Colts’ horrific start against Bengals proves this is all on the coaching
The coaching staff is to blame this week for the Colts’ start against the Bengals.
We laid out the blueprint for the Indianapolis Colts moving forward. It’s all right there. Take care of the football, don’t have the defense get trounced in the first 30 minutes, and play with some more intensity.
Fans got NONE of that to start Sunday’s Week 6 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. After the first 16 minutes, it was 21-0 to the visiting team, and the Colts looked lifeless yet again for the second straight week. It’s now 24-21, but still. This shouldn’t be happening.
It’s safe to say we can blame the coaching staff, starting with Frank Reich, for this one. How you can you be this unprepared for a Bengals team that has won three games since the start of 2018? Why are we still not getting TY Hilton involved? Why are we relying on Jack Doyle to do anything productive? He literally fumbled the ball without anybody touching him to start this game.
#Colts longest active streak not allowing a touchdown on the opening drive ends today (17 games).
— Taylor Tannebaum (@TaylorTannebaum) October 18, 2020
After an uncharacteristic Jack Doyle fumble, #Bengals capitalize. 7-0 visitors.
That’s...not the start you want.
The Colts are admittedly missing key players. Darius Leonard is out again. Mo Alie-Cox was ruled out. Daurice Fountain didn’t suit up either, and he was supposed to provide support for the WR corps. But that’s no excuse. This Bengals team has a rookie quarterback who is barely protected! The Colts have the best front-four rush in the NFL.
What is defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus doing? Why isn’t offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni trying to establish the run against one of the worst defenses against the run in the NFL? The Bengals allow an average of 159 yards per game on the ground through five weeks.
Heading into today: Colts No. 1 total defense in the NFL.
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 18, 2020
Today: Colts down 21-0 to Bengals.
Because football. pic.twitter.com/yM0KSPgNEQ
Screen passes to Doyle? SEVEN rushes in the first half? A fumble? Jonathan Taylor was the leading receiver before Philip Rivers hit Marcus Johnson on a 20-yard pass right before the end of the half. Come on, guys. This is a travesty. It’s clear the players have to execute, but they need to be given a top-notch game plan in order to do so.
They didn’t have one for the first 22 minutes for the second consecutive Sunday. The coaching staff needs to stop this, or else the Colts will be playing from behind all season long.
