2021 Titans at Colts Postgame Thoughts

[richard pallo]

11 minutes ago, Wentzszn said:

The big problem is if you let Reich go your letting Wentz go. Then your looking at a total rebuild.  

I think the first move is to remove him as a play caller.  If that doesn’t get the team to where it wants to be then we will most likely be looking for a new coach.

[csmopar]

Can we sit Wentz now and get our 1 back?

[Defjamz26]

1 hour ago, Coltsman1788 said:

No matter who we sign or draft it never seems to improve does it?  Maybe that's the script that this franchise is assigned to play.  Makes you wonder. 

Yup. It does make you wonder what the strategy really is. 
 

Ballard said that it’s about building a long term winner. Drafting guys and developing them. But we keep drafting, and keep “developing”, but it’s always the same areas of weakness. And it’s always obvious holes that anyone can see going into the season.

 

Its always the wait and see approach, but when the due date comes there’s nothing to show. I really can’t see where this team improved at all from last season.

[coming on strong]

1 hour ago, Zoltan said:

We could have Nick Bosa and TJ Watt on this team and I still think we would have pressure problems, just because we are unimaginative about our DL use and our coverage is so soft, the QB always has a receiver open that he can dump it off to for 5+ yards. 

 

Our defensive scheme is archaic 

with talent and execution the scheme works plenty of teams run it with elite defenses .  terrible execution is the problem no matter the scheme it wont help .    We tried the 3-4  ravens defense under pagano it failed also and made pagano look horrible when he was a good defensive coach in baltimore .    players make the defense even when we blitz we rarely get pressure .  We have a talent issue right now add two top tier pass rushers along with buckner the defensive line will take over games even with the same scheme .

[Myles]

7 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

Yup. It does make you wonder what the strategy really is. 
 

Ballard said that it’s about building a long term winner. Drafting guys and developing them. But we keep drafting, and keep “developing”, but it’s always the same areas of weakness. And it’s always obvious holes that anyone can see going into the season.

 

Its always the wait and see approach, but when the due date comes there’s nothing to show. I really can’t see where this team improved at all from last season.

We would have won this game if Reich had a clue.  Up 14-0 with a 3rd and 3 near midfield.  Your RB is running great.  What is the good choice e here?  Pass long on 3rd and 4th downs was Reich's choice.  What a clueless scmuck he is.

7 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

Yup. It does make you wonder what the strategy really is. 
 

Ballard said that it’s about building a long term winner. Drafting guys and developing them. But we keep drafting, and keep “developing”, but it’s always the same areas of weakness. And it’s always obvious holes that anyone can see going into the season.

 

Its always the wait and see approach, but when the due date comes there’s nothing to show. I really can’t see where this team improved at all from last season.

We would have won this game if Reich had a clue.  Up 14-0 with a 3rd and 3 near midfield.  Your RB is running great.  What is the good choice e here?  Pass long on 3rd and 4th downs was Reich's choice.  What a clueless scmuck he is.

[Thunderbolt]

Fire Reich now. We're not going to the playoffs.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

3 minutes ago, Thunderbolt said:

Fire Reich now. We're not going to the playoffs.

So you want a towel rebuild? You realize what that would mean.

[Dobbinblitz]

1 hour ago, Colt Overseas said:

 

I think Ballard really needs to get him better and much more durable recievers. I think on that last INT, Pittman was the only guy Wentz had confidence in throwing to, and ended up staring him down. Dulin and Pascal aren't going to get it done at this level and they both had bad drops in the 4th quarter. Going into the season with the injury-prone Hilton and Campbell as your #2 and #3 was a risk that Ballard took, and it's backfired massively (along with the inexperience at DE). Ultimately, our passsing offense can't keep relying on 100 yards worth PI per game.

 Agreed, turning to the waiver wire and undrafted free agents is a good way to find an occasional gem, and a good way to build depth. But, if Reich is this determined to pass it at the current rate you need legitimate front-line receivers beyond Pittman that can stretch the field, are durable and have YAC ability. Same applies to the TE.  With no 1st rounder the team needs to get involved in Free Agency or consider trading a good player for another good player to fill our holes. No use being too clever or stubborn here if we are to take the next step.

