"The Stew": Colts vs. Buccaneers - Week Four
[caption id="attachment_1693" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Another devastating loss at the hands of the young Buccaneers."]
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“The Stew” illuminates the highlights and headaches from each week’s game. If someone is overlooked, whether positively or negatively, please feel free to discuss.
Another prime time game, another heartbreaking loss. Now sitting at 0-4, the Colts are done. I love my Colts and will cheer for our guys until the very end, but the playoffs are not realistic goal right now. The injuries are just the nail in the coffin. Not only did we lose our first round pick Ant Castonzo to an ankle injury, our second rounder Ben Ijalana to a knee injury, but we also had our third round pick Drake Nevis experiencing back issues all game. Eric Foster suffered a severe ankle dislocation, according to Phil Wilson, which looked more like a compound fracture at first glance. For this to happen to such a jolly, friendly guy is an absolute shame and drives home the ongoing theme of this season: Depression. He's the second best DT behind Mookie, with Nevis right there. Huge loss for our d-line and Tommie Harris is probably laughing his ass off in San Diego about now.
We showed some spark and the game looked good for most of the night, but it simply wasn't meant to be. Here are some pieces that I saw from the game, despite how tough this loss is to talk about.
The Main Ingredients:
Dwight Freeney: Dwight was held all night while trying to chase Freeman around and out of the pocket, time after time. The man will always be a force. Unfortunately, Dwight can't do it all.
Pierre Garcon: To borrow a quote from Phil Wilson after Garcon's second big TD of the night, "This is why #Colts WR Pierre Garcon is so maddening. He looks like Hall of Famer one minute, guy who shouldn't be in #NFL the next." Agreed, Phil. Garcon still drops easy-to-catch balls which are absolute drive killers. The first damn pass of the game was a drop from Garcon. He has to eliminate this problem or it will eventually lead to him being cut. Sensational performance from him tonight though. I forgive you, Pierre.
Curtis Painter: 13-30, 281 yards and 2 TDs for the Boilermarker. Not bad. His completion rate was horrid (43%), but he made some great throws and brought some actual offense to the table. The 3rd and 10 pass (end of 3rd quarter) where Painter stepped up and hit Collie for a circus catch was clutch. I was expecting him to freak out and take off, but he held his ground and made a great play. Painter also made some good calls on protection changes and audibles. The no huddle offense was able to return in some capacity, also thanks to Painter's experience with the offense. The Bucs dropped three certain picks, which definitely helped Painter's cause. Regardless, I think it's obvious that Painter has overtaken Collins as the starter from here on out. Collins can go ahead and start thanking the front office for the free $4 million dead Presidents.
Robert Mathis: Another great outing from Mathis. If it wasn't for him, the Bucs come away with another three points before the half. Instead, Mathis makes an unbelievable play and we keep the lead going into the half.
Pat Angerer: This guy is going to be a star. With Gary Brackett being lost for the season, Angerer is taking complete advantage of his opportunity. Brackett will not get the starting job back. Angerer added 8 more tackles to his league leading 42. He's an absolute ball hawk and is one of the big reasons our run defense has made a big leap. Blount was held to a 3.0 avg until the huge run in the 4th quarter. Angerer means a great deal to our defense.
The Defense: Our inability to get off the field on third down is ridiculous and our secondary looks like garbage. With that said, up until the fourth quarter, this unit stuck together and held the Bucs to 17 points in the game. Coming into tonight, the Bucs had the WORST PASS D IN THE LEAGUE. You know what that means? We have to score more than 17 points. We failed and the defense just gave out late in the fourth quarter. They already looked completely exhausted to start the second half. They've done more than enough to help this team win games.
The Additives:
Reggie Wayne/Dallas Clark: They didn't go into beast mode or anything, but they made plays when we needed them. Wayne had 4 catches for 59 yards (14.8 avg), got a holding call which moved us out of a hole in the Bucs end zone and had an unbelievable down field block to help free up Garcon for his second TD. Dallas was also right there with a nasty block to help out Garcon. He opened up the field and was more involved than any of the previous three games (3 catches for 46 yards, 15.3 avg). Now if we could just get Collie involved, I'd be somewhat happy.
