Mid Season Coaching Grades - Discussion and Poll

[VaAllDay757]

3 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

It's not one game. And again, it's vs bad Os with bad QBs, with bad OLs. 

 

When you say you don't care, you're saying you're simply not interested in looking objectively at the context surrounding our rankings. And that's fine. Just don't be surprised as our D ranking continues to drop as the year progresses. I've predicted we're going to be in the 12 range +/- 4 spots come end of year as we play better Os and better QBs.

It is just one game....it's only a problem when we lose but when we're winning there isn't much to complain about....everything is not gonna go your way the team is 5-3 with a great defense we're playing for the division lead Thursday night so just enjoy the positives right now...that's the problem with some of y'all fans y'all want to worry about stuff you can't control just remember it could've been worse

[EastStreet]

2 minutes ago, VaAllDay757 said:

If the 4 man rush gets to the qb there's no need to blitz alot anyway and we're already known not to blitz alot anyway so I don't know why that would be a surprise anyway....ravens took advantage of our tired defense because the offense didn't do much in the 2nd half....stafford came from garbage time plays the game was practically over he had to throw the ball because their run game was irrelevant 

lol.. point is, we have the personnel to be better. If we'd blitz more, we'd be better. If we'd blitz more, things would be easier on our DBs.

 

As far as garbage plays... sorry, but that's not the way the NFL works. All teams give up garbage yards. They count in the AVG. 

[coltfaninnewyork]

3 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

We held the run in the 1H which was awesome. I predicted that. We got gashed though with a combination of running and dink/dunk in the 2H. When he started passing well, we all of sudden couldn't stop the run.

Yea and maybe being on field forever contributed we had one  yard in third quarter 

[EastStreet]

Just now, VaAllDay757 said:

It is just one game....it's only a problem when we lose but when we're winning there isn't much to complain about....everything is not gonna go your way the team is 5-3 with a great defense we're playing for the division lead Thursday night so just enjoy the positives right now...that's the problem with some of y'all fans y'all want to worry about stuff you can't control just remember it could've been worse

Nobody says things always go anyone's way. 

 

If you only recognize problems when you lose, you miss a lot of opportunities to improve. Not recognizing those deficiencies in the first 8 games, when we've played a lot a lot of chump teams, means those deficiencies will be even more evident as our schedule gets harder. Like I said, don't be shocked when our pass D doesn't look so top 5..... 

[VaAllDay757]

1 minute ago, EastStreet said:

lol.. point is, we have the personnel to be better. If we'd blitz more, we'd be better. If we'd blitz more, things would be easier on our DBs.

 

As far as garbage plays... sorry, but that's not the way the NFL works. All teams give up garbage yards. They count in the AVG. 

So blitzing more would make the defense better even tho we're tied for the lead in interceptions without blitzing? We got our sacks can't get them all tho....ok garbage time stats are the for books it means nothing when the team loses....what's so great about throwing for 400 yards in a game you didn't win? Lol

[compuls1v3]

1 minute ago, coltfaninnewyork said:

Yea and maybe being on field forever contributed we had one  yard in third quarter 

Re: the one yd.  that's just pathetic, any way you slice it.

[VaAllDay757]

Just now, EastStreet said:

Nobody says things always go anyone's way. 

 

If you only recognize problems when you lose, you miss a lot of opportunities to improve. Not recognizing those deficiencies in the first 8 games, when we've played a lot a lot of chump teams, means those deficiencies will be even more evident as our schedule gets harder. Like I said, don't be shocked when our pass D doesn't look so top 5..... 

Ok that's what they have coaches and a staff for....it ain't for you or me to dictate what needs to be done to get better they already have their game plan....you feel like the defense needs to blitz more but guess what when they blitzed today how many sacks did they get? 0....how many sacks did they get without the blitz? 2 

[EastStreet]

3 minutes ago, coltfaninnewyork said:

Yea and maybe being on field forever contributed we had one  yard in third quarter 

Sure it contributed. But our D started the 2H playing bad. It didn't just start later. Balt drove right down and were knocking on the door the first drive. Had it not been for Autry's FF, they would have scored there. We were well rested before that drive so zero excuse. We then let them continue to drive the 2nd series right back down for a TD. The only good thing about the 2H was Autry's punch out. 

