"44 Sacks"

[AKB]

 

[Smonroe]

Wow!  We must have gone undefeated with that kind of defensive pressure!   
 

Seriously though, I wish they’d blitz more.  Too many plays where the QB can scan the field for the open receiver.  

[AKB]

7 minutes ago, Smonroe said:

Wow!  We must have gone undefeated with that kind of defensive pressure!   
 

Seriously though, I wish they’d blitz more.  Too many plays where the QB can scan the field for the open receiver.  

our offense completely let down our defense. 

 

That defense last year was sneaky good. 44 sacks is nothing to scoff at. And we had Zaire break the season tackle record for Colts. Also had a rookie FS 7th rounder who played well above expectations. 

 

People say Yannick sacks don't count for much but when you go and watch most of them actually were critical points.

 

Gilmore really only had one lowlight the whole season. And that's when Terry snapped his route upfield and jumpballed him and won. Other than that he was essentially a lockdown corner all year. 

 

EJ Speed graded very well in his limited snaps, and Okereke got a huge contract. Kenny was kept.

 

Dayo and Kwity actually are showing development. We all want more success, but how bad is it really/

[cjwhiskers]

28 minutes ago, AKB said:

our offense completely let down our defense. 

 

That defense last year was sneaky good. 44 sacks is nothing to scoff at. And we had Zaire break the season tackle record for Colts. Also had a rookie FS 7th rounder who played well above expectations. 

 

People say Yannick sacks don't count for much but when you go and watch most of them actually were critical points.

 

Gilmore really only had one lowlight the whole season. And that's when Terry snapped his route upfield and jumpballed him and won. Other than that he was essentially a lockdown corner all year. 

 

EJ Speed graded very well in his limited snaps, and Okereke got a huge contract. Kenny was kept.

 

Dayo and Kwity actually are showing development. We all want more success, but how bad is it really/

 

Sneaky good is a good way to put it. In many threads I've sang the praises about our defense last year. In the modern NFL, they were exactly what we needed them to be to be put into a position to win games. That's in spite of our offense being so deficient. If our offense was even just a bit more capable, they would have looked even better. 

 

I don't think we will win a ton this year (middle of the pack), but I am excited because I think there will be games where we will see competent play on all sides of the ball and be reminded...oh this is what good/sound football looks like. 

[MB-ColtsFan]

2 hours ago, cjrulli said:

 

Sneaky good is a good way to put it. In many threads I've sang the praises about our defense last year. In the modern NFL, they were exactly what we needed them to be to be put into a position to win games. That's in spite of our offense being so deficient. If our offense was even just a bit more capable, they would have looked even better. 

 

I don't think we will win a ton this year (middle of the pack), but I am excited because I think there will be games where we will see competent play on all sides of the ball and be reminded...oh this is what good/sound football looks like. 

I think those times will be few this year,but we will have a few.

My reasoning being the QB and CB positions, secondly, the OLine success rate.

 

Both are very young, and getting consistency with those two position groups is pretty rare.  I just don't see them both looking really good at the same time happening often this year, but I hope I am pleasantly surprised.

[Smonroe]

DBs reputation (and play) account for a lot of sacks.  We probably won’t be rushing more than four very often because that D backfield is going to be so inexperienced.  
 

I hate to see five yard cushions but I expect we’ll see a lot of it until the coaches start having confidence in the backfield.  

[Nickster]

6 hours ago, AKB said:

our offense completely let down our defense. 

 

That defense last year was sneaky good. 44 sacks is nothing to scoff at. And we had Zaire break the season tackle record for Colts. Also had a rookie FS 7th rounder who played well above expectations. 

 

People say Yannick sacks don't count for much but when you go and watch most of them actually were critical points.

 

Gilmore really only had one lowlight the whole season. And that's when Terry snapped his route upfield and jumpballed him and won. Other than that he was essentially a lockdown corner all year. 

 

EJ Speed graded very well in his limited snaps, and Okereke got a huge contract. Kenny was kept.

 

Dayo and Kwity actually are showing development. We all want more success, but how bad is it really/

They were solidly mediocre.  Consistently meh.  Predictably OK.  Persistently decent.

 

not too bad.  Not too good.

 

Bang Average.

 

Except during those back to back historical collapses.

[sb41champs]

A defense CAN NOT CARRY the entire team!!

 

Our offense played out of sync all year - so the defense was on the field far far FAR LONGER than they should have been.

 

Players - understandably - got "gassed".

[John Hammonds]

Lovin' all those sacks in the Minnesota game, where we blew the largest lead in NFL history.

But lookit all the sacks!

[throwing BBZ]

It is a good watch. On these sacks we saw our guys doing a good job of discipline in their rush lanes while collapsing the pocket soon enough. And there were blitzers really flying through to the Qb's mind. The right direction. 

