Reich Coaching Decisions Post-game Takes(Mega Merge)

[Numba1Colt]

58 minutes ago, a06cc said:

Nah it was the missed FG’s. Ship is a rookie and needs the off-season to improve. We need a CB badly. Was very evident today 

 

correct, it was passing up on a gimme 21 yard field goal to expand the lead to 6 points.

 

you never pass up 3 points on the road as the underdog vs a high powered offense. 

 

colts are the first NFL team in history to lose a playoff game with 450+ yards on offense and zero turnovers 

 

 

[coming on strong]

the sad part is if luck was playing i think its a blow out by the colts .  his mobility would shred the bills blitzes there was so many open running lanes all game luck would have 50 yards on the ground  along with 350 passing and 3 or 4 touchdowns .   I still miss him , grigson really hurt this franchise and set us back .

[coach kline]

1 hour ago, CanuckColtsFan said:

That dumb challenge looms large

His staff's fault

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Not going to blame this to much on Reich when there was so many dropped passes and missed FG.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Rivers also threw it way to much. Oline needed to be better in the run game.

[coach kline]

35 minutes ago, Four2itus said:

What about the plays called that succeeded where perhaps no success was likely? Na.......it's only the failed calls that matter. 

 

Seriously, what a great season! The future is bright!

 Not when you need a future quarterback and there's none on the team.

[SR711]

My reactions

 

- Overall, a good season and credit to the front office, leadership with this team that they won 11 games and made the playoffs only 2 years after their franchise QB abruptly retired and they really had only one offseason to address it.  I don't know of a lot of franchises that would have been able to do that in similar situations.  The Colts are in good hands with Ballard and I do believe we will ultimately win a SB (likely multiple) with him calling the shots on personnel.  

 

- IMO Reich is a very good play designer and has done some good things with the offense since being here.  He should remain the HC here.  That said, he has some areas to improve as a head coach (specifically making decisions due to loyalty to a certain mindset as opposed to having a feel to his teams strengths, capabilities and the opponents, etc) which I feel costs the team at certain times.  The 4th down call before the half was not rational.  He was extremely fortunate we did not lose the 1st Houston game due to similar decisions and one can say that we left 3 points on field that we sure could have used today.

 

- Team played pretty well overall today and lost to a really good team.  I actually thought that this was one the defenses better efforts in recent weeks and they made timely stops to keep us in the game.  If one of a three breaks/bad decisions had gone our way (Turay jumping offsides, Rodgers coming up the INT, recovering the late Allen fumble) it is very possible we win.  

[coach kline]

4 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:

Not going to blame this to much on Reich when there was so many dropped passes and missed FG.

Being to aggressive and no common sense. There's a time and place.

[New Zealands #1 Colts Fan]

You can't say say Reich cost us 4 points and we lost by 3 so we would have won. Game changes completely. What if we kick the field goal in the 2nd qtr, maybe buffalo return the kickoff for a td or maybe allen throws a pick 6. We will never ever know. What we do know is the challenge was stupid and we wasted another time out in the 3rd qtr.

[Smoke317]

If Reich were let go, I wouldn’t kick up too much of a fuss about it.  He has made many questionable calls over the years that have cost us games.  You start to wonder if that’s just gonna be the norm with him?  
 

Regardless, you have to look at what he had at QB in Rivers.  The future hall of famer had a pretty good game today.  But his lack of mobility coupled with our lack of playmakers forces Frank to be PERFECT with his play calling.  There’s no threat of a QB scramble or any ability to run the read option. There’s little rollout ability.  No broken play scramble potential. 
 

If Frank’s gotta go, Rivers has to go too.  He’s the Captain of this ship. Frank trusted him to go for it on 4th. Rivers (HoF) missed Pittman. Put some air under that and let him run under it.  Again, 3rd down Pittman on the cross. Gotta put that out in front of him not a foot behind him. With his run after catch ability we could have scored or at least been DEEP in the redzone. Instead we have to settle for the field goal miss...  

