The Indianapolis Colts have reached the pinnacle of bad teams. They are 0-10 and officially the worst team in the NFL. They are worse than the 2-7 Rams, the 2-7 Panthers, and the 2-7 Dolphins. They rank 31st in total offense, 29th in total defense, 30th in points scored, and 32nd in points allowed. They lost to the New Orleans Saints 62-7. They lost to the Texans 34-7 in a game that could have easily been worse. They lost to the Atlanta Falcons 31-7. Last week they lost to the freaking Jacksonville Jaguars 17-3. It pains me to write all that because there were real dreams of being the first team to play in the Super Bowl in their own city. There cannot be another team in NFL history that has gone from being so good to being so lousy in just one season.
I don’t even know where to start with the Colts. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going right. Quarterback Curtis Painter is horrible (I’m eating my words after praising him), the offensive line is underperforming, there is no running game, wide receivers are dropping passes every game, linebackers don’t know how to tackle, and cornerbacks don’t know how to cover receivers. There have been mental and physical breakdowns at every position by every player.
Offense
A team’s offense only goes as far its quarterback allows it, and with Curtis Painter, that offense is stuck in the mud. I pleaded and pleaded that Painter be the starter since Week 1 because I believed he was the best QB on the team besides the injured Peyton Manning. Painter did eventually to start Week 4 against Tampa Bay and performed well as he threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns. Although the Colts lost and dropped to 0-4, it seemed like Painter could win some games. Painter threw for another two touchdowns against the Chiefs, and then one more against the Bengals. That “success” came to a screeching halt in Week 8 against the Saints. In that game Painter threw an interception, fumbled the ball, and threw for less than 100 yards and no touchdowns.
In the three games since, Painter has combined for five interceptions, no touchdowns, and just 440 yards. Somehow, Painter has gotten worse and worse each game. When he first started playing he looked comfortable in the pocket and in control of the offense, now he looks confused and seems to be hurrying passes. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on with him. How can you go from nearly beating the Buccaneers and Chiefs to being dominated by the Titans, Falcons, and Jaguars?
Part of Painter’s problem is he is not getting the necessary protection from his offensive line, who has struggled since the beginning of the season, partly because this unit has been riddled with injuries since the preseason. Right now the Colts only have nine offensive linemen on the depth chart, which means guard Joe Reitz has no backup. Another issue is the lack of experience and playing time several of the players have. Reitz is only in his second year, Jeff Linkenbaum is in his third, and Anthony Castonzo is a rookie. Even though Jeff Saturday and Ryan Diem have more than 20 years experience between them, neither has ever played with any other quarterback besides Peyton Manning.
The wide receiving corps has underperformed this year too, but I’m not too shocked by that. It’s been a pretty well-known fact the receivers for the Colts owe many of their high statistics to Peyton Manning. In the handful of games I have watched I have seen countless passes dropped by Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, and Dallas Clark. These guys are supposed to have the best hands on the team but sometimes they play like they’ve just eaten a Butterfinger on the sideline. Painter may make some bad throws, but he doesn’t get a lot of help from his receivers.
Finally, the running game for Indianapolis has been absolutely nonexistent. At least you could sometimes count on the receivers to make a big play, but none of the running backs for the Colts have excelled at any point this season. Joseph Addai has not and will never be an elite running back. In fact, he probably wouldn’t be a starter on half of the teams in the NFL. His back up, Donald Brown, has worn out his welcome. He has never proved to me that he has enough talent to even be in the NFL. He’s too small to break tackles and too slow to run by anybody. The only guy that has impressed me this season is Delone Carter. He won’t ever be a Pro-Bowler but he has potential. The Colts need to get rid of Addai and Brown and draft a legit running back.
Defense
As bad as the offense has been, this unit has been even worse. Indianapolis has never had a good defense since I’ve been watching them play. Even in 2006 and 2010 when the Colts went to the Super Bowl, the defense struggled mightily at times. With no offensive production, it’s been made obvious how inferior the defense is compared to other teams.The only bright spot is the defensive line. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis have both played to their highest ability all season, just like they have during their entire careers. They put constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks; they force fumbles, and get sacks. Another guy that I have noticed putting up a good effort is defensive tackle Drake Nevis.