[CR91]

Hopefully the offense can help our defense. Its ashame really because they were really good, but all people remember is Dallas scoring 30 in the fourth and the Vikings comeback 

[Peter Nova]

10 hours ago, CR91 said:

Hopefully the offense can help our defense. Its ashame really because they were really good, but all people remember is Dallas scoring 30 in the fourth and the Vikings comeback 

 

17th in total yards , and gave up 25 points per game. How much can we cherry pick and put on the offense. 

[jvan1973]

53 minutes ago, Peter Nova said:

 

17th in total yards , and gave up 25 points per game. How much can we cherry pick and put on the offense. 

Tons of 3 and outs will cause that

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

2 hours ago, Peter Nova said:

 

17th in total yards , and gave up 25 points per game. How much can we cherry pick and put on the offense. 

Most of those stats are in the 3rd qtr or later after the offense was hardly ever on the field. The defense gave them a lot of chances for most of the game until they couldn’t run anymore. 
 

id like to see TOP and time on the field for offense and defense to get a clear picture on what those stats are actually saying. 

[CR91]

2 hours ago, Peter Nova said:

 

17th in total yards , and gave up 25 points per game. How much can we cherry pick and put on the offense. 

 

How much of that was because offense couldn't sustain drives and the defense was constantly on the field.

[Peter Nova]

1 hour ago, jvan1973 said:

Tons of 3 and outs will cause that

 

29 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

Most of those stats are in the 3rd qtr or later after the offense was hardly ever on the field. The defense gave them a lot of chances for most of the game until they couldn’t run anymore. 
 

id like to see TOP and time on the field for offense and defense to get a clear picture on what those stats are actually saying. 

 

7 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

How much of that was because offense couldn't sustain drives and the defense was constantly on the field.

 

All valid arguments that can't prove is disprove how good or mediocre the Colts defense and pass rush was. We could debate that the Colts pass rush was mediocre, to above average, but 7 sacks came in one game and they averaged 2.3 sacks through 16 games and their leading sacker is now unemployed. Would Paye and Dayo have more sacks if the offense was more efficient? Should we expect an increase in sacks and the defense getting better in 2023? I hope so.

[2006Coltsbestever]

17th in total defense and giving up 25 points a game is a bit misleading considering our offense was putrid most of the season. + We pretty much mailed it in the last 6 games of the season when the team realized the season was over losing to Philly 17-16. That took the air out of the balloon. At 4-6-1 it was a lost cause moving forward.

 

We had games early in the season where the defense played outstanding. Holding the Chiefs to 17 points, Eagles to 17 points, we held the Broncos to 9 points are just 3 examples. Also there were 3 games that make the stats look more inflated to make the D look bad = the Cowboys, Vikings, and Giants game which were games when the season was over anyway. 

[Peter Nova]

20 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

17th in total defense and giving up 25 points a game is a bit misleading considering our offense was putrid most of the season. + We pretty much mailed it in the last 6 games of the season when the team realized the season was over losing to Philly 17-16. That took the air out of the balloon. At 4-6-1 it was a lost cause moving forward.

 

We had games early in the season where the defense played outstanding. Holding the Chiefs to 17 points, Eagles to 17 points, we held the Broncos to 9 points are just 3 examples. Also there were 3 games that make the stats look more inflated to make the D look bad = the Cowboys, Vikings, and Giants game which were games when the season was over anyway. 

 

The Broncos offense was terrible, averaging 16 points on the year.  Played great against the 2 SB teams, even though the offense mustered 259 KC and 284 Eagles yards which was less than the 311 yards the Colts averaged on the season that gassed the defense. See how easy it is to cherry pick things. Fun stuff. lol

[2006Coltsbestever]

8 minutes ago, Peter Nova said:

 

The Broncos offense was terrible, averaging 16 points on the year.  Played great against the 2 SB teams, even though the offense mustered 259 KC and 284 Eagles yards which was less than the 311 yards the Colts averaged on the season that gassed the defense. See how easy it is to cherry pick things. Fun stuff. lol

Cherry picking is fun sometimes but I know what you mean. It just seemed liked the defense gave up after that Philly loss. They were carrying the offense in many games early on and it still didn't matter. Just like against Washington, we lost that game 17-16, another offensive stinker where the D was great all game.

[Peter Nova]

14 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Cherry picking is fun sometimes but I know what you mean. It just seemed liked the defense gave up after that Philly loss. They were carrying the offense in many games early on and it still didn't matter. Just like against Washington, we lost that game 17-16, another offensive stinker where the D was great all game.

 

It is fun, but can be misleading. And your example show the Colts defense playing their best against the 2 SB teams with less offensive support than the season average. 

