Colts have the #1 defense in NFL since week 7

[braveheartcolt]

The Grinch. PFKAS. 

 

Poster Formerly Known As Superman. 

 

But as others have said, you are not wrong with your polite brand of scepticism. But all is not lost, as we will really find out how good our D is next year, when we face Brees, Ryan, Mahomes, Newton, Goff, Carr, and potentially Brady and Big Ben. Maybe 3 of those retire.......

[Dark Superman]

Huge test this week and next week vs Barkley and OBJ.

[Superman]

8 minutes ago, braveheartcolt said:

The Grinch. PFKAS. 

 

Poster Formerly Known As Superman. 

 

But as others have said, you are not wrong with your polite brand of scepticism. But all is not lost, as we will really find out how good our D is next year, when we face Brees, Ryan, Mahomes, Newton, Goff, Carr, and potentially Brady and Big Ben. Maybe 3 of those retire.......

 

That's how I feel...

 

I mean, I'm not a negative poster. I'm not trying to be that "unimpressed" kind of guy. I'm just saying that there's a difference between an opportunistic defense and a good defense. I think the Colts are the former right now.

[braveheartcolt]

13 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

That's how I feel...

 

I mean, I'm not a negative poster. I'm not trying to be that "unimpressed" kind of guy. I'm just saying that there's a difference between an opportunistic defense and a good defense. I think the Colts are the former right now.

I wasn't criticising you, just a wee Christmas joke......and although I'm slightly more upbeat, you are not wrong with your thoughts. One thing they will really need to tighten up on is penalties. Worst in the league is not good. I'm hope that is due to new schemes, new coaches, and a young set of players. We just cannot afford you give away so many free yards against next years' opponents. 

[The Fish]

20 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

That's how I feel...

 

I mean, I'm not a negative poster. I'm not trying to be that "unimpressed" kind of guy. I'm just saying that there's a difference between an opportunistic defense and a good defense. I think the Colts are the former right now.

 

It's an improving unit, but it's not a great unit (#1). They're much closer to being a middle of the road D right now in the scheme of things. At points this year they've been flat out bad too. The last two weeks has been really quite good though, so hopefully they're peaking at the right time.

[buccolts]

23 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

That's how I feel...

 

I mean, I'm not a negative poster. I'm not trying to be that "unimpressed" kind of guy. I'm just saying that there's a difference between an opportunistic defense and a good defense. I think the Colts are the former right now.

 

Isn't that the intention of the Tampa 2?

Bend but don't break. Make them plod down the field in little chunks, in hopes of causing turnovers along the way (opportunistic)(?)

 

They may never look like the Ravens, or even the rumored Monster, but effective none the less.

[lollygagger8]

Funny how the previous 3-4 was designed to stop the run and had "bigger" guys, yet the 4-3 Tampa D with "smaller" guys is so much better ! 

[Creekside]

1 hour ago, Superman said:

 

 

@egg

 

Still want this deleted, or should we just merge it with the other threads on the defense?

 

You can delete it..over half of it isn't even there.  If it had posted the way I typed it you would have seen why it needed it's own thread....thanks

[Lawrence Owen]

1 hour ago, Finball said:

We are #1 points allowed too. HOU is within 2 points, LAC 4. HOU has also had soft Schedule, LAC a bit harder. DEN is 8 points behind us but they've played against Mahomes, Ben and Rivers in that stretch, along with Watson.

Here, I'll post a pick of your finding...good job BTW!...can't believe i missed that...lol

 

 

[Superman]

43 minutes ago, buccolts said:

 

Isn't that the intention of the Tampa 2?

Bend but don't break. Make them plod down the field in little chunks, in hopes of causing turnovers along the way (opportunistic)(?)

 

They may never look like the Ravens, or even the rumored Monster, but effective none the less.

 

By "opportunistic," I meant they're taking advantage of playing against below average QBs/offense. 

 

But yes, this defense is designed to pounce when the offense makes a mistake, and the fact that they are 8th in takeaways and 12th in sacks shows that they do a pretty good job of taking what they're given.

[Jason_]

15 minutes ago, egg said:

 

You can delete it..over half of it isn't even there.  If it had posted the way I typed it you would have seen why it needed it's own thread....thanks

 

well I'm not sure about that

 

my favorite stat right now for the Colt defense is that the rush defense is ranked #5 in the NFL in terms of yards per carry at 3.8.  That's a significant improvement over the Dungy and Caldwell Tampa 2 defenses.  Eberflus is also far more aggressive than Dungy/Caldwell(Coyer)...it's easy to see the influence he got from Rod Marinelli.

