Colts Texans post game reaction

[RollerColt]

2 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

I didn’t realize Anthony threw this to a spot where he anticipated Pierce to be.  That’s incredible 

 

 

It's there. I'm telling you guys, it might take some time, but don't listen to the talking heads and other fans. They're going say a bunch of b.s. about how "he's not a QB, he's just a football player". 

 

Don't listen to it. This kid can become something great with time and patience. It's not likely to fully happen this year. I recommend going back to Hurts' and Allen's rookie seasons. 

 

And this is coming from someone who was not high on Richardson prior to the draft. Two training camps and 5 games was all it took to really wake me up to his potential. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

3 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

It's there. I'm telling you guys, it might take some time, but don't listen to the talking heads and other fans. They're going say a bunch of b.s. about how "he's not a QB, he's just a football player". 

 

Don't listen to it. This kid can become something great with time and patience. It's not likely to fully happen this year. I recommend going back to Hurts' and Allen's rookie seasons. 

 

And this is coming from someone who was not high on Richardson prior to the draft. Two training camps and 5 games was all it took to really wake me up to his potential. 

Richardson I and this offense will be great. Not worried about that side of the ball. The question will be can Ballard actually build a defense around him.

[RollerColt]

1 minute ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Richardson I and this offense will be great. Not worried about that side of the ball. The question will be can Ballard actually build a defense around him.

It's a fair question. 

 

And it's one we haven't really answered since 2006. Last time the Colts legit had a terrifying defense that matched the talent of the offense was way back in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. 

 

We're talking 20 years of the defense being like this... 

 

Much like not winning our season openers, some trends transcend coaching staffs and even administrations. I guess it's all Irsay's fault? 

[smittywerb]

2 hours ago, BeanDiasucci said:

 

This is a tough one. I agree that you can expect Cross to cover Diggs. Coverage isn't Cross's strength. On the other hand, Gus doesn't have enough guys who are strong in coverage. IMHO, Ballard puts too much emphasis on size in picking DBs and not enough on coverage skills. He used to do this with WRs, too, where he'd pick the bigger guys that can block well, but he's gone more to the dynamic route runners/pass catchers in the last couple of drafts. 

Agreed.  Even though our scheme doesn’t necessarily require our corners to be man lockdown corners, I still feel we need one for situations like these.

 

For ex, Sherman (in his prime) wasn’t a speedy twitchy corner but he would’ve been able to play Diggs better in that situation.  
 

After yesterday, I can live with Cross playing safety.  I’d want us to go out and get a vet corner.  But even with that said, my personal opinion is that the playcall was worse than the player.  

[RollerColt]

Where were EJ speed and Zaire Franklin yesterday is my question. 

 

The fact that our two safeties accounted for nearly half of the total tackles is really bad. 

 

Maybe those two should take a break from their podcast and watch more film and practice... 

[JediXMan]

8 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

Where were EJ speed and Zaire Franklin yesterday is my question. 

 

The fact that our two safeties accounted for nearly half of the total tackles is really bad. 

 

Maybe those two should take a break from their podcast and watch more film and practice... 

 

The lack of effort by some of the players were concerning yesterday. There was a 3rd and 5 CJ completed to Collins and as he’s fighting for the first down Blackmon had his hands on his hip barely putting effort into the play. If there’s clip I’ll like to show it.

[Hawkeyecolt]

1 hour ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

I don’t believe that number. Mitchell was open on his two down the field targets along with Pierce on his one. 
 

 

Well the one resulted in a penalty that voided the play and was the reason the ball was incomplete. AD was grabbed.  The defensive holding kept him from getting to the ball. 

[Qwiz]

I had work unfortunately so I missed the game live but kept checking my phone for snippets. Watched the highlights when I got home and man, what an opener! The Colts definitely did better than many predicted they would, and hung with us through the game. I’m glad CJ and Mixon had it in them to keep you guys from stealing this one for sure though 😂

 

Looking forward to an exciting and healthy season! I know you get the Packers next without Love. We have a date with a Northern team as well…Caleb Williams and the Bears coming off their first win…

[shasta519]

49 minutes ago, OffensivelyPC said:

Several of those incompletions were 3rd down plays and were bad enough they weren't catchable.  I remember maybe a swing pass or quick out toward the sideline that he threw to his aunt in the stands.  

 

For the game, his expected comp % was 63%. He was at 49% comp. 

 

So his Completion Rate Above Expected (CPOE) was -14%. That was #28 for QBs on the week. 

