Vanilla was the flavor of the day.

[dw49]

I understand we were missing Hilton , but that play calling was atrocious . I'm not sure which side of the ball was worse . Offense would be a 2 yard pass on 3rd and 10 , defense was just as boring. Sit back in a sloppy zone , Carr  with no pressure throws an 8 yard pass to a wide open receiver. 

 

It looked like a preseason game that they didn't want to give insight to the real offense.  Vanilla is the word that comes to mind but many others fit. Boring , mundane . unimaginative are  a few that come to my mind...

[coltfaninnewyork]

Shocking to me was that Oakland played nickel for majority of game ,yet we couldn't run the ball.Very disappointing.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

It was bad and predictable. It was like the old chuck days. Just run run pass. Nothing was schemed up at all.

[dw49]

7 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:

It was bad and predictable. It was like the old chuck days. Just run run pass. Nothing was schemed up at all.

 

I have not enjoyed a Colt game less than this one in a good many years. And yes very predictable.

[Superman]

I'm finally done with my rewatch. I don't know if I'd call the play calling "vanilla," particularly on offense. They did a few things that I've been hoping to see more of, like RPOs and read options with pass outlets, etc. I think it was a fairly balanced gameplan, and it seemed to be undermined by a lack of execution, especially dropped passes and poor run blocking.

 

I do have some issue with the usage the backs. Hines was fine even in short yardage on 4th down, even though I don't understand why he gets short yardage carries. I like seeing him on those angle routes, he's starting to become a problem for linebackers every week. But it seems like every time Wilkins gets a few carries, he moves the ball. Yet he's not a real part of the gameplan each week. They want to make Mack the feature back, and I also get that, because he seems to do better with more carries, but it bothers me that Wilkins gets excluded from the rotation. Just 12 attempts through four games...

 

Another thing, everyone has been critical of the receivers after last week. Too many drops, for sure, and the young guys are still working through some of the finer points of running routes and making adjustments when the ball is in the air. But I didn't think the receivers were as bad as the initial response made them seem. Cain ran some nice routes, Campbell is great with the ball in his hands (just needs to actually keep the ball in his hands), and even Rogers is contributing. Pascal had the penalty at the end, but he's just fighting to make a play, with the game on the line. The receivers are gonna be fine, I think.

 

The OL has to tighten up their run blocking assignments. Too many busts, resulting in negative plays. And it's not just one player getting beat physically, there are a lot of things going on that will hopefully get better as they keep working together, but if we can stop shooting ourselves in the foot, it will help the offense stay on schedule.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

I haven’t rewatched anything. Here is my thoughts about the defense. Someone can correct me if they think they saw something else. Desir played only 35% of the snaps because of the hamstring. Wilson only played 9 snaps. That meant Moore and rock were the main two corners. I think that took Moore out of his usual spot at the slot. Add no Leonard and walker playing out of position and all the rookies I can see why it might of been a little vanilla and why we struggled. 

[Creekside]

8 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

I haven’t rewatched anything. Here is my thoughts about the defense. Someone can correct me if they think they saw something else. Desir played only 35% of the snaps because of the hamstring. Wilson only played 9 snaps. That meant Moore and rock were the main two corners. I think that took Moore out of his usual spot at the slot. Add no Leonard and walker playing out of position and all the rookies I can see why it might of been a little vanilla and why we struggled. 

 

Desir did't look good out there to me. It looked like he was playing hurt. Hopefully he is healing up and good to go Sunday.

[Imgrandojji]

Everything is stupid when it doesn't work

 

The offensive gameplan wasn't really any different from previous weeks.  We didn't get much from the run though which makes the scheme look more dysfunctional than it actually is.

 

At the end of the day our issues are not offensive dysfunction.  There were a couple points of improvement on offense, that's true anytime you run for less than 60 yards and throw a pick 6, but let's not allow that to gloss over our issues on D.  That was the real killer. We got enough offensive points to win or tie every other game we've played.

