COLTS VENTING

Ugh.

Just.... Ugh.

I don't have the words to describe what I saw tonight. Disappointing is a gross understatement. Pathetic is getting closer to what I'm looking for. Fireable? Well, not yet... But if we lose to Jacksonville then we can talk. I am just so grateful that the Colts play in the AFC South, where every other team is terrible.

You're probably wondering "Hey Alex, why are you so mad for. Haven't the Colts been to the playoffs the past two seasons? Don't they have an awesome QB? Don't they play in the worst division in the NFL?" Well, to answer all those questions: yes. The Colts have made the playoffs in consecutive seasons (and the still should make it this year), Andrew Luck is an exceptionally talented QB, and the Colts do get to play the Jaguars and Titans twice a year, so that is a positive. However that doesn't mean that there aren't problems with this team. There are a lot, both philosophical and personnel-wise.

The biggest problem I have with this team is the philosophy of the coaches. Coach Pagano preaches two things: running the football and stopping the run. Well, that wouldn't be so bad, until you remember the strengths of this team. On the offensive side of the ball it's pretty simple: the passing game. Look at all the weapons you have in the passing game; Andrew Luck is the best young QB in the game, your WR corps might be the deepest position on the team, and the strength of your offensive line is the offensive tackles. The weaknesses of the team? Interior line and running back. But keep running the ball Chuck.

On the defensive side of the football, the Colts preach stopping the run as the highest priority. Again, not a bad idea in theory, until you see that the team still sucks against the run. In order to get players to fit this (outdated) philosophy, the Colts bring in bigger players, who are (obviously) slower. What does this do? First, it really limits the pass rush that can be brought from base packages (God I miss Robert Mathis). Second, it doesn't really matter how well you can stop the run if you bring in players who can't tackle (I AM STARING RIGHT AT YOU LARON LANDRY...RIGHT AT YOU) if they even get in position to make plays. Is it sad that I think our cornerbacks and Andrew Luck might be the best tacklers on this team?

Besides the philosophical problems, this roster is really constructed poorly. There is virtually no depth. Sure, the Colts seem to suffer an abnormal amount of injuries, but the terrible qualities of the back-ups they have on the roster make the injuries even more noticeable. Ryan Grigson likes to overpay one of three things: marginal talent (D'Qwell, Gosder, Erik Walden), injury-prone role players (Toler, RJF, Donald Thomas, Art Jones), and people who are just plain bad (LaRon, DHB, Samson Satele). On top of the poor free agent signings, Grigson hasn't had a good draft (or you could even argue he hasn't made a good pick) since the 2012 gold mine, and he traded our 2014 1st round pick for TRENT FREAKING RICHARDSON (you know it's bad when people say he had his best game and he still only averaged 3.8 YPC and fumbled twice). Ughhhhhh.

Well, I have a lot more issues with this team, but I am way too tired and way too behind on homework to keep going. Is all hope lost? No. Can this team still make the playoffs? Absolutely, yes. Is it possible for the coaching staff to have a Ron Rivera-esque transformation and for Ryan Grigson to totally change his free agent philosophy? Well, sure- but I'm not sure if that will happen. The worst part about all of this is that Andrew Luck is way too good and will mask a lot of the deficiencies this team has. Is all hope lost? No. Am I overreacting to one game? Ha... Probably. Are the Colts flawless? Hell no. But hey, at least we get the Jaguars next!

Find me on twitter if you want to tell me how dumb I am or how much you agree with me.

-Alex