Bad Coaching Cost the Game

The Colts played scared at the end of the first half. When you have Manning, you don’t try to run the clock out when you have three timeouts and two minutes. I can understand the first run to get some room to operate, but the next two were bad calls.

I pretty much agree with #2. It was fourth and eleven, so I can understand not wanting to go for it, but it seems that the odds of making a 51 yard field goal with Stover would be about the same as converting fourth and eleven with Manning.

I don’t agree with #3. They had to score twice to win. The Colts saved the timeouts for their second drive.

but it’s not going to change anything….we are feeling what the 31 teams are feeling but worse

According to Shakespeare: “Oh ye of little faith; one play does not Peyton Manning make.” (sic) I’m a Colts fan, and it was again another failure of our suspect defense to deliver in the BIG SPOT which did us in, not Peyton Manning. In the past, our defense was suspect vs. our past rivals, the Patriots . And again….it was our DEFENSE that can’t stop the opposing offense while not allowing Peyton to play his normal QB role or style.

It was not so much the result of yesterday which bothered me, as much as it was the Colts have let this glaring problem exist, have not adequately addressed it in a proactive manner, and as a result, it came home to roost yesterday….

This game reminded me of that past feeling when Peyton has to deliver every series he steps on the field because his defense gives up 15 play drives which consumes 7-8 minutes off the clock, and leaves Peyton wondering when he gets to play. Take a look at his face on the sideline, and it will tell you the frustration and pressure he is under because of a lack of defense.

In the past, Indy couldn’t stop the long, time-consuming drives vs. the Patriots, and yesterday, we couldn’t stop the Saints SIMPLE SHORT passing game to the flat and OVER THE MIDDLE vs. our linebackers-cornerbacks. The short passing game of the Saints reminded me of the run-pass game of the Pats which ate up clock, kept Peyton off the field, and limited his scoring chances. Nothing new here, just a different approach, with just a lot of short passes with a few runs mixed in. A well-thought out approach by the Saints coaching staff, and one unexplainably not seen coming by the Colts coaching staff. I can’t help but ask, given our past New England example of a ball controlling offense keeping Peyton off the field, how could the Colts’ coaches not seen this one coming? You guys were definitely outcoached……

How many times consecutively did the Colts “D” let the Saint’s HBs get passes over the middle? At crucial times, they ran this play consecutively on numerous occassions and the Colts had no answer. A Pop-Warner Assistant Coach with no experience could have seen that play coming. Where was a COACHING adjustment to that play? Hello! Absolutely pitiful coaching in reference to that play. Simply, our defense SUCKED…SUCKED….and then SUCKED some more…and placed the burden, again, on Peyton to produce a miracle every series he got the ball. Please, let’s get a REAL defensive line in Indianapolis, not 3 chairs and Freeney. How many years has the management of this franchise ignored this FACT! We had no pass rush at all yesterday as Drew NEVER ONCE got touched in the 2nd half.

Freeney hurt and double-teamed put more pressure on the QB than the other 3 DL guys single-teamed combined. In the 1st half he got our only sack. The linebackers couldn’t cover my grandmother, forget the Saints’ HBs or WRs, and often looked like electric football game pieces chasing the receivers all over the field. The CBs got a workout as well. Really, given such critical situations, how the heck do you give up two short passes on the goal line so easily – a simple Shockey 1 yard slant-in and a simple 1- yard 2 point conversion square out? CBs: It’s not like your going to get beat deep. Why give the receiver any initial separation? At the line of scrimmage, whatever happened to bumping receivers towards the sideline (a standard, uncomplicated goal-line technique for defenders), and making the QB throw an over the top a tough angle, touch pass towards the sideline in those situations. Where’s the aggressive bump and defend approach? Makes you wanna go, “Hmm”. Pretty pitiful pass defense and coaching on both occassions. I can’t help but ask, again, who is COACHING these defenders to use basic pass-defense principles of guarding inside-out, and using the sideline as an added defender. Our defense and coaching simply quit yesterday….defensive player-wise, coaching-wise, and managerially-wise, we were EASILY outdone. It’s been a thing that went unaddressed since our New England rivals exposed it years ago and came back to haunt us yesterday.

To significant degree, and with all the credit in the world going to the Saints who came to play and coach, our Indy defense and coaching influenced our game plan. Our defense over-bent and broke, giving up time, ball possession and scores, while putting our offense, it’s QB, and even kicker in difficult spots. If we are to learn anything from yesterday, it’s to tell it the way it should be told: shame on the Indy defense and coaching for packing it in the way it did.