Metzelaars On Why Colts Went 2-14 Last Season

[UndecidedFrog]

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/afcsouth/post/_/id/33910/metzelaars-colts-didn%E2%80%99t-scale-back-enough

As reported by ESPN blogger Paul Kuharsky, Pete Metzelaars commented on why the Colts went 2-14 last season:

“We were so dependent on (Manning) and what he did. The whole offensive structure was built upon what he could do and how he did it. The way his injury took place, there was always kind of the thought that, ‘Well, he could come back, he might come back, maybe the recovery time is going to be X.’ So we found ourselves kind of holding out hope, ‘Well, let’s not change everything because there’s a chance he’s going to come back and when he comes back then we’re going to run it this way.’ Unfortunately, he never did come back. So we got stuck with kind of trying to change in midstream and put some things together, and the people we had trying to do some of the things that Peyton did, even then we cut it down, but obviously they’re not Peyton Manning."

[GoDeep]

That, and the defense sucked.

[Larry Horseman]

Tell me something I didn't know, Pete.

[The Fish]

Curtis Painter is really bad, you could take all kinds of middle of the road guys that weren't Curtis Painter and the Colts would have been .500.

[19colt]

Interesting to hear what we always knew come from one of the coaches. Thanks for the post.

[BOTT]

or he could have just said "a bunch of mediocre players."

[CR91]

that right there tells me our coaches couldnt do their jobs

[Moose Of Woe]

That, and the defense sucked.

And the O-line.

And the special teams.

And the coaching staff.

HMMMMMMMMMMMmmmm why did we go 2-14?

[Kenny]

The defense was only bad due simply to always being on the field. It mgiht seem like a lifetime ago but they did pretty much cripple the steelers offense. Honestly the only game that pops in my head that was clearly them was the bucs game. I could be wrong, but this season was one big blur to me

[PatMcAfeeFan]

And the O-line.

And the special teams.

And the coaching staff.

HMMMMMMMMMMMmmmm why did we go 2-14?

Because we signed the slowest passer ever in Collins and then went to Painter. If we would've started with Danny O we might have had more wins.

[reddmmann]

The defense was only bad due simply to always being on the field. It mgiht seem like a lifetime ago but they did pretty much cripple the steelers offense. Honestly the only game that pops in my head that was clearly them was the bucs game. I could be wrong, but this season was one big blur to me

Correction: The defense was bad and therefore, couldn't get off the field

[ReMeDy]

Because we signed the slowest passer ever in Collins and then went to Painter. If we would've started with Danny O we might have had more wins.

Our staff apparently doesn't know how to evaluate talent either... Or they caved in to Reggie Wayne's demands to let Curtis play. Little tip to our coaches: Don't let players make your decisions for you!

[JoKeR]

Correction: The defense was bad and therefore, couldn't get off the field

yes but Kenny isn't wrong either. Your both right.

[Moose Of Woe]

Because we signed the slowest passer ever in Collins and then went to Painter. If we would've started with Danny O we might have had more wins.

4-12 team at best. Brees and to a lesser extent Rivers might lead to one more win than that.

Anyone else would struggle behind that O-line. You need a QB who can make reads and dump the ball within 2-3 seconds consistently.

Either that or a scrambler/Tebow...but he'd be chased by the entire defense within 2 seconds while our O-line gets immediately run over.

[GrizzColt]

You don't win Exec. of the Year by drafting Painter. Peyton covered so many flaws.

[Kenny]

yes but Kenny isn't wrong either. Your both right.

This. They werent stellar, but they werent helped at all by constant 3rd down failures.

[Coltsagent]

Why did it take a position coach 2 days after the season is over to finally come out and say this? Hello? Would have been nice to hear this a long time ago.

[Smonroe]

And the O-line.

And the special teams.

And the coaching staff.

HMMMMMMMMMMMmmmm why did we go 2-14?

That all may be true, but all those were basically the same as the SB team, or at the very least last years playoff team. Metz was right.

