I have a good feeling about our defense this year

[manning2dallas]

The closer the season comes, the more excited I become about our defense. I am just starting to realize its potential. I am starting to think our D could have a break-out year just like the 49ers defense did this most recent season. I think our defense can challenge that of SF's this year. We have tons of young talent, most importantly in the front 7.It may sound crazy at first, but think about our young guns for a second and I think you will agree.

[dgambill]

The closer the season comes, the more excited I become about our defense. I am just starting to realize its potential. I am starting to think our D could have a break-out year just like the 49ers defense did this most recent season. I think our defense can challenge that of SF's this year. We have tons of young talent, most importantly in the front 7.It may sound crazy at first, but think about our young guns for a second and I think you will agree.

I wish I had the optimism that you do. While I think we will be different I am not sold at ALL on our secondary. 49ers have a great young secondary and youth all over the place. BEST LB in football and some dynamic guys coming off the end. We aren't comparable in any way to that team. We have great pass rushers but neither are young and dynamic. I really don't get the comparison but I do think we will have a defense that should cause more problems for other teams. I think we will see more take aways and sacks this year...but also more big plays given up too.

[CR91]

if we can get just one of our corners to step up we can be a very good defense because we have talent everywhere else on the defense.

[Gavin]

I think we will be fine this year, and fix the Corner issue in the draft unless our Corners play surprisingly good and has a breakout year

[Bigdaddylip]

Regardless of our personnell, the biggest difference on both sides of the ball is going to be coaching. We've had non-existant game planning and coaching for a decade.Both offensive and defensive strategies could best be described as read and react. Hopefully we can all experience the refreshing change to an attack style of offense and defense.

[SLILLINGTON10]

the best defense is a good 3rd down offense. thats the way the NFL works these days. look at green bay or new england last season. in that aspect we should be decent with our two TE set. the colts D last year wasn't as bad as most of us think, just spent way to much time on the field. that being said any amount of coaching will be a refreshing change of pace.

[TKnight24]

I think our CB's will Shine due to the Simple Fact that with our NEW Front 7 QB's will be making a lot of Bad/Pressured Throws. And what usually Happens when QB's do that? Incompletions & Interceptions come from it. So, with that being said our Secondary will be Fine IMO. If Powers can finally STOMP on that annoying Injury Bug, I'm sure he'll have a GREAT Season. Bethea will play the Role of Ed Reed, & I feel like he's able to Perform that well. Our Secondary will definitely be making a Statement this Year

[Smonroe]

I think we will be fine this year, and fix the Corner issue in the draft unless our Corners play surprisingly good and has a breakout year

Yeah, I don't expect any miracles from our CBs this season. It will be interesting to see how they play in the new scheme though.

I guess the up side is that the O will probably be on the field more.

[Gavin]

Yeah, I don't expect any miracles from our CBs this season. It will be interesting to see how they play in the new scheme though.

I guess the up side is that the O will probably be on the field more.

well we had the D on the field more last year, got to even it out this year

[KarlKuffs]

I don't think i'd be comfortable in saying that we have tons of young talent.

[Malakai432]

I want to see how Chapman fairs out there, hopefully he heals or has healed up well.

[NewColtsFan]

I saw this thread early but did not want to be the first to respond. Now that others have, I'll join in.

I think we're at least two drafts and two off-seasons of free agency away from having anything close to a 49ers defense. That defense is tremendous.

We basically have mostly the same players (with a few exceptions) and some are playing different positions... and, of course, we're in a different scheme with new coaches. As has been noted here, just new coaches and a new scheme alone can account for an improved defense. And I'd expect that for the 2012 Colts. So, we were near the bottom last year, and I'd expect we'll be somewhere between 22nd at the low end, and perhaps 17th at the high end. Could be lower or higher than that depending on several factors. But that's still a significant improvement from the 2011 'D'.

The 49ers defense has big time, big play people everywhere. Add a top flight coordinator in Fangio and an overall coaching belief of power running and safe, play-action passing, and that's a recipe for success. We're a ways away from there.

Give it some time. Don't be disappointed if we're not great this year, as long as we're improved considerably.

Time is on our side and there are better days ahead.

[TKnight24]

well we had the D on the field more last year, got to even it out this year

Payback is a ..... well, you guys get the Point

[LuckyColt]

We'll be in the upper half of the league, but don't expect much more.

