. There are only 4 players left from the 2-14 team. Two of those players are kickers, one is on IR and one has been injured. Yes there have been QBs who had success starting out. But how many of those QBs started out on a team full of veterans and all star players? That is something Luck hasn't had the luxury of.

[HungarianColtsFan]

I think it is the combination of all thing listed. The reality is the Colts are not as good as a lot of fan base wants them to be. The Colts have been over achieving since Luck stepped on the field. The Colts are at the end of year three of a five year plan. It takes five years on average to start from scratch to build a great team. I kind of thought that was common knowledge in the NFL myself. Rookie GM, all the coaches except for one and all new players. In reality there are going to be bumps in the road. There are only 4 players left from the 2-14 team. Two of those players are kickers, one is on IR and one has been injured. Yes there have been QBs who had success starting out. But how many of those QBs started out on a team full of veterans and all star players? That is something Luck hasn't had the luxury of.

 

I totally agree. Lots of overreaction here. I mean here, on the forum.

Edited December 22, 2014 by HungarianColtsFan

[Nred76]

I saw Laron Landry back pedalling 10 yards, when Dallas was on 5 for that Terrance Williams TD BEFORE THE BALL WAS SNAPPED! He doesn't want to cover anybody, and only...wants to tackle. I'm done with the wanna be GQ model, who only wants camera time, rather than playing time.

[sfergson727]

I think it is the combination of all thing listed. The reality is the Colts are not as good as a lot of fan base wants them to be. The Colts have been over achieving since Luck stepped on the field. The Colts are at the end of year three of a five year plan. It takes five years on average to start from scratch to build a great team. I kind of thought that was common knowledge in the NFL myself. Rookie GM, all the coaches except for one and all new players. In reality there are going to be bumps in the road. There are only 4 players left from the 2-14 team. Two of those players are kickers, one is on IR and one has been injured. Yes there have been QBs who had success starting out. But how many of those QBs started out on a team full of veterans and all star players? That is something Luck hasn't had the luxury of.

If it takes five years to rebuild into a monster, then we are waaaayyy behind schedule.

[NewColtsFan]

If the Colts are satisfied with stats against subpar teams or by winning a bad AFC south title every year UNTIL the Texans decide to get a qb then stand pat and do nothing. This coaching staff is SERVICEABLE in a weak division and benefits from having a franchise qb. Coming into todays game most said the Colts would ATTACK the Cowboys weak secondary with a SPREAD HURRY UP passing game FORCING Romo into a shootout and making some mistakes. The Colts came in with a banged up o-line that couldn't run block on a consistent basis BEFORE the injuries but chose to start the game with THREE straight run plays losing yds after letting the Cowboys march straight down the field on their opening drive for 7pts. (penalty included) To make matters worse Patty Mac PASSED on a 4th down fake punt deep in their own territory ONLY to be dropped (recurring theme throughout the game) and the rout was on!!! I'm 50/50 on Chuck and would really think hard on Harbaugh who's led the Niners to a SB including 3 conference finals plus he has ties with the Colts, Luck and Pep. My problem with Chuck is his REFUSAL to put the best players on the field and his inability to recognize that the passing game gives THIS the best chance to win. Focus on the o-line in the off season and get some big "NASTIES" for the run game but in the meantime RIDE your strength like the Packers. Use the pass to set up the run. Greg Mac must go as dc. Against the bottom feeders or teams with avg qbs the defense looks ok but against the elite offenses they are bad to put it mildly which is why he has lost his job at other stops. Get Rex Ryan ASAP as dc when the season is over before hoody adds him to the Pats staff because the man can coach defense. Pep has regressed in his play calling. Where is the no huddle or spread formations? All I see mostly is two wide (with Reggie looking bad due to injury) two te sets or bunch formations. The only coach deserving kudos is the special teams coach! Oh well on the bright side we play the Titans next week.   

 

You're not alone to say this,  and you're not the first to say this,  but once you start writing about Chuck's refusal to play the best players,   well,  after that it's a losing argument.

 

Why would a coach -- any coach -- refuse to play his best players?    So he can get fired quicker?    So he can lose the locker room?     Because that can happen....