[Smitto]

Source: http://espn.go.com/b...ale-back-enough

As reported by ESPN blogger Paul Kuharsky, Pete Metzelaars commented on why the Colts went 2-14 last season:

“We were so dependent on (Manning) and what he did. The whole offensive structure was built upon what he could do and how he did it. The way his injury took place, there was always kind of the thought that, ‘Well, he could come back, he might come back, maybe the recovery time is going to be X.’ So we found ourselves kind of holding out hope, ‘Well, let’s not change everything because there’s a chance he’s going to come back and when he comes back then we’re going to run it this way.’ Unfortunately, he never did come back. So we got stuck with kind of trying to change in midstream and put some things together, and the people we had trying to do some of the things that Peyton did, even then we cut it down, but obviously they’re not Peyton Manning."

Just proves to me the chances that peyton is back with the colts is super slim

[UndecidedFrog]

Just proves to me the chances that peyton is back with the colts is super slim

That quote you underlined only goes to show you how dangerous it is to base your entire offensive plan around one player.

[gacker65]

I have only 1 question for this coach,Why did they not let Peyton on the headset to help Painter and Orlovsky instead of having to talk to the after they came out of the game?

[Smitto]

I have only 1 question for this coach,Why did they not let Peyton on the headset to help Painter and Orlovsky instead of having to talk to the after they came out of the game?

i think a big reason why is because he was a player not a coach.. peyton also knows his place and wouldnt wanna disrespect Clyde

[Smitto]

That quote you underlined only goes to show you how dangerous it is to base your entire offensive plan around one player.

that too

[Malakai432]

That, and the defense sucked.

Indeed they did, don't forget our wonderful special teams as well.

[MAC]

Because we signed the slowest passer ever in Collins and then went to Painter. If we would've started with Danny O we might have had more wins.

Our staff apparently doesn't know how to evaluate talent either... Or they caved in to Reggie Wayne's demands to let Curtis play. Little tip to our coaches: Don't let players make your decisions for you!

Actually I think that the games we won had schemes designed to maximize Orlovsky's abilities. If they had been able to do the same thing when Painter was playing - instead of trying to keep the old offense in place - HE might have won some games.

And both of them were at their best when the oline was relatively healthy. Painters "fall" had a lot to do with injuries across the board. He was just dumping and running, or running and dumping, and getting crushed. It's nowhere near as simple as "they made a mistake in playing Painter." Painter has more physical skills, and you can't blame them for trying to take advantage of it. He just lost it mentally, and they gambled that he would get it back together.

----

Actually reading your answer more carefully, I'd have to add "what the heck are you talking about". You don't honestly believe that the decision to play Painter was because of Wayne do you? It was relevent in that a QB needs his teammates to have confidence in him, but "caved in to Reggie Wayne's demands"? What the..................

Edited February 8, 2012 by MAC

[ReMeDy]

Actually reading your answer more carefully, I'd have to add "what the heck are you talking about". You don't honestly believe that the decision to play Painter was because of Wayne do you? It was relevent in that a QB needs his teammates to have confidence in him, but "caved in to Reggie Wayne's demands"? What the..................

It can't be proven, but it can't be denied either. Reggie Wayne is on the final year of his contract, and as a top 5 WR in the league, there is clear incentive from the Colts organization to make him happy. Wayne publicly denounced the signing of Collins, proving Wayne is upset. Considering Wayne presented these frustrations publicly, imagine what he was like in the locker room!

http://aol.sportingn...collins-signing

You could argue he was defending both Painter and Orlovsky, but I doubt this. Orlovsky was cut and brought back after the injury to Peyton, and the only QB in our system who had sustained experience with the Colts, other than Peyton, was Curtis Painter. Therefore, when Reggie denounced Collins, he indirectly stated he wanted Painter as the starter.

Wayne played a part in the organization's QB decision. To what extend, we will never know.

[swflacoltsfans]

If we scored more points than our opponents we probably would have won.