 

But that was accomplished with him completing 3 deep passes, which typically have a much lower comp % expected. And that included an underthrown pass to AP who made a great play to catch it.

 

So despite the huge +CPOE he gained from completing those deep passes, the other 16 passes had such a low CPOE that it moved it all the way back to -14% for the game.

 

You don't do that without missing several short-intermediate passes. In the coming days, there will be video breakdowns. So I am curious to see what they say. I can think of 5-6 that were off target throws.

[tweezy32]

All Franklin trys to do is hit stick people thats about it. He isnt that good, just because he was getting a lot of tackles 4 yards down the field people thought he was so good.

[RollerColt]

1 minute ago, Qwiz said:

I had work unfortunately so I missed the game live but kept checking my phone for snippets. Watched the highlights when I got home and man, what an opener! The Colts definitely did better than many predicted they would, and hung with us through the game. I’m glad CJ and Mixon had it in them to keep you guys from stealing this one for sure though 😂

 

Looking forward to an exciting and healthy season! I know you get the Packers next without Love. We have a date with a Northern team as well…Caleb Williams and the Bears coming off their first win…

Texans defense should be able to contain Williams pretty well. 

 

Bears defense is really good so far this year. 

 

It's going to come down to the lines and the running backs. I'm thinking Mixon will make the difference. 

[shasta519]

5 minutes ago, JediXMan said:

 

The lack of effort by some of the players were concerning yesterday. There was a 3rd and 5 CJ completed to Collins and as he’s fighting for the first down Blackmon had his hands on his hip barely putting effort into the play. If there’s clip I’ll like to show it.

 

That was the play where I thought Cross unnecessarily lowered his head. Could have been a penalty. Looks more egregious because there are 3 Colts players just standing around.

But I have watched it a few times and I can't figure out why JB is acting like a matador. Maybe he didn't want to trip Jones? It was pretty bizarre.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Bowen said Buckner was in a lot of pain after the game. Said he was doing better leaving the locker room. If he is limited Sunday we are in trouble.

[tweezy32]

1 minute ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Bowen said Buckner was in a lot of pain after the game. Said he was doing better leaving the locker room. If he is limited Sunday we are in trouble.

We face a packerless Love team. No way we should even lose that game even without Buckner. But yes i know, we are the colts and will probably a close game

[Qwiz]

3 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

Texans defense should be able to contain Williams pretty well. 

 

Bears defense is really good so far this year. 

 

It's going to come down to the lines and the running backs. I'm thinking Mixon will make the difference. 

I hope so…I feel like athletic QBs seem to always give us trouble. I know it was his first game but he certainly wasn’t the reason the Bears won. Watch him have a coming out party next week 😂

 

 Their D against our O is definitely gonna be the X Factor. Their line is stacked and I like their LBs. Should be a good one. But let me not derail this thread, just wanted to check in! I’m sure the Colts pass rush will get after whoever Green Bay sends out there under center. 

[shasta519]

1 hour ago, OffensivelyPC said:

I disagree with the bolded.  He stumbled, yes.  Still might have been intercepted had he not.  It doesn't acknowledge the fact that it was still thrown in a place where it could be intercepted at all. Whether Granson bears some degree of responsibility is irrelevant to me because it was still, as AR admitted, "a little high".  It may help explain a bit better how the interception occurred, but you QB needs to throw it to places where only your guy cant catch it, not the other team. Then you layer on top of that, that the INT would have never been possible had he not overthrown Adonai on the wide open TD a few plays before.

 

The rest of your post though, is right though.  There are worse things that could be happening, like AR could be un-startable.  But he does need to smooth out and refine his accuracy if he wants to be a long term starter.

 

You can see it on the slo-mo. It was a bit high. Granson did slip, but I think it's presumptive to say Granson makes that catch. It was going to be tough.

 

People were slipping all over the field AND AR was inaccurate at times...both can be true regardless of blame for that INT. 

 

Besides, there was a dropped INT earlier in the 1H and the second bomb to AP had a pretty good chance of being picked by somebody not named Jimmie Ward.

 

So to end up with one INT in this game feels fair. 

 

 

[shasta519]

13 minutes ago, tweezy32 said:

We face a packerless Love team. No way we should even lose that game even without Buckner. But yes i know, we are the colts and will probably a close game

 

Packerless love? That's the worst kind.

