o


Today was the 2nd-worst game of the season by the Colts' defense ...... the Saints game is the only one in which they were worse.

The rest of the team sucked, too.

o

o


The Colts are tied for 3rd in the NFL with 42 sacks, and exactly half of that total (21) has been accumulated in the 4 games just prior to the Bengals fiasco (in which they had 0 sacks.)


SOURCE: ( Stephen Holder, ESPN Sportswriter



This exemplifies that the Colts' defense (for the most part) was pretty darned good in their 4-game winning streak, and pretty darned lousy in their game against the Bengals.

o

Easy to be lousy when the refs have the fix in for your opponent. Not the first time the Colts have been screwed by the refs in Cincinnati, likely won't be the last, either.

o


The Colts' offense was lousy, the Colts' defense was lousy, and the Colts' special teams was lousy.

The referees didn't make Gardner Minshew throw inaccurate passes, the referees didn't make Matt Gay miss an extra-point attempt and a 38-yard field goal attempt, and the referees didn't make the Colts' defense come out for the second half as though they were playing an exhibition game ...... the Colts did that all on their own.

o

Spot on. Sometimes teams just throw a clunker out there and don't have Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck to bail them out. To be fair we lost some clunkers with those 2 QB's as well.


The only call I even had a problem with was the Q holding call. He and the opponent were hand fighting and Q slapped his hands away and the guy fell to the ground. Sometimes Q gets those calls against him because he's just so dominant.

o


(vs. STEELERS, 12/16)


1 of the 2 TD's that the Steelers scored today was a one-yard drive after a blocked punt ...... but at the end of the season, it will count as 7 points against the defense in the team stats.




Possessions: lll..... 10

Punts: lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 4

INT's: lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 2

Fumbles: lllllllllllllllllllllll 1

TO on Downs: llllllllll, 1

TD's: llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 2 ) (1 of which was a one-yard drive)

o

They got my FF team 23 points today. Puck got -3 from the Chargers' defense.

o


(DECEMBER 17th)


The Colts lead the NFL with at least 1 takeaway (turnover) by their defense for 19 consecutive games.

The last time that the Colts' defense failed to produce a turnover was in November of 2022, in a game against ...... the Steelers.



https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/401437872

o

https://horseshoeheroes.com/posts/is...y-01hhjax693xv

Are people really this dumb? This team is on the verge of setting the franchise sack record with a secondary full of rookies. Talented, promising rookies, yes, but rookies nonetheless. Did anyone expect the defense to perform well statistically this year? I didn’t, especially against the pass. The way Ballard constructed the roster, it looked like he wanted to take the lumps to develop a promising secondary going forward. That has more or less happened, with the hope being that JuJu Brents can be more healthy going forward. If you fire Bradley now, you remove the system that those players fit, and you completely start the process over. Hopefully the front office is smart enough to know how stupid that idea is.

o


"Think of how stupid the average American is ...... and then realize that half of the people are even stupider than that."


George Carlin, 1990

o

Horseshoe Heros is just click bait anyways. I stopped falling for it last season.

Some love for the defense this year, I did not expect this unit to perform this well.

There was a lot of love saturday for Watt and his production, and he is certainly playing at a higher level with 16 on the year. The Steelers 4 sack leaders have 16, 6, 3, 3 sacks for a total of 28.

The colts sack leaders are Ebukam (9.5), Odeyingbo (8), Paye (7.5), and Buckner (6) for a total of 32.

The colts as a team rank 3rd in sacks, 4th in interceptions, and 3rd in forced fumbles. We've forced 20 fumbled and recovered 18 of them.

There is a fire Bradley and the defense sucks mentality going around social media and I am not sure where it is coming from.

I don't want Bradley fired. But he is the anti-Steichen. If we are going to have a risk taking damn the torpedoes offense, then the defense at some point would have to show some of those same characteristics.

I believe that is what Steichen would want.