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

1 hour ago, Peter Nova said:

 

 

 

All valid arguments that can't prove is disprove how good or mediocre the Colts defense and pass rush was. We could debate that the Colts pass rush was mediocre, to above average, but 7 sacks came in one game and they averaged 2.3 sacks through 16 games and their leading sacker is now unemployed. Would Paye and Dayo have more sacks if the offense was more efficient? Should we expect an increase in sacks and the defense getting better in 2023? I hope so.

 

for me it wasn’t about sacks but about getting off the field on 3rd down which they increased from 2021 to 2022. The defense got the ball back when it counted a lot more. 

 

im expecting the defense to decline this year. 
 

you are right it isn’t easy to prove or disprove my point without going through each game and timing the O and the D time of play. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

14 minutes ago, Peter Nova said:

 

It is fun, but can be misleading. And your example show the Colts defense playing their best against the 2 SB teams with less offensive support than the season average. 

Matt Ryan stinking it up still stings me because I thought he would be good. That is one time I was dead wrong on what I was saying. I thought he still had a couple of good years left with the right team. Having said that, as a team we didn't even seem right with Taylor being Injured, our O.Line playing badly, and Leonard being out all year.

[Peter Nova]

4 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

 

for me it wasn’t about sacks but about getting off the field on 3rd down which they increased from 2021 to 2022. The defense got the ball back when it counted a lot more. 

 

im expecting the defense to decline this year. 
 

you are right it isn’t easy to prove or disprove my point without going through each game and timing the O and the D time of play. 

We can all debate how good or bad the defense is. At the end of the day it's probably somewhere in the middle. So, are the Colts 15th or 19th instead of 17th in the defensive rankings? It could go either way but not much more either way. 

 

I agree, that the defense will probably regress this year, but..... lots of young guys getting snaps which is great. 

[Peter Nova]

3 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Matt Ryan stinking it up still stings me because I thought he would be good. That is one time I was dead wrong on what I was saying. I thought he still had a couple of good years left with the right team. Having said that, as a team we didn't even seem right with Taylor being Injured, our O.Line playing badly, and Leonard being out all year.

 

Noodle arm and no Julio in his prime. Atlanta knew the gig was up. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 minutes ago, Peter Nova said:

We can all debate how good or bad the defense is. At the end of the day it's probably somewhere in the middle. So, are the Colts 15th or 19th instead of 17th in the defensive rankings? It could go either way but not much more either way. 

 

I agree, that the defense will probably regress this year, but..... lots of young guys getting snaps which is great. 

We need Leonard back, that will help and may put us in the top 10. CB is worrisome, we are young there and teams will test our guys on the deep ball quite often. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

Just now, Peter Nova said:

 

Noodle arm and no Julio in his prime. Atlanta knew the gig was up. 

That is why I never claimed to be a GM - having said that many were calling Rivers a noodle arm and said he was done. I defended him against many in here and even predicted an 11-5 season with him. I nailed that one. Rivers was good. 

 

It is refreshing now that we have drafted a QB that has unreal potential. A dual QB for once that looks electric. I am just along for the ride on this one. 

[Peter Nova]

31 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

We need Leonard back, that will help and may put us in the top 10. CB is worrisome, we are young there and teams will test our guys on the deep ball quite often. 

 

29 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

That is why I never claimed to be a GM - having said that many were calling Rivers a noodle arm and said he was done. I defended him against many in here and even predicted an 11-5 season with him. I nailed that one. Rivers was good. 

 

It is refreshing now that we have drafted a QB that has unreal potential. A dual QB for once that looks electric. I am just along for the ride on this one. 

 

Rivers was good, but couldn't carry the team. Why screen passes stopped after Rivers retired, is mind boggling, because they were effective.

[2006Coltsbestever]

7 minutes ago, Peter Nova said:

 

 

Rivers was good, but couldn't carry the team. Why screen passes stopped after Rivers retired, is mind boggling, because they were effective.

You would think a guy like Taylor would feed off the screen pass with the right blocking. I want to see Taylor get more of those opps this season because of his speed alone. 

[ADnum1]

3 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Matt Ryan stinking it up still stings me because I thought he would be good. That is one time I was dead wrong on what I was saying. I thought he still had a couple of good years left with the right team. Having said that, as a team we didn't even seem right with Taylor being Injured, our O.Line playing badly, and Leonard being out all year.

I continue to believe that no QB would have been good behind that Oline.

 

Sam being sacked 11 times in one game and Foles being carried off in a stretcher is my evidence.

[Peter Nova]

1 hour ago, PRnum1 said:

I continue to believe that no QB would have been good behind that Oline.

 

Sam being sacked 11 times in one game and Foles being carried off in a stretcher is my evidence.

 

That look when you get fired for the same ****

 

[John Hammonds]

Couldn't help myself.  Here are the situational environments for each sack.  I didn't double check vs the final player sack counts, so don't hold it against me.  I just wrote down what I could see.

