Is it poor coaching or poor execution?

[RockThatBlue]

As to why our offense played very bad the last month of the season?

Who do you blame?

[tomloge]

Probably a combination of both the coaching and the execution.  

[pacolts56]

As to why our offense played very bad the last month of the season?

Who do you blame?

Well.....the inconsistency on the O-line is a product of injuries and the inexperience of young, developing O-linemen....and it's been the case on and off all season.

 

And that's not so much me playing the "blame game"....it's just a fact when a young team absorbs injuries there. Compounding it of course is a less-than-imposing set of options at RB, which doesn't need any further discussion.

 

And Reggie dinged up hasn't helped at all.

 

But continuity starts up front....and whether anyone likes it or not....that doesn't happen overnight, even without injuries.

[crazycolt1]

Maybe a lack of top notch players? Maybe the Colts are not as good as some thought they were? Luck and the Colts have over achieved since the day Luck stepped onto the field and some don't see it. I don't see why so many expect the Colts to be a top tier team when they are still in the process of building. The Colts are at the end of year 3 in a 5 year process. A lot are way too negative and expect results when they refuse to see the bigger picture. Has there been another team in the history of the NFL that has went 11-5 it's first 3 season after a total rebuild? We have 2 kickers and Wayne left on the roster from the 2-14 team but yet some think building a top tier team is as easy as snapping your fingers. The Colts lack seasoned veteran players across the board and it shows.

[Bluefire4]

Execution. Bad O line, errant and dropped passes.

[pacolts56]

Maybe a lack of top notch players? Maybe the Colts are not as good as some thought they were? Luck and the Colts have over achieved since the day Luck stepped onto the field and some don't see it. I don't see why so many expect the Colts to be a top tier team when they are still in the process of building. The Colts are at the end of year 3 in a 5 year process. A lot are way too negative and expect results when they refuse to see the bigger picture. Has there been another team in the history of the NFL that has went 11-5 it's first 3 season after a total rebuild? We have 2 kickers and Wayne left on the roster from the 2-14 team but yet some think building a top tier team is as easy as snapping your fingers. The Colts lack seasoned veteran players across the board and it shows.

Yep.

 

Just for perspective....Jimmy Johnson didn't even do it in Dallas with Troy Aikman, Emmit Smith, Michael Irvin and Daryl Johnston already on board.

 

And NO salary cap.

[Nesjan3]

Maybe a lack of top notch players? Maybe the Colts are not as good as some thought they were? Luck and the Colts have over achieved since the day Luck stepped onto the field and some don't see it. I don't see why so many expect the Colts to be a top tier team when they are still in the process of building. The Colts are at the end of year 3 in a 5 year process. A lot are way too negative and expect results when they refuse to see the bigger picture. Has there been another team in the history of the NFL that has went 11-5 it's first 3 season after a total rebuild? We have 2 kickers and Wayne left on the roster from the 2-14 team but yet some think building a top tier team is as easy as snapping your fingers. The Colts lack seasoned veteran players across the board and it shows.

very good point, you forgot mathis though

[oldunclemark]

As to why our offense played very bad the last month of the season?

Who do you blame?

we don't have a very good offensive line..the line has been hit my injry..and the season wears hardest on the lines...

I don't blame anybody..

...probably because I think the playoffs (at least game one) will go well

[sfergson727]

Yes.  Both are to blame, but probably the coaches deserve a bit more than half.

[crazycolt1]

very good point, you forgot mathis though

I didn't forget Mathis. He is on the IR and is irrelevant to the Colts at this time.

[Bravo]

Execution...

No offensive line.

[twfish]

Maybe a lack of top notch players? Maybe the Colts are not as good as some thought they were? Luck and the Colts have over achieved since the day Luck stepped onto the field and some don't see it. I don't see why so many expect the Colts to be a top tier team when they are still in the process of building. The Colts are at the end of year 3 in a 5 year process. A lot are way too negative and expect results when they refuse to see the bigger picture. Has there been another team in the history of the NFL that has went 11-5 it's first 3 season after a total rebuild? We have 2 kickers and Wayne left on the roster from the 2-14 team but yet some think building a top tier team is as easy as snapping your fingers. The Colts lack seasoned veteran players across the board and it shows.