[cbear]

Here's the problem with firing or blowing up things now, etc. We are a very good and competitive team. No mater who we play, I know we'll give them a good fight and could win. A play here or there and we'd be 5-3, 6-2 easy. And that's with all our injuries, new qb, etc. Its not like we're getting blown out every game. That would make it less frustrating tbh.

 

I don't believe the adage you are what your record says. It's much more nuanced than that when coming to running a team, especially making big decisions. End of the season we'll see. 

[SR711]

2 hours ago, Colt Overseas said:

 

I think the seat has to get warm next off season. We got to the playoffs in Reich's first year winning a playoff game, but have mostly stagnated since then.

 

Ballard's record is now standing at a very mediocre 35-38, 1 playoff win, 2 playoff apearances in 5 years and no conference title in one of the weakesk conference in the NFL. 

 

This is not anybody's idea of good. He has to face questions on this.

Great post and well said.  

 

The Ballard discussion is an interesting one because, bottom line, if one is going to fault our offensive play calling, defensive schemes (and there are legitimate, rational concerns/criticisms) the guys responsible were all Ballard hires, his choices.  I don't really understand how anyone can point to those issues and not have it be a reflection on Ballard's blueprint for this football team.  

 

From a personnel standpoint, we have spent at least 5 1st or 2nd round draft picks on pass rush types over the past 5 years and not one has come close to becoming the type of impact pass rusher that is needed to beat good teams in this league.   

 

[Zoltan]

33 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

with talent and execution the scheme works plenty of teams run it with elite defenses .  terrible execution is the problem no matter the scheme it wont help .    We tried the 3-4  ravens defense under pagano it failed also and made pagano look horrible when he was a good defensive coach in baltimore .    players make the defense even when we blitz we rarely get pressure .  We have a talent issue right now add two top tier pass rushers along with buckner the defensive line will take over games even with the same scheme .

 

Your misinterpreting my post I'm not saying the we need to switch to 3-4 or 4-3. It's how Eberflus calls play and how he scheme's his defense that is the issue. Of course people use similar zone systems to success but Eberflus scheme he is okay with giving uncontested 5+ yard receptions all day (or those awful 3rd and long calls), which doesn't work in the NFL. He has the secondary playing 10+ yards off the wr and the slant/crosses and checkdowns are always wide open. You could have an 4 all pro Defensive lineman but it won't mean much because a good QB will almost always have an open receiver. 

 

It's actually funny when looking how mad players like Fletcher Cox are under Gannon in Philadelphia because they run a similar defense and Cox has said they don't play to his strengths or the Defensive lines strengths. We are not using our players correctly. 

 

 

[Myles]

14 minutes ago, cbear said:

Here's the problem with firing or blowing up things now, etc. We are a very good and competitive team. No mater who we play, I know we'll give them a good fight and could win. A play here or there and we'd be 5-3, 6-2 easy. And that's with all our injuries, new qb, etc. Its not like we're getting blown out every game. That would make it less frustrating tbh.

 

I don't believe the adage you are what your record says. It's much more nuanced than that when coming to running a team, especially making big decisions. End of the season we'll see. 

Up 14-0 and have the ball around midfield with a 3rd and 3.   Your star RB has been running great.   Reich calls 2 pass plays instead of a run play.   That will lose you allot of games.  

[coming on strong]

2 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

 

Your misinterpreting my post I'm not saying the we need to switch to 3-4 or 4-3. It's how Eberflus calls play and how he scheme's his defense that is the issue. Of course people use similar zone systems to success but Eberflus scheme he is okay with giving uncontested 5+ yard receptions all day (or those awful 3rd and long calls), which doesn't work in the NFL. He has the secondary playing 10+ yards off the wr and the slant/crosses and checkdowns are always wide open. You could have an 4 all pro Defensive lineman but it won't mean much because a good QB will almost always have an open receiver. 

 

It's actually funny when looking how mad players like Fletcher Cox are under Gannon in Philadelphia because they run a similar defense and Cox has said they don't play to his strengths or the Defensive lines strengths. We are not using our players correctly. 