[Freenyfan102]

Well we been screaming it all day long and the ^fool^ in the front office never listen well i still have my job do that have theirs ........ nope

[Jaric]

This boggles the mind.

Belichick installs a new game plan every week. Yet we were trying to froce Curtis Painter to try and pretend he's Peyton Manning because we couldn't change our scheme. That's lunacy.

[Ryan43]

and this is why we cleaned house :drink:

[Blue Horseshoe]

And the O-line.

And the special teams.

And the coaching staff.

HMMMMMMMMMMMmmmm why did we go 2-14?

All of which has been covered up by Manning for most of the decade.

[Rich Cannon]

I think my grandmother could call better defensive plays than Larry Coyer, and have more passion than good old Jimmy C.

[MR. Blueblood]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it a coaches job to put the players in the best possible position to win? So shouldn't said coaches, based on who was actually able to play, be required to make the changes necessary in game planning and calling to do just that? Isn't failing to do so, failing to do your job? Couldn't changing things to better suit the current QB been undone if/when Manning would've/could've returned? All of these answers are yes, and that's why all of them got let go. Failing to do your job because you're used to Manning doing it for you is inexcusable. I for one am glad this past season happened because all of the flaws with this team from the top to the bottom were exposed for the world to see. I'm glad that Irsay cleaned house because it was obviously needed.

[Jaric]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it a coaches job to put the players in the best possible position to win? So shouldn't said coaches, based on who was actually able to play, be required to make the changes necessary in game planning and calling to do just that? Isn't failing to do so, failing to do your job? Couldn't changing things to better suit the current QB been undone if/when Manning would've/could've returned? All of these answers are yes, and that's why all of them got let go. Failing to do your job because you're used to Manning doing it for you is inexcusable. I for one am glad this past season happened because all of the flaws with this team from the top to the bottom were exposed for the world to see. I'm glad that Irsay cleaned house because it was obviously needed.

Yeah pretty much.

What I don't understand is if you know Curtis is going to start (even for just a couple of weeks) why they didn't try and put together a "Curtis Offense." You know, one that doesn't require him to be Peyton Manning...

[MR. Blueblood]

Yeah pretty much.

What I don't understand is if you know Curtis is going to start (even for just a couple of weeks) why they didn't try and put together a "Curtis Offense." You know, one that doesn't require him to be Peyton Manning...

I hate to even bring up his name because it's been used so much this past year, but I look at what Denver did with Tebow, and I ask why we couldn't do something for Painter? Obviously Painter and Tebow aren't the same type players, but Denver totally changed schemes in mid stream to best suit the guy they currently had as QB. But yet Caldwell and Christensen sat back and did virtually nothing to help Painter succeed. Plenty of people will doubt that it's even possible for him to succeed but the coaches certainly didn't do him any favors.

[Fatboyslim11]

This. They werent stellar, but they werent helped at all by constant 3rd down failures.

Don't forget the Saints game and the first Texans game and the Falcons game and... You get the picture. The defense was awful and not that talented. They were a maor reason why we went 2-14 last year.

[MR. Blueblood]

Don't forget the Saints game and the first Texans game and the Falcons game and... You get the picture. The defense was awful and not that talented. They were a maor reason why we went 2-14 last year.

The defense was built to play with a lead, and has always been a bend but don't break defense. They broke this year, partly because we usually never had a lead, and the offense had serious trouble staying on the field to even give them a chance to rest up before they went back on the field. You can't expect a defense that for years has only been asked to not lose the game to all of a sudden go out and win games for us. It was a failed effort from everybody, from the top to the bottom, from the FO to every player on the field. To place blame on one particular group is unfair uncalled for. EVERYBODY could have and should have done more to make this a more successful season.

[wercolts]

That's an indictment on the coaching staff's ability to create and implement an offensive plan suited for someone other than Peyton to run. It didn't even necessarily have to be a QB centric plan, although a non QB centric scheme probably would have had to involve some trades and or FA moves.

[BleedingBlue]

and no running game.

[That Guy]

We went 2-14 because we got lucky in two games...