Colts Defense Quieting Critics With Strong Finish To 2018 Season
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INDIANAPOLIS – The critics were there even if Matt Eberflus says the Colts were ignoring them.
In 2017, the Colts were down in the basement of the NFL in total defense (30th in the NFL) and points allowed (30th in the NFL).
The wholesale changes in 2018 involved a total shift in scheme and philosophy on the defensive side of the ball.
Personnel alterations were there with around a handful of new starters being incorporated into things.
On the outside, expecting a sudden defensive change rising to a playoff caliber unit was not there for Eberflus’ first season as a defensive coordinator.
It has happened though, with the Colts silencing those doubters through a defense built on hustle, alignment, assignment, and execution.
“Hustle is a learned skill,” Eberflus begins when talking about the cornerstone of this defense. “It is the coach’s job to stay on it with the player to give him the feedback on every single play. That starts way back in OTAs, all the way through mini-camp and then through Training Camp every single play.
“Coaches want to get enamored with scheme all the time, talk about this technique and that. We have to do that, but you can never bypass two things, you can’t bypass the hustle. That has to be coached on every single play by every coach. Then the strip attempts have to be coached every single play by every coach. When you get those things you can’t just skip over it. Say, ‘Hey, we are talking about this.’ No, let’s go back. Let’s go back and see if we really hustled to the ball on this play.”
The emphasis on hustle has resulted in consistent turnover numbers.
In 13 of 14 games this season, the Colts have recorded a turnover.
It’s no secret that in the last decade, two of the Colts’ best seasons have come with their defense maintaining that turnover mindset from Game 1 to Game 16. In 2014, when the Colts went to the AFC Championship, they had a turnover in 14 of their 16 games. In 2007, when the Colts went 13-3, they had a takeaway in 15 of 16 games.
Up front, even though the Colts did not invest gobs of resources with high profile signings/draft picks, Indianapolis is on pace for the most sacks (43) they’ve had in more than a decade. They also rank 2nd in the NFL in tackles for loss. The Colts start 4 free agent signings/waiver claims by Chris Ballard along their defensive line—Margus Hunt (2017 FA), Jabaal Sheard (2017 FA), Denico Autry (2018 FA) and Al-Quadin Muhammad (2018 waiver claim).
The youngest linebacker group in the NFL has benefited from the best defensive rookie in the league (Darius Leonard), along with Anthony Walker’s game ascending after an injury-plagued first NFL season last year.
In the secondary, the Colts start a pair of waiver claims at cornerback (Kenny Moore and Pierre Desir), yet have seen their pass coverage improve as the season as gone along. Despite the starting secondary having hardly any consistent practice time, in the offseason or even the regular season, it’s a group that has achieved their top priority of limiting the big play (the Colts rank 4th in passing plays of more than 20 yards allowed).
Through this recent stretch of 7 wins in their last 8 games, a huge reason why the Colts have rattled off so many victories is because of their strong scoring defense.
Since mid-October, the Colts lead the NFL in scoring defense, allowing just 15 points per game.
Not bad for a defense that might have heard those critics in an offseason filled with so much change.
“Everybody had to go to work,” Walker, the team’s MIKE linebacker, says. “We had a new coaching staff. We were basically on job interviews again.
“We are not tuned out of the social media world and the sports world, so of course we saw everything that they were talking about, Colts being the 32nd ranked team. We heard about it, but I don’t think that was a motivating factor. We were so young and mixed with some older guys and we had some great leaders and it felt like college again. You want to play for your brother to the right and to the left. That what it feels like right here, right now. It’s going take all of us to get there.”
They’ve got there with the Colts sitting here at 8-6 heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.
Having the 10th ranked total defense and 11th ranked scoring defense—up some 20 spots from last season—is a major reason why playoff chances are still being talked about in 2018.