[manning2dallas]

If Nevis can have a Justin Smith-like impact I think it will do wonders for us

[HungarianColtsFan]

We'll be in the upper half of the league, but don't expect much more.

I must agree. Our D is a way better than last year, some extra pounds were added, but we shouldn't expect breakthrough our best D in 2013 season. That D can help Luck and the O-line a lot.

[UKCOLT17]

i got to say dont u think every other fan of every other team thinks like this aswell lol i hope we do good but i dont think our secondary is great u never know but not long till sum football

[TKnight24]

The Defense this year will be better than the Defense Andrew Luck had at Stanford. All we have to do is CREATE ways for Andrew Luck to get the Ball. If our D can get him the ball, we're giving him more Experience (Sounds Dumb, but it'll help in the long run) & I'm sure he'll thank us by pointing points on the Board

[LuckyColt]

I must agree. Our D is a way better than last year, some extra pounds were added, but we shouldn't expect breakthrough our best D in 2013 season. That D can help Luck and the O-line a lot.

Yes, it will be solid this year, but it could definitely be a great defense after this next off-season.

[NewColtsFan]

The Defense this year will be better than the Defense Andrew Luck had at Stanford. All we have to do is CREATE ways for Andrew Luck to get the Ball. If our D can get him the ball, we're giving him more Experience (Sounds Dumb, but it'll help in the long run) & I'm sure he'll thank us by pointing points on the Board

Not that it's important, but just to set the record straight......

I don't know what Stanford's defense looked like from a couple of thousand miles away, but for the past two years Stanford had one of the top defenses in the Conference, and even the country. Really. I'm not under the influence of anything.

We could not come close to Alabama or LSU. They're in another world. But everyone else? We did just fine. Last year we gave up a lot of points and yards in 3-games. Lost two, to Oklahoma State and Oregon, and won one, against USC. But everyone had issues with those three schools. The other 10 games, our defense was excellent.

And the year before, we had 3 shutouts. That doesn't happen often in college football.

I take no offense here... traditionally Stanford's defense has been terrible. But it's much better in the past few years. And this coming season, 2012, we'll be very, very good again. This is not your father's Stanford team anymore. Better days ahead for that program as well as the Colts!!

[NewColtsFan]

Yes, it will be solid this year, but it could definitely be a great defense after this next off-season.

Next year, our defense will likely be good to very good. It takes a long, long time to be great. One more draft and a bunch of money for one off-season just doesn't turn a defense from OK into great. We really are a ways away from great. I hope we get there someday.

Part of the problem is, we also want to be great on offense too. Especially when you have a franchise-level QB like Luck. You want to give him the pieces he needs. So, building greatness on offense AND defense at the same time, takes several years. Not one, or even two.

Look at all the teams that are thought of as Super Bowl contenders.... None of them got to be great overnight. It jus doesn't happen. You need too many players to be that successful.

Patience. It's coming, but the kind of success we want takes time. If by some chance it comes sooner, great! But more times than not, it takes years, and I mean more than two.

[MAC]

My impression has been that the 49ers had a VERY good defense even prior to last season - with high draft picks all over the place. They were under-performing, and handicapped by a pathetic self-destructive offense. Last year they got a couple of key FA additions, matured some more, and added coaches that made better use of what they had on both sides of the ball.

Aside from a coaching change, I don't see that they have a blessed thing in common with the Colts. It will be entertaining to watch the Colts change directions so abruptly, and I'm trying to be optimistic, but expecting them to suddenly be one of the best defenses in the league is a bit much.

[HungarianColtsFan]

Yes, it will be solid this year, but it could definitely be a great defense after this next off-season.

[Superman]

My impression has been that the 49ers had a VERY good defense even prior to last season - with high draft picks all over the place. They were under-performing, and handicapped by a pathetic self-destructive offense. Last year they got a couple of key FA additions, matured some more, and added coaches that made better use of what they had on both sides of the ball.

Aside from a coaching change, I don't see that they have a blessed thing in common with the Colts. It will be entertaining to watch the Colts change directions so abruptly, and I'm trying to be optimistic, but expecting them to suddenly be one of the best defenses in the league is a bit much.

Very similar to the Texans turnaround. Already had good players, even though the stats weren't good.

