Insider: Too many hits, too many mistakes,
https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...s/69684594007/
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Micah Parsons said it all.
All that needed to be said about the way Matt Ryan has played in Indianapolis.
About the way he played in Sunday’s rock-bottom 54-19 loss to the Cowboys, a loss that had the starting quarterback’s fingerprints all over the fourth-quarter fireworks lit by the Dallas defense.
“Man, we really making people play scared,” Parsons tweeted after the game, complete with three laughing emojis. “It’s comical.”
Parsons might have a point about a Cowboys defense that leads the NFL in sacks, ranks right up there in turnovers and has fueled a ferocious late-season push.
But as good as the Cowboys have been this season, they are far from the only team that’s made Ryan play like a man desperately trying to escape a canyon before the avalanche falls on him, only to get crushed under the weight of the rocks.
The Colts put Ryan in this position.
The way he’s played in the pocket — fidgety, hurried, anxious to get the ball out of his hands — is a direct result of the 35 sacks he’s taken so far this season, part of a league-worst 46 sacks taken overall.
Ryan chose to come to Indianapolis because he thought he’d have the protection he hadn’t gotten in Atlanta. Instead he’s been a wounded, aging elephant separated from his herd, knowing he’s being tracked by a pride of lions that might find him at any turn.
But the man who made his name on his icy demeanor in critical moments has instead shattered under the weight of all that pressure.
Ryan has hinted at the toll all of those hits have taken on him in the last couple of weeks. When he found Alec Pierce for a season-long 47 yards in the first quarter, it was only the Colts’ third completion of 40 or more yards in 2022. For weeks now, Indianapolis has needed to push the ball down the field, but when Ryan was asked about it two weeks ago, the answer was simple, and echoed by play-caller Parks Frazier.
“You have to have the time,” Ryan said.
More:'You have to have enough time': Why Colts aren't taking downfield shots in passing game
The problem is that Ryan is playing like he has no time even when there’s a clean pocket around him, and he no longer has the physical tools necessary to make the kind of throws he’s trying to make. Ryan completed 21 of 37 yards for 233 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, and although he started fast, he took two sacks from unblocked Cowboys in the first half, and his play started to devolve from there.
Ryan’s first interception cost the Colts a chance to take control of the game.
Indianapolis had the ball at the end of a surprising first half, a chance to take the lead and then get the ball coming out of the half, and Ryan fired a slant that bounced off of Pierce’s hands high and into the arms of Malik Hooker.
Pierce, the rookie, tried to take the blame after the game.
“I know a lot of the blame goes on him, but there’s things that we do,” Pierce said. “The one ball that went off my hands, he threw a good ball, that’s just on me. I’ve got to do a better job protecting his throw.”
Ryan, for his part, thought Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown should have been flagged for pass interference instead of credited with a deflection on Hooker’s pick.
“The one before the half, it’s kind of iffy, or however you want to say it, I thought there was contact early,” Ryan said.
In reality, a better ball from Ryan might have prevented both outcomes. Rather than firing it low and out in front, where Pierce had a chance to use his body to shield Brown from the ball, Ryan’s ball sailed a little bit, forcing Pierce’s hands up into the air.
If that ball’s down and Brown’s still there early, he’s going through Pierce’s body, and there’s no way the referees miss the call. Hooker’s pick led to a Dallas touchdown, a 21-13 halftime lead, and set the stage for the Colts’ fourth-quarter collapse.
The second interception highlighted another problem that has plagued Ryan all season long.
Accurate to a point — Ryan has completed 67.8% of his throws this season, in large part because the Colts have thrown the ball shorter than any team in the league in an effort to minimize the pass rush — Ryan has often been a little late on throws down the field, leading to incompletions or interceptions.
That’s what happened on the second interception, a ball that came out a tick late for tight end Kylen Granson and ended up too far inside the field of play. The ball also sailed a little bit, a problem that has been consistent for Ryan on throws outside the numbers this season.
“Probably need to put that ball a little further outside, and if it misses, it misses a little further away,” Ryan said.
Cowboys nickel Daron Bland picked it off instead.
The third pick was a different problem, but another that’s reared its ugly head time and time again this season.
“Just not on the same page,” Ryan said, referring to the intended receiver, Ashton Dulin.
Ryan has been plagued by those miscommunications all season.
But he was brought to Indianapolis, in part, to help limit those errors, to bring along a young receiving corps that has been more promising than anybody expected. Instead, the Colts are still making the same route errors in December, leading to critical interceptions.
The last turnover was something that hadn’t happened since Ryan returned to the lineup.
Ryan was crumpled by Cowboys pass rusher Osa Odighizuwa, separating the ball from the quarterback’s body to help add insult to injury.
It was the veteran’s fifth lost fumble of the season, his league-leading 14th fumble overall. Ryan’s three interceptions brought his total to 13, and his turnover total to 18, far more than the steady presence he was supposed to be.
Despite all of the turnovers, Colts interim coach Jeff Saturday said he never considered turning to backup quarterback Nick Foles.
“From a quarterback perspective, you dig yourself a hole, you’ve got to get out,” Saturday said. “(Ryan) knows he didn’t play good. It doesn’t take us to tell him. But no, you don’t yank him. You work your way out. You’ve got to fix it and find a way to get better.”
Saturday also hesitated at the possibility of pulling Ryan out of the starting role, although he didn’t rule it out.
“At this point, we’re riding with what we’ve got,” Saturday said early in his press conference.
Asked again why he wanted to stick with Ryan, Saturday deflected.
“It’s five minutes after a beating,” Saturday said. “I’m disappointed. They’re disappointed. No decision I’m going to make right now is going to be a good decision. We’ve got weeks to go about this.”
The Colts have already made their bed, and when they made a quarterback change to Sam Ehlinger earlier this season, the results were worse than they’d been with Ryan at the helm.
Another quarterback change after the upcoming bye week isn’t likely to spark an Indianapolis offense that has been abysmal all season long.
But Ryan hasn’t been able to overcome any of the issues the Colts have had this season.
More often than not, the veteran’s made them worse, and Sunday night’s game showed that it’s probably past the time to expect any of it to get better this season.
Ryan’s taken too many hits already, made too many mistakes.
All of it’s in his memory bank, and it doesn’t seem like he can escape.
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12-06-2022, 03:52 PM
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