NASHVILLE — There are no answers. Frank Reich believes there are some answers to this terrible situation. Coltsoffense, but he believes that. For one, it’s his job to A) believe there are, and B) find them, somehow, somewhere. But seven games into this season, he’s running out of alternatives, and in his heart of hearts, he knows it. He Has It is possible to get it right?
The Colts (3-3-1), who scored 34 points in the season’s first week, beat the Colts last week. JacksonvilleGo no-huddle and get the ball out Matt Ryan’s hands quickly. This week against TennesseeThey did all the same things, but they lost 19-10, a crushing loss that lowered their record against AFC South to just 1-3-1. It also likely ended any chance of winning the divisional title.
Now, what? Show me what cards he’s got left to play. He doesn’t have any, and it’s not going to get any better. This offensive football team is miserable and has been this way all season. The team features a quarterbacking corpse (and right arm), while playing behind an expensive offensive line that has lost the ability to block in both the running and passing games. And if all that isn’t gruesome enough, the punter, Matt Haack, had one of the worst punting games we’ve ever seen in a game unaffected by weather and only tangentially impacted by the wind. Seriously … 32 yards, 29, 27 and 28.
“Keep grinding it out,” Reich said when asked if he’s got any cards left to play. “I believe in the guys that we have. “I believe in the process we have. We’ve had some flashes. We moved the ball between the 30’s …”
Reich was aware at that instant that this sounded weak. He eventually added, “We just have to find the end zone more.”
Yes, it would be a good start.
Consider this: The Colts defense has been outstanding for most of the first seven games and did not allow a Titans offensive touchdown on Sunday. The Colts lost nine points. Nine points This is the way the Titans play, the way they’ve played the last five games against the Colts, all Tennessee victories: They sit back and wait for Indy to make a mistake, and the Colts generally oblige. With interceptions. With fumbles. Punting that is comically poor Something. It’s always something.
Reich said it several times during the week: “Tennessee doesn’t beat itself.” No, they don’t; that’s the Colts’ job. Six turnovers were committed by the Colts in two Tennessee games this year. This is the end of the story.
Now, I’m here to tell you: Playing is the last/next choice Sam Ehlinger, hoping he can infuse some life into this moribund offense, and if I’m being honest, I almost went there in this column. Almost.
But I’ll wait and say this: One more stinker from Ryan, who threw two interceptions Sunday — one of them a 76-yard pick-six —and he should be stapled to the bench. Perhaps that’s what happens. WashingtonNext week, or further down the road, the leash must be kept short. The leash should be extremely short.
Mr. Adams House Call☎️ @AndrewAdams33
📺Watch #INDvsTENon @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/sPi7mPPauL
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) October 23, 2022
Ryan isn’t the answer, not this year and surely not next year, and I’m not even sure what the question is supposed to be. He’s fumbled 11 times (none in this game) and he’s thrown a league-leading nine interceptions, two on Sunday. Said it before, going to say it again: Through seven games, he’s been worse than Carson WentzWentz wasn’t terribly good last season. Fans want to offer up excuses for the likeable Ryan, largely because of their over-heated animus toward Wentz, but Ryan’s been relentlessly awful, especially in terms of ball security.
Colts Quarterbacks in 7 games
| 2021 Wentz | 2022 Ryan | |
|---|---|---|
|
Comp pct |
68.4% |
64.4% |
|
Pass yds |
1,695 |
2,008 |
|
TD-Int |
11-1 |
9-9 |
|
Sacks (yds lost) |
15 (113) |
24 (184) |
|
Fumbles |
4 |
11 |
|
Passer rating |
102.8 |
84.7 |
But that offensive line has been terrible …
Yes, it has been, but it’s not entirely on that group. Where was all this excuse-making last year, when the Colts’ pass protection was nearly as leaky as it is now? Are all those sacks hurried and hits on Wentz due to Wentz’s unwillingness to let go of the ball? Wentz gave them a chance, with just one interception across seven games. Ryan? Not so much.
I’m not saying Ehlinger is the answer to anything or that he’ll somehow inject this flat-lining offense with some juice and energy. Ryan and his offense have had another disappointing outing. The question is: What do you have to lose? It sounds crazy to say this about a 3-3-1 team that just played in the week’s only game between two teams with winning records, but right now, they are not just bad, they’re boring.