I would expect us to be better, but anything in the top 25 would be better, statistically speaking. I'm looking for us to be anywhere from 15-20 in defense, using all the different metrics combined. If things go perfectly, we could be top 10 in a couple years. But not in one offseason.

[Coltsman1788]

I don't expect our defense to be world beaters by any means. However, I also think they are much better than the media is portraying. The secondary is a question mark but it is not totally devoid of talent. The main problem with our secondary last year was the way the coaching staff had them playing Tampa 2. Our interpretation of that scheme was way too soft. Just by switching defensive schemes and adopting a more aggressive overall mindset puts us ahead of where we were last year in my opinion. I expect the defense will be respectable.

[BrentMc11]

I am glad I read all the way down on this thread. As I sit back and think about how many games the Colts won in the Dungy/Polian Era I would be remiss to say that I will 'not miss' games that are 37-34 and 40-38. I agree that we are not close to the personnel of the 49ers. We are closer to the Texan's change to the 3-4. There were questions whether Mario Williams could move to the 3-4. He got injured (My worry on Freeney) but proved unequivocally he could shine.

I look back at the debacle known as 2011's 2-14 season and see a team that actually played pretty solid defense the last 3 games of the year when 'attacking' under Mike Murphy. I remember a corner that was the definition of 'lousy' and 'abysmal' to most Colt fans getting a pick 6....Jacob Lacey? A 2-1 record against our division....that SHOULD have been 3-0.

An attacking defense creates opportunities and mismatches. Disguise leads to turnovers. Turnovers lead to points. My hopes are 2012 will be the beginning of what in 2 years (and 5 or 6 this year) where we see a 34-7 victory. I loved the great 18's comebacks but my aging heart did not This front 7 will be tough and unpredictable....this alone will make the corners and safeties better!! GO Colts!!!

Edited July 4, 2012 by BrentMc11

[Smonroe]

We'll be in the upper half of the league, but don't expect much more.

I love the optimism but I'm very skeptical. We have one decent CB who usually plays 8 to 10 games and one great safety. Behind them are guys that may not make most teams rosters.

We do have two star pass rushers though, and that automatically improves a backfield. As long as they're not giving 10 yards of cushion on 3rd and 5!

[braveheartcolt]

I'll be delighted with 'average'. Too many unknown young players, rejects, rookies etc. The CB situation could also be a disaster again, and even at Safety we are not truely set. A new defensive philosophy and some D minded coaches might lift us above mid-point, but not this season...

[Jay Kirk]

I am glad I read all the way down on this thread. As I sit back and think about how many games the Colts won in the Dungy/Polian Era I would be remiss to say that I will 'not miss' games that are 37-34 and 40-38. I agree that we are not close to the personnel of the 49ers. We are closer to the Texan's change to the 3-4. There were questions whether Mario Williams could move to the 3-4. He got injured (My worry on Freeney) but proved unequivocally he could shine.

I look back at the debacle known as 2011's 2-14 season and see a team that actually played pretty solid defense the last 3 games of the year when 'attacking' under Mike Murphy. I remember a corner that was the definition of 'lousy' and 'abysmal' to most Colt fans getting a pick 6....Jacob Lacey? A 2-1 record against our division....that SHOULD have been 3-0.

An attacking defense creates opportunities and mismatches. Disguise leads to turnovers. Turnovers lead to points. My hopes are 2012 will be the beginning of what in 2 years (and 5 or 6 this year) where we see a 34-7 victory. I loved the great 18's comebacks but my aging heart did not This front 7 will be tough and unpredictable....this alone will make the corners and safeties better!! GO Colts!!!

I agree Brother as will not having to give receivers a 10 yard cushion to get a head of steam right off the line :hmm: What were they thinking?Oh excuse me they weren't!!!!!

[Bleedin Blue]

I'm not sure how we're going to have such a great defense this year. I mean there is definitely some positives...rookies are closer to being NFL ready, better coaching IMO, and a scheme that might create pressure, but on top of this is that we have players that are used to a 4-3 having to shift to a new position and learn an entirely new scheme with new language. We have LB's that aren't that adept at covering in space, and we have issues at CB.

Comparing us to the 49'ers is ridiculous. That defense has almost 10 years of 1st and 2nd round picks on it. They have good coaching and experience together. We're not even close to that. I think that next year the FO will focus on defense much like they focused on offense this past draft. That's fine by me because Luck isn't going to be NFL elite this year or next.