 

What's the incentive for Chuck Pagano to refuse to play his best players?

 

Seriously,  even if you're the most knowledgeable fan here,  once you've decided that you know more than the coaches about how is better,  you lose me.......

 

Sorry.....

[Defjamz26]

Harbaugh is a QB whisperer though, I'll give him that. He made Alex Smith look good after most thought he was a bust. Then he had Kaepernick playing at a high level for half a season. He's not coming here though. I think it's already said and done that he's going to Oakland. Perfect situation. By the time he makes the Raiders competitive, he won't even have to worry about playing Manning twice a year because he'll be retired by then.

[ricker182]

Mr Irsay? Is that you?

Was that you saying Irsay tweeting the lyrics to The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" was some crypto way of saying he's done with TRICH?

You know, because that's not the Colts entrance song.

[conklincolt]

very true

 

If the Colts are satisfied with stats against subpar teams or by winning a bad AFC south title every year UNTIL the Texans decide to get a qb then stand pat and do nothing. This coaching staff is SERVICEABLE in a weak division and benefits from having a franchise qb. Coming into todays game most said the Colts would ATTACK the Cowboys weak secondary with a SPREAD HURRY UP passing game FORCING Romo into a shootout and making some mistakes. The Colts came in with a banged up o-line that couldn't run block on a consistent basis BEFORE the injuries but chose to start the game with THREE straight run plays losing yds after letting the Cowboys march straight down the field on their opening drive for 7pts. (penalty included) To make matters worse Patty Mac PASSED on a 4th down fake punt deep in their own territory ONLY to be dropped (recurring theme throughout the game) and the rout was on!!! I'm 50/50 on Chuck and would really think hard on Harbaugh who's led the Niners to a SB including 3 conference finals plus he has ties with the Colts, Luck and Pep. My problem with Chuck is his REFUSAL to put the best players on the field and his inability to recognize that the passing game gives THIS the best chance to win. Focus on the o-line in the off season and get some big "NASTIES" for the run game but in the meantime RIDE your strength like the Packers. Use the pass to set up the run. Greg Mac must go as dc. Against the bottom feeders or teams with avg qbs the defense looks ok but against the elite offenses they are bad to put it mildly which is why he has lost his job at other stops. Get Rex Ryan ASAP as dc when the season is over before hoody adds him to the Pats staff because the man can coach defense. Pep has regressed in his play calling. Where is the no huddle or spread formations? All I see mostly is two wide (with Reggie looking bad due to injury) two te sets or bunch formations. The only coach deserving kudos is the special teams coach! Oh well on the bright side we play the Titans next week.   

very true if we play in the afc east,west, we don't get in the playoffs at all, sometimes if we played the north.

[bluephantom87]

You're not alone to say this,  and you're not the first to say this,  but once you start writing about Chuck's refusal to play the best players,   well,  after that it's a losing argument.

 

Why would a coach -- any coach -- refuse to play his best players?    So he can get fired quicker?    So he can lose the locker room?     Because that can happen....

 

What's the incentive for Chuck Pagano to refuse to play his best players?

 

Seriously,  even if you're the most knowledgeable fan here,  once you've decided that you know more than the coaches about how is better,  you lose me.......

 

Sorry.....

Ok NewColtsFan let me clear this up. I never claimed to know MORE than the coach. I'm strictly going off the eye test. I know last year TY was an emerging star from his rookie season flourishing under Bruce yet when last season started he was on the bench so Stanley H could start at fb. Don't get me started on T Rich from last year to this year but his PRODUCTION doesn't JUSTIFY him starting. (good guy or not) I'm a big Reggie fan but why is he on the field instead of letting some of the injuries heal for the playoff run? The drops and non separation are hurting the offense more than helping at this point because you have a 50/50 shot for a completion with him. Nicks have looked better the last couple of weeks but that being said Moncrief is another burner who has shown enough flash that justifies him starting along with TY for matchup problems. I could go on but the point being to be a great coach you have to ADAPT (want to be a power run team but have passing personnel) and put the BEST players on the field PERIOD! Remember DHB? Enough said.

