“We played a lot of plays on the defensive side in the first half”, Pagano said, “and we just ran out of gas”.
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As for when that help will arrive, well, it could be awhile.
Jim Caldwell’s decision to conserve his time-outs late in Sunday’s dramatic win over the Indianapolis Colts came down to mathematics. That’s why it’s comforting to say the defense will improve as some of its key players begin returning from injury. Then, there’s this: The list of the wounded keeps growing.
However, the Colts will face a tougher task this upcoming Sunday against the Denver Broncos, facing the likes of premier pass rushers such as Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware.
They’ll have a good shot at impressing their critics again this week, as they face one of the lowest ranked teams in the NFL.
The easy takeaway from what the Colts’ offense showed in Sunday’s season opener was Andrew Luck is still really good at football.
Inside linebacker D’Quell Jackson was more succinct. Organization and a calm mind are required to win close games. “It’s going to work in our favor”.
The Detroit Lions blew an 18-point first-half lead in their season opener for the second straight year, then survived a missed extra point by Matt Prater and a late touchdown drive by Andrew Luck to beat the Indianapolis Colts today at Lucas Oil Stadium, 39-35.
It’s a hard question to answer, but it’s worth asking: Just how much of this is attributable to injuries? “And it doesn’t quite matter how you end up there”.
“One person gets winded, the next guy has to come in ready to do the same thing, if not more, and I feel like that’s what we bring and hopefully we can continue that”. Bad tackling on Theo Riddick’s 19-yard gain on the first play.
It will take some time for the Matthew Stafford narrative to change. While he’s limited, the Colts will be hard-pressed to duplicate the kind of disruption for which Langford is renowned. In the meantime, the Colts are trying, unsuccessfully, to fill his shoes.
The Colts have the offensive firepower to be a quick-start football team, which is why their slow starts are so confusing. The more diversification we can get, it definitely helps us. Sam Martin, fresh off signing an extension, delivered one of the best games by a punter in a Lions uniform aiding the special teams unit. While you can not just blame injuries of multiple players and a suspension of one on the team’s struggles, you have to look at what GM Ryan Grigson has done in the draft and in free agency since arriving in Indy.
As a result, the Colts only allowed 2 sacks on Luck in what was otherwise a “passable” performance in pass protection-pun intended.
The absence of Davis and nickel corner Darius Butler also limits defensive coordinator Ted Monachino.
So what would Caldwell had done if the Colts had not used a timeout?
They’ve won seven of nine dating back to past year, apparently found a ground game and an up-tempo offense, and even managed to rally when it looked like hope was lost Sunday afternoon. Drafting defense has not been great for Grigson either. A play with a pass with an incomplete, obviously you don’t. Maybe so, but for now…
Luck was afforded more than adequate protection – “Those guys blocked their butts off, ” he said of his line – and was selective in his scrambling with 21 yards on three carries.
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Robert Turbin and rookie running back Josh Ferguson both got playing time as well for Indianapolis.
