CR91 First Quarter Report Card

[CR91]

Colts record 3-1

 

Offense

 

Rivers has shown to be decisive, accurate, and productive behind our offensive line and has proven to be an upgrade over Brissett. However, the offense imo is no better. While we have been able to move the football, points have been left on the field. The red zone and third down offense has been extremely lacking and needs to be improved when it comes to facing some of the better teams on our schedule.

 

While this might not be a popular opinion, I think Taylor has been somewhat average. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's bad, however I still think he has a lot to improve on especially with vision and creating his own hole. That will come in time.

 

WR corp has been our weakest group imo. Hilton just doesn't seem like the same play maker of years past. Pascal seems to be the only consistent option especially his blocking along with Cox who looks to be having the best year of his career.

 

Oline is as great as ever. Given Rivers plenty of time and opening holes for Taylor. Glow has really improved and Nelson pulling is just so scary. I feel bad for the DB.

 

Defense

 

The DL has been the best unit imo thanks to the ridiculous push we are getting from Buckner along with Houston continuing to collect sacks. With Turay still on the mend, this pass rush could get even better. While we have been getting tremendous pressure, we only have 3 sacks in the last two games, that needs to improve.

 

Leonard and our LBers are really benefiting from the dline not allowing the o-linemen to get to them allowing them to play sideline to sideline and seal running lanes. I've also never seen us cover TEs so well which has always been a problem for our LBers.

 

The secondary had it's problems vs the jags, but since then, it's really improved especially getting their hands on the ball and creating turnovers with 7 ints in the last three games. Blackmon has definitely brought a physical play style to the back end.

 

Special Teams

 

This unit is one of the best in the league rather it's covering punts or kick returns. Also Blankenship continues to prove he was correct choice with another strong game today.

 

Grade - B+

 

The Jags game did hurt the colts grade, but there are also a lot of things that need to improve especially on offense for the colts to continue to get better.

[AZColt11]

Offense has a ways to go but I was also just thinking they have lost Mack, Campbell, Pittman, and Doyle for the 1st two games.  That's a lot of weapons to overcome.  I'm going to give them a little leeway just because of that.  To me, I'm disappointed at times with some of the play-calling.  I don't think the coaches have put them in very favorable positions at times.

 

Defense has been very good.  I think some of the lack of sacks has been associated with a dearth of blitzes.  Simply speaking, they have gotten enough push with the front four that they haven't really needed to blitz much, but it has helped the back end.  It is working so far.  We shall see if that continues vs. the Browns who are pretty balanced offensively.  They might need to take more risks in that one.  Run defense........I have no complaints thus far.  The Browns could test that but could also be without Chubb.

 

Overall, I'd give them a solid B simply because that week 1 stinker is difficult to forget.

[CR91]

22 hours ago, AZColt11 said:

Offense has a ways to go but I was also just thinking they have lost Mack, Campbell, Pittman, and Doyle for the 1st two games.  That's a lot of weapons to overcome.  I'm going to give them a little leeway just because of that.  To me, I'm disappointed at times with some of the play-calling.  I don't think the coaches have put them in very favorable positions at times.

 

Defense has been very good.  I think some of the lack of sacks has been associated with a dearth of blitzes.  Simply speaking, they have gotten enough push with the front four that they haven't really needed to blitz much, but it has helped the back end.  It is working so far.  We shall see if that continues vs. the Browns who are pretty balanced offensively.  They might need to take more risks in that one.  Run defense........I have no complaints thus far.  The Browns could test that but could also be without Chubb.

 

Overall, I'd give them a solid B simply because that week 1 stinker is difficult to forget.

 

I don't know about the offense. Even the run game imo is lacking. It honestly feels like either Taylor is not hitting the right hole or he's getting hit in the backfield.

[Bolts2Colts]

15 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

I don't know about the offense. Even the run game imo is lacking. It honestly feels like either Taylor is not hitting the right hole or he's getting hit in the backfield.

Lacking in your opinion? We are dead last in YPC. I’d say it’s lacking. Does anyone not think it’s lacking?
 

I’m so used to seeing Rivers in an explosive offense. Last year Mike Williams led the league in YPA.  Rivers can absolutely be a deep threat and the Browns are weak at safety so I hope we’ll air it out a little. The run game isn’t going to get us enough points. 
 

 

[Hoose]

The D has been stellar. The O... not so much. I do believe Marlon Mack should be appreciated far more now that we know what life is like without him. His talent is missed, and our rookie RB has a serious learning curve that will take time to figure out. Losing Campbell and Pittman hurts too. So you’re dealing with a less talented/experienced group of playmakers on the O. At least for now. Give it time and we may be surprised how well the O progresses as the season moves forward. 
And.... the head coach needs to improve his play calling. Too predictable and too conservative. I think Reich will figure it out. Hopefully sooner then later. 