This though

[throwing BBZ]

Run it to the left, run it to the right, and run it up the middle.
Is blocking this that different from college? After 3 years of dodoo, it is time for new line coaches. JMO of course.

[twfish]

Run it to the left, run it to the right, and run it up the middle.

Is blocking this that different from college? After 3 years of dodoo, it is time for new line coaches. JMO of course.

I agree with a new o line coach

[masterlock]

It's part coaching AND part execution, but more than that, it's about lacking talent at key positions, most notably offensive line. Part of that is bad luck (injuries to Donald Thomas and Gosder Cherilus) and part of it is failure to build sufficient depth.

 

That said, it's been 3 years, and there reaches a point where the excuses run out, and it becomes clear that poor management/poor decision-making is the real problem. If we're not there yet, it won't be long.

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

Isn't poor execution poor coaching?

[crazycolt1]

Isn't poor execution poor coaching?

No matter how much a player is coached if he don't have the talent it makes no difference.

[Superman]

Execution. Bad O line, errant and dropped passes.

Add fumbles to that list.

[Two_pound]

I'm new on this forum, but I can't understand one thing about all this whining about this Colt team. If this team is so devoid of talent, so lacking in coaching in apparently all areas of the team, head coach, coordinators, possition coaches. How in the world have we gone 11-5 three seasons in a row? Reading what some of you guys constantly put on here I'd swear we have gone 2-14 these past 4 seasons. You guys are either all pat fans or are employees of the nfl trying to convince Colt fans that our team sucks. Guess what, it's not working. Not only that we finished 2nd in the afc in total offense this year and we finished ahead of both the pats and steelers in total defense, so those two teams must really suck!

[Cynjin]

Isn't poor execution poor coaching?

 

Not necessarily, but a possibility yes.

[sb2001]

I don't blame anyone. I'm enjoying being a very fortunate Colts fan that usually gets to watch his team in the playoffs over and over and over again. Didn't expect this with such a new, young team this fast. Though, It does suck when they lose. A SuperBowl this year would just be redonkulous!

[SOMDColtsfan]

I called "sloppy play" even in big wins against the likes of Jacksonville. Called "negative thinking" but whatever. This team does not play disciplined football and hasn't all year. Who is to blame? It starts with the coaches

[Smonroe]

Run it to the left, run it to the right, and run it up the middle.

Is blocking this that different from college? After 3 years of dodoo, it is time for new line coaches. JMO of course.

It's light year different from college.

But I agree, maybe someone else can make it work.

Wilson gets hit more than Luck, we have better receivers and TEs, but they make the run game work. And it's not just because of Lynch.

[CanuckColt]

Poor coaching can lead to poor execution...probably quite a bit of this in the Colts case.

[GoColts8818]

I say a little bit of both.  I will say I have seen some questionable play calls at time but mostly I've seen poor execution that gets blamed as poor coaching.  The one area I do fault the coaches for is that I do think the Colts are a bit undisciplined and it shows up with the penalties. 

[GoColts8818]

Isn't poor execution poor coaching?

Not really.  A good example is the Cowboys game and the fake punt that was a great play call at the perfect time as it caught the Cowboys completely off guard and was going to be a huge play but the guy didn't catch the ball.  That's poor execution which falls on the players not the coaches. 

[OLD FAN MAN]

No matter how much a player is coached if he don't have the talent it makes no difference.

above average talent can make any  coach look great, a great coach cant make below average talent look great

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

No matter how much a player is coached if he don't have the talent it makes no difference.

Coaches adapt to the players talent levels. And get them to execute to the level of which they are capable.

[jvan1973]

Poor coaching can lead to poor execution...probably quite a bit of this in the Colts case.

Can you provide some insight?

[oldunclemark]

I don't blame anyone. I'm enjoying being a very fortunate Colts fan that usually gets to watch his team in the playoffs over and over and over again. Didn't expect this with such a new, young team this fast. Though, It does suck when they lose. A SuperBowl this year would just be redonkulous!

I agree

The games that matter are in January....you have to get there and play well..

..and Sunday, we did

[NewColtsFan]

I'd say more poor execution than poor coaching.

