Colts: Putrescent Offense Spells Certain Doom for Pagano
By Dave McKee
Oct 25, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) consoles wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (17) as he looks dejected sitting on a Gatorade cooler with a minute to go in the game against the New Orleans Saints at Lucas Oil Stadium. New Orleans defeats Indianapolis 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Is the “lame duck” coach a sitting duck? Or, is there another coaching change that could fix what ails the Colts?
Okay Colts fans, can anyone really say they really saw a 3-4 start coming when the preseason started? I know I didn’t. I had the Colts going 13-3 and cruising to Santa Clara, California for Super Bowl 50. So let me say what we’ve all been thinking, what the hell happened?
Trust me, I know how you feel. There is nothing more difficult than watching the Colts falter to a 27-0 deficit. Check that, there is. It’s watching that debacle with my two sons – ages 5 and 2 – and trying not to teach them every single combination of curse words ever uttered by man.
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Sure the Colts rallied late and made it a game in the end. But let me ask you this. Since Bruce Arians left for Arizona, how many times have we watched the Colts stumble out of the gate in the first quarter and then conveniently allow their opponent to take the lead? Now, out of those times, how many times have we watched the Colts go three-and-out on the next series, or worse turnover the ball and leave the defense with a short field to defend?
Oct 25, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Let me tell you a little secret… Andrew Luck is not Peyton Manning. Andrew Luck is not going to the line of scrimmage and changing the hot routes for every receiver in a no-huddle offense for sixty minutes. No, he is given a set of options, via headset from offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton. Then, Luck gets to choose to stick with the original play or check to an audible based on what he sees at the line of scrimmage. Thus, the commonly heard phrase, Luck uses to change the play, “Kill, Kill”.
Not long ago, Pep Hamilton was a media darling and considered one of the hottest head coaching prospects in the NFL. He even was interviewed by the Oakland Raiders for their head coaching vacancy before they chose to go with Jack Del Rio. Now, I want you to think that over. He was interviewed by the Raiders who are in the Bay Area and a stone’s throw from where he was a coordinator at Stanford. Yet, they chose to go with the former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach. The Raiders chose the veteran coach over the up-and-comer with all the potential.
Or, just maybe, the Raiders saw something no one else has noticed on the national stage. I noticed it and so have many other local media personalities. The “it” is the elephant in the room. Pep Hamilton has had Andrew Luck for the past 7 years of his coaching career. Perhaps like with every other flaw on the Colts, it’s been Andrew Luck making Hamilton look good. For the three previous seasons, Andrew Luck has been the Colts’ Band-aid.
Right now, when Luck is struggling so mightily, that band-aid has been ripped off and now we see what’s really underneath it, a festering set circumstances that may cost the Colts their season, their head coach and possibly even more if it does not get corrected quickly.
Next: Stagnation Without Representation