[TKnight24]

If anyone here really believes Pagano plays the BEST player's every week, they're outta their minds

[Sting]

For the Colts to be a true contender, they have to run the ball and protect Luck.

Taking a look at the OLine Giggs has assembled.

LT - Castanza was inherited. No grade here, Griggs had nothing to do with this.

LG.- Thomas has been injured the past 2 seasons. No grade here either, just bad luck.

C - We know all the guys they have trotted out here including the dumb signing of Costa - Big fat F here.

RG - Thornton, Reitz, Lewis, a who's who of nobodies - Reitz is better than the lot of them but he is injury prone.- generous D.

RT - Cherilus has been awful and Nixon has been worst. - F

3 years to fix this, and the best grade I can give Griggs is a D. Total failure in my opinion. This team needs to make fixing the OLine priority number 1, because if Luck gets sidelined, nothing else matters.

[Flash7]

For the Colts to be a true contender, they have to run the ball and protect Luck.

Taking a look at the OLine Giggs has assembled.

LT - Castanza was inherited. No grade here, Griggs had nothing to do with this.

LG.- Thomas has been injured the past 2 seasons. No grade here either, just bad luck.

C - We know all the guys they have trotted out here including the dumb signing of Costa - Big fat F here.

RG - Thornton, Reitz, Lewis, a who's who of nobodies - Reitz is better than the lot of them but he is injury prone.- generous D.

RT - Cherilus has been awful and Nixon has been worst. - F

3 years to fix this, and the best grade I can give Griggs is a D. Total failure in my opinion. This team needs to make fixing the OLine priority number 1, because if Luck gets sidelined, nothing else matters.

I fully agree. We've had three years.

 

2012: O-line = trash. It's okay, we're in a complete rebuild.

 

2013: O-line = trash. "It would've been fine if Thomas wasn't hurt". No, it would've still sucked with poor scheme and Satele starting, and Thomas was a back-up to begin with. We can't rest our hopes to protect the franchise QB with someone else's backup.

 

2014: O-line = trash. Thomas injured again, surprise!  Cherilus playing poorly. I wonder why everyone outside of the Colts organization ridiculed this move, especially considering what we're paying him. Center position is still an issue, so we're back to square 1 with our O-line problems.

 

I like Mewhort a lot and I think that's a step in the right direction. But, what a complete failure so far.

[tfunky14]

If anyone here really believes Pagano plays the BEST player's every week, they're outta their minds

I guess your at practice all the time

[TKnight24]

I guess your at practice all the time

Ah yes, take shots at me and continue to ignore the truth

[tfunky14]

Ah yes, take shots at me and continue to ignore the truth

I want straight 10's

[TKnight24]

I want straight 10's

I want to watch the Colts play a good football game

Can't have everything we want ;)

[GoColts8818]

For the Colts to be a true contender, they have to run the ball and protect Luck.

Taking a look at the OLine Giggs has assembled.

LT - Castanza was inherited. No grade here, Griggs had nothing to do with this.

LG.- Thomas has been injured the past 2 seasons. No grade here either, just bad luck.

C - We know all the guys they have trotted out here including the dumb signing of Costa - Big fat F here.

RG - Thornton, Reitz, Lewis, a who's who of nobodies - Reitz is better than the lot of them but he is injury prone.- generous D.

RT - Cherilus has been awful and Nixon has been worst. - F

3 years to fix this, and the best grade I can give Griggs is a D. Total failure in my opinion. This team needs to make fixing the OLine priority number 1, because if Luck gets sidelined, nothing else matters.

You left off Mewhort who has been very good for a rookie. It's also Castinzo not Castanza. GC was very good in Detroit and good here last year he's clearly been hurt as he's been missing games the last few weeks. He deserves another chance to show he can stay healthy and it was indeed just injures. Also no way Grigson knew Costa was going to retire when they signed him.

While I agree the line improvent has not been as good as we need it to be you are being highly unfair in a couple areas of your grading and seem to only be focusing in negatives and ignoring anything good that may have happened.

