Too Soon to Panic

[OLD FAN MAN]

3 hours ago, tfunky14 said:

Ravens are also 0-2.  

minshew and bower just beat them

[RollerColt]

17 minutes ago, OLD FAN MAN said:

minshew and bower just beat them

Raiders might be 3-1 in a few weeks. 

 

Minshew doesn't make them a Super Bowl team, but they're interesting to watch. 

[shasta519]

@2006Coltsbestever posted a poll back near the end of May. 

 

91 forum users voted

 

1. How many games will the Colts win in 2024?

 

9 wins: 14%

10 wins: 41%

11+ wins: 29%

 

Less than 9: 16%

 

So 84% of a fairly large sample of this forum thought the Colts would win 9+ games and 70% even thought they would win 10+.

 

Colts are now 0-2 and just lost to Malik Willis-led GB team where AR looked bad and threw 3 INTs.

 

To say this was part of the process or that the win/loss record doesn't matter this season seems like revisionist history, based on what was said by this team and what was done this offseason. They were coming off a 9-win season with an O/U of 8.5 wins. AR is on a rookie contract.

 

It also seems largely disconnected from most of this fanbase and the expectations for this season. So I don't think it's going to be well-received.

 

I can get onboard with this narrative to an extent because I didn't really those lofty expectations. But a 3-4 win season? I think that would matter.

 

 

[Dobbinblitz]

2 hours ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

I’m not panicking. I’m just tired of seeing the same thing every year. Where are the veterans of this team? What happened to Nelson pancaking defenders? This team has regressed. And a lot of these guys are on their second contracts. 

I did not question the talent level, but the makeup and leadership of the offensive line ever since Nick Foles was carted off the field in NY on January1, 2023 after the sack by Kayvon Thibodeaux. Lying right next to an injured and struggling and convulsed Foles Thibodeaux proceeded to perform snow angels. The Colts on field response - a big nothing. Thibodeaux preceded to go the sideline and pantomime sleep gestures. The Colts response - again nothing. Speaks volumes.

It is hard to watch any football game at any level where players do not stick up for the teammates.

The OL has been one of the positives this year, but as a unit ,they have not been dominant run blockers since before Strausser was here.

[DattMavis]

1 hour ago, RollerColt said:

That makes most of us. 

 

All valid concerns. 

 

And ironically it's similar to what happened with Reich. Bad play calling happens when you don't have decent enough personnel. Right now they ain't doing much to help out Richardson. Dropped passes, falling over, running the wrong routes... RBs missing blocking assignments... 

Reich would just destroy drives by running Nyheim Hines up the gut. Frank was also too nice to call anyone out. This feels different.

Even when we seemingly had less talent under Frank, the guys seemed to care more. I'm really not sure what it is, because I love Shane as a play-caller and leader, and I fully expected him to become the best Indianapolis HC ever when we hired him. I'm expecting AR and Shane to be okay. Some issues we've seen with AR and Shane aside, (outside of JT, the oline, and Pierce) the team doesn't look like they care. They look like people I've worked with when they were about to quit their job. It seems uncharacteristic, because Chris specifically built this team to have character. Even if they weren't the most talented, they were supposed to be the guys that would work harder than anyone and never give up or become lazy.

[Solid84]

51 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

@2006Coltsbestever posted a poll back near the end of May. 

 

91 forum users voted

 

1. How many games will the Colts win in 2024?

 

9 wins: 14%

10 wins: 41%

11+ wins: 29%

 

Less than 9: 16%

 

So 84% of a fairly large sample of this forum thought the Colts would win 9+ games and 70% even thought they would win 10+.

 

Colts are now 0-2 and just lost to Malik Willis-led GB team where AR looked bad and threw 3 INTs.

 

To say this was part of the process or that the win/loss record doesn't matter this season seems like revisionist history, based on what was said by this team and what was done this offseason. They were coming off a 9-win season with an O/U of 8.5 wins. AR is on a rookie contract.

 

It also seems largely disconnected from most of this fanbase and the expectations for this season. So I don't think it's going to be well-received.

 

I can get onboard with this narrative to an extent because I didn't really those lofty expectations. But a 3-4 win season? I think that would matter.

 

 

To be fair, those guesses were based on the team continueing what they did last season. So far they haven't which possibly makes a lot peoples guesses irrelevant already.

 

I guessed 8 to 9 wins (think I put in 9 in that thread), but that was based on the Dline being able to stop the run and only the secondary being the problem. Right now the whole defense is *.

 

I was was expecting us to start 0-2, the record is not really the problem - it's the way we're playing. It's a mess. When Love got hurt I thought we'd beat the Packers. Instead the team fell on it's face - players AND coaches. Now I'm questioning whether we can even beat the Bears and I thought this would be a fairly easy win before the season.

