Bill Polian on what's wrong with the Colts

[GoColts8818]

So I was out running around this afternoon when I heard Bill Polian when one of the hosts (I believe it was Brock Huard but it might have been Danny Kanell) goes "What's wrong with the Colts?"  Polian said the Colts problems are really two fold.  He singled out pretty much the whole o-line outside of Castonzo.  He said Mewhort is still in a transition and it's too early to say if that will work and said it remains to be seen if the middle of the line is going to work (I know many here have already made up their minds there).  He said Lance was really struggling (again I know nothing new here).  He then said they are getting no pass rush on defense.  Which is true.  What I thought was interesting was he didn't even bring up the name Trent Cole he just jumped right to Robert Mathis and said if the Colts can get some pass rush from him they will be fine on defense.  He did say the run defense is good but the pass defense is not good right now because of the pass rush.  He then talked about Andrew Luck's struggles coming from the fact he's not having a clean pocket which to work with. 

 

He then talked about other QBs struggling because of poor o-line play.  He went on to say that the league is facing an o-line crisis because there just aren't enough good ones in the NFL and o-linemen aren't being developed.  He said if the league doesn't correct this problem we are going to see far more of back up QBs across the board than we want to see. 

 

Nothing really that shocking here but there are his thoughts. 

[COLTS449]

I mean yeah. He's right for the most part. Just a couple things I kinda disagree on. For one. Mewhort is fine at RT. So we're set at LT, and RT. 2nd. Our pass rush will be fine once Mathis gets up to speed. Which that'll probably be a game or 2. He'll get more snaps this week, and even more the next. He should be making an impact pretty soon. And Cole should give us 6-7 sacks too. I want to know whats up with Newsome though? I was thinking he'd put up 8-10 sacks this year but was inactive last Monday.

[GoColts8818]

I mean yeah. He's right for the most part. Just a couple things I kinda disagree on. For one. Mewhort is fine at RT. So we're set at LT, and RT. 2nd. Our pass rush will be fine once Mathis gets up to speed. Which that'll probably be a game or 2. He'll get more snaps this week, and even more the next. He should be making an impact pretty soon. And Cole should give us 6-7 sacks too. I want to know whats up with Newsome though? I was thinking he'd put up 8-10 sacks this year but was inactive last Monday.

I want to be clear he didn't say Mewhort was a problem, I think he was pretty much just saying Mewhort is still learning tackles, there are going to be bumps along the way.  He seemed much more down on the middle of the line which I think is how just about everyone here feels. 

 

As for Mathis I think that is pretty much was he was saying.  I thought it was telling that he just dismissed Cole and Newsome for that matter and pretty much said "save us Robert Mathis your our only hope".  I know Newsome has been dinged up but he struggled in the pre-season as well.  Maybe a sophomore slump. 

[NewColtsFan]

I mean yeah. He's right for the most part. Just a couple things I kinda disagree on. For one. Mewhort is fine at RT. So we're set at LT, and RT. 2nd. Our pass rush will be fine once Mathis gets up to speed. Which that'll probably be a game or 2. He'll get more snaps this week, and even more the next. He should be making an impact pretty soon. And Cole should give us 6-7 sacks too. I want to know whats up with Newsome though? I was thinking he'd put up 8-10 sacks this year but was inactive last Monday.

 

I think he was inactive because he was hurt.    Don't know the injury but I think he's back practicing.

[krunk]

Newsome had a hamstring issue which kept him out of the jets game. Should be fine with Newsome and Mathis both active pass rush should come around.

[krunk]

Should really be good when we can put some packages out there with Cole Mathis and Newsome on the field at the same time. At some point soon it wont surprise me to see them bringing Sio Moore off the edge. He's got good ability to rush from the outside or middle.

[ColtsConsistency]

On the injury front it also looks like Greg Toler is practicing and should be good to go against Tennessee per Colts Mobile App....

×crossing my fingers×

[krunk]

I'm also expecting the pressure to increase once we get Toler Davis and Butler back on the field together. It will allow us to blitz with better coverage on the back end.

[Track Guy]

I mean yeah. He's right for the most part. Just a couple things I kinda disagree on. For one. Mewhort is fine at RT. So we're set at LT, and RT. 2nd. Our pass rush will be fine once Mathis gets up to speed. Which that'll probably be a game or 2. He'll get more snaps this week, and even more the next. He should be making an impact pretty soon. And Cole should give us 6-7 sacks too. I want to know whats up with Newsome though? I was thinking he'd put up 8-10 sacks this year but was inactive last Monday.

