Colts at Titans: Next Day Analysis
By Evan Reller
We don’t overreact at Horseshoe Heroes. We’re here to give you a realistic breakdown of the Colts after each and every game.
Raise your hand if you weren’t shoveling dirt on the 2015 Indianapolis Colts at the end of the third quarter. That’s what I thought (and yes, I thought this team was dead). This team, and season, looked completely dead through 2.75 games.
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Andrew Luck tossed two of the worst interceptions we’ve seen in his career and there was no life on the offense. Through the first three quarter, Luck completed 7-of-17 passes for 116 yards and the two interceptions.
The fourth quarter was a different story. Luck was 11-for-13 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He looked like the QB who led the NFL in touchdowns last season and very much the player we thought he would be this season.
Coach Chuck Pagano was moved to tears following the game, acting like a man who would have been fired had the Colts lost to the Titans this week. Firing a coach like Pagano for his team failing to execute and his quarterback struggling is not how you manage a football team. If Jim Irsay wants to make changes to the staff, he shouldn’t be giving “Super Bowl or your job” ultimatums. The Colts won’t be able to find anyone willing to take over the reigns of the team.
The Colts have plenty of flaws right now, but nothing that can’t be solved through slightly better execution and their QB playing like he’s supposed to. There might be a sign that Luck isn’t as healthy as we’ve thought, as evidenced by this love tap from Matt Hasselbeck.
Ribs maybe? RT @currytk: Luck is definitely hurting. Not good. pic.twitter.com/Kdxw5pDvkf
— AK (@SilentK317) September 27, 2015
That is a pretty strong reaction for a pat on the chest and it looks like Hasselbeck even says “are you ok?” Luck has taken a number of shots this season and a few have left him slow to get up. It could be nothing, but a rib or sternum injury would
Here’s what stood out on Sunday:
- Shuffling. The Colts made big changes to the offensive line, but it didn’t really matter. Hugh Thornton (four holding penalties) isn’t an upgrade over Lance Louis. Four of the five players on the line were awful on Sunday. The lone bright point? Joe Reitz who was merely average at right tackle (a position he is historically not good at since he’s a natural guard). Yes, the line is a problem, but it isn’t any worse than it has been in the past. As Pagano said, Luck should be used to this kind of pressure since he’s faced it his whole career.
- It isn’t that GM Ryan Grigson hasn’t tried to fix the offensive line over the past four years, it’s that every move he’s made has failed (save drafting Jack Mewhort). Donald Thomas, perpetually injured. Gosder Cherilus, injured all last season. Khaled Holmes and Thornton, injured AND not very good. A.Q. Shipley, very good but mysteriously benched (a Grigson decision). Todd Herremans, not very good so far. His talent evaluation is clearly flawed and made to look worse due to bad injury luck.
- FLAGS! Wait, this isn’t an IU basketball game. We saw a lot of penalties, and it isn’t anything new. Thornton was personally responsible for four holding calls (pointing this out again because four is way too damn many) in his first start of the season. The Colts are currently fourth in the league with 27 penalties costing them 204 yards. Most of the errors are due to a failure of technique, at least the holding penalties (that doesn’t include the dumb late hit by Erik Walden). That lack of technique is on the position coaches and Pagano for not making sure his players know how to play football properly. That said, we’ve seen more penalties league wide through three weeks than we did last season and the it has become an epidemic. Half the time a penalty is called the announcers (and twitter refs) are calling BS, regardless of which team is involved.
- Coverage? No, of course not. Why would you ever need to cover the middle of the field? Over half of Marcus Mariota‘s passing yards came between the numbers in the 10 yard range to tight ends and running backs (and slant route after slant route). While we talked about how bad the Colts defensive line was in the offseason, we never addressed just how bad the middle linebackers are in coverage. We’ve seen formations with safety Clayton Geathers in a linebacker role, and there were a few plays with ILB Sio Moore on the field. The run defense has looked great, but it’s past time to address that soft spot in the defense with different personnel packages.
- Bright Points. If there are two overwhelmingly positive offensive players this season, its Frank Gore and Donte Moncrief. Gore had an absurd 6.1 yards per carry average Sunday, and appeared to run harder when he was trying to salt the game away late in the fourth. Moncrief is turning into a fine receiver. His touchdown catch was a perfect example of high pointing the ball, and to his credit Luck put it where only Moncrief would be able to haul it in.
The AFC South Weeks of Plenty continue with a visit from the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were just beaten into oblivion by the Patriots. The Jags don’t look very much improved over last season and we should see the Colts get back to .500 after next Sunday.