Kavell Conner: Another bright spot in a very young LB core. Kavell added 18 tackles but missed another handful. Still, I'm gonna try not to complain. His zone coverage continues to be sloppy but he's improving. If anything, I'm very excited about Angerer and Conner.
Phillip Wheeler: This guy isn't so bad either... Another tackling machine and run stopper. Wheeler was second with 10 tackles. I absolutely love this trio.
Jeff Saturday: With the o-line down and out, I noticed that Saturday continued to hold his own. He had some impressive blocks in the first half of the game. Good effort from the veteran.
Eric Foster: I know he wasn't a huge standout on the field tonight, but the heart, desire, and respect that his teammates showed for him must be mentioned. When he was being carted off the field, the chest-pounding and tears of "I'll be alright. Keep fighting!" were very emotional and spoke volumes about Eric. This guy lifted his team at a very painful and scary time. It's very depressing that we couldn't scrap together a win for Big E. Incredibly cool, low key guy. Get well soon, big boy. #moveslikejagger in no time.
One-on-one advantages: There seemed to be quite a few missed one-on-one opportunities, whether it was with Reggie Wayne or Garcon. Painter missed Garcon for another possible TD pass in the 4th. I saw Garcon streaking a couple of times, but Painter wasn't able to get rid of the ball. Thankfully, Painter was able to take advantage and hit Garcon on the same exact throw that he missed against the Steelers. Boom. 87-yard TD.
The Spoiled Goods:
Jim Caldwell: I'm sorry, but he's clueless. On what would be the final drive of the night, Caldwell had an opportunity to go for it and tie the game. If we don't convert, the game is over, but I'll take a chance with the actual ball in OUR hands, as opposed to letting Josh Freeman dance around the field all night. Mind you, Caldwell passed on another 4th down that could have been converted and also missed an easy challenge on a clear fumble created by Antoine Bethea. I really don't understand what goes on in this guy's mind.
Larry Coyer: Your scheme SUCKS. Constant cushion and the middle of the field is ALWAYS open. I could throw on Coyer's defense. I know our secondary is inexperienced and rather crappy, but the scheme is the real problem here. 3rd down conversions are a given against the Colts and it's totally unacceptable.
Clyde Christensen: I have to question the play calling. We sign Chris Gronkowski and draft Delone Carter, yet on 3rd and inches, we roll Painter out. When I saw the backfield, I was thinking, "I bet they roll Painter out here. That's what an idiot would do." What happens? Exactly that. I did like the shots down the field, but this is very troubling. What's the obsession with running behind Dallas Clark? Is Dallas some kind of superman in practice or what? Please, just stop. These calls are extremely frustrating and stupid. Why isn't Collie getting more involved? The slot is non-existant. Remember the Jaguars game last year, where Collie was absolutely tearing up the middle? Where is this at? Is Collie just another system player? With Peyton, he was turning into one of the best slot guys in the game, yet he has 10 catches through four games in 2011... He was targeted 7 times in this game, but the routes were weak. We need to open up the middle and get this guy more involved. 10 catches for 69 yards from a player as skilled as Collie is pathetic.
Pass protection: At the beginning of the game, the pass protection looked great. Then, Castonzo bit the dirt and it all went downhill from there. Michael Bennett absolutely killed us. 2 sacks, one for a fumble. On his second sack, I thought Painter was going to cough it up again. The Bucs had 4 sacks and were causing some mayhem for Painter's release. The o-line was struggling, badly. What do you expect though with no Castonzo or Ijalana?
Run blocking: Same story as above. Looked decent at the beginning of the game, but started to really struggle after the injuries. Addai did what he could with 11 carries for 40 yards (3.7 avg). However, it just wasn't there tonight. Same story with Delone Carter (7 carries for 21 yards, 3.0 avg).