I realize this season is not ideal for that with a not very talented back end. But hopefully we have the pieces next season to see a little more aggressive.

I think as the secondary gets more experienced, we'll see more risk taking. Bradley was the DC of the Legion of Boom defense, and when he had Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor, his defense was 1st in the league in points allowed, 5th in turnovers forced, and 4th in redzone conversion rate. Brents and Jaylon Jones have shown a lot of signs of being very good boundary CBs, and IMO Julian Blackmon should be the Colts' #2 offseason priority (right behind Michael Pittman Jr.). If this group is kept together, I think 2024 will be a very good year for the Colts defense.

o



(TAKEAWAYS)


San Francisco 49ers ) 25

Jacksonville Jaguars ) 25

Indianapolis Colts ) 24

Denver Broncos ) 24

Buffalo Bills ) 24

Cincinnati Bengals ) 23

Cleveland Browns ) 23

Chicago Bears ) 23

Miami Dolphins ) 22

New Orleans Saints ) 22

New York Giants ) 22

Pittsburgh Steelers ) 21

Dallas Cowboys ) 21

Baltimore Ravens ) 21

Minnesota Vikings ) 20

Tampa Bay Buccaneers ) 20

Houston Texans ) 20

New York Jets ) 19

Seattle Seahawks ) 19

Las Vegas Raiders ) 19

Los Angeles Chargers ) 17

Kansas City Chiefs ) 16

Green Bay Packers ) 16

Arizona Cardinals ) 15

Detroit Lions ) 15

Philadelphia Eagles ) 15

Atlanta Falcons ) 15

Washington Commanders ) 15

New England Patriots ) 14

Tennessee Titans ) 12

Los Angeles Rams ) 12

Carolina Panthers ) 11

o

Colts and Orioles - I feel I must apologize to you for debate about the offense vs. defense in the success of the Colts this year. The defense has far out performed the offense in leading this team to a potential playoff appearance and the number of takeaways is the major reason.

You were right, I was wrong.

o


Ed, if I had a nickel for every time that I was wrong I'd be a millionaire, and if I had a dime for every time that I was wrong I'd be a multi-millionaire.

No need for apologies ...... I'll settle for a cold bottle of Gatorade if we ever get together to watch a Colts game here in New York State.

o

o


The Colts' defense has played 943 snaps, tying them with the Seattle Seahawks for the most in the NFL ) :eek:

That statistic might make one think that the Colts have been awful on defense ...... but statistic almost always need to be scrutinized before making presumptions.


SOURCE: ) Stephen Holder, ESPN Sportswriter

o

Defense has been great and with Juju they’re even better

We matchup great vs the run heavy falcons I’m excited to see this matchup

Anyone wanting Bradey fired will be deeply disappointed. This defense is getting better and better.

Change and we get the same style of coach (Ballards drafting style) but have to start the chemistry all over again

Roll with him

Set a record for turn overs next yr. Have ya'll looked at the team stats for turnovers and sacks?

Overall he's obviously done a good job, but we really need to cut down on our 3rd/4th and long conversion rate. Ultimately it didn't matter, but we shouldn't be giving up 3rd & 21 and 4th & 10 conversions to shit offenses.

o


Also, the Colts officially have given up 343 points, only 8 less than the AFC-leading Denver Broncos' 351 points ...... but that number includes points from Colts quarterbacks throwing pick-6's, the Colts' offense fumbling the ball in the end zone for an opponent's TD, and points off of "drives" after the Colts' offense turned the ball over deep in their own territory.

o

Agree 100%, I hope this reflects our overall youth + Bradleys second season.

