INDIANAPOLIS — While realizing the Indianapolis Colts defense needs some fine tuning before the 2008 season resumes with an Oct. 5 road game with Houston, the team’s hierarchy — namely team president Bill Polian and head coach Tony Dungy — don’t believe that bringing in new players at this point is going to be a difference maker.
“There are two things you can do when things are going poorly. As [former coach of the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints] Bum Phillips used to say, you can get better people or you can get the people you’ve got better. We prefer to get the people we have better, because there aren’t any better people out there. That’s what this week [was] dedicated to — working hard to get our people better in certain situations,” Polian said earlier this week.
His belief, as well as Dungy’s, is that those players already on the Colts’ roster are the people best capable of getting Indianapolis’ porous run defense turned around quickly.
“Anybody that you would bring in who would be in a position to step in and play is a gigantic injury risk because they have a long injury history and because they’re a little long in the tooth. When you hit these kinds of situations, people long for familiar names. We’re all that way, but when you really analyze it, in terms of use of salary-cap dollars, the functionality that you’re going to get from a player you bring in, you’re far better off [with the players that you already have on the roster],” Polian said.
“We chose [to sign free agent defensive tackles] LaJuan Ramsey and Dan Muir over far many others at the cut to 53 because we felt they were the best players out there. We’ve never been far wrong in terms of our evaluation. They will fit in. We’ll get a chance to get them used to what we do. We’ll get better as time goes on.”
With only three games played this season, the general feeling is that time is on Indianapolis’ side.
“As Tony said [Monday], it’s a function of doing what we do, not trying to be something we’re not, because we’ve lost four key players on defense. Let’s go back and look at it analytically. The bottom line is through no fault of our own, we do not have either [second-year defensive tackle] Quinn Pitcock or [second-year defensive tackle] Ed Johnson, each of whom played major roles in helping us be the No. 2-rated defense in the league last year. We don’t have [safety] Bob Sanders. We’re used to that. He does not play a full season traditionally. He’ll be back soon enough, probably good as new,” Polian points out.
“We do not, through no fault of our own, have [veteran strong-side linebacker] Tyjuan Hagler, who played a major role [last season]. There are four guys that are missing. Tyjuan will be back for Green Bay [Oct. 19], but those are four guys missing from the lineup who are major, major players in last year’s defense. Now, we have to replace them. We’ve been doing it on kind of ad-hoc piecemeal kind of basis, because we didn’t expect to lose any of the four. Certainly, in Bob’s case, we’re very well aware of his longevity history, but Melvin Bullitt was there to step in and he did a great job Sunday. No problem there. But the other three, we never expected to lose. We lost them in a 1-2-3 as we sort of entered the season. So, that takes some adjusting. It takes some adjusting scheme-wise. It takes some adjusting from a cohesion standpoint. It takes some adjusting from a standpoint of how to call the game and things of that nature. I think we’re beginning to get comfortable with the new players we have. Ramsey did a good job Sunday and showed us signs that he can step in and play that role of the big man inside. [Muir] has been a little bit nicked the past couple of weeks. He is going to come back and he’s a 315-pounder. We believe he has the capability to step in. Tyjuan will be back very soon. Bob will be back very soon. The graph should go up defensively and once we get those players fitted in and feeling good about what they do, then we can go back to doing what we do, which is basically playing the Cover 2 defense and not having to worry about eight-man fronts and moving the front because we’re a little small there and things of that nature. We can improve there. No question about it.”
Dungy agrees and remembers advice that he’d gotten from former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll.
“It’s always the same. It’s hard to resist that [making personnel or scheme changes]. That’s where Coach Noll was always so good. He would just say, ‘This is what we’ve done. This is what we’re going to do. This is what we’re always going to be about.’ The easiest thing to do when you’re not having success is say, ‘Well, here’s the new way we’re going to go.’ Most of the time it doesn’t work and the time we’ve had to pull out of these kinds of periods have been when we’ve just zeroed in on our fundamentals and our details and we’ve started to play better,” the Colts coach said.