If Chris Jones doesn’t take that penalty in the Chiefsgame, or Russell Wilson doesn’t throw that egregious interception late in the Denver game, are we already watching Ehlinger behind center?
There’s a reason he was moved up to second on the quarterback depth chart, and it’s not to run specialty plays on third- and fourth-and-short.
INTERCEPTED AGAIN @davidlongjrNow has INTs back-to-back😮
📺: #INDvsTENCBS
📱Stream NFL+ https://t.co/Gyn0EpEP0n pic.twitter.com/sd1drc2XjX— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2022
The Colts’ 3-3-1 record is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it keeps the Colts squarely in the post-season conversation — cue the Jim Mora “playoffs” rant — although that will likely mean as a wild-card team. As Reich and his players like to say, everything they want is still in front of them, and technically, that’s true, especially in the AFC South. But this is a team going nowhere, not with this offensive line and not with Ryan playing like he’s playing, and the sooner they find out what Ehlinger is all about, the better.
Either way, next year’s first-round pick has to be a quarterback. Period. End of story. It’s time to move on. Yes, this recording is available.
As is his wont, Reich took most of the responsibility for Ryan’s pick-six while Ryan put in on his own shoulders, so while we can all agree that both are noble fellows, the fact is, Ryan can’t make that throw. He’s 37. This is not his first rodeo. But it’s close to his last.
One play after the officials had missed an obvious penalty for wearing a facemask Jeffery Simmons brought down Nyheim Hines illegally, Ryan eluded a free rusher — what’s new? —and passed toward Parris CampbellHe had made the right read with the double teams nearby and began upfield.
Ryan flung it anyway, and it was intercepted by Tennessee’s Andrew AdamsHe returned the ball 76 yards for a touchdown. That was the Titans’ sole touchdown of the game. It was enough. It was more than enough. If I’m a defensive player, I am not thrilled.
“I didn’t help him (Ryan),” Reich said. “It was a second-and-long play. The play before, while I was arguing over the facemask with the official, I got the call in late. Normally, I get it in super fast. I received the call a bit later than usual, and then the Titans appeared in a pressure stare. He (Ryan) wanted to check out of it because he knew the blitz was coming, but we didn’t have time to check out of it. That was a tough situation.”
Said Ryan: “We were a little bit down on the clock in that situation, and they kind of checked it after our first cadence. I should have gotten out of it and I don’t know if I had enough time to. Regardless, even in those situations, you’ve got to dirt it or find a way just to not have a negative play. And obviously that cost us.”
Seven games into this strange season, this is an offense with no discernible identity, one that’s neither fish nor fowl. If anything, it’s more like a pet rock.
Even with a backfield that includes a defending champion rushing, they are no longer a great running team. Jonathan TaylorHines, Hines, and the Underrated Deon Jackson. You can’t block, you can’t win. The decline of the offensive line falls largely on general manger Chris Ballard, who seemed to think — wrongly, it turned out — that the Colts would be just fine with Matt Pryor, Danny PinterOthers.
This pocket COLLAPSED😱 @GrindSimmons94x @Bud_Dupree
📺: Watch #INDvsTENOn @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/gnhps0hWzv
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) October 23, 2022
They are not a good passing team, and haven’t been since, well, Philip Rivers was behind center. The weaponry is there; if Ballard was of a mind to brag, he could point out that the wideouts — Michael Pittman, Jr., Alec Pierce and Parris Campbell — have come along beautifully. We questioned their front-end talent and depth, and they’ve performed well enough; Campbell, in particular, had 10 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown on Sunday.
But again, you can’t block, you can’t make plays.
And if your quarterback has a predilection for throwing it to the other team — Ryan leads the league in fumbles, interceptions and sacks — that’s a recipe for disaster.
Reich attempted to put a smile on the unsightly mess afterward.
“Here’s the good news to me,” he said. “I’m not looking for any silver linings, but as the head coach, you’ve got to have a little perspective here. We’re 3-3-1.”
Then he said it again: “We’re 3-3-1.”
And again: “We’re 3-3-1.”
They’re 3-3-1.
“There’s a lot of football left,” he added.
Is it a threat or a promise?
(Photo: Andrew Nelles / USA Today)
