Coach Chuck Pagano backs QB Andrew Luck-led Indianapolis Colts give best in next game – NFL News
The Indianapolis Colts have started weighing what measures they should take to put their act together in the next game after a shaky start to the season with a loss against the Chicago Bears on past Sunday.
Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck and a majority of other players struggled to find firm grounds and effectively respond to the opposition’s wave of consistent attacks, and coach Chuck Pagano tells them they cannot beat even a school team with the performance they showed in the game.
Chuck said:
"I told them today that anytime you're minus-4 (in turnovers), you won't beat Carmel High School or Zionsville (High School), that's exactly what I told them today. You won't, I don't care who you're playing."
This in no way leaves the coach with an escape from accepting the responsibility for poor performance, irrespective of the fact that he had transformed the strategies at defensive and offensive positions. The fact is that the new schemes did not work because the players could not adapt to the change, and if they fail to do so again, the failure should not be their fault alone.
However, some commentators think the team still has a long way to go, given it has at least 20 players with very little or no experience of pro league at all. They are either in first or second year of their professional careers, respectively, and expecting them to be successful straightaway is asking too much from them, without giving them enough room and time to settle down.
Luck, for example, performed below par, but by noting down the pressure he received from the opposition – as he was was singled out and specifically targeted by the Bears – he showed potential to survive the scare and come back strongly.
Even his failure should not be taken as the main reason for the defeat. It is important that the Colts should move on from the era of total dependence on the quarterbacks for a majority of wins.
Here the coach has an important role to play. He should work out with the defence to put up a strong show, as he had boasted expectation of greater success from them under the new 4-3 hybrid defensive scheme.
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