 

 

the players are not executing though is my point i rewatched the game even on man tight coverage they are getting beat on the routes by running right out of press .  the players in zone should read and come forward fast .  no matter the call they get beat .  tampa bay in the early 2000 played tampa 2 most of the time just by having a elite front 7 they made it work .  our players have to play off the ball because the pass rush is not there , if they play up they get burnt from the lack of pressure . 

[Colt.45]

7 minutes ago, Myles said:

Up 14-0 and have the ball around midfield with a 3rd and 3.   Your star RB has been running great.   Reich calls 2 pass plays instead of a run play.   That will lose you allot of games.  

Who gets the credit for going up 14-0?

How do you know those were not on Wentz going to pass instead of run?

There were fans saying the Colts need to go for the jugular and knock the Titans out up to go up 17 or 21-0, he possibly went aggressive. The Venn diagram of fans who used to criticize Dungy for being conservative and those who hate Reich for aggressiveness is probably one big circle lol.

 

Either way, had this one down as a loss beforehand so not at all surprised. Not buying this QB, not yet anyhow.

[coming on strong]

why does ballard always get a pass and frank is the scape goat ?  grigson never had a losing record even went luck was out we won games with josh freeman .    After 5 years of rebuilding and looking at the roster the only improvement is in the running game . the offensive line fully healthy now still got bullied all game .   after 5 years of rebuilding the roster should be playoff ready by now i have a feeling even if wentz was fully healthy all year we would still be under 500.  last year we had a losing record against good teams .  All the elite teams currently are more active in free agency because the draft is so hit or miss even for elite gms . only building through the draft can set a team back years with one or two bad years drafting . we saw this with polian in the late 2000s

[csmopar]

Just now, coming on strong said:

why does ballard always get a pass and frank is the scape goat ?  grigson never had a losing record even went luck was out we won games with josh freeman .    After 5 years of rebuilding and looking at the roster the only improvement is in the running game . the offensive line fully healthy now still got bullied all game .   after 5 years of rebuilding the roster should be playoff ready by now i have a feeling even if wentz was fully healthy all year we would still be under 500.  last year we had a losing record against good teams .  All the elite teams currently are more active in free agency because the draft is so hit or miss even for elite gms . only building through the draft can set a team back years with one or two bad years drafting . we saw this with polian in the late 2000s

To be fair. Grigs had 6 guaranteed wins for those seasons. The AFC SOUTH has gotten a lot better. 
 

that said, I’ve been happier with Ballard’s drafts than Grigson and considering we’ve gone toe to toe with arguably the toughest schedule in the league, we’ve not gotten blown out, we just seem to run out of gas in the 4th. We gotta figure out how to close these things out. 

[Sevenfeet]

3 hours ago, TheBlueAndWhite said:

Just a strange game, self inflicted wounds, The refs were just plain bad, for both teams. Just awful calls through and through... Very poor play calling in critical moments....

 

So I guess. The usual... 

 

Both teams did things that would deserve a win....and a loss. Yes, a strange game. The refs were so bad even the Titans Radio color guy Coach Dave McGinnis said so during the game. Wonder if he'll get fined.

[Zoltan]

6 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

the players are not executing though is my point i rewatched the game even on man tight coverage they are getting beat on the routes by running right out of press .  the players in zone should read and come forward fast .  no matter the call they get beat .  tampa bay in the early 2000 played tampa 2 most of the time just by having a elite front 7 they made it work .  our players have to play off the ball because the pass rush is not there , if they play up they get burnt from the lack of pressure . 

Not every tampa 2 is the same, the Defensive coordinator runs their own version that have slight differences, of course our defense actually is based off cover 3 more than cover 2 and we run quarters on 3rd down which is super soft coverage. For Example Pete Carroll runs his cover 3 with cover 1 on 3rd downs. I would like us to run more of that than playing quarters. Also while Eberflus uses alot of different coverage styles he is pretty vanilla when it comes to how he uses his Defensive lineman.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

1 hour ago, DrColtsFan said:

Man, I wish I could be more like you. This loss will practically ruin my next 2-3 days. It shouldn’t….and I know that’s my own choice but boy do I feel these losses deep in my soul. 

 

You feel the way a "fan" IS SUPPOSED TO! Remember, the word "fan" is short for fanatic. 

