Which scenario is better?

[Trace Pyott]

 I was thinking about how close we have come to winning a few of our games and I got an idea, well more of a question. What team would you rather be?  Would you rather be a team who is losing most of the game but ends up  losing almost every game by a small amount due to just a handful of plays or would you rather be how we were last year and be winning most games but due to overly conservative play calling you end up losing right near the end?  I was just thinking which would be a better spot to be in, especially when it comes to showing the overall ability of your team in the present and future. If I had to pick I would almost say I would rather be in last years spot when only going by this criteria and not by roster talent and all that. What would you rather us be if you HAD to choose one of the two?

[Crunked]

I would rather be what we are this year....Last year was frustrating because we had to overcome coaching to win, this year we have to overcome lack of talent (which means we are well coached but under manned) the for lack of a better cliché , "the arrow is pointing up" on talent acquisition, which just means its a matter of time before we are good.....The alternative means you have to have GREAT talent just to overcome bad coaching and finish good....in other words, the sum of the equation means you never reach your full potential if you have to have great just to be good.....

 

the adage is you can always draft talent, not coaching.

[crazycolt1]

So we lost games last year due to coaching but this year it's from lack of talent.

We are more talented than we were last season but yet the coaches were expected to win with less talent last year?

You cant have it both ways.

[coltsfeva]

  This narrative of “the Colts lack talent” is getting old:

  

    Taking into account injuries, I think the Colts have more talent than some would concede. Do these players have talent ?

 

Luck

Leonard

Hilton

Mack

Doyle

Ebron

Nelson

Kelly

Castonzo

Hooker

Smith

Turay

Hairston

Hunt

Hines

Moore

Desir

Walker

Sanchez

Venitiari

Ridgeway 

Geathers

Autry

 

 You could argue that some can’t stay healthy, some are inexperienced and some aren’t playing up to their potential but to say they lack talent on this team, is inaccurate, IMO.

   The biggest question in my mind is, can they get and stay healthy and play together enough to gel ? 

    Nobody is running away with the AFC South. Don’t count the Colts out of contention for the Division.

[coltsva]

Last year other teams came out in the 2nd half, dominated us, and took the games from us. 

 

This year, it seems like we are handing them the games. 

 

When healthy, compared to last year, this team has more talent and is better coached. That’s why we begin a 6 game winning streak this Sunday!

[crazycolt1]

2 minutes ago, coltsva said:

Last year other teams came out in the 2nd half, dominated us, and took the games from us. 

 

This year, it seems like we are handing them the games. 

 

When healthy, compared to last year, this team has more talent and is better coached. That’s why we begin a 6 game winning streak this Sunday!

Last year we didn't have the talent to make the adjustments to win games. Our best players were out there the whole game because the talent level from the starters to the backups was huge.

This stuff about blaming the coaching on all the Colts problems last year is not correct but is getting old.

Frank is not winning games even with Luck back in the lineup. Frank also has more talent than the coaching staff had last year.

Yes it was time for a change in coaching but pointing the finger at Pagano because he couldn't win with the players Grigson brought in for him was not all on him. All coaches have to have a balanced team to win games and so far Frank is no different than Chuck was at this point.

I think we are heading in the right direction but till we get healthy and get a running game going we are not going to win many games.

[PeterBowman]

It's not lack of talent this year, it's lack of experience and lack of healthy bodies so far. For the most part, they're showing a lot of the talent is there, it's just the growing pains right now. They're getting a baptism by fire and they're making plays too. We knew the first part of the year would be pretty maddening due to the inconsistency but they're already showing much more than at any time last year.

[aaron11]

both teams lacked talent imo.  this year is better, but we are weak at receiver and running back and its killing our offense.  this team is a good example of why the skill positions are still important

 

we have some good pieces on defense, but are weak at safety and corner back and thats getting exploited too.  

[LJpalmbeacher2]

I prefer this years team(No Pagano)

[Flash7]

2 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

Last year we didn't have the talent to make the adjustments to win games. Our best players were out there the whole game because the talent level from the starters to the backups was huge.

This stuff about blaming the coaching on all the Colts problems last year is not correct but is getting old.

