So Frank playing to win.../ Thoughts after the Steelers debacle ((merge))

[TimetobringDfence!]

30 minutes ago, James said:

This team is the biggest tease of all time. And so is Reich. 
 

They choked a 24-7 lead away with cruddy play calling and awful defense sprinkled with bad refereeing.

Perfect way to put it.

[a06cc]

1 minute ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Huh............!!!

Started of the third he was playing calling as if the stealers we’re going to lay over and die. 

[DaColts85]

1 minute ago, a06cc said:

Frank took the blame in his presser

Every coach does after a loss. I hope he understands his mistakes though. He continues to make them which sucks. 

[Moosejawcolt]

34 minutes ago, a06cc said:

That game was on Frank. He was playing with a lead and lost! 

If u told me me that the Colts would score 24 points on the road with both offensive tackles out at Pittsburgh, I would take that. This loss in on the defensive scheme and the players we have drafted.

[Malakai432]

24 minutes ago, B~Town said:

So this is how Atlanta's fans feel every week . Oof

[a06cc]

Just now, Moosejawcolt said:

If u told me me that the Colts would score 24 points on the road with both offensive tackles out at Pittsburgh, I would take that. This loss in on the defensive scheme and the players we have drafted.

I’ve said this during the season about our questionable 3rd down defense. That I will give you. However Frank was in fact playing for a lead. Trying to take risk with a QB playing on a bad foot. 

[Jdubu]

2 minutes ago, a06cc said:

Frank took the blame in his presser

Can we look back and count all the pressers in which crappy outcomes are blamed on him with a self admission? Perhaps he is just not a good coach and needs to be replaced with someone who can go 4 full quarters without severely overthinking every play call. I’d fully expect this from FR, it makes him feel better about it by stating the obvious fact. 
 

if CB does an open, honest and fair assessment of this coaching staff after the season is done next week, he will see that FR is not the guy to keep leading this team. Halftime games coached well isn’t enough. Cant keep playing poorly or playing well only to see it played exactly the opposite on the other half part. Just awful awful coaching. Admitting it each game isn’t the answer to solving the problem. 

[a06cc]

Just now, Jdubu said:

Can we look back and count all the pressers in which crappy outcomes are blamed on him with a self admission? Perhaps he is just not a good coach and needs to be replaced with someone who can go 4 full quarters without severely overthinking every play call. I’d fully expect this from FR, it makes him feel better about it by stating the obvious fact. 
 

if CB does an open, honest and fair assessment of this coaching staff after the season is done next week, he will see that FR is not the guy to keep leading this team. Halftime games coached well isn’t enough. Cant keep playing poorly or playing well only to see it played exactly the opposite on the other half part. Just awful awful coaching. Admitting it each game isn’t the answer to solving the problem. 

Nah Frank is a good coach. He needs to let Nick call the plays. 

[bleed blue4life]

Smh . He does this everytime we play great in the first half .everytime . If we di get in one and done. Back to pitts probably and we never win there ever 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Reichs presser is a joke. He goes they were covering the run so we checked to passes. When your a good team you impose your will on the other team and run the ball. I don’t care about what looks they were giving you.

[Jdubu]

3 minutes ago, a06cc said:

Nah Frank is a good coach. He needs to let Nick call the plays. 

Uhhhh, his actions suggest otherwise. He is a super nice guy but isn’t making good coaching decisions. That = and avg coach. We can do

worse for sure (that Texans Coach O’Brien for example) but we can certainly do better. 

[Numba1Colt]

refs walked the steelers down the field fella both drives 14-24 and 21-24

 

can't blame rivers for having to force passes the rest of the game after that... and drive on offense in a 24-14 game was blown up first down because Taylor didn't pickup the blitz 

 

also took away points before half pending TD or a made FG with the fake block in back on screen to Hines that was perfectly called and resulted in huge yards

 

 

[Patagonia Chris]

There’s a reason Frank has been fired from pretty much every NFL job he’s ever had...and a reason he was the 8th choice to be this teams Head Coach. 

