Frank reich is horrible

[ChoppedWood]

That's it, that's the entire message.

Thanks

[nate505]

Agreed. Not running the ball in OT, when clock really isn't an issue, and when the team was so thin at receiving, and when Wentz wasn't amazing today...just stunningly inept.

[Hoopsdoc]

Frank is the smartest guy in the room, you see.

[apballin]

Frank is the smartest guy in the room, you see.

He is trying his best to make his boy Wentz the hero

[ChoppedWood]

He is trying his best to make his boy Wentz the hero

Sadly there is probably a lot of truth to this. Which is an indictment and should result in a pink slip.

[omahacolt]

i get the criticism of reich but i don't understand how much he is getting.

the defense allows 8 yard passes at will. basically unchallenged. all day long.

reich doesn't rush the passer.

reich doesn't make wentz throw into triple coverage when he could check down for 20 yards in ot

[rm1369]

reich doesn't rush the passer.


Neither do any of Ballard’s DEs

[Luck4Reich]

Frank is the smartest guy in the room, you see.

Must be in the room alone quite a lot.

[apballin]

i get the criticism of reich but i don't understand how much he is getting.

the defense allows 8 yard passes at will. basically unchallenged. all day long.

reich doesn't rush the passer.

reich doesn't make wentz throw into triple coverage when he could check down for 20 yards in ot

That’s his job as the coach know a player’s limitations and eliminate the possibility of stupidity… he routinely puts the ball in Carson’s hands unnecessarily when clearly our best player is Taylor and our strength was supposed to be offensive line… up 14-0 RTDB

[Hoopsdoc]

i get the criticism of reich but i don't understand how much he is getting.

the defense allows 8 yard passes at will. basically unchallenged. all day long.

reich doesn't rush the passer.

reich doesn't make wentz throw into triple coverage when he could check down for 20 yards in ot

Reich either called 51 pass plays or allowed Wentz to do so. Reich regularly takes his best player off the field. Reich regularly substitutes offensive linemen when you said yourself nobody does that. Reich calls really bad plays in really bad spots like the screen pass from the endzone. He’s way to conservative in spots and way to aggressive in others.

I don’t understand why you don’t understand the criticism Reich is getting. He richly deserves it.

I don’t understand why you want to dump most of the blame on Ballard when they keep losing totally winnable games because of obviously bad decision making on Reichs part.

[albany ed]

My guess is Reich staked it all on the success of Wentz. If Wentz does not prove to be worth all they gave/give up to get him, Reich may get the axe.

[ChoppedWood]

i get the criticism of reich but i don't understand how much he is getting.

the defense allows 8 yard passes at will. basically unchallenged. all day long.

reich doesn't rush the passer.

reich doesn't make wentz throw into triple coverage when he could check down for 20 yards in ot

Ebersuck works for Reich. My expectation, and given how ass this team is it could be wrong, but my expectation is these two work together quite a bit and discuss strategy and situational specific plans. My expectation is they game plan together. As such, the 8 yard passes unchallenged, is because Frank thinks that is good strategy and tells Ebersuck to keep sucking!

[Discflinger]

Pitchforks and bonfires! I still believe we can finish 10-7. Blackmon going down hurts and if Willis is out for awhile retract my statement, but I think this team is different than most and I love them for it.

[rm1369]

Ebersuck works for Reich. My expectation, and given how ass this team is it could be wrong, but my expectation is these two work together quite a bit and discuss strategy and situational specific plans. My expectation is they game plan together. As such, the 8 yard passes unchallenged, is because Frank thinks that is good strategy and tells Ebersuck to keep sucking!

Eberflus was a Ballard signing. He was on staff as part of the McDaniels debacle. They are also running a defense with nearly zero effective edge rush. It’s going to have holes. I’m not suggesting they are doing great by any means, I’m just pointing out again that Reich is the scapegoat for an issue that is squarely on Ballard. His coaching hire he hasn’t given the most important element to, yet it’s all Reich’s fault. Ballard is made of Teflon in Colts world.

[nate505]

Eberflus was a Ballard signing. He was on staff as part of the McDaniels debacle. They are also running a defense with nearly zero effective edge rush. It’s going to have holes. I’m not suggesting they are doing great by any means, I’m just pointing out again that Reich is the scapegoat for an issue that is squarely on Ballard. His coaching hire he hasn’t given the most important element to, yet it’s all Reich’s fault. Ballard is made of Teflon in Colts world.

Yup, that's what happens when you decide to run pass play after pass play after pass play with a depleted WR corp, instead of using one of the best RBs in the NFL that was having an effective day.

[Oldcolt]

Discflinger you actually love this team? I find this group to be the least likable Colt team I have ever rooted for. Prima donas that think they are all that without ever winning shit. Coach that keeps saying what a good team he has here. Participation trophies galore at the end of the season with smiles all around because they 'won'. Think Lombardi would be saying lovely things about his QB who threw a pass a fourth grader wouldn't try? Parcels liked to say 'you are what your record says you are'. He was right. This is a mediocre team through and through. And very unlikable.

[Hoopsdoc]

Yup, that's what happens when you decide to run pass play after pass play after pass play with a depleted WR corp, instead of using one of the best RBs in the NFL that was having an effective day.

It’s baffling to me that people want to blame Ballard equally for Reichs buffoonery.

To be clear, I’m not absolving Ballard by any means. This team has holes.

I’d put the blame for the season so far at 75 percent Reich, 25 percent Ballard.

[Hoopsdoc]

i get the criticism of reich but i don't understand how much he is getting.

the defense allows 8 yard passes at will. basically unchallenged. all day long.

reich doesn't rush the passer.

reich doesn't make wentz throw into triple coverage when he could check down for 20 yards in ot

The defense sacked Tannehill 3 times and intercepted him twice. They held Henry under 70 yards rushing.

The defense wasn’t the problem yesterday.

Frank Reich lost that game with his stupidity.

Period.

[Chromeburn]

It’s baffling to me that people want to blame Ballard equally for Reichs buffoonery.

To be clear, I’m not absolving Ballard by any means. This team has holes.

I’d put the blame for the season so far at 75 percent Reich, 25 percent Ballard.

Gameday decisions and bad play calls are on Reich. A weirdly constructed team and lack of weapons is on Ballard. Throwing into triple coverage and not using your check downs because is on Wentz.

[Hoopsdoc]

Gameday decisions and bad play calls are on Reich. A weirdly constructed team and lack of weapons is on Ballard. Throwing into triple coverage and not using your check downs because is on Wentz.

This team doesn’t really lack weapons on offense, aside from those missing from injury. Pittman is becoming a clear number 1 receiver if he’s not already there. Everyone knows how good Taylor can be, except for Reich, apparently. MAC is a good player who is also underutilized.

As for Wentz, he is ONLY here because of Reich. A failure by Wentz is directly attributable to Reich.

[ChoppedWood]

Eberflus was a Ballard signing. He was on staff as part of the McDaniels debacle. They are also running a defense with nearly zero effective edge rush. It’s going to have holes. I’m not suggesting they are doing great by any means, I’m just pointing out again that Reich is the scapegoat for an issue that is squarely on Ballard. His coaching hire he hasn’t given the most important element to, yet it’s all Reich’s fault. Ballard is made of Teflon in Colts world.

Very fair points. And if Ebersuck is doing Ebersuck things because Ballard hired him and Frank is just letting him do Ebersuck things, then that again, is on Reich for not stopping him.

Ballard has swung and missed badly, DE is a disgrace. Acknowledged. Not one of the swing and miss DE's is responsible for JT getting 16 damn carries in the game. The only one responsible for that, is Reich. We have lots of problems, and paramount amongst them, is our coach who helps other teams to exploit our weaknesses.

Please re-watch the end zone INT. Reed, gets trampled, I mean demolished. I don't even blame Wentz on that INT. He gets sacked- safety we punt, game over. He throws the ball at the feet of the OL, safety we punt, game over. Yeah there is a small window where he could have thrown it at the feet of MAC and he should have.

However the blame, the blame is on the idiot OC who also happens to be the HC, who calls that type of insane play from the two allowing the LG to get bitch-made and costing us a TD.

All the things in this post- are on the shoulders of no one other than Frank Reich and that is why he collects the blame, because he is a terrible HC!

[rm1369]

It’s baffling to me that people want to blame Ballard equally for Reichs buffoonery.

To be clear, I’m not absolving Ballard by any means. This team has holes.

I’d put the blame for the season so far at 75 percent Reich, 25 percent Ballard.

I’m not blaming Ballard for Reich’s mistakes, but it’s fucking comical watching the shit that is being blamed on Reich. Absolutely I question some of his play calling. Of course I can’t remember a coach that I haven’t. But shit like the rookie Gransen has been used as a Reich pick to show how stupid Reich is. And Eberflus sucks because that’s what Reich wants. It’s fucking ridiculous. While for the last 4-5 years anyone who disagreed with a single thing Ballard did has been labeled a hater or chicken little. This is all squarely Ballard’s regime. Everything on the field has been molded using his method. And after 5 years they still can’t beat playoff teams. Pick and choose who you want to blame. It’s 75% Reich? Cool. Guess who hired him? And we are damn lucky we didn’t get his first pick. Eberflus sucks? Agreed. Guess who hired him?

At this point I hope you guys get your wish and Reich is fired. Let’s see the coach that can win consistently with a QB you can’t trust, no pass rush, and no CBs.

For the record - I’d say its 70-30 Ballard / Reich to blame. Easier to blame the coach though because you can tell yourself the team is almost there - just being held back by Reich’s stupidity. I see a team with a QB you can’t trust, no pass rush, only 1 of 3 CBs worth a shit, and question marks at LT going forward. That’s, IMO 4 of the most important positions in modern Football.

[rm1369]

As for Wentz, he is ONLY here because of Reich. A failure by Wentz is directly attributable to Reich.

So let me understand - Reich is GM when it’s a player he likes that fails. And Reich should be held accountable for his mistakes as a GM. However, the actual GM isn’t responsible for the coach he brought in who apparently is doing double duty sabotaging the team. Am I getting that right?

Do you think the team would be better under McDaniels - Ballard’s first choice?

[ChoppedWood]

So let me understand - Reich is GM when it’s a player he likes that fails. And Reich should be held accountable for his mistakes as a GM. However, the actual GM isn’t responsible for the coach he brought who apparently is doing double duty sabotaging the team. Am I getting that right?

Do you think the team would be better under McDaniels - Ballard’s first choice?

Sadly, yes. I have to believe that despite being a jerk-off, McDaniels would assess the team and say "hmmm that Taylor kid, he is pretty damn good, maybe we should get the ball in his hands a lot".

Reich probably looks at it and says "hmmmm, that Taylor kid, he is pretty good, so they are going to stop him, so I am going to use other guys and beat them, I am going to use Dulin, he isn't very good, but they won't expect me to try to use him because he sucks so bad". Or, "hey we are on the two, second and goal, we can't give it to that stud RB, they will just stop him, so I will use this rookie TE that hasn't proven to be able to do jack shit, I'll use him on a jet sweep, man I am good at this shit".

So yes, yes I would speculate we would be a better team with McSnake. But I also suspect we would be better with a middle school part time HC than we are with Reich.

[Colts And Orioles]

o


It's obviously not a very popular stance right now, but I'm going to say that I support Reich in the long run, despite several heartbreaking losses and questionable decisions this season.

In fact, I like Reich, Ballard, and Wentz ...... this season may or may not be salvageable, but 2022 and beyond is looking good to me.

o

[Hoopsdoc]

I’m not blaming Ballard for Reich’s mistakes, but it’s fucking comical watching the shit that is being blamed on Reich. Absolutely I question some of his play calling. Of course I can’t remember a coach that I haven’t. But shit like the rookie Gransen has been used as a Reich pick to show how stupid Reich is. And Eberflus sucks because that’s what Reich wants. It’s fucking ridiculous. While for the last 4-5 years anyone who disagreed with a single thing Ballard did has been labeled a hater or chicken little. This is all squarely Ballard’s regime. Everything on the field has been molded using his method. And after 5 years they still can’t beat playoff teams. Pick and choose who you want to blame. It’s 75% Reich? Cool. Guess who hired him? And we are damn lucky we didn’t get his first pick. Eberflus sucks? Agreed. Guess who hired him?