[crazycolt1]

12 minutes ago, Hoose said:

The D has been stellar. The O... not so much. I do believe Marlon Mack should be appreciated far more now that we know what life is like without him. His talent is missed, and our rookie RB has a serious learning curve that will take time to figure out. Losing Campbell and Pittman hurts too. So you’re dealing with a less talented/experienced group of playmakers on the O. At least for now. Give it time and we may be surprised how well the O progresses as the season moves forward. 
And.... the head coach needs to improve his play calling. Too predictable and too conservative. I think Reich will figure it out. Hopefully sooner then later. 

I cant recall anyone not giving Mack the appreciation nor the credit he deserves. I am pretty sure every Colt fan knew losing him would hurt the offense. 

Our rookie RB is playing like he is being coached. Till he gets used to the speed and the talent level of the pro players he is still a work in progress. This whole team are just now learning how to play together.  IMO they will get better as the season goes along. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

Our offense will be fine if we correct the RedZone problems. We have a lot of injuries right now at WR but with Rivers at QB I feel better about it compared to last year with JB at QB. Our Defense has looked great since week 1. SP Teams gets an A = 12-14 FG's made and 100% on extra points by HotRod and Rigo is a great punter.

[Moosejawcolt]

1 hour ago, CR91 said:

 

I don't know about the offense. Even the run game imo is lacking. It honestly feels like either Taylor is not hitting the right hole or he's getting hit in the backfield.

We.....have........no ...talent at the wr position. One of the guys is going to have to ball our such as a Fountain or Dulin. Until then, defences are going to sell out attacking the O line and stopping the run. They had to contend with the same problem last year

[danlhart87]

Just now, Moosejawcolt said:

We.....have........no ...talent at the wr position. One of the guys is going to have to ball our such as a Fountain or Dulin. Until then, defences are going to sell out attacking the O line and stopping the run. They had to contend with the same problem last year

Julio Jones is rotting in ATL

I say we send ATL an offer for him 

[Moosejawcolt]

Just now, danlhart87 said:

Julio Jones is rotting in ATL

I say we send ATL an offer for him 

Oh yeah....

[danlhart87]

I would even be ok with 1st for Julio 

[2006Coltsbestever]

12 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

We.....have........no ...talent at the wr position. One of the guys is going to have to ball our such as a Fountain or Dulin. Until then, defences are going to sell out attacking the O line and stopping the run. They had to contend with the same problem last year

Saying "no talent" is a stretch lol, TY Hilton isn't chopped liver. He is due for a breakout game and the good thing is he healthy for a change.

[EastStreet]

14 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

We.....have........no ...talent at the wr position. One of the guys is going to have to ball our such as a Fountain or Dulin. Until then, defences are going to sell out attacking the O line and stopping the run. They had to contend with the same problem last year

If you have a guy that is top 5 in completion % and AVG (and #1 in accuracy), yet is bottom 1/3 in attempts, it's not really reality to say we have no talent at pass catchers. Just means the play mix isn't allowing the yards.

 

To go farther, our pass catchers are ranked 6th in separation, and 3rd in YAC.

 

Not exactly no talent.

[DougDew]

We have little talent at the receiving positions. 

 

Talent at the skill positions matter, as much or more than scheme, and sometimes even more than execution.  Its been evident for 5 years, and outside of Luck, the offense has looked the same because of it.  

[Coffeedrinker]

Some people really don't understand what they are seeing.  As @EastStreet pointed out the Colts receivers are getting separation and they are getting yards after the catch.  Some of that has to do with the heavy usage of RBs and TEs.  But my word, the Colts have a new QB with a modified training camp and then he loses two of the receivers he did work with during training camp.  It is going to take some time to get the timing down with those receivers.  And then when Pittman and Campbell come back it will take some time for him to get in sync with those guys again.

[Dingus McGirt]

11 hours ago, EastStreet said:

If you have a guy that is top 5 in completion % and AVG (and #1 in accuracy), yet is bottom 1/3 in attempts, it's not really reality to say we have no talent at pass catchers. Just means the play mix isn't allowing the yards.

 

To go farther, our pass catchers are ranked 6th in separation, and 3rd in YAC.

 

Not exactly no talent.

Careful, East.  You'll upset their narrative.

[Valpo2004]

1 hour ago, DougDew said:

We have little talent at the receiving positions. 

 

Talent at the skill positions matter, as much or more than scheme, and sometimes even more than execution.  Its been evident for 5 years, and outside of Luck, the offense has looked the same because of it.  

 

We have talent there, we just lost 2 of them to injuries. 

[DougDew]

11 minutes ago, Valpo2004 said:

 

We have talent there, we just lost 2 of them to injuries. 

What's on the roster is irrelevant to my point.  The offense has looked the same the past five years aside from Luck because the receiving talent that has been playing has been JAGS plus TY.   

