Why I'm not mad.....

[SoCalColts]

So after reading all these post and watching the game day thread I decided to share a few thoughts on today's game.

 

1. Even though I would a preferred a win not getting blown out the game this game shows me that there was some improvement. Sure at the end of day we get judge on wins and loses, but I still see this as moral victory.

 

2. Luck look rusty to me. If anyone has ever dealt with a shoulder injury they know these things don't get better in a few weeks. It's a process of rehab, strengthening, and figuring out the limitations of the injured shoulder. Yes, I'm aware some people don't think Luck is that good or that he doesn't make great decisions, and so forth. I'm just going off today's game and what I saw on the field and I saw a QB who was rusty when it came throwing long passes or passes were accuracy is required and I believe the shoulder injury played a part in that.

 

3. Special teams blunder is on Whalen. Yes, I'm fully aware some coach called the play to get the Pats to jump offsides and possibly get an easy first down, but bottom line its on Whalen to realized the numbers were not in their favor and not hike the ball. No one give me this its up to coaches to put players in safe situations. He's a grown man with a brain whose perfectly capable of realizing this isn't going to work like we drew it up and I should just wait for a timeout to be called or take a delay of game penalty period.

 

4. Running game is looking good, but its unfortunate that we abandon the run once we were down two scores and needed to make bigger plays

 

5. I personally like the play calling until we went down two scores and we went back to our old ways and started trying to throw bombs down the field which is expected when you down two scores and time isn't on your side

 

6. Can we please see more of Phillip Dorsett and less of Johnson. I think we can use Johnson in the redzone/endzone were his height can be used in our favor, but other than that he looks slow, doesn't separate, and makes a few too many drops when the ball is thrown to him. Side note Moncrief is looking really good sometimes better than TY.

 

7. I see so much hate for Pagano about he's a bad coach, but when are people going to talk about Grigson and players he drafts. We have so many needs on defense and offensive line yet we draft for offense. I mean people complain Pagano is suppose to be a defensive guru, but its hard to make a good defense with C+ players.

 

8.  I hope we can use some of the positive things from this game and use that for the rest of the season ex. quick passes, a good balance of run and pass

 

 

Bottom line is we are 3-3 and we still have a full season ahead to get better and keep making improvements and it all starts with getting a W against the Saints next week.....

[18Manning]

I can't decide if I'm mad. I started watching this game hoping we would win, but would not have put my last dollar on the Colts in a bet. As the game progressed, I became more optimistic instead of just hopeful (if that makes any sense). If I had to answer how I feel, I would say I'm disappointed (only because we could have won), but impressed with how we played so well (except for a couple of plays). So, I guess I'm not really mad either.

[TKnight24]

I'm starting to think Pep Hamilton's brain is fried. Like we gave him too many weapons and he doesn't know what to do with them

I just don't understand how you're from Stanford but abandon the run. Or how you had a top 5 offense last year, now you don't know what to do

Hopefully with Bradshaw now about to get a full practice week he'll run the ball more. But this is getting ridiculous

We need an offensive minded coach like Sean Payton. He would light it up with this offense

Pep really just stinks now. Like he's allergic to what works

[SoCalColts]

I'm starting to think Pep Hamilton's brain is fried. Like we gave him too many weapons and he doesn't know what to do with them

I just don't understand how you're from Stanford but abandon the run. Or how you had a top 5 offense last year, now you don't know what to do

Hopefully with Bradshaw now about to get a full practice week he'll run the ball more. But this is getting ridiculous

We need an offensive minded coach like Sean Payton. He would light it up with this offense

Pep really just stinks now. Like he's allergic to what works

Well I saw a lot of Pep work at Stanford since I'm in California with Luck, Gerhart, and 3 tight end sets they would run with Fleener  and they would put points on the board in bunches so I'm not sure what happen to him maybe he isnt fully ready for the NFL or because he knows so many of the players Luck, Whalen, Fleener maybe there is a comfort present that makes him lack creativity 

[bababooey]

It's very simple. Coaching staff is not mentally equipped to game plan for elite teams. That's all it is.

[Superman]

It's very simple. Coaching staff is not mentally equipped to game plan for elite teams. That's all it is.

 

The game plan was fine.