[superrep1967]

1 hour ago, krunk said:

I won't get too caught up in the numbers.   Just based on the eye test I will say it's a growing unit. Still have some room for improvement but it's a solid group.

Based on my eye test there a very fast defense that swarms to the ball. I can't say enough about the job Ballard has done with this team. 

[Creekside]

13 minutes ago, J@son said:

 

well I'm not sure about that

 

my favorite stat right now for the Colt defense is that the rush defense is ranked #5 in the NFL in terms of yards per carry at 3.8.  That's a significant improvement over the Dungy and Caldwell Tampa 2 defenses.  Eberflus is also far more aggressive than Dungy/Caldwell(Coyer)...it's easy to see the influence he got from Rod Marinelli.

 

All the stats were for the year, not last 7 weeks. Much of it was garbled and much of it wasn't there. Was very well laid out and easy to read the way I typed it. Too bad.

[Lawrence Owen]

16 minutes ago, J@son said:

 

well I'm not sure about that

 

my favorite stat right now for the Colt defense is that the rush defense is ranked #5 in the NFL in terms of yards per carry at 3.8.  That's a significant improvement over the Dungy and Caldwell Tampa 2 defenses.  Eberflus is also far more aggressive than Dungy/Caldwell(Coyer)...it's easy to see the influence he got from Rod Marinelli.

It is my favorite stat also.  So many people think that YPC does't mean squat as opposed to yards in a game.  But YPG are skewed.  When you have a low ypc this means you stop that run game during the MEAT of the game. If you have a low YPC but a decent YPG, that generally mean the defense held through the first 3/4 of the game, and in the 4th Quarter have went more to a prevent allowing longer runs because they'll give up medium runs and passes to keep you from scoring fast.  Colts have had a top 10 YPC all year.  And have been improving slightly week to week.

[Behle]

A good defense is supposed to show up bad offenses. Past years our defense allowed inferior offenses thrive 

[Lawrence Owen]

5 hours ago, Behle said:

A good defense is supposed to show up bad offenses. Past years our defense allowed inferior offenses thrive 

Yeah, we decimate teams on D the past 7 weeks, and people want to say "well, schedule, they are weak O's.  What was we supposed to do? Had we had bad games people would blow up, we do good, oh well. can't win for winning...lol

[LockeDown]

12 hours ago, Superman said:

 

By "opportunistic," I meant they're taking advantage of playing against below average QBs/offense. 

 

But yes, this defense is designed to pounce when the offense makes a mistake, and the fact that they are 8th in takeaways and 12th in sacks shows that they do a pretty good job of taking what they're given.

 A veteran backup QB should play well against a really young defense like ours but none of them have so far.  That’s what is impressive about us is we are doing this with very little experience under our belts. 

[Lawrence Owen]

41 minutes ago, LockeDown said:

 A veteran backup QB should play well against a really young defense like ours but none of them have so far.  That’s what is impressive about us is we are doing this with very little experience under our belts. 

Agreed, the fact our Defense is doing what it is doing with so many 1st and 2nd year players, and a new coach and scheme, should not be overlooked.

[Lawrence Owen]

14 hours ago, braveheartcolt said:

The Grinch. PFKAS. 

 

Poster Formerly Known As Superman. 

 

But as others have said, you are not wrong with your polite brand of scepticism. But all is not lost, as we will really find out how good our D is next year, when we face Brees, Ryan, Mahomes, Newton, Goff, Carr, and potentially Brady and Big Ben. Maybe 3 of those retire.......

Or the mummy wraps finally unravel, and dust just hits the floor. (too dark?)

[NewColtsFan]

20 hours ago, csmopar said:

We could deny him interviews.... which would be a untasteful move but it could happen

 

I don’t think you can deny an interview for a promotion.    I could be wrong, but that’s my understanding.

[ColtsBlueFL]

20 hours ago, egg said:

MODS PLEASE DELETE.........DID NOT POST THE WAY I WANTED IT TO THANKS.......

 

If the info is what you want, interested folks will figure out the formatting. 

[Creekside]

8 minutes ago, ColtsBlueFL said:

 

If the info is what you want, interested folks will figure out the formatting. 

 

Much of it isn't there...doesn't matter...thanks

[Superman]

8 hours ago, LockeDown said:

 A veteran backup QB should play well against a really young defense like ours but none of them have so far.  That’s what is impressive about us is we are doing this with very little experience under our belts. 