 

Same goes for the RB position.  Lately its been working because the Oline dominated during the past 2 years, not because of the RBs.  JT may change that, but he actually has to get the ball in order to say for sure.

 

[Nesjan3]

On 10/4/2020 at 9:58 PM, CR91 said:

Colts record 3-1

 

Offense

 

Rivers has shown to be decisive, accurate, and productive behind our offensive line and has proven to be an upgrade over Brissett. However, the offense imo is no better. While we have been able to move the football, points have been left on the field. The red zone and third down offense has been extremely lacking and needs to be improved when it comes to facing some of the better teams on our schedule.

 

While this might not be a popular opinion, I think Taylor has been somewhat average. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's bad, however I still think he has a lot to improve on especially with vision and creating his own hole. That will come in time.

 

WR corp has been our weakest group imo. Hilton just doesn't seem like the same play maker of years past. Pascal seems to be the only consistent option especially his blocking along with Cox who looks to be having the best year of his career.

 

Oline is as great as ever. Given Rivers plenty of time and opening holes for Taylor. Glow has really improved and Nelson pulling is just so scary. I feel bad for the DB.

 

Defense

 

The DL has been the best unit imo thanks to the ridiculous push we are getting from Buckner along with Houston continuing to collect sacks. With Turay still on the mend, this pass rush could get even better. While we have been getting tremendous pressure, we only have 3 sacks in the last two games, that needs to improve.

 

Leonard and our LBers are really benefiting from the dline not allowing the o-linemen to get to them allowing them to play sideline to sideline and seal running lanes. I've also never seen us cover TEs so well which has always been a problem for our LBers.

 

The secondary had it's problems vs the jags, but since then, it's really improved especially getting their hands on the ball and creating turnovers with 7 ints in the last three games. Blackmon has definitely brought a physical play style to the back end.

 

Special Teams

 

This unit is one of the best in the league rather it's covering punts or kick returns. Also Blankenship continues to prove he was correct choice with another strong game today.

 

Grade - B+

 

The Jags game did hurt the colts grade, but there are also a lot of things that need to improve especially on offense for the colts to continue to get better.

I have to disagree about Rivers. He has not looked good and IMO is a big reason why our offense is not clicking.

Of starting Qb's only Matt Ryan and Matt Stafford have worse QB ratings.

 

He turned the ball over twice vs Jags that was a big reason we lost. Since then he has had 2 INT's reversed by penalty and one just plain dropped by Khalil Mack. That would put him at 6 close to the most in the league.

 

He stares down receivers and his yards per attempt is close to the bottom of the league. Now that might be play calling. As well we are absolutely putrid, the worst team in the league on 3rd down, but that might be play calling as well.

[Nesjan3]

17 minutes ago, Nesjan3 said:

 

 

[gspdx]

2 hours ago, DougDew said:

What's on the roster is irrelevant to my point.  The offense has looked the same the past five years aside from Luck because the receiving talent that has been playing has been JAGS plus TY.   

 

Same goes for the RB position.  Lately its been working because the Oline dominated during the past 2 years, not because of the RBs.  JT may change that, but he actually has to get the ball in order to say for sure.

 

 So you say "We have little talent at the receiving positions." But then you say "What's on the roster is irrelevant to my point."  So if who we have on the roster is not relevant to whether we have talent - I don't know what you are saying.

 

If they aren't on our roster they won't be on the field for us.

[Nickster]

6 hours ago, Coffeedrinker said:

Some people really don't understand what they are seeing.  As @EastStreet pointed out the Colts receivers are getting separation and they are getting yards after the catch.  Some of that has to do with the heavy usage of RBs and TEs.  But my word, the Colts have a new QB with a modified training camp and then he loses two of the receivers he did work with during training camp.  It is going to take some time to get the timing down with those receivers.  And then when Pittman and Campbell come back it will take some time for him to get in sync with those guys again.

I’d say Much if not Most instead of some.  

[Nickster]

5 hours ago, DougDew said:

What's on the roster is irrelevant to my point.  The offense has looked the same the past five years aside from Luck because the receiving talent that has been playing has been JAGS plus TY.   

 

Same goes for the RB position.  Lately its been working because the Oline dominated during the past 2 years, not because of the RBs.  JT may change that, but he actually has to get the ball in order to say for sure.

 

JT is tied for 8th in the league in carries.  He’s getting the ball plenty.

[John Waylon]

45 minutes ago, Nickster said:

JT is tied for 8th in the league in carries.  He’s getting the ball plenty.

 

(Gonna be a long one. Sorry.)

 

I keep seeing this and it need some context. A lot of context, in fact.

 

Lets start with the RB's ahead of him on that list. 

