I’ve got a shovel, and I’m digging deep…there’s gotta be a silver lining here…somewhe
 

First of all, I don’t think that the game was lost on Defense. Whenever you give up 16 points, you’ve got a reasonable expectation that you’re gonna come away with a W.

While it’s true that the first thirty minutes were brutal, they made adjustments at the half that seemed to have worked. They gave up 262 yards in total Offense in the first half, but only 121 in the second. On the ground, they went from 237 yards in the first to 24 in the second. In 60 minutes, Willis managed a pedestrian 122 yards through the air.

Part of the problem was personnel. The professional hand wringers are out in force, wailing about how the Colts were dominated by Green Bay on the ground. But, going into the game, anyone who’s paid even the least attention to the Colts would have begun raising red flags the moment it became clear that Deforest Buckner would only play 10 snaps. Taven Bryam is little better than a turnstile, and Raekwon Davis mossed virtually the entire preseason.

The other thing that sticks out is Gus Bradley’s odd scheme that features only two Linebackers. Carlies played 30 out of 70 snaps, and I’d be curious to see a breakdown of just when he was in the game and how it impacted the run D.

On Offense, Taylor looked good against a Packers D that seemed to be concerned about not being beat deep.

Richardson, I thought, showed real improvement. This was only his 19th start since High School, and it shows. He makes rookie mistakes that he will, with any luck, begin to put behind him.

Specifically, he tends to be greedy, passing up a sure 10 yards in favor of the potential big play. He doesn’t see the whole field; and, at times, locks onto a Receiver.

On the bright side, he seems to have begin to figure out that you don’t need to always pitch the fastball. The TD throw had beautiful touch

And, any luck, he contnues to improve once Josh Downs takes the field and serves as a safety valve. Concurrent with that is the hope that one of the Tight End’s on the team steps up into a feature role or that Ballard prioritizes finding talent at the position during the offseason.

It’ll also help if his Receivers figure out how to hang onto the gosh darn ball. Richardson might have only completed 50 percent of his throws, yesterday, but that would have increased to 68 percent if they had eliminated the half dozen drops.

Finally, I hate to complain about missed 50 yard Field goals, but I wonder whose idea it was to have Matt Gay Kicking them just three weeks after hernia surgery. I also bemoan the fact that Steichen blew through one of his timeouts earlier in the fourth quarter. Give Richardson an extra 40 seconds at the end of the game, and the results might have been different.

Spot on. Too many times there were only 7 in the box and in a few of those instances the DB's were playing man as well. Never going to stop the run that way.

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Since this post, the Colts have gone 4-1 in their last 5 games.

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Yes and they still can't stop the run, even against journeyman RB's and mediocre OL's.

3-0 with the roof closed

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They're 4-1 in their last 5 games without being able to stop the run against average players ...... I'd like to see what their record will be when they start playing well.

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I read somewhere that our opponents have been very stingy with yards per game, but we are near the top of yards gained per game.

You say when, as if that's a forgone conclusion. I say if, because Bradley has never shown us a defense that can play well on a consistent basis.

At this point the track record speaks louder than hopes an wishes.

Granted, having Buck back will improve the entire defense and I'm warming to the play in the secondary. Yet it always seems that as soon as one unit improves, another regresses.

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No, I say that as a Colts fan who sees a team that has been decimated by injuries to their best players still somehow managing to win 4 games, and losing the other 3 games by one possession.

They're the Colts ...... they could go 8-2 the rest of the way, or the could go 2-8 the rest of the way.

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Although the Colts have a respectable 4-3 overall record, l Pro Football Network l has them at a shaky and precarious 4-3 ...... they are ranked 24th overall out of 32 teams in the NFL in their Power Rankings.



24) ) Somehow, the Indianapolis Colts are 4-3 despite having the 19th-ranked offense and the 22nd-ranked defense. You have to give them credit for finding ways to win, but it doesn’t seem sustainable.

What Indianapolis appears good at is staying in games and giving themselves a chance. All seven of the Colts’ games have been decided by one score, so being 4-3 is a credit to their nerve under pressure.

The positive side of things is that, even with Anthony Richardson not playing particularly well, this team is in the fight for the AFC South and the AFC playoff picture. The offensive line is playing beautifully, which should only help him improve.

Those improvements need to come quickly, though, as the Colts have the Texans, Vikings, and Bills in the next three weeks.



https://www.profootballnetwork.com/n...insights-2024/

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This is what could have been said about the Steelers for every year since Big Ben retired, but they always placed them high, despite having similar good fortune in close games.

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(vs. TEXANS, 10/27)


No moral victories in this game ...... none of that, l "We lost, but it went right down to the wire, and a bounce of the ball here and there may have made the difference."


Win this game, with or without Deforest Buckner ...... get it done, please.

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They are missing Nico. We should have no excuse for not limiting their offense.

Huge help, but they Still have Dell, Diggs and Mixon. Pretty solid weapons.

The Colts secondary has gotten drastically better since the first game. Womack, who has performed incredibly well for the reps he's played, didn't even start or play week 1. The run defense should also improve with Buckner back.

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And of course, the player who is arguably their biggest weapon of all (Stroud.)

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That's a loss.

The Colts are now essentially 3 full games behind the Texans (2 games mathematically, and 1 additional game because the Texans own the season sweep in head-on play.)

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It was within 3 points despite playing badly.

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I agree ...... I like throwing some proverbial "tough love" out there every once in a while, though.

o