 

One positive takeaway from last week is that Jacoby Brissett can put up 24 points without much help from the run game.  Up to this point weve  used the throw to offset the run.  This time we had to use the throw as our primary offensive weapon and it was moderately productive.  I consider that a sign of progress in Brissett's development

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

10 minutes ago, egg said:

 

Desir did't look good out there to me. It looked like he was playing hurt. Hopefully he is healing up and good to go Sunday.

He was playing with a bad hamstring. Good news is he wasn’t on the injury report yesterday.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

7 minutes ago, Imgrandojji said:

Everything is stupid when it doesn't work

 

The offensive gameplan wasn't really any different from previous weeks.  We didn't get much from the run though which makes the scheme look more dysfunctional than it actually is.

 

At the end of the day our issues are not offensive dysfunction.  There were a couple points of improvement on offense, that's true anytime you run for less than 60 yards and throw a pick 6, but let's not allow that to gloss over our issues on D.  That was the real killer. We got enough offensive points to win or tie every other game we've played.

 

One positive takeaway from last week is that Jacoby Brissett can put up 24 points without much help from the run game.  Up to this point weve  used the throw to offset the run.  This time we had to use the throw as our primary offensive weapon and it was moderately productive.  I consider that a sign of progress in Brissett's development

Yep. If this D Wasn’t trash and AV didn’t miss kicks that first game the offense has done fine. We would be 4-0 if it wasn’t for the trash defense.

[Superman]

24 minutes ago, Imgrandojji said:

Everything is stupid when it doesn't work

 

The offensive gameplan wasn't really any different from previous weeks.  We didn't get much from the run though which makes the scheme look more dysfunctional than it actually is.

 

At the end of the day our issues are not offensive dysfunction.  There were a couple points of improvement on offense, that's true anytime you run for less than 60 yards and throw a pick 6, but let's not allow that to gloss over our issues on D.  That was the real killer. We got enough offensive points to win or tie every other game we've played.

 

One positive takeaway from last week is that Jacoby Brissett can put up 24 points without much help from the run game.  Up to this point weve  used the throw to offset the run.  This time we had to use the throw as our primary offensive weapon and it was moderately productive.  I consider that a sign of progress in Brissett's development

 

I think the gameplan was different, actually. More RPOs, some different passing concepts with TY out, and I think they made a more concerted effort to look downfield to keep the defense honest. It kind of worked, but we couldn't capitalize because of the dropped passes and the missed run blocks. I would have liked to see more screens, but we didn't execute those well, either. 

 

I really think it was just a game of bad execution, more than anything else. 

[MB-ColtsFan]

15 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I think the gameplan was different, actually. More RPOs, some different passing concepts with TY out, and I think they made a more concerted effort to look downfield to keep the defense honest. It kind of worked, but we couldn't capitalize because of the dropped passes and the missed run blocks. I would have liked to see more screens, but we didn't execute those well, either. 

 

I really think it was just a game of bad execution, more than anything else. 

I haven't re-watched the game yet - plan to today, but didn't we run a screen late in the game that we got some yardage on?  I remember being very surprised to see it so late, but it did work because the LB's were so far back.  I don't remember others though.

[dw49]

19 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I think the gameplan was different, actually. More RPOs, some different passing concepts with TY out, and I think they made a more concerted effort to look downfield to keep the defense honest. It kind of worked, but we couldn't capitalize because of the dropped passes and the missed run blocks. I would have liked to see more screens, but we didn't execute those well, either. 

 

I really think it was just a game of bad execution, more than anything else. 

 

My take on the play calling was ultra conservative in the passing game until we had to score on pretty much every possession. Way too many 2 yard passes on 2nd and 3rd and longs. Things changed a bit around midway through quarter 3.

[Superman]

12 minutes ago, dw49 said:

 

My take on the play calling was ultra conservative in the passing game until we had to score on pretty much every possession. Way too many 2 yard passes on 2nd and 3rd and longs. Things changed a bit around midway through quarter 3.

 

That might be a legit angle. I watched in fragments, not straight through, so I might have missed that change in approach. The RPOs were called throughout the game, but you might be right that the short passes were overused early on. 

