Is the Defense Pathetically Bad?

[Moosejawcolt]

15 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

Huh?   
 

“No one is testing the secondary, they are running ball.”    

 

That was true the first two weeks, but Williams just threw over 50 passes and the Bears ran about just 20 times.    Did you miss that?   
 

He's a rookie. Wait till they meet a balanced team with a good qb.

[chrisfarley]

12 hours ago, Defjamz26 said:

I don’t think the run defense will continue to be as bad as it has been. However, I do think the pass D is worse than it has appeared so far. First two games the run defense was so bad that it covered up for the Pass D a lot. I don’t t think the Colts are actually able to stop the pass if they want to. I think they rely purely on the pass rush to get there. 
 

What you saw from Jones is the high of Bradley’s D. When everything goes according to plan, CBs are supposed to read the QB and make breaks on the ball for either PBUs or INTs. The problem is that rarely happens. The big issue is how horrible they are at defending 3rd down and how many in opputune big plays they give up. They allowed a 100+ yard receiver and 97 yard TE against the Bears.  Thats not going to cut it.

 

We are 27th in The league for opponent 3rd down conversion at 50%. Awful

 

31st In the league for rush yards allowed per game. Awful

 

21st in the league for passing yards per game allowed. Bad

 

24th for passing TDs allowed. Bad

 

31st in the league for yards a game with 398!!! Awful

 

To answer the original question, it is awfully bad. Near the bottom for every major defensive category. Some blame goes to the offense but that wasn’t the issue in the Houston game, so it a moot point.

I saw a glimmer of hope with our defense until I saw the stats after 3 games. Thanks for this post. It's still early and I think a big factor could be crowd noise disrupting Fields.  We fans must out-loud the Pittsburgh faithful that will be there in numbers with their terrible towels.  The 3rd down conversion rate is just stinky hot-dog water. If we allow every 3rd down to be a short 3rd down, they will run over us all day until we shade up the linebackers, then we pay on the soft zone pass coverage.  It's very problematic because Fields can also run and a spy is necessary on many downs.  But the key to this game is hitting short routes with Downs & Co. , hit a long route or two to soften that stout Pittsburgh D up, and taking advantage of their depleted roster.  They are more banged up than we are.

[shasta519]

21 hours ago, Dingus McGirt said:

If i read the box score correctly - Chicago ran 84 plays to the Colts running 54.  Jeez-Louise.

 

Yep. Colts defense got a goal-line stop, two INTs and a sack FF that put them in at CHI's 15-yard line.

 

It took all of that for the Colts to win 21-16. Hard to expect 4 TOs per game from more efficient offenses. And that plays ran disparity will really hurt them as we get into the season.

 

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

No one will convince me Bradley is the answer. The only one who wants the man running this defense is Ballard. Not even Gus himself wants to be here. 
 

when he wanted to leave, where was the “you’re either 100% in or you’re out” Ballard at? 

[Smonroe]

2 hours ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

No one will convince me Bradley is the answer. The only one who wants the man running this defense is Ballard. Not even Gus himself wants to be here. 
 

when he wanted to leave, where was the “you’re either 100% in or you’re out” Ballard at? 

 

The question I have is - Is Gus playing that defense because of lack of talent?  Or, say he had a shut down corner and a ball hawk safety, would he still have them give a 12 yard cushion on 3rd and 8?

[pgt_rob]

Our defense looks to be painfully regressed from last year. Also, when our offense can only stay on the field for 20 minutes a game, the defense is going to be playing gassed. We aren’t good. Going to be a long season unless things somehow correct themselves and everyone starts clicking again. 

[Superman]

Just now, Smonroe said:

 

The question I have is - Is Gus playing that defense because of lack of talent?  Or, say he had a shut down corner and a ball hawk safety, would he still have them give a 12 yard cushion on 3rd and 8?

 

One only has to look at Bradley's history to see that he has always been ultra conservative. The main exception was for a couple years in Seattle, the early LOB days, but if you go back and watch them closely, you'll still see a lot of the same conservative stuff.

 

But I think there's a more important question: If our defensive coordinator's best answer on 3rd and 8 is to let receivers run to open areas of the field with zero resistance, is he doing his job? What does he bring to the table? 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Colts have allowed the fewest points in the division 

[Smonroe]

4 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Colts have allowed the fewest points in the division 

That’s nice.  Has nothing to do with why our defense is putrid though.  

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Just now, Smonroe said:

That’s nice.  Has nothing to do with why our defense is putrid though.  

Points are always more important then yards 

[compuls1v3]

6 hours ago, Superman said:

 

One only has to look at Bradley's history to see that he has always been ultra conservative. The main exception was for a couple years in Seattle, the early LOB days, but if you go back and watch them closely, you'll still see a lot of the same conservative stuff.

 

But I think there's a more important question: If our defensive coordinator's best answer on 3rd and 8 is to let receivers run to open areas of the field with zero resistance, is he doing his job? What does he bring to the table? 

The ONLY other exception that I can remember from Bradley is the Ravens game last year.  We blitzed a lot (comparatively) and we pressured on 3rd downs I believe.