 

One of these days I'm going to dig in and share some mythbusting facts about NFL "veteran backup QBs." But long story short, veteran backup QBs typically don't play very well, especially when they only get to play for a game or two.

 

Derek Anderson was at home since the end of last season. No OTAs, no training camp. He signs with the Bills, primarily to be a veteran presence during the week, not to actually play and win games for them. Ten days later, he's starting a game on the road. No one should have expected him to play well.

 

Blaine Gabbert is and always has been a bad QB. He probably doesn't get any meaningful practice reps during the week, and the Titans starter has unique physical traits that the coaches include in the weekly gameplan. No one should have expected Gabbert to come in late in the second quarter and play well. He actually had a decent game.

 

Cody Kessler had never won a game before. And calling him a veteran is a stretch, he'd started 8 games, all for a terrible Cleveland team. 

 

If our defense hadn't performed well in those games, it would be evidence that we have a bad defense. I'm not saying that, even though some are acting like I'm disrespecting our defense somehow. I've actually given them plenty of credit. But the opposition matters.

[Creekside]

1 hour ago, Superman said:

 

One of these days I'm going to dig in and share some mythbusting facts about NFL "veteran backup QBs." But long story short, veteran backup QBs typically don't play very well, especially when they only get to play for a game or two.

 

Derek Anderson was at home since the end of last season. No OTAs, no training camp. He signs with the Bills, primarily to be a veteran presence during the week, not to actually play and win games for them. Ten days later, he's starting a game on the road. No one should have expected him to play well.

 

Blaine Gabbert is and always has been a bad QB. He probably doesn't get any meaningful practice reps during the week, and the Titans starter has unique physical traits that the coaches include in the weekly gameplan. No one should have expected Gabbert to come in late in the second quarter and play well. He actually had a decent game.

 

Cody Kessler had never won a game before. And calling him a veteran is a stretch, he'd started 8 games, all for a terrible Cleveland team. 

 

If our defense hadn't performed well in those games, it would be evidence that we have a bad defense. I'm not saying that, even though some are acting like I'm disrespecting our defense somehow. I've actually given them plenty of credit. But the opposition matters.

 

When I judge the Colt's defense, I compare them to all 31 other defenses. The Colt's defense has given up 249 points (excluding 1 point conversions). This is 10th best in the league. In my opinion this is a very telling and useful stat because all defenses have play games against poor QB.s. And all the other teams have benefited statistically from these games.

 

Derick Anderson also played a full game against the Patriots. (He played better against them)

 

Cody Kessler also played against the Texans and Titans. (He had a TD pass against each team)

 

Blaine Gabbert beat the Texans in week 2. ( He had 1TD and a passer rating of 97.3)

 

Here's who the Colt's defense did not play:

 

Josh Allen (on training wheels) 52.4% comp    5 TDs / 9 int    62.8 passer rating  He has played full games against the Ravens,Chargers,Vikings,Packers,Titans,Texans,Jaguars,Dolphins,and Jets.

 

Josh Rosen (on training wheels) 55.4% comp   10 TD's / 12 int   68.3 passer rating. He has played full games against the Seahawks,Vikings,Broncos,Chiefs,Raiders,Chargers,Packers, Lions, and the (49rs twice.)

 

CJ Bethard (2nd year 49rs QB)   57.3% comp    12 TD's / 13 int   74.6 passer rating  He has played full games against the Chargers,Packers,Rams, and (Cardinals twice.)

 

Nathan Peterman played against the Ravens,Texans and Bears and had 1 TD to 7 int with a passer rating of 30.7. He's no longer in the league.

 

Sam Bradford also left the league this year. But not before he played 3 full games against the Redskins, Rams, and Bears when he threw 2 TD's to 4 int and a passer rating of 62.5

 

Josh McCown Played 3 full games against the Patriots, Titans, and Bills and had 54.5% comp

1 TD / 4 int  and a passer rating of 55.8

 

There's also Brock Osweiler, Matt Barkley, Colt Mcoy.........but you get the point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[stitches]

23 hours ago, Superman said:

 

That's how I feel...

 

I mean, I'm not a negative poster. I'm not trying to be that "unimpressed" kind of guy. I'm just saying that there's a difference between an opportunistic defense and a good defense. I think the Colts are the former right now.

I agree wholeheartedly but I will add that being opportunistically good is a huge step up from previous years when we were consistently bad regardless of opponent. 