[IinD]

We're definitely a C type student for sure.

 

We flash at times, but aren't complete enough to compete with 'anyone/anytime'.

 

QB definitely has good/bad moments.

 

Coach is creative at times then it's like he says we already used our creative play/s, now back to the basics again. 

 

Unfortunately Oline has taken a step back this season regardless of rankings. 

 

D's play and coaching can be lights out or where's the lights?

 

Frustrating because we have some good parts, but it's far from complete.

 

To touch on Frank, best I can describe his play calling at times is head scratching. 

Stubbornly sticks with plays at times that are definitely not working that day or being a bit to safe at times it seems to me.

 

I'm not one to ask for heads to roll ever, but my personal view is Frank sometimes seems too struggle at keeping his team in a rhythm so to speak. Not sure if that makes any sense, just my personal feelings on this.

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Luke Diamond of for the colture is stirring up things but it’s a interesting thought. Reich wasn’t Ballard’s first choice. Eberflus seems to be the best coach on this team. What about  after the season Reich and Sirriani were let go and Eberflus became head coach. Then you bring in a young innovative offensive coordinator.

[EastStreet]

4 minutes ago, VaAllDay757 said:

So blitzing more would make the defense better even tho we're tied for the lead in interceptions without blitzing? We got our sacks can't get them all tho....ok garbage time stats are the for books it means nothing when the team loses....what's so great about throwing for 400 yards in a game you didn't win? Lol

Not sure why it's so hard to understand. Our pass D is somewhat a paper tiger due to the poor teams, QBs, and OLs we've faced. Look at the QBs we've INT'd. Any top 10 QBs? Nope. How many sacks vs top 10 OLs (that weren't missing 2 or more starters)? Only one... 

 

The league average of blitzing is 30ish%. We blitz under 20%. Pitt, Balt, and many of the true top Ds blitz 35+%. Baltimore blitzes 45%... We are the only team in the top 10 Ds (YPG) that blitzes less than 20%. Might want to think about that and how it relates to our 32 ranked SoS.

 

AVGs are AVGs dude. All teams have garbage pad included. You can't simply negate those yards for us while at the same time use our ranking vs other teams that also include those yards.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

 

We won't miss the playoffs. 7 teams get in this year as well.

[EastStreet]

17 minutes ago, VaAllDay757 said:

Ok that's what they have coaches and a staff for....it ain't for you or me to dictate what needs to be done to get better they already have their game plan....you feel like the defense needs to blitz more but guess what when they blitzed today how many sacks did they get? 0....how many sacks did they get without the blitz? 2 

LOL... This is a threat about critiquing the coaches. Look at your first two sentences and ask yourself why you're in this thread? 

 

I hate to be Mr Obvious, but it's pretty hard to get a blitz sack when you rarely blitz. And when you do it's, it's on 3rd and long when they keep extra blockers in. 

[VaAllDay757]

9 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Not sure why it's so hard to understand. Our pass D is somewhat a paper tiger due to the poor teams, QBs, and OLs we've faced. Look at the QBs we've INT'd. Any top 10 QBs? Nope. How many sacks vs top 10 OLs (that weren't missing 2 or more starters)? Only one... 

 

The league average of blitzing is 30ish%. We blitz under 20%. Pitt, Balt, and many of the true top Ds blitz 35+%. Baltimore blitzes 45%... We are the only team in the top 10 Ds (YPG) that blitzes less than 20%. Might want to think about that and how it relates to our 32 ranked SoS.

 

AVGs are AVGs dude. All teams have garbage pad included. You can't simply negate those yards for us while at the same time use our ranking vs other teams that also include those yards.

See the whole point is if the defense wasn't performing so well against the teams we beat it would be a huge problem but since they have played well it's still problem to some of y'all lol...."they need to blitz more" "this defense hasn't faced anyone" lol like cmon the colts have NEVER been known to blitz that often and now that we have a defense that's good it's still not enough? Lol what more do y'all want?

