It's the scheme and the personnel

[John Hammonds]

I've been thinking about this for a while.  Why is it that the other teams can run against us with abandon?  Is it our defensive scheme?  Or is it our personnel?

I propose that it's both.

 

Here's what I mean.  In the base Cover-3 scheme, the corners turn and run, setting up the 3-deep zones.  The outside linebackers cover the zones in the flats.  This sets up the middle linebacker and the strong safety to make all of the tackles.  Now, if the offense uses multiple receivers, the defense has to take a linebacker off of the field and replace him with another defensive back.  This means that, if the remaining linebackers continue to have their zone responsibility, it leaves no middle linebacker to make the tackles.  It falls to the safety to do it all.  is it any wonder that Nick Cross is leading the league in tackles?  Of course he is.

 

So, how is this working?  Or, rather, how is it not working?  Something I've noticed is that the majority of the successful runs come against the weak side.  Who is playing weak side defensive end?  Either Tyquan Lewis or Laitu Latu.  We already know that Latu is far better at rushing the passer than defending the run.  It's no surprise that he is not yet capable to seal the edge.  Tyquan Lewis has been a backup his entire career for a reason.  He's one of the toughest guys around.  Just not the most talented.  You want a guy you can stick in the line and feel ok about it.  But he's not starter material.

Thus, on offense, you have your weak side receiver run a short route on his side, keeping the linebacker on that side busy, and you run against the defensive end that can't seal the edge.  Result?  8 yards.  Easy.  Every time.  If the Colts never change their scheme, this will work.  Against this scheme and personnel.

 

Now -- how do we deal with this?  I propose that we run either Cover-2 or even a Bear defense on first down.  Regardless of offensive formation, or how many receivers are on the field.  Make sure that there are three linebackers on the field, and that the weak side 'backer is free to make the tackle.  Limit any first down run to 2 yards or less.  Sell out on this.  Put the offense into long yardage in the later downs.  As Gus said, earn the right to rush the passer.

 

What I would do is line up with all three linebackers, a single high safety, and Kenny Moore to cover the extra receiver.  Make sure that third linebacker is specifically over the defensive end.  Shut that lane down.  Make the offense do something else to beat you.

 

Anyway, that's my suggestion.  I'm not a defensive expert.  I sit in the cheap seats.  But that's how I see it.

[chad72]

The edge is not being set well and now the middle goes vacant with Buckner on IR. Water is coming into the boat through several holes, so patching up one hole will allow it come another way anyways. We can only limit the bleeding.

 

Unless AR and the offense bail the D out with some time of possession, the D is going to bleed a little for sure.

[RollerColt]

You would think this week would be the perfect time to disguise coverage to confuse the rookie QB, since... you know... rookie QBs generally struggle with that sort of thing. 

 

Too bad we're not like most teams... 

[Colt.45]

Taven Bryan doesn't understand why he's at NT. 

 

 

[Stephen]

Too bad Bob sanders  isn't  coming back to clean up the run d lol if we do get a top 5 pick we may need to get the best run defender in the draft.

[RollerColt]

24 minutes ago, Colt.45 said:

Taven Bryan doesn't understand why he's at NT. 

 

 

Thanks for sharing. 

 

Reaction: Jesus Christ... 

 

Well that certainly exudes a lot of confidence doesn't it? 

 

Square peg in a round hole... Because that eventually works... right? 

 

...

 

Right?

[shasta519]

33 minutes ago, Colt.45 said:

Taven Bryan doesn't understand why he's at NT. 

 

 

 

What the heck is that? Why would he say that lol

 

But let the Gus hit pieces commence I guess.

[richard pallo]

58 minutes ago, Colt.45 said:

Taven Bryan doesn't understand why he's at NT. 

 

 

So that’s on Partridge right?

[Colt.45]

26 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

 

What the heck is that? Why would he say that lol

 

But let the Gus hit pieces commence I guess.

 

If he's saying that out loud....what else isn't being said?

 

AR, just keep growing young fella. That's all that matters for now.

7 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

So that’s on Partridge right?

 I couldn't say. It's not a good look 

41 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

Thanks for sharing. 

 

Reaction: Jesus Christ... 

 

Well that certainly exudes a lot of confidence doesn't it? 

 

Square peg in a round hole... Because that eventually works... right? 

 

...

 

Right?

 

Right lol

[shasta519]

3 minutes ago, Colt.45 said:

 

If he's saying that out loud....what else isn't being said?

 

AR, just keep growing young fella. That's all that matters for now.

