Coach Pagano

[Mcafee420]

I am really starting to love Coach Pagano. I think he is the perfect choice for us. We brings a swagger we havent had in a while.

[coming on strong]

he is gonna be a great coach he ahs this team playing hard and they respect him 20 times better then jim caldwell who was a puppet

[GoColts8818]

I am really starting to love Coach Pagano. I think he is the perfect choice for us. We brings a swagger we havent had in a while.

I loved Dungy and his style but I am completely on board with Pagano. He just seems to have "it". Something Dungy had but something I never really felt with Caldwell even though Dungy and Pagano have completely different styles and with that I hit 5000 posts .

[unitaswestand]

I love Chuck. I love the passion, how he is always emphasizing family and team, and how he loves to coach up different positions. I admit I very much disliked coach Caldwell as a coach. He just looked like modern day Syd Barrett, on the sidelines with that look in his eyes like "black holes in the sky". Just like nothing was going on upstairs. So it is nice to have a real coach again.

[TKnight24]

Agreed, Pagano is definitely the real deal.

And congrats GoColts8818

[Creekside]

I don't know why, but I hate the term swagger.

[GoColts8818]

Thank you.

[21isSuperman]

Just two games in and the defense is nothing like it has been in years past. It's an aggressive defense that can tackle, isn't afraid to play some man-to-man, and is happy to blitz. I like it!

[TKnight24]

Just two games in and the defense is nothing like it has been in years past. It's an aggressive defense that can tackle, isn't afraid to play some man-to-man, and is happy to blitz. I like it!

Tackle at times. Honestly, I was a tad bit disappointed in our tackling against the Steelers. But in the Rams game, we were solid. Defense has to show consistency.

Other than that, I totally agree with you

[TKnight24]

I don't know why, but I hate the term swagger.

Why?

No one in the NFL has Swagger like us. Swagger like us, Swagger-Swagger like us lol

[Superman]

I like his approach and his attitude. I think that's well documented around here.

But I'm going to take issue with something he did against the Steelers. On our very first possession, after Bethea's pick, we get the ball at Pittsburgh's 43 yard line. Went three and out, and punted from their 38 yard line. On the last possession of the half, we got Vinatieri on the field for a 53 yard field goal, that he drained with plenty of extra leg on it. It was the opposite side of the field, so I don't know if Vinatieri would have been able to muscle one in from the other side or not, and it would have been a 55 or 56 yarder anyways. But that's not my point.

In my opinion, 4th and 5 or less from anywhere inside your opponent's 40 yard line is a time to go for the conversion. We should have been setting up for a try at getting the first down. It's not reckless; if you kick the field goal and miss, they get the ball at their 45. If you punt, you probably wind up with a touchback, and you gain 18 net yards of field position. It's worth the risk in that situation to go for it on 4th down, especially in the preseason, and see if you can keep possession. Punting is not a field position decision, because you don't gain very much in field position. If you think your kicker has the leg, kicking the field goal is better, but you run the risk of a miss or even a block from that far out.

Going for it in reasonable 4th down situations is something I don't think enough coaches do. I'd love to see more disciplined aggressiveness, and that's the perfect example.

[Superman]

Tackle at times. Honestly, I was a tad bit disappointed in our tackling against the Steelers. But in the Rams game, we were solid. Defense has to show consistency.

Other than that, I totally agree with you

The tackling was problematic (like the Antonio Brown touchdown; pathetic tackling).

But we've always preached about having a fast defense, ever since Dungy came to town. And we were always told that a fast defense is going to be a little smaller, and you should be prepared to see some broken tackles, but hopefully that's made up for by everyone getting to the ball. What we're doing now blows that claim out of the water. Our defense has been as fast to the ball as it ever was under Dungy, and the tackling has been much better through two games that it was the majority of the Cover 2 era.

This is not enough to make any definitive claims about how well our defense tackles the ball carrier, but we've seen preseason football before, and it's never looked like this in Indy. These boys are playing fast, they're hitting hard, they're gang tackling, they're physical... and most impressive to me has been the fact that they just keep coming. I expected a dropoff in the second half against the Rams, and it never came. Same thing against the Steelers. The play got a little sloppy defensively, and the refs didn't make it any easier with all the ticky tack penalties they called, but the defense kept playing fast and physical.

