Colts defense shines as brightly as Luck in preseason win vs. Rams
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
Perhaps in all the hoopla about Andrew Luck’s spectacular debut, it was easy to lose sight of an equally impressive performance.
Indy’s new 3-4 defense was virtually impenetrable during Sunday’s 38-3 win over St. Louis. The Colts defense held the Rams to 215 total yards — 147 passing and 68 rushing. It was a great start for new defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, in his first year with the Colts after spending the previous season in the same role for the San Diego Chargers.
Yes, it was just a preseason game. And the opponent was the Rams, not the New York Giants or New England Patriots. But the Colts are coming
off a 2-14 season which featured one of the NFL’s all-time worst defenses. They have since hired a new coordinator who brought in a new system. With that combination of circumstances and changes, any sign of progress is worth perhaps a bit more than typically warranted excitement.
It’s hard to keep people out of the end zone, Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. It’s even harder, again, when you put in a new scheme defensively, and you go from a 4-3 defensive scheme, which they’ve been running forever here, and you install this hybrid 3-4 that we’re running. It’s just a credit to the coaches and Greg (Manusky), and the players, because that’s not easy to do. They got a couple runs on us early, and we kind of put the fire out, made some adjustments. The guys did a great job. But when you can hold a team to three points, keep them out of the end zone, it’s always a great day for our defense.
It was the fewest points the Colts had allowed in a preseason game since a 17-0 win over the New Orleans Saints in 2000 at Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium. The Colts believed a new tone had been set well before kickoff against the Rams.
When I came here, it’s always been offense first, Linebacker Robert Mathis said. But now, you’ve got defensive coaches, defensive-minded everything and so, just to have that mentality – it’s a good feeling. They (the coaches) don’t expect nothing less than a shutout.
The Rams completed 23 of 33 passes, but the Colts tackled people after they caught the ball, something that was a problem for the Colts, even when they were playing in Super Bowls. Perhaps the most impressive statistic was that the Colts, notoriously soft against the run, held the Rams to just 68 yards on 24 carries, just 2.8 yards per attempt.
The only bad news out of Sunday’s game was that the Colts lost middle linebacker Pat Angerer with a fractured foot. Angerer, who ranked fourth in the NFL in tackles last season, is expected to miss six weeks.
He’s the signal caller, Manusky said. He’s the guy that stands in front of the huddle. He has the respect of all those guys in the huddle. So when you lose your signal caller, you lose your middle backer, for an extended period of time, it means a lot. The guy’s productive, he’s a playmaker, he’s a warrior, he’s a Colt. He’s got all the Colt traits that you’re looking for, you know. So now it’ll be up to somebody else to step up and fill that void until we get him back.
Jerrell Freeman, a Canadian Football League All-Star in 2011, is expected to be that guy on Sunday night against Pittsburgh.
He knows the system, Pagano said. He understands the call. He’s used to coming in off the bench. Now, he’s got to step up just like before when I first got here and we lost all those players. It’s kind of next man up, so he’s got a great opportunity. You hate to lose anybody, but injuries are going to happen and that’s part of the game. It’s a great opportunity for him to go out there and play with the first unit and show what he can do.
There also is budding excitement about the start for Jerry Hughes. The outside linebacker was a first-round draft pick in 2010 but has had a disappointing career so far. He had both of the Colts’ sacks against the Rams.
He’s doing really well, Pagano said. Again, he’s a very athletic guy and there is a reason he was drafted where he was drafted. He was very productive in college and you’re starting to see why they took him where they took him.
The Colts want to keep the good start in perspective.
We’re not, like I said, putting the cart before horse, Mathis said. I’m real impressed with the effort we gave today (Sunday) and I’m just looking forward to each week get better and get better.