[SurfinKal]

7 minutes ago, Grigson's Gaffes said:

There’s a reason Frank has been fired from pretty much every NFL job he’s ever had...and a reason he was the 8th choice to be this teams Head Coach. 

That is some real talk right there. Reich is a nice guy, but i don't think he is our long term answer at HC. 

[Defjamz26]

26 minutes ago, DaColts85 said:

I agree this game is on the coaches. Not just frank though. Eberflus needs blame for the switch on d. Bad adjustments all around. 

Yeah second half defense was awful in pass coverage.

[Btown_Colt]

Almost makes you wish pass interference was reviewable...

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

I think the Indy media is so stupid when it comes to football. Rivers comes out and says when we come out in 3 wide receiver sets there wasn’t much we can do with the run. They go yeah he is right but  don’t question why they didn’t come out in two TE sets to run the ball. 

[Dingus McGirt]

52 minutes ago, Breeze said:

Sure seems like we always lose intensity with a lead.  Envious of teams that know how to step on your throat when you’re down. 

Referee: “Personal foul - stepping on opposing team’s throat - Indianapolis bench - 15 yard penalty.”

[TimetobringDfence!]

20 minutes ago, Numba1Colt said:

refs walked the steelers down the field fella both drives 14-24 and 21-24

 

can't blame rivers for having to force passes the rest of the game after that... and drive on offense in a 24-14 game was blown up first down because Taylor didn't pickup the blitz 

 

also took away points before half pending TD or a made FG with the fake block in back on screen to Hines that was perfectly called and resulted in huge yards

 

 

That call was nonsense by Frank we should have been ruuning and by design JT had no chance on that block the oline missed the guy and JT was running right on the PA.

[TimetobringDfence!]

Just now, TimetobringDfence! said:

That call was nonsense by Frank we should have been ruuning and by design JT had no chance on that block the oline missed the guy and JT was running right on the PA.

We were up by ten run the damn ball.

[SteelCityColt]

3 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

I think the Indy media is so stupid when it comes to football. Rivers comes out and says when we come out in 3 wide receiver sets there wasn’t much we can do with the run. They go yeah he is right but  don’t question why they didn’t come out in two TE sets to run the ball. 

Quoth the pot

[Moosejawcolt]

Ii find it so hilarious.  The Steelers were playing the 2nd half to stop the run and had the personell in to do it. So, Reich said lets throw it. They didnt convert and everyone blames Frank. Now if Frank would have run the ball in the 2nd half into a loaded front, people would have screamed and said why isnt he throwing it. I always remeber Manning saying that when teams came out in nickle to stop the pass, they would run all day. Manning is declared a genius and Reich is condemned.

[richard pallo]

24 minutes ago, Jdubu said:

Can we look back and count all the pressers in which crappy outcomes are blamed on him with a self admission? Perhaps he is just not a good coach and needs to be replaced with someone who can go 4 full quarters without severely overthinking every play call. I’d fully expect this from FR, it makes him feel better about it by stating the obvious fact. 
 

if CB does an open, honest and fair assessment of this coaching staff after the season is done next week, he will see that FR is not the guy to keep leading this team. Halftime games coached well isn’t enough. Cant keep playing poorly or playing well only to see it played exactly the opposite on the other half part. Just awful awful coaching. Admitting it each game isn’t the answer to solving the problem. 

