6 takeaways from Frank Reich’s year-end press conference
Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich met with the media on Monday to talk through some things as it will be a while before they are together again during the offseason.
Reich touched on several topics ranging from his meeting with owner Jim Irsay to the future of the quarterback position with Carson Wentz. Much of it is vague. Reich doesn’t like divulging details to the public.
But there are at least some narratives and quotes we can take away from his year-end press conference as we try to make a plan for the offseason.
Here are six takeaways from Reich’s year-end presser on Monday:
How will the Colts respond?
The Colts suffred a shockingly brutal loss to end their season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead of dwelling on one of the worst losses in the history of the franchise, Reich has taken focus on moving toward the future.
“You end up with a scar from that experience. That’s essentially the way I’m looking at what happened this year in this particular last two weeks. There’s no way to undo it. So, what are we going to do? How are we going to respond? How am I going to respond? Well, we’re going to learn from it and get better. The one thing in this building is everybody is very familiar with scars, right?”
Non-committal on Carson Wentz
When it comes to Wentz, we typically here a lot of support and positivity from Reich. This wasn’t the case on Monday after Reich had already spoken with owner Jim Irsay, who may have had some input on the future of the position.
“As far as Carson (Wentz), again I mentioned this the other day just with individuals, we loved the team we had this year. We knew everyone we brought in this year we expected to play winning football. Next year’s roster will be next year’s roster. I’m not going to evaluate or talk about any – I don’t want to just open it up with one player and then start talking about all of them.”
A demanding meeting with Irsay
It isn’t typical that the owner will meet with the head coach and general manager hours after the final game unless something is going to happen. While Reich and Ballard remain with the team, Reich did mention the demanding meeting that Irsay held just hours following the loss to Jacksonville.
“Yeah, I did speak with Mr. (Jim) Irsay last night. Actually, when we got back he wanted to meet with Chris (Ballard) and I. So, we came back over here to the building last night and met with Mr. Irsay for a couple hours just reflecting on the game, on the season. He’s got a very unique perspective. I love his approach and how demanding and holding us all accountable, but also showing support as an owner that he wants to do whatever it takes to get our organization to the top, to get our team to the top. It was a good conversation, a supportive conversation, but also demanding and wanting answers and wanting to hold us accountable.”
More pressure on defense
The Colts have some promising pieces in their pass rush but haven’t yet put together a season of getting consistent pressure. Reich didn’t have an answer as to why the unit can’t generate more pressure on a season-long basis.
“I’ll have to go back and look at it closely. Pressure, or the lack of pressure. It’s interesting to note though, what we were saying before, how we ended up with so many turnovers this year. So, I want to go back and look at, I know pressure numbers were low, but were we forcing quarterbacks into decisions or forcing plays? I don’t know the answer to that right now. We were doing something right on defense that was causing a lot of turnovers. Pressure numbers were down, sack numbers were down, yet some of the other things were right. So, we need to put those pieces of the puzzle together.”
No rhythm in the passing game
As Carson Wentz’s season spiraled out of control, Reich didn’t completely give an answer as to why that happened. Some of it had to do with Jonathan Taylor taking over the offense and thus keeping Wentz out of a rhythm in the passing game.
“Well, what I would say is, we’ve talked about this as a group, where we got so run centric there for a number of weeks that I just think it got hard to find the rhythm in the pass game that we wanted. Whatever that reason was.
“Again, I’m not going to point fingers at what I think that was because I got to sit down and look at it. Go back through every game, all the cut ups, that’s what we’ll do. Just off the cuff, I think we were adapting to what does life look like with this offense when you got an MVP candidate as your tailback, as your running back and he’s doing what he’s doing. The plan is to never be a run only, power run football team. That’s not the plan. The plan is to be dynamic in both the run and the pass. Yes, it can be centered around Jonathan (Taylor) to the degree that is appropriate because he’s a unique player, but the plan is always going to be dynamic in both aspects of the game.”
Objectively critiquing Wentz
It’s no surprise that some might have questions about Reich’s ability to truly and objectively critique Wentz given his affinity for the quarterback. Reich responded by saying he believes he was harder on Wentz this season than he was at any time during their work together in Philly.
“I think it’s fair to say, first of all, I like that question. Secondly, I would say, that’s a natural question. I can honestly say I have an affinity for a lot of our players. Certainly, because of Carson (Wentz) and I’s past relationship working together and because the quarterback thing. I was with Carson for two years in Philadelphia, I’ve been with many of these players for four years. So, I feel a connection to these players that is very deep. I do feel a deep connection to Carson. I do check myself on that kind of stuff all the time with Chris (Ballard). Chris is great in that regard. You guys know Chris, he’s not going to ever sugar coat it. Then secondly, I can honestly say in other ways, I’ve probably been more critical and coached him harder this year than I did in the first two years I was with him in Philadelphia.”
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