 

Josh Jacobs

Derrick Henry

Joe Mixon

Dalvin  Cook

Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Zeke

Kenyan Drake

 

Now look at that list and tell me if Taylor right now feels as important to our offense as any of those guys are to theirs. He really doesn't. Everyone knows those guys are the bell cows of their respective offenses. Taylor feels like he's just another guy in ours. Let's take a little deeper look at why.

 

(These figures include ONLY rush attempts by RB's and FB's as the point I'm making is about how we use our RBs versus how other teams use theirs.)

 

Josh Jacobs: 83 carries

Other Raiders RBs: 16

80+% of the Raiders carries go to Jacobs

 

Derrick Henry: 82 carries

Other Titans RBs: 7

90+% of the Titans carries go to Henry

**The Titans have played one less game than everyone else on this list

 

Joe Mixon: 77 carries

Other Bengals RBs: 4

95% of the Bengals carries go to Mixon

 

Dalvin Cook: 75 carries

Other Vikings RBs: 26

74% of the Vikings carries go to Cook

 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire: 71 carries

Other Chiefs RBs: 18

79% of Chiefs carries go to CEH

 

Zeke: 70 carries

Other Cowboys RBs: 7

90% of the Cowboys carries go to Zeke

 

Taylor: 65 carries

Other Colts RBs: 51

56% of the Colts carries go to Taylor

 

Now immediately after seeing that lets think back to that Vikings game. Taylor had 26 carries that day, and Hines had 0 carries, a single reception, and didn't see the field much at all, did he? And that was weird, right? That was a storyline coming out of that game. Not a major one, but it got noticed, because it was out of the ordinary. That game was an exception, not the rule. In the other 3 games Taylor has had 9, 13, and 17 carries respectively. So he's only in that top 8 because of the game, and that game only.

 

If we take the anomaly (The Vikings game) out of the equation he's averaging 13 carries a game, or if we take out the anomaly AND the lowest total he's averaging 15 carries a game. At 15 attempts per game he's going to be around 15th or worse in carries as well as carries per game. 

 

Taylor is currently TIED for 8th in carries with Melvin Gordon, Todd Gurley, and Aaron Jones. 

 

So does Taylor feel as important to our offense as any of the other RBs mentioned in this post?

 

Absolutely not. And the usage numbers make that fact clear. Taylor is getting 20+% less carries than anyone else listed in this post.

 

I've been harping this now for a while now. Reich gives too much playing time to other RB's who may happen to even just be in the same area code on gamedays. He's done it from day 1. I made that point in the game thread the other day and someone was quick to point out that Marlon Mack had twice as many carries as anyone else last season and I didn't have the time to break this down to this point then so I just let it go, but Frank splits carries far beyond what he should. Especially with a line that is (supposed to be) as good as ours. 

 

If you went back and went through the 2018 and 2019 seasons and calculated the % of carries that went to the leading back compared to other backs on the roster you'd find that Frank has fed Mack the ball at a much lower percentage than most of the RBs in the league. I'd be willing to bet that % would be in the bottom 10 for both of those seasons. 

 

Frank cycles backs way too frequently, and more importantly than that unnecessarily. Mack is a guy who should have been carrying the ball on 75+% of our rushing attempts in 2018 and 2019. It's gonna be a real stretch to argue against that. And even if you're not impressed with Taylor yet he certainly hasn't been bad enough to this point to say that he shouldn't be getting 75% or more of our carries. In the game that he did he sure didn't disappoint. 

 

The simple truth is Hines and Wilkins both see too much usage in a game. If they want to give 25% of the carries in a game to someone else then that's fine. Especially if you have a back that can get the most out of that 25%, and I think we do. I think Hines and Wilkins both could take 25% of the carries and not make us regret them being in the game. But just one of them. Don't give them 25% each and only 50% to Taylor. Taylor never had a chance to get in a rhythm and get comfortable in the game Sunday because he had to spend too damn much of it as a spectator. And Mack has had plenty of games of his own where he's experienced the same thing. As soon as he gets rolling and the defense starts to falter in comes someone else and it's been like shifting back into neutral. 

 

And now, to top all of this off, our rushing attack has become predictable. Defenses know what to key on when Hines is in the game. Or Wilkins, Or Taylor. And they're having success stopping it. We're not re-inventing the wheel with the way we use RBs, we're just adding a bunch of bells and whistles to the side which is just making the whole damn thing work worse than it would if we didn't. 

[Moosejawcolt]

21 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Saying "no talent" is a stretch lol, TY Hilton isn't chopped liver. He is due for a breakout game and the good thing is he healthy for a change.

He hasnt had a 100 yard game in 17 games.  Im waiting!!!!

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, Moosejawcolt said:

He hasnt had a 100 yard game in 17 games.  Im waiting!!!!

The Browns have a good team but their secondary is suspect, I can see it happening Sunday.