[TKnight24]

The tackling was problematic (like the Antonio Brown touchdown; pathetic tackling).

But we've always preached about having a fast defense, ever since Dungy came to town. And we were always told that a fast defense is going to be a little smaller, and you should be prepared to see some broken tackles, but hopefully that's made up for by everyone getting to the ball. What we're doing now blows that claim out of the water. Our defense has been as fast to the ball as it ever was under Dungy, and the tackling has been much better through two games that it was the majority of the Cover 2 era.

This is not enough to make any definitive claims about how well our defense tackles the ball carrier, but we've seen preseason football before, and it's never looked like this in Indy. These boys are playing fast, they're hitting hard, they're gang tackling, they're physical... and most impressive to me has been the fact that they just keep coming. I expected a dropoff in the second half against the Rams, and it never came. Same thing against the Steelers. The play got a little sloppy defensively, and the refs didn't make it any easier with all the ticky tack penalties they called, but the defense kept playing fast and physical.

I'm not taking anything from our Defense. I'm just as excited as everyone else. but plays like that screen TD are unacceptable. We've got to work on that. And I'm sure Pagano stressed this in practice. But I'm in agreement with everyone else, this defense is definitely a NEW defense.

[Superman]

I'm not taking anything from our Defense. I'm just as excited as everyone else. but plays like that screen TD are unacceptable. We've got to work on that. And I'm sure Pagano stressed this in practice. But I'm in agreement with everyone else, this defense is definitely a NEW defense.

There were a couple others. David Gilreath stole some extra yards and a couple first downs on effort after contact. We have to improve in our tackling. But there are no tackling drills in camp. This is the time to work on tackling, so it's not surprising to see us miss some. And, believe it or not, it's an epidemic around the league. Was last year also, and they blamed it on the lockout. I think it has much more to do with the limited contact in the offseason.

Not trying to diminish the importance of sound tackling, but with the missed tackles, the defense is different than it has been.

[StewieG]

I honestly don't know if we could have made a better hire. He is what we have been wanting in a coach. Love him.

[P-Money]

I like his approach and his attitude. I think that's well documented around here.

of extra leg on it. It was the opposite side of the field, so I don't know if Vinatieri would have been able to muscle one in from the other side or not, and it would have been a 55 or 56 yarder anyways. But that's not my point.

In my opinion, 4th and 5 or less from anywhere inside your opponent's 40 yard line is a time to go for the conversion. We should have been setting up for a try at getting the first down. It's not reckless; if you kick the field goal and miss, they get the ball at their 45. If you punt, you probably wind up with a touchback, and you gain 18 net yards of field position. It's worth the risk in that situation to go for it on 4th down, especially in the preseason, and see if you can keep possession. Punting is not a field position decision, because you don't gain very much in field position. If you think your kicker has the leg, kicking the field goal is better, but you run the risk of a miss or even a block from that far out.

Going for it in reasonable 4th down situations is something I don't think enough coaches do. I'd love to see more disciplined aggressiveness, and that's the perfect example.

Ever stop and think that maybe he wanted to test out his special teams ability to kick a low trajectory ball and see if the line could keep it from being blocked? I wouldn't make judgement on any coaches play calling in the preseason. Their job is to find the kinks and straighten them out the best that they can in these 4 games plus evaluating players abilities. A lot of items on their plate right now.

[MR. Blueblood]

Ever stop and think that maybe he wanted to test out his special teams ability to kick a low trajectory ball and see if the line could keep it from being blocked? I wouldn't make judgement on any coaches play calling in the preseason. Their job is to find the kinks and straighten them out the best that they can in these 4 games plus evaluating players abilities. A lot of items on their plate right now.

I agree. The whole preseason is a time of evaluation. Coach Pagano said himself yesterday that a lot of players that are on the fence for making the team fates will be decided by special teams plays and coaches. I think that is pretty commonly known fact. So I'm not surprised that he punted, especially to start off the first offensive possession. If they go for it and if they don't convert, you just gave a momentum shift back to Pittsburgh and you have taken some confidence away from your young Offense. IMO that's not the way to begin a game. Luck showed that he can overcome some set backs and that's extremely encouraging to see, but I think Pagano isn't going to put him in too many positions that failure is possible. A 4th and 5 against the second (and best) NFL defense he's ever seen IMO is setting him up for a possible fail.