I'm really jazzed about our defense, there's history making potential in each of the next 2-3 years. They are a blast to watch, can blow up a game on any snap.

o


(vs. FALCONS, 12/24)



Possessions: lll..... 10

Punts: lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 3

TD's: llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 2

FG's: lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, 5

o

o


The 19-game streak is over ...... the Colts' defense did not produce a turnover against the Falcons this afternoon.

o

A defensive scheme that can match the aggressiveness of head coach Shane Steichen would be a match made in heaven. With how important the passing game has become in today's NFL, a conservative defense up front and on the back end just isn't going to cut it anymore. Bradley's style of defense is outdated, and the Colts can either move on or be left in the past with it.
https://atozsports.com/indianapolis/...nator-defense/

Thanks to stone hands Franklin

o


Zaire Franklin leads the NFL in tackles, and he's been arguably our best player on defense this season ...... I wouldn't flippantly call him a disparaging nickname because of a bad play, or a bad game.

o

o


his name is l Austin Ajiake, l and he is being assigned to the practice squad.



Colts’ Sign Former Broncos, Packers Linebacker

(By Drake Wally)

https://www.si.com/nfl/colts/news/co...ackers-broncos

o

Oh I love his game and what he brings but if he wants to be elite he’s gotta make plays like that period

o


Peyton Manning threw a pick-6 late in the 4th quarter of a Super Bowl ....... he's as elite as they come, and I wouldn't call him a disparaging nickname because of it.

o

That’s you man… and Manning is on another planet compared to Zaire Franklin

Just because he leads the NFL in tackles he doesn’t get a pass from me on an INT that hit him directly in the chest that could’ve changed that game all the way around…

So for a better comparison how about when Quentin Coryatt dropped that pick in the AFC title game? Did you yell anything disparaging about him even though he had a lot of tackles in his career as a Colt?

I dam sure did

o


We're not talking about something that you said in a game thread, which is a venue for more reactionary posts. I certainly wouldn't have posted something like that on a public forum if I were talking about a player of Franklin's caliber a full day after the fact, as you did here on the main forum.

So you can stay with "Stonehands" Franklin, which you called him not in the heat of the moment, but a day after the fact, as though that is his primary function on the team ...... I'll go with Zaire Franklin, the best player on the Colts' defense who made a bad play in a regular season game.

o

Yea I was still shitty a day later… so what

I’m also still shitty you defended a guy that tried to take Pittmans head off so it is what it is

Until that mfer holds on to an INT he’s stone hands

o


He dropped an INT. Based on your logic, every player in the NFL deserves a derogatory nickname, unless you can point to a player who never made a bad play in his career. I don't think that you really believe that ....... and if you do, you're one of the biggest malcontent ever to root for a football team.

o

Nope I hold players to the standards they create… he said himself he considers himself the best LB in the game…. Make the play then it’s that simple

The best LB makes that play

o


Patrick Mahomes is arguably the best quarterback in the game, and unquestionably one of the best quarterbacks in the game. He made back-to-back bad plays in his most recent game against the Raiders. Those 2 bad plays resulted in 14 Raiders points, which was the difference in the game ...... 14 points, within 7 seconds of each other. The final score of the game was 20-14, Raiders.

And according to your logic, Mahomes cannot be the best QB in the game because the best QB in the game does not make a bad play like that, let alone 2 consecutive bad plays like that.

If you want to die on this hill, fine, but you're reasoning is preposterous.

o

That’s not my logic at all… you’re all over the place

Mahomes resume is a little better then Franklins I’d say your trying to create shit man

Franklin hasn’t won shit but he talks big shit…. If you’re gonna talk it back it up it’s that simple and the more you achieve the more of a pass you’ll get when you fuck up

You’re a captain the team leans on you you wanna be the face of the defense… make the fuckin play I’ll die on that fuckin hill for sure

o


You're exact words were ......

o
o


All over the place, nonsense. I took exactly what you said, and I made a congruent comparison. It's not a matter of the fact that Mahomes is in a different class than Franklin overall as player, it's a matter of you "holding players to standards that they create" as you said, as the best player in the game at their position. If the best LB in the game makes that play, then the best QB in the game doesn't make back-to-back plays resulting in 14 points for the opponent, and subsequently costing his team the game. You're exact words, and your logic.

o