Admittedly, it is difficult to argue with the start the Indianapolis Colts have had. Not many pundits thought Indy would be 4-1 through five games with a point differential of plus-74, the best in the NFL. The schedule is favorable the rest of the way, too.
But after Indianapolis's great, fans shouldn't simply expect the team to make the playoffs. Indy could make a deep run once there, but some aspects must be cleaned up for that to happen. The problem is that the team might not be able to.
One specific issue is veteran linebacker Joe Bachie. He might be in his first season with the Colts, but he has spent several years under the current Indy defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo, as both previously worked with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Linebacker Joe Bachie is a liability for a very good Indianapolis Colts team
Bachie didn't get many reps defensively with Cincinnati, though, and Colts fans might be learning why. He is not very good in all facets of his position. With more playing time in Indy (Bachie has 138 defensive snaps through five games, and his previous high was 160 in 2021), he's worse.
In Week 5, Bachie began the game by getting easily beaten in pass coverage by Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty. Being good in coverage has been a problem for the linebacker all season. Entering Week 5, he had been targeted 15 times and allowed completions on every one.
His career quarterback rating allowed is an atrocious 122.5. He is a liability when asked to try to blanket receivers, and eventually, a good offense is going to take advantage of the matchup. Indianapolis has been a bit lucky in that the team has played only two teams with decent offenses.
That begins to change in Week 7 when the Colts play the Los Angeles Chargers. The rest of the season also includes many teams that have good offenses, such as the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars (twice).
The Indianapolis Colts might win all of those games because of the excellence of Daniel Jones and the Indy offense, but the defense is going to have to be better overall the rest of the season. Specifically, players such as Bachie, who also had a bad hold on what would otherwise have been a special teams touchdown.
Still, the Colts are likely stuck with Joe Bachie. Let's just hope he doesn't eventually cost the team an important but winnable game. Next offseason, Indianapolis can find a new long-term partner for Zaire Franklin at inside linebacker.