I couldn't agree more.  We will never win a SB with him as coach.  He is average at best.  With the exception of the scripted plays I don't think he even has a game plan.  i think he coaches from the gut and calls his plays that way with no regard to any attacking or game strategy.  I would bet Irsay and Ballard are livid right now.  I am just a fan but even I can see how he went away from running the ball to passing.  He is a QB.  That's what he wants to do and he will always lean that way.  I hope Ballard really sees he has a problem here.  Reich is lucky he doesn't coach in NY or Philly and face criticism from the media.  He is safe in Indy and that's a problem.  He's lucky Houston self destructed or he might really be in trouble.  KC was really lucky when the Eagles fired Reid and they swooped in.  Similar to when we signed Dungy.  We need to find a legitimate head coach.  The great ones like Reid, Harbaugh, Bellicheck, Tomlin are hard to find.  But they are out there.  If I'm Ballard this game put Reich on the hot seat.  

[TimetobringDfence!]

1 minute ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Ii find it so hilarious.  The Steelers were playing the 2nd half to stop the run and had the personell in to do it. So, Reich said lets throw it. They didnt convert and everyone blames Frank. Now if Frank would have run the ball in the 2nd half into a loaded front, people would have screamed and said why isnt he throwing it. I always remeber Manning saying that when teams came out in nickle to stop the pass, they would run all day. Manning is declared a genius and Reich is condemned.

Nope cause at least we stuck to our guns and killed clock. At least keep mixing it up.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

When your a good physical team it shouldn’t matter what the Steelers are doing. You impose your will. By doing what they did they let the Steelers dictate what we did instead of the other way around. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Reich is a good coach but someone else needs to making the play calls. He is bad in situational football and understanding the flow of the game. He is a great play designer ect but doesn’t understand certain situations call for certain things. 

[a06cc]

1 minute ago, Chloe6124 said:

Reich is a good coach but someone else needs to making the play calls. He is bad in situational football and understanding the flow of the game. He is a great play designer ect but doesn’t understand certain situations call for certain things. 

Can’t agree more. Nick needs to call the plays. 

[WoolMagnet]

1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

Mediocrity?    Seriously?

 

 

I know..... deep breaths help.

I try to ignore it.

[EastStreet]

1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

Mediocrity?    Seriously?

 

 

I agree mediocrity is a probably a strong word, but with the 30th ranked SoS, it's very debatable. and a case can be made. If we miss the playoffs, it'll be a pretty fair assessment. 

[Husle]

1 hour ago, legend300 said:

Frank play calling the second half was god awful.  How many times did we run the ball?  I have been slow to say anything about his play calling but it was awful second half.  

Quite terrible indeed, and yes it is getting old, very old!

 

[Husle]

1 hour ago, James said:

This team is the biggest tease of all time. And so is Reich. 
 

They choked a 24-7 lead away with cruddy play calling and awful defense sprinkled with bad refereeing.

I just knew this was gonna be a tale of two halves..I KNEW IT, and it sucks what a joke we were.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Ballard needs to sir down with Reich this offseason and really talk to him about game flow and recognizing game situations. I shouldn’t matter what the Steelers we’re doing if your a good physical team. He over thinks everything even with a 17 pt lead.  It’s dangerous  to change coaches because it can be so much worse and Reich is almost there. But this needs to be a big conversation that Ballard has with Reich going forward.  What a accomplishment to be up 17 when your missing two tackles. I feel so bad for players. They deserved better today.

[DougDew]

The way the game went, obviously Tomlin called a terrible first half as the Steelers were being dominated. 

 

When he called a better second half, the 11-3 team, the better team, dominated and won.  Go figure.

[a06cc]

2 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

Ballard needs to sir down with Reich this offseason and really talk to him about game flow and recognizing game situations. I shouldn’t matter what the Steelers we’re doing if your a good physical team. He over thinks everything even with a 17 pt lead.  It’s dangerous  to change coaches because it can be so much worse and Reich is almost there. But this needs to be a big conversation that Ballard has with Reich going forward.  What a accomplishment to be up 17 when your missing two tackles. I feel so bad for players. They deserved better today.

Ballards at fault as well. He had a chance to get us depth at tackle. I’m sure he’ll be looking himself down this offseason as well. 