[Superman]

I'm not sure how we're going to have such a great defense this year. I mean there is definitely some positives...rookies are closer to being NFL ready, better coaching IMO, and a scheme that might create pressure, but on top of this is that we have players that are used to a 4-3 having to shift to a new position and learn an entirely new scheme with new language. We have LB's that aren't that adept at covering in space, and we have issues at CB.

Comparing us to the 49'ers is ridiculous. That defense has almost 10 years of 1st and 2nd round picks on it. They have good coaching and experience together. We're not even close to that. I think that next year the FO will focus on defense much like they focused on offense this past draft. That's fine by me because Luck isn't going to be NFL elite this year or next.

I don't know why people are so worried about our linebackers covering. That's the one thing about this defense that I think will not matter one bit. Conner and Angerer will be decent covering tight ends and backs, we'll play a lot of zone underneath, and Freeney and Mathis (and their backups) will rarely be used in coverage. When they are used in coverage, it will be zone coverage 99% of the time. I think our linebacker corps is the strongest, most certain part of the defense, followed by defensive line, and those two will overlap with the hybrid.

[Gavin]

I believe our biggest concern on the defense is clearly our Corners, I also tend to wonder why we gave that cushion AFTER the catch alot, In my opinion the former coaching staff might have and likely was scared of our Corners getting beat the more I think about it as I rewatch the games, for example Jerraud Powers ran a slow 40 for a Corner 4.54 (courtesy of NFL.com), tied for 13th with several other Corners that came out in '09, now obviously thats not game speed and thats only 1 small factor a Corner needs but that makes me wonder why we gave the cushions after the catch our Corners never really proved to be real instinctual either so that makes me wonder as well, but to me watching the games again he looks slow

[Coffeedrinker]

I'll be delighted with 'average'.

That's what your wife says as well.

I'm sorry braveheart I just couldn't resist.

Too many unknown young players, rejects, rookies etc. The CB situation could also be a disaster again, and even at Safety we are not truely set. A new defensive philosophy and some D minded coaches might lift us above mid-point, but not this season...

Here's something to think about for the poster that mentioned the 49ers D... the DC the 49ers got rid of because he was not using their personnel properly is now the Colts DC.

I understand why Irsay made the moves he did but let's look at things a bit realistically like BH here.

Rookie QB

New GM who has never been a GM before

new HC who has never been a HC before

new OC whom his previous team was glad to see him go

new DC who took over a Chargers D that had the number 1 D in the NFL and he transformed them into a middle of the road D that allowed an NFL worst 49% conversion on 3rd down (the worst 3rd down percentage of any NFL team in over a decade)

New ST coordinator that has never coached ST before.

Plus new people all over the place. Now it could be that this group manages to cover each other's weaknesses with their strengths but chances are it's going to take a couple of years to really see what can happen. And that goes for the D as well. Like others have said, just about anything will be an improvement but I don't think it's going to be a jump from 30th to top 16.

I will, however, gladly eat my crow if I am wrong.

[BrentMc11]

That's what your wife says as well.

I'm sorry braveheart I just couldn't resist.

Here's something to think about for the poster that mentioned the 49ers D... the DC the 49ers got rid of because he was not using their personnel properly is now the Colts DC.

I understand why Irsay made the moves he did but let's look at things a bit realistically like BH here.

Rookie QB

New GM who has never been a GM before

new HC who has never been a HC before

new OC whom his previous team was glad to see him go

new DC who took over a Chargers D that had the number 1 D in the NFL and he transformed them into a middle of the road D that allowed an NFL worst 49% conversion on 3rd down (the worst 3rd down percentage of any NFL team in over a decade)

New ST coordinator that has never coached ST before.

Plus new people all over the place. Now it could be that this group manages to cover each other's weaknesses with their strengths but chances are it's going to take a couple of years to really see what can happen. And that goes for the D as well. Like others have said, just about anything will be an improvement but I don't think it's going to be a jump from 30th to top 16.

I will, however, gladly eat my crow if I am wrong.

OK Coffee....I just went to take my daily prozac and drank a half bottle of Pepto....I am now depressed and feel a stomach virus coming on... But I did save some money on my Geico Insurance Edited July 5, 2012 by BrentMc11

[Coffeedrinker]

OK Coffee....I just went to take my daily prozac and drank a half bottle of Pepto....I am now depressed and feel a stomach virus coming on... But I did save some money on my Geico Insurance

Yesterday I was feeling very good about this defense but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

[BrentMc11]

Yesterday I was feeling very good about this defense but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

I had this funny feeling I might here from you! I almost said that....