Terrence Johnson/Jacob Lacey: Johnson got burnt and missed easy tackles. Technique is technique and Johnson looks like a kid out there. Johnson stuck out as a flaw within a flawed scheme, along with Lacey, at times. I'm not sure why Lacey is still on the team. He can't tackle and he can't cover. Lacey is definitely Jim Caldwell's secret love child. We miss you, Justin Tryon.
David Caldwell: He looked decent at times, and horrid at others. The read on the easy interception was nice, but he dropped it, of course. If Caldwell makes this play, we get to pad our 10 point cushion and Freeman doesn't score off an easy 1-yard sneak. This drop alone puts him under Spoiled Goods.
Tackling: Missed tackle after missed tackle. This seems to be a on-going theme in the league right now. I don't know if it's the decrease in full pad practices or just bad technique, but bad tackling is what killed our last chance at evening the score. LeGarrette Blount did his usual thing and whipped Tyler Brayton, along with what seemed like every other Colt defender, around and fell just inches short of the first down. Of course, Bucs' coach Raheem Morris has balls and gave way to Freeman for the game-winning QB sneak on 4th down. Tackling, or I should say, lack thereof, didn't lose this game but was certainly an important factor.
The Final Product:
Colts 17 - Buccaneers 24
Like mentioned before, I believe the season is over. I know there's always a chance, but we blew our real chance. Coming into this game, we could have been 2-1, with two wins against the old Steelers and a terrible Browns squad. If we squeezed out a win tonight, we'd be on our way at 3-1. However, we didn't win any of those games and are now sitting in the NFL dumps with the Vikings, Rams, and Dolphins. You can blame it on a lot of things, like coaching and roster management. It seems a lot like hell, but despite what anyone may say, there are some positives within this team. It's hard to take notice of the positives when there's so much negativity, but what's left?
With this team and the effort they have put forth in the last three weeks, you have to be proud of our team. Our record is the worst of the worst, but our guys have shown a lot of heart and true love for their team and the game. You can also take comfort in knowing that I believe this team would be 4-0 with Manning at the helm. This is a deadly squad with our real offense operating. Very deadly. So here's to the future of our team and let's hope we can muster enough to come away with wins in Kansas City and Cincinnati. After those games, it's going to get ugly. Really ugly.
[/caption]
“The Stew” illuminates the highlights and headaches from each week’s game. If someone is overlooked, whether positively or negatively, please feel free to discuss.
Another prime time game, another heartbreaking loss. Now sitting at 0-4, the Colts are done. I love my Colts and will cheer for our guys until the very end, but the playoffs are not realistic goal right now. The injuries are just the nail in the coffin. Not only did we lose our first round pick Ant Castonzo to an ankle injury, our second rounder Ben Ijalana to a knee injury, but we also had our third round pick Drake Nevis experiencing back issues all game. Eric Foster suffered a severe ankle dislocation, according to Phil Wilson, which looked more like a compound fracture at first glance. For this to happen to such a jolly, friendly guy is an absolute shame and drives home the ongoing theme of this season: Depression. He's the second best DT behind Mookie, with Nevis right there. Huge loss for our d-line and Tommie Harris is probably laughing his ass off in San Diego about now.
We showed some spark and the game looked good for most of the night, but it simply wasn't meant to be. Here are some pieces that I saw from the game, despite how tough this loss is to talk about.
The Main Ingredients:
Dwight Freeney: Dwight was held all night while trying to chase Freeman around and out of the pocket, time after time. The man will always be a force. Unfortunately, Dwight can't do it all.
Pierre Garcon: To borrow a quote from Phil Wilson after Garcon's second big TD of the night, "This is why #Colts WR Pierre Garcon is so maddening. He looks like Hall of Famer one minute, guy who shouldn't be in #NFL the next." Agreed, Phil. Garcon still drops easy-to-catch balls which are absolute drive killers. The first damn pass of the game was a drop from Garcon. He has to eliminate this problem or it will eventually lead to him being cut. Sensational performance from him tonight though. I forgive you, Pierre.