[Stephen]

10 hours ago, ProblChld32 said:

A lot of folks are panicking because they want instant gratification. Most people fail to realize that this is essentially Richardsons rookie year. He’s going to have ALOT of bumps in the road. TBH I never expected this current team to win more than 6 games this season. 
 

I think we sweep the Titans 

beat the Giants 

split with the Texans

beat the broncos

and split with the Jags 

 

I don’t know if folks looked at our schedule when it was released but we have a pretty rough schedule this year. 

Schedule  is not tough we blew the first two games. Particularly  the greenbay one.we should have scored more than 10 points. Bears defense is better than greenbay. We will see if we even score on them. Steelers  and patriots defense  look nasty to.

[tfunky14]

1 hour ago, RollerColt said:

Raiders might be 3-1 in a few weeks. 

 

Minshew doesn't make them a Super Bowl team, but they're interesting to watch. 

agree, they are playing well

 

[Stephen]

20 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

To be fair, those guesses were based on the team continueing what they did last season. So far they haven't which possibly makes a lot peoples guesses irrelevant already.

 

I guessed 8 to 9 wins (think I put in 9 in that thread), but that was based on the Dline being able to stop the run and only the secondary being the problem. Right now the whole defense is *.

 

I was was expecting us to start 0-2, the record is not really the problem - it's the way we're playing. It's a mess. When Love got hurt I thought we'd beat the Packers. Instead the team fell on it's face - players AND coaches. Now I'm questioning whether we can even beat the Bears and I thought this would be a fairly easy win before the season.

I was expecting  1-1 at worst as it had been forever since the last time we lost to greenbay and our whole team choked. I fully expect  the bears to beat us sunday unless downs plays as pittman  is mia and the tes are mia as well. Ad Mitchell  I expected  more from and he hasn't  done enough  either. The only wr that has shone up was last years whipping boy Alec pierce.

[ProblChld32]

55 minutes ago, Stephen said:

Schedule  is not tough we blew the first two games. Particularly  the greenbay one.we should have scored more than 10 points. Bears defense is better than greenbay. We will see if we even score on them. Steelers  and patriots defense  look nasty to.

The schedule is tough and should’ve could’ve would’ve don’t work in the real world. We literally have the Bills , Jets , Patriots ,  Steelers , Lions and Vikings outside of divisional games. Non of those games look winnable as it stands. You can be delusional about it I will not. 

[Stephen]

10 minutes ago, ProblChld32 said:

The schedule is tough and should’ve could’ve would’ve don’t work in the real world. We literally have the Bills , Jets , Patriots ,  Steelers , Lions and Vikings outside of divisional games. Non of those games look winnable as it stands. You can be delusional about it I will not. 

We probably  lose the steelers game for sure

[ProblChld32]

5 hours ago, Defjamz26 said:

Our GM came out and said that he was sick of missing the playoffs. Last year we were 1 play away from making them. Your expectations for the team and Ballard’s are different.

 

Also the instant gratification angle has been said since 2019 season. Regardless of if you think the timeline should start from Ballard’s first year, or the first season after the Luck retirement, there has been enough time that has passed that makes it viable for fans to want better results than starting 0-2, giving up 500 rushing yards in 2 games, and losing to a 3rd round  back up QB who had only been in the offense for 3 weeks.

You’re comparing last year to this year where there was a legitimate Veteran QB (Minshew) playing who has ACTUAL NFL experience (currently starts for raiders). To this year where we have a Raw essentially Rookie QB at the Helm. There is going to be a significant drop off in consistency there. As for the rest of the team , we bought back the core nucleus and are not playing anywhere near as well as we played at times last year. I’m not saying you can’t want better results, you can. What I’m saying is I came into this season with REALISTIC expectations, I knew that the QB play was going to be very erratic and with that being said it has. Ballards expectations for the team obviously are not going to be the same as mines we aren’t the same person. This is also the same person who chose not to address positions where there was a CLEAR need at. Now we all are seeing the ramifications of his negligence.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Trying to look at glass half full. We lost two games by a combined 8 pts while the offense has barely been on the field. Maybe that tells me the defense is not as bad as it seems. You would think an opponent having that much time on offense would score a lot more points. Could be they just used clock and ran the ball. But this has me a little more optimistic when the offense  gets things going.

[2006Coltsbestever]

11 hours ago, shasta519 said:

@2006Coltsbestever posted a poll back near the end of May. 

 

91 forum users voted

 

1. How many games will the Colts win in 2024?

 

9 wins: 14%

10 wins: 41%

11+ wins: 29%

 

Less than 9: 16%

 

So 84% of a fairly large sample of this forum thought the Colts would win 9+ games and 70% even thought they would win 10+.