[Patagonia Chris]

1 hour ago, Chloe6124 said:

I think the Indy media is so stupid when it comes to football. Rivers comes out and says when we come out in 3 wide receiver sets there wasn’t much we can do with the run. They go yeah he is right but  don’t question why they didn’t come out in two TE sets to run the ball. 

In terms of real football knowledge, there isn’t a lot of it in the media.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

36 minutes ago, a06cc said:

Ballards at fault as well. He had a chance to get us depth at tackle. I’m sure he’ll be looking himself down this offseason as well. 

Yeah but even with that we were up 17. That was just inexcusable by Reich and his answers after are just as bad.

[coming on strong]

2 hours ago, Moosejawcolt said:

If u told me me that the Colts would score 24 points on the road with both offensive tackles out at Pittsburgh, I would take that. This loss in on the defensive scheme and the players we have drafted.

without the turnover giving the steelers the ball inside the redzone the steelers score 21 points today . its a offensive league even the best defenses are giving up around 20 points a game .    two turnovers and scoring 3 points in 30 minutes played a massive role .   

[richard pallo]

In the 1st half Taylor ran 13 times for 49 yards and two TDs playing with two substitute tackles.  In the 2nd half he ran a TOTAL of 5 TIMES with 3 carries coming in the 1st series for 25 yards and we score a FG.   Great 2nd half adjustments with a big lead.  Reich is clueless. 

[SR711]

No way to sugar coat, that was a 100% meltdown that may end up costing the team a playoff spot when its all said and done. 

 

Fair warning to those reading, there is not going to be lot of positive in my post.  

 

1.  The defense has been playing with fire most of the year and it came back to bite them today.  I don't care what the rankings say.  Based on the eyeball test, this is an average (at best) defense and the only reason they even get that is because of the stellar job they typically do against the run.  Unfortunately, the NFL these days is about the passing game and the team has been flat out terrible at defending it for long stretches at multiple points this season.  If anyone is looking for a reason why this franchise may be on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs, that is it.  

 

2.  Diving further into the issue on pass defense, the basic issue is that they cannot consistently generate pressure with the front four due to lack of a game changing player at the DE/edge position.  Thus, they have to rely on blitzing to force the issue, but frankly the corners and safeties get burnt way too frequently to make anyone feel comfortable leaving them exposed.  Eberflus then basically goes into that Cover 2 off coverage/soft zone (which I absolutely hate) that allows the QBs and receivers to get comfortable and in a rhythm.  The whole issue is ultimately a personnel problem and one that is not really going to fixed significantly with any Xs and Os changes.  

 

3.  The key question that can only be answered with review of the the All 22 film is that was there is significant difference in what defensive calls were being made in the 1st half and what the team was doing to open up the 2nd half.  It may be recollection bias on my part, but it sure did seem from my vantage that the corners and safeties were playing lot further back than what they were doing in the 1st half.  If this is indeed the case, then you can probably say that it was a mindless decision that ultimately allowed Big Ben and his receivers to gain confidence and rhythm were they had none for the greater part of the last 4 games.  

 

4.  Many may disagree with this but the offense did enough to win this game.  24 points should have been enough and I truly feel that they would have been able to get more if the Steelers O did not explode in the 2nd half.  Rivers is not by any means perfect, but right now because of the defensive play, the team is relying on him to do more than what he is realistically capable of doing consistently at this stage in his career.  

 

5.  Finally, I will say that Reich really needs to evaluate his play calling and be realistic about what his offense is not about what he optimistically believes they are.  Way too pass happy in the 2nd half which is absurd considering who they putting out at the tackle positions, who was there on D and how well Taylor was running the ball.  This has been on ongoing issue in my opinion with him calling plays like he has the prime years Peyton Manning offense at his disposal as opposed to a unit that relies more on opportunity, establishing the run and scheme to generate big yardage plays. 

[Patrick Miller]

Maybe Frank should hand over the play calling.