 

I haven't been wild about Pep's play calling for a while now,  but, that said,  I think the biggest problem is the inconsistancy on the o-line.

 

But THAT, I believe, has been brought about by the fact that today was the 17th game and the 11th different o-line combination that we've started.

 

11 different o-line combos this year.     That's a recipe for disaster.

 

The o-line needs time working together to gain any cohesiveness and they haven't had it all year.    It's taken a huge toll.

 

Hopefully the o-line we started today will stay the same throughout the playoffs.    That might go a long way toward better o-line play.    And if we get that,  we might have our top rated offense back in gear.  

 

Still,   that's a lot of question marks.....

[jet1968]

^{Three 11 win seasons in a row.  They are getting there. Probably need a few upgrades but they are getting there.}

 

^{I was a Colts fan pre Manning era.}

[crazycolt1]

Coaches adapt to the players talent levels. And get them to execute to the level of which they are capable.

No matter what the coach does if the player don't have the talent, it speaks for itself. Being capable or lack there of is not on the coach.

[Jdubu]

No matter what the coach does if the player don't have the talent, it speaks for itself. Being capable or lack there of is not on the coach.

Then if you are picking players to put on the field that is on the coaching. Yes the GM initially may (hopefully collectively) pick players for the team, it is still on the coaches to put out the best guys on the team. We have seen TRich trotted out all year in futility, we've seen Shipley sit while we paraded out a garbage satele (last year) then we've seen AQ play, get benched for Harrison only to see our GM's "center of the future" ride the inactive list and now come in and out play both the other guys. It really makes you question what matrix these coaches use to get the best players on the field at times.

 

Saying that, if a player has little talent, no coach will make him a super star but he should be able to set him up for enough success in a system. If you don't believe that, see the Pats system players and the long list of Dungy system players who left here to fail terribly elsewhere. Great coaches make average players better. Great players can influence games but usually stand out as the bright star of the team. We see that a lot in Luck and with Manning. Those guys have made their teams much better than they are.

[crazycolt1]

Then if you are picking players to put on the field that is on the coaching. Yes the GM initially may (hopefully collectively) pick players for the team, it is still on the coaches to put out the best guys on the team. We have seen TRich trotted out all year in futility, we've seen Shipley sit while we paraded out a garbage satele (last year) then we've seen AQ play, get benched for Harrison only to see our GM's "center of the future" ride the inactive list and now come in and out play both the other guys. It really makes you question what matrix these coaches use to get the best players on the field at times.

 

Saying that, if a player has little talent, no coach will make him a super star but he should be able to set him up for enough success in a system. If you don't believe that, see the Pats system players and the long list of Dungy system players who left here to fail terribly elsewhere. Great coaches make average players better. Great players can influence games but usually stand out as the bright star of the team. We see that a lot in Luck and with Manning. Those guys have made their teams much better than they are.

The Pats have let a lot of players walk because they wasn't good enough to play their system. It's not a knock on Belichick but he has been known to hoard a lot of draft picks and have them not work out. Belichicks view I think is the more the better to chose from. Belichick has had years to build his team. How long has the Colts been doing it?

[Jdubu]

Look back at the players BB has put in games and do well. Recall them putting the wr in as a db and cover Marv I believe. I am pointing out that a great coach is better when he can put players in positions to succeed in a scheme rather than depending on a bunch of talented athletes to be on the same team to win it for a poor coach with a whistle.

[cmgww]

Some on the coaching, but more on execution, Pep, IMO, adjusted well this year given the circumstances. He stopped trying the run his "power run" Stanford college thing like last year, and the Colts are near or at the top of the NFL in most categories (except running). Losing Thomas hurt, and Cherlius played hurt for a good part of the season. If those two were healthy I think the running game would have been a lot better. Of course losing Bradshaw really hurt too. Reggie isn't himself either. I just think, on offense, we are really young and the guys need some more "seasoning" Coby is coming along, TY is a big play threat (despite the drops), and Moncrief is getting there. As for the sloppiness and penalties, who knows? Last year we were one of the least penalized teams, this year the complete opposite. Last season we finished +13 in giveaway/takeaway, this year -5...I don't have answers for those issues