“It’s not something I tend to worry about. I try to look at the tape and find out what’s gone wrong. People say, ‘These guys aren’t big enough,’ or, ‘This is what’s happening.’ You’ll see what we call Power O and they run it nine times and seven times it makes two or three yards. One time it breaks out because we don’t play it quite right. You understand that all we have to do is play it right every time and it’s going to be fine. That’s hard to explain to people. They say, ‘Don’t tell me about the problem. Just fix it.’ That’s what we have to do. We have to get it fixed.”
The Colts have been through this situation a couple of other times in the seven years that Dungy has been with the team. And he plans to handle this year’s problems the same way.
“We had it Halloween 2004 after [losses to] Jacksonville and Kansas City. It’s just the fact that if you have a good memory, and you remember those conversations, and you remember how you got out of those situations, and you remember what happened, and you evaluate and don’t fall into the panic mode, you see what’s needed and many times, it’s pretty much the same,” he said.
“You just look at the whole thing. I’m sure San Diego was getting that before Monday night, what’s wrong with them? They’re 0-2. Who’s fault is it? We’re not getting any pressure. Jacksonville, I’m sure, was getting it last week, everybody who has high expectations. I’m sure the sky is falling in New England a little bit [after losing to the New York Jets last week]. They’re not going to let that be a factor. Those guys know what they’re capable of and what they have to fix and what the problems are. I think most good teams will do that. They’ll stick to what they know and do well. That’s what we have to do.”
Colts
Colts must improve defensive players they have
- Colts
-
-
Colts welcome Manusky aboard as defensive coordinator
On Thursday, Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, coach Chuck Pagano and potential No. 1 draft pick Andrew Luck led the parade.
Grigson and Pagano confirmed the hiring of several assistant coaches, including defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, Marwan Maalouf (special teams), Roy Anderson (safeties), Alfredo Roberts (tight ends) and Brandt Boyer (assistant special teams). -
Mathis, Garcon at top of Colts’ wish list; Wayne isn’t
Expect defensive end Robert Mathis and wide receiver Pierre Garcon to be priorities for the Indianapolis Colts during free agency.
-
Manning tiptoes around health questions
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and team owner Jim Irsay came to an agreement last week to keep any lingering issues about Manning's future with the team on the backburner during Super Bowl week.
-
Back home again in Indiana
Former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell has landed a job as quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens announced Caldwell’s hiring Monday.
-
Patriots first to arrive in Indy
Welcome to Super Bowl Week.
-
Pagano wants aggressive defense with Colts
When the Colts went looking for a new head coach, a good portion of the team’s fans made it clear that they wanted a departure from the laid-back style of former coaches Tony Dungy and Jim Caldwell.
-
Irsay: Manning comments should have stayed in-house
Not only did the Colts introduce new head coach Chuck Pagano during an afternoon press conference, team owner Jim Irsay also made his feelings known about recent comments that quarterback Peyton Manning made.
-
Colts go with defensive specialist
The Indianapolis Colts, after a weeklong search process, finally landed themselves a head coach Wednesday.
-
Caldwell can’t survive 2-14 season in Indy
The offseason moves just keep on coming for the Indianapolis Colts.
-
Colts fire head coach Caldwell
Tribune-Star correspondent Tom James reports that Colts head coach Jim Caldwell has been fired. No other details are known at this time.
-
Colts hire Eagles exec Grigson as GM
The Indianapolis Colts formally announced former Philadelphia director of player personnel Ryan Grigson as the team’s new general manager Wednesday.
-
Colts hire Eagles executive Grigson as GM
The Indianapolis Colts have hired Eagles executive Ryan Grigson as their new general manager.
-
Irsay: Colts are in 'rebuilding stage'
So are the Indianapolis Colts in a retooling or a rebuilding mode heading into the offseason?
If you ask the players, they would prefer to use the retooling philosophy. In their minds, get some injured players back and the Colts can be right back in the thick of the AFC South title race and once again be a contender for the AFC championship.
Team owner Jim Irsay, though, sees a tougher road ahead. -
Colts give the boot to Polian duo
It didn’t take long for Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay to start making moves with his team.
One day after Irsay’s Colts dropped a 19-13 road decision to Jacksonville, giving Indianapolis a 2-14 record and the No. 1 pick in the 2012 National Football League draft, longtime Colts executive Bill Polian and his son, vice-president/general manager Chris Polian, were both fired.
