Perspective

[WoolMagnet]

I've been watching the past games again , trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with this team. Several things consistently show in every game.

1. Penalties. Mainly holding on the OL and many cost 1st downs and ended drives.

2. Turnovers. Mainly Andrew and this has been discussed in depth (pep/shoulder/ribs/etc)

3. Spotting opponent 7-14 points. Turnovers mainly giving short field.

4. Injuries. Mainly on defense(either safety or CB or both havn't been at full strngth) you can add Luck in there.

We can talk about coaching,gm, pep, scheme all day. But from what i see, the real problems are fixable. I see a defense with attitude and heart. I see them improving all year and i think, as a whole, the defense is at least good enough for a run. Run D has greatly improved.

Now on the offense, i see more than enough talent. They just look tense. Usually playing from behind because of turnovers (problem #2) or penalties (problem #1). If this offense can settle down, play smart, and not be afraid to punt, i see a different team.

The problems are fixable. Penaties and turnovers. That is the focus. Go back to technique and situational football.

I think a "fresh start" with Chud could be enough. Its up to them.

The effort is there. I see it. They just need to focus and "let 'er rip" on sundays.

[Doctor Mad]

As for the Oline holding calls consider this.  If the holding occurs within 2.5 to 3 secs after snap, then blame the Olineman for bad technique, lack of talent, etc.  However if the holding calls occr after 3 secs after snap, blame the QB for holding on to the ball too long.  Olineman can only block some defender so long.  It would be interesting to see these stats.  I believe our Oline is workable and they need reps to solidify.  Just a thought.

[jvan1973]

As for the Oline holding calls consider this. If the holding occurs within 2.5 to 3 secs after snap, then blame the Olineman for bad technique, lack of talent, etc. However if the holding calls occr after 3 secs after snap, blame the QB for holding on to the ball too long. Olineman can only block some defender so long. It would be interesting to see these stats. I believe our Oline is workable and they need reps to solidify. Just a thought.

I think at least half have been on running plays

[tikyle]

Now on the offense, i see more than enough talent. They just look tense. Usually playing from behind because of turnovers (problem #2) or penalties (problem #1). If this offense can settle down, play smart, and not be afraid to punt, i see a different team.

The problems are fixable. Penaties and turnovers. That is the focus. Go back to technique and situational football.

I think a "fresh start" with Chud could be enough. Its up to them.

The effort is there. I see it. They just need to focus and "let 'er rip" on sundays.

To me that has been Luck's fatal flaw his entire career.  He doesn't know when to give up on a play and throw it away or run for 5 yards (not get the 1st down) and just slide.  Big Ben, Brett Favre, Tony Romo, Matt Stafford, RG3, Johnny Manziel, (and countless others) all had that same flaw.

[shakedownstreet]

I think at least half have been on running plays

 

every time we get a run of ten yards or more, i am looking for the flag

[ColtRider]

I agree WoolMagnet. We could conceivably be 8-0, 7-1, 6-2 without the bone-crushing penalties and turnovers. And that's with Luck struggling. He gets on his game, and watch out. The rest of the team has been playing above average without these mistakes. "What ifs", are what circumvent the globe eternally. Turn the "what ifs" into "what a play" and it's a different song we're singing.

[WoolMagnet]

I guess my point is that the more i watch the film, the more i see reason for hope .

We've played some bad penalty and turnover ridden games and were still in them all. Even with "giving " away points.

With the division we're in, there should be ample time to figure it out.

Get a home wildcard game to get comfortable and who knows.

[Jim H.]

To me that has been Luck's fatal flaw his entire career.  He doesn't know when to give up on a play and throw it away or run for 5 yards (not get the 1st down) and just slide.  Big Ben, Brett Favre, Tony Romo, Matt Stafford, RG3, Johnny Manziel, (and countless others) all had that same flaw.

"Johnny Manziel?"  Really?

[Jim H.]

I think I know...but - what, exactly, is a "wool magnet?"

[Coffeedrinker]

As for the Oline holding calls consider this.  If the holding occurs within 2.5 to 3 secs after snap, then blame the Olineman for bad technique, lack of talent, etc.  However if the holding calls occr after 3 secs after snap, blame the QB for holding on to the ball too long.  Olineman can only block some defender so long.  It would be interesting to see these stats.  I believe our Oline is workable and they need reps to solidify.  Just a thought.

If the QB is not getting rid of the ball in 2.5 seconds or less, he is holding the ball too long.

[Superman]

I think at least half have been on running plays

 

And half have been bogus.

[The Fish]

I've been watching the past games again , trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with this team. Several things consistently show in every game.