Curtis Painter: 13-30, 281 yards and 2 TDs for the Boilermarker. Not bad. His completion rate was horrid (43%), but he made some great throws and brought some actual offense to the table. The 3rd and 10 pass (end of 3rd quarter) where Painter stepped up and hit Collie for a circus catch was clutch. I was expecting him to freak out and take off, but he held his ground and made a great play. Painter also made some good calls on protection changes and audibles. The no huddle offense was able to return in some capacity, also thanks to Painter's experience with the offense. The Bucs dropped three certain picks, which definitely helped Painter's cause. Regardless, I think it's obvious that Painter has overtaken Collins as the starter from here on out. Collins can go ahead and start thanking the front office for the free $4 million dead Presidents.
Robert Mathis: Another great outing from Mathis. If it wasn't for him, the Bucs come away with another three points before the half. Instead, Mathis makes an unbelievable play and we keep the lead going into the half.
Pat Angerer: This guy is going to be a star. With Gary Brackett being lost for the season, Angerer is taking complete advantage of his opportunity. Brackett will not get the starting job back. Angerer added 8 more tackles to his league leading 42. He's an absolute ball hawk and is one of the big reasons our run defense has made a big leap. Blount was held to a 3.0 avg until the huge run in the 4th quarter. Angerer means a great deal to our defense.
The Defense: Our inability to get off the field on third down is ridiculous and our secondary looks like garbage. With that said, up until the fourth quarter, this unit stuck together and held the Bucs to 17 points in the game. Coming into tonight, the Bucs had the WORST PASS D IN THE LEAGUE. You know what that means? We have to score more than 17 points. We failed and the defense just gave out late in the fourth quarter. They already looked completely exhausted to start the second half. They've done more than enough to help this team win games.
The Additives:
Reggie Wayne/Dallas Clark: They didn't go into beast mode or anything, but they made plays when we needed them. Wayne had 4 catches for 59 yards (14.8 avg), got a holding call which moved us out of a hole in the Bucs end zone and had an unbelievable down field block to help free up Garcon for his second TD. Dallas was also right there with a nasty block to help out Garcon. He opened up the field and was more involved than any of the previous three games (3 catches for 46 yards, 15.3 avg). Now if we could just get Collie involved, I'd be somewhat happy.
Kavell Conner: Another bright spot in a very young LB core. Kavell added 18 tackles but missed another handful. Still, I'm gonna try not to complain. His zone coverage continues to be sloppy but he's improving. If anything, I'm very excited about Angerer and Conner.
Phillip Wheeler: This guy isn't so bad either... Another tackling machine and run stopper. Wheeler was second with 10 tackles. I absolutely love this trio.
Jeff Saturday: With the o-line down and out, I noticed that Saturday continued to hold his own. He had some impressive blocks in the first half of the game. Good effort from the veteran.
Eric Foster: I know he wasn't a huge standout on the field tonight, but the heart, desire, and respect that his teammates showed for him must be mentioned. When he was being carted off the field, the chest-pounding and tears of "I'll be alright. Keep fighting!" were very emotional and spoke volumes about Eric. This guy lifted his team at a very painful and scary time. It's very depressing that we couldn't scrap together a win for Big E. Incredibly cool, low key guy. Get well soon, big boy. #moveslikejagger in no time.
One-on-one advantages: There seemed to be quite a few missed one-on-one opportunities, whether it was with Reggie Wayne or Garcon. Painter missed Garcon for another possible TD pass in the 4th. I saw Garcon streaking a couple of times, but Painter wasn't able to get rid of the ball. Thankfully, Painter was able to take advantage and hit Garcon on the same exact throw that he missed against the Steelers. Boom. 87-yard TD.
The Spoiled Goods:
Jim Caldwell: I'm sorry, but he's clueless. On what would be the final drive of the night, Caldwell had an opportunity to go for it and tie the game. If we don't convert, the game is over, but I'll take a chance with the actual ball in OUR hands, as opposed to letting Josh Freeman dance around the field all night. Mind you, Caldwell passed on another 4th down that could have been converted and also missed an easy challenge on a clear fumble created by Antoine Bethea. I really don't understand what goes on in this guy's mind.