[BNS]

So far, Pagano has been exactly what this young team needs in terms of a Head Coach. He's enthusiastic, obviously loves the game and his players. He's instilled a new energy that is very exciting to watch.

[Farns01]

I agree. The whole preseason is a time of evaluation. Coach Pagano said himself yesterday that a lot of players that are on the fence for making the team fates will be decided by special teams plays and coaches. I think that is pretty commonly known fact. So I'm not surprised that he punted, especially to start off the first offensive possession. If they go for it and if they don't convert, you just gave a momentum shift back to Pittsburgh and you have taken some confidence away from your young Offense. IMO that's not the way to begin a game. Luck showed that he can overcome some set backs and that's extremely encouraging to see, but I think Pagano isn't going to put him in too many positions that failure is possible. A 4th and 5 against the second (and best) NFL defense he's ever seen IMO is setting him up for a possible fail.

I agree about it being evaluation time. During the end of the game Collinsworth was saying let Pittsburg score so we can get the ball back. If this were a real game I would agree, but as he said a couple plays later he is probabaly looking at players to see how they stand up in a goaline situation.

[Fatboyslim11]

Just two games in and the defense is nothing like it has been in years past. It's an aggressive defense that can tackle, isn't afraid to play some man-to-man, and is happy to blitz. I like it!

.

I know we are only two games into the preseason but I like everything about this Defense - the bigger players, more physicality and aggressiveness, the concepts and better depth. Also the new DC appears to be a better X's and O's coach than our previous embrassment of a coordinator.

Same for Chuck Pagano, the new HC. He appears very knowledgeable, confident and in control. Just the person to lead us in this new era. I am so glad to have Caldwell ousted (he is a good man but sucks as a HC) and get a real coach to lead the team.

[Balzer40]

I love Pagano. I was pushing for him last yr. before the Ravens got knocked out of the playoffs. As soon as the Ravens got beat, I said I hope they get on the horn and call Pagano and sure enough they did. He is exactly what this team has needed for yrs.. I liked Dungy at first but honestly grew tired of his conservative style and nature after a while. This team got complacent long before Dungy retired and then of course, they hired Dungy's clone without a brain.

[TonyBungee]

I really like Pagano, and think he has a chance to be a really good coach. I just hope the fan base, and more importantly the management, shows some patience as he builds this monster. Because it's going to take some time.

[Poeticwisdom555]

As much as I would love to be on the teams roster and in the actual locker room with the Colts.. I'm not. With that said.. I can't say how good Chuck is or will be. I'm just a fan watching the game from a far. People tend to lean towards a certain coach or player just because they like them personally for whatever their own unknown reasons are.

Since I personally have never been on the Colts team or in the meetings and locker room with these coaches.. I have to look at what the teams production is.. and what the players have to say about the coach.

Dungy was the man. He lifted this team from the ashes and made the Colts a winning football franchise.. and helped produce our first Superbowl win in Indy. His work on and off the field was unbelievable. The players had tons of good things to say about the man and so did the fans. Indy was once just known for Reggie Miller and the Pacers till Dungy came and helped turn it into Colts nation.

Caldwell made history by taking the Colts to a superbowl in his first season as head coach.. and then the following year got us back to the playoffs despite over 20 guys being on injured reserve. People want to give all the credit to Peyton for those years because when he stepped off the field last season we where terrible. I can't fully agree with that. Yes... losing Peyton for the season was a major factor... but people over look all the other issues we had with bad players and injuries that helped us sink. To say this man was nothing but a terrible coach because he wasn't entertaining to watch.. is stupid.

Chuck seems like a good guy who knows football. I think he will have great success.. but right now it's too early to give him a full head coaching report.

[Superman]

Ever stop and think that maybe he wanted to test out his special teams ability to kick a low trajectory ball and see if the line could keep it from being blocked?

No. We punted on 4th and 5 from their 38. It wasn't a low trajectory kick situation, and we punted it high trying to get it pinned inside the five. Came close, too. If anything, it was a test run at special teams' ability to pin a short punt.

I'm definitely nitpicking. But I think that is a situation where NFL coaches should put the ball in their quarterback's hands more often, rather than punting away for what's likely to just be about 20 yards in field position. It's worth the risk.

