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On Sunday, NFL.com's Mike Silver reported that, per two unnamed sources within the Colts organization, that offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton was under pressure within the Colts' facility to "step up his game."
On Tuesday, Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz tweeted this:
Colts sources telling me stories about increased heat on pep are just "speculation". No more pressure on him than is normal in an nfl season
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) December 3, 2013
Personally, I don't doubt Bob's reporting. However, I find it highly unlikely that a report from NFL.com, the official website of the league itself and owned in part by Jim Irsay, is simple speculation. But, that's just me.
As what often happens when internal team rumblings and grumblings find their way to the ears of reporters like Mike Silver and, later, onto the Internets, the team will dismiss the the information as "speculation."
Move on. Nothing to see here. Please disperse.
Personally, I don't doubt that people in the Colts organization are divided on Hamilton as a coordinator. There's probably division about head coach Chuck Pagano and general manager Ryan Grigson as well, but, unlike Silver and Kravitz, I am not citing sources with that.
That is speculation. See the difference?
While the Colts are 8-4, both Pagano and Grigson have failed to meet very specific demands handed to them by owner Jim Irsay. Two of which are improving the defense and keeping quarterback Andrew Luck from getting killed on Sundays. The Colts defense is not significantly better than it was last season, especially when it comes to stopping the run, and Andrew Luck has been sacked 29 times in 12 games. He's on pace to get sacked 39 times this season, which puts him at nearly the same number (41) he absorbed in 2012.