There's nothing wrong if a fan, like the one you responded to, isn't  bummed out. In fact that's probably the way we should all be....... But on those  occasions when your lifelong team makes the playoffs, wins a playoff game or a championship, the joy you get is priceless and unforgettable forever. 

And that's the thrill that you feel where as the other poster won't feel. 

Just turn your tv on to the World Series and see how the Braves "fans" are enjoying the moment. 

[Zoltan]

@EastStreet do you know a good website to look up drops for the game?

[craigerb]

3 hours ago, relkins said:

No playoffs this year. AGAIN

Your memory fails.

[coming on strong]

18 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

Not every tampa 2 is the same, the Defensive coordinator runs their own version that have slight differences, of course our defense actually is based off cover 3 more than cover 2 and we run quarters on 3rd down which is super soft coverage. For Example Pete Carroll runs his cover 3 with cover 1 on 3rd downs. I would like us to run more of that than playing quarters. Also while Eberflus uses alot of different coverage styles he is pretty vanilla when it comes to how he uses his Defensive lineman.

i will have to look at the play calling breakdown i could of swore he played man coverage and was stacking the box a lot today .  the play to aj brown he had rhodes one on one with no safety help stacking the box .  i wonder if the lack of experience with dayo and paye plays into his linemen schemes .  we need veteran edge rushers .

[zibby43]

3 hours ago, EastStreet said:

Wentz should NEVER had been throwing it 51 times.. NEVER... He should have never been put in a place where he had to win the game. He should have never had that play call down by the goal line. We totally abandoned the run after early in the game. And we let them back in the game after being up 14.

Henry was major gimpy. Showed him getting re-taped twice on the sideline.

 

Yup. Yup. Yup. Should have never come down to that last INT though. Why were not running it earlier in the game, or more in OT. Just dumb all the way around.

Wentz was great early when we had a semblance of balance. Not saying he had a good game after the 1st half, but he was totally set up to fail today.

Agree with a lot of what you said, but those picks are unforgivably bad.

 

Somehow, 4.5 YPA on 51 attempts is a little bit worse.

 

He’s a game manager with arm talent and mobility.  Not a franchise QB.  

[coming on strong]

23 minutes ago, csmopar said:

To be fair. Grigs had 6 guaranteed wins for those seasons. The AFC SOUTH has gotten a lot better. 
 

that said, I’ve been happier with Ballard’s drafts than Grigson and considering we’ve gone toe to toe with arguably the toughest schedule in the league, we’ve not gotten blown out, we just seem to run out of gas in the 4th. We gotta figure out how to close these things out. 

i honestly disagree about the south being a lot better only the titans got better the texans and jags are horrible .  grigson had the titans going 9-7 most years and texans being loaded the first couple years just with out a QB .  i think the texans were 12-4 his first year .  that is still 4 easy wins .   to be clear i am not defending grigson he was horrible just saying that if a horrible gm can still not have a losing season than a great one should be able to have a winning record .  ballard is a good drafter overall but he is stubborn and puts to many young guys on the field refusing to get more vets .   starting the season with lewis and paye is not wise it takes years to develop pass rushers .   We need a balance between grigson and ballard a gm who can do both draft and free agency without out leaning so heavy on one side .

[csmopar]

7 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

i honestly disagree about the south being a lot better only the titans got better the texans and jags are horrible .  grigson had the titans going 9-7 most years and texans being loaded the first couple years just with out a QB .  i think the texans were 12-4 his first year .  that is still 4 easy wins .   to be clear i am not defending grigson he was horrible just saying that if a horrible gm can still not have a losing season than a great one should be able to have a winning record .  ballard is a good drafter overall but he is stubborn and puts to many young guys on the field refusing to get more vets .   starting the season with lewis and paye is not wise it takes years to develop pass rushers .   We need a balance between grigson and ballard a gm who can do both draft and free agency without out leaning so heavy on one side .

Here’s the thing I actually wonder about. How has the QB revolving door affected the attraction of bigger name FAs to the Colts, if any ? I know there’s been a couple times where we were confirmed to be the highest bidder and the guy went elsewhere. 
 

not defending Ballard’s FA methods, but a genuine question. I would say it would have to factor in big time. Luck was a FA draw despite the small market, despite the variances in taxes and location and whatever. Brissett no way was, rivers wasn’t really here long enough and likely wasn’t much of a factor either. Wentz, too many questions going into the season, some of which remain with me. 

