When a coach transitions from one team to another, it isn't unusual for the new team to bring in some players that the coach worked with. That helps smooth the move from one team to the next. This happened a few times for Lou Anarumo and the Indianapolis Colts this season.
So far, the moves haven't truly worked out well. The most promising is inside linebacker Germaine Pratt, who was signed ahead of Week 6 after being released by his former team, the Las Vegas Raiders, after Week 5. In his first game with Indy, Pratt was in on 11 tackles.
Pratt's immediate success might have made a former Cincinnati Bengals teammate, who was signed by the Colts this past offseason, irrelevant. Joe Bachie had earned regular season reps by performing well in training camp, but he wasn't very good through five games. He was also recently injured and had been placed on injured reserve.
Indianapolis Colts decide the Joe Bachie experiement should be done
Ahead of Week 7, Indianapolis released Bachie. Maybe his foot and toe issue was not going to let him come back for most of the rest of the season, or maybe general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen saw what Pratt was capable of and decided Bachie was simply a failed experiment.
His biggest problem was that he was awful in pass coverage. He had been targeted 17 times through five games and allowed completions on every single one. He lacked versatility, too, and was basically a run-stopper and not much else.
Lou Anarumo's defensive scheme devalues off-ball linebackers, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to do certain things when asked. Bachie seemingly had no ability to pressure quarterbacks, for instance. Pratt won't be asked to do that much, but he did have a pressure in his first game with Indy.
In essence, the Indianapolis Colts have added several former Bengals who were with the team during Anarumo's tenure as the defensive coordinator there (and will probably keep adding for Cincy players), but now Indy is simply beginning to upgrade from one former Bengals player to another.
Maybe Bachie returns to the Colts' practice squad, but he would probably only be a special teams player in the future. Germaine Pratt took his job, and rightfully so. That should help the entire Indianapolis defense be better. That will be needed to help the team make a deep playoff push.
Or maybe, the Colts will shock the world and acquire another Lou Anarumo disciple still playing in Cincinnati. Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson could be available in a trade.