INDIANAPOLIS—An early season issue for the Colts reared its ugly head again last Sunday in their loss at Pittsburgh.
Those problems on the defensive side of the ball not only ended a winning streak before it could grow beyond two games, but also became a topic of conversation from the players hours and days to follow.
They’ve also got the Colts coaching staff scratching their heads.
The defense is struggling and is likely to continue doing so unless these three symptoms can be remedied. With divisional rival Tennessee coming to Lucas Oil Stadium this Sunday, it is more important than ever for the Colts defense to more closely resemble the unit their fans expected to see this season.
Tackling
Indianapolis is fifth from the bottom of the league in rushing yards allowed and is surrendering a staggering five yards per carry while giving up six touchdown runs and five plays of 20 yards or more.
The news gets worse in the passing game where the Indianapolis secondary has allowed over 20 plays of 20 yards or more.
The most commonly cited cause has been a rash of missed or broken tackles by Colts defenders.
After Sunday’s loss, linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither and cornerback Sauce Gardner both said tackling is an area of the game that indicates desire or ‘want to’.
Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo disputes the idea that there is a lack of effort on the part of his defense.
“I mean, I think first and foremost, Akeem is a coach's son,” Anarumo said Wednesday. “Akeem's probably going to be a coach when he's done playing. So, I think he comes from that mindset that we all want to be – when we arrive at the football, we want to arrive there in a bad attitude. So, I think his messaging is well received. I think Sauce just taking accountability for a couple bad plays last week. You can flip it the other way and watch (DeForest) Buckner and Tomi (Adetomiwa Adebawore) run down the field like nobody's business. So, however you want to look at it. We do not have a lack of effort on the team. When you lose, there's going to be some things that are highlighted. If I thought there was a problem with effort, I would address it immediately.”
He maintains that the issues stem from angles and bad timing.
Everyone agrees, the team’s ability to limit explosive plays needs to improve.
“I think if you take away – and I'll say it, but you cannot give them 150 yards or 140 yards on two plays,” Anarumo said. “You just can't. So, the explosive part of it, that has to be eliminated.”
Turnovers
One fumble recovery and one interception. That’s it through five games.
Not only are the Colts missing tackles and giving up big plays, they are also not taking the ball away from their opponents. Part of that problem is a lack of pressure on opposing quarterbacks as Indianapolis has recorded just 10 sacks, tied for ninth lowest in the league.
“I mean, I think that's a part of it,” Anarumo said. “Every year is so different, right? I think last year, midway through the season, I think we were plus-eight or nine, or even maybe 10, but that was last year. And the drills are consistent on what we're doing in terms of teaching the guys takeaways, and Shane (Steichen) does a great job of stressing that.”
It is a problem on the mind of the entire coaching staff.
“I think takeaways,” Steichen said. “Takeaways and take care of the football. That's the No. 1 thing. Obviously, you got – you preach it, but you got to practice it like crazy. It's got to be all day, every day in practice. You can't talk about it. You got to go do it.”
Accountability
While some players have spoken about tackling and desire during postgame press conferences, others are talking about accountability.
Safety Camryn Bynum says that accountability starts in practice.
“Yeah, I think just practicing to exhaustion,” he said. “I think just taking it (to) that next step. And I think we've had really good practices. I've been happy with our preparation every single week. So, when we don't play well on Sundays, for me, it's like okay, we need to figure out what more can we do because we wouldn't – as leaders on the team, we wouldn't let us go Wednesday, Thursday, Friday not having good practices and be OK with it.”
The coaches and players insist the effort is good and they are holding each other to account for shortcomings.
Steichen says this weekend represents another chance to right the ship.
“Yeah, I don't think there's a lack of effort at all,” he said. “If you put on the tape, I think guys are flying around. I think obviously the execution from everything needs to be a little bit better. But like I said, we’ve got a great opportunity this week moving forward.”