[2006Coltsbestever]

The game plan was fine.

I thought we played Good but you have to play Great to beat Tommy. We are a Very Good team but not Great yet. I thought Andrew looked sharped but we still don't have the Defense like Denver has.

[Surge89]

So after reading all these post and watching the game day thread I decided to share a few thoughts on today's game.

1. Even though I would a preferred a win not getting blown out the game this game shows me that there was some improvement. Sure at the end of day we get judge on wins and loses, but I still see this as moral victory.

2. Luck look rusty to me. If anyone has ever dealt with a shoulder injury they know these things don't get better in a few weeks. It's a process of rehab, strengthening, and figuring out the limitations of the injured shoulder. Yes, I'm aware some people don't think Luck is that good or that he doesn't make great decisions, and so forth. I'm just going off today's game and what I saw on the field and I saw a QB who was rusty when it came throwing long passes or passes were accuracy is required and I believe the shoulder injury played a part in that.

3. Special teams blunder is on Whalen. Yes, I'm fully aware some coach called the play to get the Pats to jump offsides and possibly get an easy first down, but bottom line its on Whalen to realized the numbers were not in their favor and not hike the ball. No one give me this its up to coaches to put players in safe situations. He's a grown man with a brain whose perfectly capable of realizing this isn't going to work like we drew it up and I should just wait for a timeout to be called or take a delay of game penalty period.

4. Running game is looking good, but its unfortunate that we abandon the run once we were down two scores and needed to make bigger plays

5. I personally like the play calling until we went down two scores and we went back to our old ways and started trying to throw bombs down the field which is expected when you down two scores and time isn't on your side

6. Can we please see more of Phillip Dorsett and less of Johnson. I think we can use Johnson in the redzone/endzone were his height can be used in our favor, but other than that he looks slow, doesn't separate, and makes a few too many drops when the ball is thrown to him. Side note Moncrief is looking really good sometimes better than TY.

7. I see so much hate for Pagano about he's a bad coach, but when are people going to talk about Grigson and players he drafts. We have so many needs on defense and offensive line yet we draft for offense. I mean people complain Pagano is suppose to be a defensive guru, but its hard to make a good defense with C+ players.

8. I hope we can use some of the positive things from this game and use that for the rest of the season ex. quick passes, a good balance of run and pass

Bottom line is we are 3-3 and we still have a full season ahead to get better and keep making improvements and it all starts with getting a W against the Saints next week.....

Responses

1. We didn't get blown out because we literally did all of the work for the Patriots. We would've been blown out if they continue throwing to Gronk.

2. Luck looked fine. He hit his long passes mostly fine (the only part that you may have a point) but his intermediate and short throws were the same as always. High and behind

3. So it's Whalens fault he was there in the first place? It's Whalens fault that the play was called? It's Whalens fault that the play was even practiced? It's Whalens fault that no timeout was called? Lol wow so what do we have a coaching staff for exactly?

4. Unfortunate? Lol more like pathetic. The only thing we've been consistent at the entire game and we stop with 9 minutes in the 4th down 2 scores? But it should've been expected this is what this team does every week. Most likely it's Luck but it could be Pep too.

5. I would've agreed with you until you created a scenario to give the coaches a pass. Time was never against the Colts. They gave up running with 9 MINUTES, NINE in the 4th. They created their own demons.

6. Lol. Johnson did great tonight. The balls weren't thrown properly and that's on Luck. Now that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see more of Dorsett but also he's a rookie. Moncrief has been the better receiver for quite some time now.

7. This is so far from the truth it's laughable. This team has plenty of oline and Dline talent. My issue with Grigs is the rumors of wanting total control. I'm done with the coaching staff though.

8. This game will most likely be a microcosm of the entire season in which we will perform well for some games (most likely our division games) and fail to finish in the non-division games. Same season different numerical year.

This team isn't the Manning team. To say they have no line talent is rediculous. Our defense has a great line (first time in 10 years)and great back end. Our oline is also greatly talented (again first in a while) maybe not the best coached but they will be made to look worse by Luck. The king of holding the ball far too long.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Luck is only in year 4, it took Peyton 9 years to win it all. Patience my members. Tonight is a bad loss but we hung with them.