Frank is not winning games even with Luck back in the lineup. Frank also has more talent than the coaching staff had last year.

Yes it was time for a change in coaching but pointing the finger at Pagano because he couldn't win with the players Grigson brought in for him was not all on him. All coaches have to have a balanced team to win games and so far Frank is no different than Chuck was at this point.

I think we are heading in the right direction but till we get healthy and get a running game going we are not going to win many games.

There was enough talent on the team to be ahead in nine 4th quarters and good enough coaching to get those leads. Some of those leads resulted in wins, but most resulted in losses. The losses resulted possibly because of lack of talent in certain areas, but more likely due to coaching.

 

I’ve attached an article that statistically breaks down the poor coaching decisions made in the 4th quarter.

 

http://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/blog/2018/the-unbelievable-story-of-the-2017-colts

 

In my opinion, it’s not cut and dry with last year’s team.  They were able to do what only the Pats and Eagles were able to do — have 9 4th quarter leads. Unlike those teams, the Colts lost a majority of those games. There was enough talent and coaching to get those leads, and enough blame to around for the fourth quarter collapses.

 

 

[Bravo]

3 hours ago, coltsfeva said:

  This narrative of “the Colts lack talent” is getting old:

  

    Taking into account injuries, I think the Colts have more talent than some would concede. Do these players have talent ?

 

Luck

Leonard

Hilton

Mack

Doyle

Ebron

Nelson

Kelly

Castonzo

Hooker

Smith

Turay

Hairston

Hunt

Hines

Moore

Desir

Walker

Sanchez

Venitiari

Ridgeway 

Geathers

Autry

 

 You could argue that some can’t stay healthy, some are inexperienced and some aren’t playing up to their potential but to say they lack talent on this team, is inaccurate, IMO.

   The biggest question in my mind is, can they get and stay healthy and play together enough to gel ? 

    Nobody is running away with the AFC South. Don’t count the Colts out of contention for the Division.

 

 

They are in the NFl, They have talent. However some of not most of those players are not a above average talent. I understand being a Colts fan but you can over value a players talent just because they play for the Colts.

 

Kelly (has talent but has struggled)

Smith

Turay

Moore

Walker Jr.

Ridgeway

Hunt (who has disappeared)

 

Maybe even a couple others (Rogers,Grant)

They are good enough to start for the Colts. Put them on a winning team and maybe 1 of those guys start.

[Myles]

2 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

 

This stuff about blaming the coaching on all the Colts problems last year is not correct but is getting old.

 

It may be getting old, but it was true.   Those who watched the games each week witnessed poor coaching.   Good coaching wouldn't have made the team a Superbowl contender, but it would have added a few more wins.  

 

Talent-wise, both teams are lacking depth.   

[crazycolt1]

57 minutes ago, Myles said:

It may be getting old, but it was true.   Those who watched the games each week witnessed poor coaching.   Good coaching wouldn't have made the team a Superbowl contender, but it would have added a few more wins.  

 

Talent-wise, both teams are lacking depth.   

How much depth did last years team have?  If it was good then when did Ballard bring in so many players who he thinks has more talent. We still have a depth problem today and until that problem is solved we will not win many games. Even Luck cant get us wins with the present team.

When a team loses everything is magnified.  Pagano was put in a position that was not conducive to win.

[Myles]

1 hour ago, crazycolt1 said:

How much depth did last years team have?  If it was good then when did Ballard bring in so many players who he thinks has more talent. We still have a depth problem today and until that problem is solved we will not win many games. Even Luck cant get us wins with the present team.

When a team loses everything is magnified.  Pagano was put in a position that was not conducive to win.

Last years team didn't have depth.   This years team is a bit better, but not much.    Ballard is building some depth, but with young players, it takes time.   I agree that Pagano was in a tough situation, but he also was not doing a very good job.   This can mostly be attributed to Grigson.

 

 

[Crunked]

I felt last years team was more talented but poorly coached, my opinion on this years team is that it is well coached but not as talented (and I include health and experience in talented) and I could expound upon that if you force me, but reasonable deductive thought and the application of common sense should be able to reason out what I mean by that.

