JJ Stankevitz: Everything we’ve heard this week is that Romo was right – communication issues are why the Colts haven’t been consistently picking up blitzes. But it’s not 100 percent on the offensive line.
“That’s the main issue right now, is just communication, being on the same page – everybody, quarterback, O-line, running back just being all on the same page and getting that cleaned up,” offensive coordinator Marcus Brady said. “So that pre-snap, JT (Jonathan Taylor) knows exactly where his eyes need to be, Matt (Ryan) needs to know where his eyes need to be. So, just getting that communication fixed is what we’re stressing right now.”
Whether it’s in meetings, walkthroughs or practice, the Colts are emphasizing getting those communication issues cleaned up. Ryan has been pressured in under two seconds on eight blitzes this season, tied for the sixth-most in the NFL. Four of those came against the Kansas City Chiefs last week, with Ryan being sacked, strip-sacked, throwing an incompletion and then on the last one, throwing the game-winning touchdown to Jelani Woods.
The NFL is a copycat league, and until the Colts prove they can consistently stop free rushers from getting after Ryan, opposing defenses will keep sending blitzes designed to stress the team’s communication.
“It’s very uncharacteristic of our team, but we have to own that we put that on tape,” head coach Frank Reich said. “I think we all take that pretty personal. And it’s not just — we talked about this, it’s all 11 guys. Obviously we talk about the O-line but we talk about all 11 guys, tight ends are involved, quarterbacks, running backs, receivers getting to the right spot at the right time. So it’s a collective effort.
“This is a good week to try to get that back on track. This (Tennessee Titans) front with (Jeffrey) Simmons and Denico (Autry) and all the pressure packages they have — simulated pressure, zone dog simulated pressure, man pressure, they do it all and they disguise it…
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