 

I agree with all that. Mewhort played well against the Bills and mediocre against the Jets. 2 nasty defensive fronts, he's young and new to the position at this level and he's held his own mostly. Castonzo much like Mewhort, played well against the Bills and only mediocre against the Jets IMO. I would say he had kind of a weaker game for himself on Monday even if Polian and very few others are talking about it. But I'm fine with those guys moving forward, and I'm especially happy to have Castonzo as the LT. It's the lack of depth at tackle and more importantly the poor play of the interior O-line that worries me most.

[BOTT]

Should really be good when we can put some packages out there with Cole Mathis and Newsome on the field at the same time. At some point soon it wont surprise me to see them bringing Sio Moore off the edge. He's got good ability to rush from the outside or middle.

Mathis is the only one that scares people and we have no idea what's he's going to be at this point.

[Andrew Luck's Beard]

I mean, everyone on Earth knows that Lance Louis is nowhere close to an even decent starting NFL guard.

[COLTS449]

I agree with all that. Mewhort played well against the Bills and mediocre against the Jets. 2 nasty defensive fronts, he's young and new to the position at this level and he's held his own mostly. Castonzo much like Mewhort, played well against the Bills and only mediocre against the Jets IMO. I would say he had kind of a weaker game for himself on Monday even if Polian and very few others are talking about it. But I'm fine with those guys moving forward, and I'm especially happy to have Castonzo as the LT. It's the lack of depth at tackle and more importantly the poor play of the interior O-line that worries me most.

 

I'm hoping we try Reitz at LG. That's probably our best option this year. IMO, he was always best at guard. He always struggled at tackle until the playoffs last year.

[cmgww]

On the topic of Polian and the lack of quality linemen, maybe he's on to something there. The spread offenses have taken over college football. Those linemen need to be athletic and mobile, but usually don't have to hold their blocks bc the QB isn't in the pocket for very long. The pro game is a lot different, save for a few teams running "spreadish" systems like Seattle, SF, and Philly. The top QBs in the NFL are still traditional drop back guys. Ok you have Cam and Wilson, but other spread QBs have struggled after flashing bc defenses have learned how to adapt to them. See Kaepernick, RG3, etc....Even NE runs mostly shorter "dink and dunk" stuff to keep Brady upright. Aaron Rodgers and even Luck can make plays running but are still pass first mostly. Maybe it's a technique thing and the linemen coming out of college aren't used to the pro game bc the systems are a lot more different than they used to be in a lot of cases. Heck, even Alabama and Saban have had to change their recruiting bc of the spread...and they were super old school "pro style"...

Just some thoughts, maybe nothing to it.

[GoColts8818]

I mean, everyone on Earth knows that Lance Louis is nowhere close to an even decent starting NFL guard.

except Ryan Grigson who seems to be one the guy who loves him.

[GoColts8818]

On the topic of Polian and the lack of quality linemen, maybe he's on to something there. The spread offenses have taken over college football. Those linemen need to be athletic and mobile, but usually don't have to hold their blocks bc the QB isn't in the pocket for very long. The pro game is a lot different, save for a few teams running "spreadish" systems like Seattle, SF, and Philly. The top QBs in the NFL are still traditional drop back guys. Ok you have Cam and Wilson, but other spread QBs have struggled after flashing bc defenses have learned how to adapt to them. See Kaepernick, RG3, etc....Even NE runs mostly shorter "dink and dunk" stuff to keep Brady upright. Aaron Rodgers and even Luck can make plays running but are still pass first mostly. Maybe it's a technique thing and the linemen coming out of college aren't used to the pro game bc the systems are a lot more different than they used to be in a lot of cases. Heck, even Alabama and Saban have had to change their recruiting bc of the spread...and they were super old school "pro style"...

Just some thoughts, maybe nothing to it.

i was thinking that might have been what he meant when he said "and they aren't being developed".

[GoColts8818]

I agree with all that. Mewhort played well against the Bills and mediocre against the Jets. 2 nasty defensive fronts, he's young and new to the position at this level and he's held his own mostly. Castonzo much like Mewhort, played well against the Bills and only mediocre against the Jets IMO. I would say he had kind of a weaker game for himself on Monday even if Polian and very few others are talking about it. But I'm fine with those guys moving forward, and I'm especially happy to have Castonzo as the LT. It's the lack of depth at tackle and more importantly the poor play of the interior O-line that worries me most.

that reminded me Polian did say he thinks the Colts have their tackles in place which are the harder positions to find.