[Superman]

I thought we played Good but you have to play Great to beat Tommy. We are a Very Good team but not Great yet. I thought Andrew looked sharped but we still don't have the Defense like Denver has.

 

Three big mistakes, IMO. The obvious punt trick, the blown coverage on Gronk, and the gashed run defense on Blount's TD. Other than that, the Colts played well enough. 

 

A bigger issue was abandoning the run in the 4th quarter, which is inexcusable and was totally unnecessary. It happens way too often, and someone needs to scream in Pep's ear or Luck's ear or whoever is ultimately making the call to keep feeding Gore. 

 

But especially on defense, the game plan was more than good enough. Just had some sloppy play against a really good team at the wrong times. And one gigantic brain fart.

[2006Coltsbestever]

We are not ready yet, give us 1 more year but Denver will take care of them. .

[Carlos Danger]

I'm not mad, either, but I am starting to get miffed by the coaching blunders.

While I agree that the ST play was on Whalen, I don't think he should have ever been in that situation... Faking it with McAfee is one thing, he's got a decent arm and a cool head. Sending Whalen and Anderson out there in a formation that wasn't even legal was a mistake, even if he was never meant to snap the ball... I like the guts, but the play call made no sense. Just have Pat line up under center and try to draw them if that's the plan...

I like Chuck. The players love him. I don't want to add fuel to the obnoxious "fire everyone" fire, but there are issues in every game. Clock mismanagement, lack of adjustments on both sides of the ball, strange play calling, personnel misuse...

These are things that I have said would get better as Pagano gained some experience as a HC. I still think that he has room to improve in these areas and probably would if given the time. I'm just a little annoyed after a loss like this, where we were a couple miscues away from knocking off the Patriots.

[2006Coltsbestever]

Wait until Tommy goes to MileHigh I got news for him. I have said along Denver is the best team in the NFL and people laugh but the truth is coming.

[ColtsRule815]

Looking on the bright side, Billy Winn German Suplexing Blount was pretty awesome.

[cbear]

So after reading all these post and watching the game day thread I decided to share a few thoughts on today's game.

 

1. Even though I would a preferred a win not getting blown out the game this game shows me that there was some improvement. Sure at the end of day we get judge on wins and loses, but I still see this as moral victory.

 

2. Luck look rusty to me. If anyone has ever dealt with a shoulder injury they know these things don't get better in a few weeks. It's a process of rehab, strengthening, and figuring out the limitations of the injured shoulder. Yes, I'm aware some people don't think Luck is that good or that he doesn't make great decisions, and so forth. I'm just going off today's game and what I saw on the field and I saw a QB who was rusty when it came throwing long passes or passes were accuracy is required and I believe the shoulder injury played a part in that.

 

3. Special teams blunder is on Whalen. Yes, I'm fully aware some coach called the play to get the Pats to jump offsides and possibly get an easy first down, but bottom line its on Whalen to realized the numbers were not in their favor and not hike the ball. No one give me this its up to coaches to put players in safe situations. He's a grown man with a brain whose perfectly capable of realizing this isn't going to work like we drew it up and I should just wait for a timeout to be called or take a delay of game penalty period.

 

4. Running game is looking good, but its unfortunate that we abandon the run once we were down two scores and needed to make bigger plays

 

5. I personally like the play calling until we went down two scores and we went back to our old ways and started trying to throw bombs down the field which is expected when you down two scores and time isn't on your side

 

6. Can we please see more of Phillip Dorsett and less of Johnson. I think we can use Johnson in the redzone/endzone were his height can be used in our favor, but other than that he looks slow, doesn't separate, and makes a few too many drops when the ball is thrown to him. Side note Moncrief is looking really good sometimes better than TY.

 

7. I see so much hate for Pagano about he's a bad coach, but when are people going to talk about Grigson and players he drafts. We have so many needs on defense and offensive line yet we draft for offense. I mean people complain Pagano is suppose to be a defensive guru, but its hard to make a good defense with C+ players.

 

8.  I hope we can use some of the positive things from this game and use that for the rest of the season ex. quick passes, a good balance of run and pass

 

 

Bottom line is we are 3-3 and we still have a full season ahead to get better and keep making improvements and it all starts with getting a W against the Saints next week.....