 

The play calling was PERFECT on both plays. The QB missed them both. Instead of a pretty good game, Frank put Phillip in position to have a GREAT game. And Rivers (as usual) came up short in the biggest moments. 

[Roosarioo]

I’d give Reich another season but someone really needs to talk to him about some of his overly aggressive calls that constantly cost us. I know analytics probably don’t agree with me but I’m never a fan of going all in while you have the lead, which Reich constantly does game in and game out!

[coming on strong]

8 minutes ago, relkins said:

 Not when you need a future quarterback and there's none on the team.

rivers played a good game overall 300 yards 2 touchdowns . the problem is he had two minutes 30 seconds to get in field goal range and he couldnt do it .  It reminds me of how unlucky tony romo would be , he would drop 500 yards 4 touchdowns against the broncos to only lose on a pick .   It just seems like certain QBs struggle  in pressure situations and some have ice in their veins . rivers could of been the talk of the week if he drives the ball down and gets a touchdown or at least a field goal . Even with 30 seconds left with only ten yards to go he made some very poor decisions holding on to the ball for ten seconds to throw it away every single time until their is 4 seconds left . 

[Smoke317]

1 minute ago, coming on strong said:

rivers played a good game overall 300 yards 2 touchdowns . the problem is he had two minutes 30 seconds to get in field goal range and he couldnt do it .  It reminds me of how unlucky tony romo would be , he would drop 500 yards 4 touchdowns against the broncos to only lose on a pick .   It just seems like certain QBs struggle  in pressure situations and some have ice in their veins . rivers could of been the talk of the week if he drives the ball down and gets a touchdown or at least a field goal . Even with 30 seconds left with only ten yards to go he made some very poor decisions holding on to the ball for ten seconds to throw it away every single time until their is 4 seconds left . 

If Rivers hits Pittman on the 4th or 3rd down plays (both lead to missed points TD & FG) he’s the talk of the town and we wouldn’t have needed the 2 minute drive to tie?  Frank put Rivers in position to have a “great” game overall. But like you said and I agree with, he had a “good” game overall instead. 

[compuls1v3]

1 hour ago, EastStreet said:

Bad play calling. Bad decisions in the RZ. Bad use of time outs which kept us from running any real offense in that last drive.... 

Hopefully Reich learns from this...

[JMichael557]

A review of the game is very simple. We were as good as the Bills. We left 6 points on the field. This miss by Hot Rod was hugh as well as the decision not to take the 3 points at the end of the half. Add to that the fact that their Rookie Kicker made a 54 year FG. 

 

Added as an extra problem is we lost 2 timeouts that limited our chance to comeback. We had too call one when the play clock was about to run out. A problem all day and the second was the horrible challenge. 

 

I like Frank as a coach and as a person. His problem is game management. He has to get better. Rivers played his heart out but he is limited by father time. 

[Fluke_33]

Call me crazy but some of these aggressive/risky calls may win us a Super Bowl one day.  
 

I do wish he took the points though!

[TrueBlue4ever]

It’s a game of inches and when we rewatch this game, it comes down to just that. 
The loss stings, I knew we would drive it down the field and win. 472 yards, no sacks or turnovers. This was our game to win!

This off-season with Ballard will be fun to watch. Who stays, who goes? 
Old and young! Any prime time gAmes in Indy?? 
Phillip, Stafford, Darnold, Wentz, a Rookie??? Houston, Castonzo, Hilton. All good topics till we kick it off again.

 

Thank you Colts! Good season and a playoff game to the end. The Sun will come out tomorrow!!

[EastStreet]

1 hour ago, TheBlueAndWhite said:

Oh please.... Just enjoy the playoffs man. 

If you are OK with everything today, not sure what to tell you. I finally got off the phone after 7 calls from buds in Indy all saying the same. But hey, enjoy.

[IinD]

He's more good then bad. He's definitely got flaws.

I don't think he's to the point where he's a dangerous decision maker though. Definitely some head scratchers at times though.

 

[Coltsman1788]

Frank Reich was horrible today and cost us the game. I lost a lot of confidence in him this season. Thought he was smarter. 