 I couldn't say. It's not a good look 

 

Right lol

 

Good point. I think it's safe to say they are players who are questioning the coaching staff. 

 

I don't have Indy Star sub so I can't read that article, but why is Bryan playing NT? Why would that be necessary?

[BeanDiasucci]

1 hour ago, Colt.45 said:

Taven Bryan doesn't understand why he's at NT. 

 

 

And if you read the article, it demonstrates clearly that Bryan should never play nose tackle (as we know). He's a backup passing specialist with a high RAS who is too light for nose tackle and has never defended the run well. 

[BeanDiasucci]

6 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

 

Good point. I think it's safe to say they are players who are questioning the coaching staff. 

 

I don't have Indy Star sub so I can't read that article, but why is Bryan playing NT? Why would that be necessary?

The article makes it sound like Bradley thinks Bryan can play NT, but Bryan isn't so sure. I guess we can agree that Bryan has been consistent at NT, just not in a good way. 

 

"He's a swing guy. He can play nose, he can play 3," defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. "So he gives us flexibility, and he plays both of them at a consistent level.”

 

The seventh-year pro sees himself a different way.

 

"I can play either. I don't really care for nose, but I can play it," Bryan said. "We won't lose because of it, but it's not going to look that great."

 

 

[richard pallo]

2 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

 

Good point. I think it's safe to say they are players who are questioning the coaching staff. 

 

I don't have Indy Star sub so I can't read that article, but why is Bryan playing NT? Why would that be necessary?

The DL coach, Partridge, decides where you play.  That’s his responsibility to put his players in a position to succeed.  He decides when you rotate in and out.  He’s a new position coach.  He’s calling the shots right now on the DL.  Missing Ebukam setting the edge really has hurt and now losing Buckner for awhile is going to be tough as well.  Still early but he has his work cut out for him.

[BeanDiasucci]

It's like Gus Bradley wants to be fired. The Colts should oblige him. 

 

Quote

 

The Colts have allowed a league-most 237 rushing yards and 40+ minutes time of possession per game in losses to the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers.

 

NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick joined the "Pat McAfee Show" this week, saying it "should be really tough" for teams to run on more than 65% of their plays and succeed.

 

"It's been a couple of weeks the Colts have had a hard time stopping the run," Belichick said. "They stay in the same front for the most part. They don't really make a lot of defensive adjustments.

 

"(Defensive coordinator) Gus Bradley believes in execution and doing the same thing over and over. That simplifies things for the offense. They just didn't do a good job at all in the running game. Everybody knew that that was the kind of game it was going to be."

 

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2024/09/17/colts-defensive-coordinator-gus-bradley-needs-adjust-bill-belichick/75267274007/

 

 

[richard pallo]

5 minutes ago, BeanDiasucci said:

The article makes it sound like Bradley thinks Bryan can play NT, but Bryan isn't so sure. I guess we can agree that Bryan has been consistent at NT, just not in a good way. 

 

"He's a swing guy. He can play nose, he can play 3," defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. "So he gives us flexibility, and he plays both of them at a consistent level.”

 

The seventh-year pro sees himself a different way.

 

"I can play either. I don't really care for nose, but I can play it," Bryan said. "We won't lose because of it, but it's not going to look that great."

 

 

Bradley takes all the questions on the defense.  After all he’s the coordinator.  But he receives input from all of his position coaches and he listens to them.  He just hired Partridge to coach the DL this year.  He’s going to listen to him and trust him.  Obviously Partridge thinks Bryan can play nose tackle.  I guess we will find out.

[BeanDiasucci]

3 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Bradley takes all the questions on the defense.  After all he’s the coordinator.  But he receives input from all of his position coaches and he listens to them.  He just hired Partridge to coach the DL this year.  He’s going to listen to him and trust him.  Obviously Partridge thinks Bryan can play nose tackle.  I guess we will find out.

You're probably right or Partridge's boss might be making the call on this. How do you know? 

 

But why does it matter who is making the decision? We've seen that Bryan can't stop the run, and even he says he doesn't like the position and his results there won't be pretty. Partridge, Bradley, Steichen, and Ballard are all accountable for how the Colts do in stopping the run and how the defensive line plays. And so far, it sucks. I'm expecting much better on Sunday, but if Bryan is at NT, that's not gonna help. 

[throwing BBZ]

19 minutes ago, BeanDiasucci said:

The article makes it sound like Bradley thinks Bryan can play NT, but Bryan isn't so sure. I guess we can agree that Bryan has been consistent at NT, just not in a good way. 

