Colts: Putrescent Offense Spells Certain Doom for Pagano

Oct 25, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano looks on prior to the game against the New Orleans Saints at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

The Colts offense is as stagnant and putrid as a cesspool.

Admittedly, some of that fault lies with Andrew Luck’s hesitancy in the pocket which I will come back to later. Most of the real fault can be laid at the feet of Pep Hamilton’s situational play calling. Take the Saints game for example. After the Colts defense proceeded to stop stop the bleeding and force Drew Brees and the rest of the Saints off the field, how many times did the Colts offense fail?

How many three-and-outs followed? How many times did they have a holding call negate a first down and force them back to a 1st and 20 scenarios? How many times on 3rd and long did Hamilton send in a play to Luck that had more than one receiver running routes short of the first down marker? Keep in mind; the Saints were ranked as the 32nd-ranked defense in the NFL heading into week seven. That’s right the worst defense in the NFL held the Colts scoreless for nearly 40 minutes.

At 3-4, the Colts now enter a three-game stretch where they face opponents with a combined 18-1 record. The putrefaction of the offense must stop now. Many look to Andrew Luck’s struggles and ask why did Matt Hasselbeck go 2-0 with a 95.0 QB Rating and yet Luck is struggling?

It’s actually simple. Most of Hasselbeck’s offense was done from shotgun formation with multiple receivers spreading out the defense. The receivers were running short, quick timing routes that protected the 40-year old from taking hits. Those same play calls were made for Luck in the first half of their game against New England and in the 4th quarter against the Tennessee Titans. Those 45 minutes of football were Andrew Luck’s best of the season.

Consider the second half of the Colts game against New England. Hamilton abandoned what worked for the Colts once they fell behind the Patriots. Frank Gore saw his carries diminish to five touches in the second half against the Patriots. He had only 8 carries in the first half, but did so with an average exceeding 7-yards per carry. Against New Orleans, Gore had only nine carries. In the season opener in Buffalo, Gore accumulated eight carries for 31 yards. Trust me, there is a pattern here. Each time the Colts get behind, they abandon the running game no matter how much time is left in the game.

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When Hasselbeck was under center against the Jaguars and Texans, the Colts leaned on Frank Gore. As a result, Gore had his two most productive games of the season. He was two yards shy of the century mark on 22 carries against Houston. However, when Luck returned under center those carries diminished once again. Look at the table above. Frank Gore’s yards per attempt average is nearly double that of 2014 running back, Trent Richardson. In fact, that offensive line is the exact same starting unit that was on the field at the end of 2014.

Frank Gore was brought in to relieve the pressure off Andrew Luck and create a more balanced attack. The Colts finally have a power running back and yet, Hamilton is content to fall back on the same play-calls he used in 2014. If Andrew Luck is struggling why is Hamilton exacerbating the situation by putting him in even more difficult situations with the play he is calling?

Luck’s hesitation comes from finding receivers unable to get themselves open and not being allowed to run because the coaches what him to protect himself. Thus, the Roethlisberger-esque double-clutch we have seen from Luck in the past few games. Things have gotten bad enough that even the typically poised Andrew Luck is second-guessing himself.

Next: The Writing Is On The Wall