[coach kline]

13 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

rivers played a good game overall 300 yards 2 touchdowns . the problem is he had two minutes 30 seconds to get in field goal range and he couldnt do it .  It reminds me of how unlucky tony romo would be , he would drop 500 yards 4 touchdowns against the broncos to only lose on a pick .   It just seems like certain QBs struggle  in pressure situations and some have ice in their veins . rivers could of been the talk of the week if he drives the ball down and gets a touchdown or at least a field goal . Even with 30 seconds left with only ten yards to go he made some very poor decisions holding on to the ball for ten seconds to throw it away every single time until their is 4 seconds left . 

He's not our future. It's a short term fix for not having a quarterback on our team

[EastStreet]

1 hour ago, Jared Cisneros said:

I agree. With all the great HC candidates still, I would fire him and hire someone else. We should of won this game relatively easily.

I'm still not in the fire-Reich mode, but at minimum, give play calling to someone else.

 

We are second best in scripted drives to start the game. That means someone in the room is good when they are collaborating. And the scripted drives are collaborated typically between the HC/OC/QB, and position coaches. The problem is in-game... If Reich doesn't want to give that up, buh bye

[coach kline]

Win now didn't work. Time to move on

[EastStreet]

1 hour ago, PRnum1 said:

The lost challenge costing us a timeout was really dumb 

beyond dumb. 

[Colt.45]

5 minutes ago, JMichael557 said:

A review of the game is very simple. We were as good as the Bills. We left 6 points on the field. This miss by Hot Rod was hugh as well as the decision not to take the 3 points at the end of the half. Add to that the fact that their Rookie Kicker made a 54 year FG. 

 

Added as an extra problem is we lost 2 timeouts that limited our chance to comeback. We had too call one when the play clock was about to run out. A problem all day and the second was the horrible challenge. 

 

I like Frank as a coach and as a person. His problem is game management. He has to get better. Rivers played his heart out but he is limited by father time. 

It was deliberate by Rivers to drain clock. It worked. 

The challenge by Reich was really poor.

Rivers balled today but with a better QB, the Colts win this game by daylight. Rivers clearly couldn't threaten deep like Allen and the Colts had to play a much tighter game.

 

Proud of the team and coaches. They coulda and shoulda beaten Buffalo. They've played quite a few of the conferences best teams this year and have been as good as or arguably better than them all.All with a limited QB. 

[Coltsman1788]

1 minute ago, relkins said:

He's not our future. It's a short term fix for not having a quarterback on our team

Hopefully Rivers will call it a career. He did fine here but won’t ever take us to the top. We need a vet QB now because the team is built to win now. I wouldn’t mind if the Colts bought in Stafford next season. He could be dangerous with the Colts.  Let Eason be the primary backup and cut ties with Jacoby. 

[Colt.45]

Just now, EastStreet said:

beyond dumb. 

That challenge was pretty bad. Terrible call.

However Reich is a heckuva coach. He will get even better, and god help the rest of the league if that man gets a QB.

Think of the heights Reid has reached with KC and Mahomes, i think Reich can reach those in Indy and all these little quibbles about his aggressiveness will go away. Super coach.

[Fisticuffs111]

I’m officially on the let Sirianni call the plays train, or at least try it out.

 

Reich’s not all bad. Not even mostly. But man does he continue to make some straight up odd decisions...and I’ve really grown tired of how he coaches with a lead. We’ve seen too many would be comfortable wins turn into nail biters or worse.

 

Still like him as the HC, but yeah, let’s see a hungry guy like Sirianni get a chance.

[TrueBlue4ever]

Believe in Ballard! He pulled a guy off the streets to play left tackle, can’t wait to see his moves to take us to the top this off-season.

With JT, Pittman, Campbell, our offensive line. Life is good baby. Pull up a chair and watch. If he sticks 4 out of 7 picks again this draft, pulls a Buckner trade out of the hat. We are a 13 win team next year no doubt!
 

[New Zealands #1 Colts Fan]

9 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

If you are OK with everything today, not sure what to tell you. I finally got off the phone after 7 calls from buds in Indy all saying the same. But hey, enjoy.