 

Colts are now 0-2 and just lost to Malik Willis-led GB team where AR looked bad and threw 3 INTs.

 

To say this was part of the process or that the win/loss record doesn't matter this season seems like revisionist history, based on what was said by this team and what was done this offseason. They were coming off a 9-win season with an O/U of 8.5 wins. AR is on a rookie contract.

 

It also seems largely disconnected from most of this fanbase and the expectations for this season. So I don't think it's going to be well-received.

 

I can get onboard with this narrative to an extent because I didn't really those lofty expectations. But a 3-4 win season? I think that would matter.

 

 

I had 10, so at 0-2 it looks a bit dicey but the schedule at the end of the season gets much easier.

[ColtsGermany]

14 hours ago, Colt.45 said:

 

The coaching and play calling? Last year Steichen was in the running for COY right? Did he suddenly lose his coaching and planning abilities? Or again, are we really angry that we had sky high expectations and instead we're left with this....0-2.

 

The defense? For decades, fans have complained about the defense. From way before CB. Most years when 18 was striding around town, the defense was a sore point. None of this is new. Heck, I'd argue that Chuck Pagano got his job because the Colts wanted to replicate Baltimore's defense and break cleanly from that bend but don't break defense 'everyone' hated. 

 

The defense doesn't matter until we have a QB, that's how I look at the game. Sure, defense wins championships but you need a good QB to even start the championship conversation and where we are now is: we're in the process of figuring out just how good this CUBE can be.  

 

**By most metrics, the O-line isn't a problem.

 

 

I get your points.

And yes Steichen is a good coach and I'm glad he's here.

It's just my personal feeling,or impression, that the first 2 games,he wasn't as good as last season. It's not that I wanted him to be gone.

About the Def: again, a personal feeling. I don't like the way this defense is run with Gus. Sure, there were years that have been worse. But is that an excuse to be happy with any defensive scheme or coach to be slightly better then 20 years ago? Not for me.

I don't have sky high expectations. I know this is a season to figure things out for AR and get him experience he needs. I said it in another thread during the summer, that it's basically his rookie season and got blasted for that statement from some users.

 

Again,those are my personal feelings and I just think despite all things regarding a rookie qb, this team could, or in some points should, do better.

[LJpalmbeacher2]

On 9/17/2024 at 6:46 PM, AustexColt said:

Alot of us expected the 2-0 start, but the loss of Buckner for a minimum of 4 weeks. I like to remind myself that in Peyton's first season we went 3-13 and only the following season did we turn the corner to 13-3 and went to the playoff that season.  This season is heavy loaded upfront, so things may work out better for us since alot of our players are still learning the ropes. 

 

The Future is Bright !!!

[LJpalmbeacher2]

15 hours ago, DattMavis said:

Most of us aren't concerned about AR. 

We have concerns with our veteran WRs, TEs, LBs, DBs, DEs, DTs, the play calling, and baffling personnel decisions.

 

Yeah, but otherwise the colts are in looking good. 

[lollygagger8]

The biggest problem is that the rest of the team is playing like trash around the rookie QB. 

 

Of course the essentially rookie QB that has played 6 NFL games is going to be a rollercoaster. 

He's known to have accuracy issues, and is for some reason being forced to be a pocket passer. 

 

When the highest paid O-line in the league can't block, that's problem. 

When the WR's can't catch passes that bounce off their hands, that's a problem. 

When the highly invested in $$ D-Line (like 5 1st or 2nd rd players) can't block and LB's get consistenly washed, that's a problem. 

When the highest paid kicker in the league can't kick and gets hurt constantly, that's a problem. 

When the defensive scheme is to "bend not break" but the bends are to the tune of 100 yards a series, that's a problem.

 

Now's the time to strike in other areas while you have a QB on a rookie contract.

Actually, this all should've been figured out already by the GM and all positions should've been rock solid by now. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

2 hours ago, lollygagger8 said:

The biggest problem is that the rest of the team is playing like trash around the rookie QB. 

 

Of course the essentially rookie QB that has played 6 NFL games is going to be a rollercoaster. 

He's known to have accuracy issues, and is for some reason being forced to be a pocket passer. 

 

When the highest paid O-line in the league can't block, that's problem. 

When the WR's can't catch passes that bounce off their hands, that's a problem. 

When the highly invested in $$ D-Line (like 5 1st or 2nd rd players) can't block and LB's get consistenly washed, that's a problem. 

When the highest paid kicker in the league can't kick and gets hurt constantly, that's a problem. 

When the defensive scheme is to "bend not break" but the bends are to the tune of 100 yards a series, that's a problem.

