Looks like the defense has regressed back to normal

[Yoshinator]

As excited as I've been the last few games with Luck, the running game, the O-Line, and the TE play, the defense has been equally as bad. We started off the year well, got pressure on the QB at times, got to the QB, managed to get a fair amount of INTs, and were making stops at a reasonable pace. Now it seems the defense has regressed and is outmatched by any decent offense. We have been getting roasted by teams like the Raiders, Jets, and Jaguars in the air. There's not too much excuse for it either because these QB's have been shut down by other teams' defenses. Even Darius Leonard is starting to fall down to Earth a bit and the defense is becoming frustrating to watch as they ruin Luck and the offenses dominant work by allowing points on almost every drive it seems. 

 

We have seen a lot of progress on offense this year from the 2018 draft and that doesn't even include two WR's who haven't played yet. Leonard was a huge piece on defense, and Hooker and Walker are nice, but there isn't much else besides depth and complimentary pieces otherwise. I believe this next year in the draft, we need to go after defense in a major way. Go D-Line early, attack the strength of the draft, then possibly grab two CBs in the 3rd and 4th rounds and a OLB that all fit our scheme. We need pressure on the QB, and we need playmakers in the secondary besides Hooker. I'm hoping we can win a SB with Andrew Luck before he retires. The Offense is good enough, but it needs help from the Defense, and I'm hoping next years draft and FA can be the things that kick it off into another gear. Hopefully what is happening with our offense can happen with the defense next year. We will need the help when facing top teams once we start making the playoffs. Offense wins in the regular season, but defense wins championships.

[Superman]

The defense is terrible, which is somewhat normal for long time Colts fans, but this pass defense is historically bad. 

 

Poor tackling, wide open receivers, and untimely penalties. That's a lot to overcome for a team using a lot of replacement level players. 

[Fisticuffs111]

Yeah, our defense really benefitted early on from the pass rush that's all but disappeared since. All opposing defenses have to do is dump off the to their RB's with the occasional intermediate pass and they'll get in the red zone with ease.

[Creekside]

The Colt defense played well in the second half, while the offense sputtered.

 

Even though the Jags offense had the ball for 23 minutes ( to the Colt's 7 min.) in the second half, the Colt's defense yielded only 10 points to secure the victory.

[John Waylon]

Ron Meeks is on the sideline somewhere. I just know it. 

[rockywoj]

Basically, as I see it, the Colts are in need of 2 elite CBs and an elite SS.  Ergo, the secondary is 3 players short of becoming formidable.

 

As a whole, I think the defense needs to add 3 DBs, another LB, and another elite DLineman.

[#12.]

2 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

Offense wins in the regular season, but defense wins championships.

 

With the rule changes, if you look at the league in 2018 and the last few Super Bowls, that might be changing.  

 

This defense is bad, though.  Some of it is scheme.  Much of it is talent.  

 

I think this offense can score on anyone.  It's just a matter of whether the defense can get a stop or two and a turnover, and then hopefully special teams doesn't screw things up like they did yesterday.

 

 

[Yoshinator]

4 minutes ago, Superman said:

The defense is terrible, which is somewhat normal for long time Colts fans, but this pass defense is historically bad. 

 

Poor tackling, wide open receivers, and untimely penalties. That's a lot to overcome for a team using a lot of replacement level players. 

The CB's are definitely replacement level, some of the D-Line and OLBers as well. I thought we were going to at least get pressure on the QB and limit points, and it has all gone south. We can't even get a sack anymore. Desperately need pass rushers.

[The Fish]

This D is a slow rolling catastrophe.

This is 3 years in a row of just unbelievably bad D.

 

What's more is that I had been hearing talking heads say that the D was rounding into form the last few weeks. These same people had no clue how Luck had been doing either until recently. There's people who get paid to talk ball and they clearly do not watch the Colts- at all. 

 

 

[Yoshinator]

Just now, #12. said:

 

With the rule changes, if you look at the league in 2018 and the last few Super Bowls, that might be changing.  

 

This defense is bad, though.  Some of it is scheme.  Much of it is talent.  

 

I think this offense can score on anyone.  It's just a matter of whether the defense can get a stop or two and a turnover, and then hopefully special teams doesn't screw things up like they did yesterday.

 

 

We can definitely score on anyone. However, literally anyone can score on us as well. We need an average defense at least to win the tougher games even with our offense the way it is.