 

"He's a swing guy. He can play nose, he can play 3," defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. "So he gives us flexibility, and he plays both of them at a consistent level.”

 

The seventh-year pro sees himself a different way.

 

"I can play either. I don't really care for nose, but I can play it," Bryan said. "We won't lose because of it, but it's not going to look that great."

 

 

 

 Bryan is trying to do what is asked of him. And we see that he is definitely targeted and easily pummeled. I had seen enough to know he shouldn't be on the team, that we needed an upgrade.

 Bottom line, Gus is out of his mind, and Ballard went along with this.

[shasta519]

19 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

The DL coach, Partridge, decides where you play.  That’s his responsibility to put his players in a position to succeed.  He decides when you rotate in and out.  He’s a new position coach.  He’s calling the shots right now on the DL.  Missing Ebukam setting the edge really has hurt and now losing Buckner for awhile is going to be tough as well.  Still early but he has his work cut out for him.

 

I was able to read it. Apparently, Bryan rotates between both 3T and NT as part of the overall 10-man rotation. It's mainly for him to spell Grover, who can only really handle about 65% of the snaps at most.

 

It makes sense on some level, assuming he can actually play it. But it sounds like he doesn't want to or can't.

[shasta519]

25 minutes ago, BeanDiasucci said:

The article makes it sound like Bradley thinks Bryan can play NT, but Bryan isn't so sure. I guess we can agree that Bryan has been consistent at NT, just not in a good way. 

 

"He's a swing guy. He can play nose, he can play 3," defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. "So he gives us flexibility, and he plays both of them at a consistent level.”

 

The seventh-year pro sees himself a different way.

 

"I can play either. I don't really care for nose, but I can play it," Bryan said. "We won't lose because of it, but it's not going to look that great."

 

 

 

This has a feel of "Gus needs to go" type of article. But Bryan said he can play it, just that he doesn't like to...probably because he's 20+ lbs lighter than the guy he is replacing. I can understand that. 

 

 

[jbaron04]

3 hours ago, chad72 said:

The edge is not being set well and now the middle goes vacant with Buckner on IR. Water is coming into the boat through several holes, so patching up one hole will allow it come another way anyways. We can only limit the bleeding.

 

Unless AR and the offense bail the D out with some time of possession, the D is going to bleed a little for sure.

It seemed like the plan this year was to build a defense to play with the lead , but it just hasn’t worked out on offense or defense. No execution on offense and defense is just to so it’s easy to scheme up and attack. Also players on defense have to win the individual match up which is just not happening. Gus Bradley is playing to many players like we got great d line or something he need to tighten up the rotation try playing grove and Davis at the same time on early run downs to try to sure up middle. But he keeps playing taven for some reason…..reminds me of facyson. 

[John Waylon]

2 hours ago, Colt.45 said:

Taven Bryan doesn't understand why he's at NT. 

 

 

Quick, someone cue yakkity sax!

[Solid84]

My biggest wish for the 2025 season is for Bradley to not be on the team.

[Moosejawcolt]

4 hours ago, John Hammonds said:

I've been thinking about this for a while.  Why is it that the other teams can run against us with abandon?  Is it our defensive scheme?  Or is it our personnel?

I propose that it's both.

 

Here's what I mean.  In the base Cover-3 scheme, the corners turn and run, setting up the 3-deep zones.  The outside linebackers cover the zones in the flats.  This sets up the middle linebacker and the strong safety to make all of the tackles.  Now, if the offense uses multiple receivers, the defense has to take a linebacker off of the field and replace him with another defensive back.  This means that, if the remaining linebackers continue to have their zone responsibility, it leaves no middle linebacker to make the tackles.  It falls to the safety to do it all.  is it any wonder that Nick Cross is leading the league in tackles?  Of course he is.

 

So, how is this working?  Or, rather, how is it not working?  Something I've noticed is that the majority of the successful runs come against the weak side.  Who is playing weak side defensive end?  Either Tyquan Lewis or Laitu Latu.  We already know that Latu is far better at rushing the passer than defending the run.  It's no surprise that he is not yet capable to seal the edge.  Tyquan Lewis has been a backup his entire career for a reason.  He's one of the toughest guys around.  Just not the most talented.  You want a guy you can stick in the line and feel ok about it.  But he's not starter material.

Thus, on offense, you have your weak side receiver run a short route on his side, keeping the linebacker on that side busy, and you run against the defensive end that can't seal the edge.  Result?  8 yards.  Easy.  Every time.  If the Colts never change their scheme, this will work.  Against this scheme and personnel.

