After a 3 Point loss and Two OT Losses - Which way is the team trending?

[ClaytonColt]

Downwards I think. 

 

There seems to be a perception that because we're not getting blown out that we're fine. I don't think the NFL works like that, good teams find ways to win when it comes to the crunch and bad teams find ways to lose.

 

We've got a defence that looks amazing when they're picking up turnovers and absolute trash when they don't. Both individually and as a group they too often look middle of the road at best.

 

On offence there's simply a lack of playmaker and the one that looks like he could be a star is criminally underused.

 

To top that off we seem to be building up a bank of contracts that reward players over and above their actual production. 

 

All in all I don't see an enormous amount of positives. Playing the Jags and Texsns 4 times a year might inflate our win column though,  we're thankfully better than them.

 

[lollygagger8]

11 hours ago, WoolMagnet said:

I like the whole “Colts guy” and “character 1st” and “he’s a shoe guy” philosophy as a mission-level type goal or ideal.  But i question sometimes that we pigeonhole our preferred player types.   I dont mean felons or anything, but some level of “edge” would go a long way i think.  We seem to be so very focused on guys with “unique traits.”   And thats fine as long as you can find ways to use them.  I would, however, assume they would also be harder to replace due to those unique traits and uses.

   It appears at times that our scouts are more enamored by unique physical traits and being a captain on their college teams, than their actual ability as a football player or past production on the field.

 

  I reallylike the talent on this team.  But after 3 or 4 collapses this year i wonder if i was over-optimistic.  Very confusing to me.  This team has a definite bi-polar nature.  

 

Great post. 

 

I really feel the talent is there on this team, it's just the coaches not putting the players in situations to use their strengths. 

 

Examples

1) Albeit has been gone over at nauseum, Reich thinks all the RB's on the team are interchangeable. They aren't. 

2) Flus continues to only send 4 rushers, instead of sending Moore on corner blitzes (he used to and was amazing at it) 

3) They have finally started trying a little more often, but using your big guys in the endzone more (Mo Allie, Pittman) on 50/50 balls should've been the game plan from the get go

 

I'm sure we could all go on and on, but scheming your good players to accentuate their strengths would be great to see and go a long way to improving this team. 

[TrueBlue4ever]

Lots of empty seats going to be seen by the National audience! Have to represent. 

[DougDew]

9 hours ago, TimetobringDfence! said:

Does that give Frank a Pass on mis utilizing our RB Room... and blowing close games we were up big...at some point you see past circumstances and see repetitive characteristics and decisions that aren't beneficial to the team and growth...morale is going down...

We have had those close game losses against better teams for years, going back to Pags and Grigs.  What I see is that the other team is usually better, and the players on the field for that team end up making more plays than our guys when it matters.  The others teams' offense has always been able to step on the gas and score when needed.  Buffalo went 96 yards in 90 seconds last playoff game just before the half, as an example.  All of those other plays were just a bunch of neutral back and forth trying not to make mistakes and give the other team an advantage.  But when it mattered, BUF drove scored, and they stopped us at the end of the game.  Just like BAL, TEN. SEA LAR, this year and KC did over the years.  HOU did too with DW at the end of each game last year, with lucky fumbles in the RZ bailing us out.  That pattern speaks to on field talent being less equipped to handle critical moments than it does a coaching issue.   A HC DC is not a puppetmaster who can control on the field play in short 4 minute chunks. 

 

If that happens against the Jets or lesser teams as a pattern, I'll start to think more like you on this.

 

Misusing the RB room is inevitable when you have nonversatile RBs in the room.  If Hines cant run and Mack can't catch, that pretty much limits the play calling and the results when you try to to the "off" thing and run Hines up the gut.  I think everybody wishes that JT would get more touches, but there must be a pitch count limit.  And....we just paid Hines $6M so you can't now give him less PT than before, IMO.  Line him up in the slot? Sure, but he hasn't done much of that in 4 years, so Ballard must be on board too with how he is being (not) used.

 

And I'm still asking for an answer to my question I posed elsewhere.  Do we even have a short yardage package/personnel?  Jumbo with a lead blocker (Doyle? LOL).  I think from a roster construction and active game day standpoint, we have a guy like Granson instead of a lead blocking RB.

[WoolMagnet]

3 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Lots of empty seats going to be seen by the National audience! Have to represent. 

Maybe we can borrow the tarps from Jacksonville.

[Blueblood23]

On 11/3/2021 at 10:21 AM, Thunderbolt said:

Yes, coaching is one of them.  The other is the GM, need to draft better, make some timely trades, better scouts, etc...

With better coaching, in game adjustments, better decision making, the team would have won those close games. I’ll say it again, Frank ain’t it.

[BlackTiger]

I see a team in the 20-25 range, thats where the power rankings have them.  If you never beat an above average team then you are below average 

[jvan1973]

3 hours ago, DougDew said:

We have had those close game losses against better teams for years, going back to Pags and Grigs.  What I see is that the other team is usually better, and the players on the field for that team end up making more plays than our guys when it matters.  The others teams' offense has always been able to step on the gas and score when needed.  Buffalo went 96 yards in 90 seconds last playoff game just before the half, as an example.  All of those other plays were just a bunch of neutral back and forth trying not to make mistakes and give the other team an advantage.  But when it mattered, BUF drove scored, and they stopped us at the end of the game.  Just like BAL, TEN. SEA LAR, this year and KC did over the years.  HOU did too with DW at the end of each game last year, with lucky fumbles in the RZ bailing us out.  That pattern speaks to on field talent being less equipped to handle critical moments than it does a coaching issue.   A HC DC is not a puppetmaster who can control on the field play in short 4 minute chunks. 

 

If that happens against the Jets or lesser teams as a pattern, I'll start to think more like you on this.

 

Misusing the RB room is inevitable when you have nonversatile RBs in the room.  If Hines cant run and Mack can't catch, that pretty much limits the play calling and the results when you try to to the "off" thing and run Hines up the gut.  I think everybody wishes that JT would get more touches, but there must be a pitch count limit.  And....we just paid Hines $6M so you can't now give him less PT than before, IMO.  Line him up in the slot? Sure, but he hasn't done much of that in 4 years, so Ballard must be on board too with how he is being (not) used.

 

And I'm still asking for an answer to my question I posed elsewhere.  Do we even have a short yardage package/personnel?  Jumbo with a lead blocker (Doyle? LOL).  I think from a roster construction and active game day standpoint, we have a guy like Granson instead of a lead blocking RB.

Why is Jack Doyle being a lead blocker funny?

[DougDew]

Just now, jvan1973 said:

Why is Jack Doyle being a lead blocker funny?

He's pretty good at it when he does it.  My point was more about being built to spread out during short yardage.  I think that dictates some of the play calls in short yardage situations, why we would not run it two times in a row.  Also means we'd have to rely upon Cox to do the PA release at the LOS play.    With that mix, it just seems that the FB/TE line up is a notch below high quality.

[CanuckColt]

Glug, glug, glug...down the toilet.