The Indianapolis Colts are 2-3 (and should easily be 3-3 after Week 6), so the team obviously has some concerns. Daniel Jones is one of them, and inside linebacker is another. But what does head coach Shane Steichen believe the team struggles with? Well...
"Takeaways and take care of the football; that's the No. 1 thing," Steichen said. "You preach it, but you gotta practice it like crazy. It's gotta be all day, every day in practice. You can't talk about it. You gotta go do it."
Surely, Steichen is not implying that the team doesn't practice ball security, but that is what it sounds like he is saying. If turnovers are an issue, but the team is practicing how to take the ball away and also not giving it away, then why is there an issue?
Shane Steichen has an odd take on what is ailing the Indianapolis Colts
Is Steichen blaming the players for not following the direction of the coaching staff, or is the coaching staff not doing a good enough job of explaining what players need to be doing? But there is something else to this that might be more telling.
Indianapolis has the ninth-most turnovers (eight) in the league, so a bit too high but not awful. The Buffalo Bills are 4-1 and have the fifth-most turnovers (nine), for instance.
It is when taking the ball away that the Colts truly struggle, as the defense has only forced two turnovers. Again, the glaring issue in almost every way for the Colts is defense, and yet general manager Chris Ballard continues to show support for defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo by signing players who have played under Anarumo with the Cincinnati Bengals.
If one is Anarumo, he must believe his job is pretty safe, as the organization keeps doing what he asks, but with no great results. The defense was good in Weeks 3 and 4 against a struggling Houston Texans offense without wide receiver Nico Collins, and then against the Washington Commanders, who were playing most of the game with a third-string quarterback.
Weeks 1 and 2 were a mess, and the defense allowed more than 500 total yards in the losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively. Against a struggling Pittsburgh Steelers and aged Aaron Rodgers in Week 5, Indy allowed 7 yards per play for most of the game and gave up 34 points.
In Week 6 against the Tennessee Titans, the Indianapolis Colts' defense should look really good, and there is no excuse for not doing so. Tennessee is wretched offensively. The Titans have turned the ball over seven times, so maybe Indy will have some chances to force turnovers on Sunday.
What follows, though, could test a Colts fan's belief that the team can make the playoffs. Indy plays the Minnesota Vikings and wide receiver Justin Jefferson in Week 7, the red-hot Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8, and then a good Dallas Cowboys offense in Week 9.
If Indianapolis can find a way to succeed defensively in that stretch, maybe Lou Anarumo is worth keeping around because Shane Steichen says the turnover issues aren't from a lack of coaching. If the defense is torched, Anarumo should be relieved of his duties, and Steichen and Chris Ballard will probably follow shortly thereafter.
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