At this point I hope you guys get your wish and Reich is fired. Let’s see the coach that can win consistently with a QB you can’t trust, no pass rush, and no CBs.

For the record - I’d say its 70-30 Ballard / Reich to blame. Easier to blame the coach though because you can tell yourself the team is almost there - just being held back by Reich’s stupidity. I see a team with a QB you can’t trust, no pass rush, only 1 of 3 CBs worth a shit, and question marks at LT going forward. That’s, IMO 4 of the most important positions in modern Football.

I’ll have more time to respond later but suffice it to say, we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

This team is plenty talented enough to win these games. And they’re coming close. They’re being held back by coaching.

[Colts And Orioles]

o


It's obviously not a very popular stance right now, but I'm going to say that I support Reich in the long run, despite several heartbreaking losses and questionable decisions this season.

In fact, I like Reich, Ballard, and Wentz ...... this season may or may not be salvageable, but 2022 and beyond is looking good to me.

o
o


And I'm not exonerating Reich for yesterday's play-calling and/or other questionable decisions that he has made this season ...... I'm specifically staking my claim that in the long run, he will wind up surprising some of his detractors.

o

[Kray007]

Reich either called 51 pass plays or allowed Wentz to do so. Reich regularly takes his best player off the field. Reich regularly substitutes offensive linemen when you said yourself nobody does that. Reich calls really bad plays in really bad spots like the screen pass from the endzone. He’s way to conservative in spots and way to aggressive in others.

I don’t understand why you don’t understand the criticism Reich is getting. He richly deserves it.

I don’t understand why you want to dump most of the blame on Ballard when they keep losing totally winnable games because of obviously bad decision making on Reichs part.

Yesterday, Glowinski was in on only 4 plays.

[Hoopsdoc]

So let me understand - Reich is GM when it’s a player he likes that fails. And Reich should be held accountable for his mistakes as a GM. However, the actual GM isn’t responsible for the coach he brought in who apparently is doing double duty sabotaging the team. Am I getting that right?

Do you think the team would be better under McDaniels - Ballard’s first choice?

It’s not that Reich likes Wentz, per se. It’s that Reich was the one who insisted on acquiring him and had to talk Ballard into it. Ballard agreed because he trusted Reichs judgement.

This was discussed recently on the one percent better podcast, based on conversations Holder and Keefer had with Ballard.

[njcoltfan]

So let me understand - Reich is GM when it’s a player he likes that fails. And Reich should be held accountable for his mistakes as a GM. However, the actual GM isn’t responsible for the coach he brought in who apparently is doing double duty sabotaging the team. Am I getting that right?

Do you think the team would be better under McDaniels - Ballard’s first choice?

Absolutely.

[rm1369]

It’s not that Reich likes Wentz, per se. It’s that Reich was the one who insisted on acquiring him and had to talk Ballard into it. Ballard agreed because he trusted Reichs judgement.

This was discussed recently on the one percent better podcast, based on conversations Holder and Keefer had with Ballard.

I doubt that is an accurate representation- Ballard being talked into a move he didn’t like. But let’s say it is. How do you come away from that absolving the GM of responsibility and putting it on the coach. Whose job is player acquisition? The GMs. Whose job was it to hire the coach that supposedly talked him into something he didn’t want to do? The GM. So how the hell is it the coaches fault and not the GMs? It was his decision. And you are claiming he was talked into it by a guy that he hired. Either way that’s a GM problem. What the hell am I missing?

For the record I would expect it was a collaborative effort with the final decision being Ballard’s. At least that’s the way it should have been. If not then you are saying they are more dysfunctional that I believe.

[Hoopsdoc]

Food for thought-as much as everyone loves to hate on Eberflus, the Colts defense is actually better than their offense.

12th in total defense.
17th in total offense.

The Colts biggest problem right now is their “offensive guru” head coach.

[Colts And Orioles]

Food for thought ...... as much as everyone loves to hate on Eberflus, the Colts' defense is actually better than their offense.


12th in total defense.

17th in total offense.


The Colts' biggest problem right now is their “offensive guru” head coach.




o


The defense had 2 huge stops late in yesterday's game ......


1) ) Late in the 4th quarter while the game was tied, they forced the Titans to punt ...... if they hadn't forced that punt, there is a good chance that the Titans would have run most or all of the clock down while kicking what probably would have been the game-winning field goal in regulation.

2) ) In overtime, after the offense failed to score at least a field goal after winning the coin toss, they forced the Titans to punt (after which the offense failed again.)


Additionally, there were 2 different occasions in which the Colts' defense forced 4th downs, both times in which the Titans went for it and got it ...... credit the Titans' offense for getting both of those 1st downs, but there were plenty of occasions in which the defense either forced a turnover or put the Titans in 4th-down situations. The Titans were 7-for-16 on 3rd downs, turned the ball over early in the game which the Colts converted into a touchdown, and punted the ball 4 times (including once in overtime.)

They also caught a bad break when Tyquan Lewis twisted his knee and coughed up the ball which he had just intercepted.


Overall, I believe that the defense did at least a reasonably good job yesterday.

o

[Hoopsdoc]

o


The defense had 2 huge stops late in yesterday's game ......


1) ) Late in the 4th quarter while the game was tied, they forced the Titans to punt ...... if they hadn't forced that punt, there is a good chance that the Titans would have run most or all of the clock down while kicking what probably would have been the game-winning field goal in regulation.

2) ) In overtime, after the offense failed to score at least a field goal after winning the coin toss, they forced the Titans to punt (after which the offense failed again.)


Additionally, there were 2 different occasions in which the Colts' defense forced 4th downs, both times in which the Titans went for it and got it ...... credit the Titans' offense for getting both of those 1st downs, but there were plenty of occasions in which the defense either forced a turnover or put the Titans in 4th-down situations. The Titans were 7-for-16 on 3rd downs, turned the ball over early in the game which the Colts converted into a touchdown, and punted the ball 4 times (including once in overtime.)

They also caught a bad break when Tyquan Lewis twisted his knee and coughed up the ball which he had just intercepted.


Overall, I believe that the defense did at least a reasonably good job yesterday.

o

The defense played Tennessee as well as anyone has played them all year, other than maybe Arizona. Aside from letting Brown run free to often, they played a damn good game.

Apparently it was Ballards fault they elected to throw the ball 51(!!!) times and give it to their stud running back 16 times.

[rm1369]

Apparently it was Ballards fault they elected to throw the ball 51(!!!) times and give it to their stud running back 16 times.

I have no problems with valid criticisms of Reich. It’s him taking the blame for every single bad thing that I have an issue with. From his supposed draft picks, to Eberflus, to his job as GM. And of course that they’d be a better team with McDaniels. But hey - I hope you guys get your wish. I want to see how long until Ballard is responsible for anything considering he hired, signed, traded for, or drafted every damn person being discussed.

[Chromeburn]

I have no problems with valid criticisms of Reich. It’s him taking the blame for every single bad thing that I have an issue with. From his supposed draft picks, to Eberflus, to his job as GM. And of course that they’d be a better team with McDaniels. But hey - I hope you guys get your wish. I want to see how long until Ballard is responsible for anything considering he hired, signed, traded for, or drafted every damn person being discussed.

I still think we dodged a bullet in McDaniels. He has the charisma of a rock. I was in Denver when he was there, players hated him. They didn’t trust anything he said. He dismantled that team.

[Colts And Orioles]

The defense played Tennessee as well as anyone has played them all year, other than maybe Arizona. Aside from letting Brown run free too often, they played a damn good game.

Apparently it was Ballards fault that they elected to throw the ball 51 (!!!) times, and give it to their stud running back 16 times.





o


The Jets' defense did a pretty good job on the Titans, also. Even though the Titans had much more total yardage and time of possession than the Jets had in that game, the Jets had some timely stops ...... the Titans were 5-of-19 on 3rd down, and 2-of-3 on 4th down (7-of-22 combined.)

o

[rm1369]

I still think we dodged a bullet in McDaniels. He has the charisma of a rock. I was in Denver when he was there, players hated him. They didn’t trust anything he said. He dismantled that team.

Yeah I have no idea how multiple people on here think he’s a better option than Reich. His time in Denver was a disaster and the whole deal here shows he hadn’t changed.

[Spike]

I still think we dodged a bullet in McDaniels. He has the charisma of a rock. I was in Denver when he was there, players hated him. They didn’t trust anything he said. He dismantled that team.

100% agree. Fuck McDouche.

[Hoopsdoc]

I have no problems with valid criticisms of Reich. It’s him taking the blame for every single bad thing that I have an issue with. From his supposed draft picks, to Eberflus, to his job as GM. And of course that they’d be a better team with McDaniels. But hey - I hope you guys get your wish. I want to see how long until Ballard is responsible for anything considering he hired, signed, traded for, or drafted every damn person being discussed.

I never said or implied that McDaniels would be a better coach and I never said or implied that I want Reich fired. You’re doing a fine job countering arguments that I’m not making.

I think Reich is capable of being a really good coach, he’s shown that the past 3 years. I think he’ll eventually get this figured out.

But if you don’t think he’s been a major problem this season, you’re in denial.

[rm1369]

I never said or implied that McDaniels would be a better coach and I never said or implied that I want Reich fired. You’re doing a fine job countering arguments that I’m not making.

I think Reich is capable of being a really good coach, he’s shown that the past 3 years. I think he’ll eventually get this figured out.

But if you don’t think he’s been a major problem this season, you’re in denial.

I was also responding to your sarcasm about an argument I’ve never made and I’m not sure anyone here has made - that Ballard is the reason Reich called the plays he did. I think some of the criticism is valid and some is over blown. However you can look at the several threads trashing Reich to see him being trashed for the GM decisions he doesn’t make to blaming Eberflus on him and not Ballard. That’s where I’ve primarily called BS and pointed out how Teflon Ballard has been.

Injuries, pass rush, QB play (Wentz mistakes, no viable backup, antvax issue), and then probably a tie between initial OL depth and play calling. Those are my biggest issues on the season.

I don’t have all 22 but my memory from being at the game was Tenn was playing the run and giving the pass. The Colts passing game left several plays on the field that were there. I also remember a few successful RPOs that were passes. In both cases taking what the defense gives you. I remember 3 running plays resulting in holding calls - putting the team in holes and common passing situations. But yes I still agree they could have ran a little more. In particular on 3rd down at the 38 leading 14-0. Going for it on 4th was the right call but 3rd down should have been a run if he knew he was going for it. 4th likely should have been too. The TE screen was a bad call. I liked passing - Tenn was geared for run but it should have been a roll out for Wentz with an option to throw it, throw it away, or run it. I have no problem with the OT play call. Wentz made stupid fucking decision and had multiple others opened - including Taylor in the open field.

[Discflinger]

Discflinger you actually love this team? I find this group to be the least likable Colt team I have ever rooted for. Prima donas that think they are all that without ever winning shit. Coach that keeps saying what a good team he has here. Participation trophies galore at the end of the season with smiles all around because they 'won'. Think Lombardi would be saying lovely things about his QB who threw a pass a fourth grader wouldn't try? Parcels liked to say 'you are what your record says you are'. He was right. This is a mediocre team through and through. And very unlikable.

Yes, I believe in this team. It may not be the best, but I think they have it in them. Go Colts!

[Discflinger]

10-7!

[Hoopsdoc]

I was also responding to your sarcasm about an argument I’ve never made and I’m not sure anyone here has made - that Ballard is the reason Reich called the plays he did. I think some of the criticism is valid and some is over blown. However you can look at the several threads trashing Reich to see him being trashed for the GM decisions he doesn’t make to blaming Eberflus on him and not Ballard. That’s where I’ve primarily called BS and pointed out how Teflon Ballard has been.

Injuries, pass rush, QB play (Wentz mistakes, no viable backup, antvax issue), and then probably a tie between initial OL depth and play calling. Those are my biggest issues on the season.