[krunk]

Mathis is the only one that scares people and we have no idea what's he's going to be at this point.

 

Mathis would certainly be the Lynch Pin.  HIm being out there frees up the others.

He's still got it from what I saw against the Jets.  They just did not have him rush the

QB enough.  For some strange reason Manusky had this fascination with dropping him

in coverage quite a bit.  I saw Mathis bull rush a tackle all the way back to Fitz right before

he threw the ball.  I could have stood to see a bit more but it was a good indicator.

[Patagonia Chris]

I mean, everyone on Earth knows that Lance Louis is nowhere close to an even decent starting NFL guard.

 

Well, not everyone.

 

[krunk]

Can't always fulfill all your needs in one off season, but I was kind of pushy about Grigs picking up another young pass rusher either in the draft, FA, or UDFA, but he didn't really make a serious move.  I thought Zach Hodges would make the team, but he was released and doesn't look like any other team has seen his value either.  We've got some guys but most of them are old besides Newsome and Werner.  Problem is Werner plays like an old man!  Could have stood to add another talented young pass rusher and cut bait with Werner.  We've got enough guys on this team that could play the Sam linebacker to be honest.

[a06cc]

This is nonsense about college offensive lineman aren't developed. There has been plenty of first round talents in the past few years.

[a06cc]

Bill of all people said they weren't developed. You look at the offensive lines Bill put out after Tarik Glenn retired. They weren't too great, and they were his picks.

[presto123]

 Even if what Bill said is true, the Colts are not doing the things to compensate for O Line deficiencies. Screens, draws, short passes, bootlegs, roll outs, QB runs . The play calling has been atrocious to say the least. Like Pagano said....it's not like Luck has had to deal with this before. Our coaches don't have a clue.

[Andrew Luck's Beard]

except Ryan Grigson who seems to be one the guy who loves him.

And Pagano, who insists on starting him every single darn week.

[CoachSmok3]

I'm also expecting the pressure to increase once we get Toler Davis and Butler back on the field together. It will allow us to blitz with better coverage on the back end.

 

 

yes! for sure man....hard to feel comfy sending the house when youre leaving your CB5, CB6, and CB7 on an island against their WR1, WR2, and WR3 lol

[theanarchist]

So I was out running around this afternoon when I heard Bill Polian when one of the hosts (I believe it was Brock Huard but it might have been Danny Kanell) goes "What's wrong with the Colts?"  Polian said the Colts problems are really two fold.  He singled out pretty much the whole o-line outside of Castonzo.  He said Mewhort is still in a transition and it's too early to say if that will work and said it remains to be seen if the middle of the line is going to work (I know many here have already made up their minds there).  He said Lance was really struggling (again I know nothing new here).  He then said they are getting no pass rush on defense.  Which is true.  What I thought was interesting was he didn't even bring up the name Trent Cole he just jumped right to Robert Mathis and said if the Colts can get some pass rush from him they will be fine on defense.  He did say the run defense is good but the pass defense is not good right now because of the pass rush.  He then talked about Andrew Luck's struggles coming from the fact he's not having a clean pocket which to work with. 

 

He then talked about other QBs struggling because of poor o-line play.  He went on to say that the league is facing an o-line crisis because there just aren't enough good ones in the NFL and o-linemen aren't being developed.  He said if the league doesn't correct this problem we are going to see far more of back up QBs across the board than we want to see. 

 

Nothing really that shocking here but there are his thoughts. 

Testify brother Polian

[Gavin]

Meh, I would have been more interested in him giving his opinion on how to go about fixing it like Venturi gave rather then him spouting off about the obvious

[USAFHoosier]

except Ryan Grigson who seems to be one the guy who loves him.

It seems like he's in love with his physical talent but that alone obviously does not make a good lineman.

[theanarchist]

Hey, here's a question for ya, what college has consistently turned out really good NFL offensive linemen?

 

IOWA! If there's one thing Kirk F can do is produce good offensive linemen and they are one of the few schools that still run a traditional pro style offense.

[UKColt13]

Hey, here's a question for ya, what college has consistently turned out really good NFL offensive linemen?

 

IOWA! If there's one thing Kirk F can do is produce good offensive linemen and they are one of the few schools that still run a traditional pro style offense.

