Who leads the NFL in tackles?

[cdgacoltsfan]

[Indyfan4life]

This isn’t a good thing. At all. 

[RollerColt]

4 minutes ago, Indyfan4life said:

This isn’t a good thing. At all. 

Yeah.

 

It's bad because the linebackers (who were supposed to be our strength) are just not getting it done. Missing tackles and taking weird angles at the ball carriers. 

 

It's good in the sense that Nick is at least making the stop and preventing the backs from scoring. Kuddos to Nick for doing his dang job. 

[DougDew]

17 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

the linebackers (who were supposed to be our strength)

Just curious, who had that opinion going into the season?  Or starting last offseason for that matter.

[IndyEV]

I’m surprised Jalen Jones isn’t leading the league in tackles because QBs keep picking on him in the passing game! 

[RollerColt]

12 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Just curious, who had that opinion going into the season?  Or starting last offseason for that matter.

The GM and coaching staff. 

[throwing BBZ]

19 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

The GM and coaching staff. 

 

 I would consider Franklin and Speed as integral to us having been one of the worst defenses last season.

 So surely you jest when alluding to "coach speak"? 

 But who knows how good they could be in a better system.

[RollerColt]

Just now, throwing BBZ said:

 

 I would consider Franklin and Speed as integral to us having been one of the worst defenses last season.

 So surely you jest when alluding to "coach speak"? 

 But who knows how good they could be in a better system.

I would as well. They are a weakness. 

 

But the way Ballard and his staff went about their business in the offseason, they didn't seem that concerned about the position. 

[throwing BBZ]

37 minutes ago, IndyEV said:

I’m surprised Jalen Jones isn’t leading the league in tackles because QBs keep picking on him in the passing game! 

 

 Jones has given up 7 completions so far in 10 attempts. 

 Kenny is 6 completions in 6 attemps. 

[throwing BBZ]

24 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

I would as well. They are a weakness. 

 

But the way Ballard and his staff went about their business in the offseason, they didn't seem that concerned about the position. 

 

 Well, I thought the Olubi kid showed some solid play making ability with good tackling so i'm surprised they pushed rookie Carlies, who missed a fair amount of time, ahead of him so quickly. So one could say the position has been addressed by drafting a LB each of the last 2 seasons with guys our people like.

 Carlies did play 46 snaps Sunday. Like our other Gus led LB's he didn't seem to be where he needed to be when needed. But what the hey, that becomes much more likely when you have 2-3 seasons under your belt, With a d-line playing well in front of you. 

 

 It wouldn't surprise me at all if Williams throws for 250+ with 3 touchdowns.

The little devil on my shoulder tells me it would be a good thing, just another nail in Gus's coffin. And of course that is a sad place to be. lol

 

[csmopar]

1 hour ago, RollerColt said:

Yeah.

 

It's bad because the linebackers (who were supposed to be our strength) are just not getting it done. Missing tackles and taking weird angles at the ball carriers. 

 

It's good in the sense that Nick is at least making the stop and preventing the backs from scoring. Kuddos to Nick for doing his dang job. 

Kind of funny actually considering he was the forum whipping boy all thru preseason and camp

[RollerColt]

5 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Kind of funny actually considering he was the forum whipping boy all thru preseason and camp

Absolutely was. 

 

The rough part is that thanks to the putrid run defense, we haven't really needed him for pass defense yet... His coverage for all we know could be pretty bad. If we ever figure out how to stop the run I guess we'll find out the truth. 

[cdgacoltsfan]

23 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Kind of funny actually considering he was the forum whipping boy all thru preseason and camp

Yep, according to our resident experts, Nick should have been cut...another Ballard bust...lol

[Indyfan4life]

6 minutes ago, cdgacoltsfan said:

Yep, according to our resident experts, Nick should have been cut...another Ballard bust...lol

I mean, he IS directly responsible for Downs being out and the offense being out of sync. 

[DougDew]

2 hours ago, DougDew said:

Just curious, who had that opinion going into the season?  Or starting last offseason for that matter.

Ah, my sarcasm radar failed.  On me.

[RollerColt]

2 minutes ago, DougDew said:

Ah, my sarcasm radar failed.  On me.

Naw, you're good. 

 

It's not always easy to convey it on a message board. 

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

1 hour ago, throwing BBZ said:

 

 Jones has given up 7 completions so far in 10 attempts. 

 Kenny is 6 completions in 6 attemps. 

that doesn’t seem right as I saw Kenny break up a pass on Sunday. 

