Defensive Stats - Through 3 games...
 

16th = Total Yards given up per game (347.7)
14th = Points given up per game (21.0)
T9th = Total Take Aways (5)

15th = Passing Yards given up per game (241.7)
14th = Passing Yards per attempt given up (7.1)
T4th = Sacks (10)
T3rd = Fumbles Taken Away (3)
16th = Interceptions (2)

15th = Rushing Yards given up per game (106.0)
15th = Rushing yards per attempt given up (4.1)

So, this is what an NFL average defense feels like?

It has been a LONG time since the Colts put an average NFL defense on the field.

I LIKE it! :)

Walk Worthy,

A lot better than i imagined it could be. I don’t think it will last though.

The new scheme and the lack of tape on it helps. I am not certain we have the talent to continue this level of play all season. And if Leonard or one of the starting DL get hurt and miss significant time, especially Hunt (can't believe I'm saying that) or Sheard, we are screwed. Basham sucks and can't play. He won't step up.

Amazing what one potential future star and another guy playing like a star can do for a defense.

And competent coaching

If Basham eventually winds up on another team, you just know that he’ll end up being another Jerry Hughes

No I don’t. You simply don’t keep a guy that can’t play

Nah I dont' think that's the case. Hughes showed some signs of life his last year here. Basham hasn't shown shit.

The D has definitely played above my expectations so far. In particular the pass rush that has been generated has definitely been above my expectations. The lack of a pass rush was one of the main reasons I was so pessimistic on the D as a whole. I don’t have any confidence that it or Hunt’s play will continue at the current level. But hey I was wrong and I didn’t expect anywhere near this level of play 3 games in. I hope they keep proving me wrong.

I do fully believe in Leonard though. Hard to maintain his current level of production because it’s so damn high, but I don’t have any doubts he’s a difference maker.

Best part is, aside from Sheard, no one playing now has an expensive contract. They made a mid-level defense in 2 years with minimal investment.

The only explanation for Hunt that I can think of is that he got to football late and just needed time to develop. I think I remember reading that he was on a track scholarship, but the school cancelled the track program. So he switched to football. If you think of a normal football player's important development time, they get peewee+ junior high (whatever that's worth), 4 years in HS, 3-5 years in college. So maybe 7-11 years. If he only started playing football in 2009, that's 9 years.

So despite his age (31) he has still had less total football development time than some rookies. You can fudge that a little and say that he still competed in athletics. Obviously if he was able to make the football team at SMU with zero experience, he was already an elite athlete.

That said, in terms of football development you could make the case that he's roughly in the same spot as a standard NFL player in his 3rd - 5th NFL season.

Why so pessimistic on this? Hunt I can't explain, but the rest of the defense is young and should only get better.

Hughes was also a 1st level talent that earned it at TCU.

Basham, well, didn’t.

o


The statistics may illustrate and allege that they are average, but my own lying eyes and instincts tell me that the Colts' defense is above average.

But in relation to Omaha's assertion, I am very curious to see if this can last over a longer period of time (at least 9 or 10 games and/or the entire 2018 season and beyond.)


o

Depth. We don't have it. The DL depth has shown to be decent. But the LB depth is nonexistent. We are ok at safety and have 4 decent CB's playing.

If Hunt, Woods or Leonard go down, this defense changes in a hurry.

Yep, it is troubling.

I get what you're saying - but isn't that true of most teams? I'd venture to say that if any team loses one or more star players to injuries, they'd have a hard time replacing them and getting anywhere near the same production.

As always, I keep my fingers crossed against injuries, but otherwise I'm a believer.

I'm half way there as far a believing goes. I'm scarred by to many years of crappy defense to make me a real believer in 3 games. Lets run thru about 8 games and see if we can keep this up. Not worried about depth. Like Chaka says, nobody has the depth to lose their two best defensive players and not have it hurt bad. The future sure looks a hell of a lot better than it did even 6 months ago. One more draft like this last one and we will be knocking on the door. I am concerned about Luck though. Expected rust and hope that Reich is protecting Luck while the line gets healthy and learns to work together. Ill be holding my breath until they let it rip. If Luck can get back to his old self, I believe we are on track to be a force in the next few years

3rd down percentage on D they are a bit lower than the rest, ranked 20th at about 40%

Still not horrible.

Was trying to find red zone stats, can't track them down. Not sure why ESPN or NFL.com doesn't have those

I disagree about the depth....