 

Maybe Wisoconsin too. Consistently provide the league with powerful run blocking linemen. 

[azcolt]

Obviously Polian doesn't know what he's talking about. He should read this board where the real experts will tell him most of the problem is Andrew Luck -- and a couple days ago Andrew himself said he was 100% of the problem. So the fix should be simple. Trade Luck and get a different QB, one who isn't concerned about being drilled a dozen times a game and who isn't worried about drooling in his soup when he hits age 50 as a result of the weekly pounding. Not only has Luck had poor results this year but he has never looked so nervous standing behind what the Colts laughably call a pocket. Maybe it has finally occurred to him that even a QB built like a linebacker can't continue to absorb the constant hits, not if he wants to recognize his grandkids. He also has a very smart father who has surely reminded him of that fact.

[amfootball]

Did Polian really say there is a lack of good Olinemen in the league? The Cowboys don't seem to have any issues finding quality guys and developing them.

[GoColts8818]

And Pagano, who insists on starting him every single darn week.

based on some reports in the past about other players I wouldn't be shocked if that's not his call.

[Thewholefnshow28]

Nothing that many have said already and BIll is pretty on the mark with this.

 

The offensive line overall has not been good.  I was worried what the transition for Mewhort to LG to RT would be like.  He was a really good LG and solidified that left side and pretty much made Luck's blind side protected.  Now we have him transition to RT and not playing at the same left and the LG position is awful with Louis.

 

Missed in the awfulness of our season has been the utter lack of anything that resembles a pass rush.  Cole has not helped at all.  We had this problem last year and it appears it has not been fixed and hoping a 34 OLB coming off a season ending injury and 10 plus surgeries to be your savior is an awful idea.  I am hoping Mathis gets back to his level, but putting all of our eggs in that basket is a horrible idea.

 

Hopefully we can work out the kinks in the play calling, offensive line, and pass rush on the Jags and Titans.

[21isSuperman]

Did Polian really say there is a lack of good Olinemen in the league? The Cowboys don't seem to have any issues finding quality guys and developing them.

What he means is out of 32 teams, how many have good OLs?  There are only a handful of teams with good OLs.  Most teams in the league have poor OLs

[ColtsBlueFL]

Polian has also mentioned there are two types of interceptions.  One because the QB is seeing the field nor reading the defense properly, and the other the QB holding the ball, extending the play too long, trying to make a significant play.  He says Luck's turnovers are because of the latter, not the former.

[John Waylon]

His lament about there not being enough quality linemen is entirely correct.

The gimmickry of college offenses isn't preparing incoming players for this league.

The exact same thing is happening with quarterbacks. Many of these ncaa QBs don't even have to read a defense and more and more are coming into the NFL never having done so.

[Rackeen305]

What he means is out of 32 teams, how many have good OLs? There are only a handful of teams with good OLs. Most teams in the league have poor OLs

So if your Oline sucks, u call plays that fit your offense so that you move the ball UP the field, instead of going backwards like we are doing. Not everyone can have the talent level as a Dallas, but you still have to have the right approach, even if that means throwing your game plan in the garbage if it doesn't work...

[Superman]

His lament about there not being enough quality linemen is entirely correct.

The gimmickry of college offenses isn't preparing incoming players for this league.

The exact same thing is happening with quarterbacks. Many of these ncaa QBs don't even have to read a defense and more and more are coming into the NFL never having done so.

 

Mariota didn't even call plays in the huddle. In his case, he's probably talented enough, smart enough and a hard enough worker to get the hang of NFL QBing, but the majority of them are not. 

 

There are college OTs who never get in a three point stance. There are some huge discrepancies between college and the NFL right now, and it takes some really good coaching to overcome these issues. 

[John Waylon]

Mariota didn't even call plays in the huddle. In his case, he's probably talented enough, smart enough and a hard enough worker to get the hang of NFL QBing, but the majority of them are not.

There are college OTs who never get in a three point stance. There are some huge discrepancies between college and the NFL right now, and it takes some really good coaching to overcome these issues.

It really underscores the need for some kind of developmental league, or some big changes to rosters/practice squad rules to allow teams to develop players.

[SDakColts]

I am hoping with the 3rd and long situations for pass rush we start swapping our ILBs out. I hope they start bringing Moore and McNary in. They are both better coverage linebackers than the others, and both are very good at blitzing up the middle and around the outside. I think it would be a great way to get after the quarterback and make it hard for QBs to know which LB is in coverage or blitzing.