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

13 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

We won't miss the playoffs. 7 teams get in this year as well.

HAve you looked at the standings. Colts, Browns, dolphins, raiders all 5-3. Only two will make it.

[VaAllDay757]

6 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

LOL... This is a threat about critiquing the coaches. Look at your first two sentences and ask yourself why you're in this thread? 

 

I hate to be Mr Obvious, but it's pretty hard to get a blitz sack when you rarely blitz. And when you do it's, it's on 3rd and long when they keep extra blockers in. 

I'm in this thread because I gave my own grades about the team....you're the one who feels like this defense should be better even tho majority of everyone else thinks this defense is great....the issues are on offense not defense

[2006Coltsbestever]

1 minute ago, Chloe6124 said:

HAve you looked at the standings. Colts, Browns, dolphins, raiders all 5-3. Only two will make it.

We need to beat the Raiders I will say that.

[VaAllDay757]

Just now, Chloe6124 said:

HAve you looked at the standings. Colts, Browns, dolphins, raiders all 5-3. Only two will make it.

Yeah for the wildcard but we're playing the division lead the other teams don't have much of a chance to win their division 

[Four2itus]

It's your poll, but I would have added to question 3, "Have to see our skill players on offense healthy to truly judge"

 

As is, I couldn't vote because it required 3 and none of those fit. 

[tncoltsfan57]

I started a thread about T.Y. Hilton being washed up about 3 weeks ago and I was right so I'll comment on this thread. Sometimes a great OC or DC gets to the position of head coach and can't handle the position. I think Frank is a great OC and I think he would be a better coach if he let someone else call the plays. I've noticed he's had that mumbling Chuck Pagano look on his face a few times this year when the game was moving fast. I think the fact that he is calling plays is why we went for it on fourth down when 99.9% of the time you would opt to kick the field goal. If he would delegate the play calling he would be in a position to be a much better "coach" I believe.

[EastStreet]

3 minutes ago, VaAllDay757 said:

See the whole point is if the defense wasn't performing so well against the teams we beat it would be a huge problem but since they have played well it's still problem to some of y'all lol...."they need to blitz more" "this defense hasn't faced anyone" lol like cmon the colts have NEVER been known to blitz that often and now that we have a defense that's good it's still not enough? Lol what more do y'all want?

Do you think Pitt, Balt, TB, etc don't blitz when they play bad teams?

 

You're missing the point. Anyway, not worth arguing because you ignore all the facts/data/logic. When we don't blitz Rodgers, and he torches us, let's revisit this conversation. 

 

And I've said this before... I think it's Reich that is holding Flus back from being more aggressive. Flus came from more aggressive teams in the NFL, and when he was DC in college.

[EastStreet]

27 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

Luke Diamond of for the colture is stirring up things but it’s a interesting thought. Reich wasn’t Ballard’s first choice. Eberflus seems to be the best coach on this team. What about  after the season Reich and Sirriani were let go and Eberflus became head coach. Then you bring in a young innovative offensive coordinator.

I don't think Reich was even in the initial hiring pool of interviews. He was passed over by several other teams that year, and was one of the few left.

[EastStreet]

2 minutes ago, tncoltsfan57 said:

I started a thread about T.Y. Hilton being washed up about 3 weeks ago and I was right so I'll comment on this thread. Sometimes a great OC or DC gets to the position of head coach and can't handle the position. I think Frank is a great OC and I think he would be a better coach if he let someone else call the plays. I've noticed he's had that mumbling Chuck Pagano look on his face a few times this year when the game was moving fast. I think the fact that he is calling plays is why we went for it on fourth down when 99.9% of the time you would opt to kick the field goal. If he would delegate the play calling he would be in a position to be a much better "coach" I believe.

Honest question. When exactly has he had a successful track record of calling plays?

[VaAllDay757]

2 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Do you think Pitt, Balt, TB, etc don't blitz when they play bad teams?