 

I actually don't think we can overlook that game. GB lost their first game and this is their home opener. They will be up for it. Willis is a mobile QB, which with how the run defense played, I hope they are prepared. 

 

Is DeFo definitely out? 

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

I think I heard this right. Bowen said Andrew luck had 4 plus 50 yards the entire season in 18. Richardson had 3 in one game. That is crazy.

[JediXMan]

Will Fries 👀

[throwing BBZ]

27 minutes ago, tweezy32 said:

All Franklin trys to do is hit stick people thats about it. He isnt that good, just because he was getting a lot of tackles 4 yards down the field people thought he was so good.

 

 Franklin is coached to stay 6 yards deep and wait there for something to happen in that space. The guy never reads run and attacks to fill a gap to nail the runner. We didn't need $10M of that!

[throwing BBZ]

8 minutes ago, JediXMan said:

Will Fries 👀

 

 A liquored up place kicker must have graded the tape. 

 I'll give Smith a 54.5

Fries 61.2

 Not having to respect their side just means they can focus on making it tougher on the other side.

[Solid84]

12 minutes ago, JediXMan said:

Will Fries 👀

You wanna know something funny? PFF has the Colts as the highest rated Run Blocking unit so far - low 90s. I don't get it lol.

[OffensivelyPC]

1 hour ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

 

How does Nelson and Fries overall grades exceed the two base grades?  Usually it's more like Kelly where the overall grade is in between the two base grades.

[KB]

9 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

You wanna know something funny? PFF has the Colts as the highest rated Run Blocking unit so far - low 90s. I don't get it lol.

I was under the impression our line didn't play well. Maybe the huge time of possession difference plays a part. Like if we had the ball more, we would of ran more, and had more success running that way. Glad to be wrong about the line if they're right.

[Goatface Killah]

4 hours ago, smittywerb said:

 

I have to disagree, it is on Gus because you have to know your personnel.  Putting Cross on an elite WR on an island in a goal situation is asking for a TD.  Even if cross played him tight, Diggs is good enough to still get open.  It’s not like we had Patrick Surtain out there on him.  
 

That’s on Gus.  One aspect of coaching is putting your players in position to possibly succeed.  As I said above, Diggs v Cross 1on1 in ANY situation, I’m going with Diggs every time.

Hes a starting safety in this scheme. Its literally a part of playing the position. He cant protect him from that, its impossible. 

[Goatface Killah]

12 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

You wanna know something funny? PFF has the Colts as the highest rated Run Blocking unit so far - low 90s. I don't get it lol.

PFF sucks. Get it now?

[ColtStrong2013]

1 hour ago, bluephantom87 said:

 

I kindly disagree. This is the problem with Ballard and why this team consistently comes up short under him. Most of his players with the exception of a few are mid level types that play hard but are limited. Instead of making some tough decisions on "his" guys to make necessary upgrades with the roster Ballard usually stands down and pays his own.

 

As much as the Texans ran the ball big Grov (who had no impact after suspension last season) had TWO tackles and none solo! Paye a 1st rd pick had two tackles and 1 sack.  Franklin and Speed were ran over because neither are top tier nor are they considered playmakers league wise. Most don't care for Cross yet he led the team in tackles. On many occasions he was the last between Mixon and full breakaway td runs by making solo tackles. The Colts on defense finished 28th last season in points given up yet Gus (who is considered a meh type dc league wise) was brought back to repeat with the exact same shakey secondary.

 

Yes Ballard and his team build decisions greatly affect the overall scope as far as competing for division titles, playoff runs and SB pushes. Chosing to build through the draft and mostly snub FA is fine but you better hit on some fringe type HOF trajectory or special players like Polian did especially in today's aggressive nfl landscape. Trading down on the regular to garner more 4th and 5th rd picks on draft day to be used mid level talent with high RAS scores instead of trading up intermittently to snag playmakers. Building inside out and staying status quo has this team solid enough to tease but not good enough to compete for anything of relevance.

 

The Colts now have a long history under Ballard to judge his success and it's just not good enough in a league where teams are flipping their fortunes quickly. The Texans added Mixon and Diggs via FA to an already loaded young team. Both did damage yesterday in their win while we continue to keep running back mediocrity and hoping for a different result.

