Run Defense

[ColtsBTM12]

Is it just me or did the run defense look improved on Sunday? If an outsider just looked at the box score, you probably would have thought that it was the same old Colts but they passed the eye test to me. Outside of the 26 yard Carlos Williams TD (in which our defense was on the field for like 10 minutes) I thought the run defense looked mostly stout. We seemed to set the edge better on the outside and I was particularly impressed with Kendall Langford and Henry Anderson (who was a huge bright spot leading the team in tackles with 8) making several tackles for loss.We held Lesean McCoy to 17 rushes for only 41 yards (2.4 ypc). Sunday was a tough day for the Colts, we gave up some big plays in the passing game and horribly lost the field position battle but both of those things can be corrected (especially when Toler and Smith get healthy). I still am optimistic about the defense this season and think it can be the best we've had in the Pagano era so far.

[GwinnettColt]

It didn't look too bad to me with the exception of a couple of breakaway runs.  The defense was also getting into the backfield more often, they just couldn't tackle Taylor.  

[Smurphy1]

I think having a QB who can scramble well threw a bit of a wrench into the run defense. We should have a better idea with a run happy jets team and a statue fitzmagic.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

There was one tackle in particular from Anderson that caught my eye. He was able to reach out with one hand and bring down LeSean McCoy by his hip, he didn't even really have a good grip, and that just jumped out at me. Anderson is strong, and I'm really looking forward to him progress throughout the season.

[jabbanobadda]

I agree....but then again, I'm a shameless homer.

[Solon]

Yeah it definitely looked impressive.The line was very explosive. However, Freeman is a liability. He keeps overrunning the play.

[southwest1]

It didn't look too bad to me with the exception of a couple of breakaway runs.  The defense was also getting into the backfield more often, they just couldn't tackle Taylor.  

Ah huh, I knew he had good legs & decent speed, but it's been so long since I saw him in action in Baltimore that I under estimated how elusive he really was. INDY defenders looked like they were chasing after him in cement. Not a knock on our guys BTW; Taylor just had another gear that we just didn't possess on Sunday that's all. 

[NewEra]

The big runs that broke were poor lber play. The line did I their job.

[chad72]

I saw a lot of stalemates at the line and the LBs couldn't finish the job. Lots of disruption in the backfield, and again, the LBs couldn't finish the job. DL and LBs cannot operate in a vacuum, have to find the right chemistry and hopefully the gaps too .

[Grigs build the lines plz.]

It's a new one gap system with new players on the line, there will be growing pains

and the defense will get better as the year goes on, now the run offense on

the other hand......

[chrisfarley]

I think having a QB who can scramble well threw a bit of a wrench into the run defense. We should have a better idea with a run happy jets team and a statue fitzmagic.

the team knew this, prepared for it (supposedly), had plenty of time to prepare.  Knew what they were getting into with a fast Taylor, but yet......we still got rolled.  The Jets present a different set of challenges.  So if the Jets catch us off guard and run over us, what do we say then?

[backshoulderfade]

Im ready for Irving and Sio. Line is good

[southwest1]

the team knew this, prepared for it (supposedly), had plenty of time to prepare.  Knew what they were getting into with a fast Taylor, but yet......we still got rolled.  The Jets present a different set of challenges.  So if the Jets catch us off guard and run over us, what do we say then?

I will grant you that we didn't looked prepared to face Buffalo Chris, but let's not push the panic button just yet even if we lose in the Big Apple in week 2 because with new CBA rules & less practices in full pads with contact no team is prepared to take the NFL world by storm & leave other teams in their wake. All squads except maybe for Philadelphia are not perfectly conditioned teams overflowing with endurance methods right now. You play to get in game shape; The NFL is always like that & this reality will never really change in the longrun. 

 

If we get our clocks cleaned yet again when we clash competitive spears with NE, that's when I become alarmed because the Patriots are always a statement squad meaning you either hang with them as an equal adversary or they mop the floor with you & if INDY can't go toe to toe with NE then we need to hunker down, batton down the hatches, & dramatically change some things & that includes a new coach. JMO. 

