Colts 2021 Season thread

[Sollozzo]

And injuries don’t absolve Reich of the blame for not taking a timeout earlier in OT when Baltimore was marching it up the field. We should have tried something......ANYTHING....to switch it up.

[Trader Joe]

When you have a HC who is also the OC (because that's where his reputation was built), it seems many times to ultimately present a problem... The "OC" part starts to worry too much about the "HC" part of the job. The second guessing begins.

And then you have someone like Reich who, IMHO, is stupid about when to gamble and when not to. WAY too reckless with it.

Of course, that 4th qtr D and OT D was nothing short of abysmal. And they weren't even given the benefit of a TO to get their breath, change the lineups, or just talk through some things before it was too late.

Reich is not consistent with his aggressiveness so when he does choose to be aggressive it comes off as reckless. Perfect example is him totally just packing in the barn on the 3rd and 8 and hoping we get the FG, a consistently aggressive coach would not have done that.

[Trader Joe]

And injuries don’t absolve Reich of the blame for not taking a timeout earlier in OT when Baltimore was marching it up the field. We should have tried something......ANYTHING....to switch it up.

Yes and again, the defense especially our dumb idiot king leader of Darius Leonard spent all offseason running their mouth about how good they would be. They needed to get one more stop that entire second half to secure the win and they simply didn't get it done. Injuries or not, a truly elite defensive unit holds onto that game.

It's been a tough schedule, but this game and Tennessee were extremely winnable, LA was extremely winnable. A positive outlook would be a couple bounces and we're 4-1, but the reality is the team is not making the plays needed to win.

Also, and I know this is a touchy subject, but the whole vaccine thing that went down with some of our biggest players including notably the offesnive line, has kinda come home to roost on that front. The offensive line was not ready against Seattle, LA and Tennessee and it was very easy to see they lacked the reps in training camp to get into a groove.

We just don't really have a united front as a franchise right now.

[Bball]

In a strange twist, having that fumble return, with the lateral that wasn't a lateral, that got the TD taken away might've actually helped the Colts. They still scored on that drive, and got to take time off the clock to do it.
If the Ravens had more time, I'm not sure this game goes to OT the way the Ravens had their way with the defense in the 4th.

[Bball]

From Jim irsay:
Colts Nation,don’t you worry…we’re gonna get The Horseshoe at least 2 Lombardis this decade…as sure as the sun rises and the seasons change,it’s COMING! Don’t you ever doubt that,EVER! YOU WILL SEE GREATNESS BELIEVE AND YOU WILL SEE

[Basketball Fan]

I see Jim is going through his stash again...

I will say despite his antics I believe Irsay tries to work towards winning a championshp.

I don't get that with the Pacers.

[PacerDude]

^^ Jimmy back at 'IT' again ??

[Bball]

^^ Jimmy back at 'IT' again ??

I have a feeling that this hype train for public consumption had some serious growling going on in the offices of the Colts' hierarchy. As 'joyous' and optimistic as he sounds here, I bet there were some serious discussions in the background.

[Sollozzo]

Yes and again, the defense especially our dumb idiot king leader of Darius Leonard spent all offseason running their mouth about how good they would be. They needed to get one more stop that entire second half to secure the win and they simply didn't get it done. Injuries or not, a truly elite defensive unit holds onto that game.

It's been a tough schedule, but this game and Tennessee were extremely winnable, LA was extremely winnable. A positive outlook would be a couple bounces and we're 4-1, but the reality is the team is not making the plays needed to win.

.

True, it’s often a game of inches where proper execution in key spots decides the games. It’s not as If the Manning Colts blew out every team by 27 points week in and week out. There were quite a few close games back then that we won by making a few key plays in crucial spots.

These Reich teams seem to come up empty way too much in that department. Last year was a very good season at 11-5, but there were multiple opportunities to take it to the elite level and we just never could cash in. We blew the Pittsburgh game which would have given us a home playoff game, and of course lost the winnable Bills playoff game because of stupid coaching decisions and poor execution.

That brings us to this season which of course is just a mess.

I think Reich is a very good offensive mind because he has found ways to put up points with a lot of different quarterbacks over the last several years. He’s been here for 4 seasons and has had a different starting QB every single season. That has to be very tough for a coach because he’s basically starting over on offense every season with no continuity in the QB department. His ability to adapt to that has been impressive. But the overall team management and in-game coaching decisions leave a lot to be desired.

[Basketball Fan]

I have a feeling that this hype train for public consumption had some serious growling going on in the offices of the Colts' hierarchy. As 'joyous' and optimistic as he sounds here, I bet there were some serious discussions in the background.

He really needs to lower his expectations publically especially with each passing year it looks like Manning made this franchise look way better than it actually was. Doesn't help that Luck retired early either.

The Broncos are experiencing a similar situation themselves(although they had won SB's before Manning they seemed to have it far worse than we do after he retired).

Its ok if the team is in a rebuilding phase and acknowledges it. Every team has to go through it at some point.;

On a related note I'm glad that TY is returning even though he contemplated retirement(and he might do so after the season but I hope we can have him for as long as we can if he can stay healthy).

[PacerDude]

TY . . . . . if he can stay healthy).

I'm putting the over/under on that at 3 games. . . . . . . .
.

[Bball]

The problem is the Colts thought they were settled at QB with Luck... until he quit on them. So, nobody wanted to pull the plug on all they'd built to that point, to start a rebuild. But plugging in another QB isn't easy and it isn't only a matter of opening the checkbook.
And, I suspect the focus on QB has allowed some other issues to slip through the cracks.

[Basketball Fan]

The problem is the Colts thought they were settled at QB with Luck... until he quit on them. So, nobody wanted to pull the plug on all they'd built to that point, to start a rebuild. But plugging in another QB isn't easy and it isn't only a matter of opening the checkbook.
And, I suspect the focus on QB has allowed some other issues to slip through the cracks.

I agree with this and they don't acknowledge it either. You can't just insert a QB and think that's all you need. It may have worked with Manning to an extent but even that only went so far.

[Sollozzo]

The problem is the Colts thought they were settled at QB with Luck... until he quit on them. So, nobody wanted to pull the plug on all they'd built to that point, to start a rebuild. But plugging in another QB isn't easy and it isn't only a matter of opening the checkbook.
And, I suspect the focus on QB has allowed some other issues to slip through the cracks.

What sucks is that last year we really did have a great fit at QB with Rivers, but he was 39 years old. A shame he wasn't a few years younger.

Of course Wentz is actually playing pretty solid himself and really isn't the problem right now.

[Sollozzo]

He really needs to lower his expectations publically especially with each passing year it looks like Manning made this franchise look way better than it actually was. Doesn't help that Luck retired early either.

The Broncos are experiencing a similar situation themselves(although they had won SB's before Manning they seemed to have it far worse than we do after he retired).

Its ok if the team is in a rebuilding phase and acknowledges it. Every team has to go through it at some point.;

On a related note I'm glad that TY is returning even though he contemplated retirement(and he might do so after the season but I hope we can have him for as long as we can if he can stay healthy).

Irsay says what Irsay says. I don’t think anyone is really putting any stock into his expectations. I doubt he really believes it either. We had built up a really good team and then the franchise quarterback quits out of nowhere. When does a QB talent like that ever quit at 30 years old except for this one time when it happens to the Colts.