The linebackers and secondary have struggled in every aspect all season. Linebackers miss tackles and don’t wrap. They let tight ends get by them. They don’t cover underneath receivers or screen passes. Many of them act like they don’t know how to play the position. The cornerbacks and safeties are the same. None of them can play adequate one-on-one defense against any receiver. None can tackle anybody. Again, none of them seem like they know what they’re doing.
Coaching
That title is an oxymoron, as the coaching this year has been invisible. Head coach Jim Caldwell is a lousy excuse of a coach. I was not a big fan of Tony Dungy, and I have never been a fan of his protégée, Caldwell. Caldwell coaches the same way that Dungy did, with “quiet leadership”. He very seldom gets angry or yells at his players. In fact, he rarely shows any kind of emotion. Look around the NFL and check out all the good teams, such as the Packers, Steelers, Ravens, 49ers, and Patriots. They all have coaches that are emotional and are leaders. Caldwell is neither, and that is blatantly obvious this year. I don’t care that this is only Caldwell’s third year and his best player is out, the awfulness of the Colts starts with him.
-The Colts really missed out a great opportunity last year when Jim Harbaugh decided to leave Stanford and coach an NFL team. How great would it have been to bring Harbaugh back to where he played at?
While I’m complaining about coaches, the guy that REALLY needs to go is defensive coordinator (there’s another oxymoron), Larry Coyer. Coyer has been a part of 17 coaching staffs since 1965. That averages out to a new team/school every 3 seasons. Usually when a team has a great coordinator or coach, he sticks around a few years. Maybe most teams realized what the Colts haven’t, that this guy sucks. If the Colts do keep Coyer than they HAVE to change their defensive scheme. They need to get rid of the “Cover 2” and play something else.
Front Office
Owner Jim Irsay and team president Bill Polian have obviously not been doing their job. I don’t care how great Peyton Manning is, there is no way this team, or any team, should be this awful. The Colts being winless is a perfect example of how these two have gotten lazy in the past few years because they knew they could always win with Peyton.
In the last six NFL drafts, the Colts have acquired 46 players. Of those I count 23 that have had a positive impact, or at least enough of an impact that I know who they are. Of those 46, only 2 have been to the Pro Bowl. Of those 46, only 25 remain on the team. I’m not sure how all that compares to other teams in the NFL, but in my opinion that shows poor drafting skills.
I’m about to start rambling so you can skip this paragraph if you want. My biggest pet peeve about who the Colts draft is they NEVER get anybody from the best conferences in college football. In the six drafts since 2006, seven players came from the SEC, three from the Big 12, eight from the Big 10, and five from the Pac 12. Nobody is from Alabama, Oregon, Florida, Penn State, or Texas. Heck there’s nobody from Notre Dame! The Colts HAVE to start looking at players that come from college football’s power conferences and from those teams I listed. The kids on those teams play the best competition week in and week out. They start their college careers as recruits and they graduate NFL-ready. Enough with drafting players like Pierre Garcon, Donald Brown, Joe Lefeged, and David Caldwell who played for schools that don’t have strong football programs. None of them have the talent to play in the NFL.
-The only exceptions to this rule would be offensive lineman Ryan Diem and kicker Adam Vinatieri. Diem has been pretty good over the years and played college ball at Northern Illinois. Vinatieri is one of the best field goal kickers ever and was drafted out of South Dakota State.
Irsay and Polian owe it to the city of Indianapolis and fans of the Colts to put together a better team than what they have. I have faith that Irsay will work diligently to field a competitive team, but I’m not so sure about Polian.
There are still six games left on the Colts schedule, but there is no incentive or reason to win any of them. The only incentive is to lose games so the franchise can have the number one pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Colts are a team full of players that have no leaders. It’s just about a bunch of guys going out and doing the bare minimum to get a pay check. I will not watch one more Colts game this season. Why should I put in any effort to cheer them on when they don’t put out the same effort?
My lack of interest is the exact opposite of many Colts fans. The only thing about having a horrible season is that you learn who the true fans are. The fans that will watch each game like it’s their last and that the Colts have as good as chance to win as they ever did. The fans that will wear their Colts gear everyday with the same amount of pride they did after the Super Bowl win in 2006. Or you could say that I’m realistic and why should I waste my time watching my favorite team lose?
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