 

I'm tired of being humiliated by NE. I don't blame NE; I blame our failure to adapt & improve. I like Pagano as a person & he's a fine CB coach too, but he's paid to overcome our usual stumbling blocks & if he can't do that make Pep Hamilton your interim coach & find a proven commodity if the offseason just like Falcons owner Arthur Blank fired Mike Smith & brought in Seattle's DC Dan Quinn. 

 

Chuck Pagano has had plenty of time to prove himself & he just falls short in my estimation. My patience is wearing thin. 

[GwinnettColt]

Im ready for Irving and Sio. Line is good

 

Agreed.  I like both signings and think they'll improve the run game.  

[Gavin]

We held up well against the run, The longest runs allowed of the day was 1 run of 26 yards right before the end of the half and a 31 yard scramble by mobile QB, To get a true perspective on how well we did against actual run plays you don't count Taylors scrambles. Take those away and you have 27 carries for 106 yards......3.92 ypc..

[Superman]

Im ready for Irving and Sio. Line is good

 

Agreed.

[Superman]

We held up well against the run, The longest runs allowed of the day was 1 run of 26 yards right before the end of the half and a 31 yard scramble by mobile QB, To get a true perspective on how well we did against actual run plays you don't count Taylors scrambles. Take those away and you have 27 carries for 106 yards......3.92 ypc..

 

And on the 26 yarder, the back was stacked up behind the line, but Freeman didn't stay square and the cut back was wide open. Again, not on the line, and if you take that play away, you have an average below 3 yards/carry.

[Gavin]

And on the 26 yarder, the back was stacked up behind the line, but Freeman didn't stay square and the cut back was wide open. Again, not on the line, and if you take that play away, you have an average below 3 yards/carry.

Going to be some good and bad games by the D Line....Like any players/team the key is to have more good then bad. That's just how football is (really just how life is, Not all good or all bad) but I really like the upside of Parry and Anderson as opposed to Chapman and Hughes(Though Hughes certainly flashed mobility and talent), Both Parry and Henry are more mobile and it showed at times, I think both are actually capable of showing a bit more pass rush but credit to Taylor for staying calm and scrambling under control

[ThaCaliColt]

I would say they looked improved. If we could eliminate giving up the big plays!! It's just inconsistency that kills this defense.

[Superman]

Going to be some good and bad games by the D Line....Like any players/team the key is to have more bad then good. That's just how football is (really just how life is, Not all good or all bad) but I really like the upside of Parry and Anderson as opposed to Chapman and Hughes(Though Hughes certainly flashed mobility and talent), Both Parry and Henry are more mobile and it showed at times, I think both are actually capable of showing a bit more pass rush but credit to Taylor for staying calm and scrambling under control

 

Taylor was really good. They didn't even go to the read option, and we know they can with him. Poised, kept his eyes down field, etc. We saw the same kind of performance from Terrelle Pryor in 2013. It's not necessarily that he's a great QB or will be, but he didn't make any mistakes, and he stayed out of bad situations, and we helped him by blowing 4 or 5 coverages, but he got the ball where it was supposed to go.

[Malakai432]

I thought certain aspects looked good such as the DL.  They have a big test next Monday with Ivory.  I think he is a pretty good back with a lot of power.  He may be a bit tougher to bring down, but the good news is I doubt Ryan Fitzpatrick will go on a running rampage.  Decker and Marshall may give the Colts backfield fits though.   

[southwest1]

I will grant you that we didn't looked prepared to face Buffalo Chris, but let's not push the panic button just yet even if we lose in the Big Apple in week 2 because with new CBA rules & less practices in full pads with contact no team is prepared to take the NFL world by storm & leave other teams in their wake. All squads except maybe for Philadelphia are not perfectly conditioned teams overflowing with endurance methods right now. You play to get in game shape; The NFL is always like that & this reality will never really change in the longrun. 

 

If we get our clocks cleaned yet again when we clash competitive spears with NE, that's when I become alarmed because the Patriots are always a statement squad meaning you either hang with them as an equal adversary or they mop the floor with you & if INDY can't go toe to toe with NE then we need to hunker down, batton down the hatches, & dramatically change some things & that includes a new coach. JMO. 

