2. Gus Bradley’s scheme is a work in progress
The Colts didn’t just add new defensive players this offseason, they got a new defensive coordinator in Gus Bradley and a brand new system. Often when implementing a new system, there can be growing pains. That could be why Indy’s players aren’t playing to the best of their abilities yet.
Bradley even admitted to the media on Tuesday that he believes a lot of guys are still thinking their way through plays as opposed to knowing what they’re doing and flying around to make plays. It’s typically not a good thing when players are doing too much thinking on the field. Things should get better as everyone gets more familiar, hopefully, that’s just sooner rather than later.
Bradley said it might take a little time for his unit to get comfortable in the scheme/play fast. Needs to get addressed quickly. https://t.co/DlbKDblphn
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) September 20, 2022
In addition to players’ comfort in the new system, it also looked like the scheme itself was a problem in Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars. Jacksonville constantly had open wide receivers or was able to capitalize on matchups that put the Colts at a disadvantage. This could’ve been a case of Bradley being out-schemed or it could be because the players may not have been in the right spots since they’re still getting familiar with their responsibilities.
Whatever the case is, the defense has to get comfortable and figure things out fast. The NFL isn’t going to wait around and if Indy takes too long to play to its ability, the season will quickly slip away.