 

Frankly, I am more confident now about our ability to make the playoffs and be a force going forward more than any time during the season thus far.

[crazycolt1]

Wait until Tommy goes to MileHigh I got news for him. I have said along Denver is the best team in the NFL and people laugh but the truth is coming.

They have the best defense. IMO that does not make them the best team. I watched their last two games all the way through and what I seen, they aren't good enough to keep winning. Sooner or later Manning will not be bailed out by the defense. He is just a shadow of what he was once.

[will426]

So after reading all these post and watching the game day thread I decided to share a few thoughts on today's game.

1. Even though I would a preferred a win not getting blown out the game this game shows me that there was some improvement. Sure at the end of day we get judge on wins and loses, but I still see this as moral victory.

2. Luck look rusty to me. If anyone has ever dealt with a shoulder injury they know these things don't get better in a few weeks. It's a process of rehab, strengthening, and figuring out the limitations of the injured shoulder. Yes, I'm aware some people don't think Luck is that good or that he doesn't make great decisions, and so forth. I'm just going off today's game and what I saw on the field and I saw a QB who was rusty when it came throwing long passes or passes were accuracy is required and I believe the shoulder injury played a part in that.

3. Special teams blunder is on Whalen. Yes, I'm fully aware some coach called the play to get the Pats to jump offsides and possibly get an easy first down, but bottom line its on Whalen to realized the numbers were not in their favor and not hike the ball. No one give me this its up to coaches to put players in safe situations. He's a grown man with a brain whose perfectly capable of realizing this isn't going to work like we drew it up and I should just wait for a timeout to be called or take a delay of game penalty period.

4. Running game is looking good, but its unfortunate that we abandon the run once we were down two scores and needed to make bigger plays

5. I personally like the play calling until we went down two scores and we went back to our old ways and started trying to throw bombs down the field which is expected when you down two scores and time isn't on your side

6. Can we please see more of Phillip Dorsett and less of Johnson. I think we can use Johnson in the redzone/endzone were his height can be used in our favor, but other than that he looks slow, doesn't separate, and makes a few too many drops when the ball is thrown to him. Side note Moncrief is looking really good sometimes better than TY.

7. I see so much hate for Pagano about he's a bad coach, but when are people going to talk about Grigson and players he drafts. We have so many needs on defense and offensive line yet we draft for offense. I mean people complain Pagano is suppose to be a defensive guru, but its hard to make a good defense with C+ players.

8. I hope we can use some of the positive things from this game and use that for the rest of the season ex. quick passes, a good balance of run and pass

Bottom line is we are 3-3 and we still have a full season ahead to get better and keep making improvements and it all starts with getting a W against the Saints next week.....

I only disagree with 4 we stopped running the ball before we were down 2 scores. Gore got 3 carries in the third one was a hold, about a 6 yard carry, then he got the first. After that we saw gore no more it reverted to the first two games playcalling and the coaches would rather have Tipton out there pass blocking and running routes over GORE and the back who caught 8 tds for us last year in Bradshaw smh

[oldunclemark]

we played well.....had a chance to win..

I thought we recovered the onside kick early and didn't get the call.

..we're 3-3...but we're Ok in the division

[JColts72]

Not mad? Guess u settle for a medicore team. Enough with the moral victories.

[GwinnettColt]

I'm not mad because they played a respectable game.  It's not an embarrassment like the previous few games versus NE.

 

This was supposed to be a blowout favoring NE and it clearly wasn't.  

 

With a small amount of D tweaking in terms of coverage, Indy would have won that.  They showed last night that the have the capability. 

[amfootball]

It's very simple. Coaching staff is not mentally equipped to game plan for elite teams. That's all it is.

The game plan IMO was great, especially the first half. The Colts did exactly what you have to do to beat the Patriots. They did not settle for a FG and went on 4th and one down deep in the red zone and got the TD. The onside kick was brilliant too especially up 14-10 as a recovery there allows for a two score lead which would have been huge. The short passing game was also good as it allowed your playmakers to get open in space and do their thing.