DL, we picked up two guys after the cuts in Jihad Ward and Muhammad Al-Quadin, who have seen a lot of action and have done ok. It is not as if Sheard is pulling up trees, he was ok the last two weeks, but was bad in the first outing, with people shouting for him to get off the team! Kemeko Turay has shown a few flashes, so could well develop as the season goes along. Hopefully we get Tyquan Lewis at some point.

LB's, i think that Zaire Franklin, Najee Goode, Anthony Walker are all of a similar standing. If we lost Leonard then yeah that is going to be hard to replace that production.

Safeties, we have 3 guys in a solid rotation as it is, with Hooker, Geathers and Fairley.

CB's, have been using 4 regularly, Moore, Wilson, Hairston and Desir.

The real backend depth, so the guys off the practice squad who would be promoted up might be lacking somewhat, but as has been said before, that's the same for everyone.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/sta...ne-scoring-pct


50% so far defensive red zone TD percentage so far, 100% at home....

This stat is confusing, I think it means....
50% of the time the opponent gets in the red zone, our D has prevented a TD, through three games.

100% of the time the opponent is in the red zone at Indianapolis, our D has prevented a TD (the redskins did not score a TD).

So we are in a seven way tie for best defensive red zone percentage at home. a 6 way tie for 19th best red zone D overall.

Small samples suck.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/sta...ne-scoring-pct


50% so far defensive red zone TD percentage so far, 100% at home....

This stat is confusing, I think it means....
50% of the time the opponent gets in the red zone, our D has prevented a TD, through three games.

100% of the time the opponent is in the red zone at Indianapolis, our D has prevented a TD (the redskins did not score a TD).

So we are in a seven way tie for best defensive red zone percentage at home. a 6 way tie for 19th best red zone D overall.

Small samples suck.

For me there are a few factors. One is Hunt. He’s playing at a Pro Bowl level. There is obvious reason to doubt it will continue. If his play regresses to anywhere near expectations that will ripple across the D. Especially since penetration by the dline is critical in this scheme and there is no one on the line I have confidence in picking up the slack.

As someone else pointed out depth is a major concern. Yes that’s true of most teams, but I think most people would agree that overall the D lacks talent. So a loss of one of the few above average contributors (two currently at All Pro levels) will hit harder than a D with more talent spread across it.

During the small sample size we have, I’ve seen stretches of the poor play I expected. 3/4 of the Cincy game the D was awful. The first drive against Philly was awful. And the Philly game was also playing an offense missing several of its best weapons (including starting RB and WR1), it’s QB was playing his first game since a major injury, and it was in the rain.

There has also been very little tape for offenses to analyze. We’ll see how they fair as teams know more about what to expect (who the fuck would expect to have to game plan for Margus Hunt?). Teams make adjustments and I think their is a decent amount to exploit on this young inexperienced D.

Certainly some of this could just be expectation bias on my part, but I’m not ready to believe they are an average D yet. I need to see them prove it longer. I need to see Hunt continue his play or see who else can elevate his game if he falls back.

Now that’s not to say I don’t see reason for optimism. Leonard alone is reason enough to be excited. He may not be able to keep up this pace. He may fall off some as the season progresses (like many rookies) but I do believe he’s a difference maker. Coming into the season I had serious doubts the D had one. Hell of a pick by Ballard.

The defensive coaching staff appears to be at least competent. Considering their inexperience and the way the staff was put together, that was a question mark. Tackling seems mostly improved. Whether or not it lasts they’ve found ways to generate a pass rush. And they’ve obviously emphasized stripping the ball which I love.

They are also getting a lot of guys meaningful experience.

Overall I’m pleasantly surprised and see several reasons for optimism, even if I don’t believe they are as good as their current numbers suggest.

I hate the way they present the red zone stats in general, always have, breaking it down by TDs and FGs.

They should present it as average points scored per red zone trip. One stat, easy to compare team to team.

They’re playing inspired ball right now. That I’m afraid won’t last.

So is anyone still pissed about Simon getting cut??

Not to upset the applecart, but maybe this set of D coaches knows what they want?

Per JMV, Simon got signed today by the Evil Hoodie.

Yes. No reason to keep Basham over him.

Younger, more upside. Potential. If he doesn’t show anything he’ll be gone also.

No, I'm not, right now at least

I'll concede Simon being cut has certainly not hurt the D so far this year.

But its 3 games. Will see how the D fairs the rest of the season, but so far Ballard's decisions seem to be justified

Upside my ass. The dude can’t play.