[coming on strong]

7 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Here’s the thing I actually wonder about. How has the QB revolving door affected the attraction of bigger name FAs to the Colts, if any ? I know there’s been a couple times where we were confirmed to be the highest bidder and the guy went elsewhere. 
 

not defending Ballard’s FA methods, but a genuine question. I would say it would have to factor in big time. Luck was a FA draw despite the small market, despite the variances in taxes and location and whatever. Brissett no way was, rivers wasn’t really here long enough and likely wasn’t much of a factor either. Wentz, too many questions going into the season, some of which remain with me. 

i agree it affects free agents but i dont think ballard even ever tries for free agency that much .  We can make great c free agent signings and it would be better than just starting young draft picks right away .  Over the years many c rating free agents made big impacts freeman , ebron , eric walden , autry , houston rhodes . they dont have to be big name guys , my problem with ballard is he cuts veterans and leave position groups way to young .  ballard made the point in 2019 that cutting that safety i forget his name was a bad choice leaving to many young guys in the secondary without a leader .  then he does it again in 2021 starting paye and lewis who only had like a year of playing time with injuries .     just keeping autry and signing a cheap veteran and rotating paye in until he is ready would be better . paye doesnt have a sack and autry is on pace for over ten

[EastStreet]

39 minutes ago, Zoltan said:

@EastStreet do you know a good website to look up drops for the game?

You kinda have to back into it. Not sure if there's a place that shows per game per WR/TE in one look.

 

you can find number per game in Carson's advanced game log, but it's not specific to WR

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WentCa00/gamelog/2021/advanced/

 

or under Carson's page under advanced passing (pressure tab), but it's totals

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/2021_advanced.htm

 

You can find our overall numbers under advanced receiving (totals for the WRs)

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/2021_advanced.htm

 

and by the advanced game logs of the individual WRs/TEs/RBs

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PascZa00/gamelog/2021/advanced/

[GoColts8818]

What’s missing is a mix of bad coaching, players trying to do too much rather than taking what’s given to them, some missed draft picks at key positions, some very key injuries, and a defense that depends on a pass rush with their front four that can’t generate one if their life depended on it.  

[EastStreet]

34 minutes ago, zibby43 said:

Agree with a lot of what you said, but those picks are unforgivably bad.

 

Somehow, 4.5 YPA on 51 attempts is a little bit worse.

 

He’s a game manager with arm talent and mobility.  Not a franchise QB.  

We've seen him play great under the right circumstance. 

We've seen him play bad under the wrong circumstance.

This year... He's had flat tires. He's had a bad OL. He's had hurt WRs... He's had bad play calling.

Not saying he's elite, but he was trending very well till we decided to forget we had the 2nd best RB in the league.

 

Even if his not our answer QB, Reich still stinks. But I think Wentz has more talent than Reich and would do much better given different play calling and game plan... There was simply no reason for the game to evolve the way it did today. That's on Reich.

 

[Moosejawcolt]

I really  don't know where to go from here. I use to believe in Reich but 51 times when your back is churning it up? This Oline is very, very expensive and can anyone point to one game where we have won because of this Oline? The D. Well sure same old results.  I have said from year one that it is a flawed system. Against balanced teams, they look very weak. Sure they stopped the run but once again a receiver had a lights out game. I have said for years this team needs a man corner. The talent on the D side of this ball is very average and that is  on Ballard not Eberlfus. This team needs receiver help badly. I just don't think it is a well constructed team. I really thought the offensive philosophy of this team would be to line Wentz under center and a lot of play action. Keep the smaller defense off the field thereby keeping them fresh. We seem to be going back  wards as a team. The defense is showing no growth. All those high picks on the Dline and minimal results.Ballard talks a good game ,but hey we have a 20 million dollar linebacker and a soon to be highest paid guard ,  but trust in Ballard.

On 9/26/2021 at 2:24 PM, James said:

 

Why? He is bang on.