Larry Coyer: Your scheme SUCKS. Constant cushion and the middle of the field is ALWAYS open. I could throw on Coyer's defense. I know our secondary is inexperienced and rather crappy, but the scheme is the real problem here. 3rd down conversions are a given against the Colts and it's totally unacceptable.
Clyde Christensen: I have to question the play calling. We sign Chris Gronkowski and draft Delone Carter, yet on 3rd and inches, we roll Painter out. When I saw the backfield, I was thinking, "I bet they roll Painter out here. That's what an idiot would do." What happens? Exactly that. I did like the shots down the field, but this is very troubling. What's the obsession with running behind Dallas Clark? Is Dallas some kind of superman in practice or what? Please, just stop. These calls are extremely frustrating and stupid. Why isn't Collie getting more involved? The slot is non-existant. Remember the Jaguars game last year, where Collie was absolutely tearing up the middle? Where is this at? Is Collie just another system player? With Peyton, he was turning into one of the best slot guys in the game, yet he has 10 catches through four games in 2011... He was targeted 7 times in this game, but the routes were weak. We need to open up the middle and get this guy more involved. 10 catches for 69 yards from a player as skilled as Collie is pathetic.
Pass protection: At the beginning of the game, the pass protection looked great. Then, Castonzo bit the dirt and it all went downhill from there. Michael Bennett absolutely killed us. 2 sacks, one for a fumble. On his second sack, I thought Painter was going to cough it up again. The Bucs had 4 sacks and were causing some mayhem for Painter's release. The o-line was struggling, badly. What do you expect though with no Castonzo or Ijalana?
Run blocking: Same story as above. Looked decent at the beginning of the game, but started to really struggle after the injuries. Addai did what he could with 11 carries for 40 yards (3.7 avg). However, it just wasn't there tonight. Same story with Delone Carter (7 carries for 21 yards, 3.0 avg).
Terrence Johnson/Jacob Lacey: Johnson got burnt and missed easy tackles. Technique is technique and Johnson looks like a kid out there. Johnson stuck out as a flaw within a flawed scheme, along with Lacey, at times. I'm not sure why Lacey is still on the team. He can't tackle and he can't cover. Lacey is definitely Jim Caldwell's secret love child. We miss you, Justin Tryon.
David Caldwell: He looked decent at times, and horrid at others. The read on the easy interception was nice, but he dropped it, of course. If Caldwell makes this play, we get to pad our 10 point cushion and Freeman doesn't score off an easy 1-yard sneak. This drop alone puts him under Spoiled Goods.
Tackling: Missed tackle after missed tackle. This seems to be a on-going theme in the league right now. I don't know if it's the decrease in full pad practices or just bad technique, but bad tackling is what killed our last chance at evening the score. LeGarrette Blount did his usual thing and whipped Tyler Brayton, along with what seemed like every other Colt defender, around and fell just inches short of the first down. Of course, Bucs' coach Raheem Morris has balls and gave way to Freeman for the game-winning QB sneak on 4th down. Tackling, or I should say, lack thereof, didn't lose this game but was certainly an important factor.
The Final Product:
Colts 17 - Buccaneers 24
Like mentioned before, I believe the season is over. I know there's always a chance, but we blew our real chance. Coming into this game, we could have been 2-1, with two wins against the old Steelers and a terrible Browns squad. If we squeezed out a win tonight, we'd be on our way at 3-1. However, we didn't win any of those games and are now sitting in the NFL dumps with the Vikings, Rams, and Dolphins. You can blame it on a lot of things, like coaching and roster management. It seems a lot like hell, but despite what anyone may say, there are some positives within this team. It's hard to take notice of the positives when there's so much negativity, but what's left?
With this team and the effort they have put forth in the last three weeks, you have to be proud of our team. Our record is the worst of the worst, but our guys have shown a lot of heart and true love for their team and the game. You can also take comfort in knowing that I believe this team would be 4-0 with Manning at the helm. This is a deadly squad with our real offense operating. Very deadly. So here's to the future of our team and let's hope we can muster enough to come away with wins in Kansas City and Cincinnati. After those games, it's going to get ugly. Really ugly.
