Chuck Pagano Doesn’t Think T.Y. Hilton Should’ve ‘Aired Dirty Laundry’
Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano wasn’t necessarily pleased with how star wide receiver T.Y. Hilton recently made critical comments to the media regarding the offense’s play-calling:
"“We’ve got a sign in our locker room which says, ‘What you see, say, and hear here, stays here.’ I don’t think any of us should air our dirty laundry outside this building to be quite frank and honest with you,” said Pagano on Hilton’s comments.“I’m not going to go into details with how we handle things, but there’s a right way to do stuff and a wrong way,” added Pagano."
While the Colts offense has shown little signs of life under new offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski in recent games, Pagano still has a point all things considered. Frustrations and issues should be kept strictly in-house in order to promote cohesiveness with any football team.
Dec 13, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) jogs onto the field against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second quarter at EverBank Field. The Jaguars won 51-16. Mandatory Credit: Jim Steve-USA TODAY Sports
That being said, Hilton’s criticism is a fair one, even if it should’ve been said behind closed doors. The Colts have only scored 2 total offensive touchdowns in their last 3 games. As the Indy Star’s Stephen Holder pointed out, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck only threw 7 passes that were longer than 10 yards in last Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans.
No, a 40 year old Hasselbeck doesn’t have the same arm strength as starter Andrew Luck anymore. However, he’s still going to have to take more shots down the field if the Colts want to keep opposing defenses honest and from loading the box.
Right now, opposing defenses likely aren’t feeling the least bit threatened by the Colts offense, as the team hasn’t even tried to threaten secondaries with many deep throws.
That should change on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, as at this point of their season, the Colts really have nothing to lose and may as well take more chances.