If anything your name coltsfeva fits you quite good too given the delusion about the Colts and ignoring the obviously:

there is no “feva”, and there won’t be this season.

 

On 9/27/2021 at 5:31 PM, indyagent17 said:

I understand you have your opinions. Like I told one person on here let’s wait eight games are have this conversation again. I’ve watched a lot of football in my 56 years and I can tell when the threads are starting to come out. I’m just saying I’ve watched these games multiple times looking for certain things I’ve seen so many players just give up on plays and half hearted attempts at blocking . Also if you don’t think the demeanor of a coach matters when dejected players are coming off the field you don’t understand football

 

On 10/12/2021 at 3:48 PM, GoColts8818 said:

All this talk about Frank is ignoring the bigger issue too.  Why were the Colts in a position that that play mattered when they were up 25 to 9 with 12 minutes to play?  People can talk about Rigo and Frank but it’s missing the forest for the trees.  The defense is the number issue coming out of last night.  If they play decently at all in the 4th everything else doesn’t matter.  

 

On 10/16/2021 at 7:01 PM, DougDew said:

Leonard, and the slot corner, (Moore), and the closer to the LOS of the two safeties, (Willis), are the only positions (players) that would frequently blitz in our scheme.  All three players are pretty good at it.

 

The defense is not set up to blitz a lot.

 

And with Moore and Willis on the shelf, I wouldn't expect much blitzing.

 

On 10/17/2021 at 12:22 PM, bluebombers87 said:

This better stand

 

On 10/17/2021 at 2:20 PM, EastStreet said:

JT's numbers were paltry in the 1H (all of our running was). He really got going in the second. I think the long throws helped open up the run a bit.

 

Paye didn't look great on the DL, but that drop back play did look impressive from an athletic standpoint.

, they

[WoolMagnet]

2 hours ago, Wentzszn said:

Wentz was too worried about trying to get PI then just taking what was there. 

Huh?

[indyagent17]

Wentz was focused on Pittman that the titans double covered him and Wentz kept throwing to him even though he was covered up. The OT pick was  the all his fault thrown in triple coverage. He gets nervous in crunch time and I hope he quits doing that   

[Zoltan]

35 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

You kinda have to back into it. Not sure if there's a place that shows per game per WR/TE in one look.

 

you can find number per game in Carson's advanced game log, but it's not specific to WR

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WentCa00/gamelog/2021/advanced/

 

or under Carson's page under advanced passing (pressure tab), but it's totals

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/2021_advanced.htm

 

You can find our overall numbers under advanced receiving (totals for the WRs)

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/2021_advanced.htm

 

and by the advanced game logs of the individual WRs/TEs/RBs

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PascZa00/gamelog/2021/advanced/

Thanks man, I appreciate the references

[Zoltan]

3 hours ago, Wentzszn said:

Wentz was too worried about trying to get PI then just taking what was there. 

I don't think it was Wentz that was trying to get the PIs, because the passes were there. I think it was more the WRs who were more focused on drawing the PI instead of catching the ball, Dulin specifically was driving me crazy because he dropped some very catchable balls but it seemed he was trying to hard on making it look like PI than focusing on the catch.

[Zoltan]

46 minutes ago, coming on strong said:

i agree it affects free agents but i dont think ballard even ever tries for free agency that much .  We can make great c free agent signings and it would be better than just starting young draft picks right away .  Over the years many c rating free agents made big impacts freeman , ebron , eric walden , autry , houston rhodes . they dont have to be big name guys , my problem with ballard is he cuts veterans and leave position groups way to young .  ballard made the point in 2019 that cutting that safety i forget his name was a bad choice leaving to many young guys in the secondary without a leader .  then he does it again in 2021 starting paye and lewis who only had like a year of playing time with injuries .     just keeping autry and signing a cheap veteran and rotating paye in until he is ready would be better . paye doesnt have a sack and autry is on pace for over ten

I believe it was Mike Mitchell

[zibby43]

30 minutes ago, EastStreet said:

We've seen him play great under the right circumstance. 

We've seen him play bad under the wrong circumstance.

This year... He's had flat tires. He's had a bad OL. He's had hurt WRs... He's had bad play calling.