[shasta519]

22 minutes ago, dw49 said:

 

My take on the play calling was ultra conservative in the passing game until we had to score on pretty much every possession. Way too many 2 yard passes on 2nd and 3rd and longs. Things changed a bit around midway through quarter 3.

 

At that point...OAK was giving the Colts those checkdown and short passes. But then they did the same thing on the pick 6 drive...which OAK correctly sat on. I feel like Luck takes a shot on one of those two downs.

[Smoke317]

I think it was a lack of execution on both sides of the ball.  We were in the red zone or at least on their half of the field twice before half.  We had some terrible penalties & drops.  The Glow penalty on 3rd & short negated a first down throw to Hines that would have kept the drive going.  Ended up settling for the long field goal miss.   Then we had more penalties & the Campbell fumble when we got back down there again.  Or vice versa with those 2 drives.

 

Coming away with nothing on those 2 possessions would ultimately cost us the game.  Throw in the drops & JB's pick 6 & we dug too deep a hole to climb out of...

 

As far as the vanilla play calling, I think the lack of execution played a big factor in that.  I'd have liked to have seen Doyle get more targets once it was clear Ebron didn't have it that day.  Plus what happened to the Cain back shoulder throw?  JB & Cain should be practicing that repeatedly. Then start developing some counters off of it.  And like Supe said, Wilkins needs more carries (especially if we want a healthy Mack at season's end) & more Hines angle routes. 

 

 

[CurBeatElite]

2 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:

Yep. If this D Wasn’t trash and AV didn’t miss kicks that first game the offense has done fine. We would be 4-0 if it wasn’t for the trash defense.

 

The D hasn't been great, but I don't think it's trash either.  We've played several game without  3 of our best defensive players (Sheard, Hooker, Leonard) and have dealt with other injuries (Desir was banged up last week, T. Lewis has been out, etc.).  Our D, in regular time, has not allowed more than 24 points so far, which our O (when healthy) should be able to cover or stay in the game.  Vinny's leg (not our 'trash D') was the main reason we lost week 1.  Last week, we were right in the game and had a chance to tie it late before Brissett threw a pretty bad INT (very telegraphed).  

[dw49]

20 hours ago, Smoke317 said:

I think it was a lack of execution on both sides of the ball.  We were in the red zone or at least on their half of the field twice before half.  We had some terrible penalties & drops.  The Glow penalty on 3rd & short negated a first down throw to Hines that would have kept the drive going.  Ended up settling for the long field goal miss.   Then we had more penalties & the Campbell fumble when we got back down there again.  Or vice versa with those 2 drives.

 

Coming away with nothing on those 2 possessions would ultimately cost us the game.  Throw in the drops & JB's pick 6 & we dug too deep a hole to climb out of...

 

As far as the vanilla play calling, I think the lack of execution played a big factor in that.  I'd have liked to have seen Doyle get more targets once it was clear Ebron didn't have it that day.  Plus what happened to the Cain back shoulder throw?  JB & Cain should be practicing that repeatedly. Then start developing some counters off of it.  And like Supe said, Wilkins needs more carries (especially if we want a healthy Mack at season's end) & more Hines angle routes. 

 

 

 

No doubt you are correct as it was 60 minutes of dog s football. Mistake after mistake coupled with lousy execution. Just my opinion that it was an equally bad day for the coaching staff. As I said before , this was probably my least enjoyed Colt game in years. At least during those really bad years , I could take solace in the losses as they meant a higher draft position. 

[dw49]

20 hours ago, Superman said:

 

That might be a legit angle. I watched in fragments, not straight through, so I might have missed that change in approach. The RPOs were called throughout the game, but you might be right that the short passes were overused early on. 

 

 

You did yourself a favor by not seeing this game play by play as it unfolded. Really an ugly football game.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

If you think about it the colts D has not given up more then 24 in regulation. They look bad but as far as points per game it’s not that bad. They were good the first half of Atlanta and fell apart second half. They were bad the first half of Oakland but pretty good after the six minute of the second quarter. Defense was pretty great against TN. So many injuries and rookies. Then as far as offense the Campbell fumble and the pick 6 doomed us.