Dopey Report Card -- Colts vs. Giants

Big game, small effort. They stink. End of story.

RUN OFFENSE

Statistically, Jonathan Taylor had a decent game, rushing 32 times for 125 yards. But he keeps making mistakes – sometimes mental, sometimes physical – that make you wonder why they made him one of the highest paid running backs in the game. We all know about the Denver fiasco. But then again Sunday in New Jersey, Taylor failed to lunge for the first down on a third-and-short with the first-down marker right in front of him, forcing the Colts to attempt a fourth-down play that failed. Another time, Joe Flacco hit him in the head with a pass – it looked like Peyton Manning from the Saturday Night Live United Way spoof, beaning kids in the head – while Taylor failed to turn his head around. Then there was the purely physical faux pas when he mishandled a lateral from Michael Pittman Jr. on a two-point conversion that failed. Again, a fine player having an excellent year on a lousy team, but this shows how badly the Colts need to acquire a multi-dimensional backup running back who can play on third downs. I wonder whether Taylor’s heavy workload, the product of having no reasonable facsimile of a backup, has led to some of these mistakes. We’ll never know.

Grade: B

RUN DEFENSE

Not bad – 30 rushes for 80 yards. Zaire Franklin had four tackles for loss, including one when the field mic caught him yelling, “I’m a fucking savage!” A solid game in that area. Still, for an entire season, this run-stopping group has been a grave disappointment for most of the year. The New England game, the Packers game…we could go on. You would think a team with DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart in the middle and Franklin, the league’s leading tackler, at linebacker, the Colts would be at least passable in run defense. Not so much. With one meaningless game left in this lost season, Indy ranks 26^th against the rush, giving up an average of 133.0 yards per game on the ground. But for the purposes of this conversation, Sunday they were fine. At least until Drew Lock had to pass…more in the Pass Defense section. Prepare for ugliness.

Grade: B