 

I'm tired of being humiliated by NE. I don't blame NE; I blame our failure to adapt & improve. I like Pagano as a person & he's a fine CB coach too, but he's paid to overcome our usual stumbling blocks & if he can't do that make Pep Hamilton your interim coach & find a proven commodity if the offseason just like Falcons owner Arthur Blank fired Mike Smith & brought in Seattle's DC Dan Quinn. 

 

Chuck Pagano has had plenty of time to prove himself & he just falls short in my estimation. My patience is wearing thin. 

Chuck Pagano has had plenty of time to prove himself & he just falls short in my estimation. My patience is wearing thin. The thing I most respect about Mr. Blank is that he knew Mike Smith would never take his franchise to the Promiseland & yet he never hesitated to pull the trigger & make a change in the captain seat. This business is about results not gee your coach is a swell dude. If we beat NE in the regular season that carries considerable weight with me & Chuck stays; If not, Bye Chuck see you later. 

 

If he gets stomped by NE again, it's evident to me that he never will & INDY needs to go in a different direction. If we win or the game is tight, I would loosen my scrutiny & be very pleased with Pagano. 

[ThaCaliColt]

Taylor was really good. They didn't even go to the read option, and we know they can with him. Poised, kept his eyes down field, etc. We saw the same kind of performance from Terrelle Pryor in 2013. It's not necessarily that he's a great QB or will be, but he didn't make any mistakes, and he stayed out of bad situations, and we helped him by blowing 4 or 5 coverages, but he got the ball where it was supposed to go.

It seemed like we were getting some pressure on the d-line. I'm not sure why we didn't have more of an impact rattling Taylor? I realize how elusive and mobile he is, but anyone can get rattled if the pressure is disguised and effective. He just seemed completely at ease, which irritates me.

[Superman]

It seemed like we were getting some pressure on the d-line. I'm not sure why we didn't have more of an impact rattling Taylor? I realize how elusive and mobile he is, but anyone can get rattled if the pressure is disguised and effective. He just seemed completely at ease, which irritates me.

 

 

The pass coverage wasn't good, particularly across the middle and in the flats. The Bills scouted us well, and it shows when you watch the way Taylor threw the swing passes up the field, knowing that his receivers could own the edge against our inside coverage players. Everybody hates on Greg Toler and praises Darius Butler, but despite his flaws, Toler is much better on the outside, particularly within the first couple seconds of coverage. Butler can't play press to save his life. And the ILBs were just lost practically all game. It's hard to get good pressure when there's no coverage.

[backshoulderfade]

It seemed like we were getting some pressure on the d-line. I'm not sure why we didn't have more of an impact rattling Taylor? I realize how elusive and mobile he is, but anyone can get rattled if the pressure is disguised and effective. He just seemed completely at ease, which irritates me.

Yeh, seemed to me that most of our pressure came through the middle and forced Taylor out the pocket before our edge rushers got there to contain. He did a real good job dumping off the ball to his running back too. Smart decision maker. Did what the Bills needed and didn't make mistakes.

[ThaCaliColt]

The pass coverage wasn't good, particularly across the middle and in the flats. The Bills scouted us well, and it shows when you watch the way Taylor threw the swing passes up the field, knowing that his receivers could own the edge against our inside coverage players. Everybody hates on Greg Toler and praises Darius Butler, but despite his flaws, Toler is much better on the outside, particularly within the first couple seconds of coverage. Butler can't play press to save his life. And the ILBs were just lost practically all game. It's hard to get good pressure when there's no coverage.

Agreed. I don't know what we do with our ILB's at this point. I can't see this defense even being respectable or dependable when we continually have a liability at ILB whether it's in coverage, missed tackles or whatever. And, Greg Toler is constantly injured and we lack the depth at that corner position when he's not on the field. I wonder how long it's really going to take to get these pieces together to make this a powerful defense.

[Superman]

Another thing, Taylor only dropped back 22 times. We didn't see a ton of pressure because they didn't throw it all that much. 

[Malakai432]

Another thing, Taylor only dropped back 22 times. We didn't see a ton of pressure because they didn't throw it all that much.

Yeah, field position game was also a huge factor also. It's not like the Bills really were forced to go 80-90 yards often, if any. Colts seemed to get nailed back at their own 10-15 a lot.

