FanPost

Why Pep Hamilton SHOULD stay

I was a big Pep Hamilton supporter before the season and have to admit I have been let down a bit by him. That being said, I think he should DEFINITELY stay at least for another year. So, I devised a list of reasons why...

A) Maybe I'm the only one who watched Stanford, but this offense was absolutely perfect for Andrew. Let me preface by saying the reasons for why it fits him are assuming he has a competent O line(more on this later). I attribute his struggles this year with reads and accuracy to the O line line play. Anyway, the offense required a smart QB who was able to make the right read when there were many different options. Also, a QB who was smart enough to know when to audible out of play. It required accuracy on short to intermediate passes. Finally, there were deep throws, but not too often and that is arguably Andrews biggest weakness aside from picking up blitzes pre snap. Both accuracy and the ability to go through his progressions are two of Andrews biggest strengths. Obviously his offense at Stanford required the correct personnel that the Colts don't have, but....

B)Next season the colts WILL have the right personnel. Allen and Fleener (who has improved drastically) compliment each other perfectly just like the Tight Ends in the Stanford Offense. His offense also requires reliable route runners and Reggie Wayne is the prototypical route runner. Also, from what I read before the draft Darick is a "good route runner who would fit in a WCO". The Stanford offense also had a speedy, deep threat undersized reciever in Ty montgomery(pronounced Tie not T.Y.) who is a spitting image of TY Hilton. The offense also required a pass catching FB(Havili), and pass catching RBs(DB and Trent). Bradshaw was the perfect runningback for this offense...too bad he won't be back. Finally, the most important part was the O line and...

C)The colts will undeniably fix this in the offseason. Jim Irsay has publicly called out the O line and I can't see him not going after at least one good O-lineman in Free Agency. Center is arguably the weakest position on the colts O-line and there are three good ones in Free agency that I see the colts going after: Alex Mack(cleveland probably retains him), Ferlando Velasco and Brian de la Puente. I have no idea how the colts feel about Thornton, but I could see Irsay going aggro and going after Jon Asomoah too. A line of Castonzo(Average), Thomas(Above average), one of the aformentioned centers, a solid guard or an elite one in Asomoah, and Cherillus(above average) is probably a top 15 line that could open up holes and protect Luck. Also, Allen is a superb blocker who can improve both pass and run blocking.

D)3 coordinators in 3 years...nuff said.

E)Maybe I'm missing something, but Pep hasn't been handcuffing Andrew recently. I know this has to do with the colts being down early, but in the past couple games Andrew has come out throwing on first and second downs in the first quarter.

F)Alot of the offensives problems have been Chuck Pagano's conservative decisions not peps. Does he not realize that the defense sucks? Examples: not going for it on 4th during the bengals game down by 14 and not going for it twice in the San Diego game. He seems to think that his porous defense is going to make the stop over Andrew making the throw.

G) By running and completing short passes it gives the defense time to catch it's breathe. Now I know someone is going to say that it isn't working, but keep in mind it did work when the colts were healthy. Imagine this offense with Allen, Wayne, Thomas, and bradshaw; it would be functioning much better.

H) Building off the last statement Pep deserves a second year because the team has been decimated by injuries, especially to crucial players. Thomas is maybe the best player on the offensive line, Ballard was showing signs of being a reliable back, bradshaw excelled in pass blocking and pass catching, and the value of Allen and Wayne cannot be understated(not to sound like chris collingsworth). Also, DHB won't be on the team next year, so we no longer have to deal with the anger of watching him jump in the air to catch, usually drop, balls.

All of this being said, I DO have a problem when the colts try to run on first and second down on the same series. This can only work if you have a dominant offensive line, which the colts won't have next year even with the presumed additions. If pep can substitute some of these runs with short passes( A la Joe Montana in Bill Walsh's offense) and put the ball in the hands of the offenses best player that would greatly improve the Colts offense.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.