 

The biggest issue was the halftime adjustments IMO. The Pats started covering up those short passes and the Colts for some reason went away from the run especially in the fourth quarter. I am not sure why. Perhaps they felt down 13 meant to throw every play but it was a terrible decision.

 

But overall, I thought the Colts had the right plan of attack and mentality to be aggressive. You have to score to beat the Pats, 30+ and take away possessions from Brady. If I was a Colts fan, I would be very pleased with the approach and maybe have issue with the execution and the fourth quarter plan of attack.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

You want to know why I'm not mad? Because it's just a game! It's not like we were watching Gotze score the game winner in the 113' minute as a native Argie...

But really as someone already said, there are no moral victories. Its a grown man sport and you either win or lose. As my man Gruden would say "You gotta score more points than your opponent if you wanna win a football game, Mike".

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

Luck is only in year 4, it took Peyton 9 years to win it all. Patience my members. Tonight is a bad loss but we hung with them.

Do you always talk to your member?

[bababooey]

The game plan was fine.

Fine isn't good enough. You can't beat New England on the road in January with "fine".

[csmopar]

The game plan was fine.

 

 

You're right.....the problem wasn't the game plan, the problem was that we abandoned it for no reason and that stupid, *ic, foolish, brainless, fake punt sealed the deal.  I don't care who's fault it was or what it was designed to do.  You don't do crap like that.  As soon as they lined up, I was screaming at the TV, before they snapped it, any * would have seen that wasn't gonna work.

 

I'd like to know why we abandoned the short game and the running game in the 2nd half, before we got down by 2 scores?  

 

Like I said, if I'm Irsay, the coaches are gone....Now.  I'd have guards in front of the doors with boxes of their crap and find someone else.

[JColts72]

Do you always talk to your member?

oh goody another suztysuhshine view with the loss. 

[JColts72]

I'm not mad because they played a respectable game.  It's not an embarrassment like the previous few games versus NE.

 

This was supposed to be a blowout favoring NE and it clearly wasn't.  

 

With a small amount of D tweaking in terms of coverage, Indy would have won that.  They showed last night that the have the capability. 

We should change the Cots name team to the could have and should have. Enough with this light hearted approcah.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

oh goody another suztysuhshine view with the loss.

I don't understand, read any of my comments. I'm disgusted and disappointed that we continually get a train ran upon us by Brady, Gronk, Collins & (insert slot receiver flavor of the month here). However, I refuse to get mad about it.

[krunk]

We are not ready yet, give us 1 more year but Denver will take care of them. .

I don't think Denver will take care of anything. They have no running game and Peyton is playing bad. At the end of the day I think the capable teams are Indy, Pittsburgh at full strength, Cincy, and maybe the Jets with some decent quarterback play.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

oh goody another suztysuhshine view with the loss.

Just read the second paragraph in my op, man.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

I don't think Denver will take care of anything. They have no running game and Peyton is playing bad. At the end of the day I think the capable teams are Indy, Pittsburgh at full strength, Cincy, and maybe the Jets with some decent quarterback play.

I don't know about you but I fully expect Denver to be exposed by NE/any other decent team.

[JColts72]

Chuck sure did look like he was outcoaching himself there. I have now even seen suh a line-up in 1970's schoolyard touch football with that fooosh fake punt at your own 37. 

[NewEra]

The game plan was fine.

The first half.

[bababooey]

We are not ready yet, give us 1 more year but Denver will take care of them. .

I don't want anyone else to take care of them. I WANT TO TAKE CARE OF THEM. Why am I sitting at home every weekend rewatchig the 06 AFC championship game? This Denver team is good but it's still Peyton, who is very mortal this year, and who most likely will shrink in the playoffs as is tradition. I don't want luck to go winless against NE while the cheaters are still there. I wanted revenge for getting cheated and embarrassed and then had to deal with the fans on here and in real life for 7 months.

[ColtsBlueFL]

Three big mistakes, IMO. The obvious punt trick, the blown coverage on Gronk, and the gashed run defense on Blount's TD. Other than that, the Colts played well enough. 

 

A bigger issue was abandoning the run in the 4th quarter, which is inexcusable and was totally unnecessary. It happens way too often, and someone needs to scream in Pep's ear or Luck's ear or whoever is ultimately making the call to keep feeding Gore. 