Should have just had a zoom session with everyone instead 

[EastStreet]

1 hour ago, colts8718 said:

Go for the filed goal before half over thinking as usual and that time out in 2nd hal was terrible I think Reich was getting desperate. M friend a Buffalo said we blew it R and R did us in again 

I had Indy friends blowing my phone up all game. I had Bills buds from NY texting me LOLs as well. I even had a friend in Japan who is a Bill's fan texting me WTX is your coach doing. Even announcers looked awkward and tried not to be too hard... 

18 minutes ago, compuls1v3 said:

Hopefully Reich learns from this...

He says all the right things in pressers. I hope he does too.

[EastStreet]

5 minutes ago, Colt.45 said:

That challenge was pretty bad. Terrible call.

However Reich is a heckuva coach. He will get even better, and god help the rest of the league if that man gets a QB.

Think of the heights Reid has reached with KC and Mahomes, i think Reich can reach those in Indy and all these little quibbles about his aggressiveness will go away. Super coach.

Dude, you're really comparing Reich to Reid. That's like comparing a hill in Brown County, IN, to slopes in CO and Eastern Europe.

[EastStreet]

3 minutes ago, New Zealands #1 Colts Fan said:

Should have just had a zoom session with everyone instead 

I declined soooo many face times and calls. I'm on the phone now with a Bills fan. He opened up the call with "Thank You"... 

[Colt.45]

Just now, Fisticuffs111 said:

I’m officially on the let Sirianni call the plays train, or at least try it out.

 

Reich’s not all bad. Not even mostly. But man does he continue to make some straight up odd decisions...and I’ve really grown tired of how he coaches with a lead. We’ve seen too many would be comfortable wins turn into nail biters or worse.

 

Still like him as the guy, but yeah, let’s see a hungry guy like Sirianni get a chance.

The Colts rang up almost 500 yards of offense against a SUPER buffalo team. He made some in-game errors but he learns and will get better. 

Reminds me of how Eagles and even Chiefs fans used to say similar things about Andy Reid. Sure he makes some weird calls but he is absolutely who you want behind the wheels.

 

[John Waylon]

Maybe it’s a curse... 

 

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of Jim Caldwell helping the Jets beat us in Peyton Manning’s final game of his Colts career... 

[tucky89]

19 minutes ago, Fluke_33 said:

Call me crazy but some of these aggressive/risky calls may win us a Super Bowl one day.  
 

I do wish he took the points though!

Sure. If you get a SB defense sans Butler like Philly got vs Pats, you take chances.

 

You don't take unnecessary risks against the best defense in football. There wasn't any need too.

 

 

[Colt.45]

3 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

Dude, you're really comparing Reich to Reid. That's like comparing a hill in Brown County, IN, to slopes in CO and Eastern Europe.

Yeah i am. And you're talking of Reid AFTER he got Mahomes. Give Reich even Luck and watch magic happen. 

You forget the level of complaints Reid used to generate when his QBs where McNabb and Alex Smith. Suddenly he has Mahomes and even iffy play calls are hailed as genius now. 

Yeah i am comparing them. Reich makes some mistakes in-game but i am so glad he's the Colts HC. 

[EastStreet]

@SteelCityColt just so you know, I like my title better ;-) , but I fully understand the change. 

 

Emotions lol. At least I'm not literally crying like my buddy's wife, or broke the remote like another buddy 

 

I'm already thinking next year, and PFF ratings for EOY and FA... Can't say I didn't expect this.

[tucky89]

Just now, John Waylon said:

Maybe it’s a curse... 

 

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of Jim Caldwell helping the Jets beat us in Peyton Manning’s final game of his Colts career... 

We could've won the SB that year too.

Caldwell should've been gassed after that game. And he got taken to the cleaners by Payton in the SB.

[UKColt13]

1 hour ago, colts8718 said:

You really think they where the better team? no way 

I think overall they played better on offense than we did. Defensively about equal. I don’t think you could decisively say one way or another but the scoreboard would say they were the better team.