Colts coordinator corner: Getting off to a fast start

Coordinators talk about Week 13.

The Indianapolis Colts (7-4) face their final five-game stretch of the regular season with a road matchup against the Houston Texans (4-7) at NRG Stadium in Week 13.

The coordinators met with the media on Tuesday, giving some insight into the process of preparing for the crucial divisional matchup. While defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus looks to get his unit going sooner in games, offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni is likely going to have to prepare for Anthony Castonzo’s absence.

In our latest edition of the coordinator corner, here’s where the focus is entering Week 13:

DC Matt Eberflus: Getting off to a fast start

While the Colts defense has earned the heaps of praise thrown its way this season, it hasn’t been without its flaws. Arguably the biggest throughout the unit is the slow start they seemingly have in the first half. Their second-half adjustments have been incredible, leading to several comebacks this season, but there are issues in the first two quarters of the game.

Eberflus told the media Tuesday that its a matter of execution and that it doesn’t really come down to just one factor.

“I don’t think it’s ever one thing. I just look at execution of each individual play and I think that’s important to look at with the breakdowns,” Eberflus said. “We actually looked at it last week prior to our game just to see what it was and we really looked at it hard and we said, ‘Hey, it’s really about execution and we have to be on our fundamentals and keys throughout the course of the game.’ It’s about that consistency of doing that.”

Since Week 6 (five games), the Colts defense is allowing an average of 20.2 points in the first half alone. In the last three weeks, they’ve allowed an average of 26.7 points in the first half. Most of the time, the second half adjustments allow the offense to stage a comeback. But that didn’t happen in Week 12 and it showed how dangerous of a game it can be.

“The set of circumstances always changes and you have to play what hand you’re dealt with during the course of the game and you’re always trying to win the game,” Eberflus said. “You’re obviously always trying to come out and do a great job early and all the way through the game, and that’s what we try to do. But it’s the game of football and you have to adjust and adapt as the course of the game unfolds.”

The Colts will take on a Texans offense without Will Fuller, hoping to get off to a strong, less-stressful start.


OC Nick Sirianni: Life without Castonzo

Dealing with an MCL sprain, there is a high chance the Colts will be without left tackle Anthony Castonzo for a time. It could be one week or it could be a few. But the Colts have to prepare this week as if they won’t have their anchor on the left side.

The problem will be containing Texans star edge rusher J.J. Watt from wreaking havoc on the left side. That likely means sending more help to Le’Raven Clark.

“We have to account for it – any good defensive end we always have to account for whether Anthony (Castonzo) is there or whether Anthony is not there. What Anthony does give you, he is just a dominant left tackle that is able to win his one-on-one matchups,” Sirianni said. “We just have to be aware that there might need to be a little bit more help for whoever is in there because Anthony is elite so we might not look exactly the same, but accounting for all things – not only with who is replacing Anthony but also who we are playing against.”

Fortunately, the Texans don’t generate pressure at a high rate. Their 21.9% pressure rate is middling despite having the ninth-highest blitz percentage at 35.9%. That said, losing a left tackle changes everything.

And preparing for Watt will keep any offensive coordinator up at night.

“We’ve thought about J.J. Watt more than you could possibly think about a person these last couple of days – well, yesterday and today,” Sirianni said. “We will continue to think about him as the week goes along. We don’t want to let a good player beat us – not a good player, a great player beat us. So we will do everything we can do to slow him down and he is going to be able to get his because of how good of a player he is.”

Stopping Watt will be the top priority for the Colts in Week 13. Even if they don’t have Castonzo, they can win the game if they stop Watt.

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10 coaches the Lions should consider for their coaching vacancy

10 coaches the Lions should consider for their coaching vacancy

The Detroit Lions have finally fired coach Matt Patricia and while Darrell Bevell is the interim coach, it’s time to begin looking for the long-term replacement.

Lions Wire editors Jeff Risdon and Erik Schlitt have put their heads together to come up with a Top-10 list of candidates we believe Shelia Hamp Ford should heavily consider for the vacancy.

Those candidates are listed below in alphabetical order.

Colts’ coordinator corner: Focusing on improving every week

Here’s what the Colts’ coordinators said this week.

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The Indianapolis Colts (7-3) have a chance to put themselves in the driver’s seat when the Tennessee Titans (7-3) come to visit Lucas Oil Stadium for a crucial matchup in Week 12.

This bout will feature the two teams in the AFC South race at the top of the division. The Colts won the first battle in Week 10 during a 34-17 prime-time win at Nissan Stadium.

Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni and defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus spoke to the media Tuesday and gave some insight on how they can prepare for a big divisional game.

Eberflus

It hasn’t been long since the Colts faced off against the Titans. There’s just one game between these two divisional matchups. So while the Colts are likely going to try to implement some of the same game plan that gave them success in Week 10, Eberflus said it’s really about making sure their sideline is doing its job.