 

But especially on defense, the game plan was more than good enough. Just had some sloppy play against a really good team at the wrong times. And one gigantic brain fart.

 

Agreed.  But in my mind, you just can't make all 3 mistakes, notably vs. the Pats.  One, or maybe two of those, possibly.  But not all 3.  One of those had to have been stopped.  That's just too many mistakes to be considered a very good team.

[Defjamz26]

My main concern was that they kept the game close and showed signs of growth. The Pats respected our run defense, but then exposed the whole in our middle of the field defense.

The Colts still aren't an elite team yet. But it maybe more of a personnel issue than a coaching issue. In this game the lack of playmaking LBs and pass rush killed us.

[chrisfarley]

There's certainly no greatness coming from the sidelines.  However, our on-field players look like contenders with the right offensive play-calling, head-coaching, & a bit more crispness & healthiness from Andrew.  If they can work on chemistry and having more of an identity on offense combined with a better pass-rush, we can still be contenders.  So in spite of what we've seen thus far that makes us shake our heads, this could still turn out well.

EDIT: The above minus mindless penalties 

[gacker65]

I'm not mad, just disappointed.  The team played well in the 1st half, maintained their composure even when Pats got the lead.

 

The second half, Pats drove down and scored on their first drive and somebody on our side lost their mind.  Went away from running game.  More deep passes.  More Zone coverage by Defense.  Just got out of hand.

 

Yes, we stayed close on the scoreboard, but the game could have been won if we stayed with 1st half game plan, IMO.

[Track Guy]

My main concern was that they kept the game close and showed signs of growth. The Pats respected our run defense, but then exposed the whole in our middle of the field defense.

The Colts still aren't an elite team yet. But it maybe more of a personnel issue than a coaching issue. In this game the lack of playmaking LBs and pass rush killed us.

 

In 2013 we were good against elite teams. We beat Denver, Seattle, and San Francisco who were the 3 best teams in the league that year. Since then somehow we've been quite the opposite - posting not only a bad record against the best teams - but often getting blown out. I believe that has in part happened because of the drop off in pass rushing LB play since Mathis' injury last year. That was a huge loss, and he's definitely not the same force he was before. Fact is we have yet to replace that production. And our offensive line - there are worse units in the NFL for sure but they haven't been nearly consistent enough. They played awesome against J.J. Watt last week, and came out strong in the first half against New England... But then here come the holding penalties and collapsing pockets. Simply put, they might be a good enough unit if your QB gets the ball out quick and very rarely has to throw over 35 times a game. If you're asking them to drop back 50 times, you're asking for trouble. 

 

But the silver lining is this game really was better than last year's home game against the Patriots. Last year we got out-rushed 246 to 19. And the sad part is, Luck had 15 of our 19 that day. 

[krunk]

I don't know about you but I fully expect Denver to be exposed by NE/any other decent team.

 

 

I expect them to be exposed by us whenever this funny coaching staff starts to understand how to leverage that beast of a running back we have as an aid in controlling the TOP and keeping things short and manageable, and that's in the running game and the passing game.  We'd be much more explosive if these guys would make more use of the play action game.  The Pats made full use of it with Blount when they got Gronk going.  I understand they had some scrubs in their secondary but you still have to remain balanced.  The main issue to me was they wanted to sit back and not bring much rush.  With the way Gore was running I think if you make better use of your play action game you force them into devoting people to the running game instead of them being back in the secondary only being focused on the pass.   I don't mind the shotgun stuff, but that is not the only way to take some shots down field.  

 

If we are going to continue being in love with the shotgun we need to add a play action element to it to create some separation.    This could be a much deadlier offense than what it is right now.  The offense until late in the 4th quarter only really put 14 points on the board until that late touch down to Whalen.  The other 7 came from Mike Adams, so to be honest we were still stuck in our 21 pts or less average for the season.  We have the type of team that can go to Foxborough and get a W if and when these guys get this freaking offense together and make it a beast for opponents to deal with.  That's all we really need right now to me!  If the offense is rolling the way it needs to be then you only need so many stops from the defense.  That was a perfectly winnable game last night and I feel offensively we did not do enough to make that team pay.  Too many drives that did not end in pts on the board.