I wouldn't make judgement on any coaches play calling in the preseason. Their job is to find the kinks and straighten them out the best that they can in these 4 games plus evaluating players abilities. A lot of items on their plate right now.

Nothing more important for this team right now than the offense's ability to move the chains. Being able to convert on 4th and 5 against the Steelers first team defense would be a significant accomplishment for the preseason.

[P-Money]

No. We punted on 4th and 5 from their 38. It wasn't a low trajectory kick situation, and we punted it high trying to get it pinned inside the five. Came close, too. If anything, it was a test run at special teams' ability to pin a short punt.

I'm definitely nitpicking. But I think that is a situation where NFL coaches should put the ball in their quarterback's hands more often, rather than punting away for what's likely to just be about 20 yards in field position. It's worth the risk.

Nothing more important for this team right now than the offense's ability to move the chains. Being able to convert on 4th and 5 against the Steelers first team defense would be a significant accomplishment for the preseason.

I don't disagree with you in a meaningful game but special teams are where most of the guys to make the team are judged. We know Luck and the rest of the offense had a very legitimate shot at moving the chains but most of those guys are already on the team so all you would be testing is your play call in that situation as we already know we have the talent to convert. It's close to roster cutting time and Coach P has some difficult decisions coming up.

[JustAColtsFan]

Those of you who are season ticket holders would have recieved in your ticket pack a DVD called "Building a Winner". I highly recomend it. It is only a little over half hour long but has a lot of interview material on Pagano. I am looking forward to his Monday night show on 1070 The Fan so that I can here him discuss the games. You can really tell that he is a Fan and Student of football and loves it. There is also great footage of the veterans that are still with the team and he and Grigson talking about their qualities. The footage of the rookies with their former teams is great also - one scene in particular is of Dwayne Allen at Clemson - he is running into the endzone with two defenders hanging from his waist, what a beast!!! There is also footage of our free agency aquesitions with their former teams doing their best work of course LOL.

[Superman]

I don't disagree with you in a meaningful game but special teams are where most of the guys to make the team are judged. We know Luck and the rest of the offense had a very legitimate shot at moving the chains but most of those guys are already on the team so all you would be testing is your play call in that situation as we already know we have the talent to convert. It's close to roster cutting time and Coach P has some difficult decisions coming up.

I don't think we "know" that the offense could convert there. It would be a good time to find out, though, in the preseason, and with not a lot of field position at stake. This would be the time to find out just how much trust you can put in your offense in a crucial 4th down situation.

But more than anything, my comment is about the mindset. I'm challenging the conventional wisdom of choosing between a punt and a long field goal in that situation. I think that's a perfect four down set right there, and as soon as we got the ball, we should have been considering a conversion on a potential 4th down. This is the kind of call that can hurt you if you get it wrong (like the long field goal by Stover in the Super Bowl), but if you plan ahead for it, you can shorten the try and up your chances at a conversion. And then the conversion increases your chances of winning. By contrast, if you fail, you haven't given up anything but about 20 yards in field position.

Like I said before, it's about disciplined aggressiveness. And I'm just nitpicking. I really, really like Pagano, and I think he and Arians are a good match for each other (still not sure about Manusky, given his stint in San Diego). But I'd be even more in love with him if he'd have gone for it on that 4th down.

[Superman]

One more thing: If you're going to punt right there in a preseason game, try the coffin corner punt. You have a better chance of pinning the other team if you take the bounce out of the equation. Pat dropped the ball right at the one yard line, and it bounced into the end zone. If you're having a game like Mike Scifres in the 2008 playoffs, that ball might stick right there. But 99.9% of the time, it's going in for a touchback.

[Creekside]

Why?

No one in the NFL has Swagger like us. Swagger like us, Swagger-Swagger like us lol

...I told you I don't know!....Maybe because it has no meaning?...What does it mean?...Help me out here....Does it mean confidence? Does it mean being good at what one does? Who has it, and who doesn't?

[shakedownstreet]

pagano seems like a guy the players can really learn to love, thus they will play hard for him. that's a quality dungy had. caldwell...meh

[shakedownstreet]

Who has it, and who doesn't?

i have it!

[Creekside]

i have it!

....thanks for clearing it up...