[pgt_rob]

The defense isn't great. It is a step up from Pagano years, though. It does seem like any QB can pass on our defense. We don't have any top tier players on defense at all except for maybe Leonard. We don't have a pass rush and we don't have a shutdown CB. That's a recipe for getting thrown on and allowing wide open receivers. 

[John Waylon]

1 minute ago, egg said:

The Colt defense played well in the second half, while the offense sputtered.

 

Even though the Jags offense had the ball for 23 minutes ( to the Colt's 7 min.) in the second half, the Colt's defense yielded only 10 points to secure the victory.

 

[#12.]

1 minute ago, Jared Cisneros said:

The CB's are definitely replacement level, some of the D-Line and OLBers as well. I thought we were going to at least get pressure on the QB and limit points, and it has all gone south. We can't even get a sack anymore. Desperately need pass rushers.

 

We need a better pass rush, but it's hard to get a sack on all this quick and underneath stuff.  If you don't scheme better against the quick/short game, you won't get many sack opportunities.

[stitches]

The moment our pass-rush stagnated is the moment when this defense became much more vulnerable to its main drawbacks - huge empty zones and especially with cornerbacks that are not very good this becomes a killer. 

 

When we were getting some modicum of pressure with Hunt earlier we were able to kind of hold on for dear life. Right now that's not happening. This scheme relies a ton on the 4 man front to create pressure and if it doesn't our pass-defense is screwed and the youth and lack of talent on the back end only exacerbates the problems. 

 

I really want us to start mixing in more press man and cover 3 looks. I really really really don't like how vulnerable this defensive scheme is to modern offenses and to even horrible QBs like Blake Bortles. If opponents just realize they can throw against us, we are cooked. We were lucky that the Jags yesterday gave Fournette the ball for over 20 carries that gave them 50 something yards, instead of just throwing against us. 

[MTC]

The defensive line is just awful at getting to the quarterback.

 

What happened to Margus Hunt? After having a great first quarter of the season, he has just disappeared. 

[masterlock]

It would be interesting to see what Greg Manuski could do with the current defensive personnel. He seemed to always find creative ways to get pressure even with the lack of talent he had. I'm not a big fan of the current scheme/play-calling.

[Ehrman.Dutton.Cook.Barnes]

8 minutes ago, pgt_rob said:

The defense isn't great. It is a step up from Pagano years, though. It does seem like any QB can pass on our defense. We don't have any top tier players on defense at all except for maybe Leonard. We don't have a pass rush and we don't have a shutdown CB. That's a recipe for getting thrown on and allowing wide open receivers. 

 

[lollygagger8]

When Blake Bortles looks like a franchise QB against your defense, your defense sucks. 

 

No pass rush + zone coverage 98% of the time = No Bueno 

 

I think the loss of Fairley and Mitchell is really understated.

Maluet or whatever his name is, is not good at all. Geathers has been disappointing. Heck, Hooker hasn't been what he was. Not that our CB position is great (Moore has been playing well) but our safety position has went from a strength, to a weakness awfully fast. 

[Ehrman.Dutton.Cook.Barnes]

 The problem with the defense goes back further  than Pagano.   It feels just like the Peyton Manning years when it fell on the offense to cover the deficiencies of the defense. The reason we won the Super Bowl was our defense played way over their heads. The next year they settled into a run-of-the-mill defense and all those Peyton Manning years were wasted, with only one Super Bowl win to show. It’s starting to feel the same way with Luck.  How many teams can boast getting two such quality quarterbacks back to back? It would be criminal to look back over 21 plus years and have one SB win with those two QBs.

[PeterBowman]

I think most of use believed the defense would be pretty sup par this year. They've got some good building blocks, but need a big talent infusion on that side of the ball next year. Though I think this has been the plan.

 

Plus the amount of youth on defense doesn't help right now either.

[BProland85]

There's no question that the 2019 draft needs to be spent mostly on defense. And adding another WR or two. 

[Four2itus]

Hooker is not playing at the level he was before injury, nor Geathers, and we were already barely getting it done on pass rush. Pass rush and man to man play in the back seven both feed off each other. We have some pieces, and continued development will happen. Our main issue is depth. When a player gets dinged or winded, what do we have? 

 

Barring health, I see hope for the future if CB continues to pick talent the way he has...and the staff continues to develop players. I wouldn't say we are regressing, but merely facing the ups and downs of a thin group of defensive talent.