[Superman]

3 hours ago, stitches said:

I agree wholeheartedly but I will add that being opportunistically good is a huge step up from previous years when we were consistently bad regardless of opponent. 

 

No doubt.

[Superman]

3 hours ago, egg said:

 

When I judge the Colt's defense, I compare them to all 31 other defenses. The Colt's defense has given up 249 points (excluding 1 point conversions). This is 10th best in the league. In my opinion this is a very telling and useful stat because all defenses have play games against poor QB.s. And all the other teams have benefited statistically from these games.

 

Derick Anderson also played a full game against the Patriots. (He played better against them)

 

Cody Kessler also played against the Texans and Titans. (He had a TD pass against each team)

 

Blaine Gabbert beat the Texans in week 2. ( He had 1TD and a passer rating of 97.3)

 

Here's who the Colt's defense did not play:

 

Josh Allen (on training wheels) 52.4% comp    5 TDs / 9 int    62.8 passer rating  He has played full games against the Ravens,Chargers,Vikings,Packers,Titans,Texans,Jaguars,Dolphins,and Jets.

 

Josh Rosen (on training wheels) 55.4% comp   10 TD's / 12 int   68.3 passer rating. He has played full games against the Seahawks,Vikings,Broncos,Chiefs,Raiders,Chargers,Packers, Lions, and the (49rs twice.)

 

CJ Bethard (2nd year 49rs QB)   57.3% comp    12 TD's / 13 int   74.6 passer rating  He has played full games against the Chargers,Packers,Rams, and (Cardinals twice.)

 

Nathan Peterman played against the Ravens,Texans and Bears and had 1 TD to 7 int with a passer rating of 30.7. He's no longer in the league.

 

Sam Bradford also left the league this year. But not before he played 3 full games against the Redskins, Rams, and Bears when he threw 2 TD's to 4 int and a passer rating of 62.5

 

Josh McCown Played 3 full games against the Patriots, Titans, and Bills and had 54.5% comp

1 TD / 4 int  and a passer rating of 55.8

 

There's also Brock Osweiler, Matt Barkley, Colt Mcoy.........but you get the point.

 

 

Brock Osweiler played better than Derek Anderson this year...

 

But the point isn't whether teams play bad QBs and offenses. The point is that the Colts have mostly played bad QBs and offenses over the last two months, which is when this defensive renaissance has taken place for the Colts. 

 

We're "the #1 defense over the last seven weeks," but that's been the softest part of our schedule. We looked like bottom dwellers when we had to play the Patriots, and even last game against the Texans. The defense has started to improve in many ways -- the players are healthier, the guys are tackling better, the play calls are more varied, etc. Credit where due. 

 

And speaking to their improvement, the defense was MUCH better last week than they were in the first Houston game. But even last week, on the final defensive drive, we make several mistakes and let them score a big TD in under two minutes. Situationally, the defense looked problematic. Still better than the first game, but the same issues we've been dealing with all year -- penalties, poor tackling, open receivers -- were a problem on that last drive. Thank goodness they never got the ball back.

 

I figure if we played the Jets right now, we wouldn't let Darnold look like an MVP candidate. I think maybe Brady doesn't start out 18/20 or whatever it was. But I don't think we'd be top ten in yardage or points if we weren't coming out of the softest part of our schedule.

[Lawrence Owen]

3 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

Brock Osweiler played better than Derek Anderson this year...

 

But the point isn't whether teams play bad QBs and offenses. The point is that the Colts have mostly played bad QBs and offenses over the last two months, which is when this defensive renaissance has taken place for the Colts. 

 

We're "the #1 defense over the last seven weeks," but that's been the softest part of our schedule. We looked like bottom dwellers when we had to play the Patriots, and even last game against the Texans. The defense has started to improve in many ways -- the players are healthier, the guys are tackling better, the play calls are more varied, etc. Credit where due. 

 

And speaking to their improvement, the defense was MUCH better last week than they were in the first Houston game. But even last week, on the final defensive drive, we make several mistakes and let them score a big TD in under two minutes. Situationally, the defense looked problematic. Still better than the first game, but the same issues we've been dealing with all year -- penalties, poor tackling, open receivers -- were a problem on that last drive. Thank goodness they never got the ball back.

 

I figure if we played the Jets right now, we wouldn't let Darnold look like an MVP candidate. I think maybe Brady doesn't start out 18/20 or whatever it was. But I don't think we'd be top ten in yardage or points if we weren't coming out of the softest part of our schedule.

