Woah, nelly!
The Colts-Broncos game scored at least an 8/10 on the thrill meter as the back and forth affair ended in dramatic fashion. The Indianapolis Colts lost on a 60-yard miss from Spencer Shrader only to be resurrected and given new life on a personal foul call that gave them 15-yards and an untimed down to win it all. What was heartbreak and an opportunity lost merely 60 seconds earlier, turned into pure jubilation as fans watched the ball sail through the uprights and Blue pelvic thrust his way to victory. In all the excitement, it is easy to gloss over the “60-yard” part of the prior sentence. At the end of the day, the Colts won, right? No harm, no foul. Yes, the Colts were able to secure the win, but going forward Shane Steichen has to be better prepared and focused than what we witnessed on Sunday.
Let’s rewind. Late in the first half, there was a disastrous drive from the Colts defense. The yellow flag was flying and everyone was frustrated. Fans booed. Players continued to approach the officials. Even Steichen got into the mix by picking up an unsportsmanlike like penalty. It was uncharacteristic of a head coach in the NFL as flags aren’t normally thrown for a coach’s behavior. Personally, I am ok with it once in a while. Did it cost the Colts some yards? Of course, but just like other sports, a coach showing emotion can supercharge their team and get them out of their lethargy. The frustration of seeing the Colts not get the benefit of similar calls on throws to the endzone boiled over. Steichen needs to keep it together more often than not, but an occasional burst of emotion can be a good thing.
Emotion, good. Time management at end of game, bad.
What Steichen did at the end of the game trailing by two with the ball near Denver’s 40-yard line was borderline malpractice. Running the ball up the gut three times in a row against a loaded box was highly questionable and made you believe the Colts were trying to salt away the game verse trying to get into field goal position to win. A kicker who hasn’t missed, yet who also hasn’t made one near a distance of 60-yards, seemed set up for failure. Run the clock. That makes sense. At the same time, the Colts needed more yards. That was made abundantly clear when Shrader missed wide and short on the 60-yard attempt, yet drilled one from 45. It was like having him kick from 60+ was always the plan. Maybe if “Greg the Leg” was back there, that works. Putting that on your young kicker seemed more than ill-advised.
We could say, “all’s well that ends well” and wipe our hands of it. The Colts got the win, and that is certainly the most important part. The Colts appear to better than expected, but they aren’t without shortcomings. Shane Steichen has to do his part to help mitigate those shortcomings, whatever they may be, and putting his team in the best position to win falls on him. Situational football is huge. Not showing an understanding of time and place almost cost the Colts a huge victory. Hopefully, this will be a learning experience and Steichen will use this to be better. If not, expect to see players put in more unfortunate situations. Just don’t expect them to be bailed out by a penalty.
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