 

You're missing the point. Anyway, not worth arguing because you ignore all the facts/data/logic. When we don't blitz Rodgers, and he torches us, let's revisit this conversation. 

 

And I've said this before... I think it's Reich that is holding Flus back from being more aggressive. Flus came from more aggressive teams in the NFL, and when he was DC in college.

They blitz because that's what THEY do you can't compare another team's defensive philosophy to ours it will never match...why do you do think they have the nickname blitzburg? That's their M.O......so you have to blitz rogders all game long to beat him? Lol sometimes that's how he beats you

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

It is disappointing when we have guys like Leonard and Moore we don’t blitz more. I don’t think blitzing would of helped today though with the short dump offs.

[AZColt11]

I went C+ for offensive coaching (I'm easy, what can I say?) but in all fairness they don't have a full deck to deal with.  Hilton has been a no-show, Campbell is out, Mack is out.  Those could be 3 pretty good weapons that aren't really giving them anything for one reason or another.  However, I don't think they are doing themselves any favors with what they DO have.  For example, I'm tired of seeing them run right into a 7 or 8-man front on 2nd and long.  How many times do we need to do this to see it's not working?  JT has had some rookie struggles, but I also think sometimes they don't help him by slamming him into those fronts.  And the lack of consistency with using those weapons is baffling.  For example, Hines is all over the place one game then he barely touches the ball the next game?  I had to check the box score to make sure he even played.

 

I gave the defensive coaching an A.  Please let me explain it in short form:  I had low expectations.  I knew they would be better than last year, but that's sort of like saying a Cadillac is better than a Lexus.  I mean, it might be, but who can really tell?  It's in the eye of the beholder.  But they have been a LOT better than I thought.  In fact, I did not expect them to be top 10 in almost every category at this point, despite the schedule.  The other thing is I look at how we play teams compared to how others with good defenses have fared against them.  We SHUT DOWN the Vikings.  Yet you look at the Vikings now and nobody can stop them.  How is that if the defense isn't any good?  And just last week, the Steelers gave up over 400 yards of offense and 24 points (from the offense) to the Ravens.  Colts give up only 266 yards and 17 points just one week later.  Some will say this doesn't mean anything, but I would argue then what does?  How else can you judge them?  Now, where I have a problem is I think they employ the wrong scheme for the talent we have.  The soft zone and lack of blitzes don't cut it sometimes and that's why sometimes they get dinked-and-dunked to death.  But I don't think that is something you can change on the fly.  Perhaps in the offseason they will look to change that to something more aggressive like the Steelers or Ravens.  But right now the scheme is the scheme and so far it's been pretty darned effective for the most part.  I have ZERO problem with what happened defensively in this game except that the offense had the ball for so little in the 2nd half that the defense simply got gassed.

 

I gave the nod to I like Frank but let Nick call the offensive plays.  I do like Frank.  I don't like how he sometimes needlessly sticks up for guys when things aren't good.  I'd like to see him get on guys more when they need it.  But he needs to let Nick handle the play-calling, or at least give it a try.  I'm not sure what the purpose of having an OC is if you aren't going to hand him the reigns.  Time to see what Nick can do.

 

AZ has spoken.

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 minutes ago, AZColt11 said:

I went C+ for offensive coaching (I'm easy, what can I say?) but in all fairness they don't have a full deck to deal with.  Hilton has been a no-show, Campbell is out, Mack is out.  Those could be 3 pretty good weapons that aren't really giving them anything for one reason or another.  However, I don't think they are doing themselves any favors with what they DO have.  For example, I'm tired of seeing them run right into a 7 or 8-man front on 2nd and long.  How many times do we need to do this to see it's not working?  JT has had some rookie struggles, but I also think sometimes they don't help him by slamming him into those fronts.  And the lack of consistency with using those weapons is baffling.  For example, Hines is all over the place one game then he barely touches the ball the next game?  I had to check the box score to make sure he even played.