[BeanDiasucci]

1 hour ago, csmopar said:

Kind of funny actually considering he was the forum whipping boy all thru preseason and camp

What we've seen so far isn't so surprising. Nick Cross was rated as the Colts #1 run defender last season with an 81.2 grade. It was his pass coverage that wasn't so good at 63.2. 

 

Run Defense - 2023

S Nick Cross 81.2

DE Samson Ebukam 80.0

LB E.J. Speed 78.8

DE Kwity Paye 78.1

DT Grover Stewart 77.3

CB Kenny Moore II 71.5

LB Zaire Franklin 66.1

S Ronnie Harrison Jr. 64.1

DT DeForest Buckner 63.8

DE Tyquan Lewis 61.9

S Julian Blackmon 59.2

CB Julius Brents 58.8

CB Jaylon Jones 57.1

DE Jacob Martin 49.7

DE Dayo Odeyingbo 49.1

S Rodney Thomas II 48.1

CB Dallis Flowers 45.0

DT Taven Bryan 43.7

CB Darrell Baker Jr. 43.6

DT Eric Johnson II 29.3

DT Adetomiwa Adebawore 24.1

 

Coverage Grade - 2023

CB Kenny Moore II 79.3

S Julian Blackmon 72.6

CB Dallis Flowers 70.6

LB Segun Olubi 66.9

CB Julius Brents 64.5

S Nick Cross 63.2

S Ronnie Harrison Jr. 61.9

S Rodney Thomas II 60.1

CB Chris Lammons 59.0

CB Jaylon Jones 57.3

LB Zaire Franklin 56.4

LB E.J. Speed 56.1

CB Darrell Baker Jr. 53.0

 

 

[DougDew]

I've liked Nick Cross since before he was drafted.  I thought folks here have been impatient and quick, go figure.

[indyagent17]

Our D Lineman and our LB's are getting blasted and pushed out of the way. This is why teams are running all over us

[Lifetime Colt]

Really glad to see Cross getting the playing time, and showing up when others do not. Cross was the whipping boy all of preseason, when the call for Simmons, and the remaining FA safety's were demanded, would have basically Put year 3 Nick Cross on the bench, and essentially written him off for the future. If the LB's were doing their job he would not have numbers like this that lead the league after just 2 games. and would predict he will continue near the top of the league going forward.

[Solid84]

8 hours ago, csmopar said:

Kind of funny actually considering he was the forum whipping boy all thru preseason and camp

The "whipping" part was regarding his coverage skills, which are still questionable.

[Dark Superman]

"The Boss" Nick Cross!

[NewColtsFan]

Glad for Criss having this kind of success.  
 

As for linebackers….  Does no one remember Franklin was voted the 100th best player by his peers?   So people who play the game know how good he is.   Isn’t Speed viewed as a decent player as well?   
 

 

[csmopar]

1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

Glad for Criss having this kind of success.  
 

As for linebackers….  Does no one remember Franklin was voted the 100th best player by his peers?   So people who play the game know how good he is.   Isn’t Speed viewed as a decent player as well?   
 

 

Yes but they’ve both been relatively MIA thru two games. 

[lollygagger8]

 

 

[Dark Superman]

If the Colts weren't the worst run defense in the league I would be happier for Nick Cross.

[chad72]

Man, what happened to the stellar way Paye used to set the edge? Cut back lanes are open towards the tackles consistently and the edges are being exploited by Mixon, then Josh Jacobs etc.

 

I would bet that is where our issues are, currently, because with Buckner in the line up, they would go little more east west, before going North around the edges. It was difficult against us when the edge was set right but not the case in the first 2 games of this season for sure. 

 

Now, even with the edge corrections, our middle is going to be vacant due to Buckner on IR. It is going to be a long season.

[BeanDiasucci]

Can somebody explain the stats to me on the chart at the link below? The Colts are last in the league in Team Combined Tackles (82) and Solo Tackles (50). Most teams have a lot more tackles than we do. Since our defense has been on the field so much, shouldn't we have more tackles than other teams? Is it because opponents are running the ball so much that they are running the clock and don't get as many plays off? 

 

I also noticed that we're near the bottom of the league in sacks with 3 (several teams have 2 and the top teams are close to 10). That's disappointing and I hope it improves against the Bears' shaky offensive line. 

 

https://www.nfl.com/stats/team-stats/defense/tackles/2024/reg/all