[EastStreet]

11 hours ago, Coffeedrinker said:

Some people really don't understand what they are seeing.  As @EastStreet pointed out the Colts receivers are getting separation and they are getting yards after the catch.  Some of that has to do with the heavy usage of RBs and TEs.  But my word, the Colts have a new QB with a modified training camp and then he loses two of the receivers he did work with during training camp.  It is going to take some time to get the timing down with those receivers.  And then when Pittman and Campbell come back it will take some time for him to get in sync with those guys again.

Yup, top 10 in separation and YAC/target. Can't complain at all given the circumstances. The only one that I've noticed with separation issues is TY, who is still getting doubled a fair amount of the time.

[EastStreet]

10 hours ago, Dingus McGirt said:

Careful, East.  You'll upset their narrative.

I'd hate to enlighten folks with facts or anything like that lol

[2006Coltsbestever]

My grade for the 1st Qtr of the season is a B+. Even in the loss to the Jags we dominated them statistically but we did lose so I can't give us an A. B+ is still very good, anytime you can go 3-1 in a 4 game span that is solid no matter the opponent.

[Nickster]

3 hours ago, John Waylon said:

 

(Gonna be a long one. Sorry.)

 

I keep seeing this and it need some context. A lot of context, in fact.

 

Lets start with the RB's ahead of him on that list. 

 

Josh Jacobs

Derrick Henry

Joe Mixon

Dalvin  Cook

Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Zeke

Kenyan Drake

 

Now look at that list and tell me if Taylor right now feels as important to our offense as any of those guys are to theirs. He really doesn't. Everyone knows those guys are the bell cows of their respective offenses. Taylor feels like he's just another guy in ours. Let's take a little deeper look at why.

 

(These figures include ONLY rush attempts by RB's and FB's as the point I'm making is about how we use our RBs versus how other teams use theirs.)

 

Josh Jacobs: 83 carries

Other Raiders RBs: 16

80+% of the Raiders carries go to Jacobs

 

Derrick Henry: 82 carries

Other Titans RBs: 7

90+% of the Titans carries go to Henry

**The Titans have played one less game than everyone else on this list

 

Joe Mixon: 77 carries

Other Bengals RBs: 4

95% of the Bengals carries go to Mixon

 

Dalvin Cook: 75 carries

Other Vikings RBs: 26

74% of the Vikings carries go to Cook

 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire: 71 carries

Other Chiefs RBs: 18

79% of Chiefs carries go to CEH

 

Zeke: 70 carries

Other Cowboys RBs: 7

90% of the Cowboys carries go to Zeke

 

Taylor: 65 carries

Other Colts RBs: 51

56% of the Colts carries go to Taylor

 

Now immediately after seeing that lets think back to that Vikings game. Taylor had 26 carries that day, and Hines had 0 carries, a single reception, and didn't see the field much at all, did he? And that was weird, right? That was a storyline coming out of that game. Not a major one, but it got noticed, because it was out of the ordinary. That game was an exception, not the rule. In the other 3 games Taylor has had 9, 13, and 17 carries respectively. So he's only in that top 8 because of the game, and that game only.

 

If we take the anomaly (The Vikings game) out of the equation he's averaging 13 carries a game, or if we take out the anomaly AND the lowest total he's averaging 15 carries a game. At 15 attempts per game he's going to be around 15th or worse in carries as well as carries per game. 

 

Taylor is currently TIED for 8th in carries with Melvin Gordon, Todd Gurley, and Aaron Jones. 

 

So does Taylor feel as important to our offense as any of the other RBs mentioned in this post?

 

Absolutely not. And the usage numbers make that fact clear. Taylor is getting 20+% less carries than anyone else listed in this post.

 

I've been harping this now for a while now. Reich gives too much playing time to other RB's who may happen to even just be in the same area code on gamedays. He's done it from day 1. I made that point in the game thread the other day and someone was quick to point out that Marlon Mack had twice as many carries as anyone else last season and I didn't have the time to break this down to this point then so I just let it go, but Frank splits carries far beyond what he should. Especially with a line that is (supposed to be) as good as ours. 

 

If you went back and went through the 2018 and 2019 seasons and calculated the % of carries that went to the leading back compared to other backs on the roster you'd find that Frank has fed Mack the ball at a much lower percentage than most of the RBs in the league. I'd be willing to bet that % would be in the bottom 10 for both of those seasons. 

 

Frank cycles backs way too frequently, and more importantly than that unnecessarily. Mack is a guy who should have been carrying the ball on 75+% of our rushing attempts in 2018 and 2019. It's gonna be a real stretch to argue against that. And even if you're not impressed with Taylor yet he certainly hasn't been bad enough to this point to say that he shouldn't be getting 75% or more of our carries. In the game that he did he sure didn't disappoint. 