I don’t have all 22 but my memory from being at the game was Tenn was playing the run and giving the pass. The Colts passing game left several plays on the field that were there. I also remember a few successful RPOs that were passes. In both cases taking what the defense gives you. I remember 3 running plays resulting in holding calls - putting the team in holes and common passing situations. But yes I still agree they could have ran a little more. In particular on 3rd down at the 38 leading 14-0. Going for it on 4th was the right call but 3rd down should have been a run if he knew he was going for it. 4th likely should have been too. The TE screen was a bad call. I liked passing - Tenn was geared for run but it should have been a roll out for Wentz with an option to throw it, throw it away, or run it. I have no problem with the OT play call. Wentz made stupid fucking decision and had multiple others opened - including Taylor in the open field.

Reich was asked about the run pass ratio and the rpo’s were something he mentioned. Basically, he said there were 6 rpo’s that ended up as passes and the 2 minute drills at the half and the end of the game were what skewed the numbers a little. Also, that the Titans were trying to take the run away.

I have several issues with that. First, Taylor is the best player you have. You get him the ball even if you have to force it. Taylor had 26 carries in two games against the Titans, the two biggest games of the year. That’s not enough. That’s on Reich.

2nd, even conceding that they were trying to take Taylor away, they weren’t being successful. The holding calls were the main thing stopping Taylor yesterday. The Titans never really did.

3rd, Wentz got progressively worse as the game went on and he’s not really a carry the team on his back guy in the first place. The 4th quarter and overtime should have been Taylor time. Especially overtime.

All of those things go squarely on Reichs shoulders.

[ChoppedWood]

Reich was asked about the run pass ratio and the rpo’s were something he mentioned. Basically, he said there were 6 rpo’s that ended up as passes and the 2 minute drills at the half and the end of the game were what skewed the numbers a little. Also, that the Titans were trying to take the run away.

I have several issues with that. First, Taylor is the best player you have. You get him the ball even if you have to force it. Taylor had 26 carries in two games against the Titans, the two biggest games of the year. That’s not enough. That’s on Reich.

2nd, even conceding that they were trying to take Taylor away, they weren’t being successful. The holding calls were the main thing stopping Taylor yesterday. The Titans never really did.

3rd, Wentz got progressively worse as the game went on and he’s not really a carry the team on his back guy in the first place. The 4th quarter and overtime should have been Taylor time. Especially overtime.

All of those things go squarely on Reichs shoulders.

The 2 minute drills skewed it. Excuse maker. You control the calls during the 2 min drills dickwad. Go away.

[YDFL Commish]

=

3rd, Wentz got progressively worse as the game went on and he’s not really a carry the team on his back guy in the first place.


The 2019 version of Wentz carried the team on his back and into the playoffs.

[Discflinger]

You all deserve better pay and respect than Ballard.

[Oldcolt]

I am most upset at the use of what I believe is meant to be the foundation of this team, the offensive line. The Colts have spent a fortune both in money and in draft capital to build a dominant offensive line. I thought I saw this developing with my own eyes. I agree that JT is special but i don't give a damn who the back is, we should physically dominating teams and running on anyone. We were starting to do it with Mack and were doing it with JT last year BUT it was the line that set the tone. I thought the idea was to get an identity as as smash mouth team, one that can win in shit weather in December on the road. Wentz actually made some sense as that teams QB. He is though as nails physically and can play well within a team framework, at least he did for a few games with us. He sucks at hero ball. We knew this before he got here yet in the biggest game here he is being asked to play hero ball. WTF? Omaha has rightly pointed out that having Pacscal as our second wide receiver for this long is malpractice-it is even worse if you don't run the ball as this guys best attribute is his down field blocking. I hope they get back to running the football, no matter who they play or who the back is. If they were not going to do this they should be spending money and draft capital differently.

[ChoppedWood]

I am most upset at the use of what I believe is meant to be the foundation of this team, the offensive line. The Colts have spent a fortune both in money and in draft capital to build a dominant offensive line. I thought I saw this developing with my own eyes. I agree that JT is special but i don't give a damn who the back is, we should physically dominating teams and running on anyone. We were starting to do it with Mack and were doing it with JT last year BUT it was the line that set the tone. I thought the idea was to get an identity as as smash mouth team, one that can win in shit weather in December on the road. Wentz actually made some sense as that teams QB. He is though as nails physically and can play well within a team framework, at least he did for a few games with us. He sucks at hero ball. We knew this before he got here yet in the biggest game here he is being asked to play hero ball. WTF? Omaha has rightly pointed out that having Pacscal as our second wide receiver for this long is malpractice-it is even worse if you don't run the ball as this guys best attribute is his down field blocking. I hope they get back to running the football, no matter who they play or who the back is. If they were not going to do this they should be spending money and draft capital differently.

Which has emerged as a primary complaint for those most vocal in opposition to Reich. We DID have this mentality, we WERE bullying. Then, suddenly, he seems to have decided our identity, is to be crafty, to do the non-traditional. Seemingly it is HIS identity now and that is costing us ballgames. It needs to stop, Ballard, Irsay, whoever needs to sit on him and stop this gimmicky try to outthink them bullshit!

[rm1369]

The 2 minute drills skewed it. Excuse maker. You control the calls during the 2 min drills dickwad. Go away.

This is exactly the type of BS I’m talking about. In the 1st half and end of regulation drives the Colts scored 10 points. One ending with no time remaining and one ending with 22 seconds remaining. By most measures that fairly successful. There were 16 passes and 3 runs. If you want to complain about the int play call in regulation fine. Do so, it’s valid. Your comment here is just worthless BS.

I went to go see just how big an idiot Reich is for his apparently near criminal misuse of Taylor. He’s 11th in the league in rushes per game. 5 of the 10 players ahead of him have already missed games for injury (or are now injured). Including the top 2 in Henry and Cook. He’s also 11th in touches per game, but climbs to fourth in total touches. 3 of the top 5 guys in touches per game have already (McCaffrey, Cook) or will (Henry) miss multiple games.

I’d like to see Taylor get 2-3 more touches per game. I don’t want to see him used like Henry.

[ChoppedWood]

This is exactly the type of BS I’m talking about. 2 minute football tends to be pass happy unless someone is trying to run the clock out. That was the situation. In the 1st half and end of regulation drives the Colts scored 10 points. One ending with no time remaining and one ending with 22 seconds remaining. By most measures that’s pretty damn successful. There were 15 passes called and 3 runs. Taylor had 3 touches - two rushes and a catch. One run was a TD.

I went to go see just how big an idiot Reich is for his apparently near criminal misuse of Taylor. He’s 11th in the league in rushes per game. 5 of the 10 players ahead of him have already missed games for injury (or are now injured). Including the top 2 in Henry and Cook. He’s also 11th in touches per game, but climbs to fourth in total touches. 3 of the top 5 guys in touches per game have already (McCaffrey, Cook) or will (Henry) miss multiple games.

I’d like to see Taylor get 2-3 more touches per game. I don’t want to see him used like Henry.

Wow, so we are now in the realm of load management to prevent injury. Guess what, no one even knows the World Series is being played other than people in two cities. No one cares. Why, because baseball dove into load management and now games are just a joke and the audience has abandoned the sport.

F it, might as well, Roger has already turned it into flag football, might as well go all the way down the rabbit hole. F it, next time an Andrew Luck type talent comes up and he's there to be had, pass on that talent because afterall, probably going to get injured so why pay someone to get hurt.

This is sad.

[rm1369]

Wow, so we are now in the realm of load management to prevent injury. Guess what, no one even knows the World Series is being played other than people in two cities. No one cares. Why, because baseball dove into load management and now games are just a joke and the audience has abandoned the sport.

F it, might as well, Roger has already turned it into flag football, might as well go all the way down the rabbit hole. F it, next time an Andrew Luck type talent comes up and he's there to be had, pass on that talent because afterall, probably going to get injured so why pay someone to get hurt.

This is sad.

I have no fucking idea what you are even saying. Is load management a consideration in the NFL? Fuck yeah it is. Am I saying Reich didn’t run Taylor because of workload? Nope, never said that. I said I went to go see how badly Reich was using him compared to other backs and I see that he’s slightly low on per game averages and near the top in totals. Why? Because of injury for the other high use backs. And I said that I’d like to see 2-3 more touches per game but not a Henry like workload. If you think a Henry like workload is in the best interest of the team it just shows how little you understand about the game.

[ChoppedWood]

I have no fucking idea what you are even saying. Is load management a consideration in the NFL? Fuck yeah it is. Am I saying Reich didn’t run Taylor because of workload? Nope, never said that. I said I went to go see how badly Reich was using him compared to other backs and I see that he’s slightly low on per game averages and near the top in totals. Why? Because of injury for the other high use backs. And I said that I’d like to see 2-3 more touches per game but not a Henry like workload. If you think a Henry like workload is in the best interest of the team it just shows how little you understand about the game.

They run Henry a lot, because they know that's how they can win a lot of games. It's really not that deep. I would put Tanny and Wentz on roughly the same level. One coach realizes that the law of averages says that if Tanny throws it 40+ times, well there will probably be a 2 or 3 really bad events that happen and that reduces their chances of winning games. Whereas if Henry runs it 25+, there will probably be 2 or 3 really great events, events which will enhance their chances of winning games. Thus he goes with what is going to give his team the best chance to win a game, make the playoffs and perhaps win a SB. If the running back gets hurt, well thems the breaks, it is the NFL afterall.

Our coach, appears to eschew wins, playoffs, and potential SB's because, well I guess because in the long view, 51 pass attempts from a mid level QB provides better odds of winning games than does 25 runs by what is perhaps the leagues best back, at least the 2nd best.

Makes sense, lots of it.

[apballin]

This is exactly the type of BS I’m talking about. In the 1st half and end of regulation drives the Colts scored 10 points. One ending with no time remaining and one ending with 22 seconds remaining. By most measures that fairly successful. There were 16 passes and 3 runs. If you want to complain about the int play call in regulation fine. Do so, it’s valid. Your comment here is just worthless BS.

I went to go see just how big an idiot Reich is for his apparently near criminal misuse of Taylor. He’s 11th in the league in rushes per game. 5 of the 10 players ahead of him have already missed games for injury (or are now injured). Including the top 2 in Henry and Cook. He’s also 11th in touches per game, but climbs to fourth in total touches. 3 of the top 5 guys in touches per game have already (McCaffrey, Cook) or will (Henry) miss multiple games.

I’d like to see Taylor get 2-3 more touches per game. I don’t want to see him used like Henry.


All the names you mentioned have also been highly PAID so I’m beginning to wonder if that’s what they truly trying to avoid after JT has a monster year

[Racehorse]

They run Henry a lot, because they know that's how they can win a lot of games. It's really not that deep. I would put Tanny and Wentz on roughly the same level. One coach realizes that the law of averages says that if Tanny throws it 40+ times, well there will probably be a 2 or 3 really bad events that happen and that reduces their chances of winning games. Whereas if Henry runs it 25+, there will probably be 2 or 3 really great events, events which will enhance their chances of winning games. Thus he goes with what is going to give his team the best chance to win a game, make the playoffs and perhaps win a SB. If the running back gets hurt, well thems the breaks, it is the NFL afterall.

Our coach, appears to eschew wins, playoffs, and potential SB's because, well I guess because in the long view, 51 pass attempts from a mid level QB provides better odds of winning games than does 25 runs by what is perhaps the leagues best back, at least the 2nd best.

Makes sense, lots of it.

Bring on the gladiators! They are sub-human, and disposible. Our entertainment is more important!

[rm1369]

All the names you mentioned have also been highly PAID so I’m beginning to wonder if that’s what they truly trying to avoid after JT has a monster year

I’d say it’s more likely they are honest when they say they want a balanced offense. They are 14th in the league for run play percentage. Slightly on the run side of middle of the league. I’d like to see them a little higher, but they are nowhere near as pass happy as some would suggest.

And Irsay has never had an issue paying people. Taylor is 3rd in the league for total yards. He’s behind Henry and Kupp, with Henry now hurt. If they are trying to avoid paying him 2 years from now they aren’t doing a great job. I do think they’d have an issue with him averaging 29.6 touches a game like Henry though. Of course I agree with them.

[MeSayDayo]

I’d say it’s more likely they are honest when they say they want a balanced offense. They are 14th in the league for run play percentage. Slightly on the run side of middle of the league. I’d like to see them a little higher, but they are nowhere near as pass happy as some would suggest.