-
Interesting subplots abound in Colts-Jags game
This afternoon’s AFC South matchup between the Indianapolis Colts (2-13) and Jacksonville Jaguars (4-11) is the regular-season finale for both teams.
-
Colts players a fan of Murphy's promotion to defensive coordinator
Cohesion. That’s the word the keeps coming up when coach Jim Caldwell and many of the team’s players are asked about the turnaround of the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive unit.
-
To win or to lose? For Colts fans, it's not an easy question
With the No. 1 draft pick on the line if the Indianapolis Colts were to lose Sunday at Jacksonville, it’s easy to see why a lot of the team’s fans wouldn’t mind seeing the team fall to the Jaguars.
-
Colts’ Freeney to play in seventh Pro Bowl
Despite a team record of 2-13 heading into the final week of the National Football League regular season, there was some good news coming out of the Indianapolis Colts’ West 56th Street facility Tuesday night.
-
Colts’ last game not without questions
Are the Indianapolis Colts treating Sunday’s game at Jacksonville as the final game of the season or just the next game on the schedule?
-
Colts celebrate second straight division victory
Indianapolis Colts fans finally got a little luck on their side Thursday night at Lucas Oil Stadium.
It may not have been Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who is expected to the top pick in next spring’s National Football League draft. -
With latest win, Colts provide suspense for 2012 draft position
Now that the Indianapolis Colts have posted two straight wins in their last two games, including Thursday night’s 19-16 victory over AFC South champion Houston, many of the team’s fans find themselves in quite a quandary.
The Colts will take a 2-13 record into next week’s New Year’s Day regular-season finale at Jacksonville. -
Colts face another tough running test
The credit for the Indianapolis Colts’ win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday can go in a couple different directions.
-
Colts taking no risks with injured Manning
Both Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell are looking to the future when it comes to injured quarterback Peyton Manning.
-
More wins to come?
With a win finally under their belts, the Indianapolis Colts (1-13) now look forward to two days of intensive work beginning today.
-
FINALLY! THEY WON
It was a day of firsts for the Indianapolis Colts.
-
Polian hopes to set ‘record straight’
Indianapolis Colts vice chairman Bill Polian didn’t like what he was hearing prior to and during Sunday’s National Football League home game with the Tennessee Titans.
-
Polian shares thoughts on QB situation
With the Indianapolis Colts’ chances of clinching the No. 1 pick in the 2012 National Football League draft getting closer with each succeeding loss, talk among fans and team observers invariably goes to the possibility of the team selecting Stanford junior quarterback Andrew Luck.
-
Colts prepared for Hasselbeck or Locker
The Indianapolis Colts defense is preparing to face a two-pronged offensive attack when the Tennessee Titans visit Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday.
-
Colts could still become spoiler
Time is running short for the 2011 Indianapolis Colts.
-
Colts have three more chances to win
The Indianapolis Colts may be 0-13 for the season, but the team keeps battling.
- More Colts Headlines
-
Colts welcome Manusky aboard as defensive coordinator
Raw Video: Greek Rioting Ahead of Austerity Vote
Coroner: Houston Autopsy Results Weeks Away
Greece Passes New Austerity Deal Amid Rioting
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Raw Video: Child Rescued After Kosovo Avalanche
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
Severe Cold Wreaks Havoc in China
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Fuel Removal Under Way on Capsized Italian Ship
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Snow Strands Italian Towns
79 Turtles Seized at Shanghai Airport
Video of M.I.A's Obscene Halftime Gesture
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Today in History for Tuesday, February 12th
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Stocks Fall Sharply As Greek Deal Is Held Up
Adele's revealing "60 Minutes" interview
Exclusive Video: Bobbi Kristina Leaving Hospital
Lusetich: AT&T Recap
Raw Video: Aurora Borealis As Seen From Space
2012 Grammys: Rihanna
2.12: Pebble Beach Pro-Am -- Phil Mickelson
2012 Grammys: Taylor Swift
Exclusive Video - Whitney's Bodybag
FUEL TV: Punk Payback Gym tips
Whitney's Final Days - EXCLUSIVE
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Absolute Lin-sanity
Madonna's Daughter Shaves Head
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