So what you are saying is "We are Much better now than the first part of the year.  But We wouldn't be #1 defense had we been playing the first 7 weeks the same as the last 7. Better overall but not #1"?

 

This i agree. But had our defense played like this the first part of the year, our record could most definitely be different. But the learning process, and health, is what got us to the point that we are playing right now.  So i'll take that 1/2 year learning curve to play well heading into the latter part of the season and possibly the playoff's.

[Superman]

4 minutes ago, Lawrence Owen said:

So what you are saying is "We are Much better now than the first part of the year.  But We wouldn't be #1 defense had we been playing the first 7 weeks the same as the last 7. Better overall but not #1"?

 

This i agree. But had our defense played like this the first part of the year, our record could most definitely be different. But the learning process, and health, is what got us to the point that we are playing right now.  So i'll take that 1/2 year learning curve to play well heading into the latter part of the season and possibly the playoff's.

 

I'll take it, too. I'll take all of it. I think, even with an unimpressive defense, bad OL play and a rusty QB, we could have easily started off 3-3 instead of 1-5. So transplant the team playing much better now to the first part of the season, and I would expect different results. 

 

So now, we have a defense that has improved in recent weeks (that's clear, and commendable), but they've also playing an easier part of the schedule. 

 

The Cowboys and Giants are resurgent. These next couple weeks are meaningful in a lot of ways. They're a good measuring stick for us -- even at home -- and they have playoff implications. The Cowboys have a great 1-2 punch right now, and Barkley has been on fire. If the defense holds up in these two games, you'll see my tone change.

[Lawrence Owen]

5 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I'll take it, too. I'll take all of it. I think, even with an unimpressive defense, bad OL play and a rusty QB, we could have easily started off 3-3 instead of 1-5. So transplant the team playing much better now to the first part of the season, and I would expect different results. 

 

So now, we have a defense that has improved in recent weeks (that's clear, and commendable), but they've also playing an easier part of the schedule. 

 

The Cowboys and Giants are resurgent. These next couple weeks are meaningful in a lot of ways. They're a good measuring stick for us -- even at home -- and they have playoff implications. The Cowboys have a great 1-2 punch right now, and Barkley has been on fire. If the defense holds up in these two games, you'll see my tone change.

I'd put last weeks Texans game in there also.  This 3 week stretch is our measuring stick for the playoff's if we get in.

[Superman]

My tone is changing. 

[Btown_Colt]

Just now, Superman said:

My tone is changing. 

No way I would of predicted a shutout. If the colts somehow make the playoffs and can continue to play like this..they can definitely make some noise. 

[Scott Pennock]

Where are all the nay sayers now?  Or are the Cowboys still not a good enough barometer?

[Colt Overseas]

There are some very underrated players on this defense. Leonard and most recently Autry have stood out but everyone seems to be stepping up and we play with great hustle. 

 

I think Desir has played outstanding on Hopkins and Cooper the last 2 weeks. 

 

Hunt has really excelled since moving to NT and himself, Autry and Sheard are very stout on run D. Walker has been playing very well too beside Leonard. Wilson is playing well and has his confidence back.

 

Very encouraging, Eberflus has done a brilliant job. Whether we should be classified as a good defense or not, we have a really young defense that has improved immeasurably since last year. I'm excited anyway, they are going in the right direction for sure.

[csmopar]

4 hours ago, Superman said:

My tone is changing. 

Mine too

[Lawrence Owen]

1 minute ago, csmopar said:

Mine too

I've been watching closely every week. watching play call's and scheme.  I said earlier in the year i HATE this zone defense if we can't get pressure on the QB.  Eberflus started blitzing a little more, and now the scheme fits our DB's talents.

I posted this 'since week 7, having the #1 defense' for a while now,...not just here, but on all sorts of social media, and still no-one heard me.  But I think they do now. (i won't get credit for noticing it, but that's ok. I just want the teams to get the credit they deserve.)

[compuls1v3]

7 hours ago, Superman said:

My tone is changing. 

If we continue to play at this level with everyone HEALTHY we are a hard team to beat right now.  I personally don't feel we've played a high powered offense (with our current Defense) with a GREAT QB & RB. I think THAT will be the true measuring stick of our potential.  Like I said before, THIS is the time for the defense to get hot and we are doing it!

[#12.]

It turned when Eberflus got aggressive vs. the Titans.  Prior to that - Jets, Raiders, first Jags game - it was pretty painful.