And Irsay has never had an issue paying people. Taylor is 3rd in the league for total yards. He’s behind Henry and Kupp, with Henry now hurt. If they are trying to avoid paying him 2 years from now they aren’t doing a great job. I do think they’d have an issue with him averaging 29.6 touches a game like Henry though. Of course I agree with them.

It's not so much that people are upset with us being overtly pass happy. It is WHEN we are choosing to be pass happy, and putting the ball in a mistake prone Wentz when we should be pounding away with JT.

On his current usage (which we all feel is underutilized), Taylor is on pace for 250 + carries, 1300 + rushing, 12 + TDs rushing, approx. 45 catches (55 targets) for 500 + yards and maybe 3 more receiving TDs.

In my humble opinion, a back that nears 2000 all purpose yards is being utilized just fine. In fact, if he reaches those numbers while avoiding injury (knock on wood), then we have done even better with him.

Pass and Run split is fine. But we need to start running Taylor when we should be (and when the other team thinks we will) because its working regardless and it sets up the pass for Carson to have much clearer throwing lanes.

Either way our season is down the shitter anyway and we need to find a cleanup foot surgery for Wentz around Week 12. I would also consider moving Big Q by days end as well, because we could probably get a 1st for him and use it in an area of greater need. I love Q, but he has proven to be playing an expendable position.

[rm1369]

It's not so much that people are upset with us being overtly pass happy. It is WHEN we are choosing to be pass happy, and putting the ball in a mistake prone Wentz when we should be pounding away with JT.

On his current usage (which we all feel is underutilized), Taylor is on pace for 250 + carries, 1300 + rushing, 12 + TDs rushing, approx. 45 catches (55 targets) for 500 + yards and maybe 3 more receiving TDs.

In my humble opinion, a back that nears 2000 all purpose yards is being utilized just fine. In fact, if he reaches those numbers while avoiding injury (knock on wood), then we have done even better with him.

Pass and Run split is fine. But we need to start running Taylor when we should be (and when the other team thinks we will) because its working regardless and it sets up the pass for Carson to have much clearer throwing lanes.


Different people are arguing different things. I’ve specifically been pointing out Taylor’s usage because a handful of guys seem to think Taylor is never used or want him used like Henry. He’s being used on the slightly conservative side of a top back and the injury rate for guys being used a decent amount more is pretty damn high. Chopped in particular seems to think if Reich isn’t running Taylor 25+ times a game he’s just an idiot. I strongly disagree.

The situational questions I somewhat agree with although it appears I disagree with many of the anti-Reich sentiment in what should have been called. I think going for it on 3rd and 3 from the 38 leading 14-0 was the right call, but it should have been a run on 3rd down. And pending the outcome on 3rd, likely another short yardage run (if necessary). That’s the exact situation they’ve invested in the OL for in my opinion.

I think the TE screen called on the pick 6 was bad, but I’m fine and actually like not running Taylor there. A roll out of wentz with a safe pass, throw away, or run option for him is what I’d have preferred. Wentz is plenty mobile enough to do what Tannehill did several times to the Colts. That is underutilized by Reich.

And the final game sealing interception was not a bad play call. A play call that gives you 2 wide open options - including your star RB open in the middle of the field with no one within 10 yards of his is pretty damn decent in that situation. Wentz blew it by throwing into triple coverage. If your argument is you don’t trust Wentz, that is fine and I get it. I don’t think he’s a winner. But if you routinely can’t trust him to make the correct read in that situation then the team has significantly bigger issues than the number of carries it’s RB is getting.

So to be clear - I agree Reich erred in some play call. I just don’t agree with 3/4 of the BS being said.

[Oldcolt]

Taylor doesn't need to run 25-30 times a game but the team should be a run dominant team. We have the players to be physical and we spend the game having them pass block 51 times. The offensive line should get a chance to dominate people. They need to be punishing the defense. Get Mack or Hines involved. Let Jackson run the damn ball. Wentz can win as part of a team. He isn't good enough to put the team on his shoulders. Physically yes, mentally no. Running backs get hurt, not matter how much they run the ball or not. Limiting Taylor so he doesn't get hurt seems to be what we are doing. It is working if your design is to keep him healthy. Not so much if you want to use him to win ball games.

[ChoppedWood]

3-5- 2 games lost throwing the ball for no good reason in situations where we should have run the ball
6-2- Several games won by running the ball even when it seemed they should have abandoned the run.

One has the best record in the AFC

The other is likely going to miss the playoffs

Reich sucks

[apballin]

When you’re up 14-0 I don’t care if it’s Taylor, Hines, Mack, or whoever run the goddam ball and can we scrap the Goal line shovel to a TE?

Reich is starting to become predictably unpredictable at the goal line and it’s not necessary we have the best guard in the league- inside the 5 should be run left every time

[Racehorse]

When you’re up 14-0 I don’t care if it’s Taylor, Hines, Mack, or whoever run the goddam ball and can we scrap the Goal line shovel to a TE?

Reich is starting to become predictably unpredictable at the goal line and it’s not necessary we have the best guard in the league- inside the 5 should be run left every time

Put two of those RBs in the game and go wishbone for all I care.

[ChoppedWood]

Bring on the gladiators! They are sub-human, and disposible. Our entertainment is more important!

It's the NFL. There are something around 1,700 gigantic fast men willing to risk severe injury to go out every Sunday and play this game in exchange for big pay days. Yes, this is our entertainment. Networks pay Billions of dollars for us to be entertained by this violence. But somehow, specific individuals should be exempt from this risk? Somehow because he wears the uniform we route for, we need to be worried about Taylor getting injured because he takes too many hits. Where is this same concern for a guy like Kelly who legitimately every play of every game is involved in a high speed car crash? Can't have it both ways. Either we enjoy and celebrate the violence of it and accept the risk, or we find it abhorrent and don't fund it. I don't think we can individualize the violent risk component of this admittedly very violent sport.

[Racehorse]

It's the NFL. There are something around 1,700 gigantic fast men willing to risk severe injury to go out every Sunday and play this game in exchange for big pay days. Yes, this is our entertainment. Networks pay Billions of dollars for us to be entertained by this violence. But somehow, specific individuals should be exempt from this risk? Somehow because he wears the uniform we route for, we need to be worried about Taylor getting injured because he takes too many hits. Where is this same concern for a guy like Kelly who legitimately every play of every game is involved in a high speed car crash? Can't have it both ways. Either we enjoy and celebrate the violence of it and accept the risk, or we find it abhorrent and don't fund it. I don't think we can individualize the violent risk component of this admittedly very violent sport.

Are they disposable to you? Are they even human?

[Oldcolt]

Are they disposable to you? Are they even human?

With what we know about CTE and the NFL none of us who support the NFL are above reproach. Not to mention the state of men like Earl Campbell. These men are willing to shorten their lives, become cripples and check out mentally because their brain no longer functions normally. Yeah, to me that's pretty close to gladiatorial shit.

[Racehorse]

With what we know about CTE and the NFL none of us who support the NFL are above reproach. Not to mention the state of men like Earl Campbell. These men are willing to shorten their lives, become cripples and check out mentally because their brain no longer functions normally. Yeah, to me that's pretty close to gladiatorial shit.

I agree. I just think Pagano Jr. is crazy with his takes.

[rm1369]

When you’re up 14-0 I don’t care if it’s Taylor, Hines, Mack, or whoever run the goddam ball and can we scrap the Goal line shovel to a TE?

Reich is starting to become predictably unpredictable at the goal line and it’s not necessary we have the best guard in the league- inside the 5 should be run left every time

Taylor has had 20 carries in goal to go situations:

4 negative runs for -11 yards
7 runs for no gain
7 positive runs for 17 yards, 3 TDs
2 penalties for -16 yards

Wentz and Hines also each have a rush resulting in 3 yards and a TD

There have been 26 passing attempts resulting in:

8 TDs
1 penalty for -10 yards
1 interception
1 sack for -9 yards
1 sack/fumble

The interception was after a Taylor run for 0 yards

The sack for -9 yards was on 4th down after 3 straight Taylor runs for 0 yards each.

The sack / fumble was after a Taylor run for -2 yards

The penalty was on first down before Taylor had a chance. They scored a TD that possession throwing

Reich started the season attempting to pound it at the goal line and the results weren’t encouraging. 9 of Taylor’s 20 attempts came in the first 2 games. The results?

0 yards gained
0 TDs
2 penalties for -16 yards

Nelson was also in the lineup for both of those games. 8 passing attempts netted 3TDs during that time as well as a sack and the interception.

The point? The Colts have had more goal line issues than can be solved by just hand it to Taylor. That’s the way Reich started the season and it failed. They actually scored a TD in every goal to go situation against Tenn so I’d say there has been significant improvement. Not to mention Nelson has been banged up, missed games, and hasn’t been himself for most of the season yet. Great thought but I don’t think it matches reality.

I agree on the TE shovel pass though.

[apballin]

Taylor has had 20 carries in goal to go situations:

4 negative runs for -11 yards
7 runs for no gain
7 positive runs for 17 yards, 3 TDs
2 penalties for -16 yards

Wentz and Hines also each have a rush resulting in 3 yards and a TD

There have been 26 passing attempts resulting in:

8 TDs
1 penalty for -10 yards
1 interception
1 sack for -9 yards
1 sack/fumble

The interception was after a Taylor run for 0 yards

The sack for -9 yards was on 4th down after 3 straight Taylor runs for 0 yards each.

The sack / fumble was after a Taylor run for -2 yards

The penalty was on first down before Taylor had a chance. They scored a TD that possession throwing

Reich started the season attempting to pound it at the goal line and the results weren’t encouraging. 9 of Taylor’s 20 attempts came in the first 2 games. The results?

0 yards gained
0 TDs
2 penalties for -16 yards

Nelson was also in the lineup for both of those games. 8 passing attempts netted 3TDs during that time as well as a sack and the interception.

The point? The Colts have had more goal line issues than can be solved by just hand it to Taylor. That’s the way Reich started the season and it failed. They actually scored a TD in every goal to go situation against Tenn so I’d say there has been significant improvement. Not to mention Nelson has been banged up, missed games, and hasn’t been himself for most of the season yet. Great thought but I don’t think it matches reality.

I agree on the TE shovel pass though.

You made my point at the end so comparing early seasons stats to current situation doesn’t play in this situation, Nelson wasn’t healthy.. since he’s returned goal line hasn’t been an issue other than stupid shovel pass or Wentz fumbling

Taylor should be the focal point, Ballard has built the early 2000s Seahawks all over, it’s Shaun Alexander all over again behind his line he won an mvp running left every time

[rm1369]

You made my point at the end so comparing early seasons stats to current situation doesn’t play in this situation, Nelson wasn’t healthy.. since he’s returned goal line hasn’t been an issue other than stupid shovel pass or Wentz fumbling

Taylor should be the focal point, Ballard has built the early 2000s Seahawks all over, it’s Shaun Alexander all over again behind his line he won an mvp running left every time

The shovel pass was in the 2nd game (with Nelson) as was all those runs that resulted in nothing. The most recent success in the goal line has featured more passing. Against Tenn there were 3 passing TDs and one running. You are trying to make the reality fit your narrative. It doesn’t.

[apballin]

The shovel pass was in the 2nd game (with Nelson) as was all those runs that resulted in nothing. The most recent success in the goal line has featured more passing. Against Tenn there were 3 passing TDs and one running. You are trying to make the reality fit your narrative. It doesn’t.

Bullshit, easily could’ve run it in on the first drive. No what do we do? Let Taylor run it to the 2 yard line— 3 incompletions only to convert on 4th down

2nd TD after an INT we pass on first and goal

Taylor got stuffed earlier in the season when Nelson wasn’t healthy it’s a different situation now and when you’re up 14-0 it’s not even a discussion

Nelson is a weapon that should be utilized to our advantage, same with Taylor stop making it easy for the defense

[ChoppedWood]

I agree. I just think Pagano Jr. is crazy with his takes.

I just don't understand the context. Taylor apparently needs to receive some level of rest / protection so he doesn't get injured but the giants in the middle that absorb relentless blows EVERY damn down, they aren't subject to that same risk?

Yeah it's brutal, it's borderline inhumane. It's also a multi-billion dollar business. None of these folks have to participate in that market if they don't want to. Once they sign the contract, unfortunately they are putting their bodies in harm's way. Taylor included.

