For the record, I have nothing against the Indianapolis Colts. When they reached the Super Bowl with Peyton Manning as quarterback, I was pulling for them to win. Even this year, with the unfortunate health troubles hitting head coach Chuck Pagano, I was rooting for the Colts to have a better-than-expected season. However, having said all that, I'm getting a little tired of hearing ESPN commentators drool and orgasm over this team and rookie quarterback Andrew Luck in particular. I think in the long-term, Luck is going to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league, but the guy is not there yet - not even close.
The Colts finished 11-5 on the season, but are they really an "11-5" football team?
Out of 32 teams, the Colts rank 22nd in rushing yards, 21st in opponents passing yards 29th in opponents rushing yards, and 7th in passing yards - largely due to the fact they pass the football more than just about anyone.
In the team's 11 wins, their opponents went a combined 71-105 (.403). Only three of these wins were against teams with above .500 records and two of those came at the very start of the season. In these 11 games, Indy outscored their opposition 269-201 (average of 24.5 - 18.3). These included: A 4-point win against Cleveland (5-11) at home, a 6-point win at Tennessee (6-10) in overtime, a 3-point win against Miami (7-9) at home, a 7-point win against Buffalo (6-10) at home, a 2-point win at Detroit (4-12), a 4-point win against Tennessee (6-10) at home, and a 7-point win at Kansas City (2-14). Seven of Indy's eleven wins came against teams with a combined record of 36-76 (.321) by a total of 33 points (4.7 point average).
The Colts' five losses were against teams with a combined record of 42-38 (.525) by a combined score of 186-88 (average of 37.2 - 17.6). This included a 26-point loss in New York against the Jets (6-10) and a 5-point loss to Jacksonville at home (2-14).
Overall, this 11-5 team was actually outscored by 30 points on the season - 387 to 357. Their opponents combined record was 113-143 (.441).
Also, look at the main difference between the games the Colts won and lost. They averaged to score 6.9 more points in their wins than their losses. On the other side of the field, however, their defense allowed an average of 18.9 more points in their losses than their wins. The biggest difference between the Colts' wins and losses this season wasn't their offense guided by Andrew Luck; it was their defense.
Andrew Luck finished the season ranked 26th in quarterback rating (out of 32) at 76.5, only ahead of: Ryan Tannehill, Jake Locker, Brandon Weeden, Chad Henne, Mark Sanchez, and Matt Cassel. He finished ranked 31st (out of 32) in completion percentage at 54.1, only 0.2 ahead of Jacksonville's Chad Henne. Lastly, he was tied for 3rd in the league with the Jets' Mark Sanchez in throwing 18 interceptions, just one behind co-leaders Drew Brees and Tony Romo.
It's hard for me to not pull for the Colts this year, but they remind of the Denver Broncos from a year ago, where the media seemed to fall madly in love with them, to the point where like a song that's been overplayed on the radio, it's resulted in me changing the channel when hearing these personalities discussing the team. Like the Broncos from last year, who played and defeated a beaten up Pittsburgh Steelers team in the first round of the playoffs, Indy could see a similar fate, as they take on a Baltimore team that has lost four of their last five games. However, that's the furthest they'll go this year. If they do win against the Ravens today, they'll face Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos and the Broncos, unlike last year when Tim Tebow was behind center, can actually score and score in the bunches this year. That's not a good match-up for a defense that's ranked 21st in passing yards and 29th in rushing yards.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ind/indianapolis-colts
http://espn.go.com/nfl/standings
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/passing/sort/interceptions/seasontype/2
The Colts finished 11-5 on the season, but are they really an "11-5" football team?
Out of 32 teams, the Colts rank 22nd in rushing yards, 21st in opponents passing yards 29th in opponents rushing yards, and 7th in passing yards - largely due to the fact they pass the football more than just about anyone.
In the team's 11 wins, their opponents went a combined 71-105 (.403). Only three of these wins were against teams with above .500 records and two of those came at the very start of the season. In these 11 games, Indy outscored their opposition 269-201 (average of 24.5 - 18.3). These included: A 4-point win against Cleveland (5-11) at home, a 6-point win at Tennessee (6-10) in overtime, a 3-point win against Miami (7-9) at home, a 7-point win against Buffalo (6-10) at home, a 2-point win at Detroit (4-12), a 4-point win against Tennessee (6-10) at home, and a 7-point win at Kansas City (2-14). Seven of Indy's eleven wins came against teams with a combined record of 36-76 (.321) by a total of 33 points (4.7 point average).
The Colts' five losses were against teams with a combined record of 42-38 (.525) by a combined score of 186-88 (average of 37.2 - 17.6). This included a 26-point loss in New York against the Jets (6-10) and a 5-point loss to Jacksonville at home (2-14).
Overall, this 11-5 team was actually outscored by 30 points on the season - 387 to 357. Their opponents combined record was 113-143 (.441).
Also, look at the main difference between the games the Colts won and lost. They averaged to score 6.9 more points in their wins than their losses. On the other side of the field, however, their defense allowed an average of 18.9 more points in their losses than their wins. The biggest difference between the Colts' wins and losses this season wasn't their offense guided by Andrew Luck; it was their defense.
Andrew Luck finished the season ranked 26th in quarterback rating (out of 32) at 76.5, only ahead of: Ryan Tannehill, Jake Locker, Brandon Weeden, Chad Henne, Mark Sanchez, and Matt Cassel. He finished ranked 31st (out of 32) in completion percentage at 54.1, only 0.2 ahead of Jacksonville's Chad Henne. Lastly, he was tied for 3rd in the league with the Jets' Mark Sanchez in throwing 18 interceptions, just one behind co-leaders Drew Brees and Tony Romo.
It's hard for me to not pull for the Colts this year, but they remind of the Denver Broncos from a year ago, where the media seemed to fall madly in love with them, to the point where like a song that's been overplayed on the radio, it's resulted in me changing the channel when hearing these personalities discussing the team. Like the Broncos from last year, who played and defeated a beaten up Pittsburgh Steelers team in the first round of the playoffs, Indy could see a similar fate, as they take on a Baltimore team that has lost four of their last five games. However, that's the furthest they'll go this year. If they do win against the Ravens today, they'll face Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos and the Broncos, unlike last year when Tim Tebow was behind center, can actually score and score in the bunches this year. That's not a good match-up for a defense that's ranked 21st in passing yards and 29th in rushing yards.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ind/indianapolis-colts
http://espn.go.com/nfl/standings
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/passing/sort/interceptions/seasontype/2
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