“We really make this about us, about our team and about our individual improvement. What happened last performance against Green Bay and then how can we improve for our next performance?” Eberflus said.

The Colts defense allowed 28 points in the first half to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers but shut the unit down in the second half, allowing just three points after halftime.

The second-half adjustments have been a huge storyline this season. We saw it against the Titans in Week 10 as well as the Colts held them scoreless in the final two quarters of the game.

“Then go back and look and see what we did well against [Titans] last time and what we need to improve last time – as an individual player and then as an individual linebacking group, d-line group and secondary, and then how can we pull that together as a whole defense?” Eberflus said. “We are going to be focusing on us this week, focusing on our effort and our fundamentals and what we can do better going forward for the next opponent.”

The Titans offense is coming off of a strong performance against the Baltimore Ravens, which should make for another strong matchup this weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium.


Sirianni

The Colts offense has been humming since coming out of the bye week. Quarterback Philip Rivers has been enjoying a strong bounce-back season but we also saw a breakout performance from rookie running back Jonathan Taylor, who took 22 carries for 90 yards in Week 11.

Having patience on certain play-calls has led to some success for Taylor, who appeared to making strides when he took over the backfield in the second half against the Packers.

““I think it’s very important, particularly on certain runs more so than others. There are some runs that you just want to pound it in there and just go, and then you’ve got reads obviously on all your runs. There are certain runs that are slower developing reads than the others,” Sirianni said.

Taylor had a rough stretch of three games coming out of the bye week when he was essentially benched. The Colts deem it the hot-hand approach, but Taylor’s play didn’t warrant the need for any playing time.

But we finally saw a strong performance, and now he will be taking another step forward against the Titans as he gets more comfortable.

“So, it’s a very important part of the success of some of the runs and obviously their eyes and the way they read things,” Sirianni said. “Marlon (Mack) was very good at it and these guys are doing a good job of getting themselves more reps and more feel, and they’re just getting more and more comfortable each week.”

The Colts are likely to continue using the hot hand in the backfield but if Taylor continues to improve, the backfield share will come in larger chunks.

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Colts coordinator corner: Preparing for the Pack

What the Colts coordinators are saying in Week 11.

The Indianapolis Colts (6-3) are getting ready to defend their home turf in Week 11 when the Green Bay Packers (7-2) visit Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

In a game that has been flexed to late afternoon on FOX, this should be an interesting matchup to watch. The Colts opened the week as favorites at home, but this game could swing either way on a dime.

The Colts coordinators spoke to the media on Tuesday, focusing on what they need to do in order to be ready for the surging Packers.

Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus

The biggest challenge for the Colts defense this week will be devising a gameplan that limits Aaron Rodgers, who is far and wide the best quarterback on Indy’s schedule this season. Rodgers is playing at an MVP level with 26 passing touchdowns and just three interceptions.

When it comes to defending Rodgers, the Colts will have to account for his innate ability to feel pressure and make plays outside the pocket.

“Just his longevity in the league and being able to really operate the way he’s operated for so long, it’s really amazing when you think about it. The way he still moves and his arm talent is still awesome and great – where it’s always been. It’s a big challenge for us,” Eberflus said Tuesday. “But instincts are definitely there. He has the arm talent and the instincts of when to throw the ball and when to get out of the pocket. He seems to have eyes in the back of his head to be able to escape a lot of rush. Instincts is definitely one of the words you could use to describe him.”

The Colts will need a complete game from their defense. It will involve the interior collapsing the top of the pocket while the edge contains Rodgers. It will involve the secondary and linebackers keeping their assignments and making plays on the ball.

“We’ll have to be on top of our game. It’s going to take every one of us. It’s going to take the rush as well as the cover and vice versa. It’s going to be so important that we are on the details every single snap and we want to accomplish what we want to get done for each and every play and each and every down,” Eberflus said. “He’ll make you pay if you don’t and he’s proven that over the course of his career and he’s been really good at it, so we’ll have to be on it this week.”

Offensive Coordinator Nick Sirianni

For the Colts offense, they will have to trust Philip Rivers again this week. The Packers offense will likely put up points, which means Rivers and the gang have to come with it on Sunday.

Fortunately for the offense, the Packers defense has struggled to get pressure consistently (18.8%) and have recorded the eighth-most missed tackles (72) in the NFL. Rivers has been improving each week for the past month, which is something Sirianni has taken notice of.

“Just familiarity with players. I’ve thought he’s played really good throughout and just his familiarity with players throughout, his familiarity with the division and players on our team,” Sirianni said. “Again, the plays are pretty similar. There are some new wrinkles, there are some new things, but the plays for him are pretty similar. So there is nobody who has more reps at some of the things that he’s doing than him, right? Some of these concepts he’s been running since 2004. But it is just the familiarity with players – Michael Pittman Jr., DeMichael Harris, etc.”