 

The simple truth is Hines and Wilkins both see too much usage in a game. If they want to give 25% of the carries in a game to someone else then that's fine. Especially if you have a back that can get the most out of that 25%, and I think we do. I think Hines and Wilkins both could take 25% of the carries and not make us regret them being in the game. But just one of them. Don't give them 25% each and only 50% to Taylor. Taylor never had a chance to get in a rhythm and get comfortable in the game Sunday because he had to spend too damn much of it as a spectator. And Mack has had plenty of games of his own where he's experienced the same thing. As soon as he gets rolling and the defense starts to falter in comes someone else and it's been like shifting back into neutral. 

 

And now, to top all of this off, our rushing attack has become predictable. Defenses know what to key on when Hines is in the game. Or Wilkins, Or Taylor. And they're having success stopping it. We're not re-inventing the wheel with the way we use RBs, we're just adding a bunch of bells and whistles to the side which is just making the whole damn thing work worse than it would if we didn't. 

That’s all fine but he’s getting the ball plenty.
 

Our rushing attack might be limited because of the skill set of the ball carriers.  

[EastStreet]

4 hours ago, John Waylon said:

 

(Gonna be a long one. Sorry.)

 

I keep seeing this and it need some context. A lot of context, in fact.

 

Lets start with the RB's ahead of him on that list. 

 

Josh Jacobs

Derrick Henry

Joe Mixon

Dalvin  Cook

Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Zeke

Kenyan Drake

 

Now look at that list and tell me if Taylor right now feels as important to our offense as any of those guys are to theirs. He really doesn't. Everyone knows those guys are the bell cows of their respective offenses. Taylor feels like he's just another guy in ours. Let's take a little deeper look at why.

 

(These figures include ONLY rush attempts by RB's and FB's as the point I'm making is about how we use our RBs versus how other teams use theirs.)

 

Josh Jacobs: 83 carries

Other Raiders RBs: 16

80+% of the Raiders carries go to Jacobs

 

Derrick Henry: 82 carries

Other Titans RBs: 7

90+% of the Titans carries go to Henry

**The Titans have played one less game than everyone else on this list

 

Joe Mixon: 77 carries

Other Bengals RBs: 4

95% of the Bengals carries go to Mixon

 

Dalvin Cook: 75 carries

Other Vikings RBs: 26

74% of the Vikings carries go to Cook

 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire: 71 carries

Other Chiefs RBs: 18

79% of Chiefs carries go to CEH

 

Zeke: 70 carries

Other Cowboys RBs: 7

90% of the Cowboys carries go to Zeke

 

Taylor: 65 carries

Other Colts RBs: 51

56% of the Colts carries go to Taylor

 

Now immediately after seeing that lets think back to that Vikings game. Taylor had 26 carries that day, and Hines had 0 carries, a single reception, and didn't see the field much at all, did he? And that was weird, right? That was a storyline coming out of that game. Not a major one, but it got noticed, because it was out of the ordinary. That game was an exception, not the rule. In the other 3 games Taylor has had 9, 13, and 17 carries respectively. So he's only in that top 8 because of the game, and that game only.

 

If we take the anomaly (The Vikings game) out of the equation he's averaging 13 carries a game, or if we take out the anomaly AND the lowest total he's averaging 15 carries a game. At 15 attempts per game he's going to be around 15th or worse in carries as well as carries per game. 

 

Taylor is currently TIED for 8th in carries with Melvin Gordon, Todd Gurley, and Aaron Jones. 

 

So does Taylor feel as important to our offense as any of the other RBs mentioned in this post?

 

Absolutely not. And the usage numbers make that fact clear. Taylor is getting 20+% less carries than anyone else listed in this post.

 

I've been harping this now for a while now. Reich gives too much playing time to other RB's who may happen to even just be in the same area code on gamedays. He's done it from day 1. I made that point in the game thread the other day and someone was quick to point out that Marlon Mack had twice as many carries as anyone else last season and I didn't have the time to break this down to this point then so I just let it go, but Frank splits carries far beyond what he should. Especially with a line that is (supposed to be) as good as ours. 

 

If you went back and went through the 2018 and 2019 seasons and calculated the % of carries that went to the leading back compared to other backs on the roster you'd find that Frank has fed Mack the ball at a much lower percentage than most of the RBs in the league. I'd be willing to bet that % would be in the bottom 10 for both of those seasons. 

 

Frank cycles backs way too frequently, and more importantly than that unnecessarily. Mack is a guy who should have been carrying the ball on 75+% of our rushing attempts in 2018 and 2019. It's gonna be a real stretch to argue against that. And even if you're not impressed with Taylor yet he certainly hasn't been bad enough to this point to say that he shouldn't be getting 75% or more of our carries. In the game that he did he sure didn't disappoint. 