[Racehorse]

I just don't understand the context. Taylor apparently needs to receive some level of rest / protection so he doesn't get injured but the giants in the middle that absorb relentless blows EVERY damn down, they aren't subject to that same risk?

Yeah it's brutal, it's borderline inhumane. It's also a multi-billion dollar business. None of these folks have to participate in that market if they don't want to. Once they sign the contract, unfortunately they are putting their bodies in harm's way. Taylor included.

Read my signature for the context.

[ChoppedWood]

Read my signature for the context.

I offer plenty of praise and complimentary comments, but when an idiot is an idiot, gonna get called an idiot. Not running JT is idiocy because Frank Reich is an idiot.

[rm1369]

Bullshit, easily could’ve run it in on the first drive. No what do we do? Let Taylor run it to the 2 yard line— 3 incompletions only to convert on 4th down

2nd TD after an INT we pass on first and goal

Taylor got stuffed earlier in the season when Nelson wasn’t healthy it’s a different situation now and when you’re up 14-0 it’s not even a discussion

Nelson is a weapon that should be utilized to our advantage, same with Taylor stop making it easy for the defense

Taylor had two rushes in goal to go situations against the 49ers the other game with Nelson. One for 0 yards, one for -2 yards. The wentz sack / fumble was the play after the 2 yard loss. So in the 4 games with Nelson (he only played 13 snaps in 1st Tenn game) here are the results:

12 plays
-1 yards gained
1 TD
2 penalties for -16 yards

The one TD was admittedly the most recent play - the last TD against Tenn. I’m guessing he was obviously healthy for that play, but not the other 11. Of course he missed practice yesterday and his status for Thursday is up in the air. If he plays is he obviously healthy or not? Or do you want to wait to use the play results to decide as you are doing here?

And that’s not to mention the Colts were 4 for 4 in goal situations in the game you are complaining about. 3 of the TDs required just 1 play - 2 were passes, 1 was a Taylor run. None of the data backs up your claims. You are simply throwing out the simplistic view that Nelson and Taylor are good so those situations are easy. Other teams have some pretty damn good players too and others teams also know that Nelson and Taylor are good.

Being predictable is what makes it easy on a defense. I personally think Pittman and MAC are weapons at the goal line just as much as Taylor. Same with Wentz’s legs. Utilizing all of them (and other options) is what will make life difficult on a defense. Not handing it to Taylor every time.

[albany ed]

I seem to recall the negative draft scuttlebutt on Taylor was that he had a huge number of carries in College. I really believe that power backs USUALLY have a limited number of carries before wearing down. I like seeing him used, but using Hines and Mack and giving him some down time is a good move IMO. If the Colts can manage to get a wild card playoff spot, he'll be needed big time.

[rm1369]

I offer plenty of praise and complimentary comments, but when an idiot is an idiot, gonna get called an idiot. Not running JT is idiocy because Frank Reich is an idiot.

There are plenty of analysis you can see on the drop off from running backs following heavy usage seasons. Or just scroll down the list of most touches per season in NFL history and look at the year following that high touch year. Like almost everything, it is not 100% universal but the trend is pretty damn clear. I could POSSIBLY understand you argument for Henry equivalent usage if this was a SB caliber team and that was the way to get there. But it simply isn’t. This is not a SB caliber team even if Taylor gets the same 29.6 touches a game Henry was getting.

[Oldcolt]

This discussion about touches, at least for me, isn't about getting JT injured by overuse. I want the offensive line to get 'touches' (by that I mean I want them to get more chances to physically dominate thru the run). Let JT get his 20 touches a game but let other guys get some also. And it isn't about the number totally. It is when you need to run you can (ie run out the clock in the 4th quarter, get that two yards for a first or TD). Watching football for 50+ years the only teams that can do that consistently are teams that make a commitment to running the ball, being physical, during the season. Put the game in the hands of the offensive line, when people fear that, then Wentz can be effective enough (I don't like the guy at all and am bummed I need to pull for the asshole but he has physical talent, mentally he seems weak) Doing all of that wouldn't solve our pass rush issues however. We still would suck.

[apballin]

Taylor had two rushes in goal to go situations against the 49ers the other game with Nelson. One for 0 yards, one for -2 yards. The wentz sack / fumble was the play after the 2 yard loss. So in the 4 games with Nelson (he only played 13 snaps in 1st Tenn game) here are the results:

12 plays
-1 yards gained
1 TD
2 penalties for -16 yards

The one TD was admittedly the most recent play - the last TD against Tenn. I’m guessing he was obviously healthy for that play, but not the other 11. Of course he missed practice yesterday and his status for Thursday is up in the air. If he plays is he obviously healthy or not? Or do you want to wait to use the play results to decide as you are doing here?

And that’s not to mention the Colts were 4 for 4 in goal situations in the game you are complaining about. 3 of the TDs required just 1 play - 2 were passes, 1 was a Taylor run. None of the data backs up your claims. You are simply throwing out the simplistic view that Nelson and Taylor are good so those situations are easy. Other teams have some pretty damn good players too and others teams also know that Nelson and Taylor are good.

Being predictable is what makes it easy on a defense. I personally think Pittman and MAC are weapons at the goal line just as much as Taylor. Same with Wentz’s legs. Utilizing all of them (and other options) is what will make life difficult on a defense. Not handing it to Taylor every time.

I have no problem with them mixing it up on offense, unless your up 14-0. I just feel like we played right into the Titans hands when it was a nightmare scenario for them in the beginning

But with all that said unless it’s Aaron Donald I’m running left 4 times inside the 5 yard line with Nelson that should be unstoppable

[Racehorse]

I offer plenty of praise and complimentary comments, but when an idiot is an idiot, gonna get called an idiot. Not running JT is idiocy because Frank Reich is an idiot.

Dude, you have had nothing good to say for weeks. It is tiring.

[albany ed]

Is Henry out for the season? I can't help but think if JT had been getting 30+ carries every game and came up lame, criticism would be filling up this message board.

Success has a thousand fathers, and failure is an orphan.

[JAFF]

Is Henry out for the season? I can't help but think if JT had been getting 30+ carries every game and came up lame, criticism would be filling up this message board.

Success has a thousand fathers, and failure is an orphan.

Stop it, you are making too much sense

[ZionsvilleColtsFan]

If Reich is horrible, then what is Ballard?

[apballin]

Is Henry out for the season? I can't help but think if JT had been getting 30+ carries every game and came up lame, criticism would be filling up this message board.

Success has a thousand fathers, and failure is an orphan.

If the Colts were 6-2 and have Hines and Mack as backups I doubt it would be as bad as you think

[rm1369]

If the Colts were 6-2 and have Hines and Mack as backups I doubt it would be as bad as you think

I don’t understand that logic. If running Taylor 25-30 times a game instead of 15-18 times a game is what gets you to 6-2, how are you going to win games when he’s available for no carries. If the extra 10 carries a game gets you 3 more wins, what does 15 less carries a game get you the rest of the way? 2-7?

[apballin]

I don’t understand that logic. If running Taylor 25-30 times a game instead of 15-18 times a game is what gets you to 6-2, how are you going to win games when he’s available for no carries. If the extra 10 carries a game gets you 3 more wins, what does 15 less carries a game get you the rest of the way? 2-7?

We’re in a totally different situation than the Titans, I am not saying run Taylor 30 times a game I’ve never said that

So who would you say is sitting better right now the 6-2 run away AFC south leaders or Colts at 3-5 with a fresh Taylor

[rm1369]

We’re in a totally different situation than the Titans, I am not saying run Taylor 30 times a game I’ve never said that

So who would you say is sitting better right now the 6-2 run away AFC south leaders or Colts at 3-5 with a fresh Taylor

It largely depends on if you believe Henry having 30 touches a game is why the Titans are 6-2 instead of 3-5. If 10 touches a game from Henry make a 3 game difference then they are just as screwed as the Colts. I don’t think the numbers work out that way though and I think the Titans have been negligent in his use. So that being the case, I’d take the Titans position. But I don’t think the difference in record is because of what you apparently do so it’s irrelevant.

[apballin]

It largely depends on if you believe Henry having 30 touches a game is why the Titans are 6-2 instead of 3-5. If 10 touches a game from Henry make a 3 game difference then they are just as screwed as the Colts. I don’t think the numbers work out that way though and I think the Titans have been negligent in his use. So that being the case, I’d take the Titans position. But I don’t think the difference in record is because of what you apparently do so it’s irrelevant.

Yes I believe Henry is the sole reason they have that record, he’s their entire offense everything they do revolves around him I hope they turn into a jags or texans like team but with a cheating lying scamming rule breaking piece of shit coach I have to think they’ll still find a way to be competitive

[Racehorse]

Yes I believe Henry is the sole reason they have that record, he’s their entire offense everything they do revolves around him I hope they turn into a jags or texans like team but with a cheating lying scamming rule breaking piece of shit coach I have to think they’ll still find a way to be competitive

Teams fear Henry. They do not fear others on that team. Without Henry, Tannehill will be like Dolphins Tannehill, and Brown will have more coverage on him. It really is that simple.

[ChoppedWood]

It largely depends on if you believe Henry having 30 touches a game is why the Titans are 6-2 instead of 3-5. If 10 touches a game from Henry make a 3 game difference then they are just as screwed as the Colts. I don’t think the numbers work out that way though and I think the Titans have been negligent in his use. So that being the case, I’d take the Titans position. But I don’t think the difference in record is because of what you apparently do so it’s irrelevant.

So they are 6-2 because of what? Their kicker? The strength and conditioning coach? Water boy?

Henry was leading the league in rushing by like 300 going into our game and was already almost at 1,000. I am going to go with BELIEVE yes, that's my final answer.

I will also go with I BELIEVE the Colts would have a better record with a coach that wasn't fascinated with going for it when he shouldn't, going for 2 pt conversions for NO REASON, and finally, seemingly obsessed with throwing the ball in situations where one of the league's very best running backs is standing on the sidelines watching instead of chewing clock.

Reich sucks

[albany ed]

We’re in a totally different situation than the Titans, I am not saying run Taylor 30 times a game I’ve never said that

So who would you say is sitting better right now the 6-2 run away AFC south leaders or Colts at 3-5 with a fresh Taylor

Let's see how the Titans do in the second half sans Henry. I have a hunch teams will key on Tannenhill and he will struggle. I also think both the Titans and the Colts (wild card) will make the playoffs, with the Colts being in a better position if Taylor is healthy. Titans may end up with a better regular season record than the Colts, but if they're one and done in the playoffs, what does their regular season matter?

[rm1369]

Let’s remember the question isn’t whether or not the Titans will miss Henry. Everyone in their right mind knows they will. The question is was it necessary for Henry to be on a historic touches pace to instill fear in defenses? And was it the sole reason they were 6-2? I think the answer is demonstrably no.

Can we agree Henry was feared last year? Good. He averaged 5 less touches per game last year. This year he was averaging 1.1 yards less per carry than last year. He was averaging 0.6 yards less per carry this year than his career average. And with the 17 game season he was on pace to set a new record for touches. Oh and with Henry at 5 less touches per game last year do you want to guess what the Titans record was last year? Yep 6-2. So I see no evidence that being on a historic pace is the reason for the Titans success.

The threat of what Henry could do is what helped get the Titans to 6-2 both years. That threat was there whether or not Henry was getting 25 touches or 30. And I believe it would have been there at 20-22 as well. I don’t have the all22 and can’t find any stats but at the game it appeared to me the Titans feared Taylor and his 18 touches per game. The one thing that eliminates the fear of a great player is them not being on the field.

[rm1369]

I will also go with I BELIEVE the Colts would have a better record with a coach that wasn't fascinated with going for it when he shouldn't, going for 2 pt conversions for NO REASON, and finally, seemingly obsessed with throwing the ball in situations where one of the league's very best running backs is standing on the sidelines watching instead of chewing clock.

Reich sucks

So Vrabel is a genius and Reich an idiot. I get it. The Colts have went for it 12 times this season on 4th down. The Titans 11. Clearly there is the obvious difference in the aggressiveness of the two coaches.

I’m curious if you complained about Reich going for it twice on 4th down on the first TD drive or just the one time it failed?