HOUSTON

1 - 2nd and 6 on HOU 28 yd line - 6-man blitz with both Franklin and Speed - Speed sack right side

2 - 1st and 10 on HOU 39 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Paye sack left side

3 - 3rd and 22 on HOU 29 yd line - 3-man line - Paye sack left side - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

KANSAS CITY

4 - 1st and 10 on KC 26 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Ngakoue sack right side

TENNESSEE

5 - 3rd and 1 on IND 27 yd line - 4-man straight rush - 3 go behind, QB runs forward, Stewart sack middle

6 - 2nd and 7 on TEN 27 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Odeyingbo sack right side

7 - 3rd and 8 on TEN 44 yd line - 5-man stunt blitz - Buckner sack left side - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

DENVER

8 - 3rd and 8 on DEN 14 yd line - 6-man zone blitz - Ngakoue sack left side - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

9 - 2nd and 10 on DEN 35 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Buckner sack inside

10 - 2nd and Goal on IND 10 yd line - 5-man blitz - Buckner/Ngakoue combined sack

11 - 2nd and 3 on DEN 27 yd line - 5-man blitz - Banogu hit and bounced off, Odeyingbo sack

JACKSONVILLE

12 - 3rd and 9 on IND 34 yd line - 5-man zone blitz, 3 rush - Buckner right side

13 - 1st and 10 on JAX 25 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Lewis pressure and miss, QB runs forward, Stewart sack middle

14 - 3rd and 2 on JAX 17 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Lewis middle - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

15 - 1st and 10 on JAX 23 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Odeyingbo sack right side

TENNESSEE

16 - 3rd and 9 on TENN 33 yd line - 5-man blitz - Moore sack up the middle - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

17 - 1st and 10 on TEN 28 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Ngakoue sack right side

WASHINGTON

18 - 3rd and 5 on WSH 38 yd line - 4-man straight rush - 3 go behind, QB runs forward, Buckner sack middle - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

19 - 3rd and 6 on WSH 19 yd line - 5-man blitz - McGrone/Ngakoue combined sack  -STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

NEW ENGLAND

20 - 3rd and 4 on NE 9 yd line - 5-man zone blitz - Ngakoue/Buckner combined sack - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

21 - 2nd and 9 on NE 30 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Paye sack left side

22 - 3rd and 3 on NE 43 yd line - 4-man straight rush - QB scrambles left, slides at sideline, Buckner credited with sack - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

23 - 3rd and Goal on IND 7 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Ngakoue in pursuit, QB runs forward, slid, Blackmon credited with sack

LAS VEGAS

24 - 1st and 25 at LV 21 yd line - 4-man straight rush - pure coverage sack - Stewart sack middle

25 - 3rd and 8 at LV 27 yd line - 5-man blitz - Blackmon/Buckner/Ngakoue combined sack - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

PHILADELPHIA

26 - 3rd and 11 at IND 36 yd line - 5-man delay blitz - LB right side (Speed or Franklin) with sack

27 - 1st and 10 at PHI 25 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Ngakoue sack right side

28 - 4th and 10 at IND 39 yd line - 5-man blitz - Okereke middle rush, QB escapes left, Buckner sack at sideline - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

PITTSBURGH

29 - 1st and 10 at IND 29 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Ngakoue sack right side

30 - 3rd and 12 as IND 27 yd line - 5-man blitz - Ngakoue wiiiiiide right sack - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

31 - 2nd and 7 on PIT 49 yd line - 5-man blitz - Brown sack up middle - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

DALLAS

32 - 3rd and 5 on DAL 30 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Paye sack left side

MINNESOTA

33 - 2nd and 3 at MIN 32 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Odeyingbo sack left side

34 - 3rd and 2 at MIN 33 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Buckner sack inside - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

35 - 2nd and 11 at MIN 22 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Ngakoue speed rush sack right side

36 - 1st and 10 at MIN 39 yd line - 4-man straight rush - McGrone sack right side

37 - 4th and 15 at IND 45 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Buckner pressure up middle, Odeyingbo chased down for sack - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

38 - 3rd and 1 at MIN 36 yd line - 4-man stunt - Odeyingbo sack inside - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

39 - 1st and 10 at IND 39 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Paye tripped him up for sack

SAN DIEGO

40 - 1st and 10 at SD 33 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Buckner sack inside

41 - 1st and 10 at IND 44 yd line - Odeyingbo unblocked sack left side

42 - 1st and 10 at IND 26 yd line - QB slide down in front of Buckner sack

43 - 3rd and 3 at SD 24 yd line - 4-man straight rush - Odeyingbo sack inside - STOPPED SCORING DRIVE

HOUSTON

44 - 3rd and 10 at IND 18 yd line - 5-man blitz, Franklin sack up the middle