 

The simple truth is Hines and Wilkins both see too much usage in a game. If they want to give 25% of the carries in a game to someone else then that's fine. Especially if you have a back that can get the most out of that 25%, and I think we do. I think Hines and Wilkins both could take 25% of the carries and not make us regret them being in the game. But just one of them. Don't give them 25% each and only 50% to Taylor. Taylor never had a chance to get in a rhythm and get comfortable in the game Sunday because he had to spend too damn much of it as a spectator. And Mack has had plenty of games of his own where he's experienced the same thing. As soon as he gets rolling and the defense starts to falter in comes someone else and it's been like shifting back into neutral. 

 

And now, to top all of this off, our rushing attack has become predictable. Defenses know what to key on when Hines is in the game. Or Wilkins, Or Taylor. And they're having success stopping it. We're not re-inventing the wheel with the way we use RBs, we're just adding a bunch of bells and whistles to the side which is just making the whole damn thing work worse than it would if we didn't. 

 

Good post. Depending on what you call balance, whether it's 50/50 or league median 58% pass and 42% rush, we've been out of balance most games. 

 

Passing / Rushing
JAX 46/22 (32% rush)
MN 25/40 (62% rush)
NYJ 25/31 (55% rush)
CHI 29/38 (57% rush)
 

I'm not concerned with either definition of balance when we play a team that is poor against one or the other, but that's really not been the case. We should have been running more vs Jax, and passing more the last three.  We've been 10+ points off the league median every game. 

 

And looking at our last 3 games, shouldn't surprise anyone that Chicago was selling out vs the run much of the time.

[Dogg63]

9 hours ago, EastStreet said:

I'm not concerned with either definition of balance when we play a team that is poor against one or the other, but that's really not been the case. We should have been running more vs Jax, and passing more the last three.  We've been 10+ points off the league median every game. 

Yeah, I share your concern on balance issues. Sirianni gave an interview yesterday where he discussed how unpredictable they want to be - that they are obsessed with it. I wonder if they are overthinking this to the point of being predictably unpredictable, if you know what I mean. Actually creating a bone-headed game plan in order to be less predictable. "Gee, if the Bears have a great run D, then they'll never expect us to run 57% of the time...yeah, let's do that!"

 

Here's what he said:

 

"That is something that is constantly on our minds," Sirianni said. "We know how we look at defenses and we know how our defense looks at other teams. We don't want to tip our hand in any way. In any sport, you don't want to let the person trying to defend you any little tell. We're really obsessed with that."

Sirianni said offensive quality control coach Parks Frazier has been tasked with evaluating the Colts' offensive play calls on a weekly basis and then, usually on Tuesdays, reporting his findings back to the staff.

"Parks Frazier does a phenomenal job of giving us our tendencies when we start the week," Sirianni said. "As a matter of fact, that's the meeting I'm about to go to after we talk right here, just talking through tendencies and how we cover tendencies. A huge part of what we do, a huge thought of what we do – just as much as we think about plays and players for our team and their team, we think about our tendencies and how we can break any tendency we have that can tip our hand."

https://www.colts.com/news/jonathan-taylor-nick-sirianni-cleveland-browns-2020-week-5

[DougDew]

18 hours ago, gspdx said:

 So you say "We have little talent at the receiving positions." But then you say "What's on the roster is irrelevant to my point."  So if who we have on the roster is not relevant to whether we have talent - I don't know what you are saying.

 

If they aren't on our roster they won't be on the field for us.

The point made in this thread is about the first quarter report card, which I would say is how the team looks through 4 games.

 

If people, mainly those who perpetually react in a confused manner, want to always look at things through the prism of judging Ballard, they miss out on many other conversations.

 

The offense has not been scoring TDs and generally not very dynamic.  The OP made a point that Rivers looks a lot like Brissett.  Not saying that I agree with that statement, but similarities between what has been happening on the field this year look a lot like many years when Luck was not playing (but on the roster or IR). 

 

The one common theme is the lack of talent at the receiving position on the field.  What is on IR is not relevant, unless people have to look at everything through the prism of judging Ballard.  Unfortunately, many of the dramatic posters on this forum have that extremely narrow vision.

 

And the RB position that's on the field is not much better than what has been on the field in the past.

 

Some don't want to believe this, and will look at stats and data and film in a way to suggest otherwise.  Julio Jones or a Deebo Samuel on the field would make a difference.  Just because the Pascal.s the Dulin's, the Mo Allie Cox's look open to people watching film doesn't mean that talent doesn't matter, which is what they want you to believe.  Primarily because they've already made bold judgmental statements in the past that they now have to find different ways to support.  Just can't convince bullheaded.

[chad72]

11 hours ago, Nickster said:

That’s all fine but he’s getting the ball plenty.
 

Our rushing attack might be limited because of the skill set of the ball carriers.  

