Dopey Report Card -- Colts vs. Lions

Detroit reminds me of the Peyton Manning Colts of the 2000's; as expected Sunday, they dominated the Colts.

RUN OFFENSE

The Colts have a gigantic offensive line problem. I’m not sure when Bernhard Raimann is supposed to be back – hopefully Sunday – but right now, they’re struggling badly with three rookie offensive linemen in the starting lineup. Meanwhile, Braden Smith gutted it out with a bad knee and Quenton Nelson was out of sorts, committing three penalties. The running game is stuck in the mud and has been for a number of games. Jonathan Taylor went for 35 yards on 11 carries, just one carry in the second half. It’s easy to blame Taylor for all of this – he makes more money than Saquon Barkley, after all – but I’m just not seeing the kinds of creases the Detroit rushers enjoyed Sunday. On the flip side, Anthony Richardson rushed 10 times for 61 yards, most of the yards coming early when the Colts were committing to designed QB runs. Once the Colts fell behind, Indy felt compelled to abandon the running game, rushing just six times in the second half while producing just 67 yards of offense. At some point, newly signed Mark Glowinski has got to replace the struggling Dalton Tucker at right guard, or so you would imagine. Or Raimann returns and Matt Goncalves more to Tucker’s spot. Something.

Grade: D+

RUN DEFENSE

Some good individual performances: Nick Cross, Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed all had at least 11 tackles, the first time three Colts defenders have amassed 11 or more since 2011. (I didn’t look that up; credit to the Colts for putting this stuff on their post-game notes). Laiatu Latu had four tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. DeForest Buckner had seven tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack. All of that said, Detroit still had its way in the running game, rushing for 137 yards on 33 carries, a 4.2 yard-per-carry average. Time after time, Detroit would have a third-and-medium, even a third-and-long, run into the light box and pick up the first down. Inexcusable. That said, the Colts defense has improved this past month or so, in large part because DeForest Buckner returned to the lineup. I’ve also seen Gus Bradley evolve and start to bring more pressure than he did previously. You give up 24 to Detroit at home, you ought to win.

Grade: C-

PASS OFFENSE

The Colts did not allow a sack and did not turn the ball over at all and still lost in a one-sided fashion. The Anthony Richardson statistics look abysmal – 11-for-28 for 172 yards – but he really didn’t play that poorly. The young man needs help and Chris Ballard hasn’t provided any for him.  You can’t have goal line drops like the one misplayed by Drew Ogletree. You can’t stop on a route the way AD Mitchell did. The O-line didn’t allow any sacks, but they can thank Richardson for that. He routinely tore himself away from the clutches of oncoming defenders and found a way to get the pass off. It also hurt that the Colts were routinely in lousy field position, thanks in large part to the Lions’ punter, Jack Fox. This game was lost in the red zone largely: The Colts settled for field goals while the Lions scored touchdowns. End of story.

Grade: D

PASS DEFENSE

It could have been worse, I guess. At least the Lions didn’t score 52 points, like they did a week ago against Jacksonville. Look, the Lions are like the glory Colts of the 2000’s, a juggernaut with weapons all over the field, especially on offense. They have a thunder-and-lightning backfield. They have two elite wide receivers. They have an excellent tight end. They have a maestro at quarterback and an offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson, who is viewed as the best head coach candidate available. Sound familiar? The Colts hung in there defensively, no small accomplishment on a day when the Indy offense couldn’t get anything going beyond the first quarter. Jared Goff, the most popular Detroit athlete since Steve Yzerman, finished 26-of-36 for 269 yards. The Lions’ multi-faceted offense is an absolute joy to watch.

Grade: C+

COACHING

To the degree the Colts had any real chance to win this game – and that’s debatable – they took themselves out of contention with penalties, 10 of them, most of them coming at deeply inopportune times. This is slightly out of ordinary for Indy, which ranks 17^th-best in the league for penalties. Some of that was a result of playing a rookie-laden offensive line but shoot, Nelson, the Pro Bowl guard, had three penalties of his own. I loved the way Shane Steichen and Jim Bob Cooter called the two early scoring drives, but after that, there was little or nothing to celebrate. Richardson had his moments with some long passes, but largely, the Colts were spinning their wheels. Ultimately, I think the jury is still out on Steichen; we know he can be an effective play caller, but is he a leader of men? I honestly don’t know yet.

Grade: C

INTANGIBLES

I don’t blame the fans for selling their tickets to out-of-towners on the secondary market. I really don’t. Times are tough and the holidays are arriving. If you can stick a couple-hundred extra bucks, or more, in your pocket rather than watch a bad team lose another football game, why not, right? You may call Indy a soft sports market but I prefer to think of it as discerning. Fans know what they’re seeing and they know it isn’t nearly good enough. Yes, it will take patience and time with Anthony Richardson, but if local fans want to make a quick buck and watch on TV, I can’t take issue with them.

Grade: D