MY COUCH, Ind. -- In a pinch, the Colts can count on Spencer Shrader’s leg of steel, but little else.
Even on a day when Daniel Jones didn’t turn the ball over a single time and played one of his more complete games this early season, the Colts took yet another step in their unceasing pursuit of mediocrity. When you can’t do what you’re supposed to do best, namely run the football and have success in the red zone, the die is going to be cast, and Sunday was the perfect example, the Colts losing to the Steelers in Pittburgh, 34-22, their 18th loss in 20 trips to the confluence of the Three Rivers.
Tell me, besides kicking field goals, where Shrader is making the Colts coaching staff look smart for choosing him after a wonky early portion of training camp, what are the Colts’ great strengths?
Tell me…I’ll wait.
They’re supposed to be a terrific running team, but on this day, Jonathan Taylor rushed 15 times for just 45 yards, a 3-yards-per-rush average. They’re supposed to be very good in the red zone, but Sunday, they were one-of-three in the red zone and were forced to settle for five Shrader field goals. They’re also one of the least penalized teams in the league and have been since Shane Steichen took over, but Sunday, they were flagged nine times for 59 yards.
Let’s just be honest: This is not a good defensive team. You can scream and yell at DC Lou Anarumo all you want, but the talent, brought to Indianapolis by lame duck general manager Chris Ballard, is severely lacking. Who are the playmakers? Besides DeForest Buckner, who nearly retired this summer, there’s nobody. Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward, Jr. were supposed to be game-changers, but we haven’t seen them make any kind of a significant impact thus far.
In the first half Sunday, the Colts had one quarterback hit on Aaron Rodgers, whose age is determined by carbon dating, and made him look like vintage Rogers, navigating the pocket, throwing accurately and executing big plays all over the field. He came into the game having been sacked a league-leading 13 times and was only completing 57.5% of his passes, but the Colts, whose failure to find an edge rusher since Robert Mathis ranks as the second-greatest failure of the Ballard Era (behind finding a QB), made Rodgers look like the vintage version.