 

Now's the time to strike in other areas while you have a QB on a rookie contract.

Actually, this all should've been figured out already by the GM and all positions should've been rock solid by now. 

Your 1st sentence nailed it, I think Taylor has been good but what good does he do when Shane doesn't play him. I have praised Shane a lot but I thought he sucked on Sunday.

[cdgacoltsfan]

Does anyone know who leads the NFL in tackles?

[shasta519]

20 hours ago, Solid84 said:

To be fair, those guesses were based on the team continueing what they did last season. So far they haven't which possibly makes a lot peoples guesses irrelevant already.

 

I guessed 8 to 9 wins (think I put in 9 in that thread), but that was based on the Dline being able to stop the run and only the secondary being the problem. Right now the whole defense is *.

 

I was was expecting us to start 0-2, the record is not really the problem - it's the way we're playing. It's a mess. When Love got hurt I thought we'd beat the Packers. Instead the team fell on it's face - players AND coaches. Now I'm questioning whether we can even beat the Bears and I thought this would be a fairly easy win before the season.

 

Not trying to tell people they were wrong. I am just saying that the idea that the record didn't matter this year is just not going to be acceptable to a large % of the fanbase...even less so with how it has transpired.

 

Regarding the Bears, I am surprised the Colts are favored in this game. I think the Bears defense is potentially elite. And while their run offense stinks, the Colts can't stop anything in the run game so it doesn't matter. They have enough pass catchers, even without Keenan Allen. 

 

Thought the GB game was a trap game, but had hoped the Colts would pull a close win. They did not.

 

But this CHI game has the feels of the "season going off the rails" kind of game. 

 

 

[shasta519]

19 hours ago, ProblChld32 said:

The schedule is tough and should’ve could’ve would’ve don’t work in the real world. We literally have the Bills , Jets , Patriots ,  Steelers , Lions and Vikings outside of divisional games. Non of those games look winnable as it stands. You can be delusional about it I will not. 

 

Yep. With the defense playing like this, and as more injuries pile up (cause we know they will), no game is a gimme until maybe they play a tanking NYG team late in the year.

[Smonroe]

38 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

 

Not trying to tell people they were wrong. I am just saying that the idea that the record didn't matter this year is just not going to be acceptable to a large % of the fanbase...even less so with how it has transpired.

 

Regarding the Bears, I am surprised the Colts are favored in this game. I think the Bears defense is potentially elite. And while their run offense stinks, the Colts can't stop anything in the run game so it doesn't matter. They have enough pass catchers, even without Keenan Allen. 

 

Thought the GB game was a trap game, but had hoped the Colts would pull a close win. They did not.

 

But this CHI game has the feels of the "season going off the rails" kind of game. 

 

 

 

I was so excited, now I can hardly watch pro football.  I'm just happy my Buckeyes are playing well (but we're on to Oregon soon).

 

If the story line on Monday is that Caleb Williams had his coming out game, I may not be able to watch another game.

 

 

[BeanDiasucci]

On 9/17/2024 at 6:53 PM, Colt.45 said:

What exactly is the panic about?

 

I feel slightly crazy here with y'all lol. What are you panicking about? You have a rookie QB and after he missed almost all of his rookie year, this year was always going to be that rookie year. The fanbase thinks they were going to avoid rookie struggles?! Stop it.

 

It is crazy. The fanbase thinks they were going to avoid the whole team struggling. But the Colts D is even worse this year and young Ant Rich doesn't even play D lol. If this keeps up, Gus is gonna get on the bus outta town. Speakin of "Stop it," I'd like to see this D stop somethin, stop anything. Stop the run, stop the pass, and do not let da Bears, with their rookie QB and trash oline, look like a real offense, or I'll panic for real. The D needs to get this turned around so that "My Bad" Bullhead Ballard will still be here to extend some more contracts. Ol' Jimmy I. is patient, but I bet he doesn't like looking like a fool.  

 

NFL defense rankings 2024

 

30. Indianapolis Colts (28): Worst NFL defenses 2024

Let’s put things into perspective with this Indianapolis Colts defense. Malik Willis, who entered Sunday with a career 48.7 QB rating, completed 85.7 percent of his 14 pass attempts for 1 touchdown and 126.8 passing yards. That means through two weeks, this Colts defense has allowed a 115-plus QB rating in consecutive games. As for the Colts run defense, this group surrendered over 200 rushing yards for the second consecutive week. It’s inexplicable why Gus Bradley was retained and even more baffling why this unit wasn’t adequately addressed by GM Chris Ballard this offseason. Ultimately, it will be the Colts’ undoing.

 

https://sportsnaut.com/nfl-defense-rankings/