Doyel: Reality is setting in on the Colts'

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Racehorse

Not talent. We have a line that is playing worse than their talent. We have a great defense even without Leonard, who is one of the best in the game. One could even make an argument that if he were playing, we would have three or four more wins, because he gets turnovers when we need them the most. His absence is hurting the team almost as much as having Ryan as QB. It's not like we are losing badly. Most games have been one possession scores, which Leonard flips in our favor with his ball punching skill.

o


I agree on the talent ...... we've got talent, we've just played way below it.

But as great as Leonard is, I would much rather have last year's offensive line blocking for Ryan than have a healthy Leonard on defense if I had to choose between the two. Even without Leonard, the defense has been the strongest and most consistent segment of the team so far this year ...... so to me, the equation is not that we would have 3 or 4 more wins with a healthy Leonard on defense, it's that we would have 3 or 4 more wins if we had last year's offensive line blocking for Ryan. Additionally, there is a pretty good chance that Ryan may not have suffered a separated shoulder in his throwing arm in the second place if he had had last year's stellar offensive line blocking for him in the first place. And that separated shoulder probably has not yet completely healed, also.

o