How Far Would The Colts Go With Proper Coaching?
Since Chuck Pagano was hired as the head coach, the Colts enjoyed three straight seasons going 11-5 and finishing first in the division. The success of those Colts teams relied heavily on the prowess and leadership of superstar quarterback Andrew Luck. The lack of competent coaching and a solid defense was noticeable from the beginning; the flaws were clearly exposed, but Lucks’ play, along with some incredible individual performances (Robert Mathis’ sack leading season, T.Y. Hilton’s receiving yards leading season) helped mask this clear Achilles heel.
Then, it all came apart. Luck suffered injury problems and the Colts collapsed. Despite some heroic performances here and there, such as Matt Hasselbecks’ brilliant game against the Texans while suffering from flu symptoms, the Colts failed to become a powerhouse, the lack of talent surrounding Luck was evident. Even more on the defensive side of the ball it was apparent. The Colts were never, not even a top 20 defense since Luck was chosen with the first overall pick in the 2012 Draft.
The team building issues do not fall purely on Pagano, as former GM Ryan Grigsons’ mistakes surely handcuffed the team. Grigson had a tendency for overpaying for unproven starters (such as Laron Landry or Arthur Jones), hiring washed up veterans who could no longer play like they used to (Andre Johnson, Todd Herremans) and even failing to resign the few talent he was able to find, like former team leader Jerell Freeman. Grigson was also responsible for several botched draft picks, as I have developed in a previous article.
Anyway, a coaches job is to get the most production out of the players he has, and it seems that Pagano is always unprepared, and always fails to make the proper adjustments during a game to seal a win. Paganos’ only positive aspect is that it looks like the players love playing for him, but I think that they hate losing more than they like Pagano, and losing is becoming something regular due to Chucks’ incompetence.
The Colts have won just two games this season, against the two worst teams in the League. Now, the Colts are 2-4, after facing six Weeks of the easiest schedule in the league. After watching the games, every Colts fan knows something is just off. The Colts do not the have the slightest clue of what a winning mentality is, the Colts can not close out games and their two wins came after blowing some sort of lead against a mediocre team. This all falls down on Chuck Pagano. He should be fired as soon as possible, he just does not have what it takes to lead a team in the NFL.
Despite all the negatives, there is certainly some light at the end of the tunnel. New GM Chris Ballard is great at his job and his work this offseason was impeccable. The FA signings were on point, John Simon, Jabaal Sheard and Johnathan Hankins are all playing really solid football. Rookies Malik Hooker and Nate Hairston look like future Pro Bowlers and even UDFA Rigoberto Sanchez is already one of the top punters in the League. And not to mention the trade for Jacoby Brissett, for just a bust wide receiver Ballard got a more than capable starting quarterback in Lucks’ absence, and come this offseason, Brissett will get plenty of interest in the trade market. Simply put, Ballard just knows where the talent is. Give him time and there is no doubt in my mind that the Colts will be Super Bowl contenders once again. The future looks bright, but in order for this to become a reality, the Colts need to cut loose Chuck Pagano.
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