 

Now, let me clarify more or less talented, that would include beyond the starter at a given position. talented being the "overall" take on the team....I saw a super great list of names if you scroll back through the thread which one could argue are all the talented players on this team......and....for every name on there you can snatch a name no one heard of before they put on a Colt uniform to prove the opposite side of that debate.

 

The bottom end of this roster will (due to the wealth of injuries) get a lot of experience as this season unfolds, and some may become more talented with experience but on the whole, once you go beyond the starters at MOST positions, not ALL but most, the talent level plummets. That is part and parcel of a rebuild, it takes a few years to fill the ranks....not sure why people are getting their tail in a knot over this.......

[Case]

Pretty crazy we have lost by a total of 32 points all year, and we lost by like 40 points in one game last year.

 

We are on the right track

[ColtJ82]

For the first time in years, I feel like we are in every game we are playing. I don't feel like the coaching staff is a liability, as I have in recent years.

 

The team seems to have a sense of pride that has been missing for quite a while. They play hard and fast. The defense is fun to watch.

 

Ballard is starting to acquire those players that a fan base can get behind.

 

Credit to Frank. He is getting a lot out of these guys. Future is bright. Patience is required.

[Trace Pyott]

Quick question for those that say we have better coaching this year but less talent, does that mean that Ballard has got us going in the wrong direction? Shouldn’t we have more talent since Ballard has had more time to draft? Does the blame go to him? Or is it more like the guys last year were if given a number rating had a ceiling of 6 which they were playing at ....the new younger guys who replaced them have a current ranking of 5 but in a year or two will be an 7. Is that why we have better talent but it hasn’t exactly shown yet?  Not being sarcastic I’m seriously asking and I’m not saying any answer is wrong either. I’m just trying to see  if the colts really have improved as much as I had hoped. 

[CoachLite]

I don't think it is either coaching or talent. It takes time (and a little luck) for a team to gel as a team. Anyone who has played team sports knows this. This falls under the category of "learning how to win". One lesson I do wish we could learn is how not to sustain injuries (probably by trying too hard).

[Myles]

10 hours ago, Trace Pyott said:

Quick question for those that say we have better coaching this year but less talent, does that mean that Ballard has got us going in the wrong direction? Shouldn’t we have more talent since Ballard has had more time to draft? Does the blame go to him? Or is it more like the guys last year were if given a number rating had a ceiling of 6 which they were playing at ....the new younger guys who replaced them have a current ranking of 5 but in a year or two will be an 7. Is that why we have better talent but it hasn’t exactly shown yet?  Not being sarcastic I’m seriously asking and I’m not saying any answer is wrong either. I’m just trying to see  if the colts really have improved as much as I had hoped. 

We are young.   One of the youngest and Adam V, at 45, skews it a bit. 

Ballard absolutely has us going in the right direction. 

[aaron11]

10 hours ago, Trace Pyott said:

Quick question for those that say we have better coaching this year but less talent, does that mean that Ballard has got us going in the wrong direction? Shouldn’t we have more talent since Ballard has had more time to draft? Does the blame go to him? Or is it more like the guys last year were if given a number rating had a ceiling of 6 which they were playing at ....the new younger guys who replaced them have a current ranking of 5 but in a year or two will be an 7. Is that why we have better talent but it hasn’t exactly shown yet?  Not being sarcastic I’m seriously asking and I’m not saying any answer is wrong either. I’m just trying to see  if the colts really have improved as much as I had hoped. 

there is more talent on the roster now imo, but we have had more injuries too

 

doyle and ty are out, mack made some plays last year but has been hurt and done nothing this year.  having leonard now makes the defense more talented than last year, and walker went from just a guy to a good player as well

[Barry Sears]

It's hard to fully evaluate this, due to lack of experience, injuries, etc.  I do believe our talent has improved overall with much greater future potential than we had before.  I'm very confident that our coaching staff is lots better than the last staff.

 

let's get healthy, experienced and add some more pieces and see what happens.

[Trace Pyott]

Yah injuries have wrecked havoc on this team. Every year I think it’s the worst injury bug I’ve ever seen but it seems the year after is even worse. It would be nice if we could field a complete team with all our starters just once this year. Is that too much to ask?  Jeeeez.