Shane Steichen might be the best opening-drive play-caller in the history of the NFL. He has a week to plan for the Indianapolis Colts' next opponent, and his first quarter decisions are often brilliant. The issue a lot of times is what unfolds later, and no better example of that can be found than in the 33-30 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.
After KC had kicked a field goal to take a lead on their first drive, Steichen dialed up a long pass to wide receiver Laquon Treadwell to begin Indy's drive. The play was a bit of a mess, but not because of Steichen; Indianapolis retained possession and was set up deep in Chiefs' territory. That is when Steichen screwed up.
Kansas City loaded up the box defensively, but Steichen still had Jonathan Taylor run the ball. He was stopped after a yard. That decision is fine, of course, as Taylor is the best player the Colts have. The play-call was indefensible, however.
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen's overtime decisions in Week 2 were terrible
On 2nd-and-9 and knowing that a touchdown would win the game, instead of being aggressive, Steichen called another Taylor run play when the Chiefs were obviously anticipating it. The running back was tackled for a two-yard loss. This set up an obvious passing down on 3rd-and-11, and quarterback Daniel Jones had to scramble for three yards with no open receiver.
Shane Steichen appeared to be playing for a tie after the unlikely Treadwell completion, and the coach's reason for doing so in his post-game press conference only made the matter worse.
The coach said, "I was trying to finish the game with JT, put the ball in his hands."
Did he mean score a touchdown? Did he mean run the clock out? Because if that is the case, there were several minutes left; the Chiefs had two timeouts and the 2-minute warning. The chances of running the clock out were small, but Steichen should have changed his approach after the running back was stuffed on first down.
Some fans and the media are unhappy with Steichen's decision to allow the Chiefs to have the ball first in overtime after the Colts had won the coin toss. That is a gamble, but that wouldn't have mattered had Steichen been more aggressive after Treadwell's splash play and the drive had resulted in a touchdown.
The Indianapolis Colts scored 30 points in Week 2, which should be enough to win a game, but the defense let Indy down again. While Steichen isn't as involved with the defense as he is with the offense, he is still defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's boss, and Anarumo is now in his second season as a failure in Indianapolis.
Steichen is accountable for the entire team, one that has now lost nine straight games. Next for the Colts are the Houston Texans, and that is a must-win game for Shane Steichen.
Current heat: 9.5
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