Had at it: Colts have time to rebound

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky I asked, and you answered. And answered and answered and answered.
This "Have at it" is a great concept.
Tuesday I asked if you thought the Colts were a broken team or a group that set a new, improved and more familiar course with its stirring comeback last Sunday in Houston.
I've sorted through your responses, some of which were exceptionally insightful. There is a lot of optimism in Indianapolis and beyond. By my rough estimate, those who commented or hit the mailbag voted at a rate of 2½:1 that the Colts were primed for a rebound.
I tend to agree. They have too much good young talent to dissolve. Still, it's been hard to watch the first quarter of their season and not feel like they are a long way away.
Run stopping on defense may be the biggest issue. But most believe that can be offset by the offense if things are clicking for Peyton Manning.
One personnel guy from the division I spoke with this week said that defenses aren't fearing the Colts deep like they used to, and their willingness to creep up means they have an easier time stopping Joseph Addai and throwing the shorter timed stuff in the passing game off.
The Colts have only four pass plays of 30-plus yards this season, the same total as Minnesota and Detroit, who are hardly regarded as scary passing offenses.
I believe the Colts need to hit more passes like the 36-yard Manning-to-Reggie Wayne connection on a fourth-and-1 last week in Houston to get coverages back to the way they used to be. But it's awfully hard to get the time for those to develop when you've got as many moving parts on the offensive line because of injuries as they do.
Seems to me there is time for the line to get healthier, play better, and provide time for a sharper Manning to hit on some of those passes we become so used to. If that happens, the Colts will remain a team to be reckoned with.
OK, here are some of my favorites among the responses. Thanks for having at it.