[chad72]

Rick Venturi was on 1070 AM again and he said the following:

 

i) OC needs to get creative on using Moncrief, not just go routes

 

ii) Moncrief should be #2 and Nicks should be our #3 based on him coming on lately as a possession wideout, NOT REGGIE WAYNE

 

iii) Trent should be used as our 3rd down back and Herron should be the back for the first 2 downs (personally, I would not mind them giving Tipton a chance as well on the first 2 downs).

 

iv) More runs should go to the left side than the right side with Castanzo and Mewhort, where we have the most continuity, and we can throw in toss runs too

 

v) Against elite teams, they have to mix up zone and power runs, not try to do the same blocking schemes over and over again, but execution is a bigger issue than scheme for our OL right now

 

vi) Against elite teams, they have to mix up zone and man coverage and not give the same looks, just lining up and hoping to beat them

 

 

I thought every single one of them were valid points.

[Sting]

You left off Mewhort who has been very good for a rookie. It's also Castinzo not Castanza. GC was very good in Detroit and good here last year he's clearly been hurt as he's been missing games the last few weeks. He deserves another chance to show he can stay healthy and it was indeed just injures. Also no way Grigson knew Costa was going to retire when they signed him.

While I agree the line improvent has not been as good as we need it to be you are being highly unfair in a couple areas of your grading and seem to only be focusing in negatives and ignoring anything good that may have happened.

Actually it's Castanzo. Costa was not much of, if even an upgrade over any of the guys we already had.

Right guard has been atrocious this year. Reitz is pretty much always getting injured and Thomas was a backup until he signed with the Colts and has been put on IR two years running. The center position has been bad since Saturday left. No, I think the grades are just about right in my opinion. I do have high hopes for Mewhort though.

[GoColts8818]

Actually it's Castanzo. Costa was not much of, if even an upgrade over any of the guys we already had.

Right guard has been atrocious this year. Reitz is pretty much always getting injured and Thomas was a backup until he signed with the Colts and has been put on IR two years running. The center position has been bad since Saturday left. No, I think the grades are just about right in my opinion. I do have high hopes for Mewhort though.

i didn't disput the idea right guard is bad. Honestly I think it's the worst spot on the line. Thornton has been a complete bust.

Grigson has a solid left side of the line in place. I think GC has struggled through an injury riddled season those happen. If he bounces back next year that's three spots down. That's better than you graded them. Still not great but better.

[ColtsBTM12]

Was that you saying Irsay tweeting the lyrics to The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" was some crypto way of saying he's done with TRICH?

You know, because that's not the Colts entrance song.

No, it's  because he put a lyrical twist on a classic rock song, and that's something that Irsay does on twitter all the time.

[akcolt]

I fully agree. We've had three years.

 

2012: O-line = trash. It's okay, we're in a complete rebuild.

 

2013: O-line = trash. "It would've been fine if Thomas wasn't hurt". No, it would've still sucked with poor scheme and Satele starting, and Thomas was a back-up to begin with. We can't rest our hopes to protect the franchise QB with someone else's backup.

 

2014: O-line = trash. Thomas injured again, surprise!  Cherilus playing poorly. I wonder why everyone outside of the Colts organization ridiculed this move, especially considering what we're paying him. Center position is still an issue, so we're back to square 1 with our O-line problems.

 

I like Mewhort a lot and I think that's a step in the right direction. But, what a complete failure so far.

We have 2 rookies and a second year guy starting we are building and winning while we do it What we need is a full draft we got one coming The Trent trade set us back but you can't turn chicken crap into chicken soup overnight and sustain it. We are OK we need a good draft and the guys we have to continue to grow. We are the 4 seed in the AFC there are 12 teams that would love to be where we are in the AFC alone

[bluephantom87]

Rick Venturi was on 1070 AM again and he said the following:

 

i) OC needs to get creative on using Moncrief, not just go routes

 

ii) Moncrief should be #2 and Nicks should be our #3 based on him coming on lately as a possession wideout, NOT REGGIE WAYNE

 

iii) Trent should be used as our 3rd down back and Herron should be the back for the first 2 downs (personally, I would not mind them giving Tipton a chance as well on the first 2 downs).