[Alex22]

1 hour ago, Jared Cisneros said:

The CB's are definitely replacement level, some of the D-Line and OLBers as well. I thought we were going to at least get pressure on the QB and limit points, and it has all gone south. We can't even get a sack anymore. Desperately need pass rushers.

 

I’m in the minority but I think Desir and Moore are good. I like them and the opposing QB rarely throws at Desir. On the other hand, watching Wilson yesterday..... looks like he needs some adderall or something - he is never paying attention.

[John Waylon]

1 hour ago, MTC said:

The defensive line is just awful at getting to the quarterback.

 

What happened to Margus Hunt? After having a great first quarter of the season, he has just disappeared. 

 

I mean, let’s be honest: Hunt was never a huge factor player before that short stint. Maybe this is the rule, and those few good games were the best exception. 

[krunk]

Biggest problem right now is we are not executing well in the tackling department against all this quick hitting stuff and the screens.  That keeps drives extended.

[Blueblood23]

1 hour ago, Superman said:

The defense is terrible, which is somewhat normal for long time Colts fans, but this pass defense is historically bad. 

 

Poor tackling, wide open receivers, and untimely penalties. That's a lot to overcome for a team using a lot of replacement level players. 

Extremely disappointing that Hooker was unable to tackle Moncrief on his touchdown reception. That play just has to be made no excuses.

[Rally5]

1 hour ago, Jared Cisneros said:

As excited as I've been the last few games with Luck, the running game, the O-Line, and the TE play, the defense has been equally as bad. We started off the year well, got pressure on the QB at times, got to the QB, managed to get a fair amount of INTs, and were making stops at a reasonable pace. Now it seems the defense has regressed and is outmatched by any decent offense. We have been getting roasted by teams like the Raiders, Jets, and Jaguars in the air. There's not too much excuse for it either because these QB's have been shut down by other teams' defenses. Even Darius Leonard is starting to fall down to Earth a bit and the defense is becoming frustrating to watch as they ruin Luck and the offenses dominant work by allowing points on almost every drive it seems. 

 

We have seen a lot of progress on offense this year from the 2018 draft and that doesn't even include two WR's who haven't played yet. Leonard was a huge piece on defense, and Hooker and Walker are nice, but there isn't much else besides depth and complimentary pieces otherwise. I believe this next year in the draft, we need to go after defense in a major way. Go D-Line early, attack the strength of the draft, then possibly grab two CBs in the 3rd and 4th rounds and a OLB that all fit our scheme. We need pressure on the QB, and we need playmakers in the secondary besides Hooker. I'm hoping we can win a SB with Andrew Luck before he retires. The Offense is good enough, but it needs help from the Defense, and I'm hoping next years draft and FA can be the things that kick it off into another gear. Hopefully what is happening with our offense can happen with the defense next year. We will need the help when facing top teams once we start making the playoffs. Offense wins in the regular season, but defense wins championships.

When you play a lot of zone concepts you have to have push rush in order for it to work, otherwise, it's Madden football.  Early we were getting sacks and pressures, somehow that's gone away in recent weeks.  We're still doing reasonably well against the run and we seem to be getting a lot of negative plays in the run D, I don't have any stats on that, it just looks to be true to me.  I 100% agree we need to prioritize pass rush in the next draft along with some secondary talent.  Until then we have to roll with what we have and hope we catch some lightning.

[csmopar]

Didn't Ward end up on IR? As well as a few others from the DL?

[Flash7]

To me, the problem with the defense is that we allow short pass completions on purpose. The focus is to take away the medium & deep threat, and rally and tackle the shorter pass completions.

 

The problem with this is that the shorter pass completions negate our pass rush. If a team is alright with completing short quick hitting passes, then we will have games like we did yesterday. Our pass rush wasn't bad, but it couldn't get their fast enough due to Bortles throwing a majority of his passes within 5-yards of the LOS. The blue print against our defense is out there and we need to make adjustments. Lastly, this keeps drive alive and keeps Luck and the offense off of the field.

[ClaytonColt]

The defense at the moment is impossible to watch. They did well to make the crucial play to win the game yesterday but there is literally no situation where you feel confident in them. If they get anything right it's almost by accident.

 

Don't know what we'd expect in reality given the utter lack of talent on that side of the ball.