[JWF]

Agree. The Dline and the run defense in general, outside of the ILB's, looked pretty good overall.

I think back he talent is there to be decent on defense but we need manusky to somehow pull it together.

[RockThatBlue]

the team knew this, prepared for it (supposedly), had plenty of time to prepare. Knew what they were getting into with a fast Taylor, but yet......we still got rolled. The Jets present a different set of challenges. So if the Jets catch us off guard and run over us, what do we say then?

[southwest1]

Yeah, field position game was also a huge factor also. It's not like the Bills really were forced to go 80-90 yards often, if any. Colts seemed to get nailed back at their own 10-15 a lot.

Great point about our bad field position most of the game M-432. Like I said in another thread, I need to watch this game again with a little more distance & objectivity. Something I will do on Friday or Saturday night. 

 

The older I get, the more I know the danger in getting caught up in the moment & remembering it's never as bad or as good as it looks at 1st glance. It's the same reason I watch movies twice once in awhile; To focus in on what was done well & what needs an a rewrite/overhaul etc. etc.  

[a06cc]

It wasn't the defenses fault we lost. It was the team as a whole. We had a bad game that's all. I put in another post about PFF stats. Those don't tell the whole story.

[chrisfarley]

 

[Malakai432]

Great point about our bad field position most of the game M-432. Like I said in another thread, I need to watch this game again with a little more distance & objectivity. Something I will do on Friday or Saturday night.

The older I get, the more I know the danger in getting caught up in the moment & remembering it's never as bad or as good as it looks at 1st glance. It's the same reason I watch movies twice once in awhile; To focus in on what was done well & what needs an a rewrite/overhaul etc. etc.

You got it bud, the Bills played pretty well but at the same time it was the epitome of Murphy's Law for the Colts. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

[Coltsman1788]

The big runs that broke were poor lber play. The line did I their job.

So that makes it ok? At end of the day our defense is still giving up some big runs and got run on for 147 yards on the day. That's not good. Line looked a little better but same results...Colts didn't stop the run.

[ColtsBTM12]

Yeah, field position game was also a huge factor also. It's not like the Bills really were forced to go 80-90 yards often, if any. Colts seemed to get nailed back at their own 10-15 a lot.

Made me so mad when Moncrief tip-toed out of the end zone on the kickoff return only to slip and fall at the 4 yard line after our past 3 drives before that had already started inside our own 10.

[Malakai432]

Made me so mad when Moncrief tip-toed out of the end zone on the kickoff return only to slip and fall at the 4 yard line after our past 3 drives before that had already started inside our own 10.

Yeah that made me mad also but I think I heard today at the last second he realized it was a bad idea and while trying to stop he slipped. I remember hearing on the radio today pertaining to this play and how he told Pagano he was sorry, his bad ect. Definitely cannot have anymore decisions like that, even if he's remotely unsure. When in doubt just take a knee.

[cmgww]

I thought it was mostly improved as well. You also have to remember that the offensive ineptitude had a lot to do with the D giving up a stat line of 145 rushing yards. This wasn't NE coming out and running it down our throats. If we had gotten any rhythm going on offense and maybe scored that first possession, it's probably a different game. The LBs have to get better at executing. But people looking at the box score and saying "the Colts got run over" is a little misleading. When the defense is on the field a lot they tire out and make mistakes, which leads to breakaway runs. For the most part in the early portion of the game we held their runners in check. I think against the Jets, at home, we perform much better as a defense. If Luck and company bounce back (which they nearly always do) and the offense fires on all cylinders then the run defense won't be as bad bc they will be more fresh.

[NewEra]

So that makes it ok? At end of the day our defense is still giving up some big runs and got run on for 147 yards on the day. That's not good. Line looked a little better but same results...Colts didn't stop the run.

No, it doesn't make it okay. Means ILBERs need to get their crap together or get Sio & Irving in there. Line looked a lot better than I thought they would.

[krunk]

Made me so mad when Moncrief tip-toed out of the end zone on the kickoff return only to slip and fall at the 4 yard line after our past 3 drives before that had already started inside our own 10.

 

Moncrief is timid and awful as a kick returner.  It just doesn't seem to be for that guy