 

Plus the learning curve of JT that they had to ramp up following Mack's season ending injury. I felt his vision was actually better in the Bears game in key situations versus the Jets game. They unfortunately do not have the luxury of bringing him up gradually with Mack going down. 

 

They are riding the defense and Rivers is glad to oblige at this point, I will say that. However, vs the Browns, they may have to open up the passing game more albeit more with the TEs and RBs than with the limited WRs they have.

[Blueblood23]

On 10/5/2020 at 10:53 PM, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Saying "no talent" is a stretch lol, TY Hilton isn't chopped liver. He is due for a breakout game and the good thing is he healthy for a change.

Hilton is more than capable of a breakout game but, doing it consistently is the issue with aging players. 

[chad72]

On 10/6/2020 at 12:13 AM, EastStreet said:

If you have a guy that is top 5 in completion % and AVG (and #1 in accuracy), yet is bottom 1/3 in attempts, it's not really reality to say we have no talent at pass catchers. Just means the play mix isn't allowing the yards.

 

To go farther, our pass catchers are ranked 6th in separation, and 3rd in YAC.

 

Not exactly no talent.

 

The scheme has done a very good job as well w.r.t scheming guys open, let us not discount that. However, talent wins by the red zone, IMO.

 

Sooner than later, teams like the Browns are going to just do 1-on-1 with TY with a guy like Ward and we will have to find ways to score more TDs through the air. We are bottom 25% in the league in TDs overall and by Quarter 2, I would like us to be the middle of the pack for improvement. 

[DougDew]

On 10/5/2020 at 10:51 PM, Bolts2Colts said:

Lacking in your opinion? We are dead last in YPC. I’d say it’s lacking. Does anyone not think it’s lacking?
 

I’m so used to seeing Rivers in an explosive offense. Last year Mike Williams led the league in YPA.  Rivers can absolutely be a deep threat and the Browns are weak at safety so I hope we’ll air it out a little. The run game isn’t going to get us enough points. 
 

 

And who is that very good but underrated RB he had the past few years?  Didn't Rivers also play with Tomlinson when SD was a perennial playoff team?

[DougDew]

16 hours ago, Nickster said:

JT is tied for 8th in the league in carries.  He’s getting the ball plenty.

I think the feeling is that he should be getting it more, considering the dropoff in talent there is from JT to Hines. 

 

What underpins the stat is the likelihood that 22 teams may be using RB by committee because they do not have the talent dropoff.   No one RB is worthy of getting more.  I assume the top 7 RBs are probably thought of as the teams bellcow more than we have been using JT on the field.

 

Lots of reasons why that stat could be irrelevant.  Kamara is a talented RB, a playmaker, who makes plays as a receiver as well as a runner.  Not sure what his pure "carries" stat is, but his all purpose nature makes it not very relevant.  We don't have that talent.  JT isn't all purpose yet, and Hines has always been a JAG when handed off to since he got here.

[csmopar]

On 10/5/2020 at 10:29 PM, CR91 said:

 

I don't know about the offense. Even the run game imo is lacking. It honestly feels like either Taylor is not hitting the right hole or he's getting hit in the backfield.

Venturi said it best Sunday.  The biggest problem with our running game is our running game plan.  We telegraph when we're going to run so much so that Venturi several times the last two weeks, called the play and where it was going to go several seconds before the ball was even snapped.  And a few times Sunday, he called it before they even broke the huddle. And he was right every single time.

[Nickster]

8 minutes ago, DougDew said:

I think the feeling is that he should be getting it more, considering the dropoff in talent there is from JT to Hines. 

 

What underpins the stat is the likelihood that 22 teams may be using RB by committee because they do not have the talent dropoff.   No one RB is worthy of getting more.  I assume the top 7 RBs are probably thought of as the teams bellcow more than we have been using JT on the field.

 

Lots of reasons why that stat could be irrelevant.  Kamara is a talented RB, a playmaker, who makes plays as a receiver as well as a runner.  Not sure what his pure "carries" stat is, but his all purpose nature makes it not very relevant.  We don't have that talent.  JT isn't all purpose yet, and Hines has always been a JAG when handed off to since he got here.

 

I see what you are saying.  But he does have the 8th most carries in the league and only played half the game against Jax.    He got 9 carries v. Jax.  If you doubled that usage that game it would bring his total carries to 5th in the league in carries.  So maybe he should "get more," but that doesn't change that he's gotten alot.

 

I think we need to trade for someone if we are serious about the season.  In addtion to what we have, we need a creative type of RB for the zone scheme that sets up the play action passing game that everyone is clamouring for.  We need a real threat between the tackle and the boundry so that we can freeze LBs for a long period of time on the long fake handoff.  Right now we definitely do not have a player active right now that has shown that he can do that.

 

Man I mean it's possible I guess that our line suddenly sucks as a run blocking unit, but that sure doesn't seem likely to me.  I think the problem lies elsewhere.