1. Penalties. Mainly holding on the OL and many cost 1st downs and ended drives.

2. Turnovers. Mainly Andrew and this has been discussed in depth (pep/shoulder/ribs/etc)

3. Spotting opponent 7-14 points. Turnovers mainly giving short field.

4. Injuries. Mainly on defense(either safety or CB or both havn't been at full strngth) you can add Luck in there.

We can talk about coaching,gm, pep, scheme all day. But from what i see, the real problems are fixable. I see a defense with attitude and heart. I see them improving all year and i think, as a whole, the defense is at least good enough for a run. Run D has greatly improved.

Now on the offense, i see more than enough talent. They just look tense. Usually playing from behind because of turnovers (problem #2) or penalties (problem #1). If this offense can settle down, play smart, and not be afraid to punt, i see a different team.

The problems are fixable. Penaties and turnovers. That is the focus. Go back to technique and situational football.

I think a "fresh start" with Chud could be enough. Its up to them.

The effort is there. I see it. They just need to focus and "let 'er rip" on sundays.

This is the vibe I've gotten from the team after week 2. The first two weeks were ugly. 

[DougDew]

I think defenses have figured out Luck and the O to some extent...apply lots of pressure...and neither Luck or the coaches have figured out a way to counter those tactics.

Defensive aggression on the LOS and against the receivers is what's causing the interceptions, turnovers, Luck holding the ball, sacks, and holding penalties (on pass plays)

Chud's biggest task is to get the O to execute successful plays against defensive pressure.

[Ja'Crispy]

Related to spotting teams big leads:

Giving teams great field position. Cannot afford turnovers on our side of the 50.

[WoolMagnet]

I think I know...but - what, exactly, is a "wool magnet?"

At my age now, i'm embarrassed to say.

Was my college fraternity name given to me at initiation. (Mid 80s... A wonderful time)

Was cool at the time tho.

Note: for the record it has NOTHING to do with sheep. I thought i better clarify that. I don't need PETA hunting me down. Lol

[SurfinKal]

At my age now, i'm embarrassed to say.

Was my college fraternity name given to me at initiation. (Mid 80s... A wonderful time)

Was cool at the time tho.

Note: for the record it has NOTHING to do with sheep. I thought i better clarify that. I don't need PETA hunting me down. Lol

lol. Dude, you did better at answering the question than i thought you would. Good job.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

I've been watching the past games again , trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with this team. Several things consistently show in every game.

1. Penalties. Mainly holding on the OL and many cost 1st downs and ended drives.

2. Turnovers. Mainly Andrew and this has been discussed in depth (pep/shoulder/ribs/etc)

3. Spotting opponent 7-14 points. Turnovers mainly giving short field.

4. Injuries. Mainly on defense(either safety or CB or both havn't been at full strngth) you can add Luck in there.

We can talk about coaching,gm, pep, scheme all day. But from what i see, the real problems are fixable. I see a defense with attitude and heart. I see them improving all year and i think, as a whole, the defense is at least good enough for a run. Run D has greatly improved.

Now on the offense, i see more than enough talent. They just look tense. Usually playing from behind because of turnovers (problem #2) or penalties (problem #1). If this offense can settle down, play smart, and not be afraid to punt, i see a different team.

The problems are fixable. Penaties and turnovers. That is the focus. Go back to technique and situational football.

I think a "fresh start" with Chud could be enough. Its up to them.

The effort is there. I see it. They just need to focus and "let 'er rip" on sundays.

 

The o-line is playing miles better than they were the first few weeks. They're by no means world beaters, but they're around middle of the pack, which should be good enough if the QB is executing the gameplan efficiently.

 

Turnovers are pretty much all on Andrew at this point. Whether they can be attributed to injury or not, if the guy insists on playing, he needs to take care of the ball, period. This is especially true when the offense is in their own territory, which is where Luck seemingly is struggling the most right now with interceptions. It backs our defense up against a wall, giving the opposing offense a short field to work with, usually in the red zone. We simply can't have that and expect to be successful.

 

As for the secondary, I feel good about the direction they're heading. Vontae's been playing through some injury issues, Lowery seems to have been a really nice find, and Adams is still playing at Pro Bowl level. Geathers has had some nice moments especially for a rookie, and I'm excited to see D'Joun Smith in actioin. Toler, everyone's favorite CB to hate, seems to be the "ugly duckling" of this group, but he missed the first 5 games to a neck injury, and is clearly still shaking off rust.

 

All in all, some small tweaks and attention to detail could have this team on the right track. Couple that with a fresh perspective from a playcalling standpoint, and there's still hope for the rest of the season.

 

I hope so anyways.