Not saying he's elite, but he was trending very well till we decided to forget we had the 2nd best RB in the league.

 

Even if his not our answer QB, Reich still stinks. But I think Wentz has more talent than Reich and would do much better given different play calling and game plan... There was simply no reason for the game to evolve the way it did today. That's on Reich.

 

I agree with a lot of what you’re saying.  I was defending him early on when he had no practice time and when he was in 2 Sprainz mode (behind the shambolic OL).

 

He has every possible physical tool to facilitate elite play, and we have seen glimpses (mostly against bad teams - which is an important caveat).

 

But . . . it’s not consistent enough, and the level of decision-making today was so poor that the mere existence/threat of a level of decision-making this bad would be enough for me to avoid making Wentz a long-term answer (if I was in charge).

 

A YOLO-ball into triple coverage on first down in those circumstances, in a game of that magnitude, is like pushing your best friend out of an airplane without checking to see if his parachute was on.

 

Just my 2 cents.  I can understand people wanting to wait.  I was one of them.  Now I’d rather have the 1st round pick.  I’ve seen the best and worst versions of Wentz and the latter scares me more than the former excites me.

[Zoltan]

1 hour ago, coming on strong said:

i will have to look at the play calling breakdown i could of swore he played man coverage and was stacking the box a lot today .  the play to aj brown he had rhodes one on one with no safety help stacking the box .  i wonder if the lack of experience with dayo and paye plays into his linemen schemes .  we need veteran edge rushers .

It's not the lack of veterans, even when we had Autry and Houston it was the same

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

5 hours ago, EastStreet said:

1. Reich stinks. He stinks bad. Worse than bad... 17 runs.... 51 throws.... and it's not like our run game wasn't working.... we totally forgot about the run for a very long time in the middle of the game, and totally in OT. What ever happened to balance. Just dumb dumb dumb... And what the hell was that play call down by our own goal line... 
   • You're intellectually dishonest if you sunshine pump this away... 
2. Monster game by Pittman.
3. Our pass D sucked again... Down Julio, Brown gets 150+.... And Henry was gimpy and you still let Brown get drop a buck fifty on you.... 
4. With Lewis likely gone for the season, Dayo and Rochell better be ready to play.... 
5. Reich stinks.... 

ballard stinks

[CR91]

This one hurts. It does. This is not the season any of us expected and the fact that we're gonna lose our first round pick makes it even worse. Don't get me wrong, I think Wentz is a good QB and I'm glad he's here, but he had a chance twice to go win the game and he didn't.

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

5 hours ago, SR711 said:

Brutal loss. Unfortunately, I am not surprised. A lot was made of the early schedule and I never expected the team to win them all, but the Baltimore loss really confirmed in my mind that we were not a playoff team this year.  

 

-  Wentz is who he is.  Very similar to one Andrew Luck, if you ask him to start throwing the ball too much, his aggressiveness is going to get the best of him and he will make mistakes.  The past few weeks due to a combination of bad opponents, game situation, plain luck, we did not get burnt by this.  Today we did.  The real question is why the playcaller (Reich) thought it would end well with Carson having 51 pass attempts when 2 of his 3 healthy receivers to finish the game were UDFA types?

 

- The defense is not good enough.  Plain and simple.  I understand the last 10 points were due to Wentz INTs, but they cannot do a darn thing to close out, change momentum, exert control of the game especially against good/playoff type teams.  The real question here is why is this unit what it is with no impact game changing pass rusher, after 5 years of "build through the draft", "locker room culture" and whatever media fed line you want with Greatest GM ever Chris Ballard?

 

- Yes, the playoffs may still be a possibility mathematically and plenty of season left, but shouldn't this franchise be aiming higher after 5 years of the same GM, 4 years of the same HC considering the resume/accomplishments include an unspectacular 0 division titles, 1 playoff win and 2 playoff appearances in 4 years?  Keep in mind 7 out of 16 teams now qualify for the playoffs.  This is not the 1980's NFL.  Making the playoffs and being satisfied with it is that same as being happy being average.  Starting to worry this franchise is stuck in a perpetual mediocrity cycle that we were between the late 80s and early 90s.  

very good reality post, where are new colts fan and the ballard lovers