In Rivers’ last four games, he has completed 66.7% of his passes for 1,168 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. They will need his strong play to continue again in Week 11.

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Colts’ Nick Sirianni among ‘young coaches to watch’

Nick Sirianni listed among the young coaches to watch.

The Indianapolis Colts are likely to be a popular team when the offseason comes around thanks to the work done by coordinators Nick Sirianni and Matt Eberflus.

The latter is one of the hottest names in terms of potential head coaches following the 2020 season. Eberflus has been running the Colts defense since 2018 and has shown he can develop and coach an elite defense—evident by the first half of the 2020 season.

But he doesn’t meet the criteria of Tom Pelissero’s watch list of young coaches (under age 45). Sirriani does, though, and he was again listed among the young coaches to watch.

Sirianni, 39, has good presence, knows offense and holds players accountable. He’s not even the hottest name on the Indianapolis staff at the moment — that’s defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus — but Sirianni has an excellent reputation across the league. He turned down an interview with the Browns two years ago, feeling he needed to focus solely on the Colts’ Divisional Round game, but is ready to interview going forward.

The Colts are likely to field plenty of calls from teams wanting to interview their coordinators. Eberflus has become one of the hottest names in the league thanks to the emergence of the Colts defense as an elite unit in the NFL.

The talk on Sirianni may have cooled a bit since the offense struggled in 2019 and with the unit being streaky in 2020. But Sirianni still has a strong feel for the offense and is well-liked in the locker while showing he can get the most out of his players.

It will be interesting to see what will happen with the coordinators for the Colts after the 2020 season but both of them should be generating interest during the offseason.

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Colts’ Nick Sirianni makes The Athletic’s ‘NFL 40 Under 40’

The Athletic featured the Colts young OC.

While much of the offensive success for the Indianapolis Colts is due to the arrival of head coach Frank Reich, a strong amount of credit must also be given to offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni.

Reich might be the play-caller at the end of the day, and it is his offense the Colts are running. But the unit wouldn’t be as successful without Sirianni, who does a lot of work behind the scenes when it comes to game planning.

He was recognized by The Athletic, though, making their list of “NFL 40 Under 40.”

Sirianni is 39 (turns 40 next year) but has already drawn head coach interest from multiple teams. His momentum was slowed last season as the Colts struggled following Andrew Luck’s retirement, but he’s expected to continue to be a strong candidate in the coming years. Nick plays a huge role in developing the game plans and has basically the same role Frank Reich had under Doug Pederson in Philly.

The Colts offense took a hit in 2019 following the retirement of quarterback Andrew Luck and the disappointing campaign from Jacoby Brissett as his replacement. It forced the Colts to go out into free agency and sign the 38-year-old Philip Rivers.

Sirianni has plenty of experience working with Rivers from their mutual days with the Chargers. Reich was also a part of the experience, but the fact that the new QB1 for the Colts has so much familiarity will help his transition through a unique offseason.

Sirianni is likely to continue getting looks as a head coach candidate in the future, and the Colts offense wouldn’t be the same without him.

RB Melvin Gordon predicts who QB Philip Rivers will sign with

Where will quarterback Philip Rivers play in 2020? Running back Melvin Gordon makes his prediction.

It’s still hard for fans to believe that quarterback Philip Rivers will suit up for a new team after spending the past 16 seasons with the Chargers after mutually agreeing to part ways with the franchise.

Since the parting became official, matchmaker has been in full effect, as many are predicting where the 38-year old will sign when free agency begins on March 18.

Running back Melvin Gordon, who is also set to be a free agent, recently made his prediction.

Gordon believes that Rivers will sign with the Indianapolis Colts.

“I think he goes to the Colts,” Gordon said, per CBS Sports, before clearing up that he didn’t have any inside information. “I don’t know, that’s just my thought.”

Gordon believes that the ties that a couple of the coaches on the Colts have to the veteran signal-caller will be enough to lure him in.

Frank Reich, the Colts head coach, spent three seasons with the Bolts, including two years as the offensive coordinator.

“We have history with [Reich] as well, so it’d be an easy plug-in,” Gordon said. “So I think that’s probably the best fit, but you never know. Tampa, I hear, is a place. I try not to talk to Phil about free agency, he has enough people in his ear about that. I think the Colts, though.”

Nick Sirianni, who is Indianapolis’ offensive coordinator, served as the Chargers’ offensive assistant for five years.

“He has [connections],” Gordon said.  “Nick… he came from here, we had him, and he’s the offensive coordinator there. They run the same playbook, so it’d be easy, he could come right in and he could be telling guys what to do, he knows what’s going on already.”

Along with the familiarity, the Colts play indoors, they have a plethora of play-makers on the offensive side of the ball and one of the league’s best offensive lines that would be sure to keep him upright.