 

I gave the defensive coaching an A.  Please let me explain it in short form:  I had low expectations.  I knew they would be better than last year, but that's sort of like saying a Cadillac is better than a Lexus.  I mean, it might be, but who can really tell?  It's in the eye of the beholder.  But they have been a LOT better than I thought.  In fact, I did not expect them to be top 10 in almost every category at this point, despite the schedule.  The other thing is I look at how we play teams compared to how others with good defenses have fared against them.  We SHUT DOWN the Vikings.  Yet you look at the Vikings now and nobody can stop them.  How is that if the defense isn't any good?  And just last week, the Steelers gave up over 400 yards of offense and 24 points (from the offense) to the Ravens.  Colts give up only 266 yards and 17 points just one week later.  Some will say this doesn't mean anything, but I would argue then what does?  How else can you judge them?  Now, where I have a problem is I think they employ the wrong scheme for the talent we have.  The soft zone and lack of blitzes don't cut it sometimes and that's why sometimes they get dinked-and-dunked to death.  But I don't think that is something you can change on the fly.  Perhaps in the offseason they will look to change that to something more aggressive like the Steelers or Ravens.  But right now the scheme is the scheme and so far it's been pretty darned effective for the most part.  I have ZERO problem with what happened defensively in this game except that the offense had the ball for so little in the 2nd half that the defense simply got gassed.

 

I gave the nod to I like Frank but let Nick call the offensive plays.  I do like Frank.  I don't like how he sometimes needlessly sticks up for guys when things aren't good.  I'd like to see him get on guys more when they need it.  But he needs to let Nick handle the play-calling, or at least give it a try.  I'm not sure what the purpose of having an OC is if you aren't going to hand him the reigns.  Time to see what Nick can do.

 

AZ has spoken.

Yeah I went C. It is good one game then questionable the next. We aren't too far off. Losing Mack is starting to show it is affecting our running game. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

This is the playoff race lol. If we lose to TN we are probably done. The AFC is very good this year. This offense is going to need a major makeover this off season. We need to keep as much of the defense together as we can.

 

 

[AZColt11]

1 minute ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Yeah I went C. It is good one game then questionable the next. We aren't too far off. Losing Mack is starting to show it is affecting our running game. 

For sure.  I HAD thought that when Mack went down that was for sure gonna be it.  We had JT, the offensive line, we could just plug and play and keep going.  I was wrong.  We are starting to see just how much Mack meant to this running game and the offense overall.  If anything, he may have elevated his worth by getting injured if you can believe it.  I'd like to see the team keep him so long as it is a fair deal.

[EastStreet]

8 minutes ago, VaAllDay757 said:

They blitz because that's what THEY do you can't compare another team's defensive philosophy to ours it will never match...why do you do think they have the nickname blitzburg? That's their M.O......so you have to blitz rogders all game long to beat him? Lol sometimes that's how he beats you

So basically you're saying, they are coaches, and shouldn't be questioned, and our scheme is our scheme, and can't be questioned...

And just because we've played the absolute weakest schedule in the league, that has no bearing....

 

You basically haven't addressed any point I've made. 

 

Got it. 

 

Just curious. When is it OK to question things? After we've lost 2 in a row? 3? When our passing D falls out the top 5? Top 10? When we've missed the playoffs? When we get knocked out of the playoffs? Asking for a friend lol. 

 

 

[AZColt11]

3 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

This is the playoff race lol. If we lose to TN we are probably done. The AFC is very good this year. This offense is going to need a major makeover this off season. We need to keep as much of the defense together as we can.

 

 

So you're tellin me there's a chance........

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 minutes ago, AZColt11 said:

For sure.  I HAD thought that when Mack went down that was for sure gonna be it.  We had JT, the offensive line, we could just plug and play and keep going.  I was wrong.  We are starting to see just how much Mack meant to this running game and the offense overall.  If anything, he may have elevated his worth by getting injured if you can believe it.  I'd like to see the team keep him so long as it is a fair deal.

I thought we could plug in Taylor too and he would at least give us good results because of our Line. Taylor is a rookie but still I was just thinking about how great our Line was last year.

