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Gus Bradley talks about leading an aggressive Colts defense

By Jaleel Grandberry

Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley of the Las Vegas Raiders yells to players as they take on the Washington Football Team at Allegiant Stadium on December 5, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Washington Football Team defeated the Raiders 17-15. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley of the Las Vegas Raiders yells to players as they take on the Washington Football Team at Allegiant Stadium on December 5, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Washington Football Team defeated the Raiders 17-15. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Indianapolis Colts’ new defensive coordinator, Gus Bradley, talked about his plans and excitement to lead Indy’s defense.

Longtime coach, Gus Bradley, was recently hired to be the new defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts. Indy already has one of the league’s better defenses, so it’s fair to say Bradley was excited to inherit the unit.

In interviews with Colts reporters, Larra Overton and JJ Stankevitz, Bradley discussed how lucky he was to already have such tremendous leaders at each level of the defense, “When you look at each position group, there’s a Pro Bowl-type player…You want the leadership by position group and leadership by unit, and this team has that on the defensive side of the ball.”

The players referenced are DeForest Buckner, Darius Leonard, and Kenny Moore, all of who just played in the Pro Bowl. One of the game’s first highlights was a pick-six by Leonard.

Darius Leonard has become the Turnover King in the NFL and the rest of Indy’s defense has followed his lead. It’s unlikely that changes under Bradley, in fact, it may improve as Bradley is already preaching a message of aggressiveness.

Gus Bradley wants to build on Colts aggressive nature

During the interview, Bradley also mentioned “aggressive coverage” and emphasized, “Every call that we have is designed to get the ball, that type of mentality.”

That should excite fans, especially since it’s something Indianapolis is already good at. The Colts forced 33 turnovers this season, one shy of the NFL lead.

With Bradley building on that with play-calling, Indy should be able to create even more of an impact with takeaways. But that’s what the defense does good already, what about what they need to improve?

The biggest challenge that Bradley will have is improving the pass rush and he mentioned Indianapolis needs to be able to scheme up blitz as well as get to the quarterback with just four rushers.

What Bradley said is most important is having a unit that can effectively “tie the rush and coverage together.” That will be an area that fans are watching for growth.

Ultimately, Bradley and the defense are starting from a pretty good level. After building the defensive staff, Bradley said the plan is to watch film and learn what each defender does best so that he can merge the players’ strengths with his schemes and create a dominant defense.

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