Colts Won’t Win Until They Get Defensive
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
From 1993-1995, the Green Bay Packers played the Dallas Cowboys twice a season, and did not win a single game. Each year, the Packers lost to the Cowboys in the regular season, and then again in the playoffs. Even when Brett Favre was named MVP in 1995, the Packers could not reach the Super Bowl, and football fans wondered if Favre would ever produce in a big game.
The answer, of course, was yes – but it took major improvements by the defense and the running game to put the mid-90s Packers over the top. A decade later, as the Indianapolis Colts contemplate yet another humbling loss to the New England Patriots, they could do worse than to recall what Favre’s Packers proved: Sometimes, no matter how much the press wants to turn every game into a referendum on your quarterback, the problem is actually the rest of the team.
The flaw in the Colts’ design is that Peyton Manning has to play like the best quarterback in football in order for them to win. If he instead performs like a very good quarterback, he takes the blame for the loss. But the responsibility lies elsewhere – particularly the run defense, whose poor play means that the Colts cannot win a game in which Manning is merely human.
Yes, Manning looked rattled by the Patriots’ defense during Sunday’s 20-3 loss in snowy Foxboro, but he threw the ball well anyway. He had roughly the same completion percentage and yards per pass average as Tom Brady, and that doesn’t even take into account the numerous drops and two fumbles by Manning’s receivers.
In truth, this game was decided on the ground. Both the Pats and Colts wield strong rushing attacks, but only one side did anything to stop the run on Sunday. While Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk combined for 200 yards on the ground for New England, Edgerrin James had a measly 39 yards on 14 carries to support the Indianapolis air attack. Only five of James’s carries were for more than 3 yards, and not a single one achieved a first down.
It is time for the Colts to consider letting some offensive weapons go so that money can be allocated for defensive improvements. Having re-signed Marvin Harrison to a six year, $66 million deal and agreed to a new five-year, $17 million pact with Brandon Stokley, Indianapolis is left with roughly $15 million of cap space to spend on free agents this off-season. James, who now becomes a free agent, finished third in the AFC with 1,548 rushing yards this season, and he’ll surely want the monetary equivalent of those impressive statistics. The Colts need to resist.
As strong as James has been, running backs are far more interchangeable than players at most other positions. There will be a glut of available running backs this coming off-season, including a number of quality backups who want starting jobs, such as the Jets’ LaMont Jordan and the Packers’ Najeh Davenport. Furthermore, James has had a particular problem picking up the slack on the rare occasions when Manning has wavered. In Weeks 15 and 16, when San Diego and Baltimore were able to keep Manning to passer ratings under 100, James averaged only 3.5 yards per carry. It makes no sense for the Colts to spend money on a big-name back who performs best when Manning is playing well enough to win games on his own.
The bottom line is that spending money on the offense and skimping on the defense is preventing the Colts from reaching the Super Bowl. The Colts’ defense seems built to fit the offense. If Manning consistently provides them with an early lead, opponents are forced to pass to try and catch up. So the defense is built to stop the pass before the run, and in particular to put pressure on quarterbacks who have no choice but to throw the ball.
The Colts’ only Pro Bowl defender is a pass rusher, defensive end Dwight Freeney, and the team tied for the AFC lead in sacks. But though the Colts’ defense is built to stop the pass from being thrown, it doesn’t do a good job once that pass is in the air. The Colts allowed the highest completion rate in the league to opposing QBs, and were 23rd in the NFL in net yards allowed per pass attempt.
The biggest hole on the Indianapolis defense is at linebacker: The Colts gave up 137 passes of 6-to-10 yards this season, more than any other team in the NFL. The rush defense was also permeable, giving up plenty of long carries when runners would get past the defensive line and avoid poor tackling by linebackers. A good example came in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, when Corey Dillon ran up the middle, hit a point where linebacker Gary Brackett was being blocked, and easily bounced to the outside for a 27-yard run that set up first-and-goal on the 1-yard line.
A number of quality linebackers will be unrestricted free agents in the upcoming off-season, particularly middle linebackers. The Colts could raid a conference foe by going after Pittsburgh’s Kendrell Bell or Baltimore’s Ed Hartwell, or they could attempt to sign Jeremiah Trotter, who shored up Philadelphia’s once-porous run defense. The fact that each of these players would be coming from a cold weather team is only a bonus for the Colts.
If Indianapolis needs an example of how a quality defense can help a quarterback, they need only look at the two teams that will play in the AFC championship this weekend. New England and Pittsburgh are among the best teams in the NFL at stopping the run, and neither team allows many sustained drives to the opposition. That means that even when Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger have made mistakes early in the game, they can count on getting the ball back in the end with a chance to be the hero.
Give Peyton Manning a strong defense, and instead of always losing when he doesn’t play perfectly for 60 minutes, perhaps he’ll finally get the chance to be the hero by just needing to play perfectly at the end.
