Alright folks, time for your Colts Mailbag questions

[AWalkerColts]

The Colts are on a little bit of a roll, and now go on the road to take on the Chicago Bears, who do match up well against Indy in some regards, but certainly haven't had a smooth road to this point, despite their undefeated record.

 

What questions do you have this week for the Colts Mailbag? Very interested to see what you've got this time around. Thanks as always.

[Yoshinator]

Since Mo-Allie-Cox has done so well the last two weeks, do you think he'll be the no1 TE going forward and Jack Doyle will be fazed out in the offense?

[NFLfan]

The Bears have announced that Nick Foles will be the starting quarterback going forward. What are your thoughts on this decision? How will the Colts prepare differently for a Foles-led Bears offense as opposed to one with Trubisky at QB?

 

Thank you.

[Fluke_33]

Is Reich still using the 1-0 mantra from last year with this team?

[w87r]

The forecast for Sunday's game is 54° with 10-20 mph winds, oh yeah and some rain.

 

Sounding like it might be a sloppy game.

 

Any concern on if team is ready to play in the elements? Thoughts on benefits/concerns for all 3 units.?

[danlhart87]

Which WR do you expect to step up with the absence of Pittman and Parris?

 

Do you expect the D to continue to play well when we finally play a top tier O?

 

 

[coltsfanmurf]

With the WR so depleted, is there any viable options still unsigned that could REALISTICALLY help out in the short term?  Names like Taylor Gabriel, Demaryius Thomas or even Paul Richardson stand out as guys that could fill the role.  Any thoughts?

[John Hammonds]

Hey there,

 

3.8 yards per carry is pretty dismal for a team with an OL this hyped.  Do you think this is a product of the OL performance?  Or perhaps the RB that has gotten the most carries?  JT has had 48 of the 93 total carries for the Colts.  I've watched him fall into the same trap that plagued Trent Richardson while he was here:  He stops himself.  He hesitates and jitters behind his blockers, looking for an opportunity for a big play.  And the defense tackles him there at the spot.  Momentum is his friend.  He should keep going, even if the big play opportunity doesn't appear, and gain three more yards simply by momentum.  Needs to break himself of this collegiate habit.  In the NFL, everybody is fast.

[Four2itus]

I expected more growth out of Bobby. Is he doing well and I am missing it? Any sharing by him of where he is at and how he is digesting the season?

[shasta519]

1 hour ago, John Hammonds said:

Hey there,

 

3.8 yards per carry is pretty dismal for a team with an OL this hyped.  Do you think this is a product of the OL performance?  Or perhaps the RB that has gotten the most carries?  JT has had 48 of the 93 total carries for the Colts.  I've watched him fall into the same trap that plagued Trent Richardson while he was here:  He stops himself.  He hesitates and jitters behind his blockers, looking for an opportunity for a big play.  And the defense tackles him there at the spot.  Momentum is his friend.  He should keep going, even if the big play opportunity doesn't appear, and gain three more yards simply by momentum.  Needs to break himself of this collegiate habit.  In the NFL, everybody is fast.

 

I will piggy back on this question as well. Is it the OL? Playcalling or how they are using Taylor? Or is it just Taylor adjusting to the NFL?

 

Here are a few stats for Taylor and how he ranks against other NFL RBs:

 

Yards Before Contact/Attempts - 2.6 yards - 27th

Yards After Contact/Attempts - 1.2 yards - 28th

Attempts/Broken Tackle - 48.0 - 34th

 

Looking at those stats...it appears that it could be some mix of all three of the OL, playcalling and Taylor.

[danlhart87]

Has any Colts players or related staff ever posted on this forum besides yourself?

 

And have they ever received the Dear God... response from @jskinnz?

 

[TheMose]

With Trey Burton returning to practice, do you see us running more 2 TE formations with our current depth at WR?

 

Also, who is your favorite WR to see an increased workload? Pascal would probably be the obvious answer but Fountain was rumored for a breakout before an early injury last year.

[Zoltan]

The Colts currently rank last on third down efficiency with a 30.3%, compared to last years 41.55%. My question is how are the Colts gonna improve this? As the teams we have played so far have a combined record of 1-8 and haven't been great defensively.

[danlhart87]

I am cautious of why part of our O is constantly getting injured?

 

I know I know injuries happen a lot but after dealing with this for years as a Colts fan I wonder if this has anything to do with strength and conditioning?

 

Parris can't stay healthy to save his life and now Pittman is hurt and Mack is out too.

 

 

[PrideOfAthens17]

For the second week now (although someone else asked last week), what's the current status of Turay's progress, and have you heard ANY mention of a possible target date for his return that's different from the timeline for the list he's currently on? For example, is he still feeling pain like he was during camp?

[EastStreet]

@AWalkerColts, a few questions.

 

1. We've seen Walker's snaps go down, and Oke's go up. Is this an opponent specific move, or just Oke beating out Walker? Oke really struggled in coverage last week, and if memory serves, had some trouble tackling in the first two games. Any change for the Bears?

 

2. Along the same lines, Houston's snap counts are a bit less than expected. Only 50% last week. I love a good rotation, just a bit surprised to see AQM and Autry both with more. Anything going on, or just planned rotation.

 

3. Speaking of AQM, he seems to be embracing the moment. His pressure stats are a very pleasant surprise after hearing he was more a run stuffer in the mold of Sheard. What's the word on him around the locker room, and did he work with someone in the offseason on anything specific?

 

4. With Pittman out, does Pascal move back to X? If not, Patmon dressing, or Dulin getting more snaps? If he moving back, who should we expect at slot? Committee approach?

 

5. Tavon Wilson had some very nice stats in limited snaps. Can we expect a larger role and more snaps?

[2006Coltsbestever]

If you had to name one key to winning this week, what would it be? I know that is tough to answer but IMO not turning the football over is mine. I think if we win the TO battle, we win the game.

[Shive]

Mod Note:

As a reminder, please refrain from any discussion in this thread, as it is for mailbag questions only.

[AWalkerColts]

On 9/30/2020 at 7:37 PM, PrideOfAthens17 said:

For the second week now (although someone else asked last week), what's the current status of Turay's progress, and have you heard ANY mention of a possible target date for his return that's different from the timeline for the list he's currently on? For example, is he still feeling pain like he was during camp?

I'll just answer this now to avoid getting a "FOR A THIRD WEEK IN A ROW" stipulation next week: it's usually pretty pointless to ask about a players' recovery weeks before he's set to come back (and by that, I mean, reporters asking Frank Reich or Chris Ballard). Kemoko Turay entered the season on the PUP list, which means he has to sit out at least the first six games of the season, so Week 8 after the bye is the earliest he can play. So maybe next week or heading into the bye week we can start to ask if he's trending in the right direction, but until then, there's not really going to be much of an update.

[PrideOfAthens17]

Thanks Andrew, and completely understood. But you never know what those like you with access to the team that we don't have may have heard, like if he's still feeling any of the pain we were told during camp that he was still feeling, unless you ask.

 

So thanks again for the response.