[SteelCityColt]

It's an interesting mystery is our decline this season, the most obvious cause if of course Luck's huge drop off in play. Oddly the the implosion we've seen this season I would have expected in 2013, it looks like our lucky streak of overachieving finally caught up with us. Why 2013? If you look at our Pythagorean numbers for 2012 we massively overachieved:

 

 

A full 4 games no less which is huge. Teams normally see a drop off of 2.5 games plus the next year putting us at about a 8-8 team. Full break down of the stats of the theory (up to 2010 - credit Grantland):

 

 

I think it does show that Luck has been pretty darn amazing in how much he has put us over the record we should have ended up with and that as soon as his play regresses we've hit a level of expected wins. That or the crazy run of lucky bounces that seemed to go our at key junctures in games, or come from behind wins that just aren't sustainable. I included the Patriots as a comparison of what a "stable" organisation with a legit franchise QB looks like to show how much less they vary from their expected win total.

 

The odd thing though about this year, even though the numbers show we are that bad, I've felt we could have won at least 2 if not more games if 1 or 2 key plays had just gone our way. It's been a weird old season so far.

[Stephen]

I feel this team is better than last years but they keep making too many mistakes. Fumbles, ints, holding penalties and as bad as things have been we haven't been blown out by anyone yet. If we eliminate the holding penalties and turnovers and use our rbs and tes properly i could see us winning out.

[ColtRider]

It's an interesting mystery is our decline this season, the most obvious cause if of course Luck's huge drop off in play. Oddly the the implosion we've seen this season I would have expected in 2013, it looks like our lucky streak of overachieving finally caught up with us. Why 2013? If you look at our Pythagorean numbers for 2012 we massively overachieved:

 

 

A full 4 games no less which is huge. Teams normally see a drop off of 2.5 games plus the next year putting us at about a 8-8 team. Full break down of the stats of the theory (up to 2010 - credit Grantland):

 

 

I think it does show that Luck has been pretty darn amazing in how much he has put us over the record we should have ended up with and that as soon as his play regresses we've hit a level of expected wins. That or the crazy run of lucky bounces that seemed to go our at key junctures in games, or come from behind wins that just aren't sustainable. I included the Patriots as a comparison of what a "stable" organisation with a legit franchise QB looks like to show how much less they vary from their expected win total.

 

The odd thing though about this year, even though the numbers show we are that bad, I've felt we could have won at least 2 if not more games if 1 or 2 key plays had just gone our way. It's been a weird old season so far.

A very good analytical chart by comparison of the two. It sure does put things into perspective from an over/under achieving aspect by the Colts when you consider all the intangibles you've mentioned. I hope we can, in the future, replace our numbers with the Patriots.

Nice analogy, SCC.

[ThaCaliColt]

I just want to see the team mentally and physically prepared each week and sustain drives on offense. The defensive statistics would be remarkably improved if they weren't being put in such horrendous situations.

[ColtRider]

I think defenses have figured out Luck and the O to some extent...apply lots of pressure...and neither Luck or the coaches have figured out a way to counter those tactics.Defensive aggression on the LOS and against the receivers is what's causing the interceptions, turnovers, Luck holding the ball, sacks, and holding penalties (on pass plays)Chud's biggest task is to get the O to execute successful plays against defensive pressure.

Yep. This has to be addressed, along with Andrew holding the ball too long. The short passing game of screens, slants, side-outs, while having the house brought at you would change a lot of other defensive mindsets, IMO. You said it, a big task ahead. It's completely fixable. Mix it up with the run and see what happens. Looking downfield every single play just doesn't fit this team's overall abilities.

[LockeDown]

I agree with others who have said we don't have an offensive identity.  But you know, I don't really see anyone doing a great job on our team...except maybe our rookies Anderson and Parry....and Langford.  Even Vontae seems off.  Just weird.

[Jim H.]

At my age now, i'm embarrassed to say.

Was my college fraternity name given to me at initiation. (Mid 80s... A wonderful time)

Was cool at the time tho.

Note: for the record it has NOTHING to do with sheep. I thought i better clarify that. I don't need PETA hunting me down. Lol

As I thought.  You are/were a ladies man.

[WoolMagnet]

As I thought. You are/were a ladies man.

Much more were than are.

But practice makes perfect !

[Coltsman1788]

As for the Oline holding calls consider this.  If the holding occurs within 2.5 to 3 secs after snap, then blame the Olineman for bad technique, lack of talent, etc.  However if the holding calls occr after 3 secs after snap, blame the QB for holding on to the ball too long.  Olineman can only block some defender so long.  It would be interesting to see these stats.  I believe our Oline is workable and they need reps to solidify.  Just a thought.

Funny how our Oline looked plenty capable when Hasselbeck was behind center.  He was getting rid of the ball quickly.  Just might be something to this.