jcspann wrote: There seems to be a lot of things going wrong with the Colts right now. We all know about their porous run defense. Even with the addition of Sanders, I don't think that it will make some miraculous turnaround. He may make opposing players stumble like Kimbo Slice the other night, but he can only do so much. Previously, the Colts relied upon their potent offense to put up big numbers, but that has become an afterthought due to injuries. While Tom Brady's injury has garnished the most media coverage, I think the composite injuries across Indi's O-line have to rank the most devastating. It seems that opposing defenses no longer worry about Manning's ability to go deep, and instead just crowd the box.
Once the offensive line problems are addressed, the team should rebound. Of course, one must worry that it may come too late. Luckily, with the conference in toss-up mode, 2-2 still puts them in a position to enter the post-season. If the Colts can keep the ambulance off the sidelines, they should be able to make their typical run at the trophy.
m4ttjirM wrote: Other teams are just finally stepping it up. the colts window is officially closed. what happend to addai and the run game? Yeah, they have some injuries on the O-line but aren't elite teams supposed to handle that with their backups? Are you trying to tell me the only reason they went from a superbowl contender to what they are this year is simply because of their offensive line? Their weak defense is finally starting to catch up to them and they simply are not the same colts.
BCUM1553907 wrote: As much as I love Peyton Manning, I'm not sure if he can do it all himself this year. The cutting of Ed Johnson is not looking good right now for the Colts. As we saw a few years ago, when Bob Sanders is hurt, the run defense is a mess. That is the case right now. And yes, Bob Sanders really is that good. This may finally be the year that the Colts come back down to earth in the AFC South. Until the Texans gave away the game in Week 5, they had commanded the game by running an efficient offense and keeping Peyton Manning off of the field. Teams that play the Colts will surely, if they are smart, continue to run the ball against this porous run defense and shorten the game so that Manning and the rest of the Colts offense has to stand on the sideline and watch. The Colts are not a very physical team and they haven't been for awhile. While I think the Titans will come back down to earth somewhat, I still see them winning this division. The physicality of the Titans can not be matched by Manning and company in my mind. At best, it is looking like the Colts will have to play for a wild-card spot. In the highly competitive AFC, Manning may have to play like Superman to get this years Colts into the playoffs.
bojackson30 wrote: I think the Colts are finally feeling the drag of their starpowers' contracts. They have done so well elevating players over the years who wouldn't make it on other squads to play at starter level, in part because they play so well as a team. It's been frustrating to watch as a Titans fan. Now, however, those players seem to be coming back down to earth. The monster contracts to guys like Freeney and Sanders and Manning aren't letting them re-sign guys like Scott, Utecht, June, Harper, Jason David, Thornton, etc. and whether or not you value those guys on their new teams (David's been awful for instance), they still performed well in the system in Indy. Can you keep retooling every year with deep round or undrafted folks and make it work? This year maybe that strategy is backfiring a bit. Thank goodness!
dapro928 wrote: I'm a Colts fan so I'll be optimistic (I'm also a Cubs fan and look what that's done for me). Hey, starting whatever and 0 through October hasn't exactly been the magic formula for the Colts come play-off time. Maybe this formula has them peaking at the end instead of the beginning of the season. I do think the defense is in trouble, but not because of the missing Bob Sanders. He will be a huge help, but the loss of Ed Johnson in the middle of the D-line really makes them vulnerable against the run and when they're behind. The Colts D is at its best when they use their speed. Oddly enough, the Texans allowed that to happen at the end of the game by breaking into the open field instead of just pounding the middle. With any luck the offensive line gets healthy (Tony Ugoh, please come back) and in sync. That will allow the team to put points on the board and force teams to come from behind and possibly not run the ball so much. Hey, maybe the Colts go 11-5, get the wild card and become the team that nobody really wants to play in January. Worth a shot.
BowmanND wrote: Indianapolis will be lucky to finish above .500 this season. Father time has caught up with this ball club. They have too much money wrapped up in just a few players and therefore are unable to go out and get young productive players via free agency. The AFC south is a run happy division that will continue to exploit the colts lack of run defense. Bob Sanders is great but cannot single handily stop opposing teams run game. Unless Manning and Wayne can bulk up and play DT this team will continue to be gashed by hard nosed running teams. One of which being the new force in the division...the Titans.
icecoolblue1083 wrote: They are broken. I'm surprised it has taken this long for them to have a disappointing season. They've had a remarkable run and it's a shame they only squeezed out one Super Bowl victory while the Pats enjoyed three.
IndyColts2 wrote: Colts need to get back to the 2006 playoff defensive scheme, Freeney and Mathis stay home and actually assist against the run. Sanders needs to get healthy and stay healthy, too much money for the amount of time he misses. Receiving core and Peyton need to get on the same page in order to loosen things up for the running game. It starts this weekend against a tough Ravens defense but finally LOS gets to see its first win, one of many to come.
mikebknight wrote: The reasons the Colts are struggling and will continue to fair so-so:
1. Plus: O-Line. The Colts will have a fully healthy O-line next week minus Lilja (who they did not anticipate starting at the beginning of the year) for the first time all year.
2. Plus: Stretch play is back in full force with a healthy Ugoh.
3. Minus: Timing with Wayne and Harrison are off. Manning is consistently underthrowing Wayne and overthrowing Harrison on most deep plays.
4. Minus: D-line. Inability to get the opposing offense off the field (Lack of run stoppage at defensive tackle, poor tackling). For example, in the second half of the Jaguars game, the Colts had the ball for under four minutes. In the entire half. Yet, with a little over a minute to go, the Colts were ahead. If the Colts have one more possession, they win. The Colts are only averaging about 10 possessions a game (and that is skewed because they had 13 against the Vikings and have had the ball twice at the end of the game).
5. Minus: Tough schedule. Based on last year's records, the Colts have the second hardest schedule in the NFL. I could easily see any team starting out 0-3 with their schedule. The upcoming stretch is a complete joke--Baltimore, @Green Bay, @Tennessee, New England, @Pittsburgh, Houston, @San Diego. Of those teams, 5 were playoff teams, 3 were in the championship game, and all but Baltimore were .500 or better. It seems like every year their schedule gets harder.
tacklingmachine52 wrote: It can be an age factor for some but I think the philosphy has just gotten to the point where speed and size are not the winning formula. Teams are beating the Colts line up and it is so easy to take out the linemen and get to the second level for offenses. The colts need to bolster the defensive line in the middle. Doing so will take care of the inability to stop the run by plugging the middle and forcing double teams on tackles letting linebackers and safeties free to make tackles. Also that will cause double teams with more one on one opportunities for Freeney and Mathis to wreak havoc on the QB. I think the offense is just a little rusty but also receivers need to catch balls that are there. I have seen quite a few good passes dropped, and I have also seen a lot of balls mis thrown by Peyton. I think the offensive is getting better for them and when the whole line returns it will help trememndously but I think that teams are beating the Colts up on the line of scrimmage and forces Peyton to go to the air and at this point in time he is still going to make mistakes and you cannot make every play with your arm. I think the Colts should use more rotation with the backs as well. Addai is the number 1 guy but give Rhodes more carries and let him pound yardage between the tackles like they did in 2006. I think the Colts can still be the great team they have been but it will take a lot of hard work and commitment for them to do so.
mcmizzou1133 wrote: I think the Colts are breaking down, not bouncing back. They are getting old in some spots. Let's face it, Peyton had a great run but I don't think his best days are ahead of him now. It's his brother's turn. All good things come to an end, as they say.
alexkravecas wrote: Wait, what happened in 2006 when the colts had the worst rush defense in the league, when they didnt have bob sanders, when they didnt have the best record in the league. Oh yeah, they won the friggin Super Bowl.
nschank wrote: I think as soon as the O-line is healthy and in sync, everything else will follow. The running game will be better, which causes the receiving game to be better. This in turn gives Manning the ability to control the clock, and really helps rest our small fast defense.
Robbiemustgo32 wrote: The Colts need to change some schemes defensively, The reputation they've earned themselves over the last 5 weeks are going to make a lot of teams run-happy against them.. I wouldn't worry to much about the offense.. Peyton should get back into form after missing preseason.. They just need to give him time to throw the football... Good luck in the next few weeks.. The NFL is better when the Colts are winning...
CkaneH09 wrote: The Colts will be fine. They are playing with mostly second string offensive linemen, which hasn't allowed Manning to hold the ball as long as needed. Also, if you have watched all of their games like I have, you would realize that Manning is barely missing Wayne and Harrison when they throw deep. This is probally a result of not getting any OTA time or pre-season time together. Yes, even Peyton Manning has to practice. This is still the NFL. Also, the Colts normally win 12 games in a row at the beginning of the season and then tail off towards the end, who is to say they won't do it vice versa this year. If that happens and the Colts are hot at the end of the year, the rest of the AFC will be in trouble.
jkerr5 wrote: Indy is, and will always be, a playoff caliber team as long as Peyton is healthy and has a decent line to block for him. As we saw last year, he can win with a depleted rec. corps while handing the ball to some guy named Kenton Keith.
The defense is where this team needs to do some serious work to make a run deep into the playoffs. This group is extremely reliant on the presence of a few key guys to make the whole ship stay afloat. I believe that this is because the Colts cover 2 schemes aren't advanced enough to keep up with the other high caliber d's in the league.
Take a look at what the skins did to Dallas and Philly without two key cover guys and Jason Taylor. This is because that unit isn't reliant on personnel to such a great extent. They can simply plug guys into these complex defensive looks and still get results.
Without Bob only, the Colts are OK. Without Bob and one or two other key guys... They won't be so lucky.
The ability of the Colts to make a decent run at the Bowl will depend solely on whether their key guys on D can get healthy and stay healthy at the right time.
Also, a weak AFC helps their chances greatly.


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