The Colts have attempted more two point conversions than Tenn but the difference is the Baltimore game (hurt kicker that missed his prior PAT) and SF with rain and 30 mph winds. You can certainly argue both (and since both failed I’m sure you will) but I believe both were reasonable. I actually believe one of the biggest criticisms of Reich is the 2pt conversion he didn’t attempt. That should have been the end of the Titans game. One play win or lose. The momentum swung big time on that TD. They should have capitalized.

[Hoopsdoc]

I thought Reich did an outstanding job of using Taylor last night. Establish him early and often and then build from there.

[apballin]

Yea good game Reich and You made me eat my words on the shovel pass

[Colts And Orioles]

I thought Reich did an outstanding job of using Taylor last night ...... establish him early and often and then build from there.




o


Last night, Reich made a decision that I was OK with, BUT ONLY UNDER THOSE SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES ...... he went for it on 4th-and-goal from the opponent's 2-yardline. The Colts were up by a score of 28-10 AND they were playing a bad team that was using their 3rd-string quarterback.

If the Colts were in the same exact situation but against a better team with their 1st-string quarterback, I would have wanted Reich to choose a field goal attempt instead of going for it ...... and/or if the score was closer, then I also would have liked to see Reich choose a field goal attempt (even against a bad team.)


I would like to believe that Reich is in congruence with my thinking, and that he only went for it because of the extremely favorable circumstances. In the past, he made very questionable decisions against better teams with better quarterbacks ...... time will tell if Reich has learned from his mistakes and only went for it because of the extremely favorable conditions (an 18-point lead against a bad team with a 3rd-string quarterback), or if he would stubbornly do what he has done in the past.

o

[Chromeburn]

I thought Reich did an outstanding job of using Taylor last night. Establish him early and often and then build from there.

I thought he did a great job. It was a well called game and the players were all executing well. Hines has been neglected lately also. You have to find touches for him every game as well. No excuse especially with WRs down.

I would not have gone for that one 4th down, would have kicked a field goal. But that’s him and the jets weren’t going to rally in time.

That leads to my biggest criticism. I feel like his failed 4th down tries can supply the other team with momentum. And this defense seems to fall apart the more passing the other team does. Part of managing a game is also making sure to not supply the other team with a jumpstart if they are struggling. And that is something we don’t seem to control well. When you watch a practiced veteran coach like Belichick, he does all he can to make sure you have trouble digging out of a hole. Pin you back with punting, stifle you with smothering defense. We don’t do that especially with the cushion coverage in our prevent. We also let up too early in that game.

[Chromeburn]

Yea good game Reich and You made me eat my words on the shovel pass

Just as long as A-a-ron Donald isn’t on the dline when you attempt it. I’m ok with it.

[Colts And Orioles]

o


Last night, Reich made a decision that I was OK with, BUT ONLY UNDER THOSE SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES ...... he went for it on 4th-and-goal from the opponent's 2-yardline. The Colts were up by a score of 28-10 AND they were playing a bad team that was using their 3rd-string quarterback.

If the Colts were in the same exact situation but against a better team with their 1st-string quarterback, I would have wanted Reich to choose a field goal attempt instead of going for it ...... and/or if the score was closer, then I also would have liked to see Reich choose a field goal attempt (even against a bad team.)


I would like to believe that Reich is in congruence with my thinking, and that he only went for it because of the extremely favorable circumstances. In the past, he made very questionable decisions against better teams with better quarterbacks ...... time will tell if Reich has learned from his mistakes and only went for it because of the extremely favorable conditions (an 18-point lead against a bad team with a 3rd-string quarterback), or if he would stubbornly do what he has done in the past.

o
o


(vs. JAGUARS, 11/14)


On 4th and a long 2 from the opponents' 5 yardline in the 1st quarter of a scoreless game, Reich chose to kick the field goal ...... so, perhaps he is learning/evolving as his head coaching career progresses.

o

[YDFL Commish]

o


(vs. JAGUARS, 11/14)


On 4th and a long 2 from the opponents' 5 yardline in the 1st quarter of a scoreless game, Reich chose to kick the field goal ...... so, perhaps he is learning/evolving as his head coaching career progresses.

o

That was the right call instead of the usual Reich call.

[JAFF]

I am not sure I can watch next weeks game. I dont know how the colts pulled this out of their ass

[YDFL Commish]

I am not sure I can watch next weeks game. I dont know how the colts pulled this out of their ass

The Jags are very good defensively. Think about it Wentz played better against them than Josh Allen did and Josh Allen is considered as top 5 QB.

Nothing came easy, but I prefer it that way, because it will further toughen our offense.

[JAFF]

The Jags are very good defensively. Think about it Wentz played better against them than Josh Allen did and Josh Allen is considered as top 5 QB.

Nothing came easy, but I prefer it that way, because it will further toughen our offense.

Wentz processes things to slowly. They need to go no huddle to keep the opposing d from fun and games, or give him fewer options

[IndyNorm]

I am not sure I can watch next weeks game. I dont know how the colts pulled this out of their ass

B/c we made a huge ST play and Lawrence was really bad today. He made some plays with his legs, but he missed a ton of open receivers.

[IndyNorm]

The Jags are very good defensively. Think about it Wentz played better against them than Josh Allen did and Josh Allen is considered as top 5 QB.

Nothing came easy, but I prefer it that way, because it will further toughen our offense.

If you look at their entire season Jax holding Buffalo was probably more likely due to Buffalo not taking Jax seriously and/or shitting the bed on the road. Jax is ranked 27th in scoring D at 25.8 ppg and 20th in yardage D at 366 ypg. Shit, Seattle with Geno Smith at QB dropped 31 on them the week before the Buffalo game.

[ChoppedWood]

If you look at their entire season Jax holding Buffalo was probably more likely due to Buffalo not taking Jax seriously and/or shitting the bed on the road. Jax is ranked 27th in scoring D at 25.8 ppg and 20th in yardage D at 366 ypg. Shit, Seattle with Geno Smith at QB dropped 31 on them the week before the Buffalo game.

This team is perpetually flawed at the coaching position(s) and isn't winning jack with these guys in charge. We have a lot of talent, we have some serious super stars, we have the goods to win any game we play. We have a high school JV level coaching staff.

Killing them on the ground, they have ZERO chance of stopping us. We get that holding penalty on I think it was Glow on the long run from JT, and Reich immediately switches gears and we start trying to throw the ball around with basically no success. Was it the first poss of the 2nd Qtr where I think we ran on 1st for 5, and then went incomplete twice in a row for a punt after? If I recall that's when all the mo' just evaporated- dude is a buzz kill as a coach. I really believe he has a problem with not getting chunk plays when expected and just starts deviating from plan trying to find a way to get 30,50, etc... when 4-6 is essentially there every play with this line. Then OF course, of freakin' course, on the goal line he has to be the crafty guy that brings in the 2nd QB and put the real QB out wide. Sooooo tricky! Then of course there is the final off possession for the Colts where the smart play would have been to run it and force them to use their TO's at the minimum, nope not super brainiac Frank, he would "fool" them with the passes instead of running; and we damn near lost as a result! Dude is a genius!

But, that said, the more horrible coach is Ebersuck. As you note, there were a lot of completions left on the field by Lawrence- lot of dudes with space and he just couldn't hit them. The worst of all though, and I admittedly was driving and couldn't watch the final drive, but listening to Venturi, it sounded as though Ebersuck was playing an even softer zone than his ever famous soft serve crap. Venturi was trying to detail that they had two TO's (thanks to Frank being the idiot he is) and that letting them catch and be tackled in bounds isn't doing anything. Further he was livid talking about how these little underneath passes were seeing 8-9, 10 yard gains because the zone was so deep there was no one around the receiver at catch, and how they weren't even doing that in the 1st half, but now, trying to prevent a touch down which would win the game, they were willingly letting them have huge chunks of yards.

In the end, it seems like there is a ton of "contrarian" psychology in this administration. Some times you just have to line up and play smart physical football, these guys really struggle with that basic concept.

Obviously we got the pivotal TO to seal it, and Venturi was astute in calling out how ridiculous it is to basically "PLAN" on getting these TO's vs just playing defense designed to stop someone. So, take the win and move on, but this team is playing from behind from the kick off because of the Reich regime.

[YDFL Commish]

Wentz processes things to slowly. They need to go no huddle to keep the opposing d from fun and games, or give him fewer options

I disagree about Wentz processing slowly. Its more of a fact that our WR's can't win their matchup early in the route. Pittman can. I'm not sure about TY, because we haven't seen enough of him. But Dulin and Pascal can't unless Frank schemes something up for them.

[Colts And Orioles]

Wentz processes things to slowly. They need to go no huddle to keep the opposing d from fun and games, or give him fewer options.










I disagree about Wentz processing slowly. It's more of a fact that our WR's can't win their matchup early in the route. Pittman can. I'm not sure about TY, because we haven't seen enough of him. But Dulin and Pascal can't unless Frank schemes something up for them.




o


I remember when Daryle Lamonica, Ken Stabler, and Jim Plunkett had all day behind the offensive line of the Oakland Raiders that was blocking for them ...... their processing ability was just fine.

On the other end of the spectrum, I remember when Peyton Manning barely had time to blink when the Broncos played the Seahawks in the Super Bowl ...... his processing ability was awful that day.

o

[Spike]

I disagree about Wentz processing slowly. Its more of a fact that our WR's can't win their matchup early in the route. Pittman can. I'm not sure about TY, because we haven't seen enough of him. But Dulin and Pascal can't unless Frank schemes something up for them.

Add in the fact that the O-line didn't pass block worth a shit and it is easy to blame Wentz. Thank God Wentz has mobility or we would really be screwed. I will say that with the 2 main options the Colts had, they chose Wentz over Darnold and that was easily a win, Darnold is garbage.

[YDFL Commish]

I will say though, that the 15 yard catch by Granson was a thing of beauty. The route he ran was so Dallas Clark like.

[Chromeburn]

I disagree about Wentz processing slowly. Its more of a fact that our WR's can't win their matchup early in the route. Pittman can. I'm not sure about TY, because we haven't seen enough of him. But Dulin and Pascal can't unless Frank schemes something up for them.

Pittman is getting open 10th most in the league against man coverage. That is 50% of his routes. And against press coverage he gets open the most in the league at 46.9%

[Colts And Orioles]

o


(vs. BUCCANEERS, 11/28)


Just before halftime, I did not like the call on 3rd down and 1 from the Buccaneers' 4 yard-line ...... they could have fairly easily gotten the 1st down by having Wentz run the ball himself. The Colts had 2 timeouts left, so time would not have been a factor of they had been tackled in-bounds by running the ball.

I'm glad that they it on 4th down, but they did not need to be in that position in the first place.



I love it when Reich's daringness on 4th down works ...... not so much when it doesn't work, like in last year's playoff game against the Bills.

Like l albany ed l has said on numerous occasions, l "Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan."

o

[nate505]

Reich was lousy today. Actually he was decent in the first half, but why he went so far away from the run in the 2nd is a total mystery.

[Dewey 5]

Reich was lousy today. Actually he was decent in the first half, but why he went so far away from the run in the 2nd is a total mystery.

Today? He's been lousy most of the season

[ChoppedWood]

In all my years of watching this game, I can safely say I have never seen a coach who is more incapable of trusting his players to just make plays.

For weeks he has seen what this OL and JT has done. Hell, yeah they stopped us several times at the line, there were also a couple "punchy" runs against that stacked box that showed we could make gains if we would commit to it.

He cannot do it, he simply can't.

It is legitimately the "I am smarter than them" mentality and it is killing this team. We lose games simply because this man refuses to let playmakers be play makers. I've said it repeatedly, Emmit Smith wasn't the best RB of all time. Jimmy Johnson wasn't the best coach of all time. Together they dominated teams. Jimmy recognized it did not matter what the other team had, he had a line filled with HOF guys and a damn good running back. So he used that to batter people until they folded. It was there for us to do today, but this fu-cking jack ass won't let himself do it.

This team WILL NOT EVER win a title with this guy calling the plays. He is too full of his own smarts to be smart.

F U
Frank

FU!

[Thorgrim]

In all my years of watching this game, I can safely say I have never seen a coach who is more incapable of trusting his players to just make plays.