 

iv) More runs should go to the left side than the right side with Castanzo and Mewhort, where we have the most continuity, and we can throw in toss runs too

 

v) Against elite teams, they have to mix up zone and power runs, not try to do the same blocking schemes over and over again, but execution is a bigger issue than scheme for our OL right now

 

vi) Against elite teams, they have to mix up zone and man coverage and not give the same looks, just lining up and hoping to beat them

 

 

I thought every single one of them were valid points.

Agree!!!! Which all point to PERSONNEL on the field (coaches call) and GAME PLANNING. I knew national focus would come to the Colts by various football panels based on their atrocious outing Sunday against ANOTHER top tier team. Some "experts" (former or future HOF players as well as coaches) said that they LIKE Chuck as a person but are starting to QUESTION him as a hc because the team seems unprepared in the game plan for the opponent at hand and echoed some of the SAME points Rick stated on the radio. Good to great coaches do WHATEVER it takes to put their team into the BEST position to WIN any ball game PERIOD! If a team has a weak secondary you attack it. If a team has a WEAK o-line that CAN'T block and has little to NO run game with a VERY slow "power" back starting then you apply pressure to the qb via blindside hits forcing fumbles or by bringing heat up the middle to initiate bad throws, tipped passes or ints. The Colts SEE this EVERY WEEK but continue to start games by wasting downs and series trying to establish the run CONTRIBUTING to the slow starts. Against bad teams you can recover. Against good teams you get blown out and this defense gets exposed for lacking OVERALL talent with the exception of a few players. (keep in mind most of the highest paid on this roster reside on the defensive side of the ball) Luck has dealt with a bad o-line line for 3 yrs now and HOPEFULLY Grigs (a former lineman) will finally FULLY address this situation at seasons end because the way I see it they MIGHT have 2 keepers. The Colts should spread teams out, move Luck out of the pocket some and go hurry up. (in which he seems to excel) Make teams RESPECT the deep ball and passing game EARLY not just because it's 3rd and long. Since they will not SIT Reggie put him in motion to the inside along with Nicks for quick slants going forward along with Moncrief and TY outside to attack secondaries opening seams for Fleener or Allen against lbs. Don't wait till you're down by 14 or 21 pts to open up the offense. Use the PASS to set up the run with Boom and hit him on some pass plays out of the backfield. (like with Brown last year) Not many teams have the PERSONNEL (even the good ones) to deal with the Colts skill set in the passing game so unleash and go out swinging!

[Two_pound]

Why do so many people keep whining about the Colts division? The AFC north got to play the NFC south this year! Whoa baby, and do you people realize those tough Steelers who so many of you seem to be in awe of lost to the Browns, Bucs, Jest, and barely beat the Titans and Jags,oh, and the Texans. How did they beat the Colts? In the past 41 years what is the Colts record against the Steelers? Honestly, I hope we don't play them in the first round because our postseason record against them would fall to 0-6 all time.

[csmopar]

Does anyone actually think Irsay is reading this forum and is gonna listen?

[CanuckColt]

If it takes five years to rebuild into a monster, then we are waaaayyy behind schedule.

Yep...1/2 step forward last year...one step backward this year.

...and we certainly cannot afford any more 1st rounders like Werner...correction 3rd rounder in the 1st round because of a need.

[bluephantom87]

Yep...1/2 step forward last year...one step backward this year.

...and we certainly cannot afford any more 1st rounders like Werner...correction 3rd rounder in the 1st round because of a need.

The next draft needs to be a big one for the Colts going forward. Drafting offensive or defensive lineman are never sexy picks but this team needs some big "NASTIES" in the trenches. By that I mean guys who play with a ATTITUDE on the field. Some "dawgs" who play with controlled aggression! Like I said earlier this o-line MIGHT have 2 keepers and that's not saying much. Grigs needs to hit a couple of home runs with the o-line (1st priority) by drafting some durable IMPACT players who will be starters on opening day. Sure there will be growing pains but NOTHING can be worse than this below avg bunch they have now. Grab a BIG athletic nt for the d-line and the Colts will be headed in the right direction to make some noise going forward. Now COACHING on the other hand there's room for growth and I would definitely make a run for Rex as dc.  