[Superman]

...I told you I don't know!....Maybe because it has no meaning?...What does it mean?...Help me out here....Does it mean confidence? Does it mean being good at what one does? Who has it, and who doesn't?

swagger: A very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive gait or manner

swag: A killer way of presenting oneself; also an acronym for "stuff we all get," referring to promotional items at a concert or convention

swagu: Swagger sauce

[shakedownstreet]

....thanks for clearing it up...

caldwell did not have it

this guy does have it

[Creekside]

swagger: typically arrogant or aggressive gait or manner

....see, this is actually what I sort of thought, or how I kind of interpreted it. If this is a legitimate definition, now I know why I hate it. Peyton Manning did not have swagger. Neither did Jeff Saturday, or Dallas Clark, or Marvin Harrison. or Edgerine James, or Robert Mathis, or Dwight Freeney, or......Andrew Luck appears to not have an arrogant bone in his body. I do not agree that Chuck Pagano has swagger. I like that. I hate swagger.

[FanFromtheWasteland]

As much as I would love to be on the teams roster and in the actual locker room with the Colts.. I'm not. With that said.. I can't say how good Chuck is or will be. I'm just a fan watching the game from a far. People tend to lean towards a certain coach or player just because they like them personally for whatever their own unknown reasons are.

Since I personally have never been on the Colts team or in the meetings and locker room with these coaches.. I have to look at what the teams production is.. and what the players have to say about the coach.

Dungy was the man. He lifted this team from the ashes and made the Colts a winning football franchise.. and helped produce our first Superbowl win in Indy. His work on and off the field was unbelievable. The players had tons of good things to say about the man and so did the fans. Indy was once just known for Reggie Miller and the Pacers till Dungy came and helped turn it into Colts nation.

Caldwell made history by taking the Colts to a superbowl in his first season as head coach.. and then the following year got us back to the playoffs despite over 20 guys being on injured reserve. People want to give all the credit to Peyton for those years because when he stepped off the field last season we where terrible. I can't fully agree with that. Yes... losing Peyton for the season was a major factor... but people over look all the other issues we had with bad players and injuries that helped us sink. To say this man was nothing but a terrible coach because he wasn't entertaining to watch.. is stupid.

Chuck seems like a good guy who knows football. I think he will have great success.. but right now it's too early to give him a full head coaching report.

We would have went to the SB that year even if Sponge Bob had been our Head Coach.

[Superman]

We would have went to the SB that year even if Sponge Bob had been our Head Coach.

Jim Caldwell proved to not be a good head coach, and I'm very glad we replaced him. But I disagree with the sentiment that he didn't have anything to do with our Super Bowl appearance.

[shakedownstreet]

....see, this is actually what I sort of thought, or how I kind of interpreted it. If this is a legitimate definition, now I know why I hate it. Peyton Manning did not have swagger. Neither did Jeff Saturday, or Dallas Clark, or Marvin Harrison. or Edgerine James, or Robert Mathis, or Dwight Freeney, or......Andrew Luck appears to not have an arrogant bone in his body. I do not agree that Chuck Pagano has swagger. I like that. I hate swagger.

swagger & arrogance are not the same thing. one can have swagger and humility. arrogance and humility are opposites. either you are misreading the definitions or you are misreading human nature

those guys you mentioned all definitely have swagger

[Superman]

....see, this is actually what I sort of thought, or how I kind of interpreted it. If this is a legitimate definition, now I know why I hate it. Peyton Manning did not have swagger. Neither did Jeff Saturday, or Dallas Clark, or Marvin Harrison. or Edgerine James, or Robert Mathis, or Dwight Freeney, or......Andrew Luck appears to not have an arrogant bone in his body. I do not agree that Chuck Pagano has swagger. I like that. I hate swagger.

I think swagger is more of a street term, and I don't think arrogance is necessarily a part of the definition. I think the best definition of swagger would be these two guys:

What you're talking about is more like these guys:

[Creekside]

swagger & arrogance are not the same thing. one can have swagger and humility. arrogance and humility are opposites. either you are misreading the definitions or you are misreading human nature

those guys you mentioned all definitely have swagger

.........How can one misread " typically arrogant or aggressive gait or manner". I know arrogance and humility are opposites. That's why I hate swagger!....going by the definition provided above...I disagree that they all have swagger. Did Manning walk around in an arrogant or aggressive manner?....Does Luck?....If the above definition is correct, the word is not being used correctly....Anyway, not a big deal...