For weeks he has seen what this OL and JT has done. Hell, yeah they stopped us several times at the line, there were also a couple "punchy" runs against that stacked box that showed we could make gains if we would commit to it.

He cannot do it, he simply can't.

It is legitimately the "I am smarter than them" mentality and it is killing this team. We lose games simply because this man refuses to let playmakers be play makers. I've said it repeatedly, Emmit Smith wasn't the best RB of all time. Jimmy Johnson wasn't the best coach of all time. Together they dominated teams. Jimmy recognized it did not matter what the other team had, he had a line filled with HOF guys and a damn good running back. So he used that to batter people until they folded. It was there for us to do today, but this fu-cking jack ass won't let himself do it.

This team WILL NOT EVER win a title with this guy calling the plays. He is too full of his own smarts to be smart.

F U
Frank

FU!
You summed it up perfectly. Imagine how crushing it must be to play for a man who has no confidence in you to do your job despite the fact you have demonstrated the skill to do in the past.

[Lov2fish]

A 9-3 team coached by a 6-6 coach.

[apballin]

Can’t blame Reich for the huge fumble by Wentz and Hines that were game changers

[rm1369]

Can’t blame Reich for the huge fumble by Wentz and Hines that were game changers

Reich gets the blame for every loss and every pass play that isn’t successful. Guys are against becoming one dimensional unless that one dimension is running. The sack / fumble obviously should have been a run. Same with the interception. Now the long bomb to Dulin was a good play call of course.

[ChoppedWood]

Reich gets the blame for every loss and every pass play that isn’t successful. Guys are against becoming one dimensional unless that one dimension is running. The sack / fumble obviously should have been a run. Same with the interception. Now the long bomb to Dulin was a good play call of course.

Reich gets the blame for being the pig headed dumb fu-ck that he is. He does not coach wins, he coaches losses. He is the single biggest problem this team has. Subtract him, and we have 3 losses and are looking for the # 1 seed in the playoffs.

F Frank Reich

[apballin]

We can’t run Taylor into the ground there has to be some balance let’s be honest

[ChoppedWood]

We can’t run Taylor into the ground there has to be some balance let’s be honest

1 carry in the 3rd

17 straight pass attempts

Taylor dominates a drive on the ground in the 4th

Mack is a healthy scratch

Reich is a POS

[nate505]

We can’t run Taylor into the ground there has to be some balance let’s be honest

There definitely has to be balance. The trouble is in the 2nd half, there was none until that last TD drive.

[ChaosTheory]

Can’t blame Reich for the huge fumble by Wentz and Hines that were game changers

This is true. There's reason to want us to run more in the second half. But all this "Frank Reich needs to be fired" talk is overkill to say the least.

This is where I can't get on board with a lot of guys here commenting about play-calling or 4th down attempts or whatever. Seems like post-hoc criticism.

We tried to run early, didn't get much. So we started passing. And it's not like we were banging our heads against the wall. The pass was absolutely working against Tampa Bay.

-We scored 21 in the 2nd quarter.

-First drive of second half, all passes, we drive down to the red zone. Shaq Barrett destroying our drive was not because of Frank Reich's play-calling.

-TB touchdown

-Next drive, moving the ball again, two more first downs, TB territory. Wentz throws up a 50/50 ball that Pittman loses to Winfield. Questionable decision, not the play-call.

-TB touchdown

-Third drive, 3rd and 2 becomes 3rd and 17 after consecutive holding and false start penalties. Not on play-calling.

-Finally force TB to punt again... And Hines muffs it at our 19. Not on play- calling.

-TB field goal.

-We get one drive in the second half where we don't kill ourselves with turnovers or penalties, and just like earlier in the game, we move the ball right down the field and score.

------

We were moving the ball today and if not for devastating mistakes by players... It looked to me like we were on our way to dropping another 40-burger this week.

[IndyNorm]

We can’t run Taylor into the ground there has to be some balance let’s be honest

26 passes in a row is not balanced.

Also, Reich hasn't had any issues with continuing to hand the ball off to JT in the 4th quarter of blowout wins when the game's already decided (Buff, Hou). If he's wanting to limit some of JT's carries so he's fresher later in the season why not do it then instead of when games are still undecided?

[IndyNorm]

Reich gets the blame for every loss and every pass play that isn’t successful. Guys are against becoming one dimensional unless that one dimension is running. The sack / fumble obviously should have been a run. Same with the interception. Now the long bomb to Dulin was a good play call of course.

The problem is that we have 3 games where we've blown a double digit lead and lost, and in all 3 of those losses our best player was vastly underutilized. I'm not on the fire Frank bandwagon, but he really needs to quit inexplicably going away from the run for crazy long stretches at a time.

[apballin]

26 passes in a row is not balanced.

Also, Reich hasn't had any issues with continuing to hand the ball off to JT in the 4th quarter of blowout wins when the game's already decided (Buff, Hou). If he's wanting to limit some of JT's carries so he's fresher later in the season why not do it then instead of when games are still undecided?

The run game had early success vs both teams the Bucs are super bowl champs and they were daring us to throw and we were having success, they didn’t stop Doyle all game long that was because of the threat of Taylor

The turnovers lost the game period that drive late in the 4th was a thing of beauty

[Racehorse]

The problem is that we have 3 games where we've blown a double digit lead and lost, and in all 3 of those losses our best player was vastly underutilized. I'm not on the fire Frank bandwagon, but he really needs to quit inexplicably going away from the run for crazy long stretches at a time.

I agree 100%. No need to fire the guy. Turnovers happened, and they cost us the game, not the play calls.

[ChoppedWood]

I agree 100%. No need to fire the guy. Turnovers happened, and they cost us the game, not the play calls.

But we can all the play the woulda, coulda, shoulda card. What if we weren't going absolutely bonkers passing on every down and the DE had to at least maintain some level of edge contain due to the threat of JT instead of doing his best Robert Mathis mad dog impersonation? Would there have been the strip sack?

That's the problem with this guy. Way too many games where you can sit back and say "shoulda kicked the FG, shoulda punted, shoulda run the ball".

Yep, we are just fans and he is making millions coaching at the highest level. But there is a very clear trend of being able to look back at losses with this team, with him calling the shots, where you can do this.

He sucks!

[albany ed]

This was a very disappointing loss. To me, while everyone except Taylor should share the blame, I am most disappointed in the OL. How can everyone from fans to talking heads tout this line as being great, when they may be the worst line in football for pass blocking. I can count on one hand the amount of times this entire season I've seen Wentz have all the time in the world to throw a pass. Brady had that on almost every snap. Can anyone explain how this line can be so good on run blocking and so bad on pass blocking?

[Racehorse]

But we can all the play the woulda, coulda, shoulda card. What if we weren't going absolutely bonkers passing on every down and the DE had to at least maintain some level of edge contain due to the threat of JT instead of doing his best Robert Mathis mad dog impersonation? Would there have been the strip sack?

That's the problem with this guy. Way too many games where you can sit back and say "shoulda kicked the FG, shoulda punted, shoulda run the ball".

Yep, we are just fans and he is making millions coaching at the highest level. But there is a very clear trend of being able to look back at losses with this team, with him calling the shots, where you can do this.

He sucks!
His plays scored us 31 points. Most times, that gets you the W. Turnovers prevented it from being 45 points or more.

[Colts And Orioles]

o


(CHARGERS vs. CHIEFS, 12/16)


With 3 seconds left to play in the 1st half, the Chargers went for it on 4th-and-goal from the Chiefs' 1-and-a-half yardline ...... and the pass was batted down, incomplete.

No points for the Chargers on the final play of the first half.

o

[Colts And Orioles]

o


(CHARGERS vs. CHIEFS, 12/16)


With 3 seconds left to play in the 1st half, the Chargers went for it on 4th-and-goal from the Chiefs' 1-and-a-half yardline ...... and the pass was batted down, incomplete.

No points for the Chargers on the final play of the first half.

o
o


The Chargers just went for it again on 4th down, by passing a 45-yard field goal attempt ...... and they were again stopped.

No points for the Chargers on their first drive of the second half.

o

[Spike]

o


The Chargers just went for it again on 4th down, by passing a 45-yard field goal attempt ...... and they were again stopped.

No points for the Chargers on their first drive of the second half.

o

Well, that's 6 points now.

[Colts And Orioles]

o


(CHARGERS vs. CHIEFS, 12/16)


With 3 seconds left to play in the 1st half, the Chargers went for it on 4th-and-goal from the Chiefs' 1-and-a-half yardline ...... and the pass was batted down, incomplete.

No points for the Chargers on the final play of the first half.

o


o


The Chargers just went for it again on 4th down, by passing a 45-yard field goal attempt ...... and they were again stopped.

No points for the Chargers on their first drive of the second half.

o
o


The Chiefs just returned one of those favors ...... they went for it on 4th down and 1 from the Chargers' 2 yardline, and didn't get it.

Both teams are leaving points on the board wholesale in this game.

o

[apballin]

They were playing madden Lastnight, go for it every time

[JAFF]

They were playing madden Lastnight, go for it every time

Which is why NFL coaches dont come from Madden.

Colts v ravens in 06. Dungy had Viniteri kick 5 field goals and won. You Never pass up a scoring opportunity.

[rm1369]

Which is why NFL coaches dont come from Madden.

Colts v ravens in 06. Dungy had Viniteri kick 5 field goals and won. You Never pass up a scoring opportunity.

The primary reason they won that game was because they held the Ravens to 6 points - not because they kicked field goals. Kick a lot of field goals against a prolific offense and you’ll often lose. Context of the game matters.

For reference 19 teams currently are at 50% or better 4th down conversion rate. Last year 24 teams finished 50% or better. Considering the point differential between a touchdown (with extra point) and a field goal it’s no wonder the analytics often disagree with you.

[JAFF]

The primary reason they won that game was because they held the Ravens to 6 points - not because they kicked field goals. Kick a lot of field goals against a prolific offense and you’ll often lose. Context of the game matters.

For reference 19 teams currently are at 50% or better 4th down conversion rate. Last year 24 teams finished 50% or better. Considering the point differential between a touchdown (with extra point) and a field goal it’s no wonder the analytics often disagree with you.

They gave up. 9 points for 0. Great strategy.

[rm1369]

They gave up. 9 points for 0. Great strategy.

Ahh yes, the hindsight defense. Very popular. More teams should employ it - see what the results are then make your decision. But what if I point out games where the 4th down conversion and scoring TDs instead of FGs were the deciding factor? Would you change your mind? Probably not since the question would be which is more likely to occur. I know! We should analyze how likely each event is to occur and how likely they are to contribute to victory using math and a lot of historical data. We could call it analytics or something!! I think we are on to something. This could be extremely valuable for NFL coaches!! Of course hindsight users will always hate it since hindsight has proven to be a superior analysis tool commonly used by NFL fans.

[ChaosTheory]

Ahh yes, the hindsight defense. Very popular. More teams should employ it - see what the results are then make your decision. But what if I point out games where the 4th down conversion and scoring TDs instead of FGs were the deciding factor? Would you change your mind? Probably not since the question would be which is more likely to occur. I know! We should analyze how likely each event is to occur and how likely they are to contribute to victory using math and a lot of historical data. We could call it analytics or something!! I think we are on to something. This could be extremely valuable for NFL coaches!! Of course hindsight users will always hate it since hindsight has proven to be a superior analysis tool commonly used by NFL fans.

People also often don't take into consideration the butterfly effect.

If you lose by 2pts... People point to that first quarter field goal miss as the reason you lost.

When really, if you made the field goal, all subsequent series of events would be different. You actually could've lost the game by 14pts had you made the field goal. Or you could've won by 10pts. We don't know.

[JAFF]

Ahh yes, the hindsight defense. Very popular. More teams should employ it - see what the results are then make your decision. But what if I point out games where the 4th down conversion and scoring TDs instead of FGs were the deciding factor? Would you change your mind? Probably not since the question would be which is more likely to occur. I know! We should analyze how likely each event is to occur and how likely they are to contribute to victory using math and a lot of historical data. We could call it analytics or something!! I think we are on to something. This could be extremely valuable for NFL coaches!! Of course hindsight users will always hate it since hindsight has proven to be a superior analysis tool commonly used by NFL fans.