[bap1331]

i guarantee you if we put in the backups, this team would be high caliber.

[Indyboy757]

To be brutally honest we have a number of issues first I dont think our coaches are doing a good job perparing the team for Sunday's and to me thats a clear reflection of the head coaches duties. This has been an issue going back to last year, not being prepared on game day. Secondly our FA signings are biting us in the butt, and thats on the GM. Guys like Thomas-G, Landry-S, Jean Francois-DE even Walden and Jackson have all been bad signings when you take into acount how much they are getting paid. Toler has been our best signing but he can go down any day, this year is the most he has played without season ending injury in his career. Truth is we need a really good offseason of draft picks and Free agents.Our coaches love to talk about stopping the run and running the ball but we need the proper personnel in order to execut these goals and not guys with low risk high reward. We get what we pay for and in our case we have givin more then we have gotten back. I was very upset when we loss to the Pats this season, not because of the loss but how we loss.

They embarrassed us in the playoff last year by running for over 245yds. We had an offseason to get right so how the hell do you allow them to run for 250yds the very next season. Two years in a row we cant stop the run and we cant run the ball to me thats not acceptable. We are thin at ILB/CB for the second stright year and why is Nicks still the #2 WR, thats what I'm talking about when I say low rick high reward players like Nicks, Avery and DHB? I love Pagano but I'm starting to wonder if he is the right man for the job. The last thing I think Colt fans want to see is the front office waste Lucks years away with year after year of mediocre talent low risk high reward players that wont elevate the strength of the team. This years FA class has some very good players, but if we fellow years past plan it will be another year of wth are they doing? Its time the FO stops lying to themselfs and parts ways with players like Wayne,Redding,Thomas, Landry, Jean francis, Cherilus even Hasselbeck hell even the low risk guys like Nicks,Bradshaw. Get Luck, Hilton and Fleener signed to team freindly deals which can be done and go after guys in FA and the Draft that really make the colts a better teams rather then guys  that just mask our true issues. 

[Indyboy757]

We need 11 players this offseason maybe12: T-G-WR-WR-RB-RB-S-CB-ILB-DE-OLB and maybe C.

7 draft picks 5 FAs. Here is a list of the players the team need to let walk.

G- Thomas

T-Cherilus

WR- Wayne

WR-Nicks

RB-Boom

RB-Bradshaw

S-Landry

DE-Redding

DE-Jean Francois

OLB-Walden

[funktacious2]

Hypothetically IF we go 1 and done in the playoffs, then yeah... something has got to change. My only dilemma is that I don't really know what's the bigger problem, the coaching and schemes or the players. I think Pep and Manusky have shown great potential, and I think our rosters, especially defensively looks far from elite on paper (heck V. Davis and Mathis should have been our only guys who were considered among the top of their positions. I swear that when our defense plays good I think a lot of it is just their power of will. It's something the Colts have always been good at. If your play for the Colts you play to win. I think talent wise we're getting a lot out of some of them that outshines the money we pay them or the draft pick we spent on them. However, when we lose (other than the New England game where we were manhandled up front) it doesn't feel like it's due to lack of talent, it feels like it comes down to too many error and mental mistakes. I'm really disappointed this season because while we have 10 wins and that seems nice, they're all against teams ranked as "lesser" than us, and we were unable to beat any of the teams that matched up against us (Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New England, and Dallas). While in some ways it's great because at least we didn't lose any games to teams that outright stink, but when you want to win a superbowl, it's certainly concerning when you lose to the other contenders (and in some cases get blown out). I don't know if I'd want to get rid of Pep or Manusky because they stink, because I think they're good coaches, but if we think we can find someone better then I think Pep and Manusky have been given enough time. Otherwise, I think our change next year is in players, and hopefully a full draft can add some much need depth. As of right now our O-line needs a lot of love this off season, and our defense needs more game changers and depth.

[a06cc]

Castonzo doesn't fit our scheme of a power LT. He is a zone blocker.