| Anthony Holds. 24th September, 2009 - 5:18 pm
 Over the past two weeks, Peyton Manning has tied and subsequently passed the legendary Johnny Unitas’ longstanding mark for wins by a Colts quarterback. Manning now has 119, and with one more will be in fifth place for all-time wins by a quarterback in the NFL. That, however, is not the broken record the title of this article refers to.
Rather, I am referring to the Colts’ general plight and how it is so reminiscent of that of the past several years that it begins to sound like a broken record; a great offense limited only by the defense’s confounding inability to stop the run and get off the field on third down.
These two defensive deficiencies were, of course, the team’s primary offseason focus. The replacement of longtime defensive coordinator Ron Meeks with Larry Coyer, and the acquisition of more bulk along the defensive line, were both intended to stymie gashing run plays by opponents and create enough havoc to keep opposing offenses from converting on third down.
In Week 1, the defense was not amazingly successful on these fronts, but there were some encouraging signs. They held Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew under 100 yards, which qualifies as a minor victory after some of the video game-like days he’s had against the Colts in the past. And they managed to harass David Garrard into hurried throws that failed to convert on third and fourth downs, particularly late in the game. It seemed that with some signs of continued growth in Week 2 things might be headed in the right direction.
Then the team went to Landshark Stadium in Miami for the second game of the season this past Monday night and the wheels came off. Or perhaps they didn’t come off, as the defense didn’t give up a ton of touchdowns. But they looked really loose. The pass defense continued to be effective statistically, limiting Miami quarterback Chad Pennington to only 183 yards through the air. But, as it often was last season, this is a deceptive stat. While the Colts are ranked first in the league in pass defense coming out of Week 2, they are ranked three from the bottom of the league in rushing yards against. And even though the Jags and Dolphins didn’t make a lot of yards through the air, the two opponents’ conversion rates on third down were 58.3 % (21-36), which is good for last in the NFL. The Dolphins conversion rate was a nauseating 71.4% (15-21). So the moral of the story is that even though you won’t usually put up 200+ passing yards against the Colts D… if you need 8 or 10 to pick up a 1st down on a third and long, those are yards Indianapolis will likely give up.
The Tampa 2 scheme that Tony Dungy brought with him to Indianapolis when he arrived in 2002 has always been predicated on a few well-known concepts. Perhaps the most unique and widely known of these is using only the front four to pressure the quarterback while the linebackers drop back into zones to blanket any potential receivers along with the defensive backs -- the idea being that passing plays will be kept in front of the defenders at all times. A team may pick up some yards, but they will not hit the big play. It is a sound concept that works. The Colts almost never give up a big play through the air. But without any ability to stop opposing teams from running, that almost becomes irrelevant. At this point, the blueprint for beating the Colts is simply this: pound the football, grind the clock, convert your third downs, and try to put 21-28 points on the board over the course of the game. If you do, you have a good chance of winning. The reason? You keep one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to lace up a pair of sneakers on the bench, along with his highly paid, highly efficient offensive mates.
The good news for Colts fans? The offense is so good and so efficient at this point that they can win a game like Monday’s in Miami (27-23) while holding the ball for 14:53. That time-of-possession was the lowest EVER for an NFL team that won a game. Even with the unfortunate injury to Anthony Gonzalez in Week 1, the unit looks like it can continue chugging. Donald Brown and Joseph Addai look like a very solid backfield tandem over the first two weeks. Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie are both rising to the occasion of their increased workload. Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are on track for career years. The problem is, though, that it’s simply not fair to expect the offense to perform to such a ridiculously high standard every week. It’s a recipe for eventual losses to teams like Baltimore or Pittsburgh who will present a more profound defensive challenge.
There is little left to say on the matter other than that Larry Coyer and his defensive staff have to get a fix figured out. And the players on the field just have to be better. They can’t afford to miss the tackles. They can’t afford to have mental lapses and breakdowns that create huge holes for opposing running backs. They can’t be jumping offsides routinely (did that five times on Monday night, several in spots where they might finally have had the Fins stopped).
Until then, it will all be on the offense. A familiar refrain in Indy. So familiar it begins to sound like a broken record. |