[Smonroe]

12 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Points are always more important then yards 

True.  But comparing our D to others is irrelevant.   It’s the old “if all your friends jump off a bridge…”

 

Time of possession, even if they don’t score or just kick a FG, leaves little time for our offense to score.  
 

I want to see what happens if the offense starts to click, and we can get a little bit of a lead.  Will Gus still play a soft zone and let them get right back into it?  Or will he let them attack? 

[jvan1973]

19 hours ago, Indianapolis-Colts-Fan said:

No one will convince me Bradley is the answer. The only one who wants the man running this defense is Ballard. Not even Gus himself wants to be here. 
 

when he wanted to leave, where was the “you’re either 100% in or you’re out” Ballard at? 

When did he want to leave?

[John Hammonds]

Good news!  As of this week, Colts are no longer dead last in rushing defense!  Ok, we're 31st.  But it's not last!

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

12 minutes ago, John Hammonds said:

Good news!  As of this week, Colts are no longer dead last in rushing defense!  Ok, we're 31st.  But it's not last!

I heard they jumped up to 15 but I don’t know what metric they were using. Maybe yards per rush.

[John Hammonds]

9 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

I heard they jumped up to 15 but I don’t know what metric they were using. Maybe yards per rush.

Correct.  They are 15th in yards per attempt.  31st in total rushing yards.

Glass half empty:  they are still 32nd in 1st downs allowed.

[Smonroe]

21 minutes ago, John Hammonds said:

Correct.  They are 15th in yards per attempt.  31st in total rushing yards.

Glass half empty:  they are still 32nd in 1st downs allowed.

 

And that is the most important stat.  If you can't get them off the field, you can't get your offense on it.

[BeanDiasucci]

1 hour ago, jvan1973 said:

When did he want to leave?

The Colts blocked him from interviewing with other teams in February 2023. https://horseshoeheroes.com/2023/02/07/colts-head-coach-blocking-gus-bradley-leaving/

[richard pallo]

2 hours ago, Smonroe said:

True.  But comparing our D to others is irrelevant.   It’s the old “if all your friends jump off a bridge…”

 

Time of possession, even if they don’t score or just kick a FG, leaves little time for our offense to score.  
 

I want to see what happens if the offense starts to click, and we can get a little bit of a lead.  Will Gus still play a soft zone and let them get right back into it?  Or will he let them attack? 

You would play soft zone and let them burn the clock.  The majority of teams do that especially if that team has a front four that can get after the quarterback like we do.  The field starts to get smaller for the offense and increases the chances for a turnover by the defense.  Gives the defensive backs a chance to jump the ball and make a play.  I see a lot of teams do that.  Works even better with a lead imo.

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

2 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

When did he want to leave?

Before Shane was hired I believe he was blocked from interviewing elsewhere for a lateral move. 

[ColtStrong2013]

3 hours ago, Smonroe said:

True.  But comparing our D to others is irrelevant.   It’s the old “if all your friends jump off a bridge…”

 

Time of possession, even if they don’t score or just kick a FG, leaves little time for our offense to score.  
 

I want to see what happens if the offense starts to click, and we can get a little bit of a lead.  Will Gus still play a soft zone and let them get right back into it?  Or will he let them attack? 

 

That is generally true, but with an inconsistent young quarterback, it might be the ultimate strategy. Reduce possessions, force turnovers, and try to hit the big plays offensively to stay in ballgames to give ourselves the best chance to win. 

[ColtStrong2013]

2 hours ago, John Hammonds said:

Good news!  As of this week, Colts are no longer dead last in rushing defense!  Ok, we're 31st.  But it's not last!

 

Overall yardage, yes. Yards per attempt, we are 15th. 121 attempts through 3 weeks, most in the league by 10 carries. 

[LJpalmbeacher2]

On 9/23/2024 at 2:34 PM, Smonroe said:

 

On 9/23/2024 at 2:34 PM, Smonroe said:

And, yes @NewColtsFan, it’s pathetically bad when your defense is in the bottom four or five of the league.   ….but I like our guys…

 

 

So does Ballard 

[John Hammonds]

33 minutes ago, ColtStrong2013 said:

 

Overall yardage, yes. Yards per attempt, we are 15th. 121 attempts through 3 weeks, most in the league by 10 carries. 

Yup.  There are two ways to reduce the number of rushing attempts:

1. Stop the attempts that they make, and stop their first down conversions, so they don't get more opportunities
2. Score enough to be ahead, forcing them to pass instead of run

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Jones just won AFC defensive player of the week.

[Smonroe]

1 hour ago, richard pallo said:

You would play soft zone and let them burn the clock.  The majority of teams do that especially if that team has a front four that can get after the quarterback like we do.  The field starts to get smaller for the offense and increases the chances for a turnover by the defense.  Gives the defensive backs a chance to jump the ball and make a play.  I see a lot of teams do that.  Works even better with a lead imo.

Fourth Q for sure.  But what if we get a 14 point lead in the first half?  I think that’s the time to be aggressive.