 

Now -- how do we deal with this?  I propose that we run either Cover-2 or even a Bear defense on first down.  Regardless of offensive formation, or how many receivers are on the field.  Make sure that there are three linebackers on the field, and that the weak side 'backer is free to make the tackle.  Limit any first down run to 2 yards or less.  Sell out on this.  Put the offense into long yardage in the later downs.  As Gus said, earn the right to rush the passer.

 

What I would do is line up with all three linebackers, a single high safety, and Kenny Moore to cover the extra receiver.  Make sure that third linebacker is specifically over the defensive end.  Shut that lane down.  Make the offense do something else to beat you.

 

Anyway, that's my suggestion.  I'm not a defensive expert.  I sit in the cheap seats.  But that's how I see it.

My question to u is this. It took u this long to reach this conclusion? I've been saying since Eberflus was here.

[John Hammonds]

3 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

My question to u is this. It took u this long to reach this conclusion? I've been saying since Eberflus was here.

Eberflus's Hybrid Tampa-2 defenses ranked a whole lot better than Gus's Cover-3:

2018 total defense 10th, rush defense 8th

2019 total defense 18th, rush defense 7th

2020 total defense 10th, rush defense 2nd

2021 total defense 9th, rush defense 10th

Gus's defense

2022 total defense 28th, rush defense 21st

2023 total defense 28th, rush defense 24th

2024 total defense 31st, rush defense 32nd (so far)

 

You can make an argument that Eberflus had Okereke and Leonard, and that part of the reason his defenses were so much better was personnel.  Yes, they both hadthe same "anti-blitzing" mentality, but to argue that Eberflus and Gus had the same problem against the run doesn't fly.

[IinD]

25 minutes ago, Solid84 said:

My biggest wish for the 2025 season is for Bradley to not be on the team.

If you look at his bio. He seems to last everywhere about 3 years. I'm gonna assume he'll be gone.

 

He's essentially one of those defensive guys that has a 20 year career with like 8 teams, there's tons around the league... Lol

[Moosejawcolt]

1 hour ago, John Hammonds said:

Eberflus's Hybrid Tampa-2 defenses ranked a whole lot better than Gus's Cover-3:

2018 total defense 10th, rush defense 8th

2019 total defense 18th, rush defense 7th

2020 total defense 10th, rush defense 2nd

2021 total defense 9th, rush defense 10th

Gus's defense

2022 total defense 28th, rush defense 21st

2023 total defense 28th, rush defense 24th

2024 total defense 31st, rush defense 32nd (so far)

 

You can make an argument that Eberflus had Okereke and Leonard, and that part of the reason his defenses were so much better was personnel.  Yes, they both hadthe same "anti-blitzing" mentality, but to argue that Eberflus and Gus had the same problem against the run doesn't fly.

When u look at Gus' resume since being the Colts D. It is actually rather disturbing as to why he has a job. That is on Ballard and Steichen.

[SR711]

It’s only been two games and the run defense has undoubtedly been terrible so far, but there is larger sample size with this same group of players which indicates the run defense shouldn’t be this bad for the entirety of the season.  There’s no place to go but up from here, right?

 

The issue that is more concerning to me is even in the limited number of clear passing situations they have encountered, the pass rush and coverage looks every bit as problematic as last year.  That’s a probably equally a scheme and talent issue to me.

 

This Sunday, there may be some opportunities for the Bears to get some large pass plays over the top on early down and distances especially if the Colts are forced to have fronts, focus on the run in order to reverse what we have seen so far.

[richard pallo]

2 hours ago, BeanDiasucci said:

You're probably right or Partridge's boss might be making the call on this. How do you know? 

 

But why does it matter who is making the decision? We've seen that Bryan can't stop the run, and even he says he doesn't like the position and his results there won't be pretty. Partridge, Bradley, Steichen, and Ballard are all accountable for how the Colts do in stopping the run and how the defensive line plays. And so far, it sucks. I'm expecting much better on Sunday, but if Bryan is at NT, that's not gonna help. 

Because until I brought up Partridge this thread was moving to being all about Gus.  It’s not.  He hired a new coach and he’s going to listen to him imo.  Why have position coaches if you’re not going to listen or trust them?  I think that’s what happening now.

[Dobbinblitz]

Is Charlie Partridge really Chris Strausser in disguise.  Inquiring minds and run defense aficionados's want to know, Stay tuned -News at 11.