Its not hindsight.

There are only so many scoring chances. There is a clock. Teams that have more takeaways fewer turnovers have more success than their opponents. When a team turns it over on downs when they were in scoring position, it might as well be a fumble or an interception.

There is a time and place for going for it. SD had several chances to score, and they came away with nothing. KC took the ball with good field position, and scored.

A lot of little things add up to a big thing. There is a time and a place for taking a chance. They failed and gave the ball to a prolific offense, in decent field position. Is the charger defense good enough for that risk?

Apparently not.

[Colts And Orioles]

They gave up ...... 9 points for 0 ...... great strategy.




o


The Chiefs also gave up 3 points.

I think that the FG-attempt which the Chargers eschewed right before halftime hurt the most ...... heading into the locker room with half an hour to think about it, that complete negation of any kind of points at all was huge for the Chiefs and devastating for the Chargers.

o

[TheMugwump]

People also often don't take into consideration the butterfly effect.

If you lose by 2pts... People point to that first quarter field goal miss as the reason you lost.

When really, if you made the field goal, all subsequent series of events would be different. You actually could've lost the game by 14pts had you made the field goal. Or you could've won by 10pts. We don't know.

I find this a particularly compelling argument when made by a poster calling himself "ChaosTheory".

Dr. Ian Malcolm would approve.

[Colts And Orioles]

o


The Chargers just went for it again on 4th down, by passing a 45-yard field goal attempt ...... and they were again stopped.

No points for the Chargers on their first drive of the second half.

o






Well, that's 6 points now.




o


Actually, that was 9 points that the Chargers had left on the table at that point.

I didn't start watching the contest until the 2nd quarter ...... the Chargers went for it on 4th down-and-goal from the Chiefs' 5-yardline on the opening drive of the game, and were stopped.

o

[Colts And Orioles]

People also often don't take into consideration the butterfly effect.

If you lose a game by 2 points ...... people point to that first quarter field-goal miss as the reason why you lost the game.

In reality, if you had made that field goal, all subsequent series of events would be different. You actually might have lost the game by 14 points had you made the field goal ...... or you might have won by 10 points ...... we don't know.




o


Excellent citation of the cause-and-effect phenomenon.

The same is true of baseball (and pretty much almost every other sport.) When a base-runner gets caught stealing and the batter then hits a solo home run immediately afterward, many fans will say that he would have hit a 2-run homer if the base-runner had stayed put ...... but if the base-runner had stayed put, the pitcher would have been pitching from the stretch (as opposed to a full windup) and likely would have thrown a different pitch than the one in which produced the home run. And the batter may have been looking for a different pitch than the one in which he homered off of.

So if the runner had stayed at first base, the batter might have hit a 2-run home run ...... or he might have hit an RBI-triple into the gap ...... or he might have grounded into a double play.

o

[Racehorse]

Its not hindsight.

There are only so many scoring chances. There is a clock. Teams that have more takeaways fewer turnovers have more success than their opponents. When a team turns it over on downs when they were in scoring position, it might as well be a fumble or an interception.

There is a time and place for going for it. SD had several chances to score, and they came away with nothing. KC took the ball with good field position, and scored.

A lot of little things add up to a big thing. There is a time and a place for taking a chance. They failed and gave the ball to a prolific offense, in decent field position. Is the charger defense good enough for that risk?

Apparently not.

SD? Okay, boomer

[rm1369]

There are only so many scoring chances.

Which is why teams often try to maximize the points scored when given the opportunity. A TD is worth more than two FGs. It’s exactly why redzone defense is talked about so much. Holding a team to 3 is a win for the defense when 29 teams currently have a 50% or better TD rate inside the 20.



There is a time and place for going for it..

That is different than your previous statement of always take the points.

They failed and gave the ball to a prolific offense, in decent field position. Is the charger defense good enough for that risk?

Apparently not.

I’d argue the KC prolific offense is likely the reason they felt the need to go for it. Similar to Belichick’s infamous 4th and 2 attempt against the Colts. I can tell you I wanted the Pats to punt. Contrary to all the talk here you need to take into account the opponent. The Chargers knowing their defense wasn’t good enough to hold Mahomes down was likely why they felt they needed 7 instead of settling for FGs. May have cost them the game this time. If it had won them the game we wouldn’t be talking about it.

[JAFF]

SD? Okay, boomer

No one in LA goes to charger games.

[Puck]

Frank out coached BB tonight. And it wasn’t even close

[Kray007]

Frank out coached BB tonight. And it wasn’t even close

The decision to kick a FG late sealed the Patriots loss.

[YDFL Commish]

Frank out coached BB tonight. And it wasn’t even close

But it wasn't the first time!

[Hoopsdoc]

Frank out coached BB tonight. And it wasn’t even close

He did, but I’m not sure he did it on purpose. If that makes sense.

Wentz was awful tonight. Just brutal. Then Pittman got tossed(what the hell was that, anyway?)

Frank really had no choice but to ride Taylor and the O-Line.

Which turned out to be a genius move.

[Colts And Orioles]

He did, but I’m not sure he did it on purpose. If that makes sense.

Wentz was awful tonight. Just brutal. Then Pittman got tossed(what the hell was that, anyway?)

Frank really had no choice but to ride Taylor and the O-Line.

Which turned out to be a genius move.




o


Piggybacking off of the recently-cited cause-and-effect phenomenon, it's possible that Wentz would have been a little less awful in the 2nd half last night had Pittman not been ejected from the game in the 3rd quarter.

o

[Colts And Orioles]

o



(vs. CARDINALS, 12/25)


At the very end of the first half, I was wondering what the hell Reich was doing in regard to clock management ...... we had all 3 timeouts left, and after Pittman caught a pass in-bounds, he just casually let an additional 10 seconds run off of the clock before finally calling a time-out with only 21 seconds left.

But considering the surrounding circumstances, I think that Reich may have been going ultra-conservative and just playing for the field goal for numerous reasons.


1) ) The entire starting offensive line is missing.

2) ) Because of that, I think that Reich was a little leery of taking a chance on a turnover from a rushed pass or a strip-sack.

3) ) The Colts were getting the ball to start the second half, so they were kind of in the driver's seat in regard to momentum.

4) ) While letting the clock run down as much as they did after the in-bonds catch certainly hurt the Colts' chances of getting into the end-zone instead of just settling for the field goal, it made absolute certain that Kyler Murray wasn't going to have a second left to pull something off on the other end ...... LITERALLY, not leaving him a single second to work with after the field goal.


Because of all of that, I think that Reich was doing the opposite of what he usually does, which is risk everything like a wild-man ...... and that may be a good sign of his positive evolution as a head coach.

o

[Puck]

this is a really terrible thread

[Discflinger]

Well, the title stinks, but it’s kind of cool to keep around and rub Chopped’s face in it.

[ChoppedWood]

Dude did a great job managing the game tonight. Tough gut it out win in the face of some ridiculous circumstances.

Think this crow tastes better than any of the turkey or ham I had tonight!

[Coltsalr]

Dude did a great job managing the game tonight. Tough gut it out win in the face of some ridiculous circumstances.

Think this crow tastes better than any of the turkey or ham I had tonight!

Chewy, if there’s one thing I love about you it’s how you can eat crow.

Most of the time, you ARE right (you were right about Roy Hall, you and I battled bitterly about him and you were one trillion percent right). You called that one (and many others) and I got nothing.

But I do know that when you call one wrong, you’re always man enough to admit it. More than so, so many can say.

Hope you had a great Christmas, brother.

[TheMugwump]

One thing I know. Neutered, no leg, tongueless Urban Meyer does NOT win that game last night.

[ChoppedWood]

There you go folks, there you go. Yeah I told you so. This dude is a turd. Dead ender that will squander the amazing talents of Nelson, Leonard and Taylor.

This organization is NEVER going to do jack with this bum as the head cheese.

[IndyNorm]

Unfortunately Chopped, you were right :mad:

[ChoppedWood]

Unfortunately Chopped, you were right :mad:

It's sad Norm because as a human, definitely you want to like him and root for him- at leas the perception he crafts. But as a football coach, he is atrocious. I am not a huge fan of Dacich but I am 100% in his camp when he says that Frank has no sense for the game, he really doesn't. He is way too mechanical in his process and is among the very most stubborn refuse to adjust coaches I have ever witnessed. Unless you are working with extreme top of the line talent that can just win any game based on their skill, then you MUST be willing to change things up. I was glancing through the game thread as the game was happening and someone said "Frank Reich's motto- try something 1,000 times and if doesn't work, try it again because, why not". That seems to sum it up perfectly. We got hot and rode the amazing legs of Taylor and the line but when push came to shove in the most key of moments, there was Frank fiddling with his play sheet and finding no answers. Sometimes that play sheet needs to be put away and your gut needs to be used. He isn't capable of doing that.

[CletusPyle]

It's sad Norm because as a human, definitely you want to like him and root for him- at leas the perception he crafts. But as a football coach, he is atrocious. I am not a huge fan of Dacich but I am 100% in his camp when he says that Frank has no sense for the game, he really doesn't. He is way too mechanical in his process and is among the very most stubborn refuse to adjust coaches I have ever witnessed. Unless you are working with extreme top of the line talent that can just win any game based on their skill, then you MUST be willing to change things up. I was glancing through the game thread as the game was happening and someone said "Frank Reich's motto- try something 1,000 times and if doesn't work, try it again because, why not". That seems to sum it up perfectly. We got hot and rode the amazing legs of Taylor and the line but when push came to shove in the most key of moments, there was Frank fiddling with his play sheet and finding no answers. Sometimes that play sheet needs to be put away and your gut needs to be used. He isn't capable of doing that.

I also think you were right about Reich after all....I wanted to believe in him because I personally like and respect him, but he is just a mediocre coach at best. I don't pretend to be a football expert, but to me he seems too impatient in his play calling, he always wants to hit the big play rather than methodically
drive down the field and take what the defense gives you! More than likely we are stuck with both Reich and Wentz for another season or two....Ballard is not without blame either!

[IndyNorm]

It's sad Norm because as a human, definitely you want to like him and root for him- at leas the perception he crafts. But as a football coach, he is atrocious. I am not a huge fan of Dacich but I am 100% in his camp when he says that Frank has no sense for the game, he really doesn't. He is way too mechanical in his process and is among the very most stubborn refuse to adjust coaches I have ever witnessed. Unless you are working with extreme top of the line talent that can just win any game based on their skill, then you MUST be willing to change things up. I was glancing through the game thread as the game was happening and someone said "Frank Reich's motto- try something 1,000 times and if doesn't work, try it again because, why not". That seems to sum it up perfectly. We got hot and rode the amazing legs of Taylor and the line but when push came to shove in the most key of moments, there was Frank fiddling with his play sheet and finding no answers. Sometimes that play sheet needs to be put away and your gut needs to be used. He isn't capable of doing that.

Well said Chopped. Something that helps Reich's reputation out is that despite being a bad coach he is still considerably better than his predecessor. But that's like saying cheap hotdogs are great b/c they taste better than dog shit.

[Oldcolt]

Where I think Reich really lets us down as a coach in in game coaching. We never seem to make adjustments at half time. If we are losing, we are going to lose. No capability to turn it around at all. Not sure if there is anything he can do about that. It just isn't in him.

[Hoopsdoc]

Reich failed because he believed in Wentz. He’s a good coach, he just needs to cut Wentz loose. He’ll never win anything with that turd.

[Colts And Orioles]

Frank Reich is horrible.

That's it, that's the entire message.

Thanks.











Dude did a great job managing the game tonight ...... that was a tough, gut-it-out win in the face of some ridiculous circumstances.

I think this crow tastes better than any of the turkey or ham that I had tonight !!!











There you go folks, there you go. Yeah, I told you so. This dude is a turd ...... a dead-ender that will squander the amazing talents of Nelson, Leonard, and Taylor.

This organization is NEVER going to do jack with this bum as the head cheese.





o


That's a double-reverse ...... something that I think that the Colts' offense should try more of.

o

[ChoppedWood]

o


That's a double-reverse ...... something that I think that the Colts' offense should try more of.

o

He had a good game against The Cards. One of very very few.

Elvis Grbac threw for over 500 yards... once as well.