 

I don't think his guys are limited, I think they are still young at a lot of key positions and have yet to develop into consistent players that elevate the team to what is necessary to winning these games. And it still starts at qb. Anthony was good yesterday, but he wasn't good enough, and I'm not sure anyone would dispute that. He missed throws, he didn't extend drives. A lot of that led to a major time of possession disparity and the defense got ran over. That isn't usually the case for a team that has faired decent against the run but struggled against the pass. I don't disagree on Bradley. The only thing that makes sense with keeping Bradley this year is that they believe he is teaching and developing the defensive backs, and it stayed in line with the consistency approach, which there has not been the last few years, especially at qb. I disagree that they mostly snub FA. They have had success in free agency, just not where people on this forum think it should be. They have tried and unsuccessfully acquired top talent in free agency. Houston is now a large market, has friendly state income tax, and is a hot spot for free agents like Mixon and Diggs who desire to play with a hot qb like Stroud. How could we have possibly gotten a free agent to want to come here the past several seasons with qb insecurity? That could change for the Colts soon, solely due to Anthony Richardson. It's largely dependent on him. 

 

He might not be good enough based on his success in wins/losses, but you act like the number of teams flipping their fortune are many. They are not. There are plenty of cases of total disasters, and generally reflect poor leadership at the very top, which is the ownership. I don't think that's the case here, nor is there a strong reason to go in a different direction than the one we are on. We are using past data to predict the future, when it's not the same situation at all for this franchise. We have a franchise QB now that just showed glimpses of greatness, but also showed he is 22 and a long way from a developed passer in this league.

[ColtStrong2013]

19 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

You wanna know something funny? PFF has the Colts as the highest rated Run Blocking unit so far - low 90s. I don't get it lol.

 

We abandoned it... 

[ColtStrong2013]

1 hour ago, tweezy32 said:

Exactly, anyone can throw a bomb pass but to accurately hit them in there hands in stride is where its at. Even Stroud didnt do that. Collins had to stop and jump to catch it. That was all on Collins and an underthrown ball.

 

I don't think you watched Matt Ryan in 2022...

[tweezy32]

8 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

 

I don't think you watched Matt Ryan in 2022...

oh i def did

[cdgacoltsfan]

30 minutes ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 A liquored up place kicker must have graded the tape. 

 I'll give Smith a 54.5

Fries 61.2

 Not having to respect their side just means they can focus on making it tougher on the other side.

How do we know you're not liquored up?

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

when you think of little the offense was out there this is really good. They need to be on the field more. 

 

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

If any of you guys watched the interview with Edgerine James, something he said about being a vet is it’s really easy to get bored and not try and get better. You can just start to make the motions. When our guys got their second contracts, makes me feel as if maybe this has happened to guys like Nelson, Taylor, and Pittman or Smith. I’m not sure where Taylor’s vision has gone but he doesn’t seem to know where to run sometimes, and almost never bounces it outside. 
 

it’s all been disappointing but in game one of the season I’m not going to lose my head. They always start slow. It’s like they forget they have to fight for every yard, every score, every win, until they lose game one. 

[DougDew]

44 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

You wanna know something funny? PFF has the Colts as the highest rated Run Blocking unit so far - low 90s. I don't get it lol.

Well, it could have been that JT was indecisive in running and made the blocking look bad to us.  How did JT grade out?

[DougDew]

3 minutes ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

and almost never bounces it outside. 

This is not new.  He hasn't done that since he started for Wisconsin. 

[Chrisaaron1023]

My post game reaction is.. what a demoralizing way to end with that throw and catch.

 

I'm tired of watching Nico Collins shred us..

[Solid84]

1 hour ago, KB said:

I was under the impression our line didn't play well. Maybe the huge time of possession difference plays a part. Like if we had the ball more, we would of ran more, and had more success running that way. Glad to be wrong about the line if they're right.

I didn't sit down and watch every single run block from our guys, but I did get see the overall result and JT got nowhere. This grade doesn't add up to me, but on the other hand if this was the result we got from a constant 8-man stacked box I guess it's ok? I don't know. I do think PFF get it right FAR more than they get it wrong.

[Solid84]

59 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

 

We abandoned it... 

True we did, and JT and AR eventually would've worn down their defenders. The question is would we have been able to catch up then? The offense didn't get the ball enough to lean on the run because our defense couldn't stop the run.

[Solid84]

40 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Well, it could have been that JT was indecisive in running and made the blocking look bad to us.  How did JT grade out?

His run grade was in the low end of average - high 50s. That's not good and could be the reason our run game didn't go anywhere. I believe you did point out he kept running into his blockers instead of bouncing outside or was that someone else? This seems to support that.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]