8-4 after an ugly loss, where the defense seemed to be the only ones that wanted the Colts to win, including the refs. Opposing teams seemed to have figured out the Colts’ offense, rendering it useless in three of the past four games, and the playoffs seem to be slipping once again from the grasps of this franchise that just cannot seem to close out winning seasons.
MVP of the Game: Lou Anarumo
Even despite losing his No. 1 cornerback on the first drive of the game, and still not having the most important player on this defense in DeForest Buckner, Anarumo once again called a masterful game and more than did his job yesterday. What I love the most about Anarumo is that he gets the job done with the players he has, and he has adjusted the game to the strengths of his players. The defensive line is doing some excellent work despite basically having only one player that can consistently win one-on-one matchups, and he is doing an excellent job of hiding Franklin’s and Pratt’s deficiencies in pass-coverage.
We have several culprits for the loss yesterday. First and foremost I would like to highlight Steichen, that seems to have completely lost touch on how to run this offense. I understand that the Texans have a really good defense, but the lack of execution and creativity for a unit that once was among the best in the league is baffling. Even looking at the drives where the Colts scored you have a beautiful deep ball by Jones to Pierce who made an amazing catch, and then a DPI call, and a miracle catch by Downs to keep the chains moving. The offense never managed to find any sort of rythm, which seems to be the case the past four weeks. What sucks even more is that the defense did more than enough for the team to win in each of the three losses.
Now the refs deserve a paragraph of their own. Led by Clay Martin, it was perhaps the most blatant call I have seen go against the Colts, and I believe this deserves an investigation because one cannot be so bad at their job. I understand the missed facemask call late in the game, and even the missed extra-point seemed a bit about perspective, but the missed delay of game call followed by the non-existent DPI on Kenny Moore on third down in the redzone was a terrible call at the most important moment of the game. That was a 4-point swing that ended up being the difference in the game, a game that had major playoff implications. Hopefully this Martin guy is out of the NFL and does not ruin any more games because of his blatant incompetence.
As for the Colts’ specialists, Badgley once again missed an extra-point, and it was a big reason why the Colts lost. Hopefully he is no longer the Colts’ kicker next week because a team with playoff aspirations cannot afford to have such an unconsistent kicker.
Bortolini had two snaps go wrong, one being on a key 4th down conversion, which is inexcusable. Such poor execution is just not acceptable, and should be polished so it does not repeat itself.
Best play of the Game: Alec Pierce’s touchdown catch
Alec Pierce is the best receiver on the team, by far. He has elevated his overall game to another level this season, and will get a big payday in the offseason, hopefully to remain in Indy. He hauled in a spectacular touchdown grab over two defenders, in what also was a beautiful throw by Jones.
Worst play of the Game: Missed delay of game call, phantom DPI on Kenny Moore
What is even worse is that after the game in the press conference Clay Martin did not even come close to acknowledging the obvious mistake on that play. It was a terrible, inexcusable call, on a key moment of the game.
Best position group: Defensive line
This group continues impressing, with depth players consistently making an impact on games. This time it was Adetomiwa Adebawore and Chris Wormley that got a sack each. Latu continues being a consistent pass-rusher, and Grover Stewart is a force on the inside. Once they get everyone healthy late in the season this could be a very dangerous group.
Unsung hero: Germaine Pratt
Pratt has been such an underrated part of this Colts’ defense, and hopefully he remains with the team after the season. He is never spectacular, but he is a sure tackler that gives high effort every single play and seems to gel well within this defense. The Colts had really struggled at linebacker, playing Joe Bachie there, when the season started, but the consistency found with Pratt has been a big reason for the defensive improvements over the course of the season.
Rookie of the Week: Tyler Warren
Once again this is more of a there was no-one to compete for the award here. Warren clearly seemed a step slower dealing with an illness, but he still managed to score a touchdown. The failed conversion on a quarterback sneak on 4th down seemed to be more on Bort than him.
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