[richard pallo]

The defense is young and there is a learning curve so that is part of the problem.  But this soft coverage is so predictable.  We give away the easy completions instead of making the QB earn his money.   I felt like every time we got them to 3rd. and long they were going to convert.  I wish we never let Melvin go too.  Still don't see it.  He wasn't going to break the bank.   Maybe getting Hairston back will help.  But a CB or two and an ER will go a long way to improving the defense.  

[Barry Sears]

I'm hoping this time next year we are raving about our improved defense like we are the OL now.  I'm trusting Ballard to address the defense in FA and the draft for 2019.

[Nesjan3]

Im going to attribute a lot of the problems to our D coordinator Uberfus who was Mcdaniels guy. I think he will be gone after the year.

[IinD]

We basically have no playmakers on D.

REAL playmakers. 

We have a solid group of second tier players.

 

No pass rushers on the edge and as much as I like Quincy's measurables and attitude, he's looking more and more like a contributor, not a corner stone CB.

 

I don't think a different coordinator could do much better with this group. We had nothing on the entire team entering this year. O has progressed well and they still can get more, but this D isn't going to be beating most teams. 

They flat out just need better players on D.

[richard pallo]

5 minutes ago, Barry Sears said:

I'm hoping this time next year we are raving about our improved defense like we are the OL now.  I'm trusting Ballard to address the defense in FA and the draft for 2019.

Maybe Ballard can find a way to pry Lawrence away from the Cowboys.  He's a potential FA and will be expensive to sign.   They no longer have a 1st. rd. pick and they have a QB who has regressed.  If I had to pick between Brissett or Prescot I would take Brissett but that's just me.

[AZColt11]

CB will get that side straightened out.  Just gonna take a little time.  I do think he's got a few good pieces to build around though.  Even Walker is better than I could have predicted.

[richard pallo]

1 minute ago, IinD said:

We basically have no playmakers on D.

REAL playmakers. 

We have a solid group of second tier players.

 

No pass rushers on the edge and as much as I like Quincy's measurables and attitude, he's looking more and more like a contributor, not a corner stone CB.

 

I don't think a different coordinator could do much better with this group. We had nothing on the entire team entering this year. O has progressed well and they still can get more, but this D isn't going to be beating most teams. 

They flat out just need better players on D.

A young Kahil Mack wearing a horseshoe would look pretty good right now.  He's helped put the Bears in the drivers seat.  Of course that ship has sailed but it's fun to think about what could have been. 

[Coffeedrinker]

It's not that the scheme is horrible, it's just horrible for the talent on the Colts this year.  a Cover 2 type d needs to get pressure from the front 4, when the front 4 provides consistent pressure then it's tough to have sustained drives.  When they don't get consistent pressure then we see drives like Jax and Oak have had in the last two games.

 

That is why I wanted Chubb and Hurst in this past draft (I like the Nelson pick after trading but when the Colts were at 3, I think Chubb would have been the choice) and I would much rather have Hurst than Wilkins.  So that just means in the 2019 draft the Colts need to look at adding a 3 tech DT and another 1 or 2 DEs.  Need some more capable bodies to rotate with Sheard and Turay.  Lewis may be another well.

[PeterBowman]

16 minutes ago, Coffeedrinker said:

It's not that the scheme is horrible, it's just horrible for the talent on the Colts this year.  a Cover 2 type d needs to get pressure from the front 4, when the front 4 provides consistent pressure then it's tough to have sustained drives.  When they don't get consistent pressure then we see drives like Jax and Oak have had in the last two games.

 

That is why I wanted Chubb and Hurst in this past draft (I like the Nelson pick after trading but when the Colts were at 3, I think Chubb would have been the choice) and I would much rather have Hurst than Wilkins.  So that just means in the 2019 draft the Colts need to look at adding a 3 tech DT and another 1 or 2 DEs.  Need some more capable bodies to rotate with Sheard and Turay.  Lewis may be another well.

Luckily, this coming draft is DEEP in D line talent.

[superrep1967]

2 hours ago, lollygagger8 said:

When Blake Bortles looks like a franchise QB against your defense, your defense sucks. 

 

No pass rush + zone coverage 98% of the time = No Bueno 

 

I think the loss of Fairley and Mitchell is really understated.

Maluet or whatever his name is, is not good at all. Geathers has been disappointing. Heck, Hooker hasn't been what he was. Not that our CB position is great (Moore has been playing well) but our safety position has went from a strength, to a weakness awfully fast. 

Yes, Maulet is downright horrible and I mean horrible I'm not sure he even what he was supposed to be doing out there. He looked lost totally.