[IinD]

2 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I thought we could plug in Taylor too and he would at least give us good results because of our Line. Taylor is a rookie but still I was just thinking about how great our Line was last year.

Even with the WR woes we could swing it with last years line. Having a tough time running and basically average guys as weapons on O is killing us this season.

 

Fingers crossed things get better.

[VaAllDay757]

16 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

So basically you're saying, they are coaches, and shouldn't be questioned, and our scheme is our scheme, and can't be questioned...

And just because we've played the absolute weakest schedule in the league, that has no bearing....

 

You basically haven't addressed any point I've made. 

 

Got it. 

 

Just curious. When is it OK to question things? After we've lost 2 in a row? 3? When our passing D falls out the top 5? Top 10? When we've missed the playoffs? When we get knocked out of the playoffs? Asking for a friend lol. 

 

 

What is there to question? They are coaches for a reason....the scheme is here for a reason this is nothing new....our schedule is weak because of the other team records? It's only half season gone how do you know who's who yet? I told you we don't control how the schedule is made....all they can do is play who is up next that's it if you have a problem with the schedule email goodell but that's nothing the colts have no control over....you can start worrying and ask questions when the team completely turns into trash as a whole....when no players meets their expectations at all not after one loss where we're still above .500 and have a chance to take the division lead this week

[EastStreet]

Just now, VaAllDay757 said:

What is there to question? They are coaches for a reason....the scheme is here for a reason this is nothing new....our schedule is weak because of the other team records? It's only half season gone how do you who's who yet? I told you we don't control how the schedule is made....all they can do is play who is up next that's it if you have a problem with the schedule email goodell but that's nothing the colts have no control over....you can start worrying and ask questions when the team completely turns into trash as a whole....when no players meets their expectations at all not after one loss where we're still above .500 and have a chance to take the division lead this week

do you ever answer a direct question without a dance routine.

 

 

[VaAllDay757]

2 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

do you ever answer a direct question without a dance routine.

 

 

The answers been there you just haven't read it correctly 

[EastStreet]

4 minutes ago, VaAllDay757 said:

The answers been there you just haven't read it correctly 

You're 100% anecdotal, even in this reply... 

 

Still waiting to know exactly when it's OK to question and critique... 

[Zoltan]

I chose:

C+ for Offense

A For Defense

 

and I don't know right now, but I'm not really happy... Although I would say that it's more IDK right now but I'm neither happy nor unhappy.

 

I truly believe that our offense starts with the QB and between JB and now Rivers they are standard vanilla offensive players (For Rivers at this point of his career.) I think once we get a QB of the future that can do more than the placeholders we have now, we will see this offense expand.

[zibby43]

2 hours ago, EastStreet said:

Yep, this is a huge issue with Reich. He forgets what works, and gets too stubborn when his game plan isn't working. Those sail routes to Moe that worked so well a few games ago would have been perfect today against their depleted secondary. Instead, they ran Burton on some deeper routes. Wut??

 

And why on earth are you calling a 1st read 50/50 to a guy like Johnson on the sideline in the first place. Number one, he's gimpy with a knee. Second, he's not a "big ups" ladder climber guy in the first place. Third, Johnson is still struggling with routes. It was obvious a few times on sideline throws he was supposed to either run a comeback or back shoulder, but kept going. He's just not that guy. Had no separation today. Give him posts, slants, or digs and drags. 2 catches on 7 targets.... Almost everyone else had a good catch rate. 

 

I started looking at the play by play, and looking at the mix, and I got so frustrated I had to stop... I'll do a little right up tomorrow when I'm less crabby. 

 

I think Reich and co. get so spun up and obsessed with self-scouting their own tendencies that they end up not having an identity.

 

To make an analogy: Notre Dame has an offensive identity.  They smash you in the face with a sledgehammer running game (lots of outside zone), and then in the passing game, crossers and 50/50 balls to their big-bodied TEs/WRs.

 

Now, within that identity, they utilize their best play-makers.  And they break tendencies with how they use the personnel (formations, area of the field, etc.).  But they don't just abandon them.