[Coffeedrinker]

I had this funny feeling I might here from you! I almost said that....

People from Indy should get this one:

I don't want to make any money, I just love to (sell guns) shoot down people's optimism.

[BrentMc11]

People from Indy should get this one:

I don't want to make any money, I just love to (sell guns) shoot down people's optimism.

Where is Old Don these days......you took my optimism.....and Mr. Webster erased it from my dictionary

[Superman]

That's what your wife says as well.

I'm sorry braveheart I just couldn't resist.

Here's something to think about for the poster that mentioned the 49ers D... the DC the 49ers got rid of because he was not using their personnel properly is now the Colts DC.

I understand why Irsay made the moves he did but let's look at things a bit realistically like BH here.

Rookie QB

New GM who has never been a GM before

new HC who has never been a HC before

new OC whom his previous team was glad to see him go

new DC who took over a Chargers D that had the number 1 D in the NFL and he transformed them into a middle of the road D that allowed an NFL worst 49% conversion on 3rd down (the worst 3rd down percentage of any NFL team in over a decade)

New ST coordinator that has never coached ST before.

Plus new people all over the place. Now it could be that this group manages to cover each other's weaknesses with their strengths but chances are it's going to take a couple of years to really see what can happen. And that goes for the D as well. Like others have said, just about anything will be an improvement but I don't think it's going to be a jump from 30th to top 16.

I will, however, gladly eat my crow if I am wrong.

I think most of what you say there about our new situation is applicable to the 2008 Falcons. Rookie quarterback, head coach, GM, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, etc. Coming off a terrible season, a roster in flux, the coach abandoned them, their $100m quarterback was on his way to jail, etc. The Falcons in 2007 were in as desperate a situation as we were this offseason. Went 11-5 in 2008 and made the playoffs.

I have questions about Manusky just like you do, specifically because of how the 2011 Chargers looked on third down, but I'm not very worried about it. First of all, the Chargers had a lot of injuries, so given health, we actually have better personnel than they didand secondly, their splits show that they gave up a lot of short third downs. A conversion on 3rd and 2 is a lot less worrisome than a conversion on 3rd and 8. Really, it's the ones in between where you make your money, and the Chargers weren't impressive there either. But there were a lot of 3rd and short conversions for them last year.

Having the 16th ranked yardage defense is very possible, I think. I don't put as much stock into yardage as others do, of course, but I don't think there's that much of a difference from 30th to 16th in raw numbers. Matter of fact, the difference from 16th to 30th is only 48 yards per game. Besides, we were 25th in total yardage and 28th in points allowed. I don't know where 30th is coming from. So from 25th in total yardage to 16th (based on last season's numbers), it's about 35 yards per game. As bad as our defense was in 2010, the total yardage we gave up would have been good enough to be 14th in 2011. Very doable.

There's much more to be seen in % of plays for first downs, points per game, points per pass attempt, etc. I've been wanting to develop a formula to weight all those stats into an aggregate metric, rather than going off of yards or scoring alone.

[braveheartcolt]

That's what your wife says as well.

I'm sorry braveheart I just couldn't resist.

Here's something to think about for the poster that mentioned the 49ers D... the DC the 49ers got rid of because he was not using their personnel properly is now the Colts DC.

I understand why Irsay made the moves he did but let's look at things a bit realistically like BH here.

Rookie QB

New GM who has never been a GM before

new HC who has never been a HC before

new OC whom his previous team was glad to see him go

new DC who took over a Chargers D that had the number 1 D in the NFL and he transformed them into a middle of the road D that allowed an NFL worst 49% conversion on 3rd down (the worst 3rd down percentage of any NFL team in over a decade)

New ST coordinator that has never coached ST before.

Plus new people all over the place. Now it could be that this group manages to cover each other's weaknesses with their strengths but chances are it's going to take a couple of years to really see what can happen. And that goes for the D as well. Like others have said, just about anything will be an improvement but I don't think it's going to be a jump from 30th to top 16.

I will, however, gladly eat my crow if I am wrong.

Yo got it coffee. Sometmes 'poor' is all I aspire too. Especially after a night on the hooch!